My friend TripleM wrote me this. I’m posting it here because her comment made me think and I appreciate that.

Thanks, TripleM!

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Hi @packmule3 Nice write up on the fisherman allegory. I actually sympathise with Se Joo’s character the most and feel sorry that he is the outcast here. The trio’s friendship has always been about Soo Ji and what she wants (which is ultimately SH ). She abuses him and makes use of him. He knows it but being in love with her , he is a willing fool .He puts on his comical mask to deal with the pain he feels when in fact he is the most introspective and giving of the three.

On a side note, if there is anything this drama shows you is that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Look at how screwed up the parents are. Is it any wonder that the children turned out like that – lost and confused.

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You got me thinking about that comment “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” and I would have to say yes and no. Yes, the kids are as screwed up as the parents, but no, they are screwed up in their OWN distinct way. 😀 As a matter of fact, the kids are ALL trying so hard not to become THAT apple. They want to fall far, verrrry far, like acres away, from that tree they find so contemptible.

For instance, SeJoo takes on his father’s beatings rather than become like his father. He said so in the hospital room with his mom. He was bothered that he had knocked down a guy who was pestering SooJi. He asked his comatose mom if he was violent as his father.

TaeHee is like this, too. She detests how her father’s a fool in love, suffering needlessly for an unrequited love. Just now in this episode 14, she expressed her contempt for her mother’s libertine lifestyle. She’s determined not to follow her parents’ footsteps. That’s why even when she returned to SH’s side, she did so on her own terms. She told him at the hospital to inform her directly, without guilt or trouble, if and when he found her uncomfortable. She would walk away then. She said in her voice-over. “I won’t be weak. I won’t feel lonely. I don’t want you to chase after me. I don’t want you to stop me either (as in tell her “Hajimaaaa!! Kajimaaaa!!” lol. My two favorite makjang words). Since I started this, I will end it too. Since I was in this relationship by myself, I will get over you by myself too.” She was drawing a line between a dignified and foolish/pathetic one-sided love.

Same with SooJi. She’s embarrassed that her mother passively accepts the put-downs and the snobs by her social peers. Her mother is unfashionable; her hair style is unflatteringly utilitarian and she wears shapeless suits in wrong colors for her work. And now, her mother’s going to be taken advantage of by the unscrupulous father of SH. To me, her need to control or manipulate people is her way of compensating; she tries too hard not be like a push-over like her mother.

Last, we have ShiHyun who deeply resents his father’s apathy for his suffering mother even on her birthdays. He seduces his father’s girlfriend/date to take revenge. And now, he’s in a rage when he finds out that his father is dating somebody.

To me, that’s the reason ShiHyun picked out Kyung Joo’s mom, NaYoung in the nightclub. And that’s HOW he singled her out in a group of women. He was so used to seeing rejection and DEJECTION in his sickly mother, so he could have easily spotted and read the body language of an older woman who was also lonely and despondent. Remember, NaYoung at that time was down in the dumps because her daughter didn’t invite her to graduation and refused to answer her texts (because she was out eating with TH).

He wasn’t trying to “seduce” NaYoung for fun or mischief, he was trying to give her a good time – and confidence – because she looked like she needed attention and a boost.

So there you go. My brief take on dem apples falling from the tree. Thank you for pointing that out. It made me think and I LOVE that.  😀

Nearsea, if you’re here lurking. There’s THE reason you’re looking for why this whole “seduction” scene in the nightclub was included. I remember you grousing about it… It’s to establish SH’s character. 🙂 In this kdrama, SH isn’t THE bad guy – ala-Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. If you take a look at him again, without preconceived notions, he’s actually the better guy.