Thanks for tuning in to Split Screen! I’m your intro host Madelyn, and I’m ready for some s#!t to go down. Will Jun-pyo marry Jae-kyung? Will Deku lose his friends to a human capsule machine? Will Emma and I say something funny? All of these questions and more, answered in this week’s Split Screen!
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Boys Over Flowers Episode 22 (up to minute 33)
M: This episode was such a breath of fresh air.
E: Yes, but I was also frustrated with how unearned it all felt.
M: Jae-kyung has been completely inconsistent from the very beginning, so I appreciate that the writers at least let her go out with her head held high.
E: Here’s my suggested edit that would have frustrated me less. So, instead of Jae-kyung raising the initial objection to the wedding, have Jun-pyo do it. And then, when his mom is yelling at him, have Jae-kyung speak up and also voice her objection. She gets the hero moment, but Jun-pyo also gets to stand up for himself.
M: That would be a lot more satisfying character development-wise, but I worry it would introduce plot complications that maybe the show doesn’t want.
E: Have her have the same spiel afterwards. With asking her parents not to blame Shinhwa Group and saying she’s not ready for marriage yet, etc. Just have Jun-pyo do something. Anything.
M: Jan-di also did absolutely nothing.
E: I know, I do know that. This was just a situation so set up for Jun-pyo to take an action, and then it’s just completely done for him. It’s more immediately noticeable than Jan-di’s consistent inaction, you know?
M: I think they’re saving it. Jae-kyung defies the parents here so that Jun-pyo has to choose to throw it all away for Jan-di in a couple episodes.
E: You’re right, it is only episode 22. I was mentioning that during a happy montage of breakfast that I wished this was the end of episode 25 instead.
I love: Them
M: In the same way as if you accept that Jan-di loves swimming, you can understand how the shoulder injury arc functioned, I think if you accept that for some mysterious reason Jae-kyung really loves Jun-pyo, her calling off the wedding for him tracks.
E: I just wish the writing was strong enough that it wasn’t just something I “had to accept” but something I had seen and understood over the course of the show.
M: I really thought they were setting up a loser’s romance between her and Ji-hoo.
E: I do think that she’s meant to be a parallel or reflection of Ji-hoo, I think we’ve talked about this before. Although, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, Ji-hoo is a stronger character overall.
M: Ji-hoo has had three times the episodes, so it’s not quite a level playing field. She didn’t get nearly as many mournful instrumental solos in the woods.
E: In their little loser chat at the horse ranch, Jae-kyung brought up the “friendship or love” question again. So, I feel like both of their arcs are leading towards choosing that friendship over love, essentially. I don’t know if I completely agree with the message of like “be greedy and things will work out for you”, but I think that’s what they’re going for.
M: You only don’t believe that because our patriarchal society has taught women to be scared of asking for it all. Anyway, leaning in aside, how are they going to find a satisfying conclusion for Ji-hoo? What is a happy ending for his story at this point?
Let him live free among the horses where he belongs
E: Living a nice life with his granddad, ideally finding some kind of dream he can pursue.
M: I wish they would stop with these romantic flashbacks of him and Jan-di. I get it already, okay, he’s not over it.
E: At least he did give the necklace back instead of adding it to his Jan-di pile.
M: He’s like a raven. He likes shiny things.
E: I was thinking more of a dragon’s horde.
M: Speaking of happy endings: what happened in the Yi-jung flashback? I didn’t fully understand what the favor the potter asked for was.
E: I thought the favor was meeting her on Valentine’s Day, and he didn’t get to that part of the story yet.
M: They’re really dragging this one little anecdote out.
E: Good Ga-eul content though.
M: I sort of knew that Ga-eul was a bridesmaid, but it was still shocking for her to one, appear, and two, object even though it could cost her her life.
E: Ga-eul is next on the Drag Into an Elevator list.
M: I don’t know why Mama Gu thought that wouldl work. It’s backfired every time.
