Kimsamsoom

make all other female leads character poor and annoying so that the main FL can shine. It's an old kdrama plot technique that is used often.

they showed his sister in ep. 2 I believe

I find that I would rather have a drama start really well, then drop in quality, rather than it start out poorly, then attempt to make a comeback midway. I don't doubt the production value, Kdrama as of late has really gotten crazy good in terms of production values. I also feel Jung Hae In's acting is so lacking. Whether is a double agent or whatever, his acting really lacks any layers. But maybe that's part of his character? If it is, it's a poor characterization.

Writing Issues:

The characterization of most of the character really felt one dimensional. And the overacting of almost every single character has my grinding my teeth. I am not a fan of how inconsistent Jisoo's acting has been, like she's literally changing the way she is acting scene to scene. Jung Hae In is a robot at times, but at least he is consistently a robot. There is just way too big of a cast or people I am starting to forget.

Because the run time is so crazy long per episode, there is so much crazy filler scenes. Some situations often just need one, maybe max two times for the point to be made. Snowdrop is guilty of showing the same scenes 4-5 times. Sometimes in one episode, as if they don't respect the audience enough to figure out the message they are making.

The pacing, OMG, the pacing is really disjointed. Couple that with an OST/Music that doesn't know what it is doing, I can't help but roll my eyes, when the tension a certain scene builds up will just be thrown out the windows in lieu of "Comedy".

I understand that Kdrama loves to mish mash genre's, but Snowdrop is failing at it.

Yes, that ledge thing you mentioned and many many other scenes that make me laugh at the sheer illogical ridiculousness of it.

So far the drama started slow for me, but is getting better. It's fun enough to anticipate each coming episode, but it's nowhere near a masterpiece for me, too many writing issues, staid acting, and illogical plot holes.

But having said that, I am also very surprised there aren't more people watching. Prior to Snowdrop coming out, I was already predicting this would break every single MDL record for most watchers, most comments and etc...

You could argue that South Korean's lower viewership is because of the controversy, but MDL is mostly international watchers, what is the issue here?

Sure it's not on Netflix, but that has never stopped fans before.

8 more for us.

Happy new year!

PSA

I feel not everyone knows this. But after each episode, they show the next episode preview. And if you wait just a few seconds, they show a post credit scene. I feel some people may be missing the post credit scene.

That guy is Nam Tae il. He is called "Code 2", which basically means in the government congress/assembly, he is the second highest ranking member, but because of his nefarious charm, he is actually most favored by the president. He used to be the director of the ANSP, before it was passed on to Young Ro's father Eun Cho.

At the end of Ep. 5 one of the North Koreans is shot, so there is a possibility that the shot is lethal, and they need an actual doctor, and not just Young Ro's magical hands. So it's possible Soo Ho request a real doctor come in to tend to the wounds. Nam Tae il, still reeling from the failure of their plan to collude with North Korea, is probably wanting to lash out, and kill those North Korean spies.

Nam Tae il would not want any of the hostages to be killed, but not because he cares about them, but superstitiously, if he kills those hostages, then Eun Cho is ensured the presidency.

she's meant to be an innocent, who will grow up to be a super mature woman by the end of the series.

She is intended to be super nice, naive, and a doormat. That is her characterization. Basically a college aged woman that has very little self-respect due to her traumatic childhood.

the timeline is only approximately 35 years removed from the Korean War. Technically, the two sides are still at war. After the war, both countries became very poor, but because of a difference in governments ideology, South Korea eventually prospered and became what it is now. Even under Chun Do Hwan, South Korea prospered. In comparison, North Korea hasn't been doing very well since the Korean war.

Also, the Olympics are being held in Seoul the year after, and North Korea are petitioning to have half of the events on their side. They also ended up boycotting the Olympics in 1988.

Eventhough South Korea was under a militaristic regime, it wasn't a socialist country, but rather have a hybrid democratic government. So from the North's point of view, there were still very much a clash on their political ideologies.

