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Cinderella’s Sister: Episode 2

girlfriday here, going for the double-album comeback tour by taking on another Wednesday/Thursday combo platter with javabeans. Looks like Thursdays are going be busy. Bring on the angst! I will have your tears for breakfast!

This was the moment that I fell in love with Eun-jo. When I saw that she could be more than just a wounded girl, lashing out at the world. She gives a glimmer of Big Sister and residential badass, and the way Hyo-sun instinctively hides behind her gives me hope for their sisterly dynamic. This drama has all the elements of a runaway hit: ideal cast, eventful fast-moving plot, and engaging emotional connections between the characters. Episode 2 doesn’t have any slow-motion music video moments, but still has legs, which tells me this drama’s not going to be a one-trick pony.

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

Hyo-sun shows Eun-jo to their room, which they’ll have to share for a little while. Hyo-sun apologizes for not knowing that Eun-jo was an “unni” and not a “hey you” when they first met on the train. She is genuinely excited to have an unni, and has even cleared out closet space and prepared pink frilly pajamas for Eun-jo to wear.

Eun-jo is completely uncomfortable in this opulent room, awash in a sea of pinks and purples, and her trip to the bathroom makes the difference even more pronounced. She can’t even figure out how to work the automatic-sensor faucet, and even though she approaches everything with a disapproving/mocking glare, it’s clear she’s also sort of overwhelmed, as she’s never encountered someone so wealthy, and so annoyingly NICE on top of it all. Unsurprisingly, she doesn’t trust Hyo-sun or want anything to do with her pink pajamas.

Eun-jo tries to sleep, but Hyo-sun is so excited to have a companion that she chatters away, telling Eun-jo her whole life story in excruciating detail. Eun-jo tries to get her to shut up, but Hyo-sun just brightly asks if maybe she should skip to when she’s ten? I know I’m in the minority here, but I find Hyo-sun adorably wide-eyed and innocent. While her face looks freakishly hand-crafted by a doll-maker, I think Seo Woo is doing a nice job conveying a brightness, with an innocent sadness underneath. I read this character as choosing to be light and bright, as a way to mask her loss. Although you could argue that she has faced very little adversity compared to Eun-jo, the death of a mother is not a small thing, so I don’t think she’s just a dim spoiled brat, in my humble opinion.

Unable to tolerate any more rambling, Eun-jo gets up. Hyo-sun offers to follow, but Eun-jo shuts her down with one look. That girl could build icecaps with that glare.

Outside, Eun-jo runs into Ki-hoon, enjoying a little nighttime drink on his own. He’s happy to see her and smiles unwittingly, as he invites her to join him. Eun-jo immediately pulls out her claws, asking what he wants from her, thinking he’s smiling as a way to get on her good side. Ki-hoon doesn’t even know how to respond, as he doesn’t even realize that he’s smiling, and tells her that there are a million reasons to smile, none of which involves wanting to get something out of her.

Eun-jo stalks off, leaving Ki-hoon bewildered and thrown by this young girl. He sings to himself, and something about his voice, perhaps a faraway sadness, speaks to Eun-jo, as she listens curiously in the distance.

A wedding photo tells us that Eun-jo’s mom and Hyo-sun’s dad have married, and we pick up with the girls at school. They are in the same class even though Eun-jo is older, as she has been unable to attend school on a consistent basis. Hyo-sun is excited to have her sister as a classmate, and her friends even extend a warm welcome since she is Hyo-sun’s family.

That goes about as well as can be expected. When they ask if they should call her unni, Eun-jo replies curtly that they shouldn’t call her at all, leaving them stunned that someone wouldn’t appreciate their generous social overture, as most popular girls are wont to think.

Meanwhile, Ki-hoon gets an unwelcome visit from a thug on a motorcycle, chasing him down until he stops to talk to him. The thug starts with a punch in the mouth, knocking Ki-hoon to the ground, and threatens him to stop meddling with the family.

What we can glean about Ki-hoon’s backstory: he is the heir to a very rich family business with questionable morals and considerable control issues. He was disowned (either by his father or of his own accord, although I’m fairly certain it takes two to tango), and has promised to live quietly out of the media spotlight where he can’t do damage to the family name.

The thug throws down some pictures of Ki-hoon working at the makgulli factory, asking if he made some deal with a journalist to bring shame to the family. Clearly Ki-hoon knows that the accusation is not only unfounded, but illogical, so he returns the punch and makes it known that he doesn’t want anything to do with his so-called family.

Once he is alone, his cool exterior fades, and Ki-hoon betrays an underbelly of years of hurt and anger associated with his family. He has been both the runaway and the abandoned child, which links him emotionally to Eun-jo and explains his immediate empathy for her.

