DRAMA RECAPS

The Producers: Episode 4

by javabeans | May 23, 2015 | 163 Comments

The lovelines really get going today, but this show has them going in every

directionand curiously, the more it becomes uncertain which way theyre meant to

go, the more Im invested in all of them. Or maybe thats not curious and we a little

mystery is sometimes just what we want, rather than knowing from Day 1 where this

thing will end up. I have a feeling the shows going to play with all the different

pairings all the way through, and because I see arguments for all of them working, I

figure the best thing to do is to just sit back and see how it all unfolds.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Yeon-woo To Be With You from the Producers OST [ Download ]

EPISODE 4: Acting that way, unintentionally

Totally drunk, Seung-chan falls on top of Ye-jin and is out like a light. She manages

to wake him back up and its like Seung-chan has flipped a switch because

suddenly hes barking curtly in banmal (with sarcasm! He knows sarcasm!), Is this

Dongtan? (The neighborhood she said she was moving to.)

He continues in banmal as he pinches her cheeks and asks why she lied. (Im

cringing for Future Seung-chan but its so funny, stoppit! No, keep going!) He falls

asleep on her again, so she deposits him on the couch wondering how he knew she

lived here.

The door beeps, and she opens the door on a drunk Joon-mo whos trying (and

failing) to punch in the correct access code. He sees Seung-chan sprawled out on

the couch and rouses him to order him home, and Seung-chan stirs awake enough

to mumble at him, Two-timer. Omg. Hes your boss!

He takes Joon-mo to task, chiding, You cant do that to our Ye-jin! Joon-mo

counters, Why is she your our Ye-jin? Shes my our Ye-jin!

Hilariously, Seung-chan starts to mumble a defense of Ye-jin that begins, Our Ye-jin

may be old, have a bad personality, and doesnt repay debts Joon-mo hears that

as an insult and leaps to her defense with: Like you said, even if our Ye-jin is old,

has a terrible personality, and is a penniless beggar, are you looking down at her for

that?!

In the morning, Seung-chan is back to his meek self, mortified to hear that hed

called Ye-jin a liar and pinched her cheeks last night. Asked how he knew where

they lived, Seung-chan explains that he lives nearby and saw them coming home

together. Ye-jin realizes that looks bad and tries to clarify the situation, which ends

with the explanation, I know it looks like were living together, but really,

were just living together!

She launches into a whole monologue about the problems with Koreas real estate

system and how she ended up here for a few months, not living together but just

sharing addresses.

Seung-chan says he understands, and it cracks me up how important it is to Ye-jin

that he actually understand rather than simplifying it in his mind as cohabitation. She

whines that he still has the wrong idea, though it hardly makes her feel better when

Joon-mo says that theyre just two humans whod neeeeeever feel anything romantic

for each other: Were totally Just Friends.

Ye-jin continues to worry after Seung-chan leaves, wondering if hed use that

information against them somehow, while Joon-mo waves it off.

Meanwhile, Seung-chan runs into his mother and sister in the parking lot, and they

find his explanation of sleeping at a sunbaes apartment suspect when his home is

right here. Noona asks Seung-chan for a favor, since her husbands medical practice

is struggling and could use a boostcould he get him a TV appearance on the

health variety programVitamin?

Hes hardly in a position to be pulling strings for family, and tells them hes on shaky

ground. He explains nervously to the docu crew that hes made two mistakes already

and might get fired. Aw, hes worried about Ye-jins three-strikes warning, poor boy.

At the KBS offices, Joon-mo and CP Kim worry about their empty slotthe director

is under the impression that theyre going to score either Suzy or Cindy, but theyve

heard no word about Suzy (and Cindy isnt even a consideration, given Joon-mos

bad blood with her agency prez). Joon-mo wonders, Should I beg on my knees?

CP Kim: You mean you havent already?!

JYP calls, and Joon-mo lights up to hear that hes consented to giving the biggest

get at JYP, assuming thats Suzy. Only to have JYP announce, oh-so-generously,

that hes giving himself. LOL.

