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A Virtuous Business: Episodes 9-10

We’ve reached the angst portion of our story as tragedy strikes our quartet and causes a rift. Then, our detective’s personal investigation takes a dangerous turn when he inches closer to solving the kidnapping case. On a positive note, life is going pretty well for our recently divorced businesswoman who finally gets to have nice things and begins to find her own happiness. There’s a lot going on this week, so strap in.

 
EPISODES 9-10

This week is an emotional rollercoaster for our quartet. There’s romantic progress for two of our ladies, while the other two face massive hurdles that impact the whole group. Despite personal troubles, especially for poor Jung-sook, our group of friends has been rock solid so far. I guess that means it’s time for their bond to be tested because nothing is easy for these women. Let’s start with some good, shall we?

Do-hyun is finally sure of his feelings for Jung-sook, mustering up the courage to tell her he likes her. Jung-sook is direct and tells him she’s not sure how she feels, but no matter, she’s not willing to date; she’s focused on Min-ho and her job right now. Do-hyun doesn’t push and takes it well. It’s nice seeing such a mature, respectful exchange. But something tells me, Jung-sook may not stick to her guns on this one.

Ju-ri is the one to change her perspective. She and Dae-geun have officially started dating, although Ju-ri wants to keep it on the downlow for now. He’s just ecstatic to have a girlfriend in any capacity. Jung-sook struggles to reconcile having a kid and dating, but Ju-ri doesn’t see that as an issue. For her, it’s simple: if she enjoys being with someone, that probably means she likes them and should date them to see where it goes.

I appreciate how Jung-sook never drags anything out. The second she shifts her perspective, she calls Do-hyun to set up a test-our-feelings date. They both have fun at an amusement park, despite nothing going as planned, and Jung-sook admits she likes him. And with that, they’re official.

If only things were going so swimmingly for our other two ladies. Young-bok, for now, is blissfully unaware of her husband’s criminal activity. That doesn’t last long since Jong-sun is too fundamentally honest and good natured to handle the guilt. It’s bad enough that his partner in crime hit a pedestrian during their getaway (Jong-sun did get out to check on him and call an ambulance), but Jong-sun’s guilt only worsens when he learns who they hit: Geum-hee’s husband CHOI WON-BONG (Kim Won-hae).

Won-bong is in bad shape, but he does survive thanks to emergency surgery and will make a full recovery. Still, Jong-sun almost immediately confesses to Young-bok what he’s done. She’s livid at his return to crime and devastated for her friend. He wants to turn himself in, but Young-bok won’t let him. She’s afraid their kids will suffer if he goes to prison. But the burden is too much to bear, and it’s not long before she, too, cracks and tells Geum-hee the truth. Jong-sun then does turn himself in.

I get Geum-hee being angry at Young-bok, even if it’s not her fault, but for some reason she decides this is all because she became friends with all three ladies and no longer wants to see any of them. She softens a bit once she learns that Jong-sun made the call that saved her husband’s life. Even Won-bong encourages her to forgive – he knows she doesn’t get close to others easily and that Young-bok means a lot to her.

Speaking of Young-bok, she and her family are so sweet. Their daughters believe Jong-sun is working overseas, but their eldest EOM-JI is old enough to know better. She remembers her father being gone as a child and puts two and two together. She’s mature and supportive, understanding how hard it’s all been on her mom but also assuring Young-bok she knows her dad is a good person.

Jung-sook helps convince Young-bok not to give up on Geum-hee’s friendship and takes her to the hospital to apologize. Young-bok’s apology is more dramatic than intended when she drops in pain, outing the fact that she’s pregnant. Geum-hee commandeers a wheelchair and races her through the hospital. They’re all relieved that Young-bok and the baby are fine. Now that Geum-hee has the full story, she can’t stay angry at Young-bok. They agree to settle, so Jong-sun might not have to serve time.

Now that all is well with our friends, they get back to business. Jung-sook starts her journey as branch manager and takes to it right away. She’s full of ideas, as usual, and even starts giving presentations to local reps. Things are finally going right for our girl.

Meanwhile, Do-hyun makes headway on his investigation thanks to Captain Seo who has figured out Do-hyun is one of the kidnapped babies. He shares his materials and a lead: there’s an orphanage that adopted a bunch of kids abroad who weren’t officially in their care. There’s even a price on the records, as if they were sold.

