Forecasting Love and Weather: Episodes 3-4 Open Thread
by missvictrix
Things are about as awkward as they can be between our new director and her rookie forecaster, but there are other things going on too, like the battle of continued attraction between them, the fact that their exes are always in close proximity — oh, and also some heavy waves and sudden dense fog to make things a little more dramatic.
EPISODES 3-4 WEECAP
The good news is that Forecasting leans more into the rom-com this week, and we get some cuteness to help make this drama a little more jazzy. The bad news is that the boring things stay boring, and we continue to be weighed down by heavy-handed weather metaphor narrations and a love square that offers no actual enjoyment. At least none for me.
After a wild night and a bizarre morning-after handshake, Ha-kyung and Shi-woo head off separately to work, both pretending everything is fine, but both secretly muttering “This is nuts” to themselves under their breath.
Another thing they’re both doing is sneezing. Is it the yellow dust, and a weather emergency is heading our way? Or have they both just caught cold, and it serves as an opportunity for Shi-woo to prove what a thoughtful puppy he is by delivering tissues and cold meds to a semi-bewildered Ha-kyung.
The use of weather events in this show in and of itself is not bad, and I don’t blame these folks for taking the weather personally (I know I did when I got a snow squall warning earlier today). Anyway, it’s not the weather itself, but how it’s played. One way is for drama. Last week we had the rogue hail and heavy rainfall, and this week we have – wait for it — dense fog.
Forecasting tries to show us the hardships of the forecasters, what it’s like for them, and the ramifications of every weather forecast, good, bad, or inaccurate. I guess it worked, because it’s got me thinking about the weather differently — but by differently, I mean through the eyes of bureaucracy, and I don’t consider this an enjoyable perspective shift.
The second use of weather in this drama is just as a vehicle for loaded office conversations arguments. And this week we have lots of them. They’re borderline boring, and begin to feel contrived just so that the various sides of our love square can argue. So when Ha-kyung and dirtbag fiance Ki-joon are arguing about the wave advisory, or Shi-woo yells at Ki-joon over the bureaucratic pressure, or Ha-kyung confronts Yoo-jin over her poor journalism — we all know that’s not what they’re really arguing about. And so, the weather and office politics merely serve to get everyone to butt heads (lock horns?) even more.
But all is not lost, because we have some cuteness thrown into these dramatics, and that kind of saves the day. Despite Ha-kyung drawing (or trying to draw) a hard line, Shi-woo is built into her fate — he’s the online buyer of one of her un-wedding gifts, which provides more bonding and mutual appreciation. And then that bonding leads to a hijinks-filled dinner where Ha-kyung eventually duck-walks out of the restaurant to hide from the rest of her team who just appeared. (More of this, Show, and less overly dramatic weather talk, please!)
While we’re seeing all these hijinks and cuteness from Ha-kyung and Shi-woo, we’re getting the exact opposite from Ki-joon and Yoo-jin. These two are already arguing like a grumpy married couple — she leaves their apartment a disaster, he comes home grumpy as hell over the mess, all of which concludes with Yoo-jin taking out the trash and reminiscing on how not so long ago, Shi-woo treated her like a princess.
In fact, we see so much nagging and lack of character from these Ki-joon and Yoo-jin that the drama is painting quite the polarity for us: the two couples that split last week actually wound up better matched in round two. The petty and immature pair wound up together and must deal with the consequences of their rashness, while the wronged pair (of higher character and better disposition) wind up together and in a blissful union.
Yes, I said blissful union. At the end of Episode 3, Shi-woo comes clean that he truly likes Ha-kyung and wants to keep seeing her. It’s a great scene (and the alleyway lighting is killer — someone give the location scout a raise!), but we’re left hanging on how it concluded for much of Episode 4. Did she spurn him? Is that why she’s being hard on him at the office and has donned her cold exterior once again?
At the end of the episode we learn the answer is quite the opposite. The two decided to date. And so all the “cold” moments in the office were actually a front for hidden winks and handholds — and I’m sure we’ve got more of that coming.
We also have more conflict headed our way, because Ki-joon has learned that Yoo-jin lied to him and had previously been dating Shi-woo. Now I think everyone is in the know, and that is sure to complicate their interactions even more. Because yes, Ki-joon is also thinking fondly of the woman he so cruelly tossed aside two(ish) months ago.
We had some good progression on the side storylines this week, too — first off, it pains me to say how much I dislike Kim Mi-kyung’s character here. I know she has Ha-kyung’s best interests at heart, but everything she does crosses the line, whether it’s the matchmaking profile or the total lack of boundaries. I was kinda glad when Ha-kyung packed up her luxury suitcase and set off for her apartment.
The other storyline of interest is that of the senior forecaster on Ha-kyung’s team, UHM DONG-HAN (Lee Sung-wook). There’s a friction between the two that I quite like as we try to decide whether he’s being an insubordinate jerk, or actually helping to mold her into a good leader (hey Show, can we lean more into this angle)?
Outside of the office, though, Dong-han’s story is sad. For the last 14 years he’s worked offsite and lived away from his family. Now he’s back in Seoul and living with them, and their disgust could not be more palpable. This actually really got to me; both his wife and daughter have neither affection nor respect for him. As the story progresses, we learn that he’s been a distant husband and father, but a part of me still sides with him. We’ll have to see where this storyline takes us — and I’d be fine if that’s in the direction of healed relationships and new beginnings. Either that or there’s a homicide in our future.
After four episodes of Forecasting, I feel like it’s fair to start layering on the criticism (read: this weecap), since we have a stronger sense of the kind of drama we have, and where it wants to go. Sadly, I don’t really like it. Much like last week, there are moments and scenes that I really enjoy, and I can never dislike Park Min-young, but this show really lacks the sparkle that keeps you coming back for more episodes, and squeeing as you go. Also, at the rate they’re going, they will run out of extreme weather conditions before we reach Episode 8. Then what?
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Forecasting Love and Weather: Episodes 3-4 Open Thread
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily
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