Welcome back to Split Screen! Emma and I are having a great time with this new blog series, our little Off-Topic Corner weekly watch party! Join us as we make our way through k-drama-rom-com-craziness in Boys Over Flowers and anime-superhero-adolescent-angst-education in My Hero Academia. In our inaugural edition last week, a lot went down, from chloroform to broken limbs to test anxiety. Grab a seat on the couch, curl up under a blanket, and grab your favorite TV snack; it’s time to watch what unfolds next!
Boys Over Flowers Episode 2 (2/2, from minute 36)
Just take the headband off!
M; We pick up this week in the second half of our episode, after the whole kidnapping makeover and the scandalous pregnancy rumors which, by the way, were not addressed at all today. What a disappointing Chekhov’s pregnancy. Either it will be an unexpected twist in a few weeks, or it’s just lazy writing.
E: I honestly don’t know if they’re come back to it. They introduced so many new things in this half-episode, it seems like it’s on the less-important side of the spectrum.
M: Even though we broke it up into two parts for Split Screen, we have to remember all of this happened in one episode, which is wild.
E: We kicked off this episode with the lively story of Ji-hoo’s tragic past which includes dead parents, a girl who is like a mother, like a lover, like a pancake, and the development of some autistic tendencies. We kept having technical issues, so we heard this spiel from F2 minor like three times.
M; That whole voiceover was a hot mess of bizarre and vaguely (or not so vaguely) offensive content. It just kept getting worse and worse. I hope it’s just a translation issue, but somehow I doubt it. After seeing Jun-pyo and Jan-di yelling at each other, I’ve decided they’re Lizzy and Darcy in an updated, Korean Pride and Prejudice. Plus some broken noses, of course.
E: Pride & Prejudice with less wittiness and more shrieking.
M: What are the odds you actually would have gotten a broken nose from that wussy throw?
E: There is no dang way that throw would have even hurt. They showed a little montage of the dodgeball game, and everybody was throwing with literally no force behind it. They were just like, dropping it forward. That particular throw got put in slow motion which made it seem wussier than it might have been, but still. No bloody nose from that. The make-up or special effects for the nosebleed was good though, it looked pretty real.
Not pictured: assault by handkerchief
M: You were critical Jun-pyo’s decision to throw a handkerchief at her, but that’s exactly what I do when I get a nosebleed. I just shove endless tissues in my nose. From my perspective, it was a kind gesture.
E: But he wasn’t shoving it up her nose, he was just hitting her in the face with a handkerchief.
M: And then, because enough hasn’t happened already, we fast forward a month to Shinwa Academy’s school field trip, which costs $20,000. I kind of lost the thread at this point; what happens next, Emma?
E: Jan-di couldn’t afford the trip, so she ended up going fishing with her co-worker. The female one, not the oddly eccentric manager.
M: Fishing in the winter sounds like a real fun time.
E: However, since Jun-pyo was only going on the trip to see Jan-di, as soon as he found out she was headed elsewhere, he literally changed the destination of the trip. Because this guy is not aware enough to realize that poor Jan-di might not be able to go on a $20,000 cruise and not self-aware enough to know it’s creepy for you and your 40 friends to stalk a girl.
M: One, how did he know where she was, and two, weren’t they on an airplane and then suddenly they were on a cruise ship?
E: Rich people are rich. And spend money. On things. Like spies. And planes that can turn into boats.
M: That seems like solid reasoning. At this point in the episode, naval warfare almost breaks out. It literally looks like F4 is going to run Jan-di’s tiny boat over with their cruise ship. I hope this school has good liability insurance.
E: I feel like that’s a sentiment that you readers are going to be hearing from us every episode. And this episode isn’t even over yet! First, we’ve got to have that classic “wears-a-costume-to-a-normal-party” chick flick scenario as Jan-di messes up at Ji-hoo’s model mother-lover-pancake’s welcome back party. Because, oh yeah, she’s there for some reason.
You know, not a terrible costume
M: I called that it was going to be a Legally Blonde situation before it happened. I just want it on the record that I called it. It’s a classic rom-com gambit, but it never makes sense to me. I mean, it made sense in Legally Blonde, because Elle Woods does seem like the type of person who might just show up to a party in a Playboy Bunny costume, but for most people, it seems like a really obvious (and obviously cruel) prank. It’s obviously a losing maneuver here.
E: I find it hard to believe that Jan-di would take the word of three girls who are not shy about hating her over both Jun-pyo and Ji-hoo not mentioning it.
M: These three girls are so stupid. They reveal themselves as the prankers! If no one found out who was responsible, it would still be embarrassing but Jan-di, but now it’s obviously they’re mean.
