L13

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.

There was another grand prince in addition to the crown prince and the current king, so yes, she had three sons at least. I thought Yooha was the son of the late grand prince, but the subtitles called him the crown prince in episode 8. I wonder if it was a translation error or something more complex.

Yooha is obviously the son of the late grand prince, not the late crown prince. The madam who arranged his meeting with the Left State Councillor used to serve the grand prince and we've gotten hints that she was his lover. That explains why she cares about Yooha and fits in with her telling Yooha that she used to have a relationship with his father.

Shiyeol's identity is the most mysterious yet, but whoever he is (and he may actually even be another royal, who knows), he's not Lee Seol. Lee Seol = Jade Dust = the boy Danoh saved as a child, who gave her one half of the compass that identified him as the crown prince's son. That child is Kang San, who told her when she saved him after he was injured that she's always saving him/he's grateful to her again. And today, when Ban Ya told him that her family was eradicated for supporting the crown prince, he looked stricken and asked her what her father's name was. That was the look of someone who felt personally responsible for her misfortune.

It obviously is, though? Yooha is the son of the late grand prince (the current king and the late crown prince's brother, whom the brothel madam served and loved in the past), Shiyeol most likely has some connection to the Watchman who protected Lee Seol during the rebellion and knows more than he lets on about who the other two scholars are, and San is Lee Seol. He was the boy Danoh met as a child, as his sickbed comment that it was her again who saved him indicates, and that boy was the crown prince's son, as the compass thingy Danoh now has shows. We got another clue pointing in that direction today: San's stricken, obviously guilty reaction to Ban Ya telling him that her family was destroyed for supporting the crown prince.

The only backstory I'm not sure about is Shiyeol's because of the old man who serves him and calls him 'your highness.' It's not clear yet whether Shiyeol is pretending to be a royal as part of some scheme, whether that scheme is self-interested or part of the Watchmen's duties, or whether he actually has royal blood of his own maybe. But he's not the boy from Danoh's past and so he's not Jade Dust. His medical knowledge and evasive answer when he was asked how he acquired it deepens the mystery of his background... The scene in today's episode where Shiyeol told Danoh's sister that the night Lee Seol escaped (and was saved from the Six Swords by the Watchman) was the worst night of his life is another puzzle piece, but I can't see how it all fits together just yet. I wonder if the Watchman was his father and died from his wounds that night or something like that. But since Shiyeol was *already* drinking out of sadness in a tavern when he crossed paths with Heungjo's fiancé, who was happy because he was going to get married—i.e., Shiyeol's day already sucked before the Six Swords, whom Heungjo's fiancé was a member of, caught up with Lee Seol and were killed by the Watchman—it's possible that the reason that was the worst day of his life is connected to the crown prince's downfall instead of the Watchman... Again, he's the one guy I can't figure out yet.

In any case, the drama has been telegraphing San's identity since the first episode, but since it hasn't been revealed explicitly yet, it's only natural there will be some red herrings along the way to keep us guessing and fill up the time until the grand reveal. The fact it's episode 7 and everyone in the drama is so convinced San is the Watchman and we're left guessing whether Jade Dust is Yooha or Shiyeol only reinforces my conviction that the actual answer is San, because there's no way the drama will give it away so easily.

It's obvious San is Lee Seol and everything else is misdirection. I hope we get to the reveal soon, though, so the plot can progress.

That's every jdrama ever. "Our society is stifling and hidebound and it oppresses women, who are all beautiful flowers that just need to love themselves and stop caring about other people's expectations to bloom. That's why you, the single 30-something female viewer, need a hot younger boyfriend who won't ask you to quit job when you get married." There's always a dream career opportunity in the last episode too that the woman chooses to take with her man's support even if it will mean a long-distance relationship.

Jdramas all have the same message about putting yourself first and learning to live the kind of life that makes you happy even if other people don't approve. It actually leads to pretty clichéd and hamfisted storytelling sometimes.

Do we know if this is getting a fansub?

I don't think she was even conscious of the fact she was doing the same thing to WJ that had been done to her? That was part of the irony of the situation, and contributed to her obvious pattern of hypocrisy in this week's episodes? Plus we have no reason to assume she immediately dissociates any time the topic of dating a married man, which she has had to think about for 15 years, comes up? Her trauma seems to be centred on being publicly humiliated and not on the specific backstory. Also in general if everyone always reacted to situations in real life according to a psychiatry textbook, there would be no unique personalities in the world.

Sorry, I just don't think this is a particularly valid point.

It's not like she literally disowned her children or anything, she was overdramatic for one evening and was fine from then on out. My parents would be far more unbearable if they learned our family home was gone and I hadn't told them for months. I think you're being unreasonable here, not the mother.

You could have looked up more photos of him before asking the question.

Expected what, a separation or the threat of separation at the beginning of the last episode? Yeah, that’s every romantic kdrama ever. You people sound like goldfish watching their first human show when you convince yourselves Call It Love will have a sad ending despite all signs pointing to the contrary.