The third installment (or Episode 5 & 6) of this series was so much fun to watch because of its many layers it could be analyzed.

1. There’s the obvious pas de trois (or dance for three people) involving YeonSeo, Dan and Kangwoo.

The influence of the Swan Lake ballet in this drama is unmistakable. The Swan Lake is about dichotomies: good vs evil, Odette vs Odile, night vs day, freedom vs curse, castle life vs the swan lake, love vs deception.

Likewise, in Episode 3, the two male characters are beginning to set themselves apart from each other. Their opposite personalities are coming out and Angel Dan and Kangwoo are pulling YeonSeo to pick one of them.

It can be argued that Angel Dan represents the natural realm: nature, sunshine and the outdoors. He’s a scatterbrain who embraces living in the moment. He’s spontaneous and relies on his instincts. But even he needs to think on his feet, he doesn’t seem to lose his compassion and empathy for others.

With him, what you see is what you get – except for his wings, of course. lol. And what I like about him most in this episode is that he demonstrates the real reason that dance is important to YeonSeo’s life. She dances not because she wants accolades or honor. She dances because it gives her joy.

In direct contrast, there’s Kangwoo. He represents the artistic world: the classical ballet instead of freestyle dance, the spotlight instead of natural sunlight, and the stage instead of the great outdoors.

He’s a meticulous planner. Didn’t you see the clear whiteboard behind him in his office?

He’s got everything mapped out and has a scheme in place.

He only appears compassionate. In reality, he’s ruthless. He rides roughshod over the people in Fantasia. He shames the corps de ballet and threatens his principal dancers.

What you see is NOT what you get. In Episode 4, Nina will describe him thus, “I feel like I can say hundred things about him. But when I actually try to do, I can’t seem to say anything. I don’t know if he’s a good or bad person. I don’t even know if he’s kind or mean. But I know one thing for sure. He’s really cool.”

This is notable because after all the rehearsals she’s had with him, she still can’t tell what kind of person KangWoo is. In comparison, she can already tell that Dan’s a good person after meeting him once.

For now, YeonSeo favors Dan over Kangwoo, and it’s understandable.

She must sense that KangWoo wants her only for her dancing gift, whereas Dan wants her despite being a nasty person in her eyes.

During Dan’s job interview, he promised that he’d do his best to “bring out the shine from within her.” His parting shot for her back then was to “Shine brightly and be nice!”

Meanwhile, Kangwoo doesn’t see her as a whole person but ballerina who must be returned to her previous glory. It’s just natural for Yeonseo to prefer somebody who sees her “inner brilliance”  than her “former brilliance.”

Of course, had she seen with her own eyes the different facial expressions of the two men as they watched her from the sidelines, she’d know for sure that Dan is the right one.

Dan: the smile

Kangwoo: the smirk

I don’t know why HE had to smirk. She insulted everybody in Fantasia, especially her former understudy and now current prima ballerina. But she ended with a toast, “Please give as much support to the Fantasia ballet company.” Did he smirk because he agreed with her or because he hated her guts?

2. Aside from the character analysis, this episode can also be discussed from a religious perspective. I’ll mention two because I’m in a hurry.

First, KangWoo’s offer to YeonSeo. He came to fetch her with his umbrella. He said he was worried that she’d catch a cold. He was escort her back to his car but but she avoided his touch, like he was the plague lol, and said that she was going to wait for Kim Dan.

He acquiesced and said he’d wait with her for the rain to stop. But he didn’t miss this golden opportunity to try his recruitment spiel on her and coax her to dance again. To this end, he brought out his prepared marketing tool: her “Top Hits.”

He recited her previous accomplishments. “2006 in Moscow. Swanhilda in “Coppelia.” The ballet gods loved this young East-Asian girl. 2007 in Berlin. “Romantic Etude.” The black-haired girl’s dazzling form. 2008 in London, “Nutcracker.” “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” The goddess of the alluring and mysterious dream. 2009 in Lausanne. Don Quixote’s Kitri. Fantastic. Fantastic. Fantastic.”

Note: Coppelia is the first ballet in his clips and the ballet that he wanted to swap for Swan Lake.

To be honest, I was appalled when he pulled this stunt.  I thought it was a jerk move. He was so hell-bent on getting her to rejoining Fantasia that he didn’t even stop to think of the effect of showing her these ballet clips. She had ordered Driver Jo to get rid of all her performance DVDs. Now, he was showing her this highlight reel without sparing a thought to her feelings.

As if his insensitivity wasn’t enough, he said, “I like you. Because I like you, I’m going crazy. You shouldn’t be just walking on land in your gym shoes. You should be prancing on the clouds and running in celestial paradise. But you are just standing still. Ballet…let’s do it again together.”

On the spot, YeonSeo rejected this pipe dream.

YS: No. I did every dance I wanted as a ballerina. And I had all the glory as the ballerina too. I’ve no regrets. So stop concerning yourself with my affairs.
KW: You can go higher than this. And you ought to. Just this one. Please trust me this once.
KS: Gosh. With what you just said, you become someone I should never trust. “Trust me.” “I’m different from others.” “I mean it.” Those are the clichés. I became an orphan at the age of 17. I’ve heard that too many times. The more affectionate you are, the more I expect from you.

For me, this whole conversation sounded familiar. It reminded me of the temptation of Jesus in the desert. Jesus had been fasting the desert for 40 days and nights when the devil appeared and tempted him to sin.

First, the devil told him to convert stones into bread to relieve his hunger. Jesus answered, “It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone.” Next, the devil brought him to a high place and told him to leap so God would command his angels to rescue him. Jesus answered, “It is said: Do not put the Lord your God to test.”

