There are too many characters in this drama and not enough time for all of them, so in episode 5 of Heirs/The Inheritors all of that filler material involving less important (and meaningful) story lines really begins to bog down the narrative. As previews indicated and everyone wished for, the main cast finally got back to being high school students at Empire High, but that didn’t happen until the last 10 minutes of episode 5. Almost everything before that was filler, I don’t need more Tan and Eun Sang hide and seek, another Eun Sang and Rachel confrontation doesn’t help develop either of their characters more or resolve their mutual antipathy, and frankly all Bo Na does is hang around Chan Young or worry that her previous junior high relationship with Tan will get revealed. The adult scenes are even more painful, and I want Esther and Dong Wook (Rachel and Young Do’s respective parents) to fall into a ditch somewhere and never show up again. Other than Tan and Eun Sang, this episode was a major snoozefest, all the more surprising because I expected this episode to really amp up the pace and tension. My affection for Tan’s character and the times he gets to act like a teenage boy around Eun Sang keeps me watching along, but when most of the supporting characters and their stories doesn’t connect with me, then the watch becomes a stone skipping exercise in picking out the nuggets of goodness and forwarding through the weeds. I hope the ending of episode 5 isn’t a fake out and for realz this time everyone is back in that richie rich of a school and we can finally get down to business of seeing Tan and Young Do resolve their past conflict, Eun Sang holding her own, and the OTP getting in some quality school yard romance cute scenes.
Tan sees Eun Sang drinking water in the kitchen and makes all the connections about why she lives here but not going in to see her. Afterwards he goes to his room upset at the reality that Eun Sang is the housekeeper’s daughter and lives at the same house. After Eun Sang leaves for school the next day, he goes to her small maid’s room and sees how she lives with her mom. Tan later asks his mom where hyung went and Ki Ae lies that Won went on a business trip. These people, just tell him hyung refuses to come home if he’s in the house, like a petulant 6 year old. Tan goes to see legal wife Ji Sook who works at Empire Group. She’s the one who tells Tan that Won left the house because of him, so in reality Tan coming back really did kick his brother out.
Won meets with Hyun Joo and she keeps up her distance and reserve with him. He bought her a wishbone necklace in the US and wants her to have it but she declines, refusing to keep accepting charity from his family. Now that she’s graduated school and working, she’s taking care of herself. He gets her to take the necklace as a gift by threatening to throw it away. Won gets up and puts it on Hyun Joo personally. Won goes back to his hotel and hears Tan is waiting for him in the room (with Chairman Daddy’s consent) and Won leaves the hotel rather than see Tan. Won is so annoying, ugh. Tan waits and waits for the hyung who never arrives.
Tan has dinner with his mom and asks about Eun Sang, finding out that her mom has worked as the housekeeper for the past 3 years and only recently did they move in due to circumstances. When Ki Ae asks Eun Sang to grab a bottle of wine, Tan books it rather than be revealed. Later he turns on all the lights (and fountain) in the yard for Eun Sang as she was walking in the dark with her cell phone as a light. Secretary Yoon is having mopey drinks (flashbacks involving Esther) when Won joins him. They make wry jokes about Won avoiding Tan, and then Esther and Dong Wook arrive hand in hand. Those two are nasty and cold together. They greet Won, who introduces Secretary Yoon, who Dong Wook immediately sizes up as inferior to him and dismisses. They four sit down for drinks. Secretary Yoon excuses himself and shortly Esther follows, They talk elsewhere and sudden Secretary Yoon swoops in for a totally random kiss, which Esther reciprocates. Ooookay.
