The Countdown to Death in "The Girl Who Sees Smells" Eps 13 and 14

After last week’s head scratching mess of glaring plot holes, “The Girl Who Sees Smells“ redeems itself with two great episodes in 13 and 14. Even though the surprise factors were expected and the twists were obvious, it didn’t make it any less satisfying or intense to watch it all play out.

This is the moment – the final stretch to the finale – where skills, talent, and experience is of utmost importance and everyone pulled it off so well. The subtle shift of facial expressions. The genuine portrayal of emotions. The chemistry. It was all so wonderful and so perfect.

It was these two episodes that restored a bit of the faith I had lost last week for a decent ending, so I’ll definitely be holding my breath and hoping for a great conclusion next week.

The Sense of Truths

From Oh Cho Rim (Shin Se Kyung) revealing her scent seeing abilities to the Barcode Team to the details behind Kwon Jae Hee’s (Namgoong Min) method of killing his victims, there were discoveries and confessions aplenty, but none tore at my heart quite as much as the beautifully raw moment between Choi Moo Gak (Park Yoochun) and Cho Rim in the parking deck.

Seeing both of them at a loss in how to proceed in rescuing Lieutenant Yeom (Yoon Jin Seo), followed by the confession of guilt each carried for the other while still loving each other so deeply was a straight, hard punch to the gut.

This is, precisely, the flawless performance I was talking about – the ability to tug on my heartstrings and had me mad grabbing the tissues in a mere three minute scene. It hit me so hard, I’ve re-watched it a good handful of times and it still brings me to tears!

The Sense of Clarity

I remember feeling cheating back in episodes 7 and 8 when it was revealed that Chef Kwon had Prosopagnosia, but now, it actually makes sense. It all adds up and we have Lieutenant Yeom to thank for piecing it all together. We now know that Kwon Jae Hee was abused as a child and has an unquenchable urge to kill. With the combination of these two facts, we have the Barcode Murderer, who takes joy in seeing his victim’s lives instead of their faces. Quite clever!

The Sense of Glee

How many viewers loved Lieutenant Yeom more than they did before after this week? I, personally, adored her ability to completely unsettle Chef Kwon by profiling him to a T. Not only did she shock him when she revealed that he had kidnapped the wrong woman, Lieutenant Yeom also made him lose his composure, pointed out the flaws in his murdering logic, and, well, pissed him off by pitying him.

She kicked butt, metaphorically speaking, by remaining rather level-headed, calm, and collected for the duration of her six day capture – even as her time slowly ticked down to zero. Although she was scared and nervous, she never allowed Chef Kwon to be aware of that fact and took away any sense of satisfaction that he would have otherwise felt.

The Sense of Despair

Although I rolled my eyes at how convenient it was for the weather to go from hot and sunny to a straight downpour, it still didn’t make Cho Rim’s despair any less moving. It took me a bit of time to warm up to Lieutenant Yeom, but her close, yet sudden, friendship with Cho Rim is an aspect I really like. The concern they share for one another is touching and I adore how well they seem to get along together – once they got over their initial difficulties regarding Cho Rim’s real identity, that is.

Lieutenant Yeom gravely risking her own life for Cho Rim is respectable, especially because it’s a known fact that she could have handled it better anyway. Plus, the chances of Yeom Mi getting rescued is significantly greater when compared to a situation in which Cho Rim becomes the victim. That’s how helpful the ability to see scents are, after all!

The Sense of Success

Small accomplishments leads to big success, evident here in “The Girl Who Sees Smells.” I lost count of the number of times I verbally cheered for Moo Gak and his boldness in trapping and cornering Chef Kwon like a game of cat and mouse. The intensity soars whenever he and Chef Kwon are in the same room together and it’s absolutely wonderful!

I’m constantly impressed by Moo Gak’s quick thinking, especially when Cho Rim willingly inhaled the anesthetic gas at the park in her attempt to rescue Yeom Mi. Making a public ruckus at Jae Hee’s book signing was also brilliant since it made our culprit visibly nervous knowing Moo Gak was confident enough in himself to be so open about his accusations.

All I can think is that it’s going to be an amazing and thrilling ride next week to see the final head-to-head battle between our dominating males, although I do wonder how our Detective Choi and Detective Ye (Choi Tae Joon) withstood the gas in the white room whereas Lieutenant Yeom couldn’t…

The only issue I really had was when Moo Gak left Cho Rim’s side to follow the homeless people outside of the restaurant. I understand he was going off on a hunch, but shouldn’t Cho Rim’s safety come first? What would have happened if Lieutenant Yeom hadn’t thought to dress like Cho Rim and then smoothly slide herself into harm’s way?

Still, the very moment in which Chef Kwon realized that the person he sought was actually right in front of him the entire time… was nothing short of epic. I felt smug over his slapped-in-the-face reaction, even as I worried for Cho Rim’s safety, but I wondered how he hadn’t been able to piece everything together the moment he saw her in the elevator at his library.

Sure, he might not have gotten to test Cho Rim with his questionable coffee, but did he really brush off his suspicions so easily?

At the same time, I worried that she was foolish enough to still sneak the hidden camera out of the library and let out a sigh of relief when Cho Rim continued to be fairly intelligent in protecting herself. She exuded power in the way she snapped at Chef Kwon and I think even he had not expected such explosive reactions from her.

On the other hand, I thought “The Girl Who Sees Smells” balanced the action with the romance perfectly this time around as well. We had the cutesy and fun date, but also a show of love and support for each other during the darker moments, which I fully appreciated. The subtle moves, like Moo Gak physically supporting Cho Rim when she lost sight of Jae Hee’s scent, was the icing on the cake and the cherry on top.

And what would this drama be without a generous helping of hilarious Detective Ki (Jo Hee Bong) and Detective Ye to lighten the mood when needed?

It’s been a great run so far, but while I wouldn’t set my expectations sky high for the finale next week, I am anticipating it and hoping that the wrap up will be a satisfactory one.

What about you, Soompiers? What did you think about this week’s episode? How do you think “The Girl Who Sees Smells” will conclude? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

[tv]Catch episode 13 of The Girl Who Sees Smells on SoompiTV!

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[tv]Prepare your tissues for episode 14 of The Girl Who Sees Smells on SoompiTV!

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