The Heirs - Episode 14 (Not NHeirly Good Enough)
kakashi: Granted, folks, I am currently pre-occupied with somebody else entirely (plus I have a shitload of work and STILL need to find my 4th Team member for "The Santastic Four"), but it is my pleasure nonetheless to be able to do a little snark-capping for you.
JoAnne: I don't know how you do it.
kakashi: Baker Santa! I need you!!!! (Addendum about 20 hours after starting power-search: FOUND HIM. Love him. This is going to be epic)
kakashi: I think I heard something somewhere about a possible extension of this drama? Sure. Why not tell a story of 8 episodes in 24! If you run out of things to say, just have the characters stare at each other for minutes. hours. weeks. I'm expecting more stares, yes, I even want them! More stares! Less dialogue!
JoAnne: Sigh. Tan and Bean are not the whole story...
kakashi: Don't they all stare?
Episode 14
kakashi: We are back to that intense scene with Woobie, Bean, and Kim Tan. To be honest, I find Young-do's violent behavior towards her very uncomfortable to watch. Classic KES, I guess. There was nothing at all squeeworthy about it: He is insane. I am glad to see that Kim Tan bursts through that door very quickly, because I wasn't sure what Young-do would do to her ... force a kiss on her? Rape her? I got rape vibes.
JoAnne: You're just trying to provoke me, now.
kakashi: Kim Tan is so furious, he punches Young-do in the face, and then grabs a chair to smash over his head. But Bean Princess grabs on to Tan and begs him in a low voice (and of course, crying), not to do it. Young-do only has eyes for her. He really seems to have lost it. Kim Tan throws her out to have a tete-a-tete with his former bestie. So much hate ... and so much misguided pride. And really, so no point in this! So Young-do blames Kim Tan for the fact he didn't see his mother for the last time?! I mean ... seriously. But the sizzling hatred-almost-bromance .... nice!
JoAnne: I guarantee you he hates himself more.
kakashi: Beanie is standing around outside, shocked. Bitch Heir approaches ( = Rachel). Of course, Rachel is furious. And yes, she doesn't swing her arms when she walks, I see it too, now! Kim Tan drags Beanie away and Rachel is left to bitch at Young-do, who of course only pretended he would spill Kim Tan's secret over the air - in order to see Eun-sang; he just knew she would come running. Go see a shrink already.
JoAnne: Or here's a thought: Use some of your massive allowance to hire a private detective and find.your.mom.
kakashi: He then tells Rachel that Tan never did her wrong - it was her that did when she broke the rules of a "professional" engagement, i.e. when she became clingy and emotional about it. His words have an impact on Rachel, but will she finally stop just being angry, stomping around and slapping people? I doubt it.
JoAnne: Yeah, if there's any change in her it won't be til the end. Although it would be nice to see the kids rise up against the parents. Ain't gonna happen in any real way, though. Not as a group, I mean.
kakashi: Ah, but do you know Children of the Corn?
kakashi: Outside on a bench (why am I so surprised the weather's so nice? Maybe because it's snowing heavily here?), Eun-sang wants to know why Tan and Young-do always fight. Tan says something very psychological about himself who regrets, and the other, who hates himself. He also kinda laughs at his and Young-do's constant power-bickering (he is so mature! bravo, Tan!) and offers to undress completely when she tells him to take off his damaged uniform (okay, not so mature!).
JoAnne: Right, because grown men never offer to get naked either... and not to brag or anything, but I sat outside, coatless, enjoying coffee at 5:30 in the morning - yesterday. Of course, the day before it was frigid. Welcome to Fall in New England.
kakashi: Awww, come on! Baby is still not talking to Bo Na - even when she pretends to slip and hurt her leg. (She should really join a soccer team! They need that kind of acting for their dives). He is smiling a little though, so I guess he is just teaching her a lesson.
