Ep 27 - What a great episode despite heartbreaks and headaches on all fronts! It is a no-dry-eye episode for me through and through.

So many standout moments:
* The mother and son heart to heart talk is so hard to watch and Mu-rim tells us without losing a beat the legal consequences which are clearly much more serious than what harmoni worries about.
* The ramen scene between Bong-hui and Gang-ju is quietly moving - ice breaking on one hand and showing once again the genuinely caring nature of Gang-ju.
* Tae-woong wanting to be the Cupid between his bio dad and adoptive mom - I didn’t see it coming but he’s a contemplative guy that CR will probably never unlock what’s in him.
* Cha-rim and Da-rim can’t be more contrasting as sisters in their desires - one for wealth and privileges and the other is totally ‘blinded in love’ without a concern about the world.
* Designer Kim’s betrayal doesn’t come as a surprise but at least she serves to bridge that final gap between our main couple.

However, the final scene is poignant and bittersweet. Our long awaited kiss is finally here but that tenderness and hopelessness of Gang-ju and Da-rim’s sweet determination give us so much to savor. I lost count how many times I watched it and still crying. I always marvel at Kim Jung-hyun’s lost-in-love and numb look with misty eyes. No other male actor done as well.

So very pleased that Kim Jung-hyun and Bong-hui both get nominated for the KBS Daesang Award - very well deserved.

Now, the billion dollar question is how the money plot is to be wrapped up with the legal expiry date and proof of the money belonging to GJ’s mom being thrown into the mix.

In all the doom and gloom we did get one comedy piece and that was the Spinach Scene. I think there were some escaping giggles from the actors. 😁

This ep was great :) esp loved the ending scene - that it happened at a crosswalk was significant.

I wonder if the writers will have the Chairman and Bong Hui end up as end-game? I kind of thought he wld reconcile w his ex-wife.

Episode 29 was so heartbreaking for Mu Rim. His bewilderment and anguish in the confrontation with his mother was so raw—especially the part when he told her that she should have stopped his marriage if she had stolen the money. There was no justification that Bong Hui had for giving him stolen money for his wedding—it was his decency that he gave it “back” to the chairman to help with Da Rim’s surgery.
How having the money is changing the family and their action. The show is not afraid to have people be selfish or self-centered without being evil. The grandparents and Bong Hui’s moral outrage at Kang Ju is particularly striking since it was stolen money to begin with. Cha Rim’s infatuation with rich Tae Ung has now turned off even Tae Ung. Tae Ung’s willingness to take his role as the CHairman’s son with no grace exhibited towards Kang Ju is uncomfortable at best, and, honestly, unlikable. The aunt’s easy slip into the lavish life with money stolen from her parents while depending on her sister-in-law to be the responsible one and how she toyed with Bom’s father showed how little she thinks of other’s, including her son. At the same time, how the lack of money is making Kang Ju and Da Rim more sensitive to others and kinder is a great contrast.
Cha Rim and Tae Ung’s relationship is the polar opposite of Kang Ju and Da Rim. Da Rim is finding Kang Ju more lovable and attractive now that he is down and out than when he was the heir apparent and rich. That speaks volumes about what they truly see and want in a person.

I loved the last scene when Da Rim finally gives in and decides to like Kang Ju. The way she touched his face is a call back to how she first “saw” him when her vision was severely limited. It was lovely and tender, and both Kim Jung Hyun and Gum Sae Rok acted pitch perfectly in their small gestures and looks. In the midst of such chaos in the show (how are they going to resolve the money problems?), it was such a romantic heartfelt moment that was not made of big gestures and proclamations, but true feelings and intimacy.
This show continues to be complex and brave in its storytelling. What a gem.

With episode 27 our police family is suddenly front and center this week. Murim has given his mom time on her promise that she will turn herself in after Grandma’s surgery. But his MIL has discovered that the loan sharks were targeting her in law’s laundry. She is starting to ask questions, and she is good at her job. She even checked Mu-rim’s dashcam footage- but he was way ahead of her on that score and had deleted the footage of when his mom was in the car with him and if that is not a red flag for our MIL then she would be too stupid to be a police chief.

Mu-rim is now reluctant to register his marriage because he does not want to drag his wife and MIL down when the truth comes out. (Note: This idea will no doubt go down the tubes when they find out that his wife is with child). Mu-rim is a very good man caught in an awful situation that was not of his own making.

Tae-ung and his dad are building a relationship to the point where Tae-ung wants to put his dad together with Da-rim’s mom. But I thought that the conversation between Tae-ung and Cha-rim was actually far more significant: Tae-ung has made a huge point to Cha-rim about what a real relationship is and underscored it by having her leave his car. Good for him and I hope that Cha-rim will finally learn what she needs to learn or this pair should never get together despite the fact that they are a natural fit for each other as Crosswalk has pointed out (not that Tae-ung does not need to learn things to, but they are different things). A real love relationship involves loving the person, not simply fitting together a set of qualities.

