We go back to the start in the fifth episode of Four Hands, Two Sonatas, as Pio and Jeongyo find themselves at a life-changing competition in Prague.
In this episode of Four Hands, Two Sonatas, we finally arrive at the point of the timeline that the flashforwards have been alluding to – the Prague Harmonie International Competition. We also see the extent of Pio’s desire to prove himself, but whether he is driving himself towards his dream or his doom still remains to be seen.
Disclaimer: The following article contains major spoilers for Four Hands, Two Sonatas episode 5.
Meet you at Prague in Four Hands, Two Sonatas Episode 5
Pio has been hospitalized due to pneumonia. Though Jihye has been screening his calls, Pio asks Jeongyo to join the Prague Harmonie International Competition. Pio thinks fairly beating Jeongyo in a competition is the only way he can prove himself. Despite not really wanting to enter, Jeongyo believes it will help Pio regain his confidence and does it to be a good friend.
The two practice fiercely, with Pio practicing so hard he almost injures his hands, and eventually make it to Prague. During the semifinals, Jeongyo notices that Pio is having trouble playing with his pinky finger and tells him to rest. Pio waves him off, and his mother keeps pushing him despite knowing about his injury.
Laying the groundwork
The two boys make it to the final round of the competition, where 12 participants have been selected from the initial pool of sixty. The finalists are sent to a chapel where they are not allowed to use their phones. Each finalist must play one piece of their choosing and a set piece that is the same for all contestants.
Pio and Jeongyo attract attention from the other contestants for their talent. When Jeongyo is asked what he has chosen for the free piece, he says (with Pio acting as his translator) that he chose Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2. This is as the same as Pio’s free piece. Pio originally wanted to do Concerto No. 3, but Hyunsoo convinced him to do No. 2 instead, telling him it will help him develop his skills more.
Pio continues his intense practicing, neglecting his health and bothering the other contestants in the process. Journalists come to interview the contestants and ask if Pio and his grandfather, one of the conductors in the competition, would be performing together soon. Hopeful, Pio plays for his grandfather, but Seungwoon coldly tells him to work with the other conductor instead.
Pio’s paranoia
Pio and another contestant butt heads over his late night practicing, but Jeongyo steps in before they come to blows. During the scuffle, Pio’s sheet music goes missing, and the competition’s rules state that he will not be issued another one.
High on adrenaline and lacking sleep, Pio thinks he sees someone outside with his sheet music and runs out into the rainy forest to recover it. Jeongyo follows him and pulls him out of the river where he sees a page of sheet music floating. Pio almost attacks Jeongyo but comes to his senses just in time, as Jeongyo yells that he is more important than music.
Depressed and exhausted by this turn of events, Pio apologizes for putting Jeongyo through everything and says he’ll quit music. While Jeongyo argues that Pio has memorized the sheet music, Pio knows that he hasn’t sufficiently interpreted it to be able to perform it confidently. After their conversation, Jeongyo thinks about how happy he feels when he plays with Pio and slips his friend his own sheet music.
The finals in Four Hands, Two Sonatas Episode 5
The performers leave the chapel one by one to play the finals, Pio’s sheet music thief among them. Each one of them is escorted to the venue via a private car. Jeongyo is the last contestant, and is therefore the last to leave the chapel.
Pio regains the confidence to play in the finals. Despite his bleeding fingers, he delivers a perfect performance, partially guided by the annotations on Jeongyo’s sheet music.
Meanwhile, the men in Jeongyo’s car turn out to be thugs paid off by Pio’s mother to drive him away from the competition. Although Jeongyo manages to escape, one of the thugs shoots him and he goes missing.
Because Jeongyo is nowhere to be found, his performance is canceled. Pio knows that his mother had a hand in Jeongyo’s disappearance as he once saw her returning late at night, dodging questions about where she’d been. However, there is no evidence to prove that she did it. Pio is declared the winner of the competition.
The episode ends with Pio back in Prague ten years later, practicing the piano at a bar with a call coming in on his phone.
Thoughts and What To Expect Next in Four Hands, Two Sonatas
Although this episode was actually quite sparse in terms of plot points, the events that did happen were a doozy. The flashforwards in the previous episodes seemed so tonally different to the tense but peaceful Seoul setting, but Four Hands managed to bridge the transition well.
Hopefully, the story doesn’t lose its core themes as it explores Jeongyo’s disappearance. Song Kang’s monologue about desperately loving something to your breaking point was genuinely so heartbreaking, it would be a shame to lose that connection in favor of the “more exciting” conflicts that we’ll encounter in the next episode.
Source: tvN Drama
