Migratory Anticyclone
Episode 14 of Forecasting Love and Weather starts with autumn fast approaching. The typhoons are long gone, and the temperature is pleasant enough for families and couples alike to be out and about. However, the weather is a big juxtaposition to Ha-Kyung, who is still heartbroken over her breakup with Si-Woo.
We finally catch up to the moments at the end of episode 13, where Um acts out of character and loudly reveals that Si-Woo and Ha-Kyung are dating.
Despite telling her mum they’ve broken up, Ha-Kyung’s mother doesn’t listen and believes Ha-Kyung is trying to throw her off the scent. She doesn’t listen to her daughter and while this is played off for laughs, one can’t help but feel the tragic element of Ha-Kyung’s meddling mum who continues to ignore her daughter’s wishes.
Si-Woo’s father rings his son while he’s in hospital. He’s been in a car accident and tries to phone his son. However, Si-Woo is too busy dealing with everyone whispering about his relationship with Ha-Kyung, which is obviously awkward and bizarrely placed in the drama given they’re not actually dating.
Ki-Jun does his best to try and appease Yu-Jin, cooking her food and trying to do right by her. Eventually he suggests they postpone registering the marriage, realizing that she’s not 100% invested and they’re both going through issues. He promises to put in more effort, holding her hand.
Ha-Kyung urges Si-Woo to ignore all the rumours and continue on with work like normal. Si-Woo though is struggling.
With the weather pleasant and calm for now, it gives a lot of the people at the KMA an opportunity to take a break. Or, so they think anyway. Ha-Kyung decides to work everyone and keep them busy, keeping an eye out for cyclones or other weather anomalies.
Ki-Jun catches wind of the rumours thanks to some of his colleagues gossiping on their instant messages. In doing so, he heads down to see Ha-Kyung, eventually heading off for a drink with Si-Woo.
There, Ki-Jun admits that Si-Woo has done more damage than he has (of course he has) and admits that at work, women suffer more than men when rumours like this spread.
Ki-Jun knows that his ex deserves better and tells him that if they are to break up that he does so courteously, otherwise he believes Si-Woo should think twice before ending things.
In the office, Si-Woo takes Ha-Kyung aside and decides they should keep their break-up a secret for now as it’ll be too much hassle for the office to handle.
Si-Woo doesn’t want to hear other people gossiping, caring about what people will think of them. Ha-Kyung is more mature though and doesn’t care, telling him it’s her choice that she wanted love and suffers the consequences of their break-up. Si-Woo eventually admits that this break-up is way too painful for him.
Meanwhile, a couple of floors down, Yu-Jin takes Ki-Jun aside and breaks the news that she’s 12 weeks pregnant. That’s obviously a massive deal and he’s shocked.
Yu-Jin isn’t happy that he’s dumbfounded and scared, not giving the happy reaction she expected. She’s out with Si-Woo eating while Ki-Jun is with Ha-Kyung again at the bar, lamenting the same woes.
Ki-Jn is worried about being a good husband and a good father, but Ha-Kyung reassures him, claiming that he’ll do great and that she was a lousy perfectionist when they were together.
As they praise one another, Ha-Kyung brushes aside his cheating as water under the bridge as the pair are all chummy together. “You’re a good person Ha-Kyung,” Ki-Jun eventually tells her.
While they wrestle with this, the best subplot in the whole show – Tae-Kyung and Seok-Ho – continues to develop.
The pair are sleeping together now and after racing to see her that afternoon, the pair end up making love but as they’re undressing and kissing around the house, there are little moments of awkwardness that make this feel very realistic.
Anyway, back with the main couples, Yu-Jin decides they should go to the clinic and have an abortion, pointing out they’re not ready to have a child and this is probably best for them.
At the same time, Si-Woo bumps into Ha-Kyung’s mother again, who encourages him to head in so they can talk. As they sit together, Ha-Kyung happens to be at the hospital where Si-Woo’s father is just snoring away.
The Episode Review
With the weather calming down and the typhoons a distant memory, Forecasting Love and Weather casts away from its romcom roots into another episode that doesn’t really go anywhere.
Somehow Ha-Kyung and Ki-Jun are best buddies – or at least talking enough to lavish praise on one another – while both lead couples are muddled and confused over what they really want.
The hot/cold behaviour of Si-Woo and Ha-Kyung leaves this reviewer wondering whether we should really care if they end up together in the end.
The pair don’t want to be together and the ludicrous reasons this episode for not breaking up (“it pains me too much”; “people will gossip” etc.) doesn’t once address the real crux of the issue – are these two people compatible and do they want the same things in life? And the resounding answer to both those questions seems to be no. At least from what we’ve seen anyway.
Either way though, this k-drama is edging toward its final episodes now, and with next week looking to close things out, who knows whether this one will end on a positive or negative note. We’ll have to wait an see!