Kang-ju may know what he is doing but how does he deal with the betrayal of Designer Kim?

The scene between Da-rim and her future MIL and then Kangju and his mom- perfect. Followed by the scene at the end of the episode which may go done as the most romantic in the entire history of Weekenders.

People keep criticizing Cha-rim, calling her all sorts of names, but they forget that she has humility, emotions, and the fear of her mother and grandparents going to jail. When Crosswalk and Darim told her about the money, the first thing she said was that she wanted to go to the police station to return it to its rightful owner. Everyone wants to marry a rich guy, not just Cha-rim, and it really pisses me off that people keep calling her a gold digger. If she were one, she would have taken her share of the money without being stopped by Crosswalk and Darim. My girl even quit her job because she wanted to repay the money quickly out of fear and love for her family. The scene where Tae-woong asked her to get out of his car was really sad, no matter what, you shouldn't leave a woman stranded in the middle of the road. And I loved her response to Tae-woong after he refused to lend her money.

Cha Rim is going to be Gang Ju's designer. That's why Designer Kim could not be.

Charim saying her mother never made her favorite kimchi for her after Darim's illness hurt me so bad, same with Tae Woong not even asking what she might need the money for (and she's never asked him for money before!). She's cold because it's easier for her to get through things. That said, I can't wait for her teamup with Team Crosswalk haha

EP 28

Yesterday's episode was so devastating I was considering to stop watching this live and just binge the final episodes to protect my emotional health, but today's episode was a little more hopeful and fun. Yay!

1. YES, KANG JU. TELL HIM!!!
The audacity of that man to say that Crosswalk of all people was stabbing him in the back. LMAO I can't with him.
I'm so glad that for once Kang Ju demanded the respect he deserves.

2. Cha Rim, let's go!!!!
What Tae Ung said to her in the car was kind of valid, given that we haven't seen Cha Rim ask him about his feelings after so many changes have happened in his life. We only saw that time she hug him after his bio mom's funeral.
But in Cha Rim's defense dude's looking great. He looks fresh. 🤣 And for her, it looks like his current situation is better. He has gained a job, a room, a dad.
She was talking about money, but like she said, she was just happy that he was doing well.
She's just weird like that. If I get it after 26 episodes, why can't he understand her after 14 years of knowing her?

My problem with him is that he has always treated her like a gold digger. Even when he was playing poor. However, did we ever saw Cha Rim ask him for anything? For money of whatever? She was flirting with him even when she thought he was broke.
So if after so many years of knowing her, she asks him to lend her money, a big amount of it, shouldn't he be asking "what for?"

Something like that probably means she's in trouble or something (which is exactly what's happening). So, yeah, Cha Rim should develop some emotional intelligence, but he should stop acting like he's a gold digger's victim because he isn't.

3. I really wasn't expecting to feel this bad for Mu Rim. And I think he's family didn't either.
I mean, we all were too focused on the surgery and everything else. There was no time to truly think of the consequences, and there was the hope that they could get away with it without the police knowing.

So it's truly heartbreaking to watch how pretty much everyone in the family is loosing their job (first Da Rim, now Cha Rim, and we can expect Mu Rim next), and how they're all at high risk of going to prison. And for Mu Rim this would be an even bigger humiliation and "sin" given his line of work and his wife's and his MIL's.

I'm so worried about his MIL's reaction. I'm gonna lose hair watching her scenes.

4. Can Tae Ung STOP shipping uri Bong Hui with his jerk dad? If he has even a little affection for her after all these years, shouldn't he wish for her to be with a decent man?

There isn't ONE thing that man has done in the whole show that makes me think he would be a good partner or anything. I wouldn't let him be around my people.

5. I get that Bom's dad wants to break free and all, but he really should be asking some important questions before planning to run away with auntie and raising Bom with her.

After Episode 28- we can say that we are having one wild ride.

This time it was Cha-rim who told Tae-ung off (twice). Good for her- he needed to hear these things from her and will hopefully take a good look at himself- or he will end up just like his dad. All along I thought Cha-rim was never really all about the money- that was just her fears talking- she stands by and sacrifices for her loved ones when it counts and is now risking it all by being on her sister’s team. What Cha-rim is really about is being a great designer- and maybe the route she has sacrificed to take will turn out to be the opportunity that she needed.

Kang-ju standing up to the Chairman over Da-rim and Cha-rim quitting- and pointing out some things that the Chairman should consider. He has already stood up to his mom about Da-rim.

Is the Chairman really that stupid? Do I have to ask? He is the one truly dislikeable character in this drama- even the loan sharks look better.

The ending of the episode: I love how the writer surprises us. Our pretty but larcenous aunt will have to re-think a few things. Will she finally go get a lawyer? There are times when lawyers are really handy.

