This episode starts with back-to-back heartbreaks, and doesn’t let up for a second! We see the fallout from the big lie, Ji-pyeong makes a surprising confession, and the man who got into Sandbox for revenge is revealed.
Hold on tight, guys. This plunging drop of a climax isn’t over yet.
Heartbreak #1: Ji-pyeong tells Dal-mi why him and Won-deok wrote the letters, and how they chose Do-san’s name.
This scene feels like ripping off a band-aid, but I’m relieved everything’s out in the open now. No more lies.
Heartbreak #2: Do-san apologizes to Dal-mi.
He meets up with her, crouches down, and starts bawling his eyes out. It’s painful to watch, but I can’t blame Dal-mi for not accepting his apology right away. He helped Won-deok and Ji-pyeong carry on a fifteen year lie, so how can she trust his feelings are real?
In-jae meets with the employee leading the Huan Engineering and Construction protests, and it turns out to be Do-san’s dad!
What a hilarious twist of fate. It looks like Do-san isn’t the only one in the family hiding things. (V – This scene was so funny)
Years ago, a CEO who’d gotten into Sandbox killed himself and now his younger brother’s come to exact revenge.
So that’s who the dude in the black hoodie from a few episodes back is! I’m glad Director Yoon knows he’s lurking. She mentions the CEO killed himself because he couldn’t handle the stress of Demo Day, and it makes me worry about Dal-mi. She’s under enough stress as it is.
Alex offers Do-san a job at the 2STO headquarters in Silicone Valley.
Do-san declines, and when Alex asks him if he has no dreams or ambition, he poses these questions: “Does my dream have to be success? Can’t it be a person?”
I’m guessing that person is Dal-mi. Has she essentially become his new dream?
Ji-pyeong confesses his feelings to Dal-mi over a bowl of noodles!!!
And he drops this truth bomb so casually, I’m every bit as taken aback as Dal-mi! Right after, he starts slurping his noodles, and…I’m charmed. The older I get, the more I find myself swooning over these simple, genuine confessions instead of the dramatic ones.
But I have to stay strong. I told myself I wouldn’t hop back on the Dal-pyeong (Dal-mi + Ji-pyeong) ship.
Ji-pyeong tells Do-san he confessed to Dal-mi.
At this point in the game, transparency is key, so I’m glad Ji-pyeong gave his “little brother” a heads up.
As Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games would say, “May the odds be ever in your favor…”
Dal-mi vents to a stranger (AKA veteran actress Lee Bo-young) about losing confidence and not being able to trust herself anymore.
Man, the letters and lies really did a number on her. She’s not the same optimistic, confident girl from episode one, and that devastates me.
Do-san (who actually snuck into the restaurant after her) overhears everything. He ends up piggy-backing a drunk Dal-mi home. On the way, he asks how he can help her regain her confidence, and she reveals him going back to being the gallant man she met at In-jae’s networking party would help.
Do-san finds out from In-jae that his dad is leading the Huan Engineering and Construction protests.
So Do-san confronts his dad and encourages him to continue protesting. He tells him that it won’t embarrass Samsan Tech as a Sandbox start-up company. From now on, Do-san wants to just be father and son, not each other’s pride and joy.
What a perfect way to put it!
Ah-hyun chooses not to go back home with Chairman Won and Won-deok comes to the rescue when he tries to force her.
Yay! I was hoping Ah-hyun would become independent and reconcile things with her ex-mother-in-law. With the way things are going, Ah-hyun will end up working at the food truck and that’ll allow room for her relationship with Dal-mi to heal. (V – Ah-hyun in 2020 is just so adorable. I want to hate her but I can’t.)
DEMO DAY
Ji-pyeong once again reassures Yong-san and Chul-san he’ll be Dal-mi’s Plan B and invest in Samsan Tech if she bombs the Demo Day pitch.
This is a sweet gesture, but not one Dal-mi or Do-san would want.
Dal-mi overhears people asking In-jae if she’s the little girl on the swings, and confronts her.
I’m disappointed in In-jae for not really being sorry about stealing Dal-mi’s memory. I guess she’s going to be stubborn until the very end. But I’m happy Do-san showed up to help Dal-mi put her older sister in her place.
Do-san asks Dal-mi if she can accept the real him, and assures her Samsam Tech wouldn’t have made it this far without her.
That’s true, so I hope she believes it! I also hope Dal-mi will eventually show Do-san that he deserves love even though he’s not the man she met at In-jae’s networking party. He wears hoodies instead of fancy suits, and he doesn’t care about playing go-stop on his birthday.
Heartbreak #3: YONG-SAN IS THE YOUNGER BROTHER OF THE CEO WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE!!!
I. CANNOT. BELIEVE. THIS.
My innocent baby Yong-san is at Sandbox for revenge?! He’s the mysterious man in the black hoodie??? I thought this storyline was going to introduce a new character or at least make someone like Shin Hyeon (the boy hacker twin) the Sandbox trojan. I’m shocked it’s a beloved member of Samsan Tech. (V – Me toooooo!)
Also, I thought it involved Director Yoon since she was the one who kept having flashbacks about it, not Ji-pyeong! This is another amazing misdirect by the drama’s screenwriter, and my mind is blown.
Do-san finds Alex and tells him he wants to take the job at 2STO.
Nooo! He can’t leave Dal-mi and the gang. Not now! I’m wondering if he’ll convince Alex to let him work from Korea. Or go to Silicone Valley, work for a few years, and comeback to Samsan Tech.
Should we expect a time jump??? (V – It’s a Kdrama, chances are high. 😜)
At this point, I can’t predict what’s going to happen next. I just hope Yong-san doesn’t do anything that’ll get him kicked out of Sandbox. Or arrested. I’m really interested in seeing what went down with his older brother even though I know it’ll be heartbreaking.
It’s a good thing tomorrow’s Saturday!