My Romance Scammer 1×02 Review: Episode 2

Whereas last week seemed to emphasize that Tim and Yu have very different approaches to scamming, this week’s episode did its best to highlight the ways in which they’re similar.

We’re moving at quite a nice pace with the story. It’s the second episode, and yet Tim and Yu have already clocked each other. I love the way they both figured it out; Tim picked Yu’s pocket and recognized that he’s been issued his ID 19 times, whereas Yu pointed out that Tim was a little too skilled in nicking his wallet. They agree to stay out of each other’s way, but with how close Pai and North are, that’s not going to be an option.

I loved that Tim gave Yu a heads-up about the surveillance equipment on the “gifts” Pai got for North. But I also loved how Yu made it so that it was North who discovered both the trackers and the camera. It’s far less suspicious that he finds them.

It’s so fascinating to see the contrast between these two relationships. As I mentioned last week, Tim is a professional. He has clearly spent a lot of time doing research on Pai and the family; he carefully orchestrated all of their meetings and has crafted an identity that will greatly appeal to Pai. He is at least a year into this venture, and now it runs the risk of being ruined by Yu.

You can see a couple of times where he drops his mask and looks properly nervous. Yu is a wild card, and Tim doesn’t know how this will play out.

(Hey, was I the only one who thought the monk reading Tim and Pai’s fortunes had actually been hired by Tim? As soon as he started talking about them being soulmates, I thought for sure this had to be part of Tim’s scheme, but then he went into a spiel about how they would be tested and I realized that, no, it’s just a BL. Of course, they’re soulmates.)

Yu, despite having as checkered a past as Tim, and despite having gone on the hike with the express purpose of meeting someone rich, stumbled into his marriage with North. He is now scrambling to find his footing and build a backstory that would be believable to Pai and the rest of North’s family.

However, as I said, these two are actually more similar than they appeared at first glance. In this episode, North and Pai both meet their partners’ mothers. But of course, both Yu and Tim hired someone to play their mother, and it just so happens that they hired the same woman. (I didn’t catch a name, but the actress’s name is Tao, so until they give her a name, I’ll just call her that.) She must be very good, or the pool of potential “parents” must be very small. I absolutely expect this to be an issue later.

There are still differences, even with this. Yu came up with a story for Tao to tell North, whereas she seemed to wing her way through meeting Pai and the rest of the family. When Tim expressed concern that she wouldn’t remember what she said, she assured him that rich people never remember the details. Well, Pai will most assuredly remember her face. And North may be naïve, but he doesn’t strike me as stupid.

I actually find it very interesting that both Yu and Tim seem to know Tao quite well – she even knows Yu’s mother – but neither of them seems to be familiar with each other. They’re running very different kinds of cons, but surely they must utilize some of the same resources. I wonder if Pai knows Yu’s mother. I fully expect her to return as well; yes, they could have just introduced her to give us a little insight into Yu, but I think once she knows who her son married, she’ll be back for her payday.

Also, a potential issue? Tim’s side job as a sugar baby. I wondered, after last week’s episode left it unclear, whether or not this was Tim’s actual job. We don’t know much about Tim yet. We only know the façade he created for Pai. Well, now we know for certain that he’s not really an architect. His name probably isn’t even Tim! His sugar mama, Airy, called him “Hong”. Is that his real identity, or another false one? Not only is he running at least two concurrent scams (very ambitious of him), he’s also technically cheating on both of them.

But I got sidetracked. This episode was about the similarities between Yu and Tim. It isn’t just the fact that they have the same taste in fake mothers, or that their scamming instincts are both pretty sharp. There are two moments where they take care of North and Pai in the exact same manner.

After Yu and North play pickleball (I’m a little surprised that North was not a fan, given that he was playing squash with his friend in the first episode), North collapses on the court, and Yu uses a towel to cushion North’s head. Later, Pai comes home from a rather trying day at work and decides he can’t go one step further into his apartment, so he lays on the kitchen floor. Tim does the same thing – uses his jacket as a pillow for Pai.

The biggest similarity, though, is that both Tim and Yu have completely forgotten that the number one rule of scamming is to never fall in love with the target. Tim could have very easily let the fight between North and Pai linger; the less time they spend around North, the less chance there is of Yu somehow revealing Tim’s schemes. (Also, if Pai is constantly suspicious, he may start to notice issues in his own relationship.) But Tim couldn’t stand seeing Pai looking so distressed, even if it was just for a few hours. I’m impressed that Tim has made it this far without falling for Pai’s charms, though he clearly is still trying to maintain some boundaries, given that he put the reminders back on his crime wall. Not to mention the callous way he spoke to his friend earlier in the episode.

Yu never stood a chance. North is just too good of a person. He’s already beginning to crack, and all it took was one very thoughtful gift.

Can I say how impressed I am with Ohm’s acting? While, to be fair, I’ve only really seen him in his role as Dean from Until We Meet Again and Between Us, he’s rather known for playing stoic characters. So it’s a thrill to see him actually emote. They let him have facial expressions in this show! It’s wonderful.

I can’t wait to see what happens next week. It looks like Tim is falling for Pai even more, while Pai is still trying to expose Yu for taking advantage of North. This is such a fun show. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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