E: Sure, but they’re F4 fangirls, and they do crueler and more obvious things all the time. They could have been trying to be cruel to show off to them.
M: F4 literally invited her.
E: The peanut gallery didn’t.
M: “Oooh, looks like things are going to get interesting!”- The Peanut Gallery
E: It doesn’t work out for them very well though because model lady (Seo-hyun) and Ji-hoo come to her rescue. And then Jan-di gets her second makeover of the episode, but it’s safe and consensual this time.
Always ask permission before dressing someone up
M: Plus another pivotal moment with shoes. What was the quote?
E: Good shoes will take you good places.
M: I found it weird that Ji-hoo had been talking to his mother/lover about Jan-di, but I guess the time jump makes it semi-plausible? In other news, his wig remains really bad. Speaking of things that are really bad, how about that “next on” montage?
E: The “next-on” didn’t seem to be tied together by any logical thread. I have no idea how you get from the ship to drunk Jan-di to forehead kissing. But there was stuff on episode 1’s “next-on” which did not turn up in the episode. So, I have a feeling they don’t just show the next episode in these previews. But, before we move on to predictions, any reflections on this whole episode?
M: There was a full season’s worth of TV in this one episode. I did appreciate the parallel makeovers. That was a nice touch. I did not get enough of F2minor.
E: Me, I appreciated the classic inner reflection shower scene featuring Jun-pyo in crisis with soulful k-pop in the background. This show had been lacking in this regard previously.
*soulful k-pop plays*
M: How did we not talk about all the music montages? There were like three in fifteen minutes!
E: And this only the second episode. Reminding us about things that happened in the first episode. This show is gonna get weird.
M: So I guess that brings us to this week’s Romance Predictor. The “next on” clips, as we’ve said, were no help, so these are our pure, unspoiled predictions.
E: I think (and hear me out all the way through) that Ji-hoo and Jan-di will date for awhile, but he’ll somehow end up in a coma. Then, after an episode of sad shower scenes, we’ll have a time jump and Ji-hoo will wake up to find Jan-di married to eccentric manager guy with a baby on the way. But then, he’ll really wake up, and it’ll turn out the whole series was a dream.
M: That’s deep. I can’t match that. I have two ideas, is that fine?
E: No problem.
M: The first one, which I mentioned earlier is that this is literally Pride and Prejudice. It’s a little obvious, so I’d be kind of disappointed if this comes true. Anyway, Jan-di will date Ji-hoo for awhile, but it doesn’t work out since he wants to tour with his music. He’s her Mr. Wickham. Wait, better idea, he’s the one who got the girl pregnant! And then she starts dating Jun-pyo after her rescues her from a sea monster or something.
Other better prediction- Jan-di is too good for any member F4. But she’s not too good for the model lady! They’d be a lesbian power couple.
Dark horse romantic lead
E: Ah yes, the classic last-minute lesbians plot.
M: Make one more big prediction, non-romance related.
E: Sorry, I predicted a coma? Is that not big and non-romance-related enough for you? Whatever. Okay, I predict somebody will fall off the boat and almost drown in the next episode.
M: Ji-hoo will try to make pancakes and mess it up again.
My Hero Academia Episode 5: What I Can Do For Now
“Ex-squeeze me?”
M: Okay, so I have a lot of strong feelings about this episode. The whole “homeroom teacher can kick out whoever they want” thing is total BS. The school year has already started, how would they enroll in another high school?
E: There’s this thing called transferring.
M: But not if you’re literally expelled
E: If you just transferred to a normal high school, expulsion (or even flunking out) from a hero school probably wouldn’t affect anything as long as it wasn’t disciplinary.
M: Okay, fine. But why does this one dude get to overrule the entire admissions committee?
E: Uh, well. Does he?
M: You’re dodging the question. My point being, this would really throw a huge wrench into the school’s internal politics. I mean, what a big middle finger to the admissions committee, to kick out the number seven guy out of like eighty. Top ten percent. Seriously?
Madelyn’s reaction to this whole situation
E: Okay, but I agree that the test is stupid, even though I argued with you about it testing “ability to act under pressure” last blog post. I’m just the resident devil’s advocate. My issue with it, though, is that it’s so extremely situational and so biased towards physical quirks.
M: His whole first day of school test was biased toward physical quirks too.
E: He’s responding to the entrance exam though. It seems as if the majority of his students have some sort of physical or, at least, active type of quirk. At this stage, what’s the point of giving them a different kind of test? Although, and I’m sure we’ll discuss this another time, I’m not sure how some of these kids got through with the quirks they have.
