‘The Potato Lab’ Episodes 7 & 8 Recap – Still Funny, Still Charming, But Is the Pace Flagging?

Fundamentally, The Potato Lab continues to work in Episodes 7 & 8 about as well as it has worked up to this point, and in largely the same way. It’s funny and charming and deftly balances comedy with romantic drama. As things have progressed, especially as we saw in the previous episode, a clear narrative fork has emerged with the steamy romance of Ong-ju and Hwan-kyung being deliberately juxtaposed with the more tentative enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Mi-kyung and Baek-ho. And this stuff just flat-out works.

These two episodes still develop along these lines – instant versus delayed gratification, if you like – but perhaps a little more contentedly here than usual. Is this an issue beginning to creep in? Maybe. It’s certainly more prominent when the drama shifts to anything involving Ki-se, which is proving to be an obvious weak link in the drama that is developing too slowly, isn’t as compelling as the core romance, and likely won’t provide enough payoff to be worth this degree of build-up.

But the essential truth remains – for the most part, these characters are just fun to spend time with, and the show’s comfort with tropes works to its advantage more often than not. You see that multiple times throughout these two episodes, which are predictably ripe with fun misunderstandings for both core couples. And the silly bits underscore how well-balanced and paced the romantic development is overall, despite the Baek-ho/Mi-kyung/Ki-se/Hee-jin foursome feeling like a bit of a sore thumb.

Episode 7 of The Potato Lab largely shows the development of Baek-ho and Mi-kyung’s romance as it crosses that awkward line of implication to something more explicit. Ever-composed Baek-ho is struggling to stay focused on work, and Mi-kyung suggests that they bide their time romantically until she’s no longer employed, but you can just tell that’s not a feasible short-term solution given all the charisma floating about.

With efforts to remain strictly professional not exactly working out, they head out on a date – which, based on how much time they’ve been forced to spend together recently, is just the latest in a long line of liaisons – that leads to a funny misunderstanding when they stumble upon Ong-ju and Hwan-kyung’s make-out spot and misinterpret a saucy congratulations card. Classic rom-com stuff.

This all continues as word of Mi-kyung and Baek-ho’s relationship goes public (and, of course, makes its way back to Ki-se.) The point is clear – Baek-ho is far too into Mi-kyung to just play nice until their circumstances are more amenable, and despite any claims to the contrary, those feelings seem to be reciprocated. And this dynamic – Baek-ho turning up the charisma and Mi-kyung getting so hot and bothered by it that she can’t play it cool – forms much of the basis for The Potato Lab Episode 8.

This chapter does also try to flesh out things with Ki-se and Hee-jin too, but the show’s heart isn’t in it and neither, sadly, is mine. You can make quite a feasible case that things would be better without any of this stuff being included, although to be fair there are still a few episodes to go yet that might prove this incorrect. But it nonetheless feels awkwardly and perhaps even unnecessarily wedged in alongside everything else, and the suggestion that Ong-ju somehow played a part in Ki-se and Mi-kyung breaking up doesn’t exactly ring with excitement.

It’s clear that there’s more about Mi-kyung’s past still to come out, and similarly clear that the rivalry between Baek-ho and Ki-se will reach a tipping point. But compare this in value to the comedy of the cow confusion and Mi-kyung catching Ong-ju in bed with Hwan-kyung and you’ll probably see what I mean. The Potato Lab is so much better at the silly awkwardness, crossed purposes, and romantic development than it is at teasing out this so-called mystery about the past.

This makes it something of a shame that the eighth episode ends with a tease that things are going to get much more complicated between Mi-kyung, Baek-ho, Ki-se, and Hee-jin. But on the flip side, this is perhaps an opportunity for all of that stuff to be fleshed out and become more engaging on its own terms. We’ll have to wait and see how the next pair of episodes deal with it. For now, though, The Potato Lab still works plenty well, though I hope it doesn’t bog down the remaining episodes with misplaced focus.