Oh, you better believe that I’m in it to win it now. I’ve spent too much of my energy watching this show. Sunk-cost-fallacy-schmunk-frost-callously. This Philosopher King marathon is almost over.

No, it’s not a marathon, it’s like an Iron Man Triathlon: swim through a turbulent sea of sloppily-implemented, overlapping tropes, bike through a terrain of cringey “did they actually just do/say that” discomfort and then run screaming for 20+ miles away from the fact that this show didn’t “jump the shark,” it, “helicoptered in and jumped off a cliff without first thinking about how it was going to save itself.”

What I am feeling is disappointment and betrayal. Or, perhaps as @dramaddictally says, “bamboozled.” I wanted so much better from this show. I wanted it really badly. It’s a soup of ugly feelings now, but it’s mine.

Here’s a positive thing, though, that I’ll offer for free: I’m ready to see the Halmeoni spin-off show entitled, Hurt My Family and I’ll KILL You, in which people do just that…and then she does just that. It must star this precise halmeoni (Kim Young-ok), and I would also suggest that she co-star with the halmeoni from Numbers (Sung Byoung-Sook) whose job it will be to shout uncomfortable truths about the nature of human experience, loudly and all the time.

I know there has been discussion on Gu Won being a weak character, but does anyone else feel like his personality also has been very inconsistent over the course of the drama? I feel like I really have no idea who he is as a person, or what his interests even are. Some episodes he seems to know very little about the hotel business, and the next he's citing statistics.

The sister is such a cardboard cutout. I'm glad that they tried to give her some development, but IMO it's too little, too late. Why not just have her kick a puppy at this point?

As I've mentioned, the fluff is boring me, and I think it's because I'm not invested in this couple at all. It's like a cake: delicious and sweet and everything I should want, but it's easy for the sugar or frosting to be off balance and make me feel sickened by the end of eating it.

Also I'm sorry but I cannot take the "trauma secondary to someone he loves leaving and people smiling politely at him" seriously.

I want Pyung-hwa to quit King Air to get away from her toxic coworkers and "ex-husband" and work for another airline who will value her and promote her to a purser. Then one day at work, Pyung-hwa would introduce a new flight attendant to her cabin crew, and to her surprise, in walks Ro-woon. They catch up over dinner, and he congratulates her on her promotion and asks her if she still likes flying, and she answers, "Yes, now more than ever" to which he smiles and says, "Me too." End fanfiction.

I had prepared myself for Da-eul to never divorce her deadbeat husband because they have a daughter together, but I just wished that when her father-in-law told her, "You're no longer our daughter-in-law," he would've meant because Da-eul should divorce their good-for-nothing son. They could've really redeemed the husband by making him protest the divorce, apologize to his family, and promise he would change, but this show doesn't care about any of its characters except for Won and Sa-rang.

So Sa-rang was banished to a tourist hotel outside the city -- so what? She's lucky she didn't get fired for dropping that plate. What a wasted opportunity for the broken plate to not have been Sa-rang's imagination to prove that not only is she a consummate professional, but also that she trusts her chaebol boyfriend.

The two best things this week were:

1 - When Halmeoni gently took Won's hand, looked sweetly at his face and then threatened to kill him if he made Sa-rang cry. That's the kind of fake out I can appreciate.

2 - Chairman Gu telling Wha-ran that she's better suited to politics. I laughed out loud at that one.

As for the conflict that never was, I can't say I wasn't surprised that the show decided to have Sa-rang just blow over it, but I was disappointed. The differences in their upbringings and social status are obstacles for them, not insurmountable ones, but they do deserve some meaningful conversation at the very least.

Also I think I rolled my eyes at Chariman Gu banishing Sa-Rang to King Hotel's No-mans-land, and her not saying anything to Won. they're setting us up for another fake out, aren't they?

