L13

Because he's a spineless tool! I don't care how much he loves her; he's allowed his mother to treat his wife like shit for decades and not taken any steps to shield his wife by moving out of the family home at least. He's objectively horrible. But they love each other, I guess, so we're supposed to care...

What scheming? The baby trap thing? The grandma wouldn’t care? She’s okay with SJ treating TG like shit and manipulating him, wanting to get married for the money, not really liking TG, etc. That’s all great for the grandma.

The only revelation that could shake her support for SJ is that SJ was in a relationship with that other guy until recently, because that would make SJ look bad to outsiders in the mega conservative universe of Korean family dramas and thus harm the reputation of the family when she marries in. That’s why SJ kept it a secret. But TG doesn’t know about it either.

TG went along with it because he thought it was better for his mother and if he upset the grandma she’d take it out on his mother, no? Even though she was ready to get a divorce and leave the house with him, which would have been 10x better for both of them. But he thought she needed to stay in that awful family because she really loves his stepdad, so he didn’t respect her own decision… It was a very stupid and childish thought process, but the writers needed it to happen that way for plot-related reasons.

Ban Ya seems nice but clueless. I also think she'll end up as the catalyst for some shady stuff, but it won't be on purpose. She has 'wretched prostitute who is a pawn in the hands of powerful men, gets used against the man she loves (who's much too good for her and only has eyes for the pure virginal FL) and ends up sacrificing herself for him at the end of the drama to atone for her sins' written all over her. That's a pretty misogynistic character type, but it's still a sympathetic one.

The madame, however, yep, that bitch is crazy. She and the Left State Councillor think they're the good guys even as they do twisted shit. That's never a good sign! But it makes them more compelling villains, IMO. In some ways I dislike these two (and increasingly Yooha) even more than the king.

I don't even want San to be king because that's actually a super miserable job, but Yooha's shameless identity theft is getting on my last nerve. Someone expose that bitch! I need the fact he's not Lee Seol to come out so his bid for the throne goes down in flames.

The grandma knows Sejin is greedy and doesn't love Taegyeong and she's fine with it. She *wants* TG to have a miserable marriage because she hates him, and she's fine with SJ being a gold-digger (I hate this term, but that's how they're writing her character) because the grandma thinks she can control her. She sees SJ as her creature and trusts SJ to be on her side, not on TG's, after the wedding.

That said, I still don't understand why she's so set against Yeondoo. Her whole reason for setting up TG with SJ in the first place is that SJ comes from a modest background compared to TG and won't be able to aid him in a potential corporate power grab, which is an irrational fear the grandma is obsessed with. Well, YD is even less useful to him as a spouse, so the grandma should love her! Poor, got knocked up by accident, currently unemployed, what's not to love!

I guess she's concerned about the family's reputation because of the prejudice against accidental pregnancies and other kinds of sexual impropriety in South Korea, and also just hates it when things don't go her way.

Seeing Sejin and her mother lose their shit is just too satisfying. I only wish the grandmother was humiliated worse. What a repulsive trio! I know SJ’s dad has to be on her side because she’s his child, but he’s got to realise the marriage to TG isn’t a love match and she’s better off without him in the long run as well as that when he has impregnated another woman and wants to marry her it’s game over. That whole family needs to move on.

Right, I already know exactly what's going to happen in every episode, but I'm still gonna watch and enjoy.

When there's an ongoing daily drama I sometimes watch the first several episodes to get a sense for the main characters and then dip in and out as the mood strikes me because it's easy to get back into this type of story even if you've missed a chunk of episodes.

So I skimmed ep. 18 to see where this drama is at and whether it's a good time to get into it, but it doesn't seem like the two leads have any special feelings for each other or even share any scenes? When do you guys think the main romantic subplot will start to pick up? Because the FL seems to be in love with some scumbag she views through rose-coloured glasses and their relationship hasn't even started yet, but everyone is already talking about it; this doesn't seem like a roadblock that will be overcome quickly.

There seems to be very little to keep my interest at the moment.

Don't worry, you'll be asked to sympathise with her husband too.

Well, she still needs to complete a residency in order to become a specialist. This was discussed briefly in Golden Time (an underrated medical kdrama IMO), where the protagonist, who stopped training after his internship, starts out as a grifter working at an oriental medicine clinic or something like that who occasionally takes shifts in the local hospital's sleepy ER to supplement his income. Then one day his incompetence leads to a patient's death IIRC and he realises that he needs to go back to school and becomes a resident at a hospital. If you don't have your residency under your belt, there's a limited number of medical jobs you can take because you don't have a specialisation, they're considered the easiest in the field, and all other doctors look down on you. At least that's how it seems to be in Korea based on the info presented in Golden Time.

What a stupid take lol

My antennae are already tingling re. her and YD's brother... It would be a total cliché, but I wouldn't mind.

It's already available for download on Dramaday. The video files for this drama on there include subs, so no additional downloads needed.

The first episode was quite funny in a bittersweet way, but I wonder if they're going to try to give the husband a redemption arc/journey of personal growth because as it stands now, I can't imagine rooting for him under any circumstances.

I thought when she said she lost two sons, she meant the crown prince and the grand prince, who were both killed by the current king. She added “and my son killed his brothers” or something like that when she made that comment.

Yes, I was thinking the subs for the last episode must be messed up because Yooha can only be the son of the grand prince (whose title was translated correctly earlier in the drama).

People don’t understand the difference between the crown prince, who’s heir to the throne, and the grand prince, who’s a legitimate child of the king and his official wife but not the designated heir, and the subs haven’t been helping. They had other inconsistencies as well in episode 7, I think.

She told him her name when they were children, so he knew from the beginning. He probably remembered Ihwawon as well.

I was thinking she looks a bit like Park Eunbin in this drama actually. It must be the styling that’s highlighting their resemblance because I hadn’t noticed it before.

I’m so glad the forced marriage arc is coming to an end soon! It’s infuriating, both because the grandma is pure evil and doesn’t deserve the W and because Taegyeong should have known from the beginning it wouldn’t fix anything. The problem in that family is the grandma, who has never thought of him and his mother as family, and the only people who can resolve it are TG’s parents; either his mother gets a divorce and everyone separates cleanly or his stepfather finally grows a spine, stands up for the wife he claims to love so much and moves out of the house. TG ruining his life to appease the grandma wouldn’t fix her personality or her resentment toward him on behalf of her biological grandchildren. Also her creepy servant girl is a nightmare marital prospect, which became clear even before TG caught her lying to him and plotting to baby-trap him. What sort of woman agrees to marry a random person (while being in a relationship with someone else!) just because her awful boss told her to—and to pressure and manipulate her prospective spouse to agree for her sake, like she’s asking for a small favour and not a massive lifelong commitment?

Anyway, I’m guessing TG and YD will get married on the auspicious day originally designated for his wedding to SJ, which should put an end to that whole subplot… but the fact SJ is the second female lead really concerns me. I really hope she won’t spend all drama trying to break up TG and YD like a crazy person, but I have a feeling that’s exactly what will happen.

I also REALLY hope TG won’t quit his job as a doctor to be a corporate executive in the last act of the drama as happens all too often in these stories. He has a nice, socially useful job and I have no interest in watching stupid corporate intrigues between him and his siblings.