Little do they know that at that very moment, Cindy is announcing to CEO Byun that

shell do 1N2D. (Turns out CEO Byun isnt her actual mother, as Id wondered, but

she has been just like your mother ever since taking Cindy on at thirteen.) The

CEO is horrified, but Cindy repeats Seung-chans own words about how variety

changed images and boosted the careers of top stars in the past. Its a good enough

argument to get CEO Byun to relent to varietybut it cant be 1N2D. Anything but.

Cindy reminds her that for ten years, shes done everything asked of her: So this

time, lets do as I say.

Cindys manager-oppa tries to talk her out of it, since 1N2D is a tough program for

people as picky and short-tempered as her. Cindy says shes a pro who can suck it

up for work, and points to her fingerprint-smudged mirror (that shes totally not even

fussing about) as proof of how laid-back shes being. HA. Oh, thisll be fun.

Ye-jin spots Seung-chan chatting with his fellow rookie PDs and pulls him aside,

wanting to make sure he wasnt flapping on about her living situation. He assures her

that he wasnt, and that they were only startled because she looked so scary. Wide-

eyed, she says shes not scary at all, while he gulps and tries to excuse himself for

lunch.

Instead, Ye-jin takes him to lunch, where she references the plot of Oldboy and how

the main character was locked up for fifteen years, eating only dumplings, because

he knew a secret. Eat, eat, she says, holding a bite up to his mouth. The

dumplings here are delicious.

He promises to be careful not to accidentally spill anything, and she warns him off

SNS and liquor too. If the rumor leaks, shell know it was him, and she wont pay the

remaining 700,000 of her debt (taking a bit off for housing him last night). She hands

over another installment, and he thanks her profusely, then interviews how receiving

money makes him feel so grateful, Even though it was my money to begin with.

Seung-chan hesitantly broaches the question of whether his noona Hae-joo knows

about the whole address-sharing arrangement too, since it feels only right that she

does. Ye-jin now understands his comment about two-timing and assures him that

the couple is kaput, with brings a huge doofy smile to Seung-chans face. Both of

them exclaim how great this is, and then Ye-jin asks why exactly he thinks so. He

ekes out an explanation about how its good not to have a misunderstanding in play,

then is alarmed to hear that Hae-joo is on leave, having tired of PD work.

In an interview clip, Hae-joo explains (with a perfectly straight face) how she chose

this profession because she thought it would get her wedding emceed and guest-

hosted by famous people like Yoo Jae-suk. But she found the only people it put her

in contact with were other PDs, so she picked the best one, and then end up like this.

Um, boo hoo for you? So now shes through dating PDs (and, I guess, also being a

PD. Priorities!).

Ye-jin giggles to the docu camera that its clear Seung-chan liked his noona, and

how no matter how hard he tries not to let it show, its not something you can hide.

Which is doubly funny since shes pretty much talking about herself, too,

unintentionally.

Ye-jin receives her summons from the standards commission for Cindys wardrobe

rebellion. She calls in Cindys manager and complains about CEO Byun clearly

avoiding her because shes afraid of getting in a tangle with her, only to be told that

the CEO doesnt even know about the incident. So she comes out even more

strongly, saying that Cindy should sit this weeks show out, to the shock of both the

manager and her staff.

Her team warns that Music Bank will be the bigger loser if No. 1 is kept off the show,

and she assures them that Cindys management will scramble a bit and come

crawling back. She insists shes not doing this just for an apology, saying that a PDs

most important skill isnt editing or connections or ratings, but follow-through.

They surreptitiously watch Cindys manager frantically making calls, assured of

victory. And then he just leaves. Uh, this cant be good.

CEO Byun arrives at the KBS building to meet with the director and CP Kim,

announcing to their shock that Cindy will do 1N2D after all. She has conditions

written into the contract for what Cindy will and wont do, and anyone whos watched

1N2D will know how preposterous it is to basically contradict the whole purpose of

the show. No spontaneous games, no dunking in water, no shooting post-midnight,

veto power on footage usage? What is this, America?

Joon-mo balks at the conditions, and the executives play mediator between him and

Byun CEO, getting her to concede on a few points. The back-and-forth is hilariously

petty, with Cindy agreeing to dunking in water only up to the ankles (CP Kim: Ill try

to let them agree on mid-thigh) and eating stew but not soup.

