Tuesday, October 25, 2016

"Woman with a Suitcase" Episode 8 recap

Episode 8 of "Woman with a Suitcase" bravely tackled a very difficult subject: homosexuality. It treated the character in the episode with respect and touched upon the issue in an honest way. Of course, as a drama on a public station it couldn't challenge societal precepts, but I'm glad that the social commentary was made.

The backdrop for the episode was the case of the week, which focused on a murder revolving around the homosexual relationship of a prominent citizen. It presents the idea of two kinds of prison that this Korean man in Korean society faces for loving a certain way: a social prison of constant judgement or a real prison where he will be incarcerated for a murder he didn't commit in order to hide his sexual identity. The show treats the subject with the respect it deserves, having the characters show surprise upon discovery, but working for the best resolution for the man. They treat him with dignity and clear him of false murder charges so that he can live his life. If this show was not regulated, perhaps we would be able to see a fight against the horrendous treatment of the LGBTQ community and the social prisons that they are forced into. But that is another fight for another show.
12
As for the romances, they're developing at a steady pace. We've hit the midpoint of the drama and romance is still lukewarm. Bok-geo flirts like a 13-year-old boy, hiding his feelings while teasing Geum-joo. Seok-woo confesses, but is deflected by a nervous Geum-joo. As always, the upright man is cast aside in favor of the "bad boy". While this is generally the case, the fact that it plays out yet again in this drama is infuriating. It is clear which man treats her well and which doesn't and yet the attraction lies with the one who doesn't. I want a show that portrays a woman being treated well and being with that man. There is plenty of drama to be had even in such a relationship.

Hye-joo has sunk into the quagmire that is Oh Sung, a company basically formed to protect the power and money of a prominent family and its marriage and business ties. The law firm portion of the company only seeks to protect Oh Sung and will do wrong in order to achieve that goal. Hye-joo wants to further her career, and her conscience nags at her for being involved, but her hunger for success keeps her on her dark path. That path keeps her separated from her sister who is constantly trying to make amends between them, but Hye-joo has been too scarred by life and doesn't have the constitution to pick herself back up. Hers is most definitely a path into hell and she will struggle to find redemption, perhaps with the help of Geum-joo.
34
I look forward to the next week's case bringing up another tough subject and perhaps a little more excitement on the romantic front. Hopefully Bok-geo will stop flirting like a child and be the man he is.
Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'
"Woman with a Suitcase" is directed by Kang Dae-seon and Lee Jae-jin-II, written by Kwon Eum-mi, and starring Choi Ji-woo, Joo Jin-mo, Jeon Hye-bin, and Lee Joon.

"The Man In My House" Episode 1 recap

Na-ri (played by Soo-ae) is a senior flight attendant for whom life appears to be decent. Sure there's always the occasional jerk on the plane who needs to be dealt with, but Na-ri is a real trooper for her co-workers, even the somewhat ethically dubious Yeo-joo (played by Jo Bo-ah). Na-ri's boyfriend Dong-jin (played by Kim Ji-hoon-I) is clearly committed to her, and Na-ri has a good relationship with her family. Until the timeskip anyway.
As of yet "The Man In My House" hasn't reached the premise yet, so here the production team focuses on setting the tone- light comedy. Na-ri is the kind of woman who rolls with the punches and doesn't get too hung up about the disappointments in life. It's especially telling how one angry conversation with Dong-jin ultimately leads Na-ri far more cranky than she is actually upset. Na-ri's coping mechanism in general is to get mad at other people- not herself.
This goes a long way to making her genuinely sympathetic. The evolving circumstances of Na-ri's life could easily make for melodrama given a different use of tone. Director Kim Jeong-min-III does good work maintaining a breezy atmosphere. The music selection is great, and really sells the idea of Na-ri being a modern woman in the modern world with modern problems, who interprets superficially flirty situations in a sinister light, which oddly enough makes those minor humiliations all the more bearable.
So far Yeo-joo and Dong-jin are mere archetypes by comparison. Both of them make fairly stupid mistakes with Na-ri, and curiously enough, both of them are actually frightened of Na-ri to a certain extent. This is not because Na-ri is an especially scary woman, but rather owes to Na-ri's sense of stage presence. Being a senior flight attendant has given Na-ri the power to control a room, even if she still has a sentimental side.
The evolving situation in "The Man In My House" indicates that Na-ri's challenge going forward will be dealing with men who are not intimidated by her. This is a welcome reversal of the usual trope of the man being impressed by a feisty woman. Here it's the men who are feisty, because they're wandering on to Na-ri's turf and not explaining themselves as they should. While "The Man In My House" is, to date, not an exceptionally complicated narrative, it is fairly done and intrigues me enough to want to see where the story's going.
Review by William Schwartz
"The Man In My House" isdirected by Kim Jeong-min-III, written by Kim Eun-jeong and features Soo-ae, Kim Yeong-kwang, Lee Soo-hyeok, Jo Bo-ah, Kim Ji-hoon-I and Kim Mi-Sook.
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Drinking Alone" Episode 15 recap

