[Official] SPARTACE COUPLE KimJongkook-SongJiHyo

[androkia91]

Was pleased to see JK's neice's post. So we can assume that maybe it was a dinner among close friends? And maybe also discussed Mikey's appearance on RM? Looking her post caption she seems to say that she hitched a ride with her uncle i.e. JK. So even if we consider this being a purely business meeting, it can have easily turned into a casual one. I just hope that fans don't crowd her IG forcing her to make it private and asking her questions about JH.  

@linzer03 ,@athoughtcloud1 thank you for all your analyses.I read all the posts diligently and it's really good to see that we are discovering more and more "under-the-cover" moments we hadn't seen before, and its is good to reaffirm that we have not been crazy for shipping this couple for years lol. All the evidences are credible and yet not overly delusional since we can all be trusted to keep our feet on the ground when it comes to SA. Also, for the pepero game when it was JK's turn, when he said asked that why was everybody looking at him, I think JH remarked that why he was feeling awkward since HYS was 15 (or 14?) - but she definitely pointed out the age gap) years younger - that definitely points out to him being uncomfortable.

 

 

[linzer03]

Wow. So actually my theory that this might be another one of KJK an SJH's babysteps toward revealing their relationship might be right, since now it's KJK's niece is the one posting pictures. I mean, obviously, her pictures don't include SJH, but KJK and SJH I feel like are smart enough to know that their fans can put two and two together, and I maintain that KJK and SJH have been so careful about not being caught together that it's strange for them to be found by fans when they're at a gathering with friends. One of the biggest question marks about spartace is why they act like they're not close on RM when they're obviously close in real life. I remember in 2015 before the Battle of the Strongest came out where SJH demanded KJK help her with the mystery boxes, people (besides spartace fans) had stopped including KJK in the list of people SJH was close to. They'd talk about LKS and YJS, but would leave KJK off the list. That's one of my favorite things about that episode. Fans of RM, even those who weren't spartace fans, started using KJK as one of the examples of RM males who were close to SJH again. 

[linzer03]

So I was rewatching ep 70, which is the telephone race where KJK ends up being the spy with SYJ, and after he betrayers her, SJH decides to change his name to Song Jong Kook. And I never before realized how ridiculous KJK and SJH are in the beginning of the episode when they are deciding teams. I like I remember them being cute in the opening but not like this. Seriously. Go find the episode and rewatch the scene.

It cuts weirdly from the opening dialogue to the group standing a circle, but you can see KJK and SJH in the back laughing about something. He’s stepping back from her as if she pushed him away and then he moves forward with his arms open like he’s about to touch her, but then the song starts and they have to start going around in circles. But still, clearly spartace are fooling around in the background in a way that have nothing to do with cameras. So the cast goes around in circles and when the music stops, KJK throws JSJ out of the circle so JSJ is forced to be on his own team. SJH, on the other hand, ends up hugging KG in her attempt not to be the last person to circle up. This should be a MC moment, and they tease SJH about it afterwards, but if you watch KJK’s hand when the group is hugging each other, rather than hugging the person next to him, it sort of looks like he’s poking SJH in the side. In the next shot, you see her laughing and turning her head to look at him. Of course, neither of them acknowledge what just happened, and instead we get MC teasing. Then when they do the circle game again, SJH looks at KJK, clapping and following YJS, and just starts laughing. She doesn’t even walk around in the same direction of the circle so she can keep an eye on KJK and she reaches out for him when it’s time to group up. And then, in the final round, the PD tells them that the teams are going to be split into two and three. SJH’s eyes go to KJK and when the game stops, she heads straight for KJK. Unfortunately, MC is a thing and she ends up with KG but if you want her during the game, it’s fairly clear who she wants on her team.

I’ve always kind of thought there was some missed opportunity with spartace in 2011. If you watch the episodes in that time period, SJH is the one who always wants to team up with KJK whereas KJK supports MC. So it’s possible that SJH was interested but thought KJK wasn’t and so moved on. It’s also at the 2011 SBS Awards that YJS comments that KJK should be surprised that SJH looks so pretty. SJH was dating the CEO by then if I’m not mistaken, but it sort of sounds like YJS thinks there’s something between spartace at that point or that they’re heading in that direction. I mean, he’s teasing KJK of all people, who has had zero romantic connection with SJH on RM. But really who knows. Anyway, I just wanted to point out how cute spartace are in the opening of ep 70.

