I had to think about the finale a bit, before offering my final comment.
A 7.7 rating (as of 1/27/25) seems a bit low to me, but higher than what MDL scored the weekend predecessors (It's Beautiful Now, The Real Has Come, 3 Bold Siblings, Beauty & Mr Romantic, etc). I would score this series as an 8....
Well, I actually typed a really long post here, but I realized it would be better filed under REVIEWs so that is what I did. Suffice to say, I enjoyed this series, which is something I haven't said about a KBS weekender since It's Beautiful Now. Great Chemistry between the leads, terrific actors in lead roles and an offbeat plot all combine to bring us a very different series that worked for me. And a total win for the premise of shorter 36 episode weekenders.
Thanks to all for the lively discussion of this very different series. And thank you the real star of the show: the 200,000 50 dollar bills (whether AA prefix or not) who showed us that money brings us lots of things: especially trouble.
For Ep31, while it was good, the whole MuRim thing confused me. Why on earth would he go back to the chief proclaiming his mother's innocence? WTH??? That's laying it on pretty thick, IMO. I get that he's angry that the investigation happened behind his back, but really? And then proclaiming his hatred of the MIL/Chief because he had to live with her (when it was HIS choice to return the wedding gifts that would have allowed him to live in an apartment - he didn't know at the time that the stolen money was being laundered by his parents). Does he want to force the split with his 'wife' by using his MIL as a wedge? He has no future on the force (at least at that precinct) so he needs to either quit or move away - maybe that's why he's trying to get the MIL to split them up?
TBH, I really don't like the character anyways, he's written and performed as such a taciturn, grumpy, unresponsive male that other than being a detective, he's essentially useless to the show.
And is it just me, or is inconsistency with the male characters a theme in this show: we've seen it with TaeUng, the Chairman, and now MuRim.
So let me get this right. 1. Mu Rim can't be involved in a case coz his mother is a suspect, makes sense. 2. Mu…
I think their attempt at handling the obvious conflict-of-interest was to have the Chief take over the investigation quietly and monitor MuRim's activity. But yeah, huge holes in professional policing here...which enabled BH to destroy evidence, with MuRim's knowledge.
The 2024 KBS Awards will air this weekend (Saturday in SK) @ 920pm (evening drama slot). I am guessing this will not preempt Iron Family Ep 31 which is usually in the family drama slot of 8pm?
(The awards show was filmed at the end of December but not aired due to the Aircraft Crash).
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who cringed when grandpa pulled out a couple of packs of the stolen money to give to BongHee, thus incriminating her (at least for the time being). It somehow seemed appropriate that the elders who started all this in the first place would be the ones to incriminate their DIL/partner-in-crime. And yeah, the Chief may be a rotten MIL, but she was a good cop who saw something was up with MuRim, saw the potential conflict and took over the investigation on her own and kept it quiet.
Can someone clarify in the scene where GJ goes to "Black Bear" (his Grandpa's "business partner")? I'm guessing he asked him to exchange the $4MM in cashiers checks to $50 bills banded with Bank of Korea seals (yellow bands). Yet, the odds they are AA series notes are tiny, which should raise yellow flags, if the police bother to inspect all 200,000 notes ? (Only JiYeon has first-hand knowledge about the AA series condition of the notes).
From the preview, it looks like DR once again will learn of the extraordinary lengths her man has gone thru to protect her family. I cannot wait for the moment she (and maybe CR) tell off her mom/grandparents about how much they owe GJ. I am ready for some serious guilt on the part of the elders & BH.
I'm kind of fuzzy on going forward: The police will eventually recover all $10MM. JiYeon gets all her money back, without paying taxes, thanks to her son who got it back to her in a round-about way. Why is she mad? One of the crooks is dead, the other...I dunno what his fate will be. BH still holding the bag with 2 packs of suspicious $50 bills.
I’m conflicted because I know KJ is a nice character and also in love. You do crazy things when you are blindly…
You hit the nail on the head: he's blindly in love with her. Love makes us not see everything around us. And besides, he KNOWS everything about her family and is doing what he can to protect them in order to protect her. As far as work goes: basically, she's his 'go-fer'. Every exec needs one (no matter how small the firm) so she fills a needed role.
While 29 was still enjoyable (but not as much as the last 2 weekends) I got the feeling that other than the jacket sale scene(s) they spent most of it trying to make us feel sorry for BongHee. Even to the point of lightening up the 'rosy-cheek' makeup in the ending scene at the dry-cleaners. I'm not sure why the writers feel compelled to do this, or insist on making her and the Chairman a couple, must be something the domestic audience expects?
Trying to watch this series from the iQiyi YouTube site, but starting with Ep 2, it seems every scene with a C-Pop background song gets overdubbed with other jazz BGM and the dialog is lost. I guess some kind of problem with licensing the OST??? Really hurts the show.
