Mine has been consistent in its attempt to tread on the complicated dynamics of the lives of the ultra rich and the secrets that lie behind closed doors. From all the aired six episodes, the tensions and conflicts within the Hyowon Family build up. We have seen some shocking revelations and some truths to some of the characters as well as the development arcs of each.

But there are three things in these developments that I find unsettling, yet, added flavor to the narrative. The first one is just my personal taste in literature while the other two borders on its possibility in real life contexts. 

So, to illuminate you further, here are the list below:

1. The Romantic Arc between the Young Master and the Maid

When a drama tackles a subject bigger than the romantic arc, I find it annoying for romantic arcs to exist between characters especially if these characters are on the opposite sides of the social spectrum. The blossoming romance between Han Soo-Hyeok and Kim Yu-Yeon is one example. 

Depictions of such a romance do not really happen in real life. The son or heir of an ultra rich family falling in love with his maidservant is a cliched take on romance. We have seen these kinds of arcs on television before. For a drama in the present time to take on this arc is unsettling to me (that’s just me and my personal tastes). 

However, if this arc becomes a major factor in the thematic pursuits of the narrative and that I can see the reason why it’s there, I might buy it. But, for now I am going to leave it at that- an annoying arc.

2. The deception and malice of Han Ji-Yong

This second one is a no-brainer. The moment the drama revealed the double life that Han Ji-Yong is living, I truly find it unsettling but all for the good reasons for the plot of the drama. It was unsettling because he has this other life and secrets that he keeps from his family. Everyone pictures him as this perfect son eyeing the presidency of the company but without anyone’s knowledge, he is a man with dark secrets of his own.

The fact that he brought in the woman who gave birth to his son in his own home without his wife knowing was downright messed-up. Not to mention the scene where he was in some place watching two people fight to death- gave me the jitters. This goes to show, at least in the character of Han Ji-Yong, that the rich can have huge and unusual appetites and caprices.

3. The nosy and meddling manservants

One of side drama flavors of Mine is the seemingly small but impactful roles of the servants of Hyowon. They are nosy, meddlers, and sometimes manipulative manservants. What made this unsettling for me was its possible resonance in real life. It could be a very scary thing to have manservants as in Hyowon. But then again, Hyowon is no ordinary place. In fact, according to Jung Seo-Hyun, Hyowon is like a jungle where for you to survive you have to be prudent.

The dynamics that exists between these servants and their employers is what makes this drama all the more interesting albeit it was discomforting to watch it. These servants not only provide the services that they were paid for but at the same time they perform services outside the straight call of their jobs.

It wasn’t unsettling that I don’t like it. It was unsettling because it might be a very accurate resonance of what takes place in the homes of the powerful and the truly wealthy. Machinations, deceits, and bribery happen in the greater socio-political arena of our society. But for this to take place in homes, that makes it unsettling for me. One thing is certain though, the lives of the rich are entirely different from our own.

So, there you have it! These are the three main things that I perceived as unsettling in the drama Mine. Do you agree with these points? Do you have other perceptions as well? Let us know in the comment section below and let’s start a conversation…