[sana82]

1 hour ago, linzer03 said:

I’ve always kind of thought there was some missed opportunity with spartace in 2011. If you watch the episodes in that time period, SJH is the one who always wants to team up with KJK whereas KJK supports MC. So it’s possible that SJH was interested but thought KJK wasn’t and so moved on. It’s also at the 2011 SBS Awards that YJS comments that KJK should be surprised that SJH looks so pretty. SJH was dating the CEO by then if I’m not mistaken, but it sort of sounds like YJS thinks there’s something between spartace at that point or that they’re heading in that direction. I mean, he’s teasing KJK of all people, who has had zero romantic connection with SJH on RM. But really who knows. Anyway, I just wanted to point out how cute spartace are in the opening of ep 70.

you are right,maybe I see things in this way because I'm jk fan but it seems like that jh tried really hard to get close to jk at that time maybe she was interested in him but I'm almost sure jk just see her as a co worker or a sister around that time . in ep 70 you can see jk push jh    toward kg and he hug her if he had feelings for jh he wouldn't do this. and jh reaction when she got eliminated at the end is a bit extreme,she didn't expect jk betray her like that. now that you mentioned sa in 2011 let me to add another ep to it. ep 48 was the one that made me wonder what's going oo there. in one of the games jh shoulg guess members name by touching their face and in that game she pull jk and js hair.later she said that she thought js was kg.jk is older than her and they are not that close at that time.look at others reaction when she grab js hair,they are sure she mistake him with someone else. for me it seems grabing hair in this situation is her way to show affection toward someone.kg who is her monday bf and jk .                                                                                                                                                       

[sana82]

11 hours ago, athoughtcloud1 said:

 

 

thanks for your analysis of this ep .always enjoy reading your long posts.I never noticed before but it seems like jh cover her mouth after jk said something to her.like she is shocked or something like that.and you mentioned before about episodes you suspect sa had fight before,please share it here if you have time.so curious to know about your observation on this.

[linzer03]

@sana82I don't think she pulls KG's hair; I'm fairly certain it's a gesture reserved for KJK. It's possible that she thought YJS was KJK at first. If you watch her hands, she feels YJS's bangs before pulling his hair. KJK has a similar hairstyle to YJS, so I'm guessing she mistook YJS for KJK and pulled his hair. Then she realized that the next person was KJK, so when it came time to say the order she had no idea who the second person was and just guessed KG. The second time she does the game, KJK is the only person whose hair she pulls.

To add to that, if you watch episode 56 (the flower tea episode) in the beginning, the five females are blindfolded and have to catch one of the men running around the room to determine their partners for the day. When KG holds out his arms to SJH, she feel first his arms and starts to get excited. She reaches for the hair, like she's going to pull it, but when she realizes it's KG's short hair, she gets mad and tells him to away. Considering hair pulling is what she does after recognizing KJK, I'd say she was hoping he'd be her partner for the day.

I think they were both becoming good friends around that time. Though I doubt he ever thought of her as a sister. Don;t forget he calls her "cute" in ep 40 and picks her as more attractive over Lizzy in the boat episode. Maybe KJK was interested in her during the later half of 2011 but decided to ignore it, maybe he was unconsciously interested, maybe he wasn't at all. I actually find it a lot harder to decipher what's going on between them in earlier episodes (possibly because we don't have fan meets at that time). But I think YJS thought, at least, that there was something there and that's why he made the comment at the SBS Awards. And then, of course, they found out about the CEO a couple months later.

[airplanegirl]

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

@androkia91 Could you translate what JK's niece wrote on her insta?On google translate, she seems to have used the word 그제 which appears  to be 'day before yesterday'. Or is it something else?

@sana82 Hadn't noticed that. Yes,seems to me that JH has her hand on her mouth in the last gif. I will have to re-watch those particular episodes before writing about them. I will do that once I get some free time.

[airplanegirl]

17 minutes ago, athoughtcloud1 said:

@androkia91 Could you translate what JK's niece wrote on her insta?On google translate, she seems to have used the word 그제 which appears  to be 'day before yesterday'. Or is it something else?

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

Thanks @airplanegirl

Baidu fans, doing some hawk-eye investigation centering on JK's watch in both pics, claim that the pic with JH was taken around 1.40 pm and the one with the niece was around 8.30 pm. So a long lunch party!!! Another fan who took pic with JH alone on that day said there were other people with her, JK and the PD whom she didn't recognise. So it could be Mikey, the niece and JK's manager.

Spoiler

cre: 梦の飘, SA baidu

cre: lighttkma, SA baidu

 

[songjongkook]

Wow they really have a hawk-eye, I can tell it's definitely 8.30 in the 2nd pic but the 1st pic is too blurry. And I'm not sure whether its am or pm, I mean the fan who took the pic posted it on 12.18 pm Jul 13, 2016. It could be they're having breakfast at 8.30 am and stay there until noon and JK's niece and Mickey could have been left already at that point. cmiiw

 

[airplanegirl]

2 hours ago, athoughtcloud1 said:

Thanks @airplanegirl

Baidu fans, doing some hawk-eye investigation centering on JK's watch in both pics, claim that the pic with JH was taken around 1.40 pm and the one with the niece was around 8.30 pm. So a long lunch party!!! Another fan who took pic with JH alone on that day said there were other people with her, JK and the PD whom she didn't recognise. So it could be Mikey, the niece and JK's manager.

  Hide contents

cre: 梦の飘, SA baidu

cre: lighttkma, SA baidu

 

I'm doubting the 1.40pm theory cause if you notice in the second and third pic, his watch has pattern that points exactly at the 1.40 mark. I do think both pics are from 8.30pm.

I believe another fan also claims that in the first pic, they see it as 9.30pm. So I'd go with a grain of salt regarding the 1.40pm theory.

