Not exactly the type of protagonist you'd root for

Anthony Kim has a very strong conviction to regain his throne as the King of Dramas. So strong he does everything in his will to make things happen. Where else can you see a protagonist so nasty and heartless that he seems to be competing with Oh Jin Wan as to who's the better b*stard.



Episode 5 exposes more dirty tactics of the fast-paced, topsy-turvy behind-the-scenes of the Korean drama industry. The clash of the idealist and naive writer against her arrogant drama producer ensues and the argument they slap to each other's faces leave pinches to the heart than hand prints on their faces.



I find it hardest to take when Lee Go Eun walked in the room with her face twisted half-mocking, half-disbelieving: another writer was hired to slaughter her noir masterpiece. All for the glory of the commercialization of King Anthony's drama.

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This crazy, arrogant bast*rd!

I wasn't exactly planning on starting this drama. If the premise isn't strong enough,I won't watch it. No thanks, I can go see Choi Si Won's abs without watching a 16-episode drama. Kurigu, I'm not exactly hyped about SBS writing about writers (yes, I'm talking to you Coffee House).



But okay, after a friend's recommendation, I'm giving this a try. I'm not that eased in but I'd like to take note: Anthony Kim reminds me of Dok Go Jin from TGL (which, coincidentally, is a drama where KoD writer Jang Hang Joon cameo-ed in). Only the latter was much more charming--although it is still too early to tell, I hope Kim Myung Min proves me wrong and wins me over.



The first episode spans 3 years and sees to the unwilling reunion of Rep Anthony Kim and Writer Lee Go Eun. The two are bonded to produce and write a Japanese-sponsored drama based on Go Eun's 'Morning of Kyeong seong' which is about a man in Korea's occupational era (rings a bell, anyone?)

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Blood, sweat, tears...and lies

First Tae Bum, now it's Tae Shik. I'm not even counting Tae Pil considering the magnitude of the disappointment his two hyungdeul are, the maknae's flaw does not even begin to compare.



How the hell do you send a nine-year old on a plane to a foreign country by himself? How do you expect to get that kid to listen to you when you're shaking his shoulders shouting at him? What did he ever do to you to deserve such a treatment? If I were that kid, I'd end up resenting both parents!



While the two hyungdeul try to keep their problems a secret (Tae Bum with his mother-in-law and ex gf problems, and Tae Shik with his son from a previous relationship), Tae Pil finally spills out his issue with Bok Ja omma and abuji overhears it.



This episode is just so packed already, I think Baek In Ho's third wife should've taken a back seat--all the waaaay back. I hope her issue doesn't drag because she's not the one I'd like to see in succeeding episodes.



The redeeming factor about this episode: Ja Eun and Tae Hee gets closer together.

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Of marriage and having children

As Ja Eun's issue is slowly coming to a quiet truce, Tae Bum and Cha Soo Young's relationship amps into play.



I didn't like it when Soo Young demanded marital bondage as a solution to her pregnancy. I understand that she had kept her feelings for Tae Bum hidden(out of pride or maybe fear of rejection or both). But what I cannot understand is how she suddenly appeared desperate--which spurs more questions: What will she gain from marrying him? Does she need him to give the child a good name or status? Is this what she's really after?



That is why I while I still hate Tae Bum for being an a**, I understand his thinking--she doesn't need a loveless marriage to give birth to the child. But for her,it is much more complicated than that.



Meanwhile, the eldest hyung, Tae Shik has something coming up--a package from Manila reveals a mug with an imprinted picture of a younger Tae Shik and a woman, an organizer and a pen. But he shoves the things back in the box and puts it away...

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Finally, Miyabi

I thought this was a bit anti-climactic for Miyabi. I had been waiting all this time for her to explode, to see the peak of her outrage before it calms down. I felt Sensei needed more time to gain her trust more than the others since hers was difficult to get as the story progressed.



I'm glad though, that I was wrong. I thought Miyabi did something seriously wrong to make her carry an unforgivable guilt around her shoulders.



Even though this was not as intense as Episodes 7 and 8, this still rates high in my book as it presents another problem to contend with. The only difference is that we don't see Kikuchi's manipulation in action.

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