✒ ♟️ Tails, we win ♨️ Now Pay the Tab °8.7° °Outstanding°
IC is the story of a man on a mission. Park "Sae" Ro Yi's been cruelly abused & tossed in the 🗑. Now, it's his goal to beat his enemies at their own game ~ He's the /tenacious/ type. He has a 15 yr plan. Ain't nothing gonna turn his head to the right or the left. He will not bow to anyone - his knees don't work that way... Until she changes everything.
Smack dab in the middle of Seoul, Itaewon is one of the wealthiest streets in one of its wealthiest sections. IC takes place there. There's 3 whole eps of set-up. In ep4 things start to roll, and it's magnificent. It's rough: Business is a 🐍 pit. It's a satisfying watch, & in the latter eps, when so many shows resort to padding & bad writing, IC sprouts wings (and claws) as it becomes stronger & more forceful w/ newfound depths.
Park Seo Joon is our ML, Park "Sae" Ro Yi. He looks completely different w/ that hair~squared. In What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, he's quite beautiful (WWWSk has an excellent cast & many wonderful moments, but suffers from the occasional directing & writing miss). In IC, he's more rugged. He's manly. He's controlled on the surface & seething underneath, while exuding pain from every pore of his body. He's a star for a reason. He has score to settle with Chm Jang & his son Geun Won. He decides to start a pub across the street from theirs and beat them at their own game. The Chm will not allow him to survive.
Kim Da Mi is one of the best characters anywhere, ever, Jo Yi Seo. She's got a dangerously high IQ & a dangerous amount of snark. She's been described as a psychopath. She's the type of girl to decide her future w/ the flip of a coin. "If it's heads, I'll live the life my mom wants. If it's tails, my mom will cry." She decides to work instead of going to school: She's matriculated in the Itaewon Class. As the show goes on, her part gets better & better & better & better. Sae has never once disappointed her. She's decided she really likes him. "I'll kill everyone who's been bothering him." She declares for team Sae. He should be very frightened, but he just doesn't know it yet.
Kwon Na Ra portrays Oh Soo Ah. I've only noticed her in Bulgasal: Immortal Souls-6.1, which should have been better, but its problems didn't emanate from her. Yoo Jae Myung plays chairman Jang Dae Hee. He's horrid, but his backstory is heartbreaking. He was the oldest of 4 & lost all his siblings to the food shortage. That's a dark part of Korea's history that is mentioned in features every now & then. His part seems like he's a typical 2D psychopathic CEO & derelict father, but his character takes on extra dimensions in the last third. In ep10, his performance is stunning.
Ahn Bo Hyun is the chairman's spoiled son, Geun Won. He's so good at playing a jerk that you wouldn't know how adorable he can be if you haven't seen some of his other stuff. In Flex X Cop-8.5, he's cheerful & irrepressible. In Her Private Life-8, he's earnest & determined. In My Only Love Song-8.7, a comedy I adore & have watched a couple times, he plays the big silent type. He's completely different in everything, so he's as versatile as he is good looking - & he /is/ a specimen. This is the first time I've seen him play a loathsome bully. He only ends up serving as a great motivator.
Kim Dong Hee is Jang Geun Soo, a part-timer who makes a very disappointing decision. Lee Joo Young plays Ma Hyun, a chef dealing w/ major changes. Her character is a lovely human being. Not everyone is going to agree on everything all the time. We do, however, have a moral obligation to treat every human being w/ kindness, dignity, respect, & care. IC is the 1st Kdrama I've seen showing an actor w/ skin browner than a paper bag. Chris Lyon plays Kim Toni. He's an American born actor who made friends w/ some 🇰🇷 exchange students, visited 🇰🇷, & that led to some acting & music gigs. He's wonderful & projects a sense of genuine warmth & care.
