[Drama 2014] Secret Love Affair 밀회

[gretac]

mdj101 said: ...
I did notice that Dami somehow knew about the "2 days & 1 night"  meeting between HW and SJ and also said she had evidence of their meeting but chose not to use it, so far.  Did she have anything to do with the snooping that went on during that trip? Or did someone else share info. with her?  Maybe "one of those crazy b------s" at Seohan?...And when the guy handed Hye Won that envelope, from the view behind her  she seemed to give a slight movement (sort of like saying "I can't believe it") as if she had thought the chairman just might NOT have "gone there" after he thanked her for "all those years of faithful service".

[gretac]

telzey said: Perhaps the reason HW can't stare down DM is that she feels like she is wronging DM. She's married and having an affair, which is involving a much younger man, and is stealing DM's man to boot. DM is an honest character. You gotta love her. When she talks to SJ she says: If she (HW)  leaves all that corruption and goes to you, then I'll accept it. She looks distressed to say it, but she's full of heart.

[Guest dualnon]

Some questions:

Why did HW and Lawyer Kim meet where she wrote two amounts on a paper and he chose one?  Was it Chairman Seo paying off his family to get him out of jail?  Why would he write two figures?

Why would Mme Han trust Mme Baek with the flash drive?  That's what's getting her into trouble with HW.  And did HW leave everything on it after she downloaded the files for safekeeping?

Why are the SeoHans such idiots?  Lawyer Kim and his family are obviously out for their money without any regard for them.  They know HW has taken care of everything for years.  Why not trust her to turn the tables on the Kims?  Because of class?  Never even considered trusting the "help"?  But Mme Han should know better.  HW knew it though and was prepared.  But it had to hurt.  She is one tough and smart woman.  She did underestimate Kang's ability to be such an utter fool.  If she could manipulate him others could too. 

[mdj101]

@gretac,
I really like how you are able to give names to the musical themes in SLA.  I can imagine how close you must be to the way the music director looked at the drama and planned for the music would fit each scene and maybe even for each character, as you have mentioned.   The process of arranging the "background" music and the repeating OST melodies in the drama/film are a complete mystery to me. Composing for dramas/films is a very specialized skill and I don't even know if it is taught in schools.  Who among us average viewers gives their work much thought?  After all, it is always ":just there"..
Many times  I have wondered if you have found any particular classical music form to which the drama conforms?  Talk about looking for  "hidden" or unrecognised  significant meanings in each word, action, etc.  Is there a   musical form to each episode?  or any forms that repeat over 16 episodes?  Just very curious since you have pretty good understanding of the composition aspects of classical pieces.

[Guest dualnon]

gretac said: mdj101 said: ...
I did notice that Dami somehow knew about the "2 days & 1 night"  meeting between HW and SJ and also said she had evidence of their meeting but chose not to use it, so far.  Did she have anything to do with the snooping that went on during that trip? Or did someone else share info. with her?  Maybe "one of those crazy b------s" at Seohan?...And when the guy handed Hye Won that envelope, from the view behind her  she seemed to give a slight movement (sort of like saying "I can't believe it") as if she had thought the chairman just might NOT have "gone there" after he thanked her for "all those years of faithful service".

[telzey]

One scene that I didn't think was clear is the one where HW meets the Snake around a coffee table. There is a paper with numbers on it and they choose one and then he tears the paper up and puts it into his paper coffee cup. Were they planning a payoff for getting the chairman out of jail? The next scene after that was a row of black cars, and then Chairman was home complaining he hated jail. It wasn't the payoff for her to take the fall  because that was the next scene, when the chairman gave her the money himself.

[edit] I saw that @dualnon has already brought this one up. I didn't see it before. It looks like we both have the same guess.

And after the pottery scene, I liked the little touch where they show SJ walking home, so dejected, slumped over, plodding, no spring in his step at all. His posture and the way he walks shows it all.

[telzey]

One of my favorite scenes is the one where SJ is out walking the campus with Kang's TA. The brat girl - Mme Baek's daughter - sees them and says: The rumor about your teacher is no joke. Want to go out with me?  And without missing a beat, SJ says: You want to get lost?
  hahahha. Such a nice little payback.

[gretac]

dualnon said: ...

HW's so sure SJ won't leave her. Otherwise she wouldn't ask him to accept what she's about to do.

...

Love, love, love the Lawyer Kim takedown scene. ... I'm glad it took her awhile to find enlightenment. Otherwise we would've missed such awesomeness.

[gretac]

telzey said: ...
And after the pottery scene, I liked the little touch where they show SJ walking home, so dejected, slumped over, plodding, no spring in his step at all. His posture and the way he walks shows it all.

[shamrockmom]

Here's one trope I didn't hear--None of the ladies call their boyfriends "Oppa". If my memory is correct, I don't remember that word being uttered..Da Mi, YW, HW, none of them.  If I am wrong, please correct me.  I'm so glad they don't talk like silly teenagers. (Except for HW--but we already discussed that to death) 
Stupid spoiler tag--I can't get it to work today!  