Eun Sang is at school and mention of the US gets her deep in thought again. After class, all the kids are gathered outside and Eun Sang walks up to see Tan standing there outside his fancy car waiting for her. His outfits keep getting more bizarre, this one a flower print sweatshirt. He teases Eun Sang about her healthy kidneys and then claims he’s here to ask for Chan Young’s number. All of Eun Sang’s classmates are tittering over hot Tan. Eun Sang says Chan Young has a girlfriend, Tan’s ex Lee Bo Na, so Tan needs to give up. Eun Sang walks off to her part time job, leaving Tan calling for her to stop. At the cafe, Eun Sang gets a call from Chan Young to check her SNS and on her page Tan has posted his selca with the caption “Kim Tan is handsome”. Ha, okay, that is way cute but a total invasion of privacy. Eun Sang sees Tan in the same cafe and has no choice but to give him Chan Young’s number. All Tan does is call Chan Young for Eun Sang’s number. He doesn’t get it so pretty much works his Tan persuasion and ultimately gets it from Eun Sang by saying might be a reason he needs to contact her in Korea. She asks how long he’s back and wants to treat him to a meal. Tan says she needs to keep him here then and walks away, telling her that he’ll call later but he needs to go see someone now.
Secretary Yoon and Tan go grocery shopping and Tan apologizes for always getting Secretary Yoon stuck between Tan and a Won hard place. Tan likes his hyung but doesn’t know what to do to solve their impasse. Secretary Yoon says its not his fault, and teases that it’s really Chairman Daddy’s fault. Tan is envious Chan Young has Secretary Yoon for a dad, but Secretary Yoon says Chan Young will envy Tan having a Chairman for a father. Back at the house of dysfunction, Chairman Daddy gets an envelope with pictures of Won meeting with Hyun Joo as well as Tan meeting with Eun Sang. Ewwww, he’s spying on his kids? The Chairman hears Eun Sang did not approach Tan purposefully and didn’t know who he was, they met by chance in the US. The Chairman takes in that his two sons like poor girls and jokes in a benign tone that it’s an embarrassment to him. Eun Sang’s mom sees that she’s fallen asleep and cries to read that Eun Sang has no college dreams and only wants to find a job after graduating.
Tan runs into Myung Soo outside the house, and then has to quickly hide when Eun Sang comes out. She sees him and drags him away before the second son of the house walks out. She tries to explain why she lives in that house but Tan isn’t curious about that, instead Tan asks about his meal and when it’s going to happen. Eun Sang says he was supposed to call. Tan is pleased that Eun Sang was waiting for his call and she quickly leaves for school in embarrassment. Myung Soo goes to school and photo bombs Bo Na with the news that Tan is back, which Chan Young also hears. Bo Na quickly leaves, with Chan Young smiling after her insistence that she doesn’t know Kim Tan. Bo Na goes to confront Rachel in her golf class at school about Tan coming back, which Rachel didn’t know but pretends she does. Bo Na warns her that Tan better not come between her and Chan Young. Young Do also goes to ask Rachel if Tan is back and guesses Rachel didn’t know either. She counters that he’s just worried about losing his high school head of the hierarchy. Rachel calls Tan and then he calls back to inform her that he’s back in Korea and then hangs up, leaving Rachel to save face in front of Young Do. He tells Rachel to ask Tan if his mom is well lately?
The Chairman speaks with Eun Sang’s mother and offers to send Eun Sang to Empire High as a scholarship student. Ki Ae objects but to no avail. Eun Sang’s mom gratefully accepts and Eun Sang is told by her school she’s been transferred. Eun Sang doesn’t want to go and live off charity but her mom says this is a great chance to get a good job after she graduates with the credentials. The Chairman speaks with Eun Sang and tells her to aspire to more, and convinces her by saying Empire High provides students study abroad opportunities. Eun Sang agrees to go. Young Do and Rachel have another uncomfortable dinner with their parents, and can we cut off all their scenes? Young Do continues to be an ass to Esther and gets himself and Rachel excused from the dinner. He takes her to buy a new school uniform as thanks and runs into Eun Sang outside. Turns out those uniforms are a thousand bucks a pop. Rachel finds out Eun Sang knew Tan was back but Eun Sang doesn’t back down, instead taking Rachel’s name tag and tells Rachel to call her to get it back.
