Footnoted

Loved your comment - Netflix in general has completely ruined Kdramas in my opinion, esp romcoms. It is filled with weird tropes, poor storylines/acting and a very Americanised perspective of relationships. The humour is also very silly and slapstick - nothing I'd laugh at (am also an old kdrama fan). They have some gems amongst k-dramas but those are like a needle in the haystack and because of the need to constantly churn out hits and content - dramas no longer have staying power. They are a hit for a few weeks/months and people then move onto the next new shiny thing. There's no incentive to have a good storyline, just one with hype/attracts alot of new n young fans to the genre. There's a range of dramas to watch but the quality has been deteriorating for awhile now. Everything seems is just made for money - netflix, the actors involved, production companies etc. O well will get off my soapbox

Nice review! And I agree. I was scratching my head at how this drama was so popular a few mths back it actually propelled AHS to proper stardom. Everything was forgettable and cliched and lame - I can't even tell you anything that stands out to me. And you were the only one who mentioned the Second leads sleeping together when she was dead drunk and he wasn't. I was so disturbed by that and dropped the show after. They carried on like it was a joke/no big deal and the whole thing was glossed over. gross.

You just said whatever I've been thinking abt this drama lol. And OP - I'm also quite an avid xianxia watcher, so whilst this intrigued me at first, it fell quite flat. I dropped it at ep 8, read recaps for the rest and had 0 regrets. Draggy plot with nothing happening, entire eps filled with unnecessary filler, villians who don't bring that much conflict to the table, an uninteresting FL who existed to be Jang Uk's maid/to propel his dreams forward + act as love interest for the men, zero chemistry between the leads it was so weird seeing them kiss (Usually love JSM but she does nothing for me here, her range was limited), ML with not a very interesting story arc/conflict. It's just..so mediocre I'm wondering how it's scored a 9 on here or why it's even so popular outside Korea lol.

I've seen the same too! And it's nice that people recognise his talent. Here's hoping that he didn't sign too long a contract with CJes. He'll be off to the army in just a few years' time too, so that will definitely slow down his career further, if he hasn't hit it "big" by then. =X

Yes exactly! I thought C-Jes was a good move being a bigger, more well-connected agency. But that doesn't really mean anything if they aren't putting in the effort + they have way too many other talents to manage as well. Vast didn't handle his career well after his wonderful debut in MOA. Just kinda left him...there. If they were really serious about growing his talent, could have easily stuck him in a couple of Hyun Bin projects as a support role or even gotten a couple of interesting movie projects or "trendy" drama roles for him. EY had an interesting concept but was honestly kinda boring, fell apart in the middle and has low re-watch value. I only really liked his role in Search WWW and even the interest in him there wasn't capitalised on. Okay gotta get off this soapbox..! I do feel bad for him and I wish him the best too. Hopefully he will hit on something big in the upcoming years (or when he leaves cjes yikes).

Agree. Huge fan of his - and I feel he's one of the 2-3 rare 90s born male actors who has real talent. But the thing about him is that I can't really get into most of his projects =X I thought Vast (his previous agency) didn't have too bad project choices for him (except dodo soso lala whatever the name is) and with the switch to his current agency Cjes I thought they would find better work for him and promote him more but nope. he has done AOS for close to 1.5 years whilst his less talented contemporaries have taken on other roles and catapulted to fame. This script doesnt even sound good - though SK seems to be back to their makjang dramas since sky castle/penthouse - and the FL is some nugu. Like yes it's disney+ so perhaps pays more and all but like...really? He has the gravitas for movie roles as well but so far only scored a small role in that boxing movie.. sigh.. =X - shall get off my soapbox...

Same here. I liked the book when I was younger, but actually read it in my late 20s and disliked it. And you are right, there are so many western adaptations already (none of them that interesting to me), I don't know why people are so adamant this Korean one must follow the same old plot.

Haha alright

SAME. with a sword no less 😆

Could be. Yeah he was definitely testing Do-ils loyalty there. I kinda wish PJS's right-hand woman dropped dead. She so thuggish and sinister.

