MURIM SCHOOL - EPISODE 10

Because sometimes, bromance means having a stick fight.

Soon Duk talks with Si Woo about recent events. The idol suspects Yeob Jung of ransacking the principal's office. Choi Ho is eventually revealed as the culprit and leaves the school. Chi Ang attempts to win Soon Duk back, but she rebukes him. Chae Yoon seeks out someone with a connection to the past only to find him murdered by Wang Hao's agents. Soon Duk's dad yanks her out of school when he finds out she attends Murim. The principal decides to hold a competition open to outsiders. Chi Ang intends to win it, crushing all who stand in his way. That point is demonstrated to Si Woo and relayed to Principal Hwang. The principal drafts a former student, one groomed to be the heir, as a new instructor. Si Woo figures that the artifact is related to his past and vows to find it. Later, worried about Soon Duk, he goes to her house with Principal Hwang, and her father faints when he hears the headmaster's voice...

This episode was notably slower than the others. And after I raved about the pacing, too! Now, apparently, they slowed it way down and added some plot points. Lots of plot points. We get one short action sequence in the form of an impromptu fight between Si Woo and Chi Ang, and then more talking after that. While I'm all for character development, I'm not keen on all action, no plot, but at the same time I want something interesting to happen. Author Raymond Chandler once wrote, "When in doubt have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand," meaning when at a loss for what to do next, fill it with action. I agree.   

The students all confront Choi Ho: "Stop your nonsense. We know you farted in the cafeteria!"

So the school is opening its doors to outsiders. I'm not sure if I like the idea, but I have a feeling the principal is trying to draw his enemies into the open where he can deal with them appropriately. I like the idea, and I have a feeling we'll soon enough see who is after the artifact and who's trying to destroy the school. Could this be the opening for Chae Yoon to come back and face his past? And what happens if Si Woo finds the Chintamani? The principal told him about it, but was that because he was grooming Si Woo as the school's successor?

And relationships are developing, just not in a way that makes everyone happy. Si Woo draws closer to Soon Duk, and I think she likes his gentle ways, as he's definitely not as pushy or obsessed as Chi Ang. Chi Ang, of course, has not given up on Soon Duk, even as he sees Si Woo as being in his way. I'm hoping that, at least at the last minute, that they stand together as friends.


Soon Duk's father, stunned by a revelation. "Only 16 Episodes, say it ain't so!"

So this show is shaping up to be an interesting beast, but I don't think it knows what it wants to be. There are moments where the action is break-neck and exciting, and other time where yawns seem to be the order of the day. It needs to find a balance, and a lot of K-dramas suffer from the same lackluster episodes, where an installment here and there doesn't quite click. It doesn't make the whole thing bad, but it does cast a pall over what otherwise is a great show.   

What do you guys think? Leave me a comment below!

SEE ALSO: Veteran singer Yoon Soo Il thanks BLACKPINK's Rosé for the revival interest in his classic 1982 song "Apartment"