[Recap] A Match Made in Heaven – We Got Married 09.14.13

(In case you missed it, check out last week’s recap – I Never Liked Good Byes)

Before we meet the new couples Taemin and Na Eun take a trip to the mountains and rivers. This young and energetic couple is going to go, well, I’m not sure what this is exactly. River jumping? Balloon jumping? It’s jumping something as you can see in the pictures. What’s not pictured here is the car ride. Na Eun hints at the extreme sport they are going to try, and when Taemin finds out it has to do with water he asks if Na Eun will wear a bikini. When Na Eun carefully responds yes, Taemin grins and then does this weird swallowing thing he does whenever we know he’s thinking about something dirty. The trembling of the throat is Taemin’s uncontrollable giveaway of what’s really going through his head. He’s still technically a teenage boy so what can we expect? 

Na Eun may be wearing a bikini but she’s all covered up over it because this is a show on a public channel (but were the knee highs really necessary?). They eagerly jump off to push each other off the balloon thing, but they’re so light they barely bounce. They need help from the staff to get some air and when they do, they look like skinny little frogs. 

Taemin was supposed to beat Na Eun in a race to get to choose what to eat but Na Eun beats him instead. She’s gracious enough to choose whatever Taemin wanted, but that doesn’t make Taemin feel better. Still, something is better than nothing so he chooses chicken. Except, chicken isn’t what he really wanted. No, chicken was just an excuse to buy beer.

Chicken and beer is to Koreans as hamburgers and coke is to Americans. Maybe I am too American but these two do not look old enough to drink. They may be of age in Korea, but still, it was weird. After a can, one can of beer, they get tipsy. Na Eun gets a glow on the cheeks, which Taemin points out actually looks pretty on her. That’s not fair. Na Eun is pretty and she get’s a flattering Asian glow? Taemin on the other hand, turns bright red anywhere that isn’t covered with a thick layer of BB cream. 

Under the influence of the beer, they start saying things they didn’t have the courage to say before. They even clear up some misunderstandings and bad feelings they had before. Na Eun shyly mutters that she “likes…”and Taemin plays dumb until she says directly that she likes him. Taemin is more forthcoming about how he feels about her. It’s cute that Taemin gets genuinely happy whenever Na Eun speaks her affection for him. 

Still buzzed they decide to take a few polaroids to remember this night full of confessions. With each picture Taemin get braver and braver until he can wrap his arms around Na Eun. Remember when he would bashfully hesitate just putting his hands on her shoulder? Look how far he has come! Dark haired Taemin is much braver than blonde Taemin (dark hair looks better on him too, in my opinion). They even whisper secret confessions into each others ears and then make the MCs upset by not revealing what was said. WGM promises to reveal it next episode but don’t fall for it! This show has a history of unfulfilled promises. I haven’t forgotten about the second prize this couple was supposed to receive. What happened to that, producers?

New couple introduction time! I feel weird! I don’t know if I’m ready for new couples! 

Meet Jung Yoo Mi, a second rate actress whose smile is her most noticeable feature. She’s bright and energetic; more than ready to to be virtually married. She’s in her thirties but wants everyone to pretend that she’s twenty-nine. You can tell she is very excited to meet her husband. She’s the type that likes to name her car and stuff animals. She wants to try vigorous activities like mountain climbing and running a marathon. There was nothing about her I didn’t like, but I am not too attached yet. There’s just something…well, more about that later.

Meet Jung Joon Young, a contestant on “Super Star K” who became popular for his rock star attitude and carefree style. I liked Jung Joon Young before because you could tell that the persona he shows on TV is exactly who he is in real life. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that he was cast in WGM; he has one of those personalities that is perfect for variety. He’s a fresh twenty-six years old, with no real thoughts about being actually married any time soon. Is he husband material? No, definitely no. Will he be entertaining to watch? Yes, for sure yes.

