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Cinderella’s Sister: Episode 2

girlfriday here, going for the double-album comeback tour by taking on another Wednesday/Thursday combo platter with javabeans. Looks like Thursdays are going be busy. Bring on the angst! I will have your tears for breakfast!

This was the moment that I fell in love with Eun-jo. When I saw that she could be more than just a wounded girl, lashing out at the world. She gives a glimmer of Big Sister and residential badass, and the way Hyo-sun instinctively hides behind her gives me hope for their sisterly dynamic. This drama has all the elements of a runaway hit: ideal cast, eventful fast-moving plot, and engaging emotional connections between the characters. Episode 2 doesn’t have any slow-motion music video moments, but still has legs, which tells me this drama’s not going to be a one-trick pony.

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

Hyo-sun shows Eun-jo to their room, which they’ll have to share for a little while. Hyo-sun apologizes for not knowing that Eun-jo was an “unni” and not a “hey you” when they first met on the train. She is genuinely excited to have an unni, and has even cleared out closet space and prepared pink frilly pajamas for Eun-jo to wear.

Eun-jo is completely uncomfortable in this opulent room, awash in a sea of pinks and purples, and her trip to the bathroom makes the difference even more pronounced. She can’t even figure out how to work the automatic-sensor faucet, and even though she approaches everything with a disapproving/mocking glare, it’s clear she’s also sort of overwhelmed, as she’s never encountered someone so wealthy, and so annoyingly NICE on top of it all. Unsurprisingly, she doesn’t trust Hyo-sun or want anything to do with her pink pajamas.

Eun-jo tries to sleep, but Hyo-sun is so excited to have a companion that she chatters away, telling Eun-jo her whole life story in excruciating detail. Eun-jo tries to get her to shut up, but Hyo-sun just brightly asks if maybe she should skip to when she’s ten? I know I’m in the minority here, but I find Hyo-sun adorably wide-eyed and innocent. While her face looks freakishly hand-crafted by a doll-maker, I think Seo Woo is doing a nice job conveying a brightness, with an innocent sadness underneath. I read this character as choosing to be light and bright, as a way to mask her loss. Although you could argue that she has faced very little adversity compared to Eun-jo, the death of a mother is not a small thing, so I don’t think she’s just a dim spoiled brat, in my humble opinion.

Unable to tolerate any more rambling, Eun-jo gets up. Hyo-sun offers to follow, but Eun-jo shuts her down with one look. That girl could build icecaps with that glare.

Outside, Eun-jo runs into Ki-hoon, enjoying a little nighttime drink on his own. He’s happy to see her and smiles unwittingly, as he invites her to join him. Eun-jo immediately pulls out her claws, asking what he wants from her, thinking he’s smiling as a way to get on her good side. Ki-hoon doesn’t even know how to respond, as he doesn’t even realize that he’s smiling, and tells her that there are a million reasons to smile, none of which involves wanting to get something out of her.

Eun-jo stalks off, leaving Ki-hoon bewildered and thrown by this young girl. He sings to himself, and something about his voice, perhaps a faraway sadness, speaks to Eun-jo, as she listens curiously in the distance.

A wedding photo tells us that Eun-jo’s mom and Hyo-sun’s dad have married, and we pick up with the girls at school. They are in the same class even though Eun-jo is older, as she has been unable to attend school on a consistent basis. Hyo-sun is excited to have her sister as a classmate, and her friends even extend a warm welcome since she is Hyo-sun’s family.

That goes about as well as can be expected. When they ask if they should call her unni, Eun-jo replies curtly that they shouldn’t call her at all, leaving them stunned that someone wouldn’t appreciate their generous social overture, as most popular girls are wont to think.

Meanwhile, Ki-hoon gets an unwelcome visit from a thug on a motorcycle, chasing him down until he stops to talk to him. The thug starts with a punch in the mouth, knocking Ki-hoon to the ground, and threatens him to stop meddling with the family.

What we can glean about Ki-hoon’s backstory: he is the heir to a very rich family business with questionable morals and considerable control issues. He was disowned (either by his father or of his own accord, although I’m fairly certain it takes two to tango), and has promised to live quietly out of the media spotlight where he can’t do damage to the family name.

