My Girlfriend Is The Man! Episodes 11-12 Review: Happy Ever After, Kind Of

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Arrgh, okay, for the series finale of ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man!’, the writers serve us lukewarm tea, when they could’ve given us a rollercoaster ride packed with comedic highs and emotional lows. Everything is a little mid (Gen Z slang for average) in the closing leg, except for some really cutesy cozy moments between Ji-Eun (Arin) and Ji-Hoon (Yoon San-Ha) in the opening few minutes.

Recap of ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man! Episodes 9-10’

Ji-Hoon (Yoo Jung-hoo), Yun Jae, Min-Ju, Yu-Ri (Park Joo-won), and Min Hyeon (Hur Hyun-jun) take a short trip to visit Ji-Hoon’s grandfather on a picturesque fishing island. Throughout the day, Min-Ju keeps flirting with Yun Jae and even sneaks a kiss on his cheek. Instead of lashing out, Ji-Hoon admits that he may never turn back into Ji-Eun and suggests they break up. But in a twist, that very night Ji-Hoon does transform back into Ji-Eun, who immediately stakes her claim on Yun Jae and tells Min-Ju to back the hell off. The couple spends some happy moments on cute dates, while everybody else who doesn’t know about Ji-Eun’s gender-shifting secret starts to wonder where Ji-Hoon disappeared.

Meanwhile, the love triangle between Kim Ji-Hye (Choi Yoon-ra) and Jeong Ha (Jeon Soo-jin) fizzles out when the bespectacled Hong Yeong-seok (Kim Jong-hoon) rejects them both.

Back to Episodes 11-12 of ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man!’

Episode 11 of ‘My Girlfriend is the Man!’ opens with Ji-Eun getting cornered by her rival Min-Ju (Chhu), who finally pieces together that Ji-Eun and Ji-Hoon (Yoo Jung-hoo) might actually be the same person. Min-Ju lashes out, accusing Ji-Eun and Yun Jae of making a fool of her. And how does Ji-Eun respond? With an apology. To the same Min-Ju who spent the entire series scheming to steal her boyfriend. Seriously? Our girl deserved a biting comeback, not a lame “sorry.”

The episode packs some serious drama, with Ji-Eun reverting back into Ji-Hoon and finally breaking up with Yun-Jae. But then comes an unnecessary twist: Yun-Jae’s mother discovers he’s dating Ji-Hoon and nearly has a heart attack. Aside from outing her as a homophobe, this subplot adds nothing, it’s not funny, not tragic, just out of place. Sure, it technically triggers the couple’s breakup, but the writing already had them drifting apart, especially once Min-Ju reveals that Yun-Jae has won a scholarship to study in the U.S.

Episode 12 of ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man’ is all about the post-breakup developments in the lives of the primary protagonists. While Yun-Jae is busy studying in the U.S. and avoiding the ever-flirty Min-Ju, Ji-Hoon, back home, is working hard for a writing competition and forging his career as a budding author. Writer best-friend Yu-Ri of course mentors Ji-Hoon, while secretly dating Min Hyeon. It’s kinda comedic how Yu-Ri tries to hide her romantic relationship for no reason at all. Yu-Ri and Min Hyeon’s romantic side story could’ve used more screen space than the triangle Kim Ji-Hye is entangled in.

Oh, and even though it looked like Ji-Hye’s “first love” story was over with Hong Yeong-seok, she continues to send him gifts and pursue him romantically. Even though I didn’t think this subplot was interesting, actor Choi Yoon-ra is endearing as Ji-Hye, especially when she is trying to cheer up Ji-Hoon as the elder sister. The playful sibling relationship between the sisters is a lot more fun to watch than her romantic troubles.

Anyway, after a very small time-skip, episode 12 of ‘My Girlfriend is the Man!’ serves a happy ending for the lead couple. The climactic moments are light-hearted and sweet, bringing the gender-bender chaos full circle at the café where Ji-Eun first met Yun Jae as Ji-Hoon. Although, you do feel like actor Yoo Jung-hoo, who was the standout star of this series, was robbed of a proper climactic closure.

Overall, ‘My Girlfriend Is the Man!’ is a silly, fluffy, one-time watch for K-drama fans, with a beautiful lead cast. Korean drama ‘A Good Day to be a Dog’, where the lady protagonist turns into a dog every night is another show you might enjoy, if you’re looking for silly comedic romances.

Watch ‘My Girlfriend Is The Man’ on Viki.

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