K Drama Chat

10.13 - Special 1-Episode Review of When The Phone Rings

Episode Summary

Comment on this episode by going to KDramaChat.com Today, we’ll be discussing the special filler episode on When The Phone Rings, the over-the-top, twist-filled K Drama starring Yoo Yeon-seok as Baek Sa-eon, Jeon Yeo-been as Hong Hee-joo, and Kim Ji-seok as Ji Sang-woo. We discuss: * The songs we featured during the recap, including: -- Homme Fatale – the dramatic track playing when Baek Sa-eon struts into a room -- Say My Name performed by Yoo Yeon-seok in the finale * The absolutely bonkers premise: a high-profile political spokesperson secretly married to his childhood love, who he keeps hidden from the world, and whose existence triggers a web of blackmail, kidnapping, and revenge plots. * The layers of hidden identities — from Baek Sa-eon being a secret replacement for the original Baek Sa-eon, to Hong Hee-joo living her life pretending to be mute, all due to family politics and trauma. * The stunning reveal that Baek Sa-eon is not only adopted but actually the son of his own grandfather. * The selective mutism plotline — how Hong Hee-joo’s silence started as a survival tactic but became a powerful tool that gave her a successful career. * The role of Ji Sang-woo, the caring friend turned investigative psychiatrist, who didn’t realize what he was wading into by investigating the case of the missing boys from the orphanage. * The use of the mysterious phone as a plot device — how the sinister calls were the catalyst for uncovering the hidden marriage and Baek Sa-eon’s many secrets. * The moment Baek Sa-eon realized the “kidnapper” on the phone was actually his own wife, and how that discovery changed their entire dynamic. * The ridiculously high kidnapping count — Hong Hee-joo gets kidnapped not once, not twice, but FOUR times across 12 episodes. We discuss how this woman even manages to sleep at night. * The "Argan" subplot — how a fictional war-torn country becomes both Baek Sa-eon’s self-imposed exile and the backdrop for the show’s most ludicrous romantic reunion. * The utterly bizarre "sunset" motif that comes out of nowhere in the final episodes — how sunsets are suddenly a metaphor for their love despite never being mentioned before. * The final episode’s chaos: political scandals, revenge murders, family betrayals, a rescue mission in a war zone, and a surprise happy ending that left us asking — did we just watch a romance or a thriller? T* he controversy around the mistranslated Middle Eastern conflict scene — how a clumsy translation sparked accusations of political bias, and why inserting geopolitics into a makjang drama felt so unnecessary. * What we’re watching now! Joanna and Sung Hee are watching Love Scout and loving it! Next week, we will recap and analyze episode 1 of When Life Gives You Tangerines. Although four episodes are expected to drop, we will only watch and recap one episode at a time.

Episode Notes

Comment on this episode by going to KDramaChat.com

Today, we’ll be discussing the special filler episode on When The Phone Rings, the over-the-top, twist-filled K Drama starring Yoo Yeon-seok as Baek Sa-eon, Jeon Yeo-been as Hong Hee-joo, and Kim Ji-seok as Ji Sang-woo. We discuss:

The songs we featured during the recap, including:
- Homme Fatale – the dramatic track playing when Baek Sa-eon struts into a room
- Say My Name performed by Yoo Yeon-seok in the finale
The absolutely bonkers premise: a high-profile political spokesperson secretly married to his childhood love, who he keeps hidden from the world, and whose existence triggers a web of blackmail, kidnapping, and revenge plots.
The layers of hidden identities — from Baek Sa-eon being a secret replacement for the original Baek Sa-eon, to Hong Hee-joo living her life pretending to be mute, all due to family politics and trauma.
The stunning reveal that Baek Sa-eon is not only adopted but actually the son of his own grandfather.
The selective mutism plotline — how Hong Hee-joo’s silence started as a survival tactic but became a powerful tool that gave her a successful career.
The role of Ji Sang-woo, the caring friend turned investigative psychiatrist, who didn’t realize what he was wading into by investigating the case of the missing boys from the orphanage.
The use of the mysterious phone as a plot device — how the sinister calls were the catalyst for uncovering the hidden marriage and Baek Sa-eon’s many secrets.
The moment Baek Sa-eon realized the “kidnapper” on the phone was actually his own wife, and how that discovery changed their entire dynamic.
The ridiculously high kidnapping count — Hong Hee-joo gets kidnapped not once, not twice, but FOUR times across 12 episodes. We discuss how this woman even manages to sleep at night.
The "Argan" subplot — how a fictional war-torn country becomes both Baek Sa-eon’s self-imposed exile and the backdrop for the show’s most ludicrous romantic reunion.
The utterly bizarre "sunset" motif that comes out of nowhere in the final episodes — how sunsets are suddenly a metaphor for their love despite never being mentioned before.
The final episode’s chaos: political scandals, revenge murders, family betrayals, a rescue mission in a war zone, and a surprise happy ending that left us asking — did we just watch a romance or a thriller?
The controversy around the mistranslated Middle Eastern conflict scene — how a clumsy translation sparked accusations of political bias, and why inserting geopolitics into a makjang drama felt so unnecessary.
What we’re watching now! Joanna and Sung Hee are watching Love Scout and loving it!

Next week, we will recap and analyze episode 1 of When Life Gives You Tangerines. Although four episodes are expected to drop, we will only watch and recap one episode at a time.

References