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Oh! Master: Episodes 7-8 Open Thread

Love is in the air for our actress — except it’s not as simple as accepting a worthy suitor’s heart. This week our heroine finds herself being pursued by two men that worship her, and aren’t at all shy about competing with each other for her heart.

 
EPISODES 7-8 WEECAP

Even though I admittedly giggled a lot over the pettiness and comical jealousy our two heroes displayed this week, I can’t let it go unsaid: this week’s episodes felt like they dropped all plot in favor of this comedic love triangle competition.

What happened to the drama that was about two people slowly falling in love and realizing that they make a good romantic — and professional — pairing? What happened to Bi-soo’s flirtation with death and the hints of a supernatural element to our drama? Well, it’s kind of the same thing that happened after Joo-in kissed Bi-soo on the cheek in last week’s cliffhanger: it was quickly brushed away.

Last week we talked about Bi-soo’s forthrightness in realizing and communicating his feelings for Joo-in, which was the catalyst for a change in their relationship dynamic. The other catalyst, of course, is the fake dating between Joo-in and Yoo-jin. Yoo-jin waited a heck of a long time to come clean on his feelings, but he finally admits to both Bi-soo and Joo-in (separately) that he’s “had eyes for no one but Joo-in since high school.” Between these two vying elements, the men are turned into jealous buffoons who want to compete for Joo-in’s heart. And they do.

Yoo-jin versus Bi-so is really just for the silly — their interactions are pure fluff. It’s entertaining, and I did chuckle a lot, but it didn’t really grab my heart at all. In fact, this whole thing feels pretty superficial compared to the deeper notes we hit in previous weeks, and what feels even more strange to me is Joo-in’s nonchalant reaction to this hot (double) pursuit of her heart.

I liked the Joo-in who was committed to her career, her mother, and reclaiming her home of the past — she never seemed lonely or lacking in her singleness, and she had strong friendships, and a burgeoning attraction to her screenwriter tenant. And so, her reaction to this love triangle seems so strange.

I can’t decide if it feels off because: a) she should be more emotionally affected and isn’t; or b) because her announcement that she likes them both and will carefully choose a “lifelong partner” seems like an awfully mechanical approach for someone that’s been characterized as a warmed-hearted, expressive artist. (If Joo-in’s reaction to her love triangle really worked for anyone, please enlighten me.)

After a lot of pettiness and head-butting, the two men concoct a plan: they will each have an overnight date with Joo-in, after which she will choose her, as she said, lifelong partner. I’m not sure why these dates are overnight, since our drama is completely G-rated, but nevertheless, Joo-in spends hours (and wee hours) with Yoo-jin, and then the next day with Bi-soo.

In my estimation, there’s really no competition between the two. As I mentioned last week, Yoo-jin relies on his past with Joo-in, while Bi-soo has the present. We see this (and also their personalities) echoed in their date choices. While one date feels like coaxing, the other feels like wooing.

Yoo-jin has them dress in their high school uniforms and they enjoy a private exhibit of his artwork, which it turns out is all a lifelong love letter to Joo-in. He gets a few swoony moments in there, but it doesn’t seem to resonate with Joo-in (or me) on a deeper level. It’s like her brain says he’s a good match, but her heart shrugs.

In comparison, Bi-soo’s date is a night of outdoor camping in the courtyard of “their” hanok. He also has his share of swoony (or is that cheesy) lines, and as with Yoo-jin, Joo-in accepts the confessions with a cute giggle, but not much more. However, Bi-soo’s date night feels much more authentic, and much more about cultivating closeness between them… and maybe that’s why Joo-in seems to be more affected by her time with Bi-soo.

That being said, I don’t feel particularly sold on the way the story has developed at all. There’s so much more here than suitor wars, and this plot arc caused Joo-in to almost feel tangential, since we focused so much on the heroes and their squabbles. I love an (anti)bromance as much as the next person (and I actually enjoyed them playing off of each other), but I want something more from this show. And I don’t want to watch our darling heroine just become an object of affection instead of an actual protagonist.

Does the drama have other plans in mind, though? Concurrent to our suitor wars this week, we get an inkling of a “secret” about Bi-soo that seems like it’ll have a big impact on him going forward. Are we going to get the tried and true birth secret, or is there something else waiting for us with the story of his family?

