We’re officially in Makjang territory now 😀
so I don’t know how long I’ll keep on blogging about TGS. My fellow bitches know that I’m allergic to makjang plots and that I consider a kdrama makjang-ish when it exhibits at least 5 of these elements:
Birth secrets
Intimations of incestuous relationship between the OTP
Fatal disease or looming death
Amnesia
Physical abuse involving face slaps and hair-pulling
Rape
Forced kisses
Parental estrangements
Adultery
Riches to rags story
Corporate malfeasance
Miscarriage of justice
Revenge
Noble idiocy
Rape
Melodramatic piano music
Lonely Planet: or the whole is so small that everybody is interconnected
Love Polygons
As you can see, TGS scored 10.5/17 in my Makjang Quality Scale.
But what had me frowning about Episodes 15 and 16 was the discovery of the love POLYGON (Triangles? Love triangles are for amateurs. lol) Who would have known that the SH’s dad’s secretary was a long-time suitor of SJ’s mom
who secretly had been in love with SH’s dad
who wanted to divorce SH’s mom
because he was in love with TH’s mom
who happened to accidentally buy coffee at the cafe
where SH was drawing a picture of his girlfriend, TH
whose best friend’s mom he tried to seduce
when he was clubbing with SJoo
who has been in love since middle school with SJ
who only had eyes for SH?
See how ridiculous the set-up is? You have 10.29M people living in Seoul, yet the tragedy concentrates on a microcosm of nine people. Truly, this is makjang at its finest.
However, the primary reason I continue to blog about TGS is that I want to see who The Greatest Seducer of them all will eventually be at the end of this kdrama.
Do you have any clue? Do you want to guess?
At first glance, the Great Seducer appears to be the male lead, ShiHyun. But after 16 episodes, many of us here, like Table122000, see him as a weak contender.
His sophistication is just a veneer; his lethal, smoldering gaze lasts about a five minutes before his honest “Cinderella eyes” give him away. His preferred nightcap is hot chocolate (marshmallows optional), not Cognac. His idea of a date night is a quiet stargazing session, not a fancy dinner for two at a French restaurant. For jewelry, instead of a couple ring, he gives TaeHee half of his mom’s pendant, and wears the other half as a couple necklace.
He smiles over the silliest things, like her smile and “going home” to her. He proudly acknowledges that she’s his girlfriend to stranger.
Moreover, he gets drunk simply because TaeHee rejected him. Would a pro at this seduction game wallow in self-pity like that?
So, nope. He fails the Seducer smell test for me.
I think the greatER seducer here is TaeHee. Her very innocence, spontaneous, clean and artless, is a potent allure. SH couldn’t resist her brand of temptation so he ordered her to go home before she could finish her hot chocolate.
Gifs courtesy of kimp05’s tumblr
I thought it was funny when she called him “Weirdo” for ungraciously telling her to go home even before she started to drink her chocolate. She totally didn’t get why he ordered her to go home.
Paradoxically, her low-key sweetness is more seductive than any glamorous outfits in SooJi’s wardrobe.
But to me, the greatest seducer of all is hands down SeJoo. Just look at the sheer number of fangirls he’s conned into believing that he’s a good guy. lol.
He certainly has that sexy glint in his eyes and he’s perfected the debonair style of kissing the hand. He relishes the thrill of the chase and has the skills of a Casanova to match. He almost fooled SooJi, too, who’s known him for ages.
SJ: Damn it, you almost got me, Sejoo. How dare you try to fool me!
SJoo: I didn’t do anything.
SJ: You’re not like SH. You can make your eyes look like you’re in love.
Based on her knowledge of SJoo, SooJi knew that SJoo could fake the look of love. SH, on the other hand, couldn’t make his eyes lie because he has “Cinderella eyes.”
A note on Cinderella eyes. SJ stalked out of the bar in Episode 15 after seeing the truth in SJ’s eyes. His eyes couldn’t lie.
SH: Tell me. What did you say to her?
SJ: That you and I like each other.
SH: Am I wrong? (Stares at him) Was that a mistake? (Continues to study him.)
SJ: No. You’ve done well.
First, she suspected alright that he was drunk as a skunk due to a heartbreak. TH rejected him. SJ’s plan to break them up worked because she had convinced TH that SH didn’t care for her.
Second, when she asked “Am I wrong? Was that a mistake?” her implied question was “Do you like me?” She wanted him to confirm that her they DID like each other.
Third, she however didn’t expect him to express approval of her ACTION. He said, “You’ve done well.” With barely concealed sarcasm, he praised her for deliberately going out of her way to hurt TH because of their marriage wager. That wasn’t the CONFIRMATION she was looking for of SH’s feeling. SH completely skirted the question of whether he liked her or not.
Fourth, but when she gazed at him, she saw the answer. HE couldn’t hide his feelings. His eyes were “Cinderella’s eyes” or the window to his soul They told her that he didn’t like her as a lover. And that was why she left in a huff.
He cried then. His eyes showed that pain.
Outside, SJoo spelled out the honest truth.
He repeated ShiHyun’s view on kissing her, that he only liked her as a friend.
SJ: You don’t like her that much? Or you like her too much?
SH: I like it. I like this too much. I like how everything is right now.
FRIENDZONED!!! Their friendship was more important to him than kissing a girl.
People might ask, what about SooJi? Surely, someone as beautiful as her is a seducer, too.
Nope. To me, SJ is the antithesis of a seducer.
(hahaha. Savage, I know.)
You see, one very important trait of a seducer is that he pays attention to your needs. He is sensitive to you as a person. The seduction begins when he zooms his focus on you till you can’t help but become drawn to him. You’re seduced by the thought that you are being sought after and romanced.