At long last "Drinking Alone" has hit the point of serious self-reflection on the part of its characters- although for me this is too little too late. The grand output of Jeong-seok and Ha-na's relationship consits of a couple of decent dates at the tail end of Jeong-seok acting like a jerk. The way he keeps talking about "quality" is, I think, supposed to be cute but all it ever does is remind me how generally mean-spirited the man is.
For a sense of perspective, I found Jin-i and Jin-woong's romance to be more convincing simply because we've had a much better look at what they do in casual moments. Jin-i and Jin-woong have a good professional rapport and mutual respect. They don't necessarily like each other, and their interactions through the episode involve some rather...not positive reactions. But hey, they've been through bad situations before (mostly involving Jeong-seok) so they'll get through this too.
Elsewhere Chae-yeon manages to warm my heart with her cold robotic demeanor by finally providing an actual argument why Myeong is being mopey and dumb. This is something I would have really liked to see sooner, because last cliffhanger, all I could think was that Myeong's appraisal of Jeong-seok's character is mostly character. The man is, in fact, a fink, and we've never really seen him act in a genuinely noble way to any kind of ambiguous situation.
The jokes are still funny, I guess. I liked the extended flashback to that one really great time the three idiot students had way back when. It's both funny and also kind of sad that Gi-beom and Dong-yeong have such an overall positive opinion of a social encounter that never actually ended up going anywhere. It's emblematic of how incredibly clueless they are of social cues in general. Which as always tends to put a damper on any interpretation that makes these guys seem intelligent and right-minded. But even so. Jokes are something.
They're just not that much. Even the food porn has gotten a tad lazy. No exposition or tying into the larger themes at all. We just see someone..."Drinking Alone", and that's apparently all the commentary we need anymore. "Drinking Alone" irritates me the most in that it never seems to actually be making any kind of statement about anything, however vague. It's just about characters who struggle to make the most minor superficial changes and for me, that makes the overall drama very static.
Review by William Schwartz
"Drinking Alone" is directed by Choi Gyoo-sik and Jeong Hyeong-geon, written by Baek Seon-woo, Choi Bo-rim and Myeong Soo-hyeon, and features Ha Seok-jin, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Park Ha-seon, Min Jin-woong, Kim Won-hae, Gong Myeong and Key.
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" Episode 17 recap

It's the end for King Jeongjong, as the former Prince Yo melts down over...his mom I guess? I'm really not being sarcastic when I discuss how the elder brother has just straight up stolen his younger brother's character arc. It's kind of hard to feel sorry for King Jeongjong, though, when up until now he's just done explicitly evil stuff in pursuit of the throne and it's only now all of a sudden that the guy's starting to question why this was such a big priority.
I have a similar difficult time understanding Empress Yoon's character. Her hatred of Prince So at this point simply doesn't make any sense. Empress Yoon doesn't even make any kind of apparent effort to negotiate for actual political powers, the woman just decides that she hates her son and that's all the motivation she needs. How can we be so far along in this drama with so little idea of what the characters' actual goals are?
Even Soo falls in to this trap. Her relevance here has nothing to do with anything Soo has done up to this point, but rather simply her being well-positioned near King Jeongjong for the sake of listening to his crazy rants. Soo's scenes could be replaced by any random courtly lady and they would make about as much sense. Prince So's undying love to Soo comes off as inexplicable. The montages involving the newly crowned King Gwangjong are just plain silly.
Meanwhile, poor Prince Wook had his own special role in the royal intrigues and then the whole succession crisis happens without him. Faint praise though this may be, I suppose this succession crisis does make slightly more logical sense than the last one, since Prince So was at least in good standing with the previous King. Although I still can't make any sense of people showing up at the palace in full military dress and claiming there was a peaceful transition.
There are so many basic logical problems in "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo", though, that I could just go on and on about them indefinitely while always coming back to the same point. "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" is not a good drama. It's weirdly rushed. Everything just happens too fast. And yet at the same time it feels like we're only just now getting to what seems like it should be the most important part- how Prince So will rule as King Gwangjong with Soo's influence.
Review by William Schwartz
"Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" is directed by Kim Kyoo-tae, written by Jo Yoon-yeong and features Lee Joon-ki, IU, Kang Ha-neul, Hong Jong-hyeon, Nam Joo-hyeok, Baekhyun and Ji Soo.

