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Heirs: Episode 9

by javabeans

There’s a whole lotta fighting in this episode, without the makeup smoochies to make it worth all the bruising and angst. And most of that has to do with this guy right here—and yunno, I get why Young-do is arguably the most dynamic character in the bunch and therefore the most interesting, in that he is wild and unpredictable and played by an actor with charisma.

On the other hand, there are many things in this world that I find fascinating that I don’t necessarily like, respect, or care to have anywhere near me. Serial killers, for instance, or the bubonic plague. Interesting does not equate to sympathetic, and in that regard I find much of this drama’s central conflict hard to swallow, since I just don’t get it; I’m half-convinced Young-do is descended from cavemen, or maybe aliens. Although, Cavemen Alien Idols—now there’s a show I’d watch.

SONG OF THE DAY

Thomas Cook – “청춘” (Youth). If you’re thinking this voice is familiar, it’s because Jung Soon-yong was previously part of the band My Aunt Mary, which is a band I’ve missed.
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EPISODE 9 RECAP

After Young-do’s cafeteria terrorizing, Tan finds Eun-sang crying on the roof and stops her from answering Young-do’s call by moving in for a kiss. I do dearly wish their first kiss were more about wanting to kiss than, say, staking a claim over your rival, but I think I have to give up hopes of that drama ever happening in this world.

Tan has grabbed her by the wrist, and the phone (which has accepted the call) falls out of her grasp. Gah, I hate that subtext So Damn Much, that he has subdued the girl’s protests with his manly romantic aggressiveness. This writer.

Tan breaks the kiss and warns her not to answer calls from Young-do, or he’ll go crazy and also kill Young-do: “I have no middle ground.” Is that supposed to be romantic? That’s an honest question. I feel like I’m in alienromanceland and need an interpreter.

Eun-sang hurries away, missing more of Young-do’s incoming calls, though he sees her on her way down and grabs her by the wrist. She flings his hand off angrily, and gratifyingly he looks a bit stunned at that (as though tripping her and smearing her with lunch earned him a better response?).

Myung-soo wonders at Young-do’s behavior, pointing out that he never bullied girls before. Nice to know you had boundaries. Young-do says that this time was different—he tripped Eun-sang “because I wanted to know how I would feel if I did that.” Biggest facepalm in the history of the world, insert here. Myung-soo tells him that if he’s interested he ought to confess rather than bully.

Bo-na finds Eun-sang washing her soiled jacket in the bathroom and shoves a change of clothes at her. Aw, I love how she’s grudgingly coming around, even though she says grumpily that she’s only doing it because of Chan-young. Or maybe it’s because she’s so reluctant to care that makes it all the more endearing.

Tan spots Young-do in the lobby and charges at him, which erupts into a full-fledged fight. A crowd gathers in no time and Rachel guesses at the cause, which explains (I guess) why she finds Eun-sang in the bathroom and yanks on her hair. Oy. When did this turn into a Neanderthals: A Love Story?

Eun-sang and Bo-na hear about the fight and run to the scene, which has been interrupted by students pulling the boys apart. Into the mix comes Madam/Director Jung, who’s all, “You two again?”

She calls them in for an explanation and gets none, the boys as tight-lipped as ever. But this time won’t get glossed over with a lecture, and she states that they’ll investigate footage to see exactly who started it, and states that she won’t have them putting a stain on her workplace—they get to graduate and leave, but this is her career.

Young-do pokes at Tan’s sore spot on their way out, taunting that his mother worried about her career more than his safety, saying that it must because she’s not his biological mother. God, can you shut it with the mom barbs? It’s one thing to be a charming smartass, but now he’s turning into a one-trick bully. Young-do smirks, “Aren’t you all wound up to know when and how I’ll use the ‘Kim Tan is Jeguk Group’s Illegitimate Son’ card?”

Tan is unfazed: “You can’t use that card. Without it, you’re nothing, and you can’t do anything to me.” Boo-urns.

Eun-sang worries with Chan-young, thinking that she’s been marked as the new bullying target (it hasn’t even occurred to her that Young-do’s interest may lie elsewhere). Chan-young promises to fight on her side, but worries about something worse than her status being revealed: Tan liking her. That would open her up to even more abuse.

He explains that the school is full of kids who’d dearly love to see Tan fall, but aren’t able to go after him directly—so if they found out he likes Eun-sang, they’d go after her as punishment by proxy. That’s how he interprets Young-do’s attacks on her, in fact.

Tan waits outside the front gate for Eun-sang, first putting on his teasing face to pout about his injuries. He doesn’t get much of a reaction and switches to his serious face, getting upset when she tries to brush aside his attempt to talk.

Big Bro interrupts with his arrival, and Eun-sang quickly heads inside. Tan tries to talk to him about moving back home, but Won counters, “Then do you want to be the one moving to a hotel?” Tan insists he doesn’t want to take anything away from his hyung, but Won replies that Jeguk Group decides Tan’s feelings for him, and therefore Tan’s very existence is a thorn in his side: “That’s what being an illegitimate son is.”

Tan rattles off a warning text to Eun-sang telling her to stay away from the wine cellar tonight, to avoid a run-in with Won. Cut to: the wine cellar, said run-in already in progress.

Eun-sang cowers nervously, but Won is polite as he makes small talk and says it was nice seeing her again. Won grabs some wine and heads to his hotel, where Hyun-joo waits for him. He’s waylaid in the lobby by Rachel, however, and he invites her for a cup of tea, leaving Hyun-joo unseen and deflated.

Rachel comments on Tan’s bruised face, saying that he fought over a girl, and Won has a pretty good idea of who that girl is. It’s too bad a Won-Rachel pairing seems unlikely (not merely because of the age gap but because of Hyun-joo’s presence), because I think these two are at their best when they’re together. They’re even able to make wry comments about their own weak spots, which you’d never see them admit to other people.

And so, our main love triangle spends the night in meaningful flashbacks and broody stares. Young-do looks particularly mopey, but I’m a bit confused as to why I should feel sorry for him, and so I don’t. Moving along.

Tan gets up extra early the next morning to take Eun-sang to school, waiting for well over an hour before realizing that she left even earlier just to avoid him.

She’s absent from school, and Tan and Young-do take turns casting dark looks at her empty seat in class. That goes noticed by Rachel and Chan-young— it’s a veritable stare-o-go-round. You practically expect that chair to burst into flames from all the concentrated attention it’s getting. The second the bell rings, Tan bolts from class to go in search of her.

She’s spent the day wandering the city streets in a funk, killing time. The school calls her mother to ask about her absence, and as Mom cannot speak, the caller hangs up. Still, she mutters enough about Eun-sang’s truancy to give Mom the general idea.

Tan calls Chan-young for ideas on where to find Eun-sang, and gets directed to a certain free movie theater where she sometimes goes. Sure enough, Tan finds her sitting in the audience, and watches her throughout the screening.

He follows her out, keeping his distance until she stops in front of a storefront to look at the dreamcatchers in the window. He then takes her by the hand (thank you) and pulls her along, informing her that he won’t let go even if she tells him that she’s causing his life more damage. I’d argue that the reverse is more true, but in any case he keeps his grip firm and says, “I’ll keep going like this, and if I do, you’ll still be there at the end of the road, won’t you?”

But she says no, pulling her hand from him in a meaningful slo-mo edit, telling him that she will have long run away. He vows to find her anyway, but she urges him not to because she’ll have nowhere to retreat. In frustration, Tan asks what he’s supposed to do when he likes her this much, and she actually admits to liking him back—it’s a bit of a surprise to be dropped with such little fanfare, but I like it better for the way that her delivery emphasizes that her feelings aren’t the point. Liking each other doesn’t solve anything.

She points out that nobody knows about his family background, reminding him, “You can’t protect me. Worry about protecting yourself.”

That lands with him, and Tan takes that in for a long, hard second… and then turns and walks away. What? Way to give up, bro.

Young-do uses Eun-sang’s visa information to track down her old address, which confirms that she’s no rich kid. I suppose you could argue that she moved out of the place after a recent windfall made her rich, but this is enough to confirm his hunch.

