A baby is on the way; hence the inevitable need to be confronted. However, the more resolute Hyeon and Yeong-ju are, the more adamant their fathers disapprove of their decision.
Our Blues episode 7 & 8 delivers a series of tear-jerking and hopeful scenes. Hyeon encouraged and assured Yeong-ju that he would be a reliable father for their little one.
But the moment their fathers, In-Gwon and Ho-Sik, knew about Yeong-ju’s pregnancy, their automatic response was to have the child aborted. Together, Hyeon and Yeong-ju brave the challenges and painful confrontations ahead of them.
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 7 & 8 Highlights
Our Blues episode 7 begins with showing a drowning Seon-A. Flashbacks of how her life has transpired were also shown. Dong-Seok, who was passing by, got caught up in the sudden commotion. He reported the incident to the police, and fortunately, the Haenyeo divers in Captain Park Jeong-jun’s boat were near the scene.
Ms. Hyeon and the other divers were quick enough to save the drowning Seon-A, and she was then taken to the hospital. Although Dong-Seok was a bit heartless during their recent encounter, he could not help but care for Seon-A.
He went to the hospital where Seon-A was to pay for the hospital bill. Afterwards, the episode focuses on Yeong-ju and Hyeon walking the school corridors together.
The young couple began discussing their plans after their fathers knew about the pregnancy. Yeong-ju also shares her contingency plans.
She even considered going to a facility for single moms for the approaching delivery, should their fathers be adamant about rejecting their decisions. Meanwhile, Hyeon opens up about his plans to drop out of school. This irritates Yeong-ju.
The Confession
Hyeon prepares to tell his father about Yeong-ju’s pregnancy. He knows that his classmates and their teachers would soon discover it for themselves since Yeong-ju’s belly is growing by the day.
Subsequently, Eun-Hui calls Yeong-ju to confirm her hunch about the pregnancy. Yeon-ju no longer hid the fact and told Eun-Hui she was planning to tell her father herself.
This made Eun-Hui anxious since she knew what kind of terrible fight would break out between the fathers of the young couple. Hyeon comes to the market to confess to his father, In-Gwon. He starts by telling In-Gwon what is happening and then finally reveals he is the baby’s father. This unnerves In-Gwon, and immediately the shock turns to rage.
On the other hand, Yeong-ju tries her luck to confess to her father. She has been used to her father being lenient with her, so she hopes that Ho-Sik will not be violent and unforgiving. The truth to the visibly shaken Ho-sik. The first thought that came to Ho-Sik’s mind was taking his daughter to the hospital.
However, Yeong-ju shows him the ultrasound picture of the growing baby in her stomach. Ho-sik sinks to the floor in shock, and then the following sequence shows both In-Gwon and Ho-Sik devastated by the news.
The Consequences
Ho-sik could not bear to lay a hand on Yeong-ju. Hence, he fiercely hits himself instead. To appease his rage, he then thought that her daughter must have been forced by In-Gwon’s son to sleep with him.
Yeong-ju argues that it was because they were in love. But Ho-Sik says he would not allow her to ruin her life over this.
Thus, he pleads with his daughter to have the child aborted. Meanwhile, Hyeon is beaten up by In-Gwon inside their apartment just below them.
The young couple consoles one another about occurrences of the day. Hyeon then searches for employment vacancies. Later on, viewers see a flashback of Ho-Sik and In-Gwon’s friendship before.
Apparently, they are incredibly close to the point where they joked about becoming in-laws. Years later, they are now fighting every time they come across each other.
Hyeon and Yeong-ju’s confrontation with their fathers is already filled with tension. In-Gwon and Ho-Sik’s confrontation as the fathers of the young couple is much more catastrophic.
Fathers’ Conflict
In-Gwon and Ho-sik bump into each other in the restroom. Their conversation swiftly escalates into a monetary demand that Yeong-ju should be sent for an abortion.
In-Gwon advises Ho-Sik to take Yeong-ju to a good hospital and gives him money. This infuriated Ho-Sik. He clutches the banknotes in his palm, disregarding everybody he passes until he approaches In-Gwon.
The way In-Gwon talked to him and handed him money reminded him of his dirt-poor days of borrowing money back when In-Gwon was still a thug.
The two once again broke out a fight. It was a very loud and violent fight in the market. Captain Jeong-jun and Eun-Hui were forced to intervene to split the two apart.
