All In
Episode 3 of Eve starts with So-Ra getting treatment. Deliberating over whether to get a facial or not, she calls in Secretary Kim and demands she book an appointment for So-Ra to see plastic surgeons. Meanwhile, La-El thinks back to her past, specifically that of her receiving care over in the US. She was suffering from anorexia and needed medical treatment. As we find out later in the episode, her legal guardian isn’t her actual mother but instead someone else who is dead-set on gaining revenge on LY Group. She too has lost loved ones, this coming in the form of her child. This helps to focus La-El and execute her plan for revenge. Specifically, that comes from befriending Dam-Ri and Ji-Hee. After handing over an expensive purse – a “peace offering” from Yoon-Kyum after the unpleasant issue at school – their attention turns to So-Ra. La-El knows a way to get back at her and suggests they work together to do just that. La-El visits So-Ra, telling her that the parents have voted unanimously on her becoming the president for the next student meeting at school. While La-El continues to stir the pot, she overhears So-Ra discussing how Yoon-Kyum has left off alone without his driver. It turns out they have a tracker on his car, watching his every move. La-El impresses So-Ra, even becoming her deputy representative, preparing events with her. So-Ra brings her good mood back home, and after their lovemaking last episode, So-Ra wants to make a good impression with Yoon-Kyum again. With music playing, she encourages her husband to have wine with him. There, So-Ra discusses how La-El is going to get closer with them, and become “one of her people.” La-El is in. And that night, she discusses her options and what she needs to do at the villa. Her target is a safe, which could be in several different locations. She’s going to need to find it but furthermore, Kang is going to fall into their designed trap too, presumably succumbing to La-El’s seduction. For now though, it falls to the evening’s latest party, with La-El and her husband Eun-Pyeong showing up and getting settled into the night’s events. While this is going on, Jang-Cheol makes his move outside, ploughing a car right into Soo-Jung, one of Yoon Kyum’s associates. This is a direct result of his chat with Chairman Han earlier in the episode, believing she’s only after Kang’s money. Back inside, things heat up during the night’s poker game. La-El bets against the family during a high-stakes poker hand, going all in and beautifully foreshadowing what’s to come. Against all odds, she manages to surprise everyone with her cards. While everyone marvels in what she’s done, Kang takes an urgent call outside about Soo-Jung’s accident. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened either. In his worried state, La-El appears and tries to seduce him but it doesn’t work. Despite talking about healing, Kang bites back and tells her he feels danger from her and demands she not come closer. Apparently he feels nothing for her, but La-El senses an opportunity. After sowing seeds of doubt in him, La-El returns to the party. Things take an awkward and uncomfortable turn when a drunk Hang-Cheol rocks up. He seems to recognizes La-El but brushes aside those claims quickly, believing she’s just a university student. Phew! Still, being this close to Jang-Cheol certainly brings up uncomfortable memories of the past, and she heads outside to try and compose herself. Sitting before a fire, she burns her thigh as a way of harnessing her emotions. However, Kang happens to be there, watching from afar. Seeing La-El vulnerable like this seems to stir something inside him, which makes sense given Kang’s stern and cold wife So-Ra. When he heads over to see her, La-El hurries back inside. The next day, Kang confronts La-El and demands to know who she truly is. He knows she’s hiding something but doesn’t quite know what. As he looks in her eyes, La-El leans forward and kisses him. He’s shocked, but La-El tells him to stop thinking and “let their bodies lead the way.”
The Episode Review
Eve returns this week with another solid episode, one that slows down a little as we see La-El infiltrate the LY Group. Specifically, she manages to get on So-Ra’s good side, which is always handy. It’s here she manages to learn some crucial information too, namely that she’s bugging her husband’s phone and tracking his every move. Meanwhile, the moment involving Jang-Cheol now has more context, and as predicted this was only a small moment as he doesn’t actually recognize her, which is good. We also see a little more of Chairman Han too, and how ruthlessly he’ll go after anyone he deems to be a threat to the family. The car accident involving Soo-Jung is a small but important detail, especially as we now know the lengths they’ll go to protect their secrets. Speaking of which, it’s clear there are some big ones tucked away in this safe. Will LA-El manage to find them?
