Cold Blooded Intern – K-drama Episode 1 Recap & Review

Episode 1

In episode 1 of Cold Blooded Intern, our protagonist, Go Hae-ra, is introduced in the grand opening sequence. She climbs onto the roof of a skyscraper and points her weapon at her coworkers in the office building across from her.

Following that, we find out that she’s spent the previous seven years staying home with her daughter and has grown eager to return to the job she had left with such excitement. A brief montage of her experiences as Soo-pyo’s partner and Yi-young’s mother reveals her desire to return to creating a life for herself.

She is seen struggling to pass even first-round interviews, which is to be expected for a woman in her 40s who is entering the workforce after a protracted absence. Gong Soo-pyo, her allegedly unfaithful and unsupportive partner, is very doubtful that she will be successful. She is even more motivated to succeed as a consequence of this.

Failures and uneasy interviews begin to accumulate, but eventually, one interview stands out. Hae-ra is shocked to see the general manager of the company, Choi Ji-won, on the panel conducting the interview. It turns out that these two used to work together and had similar professional paths.

Ji-won asks the two people being interviewed if they would comply with any requests made by their supervisor, implying that doing so would be against the law. The teenager replies “No”, but Hae-ra responds “Yes”, declaring that she will carry out her boss’ orders. This must have been what Ji-won was hoping to hear, as she goes on to pitch Hae-ra an opportunity as an intern on her team. Though our protagonist’s ego takes a hit from this, she ultimately comes to terms with it.

Hae-ra is pleased to be drinking instant coffee when she gets to work. In contrast, Ji-won, a highly regarded female employee in a hostile workplace, comes across as a much more capable worker than her dishonest boss.

Soon after, Hae-ra instantly plays up to both of her female teammates because she is desperate to succeed as an intern. Once she discovers that they are both new mothers, she knows she can use this to her advantage by turning them into allies.

As the episode comes to a close, we find out why Ji-won picked Hae-ra to be her intern. She expresses her desire for Hae-ra to take action. The two women Hae-ra was hoping to get to know are both going to take maternity leave soon.

Ji-won informs Hae-ra that it is her responsibility as an intern to convince the two women to quit rather than take time off. If she is unable to do that, arrange for their firing from the organization. In the event that she succeeds, Hae-ra promises to reclaim her managerial position.

The Episode Review

The first episode of the K-drama features an intriguing blend of office-related plotting, humor, and playfulness. Even though the balance isn’t perfect, Cold Blooded Intern seems to know exactly what it’s doing by the time the episode is over.

Our protagonist is struggling with a moral conundrum despite her desperation to achieve success yet again. Interestingly, Ji-won, our anti-heroine, only recognizes the cost that businesses incur when they cover the leave of their employees.

It’s one thing to engage in a brutal argument between two professional women, but quite another when working mothers are pitted against each other for personal gain. It’ll be interesting to see the way things develop moving forward.