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Synopsis: Kwon Shi-Hyun (Woo Do-Hwan) bets his life on a dangerous game to seduce Eun Tae-Hee (Joy). His target is 20-years-old and believes people that are swayed by love are pathetic. After Eun Tae-Hee meets Kwon Shi-Hyun, her view on love changes.
~Loosely based on the classic French novel "Les Liaisons dangereuses".
Cast: Woo Do Hwan, Moon Ga Young, Kim Min Jae, Joy, Moon Hee Kyung, Jung Ha Dam, Lee Jae Kyoon, Park Hye Jeong, Jun Mi Sun, Kwon Seok Woo, Kim Suh Hyung
Director: Kang In, Lee Dong-Hyun
Writer: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (novel), Kim Bo-Yeon
Network: MBC
Episodes: 32
Release Date: March 12 - May 1, 2018
Runtime: Mondays & Tuesdays 22:00 (35 minutes each / 2 episodes per day)
Watch Here: fastdrama
Sources: Asianwiki
Mini Recap
Date: 2018-03-28 06:33 am (UTC)Tae Hee, after losing her student housing, moves into the apartment across the hall from Si Hyun in the building that he inherited from his mother. The trio plan a group outing to Si Hyun's family's vacation home, Kyung Joo and Tae Hee get invited but Se Joo makes sure Kyung Joo is forced to miss the trip (he bribed their helper to give Kyung Joo spoiled food, the mom ate it instead unknowingly, Kyung Joo stayed home anyway). Si Hyun ends up picking Tae Hee up on the way and they arrive at the house ahead of the others. Soo Ji and Se Joo witness the two bonding. Soo Ji slowly realizes that Si Hyun's feelings for Tae Hee might be growing deeper than their game called for. Soo Ji confronts Tae Hee and tells her the truth about her relationship with Si Hyun. Tae Hee starts viewing her relationship with Si Hyun in a different light and realizes that she doesn't want to be his 2nd choice.
On the parents' side:
Soo Ji's mom keeps trying to form a somewhat normal relationship with Si Hyun's dad, but gets stood up for brunch when he goes to take Tae Hee's mom out on a surprise trip. We find out that it was Soo Ji's mom that caused the accident that killed Si Hyun's mom, with his dad assisting in covering the incident up.
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Date: 2018-03-28 06:40 am (UTC)Joy's acting is so so awful, especially in that pool scene and in the scene with her dad, which could have been really compelling with a different actress. I like that we finally got some reasoning behind her weird relationship with her mom and I like how she applied being the backup rebound to her own situation and got out of that situation (but let's be real, they'll be shoving cutesy couple scenes down our throats again next week for sure).
I honestly don't care about Si Hyun or his inconsistent personality or his gigantic sweater. His scene with Soo Ji and the hot chocolate was really great (everyone overhearing things is my type of drama) and then they stuck him back with Tae Hee being boring the rest of the episode, blegh. I had hopes that WDH would be able to rise above the shitty writing, but it's dragging him down. Si Hyun lying to and blowing off his friends annoyed me so much.
WTF at Soo Ji's mom? I honestly wasn't expecting that revelation. I bet she was also part of Tae Hee's hit and run the same night because everything's connected in dramaland. And here I was feeling bad for her after her awful fiance blew her off to go on a date with another terrible parent. I do not understand those Si Hyun's dad/Tae Hee's mom scenes, I can't tell what the writer wants us feel about it? I know it's supposed to be parallels to their kids (yuck), but it's not framed as inappropriate and weird as it should be. Like, these are both awful people, I don't need to see them on multiple dates. Or at all.
Moon Ga Young continues to be amazing, she and Kim Min Jae are carrying this entire drama. Her scene with Tae Hee at the pool was so good. Se Joo is my absolute favorite and I will defend him against anyone, including his crappy family. I think at this point he's being a much better schemer than Si Hyun, he obviously can tell Si Hyun is inexplicably falling for Tae Hee and he's definitely pushing that to happen.
It seems like he wants to be vulnerable with Soo Ji but he can never actually follow through with his seriousness. I need them to happen and I need for good things to happen for my boy Se Joo.