The thug throws down some pictures of Ki-hoon working at the makgulli factory, asking if he made some deal with a journalist to bring shame to the family. Clearly Ki-hoon knows that the accusation is not only unfounded, but illogical, so he returns the punch and makes it known that he doesn’t want anything to do with his so-called family.

Once he is alone, his cool exterior fades, and Ki-hoon betrays an underbelly of years of hurt and anger associated with his family. He has been both the runaway and the abandoned child, which links him emotionally to Eun-jo and explains his immediate empathy for her.

Back at school, Hyo-sun is excited to greet their parents’ return from their honeymoon, but Eun-jo couldn’t care less. Ki-hoon offers them a ride, but Eun-jo walks right past them both, leaving Hyo-sun pouting in disappointment. Ki-hoon tells her that no one can force a girl like Eun-jo to do anything. They drive off, leaving Eun-jo to walk home on her own, and as they pass by, Eun-jo notices Ki-hoon’s cut-up lip.

The whole town has shown up to greet the wedding party, and I mean the whole town. Kang-sook has to bow down to all of the family elders one by one, and the look on her face pretty much says it all.

Hyo-sun’s uncle disapproves, as does Dae-sung’s aunt, the town elder, former shaman, and now pastor of the local church. Ha. It’s a throwaway line, but the fact that the town went from Shamanism to Christianity with the same town elder as leader just makes me appreciate the witty social commentary.

Scary shaman-pastor Aunt asks Kang-sook about her fortune (as in astrological birthdate-related fortune, not so much her bank balance), which is apparently a severe sign of disapproval.

She then catches a glimpse of Eun-jo in the background, and the two commence in the most awesome silent face-off ever.

I don’t know if Witch Aunt is trying to read Eun-jo’s aura or just trying to outstare her, but either way, she is no match for the icy blue steel of Eun-jo’s patented glare. Aunt breaks out in a smile, and thusly Eun-jo has tamed the witch. I fully expect Eun-jo to make her dance like a puppet, but that doesn’t happen.

During the face-off, Hyo-sun notices for the first time the way that Ki-hoon looks at Eun-jo. She waves to her oppa, but he doesn’t break his smiling gaze at Eun-jo, and Hyo-sun’s face falls at the realization that his attention is no longer solely hers.

Kang-sook takes a moment to rest her tired feet between the bowing and the partying, and Dae-sung comes in to rub her feet and be the doting husband. Kang-sook is both hilariously princessy (“Is that all? My other foot is tired too.”) and also surprisingly moved at Dae-sung’s sincerity and kindness.

Hyo-sun awkwardly walks in on them, and Dae-sung springs up and leaves the room, leaving Kang-sook to explain that maybe Hyo-sun should knock when entering the room.

Eun-jo, meanwhile, looks for a room to hide away and get some schoolwork done. She’s interrupted by a conversation between Dae-sung and his aunt, arguing over Kang-sook. Aunt sees the man-eater in Kang-sook and doesn’t want Dae-sung to make the marriage official (as in legal and therefore binding), but Dae-sung stands up to her, insisting that she stop giving her opinion on the matter at all. He declares that Kang-sook and Eun-jo are family now, and that’s the end of that.

This is news to Eun-jo, as she’s used to attitudes like those of the Aunt, but unfamiliar with Dae-sung’s brand of loyalty and faith. She looks cautiously curious about this man who she thought up until now would just be another in a long string of abusive father figures.

Ki-hoon finds Eun-jo in her hiding spot, and when she gets up to leave, he flips her shoes around (so that they face outward and are easier to put back on), which is a small gesture, but doesn’t go unnoticed. The wedding party’s about to head this way, so Ki-hoon offers her a quiet place to study. She declines sullenly at first, but when the partygoers head straight for her, she decides to let him help her.

This boy is already smitten. That face is halfway to la la land, despite the fact that Eun-jo’s reactions to him have ranged from reluctantly civil to brazenly hostile.

The wedding party goes well into the night, with Dae-sung proudly looking on as Hyo-sun shows off her new mom to all the townsfolk. She’s so genuinely happy to have a mother that it breaks my heart.

Ki-hoon shows Eun-jo his personal secret hiding place in the makgulli wine cellar, and Eun-jo silently gets back to her schoolwork. Ki-hoon, ever the doting oppa, offers her a makeshift table and chair so she doesn’t have to crouch in the corner, but of course Eun-jo declines the offer rudely by pushing it away in silence. Ki-hoon scoffs at the extent of her coldness, but doesn’t say anything.