On an interesting note, we’ve passed through Episode 8 without the first kiss trope, so that, if nothing else, was the interesting choice this week.

 
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i apologize for my ranting ahead of time...

why did the writers have to go here? i have legit not seen a single hint that joo in is into yu jin as more than a friend. this is literally out of left field. w.t.f?!

ugh. i really hate when women do this. a guy like yu jin comes along, acts all toxic, and they just go along with it. ffs.

"yu jin wants to do it."
this is legit where manipulation starts.
what about you, joo in?! what DO YOU WANT?!

i want to like this show, but i hate when shows do this. i was hoping joo in would be the strong girl who calls yu jin out on being obsessive and borderline toxic. but then she instead is like, "well, he wants to do this so okay, i will, too." the writers clearly know this is ick because they had bi soo call it out numerous times. i just personally don't find this comfortable or good tv. it rubs me the wrong way big time.

& im so worried bc of the "bi soo is technically dead" storyline . i will be so mad if they have him end up dead in the end and her with yj.

i honestly have not come across a love triangle this darn cringe in a long time. This should not even be considered a triangle bc it is clearly one-sided on clingers part. I do not get why the writers want people to believe it is one. It's a shame that another promising drama has to have the second lead in the way plot. And more or less toxic one at that. :(

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I nearly dropped the show after Ep. 7 for some of the same reasons. Two grown men acting like children was already so cringe-inducing and then they added the "I like you both" to it 🙄. Nothing about this plot is believable. Least of all that any moderately sensible woman can't see the giant red flags of manipulation Yu-jin puts out.

"i will be so mad if they have him end up dead in the end and her with yj" This is what i am afraid of too. The drama has gone downhill so fast.

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“ Two grown men acting like children was already so cringe-inducing ”

Exactly my response as well.

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& im so worried bc of the "bi soo is technically dead" storyline

You made me realize that we've got (possibly) two dying characters, but only one of them knows it.

The pacing of Bi'soo's "extended life" is really weird and worrisome, for sure. After 8 episodes the mysterious Man in White has appeared only three times; (Ep. 1, 16:21) TOD aftermath; (Ep. 2, 15:14) hotel lobby; (Ep. 7, 18:36) across the street followed by Bi-soo's flashback.

Although he's dismissed these visions as delusions, it's interesting how Bi-soo's actually living his live with more urgency—pursuing Soo-in and ramping up his writing schedule so that he can finish before his mother dies.

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*Correction: Joo-in (not Soo-in).

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If this plot thread doesn’t disappear into thin air, ...

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I’ve been liking the episodes so far and really looking forward to them, but I got two-thirds through episode 7 and ended up switching to a re-watch of an old drama. There was nothing to particularly dislike, I just wasn’t very invested in continuing to watch. I’ll pick it up again, but it’s not the same feeling as a charming hour well-spent.

So far this has been a light story that went unexpectedly deep in places, but this week was just light. Hopefully this was just a mid-run slump.

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One of my least favorite tropes is the childhood friend who has had a long standing crush on someone thinking that their feelings obligate a return of them. So yeah, not particularly feeling super positive about this aspect of the drama. I also really really really hated the school uniform date. Like, eww, dude. You're adults now so move on. Bi-soo might be a petty and sometimes pouty protagonist, but at list he's not being outright pushy with Joo-in's boundaries.

I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell your adult child you're dying. I like Bi-soo's mom, but I think this is a terrible decision, and honestly as a plot device it's annoying me.

I think I'm sounding like I'm hating this drama. I'm not. I'm still cautiously enjoying it, even though I'm scared about the mom storylines. One thing I quite enjoy is that Joo-in and Bi-soo actually talk to each other, and I particularly like that the record store listening room is becoming a quiet and neutral place for them to spend time.

Bear sightings continue. Bears still more interesting to me than Yoo-jin.

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I still don't understand why you wouldn't tell your adult child you're dying. I like Bi-soo's mom, but I think this is a terrible decision, and honestly as a plot device it's annoying me.

Agreed. Even if we accept that the Moms serve to compare and contrast, it still feels messed up.

