Early Access: Start-Up E1 (Patreon)

E1. If I had to summarize my feelings about episode 1 in a single sentence, it would be: I like it, but I wish it were shorter. I don't know why, exactly, but even though I've quite easily powered through long episodes of drama before, I really felt the length of this introductory episode. The 1 hr 22 mins felt long, and in spite of Show's many positives, I found myself feeling tired and distracted. But it looks like this is the typical episode length in this drama, so I'm gonna hafta suck it up, if I want to keep on enjoying the positives - and there are many.

First of all, because I'm already aware that writer-nim also wrote Dream High, the similar treatment of the opening really jumps out at me. Dream High was also a story where we don't meet our male lead until quite a bit later, and we spend the time getting to know our second male lead instead. To be fair, it's been many years since Dream High, and it's not like writer-nim's been using this device as a matter of habit, so I'll roll with it.

The effect of this, is that it sets us up for Second Lead Syndrome - and I've heard that the SLS potential is strong in this one. Now that I've seen episode 1 for myself, I can certainly see why.

For a start, Ji Pyeong's backstory is a sympathetic one. He's effectively ejected out of the orphanage with some money but nowhere to go, when he's still in high school. That's enough to tug at my heartstrings on its own, but then there's Nam Da Reum who plays him with so much youthful bravado mixed with so much poignance and heart. It's clear that beneath the bluster, Ji Pyeong's deeply grateful to Gran for taking him in when he had nowhere to go, and basically adopting him as her bonus grandson. Ji Pyeong would've been stuck and his potential for growth, completely stunted, if it weren't for Gran's spontaneous big heart, and he knows it.

The part of our story where Ji Pyeong lashes out at Gran, thinking that she'd taken the money that he'd earned by trading under her name, and then Gran giving him a pair of shoes at the bus terminal, telling him to come back if he ever finds himself with nowhere else to go, is the stuff of heartaches, but it does drive home the fact that he and Gran are basically like real family. He might have gotten the complete wrong idea about her and said some terrible things, but that doesn't change the fact that she's his Gran, and she'll always be there for him, if he needs her. Blubber. This relationship really gets to me, and I really want more for Gran and Ji Pyeong, now that they've reunited in the present.

The story of Dal Mi's dad was basically heartbreak on wheels; I sensed that his story wasn't going to end well, and with him careening about, trying to make good with his business venture, it felt like I was just waiting for an accident to happen. It's almost par for the course, that he'd die while doing his best for his family, given the way he's so desperate for a breakthrough that he'd run to a business presentation instead of the hospital, after getting hit by a car. It also blows my mind somewhat, that it wouldn't occur to him to see a doctor, with the head wound and the nosebleeds, followed by the lost of control of his right hand. I rationalize that he probably is just that used to putting himself last, and I also rationalize that it's for the sake of out story, because if his business had gone well, Dal Mi would be in a better place in the present.

I will admit that it definitely tugged at my heartstrings, to see Dad collapsed and presumably dead in the empty bus, clutching the bag of fried chicken that he'd bought for Dal Mi because she'd asked for chicken. Even though my brain recognizes this as a melodramatic trope, this does get me by the heart; I am sorry for Dad, who's worked so hard that he's lost himself, literally, and I'm sorry for Dal Mi, who's now presumably lost both parents. Sigh. It's hard to be this story's heroine.

Speaking of whom, I am happy to say that Suzy's performance is landing pretty well for me, for the most part. Except for the part where Dal Mi laughs like a crazy woman at the bus-stop - that didn't work for me personally; it felt forced - I find her unobjectionable, otherwise. This is a relief to me, for sure, since she's going to be our female lead.

I feel like I don't know Dal Mi very well so far, but she does strike me as someone who's led by her heart, who's mostly upbeat, and who can be quite impulsive. The way she grabs the mic at the forum and poses her question to In Jae feels rather impulsive and kind of rude. But once it becomes clear to me that she and In Jae are sisters, I feel like I can give her a pass on this, since there is a lot of personal history driving her behavior.

I find it strange that after their parents' divorce, that Show treats the sisters as completely cut off from the parent whom they're not living with. I mean, is this normal? In Jae acts as if Dad is no longer her dad, and when she's preparing to leave for the US with her new stepdad, she even tells Dal Mi that they're no longer sisters. I'm puzzled, really. Wouldn't Dal Mi technically also gain a stepdad, since Mom is still her mom? Ok, but whatever. I get that in Show's world, anyway, the two sisters are effectively divorced from their other parent.

With the way Show is presenting In Jae, I think I'm supposed to dislike her, what with her distancing herself from Dal Mi and acting rather snooty, now that they've met again in the present. But there's something about the way In Jae expresses that she'd experienced doubt about her decision, that makes me feel like she's got insecurities too, that will likely become clearer later in our story.

I know that our main focus is probably supposed to be the relationship that will form between Dal Mi and Do San, but to be honest, I really only care about whether Ji Pyeong and Gran make up properly, and get to be together again. Coz this is the relationship that's got my heart, right now.