Back at school, Hyo-sun is excited to greet their parents’ return from their honeymoon, but Eun-jo couldn’t care less. Ki-hoon offers them a ride, but Eun-jo walks right past them both, leaving Hyo-sun pouting in disappointment. Ki-hoon tells her that no one can force a girl like Eun-jo to do anything. They drive off, leaving Eun-jo to walk home on her own, and as they pass by, Eun-jo notices Ki-hoon’s cut-up lip.

The whole town has shown up to greet the wedding party, and I mean the whole town. Kang-sook has to bow down to all of the family elders one by one, and the look on her face pretty much says it all.

Hyo-sun’s uncle disapproves, as does Dae-sung’s aunt, the town elder, former shaman, and now pastor of the local church. Ha. It’s a throwaway line, but the fact that the town went from Shamanism to Christianity with the same town elder as leader just makes me appreciate the witty social commentary.

Scary shaman-pastor Aunt asks Kang-sook about her fortune (as in astrological birthdate-related fortune, not so much her bank balance), which is apparently a severe sign of disapproval.

She then catches a glimpse of Eun-jo in the background, and the two commence in the most awesome silent face-off ever.

I don’t know if Witch Aunt is trying to read Eun-jo’s aura or just trying to outstare her, but either way, she is no match for the icy blue steel of Eun-jo’s patented glare. Aunt breaks out in a smile, and thusly Eun-jo has tamed the witch. I fully expect Eun-jo to make her dance like a puppet, but that doesn’t happen.

During the face-off, Hyo-sun notices for the first time the way that Ki-hoon looks at Eun-jo. She waves to her oppa, but he doesn’t break his smiling gaze at Eun-jo, and Hyo-sun’s face falls at the realization that his attention is no longer solely hers.

Kang-sook takes a moment to rest her tired feet between the bowing and the partying, and Dae-sung comes in to rub her feet and be the doting husband. Kang-sook is both hilariously princessy (“Is that all? My other foot is tired too.”) and also surprisingly moved at Dae-sung’s sincerity and kindness.

Hyo-sun awkwardly walks in on them, and Dae-sung springs up and leaves the room, leaving Kang-sook to explain that maybe Hyo-sun should knock when entering the room.

Eun-jo, meanwhile, looks for a room to hide away and get some schoolwork done. She’s interrupted by a conversation between Dae-sung and his aunt, arguing over Kang-sook. Aunt sees the man-eater in Kang-sook and doesn’t want Dae-sung to make the marriage official (as in legal and therefore binding), but Dae-sung stands up to her, insisting that she stop giving her opinion on the matter at all. He declares that Kang-sook and Eun-jo are family now, and that’s the end of that.

This is news to Eun-jo, as she’s used to attitudes like those of the Aunt, but unfamiliar with Dae-sung’s brand of loyalty and faith. She looks cautiously curious about this man who she thought up until now would just be another in a long string of abusive father figures.

Ki-hoon finds Eun-jo in her hiding spot, and when she gets up to leave, he flips her shoes around (so that they face outward and are easier to put back on), which is a small gesture, but doesn’t go unnoticed. The wedding party’s about to head this way, so Ki-hoon offers her a quiet place to study. She declines sullenly at first, but when the partygoers head straight for her, she decides to let him help her.

This boy is already smitten. That face is halfway to la la land, despite the fact that Eun-jo’s reactions to him have ranged from reluctantly civil to brazenly hostile.

The wedding party goes well into the night, with Dae-sung proudly looking on as Hyo-sun shows off her new mom to all the townsfolk. She’s so genuinely happy to have a mother that it breaks my heart.

Ki-hoon shows Eun-jo his personal secret hiding place in the makgulli wine cellar, and Eun-jo silently gets back to her schoolwork. Ki-hoon, ever the doting oppa, offers her a makeshift table and chair so she doesn’t have to crouch in the corner, but of course Eun-jo declines the offer rudely by pushing it away in silence. Ki-hoon scoffs at the extent of her coldness, but doesn’t say anything.

Meanwhile Hyo-sun has been looking for Ki-hoon and Eun-jo, and she sees them from the window outside the storeroom. She can’t hide her surprise or hurt as it dawns on her that she doesn’t want to share Ki-hoon’s affections.

But it must not sting that badly, because the next morning Hyo-sun is chattering away to Eun-jo about a boy at school who hasn’t returned any of her ten text messages. She wonders if they got lost and if she should change cell phone carriers, to which Eun-jo has to explain that texts don’t get lost; they get ignored. The realization is unsettling for Hyo-sun but she accepts that it’s possible.

