In a cold and harsh world, the city couple finds warmth from the village people’s kindness in Racket Boys episode 11.
The draft matches begin between Haenam Seo Middle School and Hwasun Middle School. Boys from Haenam Seo maintain their friendliness towards their opponent, but with Hwasun’s new coach, Hwasun’s team atmosphere also changes. The recent episode also gives light to the backstory of the city couple.
Marcie Line watches Racket Boys on Netflix
Episode recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 & 06 | 07 & 08 | 09 | 10 | 11
Racket Boys Episode 11 Key Moments
“We’re at an age when you can get a tractor with a single click, but you’re showing us such an old video?”
Jung In-sol rushes to Hae Kang’s house to show them a video from a past match. Yong Tae wonders why they should watch the old video that has low quality. In-sol then clarifies that Shon Seung-mo, the player in the video, has the same condition as Hae Kang. In-sol has analyzed the playing style of the player who has lost his vision in the right eye, similar to Hae Kang’s injury.
“People only show their interest in badminton during the Olympics or the Asian Games.”
Hae Kang and his mom, Coach Ra, are left at home for dinner. Coach Ra tells Hae Kang that she understands if he would feel awkward with the two of them alone in the house since she has often been out of the house since he was young.
Hae Kang then asks her what was her best achievement in playing badminton, and Coach Ra answers him that it was to win a gold medal in the Asian Games. However, when asked about her worst moment, she answers the same moment of winning a gold medal in the Asian Games.
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“Mom. Dad. How are you supposed to show love? What is love?”
In search of an answer to her homework in kindergarten, Yoon Hae In asks the people in her house what love is. She is frustrated by the repetitive answer of different heart poses from everyone.
The boys and girls from the badminton team without Hae Kang arrive in their village’s badminton court, and they wonder why the lights are open. They see Park Chan practicing in the court, and he tells the kids that he came from visiting his grandmother nearby. They eat dinner together, and they discover that Park Chan came all the way to Haenam from Seoul just to see Se Yoon.
Hae In asks for help in drawing how to show love from the woman in the city couple. Hae In is thankful for the help she received, but she questions whether the woman really understood the assignment. The drawing shows a cartoon Hae Kang giving the couple the curry he made.
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“And sometimes, rumors are scarier than the truth.”
The boys from the badminton team of Haenam Seo are curious about the truth of Coach Bae, the “White Wolf”. They ask Coach Yoon about it, and he tries to contact Coach Bae’s trainees from before. However, none of them are willing to talk about their time with Coach Bae. One past trainee forwards Coach Yoon to Coach Noh who runs a badminton supplies store in the town.
Coach Yoon goes to the badminton supplies store and asks Coach Noh the truth about Coach Bae. However, Coach Noh reacts negatively and tells Coach Yoon not to reopen old wounds. He also adds that there’s a reason why people do not talk about it, and Coach Bae would not want to talk about it either.
“We’re not useless people. But we’re leaving since we can’t offer any help. We’re going to a place where we won’t receive or give help.”
The plans of the city couple to go to their destination are always interrupted because they come to help the elders in the village. Flashbacks of their stories are shown. The man in the city couple, Mr. Kim is revealed to be almost successful in developing a drug that secured a huge amount of investment. He acknowledges the contribution of his coworker Kim Gi-hyeon, and he also treats him nicely since he knows about his hardships in life.
His growing career crashes as Gi-hyeon kills himself after leaking confidential data to their competitor. Mr. Kim is perplexed how the company brushes off the fact that someone just died, and cares more about the leaked data.
Mr. Kim’s wife, the woman in the city couple, is an artist who draws for other people’s entries in competitions. She is promised that she can finally draw and enter competitions as herself but is later betrayed as her artwork is used by the son of the director.
The city couple goes back to the present and realizes how they first came to the village. They remember how at first they did not have the courage to die, and now they do not have the courage to leave.
The Yoon siblings deliver curry to them, and Hae Kang expresses his gratitude towards them for always being helpful and useful in the village. The daughter of the 90-Year-Old grandmother also sends them kimchi as a sign of gratitude.
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“You should show him. Show him the team needs you. You can prove it with your skills.”
The draft matches begin, and the boys from Haenam Seo notice the cold atmosphere from Hwasun. Hwasun’s new coach, Coach Chun, appears to be strict with Hwasun’s team, and Yong Tae talks to his old friend Eun-ho. The latter opens up about his troubles with their new coach, and Yong Tae tries to cheer him up.
As the match resumes, they notice how the ball’s going far, and Hae Kang’s netplay technique is not working well. They wonder whether Hae Kang’s injury was discovered by the other team.
Yong Tae is extremely nervous as he remembers sharing information in his friendly conversation with Eun-ho. It is revealed that Eun-ho told Coach Chun about the information Yong Tae shared with him.
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Racket Boys Episode 11 Musings
Hae In’s homework provokes the thought of what love really is. In the latest episode, it has shown that love is beyond throwing random heart poses. The narrative of the kindness received by the city couple radiates a close meaning of love. Love does not automatically equate to a romance, but instead, it implicitly explains how love can warm the hearts of people exposed in a cold and harsh world.
The city couple is finally given the spotlight. Their narrative is saddening because of how their pasts scarred them. Viewers who can empathize would slightly tear up in the experiences of the city couple. Their story just really shows how a world that is cold and cruel can crush the souls of people who used to be bright and hopeful.
Their redemption from their past selves who were hopeless was inspiring, and really teaches the viewers of the series about the impact of kindness. The writers of the show have done well in incorporating the idea that being kind to people can sometimes actually save someone’s life.
As the draft matches begin, we see the difference between Coach Chun and Coach Yoon. We see that the methods of Coach Chun are somewhat strict and harsh. As compared to Hwasun’s team, Coach Yoon’s team tries to maintain a friendly atmosphere within the team as well as towards their opponent. There were times that Hwasun lost the matches, and somehow may indicate the ineffectiveness of fear as a motivator.
As the final match has not yet ended, we look forward to seeing whether Hae Kang will succeed or not. In-sol’s growth as a badminton player shall also be seen in the next episodes. Viewers shall also continue to expect the revelation of the truth about Coach Bae, the “White Wolf”.
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Catch new episodes of Racket Boys every Mondays and Tuesdays on SBS. English subtitles for international fans are available on Netflix.
Photos: SBS
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