JoAnne: Oooh, are we going to play Teacher Baby Heir/Stringy Student, or are we going to play Daddy Baby Heir/Stringy Bimbo? Cher is right. These two better have half a dozen adorable fat cheeked babies after the time jump. Serious little boy babies in glasses with fat cheeks and dimpled little diva princesses with tiaras and fat cheeks. And maybe one little boy baby princess in a tiara, too, looking fabulous and ruling the roost, sucking in his fat cheeks and striking a diva pose.
kakashi: Eun-sang goes to the double-fridged prep room to get some things for Ye-sol, who doesn't dare mingle with the rich kids anymore - but Young-do is also there. His hurt angsty eyes are too much to bear. Give him looooooooove! He wants to leave without a word, but Eun-sang calls out his name and offers him a band-aid. Which he doesn't take. When she gets outside shortly after - Bo Na also came and wanted to bring Ye-sol her script for the audition .... d'awwwwwz, how cute is she!! - Young-do hasn't left though. He stretches out his hand and asks for the band aid, quasi ripping it out of her hand when she offers it to him again. And off he goes on his bike. Go see a shrink already!
JoAnne: Just come see Mama. I will kiss your booboo. Wink, wink.
kakashi: Oups, Rachel in da Kim house! Alarm!! KimMom tells Beanie to go hide in the room, she cannot be seen! (Beanie has hung up some washing, including her uniform and advised Baby to make-up with Bo Na in the meantime). And then, Rachel is all kinds of sweet in front of KimMom. Ommoni here, ommoni there, and all kinds of slime. But Rachel isn't dumb and she does wonder why KimMom went as Bean Queen to the teacher's conference. KimMom lies that she just knows Eun-sang's family really well - and Rachel informs her that she doesn't want to break off the engagement. Even if she thinks Tan likes Eun-sang.
JoAnne: I can barely hear the dialogue for the bells and alarms going off in my head, but what ACTUALLY worries me most is the look on BeanMom's face as she watches all of this.
kakashi: When she steps outside, the sweet Rachel is gone completely and the Bitch is back. And of course, she sees Eun-sang's uniform, drying (just checking ... yes, the "r" is there) in the sun. And of course, there's Eun-sang's name tag in the pocket. Busted! Yikes, Rachel puts two and two together ... she now knows that Bean is the Kim's housemaid's daughter.
JoAnne: I never understood how she made the intuitive leap to housemaid's daughter. All she knows is that Tan's mom pretended to be her mom, and that Eun Sang lives in Tan's house. How does she connect the housemaid into it?
kakashi: I guess it's clear that Eun-sang lives at the house. She also knows KimMom lied about being her mother. And then KimMom says she knows her mother really well. The only other woman there? The housekeeper. And she also calls someone (her mother? Tan's wrong mother?) to ask about Eun-sang.
kakashi: The next day at school, Eun-sang goes straight up to Rachel and asks her for her uniform. Rachel says what she always says when she takes something away from Eun-sang: it's in the trash. Panicked, Eun-sang goes out back to sift through the garbage ... again. And wow ... they really ARE in the trash! Of course, Rachel steps out to look at Eun-sang's humiliation. I am sorry I ever felt sorry for this girl because she is just awful. Go away! Make your own head explode!
JoAnne: Even while I totally get her feelings and have sympathy for them, I cannot excuse her behavior - and the problem is we aren't getting flashes of a LIKEABLE self like we occasionally do with Young Do, so I feel no real inclination to forgive her because it just seems like she's completely mean.
kakashi: YES! Eun-sang slaps her after she insulted her mom and I cheer! And almost wake my daughter. Sorry, kid. And! She catches her hand when she wants to hit her back. Way to get your power back, Eun-sang! But Rachel is not yet done: Now come the threats - She will reveal everything to their fellow students if Eun-sang doesn't transfer. Because the housemaid's daughter-secret doesn't seem to scare Eun-sang at all, she mentions Tan's little secret - and yes, of course, that does scare Eun-sang. Both Rachel and Young-do have realized well what her weakness is.
