Lee Soon-shin is the Best: Episode 27 Recap

by: Raine

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I’m so mad. The show was amazing when Soon-shin found out the truth. And now it should be called “Mi-ryeong is the Worst” because I don’t think this show is about Soon-shin. She’s more of a football being kicked around between people.

AGB Nielson Nationwide had this episode coming in at 24.4%.

episode 27 recap

Mi-ryeong watches Soon-shin ad Jung-ae tearfully re-unite and I’m hoping that she gets it through her narcissistic skull that this thing isn’t just about her. Something about the ice cold look on her face tells me that she didn’t quite get it.

That and when Hwang suggests Mi-ryeong keeps her distance from Soon-shin since public image is in her favor, she doesn’t answer. Not answering always means a K-drama evil mother is going to do whatever she feels like.

Soon-shin’s family is worried about Jung-ae and Soon-shin who haven’t yet come home. Yoo-shin nastily comments that Soon-shin probably went to see her real mother. She has reverted back to her prickly self in times of trouble. She really needs another coping mechanism.

Granny isn’t happy with Yoo-shin’s attitude either, but Yoo-shin is not only mean, she’s smart. She points out that Granny was never nice to Soon-shin until she found out that Soon-shin was blood-related. They all see her differently now. And Soon-shin reminds Yoo-shin of their father’s betrayal.

It’s the cold, hard, nasty truth.

Then Soon-shin walks in with Jung-ae. Granny and Hye-shin greet Soon-shin warmly – Yoo-shin scoffs.

Jung-ae serves Soon-shin her favorite foods and she shovels it down without a smile, feeling the weight of the atmosphere. Yoo-shin makes it worse by asking about reporters. So after dinner Soon-shin goes upstairs to talk to her and appease her obviously flaring temper.

Soon-shin wants to know if Yoo-shin knew the truth and she says “yes”: you’re our father’s daughter. And in a rare moment of emotional honesty Yoo-shin admits that it’s hard for her to see Soon-shin. She’s disappointed in her father and mother and that makes things hard on her as well.

It’s harsh, but actually was the right thing to say. I’m surprised based upon her behavior moments before Soon-shin came home. But Yoo-shin didn’t snap at her sister or say something intentionally cruel. She told the truth so Soon-shin could understand and deal with it. A step up for Yoo-shin. Let’s see if she stays there.

Soon-shin decides to go sleep with her mother, needing the comfort. I think Jung-ae needs it, too.

At breakfast, Soo-jung’s inner gossip comes out and she asks, no begs, Joon-ho about Mi-ryeong’s daughter and about the father. Dong-hyuk orders his wife to stop and then Yi-jung comes in with the trending news on the interwebs: Mi-ryeong’s daughter is an actress-in-training.

This is news to Joon-ho who immediately goes off to do some damage control.

The next morning, Yoo-shin is still moody and worsens when she encounters reporters outside their front gate. Soon-shin decides to confront them and Hye-shin tries to stop her. But Soon-shin is determined to solve this and heads outside in casual wear and with a towel around her neck. She declares she has nothing to do with Mi-ryeong and, predictably, the reporters zero in on Soon-shin’s status as a trainee at Mi-ryeong’s company. Soon-shin is overwhelmed by the questions and before she can think of an answer, Joon-ho pushes through the crowd, ushers her inside and then faces the reporters. He tells them that all interviews will be conducted through his company and the press release will be issued soon.

I.E. Beat it.

Oh yeah, if they publish the pictures they just took, he’ll sue for invasion of privacy.

Can we say “badass” together?

Joon-ho heads inside the gate and scolds Soon-shin for facing them. But she has something else on her mind: how did the reporters know about her?

Uh-oh. She thinks he told and that he’s lying when he says he didn’t. Her proof: he knew about the press conference Mi-ryeong had. She shoots him a look of venom and orders him to leave her alone and to tell Mi-ryeong to do the same.