IC is great drama, really good romance, & an overall philosophical treatise on pride, revenge, success, & what is really worth living for. The theme is: Happiness. "Beliefs. Ambition. They're words used by those who have nothing but their ego. If you gain nothing, that's just being stubborn & foolish," says the moral-degenerate. Wait a sec, let's define GAIN 1st, before we sign on to any philosophy. Is successful revenge GAIN? Sae thinks so for most of the show. Sae tries to live a life motivated by hate & revenge, all while maintaining his moral principles. He keeps it up for a long time but finally must let it go. He finds he's lost nothing.
Leadership style is a theme. Chmn asks an employee why s/he continued to devotedly work for a hated boss? "It's servility," the Chairman explains to the blank stare facing him. "You've been tamed to my taste. I pressure everyone around me... It's easy to control them, & I despise them." The Chmn is held up in direct contrast to Sae, who elevates everyone around him (except for the slobs he's trying to bring down). Sae picks up nobodies & takes them to the top WITH him.
Pride is a theme in most Kdramas. 'It's about The Company.' 'The COMPANY provides for my family.' 'Ultimately it's about my FAMILY,' we hear. No.it.isn't. It's about pride. These are the utterances of a person who is probably genuinely self-deceived. Speaking of pride, that's what's up between Sae & the Chairman. "Will life be better if I get on my knees?" Sae is fed up. "Why is everybody obsessed w/ putting me on my knees?" Pride: It always lies. It's what makes us lie to ourselves. 'Bow to me,' Sae hears every few episodes. (What does that even do, other than provide a temporary illicit thrill?) In the end, Sae understands what's really important. It's important to maintain dignity, but pride never does anyone any good; it's only a roadblock to living free.
"Do you know what sympathy is? It is this wasteful emotion where you look down on someone & get comfort from it." There's a gem from Yi Seo, who can be hard & cold. She's analytical, not touchy-feely. Sae is a caring mush & rigidly principled, which is contrasted w/ Yi Seo, a pragmatic utilitarian. Life is about balancing both sides: Both feelings & logic must be present, & balanced, or we fall into error. Her interactions w/ Seo transform Yi Seo b/c she is not only smart, she is wise. She quickly understands what true fulfillment is. Yi Seo & the Chairman are contrasted. If she hadn't ended up falling for Sae she would have been /worse/ than the Chairman, who had the blessing of Sae's dad but learned nothing, & just took advantage. Wise Yi Seo chose a better life over mere 💰. She ended up w/ all of it, but she chose the right path 1st; the rest followed.
"You can't gain anything w/ your conscience," says Chairdad. Bad dad = bad son. A man w/ all the wrong values ended up raising a destructive monster. No surprise. "Everyone is just born evil. You know the evil nature principle. The theory that human nature is fundamentally evil. But if people stick to their instincts, society will collapse. That's why people repress themselves w/ manners, consideration, morals, & the law. Repression? It's stress." Now that's a tantalizing quote. Hmm. Theologians would point out, about now, that we are born in the image of God, but we are fallen. Therefore, we know what is right in our 💓s, but we are, tragically, unable to do it on a consistent basis. It's a subject worth giving thought to. Doing the right thing is never the easy thing, but it shouldn't cause undo stress. I would avoid anyone who claims it does. Speaking of evil, sometimes it's a matter of opportunity. Rich people do heinous things b/c they /can/.
IC isn't perfect, but it isn't far from it. One character pulls an Anakin Skywalker & goes too evil too easily. Yes, it's sad, but it's also cack-handed. They should have built up to it better. There's no dead zones or padding. I don't have many criticisms.
There's oodles of tasty treats. They serve chicken & they can play chicken. Watch & see. Two women are vying for a man. One really loves the guy while the other seems to love the attention & sense of importance & control she feels from his devotion. The first girl puts everything into her love, while the 2nd woman never put an iota of effort in. Only one of them is worthy of his 💘. Sae happens to be out together w/ these 2 women, though he's unaware of anything when it comes to love & sex. When he leaves the table they have a riveting discussion. It's unforgettable.
