The Impossible Heir 로얄로더 [2024]

[abs-oluteM]

5 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

Didn't expect the 5 years jump. I don't mind it because it was getting a bit slow for me the entanglement between the 3 leads. Though I'd like to know how In Ha got to work in the centre. I hope at least next week they would "quickly" give us a run through on that.

Should get more interesting next week from this preview

 

[JenL]

I must make this thread pretty soon! Anyway I watched eps 1-2

 

Episodes 1-2

 

Admittedly, these chaebol ambition-cutthroat dramas with love triangles are not usually my thing. But the story is intriguing enough and I want to understand all the characters better. I feel really sorry for Jun's character because he's so cute and likeable, but everyone around him eiither sees him as a threat and are cold to him or sees him as a golden rope and are using him, whether he knows it or not. Haha the relationships are confusing. Jun is the one chasing LJW and doing aegyo all the time  But I find the transitions a biit puzzling - he goes from I hate him to I love him so quickly! Maybe they condensed it because more of the story is in the future. However, the friendships are very rocky. I mean, what kind of a friend startss developing an interest in a girl when he knows that hs friend is very interested in her???  But I suppose they agreed it was more of a partnership and all is fair in love and war.

Hong Su Zu is very pretty. But I feel like her character is going to be annoying. I'm not a fan of these 'I like one guy but have to be with another guy' type scenarios. But I suppose deperation will make you do anything  Anyway, watching a rocky frienship getting fractured by a girl is going to have is moments. I hope she's not the cause of the openning scene with LJW seeming killing people!

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM I am reading through MDL and seems like it was HULU who released episode 3-4 but it's no longer there. But dark site has it. LOLLLL

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

2 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

@abs-oluteM I am reading through MDL and seems like it was HULU who released episode 3-4 but it's no longer there. But dark site has it. LOLLLL

 

 

LOL! Someone in HULU made a boo-boo

[rocher22]

I watched the first two episodes...

So, the screenwriter thinks that Taeo and Huiju dont have chemistry and that they cant be a couple...

 

 

 

I really liked all the Taeo & Inha scenes...but Im a little disappointed because Inha is interested in Hyewon.

He is smart and he saw that Taeo likes the girl. 

 

 

 

[abs-oluteM]

22 hours ago, JenL said:

But I feel like her character is going to be annoying. I'm not a fan of these 'I like one guy but have to be with another guy' type scenarios. But I suppose deperation will make you do anything  Anyway, watching a rocky frienship getting fractured by a girl is going to have is moments. I hope she's not the cause of the openning scene with LJW seeming killing people!

Same here. Unfortunately because of the way her character was depicted in the first two episodes, I find it hard to empathise with her. How I see it is that her character could be the catalyst to the partnership going south but not necessarily the ultimate reason why the two guys ended up betraying each other. InHa is being used here

 

Just now, rocher22 said:

He is smart and he saw that Taeo likes the girl. 

Yes. Exactly ...and he still went for it. Which annoyed me. Does he think he could genuinely make her like him? She was clever though...she kind of played her cards right too. 

[rocher22]

20 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

 She was clever though...she kind of played her cards right too. 

 

I think she is cornered by that debt and the gangsters. 

Anyway, I dont like the plot and it reminds me a bit of the drama Money Flower. 

 

 

30 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

 

Yes. Exactly ...and he still went for it. Which annoyed me. Does he think he could genuinely make her like him? 

 

I guess he already knows that she doesnt love him...

 

 

[mademoiselle]

I watched episode 3 & 4 last night. A very Tae Ho centric two episodes. I don't think I appreciate the story-telling very much at the moment. It is supposed to be interesting but my interest is not piqued.

 

There was another 5 years time jump, so a total of 10 years since their college year. Tae Ho has moved to personally serve In Ha's father for the last 5 years. What didn't make sense for me is, he's able to plot all of the happenings (with a hired hacker) right under In Ha's father's nose when the man had eyes on everyone. It just seems unbelievable.

 

The friendship between the 3 leads were non-existence in these two episodes. Tae Ho keeps his plans and thoughts close to his heart and doesn't share them. Hye Won is a boring FL and expressionless. Both In Ha and her didn't do much here.

