Currently Watching: Let's Eat 2

Currently Watching:
Let's Eat 2

I know it’s a little weird to write a CW article about the 2nd season of a drama, but I think the two seasons can be watched separately because - except the main actor - every character has been changed. If you haven’t watched the first season, I recommend you watch it (but you can also read this article, it will hopefully arouse your interest in the first season! But if you are more interested in the second one, I think you can also start with this - you’ll understand everything perfectly. I’ll try not to say any spoiler from the first season, but some things are obvious when you watch a drama and can’t be seen as spoilers. (eg.: The main characters in a rom-com always end up together). 

When I first saw there will be a drama about food and eating, it really awakened my interest and after I saw the main actor was Doo Joon from B2ST, I became even more interested. My best friend is a big fan of them and at that time I really didn’t like their music (I’m sure that this changed because of this drama, because I started to like Doo Joon for his acting and after watching their variety I slowly became a “fan”…ohh I don’t like to admit that XD). After this drama, I realized how good an actor he is and how many things I haven’t known about Korean cuisine. This show is the No.1. in all my drama lists! I hope you’ll have a great time with it. So, can we start? :D

First, let’s talk a little about the style of this show. This drama is almost literary a Mukbang and I’ll be telling you now what that means. Mukbang is a kind of popular internet show where people (mostly young, pretty girls) broadcast live how they eat tons of food while interacting with their audience. These shows have become popular in the last few years and people earn a lot of money with them. If you want to, you can read more about it on the internet. It was a hot topic about 2 years ago. (You can also hear about it in Surplus Princess and Valid Love). Before watching this drama, I never thought watching handsome men eat can be so sexy and satisfying! (I also really like to eat, too!) In terms of the story, you will see a lot of unnecessary parts where the characters eat their food in close-ups but I think after the 2nd or 3rd time, you’ll realize how weirdly awesome that is. Especially the girls, don’t say this is not hot?!

Another thing, this drama is definitely a typical romantic comedy but aside from the eating parts (which I’ve already told you about), it has another twist. It also has a thriller story line. From the very first episode, (in both seasons) we have a faceless bad guy who commits crimes and in the end of almost every episode we see him doing something around our characters. It is kind of creepy! 

And the last thing I found interesting was that for the 2nd season they started to raise relevant issues about the modern society - especially in the aspect of South Korea. They speak a lot about the judgment of women, e.g. how important looks, money, and education are in marriage nowadays. Women shouldn’t be judged by their outfit. These parts seem a little over-explained but I think it’s very important for everyone to speak and hear about it. The OST is still perfect although I prefer the previous season’s opening song which was a rap about food. Now we get Kang Nam’s (MIB) food-related love song - which is also a good one, though. I hope this time we get an OST from B2ST or Doo Joon which was my only critic last time. Phew, it was long, sorry ^^” So let’s take a look at the story and the characters now.

Goo Dae Yeong, played by Yoon Doo Joon:

Unlike the previous season, this time our main character is Goo Dae Yeong and not the female lead. If you’ve already seen the first season, you won’t be surprised. Doo Joon’s character is still the same: funny, carefree, flirty, a little annoying but a lovely, openhearted foodie who is committed to his work. Our story starts when Goo Dae Yeong is moving back to his hometown after his life hits rock bottom. 

Within a scene with the characters of the previous season, we hear that he was sued by a restaurant owner, he started losing clients at his insurance company and even his girlfriend has broke up with him. That’s why he thinks he has to run away from Seoul to Sejong for the time being. After he finds a good and cheap apartment, he starts his new life with his new neighbor friends and past schoolmates. Doo Joon is a surprisingly awesome actor. I haven’t seen his previous roles but playing the childish, funny, naughty but responsible neighbor guy is just for him. In the first season we get used to his specific scenes. If someone says anything stupid or wrong related to food, the camera gets up close to him saying: “What?”, then he starts his short but very fast speech to teach the listeners. It is really funny and of course we can see this in this season, too.

Baek Soo Ji played by Seo Hyun Jin:

The young writer, Dae Yeong’s same floor neighbor, is our female lead. In her childhood, she was bullied a lot for her weight and it caused her to become a hikikomori (a person who doesn’t leave his house). In her 30’s she exercises and diets a lot because she thinks her life is a disaster and will only change if she gets married. She is very lovely, bright, and has an irresistible love for food - although her love for her boss, the government officer Lee Sang Woo, is bigger.

That’s when Goo Dae Yeong comes and promises her to make Sang Woo her fiancé. First, the two neighbors don’t get along well, but their friendship starts to develop imperceptibly. I can’t really say anything about the actress. She is lovely and this drama probably won’t be the most important one in her career but I think it could be a fun experience.

Lee Sang Woo played by Kwon Yool:

Sang Woo is the very handsome government officer, the boss of Soo Ji. He is a charmingly normal guy who is not incredibly hard-working but always tries to act according to his status. The officer is a rich but very lonely guy who lives in a huge apartment with his only roommate, the automatic vacuum cleaner, and he is really sick of the small town he has to work in. 

Until he meets with Dae Yeong, he can’t even remember his employee’s Soo Ji’s name but the two boys' friendship opens up the path for the girl. I haven’t seen this actor, Kwon Yool, yet but he is very handsome and that typical "boyfriend material" guy. His acting is daebak but I don’t want to say any spoilers - he has more to show than what you’ll think at first! :D

At last, I should say a word about the supporting roles. The apartment where our drama takes place has 2 other people. The first one is the cute and typical grandmother, Lee Jum Yi, who lives alone and really loves to take care of and cook for her young neighbors. 

And the other one is the apartment owner Kim Mi Ran (Hwang Seok Jeong): a greedy ajumma who tries to give her family a normal life. 

I should also mention Im Taek Soo (Kim Hee Won) who is Dae Yeong’s hometown “best friend”. I used quotation marks because they are more like in a love-hate relationship. 

Taek Soo is the typical middle-class working guy in dramas (very similar to his Misaeng character). He loves women and drinking and he always causes problems while being drunk. In fact, from the very first moment he appears we can feel he is somehow different from what he shows and in his heart he is sad and desperate. Also, I can’t forget to mention the dog named “dog” in English who is as cute as the previous season’s Bara-ssi.

To sum up, I think this drama is very unique, new and refreshing. Even if the story line has some serious parts, the comedy is more important than the romance. The love line is very lovely and fun, the jokes are sometimes lame (in a good way!) and it has some toilet-humor, cursing, and sexual/naked jokes. If you don’t try to take this drama seriously, you will have a great time! You will learn a lot about Korean food and I guarantee you’ll always have to eat something while watching it. Maybe you will turn out like me and become a foodie who wants to travel the world and try out every nation's food! 

Thank you for reading, Keep Calm and Let’s Eat!