Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! Isn’t this a great shot of Do Hyun and Shin Se Gi? We get two Ji Sungs, for the price of one. Ha. 😜

Here are our usual ground rules, before we begin:

1. Please don’t post spoilers in the Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point. If you really need to talk about a spoiler, it is possible to use the new spoiler tags, but please know that spoilers are still visible (ie, not hidden) in the email notification that you receive, of the comment in question. We have quite a few first-time viewers among us, and we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

2. Discussions on this thread don’t have to close when newer threads open, just so you know! But as we progress through our group watch, please keep the discussions clear of spoilers from future episodes, so that future readers coming to this thread won’t be accidentally spoiled. Does that make sense?

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

My thoughts

Episode 3

Y’know, rewatching this show 6 years later, with a comparatively more discerning radar for how inaccurate portrayals can hurt minority groups who are already misunderstood, I can see how Show’s portrayal of DID is problematic, as Paulina pointed out in her comment on last week’s Open Thread post.

However, kinda like Ele, I also can’t deny just how entertaining I find this show. I mean, I watched this episode while feeling really tired (and therefore I was afraid that I might zone out), but I was very much glued to my screen, from start to finish. I was entertained enough to ignore – almost forget, even –  the niggling headache that I’m still feeling now, as I type this. That’s quite an accomplishment on Show’s part, isn’t it?

As a quick aside, in case you’re wondering why I’m feeling so tired, it’s not from the blogging per se; I have been (and am still) trying to work through some technical issues on the site, and that’s what wiped me out.

At the end of the day, I think, if this show’s portrayal of psychiatric issues bothers you, it might be best for you not to force yourself to continue; it would probably end up being a frustrating watch for you, and nobody wants that, right? But, if you’re able to roll with Show being a piece of entertainment that is really very much removed from reality, I feel like we’re in a for a pretty good time. 😜

This episode, I felt very entertained by Perry Park and his blithe personality. I don’t recall having felt this fond of him, in 2015. But y’know, I think I was just too.. distracted by Shin Se Gi back then, heh. Now, with more control of my fangirl senses (or so I’d like to think), I find myself liking Perry Park very much.

He’s so cheerful, with such a can’t-get-me-down sort of quality about him. And, he’s got a good heart too. He has no clue who Ri Jin is, but he puts everything aside in order to face a dangerous situation head-on, all because he comes to know that she’s in danger. Plus, he’s so cheeky and fearless when facing off with the mean thug guys, too. How could you not like this guy, right?

Also, I found it extremely cute, that he’s built those bombs using timers that he’d repurposed from the kind of rice cookers that talk. I giggled out loud when that first bomb didn’t go off, and the pleasant announcement came forth instead, informing everyone present, that the rice is ready. Tee hee hee.

The other thing that I found amusing, is how Ri Jin’s actually got quite a few important things to say, and flails about so desperately, in an attempt to say those things, while her mouth’s all taped up.

I mean, I don’t care for Ri Jin’s screamy tendencies myself, but this running gag, of her flailing about in her limited capacity, while we get the translations of her muffled cries, was really quite amusing to me. 😆

And, while, like I’ve mentioned already, it seems like neither Ri Jin nor her mentor Dr. Seok is that great a psychiatrist, I do appreciate that Ri Jin is starting to see Do Hyun with distinct empathy. I think this one thing makes up for a lot of things, in my books. Because of her big heart and her compassion for Do Hyun, I find myself starting to warm to her, even though she’s definitely not a very good doctor, and she has a tendency to be too yelpy for my taste.

I do think that Ri Jin hits the nail on the head, when she muses that Do Hyun must be so lonely, trying to manage his condition on his own. That understanding of his loneliness, and that compassion that she has for him, is going to go far, I think, in endearing her to me, as a character.

I like that Ri Jin gets to see for herself what a decent sort of guy Do Hyun is, with the way he rescues her and takes care of her. There’s decency, badassery and even lashings of pathos coming through Do Hyun’s interactions with her, and I do like the combined effect of all that.

I find it quite cute that Ri Jin’s starting to give the various personalities that she’s met nicknames – Wolf, Gentleman, and Seafarer – and I am duly amused that there are hints that Ri Jin is drawn to Gentleman (Do Hyun himself), even though she’s already quite captivated by Wolf (Shin Se Gi). Are we going to have a love triangle involving Ri Jin being torn between Do Hyun and Shin Se Gi? The thought of that tickles me.

I love that we see some twin synergy at work between Ri Jin and Ri On; he totally understood her coded message after all!

I got so much delight from the scene where the thugs swagger into Ri On’s gathering demanding the jacket (along with its hidden drugs), only to be promptly overcome and arrested by everyone else present at the gathering – because Ri On’s gathering is with a bunch of police officers. The drug thugs basically walked right in to get arrested. Muahaha. I loved this little twist a whole lot. 😂

Given all that Do Hyun’s been through, I’m impressed that he still manages to show up for that board meeting, apologize, and introduce himself in a manner that inspires confidence in the members of the board.

Well, that is, except for Scheming Uncle and Ki Joon, who only want to see Do Hyun fail, and Chairman Gran, who appears to hold a grudge against Do Hyun, for what had happened to his father. I’m curious to know more about that.

I hadn’t really taken notice of this back in 2015, but Show’s already giving us hints of childhood trauma in both Do Hyun’s and Ri Jin’s pasts. Ri Jin’s semi-conscious mumbled apologies, and Do Hyun’s dream, appear to be fragments of their respective childhood traumas, and I suspect that, in typical kdrama fashion, their childhood traumas are connected. At the very least, I think it’s a reasonable assumption that Do Hyun’s childhood trauma had something to do with his father’s current condition.

