Roommate Episode 10 - Youth Never Comes Again

We begin episode 10 with Se Ho narrating in a recording studio.  I’m not sure why, but I’m happy to see his smiling face. He is just so earnest. While this episode is a bit of a let down after last week’s, the feeling of comraderie and lightheartedness of living in the house together is apparent.  And when a special guest comes to visit, the roommates go all out.
JoAnne:  They really do.  With all the games that are constantly being played in everything we watch, and ok yes the lack of actual sex in anything we ever watch...I just have this image of them as these sweet naive virgins all hanging out and playing games and thinking pure thoughts.  Oh, I know.  I know. Chan Yeol is probably into leather or something...but I still have the mental image of innocence.
bcook: *seriously considers Chan Yeol's leather fetish* Nope...I don't think he's matured into that yet. 

Food is once again a predominate theme in this week’s episode.  The question is raised “What should we have for dinner?” and a competition, using the leftover octopus from last week, begins.  (Who doesn’t hear the voice of the PD orchestrating this??)  Bom and Soo Hyun pick teams, and to make it fair, Mama Shin and SoRa decide to be the judges.  So they’re off!
JoAnne: I love that Mama Shin makes a point that cleaning up after they cook is PART OF the competition.
bcook: If only they would learn. 

Soo Hyun, as head of Team Hong Gil Dong (which is apparently her nickname), is excited with a cabbage recipe she finds on the internet. But the team also has the benefit of Ga Yeon, who has worked in a pasta restaurant, so Min Woo wants to take advantage of that.  Solution? Why make one dish when you can make two?  They are sure it will give them the advantage.
JoAnne: Sure because who DIDN'T hear 'let's take this beef recipe and make it, but use OCTOPUS instead!' and sort of worry, a little bit?
bcook: Oh I worried. I kept thinking "but, but beef and octopus cook differently. but but"
lafer: OK, I don't have a clue how different octopus and beef are, and believe me, I never hope to.

Team two is having trouble picking a dish, especially since it will be judged by Mama Shin, whom Se Ho says the Korean Restaurant industry is trying to recruit after seeing his great cooking skills. Bom, Se Ho and Kang Joon settle on pasta, also.  Mama Shin is laughing to himself because both teams picked pasta.  Or is it because of the crazy alien name, “We Want to Become Octopus Tentacles” that Bom picks for the team? Let’s hope their dish is a little more thought out than their name!
JoAnne:  Oooooh, he just blew me a kiss.  Cookie is going to be so upset!  Gah, I love this man.  He's so awesome.
bcook: Given the latest news I'm being even more vigilant over my oppajusshi than usually. Dirty thoughts are now forbidden! I can read your mind! (it's easy coz Jo's is like 85% dirty & 15% her family)

And then we watch cooking.  Lots of kitchen time and cooking. Team Hong Gil Dong is methodical and organized in their approach, while the Octopus Tentacle team really doesn’t have a clue. They just start winging it by throwing anything in that they can find.  Uh, not really sure this is going to work, you guys! Mama Shin does seem to be enjoying himself greatly as watches the 2 different thought processes going into the dishes. 
JoAnne: Nothing better than watching a grown, hot man giggling helplessly. I will tickle him, maybe.
bcook: *snaps at Jo* They just kept adding stuff!! Didn't even take a sample and add it to that. The cook in me is appalled. 

Wookie returns just in time to be a judge of the dishes.  He looks so exhausted it pains my heart, but I must say he looks better with every episode for some reason. (Until he wears that baseball cap, lol.)  The two teams must present their dishes.  Team Hong Gil Dong has some convoluted names like Mr. Octo Monster and Miss Carpaccio Octopus along with a story of how they are going to be set up on the date by the cooks to see how well they go together. Really? Next time I sit down for dinner, I'm going to let Miss Rice Pilaf and Miss Broccoli Rabe duke it out to see who gets along better with Mr. Tilapia. Not to be outdone, Bom, Kang Joon and Se Ho launch into a full entertainment intro to their dish called the Korean Italy Love Story.
JoAnne:  Wookie looked like DEATH. And in the interests of full disclosure, Mr. Bologna and Miss Cheese were getting so friendly today that Mr.White Bread had to come along and hide them from view. I think the pickle inspired them. 
bcook: *amused* Are we humanising our food now? I didn't get that memo. Besides..that'll make me a cannibal and I can't do that. My oppajusshi won't respect me in the morning. 

The judging is very serious, with Mama Shin and SoRa both picking The Hong Gil Dong's pasta. Wookie is just happy to get a good meal, poor guy!  I think he's just being diplomatic when he picks The Octopus Tentacles team's dish.  He probably didn't want to deal with his roommate's dejected face for the rest of the evening.

JoAnne:  Well I for one look forward to seeing Spicy BeanPaste Marina on menus around town very soon.

bcook: Did Wookie eat it because it was good? Or because he was hungry? I liked the twist at the end of his analysis. hehe. 