The 1N2D team pumps Seung-chan for tips on how he got Cindy to agree. His

explanation: I just told her, It would be nice if you did 1N2D.' The women laugh that

it was his face that did it, and that sending the other PD would have backfired on

them for sure. He bashfully says that isnt it, but totally lights up to be called good-

looking. He even adopts a few cool poses for kicks, checking himself out in the

mirror.

Then Cindy calls him out to meet her, and he makes his way to her van in the

parking lot, peering in through the dark glass when she doesnt answer right away.

Cindy butters him up by telling him that shes doing the program because of him.

She gets him to promise hell treat her well, then prods for details on how hell do

that, saying Since Im doing the program because of you, you have to think only of

me. Completely on my side. Got it? Ill only be looking at you while we film.

Then she meets with Joon-mo and gives him the same flirty speech about how he

has to help her. But Joon-mo tells her if she doesnt know what to do, do nothing.

Thats what real variety is: Dont try to do anything. All you have to do is be there

as yourself. She mulls over those words: Just as I am

Ye-jin waits all day for a call from Cindys reps groveling to be let back on Music

Bank, but it never comes, and she snaps at her staff that its the other side whos

feeling nervous. She, Joon-mo, and Seung-chan meet in front of their building on

their way home, and Joon-mo takes a call with his mother as she chats with Seung-

chan. But shes listening more to Joon-mos call, and its obvious even to Seung-

chan that she likes Joon-mo. He uses the same words shed used about him, that

shes trying not to let it show.

He carries a delivery box up for Ye-jin, and she asks if he likes Hae-joo and whether

hes confessed. Joon-mo joins them a moment later and grumbles about Seung-

chans constant presence and Ye-jin using him for errands. Seung-chan actually

stands up for Ye-jin and her injured wrist, which Joon-mo scoffs at as minor, though

he feels bad enough to check on her later about it.

Joon-mos seems to be feeling some pangs of jealousy and warns her about Seung-

chan always being around. When she points out that hes always around, he says

hes not a man to her, which sinks her spirits.

But in the morning, he makes her smile by setting out a breakfast for her, twisting off

all the caps because of her injury.

At the station, the 1N2D team gets busy planning their first show with the new cast,

using Seung-chan as the guinea pig for all the game challenges. Ha, having seen all

the games play out in the show itself, its funny watching the crew simulate the

games beforehand to work out the kinks. (Although the kinks are often the best part.)

Joon-mo interviews using intellectual language about scientific experimentation while

his crew beats each other over the head with a plastic mallet in the background.

Then a writer breaks chopsticks using his butt and Seung-chan gapes at him in

admiration. LOL.

Floor director Joon-bae gives Seung-chan tips as hes packing for his first one-night,

two-day shooting trip. Why pack a toothbrush when you wont get a chance to eat? A

book to read before falling asleep at night is unnecessary, because that assumes

that youll be getting any sleep. Instead, Joon-bae gives him the list of essentials:

chocolate, cup ramyun, and random game materials.

Ye-jin shows up to add her two cents, and takes him shopping for everything Joon-

mo needs to function. Seung-chan says Joon-mos got a great girl-who-is-a-friend in

her, and that hes envious. It makes her feel good and she ruffles his hair, which

goes slo-mo for a second from his perspective. More romance afoot?

Cindys manager-oppa fields a call from the producers and promises not to tell Cindy

what time theyre coming to get her, since real is the concept. Cindy says that

people only believe what they want, and that she can treat this like a drama where

she plays herself like a character. Shes out to change her cold, hard image into

something more approachable: All I have to do is act it like its real.

She wants oppas input in finding a pithy nickname to assign to her variety persona.

She rejects Smile Angel Cindy because thats truetheres no fun in calling me

that! She suggests the opposite, so he suggests a saint who never gets angry

which makes her bark, When have I ever gotten angry with you?!

Early in the morning, the crew huddles outside Cindys door, ready to catch her

reaction when Seung-chan sprays her with water to wake her up, then offers her an

iced coffee thats actually fish sauce. Inside, Cindy primps and sleeps prettily,

waking with a startled gasp and refusing the coffee, totally killing the fun vibe.

