I really want to understand the SFL (A Jeong) but I just can’t relate with any of her actions or intentions. She doesn’t respect professional or personal boundaries, feels entitled & acts childish.
Friends & family may tolerate or even accept her behaviour but others don’t have to. She marches into her ex boyfriend’s house unannounced & acts like using the guest room instead of the main room is a favour she bestowed on him. Her boss allowed her to stay in his condo unconditionally out of kindness but she starts making inappropriate sexual advances on him despite knowing that he is married & pretends like he dumped her. She even has the audacity to steal an expensive whiskey bottle from his private collection as some sort of “compensation” that she deserves. Practically she should be gifting him one out of gratitude but her twisted logic decides that she’s the victim & not a beneficiary.
She questions the ML about his night out & pries into the sensitive details of his personal life as if she were his wife. She takes similar liberties with her boss, acting like his wife (setting his neck tie, holding his hand, kissing him, etc.) Her behaviour may seem harmless & some may even say that it is just immaturity but if a man did the same, would it be defended as innocent/ playful or labelled as sexual harassment?
I don't think assaulting your coworker to create a new rumour is demonstrating any leadership actually, especially…
I agree that this is a rom com & inevitably there will be some exaggerated or shock value scenes to reel the audience in. The ‘cat fight’ scene, the ‘rooftop’ meeting, the ‘nude model’ scene, etc. are a few examples. I’m not defending the logic behind any of the above incidents but I agree with the core philosophy of her statement. Leaders cannot position themselves in safe spaces. They will have to take risks & they will be hit. They will have to take the fall for the team but they can’t allow the team to fall. The captain sinks with the ship not the crew.
The methods displayed here to show her leadership may seem crude, impractical & absurd but they serve the purpose of entertaining us. I feel that publishing the investigation results would just lead people to think that it was an internal cover up by the audit department. It might be the right thing to do but it is a passive solution to a problem that will eventually cease to exist as it is baseless. The imminent issue was the continuous gossip threatening the team’s efficiency so she diverted the attention to herself & ensured that the team returns to its usual routine.
A deep dive into strategic manoeuvring & political intrigue would lead to a show like ‘Nirvana in Fire’. But as you said this is a rom com & we can ignore the methods used if the outcomes are agreeable.
I loved the way In A looked at Gi Jun while he was bandaging her finger. She didn’t expect him to come to her defence & she was visibly touched by his words. She seems to enjoy his company & kind of looks forward to teasing him.
I was impressed by her explanation about the vision of a leader. A leader can be an angel or a devil but he/she can’t be ambiguous. Being neutral leads no where & a leader with an unclear ideology is just a burden on the team as they will have to take the heat while their boss evades responsibility under the guise of neutrality.
If In Ah directly helped the Audit team 3 or seemed to buckle under social/peer pressure, people would exploit her morality as her weakness. And ultimately the Audit team would lose its intimidating power, leading to the gradual collapse of the company’s internal surveillance & law enforcement system, which would push the company into its inevitable doom.
The same can be said about Jae Yeol. He has to prioritise the company’s interests over his own. Those who wear the crown bear its weight. Team leader Moo is the same. He chose his path & remains loyal to it despite the obstacles.
There are two moments I really like, both involving Kim Jae Wook, where the characters don't really speak but…
I felt the same about both the scenes. I think In Ah & Jae Yeol have been working together for a long time. They might scout the ML directly or just use the ML’s research on the pharma deal to damage the Chairman’s side. JY is definitely in an arranged marriage but did he date/ like Ah Jeong before or after this marriage? And why does he trust In Ah? JY & the ML both choose the same tie. Is this some sort of foreshadowing about their love lives or just a hint that both of them have similar preferences/ values/ goals?
Also at the end of the meeting, when JY insists on going home for dinner with his wife, Ah Jeong is visibly upset & bites into a dessert on JY’s plate with an ambiguous expression. Is it an innocent crush (like she understands his pain & wants to stand by him) or a mutual longing for a real bond irrespective of their identities & the masks they wear.
There are so many modern and historical versions of this drama. https://kisskh.at/795410-hua-qian-xi-shithis…
Same here. This version is the best of the lot & it is the only version which had me in tears. In this version the relationships feel more palpable & the story has a poignant phase which hits really hard. The ending arc was also done beautifully with a mature take rather than an angst filled one.