*sob*

Soon-shin storms upstairs and Hye-shin follows her to defend Joon-ho. He’s called and dropped by to check on her. Soon-shin immediately softens and looks guilty, but says nothing.

Joon-ho meets with Mi-ryeong, furious that she released the information about Soon-shin. And then Hwang cops to it and defends himself: it was going to be exposed anyway. Joon-ho doesn’t know reporters that well because he hasn’t been in the field long, but they are scary. It’s better to release the news and have control over it than let it sneak up on them later as rumors.

How about not using an innocent girl in the first place?

Joon-ho begs Mi-ryeong to stop using Soon-shin to save herself. Mi-ryeong has the audacity to be offended and that solidifies Joon-ho’s resolve: every interview will be through the company. Each meeting with Soon-shin needs to be discussed with him. No decisions are to be made on their own.

Mi-ryeong reminds him that it’s about her and her daughter and he reminds her that if she really thought about Soon-shin as a daughter, she wouldn’t have done this. Again, Mi-ryeong acts affronted – who does Joon-ho work for? Her or Soon-shin?

Answer: He works for himself. Awww yeeeeah! And he tells them again that they shouldn’t have done this.

When Hye-shin and Woo-joo come out for school, sexy baker Jin-hyuk is waiting to walk them through the sea of reporters. Although Hye-shin tries to assure him it isn’t necessary, he is so gung-ho about protecting them, that he talks over her quiet explanations, showing off his “charisma.” He leads them out and is surprised by the complete lack of reporters. Woo-joo shakes her head at him and Hye-shin tries not to laugh. Then he explains that the reporters must have been scared of him. Woo-joo happily informs him that Joon-ho stopped by and took care of them – complete with sticking out her tongue.

He looks quite embarrassed and Hye-shin seems to think he’s adorable. Yes!

Gil-ja and Jung-ae talk about Mi-ryeong. Well, Gil-ja complains and Jung-ae listens. At least until Gil-ja suggests asking for compensation from filthy rich Mi-ryeong. Jung-ae is furious, but Gil-ja is doggedly persistent: talk to Mi-ryeon and work this situation out. Recoup your losses. Jung-ae doesn’t think of raising Soon-shin as a loss; she didn’t raise her for Mi-ryeong.

I don’t like the idea of compensation, but I do agree this situation needs to be figured out, pronto.

Chan-woo calls Gil-ja to bring some paperwork to work and I smell a plot setup. Badly done show. We know who she’s going to run into.

And lookie there: It’s Yi-jung stalking Chan-woo’s office door. He arrives and isn’t happy to see her. She makes the excuse that she’s there for treatment, but he won’t see her. On her way out she runs into Gil-ja who is looking for chan-woo. Of COURSE, Yi-jung overhears and introduces herself as someone who admires Chan-woo. The nurse clarifies that she’s the boss’s daughter. Yi-jung sucks up to Gil-ja and the older woman eats it up.

Seriously, show? Guh. I don’t want to deal with gossipy, narrow-minded Gil-ja forces annoying Yi-jung of high status onto Chan-woo.

Gil-ja delivers the papers and immediately asks about his relationship with Yi-jung. He is far from pleased when she assumes Yi-jung is his girlfriend and forcefully denies the relationship. That doesn’t stop Gil-ja from thinking what she wants, however.

So after we get meddling Gil-ja, we get meddling Chan-mi. Seriously? How much damned meddling do we need? Anywho, Chan-mi and Soon-shin are drinking coffee. Chan-mi is dying of curiosity and wants to know about Mi-ryeong. This is the last thing Soon-shin wants to talk about and she snappily tells Chan-mi nothing is changing for her. Chan-mi is as thick-headed as her mother and she tells Soon-shin that she’s now Cinderella; she won the lottery and her future’s going to be great.

Wow, what kind of friend are you? Seriously? What about the part where Mi-ryeong abandoned her?

