O-Ring

That is why I used the ethnicity and homosexuality as an example, because Western cultures can relate to those issues better. But Asia is just hella weird. I lived across most continents and it still baffles me that rich married couples live with their parents/in-laws. Most Western people (except for Italians) will move out immediately when they are adults. It is crazy that someone would move in with their husband's/wife's parents

In your dreams... Zombies like fresh meat... Not some meat from a cadaver... Maybe a hyena will accept you...

But the story is a bit more layered than that... YJ already broke up with him and he wanted to salvage it. But after seeing the humiliation, the realization kicked in. What is he fighting for? To become part of a family that does not accept his parents' background?

I am glad that you come from such an accepting family! Ethnicity, educational background, gender are all reasons for a lot of parents to disapprove a relationship... There is a reason that there is a fairytale called Cinderella. If it was socially accepted to marry someone from a different social class, then there would be no such story, right?

Who was belittling who? Who do you mean with "she"? YJ? YJ was not belittling DH's parents. It was YJ's mom...

Why not? I know plenty of people that are dating with a person of a different ethnicity that do not introduce their boyfriend/girlfriend to their parents because they are afraid that he/she will not be accepted. Or gay or lesbian couples that have not come out to their parents yet. It is the same principle to YJ's mom: her daughter is dating the wrong kind of man. Also in Asia (not sure about SG where you come from according to your profile), you only introduce your partner to your parents if you want to marry him/her. Besides, episode 10 made it blatantly clear that DH knows nothing of YJ. He did not even know she was a heiress to GS25. YJ was toying with him and did not sincerely like him (anymore).

That is not totally true. The first gen was even crazier. Fans of HOT and Sechs Kies would meet up to fight. Reply 1997 famously portrayed that kind of hatred in their drama. So in the era of Gong Yoo, Hyun Bin etc. there were already these type of fans, but they were restricted to idols. Actors had more class back then, but in 2020 suddenly actors also have these extreme fans. It is a sad development. If you go to the comment section of IONTBO or The King, you can see people rooting for the amount of comments... This reminds me of the Youtube viewership-challenges of Blackpink or BTS. It is is harmless, but it does show how dedicated the fans can be.

Just my observation, I have been following this comment section for quite a while. And for the past two, three weeks, I hardly find comments about how deplorable and bad the scripts and characters are. However, after a good week for Backstreet Rookie and positive feedback, I am suddenly seeing random comments that are passive-aggressive or dissing the show by rehashing old criticism about romanticizing cheating, sexual harassment, sexualizing minors and violence and citing the problematic webtoon. This criticism was valid for the first two episodes, but the direction of the story has clearly changed. Why are these people suddenly popping up left and right with their criticism if they do not even watch the show? I noticed that most of them are avid followers of IOTNBO. Is it because their show is slowly losing viewership in Korea, whilst this one is gaining? Ironically, it used to be the other way around with BR-fans hijacking the IONTBO's comment section, but that has stopped after the criticism on BR subsided and the show found its footing with the general public. One of the reason that I will never have KSH, JCW or LMH in the same standing as movie actors or the older actors such as Hyun Bin or Gong Yoo, is because of the fans. Their fanwars cheapen the image of the three actors.

I think a large part of Korea agrees with you. Whilst IONTBO stays stable at 1.5m viewers on Saturday and continues to drop on Sunday (even recorded its lowest rating for the first part of yesterday's episode), Backstreet Rookie is growing on Friday and gaining 100k viewers each Saturday. Both are still performing mediocre, but it is more likely that BR will pass the 10% mark, than IONTBO will pass its pilot episode of 6% before its finale.

My personal opinion, I initially liked IONTBO more, but the episodes have lost quite some steam. By now it is more hype than that it is really top-notch. With BR you can clearly see improvement in quality in the episodes. Ep 10 is not only a good episode for BR, but up to the standards of some of the best kdramas in the past year. It was so raw and heartfelt.