I'm glad we're all watching and suffering through this together.
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Date: 2018-03-28 01:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 01:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 07:47 am (UTC)First of all. Guys... Joy as an actress. Wow. She is really just super disappointing. I thought that her expressions were bad with the few scenes she got prior, but now that they put her in more serious heavier scenes with Ga Young, and that one with Tae Hee's dad, you can really see just how inexperienced she is. You can tell that she's "acting" rather than her having internalized the character. It just looks like the director told her "you need to be sad here" or "you need to be angry/annoyed here", instead of her thinking about why the character would be that way or what the motivations are. And I mean.. you can blame the writing all you want, but so far Ga Young, Min Jae, and Do Hwan have been doing a pretty good job at making their characters feel real.
I'm just annoyed.. cause like keytfelt said, this isn't exactly the show we were expecting. We have the plotting dramatic side, then for some reason, we have the cheesy as shit rom-com side? Who wants that?? Who asked for the "bad boy" going soft for the naive girl cliche? Who asked for the eye-roll worth parallels between their parents? Maybe if we had a better actress, it wouldn't feel like such a chore to get through those scenes. Maybe.
With that aside.. If we gloss over those scenes, I actually do find a lot of the story interesting. I'm here for Se Joo subtly pushing his own agenda. He's very insightful, he can tell (as well as Soo Ji can), that Si Hyun is starting to develop real feelings for Tae Hee, which he is using to his advantage. Clearly he's in love with Soo Ji, he cares for her deeply, but she pushes him away because 1) that's always been their relationship and 2) he constantly represses his true feelings. He hides the fact that he gets hurt or sad or is genuinely concerned behind a bright smile and a few jokes. I'm excited to see what route the show will take to turn Soo Ji's feelings around. I hope it's not a forced kiss...
At this point, I'm pretty over Si Hyun. He's not a bad boy, or even a real "great seducer", we've not gotten anything from him that hasn't been played out in every other rom com drama.. It's disappointing. It's also annoying how much he ditches and lies to his friends. His saving grace is/was the fact that he actually genuinely had feelings for Soo Ji... but now that it's clear he's just lying to her, telling her to "trust in his feelings for her" while also holding his own secrets.. nah man.. u can go die like your original story counterpart. I don't care anymore.
I'm still so bitter at how this drama isn't marketed with Soo Ji in the forefront.. She anchors this show. This isn't really show about "the romance between a rich bad boy and a naive girl", they're just a side pairing that's getting too much screen time. The real star is Soo Ji, having grown up miserable despite being rich enough to get everything she wants. She genuinely cares for her mom, but they have a hard time understanding each other and seeing eye to eye. Being rejected by her peers in school forced her to find solace with two boys, also from broken families.. She started this game as a way to "get back" at her foul ex, but the reality is, as soon as Si Hyun proposed marriage, the whole game shifted. It turned into a way for her to test his loyalty to her. She's the one that doesn't believe that relationships last. She knows that Si Hyun loves her... loved her... but it's slowly becoming clear that it wasn't enough. He keeps trying to convince her (and himself) that this is all still part of the game, but we know how this is going to end.
It's annoying to me.. how people write the characters/Soo Ji off as a "spoiled selfish rich kids/girl", when if you actually paid attention, you'd know that she's so much more than that, and that the trio are so far the most established part of the whole thing.
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 02:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 02:31 pm (UTC)Yeah, Shi Hyun didn't have to accept the bet, but she also didn't have to propose it? Why is she trying to get back at Ki Young via Tae Hee and not just directly to him? It would make sense if Ki Young was aware of this and suffering the repercussions...but at the moment, he's not so it makes it kind of pointless. But of course, where's logic in dramas? LOL.
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 03:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 02:12 pm (UTC)I don't blame people for writing her off as the spoiled, selfish rich girl, because when it comes down to it, that is what she is. She's manipulating the two boys to get what she wants -- revenge. Once things don't go her way, she tries to sabotage it so that it does. She forgets that she's the one who enlisted the help of Shi Hyun? Can she blame him when lines start to blur? And she's the one who started the "lies" first with not telling Se Joo about their bet? I don't buy her "It's embarrassing" explanation. I see it as her knowing that if Se Joo knew, he would see right through her feelings for Shi Hyun, and knew that it would hurt their friendship dynamic. I think that was part of it, and the on the other hand, she was just being selfish.