 

Hee Joo is annoying. It is ok to be bratty when she's a teenager, but girl is an adult now and being bratty is no longer acceptable. It's been 10 years, get over Tae Ho already. I did not appreciate her going to Tae Ho demanding he marries her. Grow some dignity, girl. 😮‍💨

 

There was an argument between In Ha and Tae Ho which I thought In Ha made a good point "what does Tae Ho want from all of this?". Because if In Ha is not convinced, how can the viewers be convinced I.e. Tae Ho said he did all this for In Ha. Boo. He's so private that it's hard to know what exactly is in his mind and what his ulterior motive is. With his excellent scheming, he could take KangOh Group if he wants.

[rocher22]

 

I expected that Inha would become suspicious and begin to investigate  the real reason behind Taeo's plan.

 

 

 

 

 

I like the scenes with the Chairman, but the writer ruined the character...

The Chairman is now weak and careless compared to how strong he was in the first two episodes.

 

[JenL]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:41 AM, rocher22 said:

I watched the first two episodes...

So, the screenwriter thinks that Taeo and Huiju dont have chemistry and that they cant be a couple...

I really liked all the Taeo & Inha scenes...but Im a little disappointed because Inha is interested in Hyewon.

He is smart and he saw that Taeo likes the girl. 

 

It's interesting because the internet seems to really want Taeh Ho and Hui Ju o be a couple - I see a lot of fans rooting for Huiju. I think because she obviously goes crazy for him and no one wants Lee Jae Wook to not get the girl again since he killed us all as a second lead in Extraordinary You 

 

I like the Tae Ho and In Ha scenes when they first became friends. But I'm disappointed that all of them like Hyewon, whether it's genuine or a powerplay. It seems she'll highlight the toxicity into their friendships 

 

On 3/5/2024 at 12:43 AM, abs-oluteM said:

Same here. Unfortunately because of the way her character was depicted in the first two episodes, I find it hard to empathise with her. How I see it is that her character could be the catalyst to the partnership going south but not necessarily the ultimate reason why the two guys ended up betraying each other. InHa is being used here

 

Yes. Exactly ...and he still went for it. Which annoyed me. Does he think he could genuinely make her like him? She was clever though...she kind of played her cards right too. 

 

Yeah, I see a lot of comments from viewers about how much they don't like her character and how they hope she won't end up with either of the guys. I don't think any one is empathising with her because she seems as bad as her mother - isn't she just looking for someone to leech off to relieve herself from her problems? I think often the hardworking poor girl trope is empathised with because we see the girl trying not to leech off a guy, but to work her own way out of her financial problems. This is just gold-diggery to me 

 

Edited March 8 by JenL

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle @rocher22 @JenL

It bugs me that till now that love starved InHa is being used here, and he just doesn't see it. But how can he when both Hye Won and TaeOh tells him exactly what he needs to hear each time. Hye Won marrying him for the power that it will bring her. TaeOh - wants something but it isn't clear what ( I don't believe for a moment that TaeO is merely doing any of this for InHa's benefit.)  But I cut TaeO abit of slack since he made it clear from the start to InHa that this is mutual benefit sort of relationship. Perhaps I am harder on HyeWon because she is using his affections for her. 

 

On my TL, it doesn't seem that anyone wants Hye Won to end up with either guy. . I think it's how her character has been written and it doesn't help the actress ( pretty as she is) seems to have zero chemistry with either male leads. Yes, it seems to that people are rooting for Hee Joo and TaeO ...but hmmm I think she'll need to grow up before I can root for it. Anyway , this isn't really the sort of drama that I would see a happy ending. Just let my InHa survive - cuz I have a bad feeling that's him lying there dead in eps 1.

 

That said...I am enjoying this typical makjang fare of birth secrets, chaebol infighting and scheming. It really helps having eye candies like LeeJaeWook & Jun play the MLs. 

