Now, that we’ve been talking about characters coming to full circle, one of my favorite scenes in Episode 16 is the opening day of Grandma’s corndog shop.
The corndog shop reminds me of her corndog stall where it all began.
Her son didn’t get to buy her a building as promised, but his ex-wife did end up buying her a shop. I consider his promise fulfilled.
Grandma was at the table tallying the receipts with NoonGil’s help. This reminded me of the time when JP came to watch her totalling the day’s sales. She was still selling 3000 won corndogs?
I like the way that Dosan and Dalmi strolled in. She was grinning brightly. Her hand was wrapped around his elbow.
Dalmi’s hand reminded me of their first encouter at the networking party. Dosan was about to explain himself when she caught sight of her mom and sister walking towards them. She hugged him and whispered, “Sorry this isn’t the time to catch up. My mom and sister are here. I lied to my sister that I see you every day and that we are romantically involved.”
Completely nonplussed, he struggled out of her embrace. She pulled him back, pleading with him to just play along with her nonsense. He worried that he wasn’t a good liar. But she insisted, “Just today. I can’t make a fool of myself here. So please…”
And with that, she hooked her hand around his elbow. He looked down to see her hand grasping him.
However, when she had second thoughts and began to retract her hand, he caught it. He put it back on the crook of his arm and covered it with his hand. To me, that was his signal that he was going to take it over from there.
But that was then, and this was now. Now, she was hanging onto him. They weren’t a pretend couple anymore.
lol. He brought a cactus!!! lol. Didn’t you wonder why a cactus?
Dalmi: Grandma, we’re here.
Dosan: I’m here, too.
Grandma: Who is it? Dosan?
Dosan: (respectfully bowing at Dalmi’s mom)
I like that he didn’t simply ignore Dalmi’s mom, and also paid her respect.
Dalmi: Mmm. It’s Dosan.
Mom: Nice to see you. It’s been a while.
Grandma: I heard you’d come back from the US. It’s been so long. (reaching out to touch him)
Dosan: It’s been really long, Halmeoni. (peering at her) Has your eyesight gotten a lot worse?
Grandma: Hey, you’re looking at me with pity in your eyes again, aren’t you?
Awww… she meant this look on Dosan:
Dosan: (glancing at Dalmi) No, I’m not. You look great. Have a seat.
He glanced at Dalmi because they both understood how Grandma felt about “pity.”
Grandma reached out to hold his hand and Dosan enveloped her hand in both of his. He was essentially hugging her hand.
A picture is worth a thousand words. JP didn’t want to hold her hand back.
Grandma: Dosan, you’ve been a great help. Without NoonGil, I wouldn’t have made it this far. It’s a lifesaver.
Mom: That’s right. NoonGil works so well I can never slack off. As soon as I doze off, it tells her, “She’s dozing off.” It reports everything.
Grandma: I know. It’s incredible. Thank you so much for developing NoonGil. I don’t know how to repay you. I’m extremely lucky.
Dalmi smiled at her granny then looked at Dosan.
She had that same adoring look on her face when she introduced Dosan to the Shaman.
Dosan: You deserve so much more.
Dalmi: (putting a hand on Dosan’s arm) Grandma, Dosan and NoonGil’s engineers are really close. If you’re unhappy with the app, just tell Dosan. (putting two hands on Dosan’s arm)
Every time that Dalmi touched Dosan, she was unconsciously showing her delight in Dosan. That was a very besotted, girl-y thing to do. She couldn’t get her hands off of him.
And looking back now, that’s the reason she hugged him when they found out that they got in Sand Box. She wasn’t merely feeling exuberant, she also liked him back then. She was a demonstrative person.
Dosan: If you tell me, I’ll ask them to update the app immediately.
Grandma: Okay. I’ll write down my feedback in a notebook like last time.
Dosan: Yes, please.
Dalmi: Oh, right. Grandma, Dosan knit a plant for you.
Again, Dalmi was acting like a proud girlfriend here. First, she bragged about her boyfriend’s connections. Next, she bragged about her boyfriend’s creative skills. She was showing Dosan off to her family.
Grandma: What?
Mom: He knit a plant? How?
Dosan: (started his pitch) The inspiration came from a cactus.
Dosan: This also has an RGB theme just like the sponges I made for you.
Grandma: (shaking her head, she can’t remember)
Dosan: R means red, G means green, and B means blue.
Dalmi: (smiles at him)
Grandma: There he goes again.
Dosan: Press here, and it’ll talk.
Grandma: Here? (giving the nose zone a push)
Dosan: (squeaking) “I love you.”