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Date: 2018-03-28 03:24 pm (UTC)Basically I'm annoyed with the online rhetoric of calling her vapid and being the only one to blame, when Si Hyun is literally right there playing two girls.
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Date: 2018-03-29 01:42 am (UTC)Stray Observations
Date: 2018-03-28 08:39 am (UTC)- I love the twist about Soo Ji's mom being involved in the car accident. And that Tae Hee was a rebound/oops baby. So many dramatic layers!!
- So those were Se Joo's sisters-in-law! I couldn't figure it out for the first few eps, but I'm glad it's cleared up. Oh Se-ri (Moon Hee Kyung) is his eldest brother's wife. Their family dynamic is strange..
- How much do we love all the Se Joo screen time this week?? We got him naked in a tub, dancing under a streetlamp, bringing Soo Ji her favorite dimsum from Hong Kong!, making sure that her cello isn't affected by the dryness, his sly smiles that let us know that things are going exactly the way he wants them to. I love him a lot, and I'm glad his character is one of the well written ones.
- Hye Jeong has a love interest!! Some guy at the fashion show with green eye shadow. That was a great moment, I wish we got more of that..
- Kyung Joo calling Si Hyun and Soo Ji "a good couple" and "beautiful siblings" within like 5 mins... lol
- The Trio's group chat name is called "Babies" <3
- The way the two care for Soo Ji and her wrists! I loved that small moment, it just shows how much thought was put into their writing. Their chemistry is great too.
- Tae Hee was making faces at that.. it looked judgy..
- Moon Ga Young was phenomenal this week. I'm so impressed at how she can convey so much feeling with just a look, and how her words carry so much weight and sincerity.. she really brings the character to life. I think I said this last week, but I really mean it, I can't wait to follow her career forever.
- I love the dramatic string instrumentals for the bgm
- "the only two English words I know are LOVE and SEX." B Y E!!!!!!!
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Date: 2018-03-28 10:29 am (UTC)same Bingbing girl, saaaaaaaaame
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Date: 2018-03-28 11:14 am (UTC)Also the random yelling at Si Hyun was so random and getting annoying especially when she was all of a sudden sweet and gushy. But even though Tae Hee is a confusing character, Joy’s acting really brings her to new lows. I mean I was trying to delude myself into thinking Joy wasn’t that bad but her acting is so wooden and emotionless. Luckily Do Hwan acts enough for the both of them but imagine how much better the show would be if Joy was at least decent. Still here for Tae Hee x Si Hyun because my heart is weak but it still feels like masochism.
Loved all the screen time king Se Joo got. I like that we a look into what his motives are in this hand of half assed chess. He knows Si Hyun genuinely has feelings for Tae Hee but that’s what he wants so he can snatch Soo Ji up for himself. The thing is he still doesn’t really know about the bet since Soo Ji and Si Hyun haven’t told him the truth. I’m really invested in him and Soo Ji and his serious scenes with her killed me. Especially the one at the lake. The look on her face when she asked him why he was looking at her like that. UGH. The acting was so good too. I’m hoping next week we get more serious interactions from them or ar least more scenes showing how Soo Ji really feels about him because at this point she’s more concerned with Si Hyun and Wood Hee so we don’t know if she cares for him as just a friend or more. But judging by the fight at the club she at least feels something for him no matter how small it might be.
Speaking of Queen Soo Ji, she’s really carrying this show huh. I mean not only is Moon Ga Young a great actress but she has so much chemistry with all her co stars. I love how one second She’s this plotting witch and then the next she’s all charming and friendly with such ease. Like that grilling scene on the trip. She’s also so good at subtlety and emotion. Your heart really breaks for her when she’s sad. But acting aside wtf is going on with her plot? The whole test to see if Si Hyun is loyal to her has lost its meaning considering how he blew her off the entirety of this week’s episodes. Everytime they interacted he couldn’t wait to leave and when they did interact it was so brief that it didnt mean anything. Her purpose now has shifted to sabotaging Wood Hee and Si Hyun’s relationship which she seems to have succeeded considering the ending of episode 12. This just all seems to be happening to fast and I’m really curious where tf they’re going with her story line because she doesn’t deserve this. But the trip made me think that perhaps she’ll be friends with Wood Hee in the end and they’ll all four live happily every after? A girl can dream.
