Heirs: Episode 2

647 October 10, 2013January 24, 2016

by girlfriday

The romance gets going lightning fast on this show, though the show itself is still rather slow to get started—it still feels like we’re in the introductory phase where everyone takes a turn in the spotlight to show us who they are. It doesn’t make for a fast-moving hour, but in general I like the world and the people, that is to say, I like looking in on the screwed up world, and I like the mystery behind their intricate relationships.

The couple takes center stage in this episode, and they have an easy rapport and a breezy chemistry that works for me. The tone of the show is far more contemplative and less rom-com-y than Secret Garden or A Gentleman’s Dignity, but I actually like that it feels a bit more like a throwback angsty teen flick than a comedy. So far, so good.

SONG OF THE DAY

Young Joon (Brown Eyed Soul) – “Driving Road” [ Download ]

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EPISODE 2 RECAP

After ditching our homeless, passport-less heroine Eun-sang in the street to wait for her sister alone, Tan turns his car around and shows up at her side. They stare at each other intently, and then he offers to take her to his place.

She asks, “Is your place really safer than here?” He thinks about it and says he doesn’t know if it’s safer for her, but it IS nicer. Why did that sound like a come-on?

She decides to chance it, and her jaw drops as soon as they enter his ginormous house. He plops down on the couch and she looks around for his family, but he says he lives alone. That freaks her out more than anything, and she starts speaking in half-jondae: “W-what are you? Are you a drug dealer? A gangster, perhaps?” Ha.

He agrees just to mess with her, inching towards her with every word. I love that she grabs her backpack like a shield, but he leans in close just to point out that the door she’s leaning on leads to her room. Cheeky.

She finally gets to sit down and process the crazy that happened today, and sighs to relive her sister’s betrayal. Hunger pangs soon overtake her angst though, and she realizes she hasn’t eaten all day.

She sneaks out to the kitchen, only to find canned food and sports drinks in the fridge (Who keeps cans in the fridge?) and eats straight out of cans in the dark. That’s just sad. Tan finds her stuffing her face guiltily, and she swears she only ate stuff that was past its expiration date, and slides over a five-dollar bill to pay for her meal.

He asks how she lives that she eats expired food, but doesn’t get an answer. He asks her name, and only gets a, “Thanks for letting me stay here for the night.” Tan: “That’s a long name.” He says that none of this is charity—it’s repayment, since his friend stole the bean powder meant for her sister.

Meanwhile, Big Bro President Won is preparing to head to the States for a business trip, and Secretary Yoon (Chan-young’s dad) tells him that President Choi (Young-do’s dad) called to suggest he stay at one of their hotels.

Won notes that he’s already playing nice with Jeguk ever since he got engaged to RS’s president (Rachel’s mom), and that stops Secretary Yoon in his tracks. Aw, is she an old flame? Won continues to be an ass to Secretary Yoon, who’s still loyal as ever to his father and doesn’t hesitate to show it.

We meet Dad for the first time as he chats pleasantly with his ex-wife (the second wife with no kids). Chairman Kim is in a wheelchair, and Madam Jung tells him to stop being nice—it won’t get her to remove herself from the family registry.

He chuckles and says he has no intention of ousting her; after all, she’s the one who brought Tan’s mother into this house. She points out that it was better than the alternative, with him hiding his affair outside of the house.

Meanwhile Tan’s mother Madam Han has her ear pressed to the door trying desperately to hear what they’re saying. Won catches her red-handed, which is clearly a normal sight around here. She just rolls her eyes and announces him at the door.

She tells Won that his mother is here (by which she means stepmother, technically), but Won bites back that his mother is not in this house. She rolls her eyes again: “Fine. Ajumma. The ajumma who raised you is here! And this ajumma is leaving now.”

He walks into the room, and Madam Jung feels the icy non-greeting from Won. Theirs was clearly not a warm relationship, but she still feels slighted, and she points out that she did raise him for ten years. He snarks back: “I’m sorry I only amounted to this after you raised me for ten years.”

Dad has to call a cease-fire, and then tells Won that he should take Tan with him to his business meeting in LA. Won chafes at the idea, but Dad makes a point of saying that it’s not his company yet. He’s taking Little Bro, and that’s that.

Madam Han hilariously yanks Madam Jung aside, and despite the fact that they’re rivals, they’re surprisingly comfortable and frank with one another. Madam Han wants to know about her upcoming meeting with Rachel’s mom, saying that it’s in-law business and she should be in the know.