The two meet at the playground of an elementary school for no apparent reason. Jung Joon Young wants a dramatic rock worthy entrance, so he comes in with a moving stage and a fog machine. This was filmed only a few weeks ago when it was hot but why is he wearing a black sweater? They introduce themselves to each other and find out that Jung Yoo Mi is older. Which should be fine because we spent six months with Jinwoon and Go Joon Hee, and they did their best not to make their age difference a big deal. However, Jung Joon Young does something that Jinwoon avoided doing: calling his wife “noona.” Jung Yoo Mi doesn’t like it, at all, and tries to get him to stop, but its stuck. Every time he calls her “noona,” she cringes. Later on Jung Joon Young promises to fix it, but we don’t see any improvements in the first date.

Even before they sit down in the cafe, this couple is out of sync. When they enter the cafe, Jung Joon Young just goes right in, without even holding the door for his virtual wife. Jung Yoo Mi on her part isn’t even trying to act cute and lovely because she’s just trying to wrap her head around the fact that she’s going to be married to him for who knows how long. When are we going to see romance between these two?

Jung Yoo Mi wants to go climb mountains; Jung Joon Young wants to defeat the level boss in his computer game. That pretty much summarizes what kind of people these two are. Their bickering will be fun to watch but I can’t like this couple, so far. With these two, it feels like they are in it to be on a popular variety show. Jung Yoo Mi is too eager and Jung Joon Young is not eager enough. I want to like them, I really do, I just can’t right now. I need to see more sincerity. My mind could change. After all, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Jinwoon and Go Joon Hee at first. Perhaps the “Jung couple” just needs some time to win me over.

This is Lee So Yeon, another actress who is a little more famous than Jung Yoo Mi. I am no drama expert, but I do believe she tends to play more of the antagonist roles, even though in real life she has more of a shy and gentle personality. Lee So Yeon wanted to get married early but somehow has reached her thirties as a single woman. She confesses she even wants to get married by next year. Because she is at the marrying age (in Korea) she hopes that this virtual marriage may lead to the real thing. 

This is Yoon Han, a famous pianist who looks smoking hot in his profile but rather intimidating on TV. He picked up piano when he was nineteen years old but was accepted into Berklee School of Music. So there’s some sort of musical genius persona going on here. He’s the type of man your mother would love if you brought home. From the first episode it’s hard to tell what kind of personality he is but he is taking this is as seriously as Lee So Yeon. 

I felt a little bad for Lee Seo Yeon. They gave her some red string and had her walk up and down a cafe to find her husband. Just when she starts to get a little antsy, she hears the sound of the piano. The red string is tied to the finger of Yoon Han who is playing a beautiful melody. At first Lee So Yeon is too shy to even enter the room but when she comes in to introduce herself, Yoon Han looks at her and then keeps on playing. That was a little awkward, since he could have just stopped playing the piano but maybe he was also nervous or maybe  it’s a musician thing. They introduce themselves, and Yoon Han asks Lee So Yeon if she knows how to play the piano. She replies, “very little” and proves how little she knows about playing the piano by playing a very shaky rendition of “Fur Elise.” He helps her out by playing the song with her, which shows that Yoon Han is most comfortable and confident when it comes to the piano. For anything else, well, maybe not as confident.

Lee So Yeon is actually two years older than Yoon Han, which bothers her more than him. They both confess that they wanted to get married earlier but haven’t been able to. I finally get the sincerity I wanted to see. They’re both wishing that this will somehow become the real thing. Yoon Han is a little mysterious but I like how he does everything with very serious wide eyes, and Lee So Yeon is is shy but enthusiastic. I can tell that the WGM producers have put their bets on this couple to become the real thing. They might not be as entertaining as Jung Couple, but perhaps they will be romantic enough to make up for it.

Come back next week as we get to know the new couples more and Na Eun heads over to her scary in-laws (Minho, Jonghyun, and Key) to give her Korean Thanksgiving bow. 

 That’s all for this recap! What do you think about the new couples? Leave a comment below and as always, talk to Noona! Follow her on Twitter  or send your questions/feedback via email.