Hi, guys! Came here after FoF, and so far I can’t help feeling disappointed. I’m on ep. 8 and so far I find the drama rather boring. I mean, so many characters have been introduced, but nothing is actually happening story wise. And the acting seems grotesque. But the rating is quite high, so I am intrigued and I really don’t wanna drop this… Please, tell me, will it get better eventually? And, if yes, when will the plot start to develop?
I guess, my opinion won't be a popular one, but for me this film is mediocre, 3.5 out of 5. It's totally watchable,…
... a more articulate conclusion. Instead, we have to decide on how we want to understand the final scene.
My understanding of the whole story is this: the girl and the boy are having difficulties in their relationship, because the girl is jealous and not quite satisfied with their status. They are -sort of- seeing each other, but going out on a date just once a month doesn't seem to be a proper relationship. Besides, the boy is obviously a flirt, he quite enjoys his popularity with other girls, which makes the girl even more uncomfortable. On the 1st of November they go on a usual cinema date, but the boy has to leave, and he doesn't even explain why. The girl is naturally insulted. Later that evening the boy texts her asking her to see him at the clock tower (lovely allusion to the Back to the Future franchise). They have a conversation, the girl finally articulates her jealousy and dissatisfaction with their relationship. Feeling she has broken up with him she goes away without properly discerning her path and is nearly knocked down by a lorry. She barely escapes because the boy reacts faster, pushes her away and takes the blow instead. While unconscious, the girl hallucinates: her brain is trying to cope with all the shock and provides the whole groundhog day illusion, in which she -thinks- she finds out the boy's real feelings towards her, the reason why he was secretive and had to leave on their date night, in which she tries to save him and eventually succeeds... They key word here is 'thinks'. She doesn't know anything for sure, and neither do we. Maybe some of these deductions were true and the boy had a good reason for everything. Maybe they were not, and all of it was just wishful thinking on the girl's behalf (remember the scene, when the girl's best friend told her that in dreams we see things we subconsciously want to be true? that's precisely the case: she badly wanted her boyfriend to be faithful, to be loving, to be romantic and planning out a surprise for her, but more than everything she wanted him to stay safe, and that is exactly what she saw in her hallucination). Once she wakes up, she finds out that she is more or less fine, but her boyfriend got hit badly and is on life support. She gets the letter he had written for her but failed to deliver because of their fight. The letter kind of supports her deductions, making her all the more sorry for everything she had said and done. And that is basically the end. The boy stays comatose, the girl goes on with her life hoping for him to recover one day. And I would interpret the final scene as another portion of the girl's wishful thinking or a dream: she would love the boy to wake up and meet her at their spot. But I guess, this is not really going to happen, because -- mind the title -- she has lost her 'blue sky', that is her first love. That's just my understanding of the plot. I will be glad if this comment helps someone puzzled with the ending to make something out of it :)
I guess, my opinion won't be a popular one, but for me this film is mediocre, 3.5 out of 5. It's totally watchable, the whole groundhog day concept never fails, but it didn't have a long-lasting emotional effect on me. And I genuinely didn't like the ending, because, in my view, this sort of story needed a more... SPOILER ALERT DOWN BELOW ->
is the Chinese storyline same 2 same as the japanese version? twist n all?or is it just the concept is adapted?…
I suppose, I might be a little late, but no, the two films are VERY different. The Japanese film doesn't have the same plot twist, the story is pretty straightforward (but personally I like the Japanese film a lot better).
I don't really understand why this film is so underrated. Personally, I don't really mind that the film doesn't go in line with the original manga and does not dwell much on the Death Note itself, and I am very much into the DN legendarium, have read and watched almost everything related to this story. In general I prefer the 2015 drama to the original films, but this particular movie is just amazing, and I L-O-V-E how Matsuyama Kenichi portrays L. The OST here is probably the best in the entire franchise. And the ending... the ending got to me. It's powerful, indeed.
I am watching 'Checkmate' and I have a weird question to those who know Chinese well or are Mandarin native speakers: there is an occasional character obviously based on the original Hercule Poirot (bowler hat, moustache, David Suchet vibe and all that), whose name is He Ni Tang. The way he introduced himself and pronounced his name in ep. 16, it sounded like a pun or a joke or some sort of an Easter egg, but I can't get it. The only translation of the name I can think of is 'Drink you soup' (喝你汤), which doesn't make any sense, unless there is some 成语 that I don't know that makes use of these characters. If anyone knows what the name refers to, please share.
Now, the theory is that LLH died (because he was poisoned and there was no way for him to survive), but at the same time transformed into a higher being, an immortal version of 聖 (don't know the English equivalent, sorry), that is the one who has achieved spiritual perfection and eliminated all vile thoughts. This has been his journey, his character's quest from the very start. He was tempted by worldly fame and success, he was put to a serious life trial -- the loss of everything, a grave illness, a tragic betrayal by someone he had trusted, -- which led him to a deeper understanding of what is important in life and what isn't, what counts and what -- in the end of the day -- has no significance at all. His physical death was his final test and at the same time the moment of liberation for him: he lost everything including his life for his higher self to be born. The author of the theory substantiated it with references to Chinese spiritual and philosophic sources, which I will not list here, but this looks really convincing. This theory also in a way explains FDB and DFS's reaction in the special episode: they did see LLH on the beach, but at the same time they could clearly see he wasn't the LLH they used to know anymore. And, viewed like this, it's a beautiful ending. Thanks for reading. Hope someone will find this interpretation as comforting as I have, because for me it was really hard to come to terms with the open ending in the show.