@egads—How did you feel about Dr. Jung revealing his mother's cancer to Bi-soo? I cringed at first but—f*it— that it was a gift for Bi-soo. He can make amends and perhaps have fewer regrets.

Both moms really hate being a "burden" to their children but Joo-in's mother had no choice but to be transparent about her needs. Being interconnected with her loved ones is her natural state, both during her loving marriage and her sweet relationship with her daughter.

I can't fathom how Bi-soo's mom spent forty (!!!) years living in parallel with her husband without ever really depending on him emotionally. I like the playful banter between mother and son but the walls are still there. As much as I despise the introduction of a birth secret, it might bring the walls crashing down!

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“ Bear sightings continue. Bears still more interesting to me than Yoo-jin.”

You’re comment is more interesting than Yoo-Jin.

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I also really really really hated the school uniform date. Like, eww, dude.

Exactly my reaction. I was beyond squicked out by his weird, Gatsby "repeat the past" date. The whole "date" was just: look at how obsessed I am about you, look at all these things that show how I feel about you, me, me, me, memememe! It's manipulative and taking advantage of their friendship. How did she not just nope the heck out of there ASAP?

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Yeah, Ep. 7 left a bad taste in my mouth but Ep. 8 sparked my interest again. The best way for me to understand (and tolerate) Jung Yu-jin's role as Bi-soo's opponent is that he exists to put Bi-soo in a better light. As @missvictrix notes, he doesn't compare favorably. All his orchestrations reveal how embalmed his love is. Like the high school jock whose best years are far behind him, he can only replay the moments of his youthful crush. It's creepy.

Bi-soo is only two or three years older than Yu-jin and Soo-in. He's loved before but he doesn't dwell on it. His work is very important to him but Soo-in is helping him grow emotionally and creatively. Yu-jin seems to have no ambitions other than to "have" Soo-in.

As a designer, I'm intrigued how two artistic men use their creativity to court Soo-in. Yu-jin has gone all smooth and pre-packaged. He draws on an iPad, he gifts her PPL (pointed out by @egads), and the "gallery show" had the warmth of back-light art at the airport. Even his flowers are cliché.

My favorite moment (pictured above) was when Soo-in caught Bi-soo applying pressed woodland flowers to her sliding door. They were both lit so beautifully in the morning sun. Bi-soo's super power is telling stories. He used stories to help Soo-in reframe her mother's forgetting her daughter. He uses stories to reveal his heart. And I loved him for being corny is just the right amount.

When writer-aim teased us with a possible birth secret, I wondered if we should add "SATIRE" to this show's description. FFS, is he serious?

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*Blargh—I keep mistyping Joo-in's name as Soo-in. Apologies. I wish we could edit our mistakes.

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I LOVED the scene where she catches him with the flowers...and her line, "I like a morning like this," well, I melted. :-)

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There is nothing I hate more than a love triangle, but weirdly i find this one only mildly tedious. I found both Yoo-jin and Bi-soo pretty manipulative and/or childish (I hope Bi-soo didn't raid Joo-in's wardrobe for that camping outfit), but I don't think Joo-in was a pushover. IMO she acceded to YJ's plan because it really was the only way of avoiding "scandal" (I'm not convinced she has any romantic interest in him either), and I think she was just indulging the boys when she agreed to the "two dates' thing. Also, since she enjoys the company of both, why shouldn't she let them pamper her a bit and show her how they intend to win her over?

In any case, this triangle business seems almost done and dusted in no more than 3-4 episodes and everyone has ended up better friends than before. I particularly like how the guys exchanged phone numbers. They say it's part of their plan to avoid awkward situations with Joo-in's manager etc, but for me it's a symbol of their friendship, and also of the ever widening support system among all these characters.

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I'm enjoying 'Revolutionary Sisters' more than this drama, and that's not meant to be a compliment to 'Revolutionary Sisters'. In a K-drama world full of ghosts, chaebol birth secrets, time travel and demon-hunting superheroes why does this particular rom-com feel so much more contrived? Did it start at the truck of doom or was I already skeptical before then?

