Kathryn_51

If you watch with that question (is this woman psycho and a manipulator???), then you see it. I didn't start looking at her that way until I spotted the "Sunset Boulevard" poster and if someone has never seen the movie (or read the plot) then many of the small little details (about her manipulation and psychosis) aren't noticed.

What I noticed? When she was at Jeong-won's apartment, she looked around - noticed that Jeong-won seemed fascinated with the Ji-soo story; the photos on the desk; noticed the suicide (?) marks on her wrist. Then she ends up on the bed - not facing away, but facing the center - she intended to seduce Jeong-won if she could. Finally - she apparently called Jeong-won or somehow JW got word that she was in the hotel room and there would be a key. JW was supposed to be locating Park Jae-sang, but she took off like a bullet. And then the note was left for her.

Yeah, Sang-ah knew she would be found in time and she was hoping that JW would be sympathetic because of her apparent prior suicide attempt (not realizing that JW's mother had committed suicide).

I guess the question remains - was it Jeong-won that committed the murder? The Youtuber was also trying to find him. But if she isn't the culprit, then shame on the writer for tossing in that very, very big red herring.

I was stunned that Sang-ah pulled the exact same stunt with Jeong-won as she did with Park Jae-sang - the pills carefully spread out, the blood, the "unconscious" acting.

She is a psycho - and I'm not sure how much BTS realizes it - but once he knows (but maybe he never will? or won't realize until near the end?) that she duplicated the prior "attempted" suicide . . . . what then? One possible outcome on this drama is that BTS reaches the top - but he's stuck with a psycho wife.

How much do we really know/understand about Chu Sang-ah's early life??

Her mother died when she was young. Oh Kwang-jae prostituted her out when she was young, but she eventually became a star while all of the other young girls "faded away". Vague comments about her relationship with the Chairman, but there's nothing specific. No photos in the OKJ files. If she was his mistress in 2016, then why was he at a villa with Ji-soo???

After 6 episodes, it is clear that she is the Master Manipulator and everyone falls for her act except Bang Tae-seop, but he cares about her and it is one weak spot. More below under spoiler tag.

It's explained on the ENA web-site and shown in early scenes in Ep. 5 As a teen (?), she murdered her father and he was the prosecutor. He went easy on her and hoped she would have a clean life after her release. But she was a petty thief (maybe prostitute) when he saw her again. He took her to his sister's house for food and offered to hire her for unofficial investigations. There is no indication they had a sexual or romantic relationship.

There is not one single redeemable character in this drama although I kinda ❤️ the ML because he's not as manipulative or murderous as the other main characters.

Please edit your post to mark it as a spoiler. ❤️❤️ Thank you in advance.

Another small little factoid dropped in Ep. 5 that could - emphasis could - lead to Sang-ah being the Chairman's illegitimate daughter, namely Yang-mi's determination to get her daughter added to the Chairman's will.

The main protagonist continues to be Bang Tae-seop. With Sang-ah's "see ya around later babe" brush-off, I think we're done with the GL. But stay tuned for whatever is going on with what appears to be a closeted gay Kwon Jong Uk. As for the main couple, they either destroy each other (ala War of the Roses) or they end up on top of the world. One way or another, I think they'll be "together" (maybe falling over a cliff, lol) in the end. Which way would Koreans prefer - that they survive to the bitter end or destroy each other. I honestly don't know.

Ratings down today but then it's never clear if it's a holdover from prior episode (viewers didn't bother to return) or actually represents people turning the channel mid-watch.

55 minutes of pure melodrama and then 5 minutes of pure laugh-out-loud humiliation for Yang-mi. And I don't think the audience is supposed to feel sorry for her. 😂😂😂

Sneak Peek for Ep. 6 - Tae-seop and Jeong-won Blow-up

As always, translation is fuzzy but Tae-seop is (understandably) upset that JW overheard his convo with Sang-ah and used that - she crossed the line and better not do it again. JW says she doesn't need to work for him any more. And then - gets close to him and whispers that if it had been her, she would have killed Park Jae Sang. What is this writers? Butch city?? Anyway. . . . Ju Ji-hoon is fine as always and tells her to stop flirting with him.

I don't think Jeong-won comes out on top in this drama and after watching Sang-ah's non-stop manipulation of everyone around her, I'm beginning to wonder just how "pure" her relationship was with Ji-soo.

https://x.com/biskuitlemon/status/2038792733452878101

It's called "Recent Discussions" and then you can post s "new topic". Right above the "Comment" section

They could have easily shown the other twin at the BD party, even if just sitting at a table with his wife and daughter. So, maybe out of the country?

