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KBS2 Drama "Jugglers" Daniel Choi & Baek Jin-Hee. *~The END~*


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Have anyone watched today's episode? I really like this drama but at the same time it contains the things I hate the most - trauma and 2nd hand embarrassment because of the presentation in 7th episode. 

I hope it ends well because I can't bear to watch it wthplz.png

 

nahh not yet, but the ratings still topping lol

 

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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Jugglers" Episode 7

 

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Other characters are curiously oblivious to Chi-won's motives, even when he's explaining them pretty explicitly. Chi-won doesn't like it when people harass his secretary. Chi-won probably doesn't like it when any of his subordinates are harassed, really, yet Mr. Bong and Chang-soo both get extended sequences where they are confused as to why Chi-won is singling them out for rough treatment when all they did was make Yoon-i severely uncomfortable.

I think "Jugglers" might be going for a sexual harassment angle with these characters. Unfortunately it doesn't really work because Yoon-i's relationship with Mr. Bong and Chang-soo is fairly specifically defined by their backstories. There's little indication that Mr. Bong and Chang-soo act like this with women in general, and what hints we do get to that effect suffer from the whole show, don't tell effect that has undermined "Jugglers" a lot in general.

The Bo-yool / Jeong-ae storyline is still running strong, although that's a fairly relative statement. There's a funny moment where it seems like Bo-yool is goofing off and not doing his job at all, then we discover that actually he was doing his job all along. Like most of the exposition in "Jugglers", this would have worked much better several episodes ago. Really, that entire sequence would have been a much better explanation for how Jeong-ae became Bo-yool's secretary than just coasting in on Yoon-i's recommendation. Recall that Jeong-ae knows nothing about being a secretary, or sports.

We even see this highlighted at the Best Boss Awards. It turns out the event is structured like a talent show. Again, why "Jugglers" couldn't just explain this ahead of time was not clear to me. Anyway, Jeong-ae's attempt to help Bo-yool succeed at the Best Boss Awards, while sincere and sweet, is undermined by how comically low tech it is. This is especially true considering that the tech guys couldn't be bothered to aim the camera at her cards, but then they're not the most competent bunch, as we see.

Ugh, what a missed opportunity. We could have had actual build-up to sabotage. We could have had one-off jokes about how the tech guys find the content of the Best Boss Awards inscrutably boring, since it consists entirely of discussion about corporate leadership. Instead, a bunch of events just stumble into place to provide more clumsy exposition of Chi-won's backstory. Is it really this hard to just write a more naturalistic script?

 

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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Jugglers" Episode 8

 

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After his humiliation at the Best Boss Awards, Chi-won is understandably upset and not in the mood to talk to Yoon-i about information she should never have known about in the first place. Unfortunately Chi-won is so understandably upset I had a very hard time empathizing with Yoon-i's position. Chi-won is Yoon-i's boss. If he doesn't want to talk to her, that's it. As a professional I would expect Yoon-i to know better.

But then again there's the more obvious reason Yoon-i should know better. Yoon-i lost her last position because of fake news about a romantic relationship between her and Mr. Bong. Even granting that Mr. Bong is married, and Chi-won is not, I would expect Yoon-i to be cautious about this stuff in general. I'm sure I've discussed this before but that's such an obvious logical flaw in the whole premise I can't help but be reminded of it during more traditionally romantic moments.

Turning the drama into a straight romance also further undermines any commentary about sexual harassment when it comes to Mr. Bong and Chang-soo. Especially in the latter case- no one can actually say that Chang-soo should back off of Yoon-i because dating co-workers is verboten because everyone is probably going to be happy when Chi-won and Yoon-i get together publically. Whether that's in the next episode or the ending is hard to say because the timing in "Jugglers" is completely off kilter.

I still like Bo-yool and Jeong-ae at least. Really, Jo-yool is a lot of fun in general. Jo-yool is not as dumb as he looks, and I really like those moments of awareness Lee Won-geun gives where we can tell he's scheming about some minor new fact, we just don't know what the pay-off is yet. Whereas Bo-yool has this great vibe of eager friendliness that is always getting her in trouble. The worst of it is, Bo-yool is way too nice to actually tell anyone about it.