Meanwhile Hyo-sun has been looking for Ki-hoon and Eun-jo, and she sees them from the window outside the storeroom. She can’t hide her surprise or hurt as it dawns on her that she doesn’t want to share Ki-hoon’s affections.

But it must not sting that badly, because the next morning Hyo-sun is chattering away to Eun-jo about a boy at school who hasn’t returned any of her ten text messages. She wonders if they got lost and if she should change cell phone carriers, to which Eun-jo has to explain that texts don’t get lost; they get ignored. The realization is unsettling for Hyo-sun but she accepts that it’s possible.

On way to school they see the boy in question, and Eun-jo, badass that she is, goes right up to the boy and demands he answer Hyo-sun’s texts and be honest with her if he doesn’t like her. She claims it’s because she can’t stand Hyo-sun’s ceaseless whining, but methinks she’s really sticking up for Hyo-sun in her own way, even if she wouldn’t be able to admit it to herself. Because we all know that Hyo-sun would be rambling away anyway. Is it wrong for me to want these sisters to be best friends? Am I just setting myself up for heartbreak? Don’t answer that.

Later that day, Hyo-sun works through her angst in dance class, then gets a text from the boy. She comes home crying, saying that he doesn’t want her to text him anymore. Through her tears she thanks Eun-jo for helping her out, while Mom and Dad look on sweetly at her adolescent boy trouble.

Mom swoops Hyo-sun into her arms, holding her sweetly as she weeps. Eun-jo notes this with a twinge of jealousy, and Dad sees Eun-jo, realizing how she might be disconcerted by Mom’s affections towards Hyo-sun.

Dad decides to try and make a connection with Eun-jo, so he calls her out later that night, and says that he met with the girls’ homeroom teacher who told him that Eun-jo is very smart. She confirms this, with no false modesty. He awkwardly asks what she wants to be, for which she has no answer, so he asks if she wants to dance like Hyo-sun, or perhaps learn piano or violin. Maybe you should offer her something more like taekwondo or telekinetic death by eyebeams. Is that not an extracurricular activity?

Dad offers to do anything to help her achieve her dreams, and he’s totally sincere, which makes me love him. Eun-jo doesn’t budge an inch outwardly, but it’s clear that even though it’s not the first time she may have been offered lofty empty promises, this is the first time anyone’s been so sincere and open to provide avenues to better herself. The poor girl has probably never allowed herself to have any dreams, for fear of having them dashed. Dad adds shyly that she can rely on him. She doesn’t answer, but she looks like she may give him a chance.

In math class the next day, the teacher puts a problem on the board and asks the first place math student to solve it. Hyo-sun proudly announces her unni as the head of the class. Eun-jo looks up at the teacher and declines to solve the problem.

Oh, that’s not how things are done in Korea. It’s an outright act of defiance to refuse a teacher’s order, and everyone gasps, including the teacher, who can’t believe the cajones on this girl. But it looks like the teacher’s actually a little afraid of Eun-jo too, because she looks relieved when the bell rings and class ends. Hyo-sun looks over at her sister in admiration, saying that her unni is the “jjang.” (Jjang is a slang word that means “best,” and is also what students usually call the leader of the class—socially, not academically.)

But when Eun-jo makes her way to the makgulli factory to seek out Dad, we find out the real reason for her defiance in math class: she’s been memorizing all the problems and answers to get by, but she doesn’t actually know how to do the math. Dad is a little confused, as she scores high in the subject, but she shows him her notebooks filled with memorized answer sets, and explains that because she’s skipped a lot of school, she doesn’t know the basics.

She asks for a math tutor, reminding him of his offer. Dad smiles and says he’ll get her a math and grammar tutor. Eun-jo declares she doesn’t need a grammar one; she’s the best in her class, you see. But Dad corrects her speech, saying gently that she should be speaking more formally with adults (not as a lecture but more as a way to point out that she could benefit from a proper education.) She concedes the point.

While the girls await their new tutor, Hyo-sun keeps trying to engage Eun-jo in conversation, and when she doesn’t answer for the Nth time, she musters out, “If you keep this up, I’m going to get tired…”

…indicating to me that she’s neither stupid nor a bottomless pit of goodness. But when Eun-jo glares at her, she shuts right up.