Do-hyun loops Jung-sook in, and she helps with questioning the neighborhood ajummas as they find clues. All the questions catch the attention of CHO SUN-AE who runs the local video store. She was an assistant midwife at the time. Events take a sudden, dramatic turn when Do-hyun is drugged and tied up by Sun-ae as he tries to interview her.

Suffice to say, Sun-ae is our kidnapping culprit. She believes she was saving those children from poor families; her own baby died because they couldn’t afford healthcare. But then she drops a bombshell: she left a tiny tattoo on the babies’ foreheads so she could recognize them. Do-hyun doesn’t have the tattoo.

Thank goodness Do-hyun let Jung-sook in on the investigation because she also comes by Sun-ae’s shop. When Jung-sook knocks on the door, Sun-ae rushes out and accidentally knocks over a lantern. She doesn’t realize it starts a fire with Do-hyun trapped inside. Jung-sook sees his notebook on the table and breaks down the basement door to save him. She apparently called in backup because her besties are hilariously subduing Sun-ae by attaching themselves to her like leeches until the cops arrive.

While the kidnapping mystery is solved, Do-hyun dejected and still in the dark about his own past. Then, his parents send him the baby clothing he was wearing when he was adopted. Embroidered on it are initials … that match a similarly embroidered baby dress Jung-sook finds at Geum-hee’s house. And with that, we’re headed into our final week.

Well, that’s a twist. Geum-hee did get a look in her eye when she talked about not raising children, but I didn’t expect she gave one up for adoption, much less that it would be Do-hyun. Does that mean Won-bong is his father, or did she have the baby prior to getting married? And what about Do-hyun’s burn and the fire he dreams about? Jung-sook finding this out puts her in a tight spot. She’s been absolutely determined to help Do-hyun find his birth parents, but she won’t want to hurt one of her best friends. Regardless, I’m sure Jung-sook will handle it well. She’s nothing if not effective at managing difficult situations.

 

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Episode 9: Ju-ri’s YOLO attitude towards dating matches her personality. It is harmless exploration not a commitment. On second thought, Jeong-suk takes up exploring the Detective’s feelings with a date which has the tropey awkwardness of an amusement park (why do writers fall back to adults doing teenager dates instead of adults adulting?) I am not fond of either couple’s choices at this point. I did not expect Pharmacist Choi to be the victim of Du-Seok’s robbery getaway. Jong-sun is repentant about his role in the accident, and his police call saves Choi’s life. But it cannot save everyone from Geum-Hui’s regretful anger at the police station. Her trust with the group had been broken so she breaks off ties. I got the gut reaction that this situation will cause Young-Bok to have to move away from the town. (It also destroys my theory that Choi would hire Jong-sun at the pharmacy.) But I also thought Ju-ri will bring the group back together.

But episode 10 confirmed my theory about the kidnapped babies, but also it flipped the emotions in Young-Bok and Geum-Hui’s broken friendship. In a couple snaps of a finger, they are back together, laughing and teasing with the other ladies, especially when talking about “in-home dates.” I felt that was resolved too quickly. But Do-Hyeon’s story goes into overdrive with the Captain’s help as fast as his relationship with Jeong-suk. The reveal of the kidnapper was someone I did not suspect; the Fab 4 saving the day was a bit much. These episodes were not the best because a lot happens in a compressed fashion because there are only two episodes left. Left behind were the actual business sales for character side stories and potential redemption arcs set up by the final cliffhanger (which may or may not be true; and if the writer is consistent it will be not true but explained in a reasonable fashion.) The series is ramping up for an “everyone gets a happy ending” ending.

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The Korean pharmacist's association is already up in arms against the drama about Dae Gun being shown running the pharmacy without being fully qualified(hes not finished his degree yet) I can't imagine how they'll react if the ex-convict did get a job there too. I remember they had some objections to Behind Your Touch too for how the pharmacist was depicted too.

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Wow, they actually spend time complaining about that stuff? Is there any drama that has an accurate portrayal of a profession, especially a medical one?

I figured he was going to hire him eventually, which is what he meant by calling him to do something later on.

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This drama’s strength is the womance between the 4 awesome ladies. Each woman is individually awesome in their own way.
This shows other strength is Jung-Sook’s journey in becoming a strong woman who can stand for herself.

