27Aprile

As a European, I fully agree with you and I can only apologise for the other user's comment. Not all Europeans are like this or think like this, I swear.

I understand you are trying to defend Eun Woo, and I concur that he gets a lot of hate (but that is the fate of most idol actors), but...as a fellow European, I have to ask: what the heck do you mean we are not as "easily pleased as American or Asian viewers"??? Do you actually live in Europe?! Do you own a television...?! Because if yes, how can you say such a thing...?

Do you really think current European actors or scriptwriters or directors are better or more sophisticated than Asian or Hollywood ones? There was a time when the French and Italian moviemakers were hyped as being very 'sophisticated' or 'intellectual' and more inspirational their peers elsewhere, but that was when...? The 1950ies and 60ies, I think. A long, long time ago.

The only European country that produces dramas that are regularly broadcast in countries all over the world is the UK - they have the BBC.

Hi. :) You are watching the right drama, no worries...! ^^ You are still in the "slow"/"realistic" part of the show, where everything seemingly makes total sense if you just pay a little bit of attention.

Depending on who you ask of those who didn't like this drama, the story falls apart either at episode 7 or episode 10. The last 25 minutes of the last episode in particular have a lot of people scratching their heads.

Hey, I am sorry if I sounded harsh in my earlier. I just read back what I wrote and I sound so aggressive, so apologies about that! I had a weekend from hell because of work and I am still tired... xD

TBH, I don't want to pressure/convince you to watch Grid; you really didn't miss much not watching it. Let's just hope Dominant Species will be good! ^^ And thank you for staying civil, I appreciate it. :)

Thank you for your comment! :) I know I am in the minority and that mine is an unpopular opinion, but if you haven't watched Grid, then I think you won't understand why I wrote what I wrote.
It may be that Grid is just a dud in LSY's overall body of work, and her next drama will be brilliant. This is also because for both the cast and the viewers, a good drama is preferable to a messy one.

I will admit it was my first work by LSY, and I will watch Stranger 1 and 2 eventually, because from everything I have read about these dramas, I think the genre and plot of those works plays to her strengths as a writer, because there are parts of Grid (dialogue, characterisation) were you can tell this is a skilled writer.
But the world building, overall plot progression and the logic behind the Sci-Fi-lore were pretty abysmal in Grid. At some point in episode 10, logic had all but left the building. And throughout the drama, the way things are set-up, you are expecting that something big is coming and that there is rhyme and reason to this all. However, there was no conclusion in the finale, only more questions that make everything revealed up to that point make even less sense.

So us viewers (probably) not getting a season 2 sucks majorly, and hearing she will now make another attempt at Sci-Fi is like pouring salt in a wound. :/

BTW, I am not the only person who thinks that Grid, especially the last third, was a total mess, so I don't think mine is a case of 'I'm just too dumb to get this drama/The writer is too smart for me': just take a look at the MDL Grid comment section and see for yourself.

Thank you for not jumping down my throat. :) I think only people who have watched Grid will understand my feelings. ^^

The fact that Grid started actually well and had a lot of good ideas BUT episode 9 and 10 (particularly 10) kind of messed it all up. Me and my friend spent HOURS analysing the hints as the drama was broadcast, (every week) trying to figure out the ending. Everyone said Lee Soo Yeon does puzzles and that every small detail counts. I still have several theories and I may never get the answer just how off I was about all of them. xD

I will admit Grid was my first drama by LSY (I usually prefer romantic comedies and I don't have that much time to watch drama, I have a watchlist with over 100 items, I will get around at least to Stranger 1+2 eventually), There are parts of her writing I really enjoy - dialogue and characterisation - but looking at Grid (season 1?) in total, the overall plot and pacing was just... not very well done? (I mean, the first 6 eps of Grid were slow in hindsight, considering the world and lore she was trying to build).

Everyone said before Grid even started airing that this was a top-notch-writer, and this was billed as a one-season project (at least Disney never said anything to the contrary) and I had VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS for the drama. So as you said - the ending was really, really disappointing (to me personally). And I am very sad because now, with the announcement of this new project, it may seem we never get any answers at all.

