Lee Ji Ah Has "The Penthouse 2" Viewers Puzzling Over Her Identity With Surprise Appearance

Mar 06, 2021

Lee Ji Ah took viewers’—and Uhm Ki Joon’s—breath away on the latest episode of “The Penthouse 2”!

Spoilers

At the end of the March 6 broadcast of SBS’s “The Penthouse 2,” Lee Ji Ah made a shocking reappearance that led to a dramatic cliffhanger.

Although countless news reports had already suggested that Lee Ji Ah had joined her “The Penthouse” co-stars for the filming of Season 2, SBS never confirmed the reports, instead choosing to coyly tease that viewers should tune in to the drama to see for themselves. Many fans also desperately hoped that even though Lee Ji Ah’s character from Season 1, Shim Soo Ryeon, had seemingly been murdered by Joo Dan Te (Uhm Ki Joon) in the season finale, she would return in Season 2 after revealing that she had faked her death.

Amidst this swirl of speculation and fan theories, the sixth episode of “The Penthouse 2” ended with the surprise arrival of a stylishly dressed Lee Ji Ah. With her face obscured from the camera, the mysterious character played by Lee Ji Ah snuck into Joo Dan Te’s lavish penthouse apartment alone and waited for him to find her. When Joo Dan Te approached her from behind and asked who she was, she turned around to dramatically reveal her face, leading him to exclaim, “Shim Soo Ryeon?”

Lee Ji Ah’s character then walked up to Joo Dan Te and passionately kissed him. When he pushed her away in shock and horror, she replied with a smile, “Have you been doing well? It’s been a long time, Joo Dan Te.”

Online speculation about the identity of Lee Ji Ah’s new character has since run wild, with some viewers hypothesizing that the actress is playing Na Ae Gyo, the mysterious birth mother of twins Joo Seok Kyung (Han Ji Hyun) and Joo Seok Hoon (Kim Young Dae), who can be identified by her signature butterfly tattoo. Others have suggested that Lee Ji Ah is playing the identical twin of Shim Soo Ryeon, while others are still holding out hope that it may be Shim Soo Ryeon herself who has returned.