Don’t even get me started on the parents. They need to be deleted from this show. Their scenes are so boring and uneccesary. The only semi interesting thing to come of them is that we find out Soo Ji’s mom is basically a murderer and she’s marrying the husband of the person she killed; to cover up the fact that she killed them. But yet she seems to have deluded herself into thinking that the marriage is also for love. What a fucking mess. I know eventually it will all tie in together because drama but I couldn’t care less
Also can we talk about how FINE Woo Do Hwan is? Lord those lips. If there’s anything I need more from this drama it’s spice. Like I wish they took more pages from cruel intentions. But with all that being said I’m still loving this messy show and I’m dying for more Se Joo x Soo Ji next week.
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:02 pm (UTC)YES! i was so annoyed that she just forgave him so quick, her character is so stale to me in that aspect.
sooji’s mom is soooo weird, she’s trying real hard to get sihyun’s dad’s love its so annoying. all the parents are so cringe
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:19 pm (UTC)I kind of want them to be amicable, too. Haha.
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 03:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 01:11 pm (UTC)-Soo Ji is frustrating. She needs to get over Si Hyun. I'm starting to doubt he ever loved her. If he did, then yikes. Got over her pretty darn quick.
-At this point, I'm ok with either Si Hyun or Tae Hee dying at the end for sucking the life out of this show.
- I love Soo ji and Se Joo, but can she be a little nicer to him? I mean, if she doesn't love him, that's fine, but every time he speaks she snaps at him.
-Nursing home and parents scenes are useless and meant for skipping.
- Tae Hee is SO dumb and stupidly naive.
- I'm not even excited for trio scenes anymore, because Si Hyun seems disinterested/in a rush to leave. He sucks, and I can easily see him ditching them for Tae Hee once the whole bet angst is resolved.
-Too much Kyung Jo
-Isn't this a melodrama? lmaooo. The tone/mood switch up from the first 4 episodes is jarring.
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Date: 2018-03-28 03:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 01:55 pm (UTC)Also, wtf at Shi Hyun immediately leaving to go find Tae Hee after he found out she left the pension? Like, boy, you couldn't even try to HIDE your feelings for her? He didn't even pause. You can't blame people for being suspicious if you're acting all obvious.
I feel sooooooo bad for Se Joo. Soo Ji just keeps NAGGING the shit out of him. Like girl, please just stop being so angry at him because you're losing the bet. She's definitely starting to realize his feelings for her though, as we saw from the lake scene. And speaking of Se Joo, wait, so that bitch lady who's always out to get him is the wife of the older brother he caught with another lady in Gangnam? She looks way older than him? And the lady who keeps helping him is also his sister-in-law? I thought she was like...a helper at the house or something. LMAO! She's super nice. I hope she doesn't have any other ulterior motives. We're finally getting to know a bit more about the family dynamics, but I'm still confused. So, how many sons does Se Joo's Grandfather have? What happened to Se Joo's dad? Is he dead? I'm guessing Se Joo's dad is the youngest since Se Joo is the youngest grandchild? But then that bitch lady's son is the oldest?? Did she say he's a "Go Sam (year 3 student)?" Does that make Se Joo older??????? IDK anymore. Next....
The cafe scene with Ki Young and Shi Hyun being jealous had me rolling. I was wondering when that was going to happen.
I think I've written to much already...I will end this with WTF NO PREVIEW AGAIN? And, the pacing is once again like ???
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 02:35 pm (UTC)I would hang up on Se Joo, too, if called me using that baby voice. LOL!!
