TooEmotional

I just saw that actor who plays Jun Ho in the latest episode of The Judge Returns, episode 4. He is basically a hired killer and does the dirty work for the evil guys. He is really good in it- it suits his personality.

The Chairman has spent a lot of time sitting and trying to plot a way to diminish Hwa Yeong's power. At this point, the best power play for him would be for his son to come back OR for him to discover Jang Mi. He could be Jang Mi's greatest ally but what would stop him from just kicking out Hwa Yeong after he figures out that she stole Seo Rin? Maybe her influence with the shareholders? There is also not enough evidence to arrest Hwa Yeong and Gang Hyeok can just say that he did everything on his own. So it would be in the Chairman's best interest to help Jang Mi take revenge by having her take Seo Rin's place and teaching her the ropes of company, as they plot together. He can also help to keep her from being discovered.

The Ma family cook mentioned that the Chairman can only eat food cooked by her- will we have a case of Seok Hui joining the family as a cook? Or will Seo Rin introduce the side dishes to her Grandpa? Now that Seo Rin has tasted the side dishes, I think she will figure out where the place is and she will go there. This might be how the twins meet.

I am guessing the video of the people removing the banner features Gang Hyeok.

I will not be surprised if Tae Sook steals Jang Mi's opportunity to go overseas to study. She is not above abandoning her daughter to go😂. Her Dad did say that he regretted that she did not have a lot of opportunities growing up. Since Gang Hyeok will drop off the paperwork, Tae Sook can steal it.

The writers are toying with us- in the latest episode, the camera panned to Jun Ho when Hwa Yeong was holding a picture of her son. So could it be him or Tae Pyeong? In the picture, Ha Neul seemed to be standing so I think he was a toddler- so she definitely raised him for while before she lost him or was taken away from her. I also think this might have been at least five years before she got pregnant again. Jun Ho seems to be the oldest male child of all the 'kids', so it might be him. It would certainly explain his broodiness.

I honestly feel sorry for Nam Bong because he is not a bad person. He is a good person who got caught up with something and he is going to lose everything. At the end of the show, his wife would have left him, his sons disappointed in him, and he will watch Hwa Yeong get arrested. He will have so many regrets and he did it all to himself. It's like watching a train wreck that you cannot stop.

I really love all the stress that Hwa Yeong is under- she does not deserve an ounce of peace after all she has done.

I think the romance will stall for a while as Jang Mi's sole focus will be on getting revenge and not getting caught by Hwa Yeong. There's also her crush on Jun Ho- it will be interesting to see how they deal with that.

Baek Ho will have the same look Gang Hyeok has had these days since he discovered that there is another man in Hwa Yeong's life, for a while 🤣🤣.

Lol- have been watching shows for decades and I like to see them as puzzles- so the small details, no matter how minute, matter.

Maybe Hwa Yeong had a son a few years before the one who died and she left him in an orphanage because of her career? Interestingly, after she hung up, the camera went straight to Tae Pyeong. Could he be her son? Did Bok Gil and his first wife adopt him?

Does she really think that she will get instant loyalty from her son, Ha Neul, just because they share blood?

Earlier this week, the Chairman said Hwa Yeong has become too powerful and he is hoping that the mother-daughter duo will help to reduce some of her power.

In yesterday's episode, episode 18, Tae Pyeong mentioned that Jang Mi feels sorry for fish while cooking it so she covers its eyes. A few episodes ago, Seo Rin was annoyed because fish eyes had been removed from the fish they were having for breakfast. Seo Rin loves eating fish eyes so her Grandpa ordered the cook to go to the market to buy fish eyes. This will be an important distinction for the twins....🤔🤔. Jang Mi better develop a tolerance for fish eyes and start eating them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaZwXTTKuIk

Looks like we have seen all the scenes except for about 5- no indication of whether the twins will meet.

My assessment after 16 episodes:

I am enjoying the slow pace of this drama, there are a lot of sub-plots and it has allowed for a lot of comedic scenes. The person who comes to mind is San Wol- she is hilarious- especially when she was pretending to be sick and bedridden. I hope she and Hong Ju will achieve their goal of moving into the house. Unfortunately, Jang Mi will likely have taken Seo Rin’s place by then, so they will make Jang Mi’s life even more difficult- she will be a casualty of Seo Rin’s bad behaviour.
Looks like Grandpa Ma is the one using San Wol – he is not being played after all, and he really does not look like a man in love. He is simply using her as a tool to bring Hwa Yeong down a notch.

