I like to keep the main leads, Mari, Dora’s youngest brother and Pilseung’s bio mum and vaporise the rest of the largely boring cast.
In particular, the great aunt’s character is predictably vile but the actor playing her is just such a bore and hardly makes any visible effort to imbue the character with some meaning. And, comes across as a member of the uncanny valley. I ff through all if those scenes and it doesn’t seem as though I’m missing much.
One saving grace is that the leads have strong chemistry and given the developments in ep 11, there is a long journey ahead of them.
Last but not least, Ji Hyunwoo is very charming in this role and I love his permed hair. In a perfect world, he would like it too and keep it as is really becoming.

This weekender still delights me with its quick and jaunty pacing. It's moving almost as rapidly, it seems to me, as any 16-episode drama. Just as one main story line starts to lose my interest, I'm reminded of another that's just picking up the pace and I perk up. I skip fewer and fewer scenes each week. I don't know if that's going to persist...but until it changes I'm psyched to tune in each week.

I was particularly charmed this week by both of Do-ra's brothers. Do-sik's relationship with Myeong-dong is so delightfully back-and-forth...the writers could milk this for as long as they want and I'll probably love it. Well not as long as they want, but for 10 more episodes 🤣. And I'm looking forward to whatever real story arc Do-joon gets when he comes back again to Korea--or, now that I say that, perhaps even in a series of episodes in the US??? Where some characters will be trying to find out the secrets of Pil-seung's parentage and others just gallivanting in Boston? Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Ji Hyun Woo, I mean Pil Seung has really dialled up the charm in these episodes. Aaaaaaaaw. I am enjoying all the scenes where our leads interact as they have very good chemistry together. The role really suits Im Soo Hyang, whom I've been rather meh about prior to this. She's very pretty, very cute, and very funny in this role. So I'm glad I gave the show a chance. I probably would have anyway, simply because I have never failed to like Ji Hyun Woo in any role, even if it takes a while for me to warm up to the role as it did here. He's on full steam now.

However, with their romance going so well in Episode 12 out of 50, I guess it's time for lots of makjang, breaking up, getting back together, obstacles to overcome etc. etc. for the next 38 episodes. So far so good.

I noticed that DB staff changed the description of the show.

I liked how the relationship of our lead characters has evolved- they really do have chemistry.

I have never understood why people were so down on Im Soo-hyang. I get that she does not have the sheer acting abilities of Shin Hye-sun but she was perfect in MY ID IS GANGNAM BEAUTY which was a good show: There are roles where she can shine and Park Do-ra seems to be one of them.

I am amazed at how young they are making Ji Hyunwoo look- years younger than he is. In contrast he had to look about as many years older than he is in his role in YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN. He is really convincing in the role he is playing here.

I hope we get to see more of Do-soon and Ma-ri. It looks like instead of using the money her mom gave him to go drinking with his friends he took Ma-ri on an outing and bought her that dollhouse instead. I hope that his sociopathic mom does not soil their friendship by pimping her son out to her family as an alternative plan to what she did with Do-ra, but I am likely to be disappointed.

This show is moving right along but it seems like the fated journey of Do-shik and Myeong-dong has been slow tracked.

As for our baddies: Jin Dan had issued an ultimatum to Do-ra's mom that she will not be able to deliver on. It appears that Do-ra's disgrace which was advertised for this show will be at his hands. "Spurned Lover takes revenge" is a dramatic theme which has existed for centuries- why not go with a classic trope? That this comes as the result of Do-ra's mom should be no surprise- said mom is not actually capable of rational thought which also explains why she developed a gambling addiction. It is amazing how much her character is unchanged from what it was during Do-ra's childhood.

Perhaps then what has been most encouraging for me about our new weekender is that it is unfolding with real dramatic logic.

I also never thought in a million years that I see a really hot kiss that didn’t look too choreographed and was executed flawlessly by both characters who were depicted as enjoying it and responding to it after Dora being the one who initiated the kiss in ‘RL’. The dream kiss is a thing of beauty for KDs and counts in my book.

So... because @oldawyer was constantly promoting it and @attiton gave me a nudge, I did something I hardly ever do and SKIPPED episodes straight to the past weekend and watched episodes 11 and 12 and omg the main couple is so cuuuuuute. 😍 I just hope Pilseung will be strong enough to stand by Dora, because she seems to have very little folk on her side and that obsessive CEO is scary.

