I liked these episodes better than the previous two. I think it's because we had less school and more home scenes.

I really love chef dad. And he almost made me cry with that drunk rant. I was kinda expecting him to say "I wish I would've adopted him earlier so he didn't have to meet an aunt like you" or something like that. LMAO

I was SO done with that woman. She literally left her nephew with him, and TEN YEARS later acts like it's shocking that he isn't a stranger anymore for the kid? Like, girl, that's HIS son. You've never heard of adoption? Just thank the universe you didn't dump your nephew with weirdo and move on. Live your life and let them live theirs. It's been ten years.

I don't understand what concept aunt and her sis have about family, that ten years later they're talking about money as if anyone would raise someone else's kid thinking "well, in the future they'll pay me back so it's okay" 😂😂😂 Istc it makes no damn sense. With that logic, of course those two left their family with a total stranger. LMAO

Btw, has she been making Hae Joon feel bad about his existence every single one of his birthdays? To like, make him feel like he shouldn't have been born or something? Maybe she's just evil? She hates him secretly? I think I dislike her more than San Ah's mom (I skipped her scenes so maybe that's why).

2. Someone else noticed that the parents have the classic dynamic?

I was wondering what was going with Police O dad when his son was not eating the most important meal of the day for like a week. We just know that Chef dad sent him food with his siblings, but what was PO dad doing that whole time?

And then I just realized that we never see PO dad interact with the kids unless it is at the table with the whole family. Also, we barely see Chef dad working.
His restaurant is there so the parade of bad moms, aunt, and bio dad can have somewhere to go.

And it seems like everyone in the little universe of the show knows about who's raising the kids, and who's making the big money. San Ah's mom blames Chef dad for raising San Ah "wrong", and aunt keeps talking about how San Ah doesn't have to do anything because his dad makes the big wons. I think in the second episode Chef dad complained about PO dad not helping much with the chores at home too... 🤔

I was expecting something different, but this is interesting too.
I'm glad at least he had that scene with San Ah. Tbh, I had forgotten that San Ah's sister was his daughter until SA said it. We never get to hear much about what ahjussi feels.

3. I don't know what's going to happen with Ju Won's storyline in the future since she's the only one without annoying relatives, but I feel like there's something in her past that makes her so obsessed with her family. Is it because of the bullies?

The three siblings live in this private bubble which no one can enter (the way they treated that kid who like JW was so damn rude), and I...

The writer has a HUGE issue with mothers. My goodness what did they do. They are all so hateful.

I was also very grateful chef apa told emo about herself and she had the grace to be ashamed. She was projecting her guilt onto him and she didn't need to.

Here comes the romance, lol. I get it though, San Ha, I don't think he has ever once thought of her as his sister and she has always fought for him, so the crush makes sense. Hopefully no love triangle.

Thank you for the recap, @starrygazer! Like your analysis, Dad Kim seems to be the typical father while Dad Yoon is obviously the mother in this family dynamic. And I love it! I think Ju-won is focused on taking care of her brothers. However, she also came to Dal's rescue when the three boys were badgering her.

I appreciate that the recaps, like the show, do not enforce traditional gender norms by forcing the two dads into stereotypical Dad/Mom roles. They’re being exemplary parents in their own ways. As @9TailedVixen said on a previous thread, Noodle Dad (both dads, in fact) can adult like a boss. Cop Dad may not say as much, but he’s got plenty of emotional intelligence, too. He’s spent some time since his daughter’s death reflecting on instead of frantically looking for a scapegoat. (Looking - GLARING - at you, San-ha’s alleged mom.) And I think he's been tamping down his own grief and guilt for years so as to not add to San-ha's burdens, and that's why it's harder for him to check in on San-ha emotionally.

It looks like San-ha’s younger sister died from a reaction to a nut allergy. Maybe the mom blames him for having nuts or giving them to her? San-ha has already said more than once that the two children were left alone without food. (This is not a request for info from the C-drama.)

I know the show is just messing with us, but Dal and San-ha do seem like a better match right now in temperament. I’m worried about where her frequent lying is going to lead, though.