Hyo-shin gets a new tutor after Hyun-joo quits. Hyo-shin ignores his new tutor and sends Hyun-joo a product-placement-laden message asking how she could quit without saying goodbye. She replies about sending over materials, and he sighs that he’ll always be a student in her eyes. Well, yes, have you seen Won?

Hyun-joo takes another meeting with Manager Yoon, and now we find out the reason for their regular contact: She’s been offered a position with Jeguk Group. She understands that if she were to take it, this would be publicized in the news, and she’d be touted as a successful case of a Jeguk-sponsored plebeian making good on their investment. And that, essentially, keeps her as Jeguk’s puppet.

Hearing Hyun-joo’s take on it makes Manager Yoon wonder anew at whether it’s such a good thing for his son to be going to Jeguk High as one of those charity cases. Or Eun-sang. He’d sent Chan-young there thinking to take advantage of its resources and connections, but now he’s not sure.

Eun-sang gets harassed at the cafe by a couple of rich high school kids who pressure her for her number. She warns them that she’ll call the cops if they don’t back off, but before anybody can challenge the threat, Young-do shows up to kick over the prats. He recognizes them from middle school, and they know enough about him to skedaddle on sight.

Young-do’s feeling cocky for playing the white knight, though Eun-sang is far from keeling over in gratitude. He sniffs that if she’s going to be bullied, she should be bullied by HIM, not those wimps, which… there’s so much wrong with that statement I can’t even. I have lost the ability to even, where Young-do’s concerned.

Eun-sang snaps that he’s way worse than they are, and asks why he’s made her his next bullying target. He tells her he saw her old house and starts to threaten her with that info, but she cuts him off to say that yeah, she’s a charity case, so what? Is he going to chase her away too?

To her great shock, he says frankly that he likes her. Well then.

At home, Tan resorts to scanning the house’s CCTV screens for sign of Eun-sang (secret surveillance is romantic, not creepy! Said no one ever). He finds her sitting outside the house and starts to go after her, but refrains when he sees her mother joining her there.

Mom understands that Eun-sang is going through hard times at school, which is why she doesn’t rip into her for playing hooky. Eun-sang is touched at Mom’s consideration and assures her that her tough spell was only temporary, and that she’ll be back at school tomorrow.

The next day, Eun-sang ignores the stares and gossip as she returns to school, and when she and Tan run into each other in the hallway, they make a pointed effort to pass in silence, as though they’re strangers.

Rachel corners her wearing her usual bitchface to sneer that she thought Eun-sang was quitting. She states that she and Tan are engaged, which in their world means that their respective companies have made a deal to join assets, and it’s Eun-sang who has wriggled her way in the middle of a massive business deal. Therefore Rachel feels justified in demanding, “Who the hell are you?” Eun-sang merely tells her she’ll know soon enough, since Young-do knows the truth.

Mom gets another call about the parent-teacher meeting, and looks to Madam Han with pleading eyes. So Madam Han answers the phone for her and lets the PTA chair assume she’s Eun-sang’s mother, though she barely gets in a word before essentially being ordered to show up to the PTA meeting.

Madam Han huffs at the rudeness, then decides maybe she’ll go to the meeting after all, screw the rules (which basically keep her housebound so that the outside world doesn’t know she’s the mistress). Mom scrawls a warning that “You’ll get found out as concubine” before scribbling out the offending word concubine—ha, how can you put your foot in your mouth when you’re writing?

But Madam Han says coyly, “Who said I’d go as Tan’s mother?” Hahaha. Okay, this is a pretty great turn.

So Madam Han arrives at school in all her finery and hauteur, and the room full of wealthy matrons puzzles over the new face. She announces herself as Eun-sang’s mother, and if anything, this is the absolute perfect woman to play up Eun-sang’s image as nouveau riche, without even having planned it. (Elegant clothes with just a hint of gauche, the slightest ditz tone to her voice…) Talk about serendipity.

The mothers discuss an upcoming leadership camp for the students, and parents are thanked for their generous sponsorship. With Rachel’s mother and Young-do’s father earning all the praise, Madam Han charges forward and volunteers to handle the leftover slots—all of them.

Then she hears that Director Jung is on her way in and has a mild moment of panic, haha. Director Jung narrows her eyes to see La Concubine at the table, but plays along with her ruse as Eun-sang’s mother. Madam Han gets caught up praising Tan to the skies, which is hilarious given how inappropriate her familiarity sounds to everyone’s ears. She lies that she heard about Tan from Eun-sang, who gushes about him, and how she’d want him for a son-in-law if she had a daughter. Director Jung: “You do have a daughter.” Ha, I had a feeling her brainpower wasn’t quite up to the demands of such an elaborate lie.

Director Jung follows Madam Han to the bathroom to rip into her for this stunt, warning her to use her mothering energy on her son so that he doesn’t fight all the time. Madam Han sniffs that boys will be boys, not that the childless Director Jung would know. She also takes a jab at that shrewish-looking woman among the group (Rachel’s mother), only to be told that that’s her future in-law.

The threat of endangering Tan’s engagement, at least, has Madam Han deflating. But she’s already made an impression on the other mothers, who get on the phone to find out about Eun-sang’s family.

In class, Eun-sang is pestered by some girls to prove her rich status, either with a parent’s or company name. Tan tries to ignore the conversation, but it’s Young-do who beats him to the punch by telling the lead harasser to back off.

It’s enough to stop the questioning for now, and then Myung-soo comes bursting in with news of the PTA meeting. He crows that Eun-sang’s mother showed up in the best clothes, the best car, and bowled over the whole meeting. Plus, she offered to pay for practically everything on the class trip.

Eun-sang and Tan are stunned, Young-do is confused, and Rachel bristles to be proven wrong. After school, she pumps her mother for information and hears that Eun-sang’s mother was carrying an exclusive handbag that even Rachel’s mother hadn’t been able to buy.

Bo-na puzzles over the gossip, knowing it to be impossible, while her friend is mortified at being told off by Young-do. (I’m thinking crush.)

Tan and Young-do get stuck with clean-up duty as punishment, and they both try to pawn off the task on each other. Young-do goes in for his favorite cheap shot (“Why, you wanna go home to your birth mommy?”), and Tan fires back with one of his own (“Was your mother at the PTA meeting? Oh right. She ran away”). Young-do chafes at that, but Tan reminds him that it was Young-do who started things, both then and now.

Madam Han is positively chipper about her trip to the PTA meeting, though Tan scolds her for it. A bit tearfully, says she was just curious—she wanted to know what his friends’ families were like, and what school parents do. Tan relents and asks his mother to cut her drinking, and she agrees.

A surprise visitor drops by, catching Tan off-guard: Young-do strolls in with a gleam in his eye and pointedly asks where his mother is (the school director) so he can say hello. Madam Han tries to make a discreet exit, and Young-do stops her to ask for a glass of water, treating her like the maid. Aw, and poor Madam Han bows her head and agrees. That’s really sad.

Tan stops her, though, calling her “Mom” openly and introducing her directly to Young-do. Even she knows this is against the rules and protests, but Tan doesn’t wilt and orders Young-do out for a chat.

Outside, Tan says that Young-do has proven himself to be a bastard beyond all expectation, and says he’s barking up the wrong tree if he’s doing all this just to see Tan kneeling at his feet. And then, Young-do gets distracted with a wholly unexpected sight: Eun-sang, marching up the walk, distracted (as ever) with her phone.

By the time they all realize what’s going on, it’s too late. “Jackpot,” Young-do smiles.

 
COMMENTS

God, Young-do. He’s really ruining the show for me, which was definitely not one of my concerns when I heard Kim Woo-bin was cast as the rival. My problem isn’t that he’s a violent asshole, because though those are undesirable traits, admittedly you can make that kind of character sympathetic with the right set of circumstances. My problem is that I have no idea what the hell is driving Young-do, and therefore his actions seem to be not the rebellion of tortured youth, or the misguided actions of a boy seeking love. Instead, I see a loose cannon who likes stirring the pot for the sake of his own amusement, and who delights in others’ pain, most of all when he’s the cause.

Let’s say Young-do isn’t that guy, which would frankly make my day because that guy would be a sociopath. Let’s say he really is misunderstood, and that there’s a decent human being underneath the psycho suit, and we’re just waiting for that vulnerable layer to peek out (and with real, fleshed-out reasons that amount to more than “Kim Woo-bin stares really well”).