Note : due to licensing, videos may not be available in your country
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"The K2" Episode 10 recap

Hope is often a punishing concept in Dramaland. The appearance of Seong-won as a possible antagonistic force gave me hope in light of a passive and lacking in focus Gwam-soo. Seong-won has sadly proven but an instigator of temporary drama. The series is at a point where it struggles to find a lifeline, be it in the form of forced romance and angst, unnecessarily extended scenes and dead-end conflicts.
First things first, let us talk romance here. The writing cannot seem to decide between innocent princess Ahn-na (Yoona), who needs blanket assistance and "Yong Pal"-like vengeful Ahn-na who must be turning wicked, because she now uses make up; the number one sign of evil in Dramaland. Her relationship with Yoo-jin (Song Yoon-ah) and their past had potential, but with Ahn-na turned into a political hot potato isolated in her romantic subplot with Je-ha (Ji Chang-wook), I no longer have hope to see it realized.
Ahn-na and Je-ha under a blanketYoo-jin worrying about Je-ha's safety
Yoo-jin's story and character are not doing much better. When she was rescued by Je-ha, we were led to believe that she had a deep reason for faltering and we were thus presented with a mystery to look forward to. Now the time has come for her to choose between Je-ha and political success, but without proper back story and development, she simply comes off as a sentimental fool. Someone whose "womanly feelings" over a rescue by a young hottie overthrow her ambition.
This is unfortunate, because one good thing about Jang Hyeok-rin's works has been the interesting and focused on women's characters. It feels as if the writer has shot himself in the foot with "The K2", because the nuanced and flawed woman is his villainess. She can therefore not be as central as the heroine. This is also love-hungry Dramaland, so said heroine is being infantilized for romance, leaving both women struggling in the constraints of the types of roles they inhabit.
Chief Kim asking for Je-ha's murderJe-ha asking for Chief Kim's life
As for Yoo-jin's aforementioned nature as a villain, Chief Kim (Shin Dong-mi) might now be adding an extra pebble in the pile of her mistress' innocence regarding Hye-rin's (Son Tae-yeong) death. If Kim can suddenly turn T-1000 on Je-ha for his disobedience and in turn show disobedience herself to achieve it, then Hye-rin's death could be her handiwork as well. I just wish this mystery was not lost in a clumsily stitched together plot.
"The K2" can be summarized as just a few scenes in each episode. Rather than filling the empty space with well paced drama, it is now fumbling about and juggling many things it cannot handle, let alone develop. With six episodes left, all I can do is congratulate the cast and crew for their hard work and rejoice that their and our struggle will end soon.
"The K2" is directed by Kwak Jeong-hwan, written by Jang Hyeok-rin and features Ji Chang-wook, Song Yoon-ah, Yoona and Jo Seong-ha.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

"Incarnation of Jealousy" Episode 18 recap

Cohabitation has come to a boiling point in episode 18 of "Incarnation of Jealousy". Emotions run high as Na-ri dates both Hwa-sin and Jeong-won. Add to the mix a belatedly active second lead, Anchor Hong Hye-won (Seo Ji-hye), and we have quite the sizzling episode.

Hye-won has been in the drama for a while, putting moves on Hwa-sin and flirting like the seductress that she is. But she never really stood out until this episode where she put her foot down and made sure that Hwa-sin knew she was not just playing the dating game. It is a serious affair for her. Na-ri really needed to see Hye-won put the moves on Hwa-sin because her inability to decide has only caused pain and confusion. It's the  kick in the pants she needs. However, with six episodes left I doubt this will all be resolved quickly.
12
It is in this episode where it becomes obvious that Na-ri's head and heart want two different things. On paper, Jeong-won is the perfect boyfriend, but Na-ri is constantly drawn towards Hwa-sin. Her jealousy only flares around him. If that's not a clear sign who she likes more, I don't know what is. What was great about this episode was how far Hwa-sin was pushed by this situation. The proximity to Na-ri is difficult for him and he constantly has to restrain himself. The emotional beatings he must take when family gets involved and Na-ri plays good girlfriend to Jeong-won are brutal. When Hwa-sin leaves the house, it was a moment of victory for the show and for him. His love made him desperate and I like that he took a stand for himself. Na-ri is being selfish dating both of them, and they were selfish to ask her to do so.

