Recap Korean Drama "Link: Eat, Love, Die" Episode 3

Link: Eat Love Kill (링크: 먹고 사랑하라 죽이게) is a fantasy-drama series directed by Hong Jong-chan and starring Yeo Jin-goo and Mun Ka-young in lead roles. The series consists of 16 episodes and will be taking over tvN’s Monday and Tuesday 10.30 PM KST slot, previously occupied by Military Prosecutor Doberman. The series will air from June 06, 2022, to July 26, 2022. Eat Love Kill episode 3 has a runtime of 65 minutes.

Eat Love Kill episode 3 starts with Gye-hoon remembering the aftermath of Gye-young’s disappearance and the confession that he had got from a classmate about said disappearance. We then jump to Gye-hoon catching Da-hyun opening the fridge and asking her whether she found what she was looking for. A scared and confused Da-hyun’s feelings reflect on Gye-hoon, who asks her what she is doing there.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

 

Da-hyun makes up a silly lie and he pressurises her to tell him the truth but when she refuses to tell him, he mentions that maybe he’s on her side. A confused Da-hyun comes back home wondering what is going on while Gye-hoon looks at the fridge inquisitively. The next morning, an extensive mother-daughter screaming match later, Da-hyun wonders how her entire family has been traumatised by the events that took place that fateful night and then mentions to her family how the body has disappeared from Gye-hoon’s fridge.

Anyway, after Jin-hoo expresses concern that everyone seems to be watching them all the time, he asks Gye-hoon whether Da-hyun could be her sister. Although he says that there is a possibility of that happening, it is highly unlikely. However, he is unable to discount their proven connection and wonders how that is possible. Jin-hoo asks him to confirm it and just tell her the truth, but he says that he is afraid of the consequences.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

 

Either way, a new character is introduced after Won-tak and Min-jo check out a domestic violence call – Eun-jung has come to Jihwa-dong to find her brother Jin-geun and immediately recognises Da-hyun from her brother’s creepy stalker account. Anyway, afterwards, Gye-hoon tries to save an anxious Da-hyun from Won-take, misunderstanding him to be her stalker and in the aftermath, she asks him why he keeps meddling in her affairs – it’s not like she’ll fall for him just because he did something nice. He tells her to do exactly that, and in the confusion, she just keeps saying the weirdest things.

After horrible nightmares of Jin-geun stalking her keeps both her and Gye-hoon awake and crying for nights on end, the two run into each other after being unable to sleep. They hang out that night at the restaurant to have a snack to go with the soju that they both have bought and it becomes a nightly routine for the two of them to the point where they look forward to each other’s company and bond over their mutual love for food.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

 

It’s adorable watching them bond and one fine night, she asks him why he’s making such heartfelt dishes for her. He says that it’s because he wants to help someone who isn’t able to sleep. When she doesn’t buy his silly reason, he tells her a story of how he had once owed a friend five packs of ramyeon but he probably won’t be able to do it for her after this and maybe this is his way of compensating. She empathises with his reasoning and mentions how we shouldn’t take people for granted.

The next day, as it starts raining, Gye-hoon goes to pick up Da-hyun after he realises that she didn’t take an umbrella with her, just like her sister. However, Da-hyun is taken aback by his forethought and obviously, something starts to form between them, although she assures him that she won’t fall for him. After dropping her off, Gye-hoon remembers what was written in one of the notes from the first scene of the episode – the night Gye-young disappeared, one of the boys had told him that his father Ui-chan came back home with blood on his clothes.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

As he remembers the police picking him up from his piano class where Gye-young was a student, Ui-chan appears at his window, peering in. Meanwhile, Da-hyun has a spat with her mother after the latter tries to force her to get a better job and she says that she has been lying to her for so long. That this isn’t what she wants and she wasn’t born to realise her mother’s dreams. She wants to live her life on her own accord and doesn’t want to be stuck doing something that she doesn’t want to do.

Although her mother cries and wails that she has raised a fraud, her grandmother is more supportive. When Da-hyun goes outside crying, she runs into Gye-hoon, who looks equally heartbroken.

He asks her whether she wants to eat since it puts her in a good mood and through wet laughs, she wonders how he is always able to find her when she’s at her lowest. She then implores him to give her a job at his restaurant. Jin-hoo, meanwhile, has gone to get Da-hyun and Gye-hoon’s DNA tested, clearly without their permission. When she gets to the restaurant later, she finds Eun-jung there giving an interview to get hired, and she is extremely excited to see Da-hyun there as well.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

 

And if this drama wasn’t enough, Jae-sook asks Bok-hee and Chun-ok to kill someone for her – she saw them hauling the body outside that night. Meanwhile, as Da-hyun and Gye-hoon celebrate her new job, she looks at the fridge concerningly while Gye-hoon wonders why the kid from his childhood turned his father in – maybe the burden of carrying such a secret was too much. Just then Da-hyun reveals that she killed someone.

Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3 Review

Ok, so Link: Eat Love Kill has picked up steam with several different plot points working effectively together. The idea of adding Gye-hoon’s experiences from the past to his odd situation in the present is clever and effective and makes the two worlds come together wonderfully. Gye-hoon’s character is as confused as we are regarding what exactly is going on with his connection with Da-hyun, but what’s what makes watching this all the more effective. The audience doesn’t know more than the protagonists and thus, you wait with them as the layers peel themselves open.

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

Still From Link: Eat Love Kill Episode 3

Meanwhile, we are also subjected to Da-hyun and Gye-hoon’s chemistry in this episode and it’s heartening to watch them spend time with each other and get comfortable with each other’s company. There’s something extremely sweet about watching these two randomly having wine every night and eating gourmet food. Plus, Yeo Jin-goo and Mun Ka-young work off each other really well and are a treat to watch. Let’s hope they don’t, by some miracle, turn out to be siblings. It’s going to be extremely uncomfortable for the viewers in that case.

However, what I hate about the series till now is the shocking annoyance I feel watching Da-hyun and Bok-hee fight with each other for the most inane things. I don’t understand why this is a trope in almost every Korean show but watching every other mother be these lunatic-esq characters out to force their adult children to do their bidding is just plain horrible. The worst was in Forecasting Love and Weather, considering Jin Ha-kyung was in her 40s. At least Da-hyun is clear from early on that she should be able to live her life on her own terms, so that’s great.

Anyway, overall, this episode was enjoyable with some humorous moments peppered here and there. The twists at the end will hopefully turn out to be worthwhile and not just another dead end. But we’ll have to wait for the next episode to see how it goes!