"Cheese in the Trap" Episode 10 recap

Even though "Cheese in the Trap" was filmed completely in advance of airing, I get the impression that the editing part of the production team still messes around with the presentation. A scene from the episode nine preview only shows up now in episode ten, and the timing is much better given how the drama will be on break next week. Min-soo finally breaks down. And even after having apparently "won", Seol is not in any kind of victorious mood. There's just no cause for it, when Jeong isn't around.
Which is not to say that Seol mopes around missing Jeong. Quite the opposite actually. Seol is a very proactive protagonist this episode, running around trying to deal with every interpersonal problem she can, and goodness knows there are enough messes in Seol's life that she needed to take a step back and actually focus on them. Even so, the reason Seol has been stalling on these issues is because she always knew they would be very unpleasant to deal with, and reality matches that perception.
The time Seol messes around with In-ho stands out because that's where the trend breaks. Ever since his big epiphany regarding music In-ho has struggled with the fact that he's out of practice, and coursework in music hurts his pride. In-ho doesn't want to give up because he won't have that epiphany a second time. His teacher, while good at teaching, is obviously unaware of In-ho's greater situation. Seol is thus able to offer some essential encouragement.
Positive reenforcement is a big running theme for "Cheese in the Trap" and it's easy to see why. People who are just starting out at something new in life (such as college) can only really guess as to whether or not they're doing their tasks correctly and in that context any kind of feedback is like a life preserver. But bad advice can only go so far. At one point even Yeong-gon has to give up because there's no way out.
Take that as another possible interpretation of the title "Cheese in the Trap"- the cheese is, metaphorically speaking, short-term happiness that only lasts until you realize you're stuck. It's weird watching this drama shift gears from the trap being a somewhat ambiguous and awkward romantic relationship to actual serious life decisions, and bad unchanging behavior. Weird, but not wrong- habits are hard to break, after all.
Review by William Schwartz
"Cheese in the Trap" is directed by Lee Yoon-jeong, written by Go Seon-hee and Kim Nam-hee and features Park Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun-I, Seo Kang-joon, Lee Seong-kyeong, Nam Joo-hyeok, Kim Gi-bang, Park Min-ji and more.

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