KevinToronto

I do not believe that you were overthinking here. My thoughts were the same after the meal scene. And it would fit within the overall theme of first loves. I could be wrong but I believe only one "first love couple" ended up together: Baek Wook and Bae Hye Suk. As for individuals, only Hu Yeong and Gyeong Taek ended up with their respective first loves. Oddball and Hye Ji found new loves, while Sang Pil and Jun Ho lost out completely.

Personally, I enjoyed this show. It was a simple "amuse-bouche" programme to help fill a summer month during which the Olympics took place.

Having said that, I liked the main characters and how the relationships developed over the 8 episodes. And, yes, the ending was exactly what was needed given the build up. I am in the "we do not need a second season" camp.

One final thing, I loved the fact that the FL was called "Oddball" everyone, except the ML. It was little thing, but it stood out for me.

Add my name to the "Waiting for Season 2" list. A thoroughly entertaining, well written programme that delivered everything it "promised" in the first episode:
An odd-ball outsider joins a close knit team that has been exiled by the mainstream police family. Over 12 episodes, they become a stronger team/family.

I suspect that the much anticipated and hoped for second season will have the Ghost Cab case as the main story running throughout, but it will be the individual 1 or 2 episode cases that will provide the entertainment.

Some people have commented (somewhat negatively) about the Hyundai advertising. I was not fazed by it. Clearly, there was a need for a lot of vehicles given that this was about a traffic crimes investigation team. It makes eminent sense to get Hyundai as a sponsor. It certainly did not seem out of place, unlike the Subway or Quiznos placements "randomly" seen in many other programmes.

-- As far as the State is concerned, she's missing or dead, and there are no relatives to contact. --
The bureaucrats would have known she was alive when she added Woo Ri and Doo Ri to her family registry. At that point, she should have noticed that Soo Ji had been removed from the registry.

-- > So was Su Ji still on the registry when Woo Ri and Doo Ri were added?
No. Uri and Duri came later, after bio mom recovered from her near-death accident.
> If not, why didn't she notice? --
See above. Seon Young should have noticed the absence of Su Ji when adding the two new children.

I have read many of the comments criticising Seon Young for
-- Not looking for Su Ji sufficiently long or diligently enough; and
-- Being mean/rude/giving the cold shoulder to Su Ji, especially with regard to the Hyun Sung situation.

I am perplexed with the apparent turnaround.

From my recollection, Jang Su and Yun Ja had an affair resulting in the former divorcing Seon Young. After that, Seon Young had to work many jobs, including construction, in order to survive. She could not look after Su ji at that time. Then, she had the accident and was severely injured. She has said that Jin Tae saved her life (explaining why she is always so nice to him when he comes for dinner at the restaurant). She spent a lot of time (3 months?) in the hospital and then more time in rehabilitation.

Around this time, she was told that Jang Su and Yun Ja had taken the family overseas. Despite that, she did try to find them when she was sufficiently recovered. Obviously, she would have looked at families departing Korea, rather than looking within the country. At this point, her financial situation would have been even worse than before the accident. I doubt that she would have been able to pay for a search search for Jang Su and Yun Ja in the U.S. And where would she have started?

After a while, she would have inevitably given up the search. At that point, it is understandable that she would have hoped/wished/believed that Su Ji was living a good life. Imagine how depressed she would have been if the thought was that Su Ji was doing badly and she could do nothing?

As for the Hyun Sung situation, from Seon Young's perspective, the family took in someone in desperate need of housing and security. She has seen her son go from work colleague to having a romantic interest in her. At the same time, she has seen the obsessive, stalker ex-boyfriend enter the scene. And despite Su Ji's clear "It is over between us" statements, he comes around. The end result is her son is punched. It is Su Ji who is living at the house, not Hyun Sung, so it is understandable that Su Ji is blamed. The right thing; no. Understandable; yes.

Having said that, I have a question about Seon Young's family registry. We have been told that Su Ji is not on it, but Woo Ri and Doo Ri are. So was Su Ji still on the registry when Woo Ri and Doo Ri were added? If not, why didn't she notice? If she was still on it, when was she removed? And, why wasn't Seon Young informed of the change by the authorities?

Fundamentally the issue is about a societal perspective rather than a legal or biological perspective. Would family, close friends, and Korean society as a whole accept this? I have no idea.

I cannot imagine that there is any legal prohibition on such a relationship. Nor is there any biological reason against such a relationship.

Personally, while I would find such a relationship unusual at first, if the two people involved found happiness with each other, I would be very happy for them.

From my recollection, Seon Young was involved in an accident and was in the hospital for 6 months or so. When she was recovered and was released, the story was that the family had left Korea, taking Su Ji with them. Given that Seon Young did not have a lot of money, I am not certain how she would have been able to search for them in other countries.

Thus, I would not catergorise what happened as "she DID abandon her".

