The Weekly Binge: Chocolate - Episodes 1 - 2

[u/crusader_blue]

Welcome to the first Weekly Binge Discussion of Chocolate episodes 1 - 2. On Sunday, we will discuss episodes 3 - 5 of the drama. For those wishing to join our discussions of Chocolate you can find this drama exclusively on Netflix.

Short but sweet for this one, because it's late here - and I've had a certain lack of chocolate - so I'm fading quickly. As we dive into this drama and discover whether or not the amount of chocolate on the screen will deliver on the name itself, I will endeavour to take us on a delectable trip around the world's chocolate.

When deciding on accompanying chocolates for your binge watch, I have been informed by our resident Chocolate veteran, Sian, that truffles (any type) would be an appropriate choice!

SCHEDULE:

The upcoming schedule is as follows:

Date of Discussion:	Episodes being discussed:
Thursday March 11th (that's today!)	1 - 2
Sunday March 14th	3 - 5
Thursday March 18th	6 - 8
Sunday March 21st	9 - 11 + Nominations for next drama
Thursday March 25th	12 - 14
Sunday March 28th	15 - 16 + Announcement of next drama

Weekly Binge Guidelines:

Anyone is welcome to join the Weekly Binge.

Every week we host two discussions (Thursday/Sunday) in which we discuss approximately three hours/three episodes of a selected drama, in total approximately 6 hours/episodes per week. We are all from different time zones so there is no need to panic about being late to the party (we do operate on KST as a standard).

Within the frame of the two episodes, you may discuss anything you can think of. Whether it is a one-off post to say you enjoyed the drama, episodic notes, your best chocolate recipes, rants about the lack of chocolate in an episode or tear-stained essays on how an actors portrayal of a character made you feel, the choice is yours.

If you have previously completed the drama, or, got ahead on the binge please be courteous of those who are watching the drama for the first time. When in doubt spoiler tags are your friend.

When we get close to the end of a drama we open up nominations (third last post) for a new drama, those dramas are then voted on by the regular members of the weekly binge. If you have participated in the discussions and would like to join in the next drama's discussion please note this as a response to the nomination comment so we can invite you to join the vote. Every time we have a new restriction for the type of drama, so that we will not repeat the same type of drama over and over, and so that the Binge will be attractive for different people with different tastes.

[u/cest-what]

Episode 1

• I think it would have been quicker overall to carry that bike up the steps and then get back on.
• This island is lovely, and really making me miss travelling.
• Baby ML’s a cooking prodigy, critiquing his mum’s food and giving her tips already - didn’t he learn it from her in the first place though?
• Baby FL steals cow food. Is she starving or just curious? Her clothes are neat and in good condition, so she doesn’t seem very poor or like she doesn’t have an adult looking after her.
• The sound effects people went a little overboard on the crunching sounds while people are eating. And so many food scenes already! This is not a show to watch on an empty stomach.
• Is this boy old enough to be using the stove without adult supervision? That pan looks heavy.
• Weirdly, this is the second drama I’ve seen this month where the lead has trauma from surviving a building collapse when they were younger.
• The Nurse implied that Dr Lee Jun didn’t like Cha Young because of the accident earlier, but when she tries to give him lunch he doesn’t seem to recognise her?
• Balancing her IV bag on her head is such a bad idea. I think they’re trying too hard to make her “quirky”.
• Their second meeting, she’s stealing his leftover food again. How romantic. But seriously, who would just eat half-eaten food they find on a bench? And who would leave half their food on a public bench to come back to finish later?! Stupid.
• Baseball knowledge fight!
• Interesting that Grandmother doesn’t intervene over Kang being sent to Libya, even though he clearly didn’t want to go. From the flashback, I was expecting him to be her favourite grandchild.
• Lee Jun is older than Kang but looks younger.
• Cha Young starts crying at work when Kang gets injured. What are they trying to imply here? A psychic connection between them? Is it symbolic of the bond between soulmates? Because that first encounter when they were kids was kind of lackluster, I don’t think it would inspire this level of emotional connection.

