KevinToronto

Personally, I like the fact that the story starts with the couple already 18 months into their romance. The reveal and angst of discovering the male lead is a rich chaebol has been played out already. Instead, we start with the female lead being pragmatic and taking the money, because she "knows" that reality will eventually kick in and the couple will split.

Clearly, the writers looked at the traditional rich male and poor female scenario and wondered how to rearrange things a little. There are another 8 episodes and I am hoping that it continues to be this enjoyable.

Err, the vast majority of us are not morally black and white; we live somewhere in the grey zone.

I missed the point where Seok Ryu blackmailed someone, could you give me a rough point in what we have seen so far, so that I can re-watch it? Thanks.

As for the hitting, yes, it can seem excessive and over the top. However, the bulk of it is against Seung Hyo and this is visual allegory to show the deep and long-standing relationship between the two, which will be shown to be love.

The opening scenes of the first episode show the reason behind Seok Ryu's mother's reaction. It stems from high school friends trying to "out-do" each other in how successful they have been, either directly or through their children. During the hike, a lot of the talk was about the upcoming wedding (including handing out the very fancy invitations) in the U.S. and the fact that the future son-in-law is a (very successful) international lawyer. The embarrassment (humiliation) of having it cancelled just one month out is going to cause problems.

As for why Seok Ryu did not openly explain why she did what she did, the answer is simple: Shame. The high school letter to herself shows that her focus and self-worth was based on how others saw her, not how she saw herself. As someone whose partner of 7 years cheated with a married co-worker (yes, the ultimate in cliches, but...), I can assure you that shame and not wanting to show vulnerability make it very, very difficult to openly divulge and discuss the situation, even to family. The belief that you (the victim) is the one at fault is not easy to overcome, I know from personal experience.

This morning, I came across this review of the first two episodes on Drama Beans (https://www.dramabeans.com/2024/08/cinderella-at-2am-episodes-1-2/). It is a quite positive review, ending with
"...if it maintains its current balance of romance and comedy while using character development to drive the plot, then I think Cinderella at 2AM has the potential to surprise us all."

This section caught my attention:
"...why did he accompany her to the movies when he hates dark cramped spaces, and why did he eat spicy food if he doesn’t enjoy it? Because, he responds, he wanted to like the things she liked, and gradually her likes and dislikes became his own. Yoon-seo, in return, expresses her disappointment that he never gave her the same opportunity to learn and appreciate his interests, like opera, with him because he prioritized her preferences over his own."

How many of us have been a relationship where you focus on your partner at the expense of building a true partnership because you are too scared of losing what you have? I know I have.

It is definitely not the King's English, but it is very noticeable when I say colour instead of color. 🤣

My thoughts exactly. That is why I speculated that the Chris character was her "ex" last weekend.

While reading through some of the older comments, I came across one talking about a desire not to have a love triangle when the ex finally makes an appearance. I am in the "No to any love triangle crap" camp.

However, a weird thought crossed my mind (people can speculate about what the thought says about my "mind"). I thought I would write it down to see what others think.

Would it be a good or bad plot line if the ex turns out to be the son of the sleazy vice-minister colleague who seemed to creep out Seung Hyo's mother?

It would have been even better if she had a crab claw.

As I noted in my other post, I was born and raised in London. I left the U.K. before my 25th birthday and I have never been back except for visits to see family. I have lived in Hong Kong and Canada for longer than the nearly 25 years in the U.K. (I will not say how long because a man never divulges his age😉).

Yet, while getting a coffee at the office last week, someone from a different department asked whether I was from Britain!

Mind you, I am surprised that someone has difficulty in pronouncing "DramaLifeForever". 😄

Completely agree. I was born and raised in London, and heard the arrogance, conceit, and contempt that some had towards people who were speaking English as their second, third, or fourth language.

For me, this is a Korean production using Korean actors for, first and foremost, for a Korean audience. That many of us around the world can enjoy this programme and many others should be celebrated, not demeaned.

I would have to disagree somewhat. It is highly likely that Seok Ryu knew she was doing much more of the work. However, given her personality (refer back to the letter to herself from High School), would she have perceived it as being used? Or did she believe that she was the best person there and thus had to do the extra work, in order to be a good team member. I have met work colleagues who have exhibited those tendencies, and even more who were quite happy to ride on the coattails of the hard worker (and then take the credit).

