Well, this was unexpected. 😅

Just last week, I’d told you guys, in my review of Knight Flower, that I’d decided to cover this show on Patreon, and that this one had grabbed me nicely – and right away.

In a slightly rollercoaster-esque turn of events, here I am, to tell you guys that I am now officially dropping The Impossible Heir, 5 episodes in. 🙈

I guess you just never know, y’know?

MY TRAJECTORY WITH THIS ONE

I am not kidding when I tell you that this one grabbed right away. I’m talking about feeling strongly interested, within 3 minutes of pressing “play.” That’s impressive, yes?

I loved episodes 1 & 2 a great deal, and was really looking forward to watching more episodes of this show. I just had a good feeling, y’know?

And then, to my horror, I found episode 3 mindnumbingly boring. Like, just reallyreallyreally, veryveryvery boring, so much so that I found myself nodding off (multiple times!), from feeling so disengaged.

I pressed on, hoping that episode 4 would be better, and it was – a little bit. But not really that much, to be honest.

I was actually ready to pull the plug by this point, but just for good measure, and against my better judgment, I sat through episode 5 too, and yeah. I’m calling it.

This one’s just not for me, folks. 🙈

WHAT GRABBED ME IN EPISODES 1 & 2

Here, in a nutshell, are the things that hooked me, in episodes 1 & 2.

1. Lee Jae Wook as Tae Oh

Honestly, the biggest hook for me, with this show, was Lee Jae Wook as Tae Oh.

The way the character is written, and the way Lee Jae Wook plays him, I felt so fascinated by him.

To my eyes, Tae Oh was the epitome of “still waters run deep.”

In our opening episodes, he doesn’t say a whole lot, but there is a quiet weightiness about him that feels quite magnetic, right away.

Like, it made me curious to know more about him, and I figured that this was very possibly how our other main characters, In Ha and Hye Won, felt about him too.

Plus, I thought that he looked very handsome all cleaned up in his corporate suit, at the end of episode 2.

2. The connection between Tae Oh and In Ha

I was completely fascinated by the treatment of the connection between Tae Oh and In Ha.

I found it very interesting, the way Show set up their friendship-cum-partnership, in our opening episodes.

I felt like it was really interesting to observe both characters and the way they were responding to each other, and how they eventually ended up on the same side.

I also thought that both Lee Jae Wook and Lee Jun Young were doing a great job playing off against each other; it felt like they were bringing their “A” game.

I thought we’d get a great show exploring their relationship, and the complicated feelings on both sides of this connection, even in the midst of the scheming that was part of this story’s premise.

WHAT LOST ME IN EPISODES 3-5 [SOME SPOILERS]

1. The corporate politics is very boring

There’s no other way to put this, really. The scheming and politics in this show are not interesting nor engaging, and I had to fight to stay awake, especially through episode 3.

Things do pick up a bit in the second half of episode 4, but I have to say, I could see the twist that Show was getting ready to spring on us, from a mile away.

Maybe it’s my jaded drama fan coming out; this all felt very contrived and predictable to me. 🙈

Of course, if you didn’t see the twist coming, then you’d probably have found this a lot more interesting than I did.

2. There isn’t enough focus on our key relationship

It almost feels like writer-nim forgot that it was necessary to still make our key relationship, between Tae Oh and In Ha, a core thing, even in the midst of ramping up the political stuff.

Honestly, Tae Oh and In Ha are barely on our screens, in episode 3.

Instead, we have scene after scene after scene of the various members of the chaebol family, all scheming against one another.

I was watching it and wondering, “Who are these people, and why should I care, really??” 🤪

By episode 5, Show introduces tension between Tae Oh and In Ha, with In Ha letting his ego get to his head, and it honestly falls pretty flat, because Show hasn’t done enough to build a foundation for this relationship, to make the angst feel like it matters.

And it has to feel like it matters, for it to be good drama, y’know??

By this point, I also feel like both Lee Jae Wook and Lee Jun Young are no longer bringing their “A” game to the roles.

In fact, it feels like they’re both kinda sleepwalking through their roles, all of a sudden.

In this case, I think it’s both the writing and the acting that’s at fault.

For the record, it feels like a more skilled writer wrote episodes 1 & 2, and then handed off to a less skilled writer, who didn’t know what to do with the relationships set up.

Speaking of which:

3. The loveline is very flat

To be fair, the loveline already felt very flat in episodes 1 & 2. I didn’t care for it, but I felt like maybe it wouldn’t matter so much, particularly if the focus was on the relationship between our male leads.

In episodes 3-5, the love triangle is as flat as ever. I don’t understand why either of our male leads is this interested in our female lead, and over such an extended period of time.

Show doesn’t even give it much screen time, to attempt to explain to us why these people feel this way, and why we should care.

For the record:

4. I don’t like the female lead

I know that’s a strong thing to say.

But in episode 4, when “the incident” is happening, she says something utterly entitled to Tae Oh, which I found extremely distasteful and aggravating.

It’s like she treats him like a machine or a deity, with the way she expects him to solve everything, just because he’d asked her to trust him, once upon a time.

This was a pivotal moment for me, coz this was the moment I decided that I really, really didn’t like her, as a character.

Plus, she goes and tells Tae Oh, in episode 5, that she doesn’t need him anymore, and that somehow aggravated me more, coz it feels like she’s casting him away now that she thinks she’s got her way ahead figured out – so soon after making it his job, to make everything ok. 😑

I also maintain that Hong Su Zu is very bland in the role, and is miscast.

5. Hee Joo’s not as interesting anymore

I actually rather liked Hee Joo (Choi Hee Jin) before the present timeline, but in this new, all-grown-up sort of phase, it feels weird that she’s still so obsessed with Tae Oh, so many years after he’d tutored her, for such a short while.

Like, this can’t be healthy, that she thinks she’s in love with him, after having just a few lessons with him, and then being cut off from him, for years afterwards?

The way she tells him that she will marry him was really bizarre to me, and made me lose respect for her, and interest in her, as a character.

SAYING GOODBYE

I was honestly ready to pull the plug on this show, as early as mid-episode 3; that’s how boring I found it. 😂

Now that I’ve finished episode 5, I feel like I should’ve listened to Past Me. 🤪

Which is why I’ve decided to tap out now, rather than attempt to press on, in the hope that things will get better.

I really don’t think they will get better, unfortunately. 😅

If you’re in the mood for some corporate machinations and long scheming games, might I recommend Money Flower instead (review here, and open threads here!).

It’s gripping and compelling and downright spine-tingly in all the ways (and more!) that I wanted this show to be, but wasn’t. Seriously, please check it out if you haven’t already. 🥹

PATREON UPDATE!

The next drama I’m covering on Patreon, in place of  The Impossible Heir, is Eye Love You [Japan].

You can check out my episode 1-2 notes on Eye Love You on Patreon here.

Here’s an overview of what I’m covering on Patreon right now (Tier benefits are cumulative)!

Foundation Tier (US$1): Entertainment Drop (Sundays) + the first set notes of all shows covered on Patreon (that’s 2 episodes for kdramas and 4 episodes for cdramas)

Early Access (US$5): +Eye Love You [Japan]

Early Access Plus (US$10): +Amidst a Snowstorm of Love [China]

VIP (US$15): +Queen of Tears [Korea]