I know that I said that I thought that this drama would not be one that I would be binging on, but my friends, I was wrong. Or at least I’m wrong now that I settled into the rhythm of the piece and “things” kept rolling along, especially by the end of episode 4. There’s a lot to talk about and it’s all spoilery, so more after the jump!

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Let’s begin by talking about how smarmy/week/pathetic/creepy the almost-blandly good-looking CEO Do Joon-young is. He reminds me of a young Korean Frank Whaley-type, sort of plastic, and shallow. I can’t see what would attract Yoon-hee, except a life of intrigue and playtime in comfortably richer surroundings in that apartment they share. She seems like she’s a little immature in her own way (that little music appreciation scene, for example); their relationship seemed like play-acting. His shorter stature makes him seem like the kind of guy with a Napoleonic complex – he has to be in charge – but you know, I don’t really see him doing anything that showcases him as being all that smart – except at backstabbing. I can’t imagine what that Uriah Heep-like lackey director gets out of his role as henchman, do you?

I was getting itchy with the roles of Dong-hoon’s two brothers; how much longer would they be so ambitiousless? The younger one seems to have lots of anger issues over the failure of his directing career, but once he seems to have set aside those dreams and plugged himself into the cleaning business it seems like he’s found a way to ‘smooth out his wrinkles’, and put his emotional well-being into the way he was before the project with Yoo-ra. I welcomed her introduction into the story because I needed a break from worrying about Dong-hoon and Ji-ah and their unhappy situations. Even if she was dealing with her own kind of traumas she injects something fresh creatively into the plot, and I want to see where things go for her. I’m a little less interested in the older brother and his drunken, shiftless clown face, but now exactly where did that stash come from?

But Dong-hoon — he’s such a mensch! When he helps with Ji-ah’s grandmother with such care, and no judgment, and is simply saddened that no one thought to teach Ji-ah about the social systems — it was just a moment of small heartbreaks! I don’t think for a moment that he sees Ji-ah as anything more than just a kids who’s been mistreated by life, just a few years older than his son, really, and he’s been used to being responsible most of his life so he’s just fallen into that pattern with her. She, OTOH, has never known much of true kindness and watching her rock-hard emotional exterior melt bit-by-bit under the warmth of his small kindnesses and especially listening to his life and learning what a decent person can be like is the real love story. Does she love him as a man? I don’t think so, but I can see how she can be confused by her feelings.

I’m still not sure whether she knows how to pull out of the situation with Do Joon-young and the money she’s received from him so far, or if there is more danger yet to come from crazy loan shark Kwang-il (who seems to have some sort of sick obsessive “love” thing going on — Ji-ah is “his” toy to play with, as if he inherited her from his father). I thought by now we’d see some hint that she’s going to backstab CEO Do, but she has taken money from him… or does she think that because it was money paid for illegal acts that he can’t do anything to her? I do like a show that keeps me guessing.

#iu, #jang-ki-young, #lee-ji-eun, #lee-sun-kyun, #my-ahjussi, #my-ajusshi, #my-mister