Boys Before Flowers – Episode 24: The Aftermath

It’s amazing!! Even after the show is officially wrapped the cast of BBF is still the talk of the town. Granted it’s only been a week since the last episode but the hype for the show is higher now than it was when it was actually on the air. I never thought that was possible but apparently it is. I’m glad the cast will finally get some semblance of rest now that the show is over. Although, I already read that two of the cast members fainted: Hyun Joong and Kim Joon. Not to be insensitive but hearing this about Hyun Joong was not exactly a shocker to me. Did you see how much weight he was losing?! Now, the news about Kim Joon surprised me. Not just because he seemed like someone who was handling it better than the other cast members (disregarding the minor car accident) but also because…….he wasn’t exactly in as many scenes as the other members was he? Even then he was usually confined to a few lines that were composed of questions or displays of his “English speaking abilities tendencies”. I’m not trying to downplay his role in the show because I do love his character but, dude, really?
And while I know not many of you leave comments (for those of you that do, you rock my socks off!! Yes, I just said that.) the blog stats show that many of you are still checking in and I am more than appreciative of it. Again, sorry for the delay. Hopefully Cinderella Man aka SeoulFire’s next feature will be delay free. I would usually follow this statement up with “Yeah, right” but the odds of that happening are better considering the lack of a job at this point and time. Anyhoo, here’s the Aftermath.














Who would’ve thought that Yi Jung would have been the one to commence a conversation about himself and Ga Eul? I think this shows real growth. And then he lets her walk away after she informs him that she will stop pursuing him. Oh, Yi Jung. One step forward, twenty steps back.














It feels so good to have Kim Hyun Joo’s Jun Hee in the house on a  long term basis. While seeing her play the badass sister that Jun Hee is I prefer to have her showing the ever improving acting chops that she has displayed in previous works. While it wasn’t a huge hit like BBF, I personally enjoyed “In-Soon is Pretty” and was excited when I found she was playing this character. While having to play a badass sister may not be the hardest job in the acting world (or maybe it is. I’m, honestly, making assumptions on this one. Which is all I can do considering my “vast” acting experience as noted in a previous post.) but having to play a member of family in where your little brother has reached his breaking point (complete with starvation and run ins with the law) and a mother who hid the fact that your father is in a coma by telling you that he was dead must be a pretty daunting role to take on. She’s basically become the only sane person in her family. I wonder what that’s like.

The worst family reunion EVER!!!

If you’ve been following SeoulFire for a while you’ll know that I try very hard to look at all angles of each character. Although, with Mama Kang I am at a loss. All of the conniving things she does is simply for her pride. That’s it. No other reason. She doesn’t care that the people she is plotting against just happen to be her own children!! And where does that leave the children? You can’t disown your own parents. Well, you can but I don’t know many people that have turned out 100% healthy afterwards. Look at Macaulay Culkin.
So while Joon Pyo is seeing the body of a father who should be a ghost…..






Ji Hoo is having trouble with seeing the ghost of Jan Di past. One appears and disappears right next to him….

While one shows up on the evening news. Hey wait a minute!!

Just one question: What kind of local news do they have exactly in the BBF world? Every news channel I’ve ever watched has claimed to deliver full coverage but this news channel means FULL COVERAGE.

What?! Joon Pyo actually said something back to his mother. I in no way condone children talking back to their parents but there are times when I find it acceptable. The time where you find out the full extent of your mother’s deceitfulness against you and everyone you love would be the time.

I wanted to be angry with Joon Pyo when he refused to see not only his father but Ji Hoo’s invitation to go see Jan Di but I understood where he was coming from. He is at the point where so many of us have been before. As we get older there are many things we realize. Unfortunately, one of those things causes us to sit down, look deep within ourselves, and finally exclaim, “Wow. My family is really screwed up!” That’s the point that Joon Pyo has come to. It can make you feel like a large facet of your life has been a lie. I appreciate that while there is still anger there with Jan Di for leaving he is mostly keeping his distance because he can’t stand to bring her into the craziness of his family. That’s sweet and all but I think he should take Won Bin’s advice and give her the benefit of the doubt. Joon Pyo seems to forget the crap she’s had to endure just for being associated with him: harassment by an entire school, kidnappings, his mother, her mother, and an on-again-off-again relationship to name a few. I think she can handle a mixed up family, Joon Pyo.

