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Triangle: Episode 1

Right on the heels of its sageuk predecessor, melodrama Triangle premiered on MBC on Monday to spin the tale of three brothers leading completely separate lives. As a 24-episode drama, the opening hour spends most of its time building up its large-scale yet remarkably small world with numerous character introductions. There’s still plenty of time to get to the meat and potatoes of a story, so the verdict is still out on what this show will shape up to be.

In that sense, it’s nice that we get to focus on each brother’s lives separately because who knows who will throw the first punch once they’re all thrown in the same ring to duke it out. Well okay, I’ve got an inkling, and it isn’t the gangster bro.

SONG OF THE DAY

Roh Ji-hoon – “너를 노래해 (A Song For You)” Download ]

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EPISODE 1 RECAP

We open with a visual introduction to our three brothers: the eldest (Lee Beom-soo), middle bro (Kim Jaejoong), and the youngest (Im Shi-wan). Although separated, the siblings are of like mind, sharing in the sorrowful lyrics of “Broken Promises” that sum up their collective sadness: You threw me away and into whose arms have you gone / No way to forget / Deep within my heart you left only sorrow.

Riding on a motorcycle in the countryside, middle child HEO YOUNG-DAL (Jaejoong) brings us up to speed about this region in voice-over: Welcome to Sabuk, a small mining town nestled in the Gangwon Province. Once the coal mines closed down, however, the area fell upon hard times until a casino and resort moved in, breathing new life into the place.

Furthermore, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in town who doesn’t know his name. Given how Young-dal is sharing all this info to us in banmal, we can gather that he’s a guy who thinks he’s got everyone under his thumb.

That much is certainly true as we see him deliberately cause a scene at a restaurant, which has a woman (with whom I assume he’s having an affair) come running and plead with him to stop his ruckus. But… Oppa is shirtless right now.

She eventually drags him outside, and Young-dal returns her insults of being a trashy gangster with a smarmy smile. He’s got something up his sleeve that makes her literally fall to her knees—a photo of them in bed together—which he airily threatens to send to her husband.

Handing over a wad of cash, she says that this is the last time. He smiles, since the money was what he really wanted. And there’s this slick and swaggering quality to Young-dal as he tells noona that she can call him anytime she’s lonely.

Impressed by Young-dal’s playboy skills, his buddy Jang-soo suggests they celebrate over drinks, but scowls when Young-dal says they’re headed for the casino.

We cut away to the Seoul regional investigative unit to properly introduce eldest brother JANG DONG-SOO (Lee Beom-soo), a violent crimes detective. He grows increasingly impatient with the man he’s currently interrogating, as evidenced by an interesting character quirk: the corner of his mouth twitches in warning before he explodes with rage.

So when Dong-soo turns off the cameras, the other detectives rush in to stop him from pelting the guy to death. Their unsurprised but quick response suggests to me that this is a fairly common occurrence, but do we need to worry about his violent outbursts?

Dong-soo gets some good news when he’s informed that they’ve found their target, and doesn’t let a pesky thing like a warrant stand in his way. He does stop to listen that the bodyguards are armed, but orders his team to move out anyway.

One detective refers to him as a nut job, but Dong-soo explains in voice-over why he’s dedicated his entire career to bring down Chairman Go, the head of a real-estate conglomerate Chungjin Group and a mob boss.

The current score in their continuous war stands at 0:2 in favor of Chairman Go, and while Dong-soo has been able to arrest the chairman twice, he’s been unsuccessful to do anything else.

The detective team heads to one of Chairman Go’s hopping nightclubs (which evidently the mob boss set up to play with pretty young things, ew), and Chairman Go gloats to the ladies about the expensive food and drink before them.

Dong-soo crashes the party a minute later, and Chairman Go chuckles at their entrance, asking if the cops have got a warrant. Dong-soo: “We don’t need a warrant for the likes of you.”

The mob boss is unfazed to hear that he’s a murder suspect, advising Dong-soo not to overextend and humiliate himself, but he doesn’t stand for being yelled out either. Telling his lackey to call his lawyers, he plays along and gives himself up to be cuffed.

Getting out the club is another ordeal altogether, as a sea of gangsters come running. Dong-soo and his team charge ahead to deal with them, leaving Chairman Go cackling alone in amusement. Soon there are too many men for the detectives to handle, and when they start to lose the upper hand, Dong-soo starts fighting dirty and fires the gun into the air.

He then trains his gun on Chairman Go and orders the mob boss to call off his men. But Chairman Go simply smiles and raises his currently cuffed hands. So the message is: Let me go and I’ll call ’em off.

You can see the quandary Dong-soo is in painted on his face, and now we begin to understand why he’s always been unsuccessful at putting the chairman behind bars.

We check back in with Young-dal, who rides back to Sabuk with his buddy. Jang-soo tells him to stop because he recognizes the casino greeter, who tells him to bug off. This is OH JUNG-HEE (Baek Jin-hee), whom Jang-soo identifies a hoobae and the most popular girl in school thanks to her beauty despite placing last in her studies.

There seems to be a tinge of interest on Young-dal’s end, and he laughs in disbelief that she was playing hard-to-get with Jang-soo.

Young-dal is denied entry into the swanky casino, though, and his buddy reminds Young-dal of his recent-ish drunken antics that got him thrown out last time. Young-dal demands to speak to a manager, with whom he complains about their treatment towards a regular customer.

