"Shopping King Louis" falls back into old habits in episode three, as our poor duo settle into their new home and start making money. A new character enters Ji-seong's and Bok-sil's life, the lady of the house gets a big promotion and things move forward with our plot as Ji-seong slowly starts to remember fragments of his life. Meanwhile, Ma-ri questions her sighting of Ji-seong and so does her father, who is hiding a not-so-secret truth.
I have been wondering how Louis/Ji-seong (Seo In-guk) would handle big money after losing his memory, but some habits seem too strong to shake and his use of money so far has been adequate proof of it. As he has retained his memories of shopping, he has also retained the confidence that comes with them. Sadly for him and Bok-sil (Nam Ji-hyeon), his current life is different and so we have his latest royal mess up.
In a way, I welcome it, because it brings him back down to Earth. There is a fine line between being a selfish burden and just dependent, a line which he is now crossing in some ways. Ji-seong needs to pull his weight around more and perhaps being conned out of Bok-sil's precious money will be a good wake up call for him. His new buddy, Jo In-seong (Oh Dae-hwan) is an additional "benevolent danger" for the pair's situation, but I hope that he will not be used an an obstacle. He is kind of likable.
Ji-seong's mess up aside, Bok-sil is getting some progress done in life, if we can call Joong-won's (Yoon Sang-hyeon) benefactor crusade that. As good as this is for Bok-sil short-term, it is the classical Cinderella turn and one which is not actual progress for Joong-won's character. Nepotism is not romantic or respectful towards the person hired and I feel character change through and for romance alone is not real change. I hope to see Joong-won become more considerate in general, not just doting over a crush.
Ma-ri (Lim Se-mi) is still underdeveloped and I wonder if she will be a burden character. I hope not, because Ji-seong has enough problems without the addition of another person spoiling his return. It is good that his memories are beginning to surface, because this part of the plot cannot be ignored for too long. Koboshi makes me wonder if we will get a "childhood sweethearts" cliche, but I hope it will at least be a cute one.
This cuteness so central to the series so far is really what keeps it endearing. At the same time, I want to see growth for our duo. I want Ji-seong to understand responsibility and Bok-sil to be less accommodating. It might spoil the happy tone, but I would rather see this done for growth rather than (possibly) murderous uncle drama. Is that too much to ask of the show? I will ask anyway.
"Shopping King Louis" is directed by Lee Sang-yeob-I, written by Oh Ji-yeong-I and features Seo In-guk, Nam Ji-yeon, Yoon Sang-hyeon and Lim Se-mi.
Source:HanCinema