E: I guess it’s just the way she knows how to do things. If there’s one thing I hope the show can still give me, it’s making me understand Mama Gu a bit more. I feel like, since Jun-pyo is going to have to defy her in some way, now’s the time to make her a little more three-dimensional.
“This is like the seventh time this has happened to me, no need to worry.”
M: Maybe she fell in love with a commoner who used her for her money.
E: Ugh.
M: Or maybe she’s from a poor background and resents it. Wouldn’t that be an incredible revelation?
E: It would certainly be way more interesting than the first suggestion.
M: Maybe she’s a lesbian!
E: I really did think that unnie was a lesbian for like ten minutes in that one episode.
M: Maybe she’s been having an affair with Butler Lee and Manager Jung for years!
E: Okay, let’s move on please.
M: What a relief for Jan-di and Jun-pyo to be able to smile at each other.
E: Even though they haven’t really earned it, but the scene with the telescope was very cute.
M: It was so frickin’ slick. Jun-pyo: “my dad wanted me to watch stars wit him, but he lied, so now I’ll never break a promise. By the way, I promise to love you.” So slick.
E: I did think that was a nice way to wrap up how his initial motivation for sticking with Shinhwa group was because it was what his father wanted from him.
M: The music had me scared.
“Remember when I told you I was a cage around your moon or whatever, ha ha, good times.”
E: It wasn’t the sad music, it was the contemplative music.
M: Right as he went in for the kiss, with that freaky eye close up and dissonant chord. I thought it was the end.
E: You’re right, I really hated that eye close-up. For a show that can sometimes have like decently nice shot composition, sometimes I just don’t get the decisions.
M: Sometimes the guy who edited the car chase scene gets a turn on Final Cut.
E: “Mom said it’s my turn to play with the Final Cut”
M: It was a nice touch that there were awkward edible arrangements everywhere and tacky flower petals on the bed. Jae-kyung needs to get out more.
E: That is the one character trait that was established for her, yes.
M: Good for her for going to New York and living for herself!
E: All in all, it was a decent goodbye to Jae-kyung, probably the best that could have been expected for her character.
M: It’s time for Romance Tracker, which is really Endgame Tracker at this point.
Bye bye, Jae-kyung, you were there
E: All I know is that the fact that we’re only on episode 22 is giving me a lot of stress.
M: So is the very last still frame we saw. Jae-kyung takes off, everybody had that happy breakfast, SHINWA AND JK GROUP MERGER MIGHT NOT HAPPEN.
E: Yeah, I think the last few episodes will be either Jan-di somehow wins Mama Gu’s approval or Jun-pyo cuts ties entirely and starts his own company.
M: That would be dope. They could start a street meat stand together.
E: That’s the ending I would prefer, but I have a feeling it’s the former.
M: Do you think Jan-di’s family is in peril?
E: Aren’t they always?
M: Yes, but outside peril.
E: I just want a happy ending for Kang-san, and then I will cry like Ga-eul.
M: They won’t end it with a wedding, will they?
E: Maybe a flash forward? That doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility.
M: If they flashforward, I want the quadruple wedding to include Woo-bin and some girl we have never met before.
E: When Woo-bin walked in on them having a footbath and was like “look at the happy couple,” I felt that.
M: His groomsman suit was bold.
E: If nothing else, Woo-bin will always be the most stylish.
M: My non-romantic prediction, sadly, is that we’ll never get the Manager Jung/Chen romance we deserve.
E: I just want Manager Jung to be happy and escape the iron claw of Mama Gu.
M: He deserves so much better.
My Hero Academia S3E7: “What a Twist!”
E: WHAT A TWIST!!!!!! Okay, no, honestly, like, I wasn’t even particularly shocked by anything here the first time I watched it.
M: There were some mini twists. The kids stole the kid marbles, just kidding, the kid marbles are actually in his mouth, and then rainbow blast! But it didn’t actually change anything.
E: Well, they did get Tokoyami back which is probably a good thing. He’d be more dangerous in the villain’s hands, because they could just lock him in a dark room and he’d level the city.
M: Yes, he would have given in to the darkness.