One thing I know for sure is both Gi Chan's mom and Se Ri see their kids as useful tools to make their own lives…
Exactly. The fact the GC wants only JI (& not his mom) by his side during his last moments says everything. Maybe JI was the only person who loved him sincerely & he realised it too late.
Kang Se Ri wants to get back with TO? This woman doesn't have a bottom line. Never came across such a cheap villain who doesn't have a shred of dignity.
Gi Chan is a jerk, a criminal & a fool but he is the ML of this drama. You can't convince me otherwise. His thoughts & vulnerabilities are well drawn out. He not just carried the Hwang family but also the plot on his shoulders. We get to see a full spectrum of his emotions & barring the criminal acts, his character is relatable.
TO living in JI's house is bound to make DY jealous. I don't know why they are dragging this unnecessary love triangle. I just hope SR doesn't kill anyone else.
If I was in DY's mom's position I would definitely feel uncomfortable with Mi Ran. She's the only character who got away scratch free despite harming others intentionally. Yu Gyeong resigned as a doctor for a relatabily minor & passive offence but Mi Ran still remains the director & de-facto chairperson. She also shameless stays at DY's place to experience warmth of a family. Does she deserve it?
I really wish that Tae O appeard earlier. He looks dapper in his casual suits & I like his grey character. I think Gi Chan might have cancer (the doctor asking him to undergo a detailed examination was foreboding).
Gi Chan regretting his choices & drowning in guilt is satisfying. He deserved that slap from his mom but his mistake was trusting SR & not JI.
I can't understand the shameless audacity of SR, marching confidently & making deals either by threatening or begging the very people she tried to kill.
DY should stop playing the abandoned puppy. Even TO is being bold about his feelings. This is a drama so ultimately they'll end up together but in real life he would be friend-zoned if he's too bland/ passive. I understand that he cares for her & wants her to feel comfortable but he shouldn't supress/ bottle up his feelings like the typical 2nd ML.
So Gi Chan has a terminal illness? Is it stomach cancer? They are trying to make his character pitiful & portray him as a 'victim of his circumstances'. I strongly disagree.
Gi Chan's regret is justified but he can't blame his mom or poverty. DY's family faced a similar situation but never resorted to immortal means. He promised JI's mom about cherishing JI but after marriage he betrayed JI, harmed her family, threw her into a mental asylum & whispered into her ear (like a devil) "Your 1st mistake is marrying me". NOW he has the audacity to say that he loves her. Excuse me you're nuts.
He was already a lawyer, JI loved him & they had a bright future ahead. But no, he blames his mother for his greed & JI's mom for his inferiority complex, which led him to Se Ri & all the mess thereafter.
Being ambitious isn't wrong but choosing unethical & evil methods to achieve anything is unforgivable. He consciously & shrewdly choose this road so he isn't any victim/ pitiful guy. He just realised that he is doomed & regrets losing the game despite having the best cards. What if his plans worked out & he lived happily with Se Ri? Would he think of JI? I doubt.
SW seemed to be really at home there, as if he knew these were his kind of people.
DH, DY & SW would have been a lovely trio growing up together as siblings. Through Mi Ran, DY & JI would also meet much earlier. I agree with DY's mom, Mi Ran can't be forgiven easily. She's not a weak women who didn't have a choice.
Gc slowly realising wt he did to ji.... feels like he is gonna admit his crimes
I know that I'm not supposed to but I feel pitiful towards GC. If only he had the right parents to guide him. He is beyond redemption now but I can see him repenting for his sins unlike SR who never acknowledges her mistakes.
Instead of apologizing to Tae O for faking his son's death & using their son to climb the social ladder, she justifies her selfish act by saying "your son died but in my heart". What do you mean?
I loved the contrast b/w the two "home made dinners" in today's ep. In both instances the "hidden" fathers long for their son but the mood was miles apart. One was an affectionate, caring & comfortable meal (intending to make good memories) while the other was a self-serving & materialistic affair (intending to make deals).
DY's family is grateful towards JI's family as SW grew up to a fine kid & is blessed to have warm & loving families on either sides. GC's family is cold, dysfunctional & broken as there's no trust or morals left & JH though cared for physically, is largely deprived of healthy emotional support. He has no role model to follow & if EW was alive, JH would be pitched against EW in an extremely unhealthy competition for everything ranging from food to his father's love.
Tae Oh is right - not everyone is qualified to be a mother. She is toxic & JH needs to be rescued.