JoAnne: Hanging wet laundry high up over your head builds muscles! She really landed that one, and I cheered too. How dare Rachel insult a woman who's done nothing but work hard and try to raise her family in trying circumstances?
kakashi: But Kim Tan heard it all. To the rescue! (Why does he always have his hands in his pockets? This, plus their weird glittering wolf outfit reduce Tan's authority to quasi zero) He tells Rachel that he wanted to keep friends with her, but now, he can't anymore. He won't hit a girl - but in his head, he already did. This is a little bit sad. But then again ... it's not. Then, he goes to the seedy rooftop, where he tells Eun-sang off for not relying on him and not calling him after Rachel came to the house. Eun-sang says it's because "his life is already so hard", but he tells her that his life has always been hard. Nothing about it is her fault. And she replies: "Nothing about it is your fault, either". This seems to be an important emotional moment, but ... well. I have been moved more in my life. I do see that they are bonding, though. Anyway, he offers to run away with her, but nope, even though she says "sure, let's go", the way she puts it makes it pretty clear that she doesn't consider it a real option.
JoAnne: Yes to all of the above.
kakashi: The boys are back at the Headmistress office. 30 hours of community service, an apology that is 100 pages long - they will be the janitors of Empire High (oh please ... and what about the real janitors?! Are they out of a job now?). And ... Young-do is to bring his father (no!). Tan looks at his ex-friend, well knowing what that will mean ... and asks his false mother to reconsider. But no, she insists, and tells Tan to bring his brother.
JoAnne: Why? That makes no sense. He has a father. That was just stupid.
kakashi: Next, they need to see Tutorina - all the other teachers refused to do the counseling. She has the 2x100 pages there. So ... they have to write "I am sorry" on one hundred pages? Yeah, that's really going to help ... Ah, because they are blaming each other, she orders them to write about each other. They just sit there, not writing .... but then, we hear Young-do in voice over say "This story is about Empire Group's second son, Kim Tan" and get many flashbacks (yeah, Antony told us what that means) ... and we finally see what happened between Kim Tan and Young-do's mother. She came and begged Tan to find Young-do for her. Tan went after him ... and, as we know, Young-do didn't follow him. We hear Tan's voice over say "I should have taken you no matter what - had I known it was your last chance. I should have gone with you - had I known it was my last chance". But both of them are not writing down anything.
JoAnne: They both realize that the wrong they did is bigger than the wrong that was done to them. I realize that doesn't work out mathematically, but it's the truth anyway, and they are burdened with serious regret.
kakashi: Well done, this scene. Yes, sometimes we need to praise, too.
kakashi: Another broadcasting incident next: Messed-up Heir puts Bo Na's words to Eun-sang on air - she says that Baby Heir is like oxygen to her. She can't breath without him. The whole school hears, including Baby. OMG why are those two so cute??!! He runs after her in the corridor, while she runs away in embarrassment.
JoAnne: That was funny and I love HyoShin and I'm worried about him.
kakashi: And boom, here comes Tutorina along the same corridor ... and Messed-up Heir freezes on the spot. She asks for his congratulations for becoming a teacher here - but he isn't happy, because this means his first love is even further away from him now. I am a bit afraid they will really kill him off. I hope not.
JoAnne: What the fuck is wrong with her hair? Did she not brush it when she got up?
kakashi: Maybe she also wants messed-up hair to be closer to him?
kakashi: Thick Heir and Bad Heir time ... bottom line, Young-do is in love, but always chooses bad endings. You know, when you're recapping, these small and pretty much useless scenes tend to get on your nerves. There's a lot of them.
