Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
After a water ghost, it’s a fire ghost who’s out to get protagonist Park Seong-ah’s (Cho Yi-hyun) first love, Bae Gyeon-woo (Choo Young-woo), in the Korean drama ‘Head Over Heels!’ Can the teen shaman save her crush from the clutches of death, or will her first love die before he can even become her first boyfriend?
Recap of Head Over Heels Episode 1: It’s love at first sight for Seong-ah when she sees the handsome Gyeon-woo, who’s dragged to her shrine by his grandmother for some good luck talismans. Seong-ah immediately senses that Gyeon-woo is cursed, he attracts evil spirits and is fated to die soon, maybe in the next six days! She vows to protect him at all costs.
Coincidentally, Gyeon-woo turns up as a new transfer student in her class, giving Seong-ah more time to both save him and win him over. Episode 1 ended with Seong-ah saving Gyeon-woo and three other boys from a water demon in the boys’ toilet. She drives the spirit away using a water pipe charged with a talisman. Of course, to the boys, it looks like she’s just gone bonkers, bursting into their bathroom and soaking them all with water.
In Episode 2 of ‘Head Over Heels’, Seong-ah teams up with her only friend, Pyo Ji-ho (Cha Kang-yoon), to keep Gyeon-woo safe. Their mission? Sneak into his house and plant protective talismans everywhere. If you remember, these are special talismans made by a flower fairy to ward off evil spirits.
The episode opens with Seong-ah and the boys getting punished for the bathroom chaos. It also confirms that Gyeon-woo is your classic broody loner who wants zero attention, especially not from Seong-ah, whom he still doesn’t recognize as the shaman. Meanwhile, a fire-based demon starts lurking around the school, clearly targeting him next.
We also get glimpses into Gyeon-woo’s past in this edition of ‘Head Over Heels’: he’s a top archer but was expelled from his previous school for a misdemeanor. Rumors swirl that he might be an arsonist, but that doesn’t stop Seong-ah or Ji-ho from reaching out to him. However, the other students at school start seeing him differently, and their reactions is annoyingly exaggerated by the creators.
And maybe it’s too early to make final judgments about ‘Head Over Heels’, but I already find Ji-ho way more likable than Gyeon-woo. Actor Choo Young-woo nails the “handsome and emotionally unavailable” vibe as the hot Gyeon-woo, but the character itself is kind of dull next to Ji-ho. In Gen-Z speak? Ji-ho is a total green flag, cute, friendly, and supportive. Gyeon-woo on the other hand is an angst-y tantrum king right now.
Seong-ah can be adorably clueless, but it’s obvious Ji-ho has a crush on her. Still, instead of throwing jealous tantrums like other K-drama second leads might have, he helps her get closer to Gyeon-woo. He even distracts Gyeon-woo’s grandmother so Seong-ah can spend some alone time with her crush, even though the main goal is to plant talismans at his house. The nice guys never get the girl, huh? Let’s just hope the writers don’t pull the classic K-drama move and turn Ji-ho into a jerk just to make the lead couple click better.
Ji-ho even gets a heroic moment in this chapter of ‘Head Over Heels’, saving both Seong-ah and Gyeon-woo from a dangerous situation (see, I am trying my best to keep this spoiler-free). Sadly, his moment is brushed aside to spotlight the main pair’s chemistry. Also, the supernatural elements felt a bit toned down in this chapter, and the comedic moments weren’t as punchy either. What really keeps the show afloat is Cho Yi-hyun’s bubbly, earnest performance. Her attempts to flirt with Gyeon-woo are super cute and funny. Well, she is head over heels in love after all.
The episode ends on a slightly emotional note, with one character revealing some personal baggage, but the impact feels underwhelming. It’s only the second episode, and the twist already feels too soon, especially with ten episodes still to go. I’m starting to wonder if this supernatural romance even needed 12 episodes. But hey, we’ll have to watch and see how the rest of this teen-fantasy romance unfolds.
Watch ‘Head Over Heels’ on Prime Video.
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