Kimsamsoom

I find that Kdrama's advantage over western drama has always been chemistry, acting, and visuals.

Western shows are MUCH MUCH more willing to push a show with poor visuals from the leads.

Where western shows trump Kdrama is mostly in plot strength, story telling, procedurals, and character depth.

It was Kang Moo's fault all along!

What would you rate it?

Ahh, I am different I guess in that sense.

I value the plot, story, and logic. The visuals are a tertiary detail to me. And i'm not really biased to Kim Hye Yoon, I only discovered her in this drama.

But I do watch a lot of western shows, and I love grey characters, underdog stories, and redemption arcs.

Done and Done!

Personally, I don't defend Boon Ok's actions. She has clearly made wrong moves. I sympathize with her, and I feel she is certainly redeemable.

I've seen my share of shows/movies/books/plays and etc... I've seen tragic heroes from Darth Vader to Willy Loman. For me Boon Ok is not a one dimensional villain, but rather a multi-faceted tragic hero, who like most tragic hero, will get her redemption but at a severe cost to her.

It's just funny how people would rather root for a nice villain, rather than a tragic hero.

But people like Boon Ok exist in real life. That jealousy, the pettiness, the spite. And we have friends who are like this, and yet we are still friends, we get them second chances even.

I just find it weird a person like Boon Ok, who is pretty realistic, has not much sympathy.

Other then than the trigger pulling, nothing Boon Ok has done is inhuman. And the trigger pull wasn't done out of cold blood, there is actual provocation first. Not that I am defending it.

I wish they had fleshed out the relationship between Young Ro and her family. I have a hard time believing what I am seeing between Young Ro and her dad, they way they act as if Young Ro hasn't been missing for 10 years.

I will admit, this type of unhealthy relationship maybe common during 1987, but do you really think the writer had that in mind when creating this romance? Under modern lenses the romance is not that healthy.

I can appreciate that Soo Ho was never going to push through with it, but after seeing him brutally kill a "Traitor" in his training, it all just feels so sudden. This all could have been written better to show more background rather than just having viewer's fill in the gap.

Young Ro ask several times for Soo Ho to let them go, he says no. That is the power imbalance there. If there is no power imbalance, Young Ro is free to do what she wants and when she wants. Obviously now it's too dangerous for her to go out, but in the beginning when she was asking for it, he said no several times.

And I agree with that. I am not arguing what Boon Ok has done is correct. It is clearly wrong.

But I am curious why the hate seems to be with so much vitriol, and with zero sympathy, on a clearly grey character, in a show where they are characters who are actually purely black?

But now that you are reminded of their acts. Are they just as bad then?

The original plan was not to kill soo ho. It just became the eventual sacrifice to secure the money.

Your implying they wanted for soo ho to die from the very beginning? There is no proof of this, just conjecture. They did eventually want Soo ho to die, but it's more because that is what it will take for NK to get the money. It is shown that with the presence of Cheong Ya, saving the spies was at one point their prime directive until situation changed.

The fact of the matter is, Soo Ho stops to daydream because of his feelings for her, he rides his bike back because of his feelings for her. Part of Young Ro's playing nurse with Soo Ho in the earlier episodes is because of her crush on him. It can then be argued that the hostage situation, if you had taken out Young Ro from the equation, would not have ended up like this. It may not have happened at all if Young Ro had not hidden Soo Ho in the first place.

Kang Moo and Hanna are shown to be honest ANSP agents. So for all we know, if Soo Ho had been turned in to Kang Moo, maybe he would have been given a fair trial, and they would have figured out project phoenix anyway.

The writer made boon ok a nice girl persona in the first two episodes.

So I guess people didn't enjoy seeing her be bad.

I agreed, the other characters should be more or equally hated. But I see nothing. Just one sided boon ok hate.

I noticed the hate stems from the fact that book ok is singling out poor innocent young ro. But what people are ignoring is that boon ok actually has a valid point.

Calling them stupid and hating is two different things though.

IMO Lee Kwang Tae has done more despicable things, yet he gets not much hate.

No one talks about Hye roung being a bully because she is bullying boon ok, who people hate. So it's accepted.

Since we see in the episode preview, that once they know Young Ro is the daughter of the ANSP director, she is going to be blamed, I think it's worth asking this debate question.

Is the hostage situation in the dorm, Young Ro's fault? We clearly see the roommates of Young Ro are actually going to be leading the witch hunt.

None of the other selfish characters get any hate, Just boon ok.

Cheong ya is going to blow them all up with the detonator. And if not for boon okz they all die. But everyone just forget it.

Their act is not noble at all. Lee Kwang Tae could have gotten them all killed.

No complaints on them in the comment section though ☺️

For me Hye roung is a bully, and yet no one dislikes her. Just watch. Episode 14 Hye roung will start blaming young ro, and yet boon ok will still get all the hate. 😅

Previous episode.

While everyone went to the prayer room. They selfishly were trying to escape. They didn't care about the consequences or cared about the other hostages.

Not really soo hos fault the dad got shot...

I address all this in my topic discussion.

Ms. Pi not only gaslights boon ok, but she throws her under the bus as well.

Hye roung, seoild her and the two guys Literally did what you are accusing boon ok of doing.

She explains why she steps the things.she does.

Honestly boon ok is a working class poor trying to better herself. in ways that are no more evil thsn what other people are already doing. Yet she is the only one vilified.

Is it because everyone in the show also hated her then it becomes mob rule?

So soldiers pointing guns at innocents is ok, because it's their job. If people get killed or murdered. It's their job.

Boon ok pointing it is not ok, since it's not her job?

Just making sure I understand this.