M: Well, we didn’t watch them take the written exam. Maybe there’s some way to make up the points with other, non-physical quirks there.
E: Well, I agree with what you said during the episode, that school is where Izuku should learn to control his quirk. But Aizawa’s also right in saying that Izuku would have been useless if he’d done what he did in a real situation. He’d have taken out one target but been surrounded by many others and somebody would have had to rescue him.
M: Great, sure! Hey, wanna know another real situation? Their number one admitted hero, he almost got eaten by a slime like a week ago. Like, I agree with you, but clearly we aren’t expecting these people to perfect or what’s his name, chewie cha cha (E: Kacchan. Bakugo.) Well, Kacchan would have been immediately disqualified for real world failure.
But he sure can throw a ball
E: Kacchan didn’t make a conscious decision that put him in that situation though. For his skill level, he actually showed remarkable resilience in a situation that was unavoidable as far as the pro-heroes know. Izuku consciously made a decision that left him useless. I think that’s the distinction between the two scenarios.
M: Sure, but that’s also the only snapshot the teachers have seen of Izuku’s power. How do they know he can’t control it? Maybe he didn’t just panicked in that one situation? Wow, this is getting too deep.
E: Okay, let me make a sudden change of subject. Iida is you. A very extreme you, but you nonetheless.
M: What is that supposed to mean?
E: Love to run. Hydrate or die. Very rule-abiding. Talks with his hands.
M: What??? *gesticulating wildly*
Emma can’t talk, because this is her
E: Anyway, from your brief glimpses of Izuku’s classmates, which one did you like the most? Design-wise at least. I’ll tell you my favorite when we actually meet him.
M: Rock face. Maybe the psychic head with the purple bubbles. Imagine having that for your kid.
E: …Interesting choices. But imagine having a bird for your kid. Did he hatch from an egg? Or did his beak develop as he got older? I would hope so.
M: I didn’t notice the bird.
E: There was a bird.
M: We’re on lawsuit watch here. Which school has the higher chance of being sued this week?
E: Definitely Shinhwa still. I think they’re running away with that.
M: I don’t know, I think Izuku has pretty good grounds for a discrimination case for quirklessness.
E: He wasn’t discriminatory for quirklessness, but rather for the quirk Izuku does now have. And I imagine they got rid of that “need a quirk to apply” rule because of discrimination cases in the first place.
Can you sue for physical intimidation?
M: Still. This guy seemed like he was into eugenics. He was like “in real world, they don’t let you use your quirks, but we’re the superior race.” He’s like the Magneto to All-Might’s Professor X.
E: Well, from what I remember from watching this scene for the first time, I think I more understood his sentiment as “they should be allowed to use their ability.” Sure, Uraraka (gravity girl) can throw a ball far, but someone who was quirkless could still get better test scores. I think Aizawa believes that no one should be forced to hold back just for “fairness.”
M: That’s fair. He looks evil, but I think he’s going to end up being a good buddy to Izuko. His gruff mentor figure. The Sojiro to his Champ McDude..
E: So, what are your predictions for next episode? I guess we didn’t watch the preview. We can start doing it from next time if you want.
M: That’s okay, it’s more creative that way. I think this is going to be an episode where one, we’re gonna meet some new characters, obviously, but two, it’s gonna be like the first two-thirds of “Make a Man out of You” from Mulan. Before she climbs the pole.
E: 
M: We’re probably going to see All-Might teach, and he’s going to be bad at his job.
E: 
M: And the DJ guy will throw a sick welcome party where someone gets wasted and burns the school down with some misguided quirk use.
E: 
Also, wow, they’re 15.
M; Partayyyyy. Also, Izuku will cry 3 and a half times.
E: Hey, he only cried once this episode. You’re escalating.
M: It has to keep up with Boys Over Flowers’s drama levels. Bring on the waterworks.
–
Hey, Emma here, saying thanks for reading and maybe for even watching alongside us as we take this journey through Boys Over Flowers and My Hero Academia! Let us know what you thought of the episodes, but remember, no spoilers please. I’m struggling a bit with not letting Madelyn know what’s to come with MHA. Am I a bit of a wreck from this most recent episode? Yes. Yes, I am.
Anyway, next time! We’ll see how the boat party turns out in Boys Over Flowers. Will somebody drown like I think? Will Ji-hoo be unable to make pancakes like Madelyn thinks? You’ll have to wait and find out!
And then, in My Hero Academia, we’ll be watching Episode 6: Rage, You Damned Nerd in which the damned nerd in question will cry a little more than he will rage. That’ll come the episode after. Ah, Kacchan, you beautiful bastard.