Madam Jung puts her in her place: “Who’s your in-law? Tan is MY son, have you forgotten that?” OH. Well that’s news to me. Also, do they have the most complicated family registry or what?

Madam Han counters that Tan sure would be happy to find out that his mother gets treated this way, while Madam Jung spits back that being called madam for a few years has made her think she’s a wife in this family. “But as long as I’m alive, you are just my husband’s mistress.” Dayum.

As she holds back her tears, Tan writes: “Another woman’s bags, another woman’s house, another woman’s husband… a pitiful person who spends her whole life wanting others’ things. That person is…” And his phone rings with a call from Mom.

Eun-sang finishes the thought: “Mom?” She’s calling her own, of course, and her eyes fill with tears as she lies through her teeth about unni’s beautiful house with a green lawn and how tanned she is from the California sun (Mom answers with taps on the phone’s receiver).

Tan overhears the whole conversation as he stands at the door with a sandwich, and I do love the look in his eyes every time he inadvertently catches her at her most vulnerable moments.

He shoves the sandwich at her and wonders about the dollar sitting on the nightstand, which she says is for the long-distance call. He says that she sure spends her money freely, and then she adds the dream catcher as payment for the room.

She tells him it wards off bad dreams and only pretty dreams are supposed to come through the holes. Tan: “Does it not bring pretty women?” He hangs it over his door with a smile, and then watches from the backyard as Eun-sang barricades her door, and then proceeds to undress in plain sight. He nearly chokes on his sandwich and runs inside in a hurry.

She wakes up in the morning to the nicest view that money can buy, and Tan watches her, taken with her smile and just suspended there. I swear, if he keeps staring that intently, I might not make it to ten weeks.

She finds him on his way out to school, relieved that he’s not a drug dealer after all, and jumps to get her things packed so she can be on her way. But he throws out excuse after excuse why she can’t go now—her sister’s diner doesn’t open till later, there are no buses here—and suggests she come with him to school since she mentioned always wanting to see what kind of schools people go to here.

So they drive up the coast and she warns him that she’s going to stick her hands out of the car. He lets her be embarrassing for one minute, but then smiles to see her enjoying herself.

He goes to class while she sits outside taking in the scenery, and he steals glances at her out of the window. In the first non-soul-cringingly-embarrassing English scene in this drama, the professor talks about beautiful words in the English language, and says that a survey put “mother” at the top of the list. It makes Tan pause.

True to slacker form though, he doesn’t turn in his essay that’s due today, despite the fact that he wrote one. The professor’s pretty zen about the whole thing, wondering if maybe he wouldn’t find more purpose if he started to turn things in. Rather wise.

He heads out and finds Eun-sang elsewhere on campus, watching a pair of Korean girls put up flyers for a party. She notes with a wisp of jealousy that she was just looking at kids who had met good parents. He assures her those parties are lame anyway.

She thanks him for everything and says her goodbye, intending to go find her sister on her own. He lets her take about two steps before insisting he’d rather ditch his next class and go with her, and she’s geeky enough to wonder why anyone would want to skip math class. What.

There’s more bad news at the diner though, because unni quit her job and skipped town. Her ex-boyfriend shows up just as upset because she took his money too, and when he starts demanding it back from Eun-sang, Tan steps in to get violent.

But the ex has two halfwit goons who start chasing them, so Eun-sang grabs Tan’s wrist and starts running. This whole scene is ridiculous, but I do love how much he’s enjoying the handholding and running.

He gets another call from Rachel that he ignores yet again, leaving her fuming in her gilded hotel room. She gets a call two seconds later and snickers thinking it’s Tan crawling back to her… but it turns out to be Mom. Ha. Spiteful, I know, but I enjoyed that.

Mom assumes she’s with Tan and asks what he said about her engagement to Young-do’s dad, and insists that Rachel tell him—isn’t he best friends with Young-do? Rachel: “They’re not friends.”

Back in Seoul, Young-do arrives at Dad’s hotel on his new motorcycle and goes to work in the kitchen scrubbing dishes. We hear from a pair of chefs that he’s been doing this every vacation since junior high, an order from Dad to learn the hotel business from the ground up if he’s to inherit the company someday.

He does as told, except he won’t do it with a sunny attitude, and talks back to the manager like he already owns the place. He hears that the police chief is dining here, and Young-do points out that that seems like a duty much more suited to him than washing dishes.

The chief prosecutor is dining with his family, and son LEE HYO-SHIN (Kang Haneul) assures dad and grandpa that he’s preparing well for his college exams. God, it’s a stifling atmosphere, with a father, grandfather, and two uncles all telling him exactly how he should be planning for his future. Thirty seconds in this room tells us that failure is not an option in the Lee family.