This wasn't a bad show, and I enjoyed watching it. Yeah, it's got every cliche you can think of, but the last c-drama that was cliche-free (Accidental Love) was so polarizing that it got lots of negative reviews, so you can't win.
The ML/FL showed us, once again, that communication is the key to any relationship and the lack thereof dooms the future of a couple. They're both immature for their ages, socially speaking and there is plenty of blame to go around between them. Good chemistry, though. And I liked how the makeup team made him look increasingly haggard as the company crisis dragged on - nice touch!
The casting director did a great job in this show and this series' strong point is the supporting cast: His Mother was the real star of the show and she brightened every scene she was in. Her brother went from a pain to being a real asset and it was fun to watch his scenes, especially as the series went on. His secretary almost steals the show (you could tell the writer had lots of fun with him) and of course, the villian, his assistant, played her role well.
Was it perfect? Hardly. But it was a fun watch, and I think slightly underrated here at 7.8. I'd give it an 8.0 at minimum.
happy new year brobtw whhat is this kdrma about can you give me short summary
Agreed BT. And it's a nice change-of-pace to see a show actually pick up and improve as it enters the home-stretch, unlike the several last weekend shows. I look forward to watching it on the weekends.
I think this show vindicates KBS's decision to go with 3 3ish-episode series per year, instead of 2 @ 50 eps.
happy new year brobtw whhat is this kdrma about can you give me short summary
What is this kdrama about is a GOOD question. It's very different from the last several weekend KBS dramas.
I don't think we'll really know until it's over. Right now, I think it's about the corrosive influence of money on otherwise good people. And everything else is just a sideshow.
That’s our protagonist, so sweet and loving that we feel with him. We love those that treat him well and hate…
He SHOULD get a nomination for Lead Actor for the upcoming KBS awards, but since this series extends into next year, I'm not sure if he's eligible for the 2024 awards, or has to wait until 2025???
in Ep 28, although the scene between GJ & his step-father/chairman has been rightfully praised here, one other scene stood out for me:
When CR barged in on our leads' microwave meal, GJ did the smart thing, and backed off to let the girls eat in peace (never get in the way of a hangry woman). He knew that DR can make more headway with recruiting her sister than he could (he already promised her compensation and full control over design). He would then excuse himself to talk to his stepfather. A tiny little scene, but really smart and well-written.
Agreed with all your points.I like the pairing of Gangju & Darim from the beginning of this drama. Yes, there…
She was living such a cloistered life, that TW was one of the few males she was exposed to, and he treated her kindly. Again, she's so immature for her age that she would naturally fall in love with him, not understanding her feelings or motivations brought on by her hormones. I think it was really just a teenage infatuation on the part of a 20 year old, as ChaRim said.
Nexe, you've basically said everything I was going to post. It's funny to me that, again, they left the best scene…
I don't know how it works in SK, corporate life IS different there than in the US. Here, while a company can "refuse to accept" someone's resignation, it's more of a show-thing. The employee leaves and the company moves on. The bigger issue is if the employee signed a non-compete clause in their contract that they cannot get a job in direct competition with their old employer for a specific amount of time. However, I think this has been challenged by the courts so I'm not sure of it's legality anymore.
Episode 28The scene between Seungdon & Gangju in the office lobby:I noticed when Seungdon started to scold Gangju,…
Nexe, you've basically said everything I was going to post.
It's funny to me that, again, they left the best scene for the last, just like in Ep27, and once again it involves GJ and his calm (seething?) ability to hold back his anger yet still make his point. KJH is killing it with this series!
I can only hope that Seogang puts a dent into Jiseung's sales and this is why DR needs to trust GJ's business decisions on pricing...he's trying to increase sales volume rapidly...why? Not only to make a name for the company, but to do it at the expense of Jiseung's bottom line. Furthermore, CR needs to wake up and join the family company...with GJ giving her free rein on design, it's what she's always wanted anyways.
So much happened in 28 that I need to rewatch it to catch what I missed. Does the Chairman have a point with the talent-grab by GJ? Yes, but that's business, and his now-estranged stepson owes him nothing. The Chairman needs to remember that he fired AND fined the stepson too, and without a non-compete clause in GJ's contract it's TOUGH LUCK for Jiseung Group.
As far as the money goes, I don't think it will be resolved until maybe Ep 35? The show is really about the money and how it's driving the plot. If they resolve it too soon, what then?
It's nice to see a show actually picking up 2/3 of the way thru, instead of falling apart like the last several weekender's have done. Good on KBS for the decision to shorten things up.
A 7.7 rating (as of 1/27/25) seems a bit low to me, but higher than what MDL scored the weekend predecessors (It's Beautiful Now, The Real Has Come, 3 Bold Siblings, Beauty & Mr Romantic, etc). I would score this series as an 8....