[dragonlovers]

Just now, I am searching whether there is a tutorial to teach me how to sign up in SA naver cafe (since I don't know Korean but I want to have more info and insight to myself regarding SA), and google leads me back to here (older posts of course...page 523 as I remember...). It is funny that I cannot find anything related to SA naver actually ( I swear google shows that SA naver is mentioned -.-). Anyways, the most interesting part is I got to read the first post of @athoughtcloud1 posted on Feb 11 (You mentioned you are newbie so I guess is your first post). Spent some time to go over it and suddenly I remember I came across @linzer03 post asking the top 5 SA episodes we love but I am busy and did not have time to share at that time.

Be honest, I seldom remember the episode number so I will go and search which episode it is everytime you guys mention one. I remember the SA moments I love but I don't remember the exact episode number. But @athoughtcloud1 first post here in soompi had indeed covered two major moments I love. The SA moments I love does not only include the sweet moments, but also the moments that allow me to have stronger believe that they have feelings for each other and show their relationship.

The top one will be the first episode after the news about JH dates with her CEO. In this episode, Kookie is not acting like himself. It is different from how he used to be. He is obviously in a bad mood and not putting his head in the game, and hence, become the last group to complete the mission in the pool. When JH's team leaves, JH is worrying about Kookie's team but Kookie is still acting werid and he doesn't respond to her. This is the first moment that makes me think Kookie may have feelings for JH. Or else, I cannot explain why he is acting normal to everyone except JH. She is the only one that Kookie is ignoring in the first half of this episode. There is no clue on why Kookie for the first time being this late for recording (The episode starts with everyone waiting for him) so I will not include it as something related to JH's news cause I have no proof. And after watching all the episodes and see how their relationship develops over the years, I think Kookie is a bit confused about his own feeling at that time being. Everyone knows he loves to analyze. It seems like he is thinking why he feels werid when the news about JH dating broke out. He does not know how to act and interact with her with all the things happening in his mind. But, Kookie will be the only person to know what is going on with him when filming that episode.

The episode that comes in second place is the episode RM vs Production Team, with the moment JH holds Kookie's hand after he is out from Han River. Most JK fans know Kookie has health problem so he may not be able to move his finger and catch/hold things sometimes. (More explanation can be found in Kookie's healing camp part two 2016) When JH reaches Kookie immediately and holds his hand to warm him, I think this shows JH is very concern about Kookie's situation. At a moment like that, I believe normally people will rush to the person you worried the most to check whether he is alright before going to others. It is a psychological thing. An unconcious move that will show your true feeling, especially you are rushing to somebody with clear target but not randomly choosing people to take care of. Thus I believe out of all, JH is most worried about Kookie as she knows about his situation. For Kookie, I don't think he will freely talk about his health problem with others, problem about his back and knee maybe, but not something about his "shorter leg" as well as the problem with his neck/spine leads to him not able to hold on to things. He takes a long time to reveal his problems freely on show to tell public about it although being in this industry for so long. Back when he joined the army in 2006-2008, people are criticizing and questioning his position due to his healthy and strong image on TV. But he didn't go through all details to proof himself. He just mentioned in one variety show that he has serious health problem and this is the position the doctor advised after detailed checkup before joining the army. Knows that rm is like a family, but this shows that JH is close enough with him that he is okay to let her know about his condition. Kookie is not the type that can be close to everyone especially people with opposite gender. He can be friend with everyone but not being close. It is kind of a self-protection thing, apart from being shy, in my opinion but I will not discuss in details here. Therefore, this episode proves that they are close to each other and Kookie is comfortable of being take care by JH even in front of camera. It is also an episode that shows us how JH places Kookie first before others, even her Monday BF. To me, this concludes that JH is closer to Kookie than KG, in fact, the other way round than how people generally think of.

It's already 4 am in my time zone so I will go to sleep first as I cannot keep myself fully awake anymore lol. Sorry if there is any typo as I am typing while lying on my bed before sleep hehehe...I am busy nowadays with my daily life so I may not be able to watch broadcast tomorrow. Hope you will discover more spartace moments. And it is good that more of you can join the discussion so we can have more insights about the pair we love. Actually I am still having trouble for how to sign up in SA naver cafe. Wonder if anyone could help? Nite everyone.

[aschae]

@dragonlovers if you're still looking for help on how to sign up for SA Naver, feel free to pm me. @athoughtcloud1 was gracious enough to help me figure it out; I'm sure one of us would be willing to help you! 

[SpartaceJjang]

 

[kjklovesjh]

what the first episode after the news about JH dates with her CEO  ? Im so curious 

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

@kjklovesjh It is episode 82.

Wow, too many spartace moments this episode. JK and JH are so comfortable with each other and they do communicate a lot with each other. That kind of comfortableness screams 'couple' to me. I love spartace with Suk Jin. He also puts in his best when he is with them. I really didn't expect uri team to win in the first game since they started so slow. Also, I thought they would be quieter. But they had a blast and JH was really her happy self getting to sing a lot of songs.

I will now just go and watch all the gifs and insta posts from this episode. Too much spartace sugar!

