Triangle: Episode 21

41 July 15, 2014January 24, 2016

by gummimochi

Now that two brothers know the truth, it’s up to them (well, one of them) to protect their youngest from walking into his own destruction. Both revenge and estranged relationships become far more difficult when they realize that bringing down their enemy could potentially take their brother down with them. There are more little moments that buoy us throughout the hour until we finally reach the end, leaving us to wonder how our three brothers will proceed from here.

The numbers: Triangle clinched the lead of the ratings pack on Monday with a 9.1%, while Trot Lovers followed with 8.3%, and SBS’s new show Temptation premiered with 7.6%.

SONG OF THE DAY

The Hidden – “그대뿐이죠 (Only You)” from the OST [ Download ]

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EPISODE 21 RECAP

Young-dal and Dong-soo resume their conversation up on the roof, where the latter explains how Dong-woo was adopted and raised as Chairman Yoon’s son, Yang-ha. Although Dong-soo didn’t understand Kim Jin-soo’s actions at first, he later realized that it was better that their brother grew up in a life of privilege than to have suffered in the streets like Young-dal did.

Learning the truth now would only traumatize Yang-ha, who has practically lived his whole life without knowing about his brothers’ existence. Chairman Yoon is also unaware that he’s raised his enemy’s son, so the best thing they can do for their brother now is to bury the past and give up on their revenge.

Young-dal, however, can’t agree with his hyung’s forgive and forget stance: “Have you already forgotten everything Chairman Yoon has done to us?” Like Dong-soo said, their familial ties to Dong-woo matter little now—in his eyes, Yang-ha is their enemy’s son, not their little brother. And he won’t forgive either of them.

But that bitter facade crumbles once Young-dal’s alone, as he recalls the night baby Dong-woo was taken from the orphanage. He breaks down in tears, blubbering his brother’s name.

Speaking of whom, Yang-ha persuades his adoptive father into giving him another chance, promising to make amends with Hanchang Group. He’s brought outside where Chairman Yoon boasts of how he built Daejung Group into an empire by eliminating any and all threats that were in his way.

Chairman Yoon knows he wasn’t an affectionate father, but his end goal was to raise a capable heir to a financial empire. Yang-ha vows to follow in his father’s footsteps, promising to do whatever it takes to get rid of Dong-soo and Young-dal.

This is Yang-ha’s last chance to prove himself or else he’ll really be disowned, Chairman Yoon reminds him. No, really, he swearz it this time! Honestly I’m surprised this threat even works on Yang-ha anymore, but it does, so let’s move on.

Back in his office, Young-dal struggles to wrap his head around the realization that Yang-ha is truly his brother, their acrimonious history weighing on his mind. Even a dinner invite from Jung-hee doesn’t lift his spirits, and he passes on the offer.

Seeing that text has Hyun-mi wondering who Jung-hee actually likes between her two suitors (Yang-ha and Young-dal), and when she hears it’s always been Young-dal (aw), she warns her friend to be careful—liking men like Young-dal only leads to unhappiness.

While Shin-hye advises Dong-soo to be patient, Chairman Go has a brainstorming session with Director Hyun on ways to get rid of Yang-ha. Noting how Yang-ha’s greatest weakness has always been his mental health, Director Hyun suggests they exploit his feelings for Jung-hee to cause him to self-destruct. Um, haven’t we learned from the whole kidnapping incident?

Yang-ha tests the waters with Jiyeon, asking what it’ll take to mollify her. Will she accept an apology if he makes one? Or how about if they get married? Gee, you sure know how to woo a lady, Yang-ha. She says she isn’t someone to be easily swayed, but her request is simple: that he try to impress her with his sincerity.

He smirks at that, acknowledging that that’s quite difficult. She agrees, citing her wounded pride and growing interest in Young-dal, but Yang-ha accepts the task anyway.

In spite of her dismissal, Jung-hee continues to show up for work. Her boss encourages this idea, whispering that Director Hyun will have her reinstated soon.

Young-dal’s gloomy mood persists at home, where he drinks alone. He picks up Yang-ha’s call with a heavy heart and rejects his attempts to meet up before he hangs up and slams an angry hand against the table.

Jung-hee is taken aback when her grandmother comes running about the latest gossip claiming that she’s been fired. She denies them, telling Grandma not to worry because she’ll make sure to take care of their family even if she isn’t working in the future—say, if she gets married.

Her choice of words confuse Grandma, so Jung-hee honestly admits that she’s seeing Young-dal again. Now she knows she can’t live her life without him, and when Grandma voices her concerns that Young-dal doesn’t seem like the type to settle down, Jung-hee says he will with her.

Director Hyun sits down with Dong-soo to strike a deal with him—if Dong-soo agrees, then Director Hyun can help him in his revenge against Chairman Yoon.

Young-dal is still out of sorts the next day, and glumly tells his buddies that his plan isn’t to bring down Daejung, but to build the company up and then take it away from Chairman Yoon. But his plan is about to get a lot more complicated when he hears that Yang-ha has become the new interim CEO.

So when Young-dal runs into Yang-ha later, he simply listens to Yang-ha’s speech on how he underestimated the bond between father and son. Young-dal doesn’t even throw a word of protest when Yang-ha declares that he’ll make sure Young-dal walks out of here voluntarily.

But Young-dal does stop him to ask him a question: “Are you happy with the way you’re living right now?” Yang-ha doesn’t know where this is coming from, but he listens as Young-dal says he’s just being used as Chairman Yoon’s pawn.

“It’s still not too late for you to stop here,” Young-dal advises. Are you trying to be a hyung to your brother? Yang-ha looks affected by his words.

Chairman Yoon looks awfully satisfied for a chaebol who threatened to oust his own heir several times now. A flashback takes us back to a meeting with Kim Jin-soo, who handed in his resignation and begged on his knees to ask for forgiveness.

And that’s when Chairman Yoon finally learned the shocking truth: that Yang-ha is Daddy Jang’s son.

