Recap and Review: Penthouse Season 3, Episode 4 – “I’m tired of feeling disappointed in you.”

Jun Ki denies Dan Tae is the man on the wanted poster and asks Seo Jin not to snoop around his room. When Seo Jin runs into Dan Tae in the hallway, she confronts him about the poster. But Dan Tae insists Jun Ki is a fraud and he’ll be kicking him out soon. Seo Jin is pleased she has gotten this new information.

Jun Ki flashes back to when Logan helped him escape the Japanese mental hospital. In order to gain his trust, Logan gave him a gold credit card.

Up in the penthouse, Su Ryeon catches Seok Kyung going through her things and confirms that it was her that took her seal. Seok Kyung continues to insist that Su Ryeon is just a greedy bitch trying to get between her and her father who is just helping her. Unlike Su Ryeon.

Su Ryeon says Seok Kyung has only brought all this suffering upon herself and she will not tolerate her wrong choices for much longer. Su Ryeon says what Seok Kyung has done is criminal and Seok Kyong challenges her to throw her in prison.

“You’re not my real mother anyway, so why would you care?!”

Seok Kyung storms out.

Meanwhile, Yoon Hee learns that Dong Pil wasn’t even a suspect in Kim Mi Sook’s death. Though she had received lots of money beforehand.

Next morning, Dan Tae is already in a bad mood after arguing with Seo Jin about their next moves at Cheong A as well as the incompetence of both their daughters. But Jun Ki adds to his stress by bringing up how Dan Tae freeloaded off the Joo family. Jun Ki points out how he is entitled to a portion of the fortune Dan Tae has amassed since. And then proceeds to mock Dan Tae for having been jealous of him since they were kids.

That includes Dan Tae pursuing Su Ryeon only because she was Jun Ki’s first love, Dan Tae copying the décor of their old home, forcing his daughter to study classical singing because Mama Joo was a singer and even developing OCD and a taste for fine wine like Papa Joo.

Seo Jin comes outside just as Dan Tae punches Jun Ki and feigns concern, but is happy to see her husband unraveling.

Down in the lobby, Dan Tae unleashes his anger at the construction signs and tells Dong Pil to hurry up with the fountain repairs. When Dan Tae leaves, Yoon Hee approaches Dong Pil and confronts him about killing the mother of Su Ryeon’s daughter. Dong Pil calls her rude, but Yoon Hee persists in trying to get him to admit that he merely took the fall for Dan Tae.

Dong Pil warns Yoon Hee to stop her snooping or she’ll also end up dead. Dan Tae, who sees this entire scene, orders Secretary Jo to keep tabs on Dong Pil and his work on the fountain.

Over at Cheong A, Ms. Jin allows Eun Byeol to use the restroom for five minutes. After a pair of catty girls try to bully Eun Byeol, Rona comes in to ask her about what happened at the SNU entrance exam and whether or not Ms. Jin is trustworthy. Before Eun Byeol can answer, Ms. Jin comes in, forbids them from talking to each other and drags Eun Byeol out the restroom.

Rona heads back to the classroom, but can’t stop thinking about Eun Byeol mouthing the words “Help me” as she was dragged away. She asks Seok Hoon for a favor.

Seo Jin walks into the concert hall of the brand-new Cheong A Arts Center and fantasizes about being inaugurated as its director, just like her father dreamed.

The Hera Club crew come in to marvel at the beautiful venue ahead of its grand opening. Kyu Jin and Sang Ah are excited at the thought of him possibly being elected director after he applied for the job. Seo Jin secretly scoffs at the idea. But Ma Ri announces that she has also thrown her hat into the ring.

But they’re all even more surprised when Yoon Hee walks in and announces she’s also applied. Seo Jin asks if she’s even qualified since you need 5% shares in Cheong A. Yoon Hee nonchalantly says she has 20% while Seo Jin only has 15%.

After the ribbon cutting, Sang Ah gossips to Ma Ri that Yoon Hee stole Logan’s money and they conclude that Yoon Hee is Logan’s murderer. Dan Tae and Kyu Jin plan to take Logan’s $10 billion from Yoon Hee.

Later, Seo Jin storms into Jakomo to confront Su Ryeon about Yoon Hee owning Cheong Ah Arts Center shares. But Su Ryeon knows nothing about that. As Seo Jin continues to plant seeds of doubt about Yoon Hee and her possibly having Logan’s money, Su Ryeon does not let on that she is actually bothered by the idea.

“You always get stabbed in the back because you’re so naïve.”