Soon-shin shuts Chan-mi down and then ignores Mi-ryeong’s wonderfully timed call. When Mi-ryeong can’t reach Soon-shin, she hops in her car to go after her, ignoring Yeon-ah who just arrived.

Yeon-ah, didn’t you think of calling? Don’t you know she’s a selfish wench?

Soon-shin searches for jobs in the paper and remembers Chan-mi talking about the opportunity she has with Mi-ryeong as her mother – she could pursue acting again.

On her way home, Mi-ryeong catches her, but Soon-shin has nothing else to say to her. Mi-ryeong is persistent and wants to talk. She apologizes about the reporters and Soon-shin looks like she wants to be convinced.

No! I mean, I understand. She’s her bio mom; but we don’t LIKE bio mom. She’s a meanie face!

Mi-ryeong wants to relocate to talk and tell her about why she left her and her father. Soon-shin doesn’t want to know and says there is only one mom for her, Jung-ae. Mi-ryeong should stop pretending to be a mother when she wasn’t there before. Soon-shin tells her, again, that she wants Mi-ryeong to leave her alone.

Why do I have the feeling that she won’t?

Mr. Waiter has heard some gossip: Soon-shin is Mi-ryeong’s daughter. He tells Young-hoon and laughs at the absurdity. He heard it from the trainees. Young-hoon is not pleased that the rumor is going around and calls Soon-shin to check up on her. He lies that there are still business matters to attend to to get her to come to the restaurant.

Ah, so now second lead is fully coming into action. YES!

Mi-ryeong returns home where Yeon-ah eagerly greets her. But Mi-ryeong is baffled by Soon-shin’s behavior and lets out her confusion on Yeon-ah. Why won’t Soon-shin give her the time of day? Yeon-ah invites her for dinner to clear her mind. Mi-ryeong ignores her and goes upstairs to rest.

Yeah, you’re a fantastic mother…

Soon-shin is served an awesome meal and Young-hoon says this is the unfinished business. She also gets a gift. What is it????

Then he brings up what she’s been going through. He tells her she needs to face it; that way she can live happily with her family. She can yell when she gets stressed. Adorably, she asks if she can yell at him and pounds her fist on the table. He puts his hands up in defeat. I likes them.

In-sung is glowing at the news that Soon-shin is Mi-ryeong’s daughter. He, too, thinks of her as a Cinderella. Because his character tends to represent public opinion, I’m afraid that if Soon-shin keeps avoiding Mi-ryeong, she’ll look like a horrible Cinderella daughter.

Producers want to cast Mi-ryeong and Soon-shin together and the offers are flooding the office. Joon-ho is absolutely against it, but In-sung argues for it. It’s good for both women in terms of their career. And there, he is right. Career-wise, this is a golden opportunity. *grumble grumble*

Joon-ho forbids In-sung from exposing Soon-shin to the public and then storms out. He heads downstairs to vent to Young-hoon, only to find him happily sharing a meal with a smiling Soon-shin.

Yeon-ah shows up drunk and asks him to drink with her. He refuses – he has to go see Mi-ryeong. Yeon-ah tells him she’s sad and wants him to comfort her. Both he and Mi-ryeong are having a hard time because of the same person and it’s troubling Yeon-ah. She wants to drink.

Joon-ho tries to stop her from going in the restaurant, but she spots Young-hoon and Soon-shin. In she goes to cause trouble. Yeon-ah drunkenly babbles about having a sister. She tells Soon-shin to stop being mad at Mi-ryeong who is worrying about her. Soon-shin takes her leave and all three people watch her go.

Yoo-shin ignores a call from Chan-woo and Gil-ja comes up behind her, wondering if it is a man. She starts babbling that it can’t be because Yoo-shin’s family is too preoccupied with their troubles now. And then, of course, she mentions Chan-woo and Yi-jung and how Dong-hyuk tried to set them up. Gil-ja gushes about Yi-jung who she accidentally met at the hospital; Yoo-shin’s countenance grows stormy. Gil-ja urges Yoo-shin to stop playing around with men and marry to make her mother happy.

