Recap Korean Drama "Mental Coach Jegal 2022" Episode 9-10

This week opens with the training trip promised to Dr. Park, Gil, Ga-eul and Mu-gyeol at the end of last week’s episodes. They’re tagging along with the archery team though, so it means scary trust training, all-nighters, and the like — but don’t worry, there’s still room for comedy and a good pep talk. For instance, when they visit their first stop and take photos in that giant nest — I was dying! There was something about Jung Woo and that caw sound effect that killed me. I rewinded that scene way too many times.

But laughs aside, the “trip” is actually about hardcore mental training. We see Dr. Park try to get through to Ga-eul as she trains, DOCTOR SONG (Cha Soon-bae) try to get through to archery star SHIN YE-JI (Song Ji-won), and of course we have Gil trying to get Mu-gyeol to make it through his water trauma training. All the athletes have heavy duty emotional baggage around their fathers, and our mental coach is to the rescue!

Gil is the one Ga-eul now trusts and cries to — coming face to face with her sadness and guilt around her father. Gil also helps Mu-gyeol to realize that his own trauma is about his (horrible) step-father and childhood. And it’s the same for Ye-ji, who has her own guilt around her father’s death and must come to terms with it and allow herself to grieve. Whatever the issue at hand, Gil seems to have the warmth and encouragement to get these kids to address their shiz and learn what it is that is truly blocking them. Even Ga-eul now shares with others what she’s learned from him: we grow when we’re at our weakest.

One of the events during the trip is a bungee jump, and before Mu-gyeol jumps, he screams out: “I love you, Ga-eul!” He’s been not-so-subtly hovering around her like an adoring puppy, and wants to date her again. I so love this smitten version of our swim star! His kiss might not come to fruition, but his selfless care for Ga-eul gets him into the water again (yay!) when he rescue-dives to save her.

While all this healing is going on, though, the scheming is still going strong, and Tae-man is at it again with the boring blur of unions, committees, and power-hungry men that are rubbing their palms together for a scheme better than the last. The long and short of it is this: Coach Oh is back in charge of the short-track team (again)(for the third time), and Tae-man resigns his spot at the Human Rights Committee only to also boomerang back as head of the skating union. Huh? I am not amused by any of this; it’s getting old, and I would rather these guys get beaten already so we can focus on the healing and all the other, more interesting characters.

 

Coach Oh, of course, is back to his usual crap. He sets up another selection race, torments the girls, pits them against each other, and tries to fix the race yet again. But by this third time (though it feels like the 500th time!), the girls are finally starting to stand up to him. They skate their race the way they want to — like real athletes — and we see the value of that in Ga-eul’s beaming smile afterwards. She might have fallen and gotten disqualified, but she skated freely, and that is the answer to the question that’s been haunting her: what is it I really want?

But that’s not the end of Ga-eul’s jubilant moment. After standing up to the Coach and getting saved by yet another epic Gil slo-mo punch, she bursts out with: “I love you, coach!” And I don’t know who is more horrified: Mu-gyeol, standing down the hall; Dr. Park, standing beside him like she’s looking at the wreck she saw coming; or Gil, who is just standing there in shock, only to grab his face in torment that’s comedic genius. Roll credits.

 

I definitely didn’t expect them to go this way with the Gil/Ga-eul rapport, but I should have — it’s working so well and feels so smooth because it’s bringing hints and jabs from earlier in the drama full circle. Our early episodes had those jokes about Gil’s age and the blind date misunderstanding, but more recent episodes (and this week’s in particular) leaned a lot on the same, as if telling us what was going to happen next.

We not only saw Mu-gyeol getting a little jealous of Ga-eul’s obvious easiness when she’s with Gil, but balking at his friendly physical affection, and mistaking the word “rapport” for “ppo ppo” (a quick kiss). Then, there was the scene where Dr. Park solemnly warned Gil that she thought Ga-eul was developing a crush on him. Gil had laughed it off as absurd, but they agreed to watch out for any emotional transference going on. I bet that conversation was rolling through Gil’s horrified thoughts after Ga-eul’s hallway confession lol.

As much as I catch myself wondering why this drama needs 16 episodes if we’ve already been through three rounds with the same villain, I really did enjoy this week’s episodes. The drama is at its best when Gil is free to be sweet and encouraging, and I love his wacky methods and pep talks and improv music concerts for the kids.

The drama is rich and interesting enough without the redundant villain plot arcs, so I’m hoping we can lean a little less on Coach Oh’s whiny voice and Tae-man’s tantrums and/or threats and instead spend more time with our athletes and their coaches. Although, I will say, the little dip into Tae-man’s crush on Dr. Park was strangely amusing. It doesn’t seem to fit his character at all — all of a sudden he gets derpy and likeable — which is what made it feel all the more entertaining when the drama committed to it. (But still, K