“Our Blues” Episodes 14 and 15 Speak Volume & Deliver A Moving Representation Of Persons With Disabilities

Once again, Our Blues understood the assignment.

Since Episode 5, Our Blues has consistently showcased episodes teeming with impactful messages and relevant themes. This holds as well for episodes 14 and 15. In this arc, actress Jung Eun Hye, a person with down syndrome, and deaf actress Lee So Byeol demonstrated their ability and brilliance.

These two episodes set a good example and contribute to eradicating the stigma about persons with Down syndrome and deaf actresses. With that, three cheers and a standing ovation to these amazing actresses, writer Noh Hee Kyung, Director Kim Kyu Tae and the whole Our Blues production team.

Nathan Llantos watched Our Blues on Netflix

Episode recaps: First Look | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 & 08 | Mid-Series | 11 | 12 & 13 | 14 & 15 | 16 & 17 | 18 & 19 | Finale Week + Series Review |

Our Blues Episode 14 & 15 Highlights

Picking up from where it left off, Our Blues episode 14 starts showing a conflicted Eun-hui. Despite being indignant at first, after knowing what Mi-ran’s daughter did, she slowly realizes why the elderly Miss Chun-hui and Kang are comforting Mi-ran since her arrival in Jeju. Moreover, she soon finds out from In-Gwon that Myeong-bo has left and gone to his parents’ house.

In-Gwon tells her a shocking confirmation that In-Jeong was violent and abusing Myeong-bo. Awkwardness and guilt creep into Eun-hui. She then decides to go to Seoul and visit Mi-ran. At work, Mi-ran was told she would deal with another client. The VVIP client awaiting her is none other than Eun-hui.

Mi-ran got to work and started massaging Eun-hui’s back. The two started sarcastically bickering as they tried to address what had transpired in their friendship. The two let out their grievances one by one, demanding explanations from one another. Mi-ran claims that some of her actions stem from her immaturity and because Eun-hui always lets her do as she pleases.

She pointed out that Eun-hui kept her feelings and sentiments to herself and pretended that everything was okay. Since Mi-ran lacks tact, she admitted that sometimes she becomes insensitive without meaning to. She apologized to Eun-hui, and the two cried as they slowly let go of their unresolved issues.

Afterwards, the two went out to bond and made amends. This time, without any hidden grief and spite. Eun-hui had her well-deserved break from work because she stayed in Seoul for two days with Mi-ran.

Yeong-Ok’s Mysterious Caller

Somewhere else in Seoul lies a new character to be introduced to the ensemble. She is Yeong-hui, a woman with down syndrome. She goes about her day first cleaning in a building that looks like a shelter or facility. Next, a caregiver takes her to a coffee shop, where she renders two hours serving customers their orders.

Yeong-hui loves to take pictures. She snaps photos of random things like where she currently is, what she is doing and what she sees in her environment. And apparently, these pictures are sent to Yeong-Ok, confirming that since the first few episodes, Yeong-hui is the one constantly messaging and calling Yeong-Ok.

Apparently, Yeong-Ok kept promising Yeong-hui that she would visit her. Yeong-hui is already annoyed hearing her say “next month”. Hence, after her shift at the coffee shop, she hops on a taxi to visit Yeong-Ok. However, it did not go according to her plan because the taxi driver took her back after saying she would go to Pureung Jeju.

Relationship Hurdles

Yeong-Ok now fits in with the haenyeos. After her conversation with Miss Chun-hui, Hye-ja apologizes and takes her in her wing. Since then, things have been better at work. But just when Yeong-Ok thinks everything is going smoothly for her, Yeong-hui’s caregiver calls Yeong-Ok to inform her about what happened.

Despite the failed attempt to go to Jeju, Yeong-hui will still go after all. The care home has to be renovated. Hence, the residents there must be sent to their relatives for a while. Yeong-Ok tries to reason with the caregiver that no one will take care of Yeong-hui in Jeju since she is busy working.

But she has no choice because the caregiver and her family cannot accommodate Yeong-hui for now. Instead, she was reassured that Yeong-hui had progressed and seldom had psychotic episodes. In addition, Yeong-hui is now more sociable and has learned to be more skillful than the last time Yeong-Ok saw her. This still worries her because she would rather not face the responsibility once more and just focus on working.

