Frankly Speaking – K-drama Episode 2 Recap & Review

The Shark in The Pool

Frankly Speaking episode 2 picks up where we left off, with Won-joo stopping Ki-baek from physically assaulting  PN. The scene then cuts to Ki-baek cooling off at a bathhouse. He is shocked by his actions and tries to understand why he lashed out, which is unlike him.

On the other hand, Won-joo talks to Chae-yoon, and they fear the cancellation of their programme. Won-joo has been apologising to everyone and trying to reach out to PN, but he is avoiding her. 

At the studio, Ki-baek is also avoiding his boss, Mr Kim. He tells Ji-hoo that he doesn’t know what got into him. He has been speaking his mind to his colleagues and refusing to do any work favours for them. Ji-hoo is worried and asks him to lay low and avoid causing more trouble. Ki-baek already has PN fans dying to get their hands on him. At the same time, Won-joo wants him to escort her and apologise to PN, but he refuses. He can no longer lie, so he is unable to make an earnest apology. He calls Won-joo out for allowing PN to terrorise the staff continuously.

As he can’t avoid Mr Kim forever, he finally musters the courage to meet with him. Mr Kim gives him a harsh scolding, and Ki-baek tries to block out Mr Kim’s words by singing songs in his head. Thankfully, this works, and he leaves without talking back. However, his problems still haunt him. The PN fans are on standby outside his office and home, forcing him to head to his parent’s house to avoid them.

Unfortunately, he finds no peace at his parent’s home. His parents and siblings are surprised to see him, and naturally, they have questions. It has been years since Ki-baek has been there. He usually sends money and avoids them. For most of his life, his family has been using him as an ATM card. Ki-baek tapes his mouth in an effort to ignore them, but they refuse to leave him alone. Ki-baek gets into it with his brother, and their mom steps in to calm the boys down. Out of anger and frustration, Ki-baek storms out. 

He gets a call from Won-joo asking to meet. They meet at the park, and a drunk Won-joo admits she is happy someone confronted PN. She also says she always felt sorry for her staff but was scared to do anything. She soon passes out, and Ki-baek calls the police to escort her home. 

The following day, Won-joo’s programme is officially axed. Jung-heon hears this when he stops by the studio. He seems concerned for Won-joo but we don’t know why. 

In the meantime, Mr Kim decides it is best for Ki-baek to take a break before hosting a small award show and calls him for a meeting. During the meeting, Ki-baek loses control, tells Mr Kim about his stinky feet, and asks what the point of a break is if he still has to work. Thankfully, Won-joo intervenes, and Ki-baek quickly apologises and leaves. Mr Kim is left stunned by the behavioural changes in Ki-baek and blames Won-joo’s show. 

Won-joo follows Ki-baek and asks if he visited the hospital after the electrocution. Ki-baek explains he has been unable to go because he might get recognised. Won-joo forces him to meet with a doctor and get some tests. Luckily, her blind date, whom we met in episode one, is a neurologist and is willing to see Ki-baek on short notice. 

After a tiring day, Ki-baek returns home and starts his break. He starts believing he is okay. Soon, the day for the award show arrives and Ki-baek happily gets ready. He is confident that he will do well and won’t speak his mind unprovoked. 

Meanwhile, Jung-heon turns down multiple offers to appear in different shows. He is only interested in working with Won-joo and wants information on her new show. Even though the chances of Won-joo getting another show are slim, Jung-heon chooses to wait. He asks his manager to look into Won-joo’s next project and update him. Unfortunately, Won-joo is having a hard time and the studio even moved her team out of their offices. They only managed to get a little working space next to the toilet. Nonetheless, Won-joo is hopeful that things will turn around. She prepares to attend the award show to network.

While there, she runs into Jung-heon, but she is curt with him. What is their deal? On the other hand, Ji-hoo is excited to meet Jung-heon and asks for a picture. Even though Ji-hoo is having a tough time with his sick daughter at the hospital, he is always cheerful. 

