[Drama 2022] Unicorn,유니콘

[backstreetboysfan]

Coupang Play sitcom releases specia office poster starring ShinHaKyun WonJinAh & McCom team!

 

 

 

[larus]

‘Unicorn’ is also criticized for the disappearance of ‘fun’… Domestic sitcoms that can't even survive OTT

 

 

Coupang Play 'Unicorn' Lee Byung-hun and Yoo Byung-jae got together, but vague reactions in episodes 1 and 2

 

'Unicorn', which appeared as a full-fledged sitcom genre, has aroused strong likes and dislikes from viewers after the first and second episodes were released. As the sitcoms of the past, such as ‘Can’t Stop They’ and ‘High Kick’ series, are running backwards on YouTube, the revival of sitcoms centered on OTT (online video service) is continuing, but it seems that it is not enough to reverse the flow of the past.

 

On the 26th, Coupang Play's original series 'Unicorn' was released. It is a work that depicts the struggle of startups between Steve (Shin Ha-kyun), the CEO of McComb, and the crew, who are slowly turning around.

 

In particular, the point to watch is what kind of synergy will be shown by director Lee, who stood out in comedy films such as the movie 'Extreme Job' while promoting the full-fledged sitcom genre, and writer Yoo, who has shown satirical gags in 'SNL series' and 'B's joke'.

 

However, the first and second episodes are getting mixed reactions from viewers. It is painful to say that the core of the sitcom genre, fun and laughter, is missing. The personality of the characters that fill McComb, including Steve, a geek but irresistible charm, is certain as far as the personality of the characters is.

 

However, as it presents the reality of a startup company in a rather fragmentary way, it gradually becomes farther away from reality. The characters are also armed with unique personalities, so it is difficult to form a consensus easily. Although small gags cause smiles, it is regrettable that there were no point scenes that could cause laughter in the first 1 or 2 episodes.

 

https://dailian.co.kr/news/view/1148242/

 

[larus]

Unicorn: Episodes 2-4

by lovepark

It is another crazy week as our small startup attempts its eighth pivot, navigates a money war, and becomes a meme. As usual, their zany CEO gets into more shenanigans that liven up their days, but in all honesty, he should not take all the blame. Maybe there’s something in the water, but it seems that everyone here is little bit insane.

 

EPISODES 2-4 WEECAP

 

 

First of all, my apologies for missing episode two last week. It will piggyback on this week’s episodes, instead, so let’s jump right into it!

With the failure of Steve’s latest project — the ridiculously expensive and inefficient men’s down perm machine — he turns his attention to his neglected online matching service, How Match. Since they have seen a spike in users from older demographics, Steve announces his intentions to pivot (for the eighth time). His team unanimously rejects his proposal, but Steve ignores their concerns and uses his position to push forward… until KWAK SUNG-BEOM (Lee Joong-ok) pokes his head out from behind Philip. Apparently, he was here the entire time. Pfft.

As the lead developer, Sung-beom threatens to quit if they pivot again, and for once, Steve has to listen to his employee. In exchange for Sung-beom’s compliance, he assigns his team an assistant: Steve’s personal secretary JESSE (Bae Yoo-ram). For a self-proclaimed “hip” and open-minded individual, the development team is a living nightmare for Jesse, and he fails to understand these dad-joke spewing, One Piece theory arguing, “we live in a virtual reality” believing strangers.

 

Though Steve appeased Sung-beom, his most staunch objector, Ashley, proves to be a more difficult opponent. In order to convince her, he takes her to a place where every big company turns to for advice: a shaman. While Ashley listens with a heavy dose of skepticism, the shaman effortlessly turns Steve into a fan after a generic reading. As the fortune telling continues, the shaman gets oddly specific, and Steve is completely hooked.

Now that the shaman has given Steve her stamp of approval, Ashley goes into crisis mode and asks Carol for ideas. She suggests that they delegitimize the messenger if the message is impenetrable, and in that moment, Philip gets an idea. He pulls up Steve’s wiki page, and they realize that the shaman was basically reading it during their visit.

Using this to their advantage, they take Steve back to the shaman after editing his entry, and as predicted, the shaman blathers on about ridiculous nonsense. Seeing the error of his way, Steve hires professional consultants to Ashley’s delight, but the consultants tell him the same thing — they should pivot. Steve 1, Ashley 0.

 

Things turn hectic in the office when HR manager MONICA (Kim Young-ah) returns from her work trip. She is the mastermind behind most of Maccom’s office culture ideas such as the English names, and her latest project is Steve Money (yes, it’s as insane as it sounds). Instead of the usual holiday bonus, Monica hands out Steve Money to the employees, which puts a dent in Ashley’s plans to buy a new TV.