Well, in that case the writing has failed you mightily, because I don’t get you, Young-do. What do you want? Attention? A hug? A cookie?

Tan was also a puzzler this episode, in that he was literally vowing to hold onto Eun-sang forevah and hunt her down if she left, and then she reminds him about his parentage issue (which he’s known about his whole life), and he’s all, “Oh. Right. Backing away now.” What the heck, Tan? I get that you’re weak, I get that you’re a puppet to your father and his corporation, and I even get that that is part of your appeal as a hero (with a trajectory away from those things, that is). And I am certainly willing to understand that he is choosing to disengage from life as a defense mechanism.

It’s just that I thought the point of the show would be to move him away from that and allow him to find himself. I think at halfway through a run, it is not asking for too much to have your characters grow, or even look like they may be pointing in the direction of future growth. But I don’t get that from any character in the whole show, and that is frustrating.

I did, however, love Madam Han impersonating Eun-sang, and for that scene alone I found this episode enjoyable. (Only just.) I hope this is more than a one-off joke, because Madam Han is one of the best characters around and by nature of her place in the story she has been cut off from the rest of the cast. With this excuse to insert herself into the mix, there might be room for a lot more fun.

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Tags: featured, Heirs, Kim Ji-won, Kim Woo-bin, Lee Min-ho, Park Shin-hye

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I absolutely LOVEd the drama when it came out. And by the time, Kim Tan, asked, "Do I Like You?", I was hooked.

And then this.

A Jandi 2.0 - loses entire character. no development and just becomes a object to be put there purely for the lead and 2nd lead. Freaking hate that. Whatever happened to the girl that ripped off Rachel's nametag? Why the heck is she just so passive now?

All she does is cry. And I'm not knocking on her character for crying. I'm upset that the writer didn't even bother to develop her character but instead stripped her of everything that made ES awesome.

And ditto, Javabeans on your YounDo comment. Woobin was the LEASE of my worries. In fact, I thought he was quite impressed with his charisma. However, his character is just ridiculous. I don't get when people say they have sympathy. Not that I don't have sympathy but I have NO IDEA what I'm supposed to be sympathetic about.

If his main conflict with Tan is purely bc he was born from a different mom, well, I guess that goes the bromance.

UGH. Anyone else going through this? Please. I need some ranting buddies. lol

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it's the writing... such a waste of talented cast, such a waste of intriguing characters that have potential, such a waste of a possibly good story. ugh.

people justify that this is a slice of life drama but what is slice of life in this exactly?! remove kim tan character in the story then all the rest of the characters would be like dying fishes flopping around for air in dry land - they would not know what to do... that is how underutilized the casts/characters are in this story compared to kim tan, and to think that kim tan character is not even written that good of a character definitely puts into perspective how awful the rest of the characters are written.

good writing can elevate casts/characters... bad writing though, there is only so much you can do with it - good actors but awful characterization/story is a recipe for disaster most often than not.

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Agree with everything. I have not watched any other of this writer's dramas and I have heard she is such a good writer but there is so much wasted potential here that I don't know what to think of her writing. So far I am only getting another high school drama with class conflicts, bullying, crying and fighting. Some people are finding a deeper commentary in the writing and while I am happy they are getting more I personally do not find anything out of the ordinary here.

The only thing that I can see this drama doing differently is making the lead a weak chaebol and the second lead an ass. That idea is refreshing but the story is not making me care enough about them to be fully invested or enjoy it as much as I could. The acting is good and I am confident that these actors could do much more, but if you give them weak scripts there is only so much they can do.

That said, I do not hate the drama and I continue watching because it is an easy watch and I love Madam Han but I am not finding anything particularly enticing about this. I get bored more often than not but it is not torture to sit through an episode at least.

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AMEN!
Seriously the main girl is so weak...it just makes me hate the drama... -.-
She never stands up for herself, she always wait until the prince pops out to save her. I just wish for ONCE she'd stand up for herself or for the guy who got beaten up by YD.
She always has this same worried face which is really starting to annoy me... Gosh I'm starting to think that it's pretty similar to Bella, the main twilight character. Weak and useless...
And she never seems to appreciate what she have... She keeps crying and blaming to her mom. Poor mom she's doing the best geez stop blaming her!

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I am pretty sick and tired of ES and her whining. I cannot help but compare her to the heroine in Secret - who also cries a lot, but with good reason. ES's just seems to feel sorry for herself. I would not even call her a good doormat.

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To be honest, I am not watching enough of it to rant much. About 90% of the time I was "watching" the last episode I was reading the comments on Viki about Secret.

But from time to time I catch glimpses of scenes. and just go WTF?

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I know what you mean. :) The only difference is I felt she was inconsistent from day one in the very first ep. Here is a girl that was clever enough to threat some strangers with calling the police and selfish enough to want to live in America with her sister who she resented for leaving her alone to take care of their mother. THAT was a girl I was invested in, flawed or not, she seemed real.

Then she let her sister steal all the money and just sat there crying, let a stranger toss her bag down the stairs and go through her stuff without a peep, let the same thing happen at school, agreed to maintain an impossible lie, cried when KT took her phone, visited YD hotel room without demanding any written proof he would drop fake lawsuit, and best of all, actually sat trembling in fear at a cafeteria table because he told her to. Possibly the weakest character I've ever found in any kdrama.

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SMH, writing.

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Does anyone feel that this show is quite like a korean Gossip Girl? The focus of he show isn't so much the storyline as it is the backdrop.

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The writer said she was a fan of GG & that it influenced her for this drama. About the lack of storyline, I would partly disagree: There is a definite plot but KES is not interested in character growth so she doesn't focus on that. She prefers the slice-of-life style.

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Answer Me 1994 IS slice of life.

what is happening in Heirs is just circling around going nowhere - characters have no backstory (not nearly enough to get an idea who they are and why they act/think/say like so) and no growth.

1 hour of episode 9 can be summarized in 1 sentence: Kim Tan and Choi Young Do are fighting... over a girl. Everything else are filler stuff that the show can do without.

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I feel like I spent more time skipping the episode than actually watching it!

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Hehe.. I spent most of the time reading the Secret comments on Viki and occasionally swapped windows to see if anything was happening (it wasn't) in Heirs.

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So true! The only scene I enjoyed was madam Han impersonating as eun sang's mom hah! The rest of episode 9 was slightly disappointing and bland. & when kim tan just walked off after saying he'll chase her...? I can't even.
Hopefully episode 10 will be better! I'm still rooting for the show but the plot's pace need to speed up!

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I was happy that stuff actually happened in this episode - Madam Han was hilarious.

Young-do's character still does not make sense but at least at this point he is more interesting. Eun Sang is getting a little better, too. I am not loving the violence, though.

However, I really don't know what universe this writer is living in. That was really the worst situation for a kiss ever and Tan is seriously being too much of a stalker ... come on, let the girl have a SINGLE moment without you. You will not cease to exist. Is this stalking supposed to be romantic and desirable? Then, all of the sudden, he ignores her... Huh?

I really don't understand why these characters like each other at all. Really, you fell in love with how Eun Sang passes out asleep in a chair? It was cute at first, but come on! Then again, in this crazy universe, I wish I could see Eun Sang and Young-do get together. I can get on the bad boy bandwagon more than the mopey stalker one.

Realistically speaking, I have such low expectations from this drama that all I want is at least for things to keep moving along and for them to keep the melodrama palatable.

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Waiting for wednesday is hard enough for me, it makes me both nervous and excited but even after watched the episode I feel the same. 'is that all?', 'it just end like that?', 'what was that?'. I read all the comment in this web and the other blog to answer my confusion but I still don't get it.
I don't even understand why I can't stop watching, okey maybe it's the consequence for adoring both Kim Dong hyub and Park Heung soo, but Choi Young do makes me tired to hope.
Don't be too ass Young do ya, you used to be an awesome friend ever.

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Ha ha, I guess the show is pushing all the right buttons (the totally opposite, of course) for java beans, I could feel it in her recap !
Your recaps is more fun than the show ! ?

That said, am still going to be stuck till the end. No idea why. Maybe to see how bad it can actually go !

Madam Han is one character am absolutely enjoying ! And finally something is happening ! Something !

