Summary
Business Proposal fails to impress in a reiterative second episode.
This recap of Business Proposal season 1, episode 2 contains spoilers.
In its second episode, Business Proposal slips into a rhythm that already feels a little too familiar, repeating comedic setups and beating around the bush. There was an energy to the opening episode that feels a little lost here, and despite the chemistry between the leads, there’s an overbearing antagonism to Tae-moo that makes him off-putting – to me, anyway, but what do I know? Anyway, let’s take stock of what went down.
Business Proposal season 1, episode 2 recap
We pick up where we left off, with Ha-ri having jumped into Tae-moo’s car to hide from Min-woo. They have a reiteration of their argument from the previous episode, with Ha-ri explaining why she’d never date or marry him – she also says he looks like an archaeopteryx, a funny insult that nobody would ever say – and eventually leaving. Ha-ri and Young-seo have a reiteration of their argument about confessing to the truth of the blind date. The next day at the office, and following a colleague and Min-woo to try and determine if they’re dating, Ha-ri has another close encounter with Tae-woo and has to employ some slapstick shenanigans in order to preserve her identity.
You see what I mean? This is a string of sequences that are basically redoes of scenes and arguments from the premiere. It isn’t until Young-seo confesses the betrayal to Tae-moo that things start moving in a more promising direction. He’s angry about it but wants to meet the fake Young-seo, aka Ha-ri, so she once again goes to meet him, though this time to apologize. She does and says she did it all for money, but when he asks for her name she gives him a fake one – Shin Geum-hui, the name of a TV character who works in a chicken shop and falls in love with a rich dude. Hardly a convincing alter ego.
But Ha-ri can’t get rid of Tae-moo that easily. With his father pressuring him into more blind dates with the aim of marriage, he decides he wants to marry Ha-ri after all, but as an act – a contractual relationship to keep his grandfather off his back. She’s not keen on the idea, naturally, until she learns about the money. Double what Young-seo paid her for a performative relationship? Seems like a good deal.
The question, obviously, is going to be whether this is enough of a good deal to justify the next several episodes, especially if they’re going to spin their wheels as much as this one did. Time will obviously tell, but it’s safe to say that the first double-bill of Business Proposal hasn’t exactly set the k-drama world alight.
You can stream Business Proposal season 1, episode 2 exclusively on Netflix.