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:48 pm (UTC)This is Tae Hee testing Si Hyun. After her talk with Soo Ji, learning about the relationship of the two, she starts to doubt Si Hyun's feelings for her. So when he follows her, she turns on the sweetness and tries to do all the dumb coupley shit she thinks guys should be doing in relationships. Holding hands, taking pictures of each other, etc. But he doesn't do that, because 1) he isn't that kind of guy 2) that's not where their relationship is at. So basically she realizes that his feelings for her aren't there yet, because he still has feelings for Soo Ji. When she talks to her dad, she realizes that she's turning into him, chasing after someone who isn't as invested in them. She doesn't want to be 2nd choice. That's why she breaks it off with him in the end. It's literally in her speech, she mentions the pictures and hand holding.
re: Se Joo's family
The old man is his dad. Se Joo is the youngest, and his eldest brother (married to the mean lady) is probably in like his 40s. It's not uncommon for asians, especially rich families, to have huge gaps in their children's ages. As far as I can tell, there's 5 sons in the family, Se Joo the baby.
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Date: 2018-03-28 03:24 pm (UTC)LOLLLLLL wow I feel dumb now. I don't know why I thought this entire time that old man was his grandfather. Sister-in-laws. Durrrrrrr.
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Date: 2018-03-28 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-29 01:39 am (UTC)I am still enjoying it, too and just hope it gets better...
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Date: 2018-03-28 01:59 pm (UTC)this drama is going to shit tbh, the pacing is so weird. the only person i can stand is Sejoo, he’s too presh. im mad that the writers made sooji jealous real quick when taehee and sihyun were together. idk. the dialogue just seems so off. AND THAT “BREAK UP” SCENE WTF RAAANDOM. that just came outta. owhere. main otp are not as interesting as i hoped theyd be. their “cute” parts dont even feel deserved, like it just is awkward. sihyun’s so weird too, i hate how mean to her then nice the next second and taehee doesnt even talk to him about??? she just forgives him liiiike idk, taehee is super annoying to me at this point. AND THE ANNOYING ASS PARENTS AND THEIR LOVE ISSUES IDGAF ABOUT THEM! liiike there were so many useless scenes these past eps im so sleep.
im just so annoyed w this drama, they totally shouldve had the main focus on the trio and kept taehee out *sigh* woo dohwan is hella fine tho so....yea
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:01 pm (UTC)i really liked the scene with soo ji and tae hee at the pool tho, hope those two have more scenes together.
i want se joo to be happy, he's adorable, that scene with him dancing <3
the shalala scene cracked me up
i'm happy tae hee broke it off and i liked how she realized she was doing what her father did and then decided to breakup. but lol i hope she doesn't take si hyun back cuz he does something nice for her
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:15 pm (UTC)That’s exactly what’s going to happen. The writing is repetitive, and Tae Hee has forgiven Si Hyun 13 times already after he did something nice for her.
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Date: 2018-03-28 02:58 pm (UTC)But at least now I know why I'm still gonna watch this mess of a show: the eye candy and the fashion wardrobe, the rest can go fly on a one-way ticket to the deepest depths of space bye.
Oh and actually, I honestly can't believe I'm going from Misty to this tbh lol.
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Date: 2018-03-28 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 04:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-28 06:59 pm (UTC)I am glad Taehee finally put her guard back up and stopped acting so naive and trusting. Don't fall for his bs.
I'm glad we finally got some explanation for Sejoo's family structure cause I was so confused. I like how Sejoo is just quietly observing and waiting to make his move.
I wish the show would go darker, Shihyun was supposed to seduce women but instead he's a puppy.
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Date: 2018-03-28 07:15 pm (UTC)I currently lean towards disliking Suji bc girl is entitled. We knew that from the start but the "what do you know about hardship?" bit had me going GIRL SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN. I'm not feeling Joy's Taehee either, in part bc she's a Candy and in part bc Joy can't seem to do darker emotions with more nuance. Like... She's either bubbly or straight up OTT pissed off and not cute about it at all.
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Date: 2018-03-28 08:59 pm (UTC)dohwan and his handsome face, soo ji being blair waldorf 2.0 and the fashion are the only reasons why i watch this show
and it still makes no sense to me that they gave joy the character that lived in germany when they have moon gayoung on the show who's fluent in german. i mean god bless joy for trying her hardest but her character does not sound like someone that lived in germany for years.