Maestra: Strings of Reality: Episodes 7-8
by mistyisles
Time is operating out for our heroine to proceed the work she loves a lot — and the individuals round her definitely aren’t serving to. As an alternative, they preserve placing issues in her path and making it troublesome for her to attract out the perfect from her orchestra. Can she push via, or has she lastly met her match?
EPISODES 7-8
Following her mom’s passing (for the file, Se-eum did name the nurses regardless of her mom’s protests), Se-eum refuses to take day without work work. She’s extra decided than ever to take advantage of each second she has left. She’s additionally harsher than normal together with her criticism of the latest orchestra efficiency. In reality, she’s so dissatisfied that she pronounces a blind analysis of the complete orchestra. Usually, these are used for recruiting new musicians, however this one is for hunting down the weak hyperlinks among the many present members.
The analysis confirms what Se-eum already suspected: two of the wind instrumentalists have horrible breath assist that’s ruining their sound. The respiratory points become from illicit drug use, and the ex-musicians are arrested that very night time at a membership. They accuse Se-eum of being their provider, and to everybody’s shock, detectives discover a bag of tablets in her workplace and arrest her, too.
Keep in mind Bong-ju, the ex-oboist who leaked the preliminary photographs of Pil and Ah-jin’s affair, and whose assemblyman father locked him in his room as a result of Jung-jae advised on him? He’s since escaped confinement and discovered that Jung-jae purchased the orchestra “due to Se-eum.” As revenge, he’s set this entire staged drug bust up.
Se-eum, in fact, doesn’t know this, however she retains her cool despite the fact that the detective clearly has it out for her. She bides her time — and even will get some work in between interrogations — ready for the requisite holding time to expire. In the meantime, Jung-jae pulls each string he can to attempt to get her launched, from sending her a lawyer she by no means requested for all the way in which to pressuring police officers with the specter of escalating his grievance greater up the chain of command. He lastly succeeds find a witness who can swear to Bong-ju’s manipulation, and Se-eum is launched. This time, when Jung-jae presents her a experience dwelling, she accepts.
Lower than two days have handed, however already individuals are demanding Se-eum’s termination. Se-eum being, properly, Se-eum, needs to carry rehearsal anyway, however the usually affable and perpetually careworn CEO JEON SANG-DO (Park Ho-san) lastly places his foot down. Musicians are quitting on them as it’s; it’s time to take a break and anticipate the mud to settle.
False accusations and arrests Se-eum can deal with. However indefinitely canceled rehearsals when she already fears she’s operating out of time is simply an excessive amount of. She drinks herself right into a stupor, and when Bong-ju calls and asks to satisfy, she will get proper up, by no means thoughts that she will be able to barely stand. The subsequent factor she is aware of, it’s morning, she’s in her workplace as an alternative of at dwelling, and detectives are calling to inform her that Bong-ju is lifeless and he or she was the final particular person he contacted. Oh, and her hand is roofed in blood.
Contemplating that she was considering Very Darkish Ideas about Bong-ju final night time and that Remington’s typically causes violent outbursts, Se-eum freaks out. The blood seems to be hers, from a lower on her hand that could possibly be defined by the damaged glass on her lounge desk. And her blackout and reminiscence loss might likewise be defined by all of the alcohol. However simply in case, she visits her mom’s physician (who, by the way in which, REPORTS THE VISIT to Jung-jae) and eventually decides to get a blood take a look at. She gained’t know the outcomes for a couple of weeks, however at the least she’s taken that first step.
Then Se-eum personally meets with every orchestra member who stop and persuades them to come back again. Not solely does she know precisely what every particular person wants to listen to to vary their thoughts, however she additionally requests a pay lower for herself so she will be able to provide the musicians a elevate. Lastly, she pitches an thought for a brand new documentary about Han River Orchestra, with Pil because the interview host. She plans to announce their divorce simply earlier than the documentary’s launch, understanding the ensuing scandal shall be too juicy for the general public to withstand.
Jung-jae, being his meddling self, tries to dissuade her. He can’t perceive why this particular orchestra is so essential for her to salvage, so she spells it out: Han River Orchestra may be her final orchestra. The documentary filming continues, and so do rehearsals for the subsequent live performance. Ticket gross sales, however, are at an all-time low.
Pil can’t fairly work out what Se-eum is planning, however he is aware of she’s planning one thing. So, taking a cue from her description of the conductor’s podium as a battlefield, he wages a little bit of psychological warfare proper earlier than she walks out on stage. Seems, he noticed her the night time Bong-ju died and might inform she doesn’t keep in mind. He taunts that this could possibly be her final live performance, unsettling her sufficient that she has to actively brush it apart whereas conducting. Then, mid-concert, she hallucinates Bong-ju and her mom standing among the many orchestra, and collapses to the ground.
Though a homicide weapon was discovered with Bong-ju’s fingerprints and a lady’s blood on it, I’m neither satisfied nor even suspicious that Se-eum killed him. However I’ll inform you who’s pinging my radar and inching nearer to Pil and Jung-jae ranges of obsession: Ru-na. She was the primary particular person to appreciate Bong-ju had planted the medicine in Se-eum’s workplace, and he or she’s additionally one of many few individuals who find out about Pil’s affair. And whereas she was very candy about taking Se-eum dwelling after Bong-ju’s funeral and nursing Se-eum via a fever all night time, there was additionally one thing unsettling about the way in which Ru-na panicked when she couldn’t discover Se-eum the subsequent morning. And the way in which she stated her aim was to work alongside Se-eum for a really very long time (and solely belatedly added that she meant working collectively within the *orchestra*).
I’d prefer to assume Ru-na merely idolizes Se-eum to a traditional and wholesome diploma, however let’s face it: Se-eum appears to naturally appeal to possessive individuals who assume they know what’s finest for her life and profession, it doesn’t matter what she could say or assume. I shudder to assume what Pil could do if she will be able to’t divorce him earlier than he get to make use of her Remington’s prognosis to his benefit.
And talking of unhealthy information, I used to be afraid that the present would possibly take the route of getting Jung-jae put on down Se-eum’s defenses as an alternative of fixing his methods, and sadly that does appear to be the course we’re heading. I discover that every time Jung-jae is pushing to get his means, it’s all the time framed as him being concerned about her and underscored with mild music, whereas Pil’s manipulative moments are portrayed as ominous (as they need to be). However Jung-jae continues to be making an attempt to manage her choices and dismiss her opinions, and no quantity of “good intentions” can change that. “Much less overtly threatening than Pil” isn’t a really excessive bar, and I hope Se-eum isn’t pressured (by author or circumstance) to accept it.
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