I know, I know. I’ve been WAY BEHIND when it comes to watching these episodes. If it’s any consolation to my readers numbering in the ones, I have been WAY BEHIND on all the media I’ve been wanting to consume because I live in a capitalist society and I need to earn money first so I don’t starve to death.
But I have time now to catch up! How I’m going to catch up to what is now 13 episodes I don’t really know, but I’ll just persevere like I did with My Lovely Liar and hopefully I get to finish watching this show at roughly the same time as everyone else! Or maybe not but that’s life!
In the previous episode, we left off with Kim Chiu’s playful banter with Paolo Avelino’s BMC lead to a marriage proposal, which I have to be honest here, is unsatisfactorily resolved in this opening scene. The joke kinda falls flat, although that may be because I’ve spent a lot of time away from the show at this point. Maybe it’s funnier if you binge it in one go like the streaming gods intended?
As BMC continues to dig into the reason for Secretary Kim leaving, she finally admits that maybe perfection is not for her, which I feel has more impact in Korean society where everyone is hyper focused on achievements and being the best and being on trend. But does that attitude really translate to the Philippine setting? What I’ve usually encountered is a “Pwede na yan” attitude, which makes this whole discussion seem a little less impactful. But it’s played for laughs anyway so what did I even type all of this for.
What I do find a little more apt for the Philippine setting is how they’re making it look like Secretary Kim thinks BMC will be vindictive and torpedo her post-Prime Alpha career. After all, which one of us hasn’t worried about a former boss doing exactly this?
Another thing that the show does effectively is the dynamic that Secretary Kim’s family has. It’s very Filipino, but then again ABS-CBN can do this in their sleep. But it’s nice to see them bring something of our own to this adaptation that works.
You know what, their recreation of the hiring scene from the original really works. Again, it’s Kim’s charm that really shines through in scenes like this. As the kids say, she is hard carrying this production. I do wish the replacement Secretary Kim was also delivering but we can let that pass for now.
There’s a new addition to the show that wasn’t in the original which…I honestly don’t know how to feel about. It makes a conflict that maybe was just implied in the show be more obvious and I think that’s unnecessary? The Filipinos watching the Korean original got it the first time, I don’t think there’s a need to dumb it down? Kim is good in the scene though so there’s that!
Episode 4 opens with a flashback scene and really, Kim Chiu is so great in this role. She’s been in the industry for close to two decades now and her experience in roles like this one really shows.
We now segue into the karaoke scene from the original and I don’t really like how the show has constructed BMC’s character? They’re making him feel like Miranda Priestly when in the original he was very much a kooky person who also is just good at everything. I feel like they’re not letting Paolo lean into the more comedic aspects of the character in the Korean original.
That said, while the Filipino version is a lot more toned down — budget constraints I’m thinking — it does manage to be as awkward as the Korean original. I also like how the addition of the queer character in this one because we all know how Korea isn’t the most progressive when it comes to sexual minorities.
The episode ends with Secretary Kim being set up to go on a date with a reporter and of course, BMC isn’t happy about it. And it was just when he was going to apologize “the Brandon way”!
Ron Does Stuff 
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