Hyeon & Yeong-ju’s Resolution
Back at home, Ho-Sik hands his bank savings to Yeong-ju. He says he is going to pay off his debts to Eun-Hui, and Yeong-ju can use his savings to go to college and afford the abortion.
Supposedly, Ho-Sik was saving up money so he could buy himself a boat. He is giving all the money to Yeong-ju, persuading her once more to get the baby, which he referred to as “baggage”, aborted.
Yeong-ju was hurt after hearing his father say that. He asked him if he sees her as baggage as well. Ho-Sik although teary-eyed mustered up his strength to lie and say yes. He then claimed he will cut ties with his daughter if she chooses to keep the baby.
Yeong-Ju leaves and stays at a motel. Despite being a minor, the owner allowed her to stay because he knew Ho-Sik. He then urges her to reconcile with her father in the morning.
But, Yeong-ju does not want to come home until her father accepts her decision. On the other hand, Hyeon got a job at a downtown restaurant. He visits Yeong-ju at the motel, bringing her food and handing her the money he’s earned for them.
Subsequently, Hyeon goes to see Ho-Sik, to inform him about Yeong-ju’s whereabouts. He pleads with him to ask Yeong-ju to come home despite Ho-Sik attempting to punch his face. In-Gwon witnesses this and tells Ho-Sik to remove his hands off his kid.
One Last Fight
In-Gwon discovers that Yeong-ju is staying at a motel. He storms there and pulls her outside to drag her to the hospital. After seeing this, Hyeon furiously pushed his father down the street.
Ho-Sik was on the other side of the road and saw this. He ran towards the fallen In-Gwon and picked a fight with him for dragging his daughter.
The police caught In-Gwon and Ho-Sik fighting on the street. While they were temporarily detained, Ho-Sik finally took the chance to express his grievances toward In-Gwon.
He revealed that his fierce animosity for him stems from being offended by In-Gwon’s actions and words years ago. At that time, Ho-Sik’s wife left him because he was addicted to gambling.
However, his wife left Yeong-ju in his care as well. In-Gwon was the only person Ho-Sik could ask for help. But first, In-Gwon refused to lend him money because he blamed Ho-Sik’s gambling addiction.
However, he still gave them cash because Ho-Sik brought little Yeong-ju with him. In-Gwon called Ho-Sik a dirt-poor man in front of his child.
As Ho-Sik acknowledges, he was dirt-poor at the time, so those statements hit him hard. He opted to borrow money from Eun-Hui instead and tosses In-money Gwon’s on the road.
Parenthood Woes
That night, In-Gwon collapses. Ho-Sik found him unconscious on the stairs and rushed him to the hospital. When he awoke, he saw Eun-Hui there, who told him that the doctors had found out he has diabetes.
Eun-Hui asks him to guess who had brought him there. In-Gwon could not accept the idea that it was Ho-Sik who brought him to the hospital. He sneers at the idea that Ho-Sik would do something like that.
Meanwhile, Ho-Sik shows up at Yeong-ju’s school meeting. The faculty told him that Yeong-Ju and Hyeon were permitted to stay in school.
After the meeting, Yeong-ju tried to confront her father once more. She thanked him for raising her and apologized to him for making him struggle and hurting his feelings. However, Ho-Sik fails to communicate with his daughter properly and walks away from her.
Our Blues Episode 7 & 8 Musings
Gripping & Emotional Episodes
Although, since the first episode, Our Blues have already demonstrated its capability to tug the viewers’ heartstrings, episodes 7 and 8 are the most emotional episode of the series’ first half. The lives of the main characters in these episodes are so well-written.
And to top it off, the actors and actresses were all splendid. The acting and how the scenes were executed were so vivid and convincing that you definitely need tissues and handkerchiefs at arm’s reach.
Viewers will get to see the vulnerable sides of In-Gwon (Park Ji Hwan) and Ho-Sik (Choi Young Joon). The two actors showcased their acting prowess, and they did not disappoint!
They were able to internalize their characters’ pain. It was so evident in these two episodes. Likewise, Roh Yoon Seo and Bae Hyun Sung showed their superb acting skills.
Overall, this arc in Our Blues is such a bittersweet moment. The best part of episodes 7 and 8 is how humane and raw the emotions and decisions of the characters are. Once again, Writer Noh Hee Kyung, I have nothing but praise and admiration for your work.
Learn valuable life lessons and relate to the stories of the Jeju folks in Our Blues. Episodes are available for streaming on Netflix.
Photos: tvN
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