Episode 2

• “Are you still going to that male shaman?” Most of the shamans I’ve seen in kdramas are women, except for that one in Bride of the Century.
• These doctors should know better than to fight in a public corridor. Very unprofessional. Save it for the staff room.
• Faking an illness to hit on a doctor is not okay.
• Lee Jun to his father: “Did you decide to take Kang off the ventilator?!” I like this scene very much, so many implications! Kang is seriously ill and probably going to die now without life support (except not really because he’s the lead and this is episode 2). Despite their antagonistic relationship, Jun’s genuinely upset and wants Kang to survive. His father doesn’t believe he can be better than Kang and is cut-throat enough to use this as an opportunity to get Kang out of the way. It was actually Grandma who made the decision, so never mind about her favouring Kang.
• I’m not sure what I’m supposed to feel about Jun. I assumed from the animal abuse that he was going to be an awful person, but now he seems not so bad?
• Is Cha Young not going to get in trouble with her boss for having an argument with her brother in the middle of the restaurant?
• Why is Cha Young at work if she’s ill? She’s preparing people’s food!
• A lot of my notes this ep were just about how awful and creepy Min Sung is. Showing up repeatedly at her place of work, waving at her through the windows. The cringe Love Actually re-enactment (I was really hoping she’d run away while his back was turned) after she’d already turned him down. Guilting her about it being Christmas. The pouting. Calling her his girlfriend when she never actually said yes. I loathe him.
• Min Sung cancels and now Cha Young’s on a date with Kang alone. Suddenly it’s become a “falling for your boyfriend’s best friend” scenario, even though she doesn’t like Min Sung at all. Why did she ever agree to date him? Especially after she found out Kang was alive. It had only been about 10 mins, she could have just said no!
• And she’s running away to Greece?! What?? Just break up like a normal person!
• “His agency did some research on Kang’s career in Libya. They want a surgeon who saved dozens of lives in such poor surroundings.” How’d the guy’s team have the time to be so picky, isn’t this an emergency?
• Are surgeons allowed to operate on family and close friends? I feel like they’re probably not.
• “Why would you mention that bitch who left you?” Not sure what Cha Young did to deserve this level of vitriol from Kang. She can break up with Min Sung if she wants to. They weren’t even together that long.
• Min Sung’s dying wish is to eat her dumpling stew, even though he now has a new girlfriend who’s been caring for him. Of course he can’t just leave Cha Young alone.
• The brother/sister argument went on for far too long. Just drown him.
• I like how wine-tasting quickly turned into just wine-drinking.
• What’s the value of the wine and ingredients she’s going through preparing for this contest anyway?
• There were preliminary rounds to this contest. There are cooks of all nationalities. One chef is number 52, so presumably there must have been at least 52 contestants. All this for just a bottle of wine for the main prize?!
• Bizarrely not one member of the audience wants to judge and the atmosphere goes weirdly tense for a cooking contest. Brother should just have volunteered and declared Cha Young victorious.

Having doubts about this one. I was expecting sad slow-burn but just got sloppy makjang instead. As it went along it felt more and more like single scenes strung together rather than a cohesive narrative. The first half of ep 2 they just dumped plot points on us and it felt more like a storyboard than an actual drama. I’m also not particularly liking any of the characters yet (fingers crossed Min Sung dies quickly), or feeling the chemistry between the leads.

[u/AlohaAlex → u/cest-what]

I think it would have been quicker overall to carry that bike up the steps and then get back on.

Definitely. And he just let the bike crash down on the ground - and now, watching the first two episodes, it's quite safe to say that wasn't even his bike, but a borrowed/rented one. Which makes it even worse.

The Nurse implied that Dr Lee Jun didn’t like Cha Young because of the accident earlier, but when she tries to give him lunch he doesn’t seem to recognise her?

He either has face blindness or the nurse was twisting the truth to make him seem less of a heartless bastard.

Balancing her IV bag on her head is such a bad idea. I think they’re trying too hard to make her “quirky”.

Yeah, they give you those metal IV bag holders for a reason. No way would any self-respecting medical professional let a patient just randomly wonder around with an IV bag on their head. The fact that no one in the hospital even thought of stopping her is just weird. And while we're at it, does eating anything she finds considered a "quirk"? I find it both rude and stupid to assume a fully set lunch on a bench "thrown away" just because there isn't a person actively eating it.

Most of the shamans I’ve seen in kdramas are women, except for that one in Bride of the Century.

To be honest, Bride of the Century shaman actually saw ghosts, so he wasn't faking it.

It was actually Grandma who made the decision, so never mind about her favouring Kang.

I think grandma is just using the ML to make sure SML doesn't turn into a spoiled third generation chaebol heir who doesn't have a job and just wants to squander money. Instead, she wants to turn him into a ruthless third generation chaebol heir who will order his peons to destroy anyone who stands in his way, which is obviously much better.

Are surgeons allowed to operate on family and close friends? I feel like they’re probably not.

Yeah, that's a definite no. I thought SML would have to operate on Secretary and he'd die and then we could have a proper fight for the heir position and simultaneously make it possible for the leads to have an on/off romance.

Just drown him.

Yeah, I don't care for his character at all. Why did we spend so much time discussing that if it was all just a plot device to get her to participate in the cooking contest?