In walks Ki-hoon ready to tutor the girls. Eun-jo scoffs at the sight of him, while Hyo-sun confirms that Ki-hoon is plenty smart enough to tutor them, as he is a student at a top university and only here as a part-time employee on his term break.

Thus tutoring commences, with Hyo-sun mostly finding reasons not to study, while Eun-jo learns diligently. Eun-jo is curt and rude while asking Ki-hoon questions, so he decides that she needs to call him Teacher and use formal speech with him. She gets up and storms halfway across the room, then decides against it and comes back.

She snottily adds formalities to the ends of her sentences and the word she calls him is “teacher,” but she says it in the tone of, “bastard.” She says that she doesn’t want to bother asking for a new tutor, and he’s a pretty good teacher anyway, so she wants to learn as much as she can before she runs out of time.

Ki-hoon replies that he doesn’t like her tone, but that he’ll accept it as a big step forward for her. I think he enjoys his position of power here because he otherwise doesn’t have the upper hand with her, and she’s been so hard to bring down a peg. Which I wouldn’t argue that she needs.

Ki-hoon asks her what she meant by, “running out of time,” and Eun-jo shouts back that she doesn’t know how long she’ll be in this home this time around, so she’s just trying to learn everything that she can. She storms off in tears. I don’t think she’s angry at Ki-hoon, but rather upset because he’s calling out her vulnerabilities in a way that others usually let go by unnoticed.

Hyo-sun can’t find Ki-hoon or Eun-jo, so she runs to tell Mom and Dad about it. Kang-sook somehow masterfully turns this into an opportunity to manipulate Dae-sung. Through tears, she lies that the other kids are making fun of Eun-jo for having a different surname from Hyo-sun, which wouldn’t be the case if he just made their marriage legal. Oh, she’s good.

Ki-hoon finds Eun-jo in his secret wine cellar, and sits down next to her. He tells her that he was a lot like her, and he turned out awesome. “Don’t you think I’m awesome?” he adds cheekily. He tells her that he knows she’ll turn out even more awesome than he is.

He adds that he won’t steal her precious study time anymore, which I think gets through to her—he gets what’s important to her and doesn’t treat her like a child, offering up platitudes like everything will be okay. He knows that she’s been through too much to have faith that anything will last.

Hyo-sun finds the two of them back to tutoring, so she jumps right in, trying to feel included and ask for help. But Ki-hoon dismisses and ignores her, making her notice yet again the connection between them and how boxed out she feels in their presence.

Hyo-sun seeks some reassurance from Ki-hoon the next day, but it’s clear that he sees her as a kid sister, while she’s growing confused by the developing love triangle. It’s murky territory for her, because she’s almost as enamored with Eun-jo as she is with Ki-hoon, so I think she feels jealous not just because Eun-jo has Ki-hoon’s attention, but because the two have some connection that doesn’t include her.

Later that day, Ki-hoon has another visit where worlds collide, as a mysterious well-dressed man comes looking for him and concedes that the last messenger was a waste of time. Turns out this is Ki-hoon’s actual brother, betrayed by Ki-hoon’s query after their father’s health.

Ki-hoon’s older brother wants him to leave this town, asking why he chose this place in particular to settle in. Methinks there’s some drama concerning this small town and their family in the past, eh? His brother offers him an allowance and a lifetime of leisure to go study abroad if he just leaves, as he doesn’t want Ki-hoon causing a scandal for the family. What kind of scandal? That he’s making makgulli on his spring break? There’s definitely something deep and dark here that we’re not privy to.

Ki-hoon replies defiantly that he doesn’t want their money. And as he has signed away all rights to the family business, they can’t tell him to stay or go; he’ll do as he pleases, thank you very much. Ki-hoon wonders why his brother came all this way, and if they want him to sign something ELSE away. Turns out he’s perceptive, because big brother really is here to get him to sign documents disowning all claims to his inheritance. And people question whether money is evil?

Ki-hoon broods in the wine cellar, saying wistfully that his faithful companion, makgulli, is all he’s got. I’ve been known to convey similar sentiments to my martini. What? But then Ki-hoon sees a pencil that Eun-jo left behind, and thinks to himself, “That’s right. I’ve got you too.”

He goes shopping for a new hair-chopstick for Eun-jo to replace the pencil, and his awkward interaction with the store lady is hilarious.