JoAnne: I had thought in the beginning that they'd use Thick for more than comic relief and the occasional bit of psychological insight/plot explanation. He's a better actor than that. I mean he's the only one where we know nothing about his home life. We just barely know who his mother is and only saw her for 30 seconds, and not even with him.
kakashi: Good Heir walks Bean Princess home ... to his home, but not for him to go in. No, if he goes back, he wants to go back with his brother. After he went to school with him. Yeah, good luck with that. BROMANCE TIME next! Won is almost sweet to Tan, who is waiting (and thinking) in the hotel lobby. They are not talking ... but they are now sitting next to each other. Just like Tan and Young-do sat next to each other in detention. And then, they DO talk ... cute. They so love each other. It's absolutely clear.
JoAnne: I don't get how you love a sibling and yet pretend that you hate them and treat them like crap, like that. Well not like THAT, but like before. He has been vicious to this poor kid who follows him around all full of hero worship. Wouldn't you think being an ASS would more likely guarantee the bad behavior he seems to expect from Tan someday?
kakashi: Bo Na is organizing a Bo-Na & Baby reunion party (OMG) and she and Ye-sol have an endless game of "I'm sorry", "No, I'm more sorry", when Bo Na gives her an invitation. Yeah. High School stuff. Social groups are intermingling. Bo Na is a rebel. Quasi an anarchist.
JoAnne: If Baby Heir goes along with this party smiling, he is the best man on Earth. I'm glad YeSol and BoNa make up, though.
kakashi: Is Messed-up Heir the only Senior in this school, by the way? He seems to be. Anyway, his dreaded test is coming up. WTF? There's like a row of fangirls there to cheer him on? He goes in. We now have about 13409809 storylines that are open. Yes, this show definitely needs an extension!
JoAnne: All the time he was saying goodbye to his mom I was distracted by the crowds and wondering why they would be protesting the exams, wondering if it is normal to see and if it reflects backlash against the intense pressure of the schooling system, etc...and then I realize it's the MUPpets. Sigh.
kakashi: And then, Kim Tan snoops around in his hyung's things and sees the list of shares under Yoon-Secretary's name. When he calls Teddybear Ahjussi immediately after, the man is slightly pre-occupied though ... people are being transferred at the company. I.e. the whole posse that is loyal to KimDaddy and Kim Tan is shipped off to the Philippines. Teddybear isn't on the list ... but Sex Heir asks whether he wants his name on the list, too? What he is asking is: Are you loyal to me or loyal to my father?
JoAnne: This is a question we all want the answer to, right?
kakashi: KimMom tries to get her son back (by using Beanie to call him out). She is bringing him a coat, but no money - and she asks the two to break-up. Rachel is still there to be had, and KimMom begs Tan to take that road. But no, Tan does not want to. He grabs Beanie and off they walk... bickering romantically (or whatever) on the street. There's hugging, too. I'm so not feeling these two. Might be because I can't stop thinking about Kim Ji-hoon whom I'll see in about 3 days.
JoAnne: I like them just fine but honestly, I'd rather have watched the YoungDo/Eun Sang romance, if I was watching this for a romance.
kakashi: Anyway, a call from Yoon secretary is more important then this budding (?) romance. The shares under secretary Yoon's name ... they are Kim Tan's (as we know). And Teddybear thinks that he will get them from his father, if major trouble arises for Tan. To save him. At that moment, he and his brother will have the same amount of shares. So there's another big junk of heartache for Tan to tackle. This is a fight he cannot dodge: Won is now taking on their father ... and Tan will most likely be his next target. Dun dun.
JoAnne: Poor #100, finally realizing that 2+2=4
kakashi: Oh my ... Young-do with his hair down. This is yummy. And evil Bitch Rachel calling him out, threatening to do something to Eun-sang at her work place. He falls for it, rushing off on his bike - and she follows him in the car. Now she knows where Eun-sang works. The conflict is only mildly interesting though ... I guess I just can't take such a one-dimensional character seriously.