Young-do enters the room to introduce himself, and checks the service just as his father would, earning praise for his good manners. But the way he pours Hyo-shin’s water with a menacing undertone seems like there’s plenty of bad blood between these two. He fills the glass to the brim and says pointedly that he looked thirsty.

A few minutes later, Hyo-shin is knocking on Young-do’s door (he seems to live in the hotel, which makes sense) and asks to use his bathroom, and goes straight to the toilet to throw up his lunch. Huh.

They’re not friendly, but they’re on pretty close (and antagonistic) terms, given that Young-do knows about the upchucking habit. He calls Hyo-shin “sunbae,” but talks down to him, and wonders why he came all the way up here to lose his lunch. Hyo-shin says that it’s better than running into his father in the bathroom.

Young-do thinks it weird that Hyo-shin would show him any weakness, while Hyo-shin counters that Young-do has shown more faults than he has. I… can’t tell what the hell is with you two, but I kinda like that I can’t tell.

Back in LA, Tan continues to ignore his phone while Eun-sang buys coffee. She moons over drinking her americano in America, needing at least one happy memory of being here. Tan balks at that, and asks if she really doesn’t have a single good memory.

He pauses expectantly for her to think of them, but when she changes the subject, he actually gets pissy with her. Hee.

She sees a group of friends taking pictures together, and it triggers an idea for how she’ll get back home. (I suppose I should’ve guessed that her sister stole her plane ticket money too, but who buys one-way tickets?) She messages her buddy Chan-young online, since she doesn’t have his phone number memorized.

Tan peers at the message and wonders if it’s her boyfriend, and she says he’s a “boy” and “friend.” He doesn’t see how she intends to get this guy’s help when she doesn’t even know where he is, and she cries defensively, “He’s in my heart!” Hahaha. He’s so jealous.

He drops her off at home with his keys while he takes the cab back to pick up his car, and on the way he starts snooping into her online life because she left the account open on his phone. That’s when he finally learns her name, and sees the kinds of messages she posts.

Among them are: “I wish Freddy and Jason would make up,” and “I don’t wanna go to work today. On a rainy day in spring, I should be watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Ha.

He finds what he’s looking for—pictures of Chan-young—and there’s a hilarious split screen where he imagines them conversing and interjects annoyed asides. It’s priceless. But one post leaves him wide-eyed: “I hate it that Mom is having a hard time. Down with Jeguk Group.” The cop finds him and hands off Eun-sang’s passport.

Back in Seoul, Bo-na pouts at all her unanswered calls to boyfriend Chan-young, wondering if he’s already found a pretty American girl to date. Young-do watches her hysterics and flirts that she’s pretty when she’s clinging, which rankles his buddy who’s obviously sweet on her. I get the sense that Young-do purposely says the most hackle-raising thing he can think of in any situation, just for shits and giggles.

This time Chan-young finally answers her call, and she asks why he hasn’t commented on the selca she posted online. He says he turned all that off because he couldn’t study, but he checks on her insistence, and that’s when he sees Eun-sang’s message.

Eun-sang packs her bag and heads up the stairs to leave… where she runs into Rachel, just arriving. Gah. They recognize each other from the airport, but Rachel’s more interested to know who the hell she is and why she’s at her fiancé’s house.

Eun-sang thinks that’s weird—the owner of this house is in high school. Rachel says they were engaged at seventeen, and that still doesn’t explain what she’s doing here. It only gets worse when she learns that Eun-sang spent the night, and turns her bitch dial up to ten as she kicks her suitcase down the stairs and then orders her to open it so she can make sure she didn’t steal anything. Good lord.

Eun-sang suffers the indignity of opening up her bag to prove that she’s not a thief, and Rachel spills the contents out just to be extra obnoxious. She tells her to clean up her trash, and Eun-sang is left holding back her tears. She sits outside at a park with her bag, with nowhere to go.

Bo-na paces back and forth, wondering why there’s still no response to her selca after two hours. She’s hilarious. Young-do tells her to dump him and date his buddy Myung-soo instead, and she calls him crazy three times, deflating poor Myung-soo.

Young-do is all jokes until the mention of Tan, when Myung-soo says that Rachel went all the way to LA to see him. Bo-na seems to be on Young-do’s side of whatever this feud is, because she tells Myung-soo that she hates hearing Kim Tan’s name.

Eun-sang goes to book a ticket back to Seoul, but finds that she’s short on cash, as expected. She asks to reserve it anyway, but then realizes that she still doesn’t have her passport.

