Episode 17. Rats- Chunsoo agrees to the divorce just to get our FL out of jail. How disappointing.

Not only that but now I even have to feel sorry for Piano Lady.

But on the other hand, we have unexpected movement in the story of Bom and Maknae- the couple who actually form the common thread of our three families. It starts with Our Chairman Hedgehog phoning his son Gyeol and asking about Maknae’s character: He graduated with top honors from the ROK Naval Academy, is very responsible and had a high reputation in the Naval Service. What he said about Gwangsuk can be trusted (but also for future reference this is an “upright young man” such as the Chairman has not met in a while- those are our Chairman’s exact words). The very next scene shows Silla mom remembering what she saw when Bom met Maknae in the lobby- and saying to herself “Why didn’t I think of that?” Later Bom is telling her dad that Maknae reminded her of her dad in his younger years. The next critical scene is Seri finally telling her mother that she has no romantic interest in Gyeol and never agreed to marry a man she considers her brother: “How could I marry my brother?” Just like that Maknae represents Silla Mom’s Plan B. All this leads to a scene I never saw coming- Silla Mom pays a visit to Bom: She noted what she saw when Bom met Maknae and how good they looked together- Silla Mom could even see them getting married. After all, Bom is of an age to marry. Bom acts surprised at the suggestion but cannot help looking very happy about that possibility.

I think that we saw more of Bom in this episode than in the previous sixteen episodes combined.

We were briefly reminded of the existence of Hani’s mom in the phone call that Professor Brother did not answer.

This episode also saw more skinship between Baldy and Kwangsuk’s mom. Physically these two are far ahead of everyone else.

Kwangsuk’s mom decides that bringing Chunsoo home to Eagle brewery might help get Kwangsuk out of there. Just like that Chunsoo comes home to his new life- with Zumba brother even throwing confetti to highlight that fact.

Episode 17 seasons with a grain of salt the plans of the women characters. It took Mi-Ae longer than us humble viewers to realize that Bom and Gang-Soo would be very good for her. More so now that Seri clearly stated she is on the fence about marrying Gyul.

She steps up intel by inviting Bom over for tea. It confirms that Bom is smitten with her protector. Ok-Boon’s plan to eliminate the Piano Lady succeeds with photographic evidence of her marriage to her imprisoned gang enforcer husband. This info fills in the final blank why PianoLady cried at the prison: she asked her husband for a divorce but he refused. (Which is not needed since she has clear grounds to divorce him since he has 3 more years to serve in prison.) I don’t like the Stalker’s end game to get Heung-Soo on the rebound.

But even worse, So Yeon’s self-inflicted injury ploy to get Chun Soo to cave on the divorce to “save” Gwang-Sook was overdone. It only shows smart Chun Soo being very dumb in conceding to her whims and handling over his bank account without first seeking competent legal advice.

Joo-Sil’s plan to marry off Gwang-Sook to the GolfPro gets the gift of Chun Soo living in the brewery compound. Golf Pro’s meeting with “mother” was an obvious con artist pumping up his mark with “documents” of his wealth and getting Joo Sil to take the bait that Gwang Sook will never marry if she works/owns the brewery. He suggested selling it because Gwang-Sook is emotionally invested in it with memories of Jang Soo. Joo Sil is so quick to run with the idea of the brothers taking over she opens the door to welcome them. She is so focused in on that one goal she fails to live in the moments with Brewmaster Baldy. I once thought GolfPro was Silla CEO spy but Dokgo Tak’s frustration and instructions to his aide to find weaknesses at Eagle would not have been needed if he knew about the distracting suitor.

We theorized that it made the most sense for Chun Soo to work at the brewery as a sales rep for the convenience store contract. It seems that will come to fruition. It appears that Mi-Soon and Gwang-Sook are the tandem to get Chun Soo back his self-esteem, pride and work ethic.

I am glad that Gwang-Sook and Han’s relationship now has some time to breathe. It is now clearly on a very, very professional level. And that irks Han a little. Next, I think with Bom’s suggestion, Gang-Soo is going to get a job interview with the hotel.

Episode 18 was about telltale signs. At the end, Gwang-Sook is a nuisance because of her free-wheeling, impulsive and unfiltered actions but even so, Chairman Han “does not dislike” her. We see that Han is sensitive to how other people view him (his cleaning staff “Mr. Picky”). His appearance, status, professionalism and competence is his core value. But ever since meeting Gwang-Sook, he realizes that there are visible cracks in his armor shell.

Beom-Soo is now taking advantage of Seri’s overstep in babysitting Ha Ni. It is still not good at any level, personal or professional. Seri taking Ha Ni home to meet mother was a shock (I loved Ha Ni’s stoic disdain when Mi-Ae approached her.) Surprisingly, Silla Dad is overjoyed with Ha Ni. When Mi-Ae learns that Boem-Soo is the single dad, you can tell in her mind races to the conclusion that is a very BAD situation. She will have to slam the door on her daughter’s fantasy before it entangles both bitter rival families.

I was surprised that PianoLady’s chapter has abruptly ended without a final meeting with Heung-Soo. I think HairStalker Ji may now see Heung-Soo not as the dynamic idol star of her youth but a puddle of puppy love puke.

So Yeon was a piece of work until the end by seeking approval for her actions and validation of her feelings that led to the divorce. At least Chun-Soo grew one vertebrae to stand up to her final ramblings by giving her the severed ring. He ends this chapter with a small, cathartic talk with Mi-Soon. His days in the brewery start well until Joo-Sil tells him that HE should take over the brewery. He immediately says no, he’d rather assist than lead.