He charges at the staff when they warn him that he could be banned permanently, causing yet another scene. His appetite for gambling still fresh, they head over to the opposite end of luxury in the form of a secretly run casino. The owner MADAME JANG sighs irritatedly to see them, but lets them in reluctantly.

Her lackey (Hong Seok-chun) laughs at the pitiful stack of chips and warns Young-dal against acting up again, lest he end up buried in the dirt. And I’m going to go ahead and assume he means it in the literal sense.

Madame Jang keeps a close eye as Young-dal situates himself on a table, placing the maximum bet. The overzealous move has the older gentleman sitting next to him scoff exasperatedly, but the game begins. (It looks like a game of baccarat, but who knows for certain.)

Young-dal’s got a lucky streak tonight as he wins hand after hand until his neighbor finally gives up. He goes all-in for his next hand again, and it looks like his luck has finally run out… but he survives the round just long enough to slam down what should be his winning card onto the table, only to look back to see that he lost.

Having lost it all, Young-dal lets out a frustrated sigh. He drowns his bad luck in soju as Jang-soo nags that the “feel” his buddy proclaimed was one of misfortune. Jang-soo balks when Young-dal suggests they borrow money from a hyungnim who’s still in jail—all they have to do is keep quiet and no one will know.

Jang-soo bails on that crazy dangerous plan, but we see him helping his buddy in the forest with a crane. Wait, how do you guys get THAT out there without anyone noticing? Slowly but surely the crane digs further into the earth until they strike gold.

Young-dal says they’ll replenish the stash before anyone notices, and when Jang-soo asks what they’ll do if they can’t (because even his father told him never to trust his buddy), Young-dal smiles, “Just trust me.”

Dong-soo gets reamed by his boss for acting without orders, not buying any of Dong-soo’s excuses Though his boss is sympathetic to Dong-soo’s career-long determination to see Chairman Go behind bars, he advises Dong-soo to give it up already.

We finally get to meet youngest brother YOON YANG-HA (Im Shi-wan) in a poshy restaurant. He admits to his psychiatrist that he hasn’t been taking his meds because of its side-effects (anti-anxiety or anti-depressants, perhaps?), which prompts her to question the usefulness of their appointments together.

His psychiatrist is none other than doctor HWANG SHIN-HYE (Oh Yeon-soo) and identifies that he’s currently fearful. When Yang-ha asks what he’s afraid of exactly, she replies that he knows the answer better than she does.

Before she leaves, she tells Yang-ha that he’ll never move forward unless he gets rid of that fear.

Shin-hye accompanies her father, police chief HWANG JUNG-MAN to the police station. She’s here to act as a profiler to analyze a detective who’s currently being investigated by the auditing team. And who should that detective be but Dong-soo himself.

They’re asking for her professional opinion about Dong-soo’s case, worried that his anger issues will continue to cause trouble for the police force. Thank goodness someone realizes that Dong-soo’s violent behavior is cause for concern.

Shin-hye recognizes Dong-soo’s face, but tells them that while anger doesn’t automatically classify him to be mentally unstable, she does mention that the symptom falls under Intermittent Explosive Disorder (in short, it involves repeated episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or outbursts that are grossly out of proportion to the situation).

And then to drill that point home, we see Dong-soo practice in the boxing ring and turn extremely violent in a flash—punching his opponent repeatedly until he’s finally knocked out.

In the car, Shin-hye thinks back to earlier times that helps explain why she recognizes Dong-soo. A teenage Shin-hye (aw, Kim So-hyun! Love her) is introduced to Dong-soo (No Young-hak), whom her father explains will be living with them from now on.

Shin-hye acts as his personal tutor, and Dong-soo takes nearly everything in silence until he finally works up the nerve to take issue with how she’s speaking banmal with him when he’s older than her. She laughs that it’s up to her.

Dong-soo shifts uncomfortably when she points out that he likes her, and then gulps nervously at the question of whether he wants to see her bare skin. She tells him to close his eyes (he obeys, hee) and then open them again… and she sticks out her tongue. Heh.

He lets out a dissatisfied sigh, and she teases him on his dirty thoughts. They’re cute. In the present, Shin-hye drops by the investigative unit to see Dong-soo (who has to be woken up from his nap, ha), and he sits up in recognition.

The two relocate to a cafe and they both laugh over how neither of them knows what a profiler does exactly. Their cheery conversation takes a solemn turn when Dong-soo asks how her husband is, and he sighs that he hasn’t gone to see Chief Hwang in a while.

Shin-hye comes right out with it and admits that she’s been consulted about his case. In her opinion, he’s in dire need of help—left untreated, his episodes will only get worse. But Dong-soo won’t hear of it, and tells Shin-hye to report that he’s doing just fine, notably avoiding her gaze.

Dong-soo turns to soju for his miserable mood. The restaurant ajumma asks if he’s lonely, to which he posits, “Who isn’t?” Then he croons “The End of Love” right then and there: I’m all alone because of the love my heart yearns for / Echoes of no answer fall in mid-air.

The female detective KANG JIN on his team joins him for a drink, and she asks if they should date if he’s so lonely.

Young-dal checks in at HQ for the first time in days, but he declines doing menial tasks like collecting debt. Hm, have we felt more confident with our recent stash of cash? Boss Yang asks what’s gotten into him lately, but gets no answer.