Yoon Hee visits the Bank of Seoul and asks for the contents of the vault to be transferred into one check. Ma Ri, Sang Ah, Kyu Jin and Dan Tae all follow Yoon Hee to see what she is up to.

Yoon Hee meets with Su Ryeon at the penthouse and tells her about running for Cheong A Arts Center director. Su Ryeon asks where she got the money for shares. Yoon Hee says she got an investor who helped purchase land in the area of the center, which of course shot up in value since the construction of the it.

Anyway, Su Ryeon tells Yoon Hee about Seok Kyung stealing her seal and how Dan Tae has now put Seok Hoon’s name as joint owners of the penthouse and Lot 27. Possibly in an effort to pit the twins against each other.

Yoon Hee is about to tell Su Ryeon what she has uncovered so far about her daughters. But Jun Ki arrives and Yoon Hee says she and Su Ryeon can talk later.

Jun Ki tells Su Ryeon that Seo Jin likely knows Dan Tae’s true identity now. But Su Ryeon says that can’t be helped. He notices Su Ryeon is wearing Logan’s ring and she updates him on the non-progress of Logan’s case.

Jun Ki says it must be hard and tells Su Ryeon that she can cry if she needs to. He tells her that they actually met when they were younger as their fathers worked closely together and trusted each other very much.

Jun Ki says Su Ryeon is as beautiful now as she was back then. Su Ryeon blushes and Jun Ki hopes she can continue to smile while she leaves Dan Tae’s downfall to him.

Yoon Hee heads down to her office where Dan Tae is waiting to confront her about talking to Dong Pil. He accuses her of killing Logan and taking his money. She says she will tell him where the money is if he can answer her question correctly.

Yoon Hee asks Dan Tae what he did with Seol Ah’s twin who was believed dead, but actually perfectly healthy. And why did he need to kill Kim Mi Sook, Hye In’s mother.

Dan Tae stops himself from strangling her and tells her to watch herself or she’ll end up causing Su Ryeon’s death. He storms out and Yoon Hee screams at him.

Yoon Hee remembers Logan telling her about Su Ryeon giving birth to twins after Dan Tae’s attack that left her husband dead. She believed she miscarried the other twin, but that one was actually the healthier of the two babies. Seol Ah was the other baby which was then brought to Korea.

Logan did not want to tell Su Ryeon about it yet until they knew for sure that the child is still alive. That’s why he asked Yoon Hee to look for the child even if it means using all his money.

Yoon Hee vows to do all she can to find the child.

Over at Cheong A, an elaborate plan is about to begin. Rona confronts Eun Byeol and they end up getting in a big fight as the entire school watches. Rona ends up pushing Eun Byeol into the post. With her head turned away from the crowd and Ms. Jin, she drips some fake blood onto her forehead.

Seeing the blood, Ms. Jin attempts to slap Rona, but Jenny shields her and grabs her hand before she does. Ms. Jin shoves Jenny aside and Min Hyuk comes to her defense.

Rona tells Seok Hoon to take Eun Byeol to the infirmary while Min Hyuk has their classmates hold Ms. Jin back. When Ms. Jin arrives at the infirmary, Eun Byeol is nowhere to be found.

Rona and Seok Hoon usher Eun Byeol into a taxi. Rona gives her the keys to her house and tells her to wait there.

Ms. Jin comes running out and demands they tell her where Eun Byeol is. They feign ignorance and Rona tells Ms. Jin that when she does find her, she better make Eun Byeol get on her knees and apologize for almost murdering her.

Seok Hoon and Rona have to pretend being out and about as they know Ms. Jin is following them.

In a random warehouse, Secretary Jo updates Dan Tae on Dong Pil’s moves, but he doesn’t have much information. Dan Tae calls Yoon Chul in and he actually does have info on his every move, including photos.

Dan Tae knows Secretary Jo is still loyal to Dong Pil and proceeds to beat him and threaten his family. Secretary Jo begs Dan Tae to forgive him. Dan Tae orders him to find out what’s inside the fountain and find out what Yoon Hee is up to. Otherwise, Secretary Jo’s family is dead.

Dan Tae tells Yoon Chul to drag Secretary Jo out.

Yoon Hee can’t stop thinking about Dan Tae putting properties in Seok Hoon’s name and how that could be a clue as to the missing child. But she notices Rona taking a tray of food into her room. Rona tries to pass it off as her enjoying herself now that the exams are over.

But Yoon Hee does not know Rona is hiding Eun Byeol in her room. Eun Byeol explains that Ms. Jin has become overly obsessive. Rona believes it was Ms. Jin who planted her phone in Eun Byeol’s pocket. But she does not know why yet. Rona tells Eun Byeol to eat up before she calls her mother.

