Is ‘The Chair’s’ Ju Ju A Misunderstood Angel or an Absolute Monster?

From early on in the Netflix Original comedy-drama series The Chair, it is clear that Ji-Yoon Kim (Sandra Oh)‘s adopted daughter Ju-Hee (Everly Carganilla) — who prefers to go by Ju Ju — is a bit of a handful. She draws disturbing and mildly threatening pictures in class, and scares away new babysitters as soon as she meets them by crossing boundaries without much remorse or hesitation.

She’s still a kid, though, and one that often feels out of place and misunderstood, especially considering her mom’s devotion to her job as the newly-promoted chair of the English department at Pembroke University and total lack of cooking skills (no child should have to eat THAT many Lunchables, and that’s coming from a person who loved Lunchables as a child), and how she feels like an outsider amongst her Korean family.

So are we pro-Ju Ju, or terrified of her? Let’s weigh the arguments for and against. And yes, we know she’s a child, but come on, she’s perhaps one of the most polarizing and interesting characters in this show; we’ve gotta talk about her in the detail she deserves! And, oddly enough, I think that’s what Ju Ju would want us to do, anyway.

Let the debate commence (WARNING: Spoilers for The Chair ahead).

Ju Ju Kim: An Absolute Monster

Let’s start by getting the more negative stuff out of the way, shall we? And it makes sense to begin by stacking up the evidence for Ju Ju being a demon, as that is how the show first portrays her. Our introduction to her character is Ji-Yoon’s father, Habi (Ji Lee), saying that Ju Ju’s teacher wants her to start going to a psychiatrist due to an unsettling drawing she made in class depicting herself seemingly trying to cut the head off her crying teacher, with the caption “This is going to hapin to you.”

This, coupled with the young girl’s apparent lack of affection towards Ji-Yoon and her first line in the show being “How old were you when your mom died?” all makes for a slightly scary introduction to this little girl, who definitely thus far seems to paint quite the evil picture.

The subsequent episodes also present some evidence to back this portrayal up, namely the beginning of Episode 2, where Ju Ju walks in on her brand new babysitter while the latter is on the toilet (and telling her to get out!) and then stands there, staring into this poor woman’s soul with unwavering intensity before asking “Do you have fur on your vagina? Can I see it?”, all the while clutching a Hello Kitty doll to her body. This scene may be enough to strike fear in the hearts of even the strongest of men, and convince some that the case is closed, and Ju Ju Kim is indeed a complete menace.

Ju Ju also manages to run away from her grandfather, fleeing his house through the window and causing her mother to leave a work function so she can track down her missing child in the middle of the night. She causes another scare later on in the season, once again by running away, this time onto the Pembroke University campus where professor Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass) and Ji-Yoon find her, balancing precariously on a ledge and giggling so gleefully you may briefly think you are watching a horror movie.

So yeah, it’s not looking good for the Ju Ju defenders out there at this point. But there are two sides to every story, so let’s take a moment to explore why Ju Ju Kim may actually just be a good kid trying to make the best of a difficult situation.

Ju Ju Kim: A Misunderstood Angel

Don’t judge Ju Ju too soon, guys. Sure, she’s said and done some fairly frightening things thus far in the show, but as Season 1 goes on, we begin to understand why Ju Ju acts how she does. This is a girl who doesn’t know her birth parents and already feels unwanted and like an outsider as a result. This is only exacerbated by feeling like the odd one out amongst her adopted family, in which she is the only non-Korean and fatherless child. Her grandfather continually speaks Korean in front of her, insisting she can’t understand (which we eventually learn is not actually the case). People just may not be giving Ju Ju a fair chance.

What first seems to be a lack of boundaries and a slight coldness towards Ji-Yoon reveals itself to be, perhaps, just a product of Ji-Yoon’s frequent absences, and a subsequent desire to both belong and be seen in a way she may not be right now. Even in trying to connect with her own heritage by presenting on Dios de los Muertos at school, Ju Ju feels embarrassed and left behind when she sees another girl in her class celebrating the same heritage with a man who looks to be her birth father, a figure Ju Ju seems to wish to have in her own life, which is backed up by her instant connection to Ji-Yoon’s sort-of-almost-lover Bill.

Bill is an absolute mess for much of the show, as he still grieves his wife, who passed away a year before, and misses his only daughter who has just left for college. He is given new life, however, due to Ju Ju’s influence. His presence seems to be a positive in Ju Ju’s life, and it turns out that she is a good one in his, as well, as in one of the most touching moments of the show, she shows a deep sensitivity and thoughtfulness that helps bring Bill some peace and comfort regarding his wife’s death. Ju Ju also shows that thoughtfulness towards Ji-Yoon in a brief yet powerful moment at the end of Episode 5 that shows her curiosity about her grandmother’s early death was for a reason, and that she loves her adopted mother and wants to help her feel more at peace with the loved one she lost too soon.

Is Ju Ju a complete devil-child, or is she just a good-hearted and thoughtful kid who is acting out for a little extra attention? Watch Season 1 of The Chair on Netflix now, and let us know what you think!

Watch The Chair on Netflix