[Guest athoughtcloud1]

@linzer03 Regarding my favourite SA episodes, the two I find most interesting are definitely episodes 82 and 230 since I think there is a lot of emotional tension in them that give us indications about spartace being more than friends or colleagues. May be I will post about episode 82 now since @dragonlovers has already talked about it. Perhaps when isubs forum was there, there was analysis about this episode, but since I came much much later to this fandom, I didn't get to read any discussions on this episode other than on SA baidu. So sharing the analysis of episode 82 which perhaps some of you might know already. This is also for you @sana82 and @kjklovesjh

In my case, I watched this episode when I was not a RM fan. I watched it for LDH whose drama I was watching at that time. So I really didn't notice anything apart from kooksoo couple and YJS-LDH funny conversation in the last game. It was a post by one of my all time favourite posters, mintgarden on this particular episode on SA baidu that made me take a re-look at it. It took me some time to get convinced she was on to something . It is for others to watch and decide, but like @dragonlovers I too believe that something is going on in this episode which is a bit strange and needs a re-look! I will summarize mintgarden's main arguments along with some of my own observations.

JH's dating news broke on feb 1, 2012 and this episode was filmed on feb 6, 2012. Like @dragonlovers mentioned, JK is absent in the opening scene. And that is really strange for JK who had never missed an opening of RM till then. JK is known to be so disciplined! The captions inform us it was because of a traffic block, but that seems too much of a coincidence! By the time JK turns up, Jae Suk and the others have already discussed the elephant in the room - JH's dating news which has put an end to the MC loveline. Someone wonders where JK is, whether he is coming with YEH for that day's shoot and the other members latch on to that as the perfect opening to discuss lovelines in general and the loveline that needs discussion - the MC loveline. JH is of course laughing a lot to mask her discomfort as Gary cries about losing his loveline and YJS and Haha declare they are open for a new loveline. Suddenly, JK pops up in the middle and then there are no more jokes made about the loveline. Perhaps, the topic has been exhausted and the time has come for the rules of the day's game to be explained, so that need not be considered that strange. Yet, as a shipper, things to note are : JK's coming late has meant he has missed out on the inevitable conversation in the opening scene about JH's dating news and that once he is on the scene, it is not alluded to again in the episode. When the PD is explaining the rules, you can see JSJ turning to look first at JH who is on his right and then at JK who is on his left.

RM members are supposed to choose their respective cars and JH hurriedly runs along with YJS and JSJ to stand in front of Car A. JK and KS are left in front of Car B  and Haha after some confusion decides to give Gary company in front of Car C. When it becomes clear that there is no guest in Car B which means JK and KS are fated to be teammates, JH who is standing with her team shouts loud that she feels pity for KS and that from the looks of it, KS will get a nosebleed by the time he reaches Busan (where the games are to be played). JK does not respond to her and just looks down. 

Spoiler

 

In this segment, JK reacts when people expects him to -for instance, when others remind him that he is supposed to not like the fact that KS is teamed up with him, but not otherwise. In the beginning, JK doesn't say anything against being paired with KS, but once JH and the others talk about KS' misfortune in being paired with him, he plays his variety persona of the tiger hunting the giraffe. That aside, compared to the others, he is relatively silent. He scolds Jae Suk for acting overfamilar with LDH and pushes him away (JH immediately takes up from where JK left off and scolds JS, but JK doesn't join her).

Then the members board the flight and land at Busan from where they drive in their respective cars to the location. JH's car and JK's car are parallel to each other and once SJ points out JK's car to JH, her attention seems to be fixed on JK's car since one can see that she has lowered the window to take a look at what is happening there. JH once again expresses pity for KS saying KS seems to be really frightened. In JK's car though, everything is quiet. In fact, the the captions on Kooksoo in this episode continue to emphasize that they are the quiet couple since they do not like each other and are uncomfortable with the pairing, with KS too scared around JK to be his normal goofy self. Now that is kind of strange since JK and KS have never been the quiet couple. Kooksoo have always been the bickering couple. The SA baidu poster points out how every team's screen time depends on how much they talk and especially for a team without guests, JK and KS need to talk something entertaining for their footage in the car to be aired. However, JK seems to be really silent and lost in thought and it takes strange noises coming from the car for him to wake up from his reverie. Again, it is interesting that KS is driving the car since we know JK is the one who usually drives for his team and in his Amazing Race interview, JK claimed that KS is among the 3 worst drivers he knows (LOL). So JK giving the wheel to KS in a relatively unfamiliar place, Busan seems a bit odd (perhaps JK needed some time to think). KS then tells JK that the car is louder than his hyung's voice (why is JK so quiet that day?) and JK correctly guesses that there might be something wrong with the gear. It is then that KS checks and realizes that it has been on 1st gear till then. KS may be a bad driver, but to forget even to change the gear and for JK not to notice that seems a bit strange (In FO, when JK was driving with the newbie driver Daesung, he was on tenterhooks all the time). Perhaps both JK's and KS's minds are on other things! JK may be quiet, but to see KS also so quiet beside JK is really strange. KS seems to have been quietly driving until JK asked him about the strange noises coming from the car. It is almost like KS didn't want to disturb JK whom he knew was not in that good a mood! JK's and KS' conversation in the car seems to be the way they react normally in life compared to their variety selves since JK just laughs when KS informs him about the car running on 1st gear and doesn't scold him or shout at him (that is also surprising since this kind of stupidity on KS' part is a perfect opportunity to create a variety moment with JK shouting at him).