After dinner, Wookie tells the Roommates that he has invited a special guest.  My heart did a little pitter patter when they thought it would be Lee Jin Wook, but maybe I'm not as disappointed as SoRa is, who went grocery shopping thinking that it was going to be Jung Woo Sung. Sorry, SoRa! Wookie says he is the epitome of tough and sexy, so I'm really anxious to see who it is.

JoAnne: But why did they think it was those guys anyway?  Is he known for being friends with them?

bcook: Hope springs eternal? It is possible that he might know them. If he went to army the same time that they did...or they went to school together. Has Wookie been in any movies? 

The rest of the roommates (at least those still at home, that is) are washing blankets. Soo Hyun always seems to do a lot of chores, even though her knowledge is limited.  Thank heavens for Mama Shin! They are going to do it the old fashioned way--by stomping on them in a big wash tub. Doesn't everyone have access to a washing machine or laundromat in SK?  Min Woo tells Soo Hyun that she needs lessons before she gets married because she didn't take the cover off the duvet.  Dae, Dae, she agrees, altho her blankets at home have zippers!  How could she know? She and Min Woo break out into what could be an audition tape for a commercial.

JoAnne:  He just looks wrong.  Like he's motorboating someone in his imagination.

bcook: That was just wrong.

Min woo and Soo Hyun continue play acting, because doing laundry together in a laundry tub seems to be on the bucket list of most romantic things to do in South Korea. They are shy about getting in the same tub, and Min Woo shows it by using the worst pickup lines ever. NaNa comes out to join the fun, and she and SeHo pretend to be the couple next door.  Well, even though it's probably 100% for the camera on her end, I still like this couple together. But once again I can almost hear the PD saying in the background "give him a push" because if you look at the gif, she clearly does that.

JoAnne:  If NaNa were anything approaching marriage-able age in Korea, I'd ship those two like Norwegian Cruise Lines.  But she's not even 25, with a developing career...she's not getting married for 5 or 10 years.

bcook: I read that it's supposed to be a scene from a drama. I have not watched that drama but if the guy is hot....I just might. (Ugh, bcook, it's a scene from many dramas! You must not be watching the right ones, lol.)

Later that day, the surprise guest arrives, and it's Lee Deok Hwa.  OK, I don't actually know him, but I recognize him as an actor that I've seen in a million different dramas. He's greeted in grand style, and Bom, awkward as usual, asks him what she should call him. He settles on Oppa--which signals to me that he is actually quite taken with Bom, hehe. He's given a tour of the house.  OK, can I just say that if I knew an important guest was coming, I'd be a little more concerned with making my bed than washing the bed linens! Everyone's room looks like a royal wreck. I bet a few of the roommates' mommas are shaking their heads in shame.

JoAnne: Why do they persist in showing off the bedrooms?  I do not get this.  Bedrooms are private spaces. In this case, sure, they're private spaces with cameras...but still.

bcook: Don't you wanna know how the other half sleeps? I think it's part of the big brother aspect of this show. 

Deok Hwa takes a selca with Bom and Soo Hyun, and then comes the part that will feel like a thousand ton weight dropping on bcook - he asks Mama Shin if he has a girlfriend and he answers YES. Where did that come from and how has he kept her so well hidden? *Commence ugly sobbing* Then Deok Hwa proceeds to tell him not to get married, lol. Se Ho, ever the MC, does a little presentation about Deok Hwa's life, which I actually find quite interesting and leads me to wonder if his American equivalent would be more like a Tom Selleck or a David Doyle. One thing is for sure, he is quite generous as he comes with an envelope of money for the house (which now, in turn, makes me curious about the funding of this whole Korean variety show thing....)

JoAnne:  Maybe Tom, but Tom was really big just for Magnum PI right? - David Doyle was in a lot of stuff but nowadays no one really knows his name...it's hard to equate because our BIG stars are movie stars, not tv. I'm thinking Robert Wagner, that guy who played Rockford Files, LARRY HAGMAN.  He's like Larry Hagman.  Long career, lots of popular shows.  There you go. (haha, we so think alike!  Those were exactly the other two I was thinking of!  But Tom Selleck is in a current show, Blue Bloods, so that's why I choose him.)

bcook: Who's Larry Hagman? *looks him up* ooh! JR! Tom Selleck was in other things (but I only remember magnum PI coz of that fabulous mustache) but I would say David Hasselhoff before he embarrassed himself eating that burger. 

Everyone gathers around the table for some spicy seafood stew, and I love how they play Earth Wind and Fire's Sing A Song in the background.  (Again, an A+ for the music director.) The stew may be delicious, but apparently NaNa undercooked the rice and everyone enjoys poking a little fun at her. Deok Hwa keeps everyone entertained by telling about his past and how writer Kim Soo Hyun told him to get a wig, lol. The mystery of why there are so few bald men in dramas is starting to unravel.