On way to school they see the boy in question, and Eun-jo, badass that she is, goes right up to the boy and demands he answer Hyo-sun’s texts and be honest with her if he doesn’t like her. She claims it’s because she can’t stand Hyo-sun’s ceaseless whining, but methinks she’s really sticking up for Hyo-sun in her own way, even if she wouldn’t be able to admit it to herself. Because we all know that Hyo-sun would be rambling away anyway. Is it wrong for me to want these sisters to be best friends? Am I just setting myself up for heartbreak? Don’t answer that.

Later that day, Hyo-sun works through her angst in dance class, then gets a text from the boy. She comes home crying, saying that he doesn’t want her to text him anymore. Through her tears she thanks Eun-jo for helping her out, while Mom and Dad look on sweetly at her adolescent boy trouble.

Mom swoops Hyo-sun into her arms, holding her sweetly as she weeps. Eun-jo notes this with a twinge of jealousy, and Dad sees Eun-jo, realizing how she might be disconcerted by Mom’s affections towards Hyo-sun.

Dad decides to try and make a connection with Eun-jo, so he calls her out later that night, and says that he met with the girls’ homeroom teacher who told him that Eun-jo is very smart. She confirms this, with no false modesty. He awkwardly asks what she wants to be, for which she has no answer, so he asks if she wants to dance like Hyo-sun, or perhaps learn piano or violin. Maybe you should offer her something more like taekwondo or telekinetic death by eyebeams. Is that not an extracurricular activity?

Dad offers to do anything to help her achieve her dreams, and he’s totally sincere, which makes me love him. Eun-jo doesn’t budge an inch outwardly, but it’s clear that even though it’s not the first time she may have been offered lofty empty promises, this is the first time anyone’s been so sincere and open to provide avenues to better herself. The poor girl has probably never allowed herself to have any dreams, for fear of having them dashed. Dad adds shyly that she can rely on him. She doesn’t answer, but she looks like she may give him a chance.

In math class the next day, the teacher puts a problem on the board and asks the first place math student to solve it. Hyo-sun proudly announces her unni as the head of the class. Eun-jo looks up at the teacher and declines to solve the problem.

Oh, that’s not how things are done in Korea. It’s an outright act of defiance to refuse a teacher’s order, and everyone gasps, including the teacher, who can’t believe the cajones on this girl. But it looks like the teacher’s actually a little afraid of Eun-jo too, because she looks relieved when the bell rings and class ends. Hyo-sun looks over at her sister in admiration, saying that her unni is the “jjang.” (Jjang is a slang word that means “best,” and is also what students usually call the leader of the class—socially, not academically.)

But when Eun-jo makes her way to the makgulli factory to seek out Dad, we find out the real reason for her defiance in math class: she’s been memorizing all the problems and answers to get by, but she doesn’t actually know how to do the math. Dad is a little confused, as she scores high in the subject, but she shows him her notebooks filled with memorized answer sets, and explains that because she’s skipped a lot of school, she doesn’t know the basics.

She asks for a math tutor, reminding him of his offer. Dad smiles and says he’ll get her a math and grammar tutor. Eun-jo declares she doesn’t need a grammar one; she’s the best in her class, you see. But Dad corrects her speech, saying gently that she should be speaking more formally with adults (not as a lecture but more as a way to point out that she could benefit from a proper education.) She concedes the point.

While the girls await their new tutor, Hyo-sun keeps trying to engage Eun-jo in conversation, and when she doesn’t answer for the Nth time, she musters out, “If you keep this up, I’m going to get tired…”

…indicating to me that she’s neither stupid nor a bottomless pit of goodness. But when Eun-jo glares at her, she shuts right up.

In walks Ki-hoon ready to tutor the girls. Eun-jo scoffs at the sight of him, while Hyo-sun confirms that Ki-hoon is plenty smart enough to tutor them, as he is a student at a top university and only here as a part-time employee on his term break.

Thus tutoring commences, with Hyo-sun mostly finding reasons not to study, while Eun-jo learns diligently. Eun-jo is curt and rude while asking Ki-hoon questions, so he decides that she needs to call him Teacher and use formal speech with him. She gets up and storms halfway across the room, then decides against it and comes back.

She snottily adds formalities to the ends of her sentences and the word she calls him is “teacher,” but she says it in the tone of, “bastard.” She says that she doesn’t want to bother asking for a new tutor, and he’s a pretty good teacher anyway, so she wants to learn as much as she can before she runs out of time.

Ki-hoon replies that he doesn’t like her tone, but that he’ll accept it as a big step forward for her. I think he enjoys his position of power here because he otherwise doesn’t have the upper hand with her, and she’s been so hard to bring down a peg. Which I wouldn’t argue that she needs.

