@dramaddictally Thank you for the weecap.
This finishes next week so they clearly decided to go the old skool route of draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaging everything out until the last ten minutes of episode 16.

Jaehoon kept his side of the bargain to save Jiyeon’s pride on camera by making out they will stay together after the show and she literally throws it back in his face. Joon and Jiwan gaze longingly but go ahead with the losers they were matched with throughout the show. It’s pretty obvious as soon as the cameras stop they will be saying thanks but no thanks.

PD Kang’s female caregiver is the maths equation equivalent of sadistic times infinity. I thought the aunt from Love in contract casually throwing the death of parent into an angry retort to a child was cold but this unnecessary conversation takes the ‘Outrageous things to say to a child about the death of a parent’ first prize.

Not sure which cast member was filming PD Kang going into the contestant’s room but how come none of the crew caught them via the bedroom video? They made a big point that people transcribe all the footage around the site so how was it missed? Did she discover and delete it herself as she was on duty alone at that time?

So happy to see Sangwoo back in the team fully recovered, I loved his dynamic with Yeoreum, he was her ‘work husband’ and her whole team a found family. The loss of this aspect of the drama left a noticeable hole for me. The shallow nature of the reality tv show entered the real drama’s plot line and therefore the sharp relief that showed the difference between the two teams was lost. Even the return of the lovely parents felt different they blanked Jaehoon when I am pretty sure he was the one who would have called them, the dad said nothing of significance while mum told her to change jobs like every week she was doing something that put her life in danger. Even with the recent knife incident it was a bit of an extreme reaction.

Looking forward to witnessing Joon wooing Jiwan now they can have their sweet romance uncontaminated by the reality show. I always find it weird how mobile phones become invisible in dramas when it’s necessary for the plot. Surely, after the day trip to the family restaurant they would have exchanged phone numbers; even acquaintances do this in real life, promising to keep in touch after the show or to text each other when they were in their bedrooms and didn’t want to be caught talking on camera.

This is the first K drama I have watched were the main leads have become Extras in their own drama; it was like Extraordinary You in reverse. I don’t dislike the leads’ storyline, I just feel they took away the elements that made it a fun watch in order to make the drama within the drama stand out but this added unnecessary complications that didn’t add to the story.

On a happier note I hope that Daesik and Hyejin’s cans were soft drinks because they are in the early stages of pregnancy but decided it’s too...

*sigh*

PD Kang, Chief Jang and Ji-Wan stole the show.

I'm happy they didn't try to make Chief Jang and Ji-Wan getting closer during the show. I think Chief Jang was right to not male any move and just follow the "script". Ji-Wan deserves better than a romance on a TV show.

I was wondering when I watch the actor who plays John Jang and he was the hot sunbae in Rookie Cop !

I think the viewers are being manipulated here. We all complained about the stupidity of the central relationship, YR's dense behaviour, her selfishness, Jae-Hoon throwing himself down to be walked over again and again, no real communication between them enabling the missed opportunities to continue. As though reading our minds, they suddenly start talking, make a couple of speeches about where it went wrong, promise they will be together in a week, and we are supposed to just accept they finally know what they are doing. This rehabilitation of YR particularly has been subjected to a lot of spin, which hasn't gone unnoticed in this house.

How many times has Jae-Hoon asked her why she is so selfless and always thinking of others in these last two episodes? He never said it before. Now that their relationship has been jogged back onto the rails she is being portrayed as some kind of saint in everyone's eyes, even though she hasn't thought of others at all, it's herself first and what she thinks she needs, KoL second. Then her parents show up at the hospital scolding her for the same selflessness. So our heroine has risked her life, been totally selfless since birth, and everyone but me appreciates it and is suddenly exasperated because she deserves so much more. All her previous questionable behaviour is erased in a few scenes. No, no, no. I wasn't even going to mention these two but it annoyed me so much I had to say it. They have been upstaged by just about everything and even Sang-woo seems to have been thrown into a black hole somewhere. Did the saintly YR and JH not pop in to see him at the hospital? Did anyone?

Bah humbug.

Other than Chief Jang and Ji-Wan this show managed to suck all the joy out of it. And my god, I hate Yeo-reum clothes so much. Someone please get rid of all of her boots please. How can you unintentionally dress a woman who looks like a model so bad?