I have a long range prediction about the show. We now have an inkling of how Dora’s fall might happen but how will the return occur? I expect she’ll make a comeback in a drama directed by Pilseung, a fairly easy guess. But what if it’s written by Myeong Dong, who’s had Do sik helping with editing?🤔

I wish Viki would post the un-subtitled versions asap and then pull it to substitute with the subbed versions. They’ve done it a few times when the subbed version wasn’t ready. I wonder why it can’t be done routinely? It would help me to learn more expressions and words!

Wow, these weekenders sure have a lot of irritating characters talking to themselves ad nauseum. This is clearly a cheap filler technique but it is getting on my nerves big time, especially with hideous Miju. Poor Dora. She will be blindsided when the shit hits the fan soon.

어머 어머 omo omo 어머1!!1!

I loved episode 13! What a jam-packed hour! Pil-seung's mom is a dear-heart, certainly in comparison to all other moms, except maybe--um--Pil-seung's (other) mom? LOL.

I was going to gripe a bit about our OTP's relationship because I totally see what Do-ra sees in Pil-seung, even above and beyond the persistence of her 12-year-old crush...but couldn't see what Pil-seung saw in Do-ra. However (하지만), as I thought about what I'd type to complain, I realized--I do see what he sees. She's funny (I honestly laughed out loud at her silly aegyo-voice eating that fried chicken in the park), she clearly cares for him deeply, and she's serious about her profession. She certainly apologizes well. I do get it. I mean there's clearly gonna be trouble ahead, and those tattoos were silly/stupid, but hey. I'll take it. They really seem to have mutual respect and care.

I don't know what tomorrow's gonna hold in store, but I suspect it's gonna be a roller-coaster now that the loan sharks are calling for Do-ra!!!

This last ep was incredibly sad even if largely predictable. I still like the leads’ chemistry so much but am not sure I’ve got the stamina to go through so much heartache and hence last the distance. Maybe I should come back in the third quarter and see if I can catch up?

It makes me wonder why the ratings for this weekender are so much worse than the two previous ones which were far worse than this. And, the attrition of the interested Beanies has also been quite sad. Regardless of this woeful state of affairs, I like the leads so much and while want to run away from the rest of the awful characters, I’ll try and stay around. I’ll resist abandoning it.

Jin Dan had issued an ultimatum to sociopathic Do-ra's mom- and she could not deliver. Just as she once played our ML’s Grandfather for a fool so she had played him for a fool- but this time that fool can take revenge and wants to. Out utterly thoughtless gambling addict has triggered a catastrophe. It was actually refreshing to see one arch villain screaming at the other- but the problem is that Do-ra and her brothers will be collateral damage.

What could be lower than Do-ra’s mom essentially kidnapping her daughter and delivering her to Jin-dan? I have seldom been more disgusted than watching her reaction when Do-ra came home. When Do-ra said she would cut ties with her mom I thought this it was the smartest decision she could make. Too bad she was not able to stick to it. At the very least though she needs to get her seal back and fire her mom before more damage is done.

Jin-dan is not a very competent villain- an experienced mob boss would have just taken out a contract on Do-ra’s mom by herself. One should be very careful about revenge or there could be repercussions. Like ultimately losing his company if he continues to misuse it. Dear Jin-dan- please learn that your company is not a toy. I hope that by the end of his show he has lost everything.

Mi-ra was set up on a blind date- and was very upset with her date. I am not sure what her parents were thinking but the not so young man definitely did not appeal to her at all. She knows what she wants- now that she has met Pil-seung. Of course, neither of them knows that he really is her oppa in the most literal sense. Which may explain why she may be just as romantically minded as he is.

Mi-ra actually has very normal desires for someone her age- which should be no surprise. Our vocabulary is inadequate when describing those with her limitations. I for one dislike the term ‘other abled’ as much as I dislike ‘disabled”- neither term captures the reality of those who suffer limits on some portion of their thoughts and activities, indeed, both terms suffer from lumping people together and failing to appreciate the uniqueness of each individual. In Mi-ra we have a unique person who should have her own unique story. Her story will be an interesting one, I am sure.

Episode 14 ended on about as sad a note as you could ever find. We were promised a fall from grace and here it is.

I think I am going to skip a few episodes until things are looking less traumatic/irritating. Fellow beanies, please let me know when it's safe to watch again!

Interestingly, while I found myself eagerly awaiting every new episode with the predecessor, Live Your Own Life (until about episode 48 anyway), strangely, the same cannot be said for this drama. I have not been particularly hooked, but then I'll watch it anyway (with FF button liberally used) and find myself thoroughly enjoying all the scenes where the two main leads interact. The show has been a pleasant surprise, at least where the leads are concerned. Nevertheless, I think as the makjang-ness has been dialled up, I'd better wait a while and see how things go.

