My Beautiful Bride: on episode 7~8

I don’t want to take back what i said about My Beautiful Bride before because i think 6 hours are enough time to get an idea of the show’s plot, tone, pace, and the direction it’s going, but episode 7~8 aren’t half as riveting as the first 6 that i can’t help but feeling disappointed. Probably because by this point the tables are turned: now we know more than the good guys. When this happens in a mystery-laden show, the suspense factor loses some of its grips because thereafter we are waiting for the main characters to catch up with us, easily frustrated when they aren’t quick on the uptake even though it isn’t their fault — there just aren’t enough hints and openings.

So, i hope My Beautiful Bride can get out of the cycle this week because the last started to run in circles. In that i wasn’t excited with the development as i knew it wouldn’t lead to any major breakthrough. Instead, i began to react negatively to Joo-young’s decisions. The cards are in her hand and as of episode 8 it’s entirely up to her whether or not to show her hand yet she chooses noble idiocy instead.

Ugh! Like, why? Did she not notice Do-hyung’s physical and mental condition when they last met? Well, maybe it was too dark for her to take note of his wounds and blood traces/marks. ‘Cuz she surely wouldn’t have the heart to take that route had she known how much pain, blow, and self-blame he has endured thus far and how much more he’s willing to withstand just for her. Initially she steps out of his life to spare him and probably thinks the goons are sent by Song Hak-soo, but after finally learning about the latter’s demise and the former’s neck-deep involvement in the case, i cannot fathom her decision to keep him in the dark about her whereabouts and, more importantly, safety. The thought of him now knowing about her dark and dirty past shakes her up badly but she’s seen for herself his frantic attempts to locate her despite that. Doesn’t she at least think she owes him an explanation or considers clearing the air and mutually ends the relationship?

We wouldn’t have drama and angst that way, i know, but Do-hyung readies himself to turn hell upside down thinking Joo-young is there when in fact she is in the safe hands, it seems… for now. Lee Jin-sook (Lee Seung-yeon) seems to be at odds with Seo Jin-ki (Ryu Seung-soo) although i won’t be too surprised if she isn’t on the outs with the big gun Chairman Kang (Son Jong-hak).

I’m still intrigued that everybody’s belittling Do-hyung even after witnessing his fighting skills and inhuman endurance — how come nobody is aware of his background and powerful chaebol mom? I’m sure she plays a much bigger role than just another filthy rich parent who doesn’t get along with her child(ren). She won’t appear twice and is mentioned by Detective Park for nothing, right? Furthermore, despite the severed mom-son relationship, she can’t possibly NOT keeping an eye on him and aware of the plight he’s in, can she? It’s odd to see no action from her side; above all, i don’t think she’ll let him die in those thugs’ hands.

Back to our fraught-fearless groom, he has put one foot in the said hell, going after every sketchy person who can lead him to The Shadows even if they’re a lowly loan shark like Park Tae-gyu (Jo Han-chul) or Hak-soo’s henchman. I don’t worry about the former as such comic relief is rarely sacrificed, neither do i care much about the latter as minions of a fallen villain are rarely around for long to rat anything/anyone out. I did however hope he could squeak something for Do-hyung’s sake because he’s just that desperate for any kind of leads.

His next target is Seo Jin-ki but losing the henchman and Tae-gyu brings him back to square one. The one who can be of any help is Detective Park, provided he can come clean about being in touch with Seo’s lady or the man himself. He can skip the part about him receiving dirty money moonlighting for them though that shall one day surface too. Question: does he sell his soul solely for money? Because he isn’t entirely sketchy. There are still traces of cop’s righteousness in him which makes Cha Yoon-mi falls for him early on and subsequently joins the force herself.

Speaking of Yoon-mi, i still find her character the least interesting and developed out of the leads. First off, she rarely brings anything new to table despite knowing the most about past Joo-young than say Do-hyung. It’s ironic that he manages to gather more information in days/weeks than she could in (possibly) years. Secondly, it’s still a mystery why she’s hell bent on helping him to find Joo-young if it has nothing do with Do-hyung being the son of chaebol mom and Joo-young is nothing more than a former informant. We got a glimpse of her background but even that doesn’t seem to be of any significance or relevance. I’m still holding out for her to live up to Team Leader title and show that she can do better than merely tailing Do-hyung and arriving a step too late in every event.

But the most important thing is for her to build mutual trust with him and crack the black organization down together because two heads, two pairs of deft hands and feet, backed by a reliable SWAT team is better than one able-bodied, regardless of Do-hyung’s impressive military training. He needs help, and she can give him that. Also, he should’ve figured out by now that he cannot accomplish much by being a sole fighter.

What they need to do: be honest with each other on how much they know about Joo-young’s past. It’s simple and straightforward but a big step forward in their half-truths tandem so far.