Episode seven was like a dream that turned into a nightmare. Ah Jin and In Gang are dating, and her star power is rising just like she wanted. In Gang’s grandmother and brother have embraced her, so she’s also getting a taste of what it feels like to be in a loving family. I can’t lie: it’s heart-warming to see after watching Ah Jin experience the horrors of the world from an early age. Unfortunately, her need for control doesn’t lay dormant, and Jun Seo starts doing some manipulation of his own once Ah Jin keeps dating In Gang past their one year anniversary.
YES to that #CoupleGoals montage of Ah Jin and In Gang
The montage of Ah Jin and In Gang going camping, getting in a snowball fight, and galavanting all over the world while their fans watched was adorable! They looked so good, I had to remind myself Ah Jin most likely wasn’t feeling butterflies like me. Her relationship with In Gang is to help boost her popularity. However, I don’t think she’s feeling absolutely nothing. She has a soft spot for him and his grandmother. If she didn’t, she would’ve dumped him as soon as their relationship hit the one year mark. Jun Seo sees that hesitation, and is jealous. Meanwhile, In Gang is thinking about marrying Ah Jin.
YES to a grandmother’s love
Ah Jin gets sick while In Gang’s out of the country, and his grandmother comes over to take care of her. She makes Ah Jin food and even gets into her bed to comfort her. It visibly affects Ah Jin because no one’s ever cared for her like this before. This is another glimpse at how she’s capable of feeling something since she’s a sociopath and not a psychopath. There’s a difference, and the screenwriter definitely did their research.
The next morning, Ah Jin gives In Gang’s grandmother the code to her apartment, so she doesn’t ever have to wait outside again. It’s one of the few times we’ve seen Ah Jin initiate real intimacy with someone without a clear goal to exploit it. The scene is touching, but sure this tentative attempt at trust comes back to bite her in the butt.
YES to Shim Sung Hee and Choi Jeong Ho’s reintroduction
I thought we were done with Shim Sung Hee, but she’s now a salesperson at a shoe store, which is probably not what she wanted out of life. She sees Ah Jin being flanked by photographers, and jealousy causes her to go on the internet and expose everything that happened in high school (conveniently leaving out everything she did). Ah Jin also runs into Choi Jeong Ho at the temple In Gang’s grandmother serves at. The reunion is beyond awkward when In Gang’s grandmother comes over and says she met Jeong Ho while volunteering in prison.
I didn’t expect both characters to be reintroduced at the same time, so I’m nervous. I haven’t forgotten what Ah Jin did to Jeong Ho though. Whatever he feels toward Ah Jin is totally justified, and I’d understand him wanting to go after her.
NO to THAT ending!!!
With Ah Jin starting to feel content with life and building a bond with In Gang’s grandmother, I knew something horrible was around the corner. It’s Ah Jin’s birthday, and she’s out to dinner with In Gang who looks like he wants to propose. Jun Seo and Re Na crash it, so Jun Seo can silently remind Ah Jin about breaking up with In Gang and Re Na can expose their step-sibling relationship. Meanwhile, In Gang’s sweet grandmother has let herself into Ah Jin’s apartment to make her seaweed soup. She cuts herself on a broken dish, and in her search for a band-aid finds the notebook Ah Jin had Jae Oh steal a year ago. The notebook was like a journal and had everything down to her deceased daughter’s favorite food in it. In Gang’s grandmother realizes very quickly Ah Jin used it to get close to her.
The episode ends with In Gang telling Ah Jin his grandmother found the notebook, not realizing its significance. He has to catch a red eye, so he asks Ah Jin to check up on her. Ah Jin races to her apartment with Jae Oh and Jun Seo. She goes in alone, and before we know it she’s standing at the top of the stairs looking down at In Gang’s grandmother’s crumpled body.
Final Thoughts
Not granny! I really liked her, and the drama made it clear that Ah Jin liked her too. The ending is set up to make us wonder if Ah Jin pushed In Gang’s grandmother down the stairs to protect her secret, but I don’t buy it. It’s not Ah Jin’s MO. By now, we know it takes a lot for her to kill. She didn’t try and kill her mother despite the abuse, and she never even tried to kill Jun Seo’s mom despite his mom trying to kill her when she was a little girl and trying to ruin her life in the present. So I think Ah Jin and In Gang’s grandmother got into an argument, and granny accidentally fell down the stairs. That’s what makes the most sense.
But Jun Seo and Jae Oh are certainly going to wonder if Ah Jin did it. Which brings me to this mini rant: I feel deeply for Jun Seo. I want him to get away from Ah Jin, so he can heal his trauma. But his jealousy was hard to make excuses for this episode. Pressuring Ah Jin to break up with In Gang wasn’t out of concern for In Gang as a person or Ah Jin, who he claims to want the best for. He did it because he was starting to see her get comfortable in a life that didn’t include him. So he tried to use the film adaptation of his novel to pull Ah Jin back into his life and he allowed Re Na to tell In Gang they were step-siblings to drive a wedge between them. Of course, I don’t expect Jun Seo to be perfect and to never act unselfishly. Almost everyone in Dear X is morally gray with Ah Jin straight up being the villain of her own story (especially for what she did to Choi Jeong Ho). It was just a bummer to see Jun Seo become one of the road blocks he’s been protecting her from this entire time.
More Dear X Posts
- REVIEW: DEAR X EPISODE 6
- REVIEW: DEAR X EPISODE 5
- REVIEW: DEAR X EPISODE 4
- REVIEW: DEAR X EPISODE 3
- REVIEW: DEAR X EPISODE 1 & 2
- WELCOME TO KIMBAP AND K-DRAMAS! (AND DEAR X SUMMARY)
