Like others have mentioned, not a fan on HaNeul and frankly he is boring as he does not do anything. SeHoon is surprisingly interesting and his feelings for JungWon seems to be genuine. JungWon isn't that good of an actress or player to fake it and so I am guessing their marriage is far more real than she realizes.
Despite all the lies, he likes her as she is though everyone keeps questioning his feelings as it is supposed to be a transactional marriage. He is a lot more firmer than I expected and he really stood by his wife in the last few episodes.
The question is what he will do when he finds out the truth. Given that he already suspects HyeRa had something to do with his mother's hospitalization, he might end up taking revenge by playing his own games on JungWon as she is HyeRa's daughter.
The big themes of this drama seems to be about identity and how we see ourselves and how that impacts our actions. So what is love when the mask is ripped off? There are multiple relationships impacted but also two marriages -- father and son as well as mother and daughter. Both will have to face the question if they are really loved for who they are. At what point can the lies not be excused and the love cracks?
That moment was unsettling because it exposed the audacity of Manager Gong. Kyung Chae’s question — “what…
If Manager Gong is revealed to be bio-mom, then it fits right in this drama of people switching babies, not raising their own children -- basically a kind of generational curse that is being played out in different lifetimes.
Let's see how the writer plays it out -- like you said, entitlement always hides a secret and so it would be absurd that Manager Gong feels entitled to make life altering decisions as just an employee. As SeonJae noted, no employee is going to be so loyal these days.
KyungChae asked Manager Gong the all important question -- what right did she have to interfere in her life like that? Manager does not answer and instead states that she would do the switch again if she could go back and stands by her call. The writer better answer this riddle because this is plain weird that an employee would dare to make a decision like this and sees no problem with what she did. The only way it would make sense is if Manager Gong is her bio mom and therefore feels entitled to make such a decision.
Min family would have loved it if SR died on birth... Only GC wanted that child to liveThere are 2 scenarios:…
So far we haven't seen Manager Gong receive any benefits and she even seemed homeless when Lucia tried to kick her out. Without any gain, there seems to no reason for this devotion which is way over the top. So expecting a last minute birth secret to pop up.
As a long-time family employee, she could have had a major hand in raising GyungChae and thought of her as her…
Yea, the lack of boundaries seems very strange even for a long-time employee. If GyungChae is herself illegitimate, then it would be a fitting punishment. She despises SooJung and everyone else as beneath her. So if she isn't a Min, the fall from grace would be more dramatic.
More clues that GyungChae is most likely Manager Gong's daughter. She did not switch babies out of fear that her employer will do her harm but rather that GyungChae would be emotionally devastated. Why would she care what happens to GyungChae if she was just an employee?
Manager Gong's meltdown felt way over the top. However, there is apparently something called localized amnesia where people can dissociate and forget an event or series of events. So maybe that is what the writer intended though it is hard to believe. More likely, she just pretended long enough that the lie became real to her.
i already spent lot of time watching this drama and i am expecting to see extreme and very sad loses for some…
Fingers crossed. I am still concerned that the writer will end up forgiving Seri and writing it off as part of her rebellious phase (as Stella put it). There has to be accountability and consequences.
Yea, I am also thinking the same -- that would be the ultimate punishment. Her arrogance is tied to being a Min and thinking she is entitled to walk all over people and use them. However, if she isn't a Min, then everyone else has a right to walk over her -- according to her stupid logic. So that would be such a painful lesson to learn and satisfactory for us viewers.
You know what I would love -- if it turns out that Seri is an orphan or foundling. Basically she belongs neither…
Theory: Gyeongchae's baby died in childbirth. Manager Gong freaked out and didn't know what to do. She tried taking baby to some clinic but they said it was too late. There, she found a foundling and instead of telling anyone, took it back to the vacation home and gave to GyeongChae.
Something along those lines. Remember that Gyeongchae didn't meet Seri till she was 5 or 6. So she would have not known what the original baby looked like.
As my hope that Seri is indeed Gyeongchae's biological daughter is crushed and burnt, I have another hope.....…
You know what I would love -- if it turns out that Seri is an orphan or foundling. Basically she belongs neither to Gyeongchae or to Lucia. So GyeongChae will lose a daughter and Seri will lose two mother figures as punishment for her role in MiSo's death.
Maybe MiSo belong to GyeongChae will be her ultimate punishment but like GySGT213 said, the company is really her baby. So maybe GyeongChae being childless and without family or friends or riches or the company would be a better punishment.
If Seri turns out to be Lucia's daughter, then it would be like double punishment for Lucia who lost one daughter she raised and loses another daughter because she cannot look past the pain of the crime.