Bo-yool and Jeong-ae are much more well-drawn and intresting characters than the actual leads in this drama. At first blush better chemistry between the relevant actors is the main obvious explanation, although really, Yoon-i and Chi-won are just too generic for their own good is the real problem. With the Best Boss Awards out of the way neither of them has any motivation anymore, so all there's left to do is wait for the big kiss.

 

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COMMENTS

Well, just pardon me while I swoon forever. I just love Chi-won’s answer, that Yoon-yi is someone he wants to trust, because to him, trust is something he almost never gives away. More than happiness, or friendship, or even love, I find Chi-won’s declaration that he wants to trust Yoon-yi to be the most romantic and truthful thing he could say, because I have a feeling that he can count the people he trusts on one hand and still have fingers left over. To Chi-won, the most vulnerable thing he can do is to trust another person, and while he may not trust Yoon-yi yet, just wanting to is a huge step.

Which is why I’m scared to death that when he wakes up, he’s going to blame Yoon-yi for that disgusting personal attack in front of their entire company. It was hard enough for him to begin to trust her when he had no real reason not to, but if he thinks that she betrayed him, it could irreparably damage the tentative relationship that’s grown up between them.

 

What happened to Chi-won as a child is so much more tragic than we knew, with a car accident killing his parents and sister, then a fire taking the life of his uncle. No wonder he’s terrified to form any deep connections with people, having lost everyone he loved at such a young age and believing that somehow, he’s the bad luck that brought about their deaths.

 

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I often find backstories like Chi-won’s childhood trauma to be superfluous to the plot of a drama, or even worse, blatant grabs for sympathy towards an otherwise unsympathetic character. But it’s handled very well in this case, and it’s one of the things that rivets me the most and keeps Jugglers from being a standard workplace drama, because it’s about more than just office politics. In some ways Chi-won’s struggle reminds me of the struggles of the Suicide Squad from Radiant Office in that it gives the characters a humanity that we wouldn’t otherwise see in a drama about corporate machinations, and gives the audience a periodic reminder that people aren’t just what you see, but the sum of their experiences. Chi-won has one of the most severe cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that I’ve ever seen in a drama, which gives him a valid reason for his cold behavior, and lends him a sense of humanity and sympathy that we might not otherwise feel for his character. It’s hard to hold onto a negative opinion of someone when they’ve been through something so horrific that it scarred them for life, both literally and figuratively.

It’s obvious that Yoon-yi’s presentation was tampered with, and the natural assumption would be that it was Assistant Director Jo, but I have a couple pf differing theories. Assistant Director Jo is a nasty little man, but there’s very little personal malice in him — he’s the type to stir up trouble and manipulate people to get what he wants, but I don’t believe he would actually hurt someone. I think that it’s more in Director Bong’s nature to commit real harm, considering that he does so every day by cheating on his wife, and that he masterminded the cyber bullying of Yoon-yi that led to her losing her job. Considering that Chi-won issued a clear competitive threat to him, I think that it’s very plausible that it was Director Bong who set up Yoon-yi and Chi-won to fail.

Of course, there’s also the chance that it was really Bo-na, who has never seemed to like Yoon-yi and is taking her participation in the competition a bit too personally. Bo-na has been rude and dismissive of Yoon-yi from the beginning, and I’ve thought that she only hangs out with her and Kyung-rye out of habit rather than any real affection or loyalty. She seems very jealous of Yoon-yi’s increasingly positive relationship with Chi-won, and I can absolutely believe that Bo-na would compromise Yoon-yi’s presentation in a way that’s highly likely not only to lose the competition, but to ruin her professional and personal connection with Chi-won.

 

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Edited by FranCella
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  • Jugglers: Episode 9 Jugglers09-00586.jpg

 

I just love how horrifically awkward Chi-won and Yoon-yi are after their little encounter, because it just feels so familiar. Haven’t we all done something extremely ill-advised, then wondered how we’ll ever look that person in the face again? Considering that Chi-won and Yoon-yi still have to live and work together, it’s no wonder they’re doing everything they can to pretend that “it†never happened.