I was also unfortunate to watch the unedited amazon version. So a lot of ropes, mics and no music. *awkward*

Ji-yeon takes the cake and says that she has been happy with Jae-hoon from the moment they met.

I was wondering whether the translation for what she said was incorrect but it seems she did say that she was happy…HAPPY…?!?!? Have I lost my only remaining marble or did she not cry 95% of the time?!?🤦🏻‍♀️ I hope she gets to experience real happiness because that was not it.

I don't know about 'Love is for Suckers' but certainly 'Who Dares Wins', even if it's one step forward and one step back at times. Enter John/Joon and Ji-Wan, who have admitted their feelings to themselves if not declared them to each other, but their eyes speak volumes. JJ is feeling guilty for his compromising moment with Tae-Mi, and Ji-Wan's unvoiced disappointment really cut him, that is clear. She underlined it by accepting the cake from sleazy app guy, so JJ didn't even attempt to undo it by offering his (was he considering it?). Ji-wan cut him off at the knees leaving him high and dry with Tae-Mi, a mirror of his previous fake self before genuine feelings came knocking.

Ji-wan has been so wonderfully honest and direct throughout - asking to accompany him as he was about to visit his mother, asking him for a 30 min date, then explaining she thought he might refuse if she'd asked for longer, and JJ clearly hasn't reached that level of honesty yet, though I do believe he wants to. Ji-Wan's reproachful eyes are tormenting him, and I think he will rise to new heights next week. He really does care about her and her opinion, and I think he will man up and publicly steal her away from app guy without caring about the reaction of the contestants, or Chae-ri (who should be worrying about acidentally showing her own butt, not his). Chef and webtoon writer have been the highlight of this drama for me. May it end in wedding cake.

This is the first drama that I rolled my eyes watching the leads. I practically fast forwarded the lead scene while I enjoyed every bit of Chef Jang and Jiwan. I hope they get to marry in the drama. You can practically see it in Chef Jang's eyes that he enjoys being with Jiwan. She always compliments him.

I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful relationship between the both of them.

Love is for Suckers is indeed a drama that is boring.

I also agree that they took away the fun elements-- the great chemistry between YR and JH. I didn't understand why YR felt so awkward the next day, and that again made me feel less happy about their getting together. If they'd shown a scene of them happily interacting, like in the beginning, that would have made me much more invested. Also, I still think YR needs to apologize for bringing the camera crew to his hideaway. And I still have no idea why they couldn't date when they were students. I agree with others that their love story has become the side show and I'm more invested in the chef and Jiwan. But I was very upset that Jiwan accepted that other guy who threw her to a guy with a knife. I wanted her to have more self-respect than that and just say no. I'd rather be single than be with him. And I just didn't find believable that YR fell off the balcony.

Eeesh, why does YR look so fearful and dismayed as JH is undressing and kissing her at the start of 13? This is not the unhesitating consent scenario we saw at the end of 12 and it feels wrong, even if she subsequently wraps her arms around him and kisses back. And at breakfast he’s 100% like it’s the morning after his first night with the love of his life and he couldn’t be happier to be with her, and she’s acting like she unexpectedly woke up naked in his bed after being drunk which she was not and is wondering what exactly happened. Why so awkward? Since the writers probably haven’t read Lee Tennant’s convincing essay, I could blame the actors and particularly Lee Da-hee for not showing the emotional journey rather than think YR is supposed to be feeling ambivalent, but that’s a BIG leap. She looks baffled or just blank when he confesses again. There’s not enough development between that and the subsequent scenes where she’s affectionate with him. Now I’m [not really] waiting for a whole closetful of shoes to drop.

This show is hitting the heavy emotional beats for all the wrong people. The music says we are actually supposed to feel sorry for Ji-yeon after she smashes a cake into JH’s face. I don’t feel particularly sorry for him, either, but what does she have to feel aggrieved about? I refuse to pity Chae-ri. Having a makjang evil stepmother does not entitle you to be unprofessional, deceitful, and rude to everyone else in your life. I mostly blame the way her character is written but also the actor’s stone-faced delivery - as so often happens in kdramas, the show has gone overboard making her awful and she hasn’t had enough nuance or backstory for a couple of brief trips inside her head and someone else’s bed to balance that.

The epically boring ‘reality’ show just drags on and on. The whole final choice/cake scene was interminable (and terribly edited) and we absolutely did not need an extensive reprise of the dumbass balcony scene. If only this were all meta commentary instead of sloppiness.

