A “moonbow” is a lunar rainbow. As we all know, a rainbow occurs when sunlight reflects on water droplets in the atmosphere. On the flip side, a moonbow occurs when moonlight reflects on water droplets. When you think about this, though, moonlight is the sun’s rays reflected off the moon. So to me, a moonbow is just a rainbow seen at night. I’ve never seen one but then I don’t actively look for rainbows at night. Do you?

Namsoon: Aaah. The moon over Seoul looks so big for a change. The sky in Mongolia is clear and the moon is always big. We often see rainbow-colored aurora as well.
GeumJoo: How about I make a moonbow for you?
Namsoon: How?

And they scooped water with the dipper and tossed it high in the air. Out in the street, Kang HeeSik got drenched.

HeeSik: Rain? Out of the blue? What’s going on?

Yuck. Good think he didn’t know that the “rain” was actually jacuzzi water.

GeumJoo: We can make moonbows like this. That being said, since we have such special privileges, we should give back to the world.
Namsoon: Yes!

To me, that’s the significance of a moonbow in this episode. In theory, it means philanthropy, benevolence, and service. In practice, however, I think GeumJoo still has to learn that charity begins at home, especially with her menfolk. She’s called the “tyrant” behind her back by her son, husband, brother, and her own mother.

Other noteworthy things:

1. Boongo, Namsoon’s dad

I like the confession scene Boongo.

BG: I took you to the Gobi Desert in Mongolia because I wanted you to see the stars. You enjoyed stargazing with me when you were little.

Hmph! The privilege of the one-percenters! My dad only took me and my brothers to the Grand Canyon National Park when we said that we wanted to see the stars. 🙄

BG: (continuing) Your mom was busy with work so I was the one raising you. At night, you kept leaving the house. I followed you out just to see you sitting like this gazing at the stars. You told me you’d love to jump high enough to reach one. That wouldn’t have worried other dads but it wasn’t the case for me. Because I knew you could jump that high.

My comments:

a. It’s been mentioned several times that he was the househusband and the primary caregiver of their children. I don’t get why the story makes a big deal of this; like it was some kind of aberration or hardship for him to take care of his children when other men in worst financial situation have been in his shoes. Self-pitying much?

b. Her jumping abilities ties in with the scene in Episode 1 when she was jumping on a bouncy ball, and she bounced 16 feet up in the air. BoongGo was amazed that she jumped so high.

Namsoon: Did I ever attempt it?
BG: You did. You jumped from the rooftop to pluck the stars from the sky but fell. And you got hurt. Your mom doesn’t worry about you because you’re strong. But that’s because she didn’t raise you.

My comments:

a. 🤦‍♀️ Wait a sec! Stop it right there, Mister! It’s unfair to accuse GeumJoo of not caring for Namsoon because she was an absentee mother. (Lol. I’m not being defensive here. 😒) Didn’t he admit that he kept secret from GeumJoo that Namsoon fell and injured her foot because he didn’t want her angry and upset with him? If so, then he contradicted himself about GeumJoo’s lack of concern about Namsoon’s well-being.

b. GeumJoo showed that she cared enough to start that search contest for her.

c. Also, we can’t forget her reaction when she saw Namsoon rescuing students during the fire at the students’ center. She displayed normal motherly anxiety for her daughter’s safety.

d. Besides GeumJoo can sense when Namsoo is utilizing her powers to the max. It’s like her spidey-sense. That’s when she fears for Namsoon’s life because Namsoon is in danger.

e. I dislike that BoonJo was bad-mouthing his ex-wife while casting himself as the good guy. The most decent thing for him to say should have been that he and her mother had their flaws and virtues, but their best joint endeavor was giving birth to Namsoon and her twin brother, Namgil.

BG: (continuing) As for me, I’m constantly concerned for your well-being. After losing you, my mind was never at ease. I worried for your safety. I was worried you’d jump, trying to pluck the stars again. I’m sorry.
Namsoon: (blinking tears away) I should be the one apologizing. Dad. I’ll never mention plucking stars again. So don’t worry, Daddy.
BG: Promise me that you’ll never get hurt and that you won’t do anything dangerous.
Namsoon: I promise.

I like the confession scene, not because of the “feels,” but because it revealed three things to me.

One, it showed that the main lesson BoonJoo learned from losing Namsoon in the desert was to avoid taking risks. He didn’t want her to jump to pluck the stars again because she might hurt.

Two, it showed Namsoon’s willingness to lie to her dad about not getting involved in dangerous things in order to please him and to give him peace of mind. Since he didn’t want to go through the same anguish of losing her again, she decided to spare him the details of her exploits at DooGo.

To me, that’s unfortunate because it would have been beneficial for her to have another sounding board other than Kang HeeSik.

Three, it showed that BoonJoo wasn’t a “thinking man” as GeumJoo declared. I thought she was being hard on him, but her assessment was correct. He was worried about Namsoon’s safety, but he didn’t think that displaying their most recent family portrait at his photo shop would create trouble for Namsoon.

