Itaewon Class – K-Drama Episode 11 Recap & Review

Franchising

Itaewon Class returns this week and if anyone thought the show would slow down and fall into the usual slump some dramas do around this stage of the season – think again. From heartbreak and back-stabbings through to euphoric highs and devastating lows, Itaewon Class continues to run full-steam ahead as this week’s episode delivers another really good episode.

Episode 11 of Itaewon Class begins with DanBam being selected to be showcased on Best Pubs again and as Sae-Ro-Yi prepares for the visit, Geun-Soo decides to quit while he’s head. The words of Yi-Seo still hanging heavily over his decision, he pdecides to head back to Jangga and prove to his Father that he can take up the challenge of leading the company in the future.

Meanwhile, Soo-A visits Geun-Won in prison and tells him the Chairman sent her. As she hands him an envelope, it holds an agreement for a share transfer; the Chairman wants him to transfer his shares back to his Father, essentially blocking him out the company.

While he laughs bitterly, Geun-Soo heads back to the company and stakes his claim, telling the Chairman that he should be the one to take over the company after him. As Soo-A returns, she sees firsthand the plan to shift the focus across to Geun-Soo, who he promises to take under his wing and train him up to take over the company.

Hyun-Yi returns from her surgery back to DanBam and the group admire his new looks, with Yi-Seo commenting how pretty she looks compared to her. That evening, Tony Kim messes up her dish in the kitchen, accidentally putting curry powder in the mussels. Realizing it actually tastes really good, the group decide to use this as their entry in the Best Pub competition. This unique dish wins them the coveted title too and the first round goes to them, beating out Jangga who finish in second place.

After reveling in the glory from this big win, Jung-Myeong from JM Holdings arrives, interested in franchising the pub. As things look up for DanBam, on the other side of the spectrum things inevitably don’t sit well with the Chairman, who immediately confronts his son over the competition. He berates him as an unworthy replacement after he suggests second place isn’t bad and tells him to leave.

Meanwhile, Sae-Ro-Yi and the others decide to start franchising but as they sit and discuss the best way of doing things, Yi-Seo contemplates whether they should use JM Holdings to help them. With this weighing heavily over him, Sae-Ro-Yi heads off and starts putting up posters around town. With a visa application form for Tony Kim, Sae-Ro-Yi puts his energy and attention into trying to find his Father.

Unfortunately the police arrive with the flyers and tell him he’ll be fined 100,000 won for illegally putting them up. Although he’s forced to take them down, it’s enough for the old lady to recognize the man in the photo and leave DanBam in shock.

Sae-Ro-Yi decides to meet JM Holdings with Min-Jung surrounding the franchising of DanBam. After some flattery, Sae-Ro-Yi dives right in and tells him he thinks the pub is worth 5 billion won. It’s a bold statement and something that he clearly believes in. It’s enough to cause a windfall of other investors to join together after he agrees, in total giving them 10 billion won worth of investment to play with.

Meanwhile, Tony Kim finds out the truth about his Father, realizing that actually his family lives closer than he first thought. It turns out Dong-Gil, his Father, is actually the son to the mean landlady from the previous episodes. This means she’s actually Tony Kim’s grandmother! She holds Tony’s hand and apologises as the emotional family reunion brings about some good news – he’ll now be able to get his visa.

At Best Pub, Geun-Soo greets Hyun-Yi and admires his new looks. The next round of Best Pub begins soon after and DanBam win that round too, once again proving Jangga are second best right now.

Afterward, Geun-Soo talks to the chef and tells him exactly what the Chairman said to him – if second place is good enough for him then it’s not good enough for Jangga and he will need to leave. Soo-A congratulates him for his ruthlessness, believing it’s enough to kick the chef into high-gear, and as he heads outside, they bump into Sae-Ro-Yi and Yi-Seo. Soo-A and Sae-Ro-Yi immediately head off as the duo are left to discuss their future.

Afterward, they all head out for drinks together and the group play truth or dare with a stray bottle. Geun-Soo takes the initiative during the round and asks Yi-Seo whether she remembers what she said earlier in the series. She does, but things turn awkward. Next up is Sae-Ro-Yi who admits he’s never kissed anyone (beyond Yi-Seo kissing him while he was passed out of course!)

Seung-Kwon then asks him outright what’s going on with Soo-A and he admits to liking her – right infront of an uncomfortable Yi-Seo. Geun-Soo then steers the conversation and asks whether he has feelings for Yi-Seo. After a long pause he admits he doesn’t, going on to tell them she’s his partner and friend, nothing more.

It’s a massive blow for her and she begins to cry, prompting her to suddenly head off as the others notice her tears. Thanks to Geun-Soo’s questions, Sae-Ro-Yi charges after Yi-Seo who tells him she’s going for Plan B instead. She looks him right in the eye and outright tells him she’s in love with him.

She goes on to tell him she lied to Geun-Soo and gave him false hope as a way of helping Sae-Ro-Yi with the franchising of DanBam. She promises not to act like this again but Sae-Ro-Yi bluntly tells her he’s 10 years older and as they stare at each other, Sae-Ro-Yi tells her not to like him as snow falls from the sky.

Hurt and upset by this, she heads off alone and weeps as she thinks over her memories of Sae-Ro-Yi during their time together.

What a heartbreaking ending for Yi-Seo. It’s hard not to feel sorry for her and hearing Sae-Ro-Yi outright admit to liking Soo-A while she sits down at the table barely batting an eyelid to his words, is tough to take. Soo-A is not a very likable character and although Yi-Seo and Sae-Ro-Yi lack any sort of romantic spark, it’s still hard to see her heartbroken like this.

Next episode should be very interesting though, especially given the preview we receive. It looks like Sae-Ro-Yi is going hell for leather to take out the Chairman but at what cost? The show has done a wonderful job combining these character elements with a restaurant-centric storyline that easily eclipses that of JTBC’s previous effort Chocolate.

Don’t get me wrong, Chocolate is a wonderful Korean drama with a very good soundtrack but compared to that, Itaewon Class feels a lot more lively and energetic.

All eyes turn to tomorrow’s episode now and with only a few weeks left, we’re gearing up for the final fight and that will almost certainly be a must-watch episode!