We know everyone has to trudge back to the ‘Kingdom’ set eventually because of that scene at the start of the first episode, but all the fun has leached out.

I loved reading your comments so much that I created an account to join in! At this point I'm only watching for John and Ji-wan, with whom I am OBSESSED (hence why I needed another space to discuss them). I was upset that not only were they only in one scene, but that the first 20-30 min of the show was just retreading previous ground.

Does anyone have any thoughts on that scene in the preview [SPOILER]? It's strange that a sexual trauma survivor like herself would voluntarily go into a situation like that, so I wonder if she's being blackmailed--maybe by her cousin. I could maybe see her trusting John enough to meet him, but I already checked and it's not his car. I'm pretty sure that John and Ji-wan will end up together (the official network even tweeted a video of them saying that they support them as a couple), but not knowing for 100% certain is stressing me out. I did rewatch the flash forward from ep 1 and they look WAY too happy for either of them to be marrying someone else. I really hope they are gonna do something with John's interview where he says that, when he falls for someone, he goes nuts. They had to have included it for a reason, right?

I feel like Chae-ri may end up with the General. They portrayed her too sympathetically and showed her reactions to his choosing Soo-mi for a reason. They actually are a good match and it was cute when he actually made her laugh. I feel like if he brought her on a date to his gym and just worked out in front of her, she wouldn't be upset.

I am so sick of Yeo-reum and Jae-hoon. I don't know exactly to explain how the drama sabotaged them so much, maybe because it doesn't seem like YR is actually that into him? I skipped most of their scenes this ep.

Finally, I can't stop thinking about how BORING the reality show would be in real life. People pretty much picked someone and stayed with them the entire time. At least season 1 of the show had a catfight, lol. I feel like So-yeon is better off; none of the women on the show really had a guy genuinely interested them, with the exception of Soo-mi and Ji-wan (and the latter he's interested but not making a move).

This show isn't very good, and yet, I find it compulsively watchable. I have no idea why this is exactly.

A few random thoughts.

First, I've been enjoying Ji Wan and Joon as much as everyone else, but I was so confused by Ji Wan's acceptance of the fraudster dude. I thought that after he pushed her in front of a knife wielding maniac to protect himself that she realized once and for all that he didn't actually care about her and was only using her to gain sympathy and fame for himself. I also wasn't clear why fraudster dude is still pursuing her after the show ends, either--he appears to walk off with her as if they're actually going to date. Why? Hasn't she served her purpose for him? The writing really didn't add up there.

And Joon not confessing in the final scenes of the reality show was such a wasted opportunity. I couldn't understand his motivations, either. Does he think Ji Wan doesn't like him and prefers fraudster guy? Or is he still grappling with the idea of dating a woman who is not ultra a skinny and plastic surgery enhanced? Their plaintive staring at each other was mind boggling and such a wasted opportunity. The story here practically writes itself! Why are the writers ignoring it?

Unlike some others, I don't find Jae-hoon to be trash. He was always honest with Ji-yeon, treated her with more grace and kindness than I think she deserved, and even did his best to try and reciprocate her feelings, which obviously was a waste of time and perhaps patronizing as well, but it made her happy. He has also been loving and supportive towards Yeo-reum. He did wait too long to tell her how he felt, but he saw her happy with her old boyfriend and didn't try to get in the way of that. And when she was free of that boyfriend, he learned from his mistake by being honest with her about his feelings right away. When she said she didn't reciprocate, he accepted it and remained her friend. He wasn't angry or petty or manipulative at all.

Now that they're together, I thought his declaration of complete and total commitment and love was sincere and sweet. I'm glad they're a couple, and they have chemistry. It just took the show too long--and we wasted too much time wallowing with a very bland Ji-yeon as pseudo-obstacle--for those scenes to land as romantically as they should have.

I wish the show had chosen to humanize Chae-ri a little earlier by giving us at least a hint of that tragic backstory before we were thrust into the Kingdom. As someone who has never cared for her, that would have made what happened in these last two episodes so much more interesting for me, while also making her previous extreme actions (capitalizing on Ji Wan's abuse confession, throwing things at Sang-eon, and declaring to Yeo-reum that the show was failing because Yeo-reum is supposedly cursed) less alienating. I will give the writers credit for the twist of having her sleep with gym owner dude. They actually had chemistry and...