Thanks, you have a good weekend, too.

Respectfully, the term and concept of "Baby Boomer" is a U.S.-based one that has little connection to many other countries and cultures. If I had been born in the U.S., I would have been part of the boomer cohort, but towards the end of it. However, I was born in the U.K., where the post-war boom did not occur until much later; food rationing did not end until 1954 and coal rationing continued until 1958. [In the U.S., rationing ended in August 1945, except for sugar which ended in 1947.] In Korea, the difference is even more stark. The GDP per capita in 1960 was US$158 and US$32,423 in 2022; for comparison, it was US$3,007 in 1960 and US$76,330 in 2022.

I do not disagree that Yun Ja is a nasty odious person but that is purely her, and not a result of her birth cohort.

Hi Nexe,

We are good; there are no hard feelings at all. This world would be extremely boring if everyone agreed on everything all the time.

Apologies for the confusion over the inverted commas. I used them to emphasise the concept rather than quoting you. I do not disagree that Seon Young should have been the "bigger" person due to her age and experience. However, my point was that the issue of telling A-Ra that she was abandoned by her mother is a very sore issue for Seon Young, as much as for Su Ji for the opposite reason. Likewise, seeing their son being punched by a stranger is going to get any parent angry.

Yes, ignoring someone is rude, but sometimes is better to say nothing rather than say something that you know you will regret later on.

I think that the both of us, and others, realise that this is drama land tension building to make the discovery of their relationship and re-connection all the more dramatic, with Pacific Ocean quantities of tears.

I am going to be a bit contrarian here. Why does Seon Young being being older require her "to not be upset and angry" at Su Ji for what has happened?

First, Su Ji tells Ah Ra something (true though it might be) that the family had been keeping unspoken, for obvious reasons. Many here commented that it was wrong for her to say that.

Second, she has seen her son physically attacked by the ex-boyfriend of someone her son clearly likes. Everyone here knows that Hyun Sung has gone well past the point of being merely a disappointed ex-boyfriend, but it still must be worrying.

I am not sure why Su Ji did not realise that "hurting" two people who call Seon Young "mother" will upset and anger Seon Young.

Yes, talking about things before they fester for too long is important, but, sometimes, people are not able to put their feelings into words at the time. Some people need time to get their thoughts in order so that they can talk calmly.

But, yes, as this is drama land, this is merely to build up the tension around the relationship reveal.

Absolutely, she has done nothing wrong. Even if he was merely a very loyal, regular customer, it is perfectly acceptable to treat him with respect and courtesy when he visits the restaurant, whether he comes late and/or stays beyond closing time. It is not as if they are going for a day-long trip to the coast or a dinner for two at a different restaurant.

Plus, as @TereStarr correctly points out, there is a connection beyond just the restaurant. He saved her life; if it were me, that would guarantee an open table for him whenever he wants, no questions asked. Presumably, he started going to the restaurant because of the medical situation.

Thank you for sharing your story, which provides a very different and important perspective to the one that most of us have.

I will not presume to speak for others, but the reason I have referred to the biological vs adopted status of characters is because the tangled web of relationships will be a problem at some stage in the story. Plus, resolving the "abandonment" issue for Su Ji will, I believe, be part of her final healing process.

With regard to the overall issue of adoption, from what I have read, it is a very sensitive issue within Korea. And I have seen several dramas where it has been an aspect (e.g., You are My Spring; Law School; Let me be your Knight, to name three). Here are two links to media reports about it.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/south-korean-court-orders-agency-compensate-asian-american-adoptee-rcna84690
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-02/south-koreas-sham-adoptions/103798500

The issue of adopted vs (long-lost) biological children is fraught with ethical and moral issues. The story from China would be okay provided that the son is not biologically related to the mother. If he is biologically related, then brother married sister, regardless of whether they were raised by two different people.

Like you, I do think that the mother - daughter relationship is the key in this story because it will help unwind and heal the angst and psychological damage done over the years, as well as dramatically impact the relationship between Su Ji and Woo Ri.

Thanks.

Who knew that a programme about "traffic cops" could so interesting and so much fun? Full marks for the creative mind(s) that came up with the idea, and for the people behind Flex X Cop.

I heard the comments that the husband had died in the U.S., but that sort of "drama dead end" is way too easy. I suspect that the husband is still alive and possible hiding in plain sight.

Obviously, a second season will depend on a lot of factors, but it definitely has the vibe that suggests that at least a second season could be on the cards. I am definitely hoping for one.

I am in the same camp as EMaGr. I cannot feel very sorry for Hyun Sung. He does not have to play the mediator role. He could just say "You are my parents and I love both of you."

When I saw the preview, I did wonder if the movement towards the kiss would be halted/interrupted.

Can I respectfully ask that you make your comment a "Spoiler", as it provides quite a bit of detail about an episode that many have not seen yet?