Tan comes back home and asks where Eun-sang went, and Rachel points out that it’s been half a year since they’ve seen each other, but that’s all he’s got to say? So then he tosses in a half-assed, “You’ve gotten prettier.”

He sighs to hear that she told Eun-sang that they were engaged, and when she asks why he didn’t come to the airport to greet her, he doesn’t even bother to open his eyes as he gives the excuses that it was too far and too hot. She asks point-blank why he agreed to this engagement in the first place, and he says matter-of-factly: “So that I don’t have to marry you later.” Ouch. Also, do you people do everything backwards?

Eun-sang rings the doorbell, and Tan yells at her for leaving without a word. She’s just here for the cop’s card so she can get her passport back, but before Tan can tell her that he has it, Rachel says she threw it out in the trash.

Eun-sang races to the trash bins, and Tan tells Rachel to butt out. She heads down to grab her purse when she hears Tan’s phone go off, and reads the message from Chan-young with his phone number. I want to point out to her that deleting that would just give Eun-sang more reason to lean on Tan for help, but I think self-foot-shooting is her style.

Tan comes out to find Eun-sang digging through the trash, and asks if she’s crying. She says she’s been trying not to cry, but no matter how hard she tries to escape her life, here she is, next to the trash all over again. She cries that there’s no twist to her story.

He apologizes and hands her the passport, when suddenly two NEW thugs show up looking for him. What in the what? Why does this keep happening?

There’s literally no explanation, since the only point is to give them another reason to hold hands and run. So they hold hands and run. (I’m sorry, did you just run from Malibu to Hollywood? Pwahaha.)

They duck into a movie theater to hide, and Eun-sang gets lost in the movie, but doesn’t understand the dialogue. Tan starts translating for her: “She says, ‘If I’m going to trust you, I need to know who you are.'”

And then he starts making up his own lines: “She says she met someone yesterday. Her name was Cha Eun-sang.” Eun-sang wonders how he found out her name.

Tan: “But now there’s something she’s curious about… Do I… maybe… like you?”

COMMENTS

It’s interesting how different Tan is with Eun-sang, and that he consciously has many faces: the heir and (outwardly) dutiful son, the party boy, the thoughtful writer, and the slacker who couldn’t care less. My favorite thing about him is that he’s actually too lazy to rebel properly—he admits so himself, and it’s evidenced by his engagement to Rachel, which is the path of least resistance. Do as you’re told, and keep your head down. There’s something nicely subdued about the character that keeps him interesting, because he represses his conflicts instead of acting out. The go-to chaebol archetypes get played in the other characters—Won, Young-do—so it’s really (really) great to have a hero who’s a shade more realistic, grayer in motivation, and a little lost.

The exiled prince metaphor works perfectly for this character, not just because the family is, as javabeans pointed out, set up like a carbon copy of Joseon royalty, but because it encapsulates the wasted potential in the hero—he could be great, a leader, a future king, but gets his wings clipped and caged because his existence poses a threat. The fact that we begin here, where he’s accepted his lot in life as the extraneous son who’s supposed to hide to survive, makes his arc a fascinating one. The two moms conflict isn’t even the usual birth secret, and I’m interested to know why they chose to make him the son of the de facto concubine rather than the queen—it’s playing chess with your children for the sake of the inheritance, and it’s at least strange enough that I find it interesting rather than just the same old. At least I hope the answer isn’t the same old.

Though two episodes of setup doesn’t feel as zippy as I would’ve liked, I do enjoy the way we get introduced to characters. There’s simmering animosity underlying every interaction that makes me curious about the backstory, but it’s nice to let that inform present attitudes without dropping The Past into our laps. With the exception of the main couple whose first meeting is onscreen, everyone else has a history we aren’t privy to, and I love feeling like we’re only hitting the tip of the iceberg with all the relationships. That kind of storytelling is engaging without gimmicks, and I think the show is strongest when it uses that.

On the flipside, then there’s the reaching for yet another excuse to get the couple running from thugs (because that’s the only way to ignite romance, apparently—sparks via mildly threatening surfer goons), and then I basically want to spork my eyes out. I mean, does the Candy really need to be digging in the literal trash to feel like trash? Is that necessary? We geddit. She’s poor.

That aside, I do think the couple has sparks—the lingering moments, the intense gazes—all of that is golden, and I really like them together. She’s pricklier than he is, which is great, but also not so down on herself and so doom and gloom that she can’t just enjoy a nice day like an eighteen-year old should. I can actually see how and why he’s taken with her, and frankly that’s not always a given with romance. Sometimes I watch sixteen episodes still wondering, And why do you two like each other again?