Chairman storming in was fun but his curse was most interesting. He said that when GyeongChae experiences the same betrayal by her own child, she will know. So what do folks think? Will Seri turn back to dark side? I am still keeping my fingers crossed that there is no baby swap and Seri will turn out to be GyeongChae's daughter after all.
Given Manager Gong's devotion to GyeongChae, I won't be surprised if Manager and Chairman had some drunken one night stand years ago but he has forgotten about it but she never did. GyeongChae is very much a shark just like her father and shares the same traits. So it feels like very much that she is his daughter. At the same time, it also seems like Manager's attachment is more than just employee.
List of lies/scams: 1. Death of HaNeul's dad -- most likely done by Loan shark mama and covered up by chairman 2. Prison of KiBeom -- done by chairman; so far, it looks like Hye Ra has no clue about it but did she really? 3. Death of YoungChae's dad -- loan shark mama says she drowned him (does she have a habit of getting rid of all husbands?) but is he dead or will he show up later mysteriously? 4. YoungChae passing off JungWon as herself 5. JungWon passing off herself as YoungChae 6. Loanshark mama and HaNeul passing off JungWon as YoungChae 7. HaNeul and YoungChae pretending to be couple in front of her parents 8. Chairman pretending to Hye Ra that he had no idea what happened to KiBeom and family 9. KiBeom and MiHyang pretending that JungWon is SuA (the stepdaughter who died). JungWon seems to have changed her identity to try escape the criminal family tag. 10. KiBeom and MiHyang pretending that SuA is dead to Hye Ra.
Hats off to the actress playing Jeong Won because she makes her likeable. This is a very difficult character to pull off and she does it without making the FL seem pathetic or wimpy. FL does not need our pity or understanding but at the same time, she is warm and we get the grey morality.
Similarly, mama Ju as well as HaNeul get what she is doing because they are like her. This isn't about greed but rather about thwarted ambition. At the same time, her ambition clearly has limits and boundaries. She isn't willing to break the rules so to speak to get what she wants. Jeong Won clearly says that we can't have what we want. What makes this scam different from a typical scam is that it has multiple players who are all doing this willingly without coercion for their own motivations.
While JeongWon might have pushed to create a scene with the model guy, it was YoungChae's decision to run off to Paris. She could have always chosen to ignore the guy. She didn't. It was her choice to send JeongWon in her place to meet SeHoon and it was her choice to have JeongWon pretend to be her.
So YongChae is just as complicit in this deception as JeongWon and YongChae also had a hand in crafting this manipulation. YongChae wants freedom and she wants a duplicate to face the brunt of her difficult life while she enjoys the easy bits. That is what JeongWon means to her.
HaNeul could have spoken up but there are business matters at hand and he also knows his sister and how she operates. So he too hems and haws -- not because he is coerced but because he would lose. So JeongWon does not threaten or manipulate him but leaves it to him. By staying quiet, he makes a choice to become part of the deception.
Mama Ju is all about money and so she is not going to rattle this tenuous bond when when there is so much stake. While she calls JeongWon a viper, she also can tell JeongWon can be trusted as she has way too much of pride to play fake games.
There is unusual duality to JeongWon which draws people in -- she is ambitious but she is also reserved. She is not going to go out of her way to harm or manipulate you or sell you anything. So in a strange way, JeongWon can be trusted.
She could have fawned over SeHoon and made him commit to her immediately. Instead, she buys time and keeps a distance. She hasn't done anything too overt to break his heart. It is just casual dates though he is way into her. Makes me curious how their relationship will play out because SeHoon seems to be a very complex character himself. Their dance together is going to be interesting.
The original Yeong Chae (aka rich friend) will likely turn out to be villain later but ep 2 was disturbing. Sure she is rich but she is in abusive family where death threats and physical violence is the norm. Like she said, she needs permission to breathe. Mama Ju is a real terror.
In order to pull the ruse that KyungChae has always been single, she would have had to leave for a few months before she started to show and then appear back at home -- meaning she never spent time with the baby after birth. That would likely have been Manager Gong's responsibility. So maybe something went wrong and the baby died or got stick? So there was a swap? KyungChae only met Seri when she was a young girl -- can't remember exactly but Seri mentioned something like 6 or 8.
It is kind of amusing that chairman is so disappointed that his kids are all vultures and easily turned on him. He raised them to be vultures but never thought he would be attacked.
Despite all the lies, he likes her as she is though everyone keeps questioning his feelings as it is supposed to be a transactional marriage. He is a lot more firmer than I expected and he really stood by his wife in the last few episodes.