 

 

 

EPISODE 9: “They pretended they didn’tâ€

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After their unplanned kiss, the drive home is silent and awkward for Chi-won and Yoon-yi. They both end up in their own rooms wondering what on earth just happened and what they’re supposed to do now.

They wake in the morning still thinking about it, and when they start to leave at the same time, they both make excuses to go back inside. Chi-won sneaks out first, but only because Yoon-yi is peeking to make sure he’s gone. He has trouble with his bike, and rather than run into Yoon-yi again, he just picks the whole thing up and runs with it, hee.

 

===Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/01/jugglers-episode-9/

 

 

 

COMMENTS

Awww, so sweet, these two. I love Chi-won’s uninhibited smile there at the end, because it feels like it shows his feelings for Yoon-yi much more than an impulsive kiss ever could. Their relationship is based in friendship, and trust, and being there for each other, so when she chooses to see the new year in with him, it’s just another example of Yoon-yi making the conscious decision to be by his side.

I’ve talked before about how it says a lot about how much Chi-won trusts Yoon-yi to let her in like he’s doing, even slowly and reluctantly, but I think it’s also taking a lot of trust on Yoon-yi’s side. She’s only ever had one serious boyfriend that we know of, which seems to have ended pretty badly after Yoon-yi being taken advantage of for years. And she gave a lot of trust to her former boss, Director Bong, in that she compromised her own personal morals to help him cheat on his wife, even lying to his wife’s face, only to have him use her to further his own career. It must be difficult for Yoon-yi to trust Chi-won, both as a boss and as a man, enough to let him know she has feelings for him.

 

I thought that Chi-won’s answer as to why he and his ex-wife broke up was extremely interesting. He said that she gave too much, and that he felt bad when he couldn’t match it. I can understand that he felt inferior to his chaebol-daughter wife, and how that could sour a marriage, and why Do-hee would still want him back if she was the one who loved more. And it also makes sense now why Chi-won didn’t want an assistant to fawn over him and do everything for him, because it would make him feel the same way — like someone was doing more for him than he could reciprocate. Being a man who avoids personal entanglement as much as possible, it’s totally in character for him to run away from a relationship where he feels unequal. I hope that Yoon-yi was paying attention, because Chi-won revealed more about himself in that one conversation than he did answering a hundred personal questions.

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As far as the romance goes, I’m very much enjoying the fact that Chi-won is taking the reins in letting Yoon-yi know that he’s interested, since he’s the one who was always pushing her away before. I think that, between her moral stance of not getting involved with her boss and her previous accusation of having an affair, Yoon-yi would have never made any first moves in that direction even though she was feeling the same way. So when it comes to the growing romantic side of their relationship, Chi-won was going to have to step up or nothing was ever going to happen.

However, they still have a lot to think about — Chi-won is Yoon-yi’s boss, and that makes any personal relationship between them tricky at best, and grossly inappropriate at worst. Any time two people in a situation like this become involved, the power differential has the potential to become a serious problem. Yoon-yi’s rule about keeping bosses at arm’s length is an excellent one, because there are all sorts of problems with dating someone you work with, much less someone in a position of power over you.

But at least the show hasn’t conveniently forgotten that, and in fact seems to be giving that issue a lot of careful thought. So instead of seeing it as a plot hole or a moral failing that Chi-won and Yoon-yi are developing feelings for each other, I expect it to become a major plot point going forward. Since it seems that the whole point is how they will find a way to reconcile their personal feelings with their work relationship, I’m not letting it bother me, and I’m willing to sit back and see how the show handles things now that they’ve acknowledged their feelings for each other.

 

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Edited by FranCella
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COMMENTS

I found the title of today’s episode, “Is the past really powerless?†to be particularly meaningful considering the timing of events in Chi-won and Yoon-yi’s relationship. They’re so new and fragile, at that stage where the slightest misunderstanding could send everything crashing down around them. A person’s past strongly shapes who they are in the present, so you can’t really have a meaningful relationship with someone without taking their past into account. But when you’re Yoon-yi and you’ve just barely acknowledged your feelings for Chi-won, having his ex-wife pop up will naturally be more threatening than if she and Chi-won had been dating for a while and were more confident in where they stand.

