We Are All Trying Here: Episodes 9-10
by quirkycase
For the first time, our eccentric director finds himself in the position he’s long envied and realizes it’s just the start of a grueling process that he isn’t sure he’s prepared for. Meanwhile, our producer is tired of being pushed around and letting others make decisions for her, so she makes a choice that could alter the course of her career.
EPISODES 9-10
As expected, Hye-jin is annoyed that Dong-man’s revised script is so good, but it brings out her greed as a producer. She’s a pro and is going to do everything in her power to help this movie “Weather Maker” succeed, even if it annoys her to help Dong-man.
Like Hye-jin, no one knows whether to be happy or irritated at Dong-man finally joining the ranks of filmmakers, something they all thought impossible. Well, except Kyung-se who is just irritated. (The two of them really are delightfully petty to one another.)
Only Eun-ah is wholeheartedly excited and rooting for Dong-man. She gets him a cake and assuages his fears, promising to be by his side. Because now that his dream is actually becoming a reality, Dong-man is terrified of failing to prove himself. He feels it’s his chance to be less embarrassing and accomplish something, but he’s worried he’ll give up. For the first time, he feels bad about how derisive he was when his friends debuted.
Luckily, Dong-man doesn’t really have any scandals that could take him down. All he has are his scathing online reviews Hye-jin makes him delete. The most pressing issue is the loan he took out from a loan shark to pay for his cat’s emergency surgery (aww). The loan shark texts everyone Dong-man knows, threatening to harass them until Dong-man pays up.
Dong-man apologizes to Eun-ah, but she finds him taking out a dangerous loan for his cat as endearing as I do. When Dong-man asks why Eun-ah is always so good to him, she replies with a simple, “Because you deserve it” as if it’s obvious. But to Dong-man, it’s a revelation that gives him newfound confidence. He marches into the office of the loan shark – a wannabe gangster – and refuses to let the loan shark’s uninspired threats intimidate him. He’s already paid his principal with interest and threatens the loan shark into considering his debt paid.
As always, Dong-man ends up going the unexpected route and refuses to play by others’ rules. Unlike basically everyone else we’ve seen so far, Dong-man wants to share credit for his work. Eun-ah is touched when he says he wants to credit her for helping him revise the screenplay. Since all she did was give him notes, it’s a bit overboard, but he just wants everyone to know how talented she is and ensure she’s not pushed aside.
That makes him pretty much the only person trying to do right by Eun-ah, other than her grandmother. At work, Dong-hyun is still being awful to her for no legitimate reason. He not only kicked Eun-ah off Joon-hwan’s film (against Joon-hwan’s and Mi-ran’s wishes) but throws a little fit when he hears she’s helping Dong-man with his screenplay. Because apparently, he owns her free time.
Then, there’s Jung-hee who continues to make Eun-ah’s life complicated. Although Eun-ah has been doing well and seemingly getting fewer nosebleeds, she still goes still at the mention of her mother. And hanging out with Mi-ran more means Jung-hee is bound to get mentioned occasionally. Everyone is curious about the mysterious bio daughter, and Joon-hwan even brings it up one day, asking Mi-ran if she knows anything. Eun-ah sits still as a statue while they talk, not ready for anyone – even Dong-man – to know her secret.
Because she can’t leave well enough alone, Jung-hee worms her way into Eun-ah’s work life when she pressures Dong-hyun and Jae-young into casting her as the lead for their soon-to-be hit film “Knock Knock Knock.” Like Dong-man, Jung-hee read the script and immediately recognized Eun-ah in the writing. She intentionally messes with Jae-young by reciting the lines she knows Eun-ah wrote and asking how he came up with such insightful words. (I know she’s terrible, but that was satisfying.)
She tries to goad Eun-ah into taking full credit for the work rather than using a pen name. Jung-hee even encourages her to publicly admit to being her daughter, reminding Eun-ah of her promise to be successful. How can she do that while hiding?
Jung-hee may be an awful mother, but there’s truth to her accusation that Eun-ah is hiding behind her fear. And Eun-ah knows it. When Dong-hyun is later berating her and ironically comparing her to the talent of “Young-shil,” Eun-ah can’t hold back anymore and admits she is Young-shil. Dong-hyun is stunned speechless and it’s glorious.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot of actor drama going on behind the scenes of late. First up is Mi-ran who has been struggling emotionally. She has a hard time putting a barrier between her feelings and the roles she plays, leading her to fall for her costars and get hurt. Unfortunately, she responds to that by practically stalking the guy and getting into physical fights with his girlfriend. But she also reads one of Jin-man’s poems and it unlocks something in her, so she goes to thank him which, of course, he accepts stoically.
Another actor who has been causing problems is veteran A-lister NOH KANG-SHIK (Sung Dong-il). He’s known for being incredibly difficult and often violent on sets, but his star power and skill have allowed him to stay in the game. Dong-hyun had all but promised Kang-shik the lead role in “Knock Knock Knock,” but once Jung-hee approached them, Dong-hyun ghosted him. After all, Jung-hee is just as respected and the safer choice.
Dong-man shoots his shot now that Kang-shik is available, and despite his extreme abrasiveness – or maybe because of it – Kang-shik shockingly agrees to work with him. He’s ready for something different. We end this week as everyone celebrates Hye-jin and Dong-man’s newly signed contract with Kang-shik as the lead actor in “Weather Maker.”
While it’s certainly a win for them, it’s not without risk. Kang-shik is downright abusive to his hoobaes, and I can’t see Hye-jin or Dong-man standing for that. I’m not sure if Dong-man will make Kang-shik’s temper better or worse, but it’s likely to be a bumpy ride.
One thing I loved this week was seeing the little friendship group forming among Dong-man, Eun-ah, Joon-hwan, and Mi-ran. They mesh surprisingly well, maybe because they’re each a bit eccentric. But it’s nice to see Eun-ah in particular smiling and laughing more with a solid group of friends. And now she’s even starting to stand up for herself and take credit for her achievements rather than fading into the background.
It’s interesting how Jung-hee suddenly wants Eun-ah to go public with their relationship after reading her, by all accounts, amazing screenplay. We do see hints of pain and possibly even regret from Jung-hee around Eun-ah, but I’d be surprised if that was her primary motivator. She’s the type to put personal gain above all else, as she’s proven again and again. If nothing else, at least she’s sparking Eun-ah’s defiance. I’m not sure what will happen if they start working together on this film, but the proximity will likely make it harder to keep their relationship secret. If, that is, Jung-hee doesn’t just out it herself.
RELATED POSTS