Kathryn_51

The story currently in my head (and once it's there, it's stuck until proved wrong) is that Mother Villainess is going to announce their engagement at TM's 40th birthday party. If something like that happens, we will then find out if Soo Kyung is conspiring with Mom or not.

As for how others see a character, usually a writer merely writes a cardboard stereotype (chaebol princess) which is very lazy writing but easy for viewers to understand. And sometimes a writer provides clues that there is more to than top level first impression. Jury is still out w/r/t Soo Kyung, but I was shocked when we were told that she grew up in a house w/out servants, has two (presumably) ambitious brothers (both educated in the US) and that her mother is still living.

In- soo's participation in this drama was a deep secret until a few weeks ago (wheras others such as kim jae wook and lee do hyun have been known for months). Im crossing my fingers that he might be the final life?? whatever role he plays , i will watch that episode😀

My opinion is based on the following statement by Soo Kyung: "All I need to do is get over you.. . . But everyone lives with a wound of love."

"Get over you." "wound of love" those are not the words of a callous, status-seeker.

Perhaps it's still one grand scheme, but my impression is that she had accepted Tae Min's prior statement that he will never marry her.

I think Soo Kyung (TV Anchor) has decided to walk away from TM. There is no reason for
her to tarnish her career as a journalist by going soft on Taesan Group - which has ALOT of dirty secrets. There's no need to protect Taesan Group any longer - something her father was willing to do if it meant the ability to marry off his trophy daughter and also gain influence w/in Taesan.

TM was living in a dream world where he thought he could separate his professional life and private life. Both Hyo Shim and Soo Kyung have essentially told him: Wrong.

Oppa Hyo-seong is right - and Hyo Shim is too naive to understand the obvious overtones of sexual harassment. Tae Ho is a client, he pressured her (in a distinctly NON-professional manner) into signing a contract, and now she's walking into a huge trap of rumors and potential bad publicity. Shaman predicted this one long ago.

I just began watching the raw Kocowa episode. What did mother Jang tell grandmama re Taemin??. I heard his name quite a bit.

Edit: Finally able to watch that scene with subs - glad to know that Grandmama still trusts TaeMin.😊 And now we know more about what happened previously w/r/t slush fund/fraud.

16.6% Korea Nielsen for episode 20 - the highest for any of the Saturday episodes of LYOL.

I love it and don't understand why so many folks were salivating at the idea that Tae Min might be Yeom's son. Well, actually I do understand why but they were crazy. TM is the heir and that's that.

Watched the raw version today w/no subs, but even w/out the subs, I could tell that Yeom clearly cares about Tae Hee and is protecting her from Villainess. Is she his daughter? Maybe - that was the big hint today, but it may mean nothing. Regardless, they are building a bond.

Yeom hates Mom and Dad. That much is clear from past episodes.

Well, F**k. I started this drama tonight - watching while baking Christmas cookies with the thought that if it looked engaging (since I couldn't read subs from across the family room) I would return later to watch more closely. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my favorites (Kim Hae Sook) was in the drama. And she's already killed? I don't believe it - she's "Main Role", for Gawd's sake. If true, this one will go on hold - Too busy with Christmas prep to waste time on it, altho the early scenes looked promising.

Grandmama's story/history - and what really happened "three" (?) years ago is one of the few things keeping me interested in the drama - I always love a mystery.

Viki subs are provided by volunteers. I'm not sure about LYOL, but in the past the Viki subs appeared anywhere from 14-18 hours after KST air time.

I watch on Kocowa - raw version comes about 5-6 hours after KST air time and subs a few hours later. I really enjoy the raw version - helps me learn a smattering of Korean.

Got up early to watch the raw version but Christmas errands come first and no time to watch the sub version until later. But I am really looking forward to re-watching several scenes with subs later today (tried to avoid spoilers):

* Hyo Jun and Mi-rim – loving the way writer-nim is writing their lives in parallel – events, conversations, confessions – first one and then the other like a mirror.
* Tae Hee and Yeom.
* Grandmother Choi on the telephone.