Subsequently, Jeong-jun sends her a video talking about how much he loves her and even sings briefly in the video. However, this sincere gesture unsettles Yeong-Ok when Jeong-jun mentions his parents wanting to meet Yeong-Ok. She has been avoiding Jeong-jun and started becoming cold due to this. Moreover, she reminded Jeong-jun of what she said during their out-of-town date.

Yeong-Ok wishes to make things fun and light in their relationship. Little did Jeong-jun know where Yeong-Ok was coming from because, at that time, Yeong-Ok did not plan on telling him about Yeong-hui.

Yeong-Hui in Jeju

Jeong-Jun is also starting to feel restless. He needs answers most, especially when Yeong-Ok messaged him that they should go back to being just a captain and a haenyeo diver. Jeong-Jun is also starting to feel restless. He needs answers most, especially when Yeong-Ok messaged him that they should go back to being just a captain and a Haenyeo diver.

As he talked to his brother the following day, Yeong-Ok’s car passed them by. Jeong-jun becomes anxious and curious about where Yeong-Ok is going, so he asks his brother to leave his car so he can follow Yeong-Ok.

Yeong-Ok fetches Yeong-hui and gets her luggage for her. Jeong-jun finally sees her back in the parking lot and asks her to talk to him. She knew she could no longer hide it from Jeong-jun. Nonchalantly, he asks Jeong-jun if he wants to say hi to her older twin sister. She introduced him to Yeong-hui. This was a surprise to Jeong-jun; hence he was lost for words.

On their way back to Pureung, Yeong-hui tells Yeong-Ok that she should not date the captain because her impression of him is that he is unwelcoming. Later on, Yeong-Ok and Yeong-hui arrived at Pureung.

A Warm Welcome

The elderly saw them while they were washing and preparing the seafood goods. Hye-Ja is the first one to greet Yeong-hui warmly. She even tells off the store owner, who does not know what down syndrome is. Hye-ja is very accepting of Yeong-hui because she shared that she has a deaf family member.

Meanwhile, Byeol-i is the first one to befriend Yeong-hui. She tells her that she is deaf. On the other hand, Miss Chun-hui and Miss Kang approached Yeong-hui sweetly and even offered to buy her ice cream. The warm welcome of the townsfolk surprised Yeong-Ok. She was even more surprised to see Jeong-jun coming out of his car to greet Yeong-hui again.

He kneels before Yeong-Hui and politely introduces himself as Yeong-Ok’s boyfriend. After seeing this, Yeong-Ok takes Jeong-jun away so the two can privately talk. Yeong-Ok advises him to quit it as early as now, and she understands if Jeong-jun cannot handle their relationship anymore. She insisted that they should break up.

Jeong-jun’s Resolve

Jeong-jun explains that his shocked reaction earlier was not because of disgust or fear. He was stunned because it was his first encounter, and no one had taught him how to approach a person with down syndrome.

With that, he swears that he is not like Yeong-Ok’s ex-boyfriends. Jeong-jun begs Yeong-Ok to give him a chance to prove it. He promises to care for Yeong-hui as much as he cares for Yeong-Ok.

Frustrated in explaining again about this, Yeong-Ok finally tells Jeong-jun that she is an orphan. She mentioned her parents’ deaths and how her past lovers were like Jeong-jun at first but eventually got tired of Yeong-hui, hence leaving Yeong-Ok.

Even though Jeong-jun insists on being different and promises Yeong-Ok, she makes it clear that she no longer trusts those promises as she has heard them many times before. Jeong-jun is determined not to lose their relationship. He grabs Yeong-Ok’s hand and tells her he will prove it to her. Tearfully, the two return to where the elderly and Yeong-hui are.

Yeong-Ok’s Family

In detail, Yeong-Ok’s parents used to be painters. When they had twins, they became a loving family. However, they struggled to make ends meet, mainly because of Yeong-hui’s condition. She was sickly as a baby, and since society was not always so accepting, they faced many challenges while the twins were growing up.

Their parents always tell Yeong-Ok that God approved their family and sent them Yeong-hui. They believe that God chose them because of the goodness in their heart. Yeong-Ok admitted that she disagrees with this thought. On the contrary, she felt before that God probably made a mistake.

