The Impossible Heir promises a wild tale of chaebol throne usurpation, and our first week in the drama is mostly occupied by showing us our main players and their history together. The drama moves fast as light, and has loads it wants to accomplish, but as a consequence of the speed and setup, it runs a bit low on emotion so far. But there’s time for that to change. *Rubs palms together greedily*
EPISODES 1-2
As sometimes happens in dramaland, one learns everything she needs to know from the opening title sequence. And in the case of The Impossible Heir, the OG soundtrack (like the best revenge melos before it) promises a wreck of complicated machinations, emotions, and character histories — and I’m here for it.
We first meet our heroes in high school. HAN TAE-OH (Lee Jae-wook) is our typical dramaland hero archetype: a top-ranking student, living on his own, hiding(ish) a gory parental crime in his past, and full of — in his words — something more powerful than money: desperation.
Our second hero (boy, this dual hero thing is the greatest ever) is KANG IN-HA (Lee Jun-young) of Kangoh Group, and he’s also his fair share of archetypal hero. In-ha is ostracized by his chaebol family for being illegitimate, and his lack of love/belonging/acknowledgement comes out the way you’d expect: unsafe motorcycling, petty delinquency, and bullying Tae-oh the second he transfers to In-ha’s high school.
A couple of fights and standoffs later, it’s clear these two are too strong and willful to be on opposing sides. Tae-oh has a proposition: “Let’s be friends. You’ll be my rope that will help me reach the major leagues.” So, they start concocting a years-in-the-making plan, which we’re not exactly privy to, but have to assume has been cooking on the stove when we circle back to our heroes in 2013 when they’re attending Hanguk University. Indeed, that was the start of their agreement: In-ha needed the help to get into the school, and as for Tae-oh, he’s got his eyes on bigger things. But this boy is also good at playing the long game, so it’s hardcore studying and part-time jobs for him.
We settle into the boys’ college years for the bulk of the time, and see how the two make an interesting team. In-ha is living his bank-rolled life in Cheongdam, but he seems to be able to swap from luxury to Tae-oh’s ramshackle rooftop digs without missing a beat. The two have settled into a friendship and partnership that hasn’t (yet) faltered, and a few times we catch them consulting on the next step in their plan. Not gonna lie, the corporate side of their scheming is either not that well-explained, or rushed through too quickly to be able to have a clear picture of what their game plan is just yet. But it’s clear that Kangoh Group’s plans for a “Co-Prosperity Cooperation Center” is the boys’ starting point.
It’s worth noting at this point that the drama does require some suspension of disbelief in this department. Because what we have is a [terribly cute and grave] college student who’s somehow able to predict the moves of Kangoh Group’s Chairman Kang (the perennially bad Choi Jin-ho) and his family and entourage. Whether it’s the olive branch dinner invitation to In-ha, or the inheritance waiver In-ha strategically signs, we must believe that Tae-oh is a master kingmaker/chessmaster, and he’s one step ahead.
The first wave of complication in our boys’ plans happens with the entrance of our poverty-stricken femme fatale NA HYE-WON (rookie actress Hong Su-ju). She’s in a set of dive circumstances practically identical to Tae-oh: parental baggage, absolutely impoverished, working part-time jobs, studying hard at Hanguk – and they even live in across-the-way rooftop apartments.
Well, there’s a little something-something in Tae-oh’s eyes when he looks at — and subsequently ignores — Hye-won every time they cross paths. She calls him out on pretending not to recognize her, though, and it sets something off in Tae-oh. Not quite puppy eyes, but we can tell that beneath his unsmiling face, he’s sweet on her. Even In-ha notices… and that’s when things start to get interesting.
Using the opposite playbook to Tae-oh, In-ha openly hits on Hye-won until her denials start to lose their sticking power. But Tae-oh isn’t doing it as a power play against his friend. No, it’s more juicy than that. He is genuinely into her, and hey, ain’t nobody saying no to this chaebol heir, legitimate or not.