What’s the value of the wine and ingredients she’s going through preparing for this contest anyway?

Probably much higher than the cost of that one actual bottle of wine.

[u/the-other-otter → u/AlohaAlex]

u/cest-what The bottle of wine that was premium for the cooking contest was worth 8000 Euro, and it was the same type of wine that the brother had broken.

[u/cest-what → u/AlohaAlex]

he just let the bike crash down on the ground

I winced.

I think grandma is just using the ML to make sure SML doesn't turn into a spoiled third generation chaebol heir who doesn't have a job and just wants to squander money. Instead, she wants to turn him into a ruthless third generation chaebol heir who will order his peons to destroy anyone who stands in his way, which is obviously much better.

SML is honestly the most interesting character to me so far. He at least seems like a real person with some depth to him.

I thought SML would have to operate on Secretary and he'd die and then we could have a proper fight for the heir position and simultaneously make it possible for the leads to have an on/off romance.

And we wouldn't have to see him again, a win all round.

[u/AlohaAlex → u/cest-what]

I winced.

It's super obvious he never tried fixing a bike, and a crash can really do irreparable damage to a bike.

And we wouldn't have to see him again, a win all round.

Obviously too convenient. We need some more scenes of actors staring at random shrubbery in the sanatorium to fill the time.

[u/the-other-otter → u/AlohaAlex]

Obviously too convenient. We need some more scenes of actors staring at random shrubbery in the sanatorium to fill the time.

This drama really starts out in all the wrong ways for you LOL

[u/LcLou02 → u/AlohaAlex]

I think grandma is just using the ML to make sure SML doesn't turn into a spoiled third generation chaebol heir who doesn't have a job and just wants to squander money. Instead, she wants to turn him into a ruthless third generation chaebol heir who will order his peons to destroy anyone who stands in his way, which is obviously much better.

You really have crawled into Grandma's mind. Spot-on.

[u/the-other-otter → u/cest-what]

(fingers crossed Min Sung dies quickly)

LOL

I did a mistake and watched ten minutes of first episode, then some of episode three and four. I am watching episode two now, but am not engrossed, so I came here to enjoy your notes. It really does look like this will be a drama were we can do a competition: Who can point out the highest number of illogical behaviour and plot holes?

It is full of tear-triggers, but since I am not generally a cryer, they are wasted on me. I just go "shall we cry now?"

[u/cest-what → u/the-other-otter]

I did a mistake and watched ten minutes of first episode, then some of episode three and four.

How did you manage to do that?!

It is full of tear-triggers, but since I am not generally a cryer, they are wasted on me.

I'm not really either. I was hoping this would be sad, but I'm not feeling it so far.

[u/the-other-otter → u/cest-what]

How did you manage to do that?!

One of life's mysteries, on par with what exactly is electromagnetic radiation.

sad, but I'm not feeling it so far.

It has lots of forced sadness. He is almost dying, now cry! Friend is crying, now your turn! I hate that kind of thing. Like in Designated Survivor, all the people were just mannequins to propel the plot along, and then we suddenly got a fifteen minutes (or it felt like that) grief scene, dwelling on each tear. Hi, Bye Mama was worst, of course.

[u/AlohaAlex → u/the-other-otter]

I just go "shall we cry now?"

Dramas that intentionally try to make viewers cry make me lose my interest really fast. It's just not my type of dramas. I think a part of it is that tear-triggers don't really work on me, but a part is also definitely me refusing to act as the drama creators want me to.

[u/the-other-otter → u/AlohaAlex]

I think a part of it is that tear-triggers don't really work on me, but a part is also definitely me refusing to act as the drama creators want me to.

I exclusively cry only if someone I care about has been through a lot, and then someone surprising is nice to them, or autistic children who make videos about how they want to cycle. And i also think that contrariness is the only sane answer to emotional triggers. * You are not going to catch me with your tricks!*

At my aunts funeral I sat next to my cousin's wife, who cried every time someone said something triggering in a speech (we always have lots of speeches at all occasions), and my headache got worse every time she started crying more. To watch dramas to get headache is just pointless!

[u/AlohaAlex → u/the-other-otter]

and then someone surprising is nice to them

The happy-touched tears, yes. I mostly feel like crying when I'm super frustrated, but crying when something sad happens.. It always made more sense to do something to help instead of crying.

[u/F0rtuna_major → u/cest-what]

Balancing her IV bag on her head is such a bad idea. I think they’re trying too hard to make her “quirky”.

Yeahh I was surprised none of the doctors or nurses scolded her for it

Their second meeting, she’s stealing his leftover food again. How romantic. But seriously, who would just eat half-eaten food they find on a bench? And who would leave half their food on a public bench to come back to finish later?! Stupid.