[JenL]

Episodes 3 & 4

 

I agree with you @mademoiselle - kind of a shame because till now, I felt really drawn to all of LJW's projects. I always felt like he picked really great storylines. Even in the dramas where even if he played a dislikeable character like a bully, the characters had great depth and nuance and there were warm friendships and good pacing. So far, with this drama, it feels very cold? I know it's in part because it's a genre I don't particularly like (ie. the gold-digger, cut-throat work politics, ambition climbing type drama). But also all the characters seem very dislikeable, but the story itself is quite complicated and involves a lot of focusing on schemes. I feel like I'm actually working sometimes when watching drama because if I don't pay attention for a bit, I don't know who's backstabbing who  So I guess I feel like this has probably been the weakest of LJW's projects that I've seen. Visually he looks very cool, but I'm hoping the story and drama gets better.

 

I didn't mind that it was a Tae Ho centric episode, since it's LJW and also since his character seems to be the only one doing most of the scheming. I can see the powerplay with the relationships, but I don't feel like Inha or Hyewon do much even though they want stakes in Kangoh. It's like they're all riding on Taeoh's genius? But it doesn't feel like they're working as a team in any way and that's kind of hard to include things like humour or inspiration in this Kdrama because the characters are not exactly 'fun' to observe. 

 

@mademoiselle it seems kind of strange that InHa's father would accept a plot under his nose, but then again, I suppose all his sons are dispicable that maybe he would accept Tae Oh and Inha who he secretly sees as more talented and more worthy of being his succesors than his first 2 sons? I also think this type of scary rich business man is the type to keep his friends close, but his enemies closer, so if he thought Taeoh was a thread he would definitely keep an eye on him at close range. However in doing that I think he's making the mistake of relying on him too much (since he has no one else) as first son pointed out. 

Edited March 8 by JenL

[mademoiselle]

 

[abs-oluteM]

Pre-released...InHa tells Tae Ho he's getting married

 

This was cute. They had good chemistry as a team in this video. Has subs

 

[mademoiselle]

@Chocolate Why don't you try this to see if you like it. Otherwise, I look forward to your dissing. LOL!

[mademoiselle]

Episode 5-6

 

I didn't pay much attention to episode 5 until Tae Oh was hit in the head. The boy suddenly had an epiphany after going through life and death. That kiss was so not needed, coz now it puts himself in jeorpady.

 

I don't know why Kdrama always write this stupid scenario where the lead character declare his intention before striking his enemy. When you let your enemy know you are out to get them, you yourself must watch your back! /facepalm.

 

Errr... did In Ha send Hye Won's mother deliberately to make her feel desperate again so that Hye Won would go back to him?! I feel like rather than being used by Tae Oh or Hye Won, In Ha himself is also counter-using Tae Oh and scheming to make Hye Won stay with him.

 

As for the ending, OK, at least it is neither Hye Won nor In Ha. But why oh why Tae Oh is there and unconscious? Next week is finale, right? Hope it's a good one and no open ending. I have enough of open ending and hint to S2. Don't need it.

 

Hui Joo continues to be annoying, bratty and useless.

 

Oh @JenL I was admiring Jae Wook's long fingers when he's unconscious. 

 

Edited March 14 by mademoiselle

[mademoiselle]

Preview - Episode 7 and 8

 

[abs-oluteM]

On 3/14/2024 at 6:54 PM, mademoiselle said:

That kiss was so not needed, coz now it puts himself in jeorpady.

So dumb right? I am like TaeO should know better than to act emotionally especially when he knows that he can be easily dispensable. The fact that they didn't want to investigate when he got assaulted should have been a reminder to him to play his cards even more carefully. But anyhow he is human and I think he's is bound to make mistakes though I hate that it was over a woman .

 

On 3/14/2024 at 6:54 PM, mademoiselle said:

Errr... did In Ha send Hye Won's mother deliberately to make her feel desperate again so that Hye Won would go back to him?! I feel like rather than being used by Tae Oh or Hye Won, In Ha himself is also counter-using Tae Oh and scheming to make Hye Won stay with him.

I am glad in a twisted way on my part  that InHa is not so dumb. LOL...I would be very upset if LeeJunYoung took up a one dimensional role where he is the only one being used. I like that he has a complex relationship with TaeO. In eps 6 TaeO should know that InHa isn't so easy to reign in. InHa on the other hand hates that HyeWon's heart is with TaeO but he needs TaeO. 