E:
Kingdom Hearts (2002-??) pic.twitter.com/jVqRIJDHq3
— Sofi @ aerith’s no.1 fan (@chirithies) June 17, 2019
M: You don’t want to introduce Kingdom Hearts here.
E: Oh god, wait, I take it back, please don’t say the A-word
M: Everyone please listen to my treatise on why Kirishima’s arc is literally the same as Axel’s. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
E: Let’s not skip to the end of the episode at least. You can lecture us later.
M: I like Mr…it’s not Sinister.
E: Compress. As in, he compresses things and makes them smaller.
M: This time I was thinking Confuse, so much closer.
E: He is very performative. Probably someone you might have known in acting school.
M: No one I knew turned my friends into marbles and then sucked on them.
“N-No way…! That’s so gross, dude! I know you’re a villian, but come on!” -the rest of the line
E: I’m just impressed that when Deku and the rest literally body slammed him into the ground that he didn’t swallow them accidentally.
M: He’s a professional, Emma. This is his job. He’s not a trained ape.
E: Also, just want to point out that not only did Todoroki’s ice attack not work, but it also gave Mr. Compress the opportunity to make decoys and fool them into thinking they had rescued their friends.
M: It was the one wrong time to use the ice blast, I’ve already acknowledged this.
E: So yes, in the end, they save Tokoyami thanks to Aoyama’s belly blast, but Dabi snags Bakugo from Todoroki.
M: Were you afraid of this happening to you in Japan? Someone body-slamming you and stealing your capsules?
E: No, no, can’t say I was.
M: Well, your complete lack of consideration for risk makes you an excellent candidate for UA faculty!
E: They are all getting called out like they rightfully deserve.
M: Honestly, I’m Team Shigaraki on this one. UA needs reform. He’s just the whistleblower.
And by “whistleblower,” we actually mean “kid beat up-er.”
E: I really do like how they break down how everything has piled on each other in a mountain of mistakes. Like, they shouldn’t have held the sports festival after the villain attack, because that led to them getting their eyes on Bakugo, which led to this attack. And also, apparently, there’s a leak.
M: I’m not quite sure where they’re getting that. The villains said that what gave it away was the firewall or whatever. Didn’t someone say, “it’s not that hard to find you when there’s this crazy protection around” last episode?
E: I don’t have any recollection of that.
M: It could still be a leak, or the VAS could have just tracked every charter bus in Tokyo until they found the right one.
E: Okay, here’s the issue. So, at the beginning of this season, they changed the location last minute from what it was originally planned to be, in order to throw off anyone who might be coming after them. You’ve said and we’ve noticed that there’s not a lot of protection there to not draw attention to that spot. And then Present Mic confirmed this episode that the only ones who knew the new location were the teachers and the Pussycats. And the students, once they arrived there. Hence, where did they get this information?
M: I really thought someone mentioned it, but I’ll let it go.
E: Editor Emma will check it out for you when we edit this. (EDITOR EMMA: I didn’t see anything last episode at least but I didn’t check anything before then.)
Unless she meant Dabi’s speech from the beginning of this episode? But that was more metaphorical
M: Why were the kids allowed to have cell phones? Seems like a huge liability. Probably the leak came from some idiot posting on Twitter.
E: You can’t just take away kids’ cell phones in this day and age.
M: Would have solved that moment where Deku’s had to get ruined.
E: Fair enough.
M: I also still think it was dumb for the teachers to not let everyone fight, unless they knew that the warp villain was there.
E: Well, Dabi told Eraserhead (or one of the fake Dabis technically) outright that they were not there for the pro heroes. So, if they’re there to capture students, don’t you want to make sure they’re in a central location with somebody watching them?
M: I guess. Maybe somewhere more hidden or safer though.
E: So, I actually have a localization corner that’s going to be recurring for a few episodes. When this dub was airing, it was still on the same day as the sub came out, so I’m assuming they had no way of knowing the original track was going to do this. But Deku is going to flash back a lot to when Bakugo was taken in the next few episodes, and the way Bakugo’s voice actor reads the “Stay back, Deku” line changes each time. Which the dub does not capture. So check back here whenever that happens to know the differences.
