‘Crash Landing on You’ week 1 sees show off to bizarre start as typhoon carries Son Ye-jin's Se-ri over border into North Korea
'Crash Landing on You' Episodes 1 and 2 definitely set up an interesting course of action of its lead characters Ri Jeong-hyeok (Hyun-bin) and Yoon Se-ri (Son Ye-jin). The former is a Captain in the North Korean army, who is currently working at the border while the latter is a South Korean business entrepreneur who runs a successful fashion label.
In its first week, we are introduced to Se-ri, a daughter from an affluent family who is currently not on very good terms with any member from her family. She has created her own business, which has grown to become a huge success in the country without the support of her family.
That is exactly why her father, who was imprisoned for fraud among other things until recently decides to hand over the entire family business to her instead of her elder brothers who are clearly not eligible. You see, one of them was scammed into investing in business while another had a physical confrontation with a union leader. Not good for business at all.
To celebrate this, Se-ri decides to try out one of the pieces from her new sportswear line while paragliding. Just when she is happy about how great the product is, she notices something strange and that is a truck that seems to be flying. On closer look, she also notices a pig, among other things and in seconds Se-ri gets pulled into a typhoon whirl which takes her to the other side of the border -- North Korea.
Then we meet Jeong-hyeok, a North Korean captain who is on border patrol duty for a couple of months. On his last day of duty, Jeong-hyeok and his teammates capture three tomb raiders -- men who travel to the other side of the border to dig up buried treasures -- who are expected to be handed over to officials in Pyongyang for further investigation.
A lot changes before this though. For instance, Jeong-hyeok chances upon a woman who is hanging by the tree unaware that she has dropped into the North Korea side of the border. He also understands that this was an accident, however, he strictly tells the woman (Se-ri) she would have to be investigated further.
The worried Se-ri tries to escape and in the process, Jeong-hyeok ends up stepping on a mine, a few of which were moved after the typhoon. In the time that it takes for Jeong-hyeok to escape, Se-ri ends up entering the military employees' village settlement in North Korea instead of going in the direction of South Korea.
If the higher officials were to know of what happened, Jeong-hyeok and his comrades would definitely receive punishments of various kinds. So he decides to help her escape to South Korea through the border.
A problem arises in an unexpected form though -- Jo Cheol-gang (Oh Man-Seok). He is Jeong-hyeok's senior official, who colluded with the three tomb raiders and even planned their deaths to avoid them from blabbering the truth in Pyongyang.
This raises Jeong-hyeok's suspicions about something nefarious taking place at the border. There is also the case of Jeong-hyeok's brother's death that he has been trying to solve for a while. Another interesting detail happens to be the fact that Jeong-hyeok is the son of one of the officials placed in a high position.
So when Cheol-gang tries to plan a trap for Jeong-hyeok, he doesn't realize that Jeong-hyeok has backing. When he does learn the truth, Cheol-gang tries desperately to find something that might help him in dealing with Jeong-hyeok. That's when he finds Se-ri hiding in the storeroom used to store Kimchi.
Jeong-hyeok's comrades inform him about the sudden inspection that is taking place as Jeong-hyeok had to travel to Pyongyang. So he hurries back in time to inform the neighbors and Cheol-gang that Se-ri is not a criminal, but his fiancee. Of course, this surprises not just the neighbors but Se-ri as well.
Will this help the two in the future? That is something we will see when Episodes 3 and 4 air on Saturday and Sunday respectively on Netflix.