Wow, this woman…is shameless.

Yoo-shin follows Gil-ja to the chicken shop and tries to drag Jung-ae home, angry that she wants to stay late and help Gil-ja make kimchi. Chan-woo comes in and Yoo-shin sarcastically congratulates him on getting a girlfriend. She plans on getting a new boyfriend since she just broke up with her old one. Jung-ae asks Yoo-shin to apologize and she hastily does so before leaving.

Strangely, Gil-ja understands that Yoo-shin thinks Jung-ae is being a servant at the restaurant and sends Jung-ae home to comfort her child. The writers make her character understanding and completely dull whenever it fits the storyline. I’d prefer character consistency…

At least after Yoo-shin leaves, Gil-ja rails that she really dislikes Yoo-shin. Her husband tells her to be understanding and Chan-woo sighs.

Jung-ae drags Yoo-shin into the kitchen for a much needed talk. She asks her what her problem is. Yoo-shin asks if Jung-ae is going to slap her again. Her mother apologizes, but Yoo-shin is on a rampage. When has Jung-ae ever cared about her? It’s always been about Soon-shin, even after they discover she’s their father’s daughter. Jung-ae wants Yoo-shin to understand how Soon-shin feels.

Soon-shin comes downstairs and hears Yoo-shin tell their mother that she knows she hates Soon-shin, too. Ouch, really Yoo-shin? You can’t control your temper? Yoo-shin continues that Soon-shin is the product of Chang-hoon’s cheating, but Jung-ae explains that you can’t just hate your own child. Yoo-shin isn’t hearing her and says Soon-shin now has a fabulously rich mother and all the opportunity in the world. How can Jung-ae not hate her? But Jung-ae doesn’t. Yoo-shin reminds Jung-ae that she cares about her, too, and storms upstairs past the hurt Soon-shin.

Soon-shin chases her upstairs and Yoo-shin finally explains why she’s such a douche to her. Even though she’s their biological daughter, their parents cared most about Soon-shin and doted on her.

This is all understandable. So why couldn’t she just say that and be mad for a while instead of saying such hurtful words and being a total bitch to everyone?

Yoo-shin knows it’s not Soon-shin’s fault, but it’s hard seeing her. She leaves Soon-shin feeling like dog poo.

Bok-man meets with Hwang. Two of my least favorite characters and I have to see them in a scene together…guh. Bok-man asks why Hwang made things so complicated and wants Hwang to tell Mi-ryeong not live like this anymore. She’ll be punished for using Soon-shin to better her public image.

Well, at least Bok-man is the voice of reason. He tells Hwang that the family is having a hard time with this situation on top of Chang-hoon’s death. The family is struggling for money and got no compensation because there were no witnesses of the car accident. Hwang actually seems troubled by this.

And then he asks the question: is Soon-shin really Chang-hoon’s daughter? Hwang panics a second and then says that Mi-ryeong only loved Chang-hoon. Who else would she have?

Pfffft. Love doesn’t mean sex outside love can’t happen. Just sayin’.

Mi-ryeong drinks and broods over Soon-shin’s rejection. Hwang returns home and tells her to stop drinking. Also, if she feels bad for “that girl,” she should give the family some money.

I knew Gil-ja mentioned compensation earlier because it was going to happen. And then the conversation with Bok-man just now. This is NOT going to go over well.

Hwang seems sincere about the suggestion, wanting the family to be comfortable. They’ll also soften towards Mi-ryeong if she supports them. Too bad he’s a fool. He thinks that giving the family money and keeping her distance will make everyone A-ok and groovy.