Upon hearing that Dong-soo knows this but Yang-ha doesn’t, Chairman Yoon ordered that Yang-ha become CEO, because then the Jang brothers would have to tear down their own brother first to get to him. And while he can’t control what Dong-soo says, Yang-ha must never find out from Kim.

Apparently Director Hyun’s offer was to hand over information to Dong-soo that would incriminate Chairman Yoon. Because Shin-hye is a walking encyclopedia on everyone in this universe, she believes her ex-husband is eyeing to take over Daejung for himself. Since Director Hyun’s family co-founded Daejung, it’s not altogether impossible.

In exchange of obtaining information on Chairman Yoon, Dong-soo would have to eradicate the chairman himself. Dong-soo admits that the offer is tempting, but it’s Shin-hye who tells him to think about how accepting it would affect Yang-ha.

Just then, Yang-ha calls to give Shin-hye the good news, which she relays to Dong-soo. Neither of them can understand Chairman Yoon’s intentions, but Shin-hye figures that Chairman Yoon can’t abandon his adopted son that easily. Even when Yang-ha was just disinherited in the previous episode. In any case, Shin-hye tells Dong-soo that they all have to stop fighting and hurting each other.

After Jung-hee gets a surprising apology from the annoying sunbae trio leader for making her grandmother worry about her job status, she hears that Yang-ha is the new CEO and that he’s waiting for her.

So she heads down to see him, and Yang-ha apologizes for putting her through so much trouble. She’ll get her job back and he’ll work on getting over her. However he forewarns her that his hostile feelings towards Young-dal won’t change and he can’t do anything if that ends up making things hard on her.

Young-dal finally smiles when he receives a cute text from Jung-hee claiming that she’ll forget what he looks like because he’s been so busy. So they both make time to go on a hiking date the next day, adorably feeding each other food and just spending time together.

When they take a break, Jung-hee asks if Young-dal and Yang-ha could put an end to their war. Yang-ha had once told her of his painful past, of how he’d been adopted and unloved, and suffered from depression and anxiety. Hearing his story made her realize that being rich doesn’t necessarily buy happiness, and she feels that Yang-ha’s a pitiful person, not a contender.

She hopes that hearing this doesn’t upset Young-dal, and he replies that he understands where she’s coming from—it’s just unfortunate that their animosity for each other runs too deep.

Looks like yesterday’s allies are today’s enemies as Madame Jang smiles to see Boss Min gambling at her underground casino. Boss Min’s been getting rotten luck at the table and tunes out Boss Yang’s advice, but she gets up to grab ahold of a man who allegedly made off with her money.

Boss Min takes the matter up to Young-dal, describing the man, Kang Sun-tae, as a former Daejung VIP client who ran off after borrowing a large sum from her. Apparently he can repay his debt if he gets to meet one of the Daejung higher-ups.

Young-dal agrees to meet him, though his young appearance makes Kang suspicious. Still, Kang boasts that his name alone will get Chairman Yoon to comply with his demands. The reason is that he holds the physical evidence of Chairman Yoon’s money laundering and lobbying activities, but little does he know that Young-dal doesn’t want to protect the chaebol, but bring him down.

Realizing that Kang can expedite his revenge plan, Young-dal tells his buddies that he plans to have Chairman Yoon arrested. He knows that Chairman Yoon holds some influence within the legal system, but Elder Ahn’s pockets run deeper. Once the investigation begins, both Chairman Yoon and Chairman Go will be dealt with in one fell swoop.

When his buddies ask how Chairman Go fits into all of this, Young-dal explains that Kang was also on Chairman Yoon’s hit list, but it turns out he also helped Chairman Go with some corrupt activities.

News of newly-minted character Kang Sun-tae reaches Manager Bae’s ears, as the minor character’s history is hammered into us yet again. You know, about how he used to be a VIP client who nearly ruined Daejung with his lobbying activities but disappeared suddenly.

Getting Jun-ho to relay this information wipes Young-dal’s hands clean of getting directly involved, since Kang’s reappearance will eventually reach Yang-ha and Chairman Yoon. When asked why Young-dal doesn’t just deal a deathly blow to Chairman Yoon, Young-dal replies that the least he can do is to make the rich man sweat and buy some time before the investigation begins.

Boss Min has mercy on Top Dog, much to his relief and gratitude. She has him relay a message to Chairman Go, warning him that betrayal will be the end of him. Chairman Go is up in arms at the news that Kang Sun-tae is back in town (you and everyone else in here, really), and decides that he must see Chairman Yoon himself.

Young-dal informs Dong-soo of how Chairman Yoon and Chairman Go will soon be arrested because Young-dal will be handing over the guy who orchestrated all their money laundering activities to the police. And of course, the name Kang Sun-tae rings a bell to Dong-soo as well. HAHAHA, okay now it’s just funny.

Young-dal tells his hyung not to worry because once the chaebols are behind bars, he doesn’t plan on bringing Yang-ha down with them. Dong-soo is relieved to hear it.

Once Chairman Yoon is filled in, he wastes no time placing the blame of Kang’s reappearance on Chairman Go for not killing him years ago. Furthermore, he shifts alllll the responsibility for dealing with Kang on to Chairman Go. Again.

That has Chairman Go sneering that Chairman Yoon should be afraid of the damage he can deal too, but they basically do more of the same: Yoon: “Are you threatening me?” Go: “Yes, I am! I’m very upset!” Lather, rinse, repeat.

Yang-ha is aware of the impending investigation by the time he meets with his father, though he’s completely caught off-guard when Chairman Yoon suggests that he take the fall for this case.

It… doesn’t make too much sense to my ears if we’re talking about corrupt financial activities that could precede Yang-ha’s employment at Daejung, but Chairman Yoon is concerned that this investigation will cause a dent in their plans for their snazzy resort in the works.

Chairman Yoon promises to do whatever it takes to get his son out of jail as soon as possible, but now this is his grand opportunity to save Daejung. Or something. And Yang-ha agrees.