Eun Sang walks away and Young Do chases after her, impressed and pleased that there is someone else who can piss Rachel off that quickly. He asks her relationship with Tan but Eun Sang’s doesn’t answer. Young Do’s threats don’t work on her, and he’s actually impressed and thinks they are on the same side. He wants her number but doesn’t get it, so he plans to get it from Rachel. Eun Sang goes to see Chan Young the next day and reveals she’s transferring to Empire High. He’s not happy about it but welcomes her. Back at home, Tan is down in the wine cellar looking through his old boxes of stuff and ducks when Eun Sang comes down. She is on the phone with Chan Young about having paid him all back, which for her is the end of her US trip dream. Chan Young suggests she could visit again but Eun Sang realizes the US is too great a distance for girl who lives in the servant quarters. Tan hears all of this.
After Eun Sang walks up to the garden, suddenly all the lights turn on again and Tan calls her to reveal himself. He tells her to look up and she sees the dreamcatcher in his window and then he appears before her. Eun Sang asks tearfully if he’s the second son, if he knew she lived here, if he knew she lived in the servant quarters? Tan just murmurs a yes to each question. Eun Sang turns and leaves so Tan can only wonder out loud if he missed Cha Eun Sang? Tan goes back to his room and Ki Ae hands him a school uniform and tells him to study hard because Eun Sang is transferring to Empire High soon and she always tests in the top-5 of her old high school.
Eun Sang arrives at Empire High wearing casual clothes and marvels at the rich kids getting out of their chauffeured cars, talking about the stock market, speaking in laughable English about their new cars. Rachel spots Eun Sang and goes over at the same time Bo Na walks up. They are both stunned to hear she’s transferring to Empire High. Myung Soo comes and introduces himself with a smile. Suddenly all the students rush outside saying “he’s back” and “from the US”. Bo Na and Rachel walk out to see Tan standing at the front door and a crowd of students already gathered around him. Tan greets both girls sarcastically, and then asks Chan Young if he’s attends this school as an employee benefit. Hyo Shin sees them from the rooftop and grins that Lucifer has arrived to make Satan’s schoolyard a more interesting place. Young Do saunters up and everyone parts to let him through. He and Tan have a stare down and then greet each other with all this underlying tension. Tan tells Young Do to relax, he’s not going to do anything to him right away. Young Do laughs and says Tan is going to scare all the other kids. Eun Sang is texting Chan Young that she’s here when she unwittingly walks into the middle of the face off between Tan and Young Do. She looks up between the two boys and looks very anxious.
Wasn’t Tan study in college level in the US?
I was thinking the same. Why did he downgrade in school years when Koreans are usually 1-2 years older than their birth year. He should have also been in high school in the US.
I don’t think he wants anyone to know he was going to college in the US. Anyway he was only auditing the classes, I don’t think he was enrolled. He was supposed to be playing over there, not studying.
it’s not impossible. it looks like he went to ESL type of classes. they were studying about ‘words’ and composition. It’s pretty normal for ESL classes to be taught at University classrooms.
Sometimes instead of AP classes, upperclassmen in American HS take college classes at local university. This option was available at both the HS I attended.
PSEO
Thanks for the quick recap.
I agree with you that this drama has too many characters but somehow it is not bothering me that much, yet.
With the new broadcasting regulation of max. 60 minutes per episode, i hope the unnecessary scenes(like family scenes with YD,Rachel and their parents Or Bona’s scenes) will be cut down.
second that…!!!
Thank you for this fast recap, Koala!!
As much as I look forward to watching the interaction develop between Kim Tan and Cha Eun Sang, with some Chan Young on the side, I’ve grown weary of all the dragged out scenarios featuring the rest of those dysfunctional characters. For me, too much episodic time has been invested in trying to get us to feel something for that unsympathetic lot,there’s just too many of them. I don’t mind Young Do and Won for the conflicts to be resolved, but c’mon, it’s not a good sign when I’m compelled to fast forward through the rest of those extraneous filler scenes.
In a way I don’t agree with Ms Koala that it’s going too slow of a pace. I find that it’s good that they’re taking their time to develop the main characters and also it makes sense to show how and why Eun Sang would go to the same school as the riches. I think it’s a build up to the main storyline. Fingers crossed that Episode 6 will be going forward a bit. Still enjoying the drama very much.
