“IDOL: The Coup” Episode 4 Moves Forward into a Battle of Pride After a Period of Grief

idol the coup

In the latest episode of IDOL: The Coup, Jenna challenges CEO Cha’s authority, and agrees to a high-risk deal. 

Cotton Candy members grieve for the deaths of CEO Ma and Du-ho, the people who supported Cotton Candy at their beginnings. Meanwhile, CEO Cha takes over Starpeace, and undergoes Cotton Candy to a test that checks whether they have 1% potential. 

Marcie Line watches IDOL: The Coup on iQiyi

Episode Recaps: 01 & 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | Finale Episode + Review |

IDOL The Coup Cotton


IDOL: The Coup Episode 4 Key Moments

“The lyrics were childish. But they were sincere.”

CEO Ma and Du-ho pass away, and people from Starpeace attend the funeral of CEO Ma. On the other hand, Cotton Candy members mourn at Du-ho’s funeral. Ji-han also pays his respects at Du-ho’s funeral.

Jenna stays in bed after those events, and Hyun-ji aggressively fights back to the people on the internet. She meets up with them, and she gets beaten up. 

Ji-han recalls his memory with CEO Ma where he dissed him, but got dissed back also. He reiterates that the death of CEO Ma is not the reason why he cannot accept the new CEO. 

“The reason 1% potential is the best is because no one will bet on it. Because it means you take the biggest bite.”

CEO Cha holds a meeting for the company’s plans on Cotton Candy, and asks whether the group has at least 1% potential to be retained. Jenna receives a call from Assistant Manager Park, and Stella confronts her on why she rejected the CEO’s request to meet them. 

Still in a state of grief, Jenna tells Stella that there’s no more second chance for their group. She shares how she finally realized the world mocking and laughing at them.

Hyun-ji grabs onto Jenna, apologizing, and begging Jenna not to abandon her. The two cry loudly together along with other Cotton Candy members.  

idol the coup

“You are competent. You’re just not appealing.”

Moving forward after a period of grieving, Cotton Candy members freshly start their preparations for their last chance in the upcoming test. They agree to perform their other song, Honest.

As they go on a break from their practice, Chae-ah overhears Ji-han and CEO Cha’s conversation. She hears about how CEO Cha does not intend on checking whether the group has potential, but rather just wants to prove that the group has not even 1% potential. However, Ji-han tells CEO Cha that he is living proof that CEO Cha was wrong about his notion of 1% potential.

Disheartened to hear about that, Chae-ah confides to Jenna about being stuck in a booth called failure. Jenna comforts Chae-ah, assuring her that there is a positive future for them. 

“We should have at least one memory of success. It’d be good to end like that.”

The day of the test arrives, and on her way to the CEO’s office, Jenna hears from Assistant Manager Park about the plans of CEO Ma before he passed away. Jenna feels motivated after hearing that CEO Ma has intended on giving Cotton Candy a second chance, and reminisces about their beginnings while staring at the CEO’s office. 

CEO Cha arrives at the office, and Jenna accidentally steps on him. She returns his fountain pen and requests a fair judgment from the CEO. 

Cotton Candy performs in front of the staff of Starpeace, and receives positive reactions. However, even though the staff was entertained, no one raises their hand to vouch that the group can earn as much for the company. Only Ji-han raises his hand, but his vote is invalid as he is not considered a staff member.

idol the coup

“What I was looking for wasn’t one chance, but one success.”

Jenna does not meekly accept what CEO Cha has said about the remaining contract period being useless, and faces him head-on. She says that firing them is acceptable if they can walk away with their group name. 

Hearing that it is impossible as the company has a trademark right to the group name, Jenna pushes on to use the remaining 3 months, and announce their disbandment after winning on a music show. The CEO rejects the idea, but Jenna is persistent saying she will sue and drag on the lawsuit in court. 

Finally, CEO Cha agrees to grant them the remaining three months if they can clear their failed idol image in 3 days by being stalked by a top entertainment journalist. Jenna and Ji-han meet to ask each other for a favor, but Ji-han goes first asking her to start a dating rumor with him.


IDOL: The Coup Episode 4 Musings

Hani has shown her capability to portray her range of emotions as Jenna in this episode. It has good progression and was convincing on what feelings her character wants to portray. 

From a moment of grieving and sorrow, the series is starting to spice up with the renewed spirit of the Cotton Candy members. They are starting to alight from their tearful days and face the fact that they are indeed nearing disbandment. With their consensus on ending with a win on a music show, their determination towards that goal bears the light for their journey. 

A new song from Cotton Candy is performed in this episode, and we can see how this performance indicates their shift of mindset also. Compared to before, they now fight with all that they have even though there is a large probability of them disbanding. Instead of fearing the end, they now look up to an ending with a memory of success. 

CEO Cha’s cold nature as a businessman can make viewers speechless, especially at that moment where everybody was appreciating the performance. He broke the positive energy with his remark about the group’s ability to generate revenue. 

What’s interesting is that by the end, we see that Ji-han proposes to Jenna that they start a dating rumor about them. Moreover, we see in the preview that Jenna also walks towards CEO Cha and kisses him.

With that, we shall look forward to how Cotton Candy will clear their failed idol image by 3 days in next week’s episodes.

Watch the latest episodes of IDOL: The Coup every Monday and Tuesday on iQiyi


Photos: JTBC

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