So when Yang-ha meets with Shin-hye later, he says he probably won’t get to be crowned the new Daejung CEO because he’ll be too busy undergoing interrogation. Shin-hye doesn’t understand why Yang-ha has to be the one to take responsibility, but he’s all, I can’t let my father suffer, so I have to go in his place.

Yang-ha sees it as a rite of passage to becoming a dishonest corporate exec like everyone else in the industry, and tells Shin-hye not to worry. But… maybe we should, Yang-ha. Maybe we should.

Shin-hye takes these latest developments straight to Dong-soo and Young-dal, who are surprised to hear that their little brother will be the fall guy. Shin-hye’s ex-husband also plays personified messenger pigeon to Chairman Go, and now he’s sure that if Yang-ha endures this, it will guarantee his spot as Daejung’s heir.

The question is what happens to Chairman Go, but Director Hyun doesn’t have an answer. After being informed that Young-dal instigated the investigation, Chairman Yoon smirks that Dong-soo and Young-dal will be responsible for their own brother’s arrest.

Young-dal is torn about how his actions backfired onto Yang-ha. His calls and texts go mostly ignored, but when Yang-ha does finally pick up, he acknowledges that Young-dal has won this round, but this isn’t the end to their war.

That isn’t what Young-dal wanted to hear, because he asks where Yang-ha is right now. The question legitimately confuses Yang-ha, so he shows up to at least hear what Young-dal has to say.

Young-dal asks why Yang-ha is taking the fall for his father’s crimes, to which Yang-ha throws back that that’s what family members do for another.

“But you were adopted,” Young-dal points out. “You’re just being used, you pathetic fool.”

But Yang-ha says there’s no father who would use his own son like that, something that Young-dal will never be able to understand. Sacrificing oneself for one’s family is a given, and there isn’t anything Yang-ha wouldn’t do for his father.

Having had enough of those words, Young-dal urges him once more not to get involved, tears welling up in his eyes. Yang-ha asks if this wasn’t the result he wanted, and starts to walk away.

And then Young-dal says, “Your name before you were adopted was Jang Dong-woo. And my real name… is Jang Dong-chul.”

Yang-ha whips around at that, and Young-dal continues, “You’re Jang Dong-chul’s dongsaeng Jang Dong-woo. You’re my dongsaeng, Jang Dong-woo.”

COMMENTS

And now Yang-ha knows. In that respect, I’m glad that it was Young-dal who told him the truth, since these two share the most tumultuous relationship in this dramaverse. Just how Yang-ha reacts to this news and whether he believes it or not remains to be seen in the following episode, but it’s enough to say that Yang-ha did pick up on Young-dal’s withdrawn behavior in this hour.

So while it didn’t give our hero much to do, Young-dal’s broody reaction to this truth seemed appropriate with his relationship to Yang-ha. The idea that Young-dal had been waging war against his own brother seemed to affect him more than the fact that Dong-woo had been raised by their family’s enemy. If anything, I liked that Young-dal actually went ahead and did something after learning the truth, like how he tried to assess Yang-ha’s life satisfaction and met up with Yang-ha when he knew that his brother was voluntarily throwing himself under the bus for Chairman Yoon’s sake.

I initially didn’t understand Yang-ha’s compliance towards Chairman Yoon, but then I remembered that he was considering trying to regain his adoptive father’s acceptance. And of course, Chairman Yoon accepted him once more with that ever-thinning warning that Yang-ha might be disowned if he screwed up again. By this point, I’ve accepted that this threat is one conflict that will be thrown in to keep Yang-ha on his toes until the end of this series. And I’d say that the threat has worked for the umpteenth time, but then Yang-ha hasn’t really done much in the interim to impress either.

In that vein, I’m actually surprised that Yang-ha hasn’t questioned his adoptive father’s decision to reinstate him as the company’s interim CEO, because I highly doubt he believes all that nonsense he spits out about family bonds and sacrifices when it comes to Chairman Yoon. And when it came to Yang-ha finding out the truth of his past, it rather seemed like Chairman Yoon wasn’t particularly concerned who Yang-ha found out from, just as long as Yang-ha didn’t hear it from him.

But if anything in this hour gave me a good laugh, it was definitely the introduction of yet another minor character who could throw a wrench in our characters’ paths. Perhaps it was how every other character ever around Young-dal had to hammer in Kang Sun-tae’s supposed importance by telling us his entire history, because apparently everyone else in Sabuk knew of his existence… except the boy who practically lived his entire life in Sabuk. I got nothin’. Here, enjoy this picture of Young-dal and Jung-hee being adorable:

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1 John

July 15, 2014 at 8:30 PM

the date was so adorable :3 i want sushi

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2 Petmink

July 15, 2014 at 8:38 PM

This recap seems really short. Maybe they are trying to stretch the story now that they got an extension. that would also explain this new super-important minor character.

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3 Hipployta

July 15, 2014 at 8:44 PM

After Yang Ha said he was taking the fall and started walking away I knew Yeong Dal would speak up...and he did

To bad all the flashbacks in the next episode are so annoying...but I guess they need to pad the episodes for the extension

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little-muffin

July 15, 2014 at 11:27 PM

Yeah.. ever since they announced for the extension, there have been lots of brooding and flashbacks going on.. way too many.

Despite of that, I still love this show! Super looking forward to the next episodes now that the brothers secret are all out.

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4 jaejyj

July 15, 2014 at 9:24 PM

I can understand Youngdal's frustrations over the truth which is hard for him to make further decisions. If Yangha become more and more stupid, I can't really think of good ending for our sweet gangster. Only breather about this episode is Dalhee's jungle date which is sweet and intimate and also we can see Youngdal smile again…a genuine smile.
Can't wait to read next epi' recap!!

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5 Dramageek

July 15, 2014 at 10:37 PM

Lee Beom Soo.

Why?

Did you not know that your character would be second fiddle to Young dal (well third tbh coz, duh, Yang Ha) and that it could have been played by just about ANYBODY?