Ki-hoon asks her what she meant by, “running out of time,” and Eun-jo shouts back that she doesn’t know how long she’ll be in this home this time around, so she’s just trying to learn everything that she can. She storms off in tears. I don’t think she’s angry at Ki-hoon, but rather upset because he’s calling out her vulnerabilities in a way that others usually let go by unnoticed.

Hyo-sun can’t find Ki-hoon or Eun-jo, so she runs to tell Mom and Dad about it. Kang-sook somehow masterfully turns this into an opportunity to manipulate Dae-sung. Through tears, she lies that the other kids are making fun of Eun-jo for having a different surname from Hyo-sun, which wouldn’t be the case if he just made their marriage legal. Oh, she’s good.

Ki-hoon finds Eun-jo in his secret wine cellar, and sits down next to her. He tells her that he was a lot like her, and he turned out awesome. “Don’t you think I’m awesome?” he adds cheekily. He tells her that he knows she’ll turn out even more awesome than he is.

He adds that he won’t steal her precious study time anymore, which I think gets through to her—he gets what’s important to her and doesn’t treat her like a child, offering up platitudes like everything will be okay. He knows that she’s been through too much to have faith that anything will last.

Hyo-sun finds the two of them back to tutoring, so she jumps right in, trying to feel included and ask for help. But Ki-hoon dismisses and ignores her, making her notice yet again the connection between them and how boxed out she feels in their presence.

Hyo-sun seeks some reassurance from Ki-hoon the next day, but it’s clear that he sees her as a kid sister, while she’s growing confused by the developing love triangle. It’s murky territory for her, because she’s almost as enamored with Eun-jo as she is with Ki-hoon, so I think she feels jealous not just because Eun-jo has Ki-hoon’s attention, but because the two have some connection that doesn’t include her.

Later that day, Ki-hoon has another visit where worlds collide, as a mysterious well-dressed man comes looking for him and concedes that the last messenger was a waste of time. Turns out this is Ki-hoon’s actual brother, betrayed by Ki-hoon’s query after their father’s health.

Ki-hoon’s older brother wants him to leave this town, asking why he chose this place in particular to settle in. Methinks there’s some drama concerning this small town and their family in the past, eh? His brother offers him an allowance and a lifetime of leisure to go study abroad if he just leaves, as he doesn’t want Ki-hoon causing a scandal for the family. What kind of scandal? That he’s making makgulli on his spring break? There’s definitely something deep and dark here that we’re not privy to.

Ki-hoon replies defiantly that he doesn’t want their money. And as he has signed away all rights to the family business, they can’t tell him to stay or go; he’ll do as he pleases, thank you very much. Ki-hoon wonders why his brother came all this way, and if they want him to sign something ELSE away. Turns out he’s perceptive, because big brother really is here to get him to sign documents disowning all claims to his inheritance. And people question whether money is evil?

Ki-hoon broods in the wine cellar, saying wistfully that his faithful companion, makgulli, is all he’s got. I’ve been known to convey similar sentiments to my martini. What? But then Ki-hoon sees a pencil that Eun-jo left behind, and thinks to himself, “That’s right. I’ve got you too.”

He goes shopping for a new hair-chopstick for Eun-jo to replace the pencil, and his awkward interaction with the store lady is hilarious.

He drives home, eager to give her his gift. And is that…glass? Omo. So soon.

In another part of town, Kang-sook waits in gnawing anticipation as Dae-sung legalizes their marriage by registering it with the state. What follows is an indescribable moment of sheer delight and triumph, as Kang-sook steals away for a moment to take another look at the official document. She clutches it to her heart and pores over it, tears streaming down her face as she breaks out into a congratulatory speech to herself:

Kang-sook: “Dirty bitch. A dirty bitch’s fate. At age forty, you’ve finally become someone’s wife. You’ve become someone’s WIFE. You’re someone’s wife! Song Kang-sook, congratulations, bitch! Congratulations, you dirty bitch!”

How much do I love this woman? She has such pathos, such emotional depth and an undercurrent of self-awareness to what could easily be a despicable gold-digging step-mother character. Even from the first episode, I’m so firmly on her side, that I want her to get everything that she wants, and find myself rooting for her even as she does crazy things. I can’t explain it. She’s magnetic, this woman.

Hyo-sun and Eun-jo arrive home later that night, and Hyo-sun has since been drunk at school, and found out from Eun-jo that Mom lied about Eun-jo being teased about their surnames. Hyo-sun is still tipsy, and wants to ask Mom about it to innocently clear the air.

She’s about to do so when Ki-hoon and Dad arrive on the scene, Ki-hoon clutching his gift for Eun-jo behind his back.

Eun-jo doesn’t want to be bothered about it, so she shakes Hyo-sun off her arm, but since Hyo-sun is drunk, she goes tumbling down to the ground, through no fault of Eun-jo’s.