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honestly? i enjoyed the suitor wars. i hate love triangles, but if they HAD to include one, this was probably not the worst way they could do it. petty bisoo is a joy to watch, and yujin almost seems like a real person when he interacts with bisoo (almost), so i found this weeks episodes a lot of fun. that said, i hope theyre done with this plot now. i miss jooin's perspective and i really just want more scenes with jooin and bisoo together.

i say this but then i look at the rest of the tropes this show still insists on having and maybe the dumb man rivalry isnt so bad after all

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Writer just needs Yoo-jin to realize he's actually secretly in love with Bi-soo and the drama would be 10x better

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It seems like Nana is the only steady character carrying the show. The ramped up theme of selfishness (Bi-soo and Yoo-jin claims on Joo-in and Bi-soo's mother's divorce and moving in with sick old friend shows she thinks she is a martyr.) The love triangle is really annoying. Yoo-jin is a long time silent stalker. Remember he is paying her a lot of money to be his company's spokes model. He used that to manipulate her into "fake" than real dating him. It is a sick form of pay-to-play. Bi-soo also manipulated Joo-in by claiming he could not write "her" show without living with her. His attitude is that since he is the man in the house, Joo-in is his by right. Their contest to win her falls to flat smugness. She should have immediately dropped them both. Besides, the secondary agency characters love lines seem more fun and natural than the main love triangle.

The problem from the very beginning that the writer is throwing every single trope at the viewers which is like throwing a man struggling in quicksand an anchor instead of a rope. An end-of-life birth secret? Really? I can see a really bad ending because the angel/guardian has showed up again and the script is a mess. My theory has been that Bi-soo is in a TOD coma and he is dreaming this trope filled legacy script that no one will ever see.

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That's a thought. Oh! Master is like the movie 'Jacob's Ladder'. The story makes no sense because he was fatally injured when the Truck of Doom hit him and everything after that has been the fevered last fantasy of a dying man.

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I'M SO ANNOYED.

JUST GIVE ME JOO-IN/BI-SOO THAT'S ALL I WANT SHOW.

I loved last week, like genuinely, and this week was just so tedious (although Lee Min-ki is hilarious).

And next week seems...... melo UGH.

Welp guess I'm just watching 5 and 6 over and over.

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Okay, after taking a few minutes after watching to actually write something:

After loving episodes 5 and 6 so much, 7 and 8 of Oh! Master! were just... ughhhhhh.

If Lee Min-ki wasn't so hilarious (seriously, dramaland, get him a well-written drama) I think I would've disliked it even more, but him being so effortlessly funny and the fact that Kang Min-hyuk has better chemistry with him than he does with Nana meant I didn't hate the whole second lead thing as much as I normally would.

But show is seriously wasting Lee Min-ki and Nana's natural chemistry, and Joo-in in particular was so wasted this week. I'm glad I have the fabulous Into the Ring to point to for an example of Nana sued at her absolute best. Joo-in keeps just going along with everything the guys want to do and I'm waiting for the day where she finally just says, "Uh, no." It's clear in every single scene of the show that she sees Yoo-jin as just a friend, and the person she has a natural pull towards is Bi-soo. She didn't have to choose because it's pretty clear what her choice already was, even if you ignore the fact that, well, Bi-soo is the male lead.

I mean, come on. Who's the one she's kissing and staring at so closely and thinking about when he's not around? The fact that she thinks she likes both of them in the same way just doesn't make sense. You've known Yoo-jin for 14 years, Joo-in, and it doesn't seem like anything he has done this whole show has made you feel differently about him now than you have for the past 14 years. Joo-in just seems like much too smart of a person to not realize this.

And all the melo bits that seem like they'll come in even harder next week... why, show, why?!

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while the love triangle bit is an over used trope, and changed the tone of the drama, i didn't find it completely terrible. i did like the Joo-in was up front about liking both, and cards are on the table. it worse when the FL clearly likes someone, and has no interest in the other 2ML, and he is covertly pursuing her when he as no chance. But what i did like was Bi-soo's maturity when he told her on the date that he would respect what every her choice is and bow out gracefully. I don't think Yu-jin is that gracious. We even saw that he almost couldn't resist calling her when she was on the date.
I think she will choose Bi-soo as he is a better match for her, he as shown that he doesn't sugar coat things, but has her look at problems in another light (like her mom forgetting her) that give her strength.

