I had a busy Saturday and was then glad that ep.3 was waiting for me when I went to bed. I'm still tremendously enjoying this drama, it understands that a family weekender needs to follow ALL of the various story lines... and it manages to inject its special humour even in not so humorous situations (oh, Chaebol, you and your awareness of your pathetic conversation. 😄 Kim Junghyun is excellent here! 🙂).
We are still settling up the stage, but I have no urge to speed up through it, if anything, I can't wait for the next episode to know MORE and be more with the characters, all of them.

I'm confused about the DB protocol for this drama. Is it a hangout every week? Every 10 episodes??

I've been burned twice (Hyo Sim and The Real Has Come) by weekenders but Iron Family "appears" to be an outlier. Anyway, I'll keep checking back before I decide whether or not to invest my Sat/Sun time now that Love Next Door is ending.

😊

Seven minutes into the third ep, why do they release so late, and if they want me to root for this ML he is going to have to do some sincere groveling. That was horrible, I don't care about the why, it was so hurtful.

So we have had our burglary and tomorrow, with episode 4, we should be completing our setup.

Among the relationships we saw was our FL's "Oppa" who works in her family laundry being summoned late night by her (actual real) Unni to handle a 'stain emergency' on the sample that she has created during her off hours. Unni is apparently quite comfortable standing in front of our (apparent) 2ML in her camisole. He assures her that Unni cannot have him. There is obviously something going on between the two of them- and a story line to come.

Missing from episode three was our FL's actual Oppa and his bride- but now that we have heard the sirens, I trust that they will appear tomorrow.

Our grandparents have made their way to the mountain- lets see what happens tomorrow.

EPISODE 3
1. Haraboji and halmoni are THE CUTEST. I love them so much.
2. I don't know what's happening with Cha Rim and (secretly rich) oppa, but I'm already invested in their story.
3. Is mom going to make me cry in every single episode?
4. I find the ML's parents adorable.
5. I can't wait for tomorrow.

Episode 4 was a delight again. We had perhaps less of other story lines, but we quite advanced with the money theft and now my question is whether Halmoni and Haraboji secretly stashed something in their backpacks (they didn’t, but I wish they did). They were adorable giggling in the bed after their adventurous trip. 😊

Mom is trying to gather money for the treatment... and it shows how burdening it can be for the siblings.
And this again shows a good writing - the possible conflicts we see coming are (1) integral to the story (2) internal to the characters, coming from their situation and as a consequence of their doing. Like being pushed to give up on an apartment (and independence) for a sick sister... being tempted to use money from the in-laws... or keeping hidden money from the husband and lying.
(This is something Hyoshim wasted so terribly, it was there, we could see it, but instead the show had us frustratingly watching Mom moping on the sofa and Hyoshim cooking curry 🙄.) Anyway, so far, knock, knock, the story unfolds well and I hope also the humour stays good till the end. 🤞

Also, can someone tell me how Bom (the little girl) and her dad (who works in the restaurant) are related to the Iron family?
Are they just neighbors?
Is he a single dad??

I liked episode 3. As before, I enjoy the way the story is free of annoying, screeching characters, and that the plot moves quickly from point to point without too many secrets or misunderstandings. I also like that the ML is not already in love with the FL (although he clearly feels more of a pull towards her than I think he lets himself admit), and that he is absolutely not perfect. And yet, he's very endearing. His inner monologue is hilarious, too.

I keep wondering if there isn't some kind of medical fund that Mom could apply for on behalf of her daughter. I also wanted the doctor to contradict Mom when she was blaming herself for the fact that her daughter can't have the operation. It's not her fault medical costs are out of control!

I hope when I'm 90 that I have the energy to dig for bracken in the mountains.

1. I LOVE HARABOJI AND HALMONI.
2. Yes, mom decided she's going to make me cry every single episode.
3. I thought we had avoid the love triangle/square, but nope.
4. I'm already invested in mom x Cha Rim's (and maybe Cha Rim x Da Rim?) healing story. I smell the older daughter trauma/resentment storyline from here.
5. I love the ML's family even if mom's greed is a problem. But I also feel like her lawyer didn't do his job?? Why didn't he tell her how bad it could get for her and her family?
6. Why are all the characters so charming/likeable/relatable/fun?
7. Idk, but I love this show.

Wow, what a great opening two weeks! I haven't consistently enjoyed a show and ALL its characters THIS much in a while. It wasn't boring or distracting for a second. The writing feels very confident, like an old hand showing you how it should be done. Let's hope it stays this way.