Eun-jo quickly realizes how bad this looks. She freezes. Mom sees that Dad has arrived, so she thinks quick: she slaps Eun-jo across the face and rushes over to Hyo-sun, cooing over her.

Dad and Ki-hoon look over at Eun-jo, stunned. Eun-jo’s face hardens at the realization that she’s just been bitch-slapped by Mom over Cinderella.

If this is the kind of subtle overturning of the Cinderella mythology that we’re going to get throughout, I’m totally in love with this drama. It subverts everything I expect, even from a switch-up, because each character is sympathetic and properly motivated in his or her own right. This is the perfect breeding ground for a complex dynamic between all of the characters, and there’s so much drama (the good kind) to be mined from that.

I hope they don’t fast-forward to adulthood too quickly, as I really enjoy these early developing relationships and dramatic situations. I’m scared that a fast-forward will lock the characters into archetypes, but hopefully they’ll continue to keep the characters daring and complex right through till the end.

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brilliant, brilliant. i have a good feeling about this one. that wasn't jinx-inducing, right?

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Jinxed! 🙃

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I love this drama!
And the recaps as well. Even though I watch them as they come out, I still come back to read this.
Keep the good work up!

MGY portrays the character so well. and seo woo is just this lovely, hateful character (though its not necessarily her fault). CJM just leaves me wanting to know more. and I wonder when Taecyeon's going to show up...
:)

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I've been trying to watch this on mysoju, but access is limited.
all i can say is, WOW!
I'm on spring break so I'm watching Oh My Lady, Personal Taste and this drama all at once.
THANK YOU SO MUCH DRAMABEANS
xoxo and much love!

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Ah great recap :)
I watch them raw and the Part about Ki-Hoon was a little hazy to understand..got the gist of it..but the details were confused lol...
But honestly..i wasn't expecting much from all the hype..but you guys are right...the cast is just perfect and makes for a really compelling watch...and i agree that they should not move to fast...but I just watched episode 3 (which by the way just puts so much more layers to the show) and episode 4 seems still set in the childhood stage sooo I have a feeling this is going to be a fun (but not without drama and angst and like girlfriday said the good kind) ride :)

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We're so blessed this Wed-Thurs. <3
Hyo-sun is totally growing on me (esp at the end of ep3, but no spoilers here).
And I've got nothing but love for Eun-jo and Ki-hoon.

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Yeah. Nice reading recap here. It means CS officially recap in this site. Thanks. I figure this drama more depth about step sibling relationship, family relationship, dark and good side of the character. Well excellent performance for CS production team.

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I LOVE THIS DRAMA...OMO :)

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I've said this every episode so far, but MGY just KILLS me with her eyes. I wasn't very familiar with her before this, but now I can totally understand why everyone raves about her--this girl is a goddess.

And I'm a little bit in love with Ki-hoon. (Curse CJM and his adorableness!)

I was raving about this drama to my friend earlier, and I found it difficult to articulate what exactly had captured me so. I'm pretty sure she went away with the impression that I'm crazy, but I might have to direct her over here so she can read your ending comment about subverting everything we know and love about the original story.

Also, YES, the GLASS HAIRSTICK. Not as cool-sounding as glass slippers, but probably not as dangerous either. (I always cringed at the thought of Cinderella misstepping and shattering the shoe on her feet, glass shards penetrating her delicate foot at all angles. This seems like a much safer option.)

Keep it up, you two! This show is too amazing to miss out on. :)

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Thanks for the recap, Girlfriday! Really loved your recaps of "The Woman Who Still Wants To Marry" so I'm really glad you're recapping this drama with Javabeans ^-^

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LOVE it. Great recap!
I think they did such a great job w/ the characters/actors.
I couldn't have said it any better than you did, girlfriday.
Out of all the current dramas, I find this one the most legit--it's layered, thoughtful, complex, and surprising. I feel like they give the viewers some credit vs. pandering to us w/ cliches, like w/ the twists on the Cinderella concept. The little "fairy tale" touches (like Eun Jo's "luggage drawing" scene in Episode 3--perfect). The EJ voice-overs are also great.

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"a mysterious well-dressed man" LOL. What would a Kdrama be without at least one of those?

I can't believe Eun-jo's mom actually referred to herself as a "dirty bitch" in that scene!! The subs said something different, but that makes her little speech so much better! Hahah!

I'm SO glad this show is finally being recapped, and by an awesome writer with great insight too! I totally agree with you on the time-jump thing: I don't want it to happen too soon and I hope the show can maintain that great character development we've been seeing even when it does happen.

And speaking of being smitten - I am SO smitten with Chun Jung Myung! He does NOT look almost 30, that's for sure.