Yoon-yi only knows what Chi-won has told her — that his marriage broke up because one of them loved more than the other. She doesn’t know which one loved the other more, and for all she knows it was Chi-won, and that he still has unresolved feelings for Do-hee.

 

I’m pretty sure that’s not the case, because it’s obvious that Do-hee is the one still hanging on, but Yoon-yi has no way of knowing that. I don’t necessarily agree with her asking Chi-won not to speak with his ex, because ultimatums rarely lead anywhere good, especially this early in a relationship. But Yoon-yi wasn’t demanding or possessive, she just calmly asked Chi-won to keep his promise and choose her over his ex today, and I can’t really blame her for wanting to him to show her that she comes first, now.

 

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I’m starting to think that Yul is onto Jung-ae and her lies about her age. He’s shown himself to be whip-smart and scarily observant, though he hides it behind his easygoing, affable nature, and I’d be more surprised if he wasn’t at least suspicious. But I wouldn’t put it past him to know the full truth already, because whenever he shows curiosity about the inconsistencies in Jung-ae’s story, he seems to accept her flimsy explanations much too easily. I may be reading too much into it, but I think Yul already knows. As much as trust and loyalty mean to him, I think that he’s just waiting to see when (or if) she’ll trust him enough to tell him the truth.

But as intelligent and insightful as he is, in a lot of ways Yul is still that lonely little boy without a mother. Not gonna lie, I was sobbing right along with him as he cried for his mom. I feel so bad for him, because he doesn’t really remember his mother, and what’s worse, he doesn’t even know what she looked like. He can’t truly mourn someone he’s never known, and I believe that what he truly mourns is the fact that he never had a chance to know her. It’s heartbreaking to see him cry over something he’ll never have, especially knowing that nobody in his life takes him seriously or treats him with respect for who he is, and not just because of his name. It’s why I’m so glad Yul has Jung-ae now, because what he needs most is someone who takes care of him and genuinely cares about him, and supports him no matter what.

We’re seeing a lot of character growth lately, particularly with Chi-won. I really appreciate that, while Chi-won and Yoon-yi’s relationship is definitely a contributing factor, it’s not the reason they’re changing into better people. Of course they’re having a positive effect on each other, but neither of them is changing because they think it’s what the other person wants. They simply see the example the other is setting in certain situations, and it makes them think about how they are and whether they want to be better. Yoon-yi is learning to be more careful in how she interacts with others, as she’s learning that her good intentions aren’t always seem that way by others, and in fact can be unintentionally hurtful. And Chi-won isn’t becoming more outgoing because Yoon-yi wants him to, but because watching her has shown him that being social and forming connections with people isn’t intrusive, but a way of caring for others.

 

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  • Jugglers: Episode 16 (Final)Jugglers16-00438.jpg

 

The finale of Jugglers delivers everything I’ve been hoping for—romance, the realization of dreams, and more cuteness than you can shake a raccoon at. But before we get to the fun stuff, there’s still some work to be done, and it isn’t going to be easy to take down someone who’s dedicated himself to destroying Chi-won. It’s going to take a lot of work to bring down Executive Director Jo and restore proper order to the company, but luckily Chi-won and Yoon-yi have a lot of friends willing to help.

 

EPISODE 16: “Whatever it is we want, we will get itâ€

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After getting rid of Director Bong, Yoon-yi wears her shoes from Chi-won to work, and she packs up her desk anticipating her return to the video department. But a familiar cackle echoes down the hall, and Executive Director Jo shows up to announce that he’s now in charge of the company restructuring team. Oh nooo. He informs Yoon-yi that she’s been transferred to the customer service department of YB’s department store.

He moves into Director Bong’s old office, but Chi-won soon shows up to tell him not to get too comfortable. He admits that he’s angry about Yoon-yi’s transfer, and reminds Executive Director Jo that he repays exactly what he gets. He leaves after telling Executive Director Jo that he brought him a gift, which turns out to be a huge bouquet of taffy, a clear insult in this situation. PFFT.