That really is sad, that even though Do Hyun pushed himself so hard to attend the meeting, despite still bleeding from his arm, he gets slapped by Chairman Gran the first chance they have at speaking privately.

This is why I prize Ri Jin’s sense of compassion towards Do Hyun. In our closing scene, where they finally meet properly at the entrance of the hospital (such a great appearance by Kim Seul Gi, again! I luff her! 🤩), the kindness and understanding that Ri Jin shows Do Hyun, must feel like a balm to his soul. He legit tears up at her gentle, accepting manner, and I’m beginning to feel like it may not be such a bad thing to have Ri Jin in his life, after all.

Episode 4

To be honest, I enjoyed this episode less than the previous one; I’m getting the idea that this watch experience might be more uneven than I’d remembered.

For one thing, even though I get the idea, that Do Hyun deserves our sympathy for having to clean up after Shin Se Gi, and that Ri Jin sees this as well, I thought Show went a little too ham with how Do Hyun puts on an exaggerated act with Ri Jin, and butters up all her colleagues as if he’s her new boyfriend. I found it kinda cringey to watch, to be honest.

And, for another, I know that we’re supposed to take this hospital anything but seriously, but it really was kinda out there, how all the doctors and nurses came running to gawk at the sight of Do Hyun talking to Ri Jin. That group walk-around the revolving doors was so OTT, seriously. I do get that we’re supposed to take this as part of Show’s screwball-farcical DNA; I just.. don’t find it that funny, even with my Broad Humor lens on. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I do find it an interesting turn of events, that Shin Se Gi can now make his presence known to Do Hyun, even while Do Hyun is fully conscious. I think Show’s visual representation of this is very compelling as well too, though, as we’ve concluded, suspension of disbelief is a must.

I mean, this screenshot is a pretty cool way of setting up the scene, so that we can see what Do Hyun’s dealing with, isn’t it? I feel this opens up a lot of narrative possibilities, and it would be interesting to see how Show plays with this. Plus, there’s a new alter that’s apparently joined the existing crew as well. A child, by the name of Nana? That’ll give us even more possibilities, I imagine.

It makes sense that Do Hyun feels his situation is more dangerous than ever – to the people around him, but also, to himself – now that he is aware of Shin Se Gi’s presence even while conscious. It’s a logical next thought, that Shin Se Gi could be on the brink of taking over Do Hyun’s consciousness at any moment, so it makes sense to me, that Do Hyun goes into hiding right away. It wouldn’t do for Ri Jin to meet Shin Se Gi, any more than it would do, for any of the company people to encounter Do Hyun’s Wolf alter-ego.

This does give Frenemy-Cousin Ki Joon something of an angle to investigate, however, since Do Hyun’s not the type to suddenly take off without notice. This, combined with Ki Joon learning about Secretary Ahn’s visit to Dr. Seok, is not helpful at all.

Meanwhile, what is this suggestion that we’re getting from Show, that Ri Jin might not be her parents’ biological daughter?

I mean, Mom’s certainly oversensitive about those questions that that vegetable supplier asks, to the point of wanting to change suppliers immediately. And, there’s also that thing where Sook Hee (yay for another glimpse of Kim Seul Gi! 🤩) remarks that she’d seen Ri On looking fondly upon Ri Jin while she’d slept, in a totally non-brotherly fashion.

Oooh. Well, that would change a lot of things, wouldn’t it? But.. if they aren’t real siblings, why would Ri On remember it, when Ri Jin clearly doesn’t? Is Ri Jin missing a year’s worth of memories too, just like Do Hyun? She does seem to depend on Ri On to remember any trampoline from their childhood – even though she was supposedly there too.

Ri On musing to himself as he drives away, that it hurts him to watch over Ri Jin, is also an indication that there’s probably a lot more to Ri Jin’s backstory than we know.

..Speaking of hidden backstories, there’s certainly a lot going on in the Seung Jin household. Right now, the argument involving Ki Joon’s mom, Chairman Gran and Do Hyun’s mom doesn’t give us the full story, but clearly, there is more going on than they’d like to admit.

From the fragments of information revealed in the conversation, it seems that Do Hyun was born out of wedlock, but then put on the family register as the son of Dad’s official wife, Min Seo Yeon (I’m assuming she was the official wife, based on the direction of the conversation). And apparently, Dad’s now in a coma – and has been in one, for years – because of (trying to save?) Do Hyun. That’s double the reason for Chairman Gran to be so disdainful of Do Hyun.

Also, it seems that Do Hyun’s missing some very critical memories, that, when recovered, would be very detrimental to the Seung Jin family. Hrmm. I wonder what those memories are? I mean, Chairman Gran looks extremely nervous at the mention of those memories, and with Show having such crazy limits, I have no idea what to expect.

Just as Do Hyun had anticipated, Shin Se Gi does come out to play, and soon. What I hadn’t anticipated, is how, after their confrontation-by-mirror, it’s Do Hyun who’s left trapped in the mirror, while Shin Se Gi takes off to seek out Ri Jin. Again, this is quite abstract; I think what Show is trying to bring across, is that this time, Do Hyun is conscious, while Shin Se Gi takes over, where previously he’d been unconscious. That must be pretty scary and stressful for Do Hyun, to have to wait it out, while completely conscious, yet unable to do anything.

How interesting, that Ri Jin legit looks disappointed to see that it’s Shin Se Gi waiting for her, instead of Do Hyun. That must be pretty offensive to Shin Se Gi, I imagine. 😅 I do wonder where he’s blazing off to, in that fancy sports car, while wearing that amazing red coat, with Ri Jin firmly by his side. With Shin Se Gi, it really could be anything and anywhere, couldn’t it?