Young-dal heads to the Sabuk police station, where one officer says he’s been hearing some strange rumors that Young-dal’s got money to burn lately. He doesn’t seem to buy Young-dal’s straight-laced lifestyle excuse, but lets it pass.

Jung-hee shows up to collect her wayward brother, who shrugs off his sister’s scolding. At one point, he pushes her to the ground to get him off her back just as Young-dal exits the station.

Young-dal won’t stand for that, and slaps the kid upside the head for his rudeness. Jung-hee intervenes and slaps Young-dal across the face for laying a hand on her brother—as a stranger, Young-dal has no place to discipline her brother.

As Dong-soo works, he thinks back to Shin-hye’s cautionary words about how he’s missed the prime window to be treated and that his condition will worsen at this rate. He gets a lead on Chairman Go’s money laundering activities in a casino in Sabuk, and they head out immediately.

So it’s back to Dong-soo’s hometown of Sabuk, where he claims he has no family or ties anymore. It’s been about sixteen years since he’s last been, and when asked why, Dong-soo doesn’t answer.

As Dong-soo greets the local police station, we see Young-dal respond to a booty call. The Seoul cops are looking for an informant to get in touch with the loan sharks allegedly in contact with Chairman Go. They’re told that they know the perfect guy.

Cut to: Young-dal, who contemplates whether stealing a few bank notes before thinking deciding against it. There’s an angry voice at the door, and is it the same man who sat next to him at the shabby casino?

Next thing we know, Young-dal is being chased by a group of thugs as he runs away in his boxers. The local detective points out their key informant to Dong-soo, who can only watch.

At the same time, Jung-hee walks along the same street and her eyes widen as Young-dal runs past her in recognition.

 
COMMENTS

Apart from my confusion of whether that slo-mo chase was supposed to make me laugh or not (but let me tell you, it did), I do think that Triangle achieved its goal in introducing our key players in a fluid manner, whether that be from one brother to the next or to their potential love interests. Sometimes a show can resort to a standard two-part (a) name (b) exposition format, which Triangle still did to a certain degree, but overall the transition appeared well done for an hour dedicated to setting up what looks like a world of complicated character relationships.

It feels like we’re still getting our feet wet in terms of the narrative, with casinos and gambling galore. This is the same production team from All In, so we can rest assured that they’ll continue to build the stakes up when it comes to the risks and dangers of possibly losing it all. What we can turn to for now is our characters, and already I get the feeling that it’ll be our three brothers who will make it or break it for this show. I do like that we get to take time to explore their lives separately—something a 24-episode series format allows us to do—both their passion and their (often dangerous) vices. All three brothers once shared the same surname of Jang years ago, and though we’ve yet to learn exactly why the younger two go by different names now, I’m sure we’ll learn in due course.

Out of the three brothers, it’s eldest Dong-soo who intrigues me the most with his explosive tendencies. He’s a hot-headed team leader who thinks and acts on impulse, much to his team’s exasperation. On a realistic level, it’s extremely dangerous to have a detective (especially one in the violent crimes unit) who can fly off the handle at any given moment like that, so I suppose on one hand I’m a bit relieved that the police force are aware of the problem, though on the other hand, slightly aggravated that they think it’s just anger management issues.

To that end, I can’t blame the show too much when mental health issues are still largely hush-hush in Korea, where emotions are rarely ever talked about. But instead of trying to point out the discrepancies of the societal portrayal on mental health, I’m more interested in how these violent outbursts affects our characters. And in that case, it isn’t only Dong-soo I’m worried about but middle bro troublemaker Young-dal whom we’ve seen get into more than one scuffle. It’ll be interesting whether seemingly cold maknae Yang-ha shares in his brothers’ aggressiveness, since he’s mostly a question mark at present, so I look forward to what he has to bring to the table.

Given the final few minutes of the premiere, I think it’s safe to say that enough time has passed that the brothers fail to recognize one another. At least Dong-soo seems to think that he has no family in his hometown of Sabuk anymore, which makes me wonder about the time between his past tragedy (which made him voluntarily mute for a short period) to the present. Lots of time, stories, and lives to cover and Triangle’s got twenty-three more hours to do it.

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Thanks for the recap! Nothing new felt here. Hope it gets better.

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I'm guessing the writers are taking their time to set up the story... However, I find the characters really interesting already which is good given that is the first episode.

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OMG!!!!
Just few days back we leave with Yoochun -3 days and now we have Jaejong with Triangl3...
hope to get more view of great acting from my lovely oppa JYJ... ♥♥

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Thanks for the recap gummimochi.

This episode didn't draw me in. I'll give it another couple of episodes and see if it picks up for me. Monday - Tuesday is packed with shows.

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I loved the first episode. I find really interesting the different dramac lives each brother is living now.
I like that is not entirely a sad drama as I first expect. The light laughable feel that comes with some of Youngdal scenes gives freshness to show.
I'm done watching the first and second episodes. Looking forward to your next racap!

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as I first *expected

PD: Why did you skip the kiss scene in your recap? XD It was one of the highlights of the episode! Haha

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Yeah I was wondering why there was no mention of the kiss/hotel scene! That provides some context as to why he's running down the street in only boxers haha.