At the end of episode 15 we have an unconscious Do-ra being discovered by an old lady beachcomber who misses her departed daughter, and I was reminded that the writer of this weekender also wrote the hit weekender YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN, which featured amnesia as a major plot device. Are we about to get that trope again? Is that a silly question? At least it isn’t being inflicted upon Ji Hyun-woo this time?

Just been through the emotional wringer of episode 15! Wow! How did Jin Dan think framing her for prostitution would bring her to him!

I liked that the news his actions got back to the family so quickly. Looked like Aunt was having second thoughts about giving him the company.

Can hardly believe I’m writing this, but that’s an amnesia plot I can get behind! Instead of taking a character away from his/her loved ones, it’s offering Do-ra freedom from her awful mother and painful past. Not to mention she experiences unconditional love for the first time from her new “grandmother.” Her downfall was indeed painful, but she got a much-needed reset.

Thoughts I should probably keep to myself, episodes 15-16 edition

1. I totally shipped Do-ra's mom and Gong Jin-dan in that last scene of theirs. The ending credits have a still of them staring across his desk at one another and I think that at least that photographer has the same idea as I do... I mean, love overcomes all obstacles, as a certain young Go Dae-chung once said 😉 💘

2. I'm really going back and forth about whether or not I'm enjoying Pil-seung's "new" two-years-older hairstyle. I really loved his more youthful shaggy style (might have been alone, but at least it wasn't orange!), but now that he actually looks his age, the cognitive dissonance of his hair-to-face mismatch is gone, which is a relief... Oh, the travails of a weekender-watcher!!!

3. The speaking-in-countryside-dialect was hard for me to listen to, even as someone who doesn't speak Korean, not only because (in actually a delightful way) it was clear that Im Soo-hyang exaggerating for effect, just like those glasses of hers, but also because it was a call back to that date in the market--and I wasn't in the mood for a call-back.

OK, now for things I feel I can shout loudly!!!

A. That shaman was the best, throwing that salt at Jin-dan like it was an Olympic sport. The actor did a yeoman's job of holding it together as well 😄

B. Go Do-jun for cutting off ties to your horrible mom right there on the beach after she suggested a "light lunch of tofu stew" without skipping a beat at Do-ra's "funeral."

This show continues to bring light into my weekend, and I bet the amnesia plot isn't going to even last three episodes if the pace of this weekender keeps it up!!

PS: I do NOT like Do-sik's new shorter haircut OR his continued devotion to his mother, and I'm looking forward to our second couple getting more screentime so that maybe Myung-dong can rectify this sitch!!

I really appreciated the change in tone for episode 16. Dora’s new
identify was charming and perhaps gave us a glimpse of who she could have been without her toxic Mum.

And it’s amazing to see that Toxic Mum and Jin Dan both don’t really accept that it was their actions that brought Dora to her terrible decision. Jin Dan’s nightmares suggest at least part of him a sense of guilt. But his inability to see that destroying her reputation so so thoroughly wouldn’t bring her to him is astounding. And what a horrible basis for a relationship, ugh!😳

Episode 16 literally started a new chapter in our story. At first, I was upset at amnesia and a two-year time gap. Then I realized what was different about from the colossal mistake that was made in THE REAL HAS COME. That time skip quite literally disrupted the story and effectively destroyed it. The time gaps in this show make dramatic sense in part because the writer found ways to make the breaks in the youngster’s relationships natural.

This story is being told in chapters. The first three episodes were the early story of Do-ra and Go Dae-chung now renamed Pil-seong. They ended with death of Pil-seong’s grandfather and Do-ra’ family fleeing.

The second chapter was the 12 episode drama that could be tiled
“Dora, Apogee, Betrayal and Fall”. In this second chapter our secondary couples meet: Do-ra’s spineless older brother has an inadvertent fling with Pil-seong’s aunt and is ultimately gets cast away. Meanwhile Do-ra’s younger brother saves Mi-ra and they became friends- and then he has to go back to America. They do not meet again until after Do-ra’s fall has caused him to break off from his mom and Hyung. Now he will be Mi-ra’s driver and bodyguard as we begin our third chapter. Part of why the pacing went so well over these 12 episodes is because it was effectively a stand alone K-drama by itself, one that ended with a tragedy.