But he keeps seeing her at her worst, when she’s down on her luck and at her wit’s end, and there’s this fantastic silent empathy happening that I just love. The show is still finding its footing (and being outside of Seoul is most of that, I’d wager) but I like where we’re headed with the couple. Attraction happening this quickly means it leaves a lot more room for unexpected turns, and that has me excited for what’s to come.

647

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101 hiba

October 11, 2013 at 2:26 AM

the preview of ep 3 is fantastic it kinda gives me min young-min ho vibe specially the last bit ! which is always
good i wish they would have half the chem min min had
thanks , i love the ep despite alll the bad reviews ! i love that u dont trash like other websites ! lol

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102 hibz

October 11, 2013 at 2:31 AM

can i just say i love u for pointing out the good parts and make me less lonely when it comes to loving this !
im never going to koala again !!

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103 Janerdelle

October 11, 2013 at 2:51 AM

I thought Park shin hye and Min ho has a great chemistry on the first 2 episodes, but I was wrong,i do think Suzy is the right one to be in a role that played by PSH..

PSH is an actress that can't be fitted in any leading men, her previous drama flower boy next door leading man has no chemistry with her as always...

anyway her acting is quite good in this drama, she improves a bit in that category to say the least..

The first 2 episodes is good.. It has some funny antics on woo bin and and ha neul, also krystal looks pretty wit her oh so annoying personality and I had some laughs with Min hoo's english..LOL

Rate: 6/10

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windsun33

October 11, 2013 at 9:39 AM

I was also a bit surprised that PSH seemed to have gotten a lot better than in her last one.

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104 Carmelia

October 11, 2013 at 3:01 AM

tq gf !

They should go to ASEAN countries instead, there are many beautiful beaches and also for surfing,
instaead of USA. Safe the budget !.
Luckily they are back before the shutdown !!!.

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105 candidmoments

October 11, 2013 at 3:14 AM

Man! I'm really missing The Master's Sun. Although this is a good show, I prefer it to be more quirky and funny since their characters are teenagers :(((

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106 JD

October 11, 2013 at 3:23 AM

omg, they casted an obese American man to do the chase scene for comic relief...

and then, of course, the hero makes a SANDWICH for the girl because that's apparently all we eat in America (a lot of Korean people actually think that about Americans)

woooo go AMURICA

October 11, 2013 at 1:24 PM

Wait, but what about the Americans that eat Kimchi tacos ... and other fusion foods?

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PPasun

October 11, 2013 at 3:31 PM

I was being sarcastic. This is the 21st century and Koreans do have TV and internet, you know. A lot of them know that Americans eat all sorts of things including kimchi tacos, moo shu pork, sushi, spaghetti and filet mignon.

"Heirs" is not a documentary about the geography of LA and its vicinity or American cuisine nor does it purport to give an accurate portrayal of all types of American people. I just don't get why people assume, if the characters are shown to run from Malibu and the scene cuts to Hollywood or if one character makes a sandwich for another, or some "negative" images of American extras are shown, it's because Koreans are ignorant and have those stereotypes about America, they hate America, the drama is unrealistic etc. etc. You know what, most dramas are unrealistic. Do you think all movements from one location to another in Korea are realistic? Do you think that Tan's mom is drinking that fancy schmancy wine because that is all that rich Koreans ever drink? Do you think every other Korean woman is a Candy and every other Korean male a hot chaebol jerk? Do you think Kim Eun Sook wrote those characters and scenes because she is ignorant about Korean culture and people and harbors those stereotypes? You know better than that. So why be so sensitive just because the backdrop is America and there are a few druggies, blondes, thugs and obese people and because the hero is making a sandwich?

There are some Koreans who are ignorant and hateful toward America just like there are some Americans who are that way toward Korea. But assuming "a lot" of Koreans are that way based on limited scenes in a drama is going overboard. @Brian, by the way, this harangue is not toward you. After reading one too many comments here about Korean stereotypes and hatred toward America, I just had to say it.

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LoveIt

October 11, 2013 at 3:39 PM

Bravo! I rolled my eyes too many times.

Ace

October 11, 2013 at 5:24 PM

Haha! Love your rant. I also don't get how people take things too seriously when it's a fictional world created by the writer and not a documentary where everything has to be accurate and realistic. Even films or shows based on real life people aren't entirely accurate, artistic license and all that to add dramatic moments.

Some people are just so sensitive and politically correct that they're offended at the stereotypes in this show.There are more reality shows and sitcoms in the US that's more offensive than this.