JoAnne: He looks good, but really skinny all of a sudden (so funny you say that!!! Noticed it too!!). Those long legs. Smart chickie, though, Rachel.
kakashi: We're at the make-up party next! Will they put on make-up, too? Buahaha, sorry. Cheap joke. Everybody is having fun and doing PPL when Rachel walks in. She? Not invited. And she says: "I thought this would be a nice place to drink coffee. I ordered some". Oh no. You didn't, Bitch!
JoAnne: I sigh at the absolute innocence of that party, with the games and all. These are KIDS, and for all the posturing, they're pretty innocent-seeming. And then Cruella deSeoul walks in and mentions coffee and I think oh, fuck. Not all of them, apparently. (And I also note that Baby Heir IS doing all of this with grace and cheer, and I think wow, BoNa...you really picked the prize winner.)
kakashi: Young-do, still looking delicious with his new hair style, is waiting outside the Mango Six place. When Eun-sang comes to start work, he warns her: Rachel knows that she works here - and it is his fault. He is sorry. But Eun-sang thinks she's hidden it long enough. She isn't worried much. Well, but Young-do is. Yes, people, it has now happened! Young-do is a good guy! He is a proper 2nd lead! He will now sacrifice his life for her.
JoAnne: Why is the black knight the good guy in Korea? That's interesting. It also touches my heart to see how truly bad Young Do feels about being the unwitting cause of her demise at the hands of Rachel.
kakashi: When Eun-sang goes in, her boss hands her a take-out order ... of course, it's to the party. Beanie texts Tan and tells him she is going to the party - is he? And she tells him not to be surprised if he sees her there. When he calls, puzzled, because he knows she is working, her phone goes to voice mail. Worried, Tan walks out of the hotel, and he passes Young-do, not noticing him ... but Young-do stares after him.
JoAnne: I was hoping they would team up, but no.
kakashi: Too many episodes to go, sorry.
kakashi: At the lovey-dovey-reunion party, everybody is gathered for a little speech by the lovey-dovey-couple, when Eun-sang comes in ... with the coffee order. Everybody is super surprised - but Eun-sang just says she is working because she needs money. Rachel is looking smug, and Thick asks the question on everybody's mind: Why does she need money? When Eun-sang wants to answer, Tan steps in. Why. Why does he always need to turn up to save her???
JoAnne: She's been Feisty Eun Sang lately, maybe she'll tell him to go to hell.
kakashi: He tells her to step out, but she doesn't want to - this is her catering job, she wants to do it properly. Tan asks when the job is done, Beanie says when she's done serving; and Tan, the smart dude, just flips the table with all the stuff on it over. There! Done! Nothing to serve anymore! And he drags her out. Bo Na attacks Rachel for ruining her party (and I'm disappointed that there is no blood), and Thick calls Young-do.
JoAnne: I am EXTREMELY disappointed in you, young man.
kakashi: Outside, Tan scolds her for coming, even though she knew exactly what kind of situation it was. But Eun-sang is rebellious and says it's okay for Young-do to work, so why not for her? She isn't embarrassed about being poor - but she is embarrassed about lying. Ah, I understand: this is what unites them. Dirty little secrets! She wants out with hers, just like he came out with his. And she walks away, to get more coffee.
JoAnne: I am so glad she finally said this. And I hope at some point someone remembers that she NEVER said she was New Money, and she NEVER responded to any questions about her family.
kakashi: Tan, who has been waiting, doesn't try to hold her back anymore ... but he offers his arms to her. If things get too difficult. and then, it is Confession Time! Eun-sang, in front of everyone (Young-do also came), says that she is not new money but part of the Welfare Kids. Big scandal! bladibladibla. Anyway, one guys says that Tan certainly did not know this, right? But Tan says: of course he did. He steps up to her and says: "She said she'd be alright ... but she is trembling". And they look at each other .... lovingly.