The comment about whether to quit or not is valid. However, we do not know the timing of Seok Ryu overhearing herself being denigrated by her colleagues and her discovering that her finance is cheating on her. The impression from the only flash back so far suggests that she went looking for him to discuss what she heard and get support. Instead, she discovered yet more betrayal. Individually, she might have overcome the issues. However, the two issues combined might have been too much.

I could be wrong but I thought that, during the flash back, Chris told the other team members the reason why, but it was not spoken out loud for the audience. Clearly, whatever the reason, it was not a positive (e.g., year-long study sabbatical) and it was used against her afterwards.

Given that the company's name is being pronounced like "grape" is a big hint. Also, the fact that Samsung and Apple are huge competitors in the IT hardware sector, I would be inclined to believe that Greip is "closer" to Apple than to Google. Having said that, it seems to being portrayed as a relatively generic U.S. high tech company.

I definitely noticed the "tension" between Hye-sook and her new boss. My initial thoughts were that either something happened during an assignment or that he used connections to get the job when she should have got it. Does she secretly want to stay in Korea and somehow re-connect with her husband and son?

As for Chris, it is obvious that he had become one of the Greip family, while Seok-ryu was very much the outsider. While there might be a legitimate case for harrassment, far too often, Human Resources (and a company) will take the easy way out by getting rid of the "trouble-maker". Does anyone believe that the other team members would support Seok-ryu over Chris?

Mmm, her English is way better than my Korean. :-)

For the record, I was born in London and subtitles would have been fabulous when listening to some people from parts of Somerset or Yorkshire, or from Glasgow.

If this were a 16-episode show, then we could have had the luxury of the getting together back story. However, this is only 10 episodes.

I actually liked that they started at the "forced break up" stage because now the underlying story thread will show how the strength of their relationship overcomes the maternal disapproval.

I am also intrigued to see if there is any growth in Si Won, and if there will be a reconciliation with his wife.

How is she toying with his feelings? She told him up front that they were breaking up. He was the one who decided to fight this, and had his office located where he could see (torment) her during the day.

What should she have done? Resigned from the company? This is from the synopsis above "When she was younger, she took her younger brother and left her family because of domestic violence." She has to work to support herself and her brother, as @S1234 says.

You are perfectly entitled to skip this show, even if just based on a single clip.

I think you might be right, as I got the feeling that the girl might be his daughter. It could explain why Dan ho did not want to explain where he had lived before.

As for the stigma against single parents, single fathers especially, the plot of One Spring Night is all about it.

This episode covered so many "issues", including some that I have noticed in other programmes. However, I have never seen an episode that "addresses" so many issues, and so well.

First, it is clear that this not just a ML and FL rom-com. The families are intertwined. It is the mothers who tie everyone together from their high school friendship. Everything that follows is a result of that friendship and social status/career success is secondary.

Second, even the fathers have created their own bonds. The two fathers having dinner and getting plastered was precious, as was the picking of the roses. Such a simple thing but a huge gesture. [It is often the simple things that make a difference.]

Third, did anyone else get the sexual harassment vibe from the interaction between Seung Hyo's mother and the new vice-minister?

Fourth, I got the sense that Seung Hyo's mother is conflicted about going overseas again. I could be wrong but my sense was that she realises that she is on the precipice of losing her family.

Fifth, was Seung Hyo's parents marriage based on love or "arrangement"? His father seems to accept that his marriage is "paper only", but I am not certain that his mother feels the same.

Sixth, sadly/tragically/depressingly, over the work career, many of us will experience that colleague who is able to transfer other people's hard work into their success because they present a good business case and "fit the mould". If you are a visible minority female (whose English skills are not perfect), then it is even worse. [Note: even I, a white male immigrant from the U.K. via Hong Kong, have had negative responses, especially about not having the necessary Canadian experience!]

Seventh, the empathy shown by Seung Hyo was amazing. Regardless of how they end up, having someone who stops, listens, and accepts is critical.

Eighth, did anyone else get the feeling that the young girl is actually the daughter of Dan Ho (the journalist?). Echoes of One Spring Night?

I am sure that more will things will come to mind but I will end here, for now.

Wow, where to start? I have watched many kdramas, like most of us here, and I am not certain that there has been a single episode that has been so impactful in its content and issues discussed, for me. I am going to put my thoughts and comments in a "spoiler" post to this.