And HS Mother didn’t shriek, wail, cry or hit any of her children today.

Final note – this drama is clearly marking off the week/months with the current calendar. In one scene, the date was clearly shown as December 2, 2023. Christmas trees are beginning to appear in restaurants. [This means Hy Jun will be taking his bar exam the first week of January - unless he walks away?].

A few days ago, I wrote (in a reply to @ricpnz):

"I totally agree with your comment that viewers should study up re: that period of Korean history before brining 2023 ethics/mores into the analysis.

I don’t recall where I read this, but Grandmama is 80+ years old; Let’s say she was born in 1940 (it’s a nice round #). Thus, she was a child during the Japanese occupation and young teen during the Korean War. After the Korean War, economic development/ industrialization was emphasized by autocratic governments."

And today we discover that. . . . Grandmama was indeed BORN IN 1940. 😎

My impression is that she will leave/escape her family - not "put up boundaries" with her family.

Press releases all begin with:

". . .a family liberation drama that depicts the process of 'Hyo-shim', a daughter who devoted her whole life to her family with her innate good character and warm empathy, TO ESCAPE FROM THE FAMILY that gave her a hard time and live an independent life, "

I don't know if this means she moves out to live on her own, buther mother has dared her to request the damage deposit back and move out.

I finally got around to watching Ep. 19 w/subs a couple of nights ago. I enjoyed reading your analysis.

"Why oh why can't he just take no for an answer?" Maybe because Hyo Shim The Doormat has never told him "no" before Ep. 19. Her explanation was awful "You are Kang Tae Min - you are too important!" - she doesn't understand him and he doesn't understand her. Hate watching both of them in the same scene.

I was also hoping for an "arranged marriage" trope with the Soo Kyung but the writers appear to have chosen "Villainess #3" for her role. In Ep. 19, we learned that she didn't grow up with servants. I thought she was an only child - which meant her father would have relied upon her for his legacy; but with two brothers in the mix, her only value to him appears to be to make a good match for increased power.

For now, I'm only watching specifically for Hyo Jun/Mi-ram and Grandmama Choi's story, but Ep. 19 scenes with the two brothers, Tae Min's refusing to bow to Yeom (I think he suspects Yeom is up to no good). Tae Hee's success- showed that the writer knows how gradually construct and de-construct the various relationships amongst the players.

LYOL actually posted it's 2nd highest domestic rating this past weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. Everyone may have hated that kiss at the end of Ep. 18, but they returned for Ep. 19 to see how Hyo-shim would react.

It makes more sense that she is the "girlfriend".

Good question. I've looked at the latest teaser in super slow motion and he doesn't appear to be one of the "12" lives. On the other hand, PR/articles indicate that he IS one of the twelve.

Most of the "guest/special" appearances were announced months ago but In-soo's participation wasn't announced until a few weeks ago. Crossing my fingers - foolishly, I know - that In-soo will be the final (12th) life that survives.

She understands perfectly that he could be attracted to someone "not in his class" - that's what a mistress is for, lol. But at this point, the desired marriage to Soo Kyung is all about power and protection - Soo Kyung's father can destroy TM's Mom and Dad.

Unlike you, I feel nothing for the main couple, so I DO watch some of the other scenes and am occasionally mildly surprised that the writer makes the effort to add more context or background in each episode (Ha Jun as director; Hee Joo's parents), but it's almost too little too late.

I think writer is building up to some sort of explosion at TM's 40th birthday bash and it will either be a major plot twist/reveal or a jump-the-shark moment (like TRHC Ep. 30 when what's her name ran away from what's his name [I truly don't remember their names and I'm too lazy to go look them up].

You wouldn't see Grandmama sewing if it wasn't out of necessity. It's a big hint that she (or her family) were the original owners of the textile mill.