I actually like Lee Dae (brother in law) as a character the most, since he's the most consistent. Perhaps, like…
Indeed, I'm too bothered by many of Ba Woo's actions at the start of the drama (which were never properly address so as to have him feel truly contrite) that no matter his intentions now, it's hard to move past them for me as a viewer.
And I agree with you 100% in regards to his character progression (and every other character in the show, for that matter, save maybe the Brother in Law). Ba Woo seems to switch between being an immature ass a second and a "caring" father/partner the next so randomly and so quickly that it leaves me with whiplash. I think the writers needed to at least made some effort in regards to natural character progression. They needed to have him slowly come to terms with his actions, face the consequences and move past them. Rather than have him go back and forth, as that makes his good actions seem less genuine and his bad actions seem more like his true self.
As to the Princess, while she certainly doesn't fill the shoes of the kind of Female Leads I gravitate towards, she's an okay character. She's a victim of her circumstances who, rather than try to actively get past that, simply makes the best of her current situation. While that's not a bad thing, it's also a bit too passive for my taste.
The real problem I have is that her story has been lost and left unattended in favor of Ba Woo's story (which is something that tends to happen a ton in K-Dramas and has since become a peeve of mine). So now she's more of a supporting character to Ba Woo's story, threatening to become little more than a love interest. While both leads were wronged and had to carry on living in a world that thought them "dead", his story far outweighs her own and, most probably, he'll be the one to get a resolution to his side of the story which, if we're lucky, may consequently provide some kind of resolution to hers. However, the Princess will most probably not be able to resolve her own story.
I actually like Lee Dae (brother in law) as a character the most, since he's the most consistent. Perhaps, like…
Of course, the ML has suffered, and he's had years to assimilate the cruelty of his fate. Remember that the FL hasn't been given as much time to assimilate her own reality. This could've been a great opportunity to have the ML properly empathize with her and provide the common ground to further their relationship (though the writers haven't given us enough proper, mature, and deep conversation between the leads, imo).
And this is where the inconsistencies come into play for me. If Ba Woo cared enough about his child, why was he doing illegal things in the first place (which would also put his family at risk)?
Why did he refuse to kidnap the FL at first (since he knew he would be "serving her" to an old man), then change his mind --morality apparently be damned? (This is something that just bothers me since it showcases a selfish nature at his core. I don't mind that he's reckless so much as the fact that he doesn't want to take responsibility for his bad decisions).
And if his child was indeed so important, why is he now seeking to sacrifice himself for the FL without a thought towards his son? I get he now likes her, but that seems strange considering he tried to kill her to protect his son (if that is his justification).
In fact, he didn't even ask the FL to take care of his son as he was taken away, which strikes me as odd. That should've been the first thought on his mind. Of course, we'll see if he at least mentions his son and his uncertain fate during the next episode, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't.
I think part of my disappointment is also in regards to having a Male Lead I don't really care about and whom I don't even like all that much (he's still too toxic for my taste). His sad story doesn't really justify some of his actions in my book and, at this point, I doubt I'll be able to change my mind since we're already more than halfway through the show.
Luckily, I'm watching shows that tick all the right boxes for me at the same time, so that makes it easier to muscle through this one (as I try not to drop dramas unless they are truly unbearable, lol).
I actually like Lee Dae (brother in law) as a character the most, since he's the most consistent. Perhaps, like…
Did I say she needed to be a warrior or politician?
"But when goes to far he always admits and apologizes."
Does he really? When she confronted him about the hurtful things he'd said to her, he simply said something akin to "must you remember that". That felt belittling to me. So his apologies feel more for the sake of appeasing the female lead than out of a realization that what he did was wrong.
Let's not forget that he tried to murder her. Then, when that was too drastic, he also tried to sell her (fully aware of the fate that would befall her if he'd gone through with it). Not even the fact that his own family were made slaves gave him pause when trying to rid himself of the "burdensome" female lead.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you enjoy her character and this show. There's always something for everyone and I, unfortunately, do not share in your enjoyment. The fact that I find this show disappointing doesn't need to invalidate the fact that you feel the opposite.
This drama gets worse and worse. What’s with the raunchy drawings plot device? Hwa In is such a contradiction…
I actually like Lee Dae (brother in law) as a character the most, since he's the most consistent.
Perhaps, like you, I continue watching more to simply finish this, than for any real sense of enjoyment. I am still bothered by a number of things Ba Woo, our protagonist, has done --especially in regards to Princess Soo Kyung. It's hard to see the "romance" aspect when Ba Woo has steadily showcased toxic behavior. The fact that he may be nice every now and then doesn't wipe away his slate in my books.
It's also unfortunate that our Female Lead didn't evolve as much as I'd hoped for. She is little more than just a love interest, which is always something that disappoints me in any drama (I like female leads who are not only actively involved in the plot, but who actually contribute something to progressing the story in a non-passive way). At this point, I very much doubt that will change.