There's laughs & good cheer. Sae is actually pretty funny, he's such a rigid dunderhead in some ways. "What don't you like about me?" Geun Won thinks he can win over Yi Seo. Her answer: "Let me see... Your face, the way you talk, your voice, your pupils, teeth, eyelashes, pupils... Did I say that already? I don't like anything about you..." She is totally self-actualized, until Sae... 🤣 Yi Seo doesn't have the answer for once. The soundtrack is GRADE A. Soft guitar & vocals augment the scenes w/ an almost indie vibe.
They give us a satisfying wrap up, something missing from too many Kdramas, though recently, that bad trend is dying out. At the end of all the years & all the junk, we learn: He who bows last bows most. So don't start the bowing game & make enemies in the first place! Live in peace, b/c "Living is a difficult thing to do".
QUOTE📢
You have no right to determine my value... I'll do anything I need to... My life has just begun
Everyone makes mistakes. But not everybody takes responsibility, only the brave can do that.
Life is repetitive, you know... And it's predictable.
I'm doing it now... I'm not going with you... I have a date.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8.6 📝8.8 🎭9 💓8 🦋5 🎨7.5 🎵/🔊8.5 🔚9 🤗8 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡5 😅3 😭5.5 😱3 😯4.5 🤢4 🤔7 💤0
Shazams: Still Fighting It by Lee Chan Sol & Kang Kyoung Yoon, & Say by YOON MIRAE
Age 14+ violence; Language: scattered R-rated
Re-📺? Definitely
Originally 〰️🖋 2/2025
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
The one you love is right in front of you:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9,
Oh My Ghost 10,
Hospital Playlist 9,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9,
Something in the Rain-8.6.
Modern Day -
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Be Melodramatic-8.7,
Call It Love-8.4,
My Liberation Diary-8.9,
Cheese in the Trap-7.7,
Mine-8,
My Mister 9.5,
🎎 -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Mr. Sunshine 9
⚡️/🛸 -
K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Why Her?-8,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P.-8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4
Smack dab in the middle of Seoul, Itaewon is one of the wealthiest streets in one of its wealthiest sections. IC takes place there. There's 3 whole eps of set-up. In ep4 things start to roll, and it's magnificent. It's rough: Business is a 🐍 pit. It's a satisfying watch, & in the latter eps, when so many shows resort to padding & bad writing, IC sprouts wings (and claws) as it becomes stronger & more forceful w/ newfound depths.
Park Seo Joon is our ML, Park "Sae" Ro Yi. He looks completely different w/ that hair~squared. In What's Wrong with Secretary Kim-6.8, he's quite beautiful (WWWSk has an excellent cast & many wonderful moments, but suffers from the occasional directing & writing miss). In IC, he's more rugged. He's manly. He's controlled on the surface & seething underneath, while exuding pain from every pore of his body. He's a star for a reason. He has score to settle with Chm Jang & his son Geun Won. He decides to start a pub across the street from theirs and beat them at their own game. The Chm will not allow him to survive.
Kim Da Mi is one of the best characters anywhere, ever, Jo Yi Seo. She's got a dangerously high IQ & a dangerous amount of snark. She's been described as a psychopath. She's the type of girl to decide her future w/ the flip of a coin. "If it's heads, I'll live the life my mom wants. If it's tails, my mom will cry." She decides to work instead of going to school: She's matriculated in the Itaewon Class. As the show goes on, her part gets better & better & better & better. Sae has never once disappointed her. She's decided she really likes him. "I'll kill everyone who's been bothering him." She declares for team Sae. He should be very frightened, but he just doesn't know it yet.
Kwon Na Ra portrays Oh Soo Ah. I've only noticed her in Bulgasal: Immortal Souls-6.1, which should have been better, but its problems didn't emanate from her. Yoo Jae Myung plays chairman Jang Dae Hee. He's horrid, but his backstory is heartbreaking. He was the oldest of 4 & lost all his siblings to the food shortage. That's a dark part of Korea's history that is mentioned in features every now & then. His part seems like he's a typical 2D psychopathic CEO & derelict father, but his character takes on extra dimensions in the last third. In ep10, his performance is stunning.