The reporter mothers return to fighting as Ppalgang starts to make her decision and then dishes it out. She chooses Reporter Bang and absolutely crushes Reporter Gye. The moment was long in coming and was well-executed, but I wish that it had a follow up scene rather than returning to the Na-ri/Jeong-won/Hwa-sin trio. Ppalgang's story deserves better treatment. Not only that, but the pieces that make up her life are left underdeveloped. Her relationships with the two boys in the building have been hanging since the early episodes. Chef's relationship with the reporter mothers has stagnated. We barely see Ppalgang, but we see tons of her mothers. Screen time and development need to match and round out for this story to feel whole. We have six episodes left. That's plenty of time to give Ppalgang and her gang the attention they deserve.
34

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'
"Incarnation of Jealousy" is directed by Park Shin-woo, written by Seo Sook-hyang, and features Jo Jeong-seok, Kong Hyo-jin, Ko Kyeong-pyo, Lee Mi-sook, and Park Ji-yeong.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

"Drinking Alone" Episode 13 recap

At this point "Drinking Alone" is making a deliberate concerted effort to portray its characters in about as negative a light as possible. I can think of no other reason why Jeong-seok starts off his relationship with Ha-na by being a weird control freak, engages in some weird stalking of her, and then the episode concludes as if Jeong-seok has learned a serious life lesson. To most people this is just the bare minimum standard of being a decent partner.
Gi-beom manages to do even worse, difficult though that may be to believe. Granted, Dong-yeong should really know better than to listen to his idiot friend at this point, and the crisis he creates is, ultimately, Dong-yeong's own fault. Even so, I really can't grasp how Gi-beom's generally paranoid behavior is supposed to be in any way endearing, let alone sympathetic.
Jin-i and Jin-woong continue to regress into their most simple least interesting personality traits. Jin-i is just too pitiful now. I want to feel sorry for her and yet...well, it's awkward how "Drinking Alone" seems to be playing her serious emotional pain for laughs. I similarly wasn't sure what to make of the Jin-woong's extended "W" reference. Outside of television editing it's hard to imagine what possible pedagogical purpose this particular impression could serve. Usually Jin-woong shameless pop culture references are at least logically integrated into the lesson plans somehow.
That leaves Myeong as the remaining bright spot. And while Myeong is generally lovable as always, right now all there really is for him to do is admire Ha-na and be generally friendly with Chae-yeon. It does help that Myeong is so stupid sometimes as to wrap right around into being genuinely adorable. Myeong's emotional intelligence when it comes to Chae-yeon is quite good considering the poor girl barely ever changes facial expressions. Myeong's presence of mind is especially comparable when stakced up against the rest of the cast.
Once again, "Drinking Alone" manages to clear the bar of not being unwatchably irritatingly bad. I don't really hate Jeong-seok or Gi-beom, for all their obvious faults. I just find them to be rather generally annoying, and it's very difficult to get behind any of their apparent goals in life. Considering that these two drive almost all of the action in "Drinking Alone" while Myeong just sits passively in the corner being nice and sweet...well, it's no wonder the drama is irritating, is all.
Review by William Schwartz
"Drinking Alone" is directed by Choi Gyoo-sik and Jeong Hyeong-geon, written by Baek Seon-woo, Choi Bo-rim and Myeong Soo-hyeon, and features Ha Seok-jin, Hwang Woo-seul-hye, Park Ha-seon, Min Jin-woong, Kim Won-hae, Gong Myeong and Key.
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Woman with a Suitcase" episode 7 recap

Joo Jin-mo lied to Choi Ji-woo there was a stalker.
On the seventh episode of the MBC drama "Woman with a Suitcase", Ham Bok-geo (Joo Jin-mo) lied to Cha Geum-joo (Choi Ji-woo).
Cha Geum-joo found Ham Bok-geo laying on the sofa with bruises on his face and hands.
She asked what happened and he said, "Listen to me carefully because you might be in danger too. I have a stalker, a woman who follows me around".
"She's a real nasty one and it's partly my responsibility because I look like this. Is it a crime to look good? Be careful, Cha Geum-joo. She's mad".
Cha Geum-joo didn't understand and he explained, "Be careful when you go home at night and call me if you see anyone suspicious. Call me when you've arrived home safely".
Source : stoo.asiae.co.kr/news...
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" episode 17 recap