Upstairs, Dan Tae checks on who’s ringing their doorbell at this late hour and it is Ms. Jin. He tries to hide that fact from Seo Jin who gets a call from Eun Byeol.

Not wanting to put Eun Byeol in harm’s way with Dan Tae, Seo Jin pretends to act cold towards her and hangs up. Eun Byeol cries in agony over her mother seemingly turning her back on her.

Dan Tae meets with a frantic Ms. Jin outside and tells her Eun Byeol is not here. He tells her to find Eun Byeol, otherwise their deal is over. But Ms. Jin is only concerned about her daughter Eun Byeol and only agreed to work with Dan Tae after he promised to help them leave the country. Dan Tae says Ms. Jin’s usefulness is waning.

Next morning, Yoon Hee visits with Su Ryeon and gifts her Paradise Lost to help her sleep better. Su Ryeon invites her to eat breakfast and Yoon Hee excuses herself to go wash up. In reality, she goes to collect Seok Hoon’s tooth brush and Seok Kyung’s and Su Ryeon’s hair for a potential DNA test.

Seok Hoon sneaks down to Rona’s. Eun Byeol asks why are they being so nice to her and says she’d rather Rona hate her instead of make her look even worse by acting so nice. Rona says she does hate Eun Byeol and is still waiting for a proper apology. But she feels she needs to help Eun Byeol at this time.

Secretary Jo follows Yoon Hee to the DNA testing facility and reports that to Dan Tae who orders him to stop the test by all means necessary.

Dan Tae is annoyed that Yoon Hee might be on the verge of finding everything out. He flashes back to having switched Seol Ah with Hye In. But he also remembers meeting with Kim Mi Sook who found out about Na Ae Gyo. After she did some digging, she confirmed that Ae Gyo did not have twins and that one of the twins is not Dan Tae’s.

She shows him a USB with the proof. He promises more money for her, but actually just smashes her head in with a block of cement. Dong Pil comes in and Dan Tae begs his hyung to save him. Dong Pil, feeling sorry for him, tells Dan Tae to get out of here and he will take care of everything.

Back in the present day, Seok Hoon and Rona leave to get some things for Eun Byeol. But Seok Kyung overhears them talking about Eun Byeol and ends up spilling the beans to Ms. Jin whom she sees waiting in the lobby.

Yoon Hee, having caught on that she was being followed, gets the DNA test done at a different location, unbeknownst to Secretary Jo. Later that evening, she gets the results that confirms her suspicion. She calls Su Ryeon and says to wait for her as well as tell Seok Kyung not to take any calls from Dan Tae.

Seo Jin is with Su Ryeon in the penthouse and she asks if she has anything to do with Baek Jun Ki. Su Ryeon admits that Logan brought him to Korea as he is the key to Dan Tae’s downfall. But she will explain more when Yoon Hee arrives.

Meanwhile, Seok Kyung surprises Seok Hoon and Rona and stalls them from getting back to Eun Byeol at home. While eating chicken and ttokbeokki, Seok Kyung texts Ms. Jin who proceeds to trick Eun Byeol into opening the door.

Ms. Jin drugs Eun Byeol and wheels her to her car. But Yoon Hee sees and follows them out onto the street. Ms. Jin calls Dan Tae and he tells her to lure Yoon Hee to their home in Gimpo. Dan Tae tells Secretary Jin to tell Seok Kyung to head over as well.

Seok Hoon and Rona hurry to the penthouse to tell them that Eun Byeol has gone missing. Seo Jin is upset that they didn’t tell her about Ms. Jin abusing Eun Byeol sooner. But Rona points out that Eun Byeol called her last night.

Yoon Hee calls Seo Jin to tell her what’s happening and Seo Jin begs Yoon Hee to save her. Su Ryeon follows Seo Jin who runs out.

Seok Kyung arrives at the Gimpo house. A housekeeper tells Seok Kyung to wait for her father and serves her some orange juice. Seok Kyung drinks the entire bottle and immediately falls asleep.

Ms. Jin arrives at the Gimpo house where Dan Tae and his henchmen are waiting. As soon as Ms. Jin steps out of the car, they put a bag over her head and drag her away. Yoon Hee drives straight through, hops out and then into Ms. Jin’s car and drives away with Eun Byeol. Dan Tae chases after them.

They end up reaching a dead end next to a cliff and Dan Tae charges into Yoon Hee, trying to push them over. Yoon Hee is able to put on the emergency break and steps out to try and hold the car back and keep it from falling against Dan Tae’s revving SUV ramming into it.