With that said, this entire side quest of Jung-Sun’s crime and coincidentally running over Won-Bong felt completely unnecessary. It didn’t do anything to the plot and things went back to normal very suddenly between Young-Bok and Geum-Hee as if nothing happened. Plus Won-Bong felt completely out of character as he tries to convince his wife to reconnect and forgive Geum-Hee. He’s been a selfish dunce the entire time and now he’s suddenly a thoughtful guide?

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I agree, the whole side story was "completely unnecessary" and way too much angst for this show.
Won -bong's personality change was like whiplash.
I didn't realise it was only 12 episodes but I personally think it would have been better as 16 to show the growth and change with different characters so it's not so tonally jarring.
It feels like the writers are trying to cram in too much towards the end.
Also as you mentioned "this drama's strength is the womance between the 4 awesome ladies" and the show should focus on that. Theres no need for the extra noise that just detracts from the ladies.

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I agree, that episode was such a downer and didn't really fit with the rest of the show

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Thank you for the recap, @quirkycase! I enjoyed these 2 episodes. They showed how deep the 4 women's friendship is. I understood how Geum-hee's anger at Jong-sun extended to Yeong-bok. But I also liked that the situation was resolved immediately since we can all see how repentant the couple were.
Ju-ri's lovelife is very 'physical' which is unlike the 'prim and proper' relationship of Jung-sook. Do-hyun's investigation is quickly getting some light and I would want a very nicely wrapped ending next week.

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I’m going to go off on boring tangent on a song that was mentioned in earlier comments by @larus

My tears were flowing while Young-bok was sobbing, trying to apologize to Geum-hui to preserve the friendship that meant so much to her. This was the second time this show that I had water leaking from my eyes. The first waswhen Jeong-suk was sobbing at the bus stop after discovering her husband’ betrayal. I realized the common theme, besides both actresses doing a great job of crying, was the OST.

So I spent some time yesterday listening to versions of the song, “Like the Way You Sent Me Away With a Smile” on the song’s site on Namu wiki. It has 12 versions of the song, including the original sung by Eunha Lee in 1986. Eunha Lee actually wrote the lyrics after being forced by her father to break up with her boyfriend—there’s a kdrama right there!

But to me almost every version, including the original, of this much covered song undermines what is the song’s main strength —the poignant first section, moving from major to minor to major with the melody sliding chromatically down with each shift. Almost all arrangements muck up this section with a cheesy orchestral/guitar backing and a too heavy drumbeat, in typical 1980s pop rock style.

The only version that follows this show’s OST, with a solo voice and a simple piano backing, is one from 2015, by Luna, then of the group (f (x) She recorded it as a “thank you” for the support she got from fans when she appeared on Korea’s masked singer. (I have ever understood Korea’s affection— or the U.S.’s— for competition music shows!)

Anyway leejean’s version on this show follows Luna’s arrangement, but, (again my opinion) leejean, who is only 19!! has a much stronger voice than Luna, so she can handle the swelling emotional orchestration of the chorus much better than Luna, who tends to quaver.

SO, to bring this long discourse to a conclusion: My recommendation, if you like this song, as I do—stick with the show’s OST! Its the best version of the song by far!

Also, I hope the singer leejean begins to get more international attention outside of Korean competition music shows. She has a great, somewhat raw voice and not only that, is also able to sing in pretty much unaccented English.

P.S. One other thing I like about this arrangement—its final notes never resolve to a major chord. To get way too technical, a standard concluding progression is ii-V7-I with the “I” representing the major of the key. Its what we are used as a musical ending, because the 5 chord leads naturally to the root chord. But this arrangement ends ii-V7 —no “I” ! Its a musically “unsatisfying” conclusion that leaves us hanging harmonically, but it is perfect for a wistful song lamenting a breakup.

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Enjoyed all the in depth points on the song. I have also picked up songs which otherwise I would never listened to which were played in the background of kdramas!

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There was a lot in these episodes. However, as mentioned in the comments above, it is the womance that gives this drama greatness.

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Jung-sook started off the series as the town beauty, but she is really the town superhero now!

It's a huge betrayal of trust for Young-bok's husband to take a risk that could/would put him in jail for the second time in his oldest kid's life. I thought he did time before he met his wife. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not married, since I can't be the loving, gracious partner who doesn't hold that over his head for the rest of his life. /rant.

