Pyo Sang Seob's arc has been FANTASTIC. I loved all the parts he was in. His watching and being entertained by our OTP's fight was chef's kiss. I also loved his class. It was so delightful.

Also, one of my favorite things about a well-written drama is a well choreographed argument, and that was really well done. I loved every bit of both arguments. Jun Ho been a cheeky little bugger in that second fight and causing everyone to choke was hilarious. SIR!!!!!

So many great moments in this drama.

Also, Chung Mi playing with Seung Kyu is delicious fun. I haven't loved a 2FL this much in a long time. She is so great and Seung Kyu has it so bad, but in the most adorable way possible. I need this to happen before the end of this drama. Please, please, please.

These were a fascinating pair of episodes because i loved that the couple fights were ideological. I also really enjoyed that the supposed antagonist Sang Seob became an ally in a completely believable way and i really enjoyed seeing his class and his and Hye Jin's new camaraderie. I also liked that while Jun Ho did have a better idealistic point, it wasn't that the idealistic man got one up on the materialistic woman (which is a gripe i have in a lot of media), he was arguing for something that he had literally learnt from her and used as his touchstone because of how she changed his life. Hye Jin wasn't being taught something new, she was figuring out how to get back to what she'd already valued before, and ultimately using that to successfully let go of the power that flash drive of content would have otherwise had on her.

I will say, i did not appreciate Jun Ho not leaving her alone when he found her at the restaurant and i wish that approach had been done differently, because it was too clingy and annoying. The scene did work for me in the end because we got more insight into what they both were trying to get across and because it ended with humor, Sang Seob and HJ's friends faces when JH blurted out the line about their future were priceless. Hye Jin was being condescending to Jun Ho, and Jun Ho was being overbearing in his desire to prove himself and not giving her space to get there on her own. However, I think that despite the iffy wobble in approach, overall, I enjoyed the disagreement and resolution because it felt very realistic. The beach sunrise trip was quiet and sweet.

Looks like next week will be the reveals and outside drama. I wonder if Hyun Tak will be firmly placed as the antagonist now, director Choi wants Hye Jin more than she wants her to go down, is the feeling I got, so would that affect what the fallout is from the discovery of the couple?

I don't know understand the hate for Pyo Sang-seob. I think he was reasonnable and I always understood his side. They were both wrong at the beginning, not only him. I just want to give him a hug because he looks so lonely. So it was so nice to see him happy and enjoying our leads fight 😂 This scene was epic!

Jun-ho is very idealistic, while Hye-jin feels very realistic. That is interesting and all, and it really shows in the fight they had, but that is where I start having problems with it. The fight itself was very well done, however my problem lies in the aftermath of it.

I think the fight was interesting because both sides were understandable, and I don't think either of them were necessarily in the right, but they also weren't wrong. The problem is that afterwards, the show chooses a clear side in the argument, being "Jun-ho is right". While he may technically be right, I don't think the way he went over it (or the way he acted after the fight) was right, and I also think that there are serious questions that his idea raises. Is it even feasible? Isn't it too idealistic? But the show seems to mostly ignore all of this, simply to prove the point that "Jun-ho is right". A lot of this show has felt very realistic, but now it feels like the show is ignoring said realism, because technically Jun-ho is right. It feels too black-and-white, as in "Jun-ho is right & Hye-jin was wrong", while a lot of this show so far has actually felt very grey. Maybe they'll address this stuff later, but so far? I'm not convinced.

However, on the opposite side, you have Sang-Seob. He's not a black-and-white character, and the show doesn't necessarily frame him as being in the right or in the wrong. And it works, as I always thought he was a rather interesting character, and I found myself actively liking him this week.

Also, I'm loving everything about Chung-mi and Seong-kyu. They might not have that much screentime, but they never fail to put a smile on my face.

Dramaddictally, thanks for the recap !

The 10 Years of Files USB caper . That struck me as criminal and unethical. Vice Director seriously misread Mr. Pyo’s character, I am disappointed that Grey Witch permitted it, doesn’t do much for her reputation.