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Java Beans has to stick with it, she is doing the recaps. I feel sorry for her.

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Doesn't javabeans own the site? I can't speak for her, of course, but it's not like she *has* to do it. I believe they've stopped recapping mid-show before.

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if the recaps stopped, i'll be sad.
i mean, "secret surveillance is romantic, not creepy!said no one ever."
:D :D im living to read these quotable quotes from the recaps. so entertaining! thanks jb, for the hard work!
but if she did decide to stop i would understand. (I love you JB,pls dont stop :))
overall im enjoying the drama cuz of the recaps. and i enjoy the comments as well.

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I'd prefer it if they, Javabeans and Girlfriday, stop recapping this show. There's nothing entertaining in reading negative recaps and reading negative comments from people who don't like the drama but keep on watching and commenting negatively. I don't have a real problem with it, but just visiting this site, reading negative recaps and comments from so many people, it all feels like wasted effort.

Just stop recapping. Spare your selves the trouble and the waste of time. I don't even like coming to this site anymore because of the negative energy. Maybe I'll come here again after Heirs finished airing, but now, I don't like to bathe in the darkness.

Ciao.

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I didn't expect much from this drama. I figured it was just a lighthearted fluff drama and that was fine with me. I have to admit though that I'm a little disappointed at the pace of this drama. It feels like this should be episode 5. Where's the story in this drama? I thought there would be a plot in this that had to do conflict between the "Heirs". There is conflict and they technically are heirs but... I expected too much lol. Instead of calling it Heirs they should've called it Rich Kids.

I actually really like Young Do and he's my favorite character in this drama. He's too much character for this drama. It makes me want to see him in movies. He'd be an excellent bad guy lol. I see why he's such a bad apple. Just look at his dad. It's just too bad that character wise this drama is very superficial. With all the time that they've wasted they definitely had time to show some background on these characters.

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Hope Rachel won't get any more screen time... she is annoying - not just her character, her acting really sucks!Marry her to Won instead - I agree that the older son should get engaged first. Then send them both to Mars with lots of money so that they will disappear from the face of the earth... it is a real pain to watch them both... ...Young do was probably very much hurt by his own mother leaving him, and now he shows his hurt from ES rejecting him. I enjoy Madam Tan very much - keep pretending to be ES mom, it is fun!

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I think it is the inconsistency that makes me dislike most of this drama. I see occasional flashes of brilliance - like the mom impersonation - but it is surrounded by 57 minutes of total Pabulum and WTF.

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Hmm. Contrary to what everyone's saying... I personally like Youngdo's character most.

Young do is crazy. But I think that is what makes me enjoy his character so much... Everyone expects a trajectory and transformation when it comes to dramas. What I like is how realistic the situation is. He is spoiled. He has parent issues. He is a bully... He could even be a sociopath, but his character is consistent. Now adding Eun Sang in the mix, he can't immediately want to or try to change. It seems like he likes who he is and what he does, so there is no motive for him to try to change... He is however, trying to make sense of what the heck he feels for Eun Sang and still live his life as normally (to his own sense) as he can... He is a mystery, but we can see through his friendship with Myungsoo that he can be tolerable... I personally like that he is a puzzle and is so unpredictable. (Not to mention how flipping charasmatic and badass Kim Woobin is). I can't wait for whatever is to come for this guy..

As for Tan, well... It feels like he's the strangest combination of character... He's passionate when it comes to Eun Sang, but lazy with everything else... I also feel like the person he was in the states is a completely different person from who he is now in Korea... Maybe it's because of his choice to change things up and come back, but I feel like everything that happened in the US is void...

I'm starting to think that major issues with this drama is the writing... Maybe characters were really just poorly thought out, But like I intended, it will stay in the category of the "cliche eye candy guilty pleasure" shows that I need every once in a while.

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Well said, I actually like YD's complex personality. Yet as you mentioned the characters are all poorly thought out. I do not like plastic LMH granted he looks very handsome. so there is no cliche eye candy guilty pleasure for me. Unlike the bromance of School 2013, there would be no bromance between YD and KT both are two spoiled and self centered to bond a bromance like School 2013. I also do not think LMH PSH are good match either,,, they do not share some chemistry together,,,.it's simply a bad drama.

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I agree with you completely on Young Do. I have a question ~ why is everyone sure that he is going to become a better person? Just because this is a kdrama? Also, do we need him to reform? (Maybe for Javabeans and half the beanies. :) )

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Unless YD reforms, he might be on the way to become a fully fledged phychopath/sociopath.

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I wish he didn't reform but I think he will, if not because this is a kdrama because he is the 2nd lead and falling for the girl, which then will be used to tell us that love can change people.

It will be much more slice of life if he didn't reform, and actually refreshing. Being in high school I guess you could chalk his meanness up to immaturity but he is beyond cruel, esp with the four eyed guy. There is immature mean and there is psycho mean and YD leans a lot more to the later.

I love Woo Bin and I do not really hate YD the character for the purpose of the story because there are people like that in real life -real people like that I majorly dislike but this is a character - but I don't want him to be reformed without some major psychological intervention.

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Like 'bromance couples counseling'? :)

I agree that they'll probably redeem him with the 'love' of Eun Sang; but she's going to end up with Tan, wouldn't that .... seem cruel/just suck/ knock him off the psycho edge? 'I've reformed for you, now break my heart.' I need a nap

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Ha! Or it could backfire "I reformed for you and you broke my heart. Now I'm going to kill you all." :D. He needs to be on chill pills and an extended stay at the psych ward to deal with his twisted mind.

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@ Eileen - maybe he could get some from Tan's mom... or not, she might give him arsenic pills after the stunt he pulled with calling her "ajumma". :)

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I think it's possible to find a way to stay true to himself and still incorporate the new element that is Eunsang in his life.

That is, if he chooses.. Once he decides what he actually wants to do with his feelings for Eunsang rather than experimenting (ie. tripping her to see how it feels).

I have a feeling though, that Tan and Youngdo's relationship and how they might reconcile will be what makes Youngdo's story..

Because the biggest issue that he has with Tan (that we seem to know) is that he is the "product" of infidelity, essentially the "symbol" of Young do's main problem in this show...

As for Eunsang in this equation, she just seems like something the writer uses (Aside from the romance part of Tan's trajectory as the "hero") to get them to that point of reuniting as a bromantical BFFs...

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I think both leads are equally bad for ES, and agree that she should find a way out of the house with her mom ASAP. Sometimes, I feel like the only scenes worth watching are the ones with the mothers...

But it does bug me that everyone seems to root for Tan. I get that he's hot and tall and very very devoted, but I still find him super clingy, annoying, creepy, and demanding. Not to mention that he indulged in a higher degree of violence pre-ES/America and there seems to be no mention of why? He also keeps pulling out the same cards that just emphasize his power over ES, even after she explains that she wants to graduate without any difficulties ("Well, you can move out or like me" "Don't pick up the phone or else"). The stalkerish CCTV monitoring and kiss was not cute, and it's only due to ES's pseudo-confession that I can continue on with this couple.

To me, YD is way more dynamic and interesting. He has a higher potential for change, and even though he's an asshole I feel that the actor saves the character by injecting more depth and variety in his time on screen. I might be biased due to the casting, but I definitely find myself more invested in scenes with YD. And because of that, I find myself secretly rooting for him to win the girl after becoming a better person and settling things with Tan.

And it's ES's reactions that confuse me the most. Maybe she's meant to be more layered, but her fluctuating responses and reactions to those around her confuse me. I was never sure how she felt about Tan or YD. One minute she's firm (when I like her most), other times she cowers and cries. And that's fine, but to the point where I can't gauge her interest in the male lead until she explicitly states it out? Meh. I get that she's subdued and just wants to get through high school without any trouble, but I don't feel the chemistry between her and any of the male leads?

But I love PSH and KWB so I'll just keep watching! I'll most likely be disappointed, but at least I have this pretty cast to keep me invested lol.

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Well said.

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Yes to everything you said. Exactly why I can't really ship KT/ES. It's like, on one level their situation creates this power differential that is problematic for both characters, which, okay. But then Tan is so selfish that he uses the situation to force himself on her so many times it's getting routine, which is not okay, and gets worse every time he does it. I think the worst moment was when he went over to her part of the house. Like, WTF, dude. At the very very least respect her pretense of privacy. Anyway, at that point her liking him back is kind of irrelevant.

