[Mar 30 & 31] “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” Ep 3 & 4: Ratings, Recap, Review

The new romance drama “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” on KBS 2TV was the top show on any channel last Saturday, with a 14.9% rating nationwide for its 3rd episode. This was 2.3% lower than the previous episode’s rating of 17.2% on March 24th and 0.4% lower than the first episode’s rating of 15.3% on March 23rd. So, episode 3 had recorded its lowest viewership. 

Episode 4 hit a new high for the show with a 17.6% rating, making it the top show watched on Sunday and setting a new record for its highest viewership. The last week of March saw the show hitting both its lowest and highest viewership records consecutively.

• You may also like: [Mar 23 & 24] “Beauty and Mr. Romantic” Ep 1 & 2: Ratings, Recap, Review

“Beauty and Mr. Romantic” episodes 3 & 4: Recap, review

Episode 3

A turn of events happens in this episode. 

In the third episode, the families of the 2 main characters, Park Dora (played by Lee Seol-ah) and Ko Dae-chung (later known as Pil-seung, played by Moon Sung-hyun), were depicted as becoming irreparably distant.

Dae-chung’s maternal grandfather, Kim Jun-seop (played by Park Geun-hyung), learned about the plight of Baek Mi-ja (played by Cha Hwa-yeon), who was being chased by debt collectors, and paid off her debts. Mi-ja, who had hoped for his financial support, continued to shake Jun-seop’s heart with subtle skinship disguised as gratitude. And their relationship was accidentally witnessed by So-geum-ja (played by Lim Ye-jin), creating a strange tension.

Dae-chung, who was focusing on his studies, rushed to the amusement park after receiving a desperate call for help from Dora. It turned out that Dora’s call was a cute lie because she wanted to spend time alone with Dae-chung. Realizing this, Dae-chung said, “I don’t have time to meet someone and enjoy myself right now. Let’s talk again when you’re 20,” comforting Dora’s heart. Their innocent interaction brought smiles to us.~

Meanwhile, Geum-ja returned home and told Kim Sun-young (played by Yoon Yu-sun) that her father Jun-seop was with another woman, but Sun-young didn't believe her. Geum-ja, convinced that Jun-seop had a woman, sensed something odd in Mi-ja’s behavior, who was spending money differently than usual, and discovered that Mi-ja was the woman Jun-seop was seeing.

As testimonies from people who witnessed Jun-seop and Mi-ja together continued to emerge, Sun-young decided to confront Mi-ja directly. Sun-young, meeting alone with Mi-ja, pressed her about the large sum of money Jun-seop had lent her, but Mi-ja responded loudly and defiantly, heightening the dramatic tension.

After hearing from Jun-seop that he liked Mi-ja, Sun-young agonized over it and eventually allowed Mi-ja to meet with Jun-seop again. However, Mi-ja retorted, “Would you want to be with such an old man?” At that moment, Jun-seop appeared, heard Mi-ja’s words, and shockingly collapsed, causing a stir among everyone.

Ultimately, Jun-seop died of cardiac arrest due to shock, leaving us in shock. When Mi-ja arrived at the funeral, Dae-chung’s family reacted sharply, and the sudden death of Jun-seop plunged Dae-chung’s family into grief.

Mi-ja, taking her 3 children away from Dae-chung’s home, exploited her daughter Dora by putting her back on the night stage to make money. Dora tearfully refused to perform, but Mi-ja pressured her, saying they needed to survive. After passing a drama audition, Dora went to Dae-chung’s house to share the good news, but only received a cold look from Sun-young, causing a poignant moment between the missed connection between Dora and Dae-chung.

At the end of episode 3, 15 years later, Ko Pil-seung (played by Ji Hyun-woo), who had changed his name from Dae-chung, made his official appearance. Pil-seung, now a drama PD, saw Dora (played by Im Soo-hyang) on a subway station billboard advertisement during his commute and looked at it indifferently, marking the ending. The anticipation for what will happen between the 2 grown-up protagonists in the next episode reached its peak.

Episode 4

The story of Im Soo-hyang and Ji Hyun-woo, who reunited after 15 years in “Beauty and the Innocent Man,” captivated us with its interesting narrative.

In the 4th episode, the fateful reunion of top actress Dora (played by Im Soo-hyang) and drama PD Pil-seung (played by Ji Hyun-woo) at the broadcasting station was depicted.

15 years later, having become a drama PD at the broadcasting station, Pil-seung was assigned as the assistant director for the mini-series “Straightforward Melo.” He was greatly flustered upon encountering top actress Dora, who was cast as the lead actress in the drama he was in charge of. Despite the 15-year gap, Pil-seung recognized her instantly and felt overwhelmed at the thought of working with Dora. But he breathed a sigh of relief when she initially refused to appear in the drama.

Subsequently, Pil-seung’s workplace superiors tried everything to change Dora’s mind, while Pil-seung himself expressed his discomfort by deliberately talking behind Dora’s back. However, Dora overheard all of Pil-seung’s stories, and after visiting the broadcasting station to express her willingness to participate, she ultimately refused to appear in the drama due to Pil-seung’s disparaging remarks, creating a tense atmosphere.

Despite Pil-seung’s efforts to avoid being involved with Dora, the situation didn't go as he wished. The drama’s investor, Gong Jin-dan (played by Go Yoon), who was smitten with Dora at first sight, declared that he wouldn't invest in the drama unless Dora appeared in “Straightforward Melo.”

When the drama faced the risk of being canceled due to Pil-seung, the broadcasting station’s staff were furious. In response, Pil-seung declared, “I will somehow bring Park Dora back!” and rushed to the airport upon learning that Dora was planning to leave for the U.S.

Arriving at the airport, Pil-seung managed to meet Dora and offered a heartfelt apology, persuading her to participate in the drama. Although it wasn't easy to win back the already hurt Dora, the situation was resolved when her mother, Baek Mi-ja (played by Cha Hwa-yeon), signed the drama contract with an increased guarantee. After much turmoil, Dora confirmed her appearance in the drama, and her role as the lead actress with Pil-seung as the PD captured our attention.

Meanwhile, Dora had a fight with her rival, Jo Bi-bi (played by Won Yu-jin), who felt wronged by losing the drama role to Dora. Annoyed, Dora discovered that Bi-bi’s crush, Cha Bong-soo (played by Kang Sung-jin), was the male lead in “Straightforward Melo,” and deliberately approached Bong-soo during the drama’s dinner party. Pil-seung, who was present at the dinner as a PD, began to feel irritated (jealous?) by Dora’s unusual behavior.

At the end of episode 4, an ending scene hinted that Dora recognized Pil-seung, adding suspense. Pil-seung rescued Dora from a drunkard during dinner. And, grateful, Dora extended her hand first, saying, “Let’s get along well.” At that moment, Dora asked Pil-seung, “Have we met somewhere before?” raising our heart rates. We're left wondering if Pil-seung’s identity has been revealed, eagerly anticipating the next episode.

(Sources: naver.com (1), naver.com (2))