P.S. I love the cheerful, high pitched voice of JI calling "Bo Ram-aaa" It's endearing 💕
stray thought: SeRi obviously had no trouble getting men and could have her pick. Her unhealthy obsession with…
She's an extremely ambitious person desperate for quick (rather than sustainable) success. She doesn't care about the means if they meet her ends so everyone in her life (yes, her son too) is a stepping stone for her.
She dated men for money since high school & saw them as mere ladders for climbing up the fortune pyramid. If a taller one appears the shorter one is kicked away. Her ex husband wasn't rich enough for long term commitment & she didn't anticipate Tae O's success - so she tossed them away like a used tissue.
GC on the other hand was eyeing the YL group (her achilles). He could satisfy her personal as well as social definitions of success. She couldn't ask for more I guess.
I am almost starting to feel sorry for Gi Chan. The man can't catch a break from his family of complete idiots.
If he hadn’t meet SR, half of his troubles wouldn’t exist. He’s apparently talented so sooner or later he would’ve been the kingmaker (if not the king) of the so called YL Empire. People trade pawn for the queen in chess but GC traded the Queen (JI) for a pawn (of unknown colour - SR). Now the same pawn is wreaking havoc for him left, right & center. He’ll regret this move even in his grave. That ONE blunder, (leading to a chain reaction of events) turned his life upside down.
Lee Tae O should have appeared much earlier. He could've been the classic second male lead/ friend-zoned charming guy. I love his buttery voice, debonair look, dewy deer eyes & cute dimples. His smile is just heart melting 🫠
Do Yun's confession was endearing & I would love to see Jae In back with DY's family. GC is pretty much screwed by now but when he discovers Ji Ho's identity he'll be shattered. As JI rightly pointed out, he kicked his own luck into to the gutter.
I didn't get any friend zoning at all from that. Seems to me he knows they both like each other and it's his way…
You are right. But I feel like Jeong O Seong will be deeply hurt. He was deprived of his kid's childhood & nothing can replace it. SW & his dad are so cute & endearing together. I want them to be happy. Mi Ran is still a grey character for me. She's trying to escape her problems through her emotions but it's high time that she acknowledges & address her problems by seeking the support of her partner.
Friends & family may tolerate or even accept her behaviour but others don’t have to. She marches into her ex boyfriend’s house unannounced & acts like using the guest room instead of the main room is a favour she bestowed on him.
Her boss allowed her to stay in his condo unconditionally out of kindness but she starts making inappropriate sexual advances on him despite knowing that he is married & pretends like he dumped her. She even has the audacity to steal an expensive whiskey bottle from his private collection as some sort of “compensation” that she deserves. Practically she should be gifting him one out of gratitude but her twisted logic decides that she’s the victim & not a beneficiary.
She questions the ML about his night out & pries into the sensitive details of his personal life as if she were his wife. She takes similar liberties with her boss, acting like his wife (setting his neck tie, holding his hand, kissing him, etc.) Her behaviour may seem harmless & some may even say that it is just immaturity but if a man did the same, would it be defended as innocent/ playful or labelled as sexual harassment?
I’m not defending the logic behind any of the above incidents but I agree with the core philosophy of her statement. Leaders cannot position themselves in safe spaces. They will have to take risks & they will be hit. They will have to take the fall for the team but they can’t allow the team to fall. The captain sinks with the ship not the crew.
The methods displayed here to show her leadership may seem crude, impractical & absurd but they serve the purpose of entertaining us. I feel that publishing the investigation results would just lead people to think that it was an internal cover up by the audit department. It might be the right thing to do but it is a passive solution to a problem that will eventually cease to exist as it is baseless. The imminent issue was the continuous gossip threatening the team’s efficiency so she diverted the attention to herself & ensured that the team returns to its usual routine.
A deep dive into strategic manoeuvring & political intrigue would lead to a show like ‘Nirvana in Fire’. But as you said this is a rom com & we can ignore the methods used if the outcomes are agreeable.
I was impressed by her explanation about the vision of a leader. A leader can be an angel or a devil but he/she can’t be ambiguous. Being neutral leads no where & a leader with an unclear ideology is just a burden on the team as they will have to take the heat while their boss evades responsibility under the guise of neutrality.
If In Ah directly helped the Audit team 3 or seemed to buckle under social/peer pressure, people would exploit her morality as her weakness. And ultimately the Audit team would lose its intimidating power, leading to the gradual collapse of the company’s internal surveillance & law enforcement system, which would push the company into its inevitable doom.
