Just when you thought it was safe to get back on the piano bench, our drama chucks us yet another twist. Say what! Do Do Sol Sol might be full of sweetness and silly, but it’s not afraid to throw curveballs either — and they’re becoming a fun balance to the cuteness, humor, and romance. Yesss, romance.
EPISODES 7-8 WEECAP
Last week’s cliffhanger felt like it was more about the Joon high school reveal, but really, it was supposed to be about Lala and her first meeting with Dodosolsollalasol. The number of fake-outs during this scene were epic — once one was over, the next one was lined up. So funny!
The man we’ve confirmed as her stalker turns up, and he seems to be the secret benefactor… but then denies it just when Dr. Cha shows up looking like he also has a secret to blurt out. But nothing is confirmed. Identity still unknown. Benefactor and stalker on the loose.
After this disappointment, Lala, Ha-young, and her mother all hang over Lala’s phone, waiting to hear why Dodosolsollalasol couldn’t make the meeting. Even though they’re relieved he’s okay, Lala keeps harping on his identity and soon has her own little eureka moment where she matches up the writing style in the Byeolgram (A.K.A. “Stargram” haha) comments with the message that Dr. Cha wrote on her congratulatory bouquet. Lala is convinced Dodosolsollalasol is Dr. Cha, and Joon is (rightly) horrified. Their level of squabbling around semantics and grammar here is amazing, and I laughed out loud when Joon purposefully used the same sentence construction in his texts to prove she’s wrong.
Aw Joon, he wants to confess to Lala sooooo bad this week, and even consults Ha-young’s film-making friend LEE SEUNG-KI (Yoon Jong-bin, I lervvvv him) for advice: should he tell his secret first, or confess first? All Joon manages through Episode 7, though, is a bunch of false starts, but I love that we can see this change in him from flustered puppy, to a guy who’s ready to put his “burning” heart out there.
While we’re on the topic of confessions, Dr. Cha wastes no time this week, grabbing Lala’s hand and announcing his feelings for her… or trying to. Lala’s epic and anticipatory turn-down of Dr. Cha was wonderful. Gosh, up until this moment I was still lying to myself that he wasn’t interested in her romantically. Now, I have to face the music — but how great was her rejection?
I love Lala so much; she’s so genuine and warm. Just like with Dr. Cha, she’s more than transparent about her feelings (here, a flat-out no thank you), but she’s also completely kind about it. And there’s a difference between being apologetic and kind, and Lala is the latter.
Lala’s good-naturedness also turns up this week when we hear how uncompetitive she was after always placing as a runner-up in piano competitions. Rather than be hostile towards the person that always won, Lala tells Joon how that pianist was marvelous and deserved to win. She’s just herself, and she’s okay with that. How refreshing, right?
In fact, kindness and goodwill as themes in this drama really stood out to me this week. I loved where our story went with our little child prodigy Jae-min and how everyone took him under their wings, fed him, and supported him. Sook-kyung getting touched by his hunger was another sweet moment, and overall, I was left with a notion of what’s so special about this story: the characters in this drama just go around conspiring to do good.
Joon is our best example of this, possibly, since his every thought is how to make Lala happy, whether he’s making her a “hot” salad, buying her a fan, or pretending to be her husband when the situation calls for it (I almost did a spit-take when he announced this!).
Joon’s endless consideration for Lala is as touching as it is adorable — and though we’re all too ready to write it off as a puppy crush (now that we know his age), I think he actually brings a lot of maturity to the table as well. He’s remarkably clear-headed and resourceful, and in his confession scene (melt me) he also shows his emotional intelligence as well.
I was bound to love any confession scene Joon was able to squeeze out, as well as any first kiss scenario, but I was delighted by our sunset cable car confession and kiss. Not only was the scene so perfect, but I loved what Joon chose to say to her: “My days were dark, but then one day joy came to me. And that was you.” How can it get better than that? (Also, what a nice parallel that he responded to the joy she brought him by conspiring to bring her joy too, and in the shape that she determined — face cream, leafy greens, piano students, etc).
This happy moment is hanging in the atmosphere at the end of this week’s episodes, but meanwhile all the conflict is also escalating, and we actually have a lot of it to get through in our drama’s second half. The thug that’s been hunting down Joon has finally put 2 + 2+ 3 together and located Joon at Lala Land. Also, our potential SNS stalker seems to be letting his creepy side out a bit. Red herring or actual threat? I’m not sure yet.
On the brighter side, who is Lala’s secret benefactor? It doesn’t seem like it’s the stalker, and it doesn’t even seem like Dr. Cha sometimes (even though I love Lala’s logic). I had a thought this week that it might even be harabeoji — since we get some minor but telling details about him learning how to use a smartphone. Ack, I love Joon teaching the neighborhood halbaes how to use their phones. This boy is a keeper.
Our epilogue, though, is where our major twist lies, and the hints we got were confirmed: Joon’s best friend was super into Lala, and even took a photo with her after her graduation recital. We see them posing for photos and then the camera backs up and we see that Joon was taking them. AH! I’m confused what this actually means for us (or Lala, since I’m convinced she won’t mind any of Joon’s secrets) — but hey, it was a good reveal.
Now what? I have no idea. But one thing I do know is no matter how many reveals this drama floats, Do Do Sol Sol is my weekly happy pill. There’s something comforting about watching these characters and all their silliness — and there’s also something equally comforting about how the story confronts sadness, tragedy, and danger: with optimism, cheerfulness, cookies, and doorbells in the wall to make visiting your neighbors just a little bit easier.