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Totally agree, not a fan of this triangle and feel like we’ve swerved off track. Also a bit of Start Up PTSD in the “you’re my past” vs. “you’re my present” dynamic — obviously present is going to win every time, let’s just move on here. I still love the main leads’ chemistry and I’d watch LMK do quirky all day long, but here’s hoping the next episodes bring us back to the warm fuzzy haze I was enjoying earlier on.

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Drama, please just give us back our JooSoo, send Yu-jin back to Paris (or wherever his next "dream" should take him), let them all spend some QT with their moms and let's ride into the sunset happily together, okay?

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Going, going................gone! Good writing forces you to suspend disbelief, send all your critical faculties on leave, and just go along for the ride. But disbelief came back and sank my boat, just when the childish bickering between the boys got to its most cringingly-awful, and Nana announcing she liked them both sank my life-jacket too. Hope to see Lee Min-ki again one day. With a better haircut. But no more of this one, thank you.

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Is MBC still wondering why it is only getting 1% ratings these days?

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Possibly. I don't think many of us want to get on that issue on this discussion post, possibly in the drama viewership ratings post? But I think MBC (they do have some well received dramas on DB), as someone said, they don't promote their shows much (variety/SNS), and also don't re-air their episodes consecutively either. Their biggest fall came around 2019 and beyond (some may say earlier) but One Spring Night got 10% ratings, after that they never had a show since that's hit 10% and over.

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Wooowwww... I never trusted writer Jo Jin Kook but what he did to almost destroy a drama impresses me so much. Dude, what are you doing?! Your show was so beautiful, why did you have to do this? Why?!!!!!!

Episodes 7 and 8 were simply awful.

NEGATIVE THINGS:

The "I like you both" scene made me really nervous and the whole competition between the guys too. It was so immature. Yes, the scenes were kinda funny and I could see another side of the characters, but it was made in a wrong way. Just no. NO!

And Jooin, my beautiful and lovely Jooin, is so out of the character in these episodes, is so weird watching her talking to the manager about Yujin and the "100 points/heartbeat idk" thing.... werggg... no. Just no. She doesn't love him like this, there is no scene that can prove it, it came out of nowhere, is pathetic and forced.

Dating the two guys was idiot too. I didn't like it. And I hated Bisoo for following the plan. Baby, you are so intelligent, have some self respect!

Another thing that I hated was the stupid "birth secret" trope. Oh dear writer, could you be less cliché? In the MBC's articles, they describe Oh My Ladylord as a not typical romance. Seriously? How is this new? To me is turning into a Dodosolsolalasol 2 where 4654556541 tropes are applied with no respect to the story.

POSITIVE THINGS:
- Bisoo's mom and his friend flirting.
- Jooin seeing Bisoo applying the flowers in the wall. They both were so gorgeous in that scene.
- acting, as always.
- ost.

We have another 8 new episodes to come (well, I wish). I think the story is not completely destroyed yet. They can overcome this mess, of course, and give us nice episodes. I believe and have hope that things will get better (because is impossible to be worse than this lollll).

No, but being honest, I like Oh My Ladylord. I'm mad but I have hope. 8 episodes can change a lot of things. Please, be a positive turn.

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These week's episodes felt like fillers and a step back, specially for FL. Suddenly she's just the object two men fight for, and she has to choose between the two of them even up to this moment she's only been friendly to them. I mean, it feels a bit abusive that she has to chose between them just because they like her and want to date her. Obviously, she said she liked them too, but I don't think she wants to date anyone. When YooJin asked her to not fake-date, she just answered "yes" with a wide smile and while I was watching, it felt to me she was saying "yes" the same way she would say "look, a flying elephant".

Then the date with YooJin felt utterly disturbing: with the uniforms, and JooIn basically playing a doll that says "yes" to everything he said while he kept talking about himself and how he felt but never listened her or tried to build a "we".

And finally, BiSoo's dad being jealous that his ex-wife can be dating other man. Are we nuts? It's clear that he's had an affair before, that he's not BiSoo's biological dad (I realized the moment BiSoo's mum said she was dressing in black ever since her true love had an accidente and died), and that he cares very little about his family... and he is making a scene because a free woman decides to do whatever she wants?

This writer needs to check his views on female characters for sure.

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