Our writer has let us know much of what happened in the intervening two years. Do-ra was found by a grandmother who, being more than a little crazy, thinks that she is her long-lost granddaughter- and Do-ra’s amnesia is such that she assumes that this must be so and now goes by another name. In these two years not only has she physically healed but finally received the sort of love that her sociopathic mom could never have given her. Even when her memories return, she will not be the Do-ra that she once was. As for Mi-ra- having once met Pil-seung and fallen in love at first sight she has consistently returned to that same subway station to look for him: If Pil-seung is Mr. Romantic than Mi-ra is Miss Romantic, only maybe even more so than her half-brother.

Meanwhile our two villains have learned nothing, but at least are now clear enemies.

And we know that Pil-sung’s aunt is still writing screen plays that no one buys- not even her nephew who has become a successful director over these two years.

I wonder what we should call this third chapter that we have begun. “Phoenix Rising?”

IIRC, we’re seeing a similar development to the writer’s previous weekender, Young Lady and Gentleman. Not only did one of the leads get amnesia (hopefully just once in this show), but a family member of the FL has moved into the rich house as a driver. Last time was FL’s dad; now it’s Do-ra’s cute younger brother.

After episode 14 I had actually decided not to continue watching, but the comments here convinced me to give the drama another chance. So I skipped straight to the end of episode 15 and then had a lot of fun with episode 16, so I'm all in again.

I like Pil-seung's new haircut, but Do-ra also looks pretty cute with her curly hair.

One of the more realistic and sad aspects of this drama is feeling shame and guilt about having a child out of wedlock and fearing being blamed for it, regarded as an immoral woman and hence ostracised. This is no doubt why Pilseung’s bio mum felt she had to abandon him even if she has tried to remain a part of his life tangentially.

Certainly this was also a common occurrence in many western countries until a few decades ago. Clearly, many things have changed in SK and continue to do so for the better but life remains hard for single mothers and their offspring/s. I would like to know much more about how these human rights issues are addressed or sadly not by the Government and the broader society.

I'd like to reiterate here something I've recently found out--y'all might already know this, but...

The Kocowa app has episodes of BMR up hours and hours before Viki. Episode 18 has been available to me for quite some time today but probably won't be posted to Viki for 10-or-so more hours...

Also the Kokowa app/site allows for 1.25+ speeds for when MOM-ZILLA starts shriek-crying over how she deserves the world for having done NOTHINGZILCHBUPKISNIENTENADARIEN.

There's a level you can watch for free but you can pay to get rid of the ads, but right now I'm just dealing with them...

The more you know!

@dncingemma @oldawyer @al118 @marysadanaga @Nefret @michelleb @Gremlich @stove @Mjcsfla1 @dorotka

Hmm...while waiting for my other comment to come out of moderation, I would like to express my continuing affection for this drama!!

Episode 15-16 Notes
I'm sorry, but Im Soo-hyang was simply adorable chanting and hawking her wares on the street during Ji-young's "acting debut." I wanted to find it horrible and cheesy, but she was clearly having so much fun that I couldn't help but get swept up in it!! Also, when Ji-young couldn't decide between helping a very drunk Pil-seung and her tteokbokki...priceless.

Also, 우리 Do-jun is in all the dramas right now, it turns out! He's playing Ki-baek's younger self in Frankly Speaking and I see that he's gonna be in Chase and Connection!! So nice.

Also, with the original title of Beauty and the Devoted I can't say how happy that (a) the "full amnesia" plot has actually ended with the alacrity we have come to expect from our writer-NIM; and (b) that Pil-seung's desire to fully dote on Do-ra is simply aggressively adorable. I look forward to him taking care of her from a distance--even though I know the plot will move on sooner rather than later.

Lastly, Do-sik and Myeong-dong are back in the same orbit!! And now how they'll have to get to know each other again...oh, and he's a fallen man. I just hope the script she ends up writing isn't the script of BMR. That's a tired trope to me, I'm afraid.

PS: We have a new set! Ma-ri's mom's clothing store! I am looking forward to any/all hair-pulling that may happen there.

PPS: I wouldn't mind if Linda Kim becomes a new, spicy-salty character for Jin-dan, someone who doesn't get dropped suddenly like that lady newscaster in LYOL...

Ep 17-18: I almost forgot what a fine actor Ji Hyun Woo is. He was excellent in these episodes. The pacing is also still going surprisingly well and she is cute as the "country bumpkin".

Were those the fastest drama DNA results ever? BMR is giving me PMR vibes when it comes to pacing and I’m here for it.