Joon-mo interviews that Cindys reaction seemed totally genuine and believable

but it wasnt funny. Wah wahhhh.

And then, the rest of the 1N2D idol cast makes their appearance, with cameos

fromSandara Park of 2NE1, Kim Min-jae (Persevere, Gu Hae-ra), Kim Ji-

soo, Minwoo of Boyfriend, and Kang Seung-yoon (from Superstar K 2 and the

group Winner).

Shooting begins, and the two other girls look sidelong at Cindy. Ji-soos the rookie so

she thinks shell benefit from being near Cindy, but hilariously, Dara is the insecure

colleague whos worried theyll be overshadowed by Cindy. She instructs Ji-soo not

to react to Cindy in any way, glaring at anyone who calls her unni or noona (it

highlights how much older she is, ha), and tries to form an alliance with Seung-yoon.

Pffft, the whole idol cast is busy strategizing this show off-camera, with Ji-soo and

Minwoo also pairing up, while Min-jae tries his luck by flattering the writer.

Shooting begins, and Joon-mo fills the idols in on todays plans. The guys will pick

partners today, and if a pairing fails to happen, those left partnerless will get left

behind to make their way with the rookie PD. Theyll have to spend the night at a

separate location before joining the basecamp in the morning.

The boys line up behind their preferred partner, and Cindy has to slap on a face

when she sees that shes partnerless. Word gets to CEO Byun, whos appalled that

her top star got left behind, though Cindy takes it in stride, telling her oppa (and

herself) that being the straggler gives her a chance to stir sympathy and show her

cute side.

Then she takes out her umbrella and twirls it at Seung-chan, who lights up and

comes running like the one-track-minded doof he is. She says that its more

surprising for her to have chemistry with a PD rather than a celebrity. Oppa points

out that this only works when the PD likes her back, and she scoffs that she can

make anybody on the show fall for her if she tried. Seung-chan? Hes easy.

The car ride with Seung-chan tests her patience, as it turns out he doesnt know any

of her songs or her dramas. He just promises earnestly to look out for them, and she

interviews with a bright smile that its totally not upsetting, its just a reminder for her

to work harder and not get arrogant. We see the cracks in her sunny facade as she

forces a laugh, then asks, Are we there yet?

The rest of the cast and crew have set up at the basecamp, and the producers tense

when CEO Byun comes charging up to the filming site. Joon-mo braces for the

confrontation, only to have her storm right by on her way to the idol table.

She asks why the boys didnt choose Cindy: Are you playing games? Whos your

agency? She assumes that Yang Hyun-seok (head of YG) instructed his idols to

band together, and orders Joon-mo to edit out all the footage of Cindy being left

behind and to reshoot.

Cindy, Seung-chan, and their lone cameraman trek through the woods with three

kilometers left to go. She suggests a game to liven things up, with the loser carrying

the winners bags, and then loses promptly. He feels bad and offers to take his stuff,

but shes been trapped by her own deal and insists its okay.

Then she trips and he catches her, and the moment winds down in slow motion as

she recovers her breath. He points out her untied shoelace and bends down to tie it

for her, and the cameras on hand to witness her reaction.

Joon-mos mother asks Ye-jin for information about her son, suspecting that Joon-

mos got a girlfriend hes hiding from the family, which suggests that shes not quite

acceptable. Hes always telling her not to come by his place, and his door passcode

recently changed. She asks Ye-jin to set Joon-mo up with a nice womansomeone

younger, in her twenties.

Ye-jins little brother gets riled up in his noonas defense (aw), complaining that

ajumma got her all upset, and that she should marry Joon-mo to get their old house

back as revenge. He stirs her hopes with the comment that a guy keeping a woman

close by, even just as friends, could indicate ulterior motivesbecause if he was

absolutely uninterested, he wouldnt be friends with her. She considers this.

Later that night, Ye-jin tucks away the milk bottle cap shed saved from breakfast.

Joon-mo films his show at basecamp, with the idols playing games and having fun.

And in the forest, Seung-chan and Cindy are still wandering, puzzling over a map in

the dark.

