The fourth episode of We Are All Trying Here starts at Hyowon Mansion, the rundown apartment where Dong-man and his brother live. Eun-a’s comforting words and a moment of self-reflection put Dong-man in a strangely good mood. He finally gets a good night’s sleep and wakes up feeling better than he did before.
Eun-a also calls Director Lee to tell him that his screenplay has potential. Eun-a says no to his dinner invitation, saying she has another meeting at Ximfit. But later, it becomes clear that Director Choi is not as impressed and criticizes the script for its weak dialogue and lack of polish.
During her visit, Eun-a is shown information about someone else who has emotional patterns that are similar to hers, especially when she has nosebleeds. The suggestion is interesting, even though it was only recorded once. The framing makes it seem like Dong-man might be involved, but there is no proof.
Eun-a and Dong-man talk quietly on the train ride home. He talks about Jin-man, his brother, who used to write poems to find the truth. Dong-man won’t say what he’s going through right now, but he does say he’s still looking for his own truth. They start to have fun as they give people feelings. Eun-a says that Dong-man is anxious when she talks about him.
He admits that when things are quiet, he feels like there is a heavy presence that makes him feel worthless. This weakness makes his character more complex.
In the meantime, Director Choi’s confidence grows as advance ticket sales for his movie rise by 65.8% after successful press promotions. Hye-jin says she’s sorry for the mistakes she made earlier and is hopeful that they will reach important goals. But Gyeong-se is still not there because he is too upset about the bad reviews. He writes a long, emotional letter to Dong-man after not being able to sleep all night.
The fallout happens right away. The news of the message spreads through Choi Film, which makes it hard for Dong-man to concentrate at work. Gyeong-se watches Dong-man ignore him while he eats at a restaurant. Gyeong-se thinks Dong-man is to blame when a stone suddenly breaks the window. Eun-a is really behind it, and she quietly disappears before anyone notices.
Hye-jin talks to her husband about how Dong-man gets him angry so easily. She tells him that if he keeps doing this, he could get in trouble himself. Gyeong-se has to face what he’s done because she is so honest.
Choi Film is soon hit by a big scandal. The main actress in My Mother, Oh Jeong-hui, is caught lying about Mi-ran being her daughter. The truth is that her real child was ignored and raised alone. It is clear that this child is Eun-a. Because of this, Eun-a’s painful past comes back to haunt her. She spent her childhood alone, hiding the fact that she had been abandoned.
The company is in a hurry to fix the damage, and Director Choi tells his team to find the real daughter and take charge of the story. Eun-a listens quietly as her past becomes a part of the company’s plans. When her coworkers make fun of Dong-man, she stands up for him, but they tell her she’s wasting her life in the business.
Eun-a calls Dong-man that night because she has another nosebleed and asks him to tell her something funny. He talks about his recent experience with sleep paralysis, which was brought on by reading Gyeong-se’s message. He couldn’t move and felt like he was going to die, so he let go of his fear, which made it go away. He learned that some problems are worth fighting, but others are better left alone.
Eun-a starts to cry as she listens. Dong-man goes on, remembering how hard it was to hold back tears during a job interview. This shared weakness strangely calms Eun-a, and her nosebleed stops.
The next day, Eun-a quietly but firmly stands up for herself at work. She tells Director Choi that she has always tried to avoid conflict, but now that she is wearing her emotion watch, she will not stay quiet. She agrees that she is quiet, but she doesn’t think that makes her weak. Before she leaves early, she speaks out against the bad work environment, which shocks Choi.
At the same time, Dong-man meets Gyeong-se at a bar. Instead of getting mad, he unexpectedly praises Gyeong-se’s message for being emotionally honest, calling it the best writing he’s ever done. He says that he also feels both happy and sad, and that Gyeong-se doesn’t get where he’s coming from.
When Jin-man shows up and attacks Dong-man, things get worse. Gyeong-se watches in shock as the fight breaks out. Later, at the police station, Dong-man has a hard time saying who he is when they ask him about his job. Eun-a steps in and calls him a film director.
Review of the Episode
This episode adds more emotional depth to the series, especially through Eun-a’s backstory. The fact that she was abandoned makes her character much more interesting and raises the stakes in the ongoing scandal.
Eun-a and Dong-man both grow in important ways. Eun-a starts to stand up for herself in a hostile environment, and Dong-man does the opposite by being honest in response to hostility. One of the best parts of the episode is how he reacts to Gyeong-se’s message.
The fight between Dong-man and his brother makes things even more tense by showing that family problems are still not resolved. Hye-jin’s directness, on the other hand, gives a grounded view by calling out bad behavior without hesitation.
Episode 4 sets up exciting things to come by bringing together several storylines and raising the emotional stakes.