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Thank you!! I am so in love with this drama -- the BGM, OST, and the scenes are so beautiful. They know how to tug on my heartstrings already, and it's only the first couple of episodes. I'm so emotionally invested now that it's ridiculous.

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May I just announce that Hyo-Sun/Seo Woo is my favorite character?
I find Eun-ju to be extremely intolerable to watch. I understand how she's been through a lot but there others who chose to to optimistic rather than pesimisstic. She better soften up :p

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Another power recapping series by Javabeans and Girlfriday = OMG!

Wonderful recap. I really like the complexities of the characters as well, although I haven't seen any of the drama so far and am really basing this on the recaps, which convey those emotions well. I'm just wondering why it's significant that the new hair chopstick is made of glass. Is this a k-drama cliche I'm not aware of?

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i loved this episode!! i even stayed up til 2am just to finish it! ki-hoon is so adorable and eun-jo is the best stare-glare giver!! haha, oh auny dearest and her having that silent stare-down was awesome!!

i must also say that though i want to hate the step-mother, the actress is good at making her understandable and somewhat likeable.

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I mentioned this earlier but after watching their respective first episodes, I was more inclined to watch Personal Taste right away. But suddenly after the second episodes, I'm DYING to see Cinderella's Sister instead.

GAHH! Am I being fickle or what? Anyways, regardless, I am watching both IN ADDITION to Prosecutor Princess (which isn't as magnetic as the other two Weds/Thurs dramas but still an interesting one nonetheless). This is definitely the first time I'm scooping all dramas from all the stations at once.

Can anyone say ridiculous time suck?! I am so screwed. lol

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@14 Molly

The glass hair chopstick is equivalent to the glass slippers in the original Cinderella story. :) Although they may change that, since they're changing just about everything else..

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I love your recaps Girlfriday!! You give humor to something that would otherwise be dark. There's absolutely no way I'm watching this. I don't like it when drama's get depressing and dark. This is only 2 episodes, but I could already tell it's going to be full of angst. Not a total fan of watching angsty shows. But I am curious about Cinderella Sister, so I'm really glad that you're doing the recaps for them. So thank you!!

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I love this drama so far! <3 Each character is becoming respectively more and more engaging, except for maybe Eun Jo's mom (who, so far, is the villain of the drama...but a predictable and vapid one...yawn...I hope they eventually add more depth/dimension to her character). And, girlfriend, you have a new fan!! Great recap! :D

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woot woot. lovin it.

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Thanks for the recap girlfriday! You're not alone in wanting both sisters to bond! Oh and I love the mum! She's manipulative, and is very, very good at it! And I love the dad too! And Eun Jo's stares, oh the deathly stares - I love them to bits!

At first I thought Hyo Sun is going to be an annoying character who gets what she wants, but by episode 2, part of me already sympathize her, and I love how this drama reasons everyone for who they are/ and who they're becoming to be.

And it was this episode that I fell for Ki hoon (and CJM all over again!), and start believing everything he says in the drama. Even if he tells me the moon is square. :P

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i absolutely love your recaps girlfriday! keep it up!

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CJM has the warmest, most adorable smile in all of k-drama land! I love this guy!

"Maybe you should offer her something more like taekwondo or telekinetic death by eyebeams. Is that not an extracurricular activity?"

HAHA! Eun Jo can kick ass without even lifting a finger. Now that's awesomeness.

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I LOVE IT....THANKS......Looking forward for the next episode.......I really like moon geon-young and oppa kihoon's eyes is so expressive.....love it......

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@girlfirday's comment on the impending time skip...

I do hope that the time skip will still be far in the run. However, I fear for fan's anticipation of the scantily clothed Taecyon. XD especially with a drama showing every week Siwon shirtless body. XD

Back to being serious, I wonder how far long into the future would the time skip be? The charming tubby kid we saw is definitely going to be Taecyon but I cannot put a number on how far the time should elapse to make that happen.

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"That face is halfway to la la land"

I'M IN la la land for KIhoon

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pure awesomeness, this drama (even yeap, down to the crazy-mother character).

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I'm TOTALLY loving your comeback(s), girlfriday! Spoiling us aren't you? ;)

Have to agree with all those up there who've commented that CS is probably the best-layered, complex and compelling Wed-Thurs drama. Both Personal Taste and Prosecutor Princess are interesting and entertaining, but this drama...is just mind-blowing on so many different levels - acting, storytelling, music, direction.