The same can be said about Jae Yeol. He has to prioritise the company’s interests over his own. Those who wear the crown bear its weight. Team leader Moo is the same. He chose his path & remains loyal to it despite the obstacles.
Also at the end of the meeting, when JY insists on going home for dinner with his wife, Ah Jeong is visibly upset & bites into a dessert on JY’s plate with an ambiguous expression. Is it an innocent crush (like she understands his pain & wants to stand by him) or a mutual longing for a real bond irrespective of their identities & the masks they wear.
Gi Chan is a jerk, a criminal & a fool but he is the ML of this drama. You can't convince me otherwise. His thoughts & vulnerabilities are well drawn out. He not just carried the Hwang family but also the plot on his shoulders. We get to see a full spectrum of his emotions & barring the criminal acts, his character is relatable.
TO living in JI's house is bound to make DY jealous. I don't know why they are dragging this unnecessary love triangle. I just hope SR doesn't kill anyone else.
If I was in DY's mom's position I would definitely feel uncomfortable with Mi Ran. She's the only character who got away scratch free despite harming others intentionally. Yu Gyeong resigned as a doctor for a relatabily minor & passive offence but Mi Ran still remains the director & de-facto chairperson. She also shameless stays at DY's place to experience warmth of a family. Does she deserve it?
I think Gi Chan might have cancer (the doctor asking him to undergo a detailed examination was foreboding).
Gi Chan regretting his choices & drowning in guilt is satisfying. He deserved that slap from his mom but his mistake was trusting SR & not JI.
I can't understand the shameless audacity of SR, marching confidently & making deals either by threatening or begging the very people she tried to kill.
DY should stop playing the abandoned puppy. Even TO is being bold about his feelings. This is a drama so ultimately they'll end up together but in real life he would be friend-zoned if he's too bland/ passive. I understand that he cares for her & wants her to feel comfortable but he shouldn't supress/ bottle up his feelings like the typical 2nd ML.
Gi Chan's regret is justified but he can't blame his mom or poverty. DY's family faced a similar situation but never resorted to immortal means. He promised JI's mom about cherishing JI but after marriage he betrayed JI, harmed her family, threw her into a mental asylum & whispered into her ear (like a devil) "Your 1st mistake is marrying me". NOW he has the audacity to say that he loves her. Excuse me you're nuts.
He was already a lawyer, JI loved him & they had a bright future ahead. But no, he blames his mother for his greed & JI's mom for his inferiority complex, which led him to Se Ri & all the mess thereafter.
Being ambitious isn't wrong but choosing unethical & evil methods to achieve anything is unforgivable. He consciously & shrewdly choose this road so he isn't any victim/ pitiful guy. He just realised that he is doomed & regrets losing the game despite having the best cards. What if his plans worked out & he lived happily with Se Ri? Would he think of JI? I doubt.
I agree with DY's mom, Mi Ran can't be forgiven easily. She's not a weak women who didn't have a choice.
Instead of apologizing to Tae O for faking his son's death & using their son to climb the social ladder, she justifies her selfish act by saying "your son died but in my heart". What do you mean?
In both instances the "hidden" fathers long for their son but the mood was miles apart. One was an affectionate, caring & comfortable meal (intending to make good memories) while the other was a self-serving & materialistic affair (intending to make deals).
DY's family is grateful towards JI's family as SW grew up to a fine kid & is blessed to have warm & loving families on either sides. GC's family is cold, dysfunctional & broken as there's no trust or morals left & JH though cared for physically, is largely deprived of healthy emotional support. He has no role model to follow & if EW was alive, JH would be pitched against EW in an extremely unhealthy competition for everything ranging from food to his father's love.
Tae Oh is right - not everyone is qualified to be a mother. She is toxic & JH needs to be rescued.
P.S. I love the cheerful, high pitched voice of JI calling "Bo Ram-aaa" It's endearing 💕
She dated men for money since high school & saw them as mere ladders for climbing up the fortune pyramid. If a taller one appears the shorter one is kicked away. Her ex husband wasn't rich enough for long term commitment & she didn't anticipate Tae O's success - so she tossed them away like a used tissue.
GC on the other hand was eyeing the YL group (her achilles). He could satisfy her personal as well as social definitions of success. She couldn't ask for more I guess.
Do Yun's confession was endearing & I would love to see Jae In back with DY's family. GC is pretty much screwed by now but when he discovers Ji Ho's identity he'll be shattered. As JI rightly pointed out, he kicked his own luck into to the gutter.