He drives home, eager to give her his gift. And is that…glass? Omo. So soon.

In another part of town, Kang-sook waits in gnawing anticipation as Dae-sung legalizes their marriage by registering it with the state. What follows is an indescribable moment of sheer delight and triumph, as Kang-sook steals away for a moment to take another look at the official document. She clutches it to her heart and pores over it, tears streaming down her face as she breaks out into a congratulatory speech to herself:

Kang-sook: “Dirty bitch. A dirty bitch’s fate. At age forty, you’ve finally become someone’s wife. You’ve become someone’s WIFE. You’re someone’s wife! Song Kang-sook, congratulations, bitch! Congratulations, you dirty bitch!”

How much do I love this woman? She has such pathos, such emotional depth and an undercurrent of self-awareness to what could easily be a despicable gold-digging step-mother character. Even from the first episode, I’m so firmly on her side, that I want her to get everything that she wants, and find myself rooting for her even as she does crazy things. I can’t explain it. She’s magnetic, this woman.

Hyo-sun and Eun-jo arrive home later that night, and Hyo-sun has since been drunk at school, and found out from Eun-jo that Mom lied about Eun-jo being teased about their surnames. Hyo-sun is still tipsy, and wants to ask Mom about it to innocently clear the air.

She’s about to do so when Ki-hoon and Dad arrive on the scene, Ki-hoon clutching his gift for Eun-jo behind his back.

Eun-jo doesn’t want to be bothered about it, so she shakes Hyo-sun off her arm, but since Hyo-sun is drunk, she goes tumbling down to the ground, through no fault of Eun-jo’s.

Eun-jo quickly realizes how bad this looks. She freezes. Mom sees that Dad has arrived, so she thinks quick: she slaps Eun-jo across the face and rushes over to Hyo-sun, cooing over her.

Dad and Ki-hoon look over at Eun-jo, stunned. Eun-jo’s face hardens at the realization that she’s just been bitch-slapped by Mom over Cinderella.

If this is the kind of subtle overturning of the Cinderella mythology that we’re going to get throughout, I’m totally in love with this drama. It subverts everything I expect, even from a switch-up, because each character is sympathetic and properly motivated in his or her own right. This is the perfect breeding ground for a complex dynamic between all of the characters, and there’s so much drama (the good kind) to be mined from that.

I hope they don’t fast-forward to adulthood too quickly, as I really enjoy these early developing relationships and dramatic situations. I’m scared that a fast-forward will lock the characters into archetypes, but hopefully they’ll continue to keep the characters daring and complex right through till the end.

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I hate melos but once I started watching this show I couldn't get enough.. I hope you continue to recap this show, girlfriday as I'm addicted to your writing! ^_^

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I am really liking where the drama is heading... can't believe it has only been 2 episodes, it usually takes a few more episodes for a drama to engage me.

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@ Kender: I never once, in all my Cinderella-loving years as a little girl, thought about the glass slipper in a shatter-and-break scenario! How could that not have occurred to me?! You're twisted. In the best way :)

@ estel: "And I really want to see Eun-jo develop into a loving, trusting relationship with Hyo-sun’s father, so she can finally realize that there are some men in the world who aren’t creepers."

Haha! Creepers! Amen to that. (Your sentiment, not to men who are creepers.)

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Love the drama.. and I'm falling in love deeper with your recaps girlfriday.. I'm a fan :)

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Interesting dynamics. Will stay tune for more! :)

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What a pleasure to read you Girlfriday! I really like the lighthearted tone of your recaps. I think this series has everything to be one of my favourite kdrama ever and I love how the Cinderella's tale is being subverted, this si simply brilliant. I think that's the true force of a myth, its ability to be re-interpreted through times again and again without exhausting its symbolism. Thank you for your recaps again, we are truly blessed to have all of you providing us with mouth- watering summaries^^

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oh, and during the scene where Kang-Sook celebrates the registration of her marriage, i saw on the paper that she was born in 1964, and then she says "now that you're forty". so this was 2004 then. so they'll flash-forward 6 years later? how drastic chubby TaekYeon could change within those 6 years though :) just a random thought.