I feel like I’m watching game of thrones theres so many characters ha! It would have been better to slowly introduce them rather then introducing them all at once in the first episodes but I’m hoping episode 6 is where it will really get started now that everythings moved into place, fingers crossed I need some good drama Eun Sang!!!!!
I agree ES+KT development is a bit slow but at least it makes sense which is more than I can say for some other kdramas.
Also, I really, really don’t like the Empire High uniform. ES looked waaaaaay better in her normal school uniform.
I’m soooo gonna watch this Ep when I get back home from school.
what’s up with his clothes.. lol.. from looking cool and young in t-shirt in US.. now it’s flowery sweater?? maybe his Mom bought his clothes in Korea.. ya.. let’s think that way.
LOL yeah, I was thinking the same. Does he think he’s Kim Joo Won of Secret Garden when he’s back in Korea?
no offense but his sweater is kind of hideous… LOL.. they seriously need a major overhaul in fashion dept.
I totally agree. When I saw it, my first thought was, “looks like upholstery from grandma’s couch”.
LOL 🙂
Fall fashion in Korea 😉
Is it just me or does the actress who plays Hyun Joo look more like PSH? I think she would have made a more convincing sister, looks wise.
I agree, plus hair and make-up are styling the two actresses similarly.
Maybe it is supposed to be the poor girl look?
Not only are the styled the same, but they look the same age. I keep thinking she’s one of the high school kids.
Her story line is also similar to Eun Sang in that, she was supported by the Kim family. Big brother Won is attracted to Hyun Joo and Tan with Eun Sang. Maybe she will be sympathetic to Eun Sang down the line; furthermore, she might be a catalyst in bringing Won to Tan’s side.
I thought I was teh only one who moticed that. I they’re more alike when they’re acting, same facial expressions esp their eyes. They would really pass as sisters.
sorry too many typos… haha… multitasking
Was hoping this episode would get me hooked after watching the trailer a couple of days back but still it doesn’t. I don’t connect and I don’t feel any narrative. We are in episode 5 for cheesesake, show move it up.
generally speaking it’s like we are still at the introductory pace, the setting of the mood which by all means and account would have been acceptable had it not been ep5. I’m still in for Tan and Eunsang, and I still adore Chanyong and dad, and definitely curious with Kim Won, but everyone else can just disappear as far as I am concerned. The fillers is starting to bug me, definite mood killer. they need to cut down the parents scene except ChanYoung dad’s which is definitely an interesting character on his own. We don’t need to know that Tan inherited his stalker tendency from Dad, nor need to know that mom is a ball of nothing, or YoungDo and Rachel’s parents is in the business of business marriage.
another beef I have with heir is that there are so many scenes, NO narrative, yes we get it. Tan is a exiled prince who loves hyung, wary of dad, tolerant of birth mom, polite to official mom, assbutt returning king in school, disinterested fiancee, jerk boyfriend, school bully and Stalker to ES. I think Ep1 and 2 has already covered that, why do we need to go to all that again?
I love you Lee Min Ho, and you are doing good as Tan but really, its really starting to bug me.
I love Kim Eun Sook, But really? come on, I really love love love You. But really. this slow? you still have the fast talking but the pace is lagging a few years behind. Let’s get a move on please.
Anyway we are at school so I guess, since almost all characters are in one place we can cover everyone now?
EP 6, I am really putting all my hope in you now.
I am still watching though. The pace of this episode was too slow for me,
I only watched scenes of the OTP, and the one Hyun Joo/Won scene.
Am I the only person that wants more scenes of Hyun Joo and Won? At least Won is nice around her, and not being a total **s like when he’s with Tan.
I really did feel ES’s utter embarrassment of poorness when she realized how much Tan knew. And Tan answers all her questions knowing the ocean that separated them when he was in the US is small compared to that of their economic stations in SK.
Why don’t they ditch everyone and go live in t-shirts in Malibu?
As the students were appearing in the halls at Empire High, I was calculating how much all the uniforms were worth.