Initially I was more impressed by the acting in IONTBO, but their characters have specific quirks and features to work with. In terms of pure acting, BR has become equally as good. Their characters are less layered and sane, but their acting still shines through. In my opinion, it is easier to give an excellent acting performance in a melodrama than in a rom-com. But Kim Sun Young and JCW definitely bring the extra touch into their roles. I definitely see another JCW in BR than in Healer. KSH's mostly stoic acting is still the same as his previous roles (still top-notch though).

The scene between the mom and the dad was so good. Especially the forced smiles to act brave, which were basically cries of despair. It hits me so much harder than plain crying.

By now, he is a support role. He has way more screentime than DH's sister who supposedly is part of the supporting cast

In the initial episodes the director makes you hate the characters a bit, but in ep. 9 and 10 it comes all together. So if you continue watching from ep. 4-8, you will likely still be bored, but in my opinion it is worth it.

There are always dramas that have this kind of weird storytelling where the emphasis is on character development. The buildup is very similar to When The Camellia Blooms, where the initial episodes were slow, but the second part was crazily good. In my memory, The Fiery Priest was also the same, where I watched the first part for laughs and giggles but was totally invested in the second part. I do not think BR has the same potential as both, but this week was good - redeemily good. Acting by the two leads and the ML's mother is also good

You mean Park Min Young? Yeah, I don't like her acting at all. She is incredibly popular outside Korea, which I do not understand. I find her very average

I think above average. Back in 2011 it was easier to get 10%+ and it peaked at almost 20%, which is not bad. But definitely not a massive hit by 2011-standards.

Styling has come a far way in Korea. Check TVXQ in 2009 for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtJS32n6LNQ. The wolf cut was quite popular back then

We have watched a totally different series? He was not emotionless. Except for the few smiles, he expressed his emotions untraditionally. There is a reason why his head sometimes explodes with pain. It is his way of crying. Besides, if he was truly emotionless, he would not care about the outcome of the cases and he would not have a sense of justice.

I think he showed the most obvious emotions with Bae Doo-na and in a later stage also Shin Hye-sun. His screaming at SHS is an emotion (anger). His headache after her death is another (sadness/regret). When he asked Chief Prosecutor Kang how he can treat Yoon Se-won better. He meant it sincerely. Also, the reminiscence/flashbacks of his sunbae (the Chief Secretary Lee) after he committed suicide are definitely signs of emotions. The fact that he let Seo Dong-jae off the hook by letting Chief Prosecutor Kang decide over SDJ's faith as a prosecutor instead of himself, shows he has some form of empathy/fondness for SDJ and Chief Secretary Lee (SDJ told him that Chief Secretary Lee's wish for SDJ is to change and become a good prosecutor). The group photo of the special investigation unit that he brought along when he got demoted at the end of ep. 16 shows that he cherishes the friendships he built. That is massive emotional development from episode 1... There is still a long way to go, but these scarce outbursts of emotions made this series powerful

Still lower than last week. This week viewership was at its highest, 8.4%, whilst last week it was 8.7%. In absolute numbers it did do better. It hit 1.7m viewers this week, whilst last week it was 1.6m viewers.

With 6 episodes to go... If Backstreet Rookie manages to score a few 10% ratings, the show has actually been quite successful. I do not think it was extremely expensive to produce. There is a lot of PPL (all the products in the supermarket). JCW is the biggest expenditure, but his salary was not LMH-high.

In terms of failure/success, this is not a MMS 2.0. In fact, it performed similarly to JCW's pre-army series, except for Empress Ki and Warrior Baek Dong-soo. I think this series will be good to JCW's portfolio. It shows that he is versatile. Besides playing in action roles, he can play romantic roles without losing viewers.

The mom is also a hero... The clapback to YJ's mom... I loved the comparison between the 10,000 dollar insurance policy versus the 100 dollar...

We do not know what the story behind DH's father and his gang is? What if it turns out that she is Saet-Byul's mom as you mentioned earlier?

I think that DH will become a very successful and rich man. The director will most likely show that do-gooders will win eventually. But he needs to have a financier, so perhaps SB's mom is filthy rich nowadays? Giving me the Itaewon Class vibes...

I also think that YJ and her new boo will not live a happy life. You can clearly see that YJ has cold feet.

You are right, if you said that two week ago. But this week's episode are good and they are building towards a more meaningful story