I enjoyed this week's episodes - plenty of forward movement with the story and plenty of heart-tugging scenes.

HOWEVER, I still have an issue with how all the women in this series (except Ju-Won) are portrayed. Both San-Ha's and Hae-Joon's mothers are absentee mothers with one only returning to spill more toxic anger at him and the other literally refusing to see her son. Hae-Joon's aunt isn't that much better with her constantly reminding him to be quiet and grateful and lying to him about seeing his mother etc.

If Writer-Nim has a redemption story arc for the mothers in this drama, my bet is on Hae-Joon's mother. Something in her expression tells me that she may be staying away for Hae-Joon's good. Maybe something to do with how she finally made so much money. I will give her credit where credit is due - at least she repaid her debt to Noodle Debt and left enough money with him to pay for Hae-Joon's college. At least she's made limited amends. Very limited but this also limits more damage being done.

All in all - I like that this drama has excellent representations of healthy masculinities (even Hae-Joon's best male friend tells him off for being dense and hurting Dal) but the portrayal of women leaves a lot to be desired.

I'm still curious how you can get the custody of your kid when the other is dead because you let them alone... Maybe because the father was a cop. It's not like they did change their way to do things after, San-ha often was alone before Noodle dad took him and gave him food.

If the justice said something maybe the mother would have realized she was the problem (with the father) and not her son. But she just does everything she wants and everybody lets her.

The kids are really resilient because with such adults around them, it must be very difficult.

Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I have always wondered about the apparent ease women give up and abandon their children in Kdrama - like in Healer, the mom finds a new husband and drops her son with his grandma. In Legend of the Blue Sea, mom walks away and leaves her son because her husband got a new wife. Or in Fight My Way, which forces the mom out of the family because of a spicy role in a movie.
Is that a Kdrama thing or is this a real thing?
It's a weird thing, considering women lose their own name after giving birth and it turns into your-child's-name-eomma.
Here, both mums walk away, and I suppose (I haven't seen the Cdrama) it's both based in shame, and with San -has mom it's probably also depression, guilt and the need to blame someone else for something that is very clearly her fault.
Hae-joons Mom probably was forced to engage in a hostess job/ some sort of prostitution thanks to real dad discount gangster boss guy. So now she feels too much shame to even look at her son.

I have pretty much grown to loathe kdrama drinking scenes but Noodle dad over doing it on the beer and letting Auntie have it with both barrels was the best drinking scene I have seen in a kdrama in years. Choi Won-young is giving a great performance as Noodle dad.

Thank you for the 👨‍👧‍👦👨‍👦recap.

I loved Joo-won's efforts to reconcile San-ha and Hae-joon. While all else may have failed their collective protectiveness for Joo-won brought them together in a heartbeat. 💓 I think Joo-won is indeed the heart of this family and they all revolve around her. And as we know an important dramaland rule is that a family that fights together, stays together. 😅🙃😂❤

We had a relative who loved to visit (sometimes with another relative) for a week or two each time on our birthdays and I can tell you, we couldn't see the back of her soon enough. It ruined ALL our celebrations for years. 😭 At least Hae-joon's Aunt went back the same day. But her endless needling of Hae-joon is annoying to the max. 🙄 The boys' mothers are not earning any sympathy either and Hae-joon's mom "paying off" Noodle Dad without even bothering to thank him was a low blow. 😠 Of course San-ha's mom and her twisted logic makes me want to say some "words" to her. 🤬

The Dads are getting more and more endearing.

Yes, we can expect more heartbreak which is already looming on the horizon but like all good stories - All will be well when it ends well.

I couldn't find the review for episode 4 so i am leaving this here. i am late to the game because i wanted to wait for the show to catchup so i could binge it and the the holidays came.... just watching episode four right now and I need a reality check on San Ha's mother. I can't believe she had the audacity to come to him and say she came back to forgive him!! She left an 8year old in charge of his younger sister (4 yr or so?) and blamed him for his sister's death and it is so unfair and I can't stand it. Thank you for letting me vent. I did not read ahead because I don't want to ruin it, so if this gets resolved I will be so happy.