I can’t say I’m surprised at the subject matter that Heavenly Ever After deals with, especially when the lead character is an 80-year-old, rather than a “hot” 20-something-year-old, but I wish it were executed better than this pretty much outright children’s show that we got. I completely understand that the dog narrative is meant to make people understand that they should look after their dogs well and that dogs have feelings too, but dragging it on until the show ends is a bit of a stretch if you ask me. There was really no need for the episodes to be an hour and 15 minutes each (minimum!). I quite enjoyed the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law situation we got to see in this week’s episodes, because it gives a nuanced touch to the relationship by turning the trope of bad mother-in-laws around. That bit definitely feels realistic and kind of got me interested in this show for real. Without further ado, though, let’s jump straight into episodes 7 and 8.
Spoiler Alert
Why Do Hae-Sook and Nak-Joon Fight?
In Heavenly Ever After episode 7, while Som-I is struggling to deal with the image in her nightmare, Hae-Sook faces her own kind of nightmare, an anxiety that’s been bothering her for a bit. Hae-Sook and Nak-Joon are watching TV one night, and the people on screen are arguing about heavenly divorce rates. Interestingly, the man talking about staying married in heaven brings up Hae-Sook and Nak-Joon as a model example, but the woman on the other side (deliberate gender choices) brings up Hae-Sook’s mother-in-law and says that if Hae-Sook meets her mother-in-law again, she will reconsider staying married. Next thing you know, Hae-Sook’s mother-in-law is in the house. This is a situation of misunderstandings because Hae-Sook thinks her mother-in-law is provoking her by telling her she’s not doing anything right, and her husband isn’t doing anything about it. Hae-Sook has to deal with the nagging, which makes her very upset, so when her mother-in-law genuinely asks her to spend some time with her, Hae-Sook looks for excuses to stay away from the house. The big problem here is that the two women don’t communicate, leading to the rift between them widening.
Meanwhile, the dog Mandu is ready to reincarnate, and he makes the decision to do so rather than stay back in heaven with his two friends. It’s quite an emotional moment, and he even gets to see the importance of love when he goes down to earth with Nak-Joon for observation. At the same time, Young-Ae is trying to get together with the President of Heaven, which is very strange, because first of all, how can she fall for this guy when he’s supposed to simply be a symbol of power? Anyway, Young-Ae does everything she can to “seduce” the center head, but it all fails, to the extent that she ends up being locked out automatically the next time she shows up at the center, ending up further from him than ever.
Hae-Sook spends the whole day at church with the pastor, whom she has just nursed back to health, as if he were her own child. Their relationship is very pure, but it seems the pastor is overwhelmed by Hae-Sook’s nurturing, which is why he keeps trying to push it away. However, at home, Young-Ae finds Hae-Sook’s mother-in-law waiting for Hae-Sook. The woman tells Young-Ae that she knows it’s uncomfortable for Hae-Sook to have her around because she was not a great mother-in-law to her. However, that was because that’s what her own mother-in-law taught her, and she just acted as she thought was right. Young-Ae tells her to tell Hae-Sook how she really feels, but she refuses. When Nak-Joon returns home and learns that Hae-Sook did not hang out with his mother, he gets mad at her and thinks she’s the reason they don’t get along. Husband and wife start to act petty, and a fight kicks off. At the end of episode 7, Som-I chokes a man wearing the shirt with the hula dancer on the back, and her emotions are so strong, he, an earthling, can actually feel the weight of her choking him. This leaves Nak-Joon stunned and Som-I traumatized.
What Does Nak-Joon’s Mom Choose?
Episode 8 begins with Som-I at church and asking the pastor if she can be forgiven for a grave sin if she repents strongly enough. Meanwhile, Hae-Sook doesn’t do any of Nak-Joon’s work because they’re fighting. She then spends the whole day at church again, this time trying to make rice wine bread. However, she ends up drinking too much of the “makgeolli” in the disguise of “tasting” it. She ends up falling asleep, and seeing how soundly she’s sleeping, the pastor gives the alcohol a try and ends up becoming super drunk. This leads to Hae-Sook having to fill out some forms and Nak-Joon finding her.
Finally, they end up talking for the first time after their fight. Hae-Sook explains to Nak-Joon how staying with his mom was very difficult for her, and it was a core memory that could never leave her. She explains how certain things her mom did left her uncomfortable and sleepless, but it seems they might’ve been well-intentioned. Finally, Nak-Joon understands what Hae-Sook was going through. She even admits to herself that it’s not the mother-in-law she doesn’t like, but the kind of person Nak-Joon became while around his mother.
But what neither of them know is that Nak-Joon’s mother is finally ready to reincarnate. Of course, this will leave him completely devastated, but it’s the right choice for her so she can leave this life behind. Interestingly, Nak-Joon’s mom picks a difficult life that will be riddled with trouble, which, of course, Nak-Joon protests. But the center head explains how this is the cycle of life, and one must atone for their sins in some way and then reap the good fortune of their good deeds, too. Finally, it is revealed that Hae-Sook was once Nak-Joon’s mother’s mother-in-law, and she was terrible to her, leading her to kill herself, which is probably why they met again the way they did. After Nak-Joon’s mom is gone, Hae-Sook comforts him and tells him to cry it out.
What Will Happen To Som-I?
At the end of Heavenly Ever After episode 8, it is revealed that the sin Som-I was referring to was falling in love with Nak-Joon. Hae-Sook also finds a flower ring that Som-I made for him, indicating that we might see a clash next week. But more importantly, the man that Nak-Joon saved from Som-I choking him last time on earth might be the police officer who messed up Nak-Joon’s case, leaving him paralyzed permanently. I have a feeling that the 3 of them are intertwined somehow, which is why Som-I was drawn to Nak-Joon in the first place. I suppose some big changes are coming next week with Young-Ae’s dad visiting and Hae-Sook confronting Nak-Joon, possibly about Som-I.
