@nrllee already gave this show an F. I thought she was being generous. I’ll go lower than that and give it an M.

M for Makjang, Moronic, Morally unacceptable, and Meta.

I posit that the opening scene is meta. Do you see it?

gifs from bleuhappiness’ tumblr
source: bleuhappiness’ tumblr

Instead of Mrs. Park’s hand maneuvering the three sisters to perform according to her cruel script, it’s the screenwriter Jung Seo Kyung who’s pulling the puppet strings and tugging at the heartstrings of the audience with so much ease and facility.

But unlike the three sisters who realized soon enough the malevolence behind Mrs. Park’s munificence, the gullible viewers have yet to realize that they were played by the writer. They’re still immersed in the visceral storytelling and trapped in that dizzying and gripping action scenes. They ignore the countless plotholes, the tacky tropes, the improbable science, the contrived rescues, the failed logic, the gratuitous hysterics, and the deplorable moral vision.

Oh well. There’s none so blind as those who will not see.

But there are few reasons that saved this kdrama from a grade of Z for Zero. Let’s give credit where credit is due.

1. Story weaving

We understand a story in a linear fashion, that is, we start with the beginning, go through the middle, and conclude with the ending. In a kdrama, however (or any film for that matter), this linear movement of the plot is broken up, and the scenes are rearranged, in order to keep the story unpredictable, and the viewers guessing what will happen next.

That’s what story weaving or scene weaving is. The director/writer will reorder, combine, and juxtapose scenes so that the audience can

a) compare two subplots or actions taking place simultaneously,
b) match the effects, and
c) draw conclusions on the relationship (or cause-and-effects) of the seemingly dissimilar scenes.

I think the director did this story weaving extremely well.

Take for instance that time in Episode 4 when IK and JongHo were reading about Blue Orchid and discovering its strange power while in another part of town, IH was herself discovering the pernicious effects of the Blue Orchid as she sketched Mrs. Park.

It started sometime after the 12-minute mark. I revisited that scene when I did my write-up on Jang SaPyeong and I was impressed by how smoothly the director jumped back and forth between the two sisters’ scenes.

Another example is the ending of Episode 12, when the sisters found out that they were connected by money.

Hyorin and IH were seen walking in the Cloud Forest at the Gardens at the Bay in Singapore.

IH: In our poor family, I was a girl who always received a lot. I was always afraid that I may not be able to pay any of it back. I was afraid that I’ll end up unworthy of the love you showed me. I remember everything you two gave me.

As she narrated this, we got short flashbacks.

IH: How that made me feel. The times when I was happy, the times when I was annoyed, and the times I was in the wrong.

Good admission there.

IH: The faces I’ll remember for the rest of my life – it’s those faces I wanted to paint. Once they pile up and I feel that I’ve finally put on a different face, I’ll return to you.

Lol. This is sooo Amy from “Little Women.” I told you right? Amy was so full of herself, and conscious of her beauty (or lack of). She wore a nosepin to bed to fix her nose overnight. Lol. And here, IH goes on about putting on a different face. By that, she obviously doesn’t mean she’ll undergo plastic surgery. She means she wants to reinvent a NEW persona for herself. It’s buh-bye all IH.

The two teen girls were shown approaching the top of the waterfalls. Then, the director cut away and show IK on the street of Seoul. Judging from the papers she was holding (Don’t these important papers usually come in a business envelope like in “Love in Contract”?), she was on her way to the US embassy to apply for a student visa.

She received a text from the bank.

Meanwhile, IH continued her voice-over/narration.

IH: Right, I divided up the money equally. You loved studying so much that you wanted to die studying, InKyung. It must have been heartbreaking to give up studying because we didn’t have money. You can study all you want now. Once you become a great reporter, we’ll meet again someday. Somewhere on this earth.

IK got $7,680,491.55.

In other words, IH is saying, “Here’s your money. Don’t contact me. I’ll contact you.”

Then, the director cut away from IK and showed IJ standing in a bus. She too received a text.

IJ was richer by $23,041,474.65.

Note: Choi Doil had $7,680,491.55 in his bank account. That’s a lot less than I expected. All that trouble for just $7M??

Updated 10/20/22: The two sisters, IH and IK, plus Choi Doil took 10 billion won. IJ took 30 billion won. And Hyewon took the remaining 10 billion won. That’s how the 70 billion won was split up.

As IJ was gaping at the text, IH continued her long goodbye to her sisters in a voiceover.

IJ: But InJoo, I want you to have much more. You gave me everything and this was your money to begin with. Make sure you buy an apartment. Not one for our family, but an apartment to call your own home. I hope that one day you’d be able to eat, sleep, and work, all for no one but yourself. That’s something I had always wished for.