JoAnne:  I can't tell you how much time I spent staring at his hair in Queen of Ambition/Yawang and going is it...is it not?

bcook: It explains a lot. He has a fabulous wig right now. It must be taped to his head. I wonder what he looks like without it. 

After dinner, Se Ho continues to entertain as he imitates some scenes from Deok Hwa's dramas. Then everyone starts to get in on the act, and Deok Hwa requests Bom to portray the actress from the scene. Omo Omo, Bom, this is NOT your field!  The facial expressions on her are hilarious. Which makes me really, really hope that she will continue to film this show, although I've heard rumors to the contrary.  I think Bom's bizarre awkwardness is a big draw here, and I'd really hate to see her go. It also makes me wish she'd break out and have a huge hit on her own that Americans embraced and then she could go to the US to live and finally be free of the crazy netizens.  But I digress...

JoAnne:  She's so cute and I feel really terrible for her right now.  I actually do believe her story.  And from what I understand, although she was assured that she was welcome to stay, she has decided to drop out. I know that in Korea drugs are taken very seriously and that in most cases, she'd end up leaving so as not to tarnish her co-workers with the scandal; because they WOULD be, and it WOULD pull down the show; but in this case it seems most people are feeling kindly toward her, and it's ONLY on the internet that people are reacting to it much at all.

bcook: Jeesh korean internet!! I hope she changes her mind. 

Others take turns acting, even though Deok Hwa claims Soo Hyun is not voluptuous enough for the part, lol, and then NaNa, with back up by Se Ho, performs a special dance. They come inside and the guys sit at the table and talk a little more, while Deok Hwa offers words of wisdom for all the guys and words of praise for Wookie's acting. After making a signed copy of his trademark saying "Youth Never Comes Again", Wookie puts a very tipsy Deok Hwa to bed. This part is just too funny. I love how sincerely Wookie is cracking up over his drunk sunbae and saying he's like your drunk uncle at Christmas!

JoAnne:  I have a tendency to nod off from time to time, and I sincerely believed that I missed something.  I rewound a bit and started watching and got to this part again and was so confused...because I was pretty sure I had NOT gone to sleep again, and yet I still missed them drinking.  Silly me for thinking they'd have continuity!

bcook: Hmm. You know, apart from the ending of the 3 musketeers (and Soo Hyun's champagne in a nalgene scene), we've never actually seen them drinking on screen. I suspect some censorship. 

Just when I think the show is over, we have a nightly news cast by Wookie. The first interviewee is Se Ho, in his pajamas no less. Wookie is trying to get Se Ho to reveal his new salary now that he's done two commercials after starting Roommate. All I can say is, I do hope it is enough to buy a new pair of pajamas! Wookie laughs as he brings up a love line between Se Ho and NaNa, which he calls a big misunderstanding, but which Se Ho says everyone should wait to see how their story develops. (Me thinks they're in it together for the trip.)  But the next is classic. Wookie interviews Mr. Pretty Eyes, asking if he's really an idiot or if he's a genius actor with a persona he's pushing for the show. Kang Joon answers that he doesn't fake anything, he just sees, feels, says and does.  There is definitely a camp divided on the issue of Kang Joon, but either way, you have to love this guy!  That is where I'll leave it for now.

JoAnne:  I'm glad Maisie wasn't here because where I slapped my hand down in laughing shock is EXACTLY where she'd normally have been lying down.  That would have been one pissed off Chihuahua. *Still laughing 'So tell me, are you really that much of an idiot, or is this an act?'*

bcook: And then his blank look when Wookie asked him what WHO was....and then wookie's surprise when he answered correctly. Basically we'll never know. 

Last but not least, we have an interview with Ga Yeon, who will be having her first professional MMA match soon. The thought of this little cutie getting beat up worries me.  I mean, I know she's tougher than most guys, but that face!  It must be protected!  Good luck, Ga Yeon!

JoAnne:  Not for one moment have I ever wanted to see a fight...but I want to see this one.  I want to see her wipe the floor with her opponent and then I want to see all the roommates run into the ring and pick her up and toss her around in congratulations.

bcook: I'm also looking forward to it! She'll be fine. Look at Mohammed Ali's daughter (and the several UFC/MMA female fighters that don't look weird). She still looks awesome. 

Final thought: This episode made me really wonder about the dynamics of this show and how much is "scripted."  Of course activities are going to be suggested and scenarios proposed.  But I doubt very much Wookie is doing the interviews for fun - the guy looks dead tired, and Se Ho evens asks him how much he gets per episode. I'm hoping they were all sitting around in the living room chilling because they wanted to, not because they were forced to wait until that piece was over.  I've grown a real affection for these people and want the best for them!

JoAnne:  It makes for long days, that's for sure - but to be fair, Wookie looks half dead all the time, the way his coloring is.  He's very fair and his eyes are so deepset, he just always looks like he's recovering from the flu.

bcook: I'd say about 85-90% of the show is scripted. If it's not scripted then it's edited to tell a story. Remember guys this is still reality TV! and we know how "real" that is.