So, of course, Jan Di’s mother’s excessive claim that Jan Di is the “future wife of Joon Pyo” backfires on them (surprise, surprise) and the town wants their money back. And while they were outraged by the fact that Joon Pyo had another fiancee as reported by a newspaper they found (talk about snail mail, right?) Jan Di still couldn’t tell them that they were wrong because she is in actuality not with him anymore. But of course who comes to save the day? That’s right. Ji Hoo sunbae. Is anyone else tired of hearing the word “Sunbae” come out of Jan Di’s mouth? Every time he shows up she’s always surprised and the first words out of her mouth is “Sunbae”. It’s a bit redundant. I believe this is the writers’ way of reminding us that while they have grown very close over this time their relationship is still rather formal. Technically, Jan Di should still call Joon Pyo “sunbae” since he is her elder but because they have a more relaxed relationship that formality was ignored ages ago. Yet another reason I am forever a JoonDi devotee.

I never noticed this before but do you notice the production has a tendency to give Ji Hoo a rather sacrosanct effect when he shows up? Just look at this scene where he shows up in front of the villagers. They treat him like he’s the second coming. He always shows up in white and his white shoes seemed to blend with concrete so it almost looks like he’s floating. It feels rather…..ridiculous sometimes.

As Ji Hoo “blesses” the villagers with his presence, a rather ominous figure watches from afar (Note:We saw him earlier but I didn’t want to mention him until he actually effected the plot. This would be the time to mention him). Of course, he’s out for revenge and, of course, he’s looking for Joon Pyo (well, not necessarily Joon Pyo but some way to get back at Shinhwa as a whole. Joon Pyo seemed to fit the bill.) I’ve noticed that Joon Pyo is like Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher from “Murder She Wrote”: Knowing her meant your lifespan was reduced significantly.

Big props go out to Jan Di in this scene. I said it once and I’ll say it again, in another dimension, if things were slightly different, Ji Hoo would be a huge rival to Joon Pyo. Considering the state of things Jan Di could have accepted Ji Hoo’s proposal and no one would have blamed her. Except me. I would have blamed her profusely for giving up so easily but, lucky for her, she doesn’t have that problem. Double props to Joon Pyo for showing up even if it was from afar. Even if it was in a fairly bright car. Not exactly conspicuous on your part, Joon Pyo. He’s like David Starsky from “Starsky & Hutch”. They were supposed to be undercover cops but they rode around in this bright, almost offensive red Ford Torrino that was always shined up. I guess no one cares as long as it looks good on television.

Not going to spend much time on this but I will say my heart skipped about 10-15 beats during this entire scene. 

Everyone congregates at the hospital as soon as they hear the news about Joon Pyo. Even his mother who hears the news, where else, but on the news (of course). Jun Hee kicks ass again by asking her mother if she knows anything about her own son and, of course, she has no answer for her. When everyone else know your son children better than you do there’s really no way to defend that.

Remember how I mentioned that the writer’s more than likely give Mama Kang the chance to redeem herself? Well, I think it’s fair to say that chance has arrived. Even though she did not stick around to see Joon Pyo rolled out of surgery like the rest of the characters, scenes like this make it slightly easier to forgive her….

KDramas usually go out of their way to drive home the mantra “Don’t have any regrets” which I’m sure Mama Kang has many of those. I must admit they are pretty successful most of the time. I always finish a KDrama the same way I leave church every Sunday: inspired, optimistic, and ready to love my fellow man. Then I leave the parking lot and cuss out the guy that cuts me off on my way home. This is similar to the effect KDramas have on me.

