King the Land season 1 episode 5 recap & review

Open Go TV / July 2, 2023 / Reviews

In King the Land season 1 episode 5, Gu Won takes Sa-Rang to dinner as the two grow closer through their mutual banter.

Recap

Episode 5 begins with Gu Won thinking back on how he came to hate the fake smiles. He goes to his special sulking spot only to see that it’s occupied by Sa-Rang. He says to her that he’ll allow her to cry when she falls onto him in a proper cliché.

He offers to drive and even when she prefers to just go on her own, he insists. She dozes off, and he takes the opportunity to extend an adorable gesture by taking her for dinner and also getting her an expensive change of clothes since the ones she had were wet.

She hesitates and wonders if people will see them as a couple, and surely enough, one does too, but Gu Won is only giddy. He later drops her home and gifts her a cake. Before she can enter her home, her ex shows up, accusing her of two-timing him with Gu-Won.

She pays little heed to him and goes her way, and when he won’t leave her alone, Gu Won gives his wrist a little warning twist, asking him to stay away from her. He then wishes a happy birthday to Sa-Rang and heads home.

Hwa-Ran’s husband has come to South Korea for a while, and when she meets him he asks her for a divorce. She says she can’t right now and will only be separated when she lets him divorce. Later, Il-Hoon also makes sure that the divorce doesn’t happen; his concern only lies with the negative publicity that would ensue.

There’s a Super Farmer Market coming up and the employees at the lounge usually volunteer and sign up for the tasks instead of the sales department, but Gu Won doesn’t like that and refuses to approve it.

Meanwhile, Sa-Rang’s friends see the clothes and shoes that Gu Won brought for her and ask her to return the favor at least. She does that by asking him for a dinner that will be on her. They go to a restaurant to her liking that Gu Won gradually comes to love all aspects of.

Later, he gets upset at her for trying to phone so many customers and exchanging greetings with them. It’s an order she has to abide by and it’s also necessary for the incentives, but he doesn’t like the phony business of any kind. He later approves Super Farmer Market but comes to regret it when he sees how painful and difficult a task it is to undertake. He feels for Sa-Rang and gets worried for her when it starts to rain just as she reaches the farmer she has to meet.

Sa-Rang has to hike very far to meet this farmer who wouldn’t meet any of the Royal Hotel staff that has come by thus far. Meanwhile, she also had to discover and collect some Ginseng. She stops by a place and receives a call from Gu Won, who asks her to turn back and retreat.

She’s distracted by the Ginseng nearby, though, and in the process of collecting it, ends up tripping and falling off the edge several meters down. When she regains consciousness, she finds herself in a very precarious situation where she wonders if this is truly the end for her.

King the Land season 1 episode 5 ends with the light of a savior washing her, it’s a rescue helicopter from which comes out a heroic Gu Won. As he leaps and jumps to come to save Sa-Rang, the episode rolls the credits.

Review

The banter and chemistry between Gu Won and Sa-Rang are beyond adorable and make for the best parts of King the Land season 1 episode 5.
With the clarity there is in Sa-Rang’s breakup and ditching of her ex, there seems to be no scope of a love triangle, which just makes matters better since those polygonal equations tend to be really trite and annoying.
It’s heartwarming how easily Gu Won’s cold veneer sheds off when he’s in the company of Sa-Rang. He has to compose himself to realize that he’s the number one enemy of smiles and not one of the better proponents of them.
Hwa-Ran’s coldness is given more context and it gives her more depth and the viewers a much-needed and awaited opportunity to empathize with her.