In other words, too, IH was saying, “Here’s your money, Unnie. Live your own life. Because I’ll also live my own life.”

She was outta there.

Don’t you see it? She did NOT say that she wanted to see either of them soon or that she wanted to keep in touch with them. She was cutting ties.

If, in the future, they should see each other again, that was well and good. But she was NOT sending any “I miss you!! Wish you were here!!!” postcard.

So much for sisterhood!

This is sisterhood in the original “Little Women.”

But in this kdrama, sisterhood all boils down to money.

Do you get it?

That’s why I said in the other thread that the overall message of this drama is:

family: bad
money and greed: good

Because in the end, the family disintegrates and the money becomes their sole link. Bless be the tie that binds!! Money rules! It gave them wings to fly away from each other.

It isn’t love that sets them free. Money — and ill-gotten wealth at that, too — sets them free.

Ugh. Thanks but no thanks, writer. I’ll cling to moral scruples.

Next, we see the waterfall. Lol. I’ll tell you my interpretation of that another time….

Updated 10/20/22 The waterfall represents the sisters’ journey to the summit. They’ve reached the peak and in the process, transformed themselves from “little” women to BIG women who are free to go their own ways.

So you don’t have to scroll down to the comment section for my explanation of the waterfall.

Re. the waterfall

That last shot of the waterfall is great symbolism. The waterfall means letting go.

Water is cascading down from the crest of the waterfall.

Likewise, the sisters’ lives will henceforth flow on their own, following their own course, freed from their old worries, unhindered by each other.

And that’s what I call great story weaving. IH’s narration connected all three sisters as they went about their lives. The camera shifted between IH in Singapore and IK who was prepping to live abroad with JongHo, then back to IH and IJ who was going nowhere.

I’ll keep my eye out for this director Kim Hee Won’s future project.

2. Jeon Chae Eun, the actress playing the daughter/Park Hyo Rin

I expect big things from her; I hope she grows up well.

source: soompi

I first saw her in “Today’s Webtoon.” Episode 9. She played the poor daughter of a down-and-out comic artist. In contrast to the loving daughter that she was in “Little Women,” she was scornful of her father’s under-achievement. She delivered.

Then, in “Little Women,” she was more memorable than the actress who played IH. That actress underperformed.

3. Uhm JiWon aka Mrs. Park

source: soompi

Tis a rule in fiction: every soon-to-be-great heroine need a great villainess to propel the heroine to greatness. Although the character Mrs. Park ultimately became a parody of evil (because the writer’s over-the-top plot), the actress played the hand she was dealt with.

I’ve to give her credit for that. It must have been emotionally exhausting to be play an evil woman.

4. Happy ending for IK and JongHo, the symbolic Jo March and Laurie in the original “Little Women”

Hurray!

gifs from kayknowsdramas’ tumblr

source: kayknowsdramas’ tumblr

Their love story isn’t going to set the world on fire but there’s something comforting about its blandness. It simply wouldn’t do if their romance had been as makjang as the rest of the plot.

5. Supportive and level-headed men

Ha! At least, the screenwriter didn’t mess this up.

gifs from moonlightsdream’s tumblr

source: moonlightsdreams’ tumblr

gifs from estelle-sim’s tumblr

source: estelle-sim’s tumblr

6. Kim GoEun

She’s just an expressive actress. I remember in “Goblin” she received a lot of flak for her face. Her anti-fans called her ugly, but I pointed out that they were kidding themselves if they couldn’t see that she looks like the AVERAGE Korean on the street. Were they calling Koreans collectively ugly?

🤪

To me, it’s exactly Kim GoEun’s average-ness that makes her special.

You see, when she’s acting — or when she’s fully engaged in something — she lights up. It’s as if there’s a lightbulb inside of her that switches on, and she becomes illuminated from within. She may not be pretty like other female stars but when she’s lit, I’m simply star-struck.

Take for instance this moment. She looked nondescript: pulled-back hair, wan face, fleshy nose. She looked pugnacious.

gifs from seawherethesunsets’ tumblr
source: seawherethesunsets’ tumblr

But just look at those eyes!

7. Wi HaJoon

I think he achieved a record here. He showed other Korean actors that they don’t need to:

a. show his naked torso
b. take brooding showers
c. kiss the girl
d. show aegyo
e. be a “Good Boy” or a pretty boy.

to become a heartthrob. They merely need a good suit, serious mien, and that swagger.

gifs from choidoil’s tumblr

source: choidoil’s tumblr

If ever they’re casting for a Korean James Bond, he should go on the short-list.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

That’s it for me.