Frankly Speaking – K-drama Episode 10 Recap & Review

A Bolt From The Blue 

Frankly Speaking episode 10 starts with Woo-joo waking up to heavy online trolling after Choi-hui’s bombshell reveal. Ki-baek tries to stop her from watching Choi-hui’s show, but it is too late. Everyone is shocked and comes for the couple, taking Chi-hui’s words without asking for proof. Ki-baek and Woo-joo are forced to announce their relationship to close friends and family. Cha-yeon explains that Choi-hui said two main things in her show, and they will need to be clarified. First, she explained the timeline of Ki-baek and Woo-joo’s relationship. Second, she blamed Woo-joo for chasing Yu-yeong.

Unfortunately, Choi-hui caused trouble and ran to France. The team will need evidence to counterattack her statements. The public continues to attack Woo-joo and Ki-baek while the media keeps pressuring them for statements. Mira suggests that Ki-baek give an exclusive interview and deny all allegations. However, Ki-baek isn’t sure he can lie about his relationship with Woo-joo. The silence only escalates the online trolling, and Ki-baek’s dad joins social media to try and defend his son. Bok-ja also tries to remain calm as her clients badmouth Woo-joo.

The public’s outrage spirals out of control, leading to the cancellation of the show. Overwhelmed with guilt, Woo-joo visits the studio to apologise to her team. Despite their understanding, they can’t help but feel a sense of disappointment in Her.

To show his support, Jung-hyeon visits Ki-baek, and they catch up on old times. Ki-baek remembers the time when Jung-hyeon rallied for financial help from some of their high school friends to help Ki-baek pay his family’s debt. At the time, Ki-baek’s ego got the best of him, and the two fought. This time, Ki-baek is willing to listen to Jung-heon’s advice. His friends ask him to simply ignore the naysayers and live his life. 

On their way back, they encounter a distraught woman attempting to harm Woo-joo. At the police station, the woman tearfully confesses that she did it out of a misguided sense of loyalty to Jung-hyeon. As a fan, she felt deeply betrayed and hurt by Woo-joo’s actions. Woo-joo, showing her compassion, agrees to drop the charges if the woman compensates for the damage she caused. Jung-hyeon, on the other hand, is left feeling ashamed of his fans. He confides in his driver, expressing his discomfort at profiting from such extreme devotion.

After witnessing the lengths these deranged fans would go to, Ki-baek agrees to do an interview and deny his relationship with Woo-joo. He believes he can turn the switch off and lie. Woo-joo is grateful as she thinks it is the right decision. However, the interview turns to a dramatic love confession as Ki-baek is unable to switch off his disinhibition. He admits to being with Woo-joo and goes after Choi-hui for lying and the public for defending her. 

Woo-jo also interrupts the interview and reveals the truth behind Yu-yeong’s departure from the show. It turns out Woo-jo found a missed conversation between Choi-hui and Yu-yeong. In the clip, you can’t see the ladies but their conversation was recorded. It is evident that Choi-hui threatened Yu-yeong. To corroborate her story, Woo-joo also brings Yu-yeong as a witness. The issue is quickly laid to rest, and by the time the next scandal breaks, everyone is on the couple’s side. 

Elsewhere, Um-baek continues to flirt with Cha-yeon. It is clear they like each other, but Cha-yeon asks for Gu-won’s opinion. The boy is heartbroken and cries as he admits that he is struggling. He says his mom never spends a lot of time with him as she is always working. He doesn’t want to have to share the little time he gets with Um-baek. Cha-yeon is hurt after hearing this and tries to apologise.

Meanwhile, Ki-baek meets with his doctor, who advises him to continue living his life. The doctor argues that Ki-baek needs to stop fixating on how his disinhibition will affect the people he loves. He thinks Ki-baek should live in the present and let the future handle itself. In this regard, Ki-baek plans a family trip since they have never gone on one. His family has always wanted to go on a vacation but couldn’t afford it. He promises to join them after finishing a shoot.

The shoot in question is to help Ji-hu, who quit his job at the station and turned to freelance work. Ji-hu hopes to earn more money to help his wife pay the hospital bills for their sick daughter. The team heads to the mountain to shoot a variety show and Ki-baek is surprised to see PN is part of the cast. PN has come a long way after being publicly cancelled for his behaviour. He lost his fans and endorsements and is now a trot singer. The shooting goes well as the cast quickly bond and openly share their struggles. 

Back in Seoul, Ki-baek’s family excitedly leaves for their vacation. Ki-baek’s mom can’t help but be in a good mood as she drives the family to the hotel. Unfortunately, they never make it to the hotel. The episode ends with Ki-baek narrating the life lessons that his mom taught him on how to deal with hardships while PN sings. The scene cuts to Ki-baek’s family getting into an accident.

The Episode Review

This show is all over the place, and the script feels rushed. It seems the writers are trying too hard to give us random sub-plots for shock value. Most of the sub-stories are either poorly executed or unnecessary. The side characters are not well-developed and barely add anything to the show.

With two chapters left, we doubt Frankly Speaking will manage to pull itself out of its rut. The show started with a lot of promise but was messed up from episode 3. It is no surprise that the ratings are tanking. It is a pity because the cast is good, but the writing is a huge let-down.