Is my love for LBS blinding me or am I making some sense atleast? I haven't been following the comment section on DB but I hope somebody has brought up the topic of him being completely wasted in this mediocre drama. *sigh*

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Orion

July 15, 2014 at 11:06 PM

I and others have brought the topic up and it infuriates me, but I disagree on the problem being his second lead position here.

He was secondary in 'Dr. Jin', to a way more popular drama star too, and 'IRIS2' (with another popular star), but he was still given interesting characters and something to do in the plot. Because the creators, as bad as they were, did not completely give up on their characters (even if they kind of ruined them at times) just to clean their mess.

The problem here is, the creators of 'Triangle' just seem like they couldn't give less a damn about the man's abilities and status and actually use them well and to their benefit. But it's the same with other cast members.

The writer is not a multitasker. He seems to focus on one subplot/topic, then switch, then switch again. It's the same with the writing of the characters. I don't know about his other works, but least in this series, he is having trouble developing them all well and at the same time.

So it's not the fact that Dong Soo is second lead that is the issue. It's that the writer cannot or will not do their job and use the talents he has.

And to answer your question, actors sign up with very little to go by. They have no more idea where the drama will go than its own creators do, since things are changed all the time to meet audience and production/channel demands in a chase for ratings. And since they do sign a contract mostly on promises (unless they persist and demand their role is what they signed up for, but few have that star pull in Dramaland), this can and will happen.

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Dramageek

July 16, 2014 at 12:07 AM

It might have come across as me being upset that he is not the main lead. But no. My primary concern, like yours, is that someone of his caliber can play a role way more complex than this. And honestly I wouldn't mind even if he had only 10 minutes every episode, if those 10 minutes were played out for character growth rather than passing/getting information from/to his gf/brother.

And I am trying to wrap my head around why they would actually cast him for the role. Coz although most of us know of his potential, there are way more "popular" actors with passable acting ability who could have played Dong-Soo.

Anyway, what's done is done and I can only hope he gets a role more suited for him the next time around.

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Orion

July 16, 2014 at 12:32 AM

For a long time before this started, the creators kept talking about 3 to 5 leads. The original work was about a character similar to Yeong Dal, but they changed this for the drama before it aired. It is called 'Triangle', so the original plans seemed to have had all three brothers as main characters, with Yeong Dal as the leading main.

But since the ratings did not go as planned, they probably had to dish out more Yeong Dal. Dong Soo's romance, co-workers, life in general were limited (the hasty closing of the romance and disappearing/marginalizing of the characters related to him made that obvious) and Yang Ha's function and issues beyond Jung Hee were mostly abandoned until now.

The thing is, the writer split the main plot between the brothers. Yang Ha had the antagonist role and casino side, Yeong Dal the success story center and Dong Soo the revenge one. So their lead was not connected to all the important parts. When it became necessary to make Yeong Dal the center (and frankly reasonable, since audiences always need one protagonist moving everything), the important plot parts were handed over to him, leaving the other two twiddling their thumbs.

The writer is experienced, so I have no idea why he did not plan for this better, when it was clear that there would be more demand for Yeong Dal and that he would have to be connected to all the threads later on. So now he's just scrambling to connect everything and keeps adding subplots and characters, further messing it up. If I can make any guess about his condition through his writing, he is in panic mode and has absolutely no clue where to go and no problem throwing characters under the bus to make do. Even if they are his main ones and he should use them better.

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Dramageek

July 16, 2014 at 2:27 AM

When you break down the thought process like that, it actually does make sense. Sort of. I can see how the characters have changed over the course of the drama(not really developed, just changed) when compared to how they were set up initially. I personally feel it's unfair for the audience to be treated this way though because there are expectations set up for a certain character initially, only for said character(s) to undergo a lobotomy.

I guess the dreaded live shoot system is THE villain here. I know ratings feed dramaland but tweaking the plot/role to appease the viewers for better ratings will only lead to self-destruction. I believe that if there is a story to tell, come what may, it should be told,as it is.(I would probably be singing a different tune if I were the producer, but well, I am not. So here's to judging!)

Dr. Hwata

July 16, 2014 at 10:54 AM

The chain of discussions above is simply precious. We may or may not agree with every one of the points made here (I am one who agrees), the thing is that some dramas should not have gone into production and some writers/PDs just lack the minimum qualifications to see through a drama of 16+ episodes. Yet they sell their projects and networks buy them and viewers swallow them uncritically. So, in the end, everyone is in it together. And that is how the wheels of popular entertainment in Hallyu grind. Like professional sports, in a way.

Personally, it is mind boggling that a drama like Triangle was ever made, let alone extended. Take a bow and graciously leave and the universe will not even notice it, is what I would like to say, but I am sure I am the only one who feels that way. In the meantime, I am busy with tvN dramas, which come with its own set of, shall we say, congenital, constitutional disorders. But they are enough to challenge the fossilized dramas that networks keep churning out.

Orion

July 16, 2014 at 11:18 AM

@ Dr. Hwata, I have actually been wishing they killed off Lee Beom Soo's character so that he could escape this sooner. I have never wished that for another work of his, because he has never before been used so badly. I also did not welcome the extension, so I feel you.

I have no idea how this drama made 26 episodes, when it barely has enough base material for 16. It is one big pile of filler with enough man-pain in between to drag viewers along, but not really be satisfactory for its premise, good ideas and promise.

And it does have some good scenes, some good elements and good ideas, some of which are even decently executed, but that does not make the whole thing any less mediocre, at best.

Perhaps the makers need to stick to 50+ episode dramas, if they somehow manage a decent work out of those. I have not seen them, so I only have words of praise to go by. But also some words saying those are just as bad.

Also, Lee and Jae Joong need to work together again, with proper creators, in a solid drama with well-explored characters. After 'Dr. Jin' and this, we need it. Maybe a cable drama. Yes yes, I know, but a girl can dream. Third time's the charm? :P

Lindy

July 16, 2014 at 1:08 PM

Everybody makes some really great points here. Triangle is a mess now and it is interesting for me to analyze just exactly why this is so. If I were teaching an Introduction to Screenwriting 101 course I would seriously consider making a viewing of Triangle as an example of what not to do.

