"My Secret Hotel" Episode 2

Well, we've finally got a good hook on what's motivating Hae-yeong- petty spite. This episode makes it clear that the guy doesn't even particularly like his girlfriend that much. Eun-joo (played byLee Young-eun) is the very definition of fun, playful, and happy. And Hae-yeong refuses to notice unless she literally throws it in his face. And even then he just awkwardly turns away. It's obvious that he's only doing this marriage thing to watch Sang-hyo squirm.

"My Secret Hotel"actually comes up with a pretty good justification why the drama started two weeks ahead in the first and went into flashback here. It's to establish that Hae-yeong's jerk-like behavior does indeed result in a pretty bad comeuppance. Nobody's so eager to get back at their ex that they'll plan an entire fake wedding. Sooner or later Hae-yeong's going to realize there's no turning back, and his ex-wife may well be the only one who can save him.

The urgency is established through the occassional break in tone, when we switch from Sang-hyo's frustration about the situation to what Eun-joo's entourage is up to. Stabbing is involved. It's made imminently clear that these are bad dudes who are up for a fight just because they don't like the outcome of a game. Men like this aren't going to have any patience for typical romantic comedy antics. So anybody who's annoyed by Hae-yeong right now take heart. Sooner or later he's getting roughed up.

It's too bad that's not going to be right now, because"My Secret Hotel"is still suffering major problems in the department of being immediately interesting. The humor this time is, for the most part, the same low grade antics we got last episode. Do you like watching Sang-hyo letting loose her frustration while the other employees just stand around politely pretending like she isn't freaking out? Well there's plenty more of that this time.

"My Secret Hotel"seems to be going for the long game in terms of being a satisfying story. I have to admit, I'm already guessing how it could possibly end- that's the real mystery at this point, is who's the dead guy, and why was he put upon a surface where the corpse would inevitably be discovered. Right now I'm leaning toward this being the tail end of a scheme designed to expose the villains for who they really are. But there's little point speculating when the drama is still working on its basic foundations.

Review by William Schwartz

"My Secret Hotel"is directed byHong Jong-chan, written byKim Do-hyeonandKim Ye-ri-IIand featuresYoo In-na,Jin I-han,Nam Goong-minandLee Young-eun.