I like how they are portraying the build-up to Hwa Yeong and Nam Bong’s affair. It is quite realistic- it started off with Nam Bong meeting his idol of over 30 years and before he knew it, he was drawn to her and wanted to spend more time with her. I don’t think he was consciously aware of his developing feelings until he started having to lie to his wife about where he was going, then he lied to his son then he found himself sneaking off to the bathroom in the middle of the night to answer a call. Now he is even more mindful of the way he dresses. I wondered whether Hwa Yeong knew that he was married and I am glad that they finally answered that yesterday. Hwa Yeong does not have a problem with becoming a mistress but if she is not too distracted by Jang Mi, I think she might insist that the Professor divorce his wife to be with her. Will the Professor leave? Will the Professor unwittingly help Hwa Yeong with her evil deeds since he is so naïve, as Hwa Yeong says. Will we have some catfights between Hwa Yeong and Yeong Ja. Suk Hui was too weak to fight someone like Hwa Yeong but Yeong Ja is on a more equal footing so it would be nice to see them at odds. But Yeong Ja strikes me as the kind of woman who will cut her losses and leave her husband. Since she is a lawyer, she will make sure to leave him with nothing. She would be a good person for Jang Mi to have in her corner. Baek Ho and Jun Ho will be so disappointed with their Dad.

Now Gang Hyeok has caught on about the potential affair between Hwa Yeong and Nam Bong. I am sure he will try to sabotage it and it will be so much fun to watch. He might bring down the Professor’s career. Why would Hwa Yeong pick a married man over him?- he is single and available, and has dedicated his life to her.

I wondered why they started the romance line between Baek Ho and Jang Mi so early- it’s because it will soon be extinguished as revenge takes precedence. I wonder if Jang Mi will let him help her with her revenge- she needs all the help she can get because Seo Rin is quite talented- studied a Master’s in the U.S., can speak English and can play the violin. Unless Baek Ho, and maybe his mother, sponsor her studies in the U.S., I don’t really see how she can develop such skills overnight. Could we be headed for another time jump? Of about 2-4 years? I am on the fence about this, though. And it would be strange for Seo Rin to disappear again after she just got back from the U.S.- Hwa Yeong would never allow it. So Jang Mi will literally have to learn on the job. But a time jump could help to explain Seo Rin’s sudden change in personality, and maturity, and Jun Ho will be drawn to nuSeo Rin. Out of the two brothers, I prefer Jun Ho for Jang Mi. Baek Ho is sweet and funny but Jun Ho has a certain aura about him, and Jang Mi can thaw is heart.
A time jump will also allow for Hong Ju to settle in her new role as team leader, for her and her Mom to settle into the Ma house, and for Jun Ho to settle into his job without the fear of being fired. It also means Hwa Yeong and Nam Bong’s affair will have gone on for a few years.

I am sad that Jang Mi will have to let go of her dream to become a Michelin chef for a while, for the sake of the revenge.

The writers have brought Tae Sook back and she is trouble. She has already stolen Jang Mi’s college fund so I think she is back for money. I wonder if she left her husband in Vietnam🤔 . Anyway, she might cause some problems for our protagonists. She has changed a lot from when she was a child. She used to adore Suk Hui but I guess that turned into resentment because of Suk Hui’s condition.

I think the Oh family will get a response for the poster soon. That old lady who tricked Suk Hui might call them or she might call Hwa Yeong to blackmail her. If the old woman is no longer alive, she might have told someone the story, maybe a relative, who will contact the Oh family. The fact that they showed Seo Rin’s mole behind her ear means that the switch will happen soon. Hopefully, Jang Mi gets a fake mole before Hwa Yeong catches on.

Tae Pyeong’s singing has improved significantly 😂. I will not be surprised if he falls in love with Seo Rin- a little weird because she is technically his stepsister, and is identical to Jang Mi, but he did not grow up with her and he knows they are not biologically related, so it is very possible.

I hope Jang Mi’s parents and siblings make it to the end of the show. But if the writers go the really dark route, Hwa Yeong and Gang Hyeok might attempt to kill the entire family by burning down their house- leaving Jang Mi and maybe her niece as survivors. This will propel Jang Mi to go dark for her revenge- her Dad would never allow her to take that kind of revenge, which is why I fear he and Suk Hui will not be around for very long. I hope I am wrong. Tae Pyeong and Tae Sook have to survive too as Jang Mi needs some family members.