The first game is at the sauna.  JH is standing between her team mates and Haha's team, but she seems to be a bit lost. She is playing with the shuttlecock in her hand and is looking down most of the time. When someone makes a joke, she joins in, but then immediately goes back to looking down and absentmindedly playing with her shuttlecock. JK then complains that their team is at a disadvantage since they have only two members to which Jae Suk retorts that JK should have stood in front of Car A or C in the first place. JK smiles at JS, but that smile is half-sad and half-sheepish and then he just looks down. He doesn't respond to it. (Perhaps there were reasons why he didn't want to be in front of Car A). JK, after some time, asks Lee Da Hae whether she is a spy. Since DH is standing beside JH, that kind of means JK is looking in JH's direction. JH meets his gaze, her expression changes and she immediately drops her gaze.

Spoiler

 

After that, she doesn't look up for some time. JK remarks that he is reminded of X-man seeing LDH standing in the water and when JK shouts X-man, Jae Suk follows it with Yoon Eun Hye. JK shouts at Jae Suk and it doesn't help that Gary immediately follows up with covering JK's ears imitating the famous 'of course' game.  JK sounds more upset than usual when he chides Jae Suk and Jae Suk looks down penitently (really cute). The glance JK gives Jae Suk this time is really aggrieved .

Spoiler

 

Interestingly enough, while KS laughs listening to the teasing, he doesn't join in. Suk Jin just smiles a bit uncomfortably and JK's dongsaeng Haha doesn't participate in the familiar joke at all .

JK is then shown biting off the shuttlecock a bit too aggressively. LKS looks a bit concerned and so does Jae Suk who comes to his side and asks him what he is up to. Jae Suk's concern here looks real than just something made up for variety. When JK explains the science behind that, Jae Suk is satisfied and leaves him.

Spoiler

 

JH is standing in the background on her own, but she doesn't look up when this conversation is going on. When JK tries to kick his shuttlecock, JH reminds him that his foot position can give him a cramp. JK responds to that saying it is ok. It is the first time in that episode (on camera) that we get to see JK responding to JH.

Spoiler

When JK fails in kicking the shuttlecock more than twice, Jae Suk teases him a lot. But strangely, KS, who is usually the first to blame JK when he does bad in games, doesn't say a word. When KS makes a mess of his turn, JK also doesn't scold him. In fact even when others are trying to make fun of JK, JK and KS do the Kook-Soo cross. When Haha's team is having their turn, SJ who is standing between JK and JH moves back to stand near KS. The baidu poster says they whisper something, but it is not that clear to me whether it is really a whisper or something else. When Haha's team fails, JH moves forward to high-five JS who is standing on the other side of JK. When she comes near, JK quickly steps back.

Spoiler

Next time as well, JK is unable to kick the shuttlecock more than thrice, but KS doesn't scold him. It is when Haha asks KS why he is standing so silent that KS goes variety-mode and splashes water over JK by kicking the shuttlecock aggressively. The poster says that KS remaining silent is  uncharacteristic of him and that Haha might be reminding him to take on his variety self. It is Jae Suk who tries to create the variety moment by laughing out loud and claiming that JK is really mad at KS. JK, on cue, tries to act like the enraged tiger, but it seems quite half-hearted since he drops it half-way. Jae Suk is in fact really loud in this entire episode, especially in games where JK and JH are there. He is always trying to make JK act out his variety self by teasing him and needling him. But JK responds only sometimes and when he does, it seems half-hearted. Though we are told JK is really angry at KS, once KS comes back, we can see him standing silently beside his hyung.

The next part is the most interesting. Haha's team wins and leaves for the next round. The two teams left are JH's and JK's. JK and KS though seem to be standing a bit away from Jae Suk's team, silently practising on their own . Neither do they try to interrupt JS's team with any tricks (can you imagine KS letting any team succeed like that?) nor do they even say anything to needle them.

Spoiler

When JH's shuttlecock drops in the water, KS quietly hands it over to her.and moves back near JK.  When JS finally gets the required number of times, he kicks the shuttlecock splaying water on KS and almost hitting him with it. As they leave, JH approaches KS with her hands outstretched trying to hold or shake his hand saying 'sorry', but KS doesn't respond. She then approaches JK who holds out his hand and JH then holds it and says 'Oppa, sorry' and then JK holds her palm with both hands. But his face is quite expressionless. Now, JH could be apologizing for the water sprayed over KS or for leaving them behind, but it sure looks a bit odd. The poster says it was not JH who splashed the water over KS and that JK didn't even get any water over him and there have been so many instances where one team has won and left the scene without offering any apologies.

Spoiler

When they reach the next location where they have to burst balloons with boxing gloves, JH  quips that this game would be easy for Jong Kook Oppa. It is Jae Suk who adds that Gary would also be good at it having once been a boxer. JH seems to have had JK on her mind twice that day as revealed in her sudden observations, even at times when he is not really around. In this segment, you can see YJS again trying to bring out JK's and KS's variety personas by teasing them about their unlikely combination. JK is more active in this segment and he and KS do the required bickering. For some time, JK and JH stand next to each other, but we are not shown any of their interactions (if there were any).

