Another week has passed so I’m back to discuss my thoughts on episodes 7 and 8 for ‘Jinxed at First’! Things continue to ramp up for the drama and everyone is pretty busy with their own lives. Hearts are broken, the truth is revealed, and there’s plenty of angst and pain that goes around. Oh how I miss the times when this drama was much happier and brighter.
Episode 7 gave us both angst and happiness within a span of an hour which is actually quite an amazing accomplishment and one that definitely requires some talent too. I assume we’re gonna get more lovey dovey moments between Seul-bi and Soo-kwang in the later episodes in the drama which is probably why the drama fed us some adorable moments only to switch it up and drown them in angst halfway into the episode. Things changed quite fast for the two lovers and it was challenging for them to love each other once Soo-kwang discovered the truth about Seul-bi. All the men chasing after them, her coming to him, her finding him.. how did this all come about? With the truth came pain and it was bound to happen sooner or later. The truth always hurts.
As much as I enjoyed the drama giving us plentyyy of stuff to keep us entertained, I also wouldn’t mind if it slowed down a little bit to spread all that content out for the remaining stretch. In particular, I wished the drama showed us Seul-bi’s confession to Soo-kwang about everything. It felt a bit anti-climatic in that the drama completely skipped this part and didn’t show Seul-bi revealing the truth to Soo-kwang. We’ve watched them connect and bond over the months only for the drama to skip the actual part where she spills everything to him and how she ended up staying with him. And I know that the drama has shown us the process and the journey which is why it probably skipped the conversation part, but I would have liked to see Seul-bi tell it to Soo-kwang. I would have liked to see her say “I ended up here by your side because of my fortune-telling abilities which also happened to cause the death of your mother but I really like you and my feelings for you are sincere and honest.” Instead, we didn’t get to witness the confession and conversation for ourselves and the drama fast forward to the part where Soo-kwang reacted.
Moving on to Soo-kwang’s reaction itself, I feel for him and I think his reaction was reasonable. He was betrayed by those closest to him, he was lied to, everyone hid the truth from him, he feels like his life had been a lie the entire time. I completely understand why he was angry and upset with everyone. I also completely sympathized with Seul-bi at one point when she voiced how she wanted to be an ordinary person which is why she stayed with Soo-kwang and created this life for herself with him. She just wants to be an ordinary person living an ordinary life which she didn’t have when she was trapped inside of Min-joon’s place. Soo-kwang was that safe space for her; he was that person and home that helped her see a different side of the world. While she should have came clean to Soo-kwang a lot earlier (which I don’t think would have changed much in terms of his actions), you can also see things from Seul-bi’s point of view and why she was so desperate to leave.
I felt like ‘Jinxed at First’ had been handling everything quite well so far which was why it was still such a charming watch through 6 episodes. Unfortunately, my disappointment in the show shot up for the first time with the direction that it took with Min-joon’s character. I can’t help but feel icky about his relationship with Seul-bi and their dynamic. Even if he doesn’t necessarily objectify her and view her as a prized possession (like his dad did with Seul-bi’s mom), there’s still something off about their dynamic that I’m not a fan of. There’s this unequal balance in their relationship and I never got the sense that he had feelings for her until just episodes 7 and 8. And maybe this was because I had misinterpreted Min-joon’s character wrong and completely missed the part where he was chasing after Seul-bi because he liked her. Regardless, this was a miss in my books and one of the more questionable decisions that the drama has made.
It’s such a shame because I actually think the handling of Min-joon’s character so far was probably one of the drama’s biggest strengths. I liked the focus and emphasis that the drama placed on Seul-bi and Soo-kwang’s relationship instead of a love triangle. I get that their relationship is going through a rough patch so it’s not like they can just freely interact with each other like we’ve seen so far. But I hate that the drama amped up Min-joon and Seul-bi’s relationship as a replacement. I don’t want to see any romance between Min-joon and Seul-bi. There’s nothing against Min-joon as he’s not a bad second male lead nor is he this super evil and toxic guy. I just prefer Seul-bi to be with Soo-kwang and I’m willing to put up with all the angst and tears if that means no Min-joon and Seul-bi.
It’s also such a shame because I really liked Min-joon’s characterization as the second male lead who cared for his friend (Soo-kwang) and looked out for the woman whose life was in constant danger (Seul-bi). It should be that Min-joon cares for Seul-bi not because he’s in love with her but because he’s seen the tragic and harmful consequences Seul-bi’s mom had to endure so he doesn’t want to repeat in his father’s footsteps and do the same to Seul-bi. Why push the romance aspect at all? I wished the drama didn’t change things up with Min-joon’s arc because he was an interesting and complex character so far. Instead, he has now resorted to being the typical second male lead who has feelings for the female lead. And maybe there is some kind of underlying reason as to why Min-joon is involved with Seul-bi other than for romance but that’s not what the drama has shaped it out to be with episodes 7 and 8. It just seemed like it was for romantic purposes which was a bummer.
We also learned the background and history behind Seul-bi’s Dad and her mom and how they met. Seul-bi is now aware of her father’s existence as he introduced himself to her. Of course, it made sense that she didn’t necessarily believe him because she’s gone all her life without a father figure and only knowing her mother. Another thing we saw in the latest two episodes was Seul-bi using her powers to earn money and our neighbor vendors quickly catching onto Seul-bi’s ability. Interestingly enough, although they notice, they don’t think too much about it now. They’re grateful to her for her help, but they don’t seem suspicious at all so far. Probably the most interesting component to the story that I liked the most in episodes 7 and 8 was Seul-bi’s return to Min-joon’s house to be reunited with her mother. Not because she got caught by any of the men who was being sent to go after her, but because she wanted to. On her own will.
I think this decision to have Seul-bi return back to the place she for so long wanted to escape from is another example of what ‘Jinxed at First’ is doing right. You think the drama is unpredictable, but there’s twists and turns that you simply did not expect. If Seul-bi was ever going to return to Min-joon’s place, I simply thought it would be due to the fact that she got caught by the men that Min-joon’s dad sent to find her. However, I liked that the drama didn’t go in that direction. Instead, Seul-bi returned to the house that she so longed to escape from with her own decision. No one forced her. No one kidnapped her and threw her back inside the jail cell. No, Seul-bi chose to go back. And I think that’s what made the latest two episodes so refreshing and interesting.
Maybe it was because her relationship with Soo-kwang got rocky the moment he learned the truth from her. Maybe it’s because she missed her mother and wanted to be with her so desperately again. Maybe it’s because of the pressure that Min-joon’s dad put on her. There were multiple reasons as to why Seul-bi returned and as heartbreaking as it was, she’s also returning to a place where she’s unfortunately familiar with. She escaped that prison-like atmosphere and enjoyed her time outside, but she came back for a variety of reasons. It’s uncertain as to whether she’ll try to escape again in an effort to be with Soo-kwang or if she’ll stay inside with her mother. How will her relationship with Min-joon affect her life and how she’s treated inside of his house? Has things changed? Or will Seul-bi yearn to go outside again?
With some hits came some misses and episodes 7 and 8 was proof of that for ‘Jinxed at First.’ The drama continues to do some things well, but there were also a few decisions made that didn’t make all that much sense. Now that Seul-gi is back with her mother and Soo-kwang has reclaimed his identity after having discovered the truth, how will their lives change? How has their lives changed? What other tricks do others have up their sleeves for the two main characters?
MaryMeKpop 