Definitely feel like they're going to focus on the characters first and establish the plot as episodes go by.

So far so good!

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That actress somehow keeps playing characters who gets VERY handsy with young hot n hansum actors.

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Lol that kiss scene was definitely awesome .... I really have high hopes for this show and JJ is doing a better than I expected of him ........ I hope this becomes all the awesomeness it can hype up to be ?

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"The light laughable feel that comes with some of Youngdal scenes gives freshness to show"

Exactly. It gives balance to the drama. Youngdal scenes have their own different charm.

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Oh. and I was thinking the same thing about the kiss scene. lol

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I didn't find the kiss scene that epic - really just a lip collision - but I really laughed at the chase scene, with those horrible boxers and a scrawny Young-dal running as fast as he can on those toothpick legs. Yes, definitely a glamorous gangster.

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It has to be intentional comedy, right?! Surely no PD in Korea would think those red boxers and that chase in slow-mo is anything but gut-bustingly hilarious (and props to Jaejoong for committing to looking that silly).

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I believe that the kiss was meant to look awkward because it was "forced" on Youngdal. She was to eager and Youngdal wanted it slowly xD

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I was wondering that too xD As for now it's the clip with the most views in MBC's youtube channel~ haha

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I can see all the fangirls going nuts.

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I love how the plot is going. Triangle is realy fun and interesting to watch sompared to other melo dramas. I have watched Dr.stranger for few mins but I'm sorry I just can't continue coz its too heavy. I can't wait for Triangle ep.3 as I just finished watching triangle ep.2. Hope more viewers for triangle =). triangle fighting

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Somehow, i don't get the bad boy/gangster feel from a guy who has a "polycolor" tatoo on his chest. Is that a butterfly????

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LOL. I find that strange too. Why a /COLORED/ butterfly?
Maybe there's a story behind it.

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I just looked it up because I know Jaejoong has tattoos on his back and I thought that one might be fake. It's not, but they colored it in for some reason. I guess it was too menacing for tv in black, lmao. And they also seemed to have removed one with makeup??? Kind of a waste, I imagine keeping all his tattoos would be a nice choice for this type of character.

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One of his fans said that apparently the tattoo they covered up was something super specific to Jaejoong, otherwise we'd have to explain Young-dal the gangster as a DBSK fan lol.

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Ah, this occurred to me, too. I wondered if it was personal and they didn't want it to affect the character or if it was censoring because tattoos are kind of a taboo? Thanks for telling me :) Makes more sense.

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They are actually. You can see his tattoos and the meaning behind them here: http://princejj.com/2012/09/11/trans-history-and-meaning-of-jaejoongs-tattoos/

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It's true that Jaejoong has a whole bunch of tattoos, but they're ALL extremely personal and wouldn't really fit Young Dal's character. xD The big one across his shoulder blades say TVfXQ SOUL (for his band), the ones on his lower spine are his birth dates, he has the names Junsu and Micky above his hips, "always keep the faith" across his heart, and some really beautiful quotes on his front. None of which the production team can use for Young Dal, I imagine. LOL.

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True! Thanks Jackeline :)

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There's possibly a good explanation behind it :)

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Well, the second half of Dr Stranger Ep.2, once the lead character comes to South Korea is already much lighter... so maybe you would consider picking it up again?

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Or maye they can recap both?
:)

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Patience, my friends. ^^

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Thanks for the recap gummimochi ^^ Just a question, why did you skip the kiss scene? xD

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We are waiting ;)

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oh my gosh, now i want to watch this. Because of Lee Beom-soo. I like Jae-joong but having been burned by Kim Hyun Joong in Inspiring Fighter and by JJ himself in Dr Jin... I ....uhm... didn't know.

But as you described explosive older bro... I found myself being dragged in, pulled in, kicking, screaming....

Thanks for the recap.

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Jae Joong is actually doing great so far. I think he and Lee were the only ones in that mess of a drama (Dr.Jin) who tried their best until the very end. So far, pleasantly surprised by Jhim.

Give it a go, I say. As a Lee fan, I can guarantee hyung rocks and also give a somewhat objective opinion of Jae Joong. The rest is up to your personal taste and acting requirements. ;)

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As an outsider, I gotta say I was impressed by his acting in the first episode. I didn't watch his previous work though.

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JJ tends to be good in some roles a mediocre in others. But here he is doing pretty well (the best of him til now), I was surprised. So, if is for Jj I would recommend you to give it a try.

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It's more like he is improving himself. he went from ok _> to good _> to pretty good in this one.
Isn't this just his third drama appearence?

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drama? this is the 4th. 3 Korean, 1 Japan.
but for me as a fan, i think he started seriously doing acting after dr.jin, since you can see his improvement in that drama and his movie (which he did at the same time)

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@Carole - You know I'm VERY wary of idols with patchy/terrible acting records, but Jaejoong's doing well enough here to overcome even my bias so there is that. His line deliveries are fine, and even apart from the pretty he's expressive and doesn't seem to be overacting more than required. And he fits into the cast pretty seamlessly, doesn't stick out for a lack of skill or anything.

(His gangster here reminds me of a more messed up version of Lee Jun-ki's character pre-discovery-of-daughter in Two Weeks, if you need a point of reference)

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maybe i'll give it a chance then. thanks!