Ahn Bo Hyun is the chairman's spoiled son, Geun Won. He's so good at playing a jerk that you wouldn't know how adorable he can be if you haven't seen some of his other stuff. In Flex X Cop-8.5, he's cheerful & irrepressible. In Her Private Life-8, he's earnest & determined. In My Only Love Song-8.7, a comedy I adore & have watched a couple times, he plays the big silent type. He's completely different in everything, so he's as versatile as he is good looking - & he /is/ a specimen. This is the first time I've seen him play a loathsome bully. He only ends up serving as a great motivator.
Kim Dong Hee is Jang Geun Soo, a part-timer who makes a very disappointing decision. Lee Joo Young plays Ma Hyun, a chef dealing w/ major changes. Her character is a lovely human being. Not everyone is going to agree on everything all the time. We do, however, have a moral obligation to treat every human being w/ kindness, dignity, respect, & care. IC is the 1st Kdrama I've seen showing an actor w/ skin browner than a paper bag. Chris Lyon plays Kim Toni. He's an American born actor who made friends w/ some 🇰🇷 exchange students, visited 🇰🇷, & that led to some acting & music gigs. He's wonderful & projects a sense of genuine warmth & care.
IC is great drama, really good romance, & an overall philosophical treatise on pride, revenge, success, & what is really worth living for. The theme is: Happiness. "Beliefs. Ambition. They're words used by those who have nothing but their ego. If you gain nothing, that's just being stubborn & foolish," says the moral-degenerate. Wait a sec, let's define GAIN 1st, before we sign on to any philosophy. Is successful revenge GAIN? Sae thinks so for most of the show. Sae tries to live a life motivated by hate & revenge, all while maintaining his moral principles. He keeps it up for a long time but finally must let it go. He finds he's lost nothing.
Leadership style is a theme. Chmn asks an employee why s/he continued to devotedly work for a hated boss? "It's servility," the Chairman explains to the blank stare facing him. "You've been tamed to my taste. I pressure everyone around me... It's easy to control them, & I despise them." The Chmn is held up in direct contrast to Sae, who elevates everyone around him (except for the slobs he's trying to bring down). Sae picks up nobodies & takes them to the top WITH him.
Pride is a theme in most Kdramas. 'It's about The Company.' 'The COMPANY provides for my family.' 'Ultimately it's about my FAMILY,' we hear. No.it.isn't. It's about pride. These are the utterances of a person who is probably genuinely self-deceived. Speaking of pride, that's what's up between Sae & the Chairman. "Will life be better if I get on my knees?" Sae is fed up. "Why is everybody obsessed w/ putting me on my knees?" Pride: It always lies. It's what makes us lie to ourselves. 'Bow to me,' Sae hears every few episodes. (What does that even do, other than provide a temporary illicit thrill?) In the end, Sae understands what's really important. It's important to maintain dignity, but pride never does anyone any good; it's only a roadblock to living free.
"Do you know what sympathy is? It is this wasteful emotion where you look down on someone & get comfort from it." There's a gem from Yi Seo, who can be hard & cold. She's analytical, not touchy-feely. Sae is a caring mush & rigidly principled, which is contrasted w/ Yi Seo, a pragmatic utilitarian. Life is about balancing both sides: Both feelings & logic must be present, & balanced, or we fall into error. Her interactions w/ Seo transform Yi Seo b/c she is not only smart, she is wise. She quickly understands what true fulfillment is. Yi Seo & the Chairman are contrasted. If she hadn't ended up falling for Sae she would have been /worse/ than the Chairman, who had the blessing of Sae's dad but learned nothing, & just took advantage. Wise Yi Seo chose a better life over mere 💰. She ended up w/ all of it, but she chose the right path 1st; the rest followed.