JoAnne: It's actually a bit touching. YeSol and BoNa and them better step up and be friendly, too, or I'm going to have words to say to them.
kakashi: Where's the music? Kim Tan says, and while Thick Heir steps up to the DJ table, everybody just kinda laughs (at Tan's "she's clocked out now" joke?). Thick puts up a cuddly dance. Ah, teenage love! So sweet!
JoAnne: And that's that? No big red letter P for her chest? She doesn't get burned at the stake and then buried outside the churchyard in an unmarked grave?
kakashi: Eun-sang is so relieved. And Tan says: "Nice to meet you, Cha Eun-sang from the Social Welfare Group. I am Kim Tan, an illegitimate child". At this point, poor Young-do leaves. Rachel is already gone, stomping and all. Maybe she always stomps like that because they give her terrible shoes? Kim Tan takes Eun-sang's apron off - and unties her hair. He puts a rose around her wrist. They stare at each other and .... he kisses her forehead. We all know what that means .... The End! That's the End, right? No? Ah, no. It isn't.
JoAnne: They made that fairly erotic, considering other intimate moments the two have shared. And she accepts it comfortably. I wonder what that means for the future of kissing on this show.
Comments
kakashi: It's becoming harder to snark about this show. Not because it is getting any better (I think) - but because it seriously tries to make this whole "rich-poor"/social class issue its central conflict, around which all the characters arrange themselves. I cannot make fun of that. Unfortunately, it feels terribly fake to me, that conflict ... why should I care about the 0.00003% super rich and their issues? It's not at all pulling me in. This has nothing in common with me. Unless I marry a chaebol? Is Kim Ji-hoon a chaebol?
JoAnne: No, but we can find some commonality in family struggles, parental expectations, social mores, can we not? Not in the details, of course, unless you're super rich. I'm definitely not and no one in my family ever has been anything but middle class (or lower!) but we all have family dynamics and parents who expect things and people who judge us/people who we judge.
kakashi: The end of this episode confirms something I feared about half-way in ... Young-do is no longer an interesting character. He gave up, he is reformed. He will be boring. Shame. I liked him, while fearing him. Rachel could just about disappear to America now, she is simply annoying. And she isn't a very effective villain, either - never before have Tan and Eun-sang been closer and happier.
JoAnne: Yeah, Rachel certainly hasn't turned out to be a threat. I'm not sure we're done with Young Do being interesting, but I' m guessing his flat out bullying days are over.
kakashi: The ending felt like the closing of a chapter. I guess we're moving on to the next story-arc now. Will we really go on to the birth secrets? Not unlikely.
JoAnne: Who do you think has cancer? Who has amnesia, and why? When does Won's mother show up and announce that she's been living happily with Young Do's mom and can everyone come to the wedding? Will we ever met Thick or Stringy's parents? How many episodes of Kang Ha Neul do we have left? (sob)
JoAnne: I don't know how you do it.
kakashi: Baker Santa! I need you!!!! (Addendum about 20 hours after starting power-search: FOUND HIM. Love him. This is going to be epic)
JoAnne: Sigh. Tan and Bean are not the whole story...
kakashi: Don't they all stare?
kakashi: We are back to that intense scene with Woobie, Bean, and Kim Tan. To be honest, I find Young-do's violent behavior towards her very uncomfortable to watch. Classic KES, I guess. There was nothing at all squeeworthy about it: He is insane. I am glad to see that Kim Tan bursts through that door very quickly, because I wasn't sure what Young-do would do to her ... force a kiss on her? Rape her? I got rape vibes.
JoAnne: You're just trying to provoke me, now.
JoAnne: I guarantee you he hates himself more.
JoAnne: Or here's a thought: Use some of your massive allowance to hire a private detective and find.your.mom.
JoAnne: Yeah, if there's any change in her it won't be til the end. Although it would be nice to see the kids rise up against the parents. Ain't gonna happen in any real way, though. Not as a group, I mean.
kakashi: Ah, but do you know Children of the Corn?
