There's something about that feeling when everything seems to be at stake. A turning point has been reached, but for what? As? Because? Frustratingly, part of the journey is figuring out and figuring out what to do once it becomes clear that something has to give. Based on episodes 1 and 2 of Like Flowers in Sand, our main characters, Kim Baek-Du (Jang Dong-Yoon) and the more mysterious Oh Yu-Gyeong (Lee Joo-Myoung) have entered this period of their lives. It'll just take them a little longer to figure it out in what will likely be a slow series.
Like Flowers in Sand, episodes 1 and 2 take their time developing their story. Like Geosan County, where the series takes place, things move slowly here. The source of excitement for the community revolves around ssireum (Korean wrestling), more specifically, the Geosan County Office Ssireum team and the drama within.
Stars: Jang Dong-yoon, Lee Joo-myung
For Baek-Du, in episode 1, he is about to retire. Coming from a long line of ssireum players and once considered a ssireum prodigy, Baek-Du has fallen far behind since his return from mandatory military service. Sensing the end of his career is approaching, Baek-Du drunkenly proclaims that he will retire if he does not win the next championship match.
While episode 1 of Like Flowers in Sand is as slow as molasses, a lot of work has gone into developing Baek-Du as a character. He is immature and not too smart. He's not the most elegant person either. At this point in his ssireum's career, he has become accustomed to the townspeople making fun of him. The only thing he has ever known is ssireum, and now that he has more than proven that he cannot reach its potential, what else is there left for him to do but quit? At the end of episode 1 of Like Flowers in Sand, it's hard not to empathize with him and his situation.
In the background of Like Flowers in Sand Episode 1-2 remains the mysterious arrival of Oh Yu-Gyeong. His arrival seems designed to disturb the general tranquility of Geosan County. In episode 1, she doesn't appear until halfway through the episode, but what we get a glimpse of implies that her face is hidden from view. It's not until the end of Episode 1 that she comes into focus. The symbolism behind the appearance of her face is easy to understand after the events of Episode 2.
Baek-Du, losing the championship match, spends most of Like Flowers in Sand episode 2 chasing Yu-Gyeong. Immediately recognizing her as her childhood friend, Oh Du-Sik, her excitement is palpable. Unfortunately, Yu-Gyeong spends most of the episode denying that she is Du-Sik, even when mounting evidence says otherwise. Her ability to throw men over her shoulder without problems in the ssireum ring is the main evidence of Baek-Du. If we add to this the anecdotal information that everyone remembers Du-Sik as ugly and Yu-Gyeong's habit of hiding her face with his umbrella, it seems pretty clear that she is the childhood friend he has been with. searching.
As the episode progresses, Baek-Du comes face to face with his father, Kim Tae-Baek (Choi Moon-Sung), who has since learned that he plans to retire. Refusing to accept this, Tae-Baek drags his son back to the ring and tells her to fight him one on one. Depending on how the fight goes, only then will Tae-Baek recognize that it's time for his son to retire. It is here that we experience what Baek-Du really feels about the ssireum and how the "what if?" It continues to linger in her mind. Since her father has little advice, this scene ends in a moment of hopelessness for the young man.
Like Flowers in Sand Episode 2 ends with Yu-Gyeong confronting Baek-Du in the ring about both her wrestling and her identity. At this point it becomes quite clear that she is Du-Sik, but she has adopted a different name for unexplained reasons. The arrival of a mysterious, well-dressed man (Yun Jong-Seok), who refers to Yu-Gyeong as "honey," is where the episode concludes.
Like Flowers in Sand, episodes 1 and 2 take their time off. Much of the focus is on fleshing out Baek-Du and developing the mystery surrounding Du-Sik/Yu-Gyeong. But that doesn't seem to be all the series will cover. A mysterious accident in episode 1 sets the stage for a subplot surrounding a criminal case. Baek-Du's friend Cho Seok-Hui (Lee Joo-Seung) is convinced something is up. Eventually, the series will likely pivot to solving that case for us. Since Geosan County is heavily rooted in ssireum, it seems likely that the crime is related to that.
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