XXI

I thought the old man might be the mole since the preview makes it seem like it's the cafeteria lady (so a twist is probably headed our way) & because of the comment his son made asking Boonok "do you have any idea what kind man he is?" Granted, his son isn't the best person to be speaking on other's characters. & then I wondered why would he help Youngro & not tell the agents that Sooho was hiding in the dorm? So, I don't know about him being the mole anymore but, since the start, I think he was involved in the death of the former Headmistress. Remember when he saw her face in one of the students & Sooho did say that the eyes of the first person you kill will haunt you forever 👀

Yup, that's basically what it boils down to.

I had a lot of thoughts about Youngro & that scene that I wasn't seeing & wanted to share.

Same. I like the way they wrote their thoughts without having to bring down other characters too.

Well said. I do like seeing how characters change given their situations & I don't mind when characters who have traits that I consider good, like I do with Youngro stay the same. I am wondering what else we'll see from her now that the hostages are free to roam around & we're nearing the end.

Because kindness is rare nowadays, people find that hard to believe & to even like in their characters. Like you, I don't see anything bad in that quality. I can have my expectations & wish for certain things but I'm not going to be mad at the writer when it's been pretty clear what kind of character Youngro would be.

I've been waiting for this drama since it was announced & with the controversy surrounding it since the start, I wanted to enjoy SD rather than nitpick everything. I know it has its flaws but it's the drama that I anticipate weekly & make sure to watch on the day it airs.

Oh, I had always associated "snowdrop" as a description of their love but I like what you said. This is going to be long as there many things about Youngro & other characters that I saw on here & elsewhere that made me think. I believe this was a discussion that was had earlier when the drama first aired, & this is something that happens in general, but some think that a FL has to act a certain way to make them smart &/or strong or that they have to be fierce & be bold to be interesting. That's all a personal preference, which we have all but I don't think that means a character is necessarily shallow if they don't have those traits.

I understand being tired of seeing Youngro in scenes where she's held hostage or used as Sooho's weakness but, though weak for some, it makes sense plot wise. Unintentionally, Youngro is at the center of the hostage situation & her identity as Sooho's love & the daughter of the ANSP's director makes her an easy target. (Though I do understand the points of having her be more than those identities.) Actually, I think it would be more weird to not have all those scenes of her being used as a threat. & about her crying scenes that people are also tired of, it's a natural reaction given what she's gone through - learning Sooho's identity & feeling betrayed, blaming herself for putting everyone in danger (which Boonok was very vocal about), having to find out about her brother's death like that & not being able to say goodbye, & being told her dad is willing to sacrifice her life/the others lives for politics. One could say she doesn't cry enough, though of course that doesn't mean I want to see her cry throughout the entire episode(s). Also, some equate her crying to being weak when it only means she has feelings.

I was thinking of some her actions throughout the drama:
-sneaking in to the dorm
-covering for Jeongmin who was reading something that could get her in trouble
-convincing Hyeryeong to let Boonok come along the blind date
-pretending to be Sooho's girlfriend to help him
- hiding Sooho because she thought she was protecting a protestor
- standing up to Hanna when they were hiding Sooho
- solely taking the blame when Headmistress Pi found out they hid Sooho
- revealing her identity to attempt & save the hostages
- tending to Kangmoo's wound
- slapping Sooho
- stealing the detonator from Sooho
- coming up with the escape plan alongside Kangmoo & Headmistress Pi
- acting as a distraction to put the escape plan into place
- standing up to comrade Joo when he was beating Hyeryeong's boyfriend
- maybe attempting to reveal Dr. Kang's identity to her father
- sending a message to her father asking him to save her/them (I took her message as asking him you really won't sacrifice me/us, right?)

While some of those actions can be considered reckless, most of them have been to help others, which I personally don't have a problem with but some don't really like that trait in their characters - especially if it's a main one & the other characters have more debatable traits. I've said it before, she's not even my favorite character nor the most interesting character for me but there's so many "she's only a naïve character" comments that make me think about my observations about her.

Yes, their love has been promoted as a love at first sight & Youngro's recording once again reminded us of that. I agree that I would've liked to see more sweet moments between them before the hostage situation began but throughout it all I saw was Sooho trying to keep her safe as best as he could.

