[HanCinema's Drama Review] "The Real Has Come!" Episode 2

So, first, a brief correction. Tae-kyeong's fancy television broadcaster girlfriend in the first episode, Soo-ji (played by Cha Min-jee), is not the same person as Se-jin, the drama's second female lead. I was confused by their names both having SJ initials which, in my defense, is a plot point that also confuses other characters in the drama itself. So Se-jin's personal conflict isn't quite as interesting as I was making it sound, although it's still reasonably complex in regard to Tae-kyeong.

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Basically, Tae-kyeong's matriarchal grandmother Geum-sil (played by Kang Bu-ja) is fronting Se-jin as a presumed successor, and possibly a draw to get Tae-kyeong back into the corporate family business. The implied reason for this is that Tae-kyeong's older siblings, the patronizing older brother Dae-chul (played by Choi Dae-chul), and the unapologetic careerwoman Ji-myeong (played by Choi Ja-hye), are a destructive bickering influence on the company. Geum-sil hopes to solves the problem with still more nepotism.

It's easy to see why Tae-kyeong wanted nothing to do with this. Especially on the personal angle. Se-jin is so subservient to the rest of the family that Tae-kyeong genuinely disgusts her, and probably lost all respect for her years ago. Se-jin herself also has surprisingly little enthusiasm for either the family business or Geum-sil's marriage scheme. She acts like a woman who has no better idea what else to do with her life. Which is really sad.

As for Yeon-doo, our actual main character, her receiving an offer of promotion by jumping to another online teaching firm appears to cement the decision she had already made, which is really the only decision she could make in her situation. To get an abortion. I'm a little apprehensive on this plot point. Obviously the premise of the drama doesn't really work if Yeon-doo actually gets an abortion. But aside from emotional manipulation, I can't really think of any reason why she wouldn't.

The cliffhanger of Tae-kyeong inexplicably not being able to see Yeon-doo's fetuses on the ultrasound ahead of the procedure seems designed for this purpose, although there's no real way to know. Tae-kyeong as an ambassador for this message would be especially odd, since he doesn't even seem to like babies, as can be seen in the entire contrived babysitting sequence. But I suppose that's part and parcel for a weekend drama like this, at least in the early stages- trying to guess at how the premise can even be contrived at all.

Written by William Schwartz

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"The Real Has Come!" is directed by Han Joon-seo, written by Jo Jeong-joo, and features Baek Jin-hee, Ahn Jae-hyun, Cha Joo-young, Jung Eui-jae, Kang Bu-ja, Hong Yo-seob. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/03/25~Now airing, Sat, Sun 20:05 on KBS.