In the next segment, the team members have to guess the name of the song from the actions of their mates. JK and JH both seem a bit teary-eyed in this segment.  JH can also be seen wiping her eyes with a towel (which JK also notices), but then it is hard to say whether it is coz they are both upset over something or it is coz they have returned from a game where a lot of water was splashed on them and on to their eyes and noses. But my feeling here is that  while all of the members look like wet chicks, none of the other members seem to be as teary-eyed as them. Their moods also seem to be slightly off.

Spoiler

JK also seems to be a bit highly strung in his game with KS . When JK's and KS' team ends up last, KS doesn't reprimand JK or vice versa. In fact JK stays at the back when the other members are all gathered at the front with their different sized nametags that they get as prizes. When it is JK and KS' turn to get their wing-like tags, JK is teased a bit by JS and co and JK plays along. JH then asks Jae Suk to put the tag on JK's shoulders so that he would look like an angel. JK obligingly waves his shoulders like an angel, but he doesn't say anything in reply to JH. In fact, in the entire episode till then, JK keeps away from JH as much as he can. It is JH who tries to initiate conversations with him.

Spoiler

As they line up and listen to the PD's explanations about the mission which is to find the spy, JH looks a bit lost and sad to me. She bites her lips, wipes her nose with her sleeve and then looks on dazed. Not sure about this, but I also feel JS notices JH's mood and looks at JK and JS' face looks a bit concerned to me. When JS looks at JK, we are shown Haha looking in JS's direction. That shot ends with Haha and JSJ looking in the direction of JK's team, in fact, I would say at JK.  Now that could be because they think someone on JK's team could be a spy (at least I guess that is how the editors want us to see it), but I am not that convinced about it.

Spoiler

In the final segment, we have the name-tag ripping game where everybody is a spy except LDH. JH and JK are both spies though they don't know the other is. JH sees JK walking off  at a distance and she calls out to him saying "JK oppa looks cool". Then JK responds saying the wings are not that bad after all and they are about to pass each other without meeting when JK suddenly asks "Hey, who is it today?" (the spy). The next shot we are shown has JH talking to JK holding him by the elbow. She asks him whether he doesn't feel KS is acting strange/suspicious, but she is not looking at him as she asks the question. But when JH's eyes meet JK's, he looks away and JH just repeats her question as she tries to (I think) gauge his mood or break the ice between them.The two interesting things about JK's response is that he doesn't say anything in particular to her question, just keeps repeating whatever JH tells him (indicates that he is not really in a frame of mind to respond properly or that he knows she is not asking those questions for getting an answer). He also doesn't meet JH's eyes which makes the editors insert captions that say 'The commander naturally avoids eye contact to avoid detection" and when JK looks back at JH, JH turns her face away (looks to me like she is blinking back her tears). Now that is explained by the captions as JH suddenly wondering whether JK is getting suspicious of her. The baidu poster commented here that JK had no problem lying to JH's face in episode 70 when he was the spy, then why suddenly develop this fear of detection in this particular episode! Shows at least that the editors felt there was something odd in their exchange that needed to be explained. Their exchange ends with JK advising her not to stay at the same place for long and both parting ways saying they are gonna do some 'eye shopping'. That exchange ends with captions that say "Talkative members ... Today when they meet each other - Awkward Awkward". Both JK and JH bite their lips as they walk away from their meeting.

Spoiler

In the jail, JK's mood brightens up considerably and he teases JS along with the rest of his castmates.

The last scene at the terrace has JH and LDH waiting for the male members. As the men walk in, JH calls out 'oppa, come fast and talk to us".  In response,JK can be seen quickening his pace. Once the men reach where JH and DH are standing, we get to see Jae Suk first shaking hands with DH and then Gary which means JK was able to reach there only after them. But which oppa JH wanted to chat with urgently is revealed to us when we see JK sharing an umbrella with her. Then of course, we have that moment under the umbrella where JK with his thumb quite consciously touches JH's finger holding their common umbrella. You can see it is a conscious action from the movement of his eyes as his thumb touches her finger. Don't know what it means, but it could be 'we will talk later' or a conciliatory or comforting gesture.

Spoiler

 

cre: mintgarden, SA baidu for the pics and the analysis, 路然生 for the pics, marta0713, SA baidu for the gifs and sa_ranghaeyo, insta

Spoiler

Anyway, I hope those who haven't heard of this analysis will re-watch this episode and decide for themselves. I have basically summarized mintgarden's analysis of this episode with my added observations. There may be many ways of explaining what happened and obviously what we are looking at is selected footage of 10-15 hours of shoot, but I do believe there is something there that supports mintgarden's analysis. JK could have other reasons to have missed the opening or why he looks so downcast that episode, but they don't explain why he is so awkward around Ji Hyo in this episode. Till JH's dating news breaks out, we don't really see JK going out of his way to get close to JH, even when she tries to. But after her dating news, in episode 88, he holds out his hand for her. In episode 95, he, the supreme competitor, helps her win when there is no reason to . The cast members seeing JK and JH's co-operation in that episode start talking as if they could be likened to a couple that started out fighting and ended up falling in love. In fact, it is after JH's dating news that JK and JH become closer than ever with JK even gifting the tag to her on his knees. It should have started somewhere, right? And episode 82 is giving me really suspicious vibes.

