dangermousie | "To me...a gun was the only way to save my sister." Lobbyist continues to rock with its film noir

Ahem.

*chokes a little*

The publicist for Lobbyist either deserves a firing or a raise. I have not decided which.

In other news, any drama which has the grown-up OTP meet when he is hired to kill her?

WINS AT (drama) LIFE.

So yes, ep 3 is very excellent.

Poor little Harry is having nightmares about his abuse.

Yikes. I was kinda affectionately mocking the wangst earlier, but I can't really mock child abuse. Especially when they take him to a school counsellor and he is very quick to deny any hint of mistreatment with a little dead stare. Yikes. Also, his little sister's drawing expresses her trauma (giant violent figure shaking a child) and this is a little too realistic, m'kay? It makes me kinda ill.

So the school counsellor pressures him to tell her if they are being abused, for his sister's sake and the poor kid finally musters the courage, and the social workers come to the house and it's sort of painful to see Harry hope and try to reassure his sister that they will be taken elsewhere where they won't be beaten. But social workers leave, charmed by their Uncle, and the look on Harry's face as he sees that (he is only a kid after all) and knows that there is no escape and he is going to pay...and next thing we see is his aunt putting salve on the cuts on his back and he has a huge black eye. And he can't sleep and later comes across the Uncle trying to molest his sister.

OK, drama. Seriously. I am feeling a bit ill. I signed up for a bit of guns and hot people...stop making me care, dammit!

No wonder Harry has a gun fetish...after yet another abuse episode, he finds his Uncle's gun and finally he has some power. And the Ubcle is all 'shoot' and...Harry does. He is what? 11!

And he takes his sister and goes on the run...

Oh boy.

I take this back. This is actually genuinely good.

And now flashforward, a bit over a decade later and Maria is a cheery tour operator/bus driver and the dramas do the so beloved 'they pass by each other not knowing' thing.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Song Il Gook (grown-up Harry) is SO HOT.

*am now incoherent*

Maria's English is really good. YAY! And she is chirpy, fearless and a go-getter. I love her.

Harry's English is good too! I mean, they both have accents but they are totally understandable.

LOVE.

Did I mention the HOT?????????

SO HOT.

SO HOOOOOOOOOOT.

Also, he is a compulsive gambler...gambling because he owes money to the mob because he borrowed $$$ to get his little sis to college?

OK, OK, when I said I wanted a little h/c, I meant a little. Sheesh. The mobsters work him over twice in this ep. It's uncomfortable to watch actually because it's not prettified-glamorized pain, just pain. Generally, a request...give the woobie some joy, please.

Anyway, mob guy wants to get rid of Maria (long story) and tells Harry he will forgive the interest on his debt and also he has his sister as hostage, so go to work please. OMG. (The earlier scene with him nerving himself to shoot the mobster instead and failing was awesome btw).

Shallowness aside, Song Il Gook is good, you guys. I mean, really really good. You can totally feel his fear and rage and attempts at determination and complete desperation. I've forgotten how amazing he was in Jumong but this is certainly reminding me.