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[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Cinderella and the Four Knights" Episode 5

Love is in the air and it is Ha-won's earnest desire for the Kang cousins to live well that really touches them and makes their hearts flutter. Not only is she working for their benefit, but she also draws very clear lines with them, speaking her mind and keeping it real. This is a quality not found in the cousins' parents, grandfather, or any other people in their lives - its a winning quality that keeps their attention and makes it difficult to follow the "no dating" rule.

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All three cousins are starting to feel some stirring for Ha-won. Seo-woo is confused about his interest in her. Ji-woon silently watches over her while maintaining his prickly exterior. Hyun-min is forced to reckon with real emotions that conflict with his playboy persona. All three man children attribute their budding interest to their personalities, which is a great way to keep romantic tensions at a high via ignorance. Their grandfather is equally interested in Ha-won's relationship with them, but in that she is actually making a different in their non-conventional family. I still am unhappy with CEO grandpa's brutal interference, but I do enjoy his happiness at seeing his family together. I also appreciate that he misses his sons and regrets his treatment of them after their deaths. Perhaps this will incite change in CEO grandpa as well. Perhaps he will act more like a paternal figure than a CEO towards his grandkids.

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The Kang cousins have been damaged by the cold and socially manipulated upbringing they've suffered. There is much insight given into playboy Hyun-min whose mother is primarily concerned with his social status rather than his well-being. All three boys suffered under CEO grandpas multiple marriages and the social controversies and battles they have caused. Even Secretary Yoon-seong seems to have a story as his terse, reserved reaction to the CEO's new wife indicates some sort of relationship. Perhaps he is her son? In any case, the death anniversary of the CEO's sons and the cousins' fathers gives the family an opportunity to come together and express love and sorrow that has needed an outlet for many, many years. Ha-won, who has suffered similarly the loss of a parent, understands their pain and appeals to that to encourage them to attend the death anniversary.  However simple this plot may be, it's very raw in its content, and very true to life and very relatable. That is what makes "Cinderella and the Four Knights" such a relatable and delightful show to watch. It may not have the intrigue of a crime or mystery show, or the tears that riddle a melodrama, but it is genuine in its subject matter and in its characters.

The only character I still haven't really opened up to is Hye-jin who hangs onto Hyun-min and uses Ji-woon despite knowing better. I dislike this sort of character who is inherently selfish. We already have two of those in Ha-won's step-mom and step-sister.

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I'm looking forward to the changes that Ha-won makes in the Kang family, but also for the changes they make in her. Since her mom died she has felt discarded. Now the Kangs are making her feel cherished and that's important for a person to feel. Rock on, show.

Written by: Lisa Espinosa AKA Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

"Cinderella and the Four Knights" is directed by Kwon Hyeok-chan, written by Min Ji-eun and Won Yeong-sil, and starring Park So-dam, Jung Il-woo, Ahn Jae-hyun, Lee Jung-shin, and Choi Sang.

 

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