Well, I actually typed a really long post here, but I realized it would be better filed under REVIEWs so that is what I did. Suffice to say, I enjoyed this series, which is something I haven't said about a KBS weekender since It's Beautiful Now. Great Chemistry between the leads, terrific actors in lead roles and an offbeat plot all combine to bring us a very different series that worked for me. And a total win for the premise of shorter 36 episode weekenders.
Thanks to all for the lively discussion of this very different series. And thank you the real star of the show: the 200,000 50 dollar bills (whether AA prefix or not) who showed us that money brings us lots of things: especially trouble.
TBH, I really don't like the character anyways, he's written and performed as such a taciturn, grumpy, unresponsive male that other than being a detective, he's essentially useless to the show.
And is it just me, or is inconsistency with the male characters a theme in this show: we've seen it with TaeUng, the Chairman, and now MuRim.
(The awards show was filmed at the end of December but not aired due to the Aircraft Crash).
I'm sure I wasn't the only one who cringed when grandpa pulled out a couple of packs of the stolen money to give to BongHee, thus incriminating her (at least for the time being). It somehow seemed appropriate that the elders who started all this in the first place would be the ones to incriminate their DIL/partner-in-crime. And yeah, the Chief may be a rotten MIL, but she was a good cop who saw something was up with MuRim, saw the potential conflict and took over the investigation on her own and kept it quiet.
Can someone clarify in the scene where GJ goes to "Black Bear" (his Grandpa's "business partner")? I'm guessing he asked him to exchange the $4MM in cashiers checks to $50 bills banded with Bank of Korea seals (yellow bands). Yet, the odds they are AA series notes are tiny, which should raise yellow flags, if the police bother to inspect all 200,000 notes ? (Only JiYeon has first-hand knowledge about the AA series condition of the notes).
From the preview, it looks like DR once again will learn of the extraordinary lengths her man has gone thru to protect her family. I cannot wait for the moment she (and maybe CR) tell off her mom/grandparents about how much they owe GJ. I am ready for some serious guilt on the part of the elders & BH.
I'm kind of fuzzy on going forward: The police will eventually recover all $10MM. JiYeon gets all her money back, without paying taxes, thanks to her son who got it back to her in a round-about way. Why is she mad? One of the crooks is dead, the other...I dunno what his fate will be. BH still holding the bag with 2 packs of suspicious $50 bills.
The ML/FL showed us, once again, that communication is the key to any relationship and the lack thereof dooms the future of a couple. They're both immature for their ages, socially speaking and there is plenty of blame to go around between them. Good chemistry, though. And I liked how the makeup team made him look increasingly haggard as the company crisis dragged on - nice touch!
The casting director did a great job in this show and this series' strong point is the supporting cast: His Mother was the real star of the show and she brightened every scene she was in. Her brother went from a pain to being a real asset and it was fun to watch his scenes, especially as the series went on. His secretary almost steals the show (you could tell the writer had lots of fun with him) and of course, the villian, his assistant, played her role well.
Was it perfect? Hardly. But it was a fun watch, and I think slightly underrated here at 7.8. I'd give it an 8.0 at minimum.
I think this show vindicates KBS's decision to go with 3 3ish-episode series per year, instead of 2 @ 50 eps.
I don't think we'll really know until it's over. Right now, I think it's about the corrosive influence of money on otherwise good people. And everything else is just a sideshow.
HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!
When CR barged in on our leads' microwave meal, GJ did the smart thing, and backed off to let the girls eat in peace (never get in the way of a hangry woman). He knew that DR can make more headway with recruiting her sister than he could (he already promised her compensation and full control over design). He would then excuse himself to talk to his stepfather. A tiny little scene, but really smart and well-written.
It's funny to me that, again, they left the best scene for the last, just like in Ep27, and once again it involves GJ and his calm (seething?) ability to hold back his anger yet still make his point. KJH is killing it with this series!
I can only hope that Seogang puts a dent into Jiseung's sales and this is why DR needs to trust GJ's business decisions on pricing...he's trying to increase sales volume rapidly...why? Not only to make a name for the company, but to do it at the expense of Jiseung's bottom line. Furthermore, CR needs to wake up and join the family company...with GJ giving her free rein on design, it's what she's always wanted anyways.
So much happened in 28 that I need to rewatch it to catch what I missed. Does the Chairman have a point with the talent-grab by GJ? Yes, but that's business, and his now-estranged stepson owes him nothing. The Chairman needs to remember that he fired AND fined the stepson too, and without a non-compete clause in GJ's contract it's TOUGH LUCK for Jiseung Group.
As far as the money goes, I don't think it will be resolved until maybe Ep 35? The show is really about the money and how it's driving the plot. If they resolve it too soon, what then?
It's nice to see a show actually picking up 2/3 of the way thru, instead of falling apart like the last several weekender's have done. Good on KBS for the decision to shorten things up.