Unfortunately, their parents died when they were 12. Yeong-Ok had to be responsible for Yeong-hui since then. When she was a kid, she thought her sister was unattractive, and it was a burden that fell on her shoulders. There was a time when Yeong-Ok tried to leave Yeong-hui on the train. But she came back for her because her conscience could not take it.

Since she failed to escape the responsibility, she took jobs away from the city when she was of age. Now at age 38, she moved to Jeju. Although it may be true that Yeong-Ok badly wants to escape her fate, she still could not resist having care and love towards Yeong-hui, her only family. Hence, she always feels conflicted about matters about her older twin sister.

Yeong-hui’s Staycation Part 1

Eun-hui, Byeol-i, Dal-i, Yeong-Ok and Jeong-jun played Jenga with Yeong-hui. They all drank beer and had a fantastic dinner at Eun-hui’s diner. Despite the awkward first meeting, Jeong-jun tries his best to be appealing to Yeong-hui. Yeong-hui still refers to him using the name of one of Yeong-Ok’s exes to annoy him, but it is evident that Yeong-hui is now comfortable around him.

This worries Yeong-Ok. She is concerned that it might be difficult for Yeong-hui to return to the care facility if she gets used to how sweet and caring Jeong-jun and the others are. Later on, as Yeong-hui was taking photos of Jeong-jun, Dal-i and Eun-hui, she and Yeong-Ok fought. Yeong-hui insists she will draw the photos she takes on her phone because she is an artist like their parents.

Yeong-Ok asks her to show her drawings to prove her claim. But Yeong-hui is already mad and shouts at Yeong-Ok for not believing her. Moreover, she recalls when they were kids when Yeong-Ok tried to leave her on the subway train. Nonetheless, Yeong-Ok was not coldhearted enough to ignore Yeong-hui because of the fight.

Afterwards, Yeong-Ok tried to appease Yeong-hui’s anger. She asked nicely this time if Yeong-hui could show her the drawings she is proud of. Yeong-hui, clearly still upset, clutches her sketchbook with both hands. Moments later, when Yeong-Ok was finally asleep, Yeong-hui got up from the bed and sketched her sleeping sister.

The next day, Jeong-Jun spends time Yeong-Hui. He took her to a cozy cafe and talked with her to learn more about her life. Yeong-hui told him about her work at the restaurant. She also opened up about how she wished someone would be his lover. As Yeong-hui grew comfortable with Jeong-jun’s presence, the two began joking.

And seeing how she loves to take pictures a lot, Jeong-jun offered Yeong-hui a new phone. Yeong-hui told him she had money but was saving up for surgery because she wanted to look like Yeong-Ok. At the end of that day, Yeong-hui finally accepts Jeong-Jun as Yeong-Ok’s boyfriend. She admits that Jeong-jun is indeed a nice guy.

Yeong-hui’s Staycation Part 2

Because Jeong-jun and Yeong-Ok have to work, their friends and the elderly take turns to bond and watch over Yeong-hui. During their break, Yeong-Ok and Jeong-jun went out to get ice cream. Yeong-Ok warns him that people will gossip about him if he does not break up with her. Not everyone will be pleased to know that Captain Jeong-jun is with a woman whose sister is disabled.

Ironically, if he does break up with him, the people will still gossip. This time they will condemn him for leaving a poor woman who’s caring for a disabled sister. Jeong-jun flicks a spoonful of ice cream on Yeong-Ok’s forehead to lighten up the mood. This surprised Yeong-Ok, so she splattered ice cream on Jeong-jun to get even.

When they already had enough chuckling, Jeong-jun spoke and told her not to say things like that again. After work, they took Yeong-hui to the seashore. Gi-joon, Dal-i and Byeol-i went with them. Even Hye-ja and the other elders were there to have their photos taken by Yeong-hui. Yeong-Ok on the other hand was sitting beneath the sand, her sister approached her and asked if she likes being alone.

Yeong-Ok answered that being alone makes her feel at ease and at peace. Yeong-hui believed that it was her that makes Yeong-Ok like being alone. Subsequently, Jeong-jun and Yeong-Ok strike a sweet pose for the camera. Yeong-hui and the others were delighted to see the couple being intimate.

Yeong-hui’s Staycation Part 3

During lunchtime, Yeong-Ok and Jeong-jun had to confront a family dining at the restaurant. The kid from the table across them starts making fun of Yeong-Hui. Despite being scolded, the kid continued and even threw a bit of a tantrum.

