BiZ_R

Well, by leaving in the AI bit, I think that's more honest. Ok they didn't write it themselves but the essence of their ideas and thoughts is still there. In architecture, when you need or want to make an addition to a historic building, it is preferred to not disguise the modern addition but differentiate it clearly so the original part can still be enjoyed/appreciated in conjunction with the modern addition. AI is a tool that helped them express something that they didn't feel confident to do maybe in English.I can't comment on the validity of their ideas as I haven't watched the drama yet. But I'm glad they indicated that AI contributed to their comment. I think I am going to add this drama to my watchlist though....#NoAIUsed ;)

Attic Cat
My Name Is Kim Sam Soon
Secret Garden
My Girlfriend Is a Gumiho
Introverted Boss
Divorce Lawyer In Love
Protect The Boss
Cunning Single Lady
Fool's Love aka Ho Goo's Love
Touch Your Heart
The Secret Life Of My Secretary

that's all I got off the top of my head! :)

Ooh! yeah! great idea! Do it as a Joseon-era sageuk showing how the power came into the world - what was the requirement for it? Could perhaps be used to examine #MeToo in a historical context? It makes more sense to do this rather than a cash-in looking sidequel that noone cares about.

Having said that, yeah I'll probably give this a look too....

Don't know whether you dropped this or finished it, but I've just watched ep7 so I feel I'm perfectly placed to respond to this post(!). i also don't feel the answers you got were especially helpful, so I thought I'd take a stab at it. :D
1. E and AS became close from the moment their eyes met on the rooftop. AS initially misunderstood E's reason for being there and thought he was there as her backup, to make sure the operation was successful. For the first few episodes she referred to him as a comrade(-in-arms) and he did nothing to correct her. She finally realised he was in fact an American when she saw him in uniform at the train station when the gun "went missing" (taken by her gun teacher) and E intervened to protect her dignity. He was completely taken aback as he realised she was the other person on the rooftop in the scene in his office at the legation when he held his hand up to cover the bottom of her face and recognised her eyes. She did the same to him. Each time their paths crossed she was flustered by him but attracted too. There was a lot of flirting that took place for instance when AS was going to the Pottery and E was there also looking for the potter who saved him as a child.
So yeah, it's been building episode-by-episode. I get that it wasn't slow enough for you but *shrug* thats what happened!
2. Yep, Gu Dong Mae has a stalker-level obsessive crush on AS. He's the son of a butcher - the lowest of the low. His mother drove him away so he might be less tainted by his birth. DM was saved by AS as a girl when she took him into her palanquin to hide him from the mob that were beating his father. This was possibly the first kindness that had ever been shown to DM and it imprinted itself deeply on his psyche. He knows they are leagues apart in class but he still cares about her and deludes himself that one day they might be together. He went to Japan and became a swordsman so that he could defend himself and got a gang so that none would ever pick on him again. He has a huge chip on his shoulder about the injustice done to him by the society that he's forced to live in. You're right, he really resents everything she represents but at the same time he is besotted with AS herself for pure and good person she is - almost like an angel to him. The scene at the end of ep 6 in the art shop when DM holds the hem of AS's dress - to me that represented the intensity of desire he felt to possess her. He held her despite her trying to tug herself free and then released her to show his power. As far as AS is concerned, he's just a thug - she does not know who he is and is terrified/horrified at the contact.

3. Yes, theres *a lot* going on said/unsaid; shown/unshown. A lot is conveyed in the eyes of E and AS. A lot is symbolic - I read someone's comment suggesting that E, AS, DM and Hui Seong ( the fiancee) are ciphers meant to symbolise America, Joseon(the people), Japan and the Joseon Nobility/Emperor respectively and the relationship between the characters is a microcosm of the relationship between the countries at the time. The fact that such a reading is even possible shows how many levels this drama is operating on, not to mention the staging of the scenes themselves which could also often be interpreted symbolically as well.

So yes, undoubtedly there's a lot more information "on the table" but it's going to require effort and an investment of time to get the most out of it. I don't understand how people can claim to watch it in a day or two. What are they actually seeing??! I can't watch this drama back-to-back as there's too much to think about - I need to let it percolate and let my subconscious join-the-dots and catch up before taking on the next one.

Hope this helps a bit! :)

Forgot to add - I watched Please Come Back, Mister (2016) shortly after Abyss - it was orders of magnitude better although on the surface seemed broadly similar. Some extremely funny scenes in the first 12eps and then some sad moments as the story threads resolved. I found the ending satisfying and appropriate. Also had a lot of deeper meanings if one looked for them. I would definitely put it on my "under-rated gems" list.

I watched the first 3 of your list. (MAB is on my list to watch)
Depends how much chance you you gave them - how quickly did you drop them?
TMS was definitely slow to start - I felt like the first 2 eps did almost nothing. But it improved enough by ep 4 that I wanted to continue. It finished very strongly.
WWWSK - This show is absolutely hilarious and very well-written. And in the times it isn't hilarious it was also very touching and yet managed not to rely too heavily on standard tropes. There was very little wrong with this one so you should give it another chance IMO :D
Abyss - I wish I'd dropped this one! I watched all the way through and wished I hadn't - it was a mess, frankly. Very poorly plotted and internally inconsistent. A shame as the premise was interesting. In more competent hands it had a chance to be great. The product placement was also absurdly obvious. The actors tried their hardest but the writing was just lame.

Thank you for saying this. I lasted 4 eps of this show and I'm out - the other reviews don't give me any optimism for improvement in the next 17 episodes. I was waiting for it to turn into something more interesting and nuanced but this is a missed opportunity.

This show needs its insides transplanted from another show which actually has something to say about the culture of body obsession, body-shaming and the psychological trauma of plastic surgery. This is heavy-handed, superficial nonsense showcasing the worst of Korean attitudes towards beauty. For plot reasons all the plastic surgery was compressed into less than 49 days - in reality even one single operation would take more than 49 days to recover from. I get suspension of disbelief but why not just go for an actual magic Fairy Godmother makeover if you're going to do something so ludicrous? Why even bother with plastic surgery?

The lead actress is very pretty but she doesn't have much to do apart from make one poor decision after another.