Namgil (seeing the portrait): Wow! You edited me to look slimmer.
BoonJoo: Yes, I cut you down in half.
Namgil: But the tyrant wouldn’t like seeing the photo here.
BoonJoo: Why not?
Namgil: Mom said Namsoon’s identity was a secret.
BoonJoo: Why?
Namgil: Who knows. Who knows what’s going on in her mind?

The reason that GeumJoo didn’t want her identity (and image) seen was to protect Namsoon from being targeted by her enemies when she took on DooGo, the drug cartel, and the Russian mafia.

I’m glad that GeumJoo had the foresight to disseminate the incorrect image of Namsoon in the media announcements about her reunion with her daughter. She deliberately misled the public to protect Namsoon.

That’s why the bad guy, ShiOn, didn’t discover that Namsoon was GeumJoo’s daughter. GeumJoo took care that no real picture of Namsoon was circulated.

In contrast, BoonJoo was woefully short-sighted. I wouldn’t be surprised if his BoonJoo’s proud display of their family portrait at his gallery shop would have a disastrous consequence.

2. The bad guy, Shi-Oh

As expected, his fascination with Namsoon’s strength is fast turning into an infatuation because of her blunt, unrefined, and fearless personality.

My theory here is that he’d been bullied in his youth so he admired strong, gutsy and dauntless people. That’s why he lost at the card game, Blind Man’s Bluff, with his GeumJoo. Although he could see that GeumJoo only had 5 spades, he was intimidated by GeumJoo’s boldness.

Anyway…

He summoned Namsoon to his office after she was caught stealing. He knew that she was strong but he didn’t expect to be disarmed by her quirkiness. She apologized for stealing his things.

Namsoon: I apologize for stealing. I wanted to give them to my parents in Mongolia. In Mongolia, white symbolizes greatness. I wanted to get them souvenirs from Korea, but I haven’t been paid yet. Just dock it off my salary, okay?
ShiOh: (smiling) You sure are bold.

Poor dude. He wasn’t to know that she was lying liberally. I think her supernatural strength is her main attraction, but pretty soon, her unique personality will win him over. The fact that she isn’t scared of him and doesn’t pander to him will – in a typical kdrama trope – captivate him.

Now, as if that apology wasn’t bold enough, she also asked for his phone number then ordered him to him wait for his call.

Namsoon: Do you want to be friends with me?
ShiOh: Yes, I do.
Namsoon: (handing her phone) Then, give me your number.
ShiOh: (obediently adds his number to her contacts) Since we exchanged numbers, how about having dinner with me tonight?
Namsoon: Tonight? (pausing to think) No. I have plans. I’ll pick a date and text you. We’ll eat then. You can treat me to meat.
ShiOh: (smiling) I guess I’ll have to wait for next time.

Hmmm? Is this the first scene we see the actor Byeon Woo Seok smiling? Not bad.

Love triangles usually bore me but I’m looking forward to this competition between the good guy Heeshik and the bad guy ShiOh to be the center of Namsoon’s attention. Heeshik has no choice but to share Namsoon with ShiOh for now because they need to know ShiOh’s client lists.

3. Heeshik

The whole party scene with the not-so-subtle pressure on Heeshik to date, marry, impregnate Namsoon and have a daughter together was so awkward 🤦‍♀️ to watch that it seemed surreal that Heeshik and Namsook weren’t uncomfortable with each other’s company afterwards.

It was a weird contrast. One minute, Namsook’s mother announced to the dinner guests and told Heeshik pointedly that Namsoon must “consummate” this year as it was a family tradition. Then, the next minute Heeshik and Namsook were talking together by themselves. It was as if by tacit agreement, they ignored the elephant in the room.

Heeshik: Do you miss your parents in Mongolia? The ones who raised you?
Namsoon: I do miss them. If I could, I’d love to live with them.
Heeshik: The most painful thing in life is parting with our loved ones.
Namsoon: Has that happened to you.
Heeshik: Yes. My older brother. When I was 18, he became a star in the sky. He was studying in the US, when he died in a shooting incident.

Oh dear. When the US is mentioned in a kdrama because of the gun violence epidemic…

Namsoon: So that’s why you became a police officer.
Heeshik: (looking at her) Be good to the twin brother that you are reunited with. If only my hyung is alive, I’d gladly give him all that I have.
Namsoon: Okay, I will. (grinning) Gan I-sik. You still managed to bravely overcome everything. Good for you, my brother.

And they fist-bumped. 🤜🤛

Heeshik: I feel better whenever you are around. You always lighten up my mood.
Namsoon: I feel the same way.

My comments:

a. Just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, romance is in the ear of the listener. This scene is romantic to me because they were on the same wavelength. Heeshik didn’t want to sound maudlin on a birthday celebration, so he was keeping the topic about his brother light. Namsoon understood that he must have been deeply affected by his brother’s tragedy and, more importantly, that he must have felt powerless to do anything to bring justice to his brother. Hence, he joined the police.

b. In a sense, this is Heeshik’s “moonbow.” As a detective in the police force, he has special privileges which he could use to give back to the world in order to make it a better place.

c. It’s cute how she called him, “my brother,” when her feelings for him were nothing brotherly.

Okay, that’s it for me. Moving on to the next.