This show is a light hearted comedy at its core and the infuriating thing is that it baits the viewer into thinking it's going to get deeper into an issue/problem but all gets resolved in what the producer/directors assume would be the most satisfying resolution. Instead of serving a complex and rich wine to sip and savor to the viewer, it feels like I'm getting quick hits of happy pills.
I get that its hard for a bubblegum rom com to introduce multiple dimensions of characters to show nuance but I for one think its more enjoyable to for a show like this to have its secondary characters to essentially one dimensional. Is the backstory to Won's sister where their father and Won's mom didn't pay attention to her, something that should make us feel sorry for her now and sets her up for some sort of redemption? I would rather her just be evil throughout. I hope that they don't change halmeoni to the same one she played in Hometown Cha Cha Cha and she remains a hard ass till the end.
I love Go Won Hee as a perennial flight attendant but the character she plays, Pyung-hwa, needs some serious therapy, as she bounces from over the top happy to serious depression from scene to scene.
Lastly, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. The preview for the next show at the end would have you believe that [SPOILER]... Anyways, I'm still enjoying the show and have to remind myself not to take this show too seriously...

Here’s my hot take: I like the cartoonish villainy of Hwa-ran. She is a condescending spouse and a disinterested mother. She is incredibly classist, including against her younger brother, and in keeping with that philosophy she has always been cruel to him and the people she sees as beneath her, which is almost everyone. This extends to her management practices, which are exploitative and value short-term gains over meaningful progress. Most if not all of her successes can be chalked up to sucking up to those in power and threatening those with lower positions than hers. She lacks imagination and is constantly on the defensive. No one forced her to be this way, there is no trauma in her past. If anything, we can attribute her behavior to jealousy - of Won’s mother and of Won himself. This week in flashback we saw her storming off, not after her father rejected her, but after she saw him happy with Won and his mother in a way that didn’t include her. There wasn’t even a slight, just an imagined one. She has more agency than almost any other character in this entire show and she chooses to use it for personal gain and personal revenge. Her pettiness is her choice, and who am I to rob her of her choices? I love a nuanced portrayal of female antagonism, I do, but this is not that drama. King the Land is not here for nuanced portrayals, but I (for one) am here for it.

Time does not seem to move at the same speed in the family... Won can make an offer to 170 hotels, getting 30 of them signing with King Hotel without anybody knowing about it, doing PPL for Nespresso, dating, spending time with his nephew but Hwa-ran can't spend one minute with her son..

I was disapointed by Oh Pyeong-Hwa and Gang Da-Eul's arc. Pyeong-Hwa's selfpity about her divorce doesn't make sense now. Da-Eul should just divorce, she agreed people won't change and she want to be married to a guy who lied to her during Months and took a loan. She will get to pay his debts at this point...

I am dropping this drama after ep 13. I dozed off in between.
I don’t think anything is going to happen. Each episode is a new format for a date. Thailand to picnics.
It’s like watching two people who are acting like textbook perfect people. Sorry. I never met such people. And I don’t watch dramas to show me unreal people. Both leads lack any personality.

How is Sa Rang ok with everything. She smiles for everything. Boyfriend’s engagement talk, she is ok. She smiles.
She went from hotel employee to maid to baby sitter. And she smiles.

Now, I have smile trauma.

I have become so indifferent to this drama that the only thing that surprised me was that the King Group has a crappy hotel/chain of them in the sticks. Does it make any sense to ‘taint’ your luxury brand by using the ‘King’ name for a budget hotel if it is meant to denote exclusivity? And, that area clearly doesn’t have any cell phone coverage so the SK Govt should investigate that!

I have a few questions: Apart from the remunerative dimension, is it likely that being in this drama will have a critical blowback of some length for Junho if he wants to be regarded as a serious actor? Does he want to be considered a serious actor? Is there industry snobbery among the top film directors regarding who they cast in their films?

Thanks @dramaddictally for your pains. And let's be honest, it's painful. But, like you, at least I got a laugh out of the socks. Our ML has to be faultless even to the state of his feet on a picnic...

Several things annoyed me or made me cringe. But most of all was the old "out of contact for three weeks". It's so ridiculous. And it was made even more so by the 180 in Sarang's character. Earlier she's brushing off wedding discussions because she's absolutely certain of the strength of their relationship; then she's withholding information about her "demotion" - um, why? Surely the consistent thing to do is tell him what happened, laugh about it, and carry on - as she has done when every other "crisis" (read "minor blip") has come along. Is she embarrassed to admit this? Does she think he'll go off on one if she lets him know? Is she playing the noble idiot so that he doesn't get distracted when working out his international deal? No idea what's going on in her head - because I just don't really know her.