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Wow! You all are convincing me. Will try it. Thanks. Ah, Dr Jin!!! The memories of reading those hysterical recaps. Ay me, maybe we'll get another flaky over-the-top (under-the-bottom) really bad show to recap soon.

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I'm loving this rascal role for Jaejoong and his performance. It is much more interesting than the chaebol in a suit who doesn't get the girl in PTB, and JJ is throwing himself head-on into it.
His running half naked in the streets in broad daylight in red 'panties' no less, sure makes that a distinctive scene.
Siwan is always pretty, but in this ep, he is almost too pretty in that combined down hair and beige coloured suit.
LBS is wonderful to watch as always.
So, all 3 brothers have psychological problems, ranging from rage control, to compulsive gambling to anxiety attacks. Bring it on.

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Totally agree! This is a more daring role for Jaejoong to take on! Seems like he plans to do well in this as a last project before he joins the army. Hope his dream comes true for him!

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The complexity of the characters is definitely one of the charms of the drama.

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I like that the show started much lighter than I thought it would be. The first ep did a good job of introducing all the characters. I found them all intriguing and interesting. They are not depicted as "perfect" or "genius" like characters in other shows, which I really appreciate since it makes me feel more connected.

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I agree and that is something that I like a lot about this Drama. You can relate more to the characters because they feel real. We don't have a perfect Police officer, we have someone with issues and a dark past.
Same goes with the gang member who is not just a badass but a pitiful person as well
The rich and spoiled guy who is hunted by fears...

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I love Jaejoong but honestly... i don't know if i like it or not o.o
I will try with the second episode and see if it will be better... u.u
I liked more doctor stranger u.u

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Have you seen the second episode? Give it a try if you can!It´s gooooooooooooood! :D

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Don't feel bad for not liking it. It's probably not for you or maybe you just need to give the drama a bit more of time. I'm not exactly his fan, but I am finding the drama interesting and definetly worth watching.

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This is the first time I see Jaejoong in a drama and I have to say I'm quite impresed by his acting. He got the naturality that even some of the most experimented actors don't... and it's just the first episode. Yes. I'm impressed.

Well, I did like the first episode. More the characters than the story itself. We still need to have a clear view of the goal the story want to achieve. Something to look forward to. For now, I'm sticking to Youngdal and the love triangle between the 2 younger brothers and JungHee.

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IKR? I'm soooooo proud of him! He's grown a lot :,)

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As a Jaejoong fan, I admit I might be biased, but I found the drama (Jaejoong's character to be more specific) hella interesting AND entertaining!! There's still many episodes left and can't wait for more!

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Can someone give me a rundown on gambling and laws in South Korea? We hear about gambling scandals from time to time, and some gambling being illegal, but there's a casino in this show in Korea? I'm confused.

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While there are a few legal ones in Korea, the casino featured in the series, Gangwon Land (on a mountain just above the town of Sabuk), is the only casino that allows Korean citizens to play. Legally that is.

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So are the other casinos legal only for foreigners, or did you mean the only legal one of the two in the drama? Thanks for the reply!

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No prob. ^_^

I think there are 16-17 more in the entire country and those are only open to foreigners. For tourism.

So this is the only casino in the entire country open to Korean citizens. The other casino seen here, as I replied to lela1010 bellow, is an illegal one. Hence the whole hidden aspect and it looking quite shabby.

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Wow! That's pretty interesting that they have a big gambling ban that's dealt with fairly seriously with restrictions even in other countries, and yet have so many casinos in the home country. Hidden casinos aren't surprising to me, and even less so with the presence of the big foreigner-only ones. Thanks again for the info!

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"This is the only casino in the entire country open to Korean citizens"

Such place exist in real life or only in the drama?

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@ IGBH, yes it's real. As I said above, it's Gangwon Land and it's really in Sabuk. The series is set there. Well, at the moment.

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Me too..I dunt understand..when soo many artist been arrested for illegall gambling..but here we see alot of casino..or they just not allow to gamble outside korea??

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We see two casinos here. One is the only legal one for Korean citizens, the one Yeong Dal was kicked out of.

The other is one of the illegal ones, which is why it was hidden. It's run by Madam Jang and her goon.

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It's illegal in most of cases I guess...

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I can stick to this drama till the end just by looking at Jaejoong's face every second^^

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i think for now, i'll just make do with the recaps. i tried watching this ep but gave up after 15 minutes. it didn't really make me feel glued to my seat. not that i found it boring. it simply didn't capture my attention. maybe, i'll revisit it again someday.

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I never made it past about 60%. I felt no connection with anything that was happening, and the random senseless violent and psycho outbursts from everyone just got old really fast.

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Windsun, there you are. :) I asked about what disgusted you so in the DS post eheheh. So that was it, the violence? I only got anger issues from the cop really, the gambler/gigolo didn't seem inclined towards violence at all. :)

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The gambler dude, though not especially violent, is definitely unstable. And though it did not show that much of him being violent, the fact that he has been kicked out of or banned from entering so many places because of his outbursts tells me that he has done so in the past, several times. He is also on the outer fringes of the delusional compulsive gambler.

And I don't see the cop as just having "anger" issues. He seems to have a reputation for beating suspects first, and asking questions later.

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I read our gambler boy as a loudmouth with serious self-loathing issues - he gets into scraps, yes, but generally, he seems to get what he wants without violent confrontations (he prefers blackmail and theft) and runs away when threatened. And his banning from the casinos, as per subtitles, was more about him being noisy than violent?