The question is what he will do when he finds out the truth. Given that he already suspects HyeRa had something to do with his mother's hospitalization, he might end up taking revenge by playing his own games on JungWon as she is HyeRa's daughter.
The big themes of this drama seems to be about identity and how we see ourselves and how that impacts our actions. So what is love when the mask is ripped off? There are multiple relationships impacted but also two marriages -- father and son as well as mother and daughter. Both will have to face the question if they are really loved for who they are. At what point can the lies not be excused and the love cracks?
Let's see how the writer plays it out -- like you said, entitlement always hides a secret and so it would be absurd that Manager Gong feels entitled to make life altering decisions as just an employee. As SeonJae noted, no employee is going to be so loyal these days.
Manager Gong's meltdown felt way over the top. However, there is apparently something called localized amnesia where people can dissociate and forget an event or series of events. So maybe that is what the writer intended though it is hard to believe. More likely, she just pretended long enough that the lie became real to her.
Something along those lines. Remember that Gyeongchae didn't meet Seri till she was 5 or 6. So she would have not known what the original baby looked like.
Maybe MiSo belong to GyeongChae will be her ultimate punishment but like GySGT213 said, the company is really her baby. So maybe GyeongChae being childless and without family or friends or riches or the company would be a better punishment.
If Seri turns out to be Lucia's daughter, then it would be like double punishment for Lucia who lost one daughter she raised and loses another daughter because she cannot look past the pain of the crime.
Given Manager Gong's devotion to GyeongChae, I won't be surprised if Manager and Chairman had some drunken one night stand years ago but he has forgotten about it but she never did. GyeongChae is very much a shark just like her father and shares the same traits. So it feels like very much that she is his daughter. At the same time, it also seems like Manager's attachment is more than just employee.
1. Death of HaNeul's dad -- most likely done by Loan shark mama and covered up by chairman
2. Prison of KiBeom -- done by chairman; so far, it looks like Hye Ra has no clue about it but did she really?
3. Death of YoungChae's dad -- loan shark mama says she drowned him (does she have a habit of getting rid of all husbands?) but is he dead or will he show up later mysteriously?
4. YoungChae passing off JungWon as herself
5. JungWon passing off herself as YoungChae
6. Loanshark mama and HaNeul passing off JungWon as YoungChae
7. HaNeul and YoungChae pretending to be couple in front of her parents
8. Chairman pretending to Hye Ra that he had no idea what happened to KiBeom and family
9. KiBeom and MiHyang pretending that JungWon is SuA (the stepdaughter who died). JungWon seems to have changed her identity to try escape the criminal family tag.
10. KiBeom and MiHyang pretending that SuA is dead to Hye Ra.
Well is that the list? Have I missed anything?
Similarly, mama Ju as well as HaNeul get what she is doing because they are like her. This isn't about greed but rather about thwarted ambition. At the same time, her ambition clearly has limits and boundaries. She isn't willing to break the rules so to speak to get what she wants. Jeong Won clearly says that we can't have what we want. What makes this scam different from a typical scam is that it has multiple players who are all doing this willingly without coercion for their own motivations.
While JeongWon might have pushed to create a scene with the model guy, it was YoungChae's decision to run off to Paris. She could have always chosen to ignore the guy. She didn't. It was her choice to send JeongWon in her place to meet SeHoon and it was her choice to have JeongWon pretend to be her.
So YongChae is just as complicit in this deception as JeongWon and YongChae also had a hand in crafting this manipulation. YongChae wants freedom and she wants a duplicate to face the brunt of her difficult life while she enjoys the easy bits. That is what JeongWon means to her.
HaNeul could have spoken up but there are business matters at hand and he also knows his sister and how she operates. So he too hems and haws -- not because he is coerced but because he would lose. So JeongWon does not threaten or manipulate him but leaves it to him. By staying quiet, he makes a choice to become part of the deception.
Mama Ju is all about money and so she is not going to rattle this tenuous bond when when there is so much stake. While she calls JeongWon a viper, she also can tell JeongWon can be trusted as she has way too much of pride to play fake games.
There is unusual duality to JeongWon which draws people in -- she is ambitious but she is also reserved. She is not going to go out of her way to harm or manipulate you or sell you anything. So in a strange way, JeongWon can be trusted.
She could have fawned over SeHoon and made him commit to her immediately. Instead, she buys time and keeps a distance. She hasn't done anything too overt to break his heart. It is just casual dates though he is way into her. Makes me curious how their relationship will play out because SeHoon seems to be a very complex character himself. Their dance together is going to be interesting.
KyungChae only met Seri when she was a young girl -- can't remember exactly but Seri mentioned something like 6 or 8.