REVIEW: ‘Love Scout’ Episodes 7-8

“For Kang Ji-yun, what kind of person is Yu Eun-ho?” This question is at both the forefront and background of Love Scout Episodes 7-8 as the two colleagues and lovebirds navigate the complexities of their changing relationship. Kang Ji-yun (Han Ji-min) needs to reconcile her feelings and their impact on her work. Yu Eun-ho (Lee Joon-hyuk) must learn that he can’t keep pausing his life just for his daughter Byul (Ki So-yu). In the process, Ji-yun and Eun-ho find themselves with a stronger understanding of each other.

Episode 7 starts with sheer first-date awkwardness. Shots linger on clumsy, twitching hands, and close-ups of faces convey complicated emotions between them. This carries over on their walk home, where they are still dancing around their feelings. It is pretty painful to perceive. Their hands are so close, yet so far apart, teasing not just themselves but the viewers who want this ship to take the next step.

None of the client cases overlap in Love Scout Episodes 7-8. Instead, each episode focuses on a separate case. The most on-the-nose case is in Episode 7, where the staff has a larger conversation surrounding workplace romances. Employee Na Gyu-rim (Yoon Ga-I) takes centerstage, though we don’t get as much of her compared to previous employee spotlights. The primary focus surrounding her character is her dislike of workplace romances based on past experience and her frustration over her client’s waffling in the situation.

You can’t escape the awkwardness in Love Scout Episodes 7-8.

The employees’ discussion of a workplace romance never happening at Peoplez ends up being ironic when Eun-ho and Ji-yun are figuring out their own emotions around the workplace. Ji-yun starts getting even more distracted at work, staring at Director Yu with affection in the middle of important tasks and meetings. A lunch date turns into a group venture, killing the intimate vibe between them. These awkward vibes are the staple of Love Scout Episode 7.

A huge part of Ji-yun and Eun-ho’s arc in Episode 7 is them pushing through their own insecurities and fears to finally accept their feelings for each other. Ji-yun confesses her feelings to him with a simple “I like you.” The confession leaves Eun-ho contemplative, but it brings sad tidings, knowing that she is trying to push him away. The day after her confession, she starts treating him coldly, and the divide and tension are immediately felt.

Ji-yun completely re-embraces hyper-independence, and her actions inadvertently create the return of an inhospitable environment. It’s almost similar to the tension Eun-ho experienced previously, and it is sad to see. But that’s her burden to work through. In Eun-ho’s case, it gets a much-needed pep talk from Lee Kang-suk (Lee Jae-woo) that essentially boils down to whether it’s okay to like someone. Byeol shouldn’t be used as an excuse not to date. This, along with other moments, pushes the two to finally choose each other at the end of the episode after denying their feelings.

Episode 8 features Ji-yun and Eun-ho at their most calm and in a top-tier honeymoon phase. They work in perfect harmony together, and it all but confirms that they are a match made in heaven. Despite being super obvious of their feelings for each other, Seo Mi-ae (Lee Sang-hee) doesn’t figure it out until halfway through and, surprisingly, she is the least supportive of their relationship. But Ji-yun has a thoughtful response, saying that his past is what drew him to her. It’s clear Ji-yun is in it for the long haul.

Finally, the romance payoff we’ve been waiting for delivers!

How they handle the case in Love Scout Episode 8 becomes abundantly clear. Eun-ho immediately relates to the client’s struggle with single parenthood, particularly in the middle of a nasty divorce battle. Ji-yun sees how important this case is turning for Eun-ho, and agrees to his suggestions on the types of roles they can offer their client. Ji-yun is already adjusting her approach because of Eun-ho’s influence and it’s bringing her great joy to make him happy. A dark shadow is on the horizon, though, that may challenge them both.

Love Scout Episodes 7-8 feature significant developments between Jung Su-hyeon (Kim Yoon-hye) and Woo Jeong-hoon (Kim Do-hoon). Their relationship grows closer after Su-hyeon runs into Jeong-hoon at her child’s school post-rejection. They go off drinking together, where much gets spilled. He has had a crush on Ji-yun since high school, and Jeong-hoon is a single mother who has never had a husband. Unfortunately, too much alcohol between the two leads to a text asking Eun-ho on a date. Thankfully, the drunken encouragement led to something positive as Eun-ho agreed to the date.

Ji-yun and Eun-hoake’s actions in Love Scout Episodes 7-8 immediately impact the secondary soon-to-be couple. After Eun-ho ditches his date with Jeong-hoon to spend time with Ji-yun, Jeong-hoon reaches out to Su-hyeon for more bonding time. With each rejection the two experience, they are brought closer together, and more information is shared. Jeong-hoon’s son isn’t really hers, but she took him in after his parents died. For Su-hyeon, he still hasn’t processed how his father handled his brother’s death and could just move on.

The chess pieces are moved into place, setting the stage for a shareholder war.

Speaking of Su-hyeon’s father, Oh Chul-young (Jo Seung-yeon) is busy in Love Scout Episodes 7-8, which implies that he will play a much bigger role in the series’ second half. In Episode 7, Ji-yun’s honesty and earnestness lead her to turn down a prime opportunity to push Peoplez ahead of Chul-young, who hates that she refuses to bend to his will. Her rival, Kim Hye-jin (Park Bo-kyung), meets with Chul-young about the candidate for the National Investment Corporation position she turned down.

Episode 8 is where things get unsettling. Chul-young is revealed to be Peoplez’s primary shareholder, creating an imbalance of power between him and Ji-yun. At the end of Episode 8, Ji-yun and Eun-ho go to Chul-young’s party, where he openly picks on Ji-yun in front of other clients and peers. It’s like a cat batting at a toy. Ji-yun is a cat with claws and doesn’t take to being messed around with. And, when Eun-ho finally has enough, he too steps in, potentially riling up Chul-young further. The episode ends with the implication that war is about to begin.

“Workplace romance is the root of all evil” may be the joke that carries throughout Love Scout Episodes 7-8, but the only evil that seems to be afoot is Chul-young and Peoplez Rival, Kim Hye-jin. With both fixated on taking down Ji-yun, future episodes are poised to focus on this drama now that Ji-yun and Eun-ho are together. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be issues between the two, but they are too compatible not to succeed.

Love Scout Episodes 7-8 pokes fun at the hilarity and drama workplace romances can bring while diving into love’s complexities. Now that the main romance is secure, more time is being spent developing the romances surrounding our protagonists, leading to some heartfelt moments that match each pairing’s vibe. As romances go, Love Scout continues to deliver the goods.

Love Scout Episodes 1-8 are streaming on Netflix in select regions and on Viki, and new episodes are released weekly.