 

I read comments online that TaeO being framed & in jail has to do with InHa but then again I think that we have overlooked an important person that has been very quiet and that is  2nd son Kang Seung Jo. He may very well have something to do with this. 

[rocher22]

 

hmm...   

 

 

bts

[mademoiselle]

Episode 7-8

 

The twist. Ha.

 

Now we watch if Tae Oh can turn the events around. Battle of wits. So all these times, there was never a friendship. In Ha was also just using Tae Oh all along. And now it is clear why he went after Hye Won. There was no love. He just wanted to control Tae Oh.

 

In Ha cannot be the heir. He would be a cold-blooded tyrant. Now Hye Won wants Tae Oh to help her get LJ Group. I don't know, man, as smart as Tae Oh, he might as well just get LJ Group himself.

 

I hope the North Korean hacker will be OK, now that In Ha has found him. In Ha killed his older brother and now attempts to get rid of Tae Oh, so it is hard to say if he'll spare hacker guy. However, I also think he might let him live because hacker guy is capable. Let's just hope hacker guy is more loyal than he is willing to admit.

 

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle Tae Oh’s greatest error wasn’t even his love for HyeWon . It’s him underestimating how crazy & cruel InHa could be . I think he always thought he could control InHa but little did he realise that InHa is the one truly using him . So I think now that his eyes have been opened let’s see how he’s gonna overcome this . One thing though, I believe Chairman is the key to helping TaeOh . He senses something is not right with the death of his oldest son. He’ll want to get to the bottom of that . 
 

The truth is I feel little for Tae Oh or Hye Won. I understand InHa is the villain, so I won’t have any hopes for him . But even for TO & HW , I can’t sympathise with them as they both knew full well what they are getting themselves into by trying to take over LJ Group & using InHa. It sucked that the drama gives very little development to their characters & their motivations. 

[mademoiselle]

5 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

The truth is I feel little for Tae Oh or Hye Won.

 

This is so true. I don't feel emotionally invested or attached to any of the characters in here. They are all annoying to me. Nobody is likeable! It puzzles me in the first place why Tae Oh wants to make In Ha the heir. He hasn't revealed what he truly wants from all of this either, and now he tells Hye Won he has changed what he wants.

 

5 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

One thing though, I believe Chairman is the key to helping TaeOh . He senses something is not right with the death of his oldest son. He’ll want to get to the bottom of that.

 

No King would like a son that threatens their throne. Chairman is the key to subdue or exile In Ha for sure. Tae Oh could make good use of this evidence against In Ha, if he has it. The Chairman won't appreciate Tae Oh getting rid of his brother that way, as it means he could do the same to the Chairman.

---

 

I hope episode 12 ends the story properly. I don't think this drama is interesting and rich enough to have a S2.

[abs-oluteM]

1 hour ago, mademoiselle said:

I hope episode 12 ends the story properly. I don't think this drama is interesting and rich enough to have a S2.

I will be so mad if there is a S2 ....I was hoping this ends at eps 8 or even 10. To think I still have 4 more to go.......okay I know I could drop it but this is rarely my style especially when I have already passed the half-way mark. 

[JenL]

Episodes 5-8

 

Finally caught up on this last night. I haved started to enjoy this drama a bit more from episode 6 because there was less jargon! Episode 5 by contrast felt like I'd been at a work meeting in a corporate place (my work meetings are not even half as corporate!!! ) But the murder and then the twist have been fun because the pacing is faster and now all the characters are on crack. With that said, I defnitely still started falling asleep at the end of last episode because this drama is not totally my style (sorry LJW!)