PlumWine

October 11, 2013 at 9:12 PM

Ok great. Now I have to figure out how to make a kimchi taco. :). By the way your rant was great and needed. Thanks.

windsun33

October 12, 2013 at 1:21 PM

Kimchi tacos suck BTW :D It just does not "fit".

And I learned from YTBLSS that most people in Korea only eat fried chicken. I know that is true because I have seen it in at least three dramas.

Ace

October 12, 2013 at 9:16 PM

Don't forget about the comments saying the writer is insulting people's [international audience] intelligence. I'm an international viewer and I don't feel that my intelligence has been insulted. With inconsistencies like that, I just chalk it up to artistic license and laugh it off. It's more fun (for me) that way. Give the drama a break. It's fiction. Also, I believe that all kdramas are for Korean audiences first and if some Korean believes everything they see in a kdrama, then that's their problem not yours, right?

soup

October 13, 2013 at 7:24 AM

bloody amazing rant. Thanks for writing all these, some of the comments here often made me go "Is this your FIRST drama?"

Too strung up over small little things that doesn't matter.

Cariad

October 15, 2013 at 6:25 AM

I agree :) sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich :)

Z

October 11, 2013 at 3:03 PM

To be fair, bulgogi is sooooo good that, if I was Korean, it would be all I ate.

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Maris

October 14, 2013 at 5:10 AM

I think that KT made a sandwich because that was the logical thing to do and the simplest and easiest......just what most men would.

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107 Momopeach

October 11, 2013 at 3:30 AM

Mahaha running from Malibu to hollywood. You can't run anywhere in LA.

Kang Haneul is super cute. I never heard of him before, but liking his hair, his voice, is face, his acting, all of it.

The cuteness and humor is improving, so loving that.
Also like the trio of Woo Bin, Krystal, and Hyungsik.

October 11, 2013 at 9:44 AM

But if the heroine goes back to Korea, she will be pursued by debt collectors :)

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109 Eunice

October 11, 2013 at 4:46 AM

I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you guys would recap medical top team... I watched the first episodes and it was better than I expected.

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sophia

October 11, 2013 at 6:24 AM

+1!

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PlumWine

I'm loving that LMH isn't playing the stereotypical chaebol. We have enough assholeness in another characters.

*crosses fingers* Here's to hoping this turns out okay! I'm not expecting fireworks, but I am hoping they'll flesh out the other characters. We have a lot of depth with our two romantic leads, but I hope everyone else isn't just 1 dimensional. They have enough childhood drama to give them depth if the writing will let them have it.

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117 Soyb

October 11, 2013 at 7:21 AM

It's definitely slower than I would like, but so far at least I don't hate the two leads. I usually do hate one of them for being either a jerk or too wishy washy. And please enough of the long stare... it's nice once in awhile, but were going back to back silent gazing.

Woo Bin - oh why oh why does he have to play the jerk? B/c while I'm actually not a fan, he's stands out the most in terms of energy.

I do have a few questions for anyone... I though she was still legally the wife, but chose to live elsewhere and let the mistress in... also would explain in a weird way why Tan is under her name, since she is the legal wife. I didn't think they were actually divorced.

“But as long as I’m alive, you are just my husband’s mistress.”

Also, I keep hearing Rachel being called Ra Yell or something like that... is that just Korea way of pronouncing Rachel?

And my last question... CES seems really poor, but if she's the daughter of the housekeeper of a rich chaebol family, shouldn't the mom make at least a decent salary, at least decent working class level salary? I would think if you're the housekeeper, you're in charge of the female domestic help, etc, a lot of responsibilities... so I don't get why they are so poor that CES has to take on SO MANY part-time jobs.

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nokke

October 11, 2013 at 7:41 AM

so I don’t get why they are so poor that CES has to take on SO MANY part-time jobs.

I wonder, why the heroine is so poor? her mom has a decent job as a housekeeper in a rich family, in my country that would mean at least average income... don't chaebols pay their employees at all?

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122 john

October 11, 2013 at 8:03 AM

I'm undewhelmed. Is First medical Team better?

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PlumWine

October 11, 2013 at 12:54 PM

It's got a few snags, from a women's perspective, but I'm enjoying it also. Definitely has potential. Try it.

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123 newbie

October 11, 2013 at 8:11 AM

Hi, I'm a relative newbie to k-dramas, and an American.

And I just have one basic question WHY DO ALL THE GUYS IN K-DRAMAS HAVE THE SWEEPING FOREHEAD HAIRDO???