Kwak Dong-yeon didn't die.
On the seventeenth episode of the KBS 2TV drama "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds", Lee Yeong (Park Bo-geom) and Kim Yoon-seong (Jin Young) saved Kim Byeong-yeon (Kwak Dong-yeon).
When Kim Byeong-yeon had to kill Hong Ra-on (Kim Yoo-jeong) himself, he pointed a sword at Lee Yeong and helped Hong Ra-on escape. Later, he was stabbed and fell down. Lee Yeong cried thinking Kim Byeong-yeon was dead.
However, Kim Yoon-seong, who was there to take away the body, noticed that Kim Byeong-yeon's finger was moving. One month later, Kim Byeong-yeon was at Jeong Yak-yong's (Ahn Nae-sang) drug store. Lee Yeong sneaked visits to Byeong-yeon and asked when he was going to greet him as he lay there with his eyes closed.
When Lee Yeong left, Kim Byeong-yeon opened his eyes and said, "My wounds are nearly closed and I am just preparing myself for the Highness. When Hong Ra-on came by, Kim Byeong-yeon opened his eyes and talked to her.
Source : www.newsen.com/news_v...
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" rated 23.3%

"Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" set a new record.
According to Nielsen Korea, the KBS 2TV drama "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" rated 23.3% on the 17th.
The numbers increased by 4.5% compared to the previous episode.
With one more episode to go, "Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" is the most watched drama at the moment.
Meanwhile, MBC "Woman with a Suitcase" rated 8.2% which is 1.4% lesser than the previous week and SBS "Scarlet Heart: Ryeo" was postponed.
Source : www.newsen.com/news_v...
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"The K2" Episode 8 recap

Je-has is a man on a mission and while he and the writer still seem undecided on what it is, at least our hero gets things done and thinks reasonably. Episode eight presents a big turning point in the story. Ahn-na has great work ahead of her and she is not as fragile or as immature as others think, which means Yoo-jin is now the one at a disadvantage.
I have spoken quite a bit about Se-joon's (Jo Seong-ha) behavior toward Ahn-na (Yoona), but Je-ha's (Ji Chang-wook) actions and words in this episode really prove my point. He reveals the truth to her in private and uses the opportunity he has to ensure her safety until she can fight back. So why has Se-joon not done this and why does he endanger his supposed fight for Ahn-na's freedom by sleeping around? The presentation paints him as a victim, the writing just makes him a hypocrite, which is something the creators need to address.
Je-ha teaching Ahn-na emergency gesturesAhn-na waiting for Je-ha's ok to move
Episode eight finally develops the relationship between Je-ha and Ahn-na, which I still see more as one of pity and friendship than a romantic one. Je-ha's little game which essentially functions as a guide for emergency situations is a nice touch and it shows us that he knows how to approach Ahn-na and adapt to her needs without alarming her. He probably assumes, quite logically, that Ahn-na might have developmental issues due to her upbringing and makes sure to treat her with consideration.
Ahn-na is not to be taken lightly, however and I have a somewhat mixed opinion about it. Ahn-na recognizes good intentions and she is more mature than her situation would enable. She seems well-adapted for social interaction now as well. This is good for the romance, because it would go to creepy territory with someone who is mentally a child. At the same time, she really should not be as well adjusted as this, which brings us back to the undecided writing.
The captain of the team sent to stop Ahn-naChief Kim warning Yoo-jin about Je-ha's lies
Between Lee Han-wi in the previous episode and now Jo Dong-hyeok, the cameo appearances are nice, but the latest one is once again an embarrassing break from good drama. The captain guesses Je-ha is not one of their men and proceeds to unprofessionally toss his non-silenced firearm for a machismo-fueled fight, rather than neutralize the resistance. Once again, the creators' juvenile concept of "cool action" misses the mark. The fight itself is great, however, so the scene is entertaining.
What I am most curious about now is Yoo-jin (Song Yoon-ah) and assistant Kim's (Shin Dong-mi) past. Yoo-jin could have manipulated Ahn-na's revelation from a distance, but going there is an act of digging one's own grave. Why does her loving assistant not point this danger out? "The K2" is not the most intellectually challenging drama, so I may be overthinking this, but I need higher brain function between drooling over man-battles.
"The K2" is directed by Kwak Jeong-hwan, written by Jang Hyeok-rin and features Ji Chang-wook, Song Yoon-ah, Yoona and Jo Seong-ha.
Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