I love that the drama 'inverts' the story in such a way as to provide us with a very human insight into the 'evil' step-sister's thoughts and feelings, and why Cinderella is Cinderella. (Obviously Hyo-sun wants to like Eun-jo, simply because I think she's always wanted a sister, and I do think she doesn't deserve to keep getting snubbed by Eun-jo. Yeah, I can see why people would think Hye-sun is Cinderella - she tries her best to be positive and optimistic.) Yeah, I kinda want the both of them to eventually end up being friends too, girlfriday, but I think the relationship dynamics that are being set up are going to foil us!

Once again, thanks for the awesome recap - can't wait til it's JB's turn! Reading these recaps are as good as rewatching the episodes - sometimes better for the snarky comments and insights! ;)

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lol there hasnt been a drama that ive been impatentiently waiting for recaps since "you're beautiful". lol, since i knew that ep 2 was out, ive been poppin by this site hopin that it's been recapped, and it seems like today my prayers have been answered. well, ep 3 is out alrdy, and ep 4 will be comin out today.... .... ... lol.
i do understand that u guys have lives too and wont be able to recap asap, so juz wanted to say thanks for all ur effort :)

i love the way you recap, and it's almost as thou i can imagine the tone u'r using lol! "Oh, she’s good" lol!

"That face is halfway to la la land" lmao. la la land. so starting to fall in love with ki-hoon coz hes so adorably cute :)
hm yea, i dont quite want them to grow up yet, but then adult taecyeon wldnt be able to appear, and im hopin to see how his acting skills are.. and begin the fight for eunjo. :D

moon geun young is awesome! i hope she and chun jung myung have sparks off screen lolol. and they need to start showing behind the scenes with eng subs lol. i went on their official website but i needed an acc (that requires too much info and work to make one) to comment. lol.

i hope this series tops the ratings/ pwns all other seriesin their time slot. :D

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I, too, am jumping on the good ship Eun-jo / Hyo-sun. Both girls really need the love of the other in a way they don't understand and can't articulate, but I hope they don't end up hating each other in the end, 'cause that would be really tragic. And I really want to see Eun-jo develop into a loving, trusting relationship with Hyo-sun's father, so she can finally realize that there are some men in the world who aren't creepers.

I'm totally digging the way the relationship between Eun-jo and Ki-hoon is developing; not only do they have great chemistry, but I can really get behind these two. Ki-hoon understands her probably more than anyone she's ever met, and he wants to take care of her, but not in a condescending way. I know this is (I guess?) a melodrama, but if these two don't get a happy ending, there will be...something bad. Very, very bad.

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I'm totally in love with MGY !!...i can't imagine anyone else playing the role of eun jo....can't wait till the next two episodes!!

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that was such a good recap, thanks!
i am so happy you and javabeans are doing this and pt together, i like them both so much, although cs is my favourite
i love seo woo's hyo sun too, she could be so annoying in the hands of a different actor but she is so adorable and has such depth and wish i had a little sister like her (although the novelty would probably wear off after about one day)
and when eun jo stood up for her i loved it so much
i too hope that one day they will become best friends because there is such potential between them to go there, but i am sure that is very unlikely
but even though they probably will dislike each other, neither is the bad one and they both have such depth and are a good pairing, whether friends or enemies
the strength of their characters i think is equally due to the actors as the writing, as the actors are really committing so much already (and it is only ep2) and they are written so well too
i also love the mum/ hyo sun and dad/ eun jo relationships, as there is so much to be explored there and a really potentially interesting dynamic between the four of them
the characters are all great none are 'throwaway' characters or plot devices, they are all so multilayered, and it is hard not to want everyone to be happy and get what they want
i love all the actors and have never seen any of their work before so they are all so refreshing and fantastic
thanks so much!

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BRILLIANT! ...and recaping 2 of the best shows currently on! *high five of happiness*, girlfriday! :D

i think that your reading of the dynamics and undercurrent among the 3 lovebirds (and the mom and dad, actually) is very very true..the *attraction* comes second in ALL cases, there are more tones of genuine attachment and the promotion of trust and being able to depend on someone... and it makes watching the unfolding and development of relationships so COMPELLING!

thank you for a brilliant recap!! :D

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I interpreted the scandal of Ki-hoon working at a makgulli company not so much that there's something dark and dangerous, but the rich brothers don't want reporters discovering that one of their own (with the prestigious family name and whatnot) is working in a random alcohol company in some backward town.

I really love Hyo Sun as well. The girl is just so sweet. However, I see how people can hate her; her character is the ultimate foil for Eun Jo's underdog character.

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Girlfriday, you have me in stitches!!! Great recaps. And I hope what will be a great, great, great drama, that is, one that remains great all the way through to the end, unlike its predecessors.

Thanks and kudos.

