Arihant D

Yes that was pretty good use of a foreigner in Kdramas

Its a good analysis and no i dont mean money is the yardstick to measure success but thats not the only point.

Giving an example ,in Sylvester Stallone Movie Rocky, as per yoi ,who among Rocky and Apollo creed, the big name boxer, is the underdog ?
As per this reasoning Apollo creed is the underdog as he could lose his entire career if Rocky beats him and Rocky so far is a nobody but has people believing in him all the way (coach,friends,wife etc.) Rocky has strengths but he has never believed in himself -same way as NDS never believed he deserved success after his first success (Maths Olympiad) was due to cheating as per him
In real life terms,i would say NDS would be considered a underdog who comes into his own

Production values shot up ,especially post DOTS i think..
Agree on the extras as well..

Yes..it was quite good too

My feelings exactly..Beautiful work by him

I think HJP was meant to be older ...Anyways what i meant was that the writer wrote a superb character and KSH made full use of the opportunity

I think we call people underdogs based on the given situation they are in ,not what happened in past..When HJP meets NDS for first time,he looks pathetic..HJP has it all-The high paying job,,respected name as well as a backstory.NDS genius is known only later..He has been struggling to get investors for years..plus he has near zero self esteem .Many characters compare NDS to HJP at this stage and conclude he is a loser.So yes,NDS is the actual underdog when the 3 characters meet for first time
Am amazed to see HJP being called an underdog..No underdog ever has such a successful career,confident (even arrogant) personality or standing in life as he had.

That backride at end of Ep 14 on the bridge was so beautiful..Scenery looked like a picture postcard
This PD effortlessly makes even random scenes beautiful

The lead here is similar to Lee Jong Suk in I can hear your voice..Younger (than second lead) guy and an underdog in total love with the female lead. Only this time,there is no superpower involved (if you can negate anti hacking genius as one)

BTW just loved how HJP saved SDM from her office folks while crying in Ep 14.Beautifully executed moment

I guess i know how this writer writes her leads (having seen almost all her shows) so that i didnt have any different expectations. So far,she has been pretty conssitent

That's well put and the most reasoned ship and drama discussion i have seen here.Bravo

While people love Kim Seon Ho as HJP, what if someone else like,say,Lee Dong Wook played him? Guess it would be too close for comfort since he and Suzy dated for a while

Sure ..Just done with Ep 13 too and still loving it..The 3 sans in action again were pretty cool...Nam Do san gets to be the knight in shining armor again..

I really wish someone makes an AI speaker like Yeong shil someday ..Its pretty awesome and funny each time it predicts HJP 's fortune when he asks the weather report ..

Done with ep 12 and still loving the drama

I think its how the writer presents it mostly..my gut feel is it was always NDS/SDM endgame but she wrote the second lead too well

I actually agree that writers should not change the final ship based on responses but that stops anything apart from preproduced dramas..
I am all for pre produced shows as there is no screwing people based on ratings but that format has not worked universally..Sometimes works beautifully (DOTS which was superbly received) but sometimes is not received well (like Hwarang or Introverted bosswhich i really liked)
Will wait to see the rest to comment

As someone who has watched some Kdramas,i have found Nam Do San played by NJH a refreshing ML (so far) .He is not macho,more a passive guy and huge underdog. (His knitting is so funny) Another show i remember which had stuff like this was Introverted Boss,Protect the boss .This is all based on 7 eps so am not sure how he grows into something opposite (though am getting feelers he has anger issues and will fight hard for Seo Dal Mi,even dirty
Regarding Kdramas,i think writers changing ships or extending triangles midway is mostly bad (CITT,Heirs,Kim Tak Gu are classic cases)
This writer normally manages without major damages but that has been because its a clearly defined male lead,however improbable (eg.Lee Joong Suk the high schooler ends with Noona Lee Bo Young in I can Hear your voice which worked bcos they had a huge past connection)
Where this show is maybe missing that real past connection between the leads and it is between FL and HJP.

Am seeing a lot of comments and looks like there are many who wanted to make HJP the ML..I think bcos HJP backstory and his connection was superby established in Ep 1,the viewers felt he should be ML..Also,NDS was literally absent in the Ep 1 (guess the writer wanted that mystery) and that furthered this thought.
I am firmly in NDS ship bcos of various reasons but most of all,Nam Joo Hyuk always gets the girl unless its a melodrama.School 2015 is a classic case..He starts with elder sister who doesnt really accept,falls for switched younger sister who too does the same and when the elder comes back,goes for the younger sister as he and she love her now..There were a lot of ship wars in that too