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Last time Young Do threatened Kim Tan with the Mommy/illegitimate issue, Kim Tan said he was ready to go to the bottom. It seemed like he WANTS to be outed...to the point that someone ELSE revealing it would be a relief to him.

Let's say he does get outed.....will Tan then be in the same social class as Eun Sang? "Kim Tan the illegitimate" would be closer to the same power level...maybe that's his plan.

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I was thinking the same. He's willing to be exposed, but doesn't want to do it himself.. LAZY.

Am I the only one thinking that he can solve his issues with not being able to be with Eun Sang by just being honest about his family stuff...?

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yes, development growth for Tan is important but i think this is in fact Tan's slump, the storm before the rainbow which I'm perfectly okay with. in every episode, we see how he's constantly deflated by his family background but this is the episode that i feel it worst. he was CONTINUOUSLY brought down, first by youngdo, then the brother he loves dearly and EVEN eunsang. it's kinda the norm when youngdo and bro brings out the fact that he's a illegitimate son, he's left loveless by his friend and his bro and then now eunsang, pointing out his family problem is more than he can handle. this leaves him completely deflated. i truly believe (or hope) that this episode is him hitting the rock bottom, he's been slowly deflating since the first episode to his deepest slump and now an upturn will be gratifying.

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I'm sick of the exact same conversation the Kim brothers have in every episode. Young Do has legitimate reasons for being the budding young sociopath that he is but does that make it right and more importantly how does that make him at all attractive? Frankly if I was Eun Sang I'd tell both him and Tan to kindly cross the street whenever they saw me in the future, forget my name, delete my number etc. Neither of them is any great prize or worth the trouble imo however I'd take Tan over Young Do anyway.

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I enjoy this episode, especially when Tan's mom pretend to be Eunsang's mom...although there are some draggy parts.

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my outlook must be really jaded or the life has thrown too many buckets of s*** that I find Young Do rather normal, or should I say, not a rare type. from my experience, many people do just bug others for their own entertainment. mentally pr physically. or they have 0 social skills. they dont understand roles like "friend". some people have to read instruction manuals to be "a person". so no wonder they are hard to grasp. they have no genuine interest in having any emotions.
that doesnt excuse them. or maybe it does. I know lots of people like him. Lots of mad people.

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I have known people like him also (though not quite as far off the deep end). But none of them have ever been school heroes like he is portrayed in this thing. Most end up isolated, or with their own kind. In this drama he has about 700 teen girls drooling to be his bedmate.

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he is rich. I also know estonian babes / bimbos ready to go out with any moron who has money

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I just don't get that.

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I think the reason for Tan to leave Eun Sang after their talk isn't because he fears his situation but because she actually is telling him that he might look as the rich kid but is as weak as she is and the fact that she is the one pointing at his weak point even after confessing hurts him just like when his friend also walked away from him because of the same reason. Eun Sang isnt rejecting him for his situation but because the fact that he already has too many problems to add poor girlfriend to the list, and her reason to leave him is more because she is hi weakness and the one who will bring him more pain than smiles by liking her. I like their relationship because they have both accepted their feelings and confessed and care for each other so much that they dont want to be a burden or the reason for their pain and yet are still there looking at the other secretly

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this mess of a drama... Le' Sigh....

I disagree with you though. I find Kim Tan more draggy and quite boring. His character showed us everything, so no new tricks are going to be pulled out of his sleeves. YD on the other hand ..... even though his violent ways really, REALLLLYY irritates me (no, take that back ANYONE GRABIN' SOMEONE'S WRIST/ KISSING WITHOUT IT BEING MUTUAL IS FRANKLY ANNOYING AS FUDGE.).... IMO YD is actually more interesting.

what really pisses me of is the writing. such waste of talent. I mean COME ON!! you have Choi Jin Hyuk, Lee Min Ho, and Kim Woo Bin they are all CLEARRLLLY being wasted!!

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I'm sorry, jb, but I couldn't help lol-ing while reading through the first few paragraphs. You just had to put snarky commentaries every few sentences. It's so hard recapping this episode, wasn't it ?

Well, I truly appreciate your hard work. Thank you.

*continues reading......*

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The only reason why I liked spoiled, childish and sometimes assholes chaebols as the leads in a drama it because, once they fall in love, an evolution begins and I love to watch that.
So I still have hope that we are going to see the human (or at least more logic) part of Young Do. The problem is that he is second lead and he is going to get rejected and that means more bullying and make more people miserable.
Its weird that Im not bored already because I can tolerate slow, but this is really a turtle´s pace. Well, Madam Han, Mom and Bona are good reasons to return to this show.

Thank you for the recap!

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My thoughts about this ep.:

Thank you for the recap, as always.

Sorry, I do have another question: MS’s mom was in the K2Hs, wasn’t she? As a governess, or something like that.

As I mentioned earlier, I really liked this ep. I am in love with KWB’s acting. I love how he disappears into a character and how his face moves, and how he does little intricate things that informs the viewer about where the character is at emotionally and otherwise. I just LOVE watching him, it’s like having my favorite dessert, I just savor it. He is good at making me feel what YD is feeling, whether YD is angry, melancholic, lost, upset, etc… I also find him to have such a presence, when he comes on. I love how KWB has been able to show YD as a really bad boy, to the point where many thought that he could not reform, and have a redemptive arc, because he was too far gone.

Yet, in this ep., KWB showed us that YD is wavering, and “falling in like” with ES. I am not sure how I feel about that side of YD yet, though I do love KWB’s portrayal of it. It is in the way his voice softened when he confessed, the hesitant way in which he spoke to her, and he asked, “you do hate me don’t you?” (huh, you think?) The shame (I think?) he displayed when he was responding to MS’s questions in the hallway. All of that was soooo good to watch.

How much do I love protective and aggressive Tan? A whole lot, and I find him hot (at times) when he does that, though I still think that he is being one sided about the issues, immature to an extent and not putting himself in ES’s shoes. I did say last week that I found him selfish, and he has been, in that he has not thought out how his behavior is impacting ES’s life. I do not feel that he has put himself in her shoes, and tried (like really tried) to look at things from her vantage point. I do believe that he does love her, and that he means well (he cares about her), however, I do also find him a little immature or superficial (meaning that he is only looking at things from a surface point, not going really deep in his thinking) in how he is assessing the situation. It was interesting to me what ES told him, that yes she liked him, however, they do live in the real world, and in that world, their being together would be hard to achieve (and she explained why, and she made sense). Interesting also that KT had nothing to say to that.

Even though I don’t think that people should marry only for money, I also found interesting the points that Rachel made, when talking about what her marriage to Tan would mean. Those are the kinds of things that ES could not disregard easily, and that KT has not thought about. It seems that he doesn’t know the kind of dad he has, unfortunately. ES seems to be more aware of the world around them than he does. And I am not saying that they should not fight to be together, just that I would have liked to see KT show that he TOTALLY understood where ES was coming from, and what might hold her back.

Staying with KT, I also love that he has changed so much since the 1st ep., when he was too lazy to care, and too lazy to get angry. He is definitely caring now, and fighting back, and that is awesome. When it comes to his relationship with KW, I find KT to be the adult, to actually be mature and KW to be childish and immature (as much as I love KW, maybe because of CJH. KW is cute when he whines to HJ). KW is starting to sound like a broken record to me. KT strikes me as a parent at times, who tries to coax and woe a difficult child into coming back into the (family) fold, and KW keeps having his tantrum, which makes me want to ask, “for how much longer, KW?” It is sooo sad that KW doesn’t realize what he is actually missing out on, by pushing his brother away. What is he (really) so afraid of, anyway? That company is big enough for the both of them. Also, I was confused last week: are KW and HJ dating or not? I did like that KW was polite to ES in the cellar.

I was disappointed that KW did not even bother to ask his brother why he was in such a bad shape and what had happened. He really does not care, I guess. Still, what he told KT outside was really cold and mean spirited, especially since KT has not done anything to him, at all. I can’t help but wonder what it will take for KW to have a change of heart…

I thought it was interesting that all the times that YD bullied others, the school chairwoman and the disciplinary committee did not seem to care, but that this time around, she showed up. Took her long enough…

I continue to love the relationship between KT and his mom. The way she does love her son, and wishes she could openly be a part of his life. And I love how KT softened when he understood that his mom just wanted to be able to be acknowledged as his mom, in public and have the privileges that come with it. Madam Han is so funny at times, and she really does not think about the repercussions of her actions. She is a hoot.