[telzey]

gretac said: telzey said: ...
And after the pottery scene, I liked the little touch where they show SJ walking home, so dejected, slumped over, plodding, no spring in his step at all. His posture and the way he walks shows it all.

[Guest dualnon]

telzey said: One scene that I didn't think was clear is the one where HW meets the Snake around a coffee table. There is a paper with numbers on it and they choose one and then he tears the paper up and puts it into his paper coffee cup. Was they planning a payoff for getting the chairman out of jail? The next scene after that was a row of black cars, and then Chairman was home complaining he hated jail. It wasn't the payoff for her to take the fall  because that was the next scene, when the chairman gave her the money himself.

[edit] I saw that @dualnon has already brought this one up. I didn't see it before. It looks like we both have the same guess.
]
And after the pottery scene, I liked the little touch where they show SJ walking home, so dejected, slumped over, plodding, no spring in his step at all. His posture and the way he walks shows it all.

[gretac]

dualnon said: Some questions:

Why did HW and Lawyer Kim meet where she wrote two amounts on a paper and he chose one?  Was it Chairman Seo paying off his family to get him out of jail?  Why would he write two figures?

[Guest dualnon]

telzey said: gretac said: telzey said: ...
And after the pottery scene, I liked the little touch where they show SJ walking home, so dejected, slumped over, plodding, no spring in his step at all. His posture and the way he walks shows it all.

[gretac]

dualnon said: Some questions:
...

Why would Mme Han trust Mme Baek with the flash drive?  That's what's getting her into trouble with HW.  And did HW leave everything on it after she downloaded the files for safekeeping?

Why are the SeoHans such idiots?  ...

[telzey]

These episodes are also where Sec Wang starts getting a little bit larger part. In Ep 13, when HW gives Mme Han back the USB, Wang talks to her and hugs her to make all nicey-nicey. We see that she has a book on mahjong. Is this the first time? Then in Ep 14, Wang goes to the party and reports all her little secret agent information to Mme Han. She gives the nice secretary an order to bring her some tea, just to flex her power. Then she asks Mme Han what to do about all the calls coming in (about the articles defaming HW) and Mme Han says to figure it out herself. She goes back to her mahjang book. It made me think: fiddling while Rome burns. Haha. She was annoying but kind of a funny sideline during a time of the show which was mostly depressing. Ah, little slimball Sec Wang. She thought she was so clever. Not.

[shamrockmom]

I wanted to make a comment on the musical choice of the Quintet to play Dvorak's Piano Quintet #2 in A major. Op. 81.  Dvorak was a Czech composer who had strong feelings about his people being oppressed under Austro-Hungarian rule.  He deliberately put banned Czech folk melodies in his compositions as a not so subtle protest.  So it is quite fitting that the Quintet, about to be forced out by the corruption at Seohan would choose something by this composer, who knew all about protest.  In yet another twist, Dvorak too had quite the anguished love life; he was rejected by a lady who married into the oppressing political family, then he married her younger sister!  The original pair kept in touch though...  you gotta love their messed up lives.  A case could also be made for the 4 parts of the piano quintet as a mirror to the storyline in SLA, you can read it here and come to your own conclusions.   

[Guest dualnon]

[gretac]

mdj101 said: @gretac,
I really like how you are able to give names to the musical themes in SLA.  I can imagine how close you must be to the way the music director looked at the drama and planned for the music would fit each scene and maybe even for each character, as you have mentioned.   The process of arranging the "background" music and the repeating OST melodies in the drama/film are a complete mystery to me. Composing for dramas/films is a very specialized skill and I don't even know if it is taught in schools.  Who among us average viewers gives their work much thought?  After all, it is always ":just there"..
Many times  I have wondered if you have found any particular classical music form to which the drama conforms?  Talk about looking for  "hidden" or unrecognised  significant meanings in each word, action, etc.  Is there a   musical form to each episode?  or any forms that repeat over 16 episodes?  Just very curious since you have pretty good understanding of the composition aspects of classical pieces.

[Guest dualnon]

shamrockmom said: I wanted to make a comment on the musical choice of the Quintet to play Dvorak's Piano Quintet #2 in A major. Op. 81.  Dvorak was a Czech composer who had strong feelings about his people being oppressed under Austro-Hungarian rule.  He deliberately put banned Czech folk melodies in his compositions as a not so subtle protest.  So it is quite fitting that the Quintet, about to be forced out by the corruption at Seohan would choose something by this composer, who knew all about protest.  In yet another twist, Dvorak too had quite the anguished love life; he was rejected by a lady who married into the oppressing political family, then he married her younger sister!  The original pair kept in touch though...  you gotta love their messed up lives.  A case could also be made for the 4 parts of the piano quintet as a mirror to the storyline in SLA, you can read it here and come to your own conclusions.