Dalmi thumped his back. The director must have thought this was good to film because he changed the camera shot just to show Dalmi whacking his back.
EDIT: I found gifs!!! Thanks to @jaehwany’s tumbr.
Oh, WAAAAiiiit, girl! You forgot to make a gif of the back wallop!
Dosan: It’ll be warm if you hug this in the winter. I tried to make it look like Dalmi.
Mom: They look alike.
Dalmi: Grandma, this looks just like me.
Mom: A cactus that looks like Dalmi.
Listening to their chatter, Grandma’s face suddenly fell. It dawned on her that Dalmi had finally blossomed.
That’s why it was a cactus.
Do you get it?
One, Dosan didn’t believe in money trees. If he was going to knit a tree for Dalmi, it wouldn’t be a money tree.
Two, it wouldn’t be a cherry blossom tree either. The cherry blossom tree was connected to the letters, and those letters no longer mattered. Moreover, a cherry blossom tree evokes regrets. The blossoms don’t last long. And their impermanence and ephemerality often make people melancholic over what could have been.
Three, Dosan was going for the metaphor. A cactus can grow in the harshest condition. The cactus flowers symbolize endurance. Just like Dalmi. Dalmi was a hardy plant.
Four, Dalmi isn’t a cosmos.
Remember, Grandma said that Dalmi is a cosmos. She told Dalmi, “You’re a cosmos flower. And it’s still spring. Wait until fall, and you’ll bloom beautifully. Be patient.”
Then, Dalmi mentioned it shortly after sending Dosan to the US.
From Ep 12 at 1:05:44:
Dalmi: You said I was a cosmos flower, right?
Grandma: Yes.
Dalmi: Fall is coming. But I’m falling before I get to bloom.
Grandma: Dalmi.
Dalmi: Will I bloom next year?
She’s not a cosmos. That’s why she didn’t bloom that year, or the year after.
When she did finally bloom, she didn’t tell Grandma that she’d become a cosmos. Instead, she told Grandma that SHE looked like a beautiful cosmos flower in full bloom.
She’s a cactus flower. You see, the cactus flower blooms only when the cactus is good and ready, and not before. It bides its time and blooms when it has matured.
Some cacti won’t even blossom for decades. But with the right sunlight, temperature, and water, the cactus will eventually produce flowers. And when it does finally bloom, the miracle can happen in the springtime, summer, or even winter for certain varieties.
That’s how Grandma knew she needed to go to JP’s home. She knew that Dalmo had blossomed already and Dosan was the one to make her bloom.
By the way, the design on the wall behind her? Those are gingko leaves from that stinky tree that Dalmi’s mom was joking about in Episode 15.
credit: cgtrader
Edited: 12/18/2020
And I found the cactus! Episode 3 at 39:21.
I’m in awe on the level of detail that you watch the show, PM3. I love it! Since I still have Start Up hang-over, will rewatch the episodes (hopefully) with a similar focus. I also noticed the cactus is in the Seo family picture at Dalmi’s desk! Dosan represented there. Cheers!
If you notice anything interesting, just post either on the final episode thread or its corresponding episode. Thanks. 🙂
Wow! I was wondering why Dosan knitted a cactus and why was a cactus in his Desk at the end of Ep 16. So, the cactus is Dalmi hahaha no wonder why he had like a plant there on his desk as CTO. So cute!!!
I also loved how he placed the breakup photo. Maybe, it was a reminder for him or maybe for Dalmi haha
I really love all of your analyses and attention to detail! Thank you so much. I just wish people could also interpret and appreciate every single detail.
I’m not an arborist. 🙂
But that cactus on his desk is a saguaro.
It grows in a zone between Mexico, and the state of Arizona in the US. It’s usually featured in old Western/cowboy tv shows. You’d see a desert scene with that cactus, tumbleweeds and vultures flying in the sky.
Yes, the breakup/bus photo was cute. He just had to have it on his desk, right?
Anyway, that’s my interpretation. That’s how it makes sense to me. 🙂
So much completeness! Love reading all the details of that scene when Dalmi brings her bf home. And all the details, where do you find all the time to screencapture, find the scenes and remember them all. I am rewatching from the beginning but only at episode 1. I will take months to finish it. 😛
I also wondered about the cactus, such an unusual plant. And a hardiness that is really quite like Dalmi. Do you know how when she gets beaten down (the ransomware, loss of her team & discovering who the real letter writer was), she may be down for a while but she has that drive to pick herself up and press on, usually signalled by her tying her hair. There is a kind of confidence that she exudes albeit a little wacky sometimes. She doesn’t wallow for too long and put away her responsibilities (erm…like JP?). She is hardy that way. Like a cactus.