But SooJi is a self-absorbed person. Sure, she bought SJoo medicine for his scrapes and worries about SH’s relationship with his father. But her bossy and demanding ways come off as repellent instead of seductive, and I can’t unsee what I’ve seen in her daily interactions with the guys. To me, she’s the most anti-seducer ever when she harangues SJoo, and blackmails SH. 😀
Got to rest now and continue tomorrow. Goodnight.
Next up: SJ’s mom’s shoes.
“FRIENDZONED!!! Their friendship was more important to him than kissing a girl” love this quote😍😍
The “Friend Zone” refers to an interpersonal relationship in which one member wishes to become romantically involved while the other would rather remain friends only.
anyway in real life i really hate the friendzone situation!!! 😂😂
😈 Friend zone is sheer hell for the one in love. That’s why I like TaeHee’s approach better. Straight to the point.
She told Shihyun that her feelings for him wasn’t friendship. She wanted to be his girlfriend and since he didn’t feel that way, it was better for them not see each other.
Only at the hospital, he confessed that he liked her, and didn’t like SooJi that way.
See that? There’s no beating round the bush for her. That’s what TH’s antifans don’t get. They claim everything is going too fast for TH. I say give me a girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t half-bitch it with stupid wagers and revenge schemes.
🐬 Cute as a dolphin, 🐆Fierce as a cougar.
I haven’t seen anything this week as I’m traveling, but if you once want to try a well done makjang, I highly recommend Money Flower. The cast is (mostly) stellar, it has great music… and delicious Jang Hyuk 😍
Money Flower. Why? How many points does it score on my Makjang Quality Scale? 😂 I don’t exactly know why I find Jang Hyuk appealing. His face is too angular, and his lips thin, and his smile lopsided. But when I see him in dramas, I don’t mind looking at him, and waiting for his deadpan delivery.
Hmmm…maybe I should add him to my Oppahjussi post. 🤔😜
Happy Travels!!
Money Flower scores about 13/17 in Makjang Quality Scale. Drama has 24 ep and beautiful cinematography and visual in general. Jang Hyuk yeah add him to list
Alright! 👍 13/17?! That’s solid makjang.
I’m suffering from sinusitis because of the pollen from the blooming flowers and the cherry blossom trees. I need a quality makjang to watch this weekend to clear out my tear ducts. 🤣 Thanks!!!
no problem the whole drama is about revenge so scores are high.greting from Poland.
Ahh! So you’re my Polish reader! 👋🏻Hi there!
It’s fascinating to discover where everybody’s from, considering kdrama is such a niche entertainment.
There’s a reader from SKorea who occasionally drops in 🇰🇷 and I’ve been wanting to give a shout out and say heeeyyyy, whatcha doing here? Don’t you have better discussion groups over there? Can you recap the show for me?😜😍
i dunno its TH antis or maybe JOY antis. lol. bcs i have same opinion with you. I think TH personality has brave enough, she know what she want. she know what she should do. she not naive abt love. if you love someone you have get back love for that someone not only waiting. bcs she have many thinks she can do expect waiting for someone love. thats why i think TH is called Iron wall. 😅😅
somany ppl so bashing abt TH character but i think thats ppl are Joy antis who dont like joy will be the main lead. i know joy still green in acting but as i see until 16 eps she has success enough to bring TH character and she chemistery with DW is can makes me smile everytime they have a moment togerther 😘😘
Oh I see. I hope the antis aren’t trashing her social media because of this show.
Sometimes when I see her in this show, I’m reminded of her during her We Got Married (WGM) stint. hahaha. Who’s her virtual husband then? SungHo? SungJae? Her cute moments with DW appear similar to the cute moments with the actor/boy band member in WGM.
Yeah I definitely feel like she’s drawing from the WGM moments with Sungjae LOL
There are a lot of Joy antis.. don’t know why I don’t mind her acting in this. It seems really good fit for her TH character.
I love her character’s direct approach as well and I am sure SH appreciates that approach as well because Sooji doesn’t really have that approach, she likes the games too much.
The direct, no nonsense approach is a valuable trait for attorneys. TH was raised by a lawyer, so I can make a connection and say that her personality was acquired from her father.
Yes, there were scenes (like taking care of SH) that she and SungJae could have been acting out during their WGM days. Even her cheesy jokes.
From my perspective, I think a lot of the TH/Joy criticism comes from viewers actually being dissatisfied with the writing of the character since TH characterization is often inconsistent. We’re told TH is “cold shouldered”, distant girl who is wary of love and relationships because of her experiences with her parents’ marriage, yet she falls in love with SH very quickly. I mean, all it took was a drawing of a flower on a bowl for an old lady and TH caved like a ton of bricks. Add to that the fact that TH is probably the least developed character of the 4 leads. Now, an experienced actress can often rise above problems created by poor writing but Joy is just a newbie so we are seeing more criticism voiced.
Cold shouldered? Did they actually write “cold shouldered”? What do they mean? 😀
Did they mean that TH was a cold-hearted person because she gave all boys who were pursuing her the cold shoulder? 😀
I think TH was reputed to be the Ice Queen because she had a cold heart and couldn’t be conquered by admirers.
But her reputation preceded her and the script didn’t really establish that these rumors and gossips about her were true.
I, for one, never thought she was an Ice Queen. She greeted that ex-boyfriend of SJ warmly enough when they met at the banquet. And when she volunteered at that nursing home, she was all sunny and cheerful.
I wish people didn’t read that press release.
But yes, the writing is so inconsistent, I’m going to blacklist this writer after this show. 🙂