"The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop" epside 16 recap

Ko Eun-sook (Park Joon-geum) thought her daughter Min Hyo-won (Lee Se-yeong) and Kang Tae-yang (Hyeon Woo) were seeing each other on the sixteenth episode of the KBS 2TV drama "The Gentlemen of Wolgyesu Tailor Shop".
Min Hyo-won and Kang Tae-yang were out on market research and she made him try on some outdoor items. The employees of the store said he looked good and Min Hyo-won couldn't believe how much attention he drew from the women as she thought he was a playboy.
She told him to sit down and stand up in the clothes and to move his arms around. In the end, she bought it for him. He asked her why she's buying it and she said, "I'm buying it for you so you can write a paper on it".
However, her mother Ko Eun-sook happened to see them together and seeing her daughter buy him something made her think that they were seeing each other.
Source : www.newsen.com/news_v...
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"The Flower in Prison" episode 45 recap

Seo Ha-joon who has terminal illness asked Ko Soo to take care of Jin Se-yeon.
On the forty-fifth episode of the MBC drama "The Flower in Prison", Myeong Jong (Seo Ha-joon) asked Yoon Tae-won (Ko Soo) to take care of Ok-nyeo (Jin Se-yeon).
Myeong Jong's cardiac infarction was terminal. His doctor said, "Your Highness, you are not well. This disease is impossible to cure with present medical skills". If Myeong Jong had another seizure and fell unconscious, no one would know what happens next.
Myeong Jong smiled bitterly and said, "So that means you don't know when I will die".
Myeong Jong thought hard. He then called Yoon Tae-won and told him that he was sick. He then said, "You musn't tell anyone what I am about to tell you now. The doctor says there's no knowing when I will die".
He then said to Yoon Tae-won, "I have something to tell you. Right now Yoon Won-hyeong (Jeong Joon-ho) or Jeong Nan-joo (Park Joo-mi) won't be able to hurt her but once I lose my consciousness, not only is my life in danger but Ok-nyeo's too".
"I ask of you to take care of her and keep her safe, no matter what".
Source : tvdaily.asiae.co.kr/r...
Copy & paste guideline for this article
Always put a link back to the source and HanCinema permalink

"Incarnation of Jealousy" Episode 15 recap

"Incarnation of Jealousy" is in full blown "jealousy and turmoil" mode with breakups, fights, tears, and irrational drinking, heartbroken leads. There is also quite a hilarious cameo by Lee Seon-gyoon that rounds out the episode quite nicely. Before we get to that delightful tidbit, let's review the rest of the episode.

After Na-ri cheats on both Hwa-sin and Jeong-won, she breaks up with both of them by telling them the truth, feeling horribly. Neither man takes her rejection lying down and most of the episode is spent with them arguing over her, arguing with her, drinking their heartache away, or leaving her heartbroken messages. While the dramatics was cut with humor, the entire sequence was too much, taking the beloved quirkiness of the show and overusing it.
12
There is a duality in this show that is explored with Na-ri's love for both Hwa-sin and Jeong-won, through chef's love for both reporter mothers, and through Ppalgang's attachment to both of her mothers. It's an interesting topic to explore because we often treat love as a singular occurrence that can't be shared. We can only love one person at a time, but this isn't true and Na-ri is plagued by that fact.

It seems as though the show has forgotten about a few plot lines such as Na-ri's brother, taking care of Hwa-sin's cancer, and Hwa-sin's career. Although these are touched on, there is no real development and that feels incomplete. This is especially true for Hwa-sin's cancer. The show has a chance to address breast cancer, and breast cancer in men. It has a chance to address a Korean man's image. Instead, the cancer because a 100% utilitarian plot tool with zero earnesty.
34
The end of the episode reveals that Na-ri does take the job as an anchor and is studying with Reporter Bang to improve. I do like seeing Bang show a human side by taking a protege. But more than that, I appreciate that Na-ri takes the job and furthers herself rather than succumbing to guilt and rejecting the position. While she is working, the boys may have taken a break from fighting over her, but they aren't through. To give us some reprieve from the fighting, Lee Seon-gyoon, Gong Hyo-jin's "Pasta" co-star is her blind date. We don't see him, but he has one of the most distinct voices in the industry and the cameo is full of small "Pasta" jokes that make the co-star reunion even sweeter amongst the fighting between Gong's current co-stars. Thank you, show, for that bit of meta gold.

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'
"Incarnation of Jealousy" is directed by Park Shin-woo, written by Seo Sook-hyang, and features Jo Jeong-seok, Kong Hyo-jin, Ko Kyeong-pyo, Lee Mi-sook, and Park Ji-yeong.