The brewing love triangle comes to a head one day on campus when some greasy loan sharks come for Hye-won because of her gambling-addicted mother’s recent theft. She’s cold and cool with them, and, as ever, there isn’t a hint of any strong emotions in Hye-won at all (which could be why I found her character alternately ice cold and/or boring so far). Our boys, on the other hand, are both moved by her plight and their desire to protect her. They both run at top speed through campus looking for her, and it’s In-ha who finds her first. A very unreciprocated kiss later, and it looks like In-ha finally has his girl.
There are a few problems with this. One is that we have seen Hye-won calculating for this very moment. She seems to have In-ha’s psychology down to a tee, and she played him like a fiddle to increase his interest in her and desire for her. She’s also made her intentions clear to Tae-oh — first asking him for help, and later saying she was going to do the same thing that Tae-oh was: use In-ha as a rope to climb out of their miserable circumstances. (To me, she’s the more heartless here, since she’s manipulating In-ha’s emotions. Tae-oh, on his side, is manipulating In-ha’s position, but since the boys have been calculating their plays together, it isn’t nearly as off putting.)
But there’s another problem with this scenario, and it’s that there are some genuine feelings brewing between Tae-oh and Hye-won. But will those feelings be more important than their ambitions to rise out of their circumstances? So far: no. Tae-oh all but confesses his feelings to Hye-won, throwing in an epic wrist grab before she heads off to In-ha’s, but she tells him he’ll regret it in a few months.
But it seems like she’s the one that’s regretting her heartlessness, because ten minutes later she’s at his door, ready to take it all back. It wouldn’t be a drama if Tae-oh opened the door and they kissed and lived happily ever after. So instead, it’s his turn to turn her down. He ignores her, and instead answers a call from his other “rope.”
That rope is In-ha’s younger half-sister KANG HEE-JOO (rookie actress Choi Hee-jin). She’s a 17-year-old girl with a passionate crush on her math tutor… who is none other than our Tae-oh (so who can blame her). Tae-oh has been rebuffing her, but it looks like he might be changing his mind now, taking a page from Hye-won’s playbook.
Though at 17 she’s a spoiled chaebol brat, Hee-joo is also quite clearly the nicest and least greedy person in the Kang family. She seems to truly like In-ha, and her desire for him to be in their family is what starts Chairman Kang turning (ever so slightly) in In-ha’s direction. Hee-joo is also unafraid to call out (or bite, lol) her parents and older brothers for being inhumane towards In-ha. In sum, I like Hee-joo a heck of a lot more than Hye-won so far, but is it the actress, the character, or both?
Either way, I love that the drama is setting us up for a positively galling love triangle between In-ha, Tae-oh, and Hye-won, as I asked for this agony from the get-go. However, the speed with which we travel through these episodes and interactions makes it hard for me to get behind the pining and renunciation thus far (which is sad, because those are my favorite elements in a story like this). But I believe Tae-oh is in love with her because Lee Jae-wook is a wonderful actor; I also believe that In-ha is in love and slightly obsessed with her because Lee Jun-young is equally great (the unevenness he brings to In-ha’s character is going to have huge payoff later, I suspect). But as for our ~lovers~ right now, I just need to spend more time with our characters to get behind it all.
That’s actually my main critique thus far — despite the premise being strong and the characters compelling, I’m not really feeling a whole lot with them yet. And if the drama is going to trample us later with what’s going to happen in these relationships, that’s essential. In the drama’s defense, though, I’ll also say that it spends far more time with the characters — and caring about their interactions — than any corporate machinations, and for that I’m grateful. And I’m also hopeful. If the drama cares this much already about creating characters with complex relationships and layered motivations, it’s going to get gooood.
Going into this premiere, I was most excited to see the chemistry between Lee Jae-wook and Lee Jun-young, as I couldn’t really imagine these two on screen together since they’re both such strong performers — but I love what we’ve gotten so far. The actors and characters both have their unique power, and the way these two pull equal weight is another promising signal for the complications to come.
As our episodes close, we jump to 2018 and the opening of the Co-Prosperity Cooperation Center where both Tae-oh and In-ha seem to be playing integral roles. While In-ha looks openly ready to start playing ball against Chairman Kang and his half-brothers, Tae-oh seems like a carefully placed double agent who’s ready to be activated. Now that we’re inching closer to the main action of the drama, I’m hopeful the pacing will even out and we’ll be good to go.