![]() Her relationship to her best friend and husband-of-convenience is compelling, but it’s Sun-woo, her right-hand man and attorney at her firm, who grabs me the most. Her relationships with both of these men are nuanced, deep, and meaningful, and the complexity of these characters and their interactions is one of the things that adds the depth to the story. ![]() It’s Jenny’s husband Jung-hyuk and Sun-woo who are the ones that get to see the real Jenny - the one that’s behind the glamorous outfits and black sunglasses. In another, she takes a ferry back to her hometown with Sun-woo, and enjoys the sea air and the short respite from pressure cooker of her everyday life. In one, Jenny calls her husband, showing that very vulnerability, and asks him to return to her side. She’s incredibly guarded in battle, like anyone who has to hold up a front for as long as she has - but then there are these soft moments in the drama too, where we see underneath that. But what about the real Jenny underneath that showy, lacquered surface? That’s why I love Secret Boutique - we get to see glimpses of that Jenny, too.Īt certain moments of the drama, Jenny seems to get a bit over her head, whether it’s with her recent marriage or the vulnerabilities that are created during her war with Ye-nam. Outside of the power that she wields, even the way she walks and talks rings with her dominating presence. She’s sharp as a tack, cold, calculating, and always has another move up her sleeve. Kim Sun-a does a great job here, portraying a heroine who, when we meet her, is already a veteran at the game. Each fight that we watch unfold is part of the war that Jenny has been living in for decades. In order for Jenny and Dae-oh Group to get control of the project and win this particular battle, fight after fight unfolds - with the city mayor, with Ye-nam, with the competing chaebol group, with the land owners whose property they need to purchase - and that’s only the top of the list. If regaining her birthright is her goal, there are several battles she must win first, and the primary one is control of the development of the international city. We were clued in on her revenge scheme early on, and most of the drama that unfolds is her strategizing, piece by piece, to achieve her aim. Jenny’s present day is where most of the drama takes place. It also allows the world of the story to feel well-established, and enables it to capture the sense of all the time that has passed from the start of Jenny’s story (the bus accident) to where she is today, twenty years later. This keeps the fast-paced and crisply edited story from feeling rushed, and gives it its depth (I love how showing characters in contemplation can accomplish this). ![]() ![]() In particular, the pacing is nicely balanced thanks to a marriage of a quick-moving plot with quiet moments where we linger with the leads. So far, Secret Boutique is hitting all of these perfectly for the kind of story it’s telling. I talk a lot about execution and how it can make or break a drama - things like pacing, editing, and of course, the directing. Jenny is working to secure back her birthright, and while we’ve had these sorts of revenge plots before, something about Secret Boutique sets it apart. The opening week of Secret Boutique gave us a pretty good sense of the kind of drama we were in for - we left off with the reveal that Jenny Jang’s position in the Dae-oh household and conglomerate is really an elaborate and decades-long revenge scheme. While everyone else is watching cute, pastel-y sageuks and high school shows right now, I feel like I’ve got this deep and delicious revenge story all to myself - but that doesn’t mean I don’t want company! The drama’s exciting battle of wits, introduced during its premiere week, wages on, building tension with each episode. It’s not often that a show moves exactly the way I hoped it would, and exceeds my expectations every week with its consistency, tone, and great twists and turns. Secret Boutique has totally become my dark horse of awesome.
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