Almost a year has passed and in the comment section there are still questions and discussions concerning the ending of the drama. I have found an interesting interpretation by a specialist in Chinese philosophy on my domestic fanpage, which I will try to summarize in the following post, because I think the theory is lovely and deserves to get wider recognition.
I envy you so much. This drama was my no. 1 CDrama experience of 2023. I have watched a lot of projects afterwards, but this one still holds a very special place in my heart.
Concerning the ending… Of course it’s an open one, so it’s open for various interpretations and everyone chooses the one they prefer, but… personally I don’t think Qinyu came back to Ayin. Sad as it is, it’s likely they will never meet again. He went back to his timeline and has become but a sweet memory for her. Yet, she still experiences illusions like the one she had on the tram. Guess, in the final moment of the show she is on the verge of another illusion, but it’s fine. It’s her way of coping with her loss and eventually she will be ok. Then, the story ends before we get to see her meeting Chi Yu, — and she will eventually meet him, because her screenplay about Qinyu has been approved and, we may deduce, Chi Yu will be cast as the main lead. Maybe she actually sees Chi Yu at the bus stop but mistakes him for Qinyu. Maybe she doesn’t mistake him and suddenly remembers that her world and her timeline have their own version of her loved one . It’s not to say she will immediately forget Qinyu and replace him with the guy who has the same face and who won’t vanish into the thin air… Just, I like to think, meeting him will be a fresh start for the FL.
I guess I’m a bit late to join the party, but I have just finished the drama and it’s beautiful. However, I decided to read the thread to make certain things clearer to myself, and noticed that at least one part of the story escaped nearly everyone’s attention. Some commenters are frustrated with the fact that Ayin’s brother and Mumu broke up. Well, they did — in the dream or the alternative life, if you perceive it like that. But in real life (or the new version of life) they are most likely to be together: pay attention to Mumu’s final appearance on the show, when she parks her car outside the bar and Chuan’s bike is already there. She changes her running shoes and puts on heels, which she might again use to attack the troublesome bar visitor… The story will repeat itself, and maybe this time they will find a way to be together without needless sacrifices. Hope this helps ☺️
Im interested to watch this serie but don't like horror. Cant someone tell me if there's a lot of horor elements…
I know what you mean, I also get scared easily. I would say this show is comfortable to watch, it doesn’t have many horror elements (nothing gorey, no screamers which are the worst 😅), just a decent amount of suspense and some slightly disturbing imagery (not really scary, just… a bit off) which sometimes makes you feel… chilly, but that is kinda the point. So if you are easily affected, just don’t watch it at night with the lights out and you will be fine 😉 I would also say the latter half of the show is not at all scary, just intensely dynamic with some pretty emotional bits. I would definitely recommend giving it a try, because for me The Spirealm is in, like, my all-time top-3 shows, I loved it immensely and will definitely rewatch it 🩷
My understanding of the whole story is this: the girl and the boy are having difficulties in their relationship, because the girl is jealous and not quite satisfied with their status. They are -sort of- seeing each other, but going out on a date just once a month doesn't seem to be a proper relationship. Besides, the boy is obviously a flirt, he quite enjoys his popularity with other girls, which makes the girl even more uncomfortable. On the 1st of November they go on a usual cinema date, but the boy has to leave, and he doesn't even explain why. The girl is naturally insulted. Later that evening the boy texts her asking her to see him at the clock tower (lovely allusion to the Back to the Future franchise). They have a conversation, the girl finally articulates her jealousy and dissatisfaction with their relationship. Feeling she has broken up with him she goes away without properly discerning her path and is nearly knocked down by a lorry. She barely escapes because the boy reacts faster, pushes her away and takes the blow instead. While unconscious, the girl hallucinates: her brain is trying to cope with all the shock and provides the whole groundhog day illusion, in which she -thinks- she finds out the boy's real feelings towards her, the reason why he was secretive and had to leave on their date night, in which she tries to save him and eventually succeeds... They key word here is 'thinks'. She doesn't know anything for sure, and neither do we. Maybe some of these deductions were true and the boy had a good reason for everything. Maybe they were not, and all of it was just wishful thinking on the girl's behalf (remember the scene, when the girl's best friend told her that in dreams we see things we subconsciously want to be true? that's precisely the case: she badly wanted her boyfriend to be faithful, to be loving, to be romantic and planning out a surprise for her, but more than everything she wanted him to stay safe, and that is exactly what she saw in her hallucination). Once she wakes up, she finds out that she is more or less fine, but her boyfriend got hit badly and is on life support. She gets the letter he had written for her but failed to deliver because of their fight. The letter kind of supports her deductions, making her all the more sorry for everything she had said and done. And that is basically the end. The boy stays comatose, the girl goes on with her life hoping for him to recover one day. And I would interpret the final scene as another portion of the girl's wishful thinking or a dream: she would love the boy to wake up and meet her at their spot. But I guess, this is not really going to happen, because -- mind the title -- she has lost her 'blue sky', that is her first love. That's just my understanding of the plot. I will be glad if this comment helps someone puzzled with the ending to make something out of it :)