I do think, though, that there was plenty of good establishing material in the first 6 episodes to sustain a 20 to 24 episode series. Got me hooked. The three brothers were each well-fleshed out characters with tons of potential for development. Dong-soo is consumed by guilt over the loss of his little brothers and his need for revenge. Dong-chul, a former "throw-away" child living on the streets as the prey and victim of every lowlife and pervert out there, is addicted to gambling and extremely risky behaviour and uses his sexual skills to both live off and blackmail his older female lovers. Dong-woo is adopted to fulfill an agenda as the heir of a wealthy man rather than as a son. They are all completely ignorant of each other as brothers.

Then there is the city of Sabuk itself. It seemed as if it was its own separate, vibrant, gritty working-class character. All the real jobs departed long ago and it has become the playground of gangsters, gamblers, winners and losers. We see a doctor who has lost everything through his addiction to gambling, people whose lives are destroyed by moneylenders, and young adults whose one dream in life is to work in a casino. Sabuk has become a sad, pathetic place and is in a situation which is being replicated world wide.

This is the set up for a drama I'd really like to see. Unfortunately it's not Triangle.

6 21nsecurities

July 15, 2014 at 11:07 PM

At first I was thinking, why wouldn't Youngdal and Dongsoo WANT to throw Yangha into prison, after he did the exact same thing to them (it'd only be fair) ...

... then I realized that as a perfectly normal human myself with a younger brother, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I threw my own baby brother into jail either, regardless of what he did to me ...

So I'm loving how brotherly Dongsoo and Youngdal are, be it unconsciously or not. It's subtle but I've been waiting like 20 episodes for some bromance mann! (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

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7 Trish

July 16, 2014 at 12:34 AM

I found myself really feeling the internal struggle, frustration, and pain in Young-dal, and credits goes to Jaejoong for being able to portray that in a glance. Jaejoong's acting really draws me into this show, and I seriously can't wait for the next episode.

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8 Reba Wechoki

July 16, 2014 at 1:48 AM

As the drama nears to a close some questions remain unanswered for me. Who was the mysterious owner of the Casino that madam jang runs and how come an explanation was never given for how Jand Dong Soo coud afford all that designer stuff. I always thought that there was a story there hence why it was brought up so many times. And I wish they could make Yoon Tae Joon so less one dimensional he is like a Disney Villain. The guy playinh him has great acting ability as proved in Jumong and God of War,I feel Triangle has wasted some really great actors in the process of raising Heo Young Dal,there was enough room for all to shine.

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Haren

July 16, 2014 at 3:08 AM

we'll likely never find out. this drama does a remarkably good job of introducing potential storylines and leaving them hanging.

As someone mentioned above, they did a good job of introducing a bunch of plots for dongsoo and they all promptly evaporated when they switched the focus on yang ha. some sorely missed characterization there.

The mysterious casino owner, the original owner of the cash (still chilling in the phillipines or whatever), that police chick who was supposed to vie for dong soo's affections against shin hye. yupp, lots of abandoned paths that had promise but led to nowhere.

Oh yeah, and can i mention how insanely disappointing how poorly the mom reunion was handled? Like literally, young dal visited her ONCE, and they haven't revisited that since. I thought that was supposed to be one of the real plotpoints when the drama started.

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PonyJay

July 16, 2014 at 4:56 AM

And also Lady Kim. She was the big winner during Yeongdal's jail time.I still remembered her smile to Gobotae the last time she appeared.And then she just disappeared completely.

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selia

July 16, 2014 at 5:34 AM

I kind of agree. I think many characters would have made an interesting addition to Triangle story. Like lady Kim. The owner of the cassino I don't think is a big deal, do we really need to know? unless he is someone related to the plot (more than just being the owner of a cassino) i don't really care who he is. He could be any random X guy.

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Orion

July 16, 2014 at 5:48 AM

The thing is, if it were a random person, their existence would not matter and therefore not be necessary. Madam Jang could just be the owner and decide to let Yeong Dal play in order to make money off of him, then choose to stop him herself, when things went bad.

If they were just unimportant, they would have let us know Madam Jang was not the owner since the beginning. They made too big a deal out of this revelation for it to have been a backstory element. They wrote this character's existence in later, so I do believe he/she was supposed to be featured somehow.

A lot of other characters disappeared and subplots led nowhere and were abandoned, so I think he/she was just part of those.

selia

July 16, 2014 at 6:05 AM

you are right that if it wasn't someone who was supposed to play a role in the drama later they wouldn't mention it, but honestly, does it really make a difference that we don't know who he/she is? (and let me add the yet beause with the extension who knows what can be waiting for us) The story make sense without the phantom character and beside our curiosity, is really not needed.

People complain there are too many plots subplots and useless characters then complain when the plot subplots and useless characters were dropped.

Tara

July 16, 2014 at 1:50 PM

Just thought I'd point it out, the original owner of the cash that Young-dal and co. stole? That's Man-bong...the guy helping him out now.

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Hipployta

July 16, 2014 at 1:58 PM

Dong Soo went to see Mom too...it was...messy

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9 selia

July 16, 2014 at 5:49 AM

I'm gonna disagree with some of you guys here.
Is really hard to please everyone. When Triangle started it was a lot of DS and YD and not much YH, if any.
The first couple of episodes it was a lot about DS and setting up a whole world for him, we got to know about his job, his past, his present etc. And he got a lot of interaction with YD. But if you can recall there was almost no YH.
People here constantly complain that the story was moving way too slow, and that was partially because they were setting up a whole world for each character.
Latter they basically dropped a lot of said world and just focus on what really matter: the plot development.
I'm going to agree with people who say they were many characters who were dropped that could have added interesting "colors" to the plot: the Lady Cop, the mother, JH brother, they could have added something but then people would complain (like they did and keep doing) that Triangle has too many plots and doesn't move fast enough.
I disagree with anyone who say the character didn't developed and just changed because... are we watching the same drama? If anything this characters have learned in a realistic way and developed. Everything they do make sense... most of the times ;)

As for the drama itself, is hard to please everyone as I said, for me, the drama does have some things it could improve but since they gave me the most amazing female charactes, the most human and realistic interactions between each and everyone, I'm more than satisfied.

