Summary
Episode 5 delves into childhood sweethearts, and team friction as the kids keep on learning their lessons.
This recap of Netflix k-drama series Racket Boys season 1, episode 5 contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
The main strength of this k-drama series is that it is feel-good. It doesn’t pressure itself to make major plot points. It enjoys itself for what the story is — kids discovering themselves in a competitive environment.
Racket Boys episode 5 opens with the kids talking about dating — Yong-tae teases Hae-kang that he’s never dated or expressed his feelings before. The conversation turns to Se-yoon, and they all agree that every guy likes her; Woo-chan explains he gave up a long time ago as she doesn’t fancy him back. We all know someone who has strong feelings for Se-yoon…
Yong-tae, the expert in the wild
While out gardening, Woo-chan eats a poisonous leaf, so Yong-tae finds an anti-toxin plant to help him recover. Hae-kang nearly touches the Devil’s bush, so Yong-tae, who seems to be an expert on these things, stops him. Obviously, this becomes important later; random plot point, but it works in the grand scheme of things.
Double trouble
Coach Bae and Hyeon-jong prepare the team for doubles — Hae-kang and Yoon-dam are put together as a team, and they don’t seem impressed by it. There’s a lot of competitive tension between them, as they claim to get in each other’s way, which leads to them losing against the other team in training.
Hyeong-jong warns the team to fight the other team and not their doubles partner. Hae-kang and Yoon-dam are still eyeing each other up in disgust. The next day, the rivalry continues but Coach Bae believes they should leave them both because it will work out in the end.
Relive the moment when Hae-kang shows everyone what it means to be a team:
Who is the weak link?
And the rivalry continues, but maybe the point the story is making is that sometimes friction in a team sport can help teammates in the long term free that tension and become a stronger union.
Hae-kang and Yoon-dam take part in a doubles match. Yong-tae notices that Hae-kang keeps receiving the play because the opponent usually picks the weaker side. After the game, Yoon-dam tells Hae-kang they are giving him the ball for a reason and asks him to follow his lead. They lost the game, but Yoon-dam’s father watched, and he tells his wife that Yoon-dam accepted that Hae-kang is better than him by the end of the game. He’s downbeat but believes his son will be okay.
During training the next day, Hae-kang and Yoon-dam get better together and demand more practice. Coach Bae was right.
Ridding a headache and winning a tournament
Se-yoon has regular headaches, which can impact her before playing badminton — she needs a solution. In a major junior championship, she plays against an Indonesian player called Putri. It’s a struggle, but Se-yoon wins, and Coach Fang is impressed. Afterward, the reporters ask if she battled with a headache, but she tells them she had medicine to deal with it. Coach Fang assures another coach that it was natural and she will not fail a doping test.
Finding a system that works
Coach Hyeon-jong videoed Hae-kang and Yoon-dam playing doubles together and makes countless notes on how they play, including their habits. He makes so many observations that he falls asleep on his desk. It’s wonderful to see how dedicated he is to improve these kids.
Hae-kang arranged the medicine for Se-yoon
Hae-kang was worried about Se-yoon’s headaches, and he got Yong-tae to give her a herbal remedy from the bushes (remember, Yong-tae knows a lot about plants). Yong-tae tells Se-yoon that the herbal medicine was from Hae-kang. He wonders if Hae-kang did anything wrong to her. Se-yoon walks off smiling, knowing exactly why Hae-kang sorted medicine for her.
There’s an unspoken romance brewing here, and it’s cute; it’s a reminder of our youth — crushing on someone but unable to express yourself properly.
The ending of Racket Boys episode 5
The team is asked to meet at a warehouse. Inside is a court, and they are impressed. They take a photo together, and Hae-kang has to get closer to Se-yoon in the shot. Later on, while having dinner, Se-yoon and Hae-kang are left alone, and they are nervous around each other.
They go for a walk together and collect potatoes. It’s a breezy, sunny, and wonderful day. Meanwhile, Ranos tells Hyeong-jong that she’s surprised that Se-yoon wants to do mixed doubles all of a sudden and wonders why. It then flits back to Se-yoon and Hae-kang, who look at each other for a period of time before Hae-kang says, “it’s nothing.” They both smile and keep on walking. They both know that they both have feelings — it’s only a matter of time before one of them breaks.
Episode 5 delves into childhood sweethearts, and team friction as the kids keep on learning their lessons.
Additional points
- The couple next door has a disagreement; the husband keeps on helping grandma with the farming, but the husband explains that he’s helping her because, during a storm, grandma helped them with their crops.
- There’s a track and field day at school. In the relay, Se-yoon impressed everyone by racing past one of the competitors with ease.