When the police approach, Dan Tae gets out of his car, puts a large rock on the gas pedal and laughs as he watches Yoon Hee struggling. Dan Tae takes the DNA test from Yoon Hee’s purse.

Yoon Hee does all she can to stay alive in order to let Su Ryeon know that her missing daughter is… Seok Kyung.

Back at Hera Palace, Dong Pil finds a dead body in the walls and Dan Tae pops up with a maniacal smile.

Episode Thoughts

Well, this was definitely the best episode of the season so far. Far from perfect, but they thankfully kept up the momentum from last week and we’re back to the big soapy elements like missing children, psycho characters, elaborate fake outs and big car chases.

Can we all agree neither Yoon Hee nor Eun Byeol are dead? Lol This is only Episode 4, after all. We still got a lot of show left. And neither character is going to die this early. lol

I like Yoon Hee secretly fulfilling Logan’s wish, even if it meant Su Ryeon has become suspicious of her. I do think they crammed everything into this episode when they could’ve spread it out over at least two.

I expected Su Ryeon would doubt Yoon Hee so much that she would unwittingly sabotage the search for the missing kid. But they just rushed through it in this episode, so no chance for that. They went with Yoon Hee taking the secret with her to her temporary grave. Which is okay, but not as dramatic as Su Ryeon regretting ruining her own chance to meet the child she never knew she had.

I’ve seen one theory floating around for a while that Seok Hoon and Seok Kyung actually are not siblings. Partly to explain the weird sexual tension between them that some like to point out. Lol

Anyway, I would have played around with more foreshadowing about Seok Kyung being the missing twin. And that includes more Seok Kyung and Su Ryeon clashing and growing to hate each other. That’s one of the most soap opera-ish twists of course. That is, two characters hating each other so much not knowing that they are actually the parent or child they’ve been looking for all along.

We can still get that moment of realization. But you know the explosive scenario that could’ve been a cliffhanger. Seok Kyung or Su Ryeon is about to kill the other and Yoon Hee comes in to scream “She’s your daughter/mother!!!!!!!” Something like that.

But I think there was a missed opportunity for a big, over the top reveal. Especially the confirmation that Seok Kyung is the daughter. They made it so obvious early on this episode that there was zero shock when the revelation should’ve been as shocking as someone coming back from the dead.

I mean, Seok Kyung yelled this line in the first couple of minutes: “You’re not my real mother anyway, so why would you care?!” Aha!

They really sped through Ms. Jin going full bonkers as well as Kim Mi Sook’s scenes being complete exposition instead of a more seamless reveal. A little bit rushed.

Speaking of mothers, it was great to see Seo Jin have that horrifying moment of realization that her pushing Eun Byeol away put her in more danger. It will be even better if Eun Byeol “dies” and Seo Jin hates herself even more. Though I can already see her blaming Yoon Hee somehow.

To add to some parts feeling rushed, I think we could’ve gotten more of Rona seeing something was wrong with Eun Byeol. Maybe more school scenes. Especially to make use of the rest of the cast, including Jenny and Min Hyuk.

Though I must say, that little moment of Min Hyuk coming to Jenny’s defense was quite nice. There’s hope for you yet Min Hyuk! Lol They scrapped the “Min Hyuk is gay for Seok Hoon” storyline in order to give Jenny a love interest. SO GIVE US THE LOVE THEN! lol Let’s see them develop feeling for each other. Time’s a ticking. If they’re not going to go through with a romantic angle for them, then they should’ve just kept Min Hyuk gay.

In other romance news, I like the possibility of Jun Ki/real Dan Tae pursuing Su Ryeon. Especially when Logan pops up alive, it will be fun to see the two guys fighting over her. Childhood first loves have lots of story potential. And mixed in with wacko Dan Tae, there’s definitely lots to draw from here.

I also like the idea of Dan Tae being jealous of the Joos and ending up crafting a life to mimic theirs. Including, of course, stealing their money and identity. It’s a twisted idea and definitely something we know Dan Tae would do.

Again, I don’t really want to see a redemption story for Dan Tae. We’ve come too far for that. And this episode has just added more to the long list of Dan Tae atrocities. The way Penthouse has gone beyond its originally campy and over the top nature, there’s no room for such a redemption-type story where we end up feeling sorry for Dan Tae in the end. This is not that kind of show and I doubt anyone wants to see such a thing. Everyone’s exhausted, we want to see some suffering for those who deserve it in the end!

Elsewhere, did you see Cheong A Arts Center gobbled up most of Seoul Olympic Park? No wonder it’s land value was high lol

Anyway, a very exciting episode. Some missed opportunities, but the most fun of the four episodes so far this season.