Shinhwa Food
Following the tragic news of Cha In-Ha earlier this week, Love With Flaws appears to be the Korean drama in the news right now for all the wrong reasons. This week’s episode of Love With Flaws begins to steer away from the ensuing stomach issues affecting Kang Woo and instead, begins building up the character drama between Kang and Seo-Yeon, leading to a stare-down at the end of the episode. Following a touching tribute to Cha at the beginning of the episode, we return to Kang Woo experiencing stomach problems in the classroom before we cut to one of his therapy sessions, practicing staying calm infront of Seo-Yeon. Unfortunately it doesn’t work and instead he walks out before completing his speech. After taking one of his tablets, hidden in the stones of the flowerpot, in a flashback Dr. Kim suggests taking a photo of Kang Woo for practice, while the Vice Principal ponders just why Kang ate one of the stones, which, of course, isn’t a stone but a tablet. Determined to be rid of this issue once and for all, Kang Woo makes the Vice Principal pose for photos outside but instead takes pictures of Seo-Yeon in the background, who happens to be playing track at the time. Afterward, Min-Hyeok sits down with Kang in his office and asks for help. Meanwhile, Jang-Mi sifts through the rubbish to find the bloodied rags thrown out earlier on, the ones with the number on, only to find it completely illegible. At the same time, Seo-Hyeon does some research and finds out the truth about Kang Woo’s familial connections to Shinhwa Food. It’s here we see his sister, Kang-Hee, play babysitter for her Father, who bemoans his position as Seo-Yeon continues to hide from Kang Woo. After learning about his connection to Shinhwa, her reaction towards him changes as she stands waving to him some time later. He misinterprets this as her being impressed by his car and opens the roof to show off. Only, the Vice Principal pops up and invites him along to a barbeque party. Kang Woo and the others arrive at the party and watch in horror as Kang starts cutting the fat off the meat. Despite Seo-Yeon’s objections, he cuts hers too, until Min Hyeok gives her his and then offers to drive the girls to the new restaurant Kang Woo has suggested. Unfortunately though, he’s not a good driver. While on the road he’s told the truth about Kang-Woo’s familial connections but drives over a speed bump, causing Mi-Kyung to smear her lipstick all up her face. Despite helping her out, Seo-Yeon runs into her ex in the hallway and they begin to fight. However, Kang Woo arrives and saves the day, confidently bundling him into the back of the car and asking what relation he has to her before going on to sneer in disbelief, believing Seo-Yeon is still choosing guys solely based on their looks. At dinner, Kang wonders just why people take a fancy to her before bringing out an entire banquet of vegetables. It turns out this is all the food they have…until Min-Kyeong hands over a fork of meat and prepares to eat. However, she’s interrupted by Kang who puts her on the spot and asks her opinion on those who makes fun of other people’s looks. As the episode closes out, Seo-Yeon apologises to Kang Woo in private but after pricking his finger on the back of his head, she spies him giving her the finger, prompting Seo-Yeon to corner him and stare him down. However, as she does it looks like Kang’s stomach cramps have vanished and in their place a strange feeling coming from his chest…love? Although slightly improved this time around, Love With Flaws fails to stand out next to other comedy offerings and relies heavily on the misunderstanding trope inherent in a lot of these sorts of shows. There are still some funny moments dotted throughout the episode though and the cast do well with their lines, albeit delivering dialogue in an over the top and exaggerated manner. The use of music is good too and through the sixth episode in particular, Love With Flaws really starts to come into its own. Whether it can capitalize on this and shake off some of the early season woes remains to be seen but for now, Love With Flaws does well to steady itself from completely derailing. You can catch Love With Flaws on Viki. If you don’t have it already, feel free to click this link and sign up to access this and many other Korean dramas.
