The Award Ceremony
We are certainly ending the year with a great Korean drama in Crash Landing on You. So far, the show has already given us plenty of fun, tense and dramatic moments and we are only on the third episode. The show feels quite refreshing with an original story and great cast, and in particular the two main leads. The chemistry between them is excellent and I am enjoying seeing her getting to know the other four soldiers as well. We begin where we left off with Captain Ri arriving to stop lieutenant Jo and claiming that Se-Ri is his fiance. He then requests to see her resident card but Captain Ri advises she comes from South Korea and belongs to Division 11, This mean she’s unable to disclose anything about her reason for being there as anything to do with Division 11 is confidential. The soldiers believe them and as they head back inside the house, Captain Ri explains that Division 11 are a group of spies living in South Korea. They’re interrupted by a group of ladies from the village, desperate to get his attention and who try to question Se-Ri about what she did there. However, she plays her role well and manages to get rid of them. After deciding what Ri will say to everyone once she leaves, Se-Ri asks him if he plays the piano as she saw some music sheets on the shelves. We then flashback to see that he used to play while we cut to Pyongyang airport where a lady, Seo Dan, arrives and bumps into Seung-Hyun, also making his way to North Korea. In the coal mines, Jo meets with wire-tapper Man-Bok and asks him to wire Jeong-hyeok’s house, going on to tell him he’s planning to use the woman living with him to destroy his family. We the seen a flashback of Jeong-Hyeok’s brother as Man-Bok listens to him before telling a mysterious person when his brother will reach his destination, causing him to be killed by a truck . Back in the village, both Se-Ri and Jeong-Hyeok carry on their pretense with Se-ri telling him how to act around her. After he leaves, the women of the village come to ask her to join them in the kimchi battle but she refuses. Jeong-Hyeok calls the four soldiers into his office and explains what he had to do with Se-Ri by calling her his fiancee. While they are all shocked by the revelation, Ju-Myeok compares the situation to a Korean drama and believes they will end up falling in love as the main leads always do. They then talk about their plans to help her leave with the boat. The four soldiers return to the village while we see Man-Bok listening to them after having wires installed. Meanwhile, Jeong-Hyeok decides to visit the scene of the accident and investigate the trucks. The soldier guarding the place explains that he didn’t see who drove them but that they had unusual metal armor attached to the front. We then cut to Seung-Hyeun meeting with Lieutenant Jo who has a contract to protect him while we see Se-Hyeong still trying to find Seung-Hyeun. After listening to his wife, he decides to send people to China to look for him before meeting with his dad and brother. Both brothers try to use their sister’s disappearance to be chosen as the new heir and Sang-A suggests using Se-Ri’s company to make up for the lost funds at their company. In the village, Se-Ri sees first-hand how hard life is for some North Koreans as a young boy tries stealing some food in the house. Pyo tries to stop him but Se-Ri feels sorry for him as we hear his sister hasn’t eaten in 3 days and gives him food to take to her. We then see the boy happily run to his sister with the food, finally able to feed her. Back in the village, Se-Ri spends a fun last moment with the soldiers as she hands out some awards to them with prizes to claim once both countries reunite. She then takes Jeong-Hyeok outside to show him the tomato plant she got for him. However he is not impressed as he doesn’t have time to look after the plant. After we see all four soldiers discussing Se-Ri’s departure, Jeong-Hyeok drives her to the boat where she tells him that this will probably the last time they see each other. When they arrive at their destination, Jeong-hyeok decides at the last minute to accompany her on the boat. While sailing away, they finally reveal their names to each other before the coastguard approaches on a different boat. They quickly hide in the hull but the guards demand they open it. As they do, Jeong-Hyeok kisses Se-Ri while we see a flashback of Man-Bok listening to Jeong-Hyeok talking to his new plant where we leave the series hanging in the balance. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first read the synopsis of Crash Landing On You. I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far as the show is already set to become one of the better dramas of the year. The interactions between Se-Ri and Jeong-Hyeok, but also with the soldiers, is one of the strongest points of the show and I look forward to see that evolved and expanded on in the weeks ahead. There are quite a few mysteries too in Crash Landing as we see more hints of something suspicious surrounding Jeong-Hyeok’s death. While we are also introduced to a new character, Seo-Dan, we also see that Seung-Jung will most likely play an important role soon. While it’s quite unclear what it is yet, all these different storylines certainly make the show an intriguing one to watch and will almost certainly keep you coming back for more!