That said, I hope this script is better this time, because I really want Joo Ji Hoon and the other actors to get a good project to work on. :)

I am not too sure if I should be happy for him (or any actor/actress, for that matter), to be attached to a Sci-Fi project written by Lee Soo Yeon, considering how I have suffered through the ending of "Grid".
I'd rather he join the cast of Grid Season 2 in a main role, because that drama's finale was a hot mess and a half (I don't want to spoil it, let's just say it was BAD) but it could be salvaged if the writer gets her stuff together.
But seems like she abandoned the story herself... :/

Thanks for pointing this out! :) I guess Saebyok wasn't quite as ready to sacrifice her child as she stated in the voice-over during the drive...
Morals of this aside, somehow I now feel even less positive toward this show... they couldn't even edit the scenes together properly even though this is a fully pre-recorded drama...

I am not gonna argue or disagree with the "he deserved a better one" bit, because I was very disappointed in this show myself, however: every article in Korean on "Grid" (there aren't many because Disney+ messed up the marketing) is full of praise for SKJ's acting performance, so not all hope is lost. :)
I think everyone who watched this agrees that it is not the cast that's the problem of the show.

You are very welcome! :) I remember this well, because me and my friend were so disappointed that this is (likely) all that meant, because we were expecting some grand reveal/meaning... xD

I also think that Saeha is the dad of Saebyok's child.

However, the amount of proof or hints we have before episode 10 is a bit thin. But since the "aftermath" of the Eojin/Saebyok-kiss was not shown in the show (plus the hug you mentioned), and since this writer makes nothing super-obvious, I think we cannot really rule out Saeha.

I found a really, really, minor possible hint/"foreshadowing": There is a scene in episode 9 right after Saeha and Saebyok had their long conversation at his house.
Saebyok comes home and she scolds her brother about the chicken bones he threw in the thrash (something about the smell of chicken, anyway) and he was wondering how she was able to smell it (meaning the smell was not obvious). Being highly sensitive to smells is an early sign of pregnancy. Of course, it would be biologically too early for her to show signs of pregnancy at this point (I think if anything happened between Saeha and Seabyok, it would have needed to be sometime around epsiode 9).
However, I have wondered why the writer would choose to have Saebyok and her brother argument over a non-noticiable smell rather than him leaving a mess, or him playing games again rather than looking for work, etc. There is a million things siblings can fight over, so why this?
Her being pregnant during episode 9 would also provide more context as to why she's upset with Manok. I think she was aware that what the doctor was implying was that one of her descendants would possibly have a child with Manok's descendants, which really becomes a horror-scenario if there is a possibility you might already be pregnant, than if your own child is only "theoretical" at this point.

The reason Saeha called the traffic light "blue" instead of "green" is likely because he wanted to appear to be from an older generation (his father's), because older generations of Koreans are being said to do this. A user (forgot who, sorry ^^) explained it on here before, and both me and a friend verified this via internet search.

See also: https://jinnyjinjin.com/why-some-koreans-call-green-traffic-light-as-blue-light/

Hi. I can only speculate, because I am not the brightest, but:

1) Saeha got so worked up probably because nobody even acknowledged the death of his father. The janitor was fully recognised as a victim, while his dad's death got covered up by the bureau.

I do fully agree with W two world's Season 2 that the big "twist" should have been acknowledged sooner or at least more clearly.

2) +3) I have two theories for comatose mom:

- she got comatose during because something went wrong in the factory during the solar-flare event in 1997 (when the Grid was installed). Evidence for this is that Saeha goes to the factory to check if his mom is working there in episode 7, and he is relieved when the man at the factory knows nobody by that name.

- Another a possible explaination, namely that his mom is comatose due to a failed suicide attempt.

In one of the earlier episodes, when he has the artificial handprint and takes a taxi back to the bureau, we see a clip that seems to be from Saeha's past. In this "flashback", we see Saeha's mom emerging from the bathroom with the water still running as she hugs an a crying, little Saeha. We see a piece of cloth-rope dangling behind her, so potentially he banged on the door and prevented her from drowning or hanging herself.
However, while this is shown as a flash back for Kim Saeha in this episode, this might possibly not be flashback, but a piece of a changed "past" that he knows he needs to achieve in order for his mom in the present to not be comatose. He knows he has to enther the office on the 13th floor and copy the evidence in order to be later be able to prevent his mom's fate.