Tan’s clothes? What? They are trying to make him a sleeker Jun-pyo, but still it is clothes even someone like LMH shouldn’t wear. Did you see that slippery shiny sweatshirt? Hand-stitched like
Joo Won’s track suitsthe EH uniforms?LOL on the track suits. KES continues to plug her other characters in this drama (Isn’t she known for that?). I kept on thinking what in the world did they put on LMH? He dressed fine in Cali, he even put on a great suit but when he arrived in SK they had him dressing up like Joo Won printed sweaters and shiny tracks.
PSH is not the best actress but I like that scene when Tan finally revealed who he is. Her confusion to her understanding to her devastation was acted just right. I love that scene in that its somehow equivalent when Tan realized who she really is and how different their station in life are, but hers was multiples a few times higher in mind.
I mean, it would have been a little better had her mom worked as a maid but not under Tan’s family but the sad and cruel truth is now that they are back at Seoul, the time she spent with TAN is really like a midsummer nights dream. But now under his family that might give them sustenance with life yet still baldly and in your face push them to the bottom of the economic ladder, its really worst case scenario ever. Like a dream turned to nightmare.
Regarding Tan’s clothes, let’s hope its just jet lag that muddled his brain. Cause I agree what happened to the clothes he was wearing in Cali, was it somehow deported back? I don’t care if they are importedly hand stitched from france or or hand woven from spain or courtesans had designed it, its such a sore to see. It’s putting my migraine a little higher than usual.
I just love how her face transitioned in that scene. The scene itself was choreographed beautifully. It tore me apart
The pace is sure slow. It is episode 5 and the mood is still in the character development stage. The adults are all despicable and should just be edited out. The chairman spies on his sons and had Eun Sang transfer to Empire High so he can control her. Tan’s mom does not mind selling her soul to the devil, therefore, she had her son adopted by the 2nd wife to pimp him out. Rachael’s mom and Young Do’s dad both abuse their kids (Emotionally for Rachael/Physically for Young Do). And what’s with Chan Young’s dad. He may be a good father and may be nice to Won and Tan (don’t know if that is going to last) but can’t he find a woman of his own? He has to pine for someone who is already taken; granted he may have history with Rachael’s mom but couldn’t he find prettier much nicer lady? Gee this was ep 5 for me. If not for the cute moments of Kim Tan and Eun Sang and my curiosity as to how Young Do and Eun Sang interact, I would have skipped watching. Oh Bo NA with that voice like nails on a blackboard, ugh! Next episode please…
What’s up with the grandma curtain sweaters Kim Tan is wearing in this episode? Simply hideous lol
I have been trying to watch this drama due the huge cast involved but what i find really hard to stomach is why lee minho accepted this show to play a teenager. Its such a huge backstep to his career as since BOF he has graduated to play more indepth roles like City Hunter and have stepped up to become a bonafide star after that. Why he chose to replay a character similar to the show that has made him at a ripe old age of 28 baffles me. Its such a casting boo boo that i am not surprised with the shows weak ratings in korea. In a world where his dongsengs in the business Joo Won just tackled and smashed through GOOD DOCTOR, to LJS doing IHYV to such aplomp and Kim Beom graduating to do GIFTED HANDS. This all feels too odd. hopefully theres a time jump in HEIRS to justify putting him in this role. Like when Bae Yong Joon did Winter Sonata at 28. He said the most awkward part was playing the teenage years.
I have to agree with you about comment of Lee Min Ho . Besides, I just eager for watching drama due to the cast idol and beautiful girls . But after 5 eps , I see it seems to BOF . Young Do like Go Jun Pyo , Kim Tan like Ji Hoo. Some small thing change , but it doesn’t matter . And I hope to see Park Shin Hye will be different to this role , I see her the same as her last character . Poor girl have rich prince , oh just dreaming , she debut for more 10 years and I’m not surprised that she didn’t receive any big award for her career , just some awards for netizen vote . That’s not good for her when she get older .
Hey ockoala,
Do you have any plans of writing a recaplet of episode 6? I love reading them! 🙂