"Beautiful Gong Shim" Episode 17 recap

"Beautiful Gong Shim" has all the right trappings to be a great drama, but it manages to lose steam in every aspect but the romance between Gong Shim and Dan-tae, which is sweet and winning. Dan-tae has uncovered a huge truth, but his methods have been driven by rage and pain. Joon-soo has uncovered the same truth, but reacted by escaping. The two cousins, once close because of their mutual kindness and enjoyable differences, are now drawn apart by their family drama. This show seems to be trying to pull them back together, but not without wrenching them apart in rather ridiculous ways first.

Before getting into the mystery that has driven Dan-tae and Joon-soo thus far, let's get into the elements of the episode that just didn't fit. Gong Shim's and Joon-soo's parents are very silly characters at time, there to provide background for the main leads and there to provide some tension. In actuality, only Joon-soo's mother really has a place in the mystery. All of the parental inclusions as of late have been silly. This silliness is genuinely funny thanks to the actors, but it is so misplaced in the drama that it feels as though the reel was incorrectly cut and another drama slipped in. Then we turn to Gong Mi who only comes in to be petulant and do something backhanded and horrible to her sister. This characters isn't even remotely interesting. She only schemes and acts heartbroken. It is difficult to determine if she's actually heartbroken or ego-broken that her sister who she deems lesser than herself is receiving attention and love. Please let retribution find her, and soon.

Romance is bright and in full bloom between Gong Shim and Dan-tae. While they are cute, I'm wondering why Gong Shim hasn't pushed harder to discover why Dan-tae is most definitely more reticent lately. She is very caught up in paving her own way, but if her character up to this point is to be used as a reference, she's much more keen on people than these past few episodes have made her out to be. I hope Dan-tae begins to share with her soon, or else their relationship isn't truly a partnership. That said, they are ridiculously cute together.

The main couple in this show has to be Dan-tae and his cousin Joon-soo. They've been in a major fight since Joon-soo's uncle and unfortunate circumstances have manipulated Dan-tae into believing in Joon-soo's guilt. At the same time, Joon-soo is reeling from the news of his mother's involvement in the kidnapping and attempt at murder. I do believe the uncle is the major person at fault and Joon-soo's mother is just complicit, but that doesn't change her guilt, or the fact that Joon-soo needs to do the right thing and stop covering up his family's wrongs. While Dan-tae bull-headedly charges ahead, Joon-soo runs away to gather his thoughts. The two cousins are opposites, but ultimately they work towards the same goal. I'd like to see that happen and have them come together again. Their fighting has been drawn out too long in a flagging story.

Onto episode 18 to see if our bromance returns, Joon-soo's uncle gets his just deserts, and if Gong Mi finally grows a conscience.

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

"Beautiful Gong Shim" is directed by Baek Soo-chan, written by Lee Hee-myeong, and features Namgoong Min, Minah, Oh Joo-wan, Seo Hyo-rim, Oh Hyun-kyeong, and Woo Hyeon.

Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink