RemmyB

Truuuuth this finale is the best episode since number 8

For sure. I think the disconnect in expectations for alot of people arise because in the first 8 episodes this show was 100% an fantasy/action drama epic with romance elements, but the next 12 episodes it turns into a fantasy romance slice of life drama with occasional action. There's misaligned expectations because of the 'slower burn' of the romance earlier on

the action in this episode was fantastic and I wish we got way more of this earlier on. The much faster pace was also such a refreshing and palpable difference from the sleepier majority of the second half.

Second season preview looks amazing personally, much grittier, consequential and hopefully a return to a focused narrative like how the show began

xD great minds think alike. I'm a guy too so I'm probably not as emotionally invested in Jang Uk as most fans here, I don't really follow actors/celebrities either so it doesn't bother me too much what happens to who or why. The idea of these twist endings are more amusing than anything 😛 I'm mostly content how they did it though, I'm not opinionated on JSM staying or not I just wish Bu Yeon was done (or will be done) much more justice

Lol I mostly just meant it as an out of left field shock ending but it would be an ironic and meaningful fit the whole idea of the Alchemy of Souls thing... for one soul to survive the other must die. In a metaphorical sense Jang Uk would pay the blood price for Naksu to go on. I don't mean it though. Obviously it would be a strange decision to kill off the MC

Damn, it would've been the greatest twist ending if they killed off Jang Uk and kept Naksu in Bu-Yeon's body as the main character for part 2 LOL

A part of me is disappointed this wasn't the case ;) anyhow this episode is lit, if you don't wanna watch it I get it but you're missing out, I'm really loving it

Vague SPOILERS ahead: Not gonna lie she looks a great fit in the preview, she gives off a different energy from part 1 but so does every single character... everybody has been totally overhauled from the events of this episode

Holy shit the season finale looks incredible. And I might just be very very excited for season 2 after all

SPOILER:
Looks like the writers really did want to go for a 'red wedding' kind of approach with a cliffhanger off of an abrupt, left field explosion of tragedy. I gotta watch the episode in full to see how well they did exactly that

Yeah it's incredibly how backward society's attitudes surrounding our understanding of sexual assault are even today. In every country, including the US and the UK and anywhere else.

I think the biggest mistake was the burning of Naksu's original body. Did anybody not think from that point that that was a sign saying, okay, Naksu is never returning to her original form? She's Mudeok from thereonout, so the possibility, the lingering expectation that GYJ might return as the main actress was not a thought in anyone's mind until the article was leaked.

So yeah for sure if LJW suddenly soul shifted right now, that would really hurt the show in a big and irreparable way. But if the writers telegraphed the possibility of a soul shift more clearly I think people would be more fine with it

The point though, is not in terms of thinking from the perspective of the characters, but of the writers. The writers make the story. The writers put the characters in the situation where they have to pick and choose these dilemmas, and they can just as well leave those dilemmas out to begin with.

That's why and what we're asking. What's the point of designing the story where as you say some patriarch has the choice between smearing his wife's reputation and pretending her sexual assault was an affair, and endangering his son? Why have this sort of backstory if the endgame is to not really treat the topic of sexual assault with any real mindfulness? That's the concern to me. I do wish they either end up with the characters of the story acknowledging what happened, or just omitted this whole element to the show entirely.

Then don't call people 'clueless watchers' for holding an expressly different opinion. You didn't want to generalise, have some self awareness you're smart, you know well enough that's exactly what you did 🙄

Oh, don't worry about me though I feel great. I'm not so sorry that I hurt yours, though. But I hope you can be better than this going forward

I don't think this is the case, I think the writers just didn't take the King's sexual assault seriously enough, I'm not familiar with South Korea's exact perceptions on consent but maybe it's excusably a cultural thing rather than the writers? Because if its what you say it's a really bad message to send, that it is a noble to deny someone else's sexual assault (nevermind your own wife's) in order to protect someone else. Which is a really dangerous message to promote by any means.

You're not a crazy fan for not seeing the imperfections of the writers, you're a rude one for insulting others because they don't share your opinion. We're having this talk because you went out of your way to dismiss anybody who's unhappy with the handling of Jang Gang's character as a 'clueless watcher'. Not your personal opinion on it, believe what you will just don't deride others for doing the same thing

Fully agree 100%, I really wish Do-Hwa's sexual assault (because you're exactly right, it's so clearly, unarguably a non consensual act what happened) was treated more heavily by the show. Thats something I held in my heart from episode 1, so it's a struggle for me that this topic wasn't given the gravitas and reckoning it demands

Hopefully it's a red herring, many of the previews have not played out the way they are intentionally shot to seem.

However, leading into a part 2 it does make sense that the writers might try to set up an interesting new antagonist for a compelling second season, but I agree it'd probably be a shame if they choose the Crown Prince to do it. Fingers crossed it doesn't go that way

I already explained why the treatment of Jang Gang's return is a valid criticism. People can complain about all sorts of things, regardless of whether other 'more reasonable' concerns exist or not. It certainly doesn't make them clueless to do so.

When you go to the doctor with a swollen finger and a broken arm, the doctor doesn't avoid checking up after your swollen finger, just because you have a worse injury elsewhere

For sure. It's all well and good to be a fan but there's no reason someone can enjoy a show and not also be ready to honestly critique where it falters. Just like how its totally fair that they can enjoy it and be ready to praise it when it does something really well

Since part 2 comes out so soon after part 1 I feel quite confident it will be the case. Only a 3 month wait so it's not so bad either way, I think

hahaha so simple and to the point, I don't know why but this comment gave me a good laugh😁

cLuElEsS wAtcHeRs HyPe ThE sHxT oUt Of AbSeNt ChArAcTeRs aNd BlaMe ThE wRiTeRs Bc ThEiR ExPecTaTiOnS wErE wRoNg

It's not about 'flipping out because he died', Its the fact that he reappeared and died so suddenly for the most uneventful conflict resolution possible and furthermore, without even serving any meaningful character arc. He has barely paid penance for the poorly acknowledge wrongs he has done by so many people not least of all his dead and disgraced wife.

'Expectations are wrong' and whose fault is that if there's a tremendous disconnect between the expectations of the majority of audiences and the end product? That's so unambiguously a fault of the writers. He's literally the first major character introduced in the series, the man who literally starts the plot, puts into motion the plot devices on which the ML's storyline is built. He appears over and over, not just in mentioning by the main characters of the series, but in literal flashbacks , always poking and prodding, slowly revealing a little more and more, about the nature of this mysterious and central character. Don't pretend you're not doing a disservice to the intelligence of the writers like that.

Sounds more like a certain 'clueless watcher' is salty and getting overly defensive, as it so turns out that not everyone can participate in the delusion of believing her favorite show is somehow perfect in every dimension. Behave yourself.