Accepting this setback as a challenge, Ashley uses some creative tricks to buy all her colleagues’ Steve Money — she literally sets up a ramyun stall in the office for a day, hahaha! At first, her plan to control the market works, and she devalues the fake currency. However, Monica sees through her scheme, and in retaliation, she prints more Steve Money. It turns into a horror-esque battle of inflation and devaluation, but in the end, Monica deals the finishing blow by turning Steve Money into cryptocurrency and plummeting its value. Ha!

Just as Ashley laments her fate, Monica informs the team the next day that Steve Money was merely an “event” and the holiday bonus will be the usual, expensive beef. In reality, Jay saw how beaten Ashley looked, and took matters into his own hands. After receiving an incriminating video of Monica from his friend — she actually took unsanctioned vacation days while on her work trip — Jay blackmailed her into withdrawing Steve Money from the office.

 

In order to promote their new product, Ashley and Jay organize a Korean class for senior citizens, but a blunder from Steve caused them to book two lecturers. Then in mistake, both lecturers end up teaching, and Jay’s friend turns out to be a better pick than the older educator Ashley hired. Fortunately, the class goes off without a hitch, but as Ashley and Jay pack up to leave, the two lecturers sit down for some tea and smack talk.

 

Watching from the sidelines, Ashley and Jay become enthralled by the barbs being thrown around, and use some of the concepts they learned in class to give an in-depth commentary on how Humanities kids fight — not with fists, but with word play. At one point, Jay even brings out popcorn, and the two of them watch as the witty remarks eventually turn into a playground brawl of hair-pulling and biting.

 

more https://www.dramabeans.com/2022/09/unicorn-episodes-2-4/

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[larus]

Unicorn: Episodes 5-6

by lovepark

 

There never seems to be a normal day at the office thanks to their wacky CEO and his equally odd employees. With a couple of new faces added to the team, things get hectic at the company, and as usual, the CEO only makes things crazier. This week is all about venture capital and robot penguins, which may sound unrelated but are… actually tied together?

 

EPISODES 5-6 WEECAP

 

 

Things pick up on the business-side of things at Maccom after pivoting their dating app “How Match” to the more senior-focused “Again.” Love, though, seems to be permeating the company as a few employees start to get more familiar with each other. In particular, Carol has fallen for Philip who has recently turned single, and after a humiliating outing with her “friends,” she blurts out that she has a boyfriend. Cue: Philip.

Convincing Philip that this would be good for the company, she gets him to pose as her boyfriend in front of her friends, but Philip is out of his element amidst the uppity crowd. The others set him up to become the butt of their joke, but as they laugh at him, one of the boyfriends passes out. Without missing a beat, Philip comes to the rescue, and Carol falls for him all over again. Beaming with pride, she defends Philip in front of her friends and even yells at the jerk being taken by the paramedics, ha!

Afterwards, Carol tells Philip that he no longer has to play her fake boyfriend, but he turns to her and says, “But it’s just starting for me.” He asks her to date him for real this time, but before Carol can answer, they accidentally hit a car in the parking lot. (It wouldn’t be Philip if he did not make some mistake, heh.)

 

 

While Carol’s love life progresses, a few changes occur at Maccom as well. While I’m unsure of their purpose, three new interns join the team: a man obsessed with his flimsy connection to rapper Beenzino, a woman looking for an office romance, and an older gentleman who is here for the “senior” program like the movie The Intern. Out of the three new hires, Steve’s radar hones in on the older intern, Charles, after hearing a rumor that venture capitalists are infiltrating start-ups as spies.

In typical Steve fashion, he takes the most roundabout and absurd way to tackle this problem, and hires actors to make his company look good. From an angry customer who comes to complain about how great their app is to a staged lecture about printing things double-sided to save the environment, Steve makes sure that their interns are there to witness it all. Even during their shareholders meeting, Steve gets one of his plants to ask a prepared question, and things go as planned until their biggest shareholder walks into the room.

The shareholder suggests that Maccom partner with a funeral business and offers to invest an additional 1 billion won (approximately $700k). Despite the enticing offer, Steve shoots it down because their company is about new beginnings and not endings. At that moment, he receives a text from a venture capital firm, and as he predicted, one of his interns was a spy! However, it was not Charles but the young man who kept talking about rapper Beenzino. Congratulating Steve, the venture capitalist promises to invest a whopping… 5 million won (approximately $3.6k). Heh.

 

Though the spy intern leaves, he was not the only liar in their midst. In a surprising twist, Jay turns out to be a spy for Magenta—the big start-up Steve cofounded and lost. Magenta CEO LEE GEUN-HO (Heo Joon-seok), whose English name is ROOT LEE because his Korean name means radical sign, is a cruel man that belittles his employees. Cornering Jay outside his workplace, he threatens to ruin his friends’ careers if he does not finish his assignment within a week.