 Now it could be that JK was upset with JH for the dating news that came out of the blue since he might have considered her as really close and hence someone he expected to let him know beforehand. We know how upset JK was with Haha's marriage news. But the thing is JK and Haha go a long way back and it was Haha's declaring his wedding date without informing JK of dating Byul beforehand that got him so upset. Compared to that, JK knows JH not that much. They started getting closer only a year into the show and this is episode 82 we are talking of. Again, she is just dating Baek Chang Joo, not marrying him and there may be a million reasons why she would want to keep her private life private. And if anyone needed to know if she was planning on dating publicly, for the sake of the show, it would be Gary and not JK. It is also not like the shooting was on the day the dating news broke which means JK got some time to process the information. None of the other members seem that upset. Now one may think since KS was also upset, perhaps her dating news upset the people closest to her on the set. However, before JK arrives on set, KS seems to have no problem with JH.  Also, when JK is not around, KS' mood is bright in this episode. We will never know what really happened and whether there were any other complications and it is always easier to tell why people are happy than why they are sad. Yet like @dragonlovers I also believe JK was upset at the dating news coz he had perhaps started looking at JH in another way by then. I feel JH too was somewhere aware of JK's interest in her coz of the way she acts around him in this episode where she seems to be always concerned about how he would react. She also tries a lot to strike a conversation with him to get rid of the awkwardness between them. I also think that while the cast may have perhaps known that JK might be a bit upset at the news, they  didn't expect him to be that upset. The other members in fact go through a lot of trouble to keep up the variety spirit of this episode and you can see them constantly trying to pull JK out of his shell. Perhaps JK and JH didn't get any time to talk it out amongst themselves before the shoot started (since JK came in so late) which could be the reason all the awkwardness got captured by the camera. JK's jail time in this episode seems to have done him good since he perhaps got a chance to reflect as well as to discuss it with his team mates away from the camera.

The RM team stayed overnight in Busan as the next episode was also shot there. In episode 83 which was shot the day after, JK is back to his normal self and we get to see him trying to scare JH when she is doing the market mission claiming there is a scorpion inside her box. So I think they had a proper talk after that day's shoot and things got resolved.

What do you all think? I know this is a blast from the past when we are busy enjoying the sweetness of the new episode. But it is good to see them happy after seeing them sad in an old episode!

 

[linzer03]

@athoughtcloud1 Episode 230 is, if not my favorite, then one of my favorite spartace episodes and part of the reason I brought up the five favorite episodes. I've been dying to have a discussion about it on here to get everyone else's opinion on what goes down in that episode.

I agree with the analysis of ep 82 mostly, but I don't think it was as extreme as you make it sound in parts. In the beginning, KJK seems to be playing his variety role for the most part, though he does have a few quiet moments and doesn't really respond to SJH. I think SJH being on a team with YJS and JSJ, the only two married men of the RM cast, aftert he dating news broke out, was intentional. Just to avoid any love lines. The teams in this episode may have been scripted or even planned by the cast themselves. It's also possible that KJK came to the set, planning on acting like his usual variety self, after all he had a few days to digest the news. So we see him sort of participating as the tiger in the opening, but perhaps after seeing SJH, he realized it would be harder than he thought and that's why he becomes so quiet in the car. I also agree that KJK and LKS have never been the quiet couple so it's strange that they're dubbed that in this episode. Pretty much everything you said was strange about the car ride, I also found a bit odd. There's something up if LKS is driving instead of KJK. I'll also add that KJK does participate in the conversation a bit during the first mission, asking if LDH is a spy. And when YJS brings up YEH, KJK is laughing a little even as he scolds YJS, but then he kind of goes quiet and looks down, and in response, YJS also looks down so perhaps there is something behind that.

I think there definitely was some tension between spartace throughout the episode, but I don't know if SJH knew the reason - if the reason was that KJK was interested in her. I have a hard time telling just how much KJK and SJH were aware of their feelings, if there were any, in that time period. I said before, but I feel like SJH must have had some interest in KJK around mid-2011 because she tends to look upset or annoyed with some of KJK's interactions with females (like Park Ye Jin in ep 37 and Lee Arisu in ep 44, or when he betrayed her for a female guest in 49 and 70) and because she obviously prefers to be on his team (do I need to list off episodes for this one?). But KJK was all for MC back then, so I could see SJH deciding he's not interested and moving on to the CEO. Perhaps she eventually became aware that KJK was interested in her - I mean, you have YJS saying KJK should be surprised at how pretty SJH is during the Award Ceremony - that's got to raise some alarm bells. But that wasn't until after she had started dating the CEO so knowing KJK was interested probably wouldn't change anything. It's also possible that she was surprised by KJK's distance in this episode and she had no idea he would react that way, thinking that he just thought of her as friend. So she starts off acting like she normally does (joking with him about terrifying LKS and laughing when she sees silent KJK and LKS in the car) but starts to realize that KJK is genuinely upset about her dating news (perhaps why she starts looking a little sad and quiet in the first game, where she wasn't like that during the intro even when KJK was present) and she starts to try to close the gap (thus the apology and more active attempts at conversation). 