KT really does melt my heart, the more I see him. I might not agree with all his actions, and with some of his motivations, however he does melt my heart. The way he cares and worries about ES, his desire for friendship and intimacy (as in “in-to-me-see,” that closeness that we have with someone who we know we can be vulnerable with, and yet safe with at the same time). He longs to have a safe place to fall whether it be his brother, ES, YD, and his parents. Interestingly, when they were in the movie theater, the song playing had “let’s be each other’s resting place” as part of its lyrics, which I found to be fitting regarding KT, ES, KW, YD and many characters’ needs in this drama.

I know that some of the characters are not as important as others, however I do like what they have to say. I loved how MS challenged YD at the beginning of the ep, how he called him on his crap. I am loving Bo Na, because she does care about ES and she acts at times on ES’s behalf, even if she covers it up. And CY is of course a winning character in my book, still (I will fight with you). I loved his comment about “yeah, the problem is when one glass of alcohol becomes two.” That was cute and funny. I also love ES and her mom, their relationship.

I also loved ES in this ep. She stood up for herself, she challenged YD, and she didn’t cower in fear. She tried to be realistic, and she showed us that she is still struggling with things and with her feelings, still trying to survive in a new school and in a new environment. I love that we see her waver and giving up when it comes to KT, and we know why. I love that we see her reject him and push him away, even though it hurts her deeply to do so (and that we get to see that). I would have liked to have seen her fall in love with KT, meaning that I would have liked to have seen the process more from her perspective, the way we were able to witness Tan’s.

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Aside from being obsessed with ES, I don't see where KT has changed at all since ep1.

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Thanks for your thoughts, Ivoire! I always find they make me think about the show,

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on Young-Do. He may be falling for Eun-Sang, but he's the same old psycho, so it doesn't cut any ice with me, frankly.

I agree re Tan. I think his feelings are genuine, but immature is a good word for his outlook. He doesn't think about the impact of his actions on Eun-Sang -which I guess is typical for a teenager :). But as long as he's engaged, and keeping the status quo at home, Eun Sang is in a lot of hot water. I'd like to see that addressed in this drama, if nothing else is.

I really like your comments about intimacy, especially the "into-see-me" comment :). What I like is this isn't just an "I like you" passion type of thing. You can tell Tan really wants a friend, someone he can be open with. LMH is really selling the vulnerability.

I feel that sometimes people are too hard on ES. She's very realistically portrayed. Still, I agree it would be nice to see more from her perspective.

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Hey Faye,
I see that you found my response. I will be back later to respond, I am trying to watch the ep. live, though my streaming is not good at all. I might give up on those efforts in the future.

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I just love Tan's mom!

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at this rate, i wouldn't be surprised if young do turned out to be a sociopath, like no joke. and how he treats eun sang because he supposedly "likes her" just screams classic abusive relationship. i think i would be turning my back on all women if i shipped them together, thank god i don't.

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It's funny how Eun-Sung walks into Young-Do's and Tan's conversation - like the first day of school - while being distracted by her phone. When I am on my phone and walk at the same time, I walk into a pole, not two charming guys hahaha

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hahaha.. long since given up for the characters or the story of heirs to make any sense.

This is like a world all on its own with different set of values and brain wiring or living species... if this drama says that the sun rises in the west and the earth is square, it could very well be correct...

This was touted to be Gossip Girl but I feel like this is makjang sageuk fusion with a little of hannibal lecter and candy girl. but hey hannibal lecter and candy girl seems more interesting than this drama, hahaha just a thought!

aish, one thing I hate about this drama other than psycho YD is is EunSang. She is so poorly written, she's like the magnate of bullying wherever she goes... like come one from her deliveries, to US, to School, and to the cafe... She doesn't look weak so maybe there is a silent and invisible sign in her forehead that say "Bully me" that bully people can see and activates people bullying instincts...
hhmmnn.. anywa each episode just frustrates the hell out of me...

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No matter how bad a person is, there will always be one person who'll bring out that small goodness inside their heart that will grow and grow and cover up that bad side of them.

That is the point of Young Do's character. Being a bully is bad, YES. But once they will meet a person whom they feel they are comfortable to that is when they'll going to open up their hidden emotions and reasons why they are like that.

Young do bullies Eun sang. But did you know that he actually felt love at first sight at her?

because I wanted to know how I would feel if I did that.
-- he actually already felt that Eun sang is different among the other people he met. He wants to test his emotions to whether or not his bullying would turn into worst or turn 360 degrees positive, which is Eun sang's genuine understanding to the real him.

To understand a person's characteristics, do not focus on the totality of their faces, but look into their eyes and discover their heart. It was just acting but you can read it.

I just happened to watch The Heirs because of Young Do's character, to which up to now, I enjoyed a lot.

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you are too naive. they´re usually bullies cause they like it.

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"..and grow and cover up that bad side of them.."

In a word "BULLSHIT".

That bad side never stays covered up for long. Try spending some time volunteering in a battered women's shelter and you will see how things really are with these hot "bad boys".

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I agree with you that Young Do was initially attracted to Eun Sang before all the craziness started. However, she does not know that and cannot see the scenes where he is thinking of her. Nor can she read his mind. ( I wish they had shown more of his confession scene. ) He needs to figure out how to be thoughtful of other people's feelings before his own desires for me to be ok with them together. Otherwise they will be in a cycle of abuse and apologies.

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Definitely a difference in the clothing that Kim Tan is now sporting at home. Maybe a new stylist was hired.

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I really can't stand Young-Do as character. I just don't see any redeeming value. Maybe the next 10 episodes will surprise me.... MAYBE!

There were a few nice surprises:
- the hand-holding, which was serious bf-gf stuff in my opinion, as opposed to the usual wrist-grab.
- ES finding the nerve to reject YD's wrist-grab... she really ought to stand up for herself more
- ES admitting she likes Tan too but that it's not the only point... that they bicker while saying "i like you/i like you too" is a great dynamic because it makes them equals rather than master-servant.
- that ES is starting to stand up for herself to Tan and YD (e.g. calling Tan out on his own problems and YD on his BS).... I'm tired of ES crying each episode, okay?

I just wish there was more plot movement. Can't ES-Tan just get together already since there's still so much angst to go through as they navigate thru this social quagmire?

I really enjoy the show & was looking forward to some great conflicts. Unfortunately a lot of the characters are being wasted right now - Tan (they're wasting LMH's talent okay?), Rachel, Won, Eun Sang. I get that most of the characters are in high school so there's a ton of immaturity, whiny moments, etc. But still, give us depth please!

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this show is going SOOO SLOOWWW i don't know what to feel about the characters anymore. It's just really hard to get into all the conflicts and plots the author has been trying to build up halfway through the series.

the mom going to the pta meeting made this episode worth it for me. right now, she's the only person i'm watching it for because of her quirky personality and cuteness (yes even though she's an older lady, she's still very pretty and funny)

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Because of LMH, Im watching city hunter all over again.

I must say KWB looks really out of this world. If there is any role he should fit in like a glove, it would be some vampire romance flick. He wont even need any make-up or special effect. He feels like he is going to be lightning quick at your throat the moment he turns his head on you.

Yes, he can look vulnerable while impenetrable at the same time.

Think javabeans a bit harsh on him. His story hasnt unfolded. Knowing a masochistic father and a mother who ran away (with lover or plain cannot take the father)....maybe this character has more than a bit of angst going on. but thwn again, he's not the main lead, just fuel to an explosion love triangle. Guess for that very reason, volatility is his role.

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Scene 1

Madam Han on Screen

Scene 2

Park Shin Hye's Kiss

Why do they crack me up so? :D

Thanks for the recap!