"You can't gain anything w/ your conscience," says Chairdad. Bad dad = bad son. A man w/ all the wrong values ended up raising a destructive monster. No surprise. "Everyone is just born evil. You know the evil nature principle. The theory that human nature is fundamentally evil. But if people stick to their instincts, society will collapse. That's why people repress themselves w/ manners, consideration, morals, & the law. Repression? It's stress." Now that's a tantalizing quote. Hmm. Theologians would point out, about now, that we are born in the image of God, but we are fallen. Therefore, we know what is right in our 💓s, but we are, tragically, unable to do it on a consistent basis. It's a subject worth giving thought to. Doing the right thing is never the easy thing, but it shouldn't cause undo stress. I would avoid anyone who claims it does. Speaking of evil, sometimes it's a matter of opportunity. Rich people do heinous things b/c they /can/.
IC isn't perfect, but it isn't far from it. One character pulls an Anakin Skywalker & goes too evil too easily. Yes, it's sad, but it's also cack-handed. They should have built up to it better. There's no dead zones or padding. I don't have many criticisms.
There's oodles of tasty treats. They serve chicken & they can play chicken. Watch & see. Two women are vying for a man. One really loves the guy while the other seems to love the attention & sense of importance & control she feels from his devotion. The first girl puts everything into her love, while the 2nd woman never put an iota of effort in. Only one of them is worthy of his 💘. Sae happens to be out together w/ these 2 women, though he's unaware of anything when it comes to love & sex. When he leaves the table they have a riveting discussion. It's unforgettable.
There's laughs & good cheer. Sae is actually pretty funny, he's such a rigid dunderhead in some ways. "What don't you like about me?" Geun Won thinks he can win over Yi Seo. Her answer: "Let me see... Your face, the way you talk, your voice, your pupils, teeth, eyelashes, pupils... Did I say that already? I don't like anything about you..." She is totally self-actualized, until Sae... 🤣 Yi Seo doesn't have the answer for once. The soundtrack is GRADE A. Soft guitar & vocals augment the scenes w/ an almost indie vibe.
They give us a satisfying wrap up, something missing from too many Kdramas, though recently, that bad trend is dying out. At the end of all the years & all the junk, we learn: He who bows last bows most. So don't start the bowing game & make enemies in the first place! Live in peace, b/c "Living is a difficult thing to do".
QUOTE📢
You have no right to determine my value... I'll do anything I need to... My life has just begun
Everyone makes mistakes. But not everybody takes responsibility, only the brave can do that.
Life is repetitive, you know... And it's predictable.
I'm doing it now... I'm not going with you... I have a date.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8.6 📝8.8 🎭9 💓8 🦋5 🎨7.5 🎵/🔊8.5 🔚9 🤗8 ▪ 🌞7 ⚡5 😅3 😭5.5 😱3 😯4.5 🤢4 🤔7 💤0
Shazams: Still Fighting It by Lee Chan Sol & Kang Kyoung Yoon, & Say by YOON MIRAE
Age 14+ violence; Language: scattered R-rated
Re-📺? Definitely
Originally 〰️🖋 2/2025
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
The one you love is right in front of you:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Romance is a bonus book-7.9,
Oh My Ghost 10,
Hospital Playlist 9,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9,
Something in the Rain-8.6.
Modern Day -
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Love to Hate You 8.9,
Her Private Life 8,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Be Melodramatic-8.7,
Call It Love-8.4,
My Liberation Diary-8.9,
Cheese in the Trap-7.7,
Mine-8,
My Mister 9.5,
🎎 -
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy,
Mr. Queen 8.5,
My Sassy Girl 8.5,
Saimdang 8.5,
The King's Affection 8.3,
Mr. Sunshine 9
⚡️/🛸 -
K2 8,
Private Lives 8.1,
Descendants Of The Sun-8.3,
When the Camellia Blooms-8,
Why Her?-8,
Sisyphus 8,
Tunnel 8.5,
Signal 8.6,
Blood Free-8.5,
D.P.-8.4,
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
Squid Game 8.4,
Kingdom 8.3,
Sweet Home 8.4
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