This is mean and terrible of me, but I was disappointed that the miscarriage didn't happen. I know the COL is low in circa 1992 kdramaland small towns - but they already have 4 kids and the youngest is just a baby. The oldest daughter is a saintly teen for being so cool with living like that.

Yay! My suspicion was correct about Do-hyun's mom! I'm guessing she must have been a teen mom (before she met Won-bong) and the trauma of giving up her baby made her not want to have kids in the future.

More virtuous business stuff please in the finale week rather than these guys getting into side quests!

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OK, here's my fan-fic version (which involves 16 eps instead of 14 for a start!). 😬Things being set-up and then resolved too quickly is a classic way to make a story feel contrived. 

1. The quick turnaround that happened with our OTP worked better because it has been apparent that Jung-sook liked Do-hyun from the outset. She just needed to give herself 'permission' to move forward with a potential relationship, without thinking that it would make her a bad mother.

(Also I suspect her initial shut down of Do-hyun was partly  a result of the terrible hug last week and the fact that he said that she was a 'good friend' or whatever it was. No wonder she was circumspect about his eventual confession! )🤣

2. The idea of creating a really dramatic event that risked breaking up the womance has merit and that is probably the intended purpose of the robbery and hit and run.

But the turnaround from 'I wish I'd never met you, and I'll never forgive you' to 'we're all besties again like nothing happened' was super clunky. Add in the weird character about-turn from our local 'what will other people think' Pharmacist and it didn't feel convincing.
 
I think it would have been better to draw the reconciliation story out across another ep and fill in the space with more of the Sales work plotting (because they did precious little of that, apart from their catalogue descriptions). I would have also liked to hear more of their catalogue writing- that had great potential to be funny and awkward! 

In my version the Pharmacist would also get Young-bok's husband to work for him as part of the settlement, and it would allow Ju-ri's new man to go back to Uni and get the qualifications he needs...

Minor aside but I had no idea why the robber turned himself in (I think I may have missed something there) And was he blaming Young-bok's husband for being the mastermind? 

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Since it's only 12 eps, I guess I meant 14! - although I want to hang with these amazing women for as long as possible...

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One of the strongest points of this drama is there is no dragging of storyline arcs. (I am remembering Ms. Night & Day and the awful last 4 episodes). In that context 12 Eps are way better. It was understandable that after a divorce a "prim & proper" Jung-sook struggling to support a child (I don't think ex-husband is helping at all) and working full time , would say, that she has no intention of dating currently. The pharmacist encouraging the forgiving act was rather whiplash, but I think there has been a major shift in the Geum-hi and her husband relationship itself for a couple of episodes. So perhaps his behaviour can be explained away though the reconciliation story across another ep would have made it more believable. Its hard to believe with the age that Geum-hi is the mother of Do-hyun, but let's see how it works out next week.

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1. Biggest flaw was the choice not to humanize the husbands from the beginning. The ITV version has the husbands being consistently human- both bad and good but very realistic the way their characters were written from the beginning and that's including the husband that got a divorce and disappeared was a human. Instead in the beginning these husbands both were background gag characters and then pulled a plot twist and sudden tone shift which is only consistent if you already know the source material something the writer probably didn't realise the audience wouldn't follow not having pre-knowledge. In promotions Geum Hee's was advertised as the typical patriarch of 1990 afternoon soaps and Young Bok's husband as the useless but horny husbands from rural folk songs.
2. Geum Hee is 51-52 seen on that huge board in end of episode 2 where the camera pans over each character's birthdate and Do Hyun is 29-31 from context. Everyone is assuming the actors age gaps but character ages are almost never the same as real actor ages ever.

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I hope she isn't his mom just because it'd be nice to have some childfree representation in kdramas

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I would like to see Geum-Hui not to be Do-Hyeon's birth mother. I can imagine that DH's adoptive American parents were very loving and supportive of him (helping him learn Korean; not objecting for him going to Korea, or finding his birth parents, etc.)

I would rather have GH's mandate of not having a child be the result of an older sister or her best friend's unwanted pregnancy that led to the pregnant woman being abandoned by her own family and BF. GH may have been in the middle of the drama and she may have facilitated the foreign adoption. I think that event could have scarred GH's attitude toward marriage and children.

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It was also incredibly weird how Joo-ri wasn't there for, like, any of the conflict. She's part of the group, too!

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More minor thoughts....