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Orion

July 16, 2014 at 6:37 AM

Too many characters =/= too many plots and slow progression. These are two different problems, so two different complaints. You can have a lot of characters and use them well, give them purpose and let them spice up the world.

You can make subplots for them or use them for the main one and whether you progress fast or slow has nothing to do with their existence itself, but rather with how they can slow things down or speed them up depending on how you use them.

The problem with 'Triangle' is not the many characters (alone). It's that those characters are often used in things that just stall the important parts, without being needed for anything down the road. They exist to fill up space and be the center of subplots that are only in place to delay the few important points of the big picture. The problem also is that rather than using the ones already in place, they keep adding more and removing them and adding again.

There are a lot of characters this series could have done without or have less of or more of. But since they did add them, they need to find uses for them or then give them proper exits. Not sweep them under the rug and hope people won't notice or simply forget they and their own stories existed and never led anywhere. It's fine if the plot changed and you realize someone needs to go. But then write in their exit in a way that it makes sense and wraps their part up. If you have time to add filler scenes (like the casino bully ones in each episode), you have time to write in necessary departures.

Character issues aside, I do agree about the female characters. Shin Hye is not really developed at all, but she at least is not governed by her emotions and Jung Hee's life outside of her "oppa" has been somewhat explored, so while they still are not as good as they could have been, it's more of an effort than we usually get. Since this is not mainly a romantic show, the women get to do more than being governed by feels for "draaamaaa". They are actually women female viewers can like and not feel mocked by.

As for the human relationships and emotions, that is one part I disagree with, since I find the writing of the relationships rather cold. The acting is what elevates what are very dry interactions. Although there is more realism than we usually get in certain parts, it's too much on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum. Overly soapy is bad, but overly frigid is just as bad. And I think Choi is not good with writing intimacy and emotional bonding.

But how much we like a drama and what/how much we are willing to forgive in it is so very different for each person, so dramas with very conflicting qualities like 'Triangle' get a varied range of responses. It at least creates good conversation. ;)

And painful carpal tunnel. Ouch. I went a bit overboard here. XD

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selia

July 16, 2014 at 8:33 AM

When Triangle started they took their sweet time to give us a lot about the characters (including many side plots to make them part of a rich world) which leads to a slow development of the main plot. People complained.
I disagree that including a lot of character has nothing to do with how slow you develop the plot, and triangle is a good example. Is because they tried to introduce us to the side characters and show us a wide world around the main ones that the plot was consider slow.
How can you go straight to the main plot when you are constructing a word including a lot emphasis of human dimensions? Imagine if they took the time to include the love affair of DS and the 2 ladies, explain his designer clothes, develop whatever they wanted to do with the real cassino owner, and YD gang, and Lady Kim etc?
Let me add that I do have an issue with how DS turned out in the latter episodes, specially because it was obvious they didn't know what to do with him after the jail time. But that is not the point.
What I believe they tried to do was to have side characters that are part of side plots around the main characters, not necesary related to the main plot but very important for the main character understanding and development. But that is exactly why it was slow.
I think that is why they had so many characters and hints of something else to come in the beginign. But people keep complaining about how slow it was, and you can't develop all those side plots and not turn the drama into something slow.
Someone commented before that for the amount of characters and stories triangle has it would be more fit for 50 episodes.
I agree with you they still have a lot of "usless" characters who I believe are being keept just to give us a richer word, they may have had another use before but since they cut off some of the side plots they are usless now but kept because they give us a richer world.
So I do agree with you that they left a lot of those plots and characters on the sideway without a proper exit but is becuase they needed to speed up things (and did fail to know how to cut them out).
But at the same time i don't think they have sacrificed anything vital to the story (like how we can make sense of the plot without DS love affair, knowing the cassino owner, etc).
About the human relations, I see where you are coming from but I disagree with it. Korean dramas are flooded with grandiloquent characters and love stories, so this simple natural and realistic one feels cold. Is not epic, magestic, tragic... is just simple. And natural.
Discussions are fun! as long as no one takes it personal, and I don't even know what a word limit is..

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Orion

July 16, 2014 at 10:11 AM

I think we are kind of saying the same thing about the characters. Meaning we do not disagree. I also feel taking so much time with them without relation to the plot is the problem. Hence their existence in itself is not bad, but how they are used in a way that does not contribute properly. But disappearances without closure are still plot holes, so it is a writer's job to handle what they created and Choi is failing. This is why people are complaining. Because this is all handled badly, from the way these characters function to their non-exit/disappearance.

As for the interactions, I think simple and natural interaction between the brothers is good, but I also think the bonding and how those emotions reached that place was crucial to show. Like I said, I dislike the grand melodramatic approach dramas often have, but in my opinion, you do need to show relationships and more personal moments to establish them. They have done that with Jung Hee's and Yeong Dal's romance a bit, but not with the brothers.

The backstory was lacking and kids too young, so that bonding was not shown before they got separated. But then we also skipped the jail time that could have been used to show us bonding between Yeong Dal and Dong Soo.

So these two strangers we were shown no real intimacy and development of deep friendship between suddenly going all "We are family" and "loving" each other did not feel convincing. It's as if the "blood" alone brought about the love and that is a very silly drama trope.

So because this was never established and those more intimate moments were mostly skipped, their other interactions just feel like adding to that coldness. The actors do great and have chemistry, but beyond that, the writing has failed in aiding them with the brotherly bonds, I feel.

Also, there is apparently a 3000 word limit, so the ladies here know their userbase well. Bwahaha!

