REVIEW: ‘Love Scout’ Episodes 10-11

Viki’s Love Scout Episodes 10-11 feels like the beginning of the end. With the storyline racing to the finish line, the climactic battle between rival headhunting companies has finally emerged as the end game. Kim Hye-jin (Park Bo-kyung) backs Kang Ji-yun (Han Ji-min) into a corner, and this time it doesn’t look like our favorite CEO can claw her way out. Everything hangs in the balance, and Ji-yun may have to make a decision that changes the trajectory of her life forever.

Love Scout Episode 10 starts off where we left off, with Yu Eun-ho (Lee Joon-hyuk) revealing the news that Ji-yun’s father was the one who saved him in the fire all those years ago. If her father hadn’t done that, Ji-yun may have grown up differently. It’s a rightfully emotionally fraught moment, with actress Han Ji-min perfectly embodying the complexity of emotions in the situation. The pain, the resentment, and the reality all come crashing down, and it is excruciatingly raw.

They part on not-so-great terms, and the distance between them increases leading into the office the next day. It’s almost like how they were in the beginning, with Ji-yun keeping things strictly professional. It’s disorienting for Eun-ho, throwing him off so much that it affects his life at home with Byeol (Ki So-yu). Her father’s distracted behavior and lack of understanding of the intricacies of girl social groups leads to Byeol isolating herself from girls in her class. But, through the power of Ji-yun, she is able to save face.

One of the most adorable parts of Love Scout has been the development of the relationship between Ji-yun and Byeol. Ji-yun sees a lot of herself in Byeol. Byeol, in return, sees an older sister figure who, as seen in Love Scout Episode 11, she wants around forever. Both have a healing influence on one another. It is through Byeol in Love Scout Episodes 10-11 that Ji-yun can work through her issues, and this shows up the most after she helps Byeol become a pretty princess for a party in Episode 10.

Byeol is ultimately a healing force for Ji-yun and an adorable distraction for viewers.

Her interactions with Byeol allow her to have a much-needed conversation with Eun-ho. Most importantly, Ji-yun takes the necessary steps forward to declare their relationship publicly with her employees. It proves to be a cute moment, with everyone who didn’t know about them being in shock. But with that bandaid ripped off, the remainder of Love Scout Episodes 10-11 focuses on the escalating conflict between Career Way and Peoplez.

In pursuit of the contract with NEXT Web Portal, Career Way continues its usual underhanded tactics with Peoplez. Using former Peoplez employee Ko Jeong-nam (Jo Han-joon) to get intel on where they are at with their candidate selections, it almost seems like Hye-jin may come out on top in Episode 10. However, the truth of Jeong-nam’s actions is discovered, with the core group at Peoplez concluding that they need to feed him false information and Manager Kim Young-soo (Heo Dong-won) volunteering to carry this out.

It makes for a satisfying moment when, on the day of the presentation at NEXT, Hye-jin loses face. Equipped with the information planted by Young-soo, Hye-jin had approached NEXT’s director with Peoplez’s original candidates. Instead, Ji-yun and her team looked internally at NEXT, anticipating that the company’s next crisis would be within its staff due to the high number of employee complaints. Ji-yun presents these new candidates to NEXT, surprising Hye-jin and the director. Ultimately, Peoplez wins the contract, but it is a short-lived moment of celebration thanks to Hye-jin.

Throughout Love Scout, Hye-jin’s hatred for Ji-yun embodies the character’s motivations. She’s always gone the extra mile to acquire candidates by any means necessary, even if it meant compromising ethics. While Hye-jin reads more one-dimensional compared to others in the series, her hatred and machinations come out in full force in Love Scout Episodes 10-11, with Episode 11 encapsulating the long game she has been playing to ensure Ji-yun’s destruction.

Hye-jin’s machinations come out in full force in Love Scout Episodes 10-11.