And speaking of taking the lead, the clear foreshadowing is that Han will hire Gang-Soo as a member of his new youth apparel team. That way he has another reason to contact Gwang-Sook besides makgeolli sales.

Silla CEO’s secretary indicated he finally got a spy “into the brewery” which should mean the new nuruk woman. But that seemed to be a one-day deal. Unless she takes back the Eagle process back to Silla, that seems to be a dead end. Maybe we get back to the GolfPro spy theory.

At this point in the series, we have three brothers in the midst of break-ups and rebounds. We have Gwang-Sook making social mistakes and misunderstandings but rebounding back better than ever.

Episode 18 showed us Seri bringing Hani home while Professor Brother went out of town. She has also now informed Silla mom that she des not intend to marry Gyeol. At the same time it looks like Professor Brother is actually starting to fall for Seri. So we seem to have a love triangle forming: Professor Brother and Gyeol both want Seri (who wants Hani). At least this is how it may look to Silla Mom.

I loved Silla Dad’s response to Hani. For once we saw him smiling and even joyful. According to him Hani looks just like Seri when Seri was that age. It is a nice reminder that Seri has the ability to literally make her own Hani.

It looks like we no longer have Piano Lady in Zumba Brother’s life- it appears that she probably wanted to even marry him but her imprisoned husband did not agree to a divorce. Hairdresser Lady can even have the satisfaction of knowing that she saved Zumba Brother from being even more hurt later. Note: It is true that the long separation from her husband means that Piano Lady could have divorced her husband even against his wishes, but that sort of divorce is expensive and takes a much longer period of time than an agreed divorce. The question is will this whole thing now change her perception of Zumba Brother? It has probably shattered he idolized image of him (which is a good thing) but replaced it with an image of a man with a heart. Maybe this story can finally go in a less obnoxious direction- or cease altogether. I am good either way.

We also got to say a very much less than fond farewell to So Yeon. This would have been a highlight for this episode if she had not been so very totally ugly to the bitter end.

Our Chairman Hedgehog has surprised himself with his toleration of Gwang-suk. He cannot yet admit that he has already fallen in love with this warm yet loud and messy Beauty but soon he will. There is more than a certain amount of dramatic logic to why he can fall for her: It is because she is so very different from his deceased wife. No one will ever replace his wife in his heart but Gwangsuk is not a replacement at all precisely because she is so different. Also, she is exactly the sort of disruption that he needs to shatter the monotony. His future is much brighter precisely because he will never again be bored. He actually needs Gwangsuk in his life.

The most alarming moment for me in Episode 18 was seeing ‘Golf Pro” sitting down with Gwangsuk’s mom and laying out his supposed ‘assets’: He is a con man. I am a lawyer: I know this character well, just like I know 'So Yeon'.

"You are a nuisance, but I don't dislike you."
Baby steps to the inevitable love confession.

In other news, Second Bro has returned to the Eagle House. Waiting for the other two brothers to join the hospital to Eagle House pipeline.

I 💯 dislike Dokgo Tak, but it was nice to see him genuinely warm up to Hani. His wife, on the other hand, is wary of the most adorable baby in the world. Maybe she has her guard up because Hani reminds her of the baby she left behind at Eagle House.

Golf suitor is moving like a con artist. Buying his way into the mom's heart with an expensive bag, displaying his property deeds to give her a - false, I think - sense of assurance, suggesting the sale of the brewery - to probably scam them of the proceeds...all red flags.
Even if he is genuine, what kind of man cannot take no for an answer?

I'm late to the party, partly because the hangout was posted a bit later than usual and I have less time during the week... and partly because episode 17 and that stupid childish tussle at the playground and its consequences frustrated me so much that I just was not in the mood for a discussion. 🙈 Selfish Unrepentant (Ex)Wife was terrible until the very end and I was with Gwangsuk, not to give up even a millimeter (or a cent). Unfortunately, Brother #2 is too nice (he already lost his job because of that!) and agreed with the divorce and even gave SUEW all his savings. Uff. If anything good came out of this story line, then it's (hopefully!!) that this was the last we saw of that Awful Ex-Wife. And... I really liked that peaceful moment at the convenience store with Brother's #2 friend aka the Right Woman.

The more we moved through episode 18, the more my mood improved, probably because we got a lot of Hani's scenes thanks to Babysitter Seri taking Hani to her home and causally introducing Hani to her family... even Haraboji (formerly known as Shilla Brewery Chairman) can't resist Hani's charm. 🙂

And I'm still enjoying the main couple, their scenes are still the highlight for me (the actors have good chemistry and great comedy timing.)
Gwangsuk defends uri LX Hotel Chairman in front of his staff as someone with a warm heart, but then finishes with the famous sentence of a female lead but he is totally NOT my type, I would NEVER fall for him. 😄 Well, maybe now, Gwangsuki, but we will see later on. 😁

And Gwangsuk is so much under the skin of uri Mr Hedgehog that he, the Chairman of LX Hotel, is offering help with moving makkoli boxes... insists that Gwangsuk is personally present at the tasting of the hotel menu (something very unusual, as the secretary's reaction confirms)... and then even gives her a ride home when drunk Gwangsuk mistakes his car for a taxi. Ha.

Anyway, two brothers already under the roof of Eagle Brewery... who is next? The heartbroken Former Idol Brother... or Hani with her Appa?? 🙂