Itaewon Class – K-Drama Episode 4 Recap & Review

The Love Triangle

Itaewon Class returns for another solid episode, one that solidifies the growing love triangle that the show appeared to be steering away from last time out. With Yi-Seo falling for Sae-Ro-Yi and Soo-A starting to feel torn between her commitment to work and that of her old friendship, things look set to become very interesting indeed as this episode serves as a building foundation for our characters.

Episode 4 of Itaewon Class sees us cut back 8 years to see a new boy join Sae-Ro-Yi’s prison cell – Seung-Kwon. During Sae-Ro-Yi’s time inside, he reads the Chairman’s book and rejects Seung-Kwon’s outlook on life, telling him he won’t give up on his way of thinking. After beating Sae-Ro-Yi to the ground, guards grab Seung-Kwon as our protagonist picks himself back up and promises to work his way to the top.

We then cut back to the near-present as Sae-Ro-Yi is approached by Seung-Kwon, who heads up to DanBam and greets him. This is what gets us back up to scratch as we see him lamenting his choices following the incident that occurred last episode with the boiling soup and the police. Meanwhile, the Chairman learns Sae-Ro-Yi has opened a bar in Itaewon and although he acts indifferent about this, you can’t help but feel a little part of him may feel a twinge of concern. He doesn’t show this though and instead asks Mr Kim how Geun-Soo is, as we cut and see him working in a restaurant.

We then jump forward to New Years in 2016 as we see Yi-Seo and her two friends out drinking while Geun-Soo texts her to make sure she’s okay. It’s here we see she’s bored and seemingly unable to get Sae-Ro-Yi off her mind. As she leaves the bar, warning one of the boys against what they intend to do, Yi-Seo is struck in the face by one of the men after she refuses to drink with him. In disgust, she throws money at his face before throwing him over her shoulder and leaving him lying on his back.

Running along the street, the boy chases after her as she hides in the toilets. Only, as she runs in she bumps into Sae-Ro-Yi who happens to be in there at the same time. Eventually she swallows her pride and asks for his help. He grabs Yi-Seo and charges down Itaewon with Soo-A away from the boy after beating him up in the toilets. Once safe, Soo-A seems to know who she is but remains poker-faced while Yi-Seo invites Sae-Ro-Yi out for coffee, telling him she can help promote his business. Unfortunately things become very awkward when he accepts and Soo-A tags along too.

While Sae-Ro-Yi heads off to get the coffee from the bar, the two girls talk and it’s here Yi-Seo clocks on to what she’s saying and figures out she’s been scheming all this time – and the one who phoned the police. When Sae-Ro-Yi returns to the table, Soo-A admits it was her who phoned the police and got him in trouble. He tells her he’s disappointed, prompting her to get up and leave. As she heads back to her apartment, she thinks back to her time with Sae-Ro-Yi from years earlier while Yi-Seo and Sae-Ro-Yi head out for drinks.

It’s here they discuss the pub and the changes needed to be made to make things suitable for Itaewon. After drinking more together, Sae-Ro-Yi decides to stop and collapses on the floor drunk. Yi-Seo starts to fall for him and while he’s passed out on the floor, she leans forward and kisses him.

When Sae-Ro-Yi awakens, he finds himself in the hospital while Yi-Seo talks to her Mum back home about love and marriage. With her mind made up over what to do, she heads back to Itaewon and rushes to DanBam, where she comes face to face with Sae-Ro-Yi again and tells him outright she wants to be with him. As she rephrases her statement, she tells him she wants to work with him and help achieve his dreams, promising herself that she’ll turn him into someone amazing.

With more foundation setting and the character desires clear and fleshed out, the long-con game appears to be following as we’ll inevitably slow down and see DanBam grow into a profitable business venture over the weeks. Whether this will translate into patience from fans and more importantly prevent this one from falling into mediocrity remains to be seen but there’s certainly potential here for a good revenge thriller.

For now though, we’ll have to wait another week to find out what’s in store for us but the preview for next week certainly promises more character drama to come.

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