Is there a law or something in So. Korea that says if you show your forehead you're not cool or good looking?

I've watched some of the other "top well k-dramas", one of which of course was BOF but if it wasn't for the hype wouldn't have recognized him as the same actor.

It's nice that his hair color is brown/red which also makes him stand out but give me a break some of the support actors look to similar and until the storyline gets developed I can get lost.

Is this just an American viewpoint?

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PlumWine

130 Hachiko

October 11, 2013 at 10:56 AM

Hi JB & GF, Thank You for your Recaps. You guys always do a wonderful job.

I don't know why many of the comments here say that they are not satisfied with LMH's acting. I think, as told by many, they expected too much. But then, I DID expect a lot from this Drama and I am not disappointed that much. Of course, except, the Cringe-worthy English and LMH/PSH running around for no reason at the end of this episode.

I understand why people would have felt bad/not satisfied about LMH's acting. Though I think most of it is bcoz of the CHARACTER itself. He's Lazy to hate others/regret/be angry at others/study/smile/go to airport/go to korea/etc. OOF. It's too much laziness. That's what gets him attracted to PSH immediately,as both recappers pointed out. She's the exact(atleast in the ways pointed above) opposite of him.

Also,I like this Drama. As I said, I did expect but I dont know in what sense I expected. Bcoz, I am satisfied. Life has these characters in Life - lazy to attend Maths class/thinking they're ready to be the Leaders and other's will be there till the end for them to rule/thinking why do I have to have all the troubles in the world - reasoning my parents are the cause - all the while feeling sorry towards them/wanting to put ur hands out of the window/car... I have seen too many of them that I feel it happens in the world and so, I dont feel disappointed,atleast not yet. But hope this drama gets to be realistic through and through. I'ld feel satisfied.
And, Thanks once again to JB and GF for their updates. Before I watch the drama,I read your opening/ending comments which I value most dearly.
For all the people who're disappointed, LIFE HAPPENS! Have a Nice Weekend..

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131 Abbie

October 11, 2013 at 11:15 AM

This episode was better than the first. I like all the lingering moments between Tan and Eun-sang. I was a bit worried about the chemistry between the two, but it's working so far. Many of the characters I don't like and don't care about (namely Rachel; she's a bitch to the nth degree). Young-do is more interesting here than in episode 1, I think. And I just love Tan and Eun-sang together.

I am confused about the relationships between most of the characters left in Seoul, but I chock that up to lack of backstory so far. And who is Tan's real mother, the mistress or the ex-wife? I'm so freaking confused. Someone please tell me!

All in all, a great two episode beginning, although I'll like it better once they're all in Seoul again. But I do like it.

Thanks for the recap, GF!

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132 Stephanie

October 11, 2013 at 12:08 PM

Honestly this character could have been done like "You're beautiful" but I like her like this. The attitude she has.

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133 Limmy

October 11, 2013 at 12:28 PM

The Malibu to Hollywood run was hilarious. 1 hour by car, but 5 minutes by foot? Some Star Trek-style beaming must be going on.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what I understood of the two-mother situation is that Tan is the mistress' kid, but registered officially as the 2nd wife's son. So the family made the illegitimate concubine's child the official/legal (and therefore legitimate) child of the queen. That's why the wife says she had no children, the mistress fawns on Tan, and yet the wife says Tan is "her" son. That doesn't sound the same as what girlfriday got (ie: that the family registered him under the concubine when the queen is really his birth mother). Guess we'll have to wait for the next couple of episodes to clarify this one?

The over-Candying does bother me a little too, with the literal digging through the trash and endless dirty dishes scenes, but she's not the happy, I'll Make the Most of It type of noble Candy--she actually resents and wants to run away from her life. From Episode 1, we learn that she fully intends to run away away from home like her sister did, and that's why she bought a one-way ticket. She wasn't planning to go back to Korea. (She's only going back now because she found out her sister's life was a lie, found out that her sister's model of a better life which she thought she could follow too doesn't actually exist, which means she has no brighter future in the USA.) I like that twist, that she's sick and tired and doing something about it, which feels more real and earns my respect more than the over-sunny or terribly passive Kdrama heroines we get so often.

I can absolutely see why Tan is attracted to Eun Sang right away. He's super lonely, and she's good company. He's trying not to think, and she shows up with all this family drama playing out in front of him, and forces him to think. Everyone around him knows who he is and is trying to get what they want out of him, whether it's his brother trying to keep him out of the way, his mother wanting him to secure her position in the family/society, or his fiance wanting to possess him and have him as her support. Eun Sang has no idea who he is, and is so knee-deep in her own problems she doesn't even have time to think of him as anyone else but a kind stranger she has no choice but to lean on right now. He can be whoever he wants to be, or rather, who he actually is around her. Plus, she's pretty! Like Natalie Portman-style, That's the Girl I want to Marry pretty.