I do love how the writer takes us from deeply sad/scary moments to comic ones (this takes a lot of skill to pull off - props to the fabulous cast as well). 💖👏

My favourite this week was Geum-hee refusing to hear Young-bok's apology until she collapsed in pregnancy revealing pain. The shift to Geum-hee assailing that malingerer in a wheelchair and then cutting a swathe through the hospital as she rushed Young-bok to the ER was brilliantly done. 🤣

One other tiny thing that stood out to me was when Jung-sook was supposedly holding Geum-hee's baby in the hospital. As you can imagine filming with actual babies is notoriously difficult, so that extremely large blanket that it was supposedly swaddled in, would have almost certainly contained a doll! 👀

That's why they did the one close-up shot of the end of a real baby in there! Trying to cover their tracks...😬

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I didnt expect that twist. I thought he is part of that kidnapper's victims. But i did suspect our pretty lead to be his birth mom. It will be an intense finale week when they both find out. There must be a big story there and I will get by box of tissues ready.

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Seeing Young-Bok and Geum-Hui's relationship broken was really hard because this drama rests on the friendship of these women and how they carry each other when they need it.

So it was was nice and funny to see GH changing her mind the minute her friend was in pain and needed help.

I was happy for her her husband understood how her group is important for her now.

YB is a very brave woman. She will have a new baby when she has already a lot kids to take care of and her husband is in prison because he's stupid. At least, she has 3 friends who will help her.

I was happy with the development of the relationship between Jeong-Suk and Do-Hyeon. JS only had her husband in her life since she was young. Now, she discovers different facettes of her own life : single mother, job and love. So I understand she doesn't want to rush things.

Do-Hyeon's investigation was kinda sad. The woman lost her baby and her mind at the same time. It's awful she kidnapped those kids but in her disturbed mind, she thought she was giving them a better life.

I had a doubt about Geum-Hui when she gave him the handkerchief with the mousy rabbit, I was sure it will come back in the story later. There were some rabbit toys in the box.

I'm still curious how DH who was adopted by American so became American too speaks Korean and can be a cop in Korea...

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I didn't like how Gum-hee took it out on the whole group even the girl who wasn't even there in anger or called the group nobodies.

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I started this late and am really enjoying it. Its well acted and I like the issues they have to deal with with the business, I mean how they show the different attitudes and how to approach them as well as the towns peoples reactions. Of course, the actors are selling it well too so I am semi binging it to get up to the present episodes

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I sobbed like a baby when Yeong Bok was trying to explain herself to Geum Hui. No wonder Kim Sun-young was a theater actress, they're always best of the best! To add to this, I think the acting is what's carrying this drama, the writing is unfortunately not up to par and feels wobbly.

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Young Bok's crying had me in tears. 😭😭😭

The whole robber and hit-and-run incident could have been executed better. It was resolved too quickly. I guess a few days went by before the ladies' brochure writing meeting and they acted like their usual happy teasing, but it still wasn't enough time. Maybe it would have been better if Geum Hee and her husband hadn't been involved in this plot. Like we didn't even see the crappy acquaintance get punished or his reaction to being caught.

The conflict affecting Young Bok's and Jong Sun's life was a compelling part of their story. It could have stayed within their part of the story. Plus dealing with the dilemma about their new baby. Eh, I'm not totally satisfied with the ending of this plot. I'm ready to move on though.

Jung Sook and Do Hyun had some tropey yet pretty cute scenes like the theme park and how the guy's the one who's scared during the rides. I like how Jung Sook is so proactive, whether it's with her personal life or her career. I want to see more giddy reactions from her when it comes to their dating and attraction, but I'm keeping in mind that she has a quiet, demure personality.

Yooooo, I was surprised by the twist! I'm glad I didn't expect it. Honestly, Geum Hee looks young to be Do Hyun's mother so I never had any suspicions that the drama would go this route. I thought the past lingering looks on her when she talked about children with Young Bok was because she couldn't have any.

With only 2 episodes left, I hope the show wraps up the remaining story threads well and not be rushed.

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In the original the fallout of the hit and run robbery is spread across 4 of the 6 epsiodes so much it gets boring with more about the criminal friend as well. Especially the couples see-saw debates about keeping secret. The husband was the driver and didn't call for help being too afraid of going back to prison rather than guilt till he meets with his victim during the wedding scene and then one of his children is arrested because of the criminal friend. The baby plot was similar but more months passed with her finding out she is pregnant in the first episode and having the baby in the final sixth episode.