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i love your recap. =)

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Amongst those two recapped midweek dramas currently airing, this one is definitely the most awaited/anticipated one for me. I've always been a fan of dark dramas, well in my entire life I've been spending most of the time watching this kind of thing. Not that I dislike romcom, but I just love dark drama more than the lighthearted one.
Thank you so much for the recap girlfriday, you wrote wonderfully and even you could make some ridiculous scenes into humorous spectacles. Just like your 'telekinetic death by eyebeams''s joke. You're really cracking me up. :D
I'll be waiting for the episode 3 soonish... Thx. :)

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hey the dynamic duo are back! and with a vengeance, two drama recaps! I'm loving it. the staring contest had me lol'd at the witch grandma, definitely no match to eun-joo's icy cold stares. thank you jb and gf for recapping this drama.

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anyway, I read somewhere that Taecyeon will first appear on screen in episode 5. That's gonna be next week :)

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It's interesting that you see so much potential for friendship between these two girls, in spite of everything. They actually remind me a lot of the two Nanas from the manga/anime NANA. Completely opposite personalities and backgrounds, but each with their own insecurities and pain. In that series they end up best of friends. In this one, well, I guess we'll have to wait and see but I'm thinking not so much.

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i like hyosun's step dad! he often watches eunjo from afar, as if seeing what her character is like so he can talk to her well... the actor's role here is so much different from his other roles in tazza, etc etc.

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why do i feel like reading your recap more than watching the show itself? :))

thanks for doing a great job. can't wait for the next recap... btw are you doing PT ep 3? it was hilarious too!! :D

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Awesome Recap girlfriday...... I love the way you humorously added you comments.

Can't wait to read Ep. 3 recap . It was just too good. At one point i was crying and laughing at the same time. And i understand only maybe 10 % of what they were saying. I am so in love with this drama.......

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you can watch it on mysoju, but if it says access is limited then download the viikii desktop plug in >> ur like NOO VIRUS honestly i downloaded it yesterday and the video works it takes about 5 mins and NO VIRUS !

amazing recap by the way look forward to all girlfriday recaps in the future

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lolol @ kender..
now that uve mentioned abt the glass shards of the slipper penetrating her feet, im more afraid of her banging her head and getting a piece pierced through her brain.
hm, maybe the original shldnt have started with glass LOL

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i know i will probably killed for this but... i find seo woo so freakish looking that it is actually hard for me to watch her scenes. my face pulls into a grimace and my eyes keep wandering away from the screen when she is on.

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uh oh, im probably spamming coz this is my 3rd post.

eun jo's icy stare at the old lady... i dont know why but even when i replay the scene over and over again it doesnt look like shes staring at all.

it looks like shes juz giving a really blank look at the old lady. like, wondering why shes looking at her and not challenging her :S

anyone else feel the same way? :S hmm~

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Aargh! Great recap!
I loved the scene where Eun-jo finds Ki-hoon, the one where he starts singing to himself. He has such a pull to him.

I've just realised, Eun-jo's mother, isn't she the crazy mother in East of Eden, too?
I do feel for Hyo-sun, I really do. Her crying scenes are genuine and if she is being earnest and sincere to both Eun-jo and Ki-hoon and yet they're isolating her(unintentionally or not) like that, it's a bit harsh.
(Whoever said Seo-woo has a Jack Nicholson's Joker-like upper lip; I totally agree.)

I think Eun-jo deserved the slap, sorry but I got a bit tired of her brattiness at the end of the episode, her attitude may not be baseless, but I don't like seeing the same emotion being dragged out for that long. Come on Eun-jo, no one ever died from smiling, damn you!

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her mom wasn't as evil as i thought. she's not even a good mom, but somehow she wasn't really that bad YET, up to episode 3.
if EJ is longing for her mother's love, maybe if she stopped showing that attitude to her mother, her mother will treat her better. its give and take, as long as both side are not purely evil.

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I only just watched the first episode (yay, fansubs). It was very good, and I'm looking forward to the next one (yay, not-yet-released fansubs). I think my favorite scene is when Hyo-sun recounts the story of the missing ring. It's just shot and edited in an amusing way. Speaking of amusement, I thought it was odd how lightheartedly domestic violence is portrayed in the beginning. I can tell you that it's no joke.

Seems like a very promising drama. The premise and characters are good and should result in interesting situations, provided that the writers don't start suddenly brain farting. Production values and direction are good too.

Moon Geun-young and Kim Kap-soo were both in A Tale of Two Sisters, where Kap-soo played her father. The movie, too, has two sisters, a father and a step mother.