 

I agree with @abs-oluteM that TaeOh's biiggest mistake wasn't even falling for HyeWon (though that was not the greatest move either ). It was assuming In Ha was a good person. Although I feel like there was always signs - when they met In Ha was the prime bully at school. I also thought it was so quick from him to transition from bully to friend, but he played dumb and friendly knowing he could use Tae Oh's skills to get into the family, so I can see why Tae Oh believe him (I also forgot he started out as a bully so was genuinely confused when the dark side came out ) And then the other sign was that he immediately said that he liked the same girl as TaeOh as soon as he had connfirmed TaeOh was checking her out. I mean, I'm sure that happens sometimes, but from what I know of my guy friends who are close to each other, isn't there generally a bit of a code where people try to help their friends or avoid crushing on their friend's crushes even if they catch feelings?! 

 

 

On 3/20/2024 at 10:50 PM, mademoiselle said:

 And now it is clear why he went after Hye Won. There was no love. He just wanted to control Tae Oh.

 

Hmm, I don't know if there's love per say but there's something else going on there too. But I think aside from Tae Oh, he also wanted to 'win' her. I still feel like he was jealous when he pictured Tae Oh and Hyewon getting it on. Hyewon is a prize that he feels like he dooesn't quite own, no matter how much money he throws at her or how much branding he's done via engagement and  marriage certificate etc   He just seems like a narciscist

 

22 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

 One thing though, I believe Chairman is the key to helping TaeOh . He senses something is not right with the death of his oldest son. He’ll want to get to the bottom of that . 

 

Yeah I hope he can help, though to be honest, he is also pretty fragile and I feel like he could die in the process. I believe that's likely  to happen since an heir is part of the title 

 

22 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

 The truth is I feel little for Tae Oh or Hye Won. I understand InHa is the villain, so I won’t have any hopes for him . But even for TO & HW , I can’t sympathise with them as they both knew full well what they are getting themselves into by trying to take over LJ Group & using InHa. It sucked that the drama gives very little development to their characters & their motivations. 

 

16 hours ago, mademoiselle said:

 

This is so true. I don't feel emotionally invested or attached to any of the characters in here. They are all annoying to me. Nobody is likeable! It puzzles me in the first place why Tae Oh wants to make In Ha the heir. He hasn't revealed what he truly wants from all of this either, and now he tells Hye Won he has changed what he wants.

 

I agree with you both! I feel like this might be LJW's weakest pick of projcts yet. I can deal with dislikeable characters, but it's hard when everyone is dislikeable and it's because they are all in it for themselves. This K-drama world feels so cold and cruel.

 

I suppose with Tae Oh and Hywon it's a case of the users being used. In defence of Tae Oh -  While I won't say I cared much for Tae Oh as a character (though he is a fine looking LJW character ) Tae Oh never harmed In Ha in how he used him. It was like a business transaction in which both benefited from the deal. Whereas In Ha wants Tae Oh dead, which is pure evil 

 

15 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

I will be so mad if there is a S2 ....I was hoping this ends at eps 8 or even 10. To think I still have 4 more to go.......okay I know I could drop it but this is rarely my style especially when I have already passed the half-way mark. 

 

Yeah...no to a season 2 

 

I want my boy to pick a project with a more interesting storyline. Though I don't mind if they style him like how they styled him here 

Edited March 22 by JenL

[mademoiselle]

To be honest, I don't understand how In Ha could have known Tae Oh's capability can help him snatch the heir's throne when they were only in high school. Being academically good in school is completely different to being good at scheming and playing work politics. Not like Tae Oh is Ling Bu Yi (Love Like the Galaxy), if you all know what I mean. When Tae Oh declares he would help In Ha get to the top, to be honest, if I were In Ha I wouldn't have believed it. I'd probably take it as a grain of salt and think "we shall see". So, I do think at first In Ha was probably keeping Tae Oh at bay, and observe how far he could go...

 

I also think he's stupid for throwing away Tae Oh so soon. He himself still has a long way to go. Unless his own capability is as good or better than Tae Oh, it would have been useful to have Tae Oh on his side against his father. I suppose it is because he realised Tae Oh isn't the obedient pet he had hoped, since Tae Oh would keep things from him.

 

@JenL Let's hope LJW's next drama with Jo Bo Ah is better.

 

Episode 9-10 Preview

 

LOL, Tae Oh escaped prison! He'll work with the prosecutor again. And waaa, I was just talking about In Ha might kill his dad and he really did...!?

 

Edited March 22 by mademoiselle