As Jay wrestles with this problem, he goes on a work trip with Ashley to interview older people since Steve wants to get a better understanding of their clientele. Filming goes well for the most part — even though all their interviews dissolve into arguments — and these talks of love get Ashley and Jay to reflect on their own feelings for each other. Unfortunately for Ashley, Jesse is here, too, and ruins the mood every chance he gets. He even eats the lunch Ashley prepared, and in all honesty, I would turn a blind eye if she strangled him right then and there.

The last person they interview is an older lady who has found the love of her life with another older lady, and she asks the young interviewers if they know how great love is. On their way home, Ashley and Jay wait for their trains, and he offers to make food for their next outing. Leaving her speechless, he hops onto his train and smiles at her as the doors close. Squeee!

Meanwhile, Carol and Philip are out of the office as well, and they spend the day together with his little sister Bora at her mock trial competition. Despite Carol’s attempts to bond, Bora immediately dislikes her for giggling during the witness’s testimony and assumes she only likes her brother for his looks just like his other girlfriends.

 

During the second half of the trial, the prosecutor’s closing argument starts to sway the jury, but from the crowd, Carol notices the prosecutor’s mom typing on her laptop. After stepping out for a moment, she returns and apologizes to the mom for hitting her car, and the mom runs out mid-sentence. Without his cheat sheet, the prosecutor stumbles over his words, and the judge declares the defendant not guilty.

Bora recognizes what Carol did for her, and on the car ride home, she slowly opens up. They talk about cartoons, and Carol gasps when she hears that Detective Conan is still a kid. Pfft.

more https://www.dramabeans.com/2022/09/unicorn-episodes-5-6/

[larus]

Unicorn: Episodes 7-8

by lovepark

 

Things get a bit serious this week as secrets are uncovered, pasts are revealed, and old wounds resurface. However, the show still has plenty of jokes as the crew is forced to spend the weekend together thanks to another convoluted plan by their CEO. With this crazy cast of characters, hijinks are bound to happen.

 

EPISODES 7-8 WEECAP

 

This week is all about flashbacks, specifically Steve’s past and the mistakes he has made. Seven years ago, his downfall started with the betrayal of his trusted friend and partner, and after a string of failures, his wife divorced him as well. However, as the story unfolds, we learn that the past is more complicated than that.

Much to his employees’ disgruntlement, Steve forces everyone to attend a weekend membership training (MT), but to his credit, he offers them overtime pay for this trip as well as additional paid time off. The mood shifts after the announcement of these additional benefits, and the others actually have fun playing dodgeball and role-playing card games. On paper, the purpose of the MT is to foster camaraderie, but in reality, Steve has an ulterior motive.

One week ago, Steve ran into Root at the golf course — this being the first time they met since Root betrayed him. Root asked about Steve’s new app and warned him to be careful of ranking his users. Steve scrunched his face at the last comment since that was never mentioned to the public, and he put the pieces together: there is a spy in his company!

 

Steve sets up a series of games to unearth the spy, but everyone else is only interested in romance. The biggest secrets Steve discovers is that Jesse unfollowed him on Instagram and, apparently, everyone at Maccom keeps a secret from him. Heh.

During one game, Steve receives a notification concerning an old photo of his ex-wife, and a memory from his past — the moment she asked for a divorce — overwhelms him. As Steve barges out of the room to compose himself, Jay follows after him and keeps him company. He explains to Steve that he probably experienced a flashback, and we learn that Jay struggles with trauma, too.

Six years ago, Jay founded his own start-up but failed to secure funding. As his company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, Root appeared and offered to buy the majority of the shares. Though Jay knew that this was a deal with the devil, turning Root away meant the end of his company, so in a desperate attempt to at least give his friends a second chance, Jay accepted.

 

Though Steve’s investigation seems to have failed, the MT ends on a high note when he receives a message that Maccom has secured its series B investors. That night, the whole crew parties, and Jay takes this moment to chat with Ashley. He tells her that he does not have a girlfriend, and his deliberate clarification has her flustered. Building up her courage, she asks him when he will bring her a packed lunch, so Jay takes it a step further and asks her on a date tomorrow.

The next morning, Steve asks Jay to help him find his second phone and gives him a number to call. As Jay inputs it, he realizes the trap a step too late, and Steve smiles triumphantly at him — he caught the spy.

At a cafe, Jay explains everything, and Steve listens with the biggest grin plastered on his face. Rather than feel indignant at the underhanded scheme, the idea of Root being afraid of his little start-up makes Steve thrilled. With Jay in tow, Steve arrives at Root’s house unannounced to mock him, but as Steve drones on about Root still feeling inferior to him, his old friend bursts into laughter. He gives Steve a reality check and tells him that no one wants him. Oof.