So far, I this is a 6.5/10 for me, though depending on how it progresses, my rating may drop.
Not only did she disrespect his feelings and wishes when it came to his father, she then had the nerve to make…
I agree. She had no right to determined how he should feel towards his father. Only he can decide what to feel and, consequently, how to treat him. Especially as she also had her own share of difficult relationships with her family but he never told her what to do or how to treat them.
Excellent observation , as usual, 3GGG! I am steering VERY clear of any and all dramas with disaster and/or dystopian…
Indeed, I would be very interested in finding out if someone already made a study regarding cinema in general. Whether movies that were planned (apocalyptic or depressing) did bad during this time. Of course, cinema in general has taken a huge hit, so that's another factor that would alter the findings.
Pandemic has definitely affected my viewing habits, not only for kdramas but also for western shows. I used to…
Indeed, it's the same for me. I still pick them up (crime series, that is) since I've kind of made amends with COVID. However, when the pandemic started I couldn't handle depressing plots at all.
A very interesting article which makes me think whether the COVID-19 pandemic the world is facing influences the mood of the watchers. Meaning, do viewers now feel the need to get happy endings as opposed to sad endings since the pandemic started vs before that? Or, even more interestingly, do they choose to watch more lighthearted shows now?
I know that for me, who don't really mind a dark drama with a sad ending (one can even say I have a preference for tragic characters/stories), I have been more reluctant to watch too many of these types of shows since the pandemic. Instead, I tend to gravitate towards more lighthearted (comedy) shows that don't require too much of me to pass the time (though I have been taking a mini-break from watching too many dramas atm and have been playing puzzle games instead to pass the time).
"So to not have to deal with it, I would simply ✨become✨ a monster. Or just get eaten on purpose." >> I cannot with this, lol. This was a great opening to your article, well done! I enjoyed the read and I found myself agreeing with all of it (except in regards to Love Alarm since I haven't seen it).
This is one of my favorite dramas, but I admit I tend to like dark and tragic tales. I'd say give it a shot, as…
Indeed, we watched the same drama but with different eyes & that made all the difference. This drama was simply right down my alley. I watched it while it aired and I still remember it today. In fact, I remember that when people started being disappointed as the drama crossed to the second half and became darker, I was more engaged.
Don't know if I should continue this. It was so slow in the beginning :(
Tbh, if you aren't enjoying the first 9 episodes, you probably won't enjoy the rest. I ve been muscling through since episode 13 myself, and i actually liked the first 9 episodes.
Before episide 12 I actually liked the FL. But after that one... She becomes childish and selfish to a frustrating degree.
When the ML attempts to explain his feelings and why he is upset, she brushes him off by calling him a child. Then when she wants to make up, she has the audacity to turn herself into the victim by basically saying "I apologize for being a grown-up).
Then later on, when he bottles his feelings, she critiques him by saying he's not being honest and that he should share his feelings. As if that wasn't enough, when she does something terrible to him in episode 14 and he wants to talk things out, she apologizes and acts like a child. In so doing, she makes light of the situation to avoid facing the consequences of her selfish decisions.
Why the ML never shot back at her with her own "don't be a child" and "sorry for being a grown-up" is beyond me.
One thing is clear, the FL is indeed a mirror of her hysterical mother (which kudos to the actress for the portrayal. I'm sure her throat was hurting by the end of each scene with all that yelling and temper tantrums).
That out of the way, the FL is portrayed actually very realistic, as I know more than one person exactly like that. Someone who hurts others and then, somehow, makes it seem like they were the ones being hurt. And, let's just say, dealing with that in real life is just as frustrating as watching it here...
So, echoing everyone else, this started great but after episode 10/11 it became draggy, frustrating and a bit boring. The only thing I ended up interested in watching is the work-related drama regarding the sexual harassment case.
1 
2 
And I agree with you 100% in regards to his character progression (and every other character in the show, for that matter, save maybe the Brother in Law). Ba Woo seems to switch between being an immature ass a second and a "caring" father/partner the next so randomly and so quickly that it leaves me with whiplash. I think the writers needed to at least made some effort in regards to natural character progression. They needed to have him slowly come to terms with his actions, face the consequences and move past them. Rather than have him go back and forth, as that makes his good actions seem less genuine and his bad actions seem more like his true self.
As to the Princess, while she certainly doesn't fill the shoes of the kind of Female Leads I gravitate towards, she's an okay character. She's a victim of her circumstances who, rather than try to actively get past that, simply makes the best of her current situation. While that's not a bad thing, it's also a bit too passive for my taste.