He also thinks it will relieve her guilt over Chang-hoon. Then she says my least favorite line: Guilt? What guilt? What did I do wrong? Did I kill him? Did I leave Soon-shin at his house? There is no reason to feel guilty if I didn’t do anything wrong.

What didn’t you do wrong, you stupid bitch! RAWR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then she decides to take her daughter back. As if Soon-shin were a pair of Jimmy Choos. Mi-ryeong thinks that because Jung-ae was mean to her, she’ll be mean to Soon-shin and will stop taking care of her. No, you’re just an egotistical woman who doesn’t want to “lose” anything.

Mi-ryeong can’t let that poor family raise HER daughter. It hurts her pride. Yes, because this is about you. I forgot.

The next morning, Soon-shin writes her resume so she can take care of her family. She heads out to distribute her resume and meets her Granny in the garden. Granny asks if she met Mi-ryeong and Soon-shin plays it down. Granny wants to go with Soon-shin to meet Mi-ryeong if she ever asks for a meeting. Before she goes, Granny gives her some money for food and Soon-shin decides that it would be nice to eat together and drags her off for lunch.

With them out of the house, it gives the writers the perfect opportunity for another mommy showdown. Mi-ryeong shows up in all of her haughty glory. Hye-shin awkwardly lets her in and shows her around the house, answering questions about her mother’s work and receiving thinly veiled contempt in return. She also insults Soon-shin’s name.  Then, Mi-ryeong even rifles through Soon-shin’s closet to Hye-shin’s horror. She seems disgusted that Soon-shin shares a room.

Seriously, Hye-shin. Why did you let her in??? At least she calls Jung-ae to come home and she comes in time to drag Mi-ryeong to the kitchen and stop her nosing around their house.

Mi-ryeong thanks Jung-ae for raising Soon-shin and wants to forget hard feelings. From now on, she wants to be a good mother: help Soon-shin study and act. She wants to do everything for her as it’s the least she can do. Jung-ae is horrified.

And then out comes the money envelope. “I really appreciate that you raised my daughter. Here’s a little something for you. Let me take her back now. She’s my daughter.”

No. You. Didn’t.

Comments:

This drama is all about Mi-ryeong now and it’s ANNOYING. Honestly, get to Joon-ho and Soon-shin already. They have great chemistry and they were so cute when they were being cute. And I love watching him be jealous of her with Young-hoon. MORE of that. Less of Mi-ryeong and her ego.

I’m also getting to the point with this drama that the useless characters are really starting to grate on me. Gil-ja, Bok-man, Chan-mi, Yi-jung, Dong-hyuk, Soo-jung…they’re all frivolous. They’re plot movers. When the writer wants something to annoy Soon-shin’s family, he uses one of them. I would rather have them be self-sufficient characters interacting with Soon-shin’s family. This is a family drama. I WANT to watch different families function and malfunction. I don’t want them changing personalities and behaviors just to suit plot movement. I want it to be integrated.

We have all these fabulous actors and we’re not using them well!

And then we have Yoo-shin. I totally get her and her nasty temper. I honestly do think they did well with her, despite the fact that I hate her behavior. She has a valid reason for making conflict. She was ignored growing up for the kid who wasn’t blood-related and who is now the living evidence of her adored father’s betrayal. That’s tough stuff for someone as insecure as Yoo-shin. I want to see Chan-woo break through her walls again like he did earlier in the show. I want less of Gil-ja’s interfering. Although, I totally see why Gil-ja doesn’t like her.

I want to focus more on the baker with Hye-shin and Woo-joo as well. We had a little run with them and we probably won’t get to them again for a while.

I do like the issues that Soon-shin’s family is dealing with: Chang-hoon’s death and his “betrayal” of the family; Soon-shin’s place in the family; Soon-shin’s desire to act; money issues. It’s all relevant. I just wish it was better handled.

Episode 28, please give me more Joon-ho and Soon-shin. I’m ready now. No, I’ve been ready.

Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Character introductions.