 

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Downstairs in the lobby, Chi-won spots a distressed-looking Yoon-yi sitting with Kyung-rye and heads over to talk to her. He joins her, letting Yoon-yi vent about being sent to work customer service. She feels like Executive Director Jo is subliminally telling her to quit, but Chi-won repeats his promise to bring her back to his department as soon as possible. Yoon-yi asks him to take her box of belongings to her desk since she’ll be back soon anyway, freely admitting that she’s pressuring him to bring her back as soon as possible.

Upstairs, Hwangbo Minion announces that all business related to Yul’s e-sports plan are to be halted immediately. His men begin confiscating the team’s work, and Yul yanks him into his office and demands to know what he wants. Hwangbo Minion tells him to give up on his e-sports business and make Jung-ae leave the company.

Jung-ae quickly offers to leave if it means Yul could continue working on his e-sports idea, but Yul refuses to give up either. He tells Hwangbo Minion to inform the family elders that he wants his share of the company immediately, and that he’ll do whatever he wants with the money.

 

===Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2018/01/jugglers-episode-16-final/

 

 

COMMENTS

What a great finale! I’m completely satisfied with how everything ended — it’s a little on the fluffy side, but the show always leaned towards fluffy in general, so I found the conclusion completely fitting. And despite being a bit more optimistic than realistic, Jugglers stayed strong from beginning to end, never dropping its sweet tone or making me feel like it forgot the story it was here to tell.

I said in an earlier recap that it feels as though the show was made with a lot of love, from the actors down to the humblest intern, and I could really sense that love in this final episode. Everything was addressed — if anything was forgotten as Chi-won and Yoon-yi’s story concludes, I can’t think of it, and we even got a lovely kiss-and-more scene! I particularly love that Chi-won even conquered his fear of fire when called on to protect Yoon-yi, and that he didn’t forget to talk to her mother and reassure her that he’s not going anywhere.

 

I also loved how Yul and Jung-ae’s story was wrapped up, with him starting his own business doing what he loves and her flourishing in her capability as his partner. They even mentioned that she’s taking classes, and it’s nice to see her continuing to improve herself. I’m happy that she and Yul are still working together and supporting each other, and I have no doubt that they’ll succeed at whatever they do.

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My favorite thing about Chi-won and Yoon-yi as a couple has consistently been that, no matter what happens to them and no matter what anyone says, they never let anything separate them. And there was no big drama to their relationship either — once they realized they cared for each other, that was it, they were together. They didn’t allow company politics, personal struggles, or meddling family members have a say in their relationship, or get under their skin and make them doubt each other. Each obstacle only made them stronger in this lovely, grounding way rather than through fireworks and hysterical behavior. They just loved each other, and quietly let everyone and everything deal with it if they didn’t like it.

It was great to see how they inspired each other to be better, too. Chi-won had the most progress to make, and I was honestly shocked when we saw flashbacks on him when he first met Yoon-yi, and how cold and cruel he could be. She taught him that people can be interested in him without being intrusive, and that in turn, he could be interested in others without threatening his own privacy. It was such a change to see him show compassion to Gye-young and even get her on their side, which is totally something Yoon-yi would have done. And in turn, Yoon-yi learned from Chi-won how to stand up for herself, and that being a good friend and employee doesn’t mean she has to be a doormat and compromise her own principles.

Jugglers didn’t offer anything new or innovative as it told its story, but what it did do, it did with so much love and cuteness that I couldn’t help loving the show right back. It reminded me a lot of Radiant Office, but even softer and more heartwarming. The characters were sweet and endearing, the situations were simple yet still managed to make me care, and even the villains, while mean, never really had a chance at winning. I never had to worry too much that everyone would get their happily ever after, and for once I liked it that way. With many dramas, these things would be a mark against them, but somehow Jugglers never felt flat, boring, or too predictable. I’m going away from the show feeling all warm inside, like I just had a cup of hot cocoa made by someone who loves me.

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Edited by FranCella
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  • love changed the title to KBS2 Drama "Jugglers" Daniel Choi & Baek Jin-Hee. *~The END~*

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