Summary
Another emotional installment, but one which only truly finds its footing towards the final act.
This recap of Our Blues season 1, episode 6, “Dong-seok and Seon-a 1”, contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
As Young-joo heaves outside, Hyun consoles his partner, and states that they should just have the baby. Neither are ready, admittedly, but they’re just as unprepared at saying goodbye. Yet, Young-joo holds out, stating that she’ll return to the hospital in an hour for her abortion, and that she will cut all contact with Hyun once she moves to Seoul. However, when the fire extinguisher bursts on the bus, a different issue arises, as the pregnant woman begins to panic, begging for the vehicle to pull over as a fellow student eavesdrops.
Our Blues season 1, episode 6 recap
When the young couple walk back to their houses, they wonder how they will break the news to their parents, as Young-joo has decided to trust her boyfriend and have the baby. She wishes that the youngster won’t change, before the two find a way to have fun together in the sudden downpour. Meanwhile, Eun-hui drives past the pairing kissing, despairing of their open love due to the potential fatherly backlash they could face, while also putting two and two together about the hospital appointment she almost became involved in.
Next, we see Seon-a drive out to a day care to pick up her son, looking much healthier. However, it’s evident that all is not fine, and the dark clouds that linger over the woman are still present. Add to that a near miss with a car which could have caused trouble, and luck is not on the side of the depressed mother. When we next see her, she is applying makeup in the mirror after cleaning, prettying herself for a visit which allows us to find out that she is now divorced, and Yeol is living with the father. Faced with questions over the “custody battle,” the ‘Child and Family’ investigator is after an amicable agreement, but prods into personal territory with her questioning. Given the fact that both parties give differing answers, particularly involving Seon-a’s depression, it does not appear that the situation will find an easy resolution.
However, as the couple stumble over questions that pertain to the custody of the child, in addition to more basic ones such as what toys he is attached to, the true complexity of the custody fight appears. It does appear that things do still favour the father, though, as it’s insinuated that Yeol favours the paternal figure in his life. Elsewhere, Dong-seok stands around eating late at night, before travelling to markets early to find new products to sell. While there, we see Seon-a arrive at the port too, still thinking about her disadvantage in the custody trial.
On the boat, Dong-seok avoids his romantic interest, buying a soy milk downstairs prior to settling down to do his work. Yet, when the two enter their cars, the tradesman notices something off about the depressed woman, and decides to follow her. With that being said, once he does see Seon-a leave her car, he drives right past, initially ignoring the person before turning around to face her. He wonders what she was doing, inspects her broken down vehicle, but disregards her request for help by virtue of the fact he is frustrated that she failed to ask how he was.
Before long, Dong-seok has another change of heart, and the tradesman fixes Seon-a’s car. When he departs, the two begin to contemplate, recalling their other recent meeting, one of unabated exuberance, which came long after the two used to intimately know each other in their youth. While in the flashback, the pairing’s unique bond is carefully revealed across fights, beach visits and car breakdowns, along with the fact that Dong-seok clearly harbours feelings for Seon-a that he hopes can be reciprocated.
While Seon-a looks to find a bed and breakfast, and Dong-seok angrily rues the appearance of his crush, In-gwon begins a battle of car horns with Ho-sik. The two are bickering over who should move their vehicles, an argument which is fortunately broken up by an angry Eun-hui, who herself wonders what will happen with Hyun and Young-joo given their father’s clashing personalities. Elsewhere, the pregnant student faces questions from the eavesdropper, Seon-mi, who reveals that she is well aware of the situation. The two are unphased, though, and are happy to allow others to know of their status as a couple (although not quite that they are with child).
In an empty room, Seon-a ponders over Yeol’s words further, but disallows herself the room to dwell by choosing to go on a long walk. Meanwhile, Young-ok looks for information on Jung-joon’s past relationships, proving herself to be quite savvy about the actions of men when it comes to their exes. But the sea captain is different, allowing the two to talk openly about their experiences, as well as what they have learnt romantically over the course of their lives. Such a back-and-forth is not allowed to persist, however, as before long Eun-hui, Seon-a, and Dong-seok, all appear.
As Seon-a leaves so that Dong-seok can be comfortable, the mother is left to stew in her depression and panic, fixating on the song sung by her son at the time of the car crash as she scurries along a path. The next day, with Dong-seok sobering up in his car, the depressed woman continues to stand still in the same position, even while Young-ok and co. are going about their usual routines, and the elders are continuing to try and banish the enigmatic character from the island. Such a strange occurrence is noticed by Jung-joon, who curiously looks over towards the mother who is living with an extreme form of guilt.
The Ending
Sweating, upset, and reflecting upon Yeol’s own admission that she is sick, Seon-a looks to the distance longingly, and jumps into the sea. Fortunately, though, it’s picked up on by the working elders, who immediately sound the alarms in a bid to rescue her. Alert, Dong-seok watches as others scramble to the area, and the episode ends.
You can stream Our Blues season 1, episode 6, “Dong-seok and Seon-a 1”, exclusively on Netflix.