Not enough Ro-un this week :( I want @panshel 's fanfic and I want it now. Their story is going to be wrapped up so fast next weekend I'm going to be miffed.

"so no conflict?" *smashes phone & skateboard*

Can't believe we got Dispatch in a kdrama! talk about representation.

I don't know about y'all but even though I agree that its nice to see a Kdrama not follow the regular kdrama operating guidelines, I still would like to see them grow from SOME conflict.
How can people just not face any hurdles in life? Unless they're gods favourite but apart from that cmon.

Apart from that I loved the scene in Won's room, it was so intimate and just made me feel all warm & tingly inside ACK

Magic! Our leads appear wearing black tie.
Magic! Our leads appear wearing school uniforms.

Will there be 15-16 Magic! and they’ll appear wearing no clothes?

Strangely enough, I actually enjoyed this weekend's episodes and watched them at normal speed — this after barely tolerating the two prior weekends and watching them at 1.25x speed. Maybe my expectations have finally adjusted enough that I've now joined the target audience for this show? (Please do not pelt me with rotten tomatoes. ✌🏼)

I do agree with the Beanies who found the amusement park scenes slightly off. It gave me "Do you believe in magic?" vibes at first, especially when the place lit up on command, but it just got rather sad real quick.

I'm glad the cat is out of the bag with Pyeong-hwa's divorce so they can move past it, because Ro-un isn't going to let that stop him, I'm sure. Cattily, I also wish we'd find out what questionable things the newly-promoted purser had to do to get her promotion . . . with luck, they'll be things she would be embarrassed to admit doing.

I hope they bring back Ji-ho in some meaningful way so that the time Sa-rang spent with him counts for something with his mother or grandfather. Otherwise, what's the point of introducing that side plot (other than giving Won a picnic moment to show us how much he's grown)?

Da-eul not getting a divorce and having her in-laws come to her defense . . . I'm still on the fence on this one. Even if she were to maintain the upper hand going forward, it would still be an unhappy marriage and not one where you have a real partnership with your spouse. They'd need to get to a proper repentance/resolution/reconciliation of some kind, otherwise, their marriage will just be one of convenience, and Da-eul really deserves more happiness than that, IMHO.

I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed in the commentary above mainly because its the 14th episode and almost everyone above is acting as if the drama has been excellent so far, and these last two episodes some sort of huge let down. The 13th episode brought forward the "treat workers as humans" pretty well. The 14th was okay for its "treat scandals as nothing" idea which I wish more kdramas would follow.

In fact, I've been enjoying it as a "joke watch", and now for many its a "hate watch." Why? @elinor even wants to kill off the nation's grandmother, Kim Young-Ok! Brutal!! Please stop before you advocate the kdrama death of the nation's boyfriend, the nation's little sister, and the nation's first love!

Let me say that the female lead has been about the most underwritten of any kdrama rom-com I've ever watched. We know Sa-rang was raised by her grandmother, is accomplished, likes hotels, and has fallen in love with Won. What else do we know about her? Nothing whatsoever.

Given this, let me make a point that I know only I hold. (Yes, I'm a courageous, my own man, so I'm used to taking the tough stand.) Faced with a role that is probably the most underwritten female I've ever seen in a kdrama rom-com, Yoona is doing a very good job of acting, much better than Junho, who is just strutting around.

I know that I am alone, standing tall, in my interpretation that in claiming to not be bothered at all by the marriage talk, Yoona portrayed Sa-rang as clearly in fact bothered by it, especially given her too quick dismissal, and then by her noble idiocy in leaving for the King the Land vacation hotel. I guess I was the only one who thought Yoona conveyed this very well, in the restaurant, then with her ready acquiescence in the assignment, and the sad packing of her suitcase, plus her scanning of the shabby uniforms in her new assignment which also her resignation when she was waiting on the obnoxious old men, which I thought was well portrayed. So I'm not blaming Yoona for this one.

But also, let me make a key point: although I am not so strange as to suggest that my wife and I wear school uniforms when I rent us an amusement park, which I try to do frequently, I did once get us matching pajamas. So for me, this drama is slice of life. Go ahead, all you rich Chaebol heiresses and heirs--sneer at a poor man's dream that workers get treated with the incidental gifts they deserve!

