[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Kind Words" Episode 16

Almost all the nasty secrets have been aired and the angst is in full swing. What makes the angst, tears, yelling, and arguing bearable is the pace and the earnest reactions of the characters. There is plenty of blame to go around, but there is also understanding and compassion to temper the intensity of the hurt emotions.

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Han Groo led the episode in terms of raw passion. Her character, Eun-young, is forward and rudely earnest, which makes her pursual of the dirty truth even more difficult for her family, Min-soo's family, and for me to watch. She is the firecracker temper among the cast of characters and the one all of them worried for because she is the innocent. What makes her collapse beautiful is Han Groo's ability to let go of herself to portray her character, and the way the other characters' reactions are written. Overall, everyone wants to protect her and understands that her and Min-soo's love have nothing to do with anyone else's sins.

It was also Eun-young's chance to really air her grievances towards her parents, her mother in particular. Eun-jin is the favorite in the family and that has always hurt Eun-young who freely voices that pain. It makes her mother consider how she treats her children. One of the strongest things in the show is how people who wrong consider their wrongs, how they affect people, and how to amend the harmful effects. The conclusions they draw may be incorrect, but they're human. Most importantly, they try. It's something we should all do in our lives.

That leads to the show dealing with the outcomes of adultery: possible divorce and fracturing families. Min-soo has something he says about love: "[Adulterous] love is not love. It's violence to families". It's been proven correct episode after episode in "Kind Words" because now two couples and their families are considering divorce and taking stock of the wounded in the aftermath of passion. As Mi-kyung says, marriage is much more than love. It's a connection between people, their families and lives, finances. That makes the connection very difficult to break. "Kind Words" is bringing all of these realizations together now as the angst builds. I love how it makes me consider my own life through the mistakes of these people on screen.

I also love how all the heaviness doesn't weigh as much as it could because of the faster pace the show has taken on. Now that revelations are occurring, the plot is happening quickly and keeping the angst from sinking into a mire of angsty, soap-opera-y awfulness.

Written by Raine from Raine's Dichotomy

Follow on Twitter @Raine0211

"Kind Words" is directed by Choi Yeong-hoon and written by Ha Myeong-hee and features Han Hye-jin, Ji Jin-hee, Kim Ji-soo and Lee Sang-woo.