Still, they're three VERY messed-up brothers, and maknae's mess is just better hidden than the other two.

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Yes, that was all there but still it's pretty common, nothing that could really upset anyone so quickly. The gambler outburst, if I had to guess, I would have imagined something more along the lines of stripping like in that first scene, with shouting and bravados, not much a violent attack. I think that is where the show wanted us to go with his character.

I was much more impressed/repulsed by the scene in which he blackmailed the woman. I liked that the show had the courage to show him as despicable right off the bat and I hope his redeeming arc is a long way, if there is one at all, I don't need another Two Weeks lead.

The cop seems very unstable yes but the show is addressing that and not showing him as normal or some kind of hero so your aversion remains somewhat mysterious. :)

Unless it's simple and you just disliked all the characters. It's happening with me and SLA, I keep watching to know what is everyone talking about but I just don't like those people.

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@Lixie - I agree, the blackmail scene was a line in the sand too, and to have one of our protagonists crossing it was a brave choice, story-wise. It's not common to see a main character in a kdrama boldly drawn as this despicable (and actually acknowledged by the narrative as despicable, unlike, say, Kim Tan).

I can definitely see the similarity to Two Weeks in this character, though TW made its hero initially well-meaning but weak, and only gave him purpose through his daughter. Triangle makes it a bit darker, and now I wonder what's going to pull the brothers out of their respective spirals/ruts.

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I guess part of my problem with this show is that I am just tired of shows full of characters with over-the-top angst and anger issues. It is not just that there are so many bad guys, it is that I don't see any good guys at all.

So for now I am going to skip this one and catch up on some of the Japanese dramas I have missed.

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@winsun Yes, now I understand, there is no good guy here. I'm interested so far because I like neurotics and angst as long as there is good reason for it :) but if it's not your thing this season, you will like something else better. If you find it let me know, I crave a good comedy or a decent rom-com! :)

@pogo I agree, Triangle went darker, I got the feeling he wasn't even so much a gigolo, more like he could do anything illegal to support his gambling. Dark stuff but treated lightly, it's a fine line to walk to avoid becoming unrealistic. Just like the cop, his scenes were worse for me because they seemed kind of fake but still, he has a purpose with snake guy, sorry don't remeber his name yet, guess he will forever be Snake from Heartless City to me. I'm interested to see where it goes and how the brothers will come together.

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Well, seems like you guys ended up watching it fully in the end. Just saying xD

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I watched the first 2 episodes and I really liked how they are telling us this story.
I don't know why but I'm not that much interested by the older brother Dong Soo, not that I don't like his character but somehow I like Young Dal character a bit more and Im very intrigued about Yang Ha.
As for the acting, I think the 3 of them are doing a marvelous job.
Lee of course as a veteran actor makes a quite believable detective with anger issues.
Siwan is playing his misterious character, a spoiled child with a dark aura
and Jaejoong is playing a shameless scumbag and it feels so natural. His character, so far, seems a somehow pitiful and I love it.

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Seems good. Will keep my eye on this one. I'm pretty interested to know how the brothers all meet up. Like, do the younger ones know they have brothers or did they forget? Does Dong Soo remember he had brothers but doesn't think they are alive, maybe?

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Your questions will get their answers in the second episode actually.

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Ooo, I'll have to read the re-cap for that then. Thanks for the heads up!

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I think I am going to enjoy this one. I'm a big fan of Lee Bum-soo having seen him in Dr Jin and The Prime Minister & I and I like Jaejoong as an actor a lot as well. He has a really sweet and vulnerable quality which translates well on screen. So he's perfectly cast as a needy, loveless, damaged man who's filling that neediness by random womanizing and a raging addiction to gambling.

I laughed when the psychiatrist bluntly tells Jang Dong-soo that he desperately needs therapy asap. It's refreshing to see that a certified professional is a leading part of the cast and an acknowledgement that certain behaviours have their roots in deep seated psychological trauma. The Jang brothers join a long list of screwed up K-drama leading men I wish had been told the same thing. (Kim Tan and Choi Young-do, I'm looking at you!)

With a lot of dramas, I keep checking the time. "Wtf! This episode still has 20 minutes to go?" But with Triangle, I was, "Wtf! It's over already?", which is a very good sign for me.

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yeah, thank god we have one competent professional on board for the psychaitric stuff! Though those brothers will probably keep her busy for generations, if they're anything to go by.

I like Jaejoong here, he may be helped along by good writing but he's doing a good job of playing a character who's so directionless and mired in self-loathing that he pretty much treats his life like it's throwaway and risks it all the time because he has nothing and no one tying him to this world (and Lee Beom-soo is like that too)

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The doctor was a bit confusing for me. I liked that she confronted him straight away but how come the cops didn't know he was/is her stepbrother? Maybe I watched too many cop shows/films but don't they have an exclusive team of doctors that treats cops? They often have very job related problems so it's common to get treated and evaluated by people with large experience in the area. That was the ONE thing that looked crazy in the whole episode to me.

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Was he her stepbrother? I read it like he was a border in their house (not really adopted) and she helped him with his homework sometimes.