I wonder, like a cactus had she been prickly?
I watched this portion nth times. I love it more because of your interpretation. Thank you.
@packmule3
Everytime I read your post, it makes me want to go back and rewatch the episode right away. I love the cactus scene (but also wondering why cactus? such a peculiar doll thank you for this), again to me it showcased how great DoSan is, he never once resented Halmeoni for dragging him or using his name but he is grateful because Halmeoni led him to DalMi and for that reason only he thinks Halmeoni deserve the world.
@Gen
Everyone was clamouring for that breakup selfie so it’s a nice touch that we got to see it.
I liked the cactus scene, too. In a way, Dalmi’s family are all like cacti, coming to bloom rarely or late.
DoSan put Dalmi’s features on the cactus and a sound box that says ‘I love you’ inside. Halmeoni can hug it when Dalmi isn’t there, which presages their marriage.
Actually, he was just kidding about the cactus being able to talk. 😂 There’s no soundbox in it.
Do you think they’ll move out when Dalmi gets married? Or live with her Grandma and mom for awhile? I think he wouldn’t mind living with her family if she didn’t want to leave Grandma just yet.
Which I know is a weird setup in SK since the daughter-in-law typical gets “acqhired” lol by her in-laws.
I’m thinking they have their own place since both family would want them so it isn’t fair either way, but with a lot of sleepover on both family 😁 I wish we got an actual scene of DalMi meeting Dosan’s parent
Speaking of the cactus doll. I hear that the vendor which make the doll was overwhelming because of many orders.. hahaha. Good for them though, in the middle of pandemic..
Ahhh packmule, i had the same thoughts that cactus represent dalmi. I thought maybe because they can grow in the desert, just like how dalmi that can survive worst of the worst phases in her life. I was teary eyed reading this article packmule.. thank you so much for your deep analysis :’)
This scene is one of my favorite from eps 16. Especially when Dosan is squeaking “i love you”.. Silly him..
I imagined that Dalmi and Dosan will have a place for their own. But they will have fair schedule to visit both parents.. also double date with chulsan and saha..
@ella: omg Ella.. i was actually waiting for the scene where Dalmi met Dosan’s parents and have their special moment.. Well maybe we just can’t get everything, lol.. 😅😅
Haha. I was fooled by the fake sound box! So gullible. 😂
I agree with those who would have liked more scenes of Dalmi with DoSan’s parents. I was pretty sure that was the main purpose of the home made liquor. (I’ll bet that he would have been miffed in the morning to see how much Jipyeong and DoSan drank.)
1st Cactus sighting, at DalMi’s desk
Ep 3 – 40:13 (my netflix timing a bit differ from packmule3’s)
2nd Cactus sighting, the cactus doll
Ep 16 – 13:00
3rd Cactus sighting, at DoSan’s desk
Ep 16 – 1:16:42
He must saw that little cactus in Dalmi’s room when he took her home. I like your analysis about cactus, because I wondered too back then.
This is another reason why I love Dosan. He never came visit someone with empty handed.
When first time he visited grandma, he brought knitted sponge.
Second visit, he was drunk, he cannot prepare anything. Then he rented a car so they went to the beach as a gift.
Third visit was this cute cactus. 🧡
True. I like that Dosan’s gifts are homemade.
He did them with his own hands, and he put thought into them.
I like his joke that the cactus could say “I love you” when the nose was pressed. I wonder if that was the actor’s adlib or it was scripted. I *want* to think that it was adlibbed because of Suzy’s surprised laughter and slap on his arm. But it must have been scripted.
That joke made the gift even funnier. Because a cactus is prickly and when you poke it you’ll get stung.
He didn’t need to impress Grandma that he was rich after working for 2STO. He didn’t need to brag about his possessions.
I found another cactus sighting: ep13 – 57:25 Dosan carried Dalmi to the beanbags after she felt faint after the ransom ware attack was averted. The cactus (it was a big one) is situated at the back of the bean bags, you can see it on Dalmi’s side while they were having conversation about noongil/2STO/Dalmi being a hot mess.
@Janey
Good catch 👍🏻
@Packmule3
In the bts I saw them rehearse the line where DoSan said he made the cactus to look like DalMi but not the I Love You part, so it could have been ad-libbed.
We just finished watching Episode 16 and I haven’t been so happy for the ending of a Series before!
I loved this Scene! It was so amazing. You said it all and I cannot think anything else to say right now…!
wow…
first I really Love Start-Up drama
second, I am falling in love with all you explain here. keep it up