Is Mu-rim’s MIL hatching a plan to at least limit the harm? She has this thing figured out now. Will she enlighten her daughter? Not until it is necessary. But her daughter is no dummy and is already smelling something fishy. At some point Police Family will see some major drama.

Feel for Gang Ju. All his life up to now he thought if he showed he was a good son he would have a father figure in his life he could count on. Only the very man he was trying to prove himself to apparently saw him as necessary baggage he had to endure to get where he wanted to be in life and nothing more. The Chairman even referred to him as a bastard.

Ep 28 gives more questions as the secret money is almost no longer a secret!

I did wickedly enjoy Auntie’s shocked discovery in the ending - she doesn’t deserve to get a single penny. Love the new entrepreneur trio which is a perfect combination with Cha-rim’s design talent, Da-rim’s can do attitude and Gang-ju’s experience and pragmatism. Can’t wait to see their win and you go, Chairman. Nonetheless, it’s worryingly scary to see the net closing in on the Iron Family. How everything is going to be resolved??? Eight more episodes to go.

Wow. This show keeps getting better. The money is tainting everyone now, creating moral dilemmas and tests for everyone in the family. This is so much better than a relentless serial killer (or serial kidnapper, “cough”) because no one in this drama is all good or all bad.
Cha Rim's back! Yes, she wants to be rich and wants Tae Ung whom she likes and always has liked to be rich, but she does love her family. It was heartbreaking when she told her mom that it was awkward when her mom showed her affection by making her favorite kimchi. It revealed her true childhood scar--a child overlooked because of a sick sibling. Cha Rim always had to make her own security because Da Rim was sick and was her mother's priority. Even with the money, Cha Rim realized that her mother risked going to jail to save Da Rim--Cha Rim must have felt that the kimchi, the first sign of specific attention towards her (no one else likes that type of kimchi in the family) after Da Rim's vision started going, was made out of guilt rather than true affection. She's a hard character to always like, but her motivations make more sense now. She does love her family, as shown by her resignation and attempts to save her family after finding out about the money. (She's actually similar to her mom as a person who makes things happen and takes care of things. Previously to this, her mom took care of the family so Cha Rim took care of herself, but now that they need her, she is all over the situation including forcing the aunt to hand over the stolen money.) Her seeming selfishness comes from always having to get what she wanted, attention and affection, through her own efforts as she was ignored in her family and nothing was ever handed to her. However, when discovering the money, her instinct was not to take the money, but figure out the situation and how to solve it best for her family. And while Tae Ung was “right” to call her out for being interested in his new rich lifestyle, she rightly called him out for not wondering why she who had never asked him for money needed to borrow a lot of money and thinking of her only as a money grubber.

The aunt similarly is only thinking of her own survival ("it's my money" ha!) without much pause as to the consequences of others. However, it seems that her parents who thought the world of Da Rim's father (unfulfilled potential after never passing the bar) never encouraged her or thought of her as more than a pretty face, which is what she became and not much more. She reminds me of a Nanci Griffith song, “Can’t you see she needed more than, ‘Oh, what a pretty child’? You never taught her truth from lie All you told her was to smile.” We have never once seen her parents speak to or about her with any affection or respect. The narrative that other's have placed on her as a pretty airhead is both earned and adopted by her as learned helplessness. (When she needs to, she can actually do stuff as seen at the restaurant...

I'm popping up to say that I'm too busy with family events to comment, I just want to mention that I'm so happy we finally have such a good weekender, populated with characters we want to watch and talk about every week. 🙂
(And my heart went to Charim during episode 28 when she had to face all the money drama and give up her career plans. 😪
But... now it is time to start anew and I have all my trust in the trio of Darim, Charim and Kangju! ❤️)

Happy New Year, Iron Family Chingus! 🍹

Hi all! I've been watching, but I can never get the episodes finished until the DB's post has been up for days and people have stopped commenting so I've been lurking and not commenting. But, even at this late date, I wanted to add another voice to defend Cha Rim. The family set up a dynamic that Da Rim, because of her disability (blindness) was treated and even behaved as if she was a child/baby that never matured beyond the time she went blind. Her one attempt to break this family dynamic was when she slept with Crosswalk at the start of the show. Blindness did not have to stand in the way of independence but that is the dynamic the family set up. Da Rim bore the brunt of this family dynamic. She had to be the mature and independent daughter that didn't need anything or anyone. Her need for money is just reality for her as it would be for anyone in her position. So, I sympathize with her. Leaving her alone in the dark at the bus stop really emphasizes that she is alone. I would contrast this show's treatment of a disability with Attorney Woo. In AW, the disability ended up being her super power. In Iron Family, the disability (and how it was resolved) is what keeps the family in a dysfunctional situation.