This is why older Saeha makes a point to tell his younger self to immidiately go to the bathroom when he comes home in episode 8, because that is necessary to prevents this suicide attempt from being successful. The other, more minor hint for this is that Saeha puts the flyer for a mental health center on her table, you know, the thingy that says "Depression is just a cold of the mind". After Saeha does this and he comes back to the present, his mother is not comatose, meaning she got help for her depression and overcame her feelings of suicide.

I am aware some users were very uncharitable to you in the comments, but this is a really fair and reasonable review, thank you for your input! :) (But then again, I was likewise completely disappointed by the finale).

I espcially like how you said there would have been a simple way to wrap up the story after espisode 8, because I totally agree with this assessment, there would have been possible ways to finish this in 10 episodes without having too many plotholes and leaving SO MANY unanswered questions...

This is just my thoughts, but I think the Ghost(s) made it seem like the ML was actually dead so that the bureau would not come looking for him (again).
Also, if ML were to come back to work at the bureau, it could be possible that the whole loop would re-start (i.e. he would look for Ghost again, and the story would start from zero), but since he didn't, the scenario changed. (I can't gurantee this is the reason, but wouldn't it make sense with what we know about the time travel mechanics?)

I don't think there is a way to clearly answer whether ML was "hiding" at the barn all this time (so for almost a year) or if he was revived there. The writer might know :)

Hello :) Thank you, I just might move it to the review section... ^^ It's my first drama-review. And thank you also for laughing at my joke. ^^ I hope I didn’t offend anyone, but I was raised Christian myself and I just assume that if God exists, he likely has a great sense of humour.

By the way, I have read several comments by you, the_sapio_nerd’s and W Two World’s second season, and I just wanted to say as a person with a little experience with sci-fi TV and no background in science, I am grateful you guys spoke your mind, since the comments helped me not to feel like me and my humanities-brain were simply “too dumb to get it”.

Hi. Just speculating. :) I honestly don't know. I think the ending demands more, because there has been so little resolution provided, but I don't necessarily want more of this mess. I will watch, of course, because I would watch SKJ read last week's weather... But since we don't get any ratings from D+, it is difficult to say how well the drama did, really.
Kang Joon is in the military until mid-May 2023, though he may get discharged a few weeks earlier if he saves the majority of his vacation days (like fellow actor Park Bogum did - PBG was discharged almost a month early). If SKJ didn't shoot more GRID-episodes in advance, then that is at least how long we will have to wait.

You are right, as a 93-liner, he still has chances. :) I just hope he takes them... ^^

I think in both the case of Kang Joon and Joo Won, they just need to pick ONE project from a main channel (KBS, SBS, MBC, TvN, maybe JTBC) that really does well in ratings (8% or more).
They both have the talent to be major players, they just need some more exposure to the general public again to attract better projects in return. :)

EDIT: I just saw Joo Won has *three* projects lined up... 2 dramas and one movie. So, things are certainly looking promising! :) (Also, talking about Joo Won makes me want to re-watch Bridal Mask :D)

Hi and first off: thank you for reading my rant. xD

I agree with the earlier comments you made on this drama; I think we feel very similar about Grid! :) However, I wouldn't go so far as to call it career suicide, because Kang Joon acted phenomenally despite the script. I mean, there is a reason episode 7 is the highest rated episode of this drama; it showcases the emotional acting of Kang Joon.

But it just doesn't make sense from an economic/logistic standpoint to cast an actor that is about to enlist for at least 18 months... The production is essentially on hold. (Meanwhile, SBS released all three seasons of "The Penthouse" within one year! That is how it should be done.) But instead, we need to wait over 2 years. (I sense another Love Alarm 2-fiasco, TBH).

I love Kang Joon, but there are other Korean actors in their 20ies/early 30ies that could have done this role (perhaps not as well, but since Grid turned out to be kind of a dud... does it matter?).

I wish Kang Joon would star in a really fun rom-com again!! :) He has great comedic timing (shown in the early episodes of "The Third Charm" and parts of "Are You Human Too?" and "Cheese in the Trap"). I hope it still happens, good romcoms become rarer as actors get to their 30ies...

I think SKJ is so drawn to Sci-fi because he likes Ethan Hawke, who did "Gatacca" and I think one or two more rather well-known sci-fi films, so maybe he wants to imitate his sunbae a bit...? Also, as you said, the GRID-screenwriter had a great track record, so he probably trusted her.

And OMG, finally someone else who sees similarties between SKJ and Joo Won's career tracjectories! :D They are both amazing actors, but so undervalued and they hardly ever get offered scripts that do them justice...
..

Disclaimer: I adore Kang Joon, but at best, this influences my score of the acting. :)
This is my personal opinion on what was presented in the drama. I just need to get this off my chest. ^^ It actually PAINS me to write something like this about a Kang Joon-drama, but we need to be able to separate the art from the artists.

Acting: 15 points out of 10
Score: 8 points (it sounds like computer game-BGM... I personally liked it.)
Writing: -8 (it was a 7.5 to a 9, depending on the episode... until episode 10, then it just *dropped*)
Whoever greenlit episode 10: -100

1.5 stars out of 5
(It would have been a 4/5 or even a 4.5/5 before the finale. So yes, that’s how bad that mess is).


TL;DR:
- the entire cast did really, really well despite the script ultimately not delivering any conclusions
- there are several main characters that can, it seems, not die, no matter what. They die, and then “get reborn”/”respawn” at different (and generally convenient!) points in the timeline. As a result, more than half of the sacrifices in this show ultimately feel shallow and pointless
- supposedly major things (including life as we know it) are at stake here, but if the main characters can’t die, and neither them nor we as viewers have to stick around to face the aftermath of them making horrible decisions.. what does it all matter, really?
- William Blackstone stated that “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer”. The writer of this appears to advocate for just the opposite, namely that the survival of the many apparently morally justifies sacrificing a select few, even if totally innocent (only they don’t really sacrifice themselves *wink*). This is entirely my own personal criticism (TV shows are not required to teach good moral lessons), but I think this is an... interesting standpoint to have, particularly in these current times.
- Some real garbage marketing: people had no idea this likely is not a stand-alone work until the last 15 minutes of the final episode. That is just BAD.I watched ep 10 for answers.
- Deceptive editing to further confuse the audience; some episodes ended in cliffhangers that were never addressed in the follow-up episodes (e.g. the ending of episode 8). That is likewise just BAD.


SOME MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
I stuck with "GRID" every week and REALLY believed in this show. I thought it would be epic. I spent at least two hours coming up with theories for the supposed “finale”, with a fellow friend and Kang Joon-fan. I made GIFs. Up until episode 6, it is a decent K-drama, but not outstanding. I really liked episodes 7 and 8, hoping that there would be a clear resolution that thoroughly explains the mechanics of this world to the layperson. Ep 9 felt kind of meh... I got a feeling the writer had lost interest in her own plot, but decided to have faith, anyway.

Then episode 10 happened.

I lost it when Saeha, who had died (very tragically) TWICE in the same episode, re-emerged from the barn Jesus-Christ-style, wearing a white shirt but no halo. What the frig was the writer smoking?!
What is the point of watching a show where it appears that at least three(!) of your main characters can be resurrected at will by the writer, emotional impact and prior story be damned...?! No matter how tragic their death, they can just re-spawn later in a different “time”... A loss is by definition not a loss if it can be easily nullified.
Apparently, deaths don’t matter, and relationships and character developments don’t matter, because the characters are never constant. They “respawn” at a different point in time and have some memories and then sometimes, they forget even parts of those, but they have a different past now. (Snippets of this past you may or may not get to see, depending on the writer’s mood. I imagine her cackling like a stereotypical Disney-villain while she typed up this drama, throwing several pages of useful exposition and world building in the bin during the process... So yes, the real villain of this show might actually be the writer; how very meta!)

Because deaths mean nothing, the main characters have become invincible, in a way. That, as the finale shows, is a MEGA BORING concept (see Jesus-Saeha.)

The resolution presented in episode 10 is just not sufficient. I mean, what do we get?
- several (ultimately pointless) death scenes
- a completely overlong fight-montage between Ghost and the new, blue device male-Ghost
- an overlong summary-cum-really-uncomfortable flirting between Saebyok and Eojin (no means yes, apparently... and this was written by a fellow woman, too... *SMH*)
- “the resurrection” of Saeha
- a baby being delivered to safety (?) in the middle of the night with some vapid, exceedingly pontificating voice-over in the background *barf*
- a totally rushed and shoehorned in set-up for a possible Season 2.

In short, it’s a mess and a half, and I am not usually a very critical watcher at all.

What we DID NOT get in episode 10 were some interesting answers, not even VERY BASIC ones, like:

- We never even got an explanation why Eojin and Saebyok got divorced in the first place... it couldn’t have been that bad, considering they got over it VERY quickly at the end. (On the same day of Saeha’s funeral.... his body wasn’t even cold yet... Guys, really?! -_____-).

- Why does the finale afford the luxury of cheating death to Saeha, but not Manok, whose life was similarly messed up by the events in 1997, for reasons (we have to assume) are no fault of his own? Is he “unworthy” because his life has no direct influence on the Grid? Dear writer, what are you trying to say about “undeserving life”?!

- In hindsight---why did the Ghost never explain herself properly to the other peeps, e.g. Manok? Like, she CAN talk. Because the only outcome of her not talking is that it eventually humanised Manok, because imagine being stalked and held captive by someone powerful who deems you so unworthy they won’t even talk to you...
Writer, is this what you wanted, humanising the murderer?! (Also... does this confirm that Ghost is a stand-in for some sort of desinterested God-being? Wait a minute... is this secretly an AU-crossover of “Waiting for Godot” and “The New Testament”?! What the frig did I actually watch...?!).

- About our boy Saeha, who went through so much for nine episodes only to get caught up in the same loop and then mysteriously come back from the dead... again... in hindsight, should we really CARE if he has a messed-up destiny if he can just jump back in time... to “a better place” and even cheat death? How can a hero be a hero if their sacrifices become nullified in front of our very eyes?
[A little joke, because I am getting really depressed writing this: If they don’t title season 2 either “Grid 2: The Passion of Kwon Saeha” or “Grid 2: Revenge of the Fallen”, they REALLY don’t know what they are doing.]

Even though much of this mess is thanks to the writer, I am not saying she can’t write; some dialogue is really well done, and some scenes were heartfelt (maybe because of the stellar acting, too). But the overall plot just nullifies these good points.
Multiple people on here made accounts just to ask questions because they could not follow the plot. That’s how bad the writer is at putting in clues for averagely intelligent peeps to follow.
The writer does not care for the audience. This is her own little pet-project, and while it’s a wild ride, turns out that its underlying philosophy is certainly awfully specific in its appeal. It’s like if a person with a PhD in heliophysics and a death/resurrection-fetish wrote a (very confused) Kang Joon-fanfic with some Samuel Beckett-influences. (This should be this drama’s tagline, BTW. Pay me, Disney, and it’s all yours).

I am not willing to give a pass to a writer for doing the bare minimum of world building and then letting a couple of PhDs and time-travel literature buffs do the explaining of her world and its supposed rules for it to the “unwashed masses”. (And not even all the "big-brain experts" have managed to come to the consensus that this isn’t just total nonsense, so WTF mate, what actually DID you write...?!). If your writing can’t stand on its own, and the majority of the audience is lost for half of your plot, you messed up as a writer, especially in a medium like TV. This isn’t supposed to be a work of absurdist theatre. Complex and complicated are not the same thing.

In a nutshell: the actors deserved better than this script.

PS.: I am never forgiving the writer for repeatedly killing the ultra-smexy researcher Dr Kwon back in 1997. Best character by a mile. <3

PPS.: Also, WHY would you cast Seo Kang Joon in a (supposedly) multi-season drama right RIGHT BEFORE his military service?! We all KNEW he had to go. HE knew he had to go. What kind of stupidity is this?!

PPS.: Disney, if you now turn mediocre fanfics into K-dramas... can I send in mine...? :D

*sigh* I rest my case.