SA could have killed HY for many reasons I guess. Maybe she stumbled upon something she shouldn't have, maybe she threatened SA, maybe she got greedy and demanded for a bigger cut of the money. More might unravel. And maybe HY also isn't exactly dead, just her identity as HY is dead but she may have been paid off and is leaving elsewhere.
I'm a little curious about Jong-Ho. He seems like a straight up nice guy that genuinely wants to help In-kyung, but Im not so sure now. Since every single character on the show minus the 3 sisters have different sides to them.

True aha, and I think PJS is afraid Sang-A's crazy antics will get into the press and ruin his chances for the Presidency.
True @ InJoo trusting her sisters more as well. I think she still doesn't trust Do-il somewhat. I do think HY was the only friend that IJ had (or at least has been portrayed by the show). And yes, she also looked up to HY as the older sister she never had - someone who took care of her and looked out for her. This must feel like the ultimate betrayal for her though =/
Yeah I rewatched the scene and it could be any shoes from someone else or maybe Sang-A placed it there before heading to the apartment lol. You never know with that crazy woman. IJ probably in her hallucination thought it was HY who left it there as it resembled the shoes HY lent her in the first ep.
I'm sad this show is ending soon though =( I've dropped every single K-drama (and C-drama) I've watched in the last 4 years. This is the only drama I really look forward to each week and watch all eps several times. Gonna really miss it when it ends =(

Aw , it's nice that you can freely discuss dramas here though! I find this forum to be way less toxic than others I've been on :)
I think you are right in that PJS isn't the "true" villian. esp after I've watched ep 8. He seems power hungry but some things I don't get about him 1) why is he always so angry/anxious whenever Sang-A travels to SG 2) Why does he want Do-il to get rid of/kill In-Joo, and why did he threaten to kill Do-il as well

Ah episode 8..Sang-A has been the mastermind behind this the whole time. And HY was always one of the actors/pawns and truly wasn't a good friend to In-Joo...though Idk if the hospital scene was real or if In-Joo just imagined HY to be there. The shoes could have been planted by Sang-A or some of her other hired actors. I just think that HY's good nature was just In-Joo's perception and she took all of that at face value, which is why she is finding it hard to accept that HY was only actually playing a part.

I'm also shooked that IJ prefers to trust Sang-A/HY's ghosts/her own assumptions than Do-il. Girl pls wake up lol. And give up on HY pls, going down that road will get u nowhere.

Wow episode 8 was actually more thrilling than ep 7 (which alr gave me a sleepless night from the adrenaline lol). I had my heart in my mouth the whole time.
1) Sang A is some crazy psychopath omg. To think she hired all the actors to mess with InJoo's mind. She probably has PJS under her control as well.
2) The more In-hye reveals her character, the more I think she's the smartest out of the 3 sisters
3) In-Joo has redeemed herself in my eyes in the past few eps but It still sucks how naive she is really, she really believes whatever she sees. She ended up in the mess at the end of the ep8 because she chose to trust the note/ghost of hwayoung lol than choi do il. sigh. a guy that so far, though seemingly shady to her, hasn't done anything to put her in harm's way. I'd be pissed with her if I were him.
4) Do-il is turning out to be a pretty trustworthy character actually, though the superb writing and the viewer's lens through In-Joo's perceptions make it seem like he's not. I really hope he makes it out alive at the end of the series as he seems to have run foul of PJS. And Sang-A clearly knows of his plan to withdraw the $70bill won
5) Also what is PJS's deal? I get Sang-A's psychopathic intentions...he... is probably power obsessed. But what's the deal with wanting to get rid of In-Joo and Do-il? And his whole threatening in-hye in the car, sigh, his bullying knows no bounds
6) Also, HY wasn't really a good friend to In-Joo as I've begin to surmise. She herself was a pawn in Sang-A's "play" but played her part really well. I suspect alot of the "good sides"/hallucinations of HY are just what In-Joo perceives to be true, because she still cannot accept or believe that HY will betray her like that.

