If you’re lost on any of the characters, I did a quick rundown of them at the top of episode 1 that you can consult.

Recap
News is out about the fire destroying ‘Dong’s’ body.

Xiaotong hands Dong’s relative over to Song, who holds an association meeting. The man confesses he lied and was hired by Ma. Li wants to know if Chan was involved. Ma denies it all, blaming Tian’s secret and Li for Dong’s death. 

Before Ma can get out of it, Tian and Yang bring evidence they’ve discovered of Ma cheating the association. Song hands Ma’s businesses over to Xiaotong and asks Tian to find more evidence.

Li and Song confront Chan, who denies everything. Song threatens to cast her out if she’s lying.

Tian apologizes to his mom for doubting her. Li is worried about Ma getting revenge on Tian and swears she does everything to protect him.

Yang warns his mom about working with Ma, but Chan is furious she has no power against Li. Yang accidentally implies he knows Tian’s secret, but won’t betray his brother.

Bua overhears Li and Jia worrying about Tian’s secret. They discover her, but Bua denies hearing anything.

Then the family gathers to have a meal of corpse mushrooms. Li endures watching her family eat in slow-mo, before bolting. Her sudden illness concerns Bua and Yang, who collect samples of the mushrooms. 

Li and Song decide Tian’s marriage will be in a month and a half and he’ll inherit the business the week after. Chan goes to Ma with this information, promising Yang will work with him. Away from Chan, Ma tells his henchman that Song is sick and has to retire soon. He’ll kill Tian and Yang will inherit within the year.

Yang and Bua can’t find anyone local who recognizes the mushrooms, but Bua thinks of the old Song family doctor. Song says Dr Qi is in Chonburi now, and thinks Bua is concerned for his own health. Li overhears part of this discussion.

The workers’ constant hunger for mushrooms is preventing Jia from getting rid of the corpse. Li lures them away with a special meal long enough for Jia to poison the mushrooms. Yang and Bua discover the mushrooms are dead, and find the whole situation suspicious.

Pin and Tian learn about their upcoming marriage and try to figure out how to get out of it. Yang comes running because Pin’s assistant lied that it would be tomorrow. He vows to get the money to get Pin’s property back before then but worries about his brother inheriting the business. Tian just wants Yang to be happy.

Li finds Tian stealing Pin’s title deed but warns that won’t stop the marriage. Tian’s teary face isn’t enough to persuade her to change her mind. 

Mud’s been listening in everywhere, and reports to Xiaotong that Tian really has a secret. They can’t work out what it would be.

Pin brings what assets she has to Yang, including deeds for useless land. In her desperation, she suggests she start a business, and Yang teases her about the month-and-a-half timeline.

Song announces Tian’s upcoming wedding date to the household. No one looks happy except him and Li. They’re going to go to Chonburi to celebrate. This excites Yang and Bua, who want to consult Dr Qi. 

Chan knows that Ma wants to kill Tian, but still sends him info on their upcoming plans.

Ma brings in his guy for the job — Jiu — and orders him to kill Song’s oldest son. Of course, Jiu doesn’t connect that description with his crush.

Thoughts
I love everything about the corpse mushrooms and Dong’s body. What a fantastic, unending nightmare for Jia and Li.

That meal is an epic scene of horror that the filmmakers took their time to build up. Li’s trapped in this ridiculous situation, with everyone eager and enthusiastic about these mushrooms and urging her to join in. I imagine it was fun for the actors to pretend to be gleefully eating mushrooms grown from a dead body.

And I can’t feel sorry for Li, because of the horror that she puts her son through. When he stood there, teary-eyed, while she vowed to force him into marriage, it was far worse than anything she was going through. 

Meanwhile, ‘Tian’s Secret’ continues to spread like a word virus. Pretty much everyone including Xiaotong now knows that he has one, though only Li, Jia, and Yang know what the secret IS. The only one who seems oblivious is Song, who remains ignorant of most of what is going on around him.

It says something about this family that even sweet, kind Bua lies and keeps secrets. I love that she and Yang are now this detective team trying to uncover the mystery of the mushrooms. I’m not entirely clear on what they are suspicious about, except that they know something is going on and want to know what.

Which is part of what I love about this show. The characters are fixated and obsessed with certain issues, but they don’t just stand in rooms and argue about it (though there is some of that). Everyone from Mud to Bua is working toward their respective goals, even if it’s just to know what the heck is going on.

Except for our patriarch Song, who seems to expect everyone to obey him because he’s the man in charge. 

There is also this clear delineation between the older generation, who are all trying to maintain the status quo. Chan and Li are desperate about their sons inheriting power within the family system they are in. Meanwhile, their children are gathering outside the home and plotting how to get what they want and subvert the rules. I like this distinction.