The cafeteria confession was cute.
Didn’t care too much for the OTP this week.
The Vice Director needs to be fired.
Mr Pyo is a ok guy, ( when he isn’t physically assaulting teachers.) 😵‍💫

"but Mom keeps pushing until he’s frustrated and mouthing off about how they need to stop controlling his life. She finally backs down, and later he feels bad about how he acted."

I don't think he was mouthing off at all, but instead, he stood up for himself and did not act as a doormat for his parents' desires. I was glad to see him do this. It's always frustrating to me to watch overbearing parents thinking their adult children can't make their own decisions about their lives.

It's understandable that he didn't want to have to go there and hurt his parents' feelings. But they brought his acting out on themselves, if he let this continue they would not be happy with or stop at what job he should have. They act as though they have the God-given right to dictate his life.

Teacher Pyo Sang-seob. Wow. I've gone from disliking him initially, then intrigued by his inflexibility, later concerned for his mental health, to this week being amazed by his lecture and chat with Hye-jin. Who would've thought this character would turn out to be this interesting? Also, kudos to the actor playing him because he's doing a fantastic job.

My one complaint regarding Pyo Sang-seob is the fact that he has not apologized to Hye-jin for his physical aggression towards her a while back. I hope he does before this is over.

What a fantastic turnaround. I was dreading the fight against her new nemesis, but instead he became an ally!

Jun-ho to me was trying to get Hye-jin to remember her ideals. She didn't start as just a cog in the system, instead, the system turned her into an outstanding one. This may have made her a star and money maker but also made her too predictable, and has set her up and made her vulnerable to eventual sabotage.

and we finally got a proper class being shown in this class.
as expected, it was my favorite moment of this week and I wished we had more of that, from different characters, maybe even showing their different approaches to teaching korean. it could illustrate the debates and discussions some of the characters have about how to teach

This drama is so well written. I appreciate how the characters are written with their flaws and all.

My eyes were glazing over with all the scheming and machinations and bad guys being bad guys. But then it all came together nicely at the end.
This drama makes me cry. I teared up when I realized they had each other's backs (the teacher telling Hye Jin what's going on). I teared up with the lecture. Nicely done.
I love that they said "money doesn't come from doing the right thing" (or something like that). How they talked about being machines under capitalism or systems driven by profit. I love that the teacher reiterated that "it's fun" (to do what's right or what feeds your soul).

The argument had me riveted (like all the bystanders there). But I wasn't a fan of the yelling from both of them. I don't like when men yell in an argument- red flag there. They could've gotten their points across without the yelling. Just a quibble of mine there.
I did burst out laughing when Jun Ho said "so we can have a long life together." Where did that line come from??
Can I see more Si Woo though? I also enjoyed the development with the high school student. I'm going to make my own decisions (and not just follow what mom and dad want me to do). Nice touch there.
I still don't "get" Jun Ho as a character. He's like a blank slate. There are complaints about his pushiness this episode. I get that.

1. Wow. Pyo ssaem story and character development was perfect. He was my favorite this week.

All I can say is "WOW." This is how you write a character.

2. Joon Ho just kept fighting with people this week.
His mom, Hye Jin, and he even tried to fight Pyo ssaem LOL.

His fight with his mom was funny. He's like me. When you know they won't listen to you no matter what you say, the only thing left to do is shut up and put distance before you get pissed off.

But I'm glad his parents are going to give him a change to live his life. 😆
...Can we please stop treating Joon Ho like a 12 years old (I know that he's kind of childish but still)?

The funny thing is that the parents aren't the biggest problem here. Hye Jin literally saying "okay. Joon Ho, your teacher is going to explain everything to you slowly" was insane. 😂😂

I love Hye Jin, but I would've broken up with her right there. That was so patronizing.
She said he was disrespecting her career, but did she not notice that she kept disrespecting him too?

Are these two going to keep fighting like this?

3. Did the assistant director really think that Hye Jin would go work with her after what she did? That's unrealistic.

I think her revenge plan would've had a chance if she had treated Hye Jin better. Trying to steal her is smarter than trying to destroy her. She's a phenix.

Hye Jin feeding her enemies like the boss she is. 😎 This why I love her.

4. Our secondary couple is adorable.

I loved that 10 minute extract from Sangseob’s lecture. It was a revelation. I hope it is entirely accurate so that I can rely on it and know that I have learnt something profound and accurate about the deconstruction of a seminal work of modern Korean Lit.