Finally, Tan's 18 years old. Romantic feelings at that age (and younger) do feel like these lightning surges that can be sparked off by just one or two *aha* moments, if my memories of being a teenager serve me well. ;) True story for anyone else?

October 12, 2013 at 1:32 PM

I am still trying to figure out why Candy Girl thinks her life is over and in the pits forever at age 18.

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134 Stephanie

October 11, 2013 at 12:28 PM

I actually like a lengthy set up rather than a lengthy end. I prefer the Secret Garden format of a zippy end and long set up.

"And why do you two like each other again?" Is for Good Doctor right? hahahaha The last 2 eps of that was pointless. it made me forget why.

I love how the show sets up his story first and does not need to tell us how he empathises with her during those silent beats. I mean, through those 90s, early 2000s and melo flashbacks.

So far, I like the tone of the show.

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135 Stephanie

October 11, 2013 at 12:35 PM

This is SO CONFUSING. I'm watching potato star too and they are essentially kid looking stars playing adults. In this, they are adults playing kids.

But I do get a sense that the old birds are against the young ones in this time slot. Sizzling. Both dramas filled with more than the usual number of big names. And even the small characters in each drama have presence in the entertainment scene. I think Heirs will win cus I don't do medical dramas and I already did Good Doctor cus there weren't options.

October 11, 2013 at 1:44 PM

Wow, reading the comments and opinions are so interesting. I think everyone just need to relax and stop comparing this drama to other dramas, as well as actors. Just want to add my thoughts:

I feel like a lot of you are putting too much weight on these wonderful actors and actresses.

Lee min ho is doing a great job portraying the character "Kim Tan". I feel like many of you are comparing his acting to his previous roles, but remember that this is a different story line with different personality. I give Min ho props for doing a great job. Min ho's portrayal of "Kim Tan" is clearly visible. He is a great actor.

Park shin hye is also wonderful! Same comments here. Many of you are comparing her to previous roles and are labeling her as a "not so good actress", but she is great! If you think this is the only type of personality she can play, then you need to watch her other dramas/movies. She has grown tremendously! Also, many of you judge her by her looks and that is totally unfair and mean. She is beautiful!

I love the pairing of Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye. I can see the chemistry. Also, remember that there are only 2 episodes, so of course the chemistry will still be processing. You can't expect to have chemistry right away. It's called "storyline" and "plot". It's great to see the two in a drama and not just commercials. I believe they will do wonderfully in this drama.

144 lanselau

October 11, 2013 at 7:09 PM

Can someone say something about the hour difference?? haha it's killing me to see that they call phones like they were in the same day, I find it hilarious since the hour difference between Seoul and LA is like 16 hours....

There's a 16 hour difference between LA and Seoul, with Seoul being almost a full day Head. That means you can call Seoul from LA during a late summer evening while the sun is still up, and your party in Seoul will be up and about in the late morning light of the following day.

I don't get the comment about the writer assuming Americans only eat sandwiches, which is why it's what Kim Tan served Eun Sang. It was late in the evening, with the supper hour long past. He had been observing his guest scavenging for food in his kitchen after she thought he'd retired for the night. A sandwich is quick, easy, and filling, which is why we Americans do indeed commonly eat them as a late night snack. Plus, being a LAZY teenaged boy living alone, cooking might not be something he was very frequently inclined to do, if at all. People do seem to work very hard at finding something to be offended about...

I thought the scene in which KT and ES are being fecklessly pursued by the fat friends of the abusive jerk was amusing. I don't see it as saying anything significant about Americans, given that the show had also shown a lot of fit and buff beach bodies (which is a stock Southern California stereotype frequently used in American entertainment). Bay Watch anybody...?

October 12, 2013 at 1:44 PM

I have to admit I did not get the point of people picking on the sandwich.

I live in Arizona, and lived for a long time in Northern Arizona - where tons of movies have been done over the decades. Sometimes I will watch them just to see all the mistakes they make - like in one where they drove from the South to North rim of the Grand Canyon in a few minutes - which is a 5 to 6 hour drive. And most of it was not even the Grand Canyon where it was actually filmed.

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peacegee

October 12, 2013 at 9:33 AM

"People do seem to work very hard at finding something to be offended about…"

Me too :)

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