INSOLENTLY, GO GO - EPISODE 2

They dodge Teacher Yang, who is also at the hospital, and head out. Teacher Yang hears Ha Joon's name called at the desk, so he confronts the boy when they're back at the school.

Soo Ah finds the bloody towel dropped by Ha Joon and shows Principal Choi. Choi blackmails Kim Yeol: she won't tell Ha Joon's parents if Kim Yeol convinces the others to enter the cheerleading competition. He pitches it to Yeon Doo, who flat out refuses because of Soo Ah...


Soo Ah, and the proverbial smoking gun

Wow. Things escalated quickly, growing from edgy to absolutely gloomy. Our heroine with a bum ankle, Ha Joon repeatedly trying to end his life, Choi as not just menace but manipulator, and Soo Ah at the center of it all. This episode forgot the light-hearted tone and chucked it out the window. There were a few fun moments (sneaking out of the hospital, the dance contest), but they dialed it way back. What we got instead was Eunji screaming at the top of her voice. A lot. She plays indignant and emotionally wounded well. What I want to see is a broader range.   

Chae Soo Bin (Soo Ah) makes a delicious bad girl. She plays it to the hilt, too, exuding this aura of menace and nose-in-the-air arrogance when she's called to account for her crimes. Kudos to the actress. The character is interesting because despite all the double dealing on her behalf, at the end of the day, she's just a girl trying to please her mother. It's always nice when a character riddled with tropes actually has some depth, and Chae Soo Bin is admirably up to the task, able to switch between moods effortlessly and convincingly.

Principal Choi and her lackey, teacher Soo Yong.

Teacher Yang is the iconic, caring homeroom teacher. He seems to be quietly on the students' side. It was he who photographed the protest poster and not only posted it on social media but also sent it to the Office of Education. He also tries to help Ha Yoon. I'll be surprised if he shows any depth, instead maybe bailing his students out of jail, paying for meals, putting up the money for an expensive operation, or lying to protect his pupils. I'm hoping I'm wrong, but I have the sinking feeling I'm not.

And I think we have a relationship brewing here between Dong Jae and Yeon Doo. It's a quiet thing, but the regard he has for his friend may be a bit of a crush. We haven't seen him even remotely act on it, but he may be too anxious to do so, or maybe he thinks the crush is one-sided (which it seems to be). The show seems to put Kim Yeol and Yeon Doo together; they always find themselves sandwiched together in some way, and we've had a near kiss as Kim Yeol is not one to waste an opportunity. I'm going to go out a limb here and ship her with Dong Jae. Something will have to happen, though, to drive her into his arms.


This isn't what it looks like...

As ever, the pacing is lightning fast. They cram an awful lot into an hour, and it never feels forced, like they had a lot of story to tell. The running time fits the story like a glove. I've seen too many dramas where they had maybe one or two episodes worth of story and they somehow dragged it out to 16.

Overall I like the acting, the sets, and the music. The actors are good at what they do, and the pacing is such where they don't need the chemistry, though the cast does have that. It's a little early to tell where this is going, but I'm pretty sure they're going to win that competition.

So, gimme your thoughts. Liking it? Hating it? Leave a comment below.  

SEE ALSO: Actors Kwak Si Yang & Lim Hyun Joo reportedly break up after a year