Hwa Yeong is an emotional villain and her emotions led her to lose her son and will now instigate a swap between Seo Rin and Jang Mi, which will lead to all her dreams crashing down. Ironically the company she has done all this evil for, is called Dream Group. She is not the cleverest, that’s for sure.

It would be funny if something tragic happens to Seo Rin and out of desperation, Hwa Yeong tricks Jang Mi into taking her place and Jang Mi becomes her puppet for while before finding out the truth. A few episodes ago, Hwa Yeong wondered whether she should have taken the other twin instead, because Seo Rin is so disobedient…………………………🤔. This would make for a good and frustrating plot for us 😂. But this route guarantees that Jang Mi's parents and siblings remain safe and alive.

They did not tell us what happened to Soo Jung in the end- which is strange. Maybe they forgot? But they could have had Pan Sul or his wife or Ja Kyung or Ji Seop say something. We also don't know what happened Stella or Yeon Ah or Tae Joo.
They didn't even reveal that Seon Jae is Se Ri's birth father. A lot of unfinished storylines and gaps. They didn't even have enough evidence to convict the Chairman but they ignored that too lol.
No word on the girl who went to jail for Se Ri, or Mi So's best friend and restaurant owner who were bought off by Kyung Chae.

What is happening at Mingang? Is Tae Gyeong now that CEO? We will never know- they ran out of time, I guess.

Se Ri is living with Kyung Chae and looking after her. She told Lucia at the end of the final episode that Kyung Chae is her Mom and she has to look after her. Lucia even offered to hire a caregiver and she refused.
And in a prior episode, Lucia did tell Se Ri that nothing had to change- she could continue living as she had before because Kyung Chae is the Mom who raised her.
Ja Kyung even told her parents that "our Se Ri" is looking after Kyung Chae all on her own- meaning that she does live with her. And the fact that Ja Kyung referred to her as "our Se Ri" means that she and Ji Seop see Se Ri often when they are visiting Kyung Chae. They have got closer to Se Ri now..

True- the show did not adequately portray this. Se Ri associated a mother with love and emotional stability. It's why the word triggered her so much- it's the primary reason why she beat up Mi So. Mi So had referred to Madam Baek and Se Ri figured it was her mother, and she said that the word, "mother", was the word she hated the most in the world.
She didn't know that she was seeking emotional stability. If only her siblings had treated her a little bit better or even cared about her.

And in failing to have her meet with the Chairman and establish a roadmap for their future, the writers are giving the assumption that his father role, or a father role in general, is no longer necessary because she now has a loving mother.

Well Se Ri did cause Lucia pain by beating up Mi So to the point of needing surgery. She owed far more than just an apology. Everything else is how the adults in Se Ri's life responded to the situation. The ill-fated relationship started because of Se Ri. If Se Ri had never met Mi So, Mi So might still be alive.

It would have been nice if the writers had shown us what came of the girl who did time in jail for Se Ri. That should have been a part of Se Ri's redemption arc - Se Ri could have befriended her and tried to make things right for her. But Se Ri's redemption arc was never completed because Ji Seop hit Kyung Chae's head so hard that it led to mental regression. I don't know why the writers chose this route and did not allow room for Kyung Chae to properly grieve, ask for forgiveness and maybe change. But maybe she was never going to change and this was the only way to stop her. She can't harm anyone, anymore. And she is happy in the little world she has created in her mind where she does not know the grief of losing a child.
But it hurts Se Ri because Kyung Chae does not remember her, and Lucia has to pretend that Mi So is still alive, just to keep Kyung Chae happy.

True. A lot of good ideas but they had no time to execute them all.
Lucia wanted an apology and she only got one from Se Ri. None from Kyung Chae or the Chairman and the newspaper articles were never corrected. It’s is a sad ending for her with some happiness in between.

Hey. What did you make of the ending of the show? A yay or nay? Did you like or hate it?

😂😂😂😂 I was kinda annoyed with Tae Gyeong for hunting down Seon Jae 😂😂😂. But I guess, this way, it guarantees that he remains in their lives. At least they saved us from seeing him sad and depressed in jail😂.

They didn't even have Seon Jae's Aunt talk about him in her final scene😪 . The writers were so cruel that they didn't let her know that her sister has a grandchild- makes little sense.

Tae Gyeong annoyed me in the last two episodes, to be honest. He was acting self-righteous when he and Lucia had basically stolen a company.

What's to stop the Chairman from ordering a hit on Lucia and Tae Gyeong from behind jail cells? He is basically a gangster.