Let face it folks, the great chemistry between the leads is no longer enough to compensate for the lack of good script writing. Why create an interesting problem for the leads that requires them working together for a solution when you can just have another ‘amusement park rented out by rich chaebol’ instead ?

Thanks @dramaddictally for the weecap.

The thing that I don’t understand with this drama it does a great job of showing people talking about issues so they don’t become issues but then when it is essential they talk to present a united front they choose not to share.

Exhibit one: Sangsik get’s a ridiculous offer from the sister from hell, he knows she is dangerous and isn’t going to let it go when he rejects her but rather than mention it he leaves it until she uses plan B to attack Won then he casually brings it up.

Exhibit two: Sarang gets invited to lunch with her potential father in law and is assigned somewhere random. She does not mention it because she doesn’t want Won to be distracted while he is actually working. No issues there, but surely she would leave him a message when she knew he was on his way home so it doesn’t look like he is out the loop when he turns up at the hotel and has to ask his staff for her location.

Exhibit three: When Pyunghwa walked away from Rowoon he could see she was emotionally overwhelmed so used actions rather than words; he literally reached out to her to show she was not dealing with the shame and humiliation alone. She missed the cue and it looks like there has not been and opportunity for a follow up discussion to avoid assumptions being made.

I am looking forward to a tie up of the mother issue, and a wedding. This is the drama that will have read the memo; rom coms need a wedding. I am thinking they will do a Hugo’s Love and She was pretty and have a life after marriage montage re Halmeoni, their children and their work life.

Oooh, I don’t know, I still enjoyed watching these episodes! But I admit instead of binging two (like I did up to ep 10), I saved these to two sittings, watching another show for the rest of the evening. It’s really very fluffy, and I can’t overdo it with that strategy… 😅

I was able to adore Junho’s outfits (and white socks, lol); loved Da-Eul’s daughter’s sarcasm; cheered for Ro-woon stating a divorce should be nothing to be ashamed about (just get together with Pyeong-hwa, only two episodes left! D’uh!); cackled at halemoni’s perfectly sweetly delivered threat; marveled at the true friendship between the three women.

Under the carpet, I’ve swept all the stuff that was unrealistic from front to back (the fickleness of the chairman, as if someone would lead a company like that; the sister; the unbelievable smile-trauma) - and there it can stay. I’d still rewatch this drama if I needed a sweet pick me up.

Why they need to dressed in school uniform ? It is very often to see in K dramas. I remember Gangam Beauty had that kind of part but it was much more logical there . Also what is wrong being divorcee !!!How come his mom still alive and comes back years later!!! I hope they are not going to make her sins washed up like other dramas !!!I caught up 2 weeks episodes last night . Everything goes as predicted :)

So... after Won not so intentionally trying to find his mom, she suddenly shows up? Am I the only one who screamedddd at the matching pajamas LMAO! Ngl, I just stopped wathcing this show after like episode 11 because of how unendingly inconsistent the plot was becoming. We still almost nothing about Sa-rang outside of the fact that she's an orphan, and is a little bit too optimistic for the average person like... I can't believe they just covered up the plate breaking scene like it never happened. I have a Notion board where I track and rate K dramas I've watched, and this is definitely getting 2 stars from me.

The writer is trolling us! Who is writing these...

Won(steps close): Since we can't meet for a while, don't go home tonight.
Sarang: What are we going to do?
Won(gets even more closer to her lips and whispers in her ears): Let's go somewhere(Damn Junho is smirking)
Sarang: At this hour, where?
me: squeee

Then the scene cuts to an amusement park of all things. I am even ok with their school uniforms (Junho is so fine in that). Just the location is arghh !!!! I will take the uniforms as role playing - some people are into that. But someone (may be police officers again) please teach Wonnie that if he is going to be away from his girlfriend for 3 weeks, its ok to plan for some alone time - just not in an amusement park.

Is Nam Ki-ae really Won's mother? Not someone Hwa-ran hired to pose as his mother? Seriously I think her smile is not loving and it must be by choice since Nam Ki-ae is a very good actress. I hope their interaction will be good in the last 2 episodes, I really like them together in Confession.