Finally, the award show starts and Ki-baek excitedly opens the show. However, things go awry when he is unable to keep his inner thoughts about the awardees to himself. He realises he is in a fix and tries to leave during the first break. Sadly, the producers and Won-joo insist he finishes the show. By the end of the show, everyone is surprised by Ki-baek’s remarks. The highlight comes when he is giving the last award to Lee Jeong-un for the Best Actor of the Year award. 

Ki-baek mentions Jeong-un’s past drug scandal and how it is similar to the role he played, which ultimately earned him this award. Ki-baek proclaims that Jeong-un is “the true drug king of our time.” Everyone is shocked as Jeong-hum walks to the podium to accept his award. Simultaneously, the confetti canon goes off on Ki-baek’s face, and he trips and falls. Jeong-un walks to Ki-baek and helps him stand up before pulling a Will-smith. He gives Ki-baek a knock-out so strong that the announcer starts hallucinating.

In his hallucination, he sees Mr. Kim helping before turning on him. He then sees his family, who ask him to continue lying so that they can keep using him for money. He starts imagining how people will react when they discover he is from a poor family. The scene cuts to Ki-baek at the bathhouse, and he sees a shark, which suddenly turns to Won-joo.

Next thing we know, Ki-baek wakes up in his house. He checks his phone and sees 44 notifications. He opens the notification from work and sees that he is being penalised for the antics he pulled at the award show. To add to his worries, the real owner of his house calls and asks him to move out immediately. He also gets a call from the doctor informing him that he suffers from disinhibition, which leads to emotional outbursts and behavioural changes.

During a leisurely walk around their neighbourhood, Won-joo expresses her concern for Ki-baek to Chae-yoon. While talking, they spot Jung-heon. Won-joo sends Chae-yoon and the kid they were with away, and Jung-heon tries to make small talk with her, but she sends him away. In a flashback, we learn that Jung-heon and Won-joo used to date when they were both rookies; he was an actor, and she was a writer. Unfortunately, they broke up due to some issues. Now, the main question is whether they had a child together. Who is the child Won-joo sent to his grandma?

We circle back to Ki-baek, who is taking a fishing trip with his best friend, Ji-hoo. Ji-hoo is curious about Ki-baek’s strange behaviours but says he will wait until his friend is ready to open up. Ki-baek offers to get them some drinks and excuses himself. While Ki-baek heads to the convenience store, Ji-hoo gets a call from the hospital about his daughter and quickly leaves. Meanwhile, Ki-baek takes a detour and climbs up a cliff to scream out his frustration. As he screams, he gets the attention of Won-joo, who is around, scouting the locations for her next show.

She misunderstands his actions and thinks he wants to kill himself. She hurriedly approaches and tries to dissuade him. Unfortunately, Ki-baek is confused by her sudden appearance, and they start bickering. As they bicker, Ki-baek keeps stepping back, and they fall off the cliff as she tries to save him.

At the end of the episode, there is an epilogue in which Ki-baek is seen talking to a boy while they are at the bathhouse. He explains that as one grows up, they become less afraid of the sharks their mother warned them about in the water. Instead, what truly scares them is the unpredictability and challenges of life.#

The Episode Review

Once again, Frankly Speaking delivers another funny chapter and keeps us entertained. The scene where Ki-baek messes up the award show and gets knocked out must have been inspired by the infamous Oscar moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock. 

We are not surprised that Jung-heon and Won-joo used to date. We saw that coming from the awkward moments they had in the first episode. What we are curious about is why they broke up and if they will get back together. We also cannot help but wonder if the kid belongs to Chae-yoon or Won-joo. Did she have a child with Jung-heon and kept it a secret to help his career? It is clear that Jung-eon still has feelings for Won-joo. Will he risk his career and openly pursue her?

I hope the show will give us closure with the PN situation. He needs to get his comeuppance, and his fans need to see who he really is. This is only the second episode so we hope they will add this somewhere along the show. While it might seem like Frankly Speaking has no complex storyline, it still offers a fun, light-hearted watch. This is the kind of show you watch after a long day and want to relax your mind.