In the train a woman can be heard screaming.

The person Kang moois chasing can be seen dragging a girl with a yellow coat. This is before the scene where Kang moo searches the cabs for soo hoo.

By the time they jump out of the train soohoo is alone.

I believe soohoo may have been trying to capture taedong river 1, because soo hoo is CIA.

But then he is being framed and so he runs. Taedong river 1, the girl, actually pushes and ends up killing Kang moos partner.

This way soo hoo will be innocent of so many deaths and only guilty of holding young ro hostage.

EP 1

it's a recurring theme in the drama about how men underestimate the power of women.

Yes, she is a victim of ANSP, who gets angry at her government, and then defects to NK.

Why I feel Ms. Pi may be one of the Antagonist of the Series. Read below to find out.

Many have commented that Snowdrop seems to symbolically be a Romeo and Juliet type of story. One of the core topics discussed in that Shakespearean play is betrayal. And I feel that Ms. Pi being an antagonist would be a nice little betrayal that will shake up not just the characters of snowdrop, but the viewers as well. So without further Ado, my reasoning of why Ms. Pi is a Disney Villain.

Throughout the 5 episodes, we have been shown that most of the men in power, are shown to be playing some sort of e-peen measuring contest that revolves around who can drink the most blood, to who can speak and shout the loudest. Guilty of this are Nam Tae il, Eu Chang Soo, and Lim Ji Rok. In comparison, if you notice their female counterparts, they are all working behind in the shadows, playing Game of Thrones like chess moves, trying to win the upper hand without dropping the façade they have built up.

Now why is this important you may ask? You notice that Lim Ji Rok, has such faith and pride for Soo Ho, that IF Soo Ho, ends up betraying him, he will be shook to his core, and would be utterly caught off guard. His female counterpart on the other hand, has been telling Soo Ho’s “Comrade” to keep an eye out for Soo Ho’s change in ideology, and kill him if needed. The thing is, we can assume that the money they are asking for 300 or 400 Billion Won is important to Lim Ji Rok and his female counterpart, and so while the man in this equation is having so much male pride for Soo Ho, his female counterpart is actually playing chess moves and creating backup plans or insurance policies as Nam Tae il so aptly put.

One of the insurance policies is of course to kill Soo Ho, but then if Soo Ho is killed, and he is probably the only person Professor Han believes, how will the deal with the South Korean corrupt duo push through? Enter one Ms. Pi.

You see, at the beginning, we just saw Hosu Dorm as Hosu dorm. Given Young Ro’s “poor” beginnings, we didn’t think much about the school. It is only when we later find out that the daughter of a huge Soju Conglomerate is there, and that Young Ro’s father is the Director of ANSP that we finally see that Hosu dorm is actually an elite all women college for the political and wealthy elites.

In fact, given the civil unrest happening in South Korea at this time frame, we see that the girls seem oblivious to the dangers of the outside, and much innocence Is being preserved here. It is not an uncommon effect of being in the ultra rich circles of South Korea and thus being blinded to the plight of the poorer people. In fact in Room 207, both Hye Roung and Seoul Hee seemed to be unaware of what is happening outside their dorm.

Now let us briefly talk about the way the dorm is being run. We will delve into symbolism to see the patterns being presented. Note that these look like just ordinary dorm rooms with four occupants per room. But considering the authoritarian rule of Ms. Pi, don’t you think these dorm rooms actually feel more like jail cells instead?

Now, with that in mind, let us think about the 60 seconds to answer to call rule set by Hosu Dorm. This feels very akin to how prisoners are given a time limit on how long they can be on the phone, and just like a prison, your conversation is not private as Boon Ok is there watching as you talk on the phone. Privacy is very much a rarity in Hosu Dorm.