I know a lot of viewers are enjoying the show just for the romance. The focus on gallantry and romance is fine, but if the series adds plot elements it should deal with them properly. The relationship boundaries are still a mess. Gu Won WON’T LET SA-RANG DO HER JOB! It is intolerable at this point. Gu Won is so clingy and needing to control her it is impossible to see a future for them. She is turning into a pouty school girl from a competent, successful career woman. Yuri is taking a practical approach: in their social circle marriage is a business transaction with secondary love on the side. Gu Won refuses to accept his position or status or respect the boundaries of his title. Charm and infatuation are not solid foundation pieces for a serious relationship. Also, as the BOSS of King the Land, how did Gu Won NOT know Sa-Rang was assigned to the Dream Team?! Gu Won is not protecting Sa-Rang from criticism, doubt or termination - - real reasons for Sa-Rang to break up with him to keep at least some of her pride. She tells him “It is up to me to decide my future.” About time common sense entered the picture. The Dream team to her is just being a maid to a wealthy family, which ironically, is the same for a future daughter-in-law.

Next, Sa-Rang is turned into a babysitter. Can’t she realize that the Gu family is not for her? When GuWon becomes an active uncle for his nephew, it seems like the beginning of a “found family” trope; but also the back door to derail Hwa-Ran’s plans to take over the conglomerate. But that plot point quickly evaporates.

Now, the problem with GuWon’s profit plan is that he claimed to sign deals with 30 hotels, which is outside his authority (board approval would be needed for such a transaction outside the normal course of business). Also, a chairman does not waive his hand to approve such a sweeping change of business operations, including appointing Gu Won to president, without a vote in basic corporate governance. (But legal practicalities interfere with quick, snappy story lines.) Further, the sweeping away by the chairman of Hwa-Ran’s role in the company was too swift and jarring. It made no sense even though the chairman said it was traditional paternal nepotism. How can Gu Won’s lax work ethic now run two other and larger divisions? I think the snap-of-a-finger resolution to these serious problems in itself is a real storytelling problem.

The chairman’s business split of our OTP after the scandal was a way to softly punish them and let them reflect on their situation. Gu Won is oblivious to this but Sa-Rang quickly learns as she is exiled to the tourist hotel. The chairman is telling her he can make her life miserable. I don’t think he is worried about Sa-Rang turning into Won’s mother but Won turning into himself. We learned that chairman married a lowly hotel employee, got married, had a son who he doted on, but divorced and erased his mother from his life. He probably does not want that to happen to...

Thanks @dramaddictally for the weecap. I know you feel bummed so hopefully it gets better for you at the end.

I enjoyed myself but as I said, I watch this show to laugh and smile. I appreciated the writers consistency in staying true to that approach as well. I don't want any prolonged angst in this show, here I want rainbows and butterflies.

My thoughts:

I will move to Seoul for the police force at this point. Laughed so much at the police couple that they inspired me to go back to watch the scene with the first police officer singing (which is officially a timeless comedic scene for me now).

Halmeoni steals the show in whatever scene she's in. I adore her. The young actor who played JiHu also won my heart. I honestly don't think there is any redemption for his mother though, so I am hoping he can find happiness with his Dad eventually.

You guys know that I am about the sunshine and unicorns, but I wanted to snatch that purser's hair and drag her across that airport. I know Ro Woon won't let that non-scandal keep him from his love so looking out for that happy ending for Pyeong-hwa.

Also, I know others were happy for Da-Eul but in my mind Da-Eul didn't beat her husband enough! I was livid. I would have beaten him into a coffin and then beat the body in the coffin at the funeral. He was the true villain for me these episodes. I am not satisfied with her ending mainly because he doesn't see what he did wrong. He is man-child and Da-Eul deserves better.

But on a happier note 😁 loved loved loved that scene between Won and Sa-rang in his bedroom. Whenever he lowers his voice to that deep register,I stop thinking. Also loved how he properly put SuMi in her place at the elevator.

And yes @hacja, Yoona's acting is growing on me more and more especially in scenes where she questions her future career. When she put on that King Tourist Hotel uniform, I felt the dejection and sadness coupled with the determination not to complain and give her best.

As for Won's mum's appearance at the end, calling him Won-ah and softly smiling, I hollered lady you have to earn calling him Won-ah and don't smile at him when you've been missing for years! I really want to hear her explanation though.