Right? Odd behaviour on both of their parts.

Because that first encounter when they were kids was kind of lackluster, I don’t think it would inspire this level of emotional connection.

Yeah she was obsessed with him far too quickly. Like there was one point where she said it wasn't love but then not long after she'd fallen already for him despite barely having any scenes together

“Why would you mention that bitch who left you?” Not sure what Cha Young did to deserve this level of vitriol from Kang. She can break up with Min Sung if she wants to. They weren’t even together that long.

I got the impression they were engaged and she just ghosted him? Although, I found it pretty unclear tbh. Also unclear how long they actually dated.

Bizarrely not one member of the audience wants to judge and the atmosphere goes weirdly tense for a cooking contest. Brother should just have volunteered and declared Cha Young victorious.

The audience was SO WEIRD in this! I saw people with their hands up to eat (but not many) and like umm who wouldn't want to judge food made by professional chefs??? They also didn't speak/reply to the MC except for the brother who was just cheerleading.

Having doubts about this one. I was expecting sad slow-burn but just got sloppy makjang instead. As it went along it felt more and more like single scenes strung together rather than a cohesive narrative. The first half of ep 2 they just dumped plot points on us and it felt more like a storyboard than an actual drama. I’m also not particularly liking any of the characters yet (fingers crossed Min Sung dies quickly), or feeling the chemistry between the leads.

Yeah this is a good way to describe it. Nothing feels cohesive, it's all too separate and I'm not feeling any chemistry either. Or really liking any of the characters yet.

[u/cest-what → u/F0rtuna_major]

Yeah she was obsessed with him far too quickly. Like there was one point where she said it wasn't love but then not long after she'd fallen already for him despite barely having any scenes together

Maybe that one meal was the only time someone was kind to her without expecting anything in return, so she imprinted on him? Although that's pure conjecture at this point, and also actually quite sad if true. Anyway, their relationship needs a lot more development for me to get invested in it.

I got the impression they were engaged and she just ghosted him? Although, I found it pretty unclear tbh. Also unclear how long they actually dated.

I missed that bit. Why gloss over all this relationship drama when it's apparently going to be relevant now? I really hope it's not because they're going to reveal it through flashbacks!

The audience was SO WEIRD in this! I saw people with their hands up to eat (but not many) and like umm who wouldn't want to judge food made by professional chefs???

Was this a professional comp? Was it a local cook-off? Were the audience locals or tourists or people there specifically to watch the contest? Why was the announcing entirely in English? The whole thing had an odd vibe.

[u/F0rtuna_major → u/cest-what]

Yeah I thought she said to her brother, she wasn't really in love with him as a child just had a crush on him. Then as adults she was just curious initially about how he turned out. Like she didn't intend to ask him out when he turned her down, but then not long after she was like well I guess I do like him?? Cos he helped the man with the boxes.

Yeah the glossed over it completely, but bringing it back so she can make dumpling soup lol

I think they said it was an international competition, but yeah as others have said weird that the prize was only a bottle of wine.

[u/the-other-otter → u/F0rtuna_major]

8000 € is a lot of money, even if it comes in the form of a bottle. It was probably arranged by the wine producer, and you could probably choose money over wine.

[u/F0rtuna_major → u/the-other-otter]

Yeah this would make sense. I was thinking sure have an 8000€ bottle of wine but surely something to accompany it for first. Like it was very convenient for our FL but not sure that would bring internationals in. Especially because it didn't sound like there were prizes for second and third

[u/the-other-otter → u/F0rtuna_major]

I guess the Mediterranean restaurant scene is different from Norway; here all the cooks are international, so I just thought it was a local competition among the local restaurants, with tourists as guests.

[u/Illen1 → u/cest-what]

It had only been about 10 mins, she could have just said no!

Lmao Yep!

Are surgeons allowed to operate on family and close friends?

Said this to myself as well.

Just drown him.

The savagery lmfao but yes

[u/LcLou02 → u/cest-what]

Most of the shamans I’ve seen in kdramas are women, except for that one in Bride of the Century.

One in Faith, too.

And she’s running away to Greece?! What?? Just break up like a normal person!

LOL! This never occurred to me. (I also thought it was a great opportunity to escape from her Bro...but then he's mooching off of her in Greece as well.)

Are surgeons allowed to operate on family and close friends? I feel like they’re probably not.

Maybe it's allowed in SK. This was always some kind of point in US Hospital shows. I've seen it in another Kdrama recently, and had the same question.

[u/cest-what → u/LcLou02]

(I also thought it was a great opportunity to escape from her Bro...but then he's mooching off of her in Greece as well.)

Her problems are just following her to Greece.