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Poor YD! I guess his dad didn't teach him how to pick up chicks…. :/

My heart fell when he told ES that he wasn't picking on her- liked too much and that she must hate him!!! the look in his eyes maaannnnn! :(

But with all this nonsense going on with Tan, doesn't he see that its giving her problems?? And wasn't ES much stronger in the beginning of the drama, much more in your face….why does she care if people know she is not from New Money group? And on top of that two of the most popular guys are fighting over her….idk i feel like maybe she isn't growing as a character on the show...

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What was that?????
All these sleazy complications for what purpose, to put the main couple in a difficult situation?? They already r. to heat the things up in the school? So far we got nothing but fights and suspense encounters there.
Although I hate fight scenes, but that fight scene was the best scene in the episode. Plus very good fight (though fast disappearing!!) makeup.
The parents meeting!!! Are there 15 kids only in the school? Shouldn’t the school know the circumstances of their students, especially the ones with the grant?
before It was only a boring and predictable story line, but now they start to make drama blunders and coincidences (wrong camera angles, changed poses, too much of a convenient coincidences…) I know no drama is free of those, and they r to help the plot plus it is only fiction and all that,, but please can u make it less shown.
With all the drama and the action in the school, the story line there is the most boringly predictable and stupid, even the actors don’t fit. Meanwhile the other side stories and characters r more interesting, or at least can be.
One last thing, can’t they stop that aggravating song (Love Is), and the suspense music that is playing almost whenever Tan and YD have a confrontation, although it was great in the first encounter, but as they have one of those every 2 min it became tedious.

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Yeah, whoever is in charge of the music must be on some really weird white powder or something. It is often inappropriate for the scene, played too much, and is very repetitious. I can't help but compare it with the excellent OST's in Secret.

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Does anyone else thing that Woo Bin looks like a Korean Benedict Cumberbatch?

First drama I see Woo Bin in, and wow, yes, his character is an asshole, but Woo Bin's charisma makes it okay for me. He is charismatic! ...apparently, that's enough for me to like someone....

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Ditto on Cumberbatch. Too bad even Cumberbatch's villainous role in Star Trek possessed more compassion than Young Do here (not that he has any, mind you) and he wasn't even human.

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i second that!

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Regarding Won, i guess maybe he did get engaged like tan when he was young but then fell in love with tutor girl and then broke it off..
Maybe the reason he wants to get all powerful is so that he can be with the tutor girl..

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Interesting idea.

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I just love this drama and especially this episode so much. I think its because I interpret it a little differently, and I DO have sympathy for YD. Honestly, I'm getting annoyed with Tan because he won't leave Eun Sang alone when she asks. He shows up every single time and drags her all over the place! I'm really digging YD though. In real life I would've hated him so much, but I've learned that in kdrama, 2nd lead bad boys in romance comedies will usually end up being better in the end whether it makes sense or not. So now I'm just enjoying the chemistry and charisma that he's giving off. Love this dramaaaaa

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slightly confused, does young-do say "jackpot" after seeing eun-sang because he's put together all the clues (she's not new money, she knows tan, etc) and realized that she's the maid's daughter at tan's house? or has he just found something new to harass them with by thinking that they're so close that she even comes over to his house?

but anyways, i'm kind of disappointed with the show overall... i had high hopes because of the all star cast and the writer but so far it's just been so slow and so few of the characters are likeable! i'm not even sure who i want to be with who... tan right now still has a lot of flaws holding him back that he's not even really trying to fix, and young-do is such an ass i don't even know how he thinks he SHOULD be with anyone.

where is this show going?! shouldn't we have a better idea by the 9th episode? :O

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I'm still liking show though
-maybe at the point when I have up any expectations of a fast paced plot, I'm kinda enjoying the lines and backdrop. I do see the gossip girl influence. Gossip girl never had a strong plot but had great characters,enjoyable and easy to watch. (Esp the 1st 2 seasons)
This will really look good for a 50 episode kinda show but at 20, I don't see what's our central conflict?

Btw I just have to say that the kiss could have been better. I blame it all on PSY (sorry fans but she's really not a good onscreen kisser) yeah I get that she was suppose to emote shock but there ARE details that you can layer your performance. eg. LMH and his Adam Apple stole the show. I found THAT very hot. Darn if only he's paired with someone who CAN kiss!

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LOL. I see I'm not the only one who noticed his adam apple. I blame it all on PSY too...

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So I'm not the only one too!
These details made me feel that he went through his head how he wanted to act out the kiss and the emotions.
I see nothing of such from PSY. She has just that one expression. Why oh why

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It came across as if Park Shin-Hye didn't bother to show up for either the "Almost Kiss" from last week and the "Rooftop Kiss" in this episode.

It's unfortunate that Lee Min-Ho was stuck with having to emote romantic anticipation/chemistry literally with a cardboard cutout.

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Young Do is my favorite character - he's so dynamic and Kim Woo Bin is acting the sh*t out of his character. That being said, there are some serious gaps in the story. I assume it's all going to boil down to his major mommy issues - the constant poking at Tan about his mom would make sense on that front. I also imagine Eun Sang probably reminds him of his sad, departed mother and we'll see some wet red eyed confession about this in the future.

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Little Madam was awesome! but things become more complicated for Cha Eun Sang.. and by the way, I want to distort Young Do's face. He is really a character to abhor..

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I like lee Min ho - do not get me wrong, but Woo bin is stealing the show in every scene. He has great timing, his acts, expressions, dialgoue delivery and his body language are amazing. I m totally bowled - i really do not care what he does in this show, but he has a great great future ahead. I sometimes feel Lee Min Ho is another pretty face in the crowd here, and Woo Bin is an actor - a directors delight i should say.

coming to some of the questions - why is Young Do doing what he is doing? well - never been loved as a kid, never knows to value things, and he is one of those who pulls till it breaks. So thats what he did, till he realized, he actually likes Eun Sang.

Not sure why Eun Sung likes Tan in the show, i mean she was all like, i want a job and want to do this that, now all she does is go to school and work , and cry. I like the character but i wish there was some stronger female lead. I liked Rachel in Dream high?? , she has come a long way and i am really hoping Eun Sang character delivers.

All in all, do not care, Woo Bin does it for me.

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I actually thought Tan was really mature to back off after Eun-sang's warning. It's like he's finally realized that her being associated with him in school is more of a detriment to HER than a benefit.

Given that he's seen with his own eyes how bad her life is when he's being all possessive and grabby, I'm glad he's giving her some space.

If we as the audience is supposed to root for Tan, I don't really want him chasing her again until he can make sure that her life IMPROVES with his presence. All this making Eun-sang's life difficult because he likes her is baloney.

Young-Do, though, is certainly stealing the limelight from Tan. I don't know if this is because Tan doesn't seem to have much agency, or if its because Young-Do has the whole scary charisma working for him, but right now I find Young-Do the more interesting character, even if he's the smarmier one. I'm itching to know more about him.

Also, a Rachel-Won loveline would be AWESOME. Just sayin'. Who cares about Hyun-joo?

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i think i understand what is bothering u Javabeans in Young-Do's character. that is because it is confusing, he is doing contradictory actions without explanations, and when u start to sympathize with him you find that he is actually evil. but u see i think we should take him at face value because he is just an support character, its only job is to reflect the action and reasons of the main character. but because the actor give it that interesting performance we tend to see it as the one of the main character. still the writer should define his character more clearly

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"I’m half-convinced Young-do is descended from cavemen"

Have you seen his father?

"I don’t get you, Young-do. What do you want? Attention? A hug? A cookie? "

I think it's two things really one he wants to beat his father, not on some weird metaphysical level, he literally wants to beat his father, at judo perhaps more.

Two his father is obviously a bully and with no mother or anyone else to temper that his father has been free to raise Young-do to be a bully as well. Bullies prey on the weak because usually they are the prey at home as is the case with him. Also I can't imagine his father expresses his emotions, if he has any, or encourages Young-do to do so leaving Young-do stuck emotionally on the kindergarten playground.

I want to finish with two pleas to the writer Kim Eun-Sook.

First please let's have more Bo-na and Madame Han and less Rachel, her mom or really any adults not named Madame Han or Chan-young's dad.

Second please give Im Joo-eun something to do as much love as I have for Park Shin-hye and Kim Ji-won Im Joo-eun is the most talented actress you have in the cast, so I don't care if you have to re-write the whole show give her something to do please.