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Episode Rating
(2.5)
Her ex’s whole problem boiled down to her having a career. So she had to attend to some unavoidable tasks for work when they were working on the house or had to meet his classmates. She warned in advance when she knew, and apologized. This would have *clearly* not been a problem for him if the roles were reversed (see above paragraphs). Despite that, they become chummy, praises him (his current wife disagrees with him being a good husband and father, and for objectively good reasons) and self flagellate (really, being a perfectionist earned her the trauma he inflicted on her? As if he didn’t have his defects -see above-, plus the cheating, which kind of overshadows everything: this is like saying that Hannibal Lecter is a good person, except for his tendency to eat your liver, or that a wife beating drunk started out good and fixed the sink… yes, but the physical abuse is kinda of the dominant factor her (emotional in her case): a wife beating drunk with a sob story is still a wife beating drunk. In general, I didn’t like how emotionally traumatic events that had life altering (wrecking) consequences on their lives are suddenly brushed aside and minimized as minor inconveniences, when they had concrete impacts on their successive relationships. Her walking in on her husband having sex with his mistress, his father’s life long abuse… “I am sorry” and it becomes water under the bridge? No, it’s not realistic, it insults the viewer’s intelligence. Furthermore, getting past trauma does not mean lying to yourself about the life altering impact and severity of the emotional wound you suffered. Nor does it does it mean trusting or wanting back in your life the people that victimized you (why would they want them in their lives in the first place?). This is poor writing that did not respect or treat seriously their trauma. In terms of redeeming the irredeemable, the issue with the father should be self evident, so let’s look at the others.
“””
There, Ki-Jun admits that Si-Woo has done more damage than he has (of course he has) and admits that at work, women suffer more than men when rumours like this spread.
“””
I mean, this either has to be ironic, or it should be the other way around. He emotionally traumatized her and this had repercussions on her following relationship (the scene with the motel where he gave money to his father being the least of the problems). Completely unimpressed by his change of heart now. Too little, too late, not that there is anything he could ever do to make up for what he did. Insulted by treatment of the female lead, as a female character. Not sure why it’s just assumed that she needs to “meet her ex half way” and simply treat what he did (the horrific betrayal, the stalking, the messing with her finances and her house, etc.) as things that should be brushed aside because *now* he feel sorry. Sorry, but whether you do or don’t doesn’t help me in any way. It’s not, nor should it be, about what “he” feels. For that matter, given how scummy he has behaved, I find intellectually insulting that he would now put up a decent front and act all chummy/chummy, when he was willing to betray her, leaving her devastated, and even mess with her finances. After knowing her ten years. I would prefer brutal honesty of scum being scum, this current form is revolting (as is the notion that we should basically now root for him because he turned on a dime, and the female lead has some sort of amnesia).
“””Ki-Jn is worried about being a good husband and a good father, but Ha-Kyung reassures him, claiming that he’ll do great and that she was a lousy perfectionist when they were together.
As they praise one another, Ha-Kyung brushes aside his cheating as water under the bridge as the pair are all chummy together. “You’re a good person Ha-Kyung,” Ki-Jun eventually tells her.”””
It goes without saying, but this is complete hogwash. This man child horrifically betrayed her: physically, emotionally, financially. He was a jealous brat that stalked her and physically assaulted her new boyfriend. We have seen how he deals with his hurt male ego. I don’t like how the female lead has transitioned from a strong female character to someone without a shred of self respect, that talks about this horrific event, that shattered her emotionally and caused issues in her following relationship, is “water under the bridge”, a mere inconvenience. Or the way she deflects this to general “relationship problems”. This is wholly besides the point. If you have cat calling, the solution is not to dress more conservatively. The dress might be appropriate or not, but that’s wholly beside the point. Now she talks about how she was a perfectionist as if it was a horrific flaw deserving of his betrayal. Girl, you were doing his job for him, and you are letting him convince you that you were “wrong”? You are not the one needing to do some self reflection. Take a page from Crazy Rich Asians’ Astrid. Yes, classist in-laws. No, it does not have anything to do with the cheating. There are boundaries. You are a coward that gave up on us and I don’t have any obligation to change for you or sacrifice myself for your insecurities.
Bottom line, the guy is scum, and there is no reason she should confide in him or have him in her life in any capacity. No reason at all. Basically anyone else would be more worthy of her trust. Him being apologetic or not is wholly besides the point (not that anything he could do could ever change or fix his actions). Useless to put in some token “social commentary” with the pregnant reporter, and then make the female lead be a spineless coward with no self respect. All the “strong female character” vibe with her not putting up with her emotionally/physically/financially traitorous/deceitful and stalkerish creepy ex-boyfriend. This is not about whether you were unsuitable for each other, you did not part amicably. He betrayed her, when he didn’t even have to (he had cancelled the wedding, he couldn’t split up and *then* pursue a relationship? He didn’t show you a shred of respect, and then acted entitled).