The parents were also not respectful and considerate enough. As a result, Yeong-Ok voiced her annoyance. The father of the kid got riled up. Jeong-jun steps up to intervene and protect Yeong-Ok and Yeong-hui.

Yeong-hui excuses herself to the bathroom where she stumbles upon the kid. She helped him up when he fell on the floor and told him that it is impolite to look at others like that and that he should be considerate next time. Back at home, Yeong-Ok had an emotional breakdown while talking to Jeong-jun.

Yeong-Ok discusses how what happened at the restaurant frequently happened to her and Yeong-hui since they were little. She pointed out that since most people have a long way to go in having compassion and respect, what happened at the restaurant will probably occur again.

During their conversation, Yeong-Ok reveals how much it pains her. How much she cares for Yeong-hui despite pitying herself for the fate they have. She also explains why she puts a distance between her and Yeong-hui.

On Yeong-hui’s last night in Jeju, Jeong-jun takes her to see his mobile home. They drink beer, and for the first time, Yeong-hui shows all of the drawings she made. Jeong-jun is amazed to see the artwork.

He compliments her and gives her a unique stamp. Jeong-jun told Yeong-hui that all artists have their signatures on their artworks. He suggests that Yeong-hui’s seal would be a chick with her name.

Yeong-hui’s Art Exhibit On Jeong-jun’s Bus

When they returned to Pureung, Jeong-jun asked Yeong-Ok to get onto his bus. Yeong-Ok did not know that inside lies a mini art exhibit Jeong-jun and Yeong-hui put up. Yeong-Ok was lost for words staring at the drawings. The exhibit contains mostly the drawings made for Yeong-Ok. From the age of 12 to the current day, Yeong-hui drew the growth of her twin sister.

Besides that, it surprised Yeong-Ok to see all the sketches she made for all the people she met during her stay at Jeju. And the final three pieces hung in the middle are from their recent trip to the seashore.

The first one was Yeong-hui staring at Yeong-Ok. Then the other one is a drawing of Yeong-Ok enjoying her time alone. The last one was the only colored drawing entitled ” Yeong-Ok and Jeong-jun in love”.

Seeing all these drawings, Yeong-Ok cried her heart out. The drawings symbolize the loneliness, happiness, yearning, sadness and love that Yeong-hui feels. Meanwhile, Jeong-jun is outside, letting Yeong-Ok take her time in the exhibit.

Our Blues Episode 14 & 15 Musings

Noteworthy Portrayals

It is about time to keep the inclusivity and accurate representation of all walks of life. Persons with disabilities deserve to get cast in diverse roles where they can demonstrate their acting prowess. Often, series or movies fail to achieve the proper representation they aim for. As a result, they tend to stereotype persons with disabilities or, worse, put them in a negative light. 

To enumerate, what makes this Our Blues arc great is how realistic and heartwarming the plot premise is. Viewers will feel a plethora of emotions after knowing Yeong-Ok’s backstory. Hearts will also melt seeing how Jeong-jun cares for both Yeong-Ok and Yeong-hui. In particular, Kim Woo Bin really gave so much life to his character Park Jeong-jun in these two episodes. 

He is like a ray of sunshine in the series; these episodes are among the best testaments. Moreover, the characters Byeol-i (Lee So Byeol) and Yeong-hui (Jung Eum Hye) inspire viewers phenomenally.

Such raw emotions and charm were exhibited by the two. Indeed, this is a must-watch for all ages (Kids with parental supervision or guidance of elders) to educate and enlighten people about respect and inclusivity.

Last but not least is the beautiful and ever-amazing Yeong-Ok (Han Ji Min). Seeing her breakdown in this episode is heartbreaking. Knowing her life story shows just how real and strong she is despite her imperfections and shortcomings. Her character was so humane and well-written. Viewers get to see this in Our Blues episodes 14 and 15.

Her struggle as a sister who cares for her twin and as a woman in her late 30s who want to break free and just find peace in her life. It was so realistic and convincing how she acted out the scenes. With all that said, the casting director deserves a monument for getting all these casts in an ensemble to create the masterpiece that is Our Blues.

Marvel the wonders of Jeju and get to know the stories of mundane pain and hope chronicled by Our Blues. Episodes are available on Netflix.

Photos: tvN Drama

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