I do feel a bit like HH and YJS are trying to drag the variety characters out of KJK and LKS during the first game. I've always felt like it has been HH and YJS's roles to try and cover up any awkwardness or suspicious-coupleness between KJK and SJH over the years. It's JSJ and LKS who usually let things slip, while HH and YJS usually try to create love lines for KJK or cut across him and SJH when they start acting jealous. So it makes sense that HH and YJS would be the ones most actively trying to cover up any tension between KJK and SJH in this episode, while LKS remains the faithful dongsaeng. But, on a different note, YJS's award show comment makes me think that YJS didn't know she was dating the CEO and was pushing for KJK and SJH to get together. If that's the case, he probably encouraged KJK to like SJH and then felt guilty when the dating news came out. And perhaps you can see hints of that in ep 82. This is all speculation based on what shown in episodes and how I interpret actions. Like I said in an earlier post, I think there was a bit of a missed opportunity in 2011 where if SJH hadn't started dating the CEO or KJK had realized or taken action quicker, they might have started dating sooner. But that didn't happen so now we have this super awkward episode 82.

I agree that KJK's expression when SJH reaches for his hand is kind of, well, dead. He doesn't even look at her, I think.And during the second game, KJK and LKS are still very much united (Kook-Soo Cross) rather than their usual bickering selves. It isn't until LKS starts hitting water on KJK that KJK starts acting like the tiger. I don't think there were any tears during the third game. KJK especially had a lot of water sprayed on him while hitting balloons and even KG looked teary-eyed after the boxing game. And I think we see KJK trying to play his variety role more during the third game. He laughs a bit with KG and complains about the easiness of the questions for other team. But he does have these long moments of silence even when he would normally be talking, and after the game he doesn't really bully LKS despite getting the giant wined nametags.

It's hard to dissect their conversation during the nametag ripping game because, based on how they're far apart and then in the next shot side-by-side, I feel like we missed some of their conversation. They were definitely awkward for two people who have been spies before. I feel like throughout the episode KJK was trying to some extent to interact normally with SJH but doesn't know how to. He starts off unresponsive, though he does sort of laugh when they tease her, but then remains rather unresponsive after the opening. During the water game, he responds to her for the first time onscreen, but it's very lackluster, and his expression is stiff when she holds his hand and apologizes. He does stand next to her during the boxing game, so he's not avoiding her completely, though it appears they don't interact. And he stands beside her again during the third game. She's very participant in the conversation about his wings. And you can see KJK glance at her and then glance down when she's talking about them. He still plays along with the joke, flapping his wings, though he remains mute. So I get the feeling he's sort of trying. They may have gotten a least a little time to interact before the nametag ripping battle, because at that point, they're up to full conservation. Still awkward. But that's a big step up from mute KJK. 

It's also interesting that SJH and KJK seemed to get much closer after she started dating the CEO. If KJK was interested in her or if SJH knew he was interested, would they have gotten so close so quickly? I feel like they'd grow distant rather than closer if they knew there were these unrequited feelings between them. But instead, we get the hand holding scene in ep 88. And then there's HH and YJS's Liger Theory that occurs only three months after this awkward episode. The Liger Theory isn't one-sided, but that both the tiger and the lion fall in love. 

I'm just curious to how everyone thinks ep 82 fits in to the larger picture of spartace, because I have a hard time telling when they became interested in each other and when they were aware of the other person being interested. And of course now we get adorable interactions like ep 308 so we can look back on this episode and not feel saddened by it.

[tushe0511]

As for my favourite episode... i have lots of them! For example i love episode 236 (the one with shinwha and ze:a). I felt as JH was the center of the attention and not because she was the MC but because there was Dongjun who had eyes only for her and because, i don't know, but i felt good vibes coming from shinhwa towards her, especially from JunJin who's really talktive! Especially in the beginning when shinhwa (i think it was JunJin) proposed to JH to join them since they are of the same age, and also DongJun being all over her. I think those moments (and probably what might have happened BTS) could have made JK jealous... He "refused" her presence in the car, initially as a joke but her being mute made him go on with what he said. There was this small (but huge) eye comunication between them, it almost spoke out loud. It was like JK was telling JH to go enjoy (in a challenge way) the time with the others while at the same time feeling sorry for treating her that way. In response JH was like "why are you doing this to me". It was a great episode overall.

@athoughtcloud1 thank you so much for letting us know the analysis from SA baidu. I took the opportunity to re-watch episode 82. But i think lot of relation between JH and JK are over-delulu (regarding this episode). While i also found some awkward moments, it's actually almost impossible for me to see anything in the teary-eyed scene... it's way easier to look at it as those two being more propense to develop an eye irritation reaction for water contact. But i can't totally exclude that those things could be true... only JK&JH (and probably the members) know that. As for golden name-tags, they already mentioned it in the previous episode, so i think there's no reason to point it out again.