As much as I appreciate the character arc why did people drop their violence is never the answer stance when what Sang-seob did was assault back then? That was crossing a line.

P.S. The shoulder grab: he did apologize to HJ for it in person (at the Japanese restaurant I believe) in a much earlier episode almost immediately after it happened

These two eps were simply riveting for me... the best 2 so far. Those two showdowns were incredibly done. I forgot that they were players doing a job, because the writing, depiction, direction, and acting were just so natural, it felt I was there with their unwilling colleagues eavesdropping.

I have never seen a more realistic depiction of a couple having an argument- they each went low in their own different ways, poking at the other's soft spots, being petty and patronising, saying unbelievably rude stuff that had me gasping. They nailed how people react by yelling in the face of obstinacy, the MCPish-ness that men show, the highs and lows in a fight where people are trying to collect their thoughts or just blurting out the first thing at hand. The acknowledgement of Mr. Pyo's or Ms. Nam's presence via awkward nods or embarrassed can you believe it looks, but just going on tooth and nail regardless- just wow.
It all had me on the edge of my seat, breathless, and almost crying, because warring couples are my trigger, and I still couldn't look away.
The only other example of this I can think of is the visceral argument scene from Marriage Story, because, well... reasons.

Anyway... on to hagwon matters.
I actually feel the Grey Teacher looks at the Asst Dir lady with great revulsion... something in the way she was asking provoking questions, smiling, it all felt like she was wanting to know how low the other woman would go. She isn't all above-board herself, but it's to do with teaching, and not petty revenge and ugly language like cutting the snake's head off. That was horrid to hear.

I now really do hope that our band of 3 lovely teachers,(looking at you, Mr Pyo- I love your awkwardly nerdy, yet committed vibe- I'm so glad you redeemed yourself after the 1st few eps!). Maybe with Ms. Nam as well, they can start their own academy under his friend's mom who anyway wants to start one of her own. Each is (re)discovering their passion for their profession, and I hope they succeed together, not for money, but for the students who want to do more than just get 100% marks in 1 exam.

I feel that's what the show's leading up to anyway. Looking forward to see a timeskip with our leads teaching small classes of motivated kids, or maybe taking them on field trips to the beach to see how big the world really is. Fighting!

I dreaded the promised tension of these episodes and only just completed them. 😅

What great perspectives Beanies have already shared. I don’t have much else to add except I wished more of Junho’s arc. He’s gone too quickly from a money-seeking, lovesick puppy to an idealistic and explosive character. Those elements were there but I wish more deeply, gradually developed over the previous 10 episodes.

Last week, there were enjoyable scenes like the couple ones. But the introduction of the Sang Seob issue and Hye Jin's reaction left me disinterested.

So I dragged my feet to this set of episodes, but I actually liked them a lot. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen during Jun Ho and Hye Jin's intense argument.

The passion Sang Seob has for teaching was so evident. It was heartwarming that his after school class did leave a positive impression on a student. I like the direction of his character story. I'm also shocked at how my feelings for him have changed compared to the weeks before.

Behind them all: Hye Jin's decision to stay at her academy and not take the Gray Witch's offer, Jun-ho's decision to scrap his teaching textbook, following on from his first experience teaching (remember when he said he'd get the stars out of the sky for his student), to Pyo Sang Seob's decisions about how he'd teach, in all three situations, the response from their individual students has been most persuasive. They melt before an enthusiastic response from their students. They'll throw out a political advantage every time, in exchange for a student saying, "you've made me excited about learning".

I just love, love, love this drama. It gets it!! These are teachers who thrive on passion for teaching, and once they realise they've been waylaid or somehow distracted, it pulls them up and they reorient themselves.

It's all very timely too in SK. The unbearable pressure teachers are put under, especially by ambitious parents has lead to suicides. Initially the teachers' union was horrified at PSS's portrayal and demanded an apology. I wonder what they think now. I also wonder if their demands influenced his sunsequent more positive portrayal.

Why does the vice director acting so malicious? She wants to be the director? I like this drama, but it is more a work related drama than a romantic one.