Yeah.. that's basically how I interpreted HY's actions. IJ was probably an easy target for her, cos 1) not very smart/naive 2) is desperate for money/have a better life 3) doesn't have friends 4) has responsibility/burden of providing for her sisters. The perfect victim/person to scapegoat really.

Usually when a villian tells someone to "take care" of someone, it usually means to kill them off. And in the next ep, she was involved in a car chase in which one/both of the cars ends up smashed (know this cos they filmed this in my country lol). It's not a stretch to think that an evil man like him would want to kill someone. He already has killed dozens either directly or indirectly. And IJ is most definitely someone he wants to remove. Getting Do-il of all ppl to get rid of her is also his way of testing where Do-il's loyalty lies. Subtitles has nothing to do with it.
HY left her 2 Bil (dirty money technically), made her sign some forms, has told the other shady characters about IJ (Do-il, Director shin, disgraced Won son), lived as in-joo in SG, lied about her identity to In-Joo and even left her clues to go speak to the disgraced Won son. She already involved In-Joo in everything without the girl's permission, and she'd clearly know that by doing so, IJ will be in grave danger. IJ didn't "make" herself get involved in it. She was already unknowingly knee-deep in it from the start. HY would also know that IJ wouldn't be able to help herself as she's desperate for money/to get out of her living situation and isn't very bright. So yeah, not too good a friend. I wouldn't be surprised that this whole thing had been planned by HY for years and IJ was an easy target cos of how simple-minded she is. Like Do-il mentioned, people like "him" (and HY and the rest) love ppl like IJ cos she takes everything at face value (aka, naive).
Don't mind me and my essay, I just got alot of feels for this show.

Just done with Ep 7. Wow omg. This has got to be the most thrilling episode in awhile. I fear for everyone's lives now. The 3 sisters as usual, even Sang-A, Do-il and Hyorin. I really hope Park Jae Sang doesnt do something horrible to Do-il. Quite abit unravelled this episode and my head is still spinning....but have to say I'm quite impressed at how the sisters have handled the slight turn of events. They don't seem as...silly as in previous episodes anymore. Though I genuinely fear for their lives. It looks like PJS wants Do-il to kill In-Joo and there looks to be attempts made to end her life in the next ep. I still dunno whether to trust Do-il...In-kyung is looking to be abit less impulsive and smarter as a reporter...In-hye seems to have had her plan in place for awhile already and I admire her guts but fear for her life as well, cos PJS has direct access to her in his home.
Oh and my suspicions were right...hwa young isn't dead. But her actions make me doubt if she really treats In-Joo as her good friend. I mean, she left behind the whole mess to In-Joo knowing what sort of danger In-Joo would be in and just went off and lived her life? Pfft. Leaving her 2Bil won isn't much consolation

Yesss. I legit cringe everytime I see her at some presscon confronting Park Jae Sang or embarrassing herself on the electric box omgg. Like she has no fear, when up against a man she knows is incredibly powerful and corrupted and won't stop at doing anything to take people down. Like just stop and think for a minute sis. And take your late grand-aunt's advice by laying low and then strategically plotting to hit him. So unbelievably stubborn and not smart at all.

Same! the way Choi Do Il looks at In-Joo, I'm just like.. is there something? Could there be something? Does he like her?! Lol. The whole pretend-date exchange when In-kyung bumped into them at the beginning of ep 5 was hilarious lol. I'm just hoping that something happens (I'll take any crumbs I'm thrown yes lol) and idk, that we get some fake-date scenes just to prove the fling comment to thug Su-Im and piss her off. lol

yeah it didn't add anything and was so over-the-top. =/ it made in-joo look even more pathetic but I couldn't really summon much sympathy for her, cos girl tends to not be very smart. I'm not disappointed with the plot at all, still very intrigued and think it's amazing. but i'm just not sold on in-joo's character (actually all the sisters). her motivation is money but she seems to get it in the weirdest ways. the other characters and the plot intrigue me more.