You wrote it perfectly - that coffee scene was for Sooho & not for Youngro as she already had her mind made up about how she felt about him/the situation. I didn't think it was to literally forget what he did - as some were mocking the scene for- but to not dwell in that pain since they already have much on their shoulders to carry.

I think it comes down to people not liking the fact that she has some good in her - if you want to call it that - because of her love & kindness. Because she's surrounded by others who are only looking out for themselves & taking that action, Youngro comes off as naïve or less interesting - among the nicer things I've seen her described as. It's a matter of personal preference yet some are letting their own expectations of what they like/want to happen influence them away from what the writer wrote. I don't know if that makes sense. It probably sounds as if Youngro is my favorite character & I think she's flawless, but that's not necessarily the case. Like you, I think she's shown more than being naïve & don't mind having a character like her amongst the others in the drama.

There's nothing wrong if they don't like her acting or say she needs to improve but some have unfair expectations. By that I mean that they want Jisoo to show the same emotions/act in the same way that a character like Boonok/Hanna/Sooho/etc. does when they're written completely different. & some people claim it isn't about her but her character yet somehow they always seem to only focus on her & the way they write about her is sarcastic or negative as compared to when it isn't about her. It's no wonder that their "constructive criticism" is questioned.

Yeah, Youngro isn't a vindictive character like that so I don't know why some wanted her to react in that way.

Exactly, if they post once, it's whatever but when it's continuous it's not farfetched to think they're a hater. It's weird when someone will make a post excitedly saying what they like about the drama & then you have someone nitpicking, using snarky words sometimes, everything about the drama in the comments. I don't see why they seem to want everyone else to not enjoy the drama just because they aren't.

The giggling before the kiss & the way Haein took care of Jisoo afterwards by moving her hair aside & putting an ice pack to her neck was sweet. I love how comfortable they are with each other.

Exactly, she understands that & knows they don't have much time left - 8 days, I think - so her actions are what I expect from her character & for the plot.

I don't think people have a problem with different opinions but they're probably tired of accounts that make numerous long posts daily with the same opinions about characters/things about the drama they don't like.

I've let a couple of episodes pile up so I could binge watch them, but I like the fantasy and revenge aspect of the show.

Exactly, all those other characters make us feel strong emotions - mostly anger- & Youngro doesn't so I also think that could be a reason why people view her the way they do. Like of course a kind character isn't going to have a strong impact like a selfish one does.

I agree with what you said, especially the part of it being kind of weird if we suddenly saw a shift in her character to be more fierce.

For me, she gets worse.

I was thinking of the attic scene & this is going to be a bit long. I know there are different opinions about it & that's fine, but I'm not trying to argue so please don't comment trying to do so.

Before they entered the attic, Youngro had already forgiven Sooho & realized he meant it when he said he didn't want to harm her/everyone. Hearing Kangmoo/the spies talk about how he cares for her/wants to protect her & having him take that bullet for her are the reasons why she accepted he cares for her in his way given their situation. Hearing & seeing him talk to Boonok about taking someone's life made her acknowledge the weight Sooho has been carrying - which is why she asks him how he became a spy & couldn't he have chosen to do something else.

Because of those realizations she had, she wanted to comfort Sooho & acted bubbly, as her character was originally described, which is why she brought up her embarrassing moment to lighten his mood . (After everything that had happened, maybe she wanted a moment of escape too.) So, when Sooho brings up pointing the gun at her & she says that she erased it as well I think that goes back to my thought of her saying that she understands his actions now. (I took Sooho saying erase this too before kissing as showing his guilt of still wanting her despite their situation & giving in to those feelings while knowing that nothing changes about their situation.)

Everyone has different feelings about Youngro's actions - from thinking they're wrong or right. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with her actions, but I'm sharing my thoughts based on how her character has been written. Whether you like it about her or not, it's in Youngro's personality to forgive & be kind. Maybe it was too easy for her to do so or too quick, but she hasn't been shown to hold grudges, & of course it was to move the romance plot along - which I understand could've been executed better for some. But, though Youngro was hurt & disillusioned by finding out Sooho's identity & the effects of that, it's not as if her feelings for him went away. However we feel about that/them as a couple, doesn't change that fact.

Boonok kept making a big fuss about Youngro helping out Sooho & trying to say she knew he was a spy & Comrade Joo also has an issue with Sooho's feelings for Youngro so it would be hypocritical of those two characters if they get together, not that I think it will happen or like they have a great moral compass to care they're being hypocrites.