it always rubs me the wrong way when a heroine suddenly loses some of her smarts to service the plot

So kdramaland must be really hard on you

So when Ae-ri was under arrest, could she have made people believe her -- or at least rattled their cages -- if she had told them to check the lottery numbers in her texts?

That was closest thing to proof that I can think of that she might have had.

These episodes were a rollercoaster.

I'm sad we lost the Seo-jin we've been following since the beginning. I hope current Seo-jin dropping the charges means he'll stop being such a jerk.

Poor Da-bin. Her mom is a psycho and her dad was too busy for her most of the time. The scene where she could hear them fighting made me sad.

No wonder Seo-jin was icy to Hyun-Chae before the kidnapping.

One thing that makes no sense: How would Jin-ho have taken Da-bin from the recital if Da-bin hadn't left her seat to wander around?

I need to catch UUUUPPPPPPPPP!

Aeri was always emotional from ep 1. So whatever she did in ep 8, doesn't feel far off. She even killed her best friend in the original timeline, so seeing her want to kill Lee Taek Gyu is not surprising. Seeing her talk back to HC isn't far off too, good that HC is so full of herself and treats Aeri as a lunatic (my question is...why did HC went there?). Aeri approached many people (SJ, DG, KJH) to track her mother and Dabin. It was always Seojin who tells her not to do anything reckless over the phone or GW stopping her. SJ stopped her from killing Geunwook. He also told her not to meet LTG alone. Aeri is an action first, think slightly later person. It was because of this she was able to find her mother, she went to the location 2 weeks earlier than the date Seojin9 shared. I'm glad Aeri has friends, they ground her and I can watch a spin-off for these 3.

And I also don't mind Seojin in ep 8 because the character is consistent from the start. He never believed Aeri from the beginning, he still doesn't believe her until ep 8. Which is inline with how the chairman and Dogyun describe him: he trusts no one except himself.

But...I really want Seojin9 to return. The Seojin who had long conversations and worked together with Aeri. I want him to divorce HC before it's too late. Or maybe it's too late...I think October Seojin + family dies in the car accident. I just hope Seojin know his wife is a cheater and psycho potential killer before he dies (TLE memories 😭😭😭).

I knew that Shin Sung-rok was his perfect drama here!

But when he cries, I didn't see his tears flowing... I don't know if his tears were exposed.

I wondered why Hyun-Chae didn't just kill her husband and her father. It's the easy way and it's not like she will feel guilty... For her father, she should have to tell the truth of what she did as a child to Do-Kyun and it's not sure he would have continued to love her after that. So she needs to run away from her father, so being dead is a good way.

I wonder how far Do-Kyun will go for her, he looks like he's reaching his limit.

Ae-Ri is kinda scary too. She shows a lot of violence too. She's ready to kill someone when she could just start by kidnapping. It's interesting like the female characters are the most violent ones in this story.

So I was totally wrong. Taek Kyu is just another psycho, and not someone who was trying to help. And not only that: he is a double agent, working for DoKyun and... CEO?

I also was a bit disappointed with AeRi. She never told SeoJin about his wife cheating him, and she saw HyunChae cheating her husband and even so, she trusted her. I mean, she can’t know what she had plotted, but she could have been a bit wiser. I agree with you. She’s been a bit frustrating.

So, SeoJin is back to the jerk he was before DaBin’s abduction, but I hope he can remember the alternative reality. In fact, when he kind of remembered Det. Park and then felt the real anguish when DaBin got missing for a little time.

Waiting for the next twist! I’m loving this!

The show lost the pot with this episode. Ae Ri was acting ridiculous, of course he didn't believe you, he doesn't know you. Her screaming like a crazy person, not only wasn't in character, but didn't make sense either. I also kept wondering why this was 16 episodes and now I understand.

This show is very interesting, in spite of some plot-serving absurd behaviors and shortcuts. I regret watching it in real time, and my only hope is for the show to stay intense and meaningful till the end. In these two episodes, we get the glimpse of the "core" villains; the "kidnapping" chapter seems to be closed and the "corruption" chapter is about to open. My bet for the following week installment is that the "car accident" will make Dogyun reevaluate his options and realize that he has a way to rewrite the present - the poor Ae-Ri. Will she be smarter this time around?
Overall, this show gives me strong "Nine times time travel" vibes: rewriting the past comes at a staggering price.

I liked episode 8 a lot. I thought it was intense and gripping. I liked the part she lost her head and started screaming, and blaming Seo jin. I thought that it was so real and raw. I liked Seo jin's coldness, too ---- this is a man who has cultivated a remote and detached exterior to hide the pain and insecurities of his younger self, who has probably erected a wall to cope with his brokenness ---- and this is the man that interacts with Aeri, who hasn't yet crumbled in the devastating aftermath of his daughter's kidnapping and his wife's supposed drowning. So it's real, and I loved the chemistry between the icy jerk and the desperate, helpless heroine. I can't wait for the ice to thaw and for him to gradually get to know her.

I was frustrated over the fact that Aeri never revealed the cheating to Seo jin. It is such a huge thing, and the wife is such a suspicious character, with her veiled threats to Aeri ---- she even addressed Aeri by her full name, surely that would have raised an alarm in Aeri's head, that she is keeping tabs on Aeri, that she is watching Aeri?

I hope this drama keeps the momentum and will have a satisfying ending (*side-eyeing DDSSLS)

The tension in ep 7 & 8, they have done a great job! Hoping that some of the cast win awards for the drama. Brilliant performance.
I'm also annoyed that Ae-ri posted the Missing poster on their front door, it was a stupid and unnecessary move.

Hyunchae is terrifying as we learn more about her, the way she chose out a dead body or her expression when seojin lay there dying. I don't know how Do-kyun can still care for her. What has she got over on him?

I think Ae-ri's mother handed over documents to the Chairman, so that Ae-ri wouldn't be in prison. The chairman called Seojin in to run the Taesang project and then told him to drop the charges in case of bad PR.
It's clear that the company wants to redevelop the site again and the chairman has hired TK to get rid of any problems, i.e. jin ho and Ae-ri's mother.

The almost-kidnapping scene was nervewrecking. All that running down long hallways and escalators and almost losing sight of the child time and time again and.... why didn't Ae Ri just scream "Daaaa Biiiiiin-aaaa!" at the first chance?
Apart from that, I am very curious what Season 2 has in store for us! I would like for them to be on the same page at the same timeline soon. There was not enough interaction between them for my taste (for understandable reasons, still, I missed their phonecalls. They give the show a nice structure and fast paced "24"-vibe).

I've been bingeing this at a furious rate, since last night. It's so engrossing and stress making, and to think that we are only half-way there.

I had a sudden suspicion that when she left jail, she'd be recruited by the other side on account of her justifiable grudge against Seo-jin. I don't really cherish the idea at all, but what if Do-kyun fills her in on what happened to her father, and they manipulate her, just like they did to Kim Jin-ho, and she decides to take revenge? Tell me that's not what is going to happen, please.

I feel bad for aeri, she really went through hell just to be trashed like that. Although I understand that it makes sense for seojin to act like that, I can't help but pity aeri :(( Now she has to save him again with another incident hhhhhhh