Finally, the devil presented Jesus with all the kingdoms of the world and told Jesus that he could have all the authority and power if he pledged allegiance to the devil. Jesus replied, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”

Do you see the similarities?

KangWon offered the umbrella to YeonSeo so she wouldn’t get drenched and cold afterwards. Like the bread, the umbrella is a material comfort for the physical needs of the body.  The body wouldn’t suffer from cold and illness if it was sheltered from the rain, in the same way that the body wouldn’t suffer hunger pangs if it was fed with bread.

KangWon knew that Dan was coming for YeonSeo but he wanted to usurp Dan’s place. It was a good thing that YeonSeo rejected him and opted to wait for Dan’s umbrella.

To entice her to take up ballet again, KangWon then showed her highlights from her ballet career. He wanted her to put on her dancing shoes instead of her gym shoes. Like Jesus, she would soar in the clouds because, like the angels, he would be there to help her up. He reassured her that if she were to rely on him, she’d gain new heights. He promised her more conquests and more glories in the ballet world, just like the devil promised Jesus kingdoms if Jesus just trusted him and pledged to him.

That’s why as I listened to KangWon’s argument, he sounded familiar. He sounded pretty much like the devil.

However, KangWon also said something that struck me as odd. He mentioned that Yeonso shouldn’t be walking on land in her “gym shoes.” I checked Kissasian and it translated it as “tennis shoes.”

Except when she was taking the dog for a walk, Yeonso didn’t wear gym shoes or sneakers.

She normally wore flats.

Like here:

and here:

But you know who wore sneakers? The girl who looked like Yeonso in Kangwoo’s memories.

Right now, I don’t know the connection between that girl in Kangwoo’s past and YeonSeo. It will be revealed later on.

The second religious reference in this kdrama was the quote from the Boss Angel. He told Dan, “The bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. You should first look for her rib. Human call that destiny.”

Dan had at first question whether it was the other way around since in the bible, Eve was the one formed from a bone in Adam’s rib. lol. Look at the way, Dan was pointing to his rib.

Now, there are two ways to interpret this biblical reference. The Boss Angel had opened the gate for Kangwoo implying that Kangwoo was the “fate” of YeonSeo, or her metaphorical bone of her bones.

But if you notice, YeonSeo only ever grabs the elbow of Dan. She rests her hand in the crook of his elbow, nestled up against his ribcage.

In the bible, the reading goes like this: “the man said: ‘This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.’ That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.”

If we interchange man for woman, then it’s possible to see that YeonSeo leaving her father and mother in the columbarium, and holding fast to her Angel Dan. She chooses him over KangWoo.

3. This dance scene at the end of episode can also be interpreted as a foreshadowing of the end of his 100 days.

He’s drunk.

Dan: I forgot to sweep that. I thought I should clean that. This is my last day here.
YS: Give me the access card.
Dan: (seeing the cut on her wrist) You got hurt. I’m sorry.
YS: I said I don’t want to hear you say that.

I think she’ll have to keep on hearing him apologize whether she likes it or not. It’s bittersweet because she’s ignorant of the fact that he’ll have something even more drastic to apologize for after his 100 days are over. By then, she’ll have fallen in love with him.

She pushes him and he falls down on his knees. He wraps his handkerchief on her wrist.

Dan: This is me. Think of this as me.

Meaning, he like a bandage; he’s there to bind and heal her wounds. But again, this is going to be bittersweet reminder of him when he leaves her.

Dan: You’re okay when you’re with me.

Meaning, he’s sent there for her. He’s her angel. And as he said earlier in the episode, he’s someone who exists just for her. The goal of his life is her. That’s why she’ll be fine as long as he’s there with her.

Dan: Even without me, it’s as if I’m here with you. You can go anywhere if you have this. I’ll put a spell on it. (He says mumbo-jumbo.)

This is the poignant part. We know that at the end of 100 days, he has to go and this gift of his is actually a parting gift.

Dan: It’ll be great if you can dance again with this on, Lee YeonSeo. Instead of feeling like someone is targeting you, I hope you can feel that everyone is amazed with your dance.

I like this part. To me, he’s telling her that her dance is a visible expression of her inner “sparkling” self. If people can see this sparkling side of her, they can only feel wonder.

Then, there’s a flashback to the columbarium when she talks to her parents. “It feels like someone is always targeting me and watching me. It would be much better if I was just delusional.”

YS: You’re very cheeky (I think the better word is “insolent”) to the very end. (pushing him away)
Dan: (replaying what she had told Kangwoo earlier) “Trust me.” “I’m different.” “I mean it.” I hope you can believe what I said.

He repeats her very words so she’ll know that he heard everything earlier. To her, these words are mere platitudes, or even lies. But he’s repeating the same words, DESPITE her cynical view of them, because he’s hoping that she’ll hear his sincerity. He’s defying her to accuse him of lying.

Dan: The more affectionate someone is to you, the more thankful you should be to him.

Flashback to outside the columbarium where she tells Kangwoo, “’Trust me, ‘I’m different.’ ‘I mean it.’ Those are the clichés. I became an orphan at the age of 17. I’ve heard that too many times. The more affectionate people are to me, the more they want from me. 

Dan realizes that her experience taught her to distrust people and question their honesty. So he reminds her that affection should be received with gratitude, and humility. Not suspicion, contempt or scorn.

Dan: No. We don’t have to do it later. Do it with me right now. Let’s dance. (takes the pointer stick) I’ll take this.
YS: Hey. Why are you acting like this?

She begins dancing at first stiffly and clumsily, until she learns to trust him and go with the flow.

Dan: See? You’re the most beautiful when you dance.

And he flops his head on her shoulder.