I will miss my little weekend dose of happy after next week and though opinions differed, I also enjoyed these entertaining conversations about the show. You guys made me laugh as much as the show.

I was pleasantly surprised by her fellow king the land colleagues. They seemed to be the only ones who were happy for her and didn’t think anything differently about her. Saul g they are a family and would protect her. I thought they would turn.

This drama is extraordinarily irritating, and it doesn't seem to know whether it is a light-hearted bit of froth or a serious, character-developing thought-provoking piece of theatre, and most of the time it doesn't achieve either. I was completely bewildered by them prancing around in an otherwise-empty amusement park - HOW BORING - in school uniforms, but just assumed it could equally have been a theme outfit of another type - dressed up as cuddly toys/josean dynasty characters/ghosts. Junho is a brilliant actor and in previous dramas has moved me to tears on more than one occasion - what is he DOING in this lazily-written drama? I'm as willing as anybody to suspend disbelief in the interests of pure enjoyment, but sometimes the stretches in the story-line are too much, even for me. When and How, for example, with NO experience of hotels, did our hero manage to sew up a deal with 30 other companies, what with all the onion-peeling, holiday in Thailand and dating activities?

I do think Yoona is doing a good job, I've hated her in everything else she was in but she really does this part very well. And the vibe between the two of them is very convincing. The Ugly sister is too awful to be convincing.

Oh yes - matching Jimjams? And why are they always plain colours with piped edging?? I don't know what Korean women normally wear in bed outside a drama, but if that is standard bedwear I'm not surprised the birthrate is declining!

To all those wondering how Jun Ho's career will be after this. I am thinking his career moves were 100% intentional and it is exactly going as per his plan.

He chose this over hundred plus scripts because he knew he was lacking the "hallyu" effect. In fact, in spite of all the critical acclaim he got from TRS, he still wasn't in the league of actors who you generally see quoted in all those silly IG reels for example (K drama leads to swoon for etc.). He needed another commercial success to become an A list actor who can demand certain types of scripts and KTL gave him just that. Love it or hate it, KTL has definitely increased his popularity a whole lot, both domestically and internationally. I saw that he had mentioned in an interview a decade back that he chose JYP because they were the only agent to have an international office. He always had confidence in his ability and his goal was international fame, but he has had to fight for his space every step, both as an idol and as an actor.

Thanks to KTL, he was able to make his first English captioned post on IG (which I am pretty sure was one of his small goals (joy)).

Going by the news, he is likely to take a lead role in a Netflix original next. Another fun / not acting heavy project. His intention again might be to cement his brand internationally. I am fairly certain that he's going to pick a serious / character based role after these to bring his career right where he wants it - A serious actor with excellent brand value, who both critics and masses love.

I remember Hyun Bin mentioning how he wanted to do a rom com with SYJ after The Negotiation. When he got CLOY script I am sure he had some role in getting SYJ as the lead (they were dating right after TN, despite what records say). To have that kind of power, the power to control the narrative of your life to some extent, it takes a whole lot. KTL was a necessary evil in Jun Ho's path to that power IMO. And I love KTL for the record. I had zero expectations going in and I laugh out loud watching it.

PS - I am a HB and SYJ Stan, so don't come at me for saying HB got her the role. I discovered SYJ through CLOY and since then have watched every single show / movie she's ever done. So I know how talented she is.

Wow, people here really hate it when actors choose projects just to have fun, huh lmfaooo. God forbid Junho chose a light, cute role to play for /once/ after spending 9 months playing someone dark and depressing without people accusing him of only chasing popularity lol. The man hasn't played a light commercial role in years, let's give him a break and stop expecting actors to only choose mentally and emotionally taxing roles just because they're good at it.

I'm also confused by some of the criticisms of this show? Never once did it pretend to be anything other than a simple fun rom-com, like why are people acting like they've been "bamboozled" when that's exactly what is delivered? Also why are we mad that the leads are acting like sensible adults in love and are not mis-communicating their way into a break up? And finally, what happened to just moving on and not watching shows that don't appeal to you lol

"The moment does two important things: cements Won’s character growth and shows off his fresh white socks." This sentence made me laugh a little too hard. But you're right, his socks are a rather dazzling shade of white.