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I enjoyed the latest two episodes because the drama keeps deepening and developing the friendship between the four women.

Having said that, this drama appears to have the opposite issue from FAMILY BY CHOICE. In FAMILY BY CHOICE, all the female characters except for FL and her sidekick best friend are portrayed very negatively as figures of amplified stereotypes of "bad" women. In A VIRTUOUS BUSINESS, we get pretty much all the male characters behaving in TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) ways at one point or another (yes, even Mr Cinnamon Roll ML).

The one saving grace of the male characters in A VIRTUOUS BUSINESS are not aren't amplified negative male stereotypes so much as larger-than-life portrayals of how men who hurt and hinder women behave. The sexism and misogyny and rape culture are pretty real and the show hits hard on that score.

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"Mr. Cinnamon Roll." That's how I will think of him from now on. Thank you!!

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I did a binge watched the show and hooked more then I thought. Such an amazing casting but Seo Young-Bok and her husband stole my heart :) Although writing is quite weird! Luckily The actors make it up by their skills. The heir dresser lady and Chemist guy are very weird couple choice! It is a small town how come she did not know he was the Real Estate Ladie's son !!I only watched Yeon Woo-Jin 'Daily dose of Sunshine' but he perfectly fits the character here. Next week is the last week 🙁 They have already given us the hint who is the mother but who knows !

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One thing I still think that doesn't come across is the relation of the couples. The ITV drama all the couples had normal marriages or dating life and the relationships were natural with the affection and cracks very clear and realistic down to the amount of compromise.
Both the pharmacist and the robber are randomly nice and randomly problematic but theres a huge communication gap in their marriages.
Main protagonist's relation is being built by kdrama tropes but theres very little to make why the beautician and the realtor's son's relation. Seongsu was made too problematic and suddenly stopped caring about his son after using him as a manipulation tactic. Not even one interaction after divorce.

In the British series the pharmacist never knew his wife's past became a problem but there was never a huge deal about not having children and him having to compromise one-sidedly for an ideal love at first sight. He says he hates children now and never wanted a child from the beginning, but in the ITV version the fact that they never had children was good enough because they showed that she did carry trauma of her first child even decades later. This kind of communication gap is bad for long term relation and can end in resentment. Kdramas will paint it into an ideal reaction and speech, cowtowing to the other spouse's feelings in an ideal way but thats not how reality works.

In the robber's case with the British version she married him knowing he wasn't honest and she'd openly talk of his past in front of the older children. But how the two loved deeply was clear from the acting itself despite the moral musings viewers can nitpcik on what is not love if they don't think consequence or are selfish which gets irrlelevant in long marriages that are shown realistic and flawed. In the Korean version though it seem they only stayed married due to pregnancies and she comes across as trapped with a criminal man she wishes she could do without erase from the children's life but they keep having more children even after the second one and he is completely useless and an obstacle to their life. He also seemed from the beginning to be more guilty and overcomepensating than sincere and loving unlike the ITV version and his bond with the children is fondly looking from afar than being shown as an active parent to all the children. This is mostly cultural since crime is deeply frowned upon but why use that part of the story at all? They made the butcher into a pharamacist and his assisstant into the rich lady's son so why not change the crime aspect? The husband is not too bright, possibly never completed schooling like his wife, can barely hold a job, and since most of the townspeople are relapsed catholics having too many children with no money doesn't sound odd. In the ITV version he had a low-paying job he worked hard at. Korean version it doesn't make sense why he doesn't do what his wife lies and go abroad or to a big city where...

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he will get some or the other form of labor jobs all year round and can send back money. Instead from the beginning he is shown as someone who wants his older wife to earn since before the marriage so he can be the househusband and get laid daily. The way the concept of a househusband is made fun of is also deeply patriarchal the polar opposite of how Jeju haenyeo husbands being useless cheerleaders are shown.

Even in the ITV version the two older women's family life ended in a mess by the end while the younger two were starting a new chapter in love so theres nothing different here. The Korean one theres far less open sex positivity and we stick to FL's chaste perspective making things clinical or comic to avoid the big taboo. The LGBTQ+ erasure isn't a surprise. There is something of women's liberation but a bit extreme with zero hope for what the children can even learn with male role models like these. Also half the wares they describe about are not entirely exclusive to making the women have their own sex lives but they are also peddling men's items.

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