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stupid me.......I have totally missed the glass hair chopstick twist. GF, thanks for pointing this out !

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I lurv this drama to pieces. (:

My favorite has got to be Chun Jung Myung- I find his smile so endearing, and it makes his character really appealing. He's got to be one of the cutest Korean actors I haven't seen in a while. :D

It's amazing what comes out from this drama- they're all such good actors that you can't help but feel awed- they're that good.

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Hyo-sun looks like she's gonna burst into tears in any moment... she's so innocent & cute

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Not just one, but two dramas being tag-team recapped by girlfriday and javabeans. How lucky are we readers? Thank you so much for your awesome and fantastically insightful recaps!!! I am on Kdrama cloud nine:)

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I love how it takes an archetypical story and turns it upside down and inside out. I have a loose idea what will happen based on the fable but I have no idea what will actually happen which makes it so interesting since it familiar but not familiar at the same time. This cinderella is dark and potentially creepy which I love.

Yes I was also thinking Tale of Two Sisters as well when watching this 2nd episode. One of my favorite films.

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excellent recap! what a great story! i can't stop looking at ki-hoon.

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Thank you for the recap!

you know, even if I weren't emotionally and mentally scarred like Eun-jo, I think, as a teenager, I would be a little wary of a college dude smiling at me all the time and being nice to me. I'm glad that Ki-hoon has a past too. I guess Ki-hoon's family must be pretty famous too because they're worried abt journalists taking pics of him working at the makgulli factory.

and is it twisted of me to say that I find Eunjo's bitterness refreshing? Why do heroines have to be positive and heroes get to brood away even if it's over something really stupid? even though Eun-jo has a negative attitude, she studies hard, still sort of helps out Hyo-sun (i guess it's a natural instinct especially she had spent her life taking care of her mother and then the recent year or two taking care of that chubby kid in ep 1 ), and doesn't get drunk at school.

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Thanks for the Recaps!

About Hyo-sun at first i thought she was cute/bubbly but in this second episode she's a little annoying and i'm found myself more draw to Eun-Jo character. Also i'm glad that Ki-hoon is nice but not that perfect k-drama guy and i feel that is something "dark" about him that we don't know yet, and i loved when he sang :D (Kang-sook, Ki-hoon and Eun-Jo are my favorite characters until now).

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Thanks for the recap. I have just finished ep3. Wow! I am now longing for the ep4. I have not followed a drama so closely since YB. This one is really good.

It looks like Ki-hoon's family business is also in wine business. So this drama may develop into a really complicated story, not just "love triangle".

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Thanks for the recap. I just caught #3 raw. This drama rocks and I wish my Korean was better. But beautifully written recaps AID so much in my understanding. Moon Geun Young is a rock star. It is my first time seeing CJM and he is great! Everyone is doing a great job.

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CJM is such a cutie. That quirky lop sided smile. The slow motioned way it breaks into a full smile. Love it!

Thanks for the recaps.

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I'm loving eun-jo. MGY does a great job of portraying how eun-jo has lost a little bit of her innocence and trust toward others with the upbringing she had due to her mother moving from bf to bf. She had to grow up and be more mature then someone at a young age and because of that she seems cold toward others but inside she's lost and looking for someone to lean on. Ki-hoon has the ability to go underneath her armor and bring out her softness and innocence again. With hyo-sun, she annoys the crap out of me. Sooner or later she's gonna decide to steal away eunjo's mom and be the angel in the family whereas with eunjo's already cold demeanor will be the troubled child. We can already see the beginnings of it at the end of eps 2 with eunjo being slapped by her own mother who's cooing over the drunk hyo-sun.

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i think everyone's doing a great job with this show! but i can't help hating eun joo's character despite being able to understand where she came from. she's just too cruel to hyo sun...

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eheheehe I know it's kind of a serious drama, but your recap made me giggle out loud like a fool so many times. Even if I've already seen the episode, I love coming back here to read the recaps. :D

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Dude! finally commmenting here. Your recap was AWESOME!!!
I love Eun-jo she is awesome, kinda annoyed by the chattering of HyoSun, but she's okay I guess.
Ki-hoon, good intentions I like him he's cool.

KangSook, omgoodness, this woman is GOOD! lol

I can't wait to see when Taec come in, even he's new to the acting business he's good actors to feed and learn from.