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OMG...I know....writer KES, you are wasting Im Joo Eun's and Choi Jin Hyuk's talents.
Every week I complain that they have like 3 seconds screen time on each episode. And it doesn't get better at all. With only 10 episodes left, please for pete's sake, give them a plot!!!

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I am now watching this drama with the Kim Tan/Young-do roles reversed. Young-do in the bad boy with the potential to be redeemed by the love of a good woman (or teen-aged girl... whatever) role. Kim Tan in the psycho stalker/erotomaniac I would be warning my daughters about if I had daughters role. I have no idea if this is what the writer is going for. Probably not but the whole situation is now making a lot more sense to me.

Whether or not Lee Min Ho is known for his on-screen kissing skills is immaterial. It's the director of Heirs who is giving him direction as Kim Tan. The kiss on the roof top is aggressive and scary and completely devoid of teenage romantic angst. Eun-sang responds as she should, with abject terror.

Then Tan gives his spiel about killing Young-do if Eun-sang takes any more calls from him because he, Tan, has "no middle ground". Just wow! Like now he is trying to control her phone behaviour with death threats. Eun-sang is scared to death of Kim Tan and she walks away with her shoulders hunched, trying to make herself as small and insignificant as possible.

Eun-sang is a completely different person meeting Young-do on the stairs. He grabs her, she breaks away and leaves him feeling small and with perhaps the first faint inklings of a conscience. Could it be that tripping a girl to see how he will feel is not the preferred method of attracting her attention? What a radical concept for that school! Young-do is a nasty piece of work, no doubt about it, but he's certainly not in Tan's league. Tan arrives on the scene and, without warning, kicks him hard in the middle of his chest. People have been killed having that done to them and maybe that's the point. Of course they are going to fight but whose fault is it really?

I was actually wondering at the end of Episode 8 just when the CCTV cameras were going to enter the story. Tan can watch Eun-sang's comings and goings at any time. And from the security and comfort of his own bedroom no less! I'm willing to bet that there isn't a room in that house that hasn't been wired. It's probably how Mr Tan has been monitoring his dysfunctional family from his sick room for years.

Also Young-do seems to have some real friendships. Myung-soo calls him on his behaviour in the lunch room and makes the reasonable suggestion that if he likes Eun-sang he should use his words. Then he runs like hell while Young-do gives chase but a while later they are hanging out together in a friendly manner. in fact, for all his bullying ways, a lot of people don't seem to have a problem with Young-do.

Tan seems to have no one. In fact, as Chan-young points out to Eun-sang, there are a lot of people in the school who can't wait to see Tan fall. Even Won, who is cold, hard and refuses to give Tan even the slightest opening for a brotherly relationship, is actually civil and pleasant to Eun-sang in the wine cellar. Of course Tan has already attempted to warn her away from the cellar in order to avoid Won.

The character of Kim Tan makes a lot more sense to me as a psycho erotomaniac stalker than as a credible romantic male lead. And Young-do seems to have at least the potential for redemption as the classic bad boy who really wants to be good if only he knew how.

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great take on the two bad boys.

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THIS! THIS IS PERFECT. And this is precisely why I'm more interested in seeing Young Do than Kim Tan each episode. I'm quite sure it won't happen, but I really wish that the writers would pursue the Eun Sang and Young Do pairing. If you're going to have her end up with Kim Tan, at least make her feel conflicted between her options!

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If I can make it half way through a K-drama, I'm usually pretty forgiving of whatever direction the writer wants to take the material. I should say getting through half a drama doesn't happen often. My Dramafever queue is full of series that have been abandoned after 1 or 2 episodes because the idiot factor outweighs the entertainment potential. But I really cannot for the life of me see how Kim Tan and Eun -sang can be put together romantically at this point without losing all authorial credibility.

To me Tan is written as absolutely upfront in his aggression, hostility, transgressive sexual behaviour, you name it. He seems to be written as a person with a classic anti-social personality disorder. He has stalked Eun-sang, uttered death threats to her against people who call her on the phone if she dares answer, had the CCTV feed installed in his bedroom so he can keep tabs on her after she gives him the slip one morning, behaved in a very sexually threatening manner and so on.

Young-do obviously needs therapy; he's pretty messed up given his mother's abandonment and his father's serious physical and emotional abuse issues. And then there is the weird sex education he's received by watching a parade of women entering his home to service his father. Who knows what he's witnessed but it can't have been all hearts and flowers and romantic dinners. Not to mention that horror show of a high school where all kinds of horrendous behaviour is, if not encouraged, at least condoned. But I don't think he is a clinical case whereas Tan really is written that way. Neither of them is any great example of Mr Right for Eun-sang but Young-do seems to be at least capable of unlearning his learned behaviour because he seems to have at least a vestigial spark of empathy left in him.

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Thanks for the recap! ♥

RE: "...She replies about sending over materials, and he sighs that he’ll always be a student in her eyes. Well, yes, have you seen Won?"

...not much actually. I'm watching this slo-mo-stare-a-thon, potential-train-wreck solely for Choi Jin Hyuk and I'm not getting my quota.

He appears for under 5 minutes per show and repeats the same lines. (tapping fingers) want. more. Choi. ಠ_ಠ

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PSH can't kissed OK...please don't say she can't act ..maybe its just kissing is not her forte..for someone who can't kissed ,I love all the dramas and movies she made..and surely I am not only the one think so too,because almost every year she has a new project..and a kiss...doesn't made a good story....anyway love your recap Javabeans..different perspective..

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She is not a great actress. Not terrible, but far from the best.

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Well yeah she's not a great kisser but this particular scene didn't exactly call for her being super responsive?

But I agree, if there are consensual kisses down the road it'd be miles better if she doesn't remain stiff as a board :)

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I don't know about everyone but the whole time I was watching, I feel like this is could be a more realistic portrayal of "Boys Over Flowers". I feel like Choi Young Do could be the best Gu Jun Pyo in the sense that he's purely evil without holding back and yet when a mere girl intrigued her, he's acting like a lost puppy but still a mean pit bull. He doesn't know how to treat anyone with gentleness or kindness because he's always been the meanie that speaks with double-edged sword. Therefore, he's coming off as unpredictable because his words and actions are confused and laced with mean words.

I can understand why he's intrigued with Eun Sang, she's this gutsy high school girl that can stand up for her own in front of other people but cower in front of him. There are times when we all feel like she's gonna stand up against him but she didn't, I think he was half expecting her too. That's why he was slightly stunned when she actually flings his hand off, like she finally did it! Also, she keeps him at an arm's length, all the more reason to be attracted to her. On top of that, she has Tan's eyes on her. Naturally, she's like this shiny golden toy that Young Do felt he needed to have but don't quite understand why. I genuinely feel that he's falling for her, but he doesn't act on his feelings well since it's so strange to him. I like that his character posses a deeper level of evil that we all don't get. I never really get guys that acting out because of their past or something of that sort. Why make an excuse for your behavior? If she's gonna change him for the better, might as well be the bad guy from the start.

The same applies to Tan. I think it is the first time he really like someone, hence the possessiveness. Yet when the person he likes most point out his weakness, he falters. Because he realizes that she's right, he can't protect her and that make him useless. He's hurt by the remark because it's true.

As oppose to majority, I'd really like Young Do and Eun Sang pairing to work. Not in the sense, he's more deserving or anything, we always see second leads that do too much for the girls and still fail at the end. I like the pairing in the sense that it's a love hate thing, I kinda wish Eun Sang give Young Do a chance, she always seem to cut him off or not listening to him.

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I feel like this fight should've happened at least 4 or 5 episodes ago.

Kim Tan...so gave it up too soon when Eun Sang calls out his own vulnerability. Maybe the moment would have been more satisfying if he held for a beat longer. And then wrest with her words immediately following.

Choi Young Do...what the heck are your motives, tall skinny glass of bully? He carries the screen pretty well, which fools me into thinking he carries the scene, but we don't know enough about him. Enough to care about him. AND why exactly does he like Eun Sang? What qualities does he find attractive? And why is it so easy for him to admit to her? He is, I agree, a more interesting character than I'd anticipated.

And why do the other rich high school kids bullying Eun Sang look so damn old? (Or so many high school kids cast in kdramas, for that matter?)

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Lol..Thanks for the recap.I enjoyed this episode tho.

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