It was good to get a deeper look at Chaeri's life. She is driven for a reason. Her stepmother is a true monster.

More than anything I think we are looking forward to the final episodes simply to see how this whole mess turns out.

The Chef and Ji-wan pairing has me squealing. Their longing chemistry is just *chef's kiss*. I was bummed that they didn't box the leftover cake. She only had 2 bites!

Ji-wan: I don't think I could have been accepted a relationship with someone who shoved me towards an attempted murderer in order to save himself. Even a fake one.

There needs to be more oversight over this production - can't believe smashing cake into the person you're rejecting's face was an acceptable idea. It seemed almost farcical. I feel like this drama could have taken it more into that farce route and also touch on the serious issues behind reality tv, but it seems to hold back and flounder.

The drama really could have done more with the other Kingdom Love characters. They have different and interesting backgrounds. Make it an ensemble drama.

I like how this drama does touch upon the fakeness of these reality love shows, though in a shallow way. None of the final selection pairings had a chance of succeeding post-show (and it was obvious to the production) and all the guys' cake proposal/selections were insincere. All were there just to finish the job. But it is weird that no one thinks about what happens after the filming. Like millions of people would have watched you on tv saying one thing. You may have fans come up to you. And what are you going to say? "Oh, that was fake. We never spoke after the day we all left." And then the fan would be like "okie dokes!" and then that'll be that?

Weird that they depict none of the girls as owning cars. I feel like Soomi - the lawyer and Tae-mi, the weather newscaster could definitely have their own nice cars.

I am not happy that we got to see so little of Ji Wan and Chef Jang. I hope the writers will give them a happy ending. And for Daesik and HyeJin to finally have their much awaited baby.

Yeo-reum and Jae-hoon don't seem like a couple at all. Especially with Yeo-reum, I kept expecting her to back down in the next minute and say that it was all a mistake.

I could have done without all the repetition from a different angle. Instead, the time should have been used to develop the relationship between Chef John and Ji-wan. Only these two interest me now, the rest of the series is extremely boring by this point.

This is the third (fourth?) drama this year where I really really liked the leads and really really wanted to watch the series. But . I . Just . Can't.

i was so loving this drama at the beginning, but not so much now. the whole kingdom of love reality show didn't seem to explore different relationships as much as i thought it would. our male lead only dated the woman he had a blind date with prior to the show. he nor she ever explored other possibilities, which would have made the drama meatier. I'm disappointed. & then with the unedited version being viewed it kind of fit as a production that wasn't at the top of it's game.

Ok, I had to create a profile too to talk about how lovely the romance with John Jang and Jiwan is. I cannot get enough! Honestly I couldn't be more surprised than anyone following his behaviour in the first episodes how a storyline involving him has become the reason I'm watching this now but there you go!

Jiwan is the sweetest character, genuine, kind, caring, really cute and warm to others, I'm falling in love with her for goodness sake! The way she goes after what she wants by handing a date voucher was amazing too but my heart broke when she confessed she was worried John Jang wouldn't want to invest his time in her. Saying every minute was precious on the last date as though her time wasn't worth his, whereas you could see both of them, not only her, on that date was desperate for every minute to last longer. I thought both their acting was really great, the longing looks, you can really feel the tension between them, so good! The care he put intI that dish for her. I so wanted him to stop her when she came back for her phone but if the John Jang redemption arc has taught me anything so far, I'm hoping for great moments this week!!

Also, just got to mention the episode where they went to visit his mother and we saw different parts of his character brought out by the loveliness of Jiwan. Him comfortable enough to be less pretentious, be truthful, laugh at himself, show his background. The script between them was beaut. Jiwan is so lovely to his mother, just feels like any one around her would warm to her and open up around her. The romance is being built so well with them. I ship them hard! Come on episode 15 and 16, do not disappoint please! Can we just have two hours of them?!

To border on redundant, this writer/pd team is in way over their heads. The first 30 minutes of episode 14 was literally a recap of the last 20 minutes of episode 13! It wasn't told from a different perspective nor offered new insight. It was just a lazy way out of creating meaningful content. Let's collectively agree not to waste any further brain power on this drama. The writers are not trying to make some commentary on reality tv or any other grand statement. This is not the drama to engage into some large philosophical discussion about. This drama doesn't deserve it or warrant it. The writer/pd long ago relinquished the wheel to the cast and are praying the actors can make something out of nothing here. So much potential just gone.