JoAnne: Right, because grown men never offer to get naked either... and not to brag or anything, but I sat outside, coatless, enjoying coffee at 5:30 in the morning - yesterday. Of course, the day before it was frigid. Welcome to Fall in New England.
JoAnne: Oooh, are we going to play Teacher Baby Heir/Stringy Student, or are we going to play Daddy Baby Heir/Stringy Bimbo? Cher is right. These two better have half a dozen adorable fat cheeked babies after the time jump. Serious little boy babies in glasses with fat cheeks and dimpled little diva princesses with tiaras and fat cheeks. And maybe one little boy baby princess in a tiara, too, looking fabulous and ruling the roost, sucking in his fat cheeks and striking a diva pose.
JoAnne: Just come see Mama. I will kiss your booboo. Wink, wink.
JoAnne: I can barely hear the dialogue for the bells and alarms going off in my head, but what ACTUALLY worries me most is the look on BeanMom's face as she watches all of this.
JoAnne: I never understood how she made the intuitive leap to housemaid's daughter. All she knows is that Tan's mom pretended to be her mom, and that Eun Sang lives in Tan's house. How does she connect the housemaid into it?
kakashi: I guess it's clear that Eun-sang lives at the house. She also knows KimMom lied about being her mother. And then KimMom says she knows her mother really well. The only other woman there? The housekeeper. And she also calls someone (her mother? Tan's wrong mother?) to ask about Eun-sang.
kakashi: The next day at school, Eun-sang goes straight up to Rachel and asks her for her uniform. Rachel says what she always says when she takes something away from Eun-sang: it's in the trash. Panicked, Eun-sang goes out back to sift through the garbage ... again. And wow ... they really ARE in the trash! Of course, Rachel steps out to look at Eun-sang's humiliation. I am sorry I ever felt sorry for this girl because she is just awful. Go away! Make your own head explode!
JoAnne: Even while I totally get her feelings and have sympathy for them, I cannot excuse her behavior - and the problem is we aren't getting flashes of a LIKEABLE self like we occasionally do with Young Do, so I feel no real inclination to forgive her because it just seems like she's completely mean.
kakashi: YES! Eun-sang slaps her after she insulted her mom and I cheer! And almost wake my daughter. Sorry, kid. And! She catches her hand when she wants to hit her back. Way to get your power back, Eun-sang! But Rachel is not yet done: Now come the threats - She will reveal everything to their fellow students if Eun-sang doesn't transfer. Because the housemaid's daughter-secret doesn't seem to scare Eun-sang at all, she mentions Tan's little secret - and yes, of course, that does scare Eun-sang. Both Rachel and Young-do have realized well what her weakness is. JoAnne: Hanging wet laundry high up over your head builds muscles! She really landed that one, and I cheered too. How dare Rachel insult a woman who's done nothing but work hard and try to raise her family in trying circumstances?
JoAnne: Yes to all of the above.
JoAnne: Why? That makes no sense. He has a father. That was just stupid.
JoAnne: They both realize that the wrong they did is bigger than the wrong that was done to them. I realize that doesn't work out mathematically, but it's the truth anyway, and they are burdened with serious regret.
kakashi: Well done, this scene. Yes, sometimes we need to praise, too.
JoAnne: That was funny and I love HyoShin and I'm worried about him.
JoAnne: What the fuck is wrong with her hair? Did she not brush it when she got up?
kakashi: Maybe she also wants messed-up hair to be closer to him?
JoAnne: I had thought in the beginning that they'd use Thick for more than comic relief and the occasional bit of psychological insight/plot explanation. He's a better actor than that. I mean he's the only one where we know nothing about his home life. We just barely know who his mother is and only saw her for 30 seconds, and not even with him.
JoAnne: I don't get how you love a sibling and yet pretend that you hate them and treat them like crap, like that. Well not like THAT, but like before. He has been vicious to this poor kid who follows him around all full of hero worship. Wouldn't you think being an ASS would more likely guarantee the bad behavior he seems to expect from Tan someday?