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Tara

July 16, 2014 at 2:14 PM

I agree with you on the time that both Young-dal and Dong-soo spent in prison...those three episodes (I think?) felt like such an afterthought, a reason to speed up the story a year.

I, too, would have loved to see Young-dal and Dong-soo bonding while serving time...as well as how Sabuk changed while they were there (and not just throwing out facts like how Boss Min lost her clients to Lady Kim, how chummy Jung-hee got with Yang-ha). The time in prison just felt like it was Young-dal getting his azz kicked by Man-bong's crew, honestly...haha. (and I know, that happened before Dong-soo got thrown in there)

And I agree with you on the Young-dal/Jung-hee "romance" as kids deal...they were way too young to even remember now (how convenient) and really just felt like an afterthought as well. I don't mind that their dads knew each other, the kiddie romance I could do without. Seeing how it hasn't been mentioned again (nor the pictures)...I'm hoping it was just finished as is.

Ruirui

July 16, 2014 at 5:30 PM

"Korean dramas are flooded with grandiloquent characters and love stories, so this simple natural and realistic one feels cold. Is not epic, magestic, tragic… is just simple. And natural."

THISS!!

This is what make me like this drama, I'm not really like K-drama too be honest, coz of that maybe, but this drama is different, and also how they develop the characters in natural way, If I'm not wrong this story is about the success story about our hero right? IMO, it sometimes could be related to love story,revenge,family,I like it how it seem realistic, I think that's why I'm not really care about what is the main thema of this story actually, coz it's still related, and flow natural, yes, there are some kind of plotholes, but somehow they answer it in the next episodes, maybe not to much explaination. Example, like how YD become smart, he's so smart when he's still kid, maybe he can be amnesia, but still smart,lol. why I'm think the lact of chemistry from JH toward YD, JH said in this episode, she still not sure about his feeling before,hope they will be more free to show the feeling each other, coz it's really adorable.

This drama is not perfect, but still enjoyable, and keep interesting to me. I'm just a viewers not a drama analysis, so I give it the the drama critics, if there's some thing that make me not understand about, I just wait till the next, maybe it'll be answered, if not, as long is not really important,I dont care, not really into much details which is some times not really important.

I like to reads the comment with analysis about the characters, but sometimes it's just too much, when it's already tells the story how it should be, who is the main lead actually, but it's because I can't make that kind of deep analysis, LOL

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10 Hoa Ngyen

July 16, 2014 at 6:21 AM

i loved this kdrama , it's cool . i watched 2 times while wait next episode .
current i'm watching episode 22 at http://dramanice.com/triangle/watch-triangle-episode-22-online .
it's cool site i found last week .

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11 PonyJay

July 16, 2014 at 7:24 AM

I totally fall for Yeongdal and Yangha's relationship in this EP.Despite that they both are trying to defeat the other,their interactions are no longer filled with loath and mock.Yeongdal cared for his little brother,and Yangha felt that.The actions of texting and calling from both brothers are so adorable that I actually laughed XDD

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Tara

July 16, 2014 at 2:28 PM

I agree, you could see Yang-ha looking puzzled when Young-dal began to show some concern about him -- like, what's the deal with this "trash" suddenly being nice to me? The first time, he probably blew it off as Young-dal possibly becoming "soft"...but the second time, he couldn't deny that Young-dal was acting different towards him.

I, too, liked their interaction via text and phone while they were both out, drinking away their troubles...even apart, they were mirroring each other! ;P Guess blood is thicker than water...

It was sad to see Young-dal recounting their past days when mulling over how to grasp the news that Yang-ha=Dong-woo, as well as Yang-ha's puzzlement to Young-dal's sudden shift in treating him with concern.
...which I definitely attribute to Jaejoong and Im Si-wan, total props for their acting!

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12 Deliane

July 16, 2014 at 7:49 AM

There are many things to critique about Triangle but other commenters have articulated them far better than I could. Instead I will focus on the positive. That last scene in this episode really got to me. I could really feel the conflict brewing in YD's eyes from when he was on the phone to the actual reveal, and I sympathised a lot with what he was going through. I attribute it to the lead up to this point but mainly the acting of Jaejoong and Siwan. They have great chemistry on screen and I look forward to some more brotherly bonding between them.. though this show has seemed to like withholding any variation of it.

I really wish Lee Beom Soo had more to work with. I can only find solace that his movie has just surpassed 2 million sales! WOOT!

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13 Tara

July 16, 2014 at 1:47 PM

So...Yang-ha finally knows! Thank goodness, too -- because I was hoping the writer wasn't gonna resort to postponing that final reveal until the finale.
I mean, at the way the writer is going--I had even thought that it could possibly lead towards Yang-ha "getting rid of" Dong-soo/Young-dal (like Daddy Dearest had ordered him to) and they revealed it with their dying breath. Yikes, to even think that...I'm relieved that it won't go down that road! What a disaster that would have been...

I'm happy that Plot Device Shin-hye wasn't the one to spill the beans either -- although the ending of ep20 seemed like it was setting it up for her to break the news to Yang-ha while Dong-soo told Young-dal.

One thing I'm curious about: what the hell is Dong-soo's job here? He's no longer a cop, no longer employed anywhere...so it just seems like he's hanging around, being plot device-y just like Shin-hye. What a shame, because the writer isn't using Lee Beom-soo to his full potential...he just really isn't as fleshed out as a character like Young-dal or even Yang-ha, and he's just hanging around conveying info. Shoot, even Jung-soo and Jerry do more work around there than he does! -.-

And the sudden appearance of yet another "important but minor" character had me eye-rolling a bit. Couldn't the writer just make due with the characters already in the story, and further flesh them out instead? Why put emphasis on these so-called "important" minor characters as merely plot-moving devices, to move things forward...it's just a damn shame.