It took me awhile to realize he would be the older version, of the little big boy. LOL

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Actually, Hyo Sun was walking fine without holding on to Eun Jo, so Eun Jo did kind of shove Hyo Sun for her to tumble to the ground. It wasn't just shaking or shrugging Hyo Sun's hands off, it did look like a push.

Although, slapping your daughter in front of everyone for it is harsh.

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hair accessories seem to be the latest trend kdramas wen it comes to emotional keepsakes...been seeing them in so many dramas latey..YAB, My fair lady...etc..even though we are yet reach anyting of that sort here...however i do think the glasss pin for the glass slippers was brilliant from the part of the writers..though im curious to know hw this tidbit will develop..knowing hw its cinderella's in the fairytale and here ki hoon got it for eun jo, who is cinderella's sister
thanx for the great recap girlfriday!!!

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I throughly enjoyed your recap 10000000000X better than the real thing, girlfriday! Thanks heaps and keep up the great work!

P.S. If anybody's wondering, and I doubt that they are, DaeSung's "aunt" (actually Jaedangsookmo, which literally means the wife of one's father's paternal second cousin with the same family name) is played by none other than the always lovely Ms. Gim Ji Young. I swear that lady is the master of (Korean) regional accents!

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i'm totally hooked!lately i have been searching for worthy kdramas form the looks of this, THIS IS IT!:)

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who ever is reading the recaps, they should really watch it. BY description Eun Jo's mother is very cliche-but her deliverance is obviously very meticulous. i am even sometimes thrown off by her facial expressions which hint at the insecurity etc. Amazing.

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Wonderful recap. Your witty comments always make me laugh out loud, Girlfriday!

@88, I thought so too, but I think what makes that scene so uncomfortable to watch is that, as you said, Eunjo's mom overreacted by slapping her, and even more than that, she did it purposely after seeing her husband, for his benefit. And I think Eunjo realizes that, which probably pisses her off even more.

And I LOVE this main couple. Both of them rock.

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You write so well! I thoroughly enjoy your recaps, and prefer them to watching the subbed episodes at times. I look forward to the rest. Keep up the good work!

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i am lovin this drama...and lovin your recaps!!! thank you so much.
moon geun yong is amazing..it's awesome being able to see this actress grow her talent w/ each new drama

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I haven't finished episode 1 yet, but reading this recap makes me want to pick up the series. It looks good and it's better than what I expected.

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Thankyou...!! I've been checking in daily for this recap...! atlast you've recapped episode 2... Thankyou...looking forward to future recaps...

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hmmm from what i gathered, kihoon is an illegitimate son. he has two older brothers, and it was the younger of the two that visited him in this episode. btw, did anyone find the scene where his brother was struggling to get the helmot off his head quite funny? it lightened up what could have been a more serious atmosphere. and once he got the helmet off we saw that lightning-struck hair.... HAHA. anyway, kihoon seems to be the illegitimate son of a wealthy family, and a newspaper is developing a story about him (hence the photos)..... i'll stop here, because i might be spilling over into episode 3.

i can see how seo woo's character could be irritating for the casual channel surfing viewer, but i think she plays her character sooo nicely. like someone else said, she brings depth and charm and adds layers to her character. her character in the hands of a less skilled actor could come off as very simple, but seo woo does a good job... it's my first time seeing her since kimchi cheese smile, but i'd heard good things about her.

and i love moon geun young (gimme the hairrrrr). love the guy too. not my 이상형 in terms of looks, but he is incredibly charming here... hehe

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great recap! captured everything i love about this drama

don't think i've gotten hooked on a drama after only 2 eps. but this one definitely has me anticipating and eagerly awaiting the next one

badass female leads FTW

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girlfriday! Thank you much for contributing to dramabeans with your recaps. I would be lost without them b/c my korean isn't all that great so sometimes I just miss things or just don't plain understand them. (for instance, I was pretty much lost on the whole conversation that Kihoon had with his brother) =p '

And all of your "humble opinions" make a whole lot of sense, really, so feel free to emit them without hesitation.

I wonder ....and this may be too much for me to ask...... but seeing the word b*tch thrown in there so many times was a bit disconcerting and kind of kept me from enjoying your recap as thoroughly as I wanted to..... so yes, it would be lovely to have clean reviews next time, por favor? =)

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