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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Jugglers" Episode 6

Chang-soo (played by Min Jin-woong) is Yoon-i's ex-boyfriend. No, he's not the ex-boyfriend that abandoned her at the hotel in the first episode. That guy was a jerk, too, but his presence would at least have presented an interesting conflict about how Yoon-i's dedication to work has had deleterious effects on her social life. His presence would have been especially relevant in light of the fake news about Yoon-i being romantically involved with Mr. Bong, since that would have given him a valid reason to break up with Yoon-i.

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We do get more exposition on this point, but as usual all the new information does is make it clear that Mr. Bong is really very dumb. He has no leverage over Yoon-i to actually force her to do anything. Mr. Bong's decision to antagonize Yoon-i is especially baffling, since all she would have to do is tell Chi-won what is going on and all of a sudden Mr. Bong has a very powerful enemy who is far more competent and well-liked by people in the company than Mr. Bong himself is.

So that's what Chang-soo is here for. He's a new alternative villain since Mr. Bong is obviously not up to the job. Unfortunately Chang-soo is an even less credible threat. While Chang-soo's goal is to get back together with Yoon-i, he has yet to prevent a single compelling reason why she should do so. Chang-soo's presence does occasionally allow for a joke to be set-up. However, as the jokes in "Jugglers" tend to be lackluster, that is also not of much help.

Jeong-ae remains a reasonably good alternative protagonist. I think my favorite part about her character is that, as a novice secretary, Jeong-ae needs other characters to explain everything to her, which means that important plot points are also explained to me, which makes Jeong-ae's motivation much easier to follow. We also find out that "Jugglers" is, in fact, the name of the online secretary support group, which is relevant.

It also helps that Kang Hye-jung has the best comic timing of the whole cast- she really nails the untranslatable e-sports joke. Jeong-ae has the most interesting story- the demure, friendly housewife who struggles to succeed notwithstanding her own dubious competence. Jeong-ae's boss Bo-yool also benefits a lot from her. Bo-yool motivates Jeong-ae to succeed, and Jeong-ae motivates Bo-yool to be nicer. Now those are characters arcs I can get behind.

Review by William Schwartz

"Jugglers" is directed by  Kim Jung-hyun-III, written by Jo Yong  and features Baek Jin-hee, Choi Daniel, Kang Hye-jung, and Lee Won-keun.

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