The mix of truth and secrets remains on point and so entertaining. Revealed: Do-ra’s identity, to Pil-seung at least. The sad state of Do-shik and his complicated feelings toward Myeong-dong. Still a secret but not for long: The big birth secret. Do-jun’s family background.

🍿Plus, get your popcorn ready: The two villains look set to get reacquainted and I’m sure their interactions will be totally rational and restrained. 😂

Would our Weekender be complete without a YOUNG LADY AND GENTLEMAN reunion? The star actress for our ML’s new full-length K-drama is Se-ra, played, of course (who else?) by Lee Se-hee, who was so very good as the titular Young Lady. Se-ra reminds him that they have worked together before and asks him out- and he turns her down. How ironic.

Things have changed a lot as our third chapter commences. Pilseung’s birth secret has truly come back to bite Mi-ra’s mom as Mi-ra is introduced to him by his (adoptive) mom - and he remembers meeting her two years before. Her dad is no doubt thrilled to hear that Pilseung is the Oppa Mi-ra has been waiting to meet again- and marry- and cannot see why his wife might object and who can blame him?. This has caused an actual fight between Mi-ra’s dad and mom- so at least low level makjang may be building there.

Poor Mi-ra- headed for heartbreak. But at least she can console herself with the thought that she is actually in the same boat as Se-ra, The Queen of Romcoms. Still, that girl has some spunk- even after being literally dragged away from Pil-seung’s home she had the guts to go back and get some answers.
Pilseung has noticed that ‘Ji-yeung’ strongly resembles Do-ra, even if her mannerisms and way of dressing do not. So when she has mentioned seeming to remember a scene that only he and Do-ra would have known and is then in an accident he has the opportunity to check for the star tattoo- and there it is. And with that we have a love triangle that only a confession from Mi-ra’s mom can resolve.

The plastic surgery was 'reconstructive'- it is we the viewers who know that the surgeon did such a bang-up job that he re-created the actual original face while at the same time serving as the reason why Grandma and neighbors did not expect to be gazing on the face of 'Ji-young': Because the surgeon had warned them that it would not be 'Ji-young's' face it simply explained the difference.

Jin-dan and “Linda Kim”: What happens when Jin-dam meets a living Do-ra again? Do I see the beginning of the story of the Fall of Jin-dan?

I’m really liking Jiyoung and almost don’t want Dora to regain her memory.

Will a run in with Jin Dan be the triggering event?

And I think we’re close to Pil seung’s birth secret being revealed. At the moment I think it’s going to slip out when his birth mother is so desperate to keep him and Mi ra separate. We may have seen the beginning of it in the last episode.

Still amazed at the pace of the storytelling. Things that would normally be drawn out over many episodes are being dealt with in an episode or two.

I found much of episode 19 engaging. Pilseung knows that Do-ra wants to get her memories back but also that once she does, she may detest him- but he is trying anyway. Rather than just amnesia as a plot device this time there is an actually a look at the dramatic questions. raised by amnesia and memories in general. Ma-ri’s story arc moved forward as the episode ended with her dad coming to visit Pilseung’s family with the suggestion that he might become his son-in-law.

Seon-ha's Episode 19 Highlights

Ji-young has amnesia but remembers all the intricacies of the Korean dating dance!! Love it. My favorite line, uttered as she shoves like five bouquets of flowers back at Pil-seung, "Just buy me a whole watermelon next time!" Only to turn around and rush back to snatch the flowers saying, "Well, these flowers did nothing wrong!!" That said, he really is doing her dirty and she told him so at least three times this episode, and yet he persists. Showing up drunk at her door with tteokbokki...sheesh...and *secretly adorbs*.

I love that Jin-dan's gonna figure out that Ji-young is Do-ra eons faster than Pil-seung did and probably with ZERO DNA tests. I now hope the amnesia story line lasts a few more episodes than I previously thought it should so that some real "You don't remember, but..." villainy can happen. What if Momzilla even gets in on it?

Is it a Frankly Speaking reference that the new show within a show is called "Don't Lie??" At least Pil-seung has stopped leaving his briefcase-bag in random places this week. He did it at least twice last week and I kept wondering if there was anything important in there.

And lastly, how f'ing amazing was it that Smarmy Actor brought The Truth to Pil-seung as he contemplated making life choices on behalf of Do-ra, saying "You're saying YOU think she'll be hurt by getting her memories back, and so you don't think you should help her because that's what YOU think, but SHE is the one who says she wants them back...so help her!!" Noble Idiocy-type Behavior denied in like three minutes flat. I love this writer!