Same top she wore with BTS. Ji Won is the seductress.

I don't see it as a political thriller - those usually have winners and losers. This one is pure psychological thriller in a political/entertainment world. IMHO, of course.

And I also see Sang-ah as master manipulator - she listened to JW spill the whole story, looked at the entire wall of photos/news articles, somehow walked over to the bed (she could have simply rested on the sofa) and seduced her. And then walked away with a "see ya around maybe" before she pulled the same stunt with Jae-Sang's mother and jae-sang. I bet she knew he was watching the whole time.

Episode 5 ---- definitely not a favorite and my gawd, Sang-ah is Ultra Bitch who relies on her acting skills to manipulate everyone (except BTS who she admits, knows her better than she knows herself).

I think the first scenes in the drama are near the end - perhaps near the end of Ep. 9 as everything appears to come crashing down. Ep. 10 will then show the fallout and final resolution??? Just a guess if I was writing this in term of pacing.

I think I might write out those first scenes and post it in the "topic" section so that we can refer to them later on.

The word "competition" is probably ill chosen w/r/t Jeong-won's possible acting career - but the director already said something like "she shouldn't be this good". I still think that she will be a rising star while Sang-ah stumbles. And perhaps I'm crazy, but I thought Jeong-won was mildly in love with BTS - certainly got a jealousy/envy (of Sang-ah) vibe in the early episodes. ["It's not like you would choose Sang-ah over me."}

Good catch on the "recent" kdrama - I was thinking of the recent "Eve" (that I never watched).

It's "film noir" on steroids and the outlook for everyone is pretty dark - or should I say, there are no apparent heroes or heroines in this drama. . However, great cast, great plotting, lots of twists and turns.

After re-watching, I have the following thoughts/questions:
1. Sang-ah was probably a drug addict – photos, emphasis on closed containers on her cosmetic table.
2. I’m guessing that Kwon Jong Uk is gay. The slightly flamboyant, but elegant, clothes; Yang-mi’s statement “You run wild every night at that secluded Yangpyeong villa. . . .getting filthy.”; Tae-seok’s gift of a rather garish piece of jewelry; no children.
3. Was Oh Kwang-je gay? Not one Harvey Weinstein type rumor or claim of him using his actresses for his own pleasure? None?! Just doesn’t compute.
4. Question? Does the same actor portray the twin brothers? I can’t find any info regarding the actor for the twin.
5. Jeong-won’s fascination with the main couple gives me major “All About Eve” vibes – the classic Hollywood movie, not the recent kdrama, lol. In the classic, the ambitious under-study eventually competes with the main star, becoming a big star herself.
6. Who was the 1st person to stab Oh Kwang-jae?? It wasn’t Park Jae-sang. Strong hints that it was Sang-ah (Tae-seok’s last comment that he married a murderer). But I’m hoping it was Yang-mi – her statements make it clear that she was involved with Kwang-jae and Sang-ah before his murder.
EDIT: 7. Tae-seok doesn't like alcohol - it makes him sick; he grimaces whenever forced to drink some.

Looking forward to Ep 5

Climax and Old Hollywood - compare/contrast

I’ve been putting together a Character Description for this drama and re-watching certain scenes to identify names/roles. I took a double take in one scene (Hwang Jeong Won’s studio apartment) when I saw the movie poster for the movie “Sunset Boulevard.”. And I have completely revised my original thoughts on where I thought this drama was headed.

“Sunset Boulevard” was an epic, highly acclaimed “film noir” movie in which the FL, a former silent-film star, is desperate to make a triumphant return to the screen. Spoiler – she is delusional and over time, she descends into utter madness, killing the ML who was using her for his own comeback as a screenwriter.

Then, THEN. . .I watched an earlier scene in Jeong-won’s apartment and the movie poster for “Vertigo” was on the wall and she and Tae-seok were discussing his infatuation with Sang-ah. If you have watched this Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, you know it involves a man’s obsessive fixation on an idealized image of a rather irredeemable woman, eventually leading to her death.

The writer is giving the in-the-know viewer some insight into this drama’s direction – obsession, disorientation, blurred reality, spiraling out of control and potential destruction.

I like the main couple, with all their warts, and was hoping for some sort of reconciliation, but at this point, the primary question is – will anyone be alive - and not sitting in jail - by the end of this drama.

More below