The end of Episode 10 shows Ji-yun waking up to a crisis, which never eases up in Episode 11. A corrupt CEO has used Peoplez’s reputation to defraud investors, and the news and police insinuate that Ji-yun was in the know about the CEO’s plot. As a leader, Ji-yun steps up and ensures her employees are okay, but the anxiety never eases throughout the episode. Despite Eun-ho’s attempts to shield Ji-yun from ruthless news reporters and angry investors showing up on Ji-yun’s doorstep, peace is far from Ji-yun’s mind.

That is until a story linking Ji-yun to her past involvement in Career Way surfaces. She immediately knows who is behind this current attempt to devalue Peoplez, culminating in a one-on-one conversation between her and Hye-jin. It is in this conversation we get more insight. Ji-yun reveals that she knows that the previous CEO committed suicide to cover up for Hye-jin’s actions. This knowledge makes Hye-jin afraid of Ji-yun, influencing her desire to destroy the woman. However, it’s more than that for Hye-jin.

Hye-jin wants Ji-yun to admit that they are the same. Ji-yun’s attitude of superiority infuriates Hye-jin. She doesn’t believe Ji-yun to be any different than her, with her employees being just as disposable at Peoplez as they are at Career Way. The thing is, even from the beginning of Love Scout, there were still clear differences between the two women. We saw this in how Ji-yun handled the case we saw in Episodes 1-2. And, since Eun-ho’s appearance in her life, she has become a better boss and person in the process.

This is evident when Eun-ho and the core group of employees gather at Dodam Bookstore. The hard work that’s been done fleshing out the characters Young-soo, Na Gyu-rim (Yoon Ga-I), Oh Kyung-hwa (Seo Hye-won), and Lee Kwang-hee (Ko Gun-han) shines brightly here. It also shows how far their loyalty goes in supporting Ji-yun. And, when she accidentally discovers them gathered in support of her, it not only wipes away her doubts but ultimately guides the decision she comes to make at the end of the episode.

Love Scout Episodes 10-11 move the pieces in place for an impactful ending.

So much happens in Love Scout Episodes 10-11 that other storylines and characters take a bit of a backseat. Despite his connection and support of Hye-jin, Oh Chul-young (Jo Seung-yeon) only appears in relation to cementing his philosophy that he has no use for people who refuse to do what he wants. This impacts how he handles his son, Jung Su-hyeon (Kim Yoon-hye), and Ji-yun, who had proved previously that she would not come to heel for him.

Toward the end of Episode 11, Chul-young essentially gives Ji-yun the decision to either step down willingly as CEO or he’d force the issue. Hye-jin reveals in a separate scene hat she intends to purchase Peoplez once Ji-yun steps down, implying that there may have been a discussion between her and Chul-young offscreen. Another conversation that happens offscreen is Chul-young’s decision to completely cut Su-hyeon off, taking away his home and funds likely with the intent to force his son into compliance. Fortunately, it doesn’t work due to Su-hyeon’s resourcefulness.

While Love Scout Episodes 10-11 focus more on Eun-ho and Ji-yun’s relationship, with Ji-yun temporarily moving in with Eun-ho and Byeol until things die down, the relationship between Su-hyeon and Woo Jeong-hoon (Kim Do-hoon) gets significantly less screentime. But, a revelation is made towards the end of Episode 11. Jeong-hoon admits that her crush on Eun-ho is over and she may have a crush on someone else. Su-hyeon waits too late to put two-and-two together, but it’s clear by the end that he knows Jeong-hoon likes him.

With everything going on in Love Scout Episodes 10-11, it is clear that these episodes are moving the final pieces in place for the series’ ending. A lot is happening, but it doesn’t overwhelm. Instead, Ji-yun’s growth comes into focus, revealing how far she has come since the series’ beginning. And with her decision to keep her employees safe, her selflessness will surely come back to reward her in the finale episode.

Love Scout Episodes 1-11 are streaming on Netflix in select regions and on Viki, and new episodes are released weekly.