[Drama Review] 'Revolutionary Love' - Episode 7

AKP STAFF

Last time on tvN's 'Revolutionary Love', our male lead Byun Hyuk (played by Super Junior's Siwon) caused a big scene in his father's company, the Kang Soo Group, by leading the cleaning department workers in a friendly, non-violent strike.

The ending of the last episode made it difficult for viewers to guess at what would happen to Byun Hyuk after the whole fiasco, but the answer was simple. He gets beaten by his father. The "performance" strike fails to grant the cleaning department the advantage of becoming real, full-time employees of the Kang Soo Group. (No one really expected Siwon's flashy trot number to achieve anything, really.) What's important is that the show did transition into another deal between Hyuk and his father - that Hyuk attempt to apply for an internship position at the Kang Soo Group, and get accepted fair and square.

This whole Asian concept of writing one's goal on a headband and wearing it while working toward that goal is NOT that effective, btw.

Hyuk and Baek Jun (played by Kang So Ra) decided to team up together to ensure that Hyuk passes the internship exams. Now, when Jun announced her decision to apply for the internship with Hyuk, I admit it seemed like a bit of a setback for this drama's premise as a whole. Jun's character is one who rejects the notion that the only way to succeed in a career is to find a stable, salaried job and work one's way up from there. So for her to suddenly leave her part-timer life? I was a little worried at first, but thankfully, this whole episode's focus was more set on the theme of working together.

The important lesson that the characters learned through this internship exam prep episode was how having people who support you, help you, and cheer you on can have a big impact in your work ethic and determination. While Hyuk and Jun make huge progress thanks to their joint efforts and the cheers from their trusty crew at the cleaning department, poor Kwon Jae Hoon (played by Gong Myung) watches from the sidelines, jealous AF.

Wait, no, babe. I can change. I can change!

Thanks to Jun's help, Hyuk successfully overcomes the technical hurdles of the first and second exams, and impresses the examiners (except his evil brother) into allowing a pass on the third exam, the interview, as well. While Hyuk receives the official offer to begin working as an intern at the Kang Soo Group, Jun stays true to her character and her beliefs and reassures us viewers, by turning down the internship offer.

Who knew 50% of this drama was going to be mukbang?

The heartbreaking thing here is watching Jae Hoon sulking from the outside, looking in on Jun and Hyuk's growing relationship. Watching Hyuk and Jun working together makes Jae Hoon extremely antsy, to the point that he decides to confront Jun about staying away from Hyuk. But why does he have to go and make up a dumb lie instead of telling Jun the truth? Instead of confessing that he's jealous of Hyuk because he likes Jun, he argues that he needs to keep watch over everyone involved in Hyuk's life because it's his job... There he goes again, having a good heart with good intentions, but saying the wrong thing and going about it all the wrong way. When will these second male leads LEARN?!

Surprisingly, episode 7 gave us viewers some very keen insight into the pasts of both Hyuk and Jun. Back when they were younger, Hyuk too the blame for his older brother Byun Woo Sung's crime of driving underaged and hitting a person with a car, and it seems highly likely that this incident was the main reason why Woo Sung and Hyuk turned out the way they are now. Meanwhile, Jun reveals that the Kang Soo Group's signature gochujang (red chili paste) is the invention of her father. What this gochujang will have to do with Jun's future, though, is unclear, unless she suddenly up and decides to become a chef or food inventor or something farfetched like that.

This is a big pink heart to the viewers who are actually still watching 'Revolutionary Love' after Siwon's controversy, from tvN staff.

There we have it for episode 7: a steady and nicely-paced progression of our characters and story. Now, as Hyuk begins his work as an intern at the Kang Soo Group, we get a hint of a big problem that he will run into in the next episode... (This part, I will not spoil for any who may not be this far yet.) How will Hyuk and Jun deal with this new challenge?