Tomorrow: Episode 2

Tomorrow: Episode 2

by missvictrix

Our half-human hero goes on his trial run with his new reaper team, and together they try to save a young woman’s life. The experience is not only more than he bargained for, but it opens up an interesting contrast between the current methods of the reaper team, and the impact of a kind and intuitive human on the scene.

Editor’s note: This drama starts off each episode with a warning that it contains content about suicide, and though the message of the show is that suicide is never the answer, this topic is definitely not for everyone, so we’ll be putting this note at the start of our weecaps, too. And, if you ever need anyone to talk to, please know there’s a whole community here to support you.

 
EPISODE 2 WEECAP

Before we get into the plot, I need to echo what I said after Episode 1, which was just being impressed with the level of world-building going on. That continues in this episode as we learn more about Ryeon, with hints of her past, and get a stronger sense of how the Crisis Management Team functions both in the world, and the underworld.

The level of detail this drama is bringing to the table is great — and the only thing I love more than that is the cast. Though we focus mostly on our team trying to safe the life of a young writer in this episode, we also get another look at Jumadeung. And yay, that includes PARK JOONG-GIL (Lee Soo-hyuk looking every bit the part), who leads the more traditional Escort Team and has some beef with our lovely pink-haired heroine.

In Episode 1 we saw them have a very fundamental disagreement about the suicide question — and this week we see them butting heads yet again, concluding with Joong-gil warning her they shouldn’t cross paths unless he’s escorting a suicide case (meaning her failed in her mission). There’s certainly some history there, as well as friction in their individual missions.

And speaking of history, we see what seems to be a Joseon-era Ryeon wandering in Hell, until the Jade Emperor pulls her out and has her work in Jumadeung as a reaper. What is Ryeon’s history as a human? How did she die? What’s with the hint of her being destined to save a certain person from death? These questions broaden the story quite nicely and keep it from feeling too episodic.

I did not expect to feel quite so many feelings while watching the backstory of the writer NOH EUN-BI (Jo In), but it was a journey much like Jun-woong experienced: all of a sudden he was seeing first-hand how this woman suffered psychological trauma from a school bully. And you can’t help but feel for this girl not only in her school days, but later in her adult life when she comes face-to-face with the bully who tormented her.

When our reapers set off to save her, her negative energy is already at 80%, and the team enters her life at a crucial time: she’s just come in contact again with the school bully who’s now a rising webtoon author and world-class hypocrite. She doesn’t even remember the torture she inflicted on Eun-bi until her friends remind her, and she picks up right where she left off. This spirals Eun-bi out of control, and her suicidal thoughts are reaching a terrible breaking point.

Watching all of this unfold is heart-wrenching, but the fantastical angle it takes is really great. Ryeon, Ryong-koo, and Jun-woong are on the scene, play-acting as the PD team that’s working with both women, and this is where we get that contrast I mentioned. While Ryeon and Ryong-koo are old hands at this, and somewhat callous to the suffering in front of them, Jun-woong can barely hold himself back. Actually he can’t. He not only interferes in one of her memories (while they’re traveling back to learn about her past), but he also interferes in the present when the bully acts out.

Ryeon is none too pleased by this half-human that’s getting in her way. She has an MO that she’s used “successfully” in the past, and we’ve seen it work before. Rather than bring any sort of comfort or aid, she pushes the suicidal humans past what seems like their breaking point, and much to Jun-woong’s horror, Ryeon now does the same thing to Eun-bi.

This whole storyline plays out in a surprisingly powerful way, and one that’s done way better justice by watching than me merely describing it. It first shows us Ryeon’s method — harsh and direct but effective in its own way because it forces Eun-bi to recognize her desire to live – and then we see Jun-woong the giant teddy bear adding on to the work that Ryeon has done.

Ryeon might have gotten Eun-bi out of the danger zone, but she and Ryong-koo notice that she’s still dominated by negative energy. It’s not until Jun-woong turns up with the comedian (cameo by real-life comedian Jeong Jun-ha) that Eun-bi loves that something finally breaks in her for good. Eun-bi’s laughter at the comedian soon turns to tears, which is powerful enough, but it’s when Jun-woong pulls her in for a hug that things really change. In that moment where she’s completely broken, he gives her what she needed the most: comfort, acknowledgment of her suffering, and the feeling that she was not alone.

How does a drama brimming with mythology and CGI make me cry tears this big? I’m not sure, but it’s why I love K-dramas; they can deliver any sort of story in any sort of genre and still give you a scene like this.

After that success, and Eun-bi’s energy readings positive and in the green-zone, you’d think that Ryeon and Ryong-koo would be thrilled with the addition to their team. But not so much. Back at Jumadeung, Ryeon is more annoyed by the mistakes he’s made than anything else — he’s also broken the Key of Memory, which means the team won’t be able to travel into anyone’s memories for much-needed context anymore.

Jun-woong joins the Editing Team instead, but it’s clear he’s not cut out for it. He’s a human, after all — at least mostly — and he can’t stomach the coldness with which human suffering is talked about, and he chews out his new team to such an extent that his fate in Jumadeung is soon hanging in the balance.

Lucky for us, and the rest of the drama, Ryeon finally agrees to take Jun-woong back to the CM Team, and I’m sure we’ll explore more of their teamwork (or lack thereof) as we go.

But before we close, a word on how the drama treats justice. It was surprisingly absent during Eun-bi’s story, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who wanted to see the horrible bully punished for her evil deeds. However, with all the focus on turning Eun-bi from victim to survivor, there didn’t seem to be any room for retribution in the story.

But yay, after Eun-bi is in the clear and everything is resolved, Ryeon has some unfinished business — and boy does she ever. She sees to it that the bully experiences the torture she inflicted on Eun-bi as is she herself were Eun-bi, and by the time Ryeon has tied up these “loose ends,” the bully has been exposed across the media, as have her henchwomen, and Eun-bi not only has closure, but the peace of knowing this person get exactly what she deserved.

I didn’t expect the drama to go there since it didn’t seem much interested in the perpetrator, so this made a great story arc into an even better one. Between the wrap-up of this plot line, and the motif that laughter can act as medicine (and the fact that Jun-woong intuitively knows this), I don’t think I could like this drama more than I already do.

 
RELATED POSTS

Tomorrow: Episode 2
Source: Buzz Pinay Daily