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I love this drama! Like you said, "because each character is sympathetic and properly motivated in his or her own right. " How true is that?! On the surface, it's almost obvious that the person in the wrong is Eun jo. Hyo Sun is genuinely nice and sweet to Eun Jo, and is willing to unconditionally accept Eun Jo's icy coolness. But at another angle, we know where Eun Jo's coming from. Her entire past with her mother, the current situation being way too good to be true, and her daily interactions with those seemingly happy-go-lucky people must be killing her.

Then Eun jo's mom. Wow... WOW! THis woman is amazing. hahaha.. I didn't like her so much in the beginning when she demanded to stop running away from the drunk guy just so she can change her shirt. But time and time again, she shows us she's very very witty, and can actually have genuine emotions. That scene where she clutches the official marriage papers... amazing!

Can't wait for the next episode!!! I wonder if I should wait until ALL of the episodes come out, and do a marathon of it instead. These 1 week waits are killin' me!!!

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i'm gonna download ep3 right after school ends!!! this recap just got me pumped for it ><
gah, 3 dramas is going to kill my sleepy time. :(

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I, for one, don't want Eun Jo to become good in the end. Seriously, where's the fun in that?! I hope she stays badass through out, just like Mishil. Hehe.

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Hey, thks for the recaps once again. LOVE IT. would appreciate it if you would do recaps for all the episodes to come in Cinderella's Sister.

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oh wow, i totally missed the whole thing about the hair chopstick being glass and this being CINDERELLA's sister. how slow can i get?

thank you btw for re-capping! i've been crazy-refreshing this website, although i've watched this episode. my internet connection is too hopeless for me to load everything again so i needed to see CJM in caps!

i'm just in love with this drama and how different it is from all other light-hearted ones i've been watching recently. minus TaekYeon who is still MIA, everyone's just superb! i'm definitely rooting for the main pairing (assuming it's CJM-MGY) and Seo Woo is doing good too! there's definitely more to her than just being cute, and i'm glad her talent has somewhat managed to distract me from the face.

looking forward to the next one already!

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you're so right, girlfriday, i just can't seem to find myself hating kang sook. and she's suppose to be the evil stepmother character. i think lee mi sook owns in this drama!

i wonder if they're gonna kill off the father character (as he is suppose to die in the original cinderella story). if that happens, then i think kang sook will go into her full on evil stepmother mode (as we have already seen in the scene where she orders the workers to wash all the dishes). so i guess she might turn her bitchiness to hyo-sun after daddy's gone? o that's gonna be interesting to watch.

thanks for the recap girlfriday. so far i'm loving your partnership with JB. you two really mesh well together but manage to bring something different too in each of your recaps. : )

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oh wow, i totally missed the whole thing about the hair chopstick being glass and this being CINDERELLA's sister. how slow can i get?

thank you btw for re-capping! i've been crazy-refreshing this website, although i've watched this episode. my internet connection is too hopeless for me to load everything again so i needed to see CJM in caps!

i'm just in love with this drama and how different it is from all other light-hearted ones i've been watching recently. minus TaekYeon who is still MIA, everyone's just superb! i'm definitely rooting for the main pairing (assuming it's CJM-MGY) and Seo Woo is doing good too! there's definitely more to her than just being cute, and i'm glad her talent has somewhat managed to distract me from the face.

looking forward to the next one already!

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CJM is gorgeous... and girlfriday, you're awesome! :) God.. I really hope the ending is nice and satisfying.

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WHAT A BORING DRAMA...SO FAR...

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these Wed-Thursdays are the best moments in the Kdramaland.

Love 2 of 3 dramas airing now ( haven't seen Prosecutor Princess yet, still waiting for the sub ), and dramabeans is the most awesome blog ever. :D
thanks Javabeans and girlfriday! You rock!

CJM's smile..how fitting with the character.

I read some spoilers in soompi's thread, and I'm getting more and more excited!
So I heard that the time leap will be 8 years and starts on ep 5? Can't wait for that. It's getting interesting.

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I'm with you, there isn't a character I've come to dislike in CS. I adore Hyo Sun and think her enthusiasm in trying to win over Eun Jo is sooooo cute

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"...Maybe you should offer her something more like taekwondo or telekinetic death by eyebeams. Is that not an extracurricular activity?..."

girlfriday, you crack me up! thanks for the amazing recap! Spoiling us with recaps everyday.

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thanks for the awesome recap! i really enjoy reading it as much as i enjoy watching the drama. ^__^

i'm so in love with this drama! i love all the characters.

even though i want to hate them, i still love them, how crazy is that?

can't wait for the next episode and recap.

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I love how the characters are developing. Thanks for the recap girlfriday!

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"Bring on the angst! I will have your tears for breakfast!" LOL :) Will you eat them with Fava Beans and a little Chanti a'la Hannibal Lector??? THank YOu GirlFriday!
Love the Recap!!!!

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