JoAnne: If Baby Heir goes along with this party smiling, he is the best man on Earth. I'm glad YeSol and BoNa make up, though.
JoAnne: All the time he was saying goodbye to his mom I was distracted by the crowds and wondering why they would be protesting the exams, wondering if it is normal to see and if it reflects backlash against the intense pressure of the schooling system, etc...and then I realize it's the MUPpets. Sigh.
JoAnne: This is a question we all want the answer to, right?
JoAnne: I like them just fine but honestly, I'd rather have watched the YoungDo/Eun Sang romance, if I was watching this for a romance.
JoAnne: Poor #100, finally realizing that 2+2=4
JoAnne: He looks good, but really skinny all of a sudden (so funny you say that!!! Noticed it too!!). Those long legs. Smart chickie, though, Rachel.
JoAnne: I sigh at the absolute innocence of that party, with the games and all. These are KIDS, and for all the posturing, they're pretty innocent-seeming. And then Cruella deSeoul walks in and mentions coffee and I think oh, fuck. Not all of them, apparently. (And I also note that Baby Heir IS doing all of this with grace and cheer, and I think wow, BoNa...you really picked the prize winner.)
JoAnne: Why is the black knight the good guy in Korea? That's interesting. It also touches my heart to see how truly bad Young Do feels about being the unwitting cause of her demise at the hands of Rachel.
JoAnne: I was hoping they would team up, but no.
kakashi: Too many episodes to go, sorry.
JoAnne: She's been Feisty Eun Sang lately, maybe she'll tell him to go to hell.
JoAnne: I am EXTREMELY disappointed in you, young man.
JoAnne: I am so glad she finally said this. And I hope at some point someone remembers that she NEVER said she was New Money, and she NEVER responded to any questions about her family.
JoAnne: It's actually a bit touching. YeSol and BoNa and them better step up and be friendly, too, or I'm going to have words to say to them.
JoAnne: And that's that? No big red letter P for her chest? She doesn't get burned at the stake and then buried outside the churchyard in an unmarked grave?
JoAnne: They made that fairly erotic, considering other intimate moments the two have shared. And she accepts it comfortably. I wonder what that means for the future of kissing on this show.
Comments
kakashi: It's becoming harder to snark about this show. Not because it is getting any better (I think) - but because it seriously tries to make this whole "rich-poor"/social class issue its central conflict, around which all the characters arrange themselves. I cannot make fun of that. Unfortunately, it feels terribly fake to me, that conflict ... why should I care about the 0.00003% super rich and their issues? It's not at all pulling me in. This has nothing in common with me. Unless I marry a chaebol? Is Kim Ji-hoon a chaebol?
JoAnne: No, but we can find some commonality in family struggles, parental expectations, social mores, can we not? Not in the details, of course, unless you're super rich. I'm definitely not and no one in my family ever has been anything but middle class (or lower!) but we all have family dynamics and parents who expect things and people who judge us/people who we judge.
kakashi: The end of this episode confirms something I feared about half-way in ... Young-do is no longer an interesting character. He gave up, he is reformed. He will be boring. Shame. I liked him, while fearing him. Rachel could just about disappear to America now, she is simply annoying. And she isn't a very effective villain, either - never before have Tan and Eun-sang been closer and happier.
JoAnne: Yeah, Rachel certainly hasn't turned out to be a threat. I'm not sure we're done with Young Do being interesting, but I' m guessing his flat out bullying days are over.
kakashi: The ending felt like the closing of a chapter. I guess we're moving on to the next story-arc now. Will we really go on to the birth secrets? Not unlikely.
JoAnne: Who do you think has cancer? Who has amnesia, and why? When does Won's mother show up and announce that she's been living happily with Young Do's mom and can everyone come to the wedding? Will we ever met Thick or Stringy's parents? How many episodes of Kang Ha Neul do we have left? (sob)