A glance at CP Kims manual gives us another lesson for Chapter 4, about

Understanding Real Variety: Sometimes the setup becomes poison.

Cindy urges Seung-chan to call for help, just as the VJ pauses to change batteries in

his camera. Immediately her on-camera persona drops and she complains about the

day, refusing to let him take the bags because itll just make her look worse. To

make matters worse, it starts to rain. Her head drops and she heaves a sigh.

Seung-chan steps forward and shields her head with his hand, as time slows down

again. He draws the umbrella from her pack and opens it, as Cindy looks up at him

with wide eyes.

EPILOGUE

Were back in Cindys van, seeing things from her point of view as she catches a

glimpse of Seung-chan in her mirror reflection. Smiling to herself, she watches as he

knocks on the car door, pressing his face close to the glass when she doesnt

answer. Then she opens up to ask, Are you looking for me?

COMMENTS

Unclear lovelines are sometimes a recipe for frustration, but Im really enjoying the

wayThe Producers is handling them, because they all feel plausible, given a little

nudge in the right direction. Im sure well have our favorites in due time (or already),

but I like that I can see things unfolding in more than one way, and it wouldnt kill me

(at least, not yet) if my favorite pairing didnt pan out.

Theres been some behind-the-scenes talk of the drama not quite registering its

quirkier format with the mainstream viewership (although ratings are doing just fine,

with this episode logging a high at 11.0%) and shifting more toward the rom-com

drama style, with drama PD Pyo Min-soo stepping forward and variety CP Seo Soo-

min stepping back a bit. It seems the netizen reaction mostly favors this approach,

although Im disappointed because the first weeks mockumentary style and dry

humor were what got me excited. On the other hand, now that Ive seen the new

direction and still like the show, I feel reassured that itll still be an entertaining, funny

drama with characters I root for.

It does mean that Im finding the documentary interview intercuts less relevant than

they seemed earlierI find myself wanting either much more of that, or much less.

Okay, maybe I just want more. I like the dissonance they create when what is said is

different from what we seelike when Ye-jin laughs at Seung-chan for his

transparent feelings when shes in exactly the same position. The docu clips add that

extra comic bite when intercut into a scene, like Hae-joos tearful admission of why

she doesnt want to be a PD anymore, told in all earnestness without hearing how

absurd she sounds. It makes me want to see the story of the docu crew editor and

what he thinks of the narrative hes cobbling together out of real real footage. And of

course, if we got to see that, Id want to see the PD behind that, proving that really,

the truth has a gravitation pull all its own.

I like this idea that the feelings between Joon-mo and Ye-jin are evident to everyone

but themselves, and the fact that perennially clueless Seung-chan cottons on readily

is practically a siren blaring how obvious it is. Im not sure whether Joon-mo is

willfully ignoring things or if hes that dense, because we saw signs of his jealousy

with Seung-chan leaping to our Ye-jins defense. Even if he then hastened to insist,

multiple times, that they were just friends and completely unromantic.

My hunch at this point is that this is one of our final pairings, though dont quote me

on that. But even if thats how things end up, I like the idea of them breaking off to

explore lovelines with the other two, if only to get a kick in the pants thatll maybe

prompt them to straighten out things in their own relationship. And Ye-jins

misunderstanding of Seung-chans motivations seems like perfect fodder for comedy

between them (especially since Seung-chan seems to be speaking a different

language half the time and is so unable to read what people really mean behind what

theyre saying), but theres always the chance that itll lead to real feelingsweve

already seen Seung-chan reacting a few times to Ye-jins friendly gestures.

That kind of confusion is a perfect motif to carry into this story thats all about reality-

versus-acting, onscreen-versus-offscreen ambiguity. Its the thing thatll trip up Cindy,

too, after she all but declared shed try a loveline with the PD as a calculated step to

building a certain image. Of course, I doubt she wouldve put herself in this situation

in the first place if she werent amenable to flirting with the PD, but its all the better

that shes getting all confused right from the start. Im looking forward to the show-

within-the-show prompting her to fight both facades at once: her determination to

maintain this Nice Cindy persona, and her attempt to direct her romantic inclinations,

as though she could control them. Good luck with that? Ill just be sitting here, with

my popcorn.