Of course, KJH is such a natural comedian, he's a joy to watch. And GSR was charming in whatever I've watched her in before, she's got micro expressions that are absolutely killing - like that sly smile she gave for half a second after ML was dragged in by SBOO (Stocks and Building Owner Oppa - yeah I'm borrowing that too @dorotka :D ) - I rewatched that moment a few times!

I have been excited about this drama for months, and I'm so happy it's had a great opening. Besides the FL and ML actually finding their OTP, everyone else has equally compelling stories to tell: the moms, the kids, the grandparents, their daughter, the cop mom-in-law-to-be, the ML and family, even the bumbling thieves... I'm deeply invested already in everyone's storylines. Fingers crossed for a fun ride ahead!

I like how the story is going - it's quite different from the previous weekenders that I have seen. The mother's worries are very realistic and her actions to find the solution is what other mothers would do.

Kim Hye-eun and Park Ji-young are so cute. Too very different characters, and I can see Ji-yeon annoying a lot of people, but flighty, shameless rich women really are so fun to me. I hope we see Ji-yeon and Bong-hee interact more.

Funnily enough, this drama doesn't seem all that concerned with our lead couple yet, which im okay with. ML is clearly a bone head, and I'd rather he learn a little before getting with our FL (I'm not having another Fork-gyu situation). There's a lot of interesting possibilities here - looking forward to Aunt and Bom's dad, Bong-hee's relationship with her eldest daughter, even the ML's dad and his wife are cute (and so funny loll). So far, so good!

A mother desperate to help her daughter instead of exploit her is such a welcome change from recent weekenders. It’s also lovely to see real affection between family members and neighbors. Of course there’s going to be drama, but already the characters feel like people who could be deserving of whatever happiness they’ve earned by the end.

Awwwww Ep 4 was so good!!
Grand parents are super adorable.
Mom is the best!!
Rooftop Oppa is 😍

I love the ML’s family too. I hope the parents don’t divorce.

The weekender thriller element was so good! I have never been so excited about the movement of slush money. lol.

Need more episodes!!! Weeekend come palli

After four episodes the setup of this show is complete. Our heroic mom is desperately raising cash to save her daughter’s eyes while Grandma and Grandpa have come across the stolen loot. FL’s beautiful aunt is being dumped by her husband for a younger woman (Unfortunately, it appears that Central Casting in Kdramaland seems to have an inexhaustible supply of these jerks.

We have finally met the bad guys- the loan sharks and the thieves. Our ML’s mom should definitely not have listened to her dad fifteen years ago. Even if the ten billion won was cut in half by inheritance taxes after fifteen years and in her husband’s capable hands it would be worth more than ten billion now even if taxes had been paid on the gains along the way. He is hoping that her husband can find a way to forgive her. And, as I expected, we got to see more of her Oppa, her sister-in-law and her Oppa’s mother-in-law as well.

Is it OK if I really dislike her Unni right now? She is not evil but definitely selfish (and obviously scarred to the point of irrationality by the grind of the poverty she experienced). She is going to have to change a lot if she is going to be worthy of our 2ML.

Observation: This is shaping up to be a good weekender- yes there is suspense and crime- and there are some dislikeable people as well but the likeable and reformable ones way outnumber them.

Second observation: Not all weekender stories are romances- the birth of strong friendships are significant stories also.

That being said we do have some love lines being laid out in addition to the story of our FL and ML:

I actually went back to look at that scene at the design company where our (secretly rich) Stocks and Building Owner Oppa has made his emergency call in episode three and watching it a second time I saw even more than before: The way that Unni embraces our 2ML after he removes the stain, even putting her head on his shoulder, then takes of her blouse (she is down to her camisole) and then shows 2ML the lines by taking his hands and running them down her flanks in what has to be an unusually suggestive, if not actually erotic, gesture for a Kdrama and follows this up with a kiss to his cheek: If pressed she would, I am sure, claim that she was just showing her appreciation but our 2ML gets the real message and responds to all this by reminding her that she cannot have him. I am hoping that Unni will finally get over her selfishness, find her heart- and get her guy- but only after some serious redemption. His protestations notwithstanding the very fact that he is even there for her tells us what we need to know about his feelings- because he is literally there for her.

These four episodes are certainly delightful and have turned me into a fan. It’s equally delightful to read all the beanies’ comments - the family around Iron Family!