Also, I don't think there is an exclusive team of doctors just for police but there might be a connection with a hospital or something so maybe there will be a place/person that everyone gets recommended to if they need. Sometimes when you get health insurance--the insurance company will pick a hospital for you where the insurance is accepted or something. I'm assuming cops get health benefits everywhere so that may be the case, here? I dunno if that made much sense to you, lol.

And then the youngest brother going there would just be coincidence, lol.

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Like canxi says, it looks like Dong-soo was just an orphan her father took in, not adopted into the family. I don't know if there's a formal foster relationship or anything.

As for the doctor, not all countries keep specialised medical professionals on hand just for the cops - I know of systems where doctors work or consult for government-run hospitals, and government employees (cops, army personnel, civil servants etc) can use their services through that link. It's possible Shin-hye has some kind of similar system going, and that's how she gets maknae bro as well as cop patients.

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Most cities do not have med facilities of any type as part of the city, nearly all have contracts with local hospitals and clinics, and/or some type of insurance for that.

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Wouldn't it be funny if somehow they all end up with the same psychiatrist? All we need is for someone to tell Young-Dal he could use some help. Or maybe he'll try to hit on her one episode and she'll assess him then and there and hand him a business card, lol.

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Maybe Youngdal will receive treatment for his gambling-adiction.

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I watched ep 1, and it looks pretty solid so far - sure, the narrative hasn't explicitly stated that the three are brothers, but I like the way the story is laid out and the characters introduced, and Lee Beom-soo is killing it. It's impossible to look at his character and not hope that he gets help, because Dong-soo the ball of rage is such a livewire. I really want to get to their backstory (and our Big Bad is the same Big Bad from Two Weeks! hellp, tiny dramaland) and Dong-soo's first love, because Kim So-hyun is so cute.

I think the other two brothers are also doing pretty well I never had any worries about Im Shi-wan but I'm pleasantly surprised by Jaejoong - the writers' decision to make our gangster character genuinely a cocky asshole who's yet to show his heart of gold is a surprising one, but he plays it pretty well and most importantly, when I'm watching him it feels like he is the character and not just standing there saying the character's lines.

Also, I think he and Baek Jin-hee could make a really nice couple, I liked their interaction. Nice touch on the slap, too - it felt impersonal, but in an intentional way, like she couldn't be bothered with investing too much emotion in slapping some stranger gangster who's interfering with her.

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I'm looking forward Youngdal-Jin-hee couple too :)

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I already watched the first two episodes on Viki, and it surprised me there were so many funny scenes, since i was expecting this to be a full melodrama. It was refreshing to me, the 3 of them are doing a great job, especially Lee Bum Soo with his anger disorder and Kim Jaejoong taking off his clothes everytime he is upset xD. At the end of the epi 01 when he was with the gang's boss wife xDD and then the rest gangsters were chasing him xDDD, epic moment indeed!.

Everyone, I think you should give this a try!^^

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Honestly... I love this drama. I´m happy that it has the highest raiting. It really deserves it. I love dramas that its characters have menthal isuues. Go Triangle!

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Everything about this drama is great! For me triangle is a must watch Monday Tuesday drama than doctor stranger and big man! I keep skipping for DS and big man but I can't do that for triangle! Every sec is precious! Go watch if you haven't ok

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hmm where is the cap for 'french kiss'? thats epic! hahaha.
if you watch triangle, make sure to repeat that scene again and again. daebak!

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Was it a french kiss? :O

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I am so dying to know how the brothers got separated because obviously the oldest one has no idea his younger brothers are still alive. It's interesting. Their characters are interesting enough to keep me watching. Jaejoong may not be that good but he's good enough that I did not look away from my screen like what I often do when I watch idols emotionlessly delivering their lines. And the chase scene was just hilarious! If it's because of jj's skinny white body or the scene itself,that I don't know. ;)
Thanks gummimochi, I really thought db won't recap Triangle. ^^

PS: The lady cop was so badass, kicking asses better than her collegues.

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If you liked Jaejoong, you should give his other dramas a try. This is just his 3rd drama appearence and he is doing so good already. Even Im Si Wan has more expierence than him xD
He's growing really fast as an actor :)

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Oh my bad! I meant "experience" not "expierence" xD

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I was so looking forward to this show, and it hasn't disappointed me. It's different from what I expected, but also better. I like the brothers so far, at least the older two. The youngest we haven't seen much of, so he's still a giant question mark for me. The setting in casinos or gambling dins has never really interested me, and here it doesn't either, but I'm willing to overlook it for the sake of story and seeing the three brothers interact together.

I am, however, a little worried about the love triangle that will supposedly crop up between Young-dal, Yang-ha and Jung-hee. While Yang-ha is still a mystery, his character description is that he's afraid of being abandoned again, and probably not just by his adoptive family. If he falls for Jung-hee, and she in turn falls for Young-dal, I wonder how that will affect Yang-ha. He may have the same anger-streak in him that his brother's have. This is all conjecture, and maybe I'm thinking too far ahead. I don't know.

I'm also really intrigued about what drew the brothers apart in the first place. Did their parents die and no relatives were willing to take them in, or perhaps they had no living relatives? Did the pressure of raising his brothers on his own get to Dong-soo, so he sent them to an orphanage and went to Seoul? Could the guilt of that be what causes his violent outbursts? Again, all conjecture. I don't know.

