Aww yeah, we’re finally getting the Belle Epoque crew back together for their second year, almost a year to the day of wrapping its first season. Season 2 is set a year after we last left the girls, coinciding almost perfectly with the actual airdates: The first season wrapped on August 27, and this new season will open on August 25.
There are a couple new faces in the mix, too, and while it’s too bad we won’t get to see some of the same actresses back for Round 2, I’m still really looking forward to this season and am ready to welcome all of the additions to the cast. In the still above, pictured are four of the main housemates at the Belle Epoque share house, who are:
Han Ye-ri as the taciturn eldest of the house, who has by now graduated and has successfully joined the workforce; Park Eun-bin as the bubbly glue of the household who has a roving eye but zero dating game and is, as always, desperate to score a love life; Han Seung-yeon as the naive one who survived an abusive relationship last season, who took a year off from school, and is now back; and newcomer Ji-woo who is replacing Park Hye-soo as the Eun-jae character, who was the maknae of the house and has suffered the first heartbreak of her life.
I’m super bummed that this means the adorable maknae-and-sunbae romance came to an end, but I’m clinging to the hope that with the sunbae actor (Shin Hyun-soo) slated to return, we’ll get a Persuasion-esque reunion storyline. A girl can hope! And while I know it’s very strange to have a new actress playing a familiar character, I’m keeping an open mind about Ji-woo since I think it could work in this kind of story. Moreover, the producers explained that Ji-woo was a finalist when casting for the original Eun-jae, so she must have a lot of qualities that they saw in the role from the outset.
Then in the still below, we have one of our new additions, model and rookie actress Choi Ara, whose character is brought to Belle Epoque because of a particular letter. Looks like we’ll be retaining that air of mystery that was a fixture of the first season, woven in between all the roommate antics and bonding storylines.
Age of Youth 2 will follow Woman of Dignity in JTBC’s weekend timeslot, and premieres on August 25.