The real problem I have is that her story has been lost and left unattended in favor of Ba Woo's story (which is something that tends to happen a ton in K-Dramas and has since become a peeve of mine). So now she's more of a supporting character to Ba Woo's story, threatening to become little more than a love interest. While both leads were wronged and had to carry on living in a world that thought them "dead", his story far outweighs her own and, most probably, he'll be the one to get a resolution to his side of the story which, if we're lucky, may consequently provide some kind of resolution to hers. However, the Princess will most probably not be able to resolve her own story.
And this is where the inconsistencies come into play for me. If Ba Woo cared enough about his child, why was he doing illegal things in the first place (which would also put his family at risk)?
Why did he refuse to kidnap the FL at first (since he knew he would be "serving her" to an old man), then change his mind --morality apparently be damned? (This is something that just bothers me since it showcases a selfish nature at his core. I don't mind that he's reckless so much as the fact that he doesn't want to take responsibility for his bad decisions).
And if his child was indeed so important, why is he now seeking to sacrifice himself for the FL without a thought towards his son? I get he now likes her, but that seems strange considering he tried to kill her to protect his son (if that is his justification).
In fact, he didn't even ask the FL to take care of his son as he was taken away, which strikes me as odd. That should've been the first thought on his mind. Of course, we'll see if he at least mentions his son and his uncertain fate during the next episode, but I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't.
I think part of my disappointment is also in regards to having a Male Lead I don't really care about and whom I don't even like all that much (he's still too toxic for my taste). His sad story doesn't really justify some of his actions in my book and, at this point, I doubt I'll be able to change my mind since we're already more than halfway through the show.
Luckily, I'm watching shows that tick all the right boxes for me at the same time, so that makes it easier to muscle through this one (as I try not to drop dramas unless they are truly unbearable, lol).
"But when goes to far he always admits and apologizes."
Does he really? When she confronted him about the hurtful things he'd said to her, he simply said something akin to "must you remember that". That felt belittling to me. So his apologies feel more for the sake of appeasing the female lead than out of a realization that what he did was wrong.
Let's not forget that he tried to murder her. Then, when that was too drastic, he also tried to sell her (fully aware of the fate that would befall her if he'd gone through with it). Not even the fact that his own family were made slaves gave him pause when trying to rid himself of the "burdensome" female lead.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you enjoy her character and this show. There's always something for everyone and I, unfortunately, do not share in your enjoyment. The fact that I find this show disappointing doesn't need to invalidate the fact that you feel the opposite.
Perhaps, like you, I continue watching more to simply finish this, than for any real sense of enjoyment. I am still bothered by a number of things Ba Woo, our protagonist, has done --especially in regards to Princess Soo Kyung. It's hard to see the "romance" aspect when Ba Woo has steadily showcased toxic behavior. The fact that he may be nice every now and then doesn't wipe away his slate in my books.
It's also unfortunate that our Female Lead didn't evolve as much as I'd hoped for. She is little more than just a love interest, which is always something that disappoints me in any drama (I like female leads who are not only actively involved in the plot, but who actually contribute something to progressing the story in a non-passive way). At this point, I very much doubt that will change.
So far, I this is a 6.5/10 for me, though depending on how it progresses, my rating may drop.
However, season 2 and 3 are tied. So if you watch season 2 you will want to watch season 3 since it continues and ends that particular story.
I know that for me, who don't really mind a dark drama with a sad ending (one can even say I have a preference for tragic characters/stories), I have been more reluctant to watch too many of these types of shows since the pandemic. Instead, I tend to gravitate towards more lighthearted (comedy) shows that don't require too much of me to pass the time (though I have been taking a mini-break from watching too many dramas atm and have been playing puzzle games instead to pass the time).
When the ML attempts to explain his feelings and why he is upset, she brushes him off by calling him a child. Then when she wants to make up, she has the audacity to turn herself into the victim by basically saying "I apologize for being a grown-up).
Then later on, when he bottles his feelings, she critiques him by saying he's not being honest and that he should share his feelings. As if that wasn't enough, when she does something terrible to him in episode 14 and he wants to talk things out, she apologizes and acts like a child. In so doing, she makes light of the situation to avoid facing the consequences of her selfish decisions.
Why the ML never shot back at her with her own "don't be a child" and "sorry for being a grown-up" is beyond me.
One thing is clear, the FL is indeed a mirror of her hysterical mother (which kudos to the actress for the portrayal. I'm sure her throat was hurting by the end of each scene with all that yelling and temper tantrums).
That out of the way, the FL is portrayed actually very realistic, as I know more than one person exactly like that. Someone who hurts others and then, somehow, makes it seem like they were the ones being hurt. And, let's just say, dealing with that in real life is just as frustrating as watching it here...
So, echoing everyone else, this started great but after episode 10/11 it became draggy, frustrating and a bit boring. The only thing I ended up interested in watching is the work-related drama regarding the sexual harassment case.
*Updated to correct some grammar mistakes.