Will this be recapped? If not, where can I watch it? Dramafever doesn't have it yet.

Thanks for the recap, Gummimochi!

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If he falls for Jung-hee, and she in turn falls for Young-dal, I wonder how that will affect Yang-ha. He may have the same anger-streak in him that his brother’s have.

i wonder just the same because he seems like someone with a dark aura around him. And his anger would be directed towards Young-dal, his own brother rathen than Jung-hee.

One of the reasons why Im really interested in the relationship of the 2 younger brothers

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You can watch it on VIIKII or DRAMAGO
Also if you want to have constant updates you can follow @Triangle2014 on twitter :)

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Thanks!

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you can watch in dramafire(dot)com too. i just found that site and like it since they don't divide the video to 4-5 parts. just a straight 60 minutes with HQ hehehe
and they're fast too ^^

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I wasn't planning on watching this, because when the promo was released for this--it seemed like traditional melo fare and I wasn't really intrigued by it. But now...I think this'll be my go-to on Mon-Tues!

I watched this episode yesterday afternoon out of curiosity, and I'm glad I did! I'm liking the stories surrounding the brothers, and how they all have similarities and differences with each other.

It brought back shades of All In, which I really liked back in the day. I had no idea this was from the same writer until after watching this, and it's no wonder -- the similar backdrop of the casino and gambling, the male protagonist being gangster-like and involved in gambling, the female protagonist working in the casino.

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I'm plesantly surprise by Jaejoong too. He is doing far better than expected. I never thought he was a bad actor, but he tended to have a bit of awkwardness in the first episodes... just a bit, but still.

I didn't see anything from that in here. I saw an actor with solid natural acting. He made the character enjoyable from the start.

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I like the characters and how the story of the 3 brothers is starting to develop. There's still a lot to explain, but I can feel something good coming form this. For now, it's interesting enough for me to keep wacthing.

Favorite characters: Youngdal and his buddy

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It's a nice change to see such a sad and somewhat hateable character as Youngdal. If I'm guessing correctly, he going to be able to change his fate for the better and improve his lifestyle. He is such a mess and thinks so lowly of himself that will be interesting to see the change.

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I like that he isn't the typical main character. He isn't perfect but he isn't pitiful either. He is a mess, but an interesting mess.

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The 1st episode was little slow for me, the story was somewhat disjointed (esp if you didn't know the 3 guys are brothers), and I wasn't all that interested in the angry random blowup scenes.

But for a drama with not one, but two idol actors in it? Not bad at all. Not sure about the youngest one yet, because we haven't seen that much of him, but Young Dal's wayward self destructive character was pretty natural, no awkwardness at all.

I'll give it a couple episodes and see if the story is any good........

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If not for Jaejoong, mostly I will skip melodrama but hey, Jaejoong totally immerse into his character that is so good and I look forward to the next episode!

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I thought I would pass this one since none of my favorite in it. But I saw news praised JaeJong for his acting so I check it out. And I now I'm watching just for him and the actress playing his love interest. I know BumSoo is a veteran actor, but so far I skipped most of his part. I also find it's a miscast that the man pla

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... I mean the man playing Oh Yeon Soo's father is too young. Everytime they together they look more like husband and wife.

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I agree with you.The elder brother was supposed to be a supportive character in the original book.It's a little bit distracting that the producer expanded this character line and filled with stories not so related to Young-dal.I think that's why the first episode falls apart a little bit.
But I'll see.The 2 EP has been better and Triangle is planned big.
Ps:the background music is so suitable and enjoyable.I like the producer~~~

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i expected a melodrama, but there's humour in it so it's nice.
also jaejoong has definitely improved his acting.

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The humor is unexpected yet welcomed.

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Thanks for the recap! Looking forward the nex episode~~~!!! :D

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To my surprise,this time Jaejoong plays a funny role which is completely different from those he has played before. And unexpectedly JJ is very suitable for this role.The plot is very interesting.Bravo

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I am expected to Triangle for a long time. Finally, I get some time to say something after finishing the episode1.

Youngdal is the most impressive character in this episode. He is dirty. He is evil .Everyone looks down upon him and treat him as a jerk.However, it is not easy for an actor to figure a bastard successful and also let the audiences fall in love with. There is no doubt that the person named Kim Jaejoong does a good job.

I am looking forward the following story and finding out more surpreises.

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Young-dal,a riffraff,sitting alone on the top of the hill,he sings a song against the cool wind,at the time of dawn and dark exchanging.Maybe because the hill is too high or because it is too early,there is only his singing voice left in the world.His voice is low,just like the tears in his eyes,which seems that bear all of his thoughts and loneliness.
Away from the hustle and bustle,away from the dream life,even away from his inseparable buddy,that is because only when he is alone,he has the courage to face his own lonely soul.
Does he remember his little brother that he didn't protect well? Does he remember his older brother who has never come back again? Maybe he remembers.Maybe he forgets.After all,he even forgets himself,living with the name of Young-dal.
Because he don't want face the broken past and he just wanna run away from that,he has been painful.TT

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Seperating for years,singing respectively,the three brothers meet again in this small city under the twist of fate.No matter how unfamiliar,how ridiculous,or how embarrassed,will the blood flowing inside our blood vessels touch the familiarity years ago.
Though time going by,the love among us have never disappeared.Love have never abandoned us.
Bravo drama

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