Even if Yang-ha put his hyungs away in prison, I guess it won't smack right if his hyungs put him there...although their intention was to nab Daddy Dearest and Skunk Go. I get that he promoted Yang-ha as interim CEO just for the purpose of avoiding responsibility for his crimes...although it doesn't gel right with me because the majority of the crimes (especially the murder of the Jang's dad) were done when he wasn't even with the company. Even if he's just someone in the prosecutors/police like all rich guys in dramaland do...how does the son pay the price for the crimes of the dad?

And Daddy Dearest shouldn't take Skunk Go lightly, even if he's done his dirty work all these years. Although it would irk me if Skunk Go could avoid prison if he blabbed about all the work he did for him, it wouldn't surprise me if he were to backstab Daddy Dearest in the end -- because he deserves it.

I don't mind the DalHee storyline taking a back seat now, because the real meat of the story really is about the brothers. Even with all the brooding and flashbacks (thanks, extension!), I'm still enjoying this drama...and am eagerly awaiting the rest! :)

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Tara

July 16, 2014 at 1:49 PM

*do, not due. Oh how I love autocorrect! ;P

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Tara

July 16, 2014 at 4:44 PM

Oops and *got, not just. What a day -.-

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14 Suilan

July 16, 2014 at 3:14 PM

As a person who's only followed Young Dal keenly from the start, Triangle is becoming this amazing story, I can't stop wondering about. While, yes, Dong Soo and Yang Ha have needed to be fleshed out through the whole story, we did start out with Young Dal in the first episode. This person who had no where to belong, and his only dream was to gamble in Vegas....what!! Young Dal = Lost and Alone

Then Dong Soo came, and we start getting a little background about their past, and that Young Dal may not be so lonely after all. While Yang Ha is a man clinging to a world that never belonged to him anyway.

In truth, I think the writer is doing the best he can with three characters who've remained primarily apart, when they should be together. So, everyone had their own agenda, up until this episode. From now on, better impress Writer-nim.

Otherwise the story will lose it's much awaited climax. The tension should really cut deep from now, I hope they deliver!

Aside from that, Young Dalie cutenesss....loved his time with Junghee. And how much Junghee loves him, goodness these two will make my heart hurt. Young Dal = love and Brothers, not so alone anymore! So Awesome!!

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15 lina

July 16, 2014 at 3:38 PM

Somehow i think the writer want this story expended into 50 episode so he can tell all the three bro story on by one and developed all the character from a low live become a great one just like in drama gian,jumong etc, when you have so many main lead of course there's so many story you need and more episode but they can't so in the end they choose young dal character maybe because this character story more intersting he have a good conection story with his two brother, fangirl love him (lol) so he become the center and everyone around him become his guardian , the one who help him become a great people, for me this is just like jumong.

love this drama. we just have four episode leave...lets just enjoy this drama without looking to much.

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16 chung_RK

July 16, 2014 at 5:15 PM

It is interesting so many people have opinions on how they think the plot/subplots should be presented and which characters should have more/less screen time etc. I believe every one has their own preference of what they want to see from the series, I for one don't think the 3 boys' mom needs to be brought back anymore and other people may not think so.

I follow the series from the beginning and I just ask myself a couple of questions : With the performance of the actors, can I relate to their characters enough to feel and concern for their well beings, and do I enjoy the show. Since my answers are both yes, I will continue to watch the show till the end without over analysis everything. I will just relax and enjoy the remaining 4 episodes, let the writer tells the rest of story whatever way he wants.

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17 Ruirui

July 16, 2014 at 6:56 PM

Triangle, hmmm, Is it the remark drama?, why I ask it, coz I don't know maybe it's just me, why i feel some comment looks like compare this drama with others, maybe there is similarity with the themes but i think why need to compare the story, or try to tell how the story should be, how the character should be developing, how many of the character in this drama,which character need or useless, come on, as long as the comment realated to the drama itself, it's fine, but no need to compare to others drama and tell it should be like that, too make it better, unless this is the remark drama, it's ok to compare.It's different drama, I think should just focus to this drama.

About the title triangle, why it's can be mean three main leads? which have same screen times? I don't know what gonna be happen if it really happen, is this competion or something? how come a drama has three main leads, that need to also have same priority, is it possible? Is there also happen before? Yes for character developing, but still need one character (main lead) that can related all the characters.

Is K-drama always tend to do live filming? and also the story can change as the answer for the viewers interest? Now wonders some are over the top, too dramatic,make me cringe. I'm glad that is not happen to this drama, yes, maybe some plotholes, but is not over the top not too dramatics, it is still enjoyable and interesting, so, if maybe some ppl don't like it, just drop the drama, no need to stress yourself, just let the ppl who like it, enjoy the drama,

upps, why become so loong?? LOL, sorry for the rant :P

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18 PonyJay

July 16, 2014 at 10:38 PM

According to the reports pre-broadcasting, this drama is based on the novel 'Hidden' by our writer Choi,which successfully portraits the character "Jang Dongchul".

Yeah,this drama is mainly about three lost brothers' reunion story but there will always be a leading role who connects all the characters and stories happened around. Isn't a story with three equally weighed leading characters rare and hard to focus?

I honestly didn't understand why there's completely disconnected story line of Dong-soo at the beginning.His backstory with GBT ,Shinhye his memory of family are necessary but the love triangle and the lots of scenes at the small restaurant are just distracting.

The writer might intended to alter the original story of Jang Dongchul into a story of three brothers with more balanced screen time,but he failed.I guess adding another main character is no easy work and even harder under the current broadcasting system.He fell short a few episodes over.The limited resources and bad ratings forced him to cut off side characters and sub-plots to focus on big conflicts involving our leading roles.

The writer may haved failed to stick to the drama's blueprints but I think he made this necessary change to tell a more paced, focused and less boring story.

Meanwile,I do think the writer paid too few efforts on Dong-soo to fully utilize LBS' acting potential at the later half of this drama series.LBS is a great actor.I enjoy every scene of Jaejoong with him in this drama,more than Dalhee and Dalha.

Like some of you said, there was enough room for all to shine.Writer nim please, don't let us down.

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Triangle