If you’ve ever watched the Netflix Drama Orange is the New Black, you will see that Ms. Pi actually employ many of the same techniques the warden/prison guard applies. She enters the room willfully, does searches for “Contraband”. She commands fear, not respect. The school is being run similar to a military camp. Even the fencing that surrounds the school, and the ANSP guards who were patrolling the campus really reminds you of a prison. In fact, many of the scenes of Ep. 1 including the fact that many of the doors appear to have bars, and the color scheme chosen for the editing, really hammers this idea home.

Now, I want to point out, not only do I think Hosu Dorm is being run like a prison, but I actually think it is subtly being run as a re-education camp by a North Korean spy, Ms. Pi. Where the young spawns of the political/wealthy elites are subtly being indoctrinated with socialist principles and propaganda; in fact you do not have to look any further than the smart and bespectacled R.A. who interestingly enough sports a yellow armband; a very similar armband that the Nazi Gestapo used to sport, minus the swastika of course. This student has actually been fully indoctrinated and fully immerse in the propaganda that Ms. Pi is trying to implement in Hosu. Now, we see several scenes of her walking and sleep walking. But interestingly enough, when she is sleep walking, she is spouting authoritarian messages. As if they are symbolically showing that she is not just sleep walking, but rather brainwashed like a political zombie.

There is a recurring theme of men underestimating woman. Look no further than the three men I mentioned earlier, talk so casually about top secret information with their wives/counterparts/mistresses, as if these women having this knowledge will have no ramifications. Even Kang Moo is guilty of assuming Taedong River 1 is a man. The same can be said for Ms. Pi. We are assuming that the antagonist are the men with guns, and not the women who are secretly but surely playing the long game.

What I found interesting is that so much time is given to the book “The Truth About Socialism”. This is showing clear ties that Jeong Min is a protestor. Basically is symbolizes Jeong Min as a beacon of radicalism that could and would topple a dictatorship if her ideology spreads in Ms. Pi’s North Korean re-education camp. It is even mentioned in the first episode, Taedong River 1’s main mission is to convince South Korean’s to defect. So this falls in line with what she is doing in Hosu dorm. She is trying to subtly indoctrinate or brainwash the young malleable minds of these young girls.

Now let’s talk a little bit more about when the ANSP first raids Hosu Dorm. What we see is a woman who is not afraid of the ANSP. It could be as people theorize she is a previous protestor who just hates them, OR, she could be a NK spy who hates them. It is my theory, that it is both. Ms. Pi may have been a regular South Korean resident, who after being betrayed by her country, and wrongfully accused by the ANSP, got convinced by Taedong River 1 to defect to North Korea, and the mission given to her was to be the head mistress of Hosu Dorm due to it’s political importance.

Ms. Pi orders everyone to lock their doors and prevent the ANSP from investigating. We assumed that this was to protect the girls of Room 207. But what if there is another NK spy in Hosu dorm, and Ms. PI is warning her to lock their secret room.

Now to go back to my original statement, I believe Ms. Pi is the insurance policy. Now it is clear that Lim Ji Rok’s plan has failed, the second plan will be put in place, where Ms. Pi will hold the students hostage to get the money that NK needs.

I would write more, but I am tired, there are more clues in Ep. 3 – 5.

Interesting theory of mine.

Boon Ok's sister is Kang Cheong Ya, who is in fact Taedong River 1, who makes Ms. Pi defect to North Korea. So Ms. Pi is the North Korean spy who is trapped in Hosu Dorm.

Thinking about it now, I think Taedong River 1 is a girl.

In Ep. 1 Soo Ho is seen dragging along a girl. When Soo Ho runs, the girl is nowhere to be seen.

Aside from spy, what are the other theories?

Sorry to hear that. Yeah twitter had always been more extreme than MDL afaik.

We could just be over thinking the plot lol!

Sometimes the writing is not as Clever and what seems to be obvious just turns out to be the actual truth.


Maybe this is just your classic spy gets treated like pawn then gets revenge on his puppet master story.