The First Man

This show has made me wonder- are Mothers more important than Fathers?
The reason for Se Ri's behaviour is that she didn't have a mother nor did she know who she was. Would this have changed if the Chairman had re-married earlier on and she had someone to call, "Mom"?
Would the outcome have been different if the Chairman had raised Se Ri lovingly and paid more attention to her? Or what if Ho Se had raised Se Ri and not the Mins? Would she still feel the strong need to fill the void with violent outbursts?
On the other side, we have Mi So who was raised by a single Mom and no Dad. She was loved and well-behaved, even though, similar to Se Ri, she had one parent.

So is the reason for Se Ri's behaviour a lack of a loving parent and environment, or a desire to have have a mother?
Do children in single-parent households fare better if the parent is a mother and not a father?

I only ask because the show is very mother-centric, to the point of ignoring the father-figure. The writers didn't even allow for Se Ri to have a conversation with the Chairman after her parentage was revealed. He is the only father she has ever known. He could have assured her that nothing will change and that he still loves her. I also would not have been surprised if she started acting out again because now she has mother but does not know who her father is.

I wish the show had touched more on Fathers too.

This was a major fail on the writer's part. I think it was one of the storylines that they chose to sacrifice because of time , and the story about the two mothers and Se Ri was far bigger and far too important. I was shocked that Kyung Chae basically ignored that Seon Jae knew about switch and that Lucia was Seol Hui, and hid it from her. Since the beginning of the show, she was so sure that Seol Hui and Seon Jae had been involved in the past and it was one of the reason she never completely trusted him. And she didn't bring it up upon finding out that Lucia was Seol Hui? A major miss. That would have made for a great fight.

The reveal that he is Se Ri's Dad would have added so many other stories too:
It would have led to the Mins ousting Seon Jae and to, I think, Seon Jae eventually betraying them for Lucia and Tae Gyeong;
The writers would have needed to allow for Seon Jae and Se Ri to meet (but they couldn't even find time for Se Ri to talk to the Chairman after the truth about the switch came out so there was definitely no time for this);
Se Ri would have needed to be introduced to Ja Kyung's parents. Given how much Ja Kyung'sMom loved her sister, it was cruel of the writers to not let her know that her sister has a grandchild.

All this is to say that it is really disappointing that they swept such a major storyline under the rug. And in shows like, especially dailies, all the secrets come out.

I have to agree that it was a sad ending, mostly because there was no character growth. For a cast this big, it is really strange. Se Ri is the only character who grew but she was a child when she did what she did so that hardly counts.
Pan Sul is still a loan shark;
Ji Seop is still entitled;
Seon Jae is still selfish;
The Chairman is still unrepentant, which is to be expected of him because there should always be characters like that;
Soo Jung never changed;
Ja Kyung is still a spoilt princess; and
Kyung Chae is only repentant because Mi So was her birth daughter. She even told Mi So that she would never have done it is she knew it was Mi So. Meaning that if it was not her blood, she still would have done it. All that happened to her is that she experienced the same kind of grief that Lucia went through.

So Kyung Chae was denied an opportunity to redeem herself, to grow and change. I really wanted her to work with Se Ri to atone for what they did and for Lucia and Kyung Chae to find a way to compromise and work together and get along. I also wanted Se Ri and Kyung Chae to get their fresh start as mother and daughter, with Kyung Chae having a sound mind. I was so relieved when her psychotic break only lasted a few hours- then the writers went and did this🤦🏾‍♀️. Maybe it's Kyung Chae's comeuppance for what she did to Soo Jung's Mom- she never apologised for that. I also wanted the siblings to finally get along and for Kyung Chae to find love again in the future.
Se Ri is suffering too- Kyung Chae does not remember her 😪.

It really was a bittersweet ending- even for Lucia. She succeeded in stealing the company but she is still sad. Which makes sense because that is the nature of grief. Also, she did not succeed in changing the family and she only got an apology from Se Ri. Were the stories in the newspapers about Mi So ever changed? The Mins had to be the ones to do that, I guess.
If her goal was to appease Mi So's soul, I think the plan failed. Which is likely why we don't have another scene of her at the columbarium, asking Mi So if she is happy now.

😊 ditto.
You're welcome.
Yes- I will watch it for the first week- if it is not too heavy, I will stick with it. I will probably only start commenting after a month- I like to try to understand the direction a show is taking, and understand the characters and their motivations, before I put pen to paper- or is it keyboard to screen? 😂😂😂