October 9, 2022
The Oh family was composed of three sisters. The eldest sister is In-joo (Kim Go-eun), who worked as an accountant. The second sister is In-kyung (Nam Ji-hyun), who worked as a news reporter. The third sister is In-hye (Park Ji-hu), who is a talented painter who made it as a scholar in an exclusive art school. On the occasion of In-hye's 13th birthday, their mother abandoned her daughters to join her husband in the Philippines to pick mangoes.
In-hye's best friend in school is Park Hyo-rin, a very wealthy girl whose parents are Park Jae-sang (Um Ki-joon), who was currently running for Mayor of Seoul, and his wife Won Sang-a (Uhm Ji-won), who was a patron of fine arts as well as orchid horticulture. In-kyung was investigating a series of disgruntled bank customers who died of suicide. Meanwhile, In-joo's best friend Jin Hwa-young (Choo Ja-hyun) also committed suicide.
Because of the title, I thought the story would somehow approximate the famous novel of Louisa Mae Alcott. However, aside from the fact that the lead characters were sisters who were poor, there was nothing else to connect the two. The three sisters in the K-drama did not reflect any traits which could match them with any of Meg, Jo, Beth or Amy, and they definitely did not have a good Marmee supporting them.
After Hwa-young's mysterious death, In-joo came into possession of 2 Billion Won. She was thrilled with this unexpected windfall which can certainly help her family out of their dire straits. Won Sang-a offered In-joo a job to be her secretary, which she accepted to be nearer In-hye who was getting closer and closer to her benefactors. However, In-kyung's investigation had brought her closer and closer to exposing Park Jae-sang's involvement in plunder.
There was some romance injected in the story, but this was not at all a main concern. In-kyung had childhood friend Ha Jong-ho (Kang Hoon) to call for research assistance for her case. He had romantic feelings for her that she did not reciprocate. In-joo had Choi Do-il (Wi Ha-joon) helping her out of tight spots. He was employed by the Park and his wife laundering their illegal wealth, so his true loyalties were not immediately apparent.
Lead stars Kim Go-eun and Nam Ji-hyun should both be cited for Best Actress for turning in emotionally-complex performances. The villainous turns of both Um Ki-joon and Uhm Ji-won, which went from subtle hypocrisy to downright insanity, also deserve commendation. Kim Mi-sook (as grand-aunt Oh Hye-seok), Kim Myung-soo (as war veteran Choi Hee-jae) and Jang Gwang (as school principal Jang Sa-pyoung) all lent credible support.
From what seemed to be a simple family drama, this intriguing 12-episode series tackled bank fraud, slush funds, double identities, Vietnam war, secret societies and rare orchids. Each episode ended with an unbearable cliffhanger, usually with a key character dying. Watch out for guest appearances of Oh Jung-se (as a shady boss), Adrian Pang (as a Singaporean hotel manager) and "Vincenzo" himself Song Joong-ki (as a luxury shoe salesman). 9/10.
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