M: That’s so weird.
E: I actually really like it as a use of flashback, because Deku was like totally running on adrenaline, so it makes sense that his memory of that moment is not particularly clear or consistent. It’s a nice touch that makes the flashbacks feel necessary to the storytelling.
One time he says “Peace out, Deku, cowabunga.”
M: No, I dig it. For a show that’s so flashback-heavy a lot of the time, it’s a nice touch. But it does reveal that I know nothing about how the production of the voice acting works for these shows.
E: I imagine the translators just got scripts, saw that this was a flashback, and figured that the actor could just record it the once. It probably wasn’t noted that the line read should change. If I had to hazard a guess.
M: But how did the first guy know to change it in Japanese?
E: Probably because the show’s director was with him?
M: Don’t the English actors have a director?
E: Yes, but the voice director in English is not the one making the show.
M: Intriguing. Well, poor Bakugo.
E: He’s all chained up in a chair.
M: And poor Deku, emerging from his seizure filled semi-coma to a room of ALL HIS CLASSMATES. Who let this happen?
E: Poor Deku’s mom.
M: Why did all these germy kids get to see him before his own mother?
E: Good question. They did bring him a melon.
I’m glad they refrained from having Mineta make a melon joke
M: There are no competent administrators in this world, but the fancy melon makes up for it, story-wise.
E: And then we reach the end of the episode where Kirishima wants to go save his friend with the help of sulky boy and friendship boy.
M: Not a familiar storyline for us at all. We also saw All-Might with his shady police friend again.
E: Hey, the cat did some fine policework at least. The fact that the villains are so distinctive looking is working against them.
M: The cat should be running U.A. Case closed.
E: The rat will be eaten by the cat and control will pass over.
M: I wish.
E: So, with all this going down, you ready for next week’s episode title?
M: Heck no! I want Lawsuit Watch!
E: Oh right, I almost forgot about Lawsuit Watch because it’s just Bakugo’s family. They win the lawsuit.
M: Literally all the families, plus a bunch of Freedom of Information Act media suits.
E: I wonder if there will be some breach of contract from the wedding getting called off?
M: That’s exactly what I was thinking.
E: But it still goes to U.A. Ultimate Attorney please.
M: I hope they have someone on their team whose quirk is “good at lawyering.”
E: Phoenix Wright is the only man for the job.
M: Now I’m ready for the title.
E: Okay. Season 3 Episode 8 is called “From Iida to Midoriya.”
M: That could mean so many different things. Calf size?
E: It’s a good title. And no.
M: Like a measure of biggest to smallest calves?
E: No.
M: Well, won’t predict that then. Prediction one: the girls still do nothing of use.
E: Hey, Momo was useful.
M: Yes, Momo was literally the only one. And she’s gonna be sidelined for this mission because she’s hurt.
E: 
M: Someone needs to interrogate UA’s sexism. How dare All-Might turn this traumatic experience into a teaching moment for Momo.
E: He doesn’t know how to be a teacher, Madelyn, he’s trying.
M: Prediction two: the kids plan a secret sneak attack, but while they’re coming up on the bar, they run into All-Might executing a secret sneak attack of his own.
E: 
M: Prediction three: All the kids have to give testimony about whether UA is a good school. Starting with Iida, ending with Midoriya.
E: 
—–> 
M: Prediction four: Bakugo actually bonds with the villains, but it’s all a ruse, he’s got a plan.
E: 
M: And prediction five: we forget all about that dead Pussycat, who is never heard from again.
E: 
–
Hey everyone! As always, thanks for joining us on the Split Screen journey. If you want to watch along with us, we’re watching the My Hero Academia dub on Hulu and Boys Over Flowers on Netflix.
Next time! Iida’s got a special message for Midoriya, and it’s not about calf size. And we see the fallout from the cancelled marriage on Boys Over Flowers.