MagnoliaCream

there is a world of difference between a harmless ad and a rape scene. A harmless ad that does not add anything to the story can be ignored but a rape scene or any violent scene, especially if it doesn't add anything to the story, is revolting.

i actually thought harder with this drama and even drew some graphs to understand the time-travel concept presented here than with other movies like Primer or Interstellar. You definitely need to use more brain cells for this than for something like Heirs, CLOY or Itaewon Class.

it was an observation based on the comments i read here. you can form your own conclusion. some comments actually stressed the point that it's not a matter of being smart or not, but whether one is interested enough to focus on the drama

It's really intriguing: those who love the drama and understand it think it requires brain cells while those who hate it and don't understand it think otherwise. Go figure

The coffee incident did move the plot along. Lee Gon's theory was that teasing Tae-eul would make her come to see him. He did that with his mumbo-jumbo about the coffee. Because of it, she came to see what he was up to.

I agree, even just one minute of something repulsive about a movie would turn me off it. However, I would only give it a 1/10 if the item that turned me off it has something to do with the story. The ads are mostly irrelevant. It's unfair to disregard other good aspects of the drama, e.g. cinematography, story, acting, etc, because I didn't like something that didn't even have anything to do with the story.

Currently re-watching TKEM and saw this warning in some episodes - "this program contains product placements". I'm amazed at how much the ads bothered some viewers since I hardly noticed them. Those I did notice I found amusing. For example, when Lee Gon teased Tae-eul about a coffee that was "rich at the beginning and clean at the end", he was testing a theory that one way to get her to see him was to irritate her. He was right. She did come to see him and even made a mesmerizing declaration.

There are so many things to occupy the eyes, ears, mind and heart to be bothered by ads that account for a minuscule amount of time compared to the rest of the show. Let's say each episode has 5 minutes amount of ads, that would be equivalent to 4800 total number of seconds. Considering the drama ran for 67200 seconds, the ads only featured for 7% of the total time. So, to give a drama a 1/10 rating for excessive ads when it was ad-free for 9.3/10 of the time does not make sense.

I was so engrossed in the drama, trying to understand the time-travel concept, among other puzzles, the ads never bothered me. In fact, those I noticed I found amusing. For example, when Lee Gon teased Tae-eul about a coffee that was "rich at the beginning and clean at the end", he said it because he had figured out that one way to see her was to irritate her. It worked and she did come to see him and made a mesmerizing declaration.

If you like a drama that challenges you to think, give it a try

as with the math problem I cited, the answers to the plot holes are based on information already imparted. Can you give one plot hole that you think has not been answered? We can try to figure out the answer together

It's always best to give concrete examples. Let's take a simple problem like, "A set of distinct positive integers {a, b, c, d, e} has a median of 16. Get the minimum value of a + b + c + d + e." The teacher would make sure the class knows addition as well as the terms distinct, positive, integer, minimum and median.

A teacher who spoon-feeds students would give them the answer to above problem outright. A teacher who does not spoon-feed will let the students find out the answer themselves. Guess which students would be more invested in the learning process? Figuring out answers to plot holes in this drama considerably heightened my viewing experience.

the clues were either clear enough or exciting enough for a lot of viewers who enjoyed discussing them and trying to unravel the mysteries

i see others have arrived at the solution as well. you won't find the solution if you focus on the show's shortcomings

the best kind of teacher is one who does not spoon-feed but gives the students enough knowledge and drive to find the solution by themselves

This teacher, as others in this comment section have discerned, did not spoon-feed. She gave the viewers enough clues to help them figure things out by themselves. Complaining about the holes is analogous to complaining there is something wrong with the problem or that the topic had not been discussed yet. As math is about arriving at the correct answer by pursuing a solution that would lead to the answer, so is this drama about trying to understand the plot and filling in holes. Sometimes you make the wrong assumptions and arrive at a dead-end. You backtrack and try to find another solution. Those who are able to arrive at the correct solution and answer find them both beautiful and mesmerizing.

in this case, the math problem refers to the plot and mysteries of the drama

Reading the comments reminded me of different reactions to a math problem:
- give up trying to understand the problem
- complain that the problem is wrong
- complain that the topic had not been discussed in class yet
- try to understand the problem but give up trying to solve it
- try to solve the problem but not care whether the answer is right or wrong
- commit to solving the problem, using every past knowledge and researching new ones to get the right answer

clowning means making fun of it? i agree. it's disrespectful to those who like the drama. no wonder they are pissed to high heaven