 

Back in the office, Carol scolds Philip for listing a MacBook as the prize for a reading event on their app rather than a Big Mac set. As she goes to upload an apology on their site, she notices that first place has read over 300 books in one month. Suspicious of the number, Carol invites the winner to their office in hopes to prove that she lied about her total.

 

more https://www.dramabeans.com/2022/09/unicorn-episodes-7-8/

 

 

[larus]

Unicorn: Episodes 9-10

by lovepark

 

Now that their CEO is rich, everyone clamors for bigger funds for their department. However, in order to see any of that money, they have to put aside their differences and join forces to make their boss happy. While all this happens, misfortune hits one of the employees, and our group of lovable oddballs proves that they can come together to help each other.

 

EPISODES 9-10 WEECAP

 

Rumors of Steve’s sudden claim to fortune (a.k.a. the bitcoin incident) circulates in the office, and everyone pops up at his photo shoot for a piece of the pie. Carol wants Timothée Chalamet for promotions, Monica needs a bigger HR team, Jesse suggests moving locations, Sung-beom pushes for a launch party, and Ashley simply wishes to be a part of a real department instead of her odd amalgamation of a title.

As the longest tenured employee at Maccom, Ashley unites them under a common goal and shares her five years of experience dealing with their boss: Fifty Shades of Steve. (Wait, what!?) The basic premise is less erotic fanfiction and more Steve’s bravado, with the first being his “cultural” bravado surrounding movies.

In the lounge area, the others take turns asking Steve about movie recommendations, and even if he sounds pretentious and gets things wrong, they all act enthralled to keep him happy. At one point, Steve recommends a Shin Ha-kyun movie — heaping on the praise, of course — and everyone claps enthusiastically for him. Ha!

http://www.dramabeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/unicorn0910-00009.jpg

 

While progress is being made at work, outside the office, Ashley’s love life comes to a standstill. Though she and Jay have made their relationship official, he is too busy to see her after moving to Magenta. Unfortunately, his new workplace is a nightmare, and Jay’s duty is to monitor the restrooms, which includes cleaning them.

Back at Maccom, the team moves on to number seven: Steve’s “intellectual” bravado. As they sit through another useless meeting where Steve shows off, they nearly ruin the ruse when he trips over his own feet and then brushes it off as a life lesson. Unaware of their suppressed snickers, Steve smiles proudly and wonders aloud why he feels so happy today.

Due to his good mood, he offers to buy them lunch, which leads to number twenty-four (food) and thirty-two (social connections) of his bravado list. Even though Ashley’s plan is working, Steve’s constant nagging takes its toll on everyone, but they endure the indigestion and play along to Steve’s supposed connection to celebrity chef Baek Jong-won and the actor’s real-life friend Park Hee-soon. Heh.

 

When they return to the office, a new bust of Steve arrives, too. While he takes selfies with “himself,” Ashley calls an emergency meeting to accelerate their plan before Steve uses all of his money on more vanity projects. Number thirty-eight is “I told you so…” bravado, so they manufacture a scenario where Steve’s advice turns out to be correct by sacrificing Jesse’s car.

While the plan works like a charm and Steve giddily tells the others that he was right, Jesse blurts out if this means that they can relocate now. Despite his usual goofy behavior, Steve’s expression hardens as soon as he hears the request, and he connects the dots. They chase after him to explain, but Steve turns them away since he has an interview with his old school, KAIST.

One of Steve’s greatest accomplishments is graduating from KAIST, so when the young CEO scoffs during his interview, Steve’s mood plummets. Noticing his slumped shoulders, the interviewer suddenly breaks into song — the OST from the 1999 drama KAIST — and they share a little musical number out of the blue. Hahaha, this show is bonkers!

 

In reality, the interview was a set-up, and the KAIST student is Ashley’s sister. However, even this brilliant trick was all for naught as Steve announces to his team that he spent all the money already. He introduces them to what he bought, and through the doors enters Jay and his old company.

With spirits high, they gather at Steve’s place to celebrate his birthday, and as the camera pans around his apartment, we see that Steve’s “bravado” is not completely unfounded. He seems to have a genuine interest in movies and books; and he does, in fact, know a celebrity: comedian Park Hwi-soon (who often gets confused with the actor and vice versa). Shame on me for getting my hopes up, heh.

This scene is another great reminder of what makes Steve such an interesting character. He is a terrible boss who thinks with his heart instead of his head, but these very same flaws are often his greatest strengths as a human being. Steve loves fiercely which is why his emotions range from zero to a hundred with very little in-between. Thus, he finds value within people outside of their contributions, and once you are on his team, he won’t betray you first. In a way, people like him may be the biggest “unicorn” within the start-up community writ large.

 

more https://www.dramabeans.com/2022/09/unicorn-episodes-9-10/