Another clue we are getting towards the end of a series? A LOT OF TEARS!! Hey, it wouldn’t be a KDrama if they didn’t make that last ditch attempt at pulling at the heartstrings would it? Am I the only one who was begging for this to be another sick joke by F4? I knew it wasn’t but I can dream, can’t I? What wasn’t a joke was that Joon Pyo made what he thought would be his last request that Ji Hoo would be the one to be with Jan Di in his absence. I know he’s said it before but for some reason this was more romantic than anything he’s ever done in the entire series. Maybe you disagree. Maybe I have a really dark view on romance. Who knows.

Back on Jan Di’s home front her family has been able to return to their home with her father to follow. This is simply the writer’s way to wrap up the family side of things so that we can get back to the couples. At least they know where the show’s priorities should be.

And here we are at the dreaded amnesia arc. I won’t say that I hate the amnesia arc but when you have suffered through an entire season of the amnesia arc **cough**METEOR GARDEN II**cough** you have a long sustaining prejudice against it. Plus don’t they think we’ve been through enough? An arc featuring the JoonDi couple finding their way back to each other would have been enough drama to carry us to the end. Simplicity can take us so far but not as as far an amnesia arc does wouldn’t you say?

My theory (and I always have a theory) is that before Joon Pyo passed out from the car accident he not only accepted that he would no longer be around but that he would have to relinquish Jan Di to Ji Hoo in order for her to be safe. But that’s just a theory. Any suggestions? Then the comment cellar is for you.

The only comfort I find in the introduction of this character is that 1) Joon Pyo is simply “connecting” with her because she is slightly similar to Jan Di and 2) She doesn’t have enough time to be huge problem like, oh, Jae Kyung. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is that we are right back to the Joon Pyo we met at the beginning of the series: rude, unpleasant, and an all around grandiloquent countenance about him. Awesome.

What’s more funny in Jan Di and F3′s attempt to restore Joon Pyo’s memory? The fact that they thought that by reenacting these scenes everything would come back to him or the hilarious way Joon Pyo looked at Jan Di after each attempt? It’s obvious he really does think she’s crazy but who wouldn’t if they were in his state of mind?

Reason #452 I LOVE Ji Hoo: If he doesn’t like you, he doesn’t like you. The great thing about Ji Hoo is that he has never felt the need to put up any pretenses with anyone or anything. He sees beyond the surface and makes a decision about someone then and there. That’s one thing I do regret about Ji Hoo never having a chance with Jan Di. Ji Hoo liking someone as much as he likes Jan Di is as common as Haley’s comet. The only difference is that even when he has to let go of “his comet” the love never fades. He is still appearing to save the day when the one appointed to due so is “out of commission”. And that makes Reason #452 I Love Ji Hoo also Reason # 749 I can’t hate Ji Hoo no matter how much I try.

Big props to Ji Hoo for losing it on Joon Pyo and his acceptance of this random girl pairing herself with him right in front of Jan Di. “Hospital Couple”? I’m sorry, who are you?! No one knows who you are and you just put your claim on Joon Pyo knowing he’s in a “fragile” state. I try not to get too upset while watching this show because it is JUST A SHOW. Unfortunately it becomes difficult not to when you feel like you’ve invested so much into the particular show you’re watching: time, some money (I did buy something that was “subtly” featured on the show while I was in California. I won’t tell you what it is but I can tell you it will probably be collecting dust in the next few months here), and large amounts of my sanity in some cases (Example: Episodes 13-Present).

Next Aftermath is the last Aftermath for this show. Thank God. I’m sure many bloggers would agree with me on that.

Don’t get me wrong I had a great time “conversing” with you guys but trying to keep up with a high profile show like this one is exhausting. Not just because it seems like everyone was writing about the same show (and faster)  but also because this was my first attempt at actually documenting my thoughts on the show as it aired. You guys kept me going so please keep stopping by. See you on the next Aftermath!!