DramaAjumma

No that's not what I meant. :D What I meant is that the government could make that excuse work on some level because there were real spies.
As for McCarthyism -- by golly, I don't want to go there. It's very complicated. There's been a lot of new thinking on that front as well. Talk about controversial.

Agreed. It is a ridiculous conflation of facts. The way I would counter that is to say that the only reason why the spy rationale could be a viable justification for clamping down on pro-democracy protests is because there were actual NK spies at work elsewhere. It wouldn't surprise me if the government agencies actually knew who the real spies were.

It wouldn't surprise me if there are still sleeper agents in the South.

It's very odd to me that North Korean spies existing in 1987 in the South would be controversial in any way. It's the Cold War. There were spies everywhere.
It must be nice for some people to use Snowdrop as a punching bag for their own political agendas.

This is has always been the problem of trying to talk about and denigrate a drama that nobody in the world has seen yet.

He has hope and another reason to live.

I need to finish that one but yeah, it's good.

It's one of the best. Everybody was great in it.

Nice to see that good sense and proportionality prevailed.

Also... we should add... there are plenty of SK crime shows that revolve around serial killers. Should we then assume that there are serial killers running amok in SK?

I suspect the professor wants to have a bet each way lest he offends someone since he knows that he's stepping on to landmine territory. I think he's doing a bit of political maneuvering. With one side of his mouth he's saying that Soo-ho is too young to be a spy and then with the other expressing concern that the historical context will be misunderstood. All of this stuff is just theatre. In light of what you've written too, it reminds me of this niggly feeling that I've been having that someone could have it in for the show or the showrunners. As someone who has been watching K dramas for over a decade now the controversy feels strange. The nitpicking about the portrayal of criminals/villains in particular. There are countless K dramas especially those weekend makjang where people do horrible things to each other and get let off the hook easily at the end. Few people would think those are commonplace, routine events in SK society. It's a beloved genre and most get it.

I was an avid fan of the Inspector Morse series but I never thought that Oxford was full of murders or murderers. Same thing with Midsomer Murders. It's a running joke. For most people is a piece of escapism.

As for Soo-ho being too young to be a field agent. That's an eye-rolling moment for me. During WW1 hundreds of young men in the UK and Australia lied about their age to join the war effort. Recruitment often starts young for all kinds of reasons. No one's too young if they're sufficiently brainwashed, willing and capable.

I didn't like these those two romance dramas he did with that director at all.

Have you seen him in Prison Playbook? He shows multiple sides in that drama.

It's a good point. But that's what happens when emotions rule the discourse.

Frankly speaking, no one had to die. Except I suppose they wanted to do the karma thing and punish the brother in the most terrible way possible by taking away the sister at the very moment when his long-awaited triumph was snatched from him. It must have worked because he went completely nuts apparently.

The final episode seemed a bit rushed with a lot more tell than show. It took away from what could have been a far more intense, exciting finale.

Overall I had a ball with this show. I'd say that this was probably one of the better things I've seen this year. Certainly the best C drama I'ves seen in yonks. It wasn't without issues. For me the pacing was sometimes sacrificed for a bit of angst. No doubt it's a difficult balancing act but I forgive those flaws because ultimately this is about individuals and less about the mystery of the conspiracy. I always enjoy shows that are about people playing the long game rather than just mere opportunism.

The best part for me in all this has to be the script and how it played with the theme of trust right through the storyline.

Thanks for responding. I finished watching the last 3 episodes half an hour ago. I can see what you're saying.
If they ever think of making a sequel, I hope he's in it with an expanded role.

I think there's enough ambiguity there for people to take whatever they want to from their scenes together. As to what he said earlier, it is possible for him to change his mind.

I don't think it matters much either way. He's committed to the marriage and can always learn to love her.

Is that unrealistic when she's gone through that life and death situation? It's clear that she had abandonment issues and was feeling insecure. But once she realised that he wasn't going to leave her behind like her father did, she calmed down. That's the reassurance she needed all along.

Not bad. Episodes 3 and 4 were a step up from 2.
I do like the way scenes are shot and edited like graphic novel frames but it does slow things down a tad.

I have to say that I'm equally surprised to see all the harsh comments about Liu Ran. I've finally caught up with all the existing episodes and I'm impressed with her growth arc. It's not just her as well. Hong-yi has made strides too. I like the fact that they both took responsibility for their mistakes in their marriage and learn how to communicate much better. Now that she's feeling much more secure in their relationship, she's a lot quieter and patient. Now that his world's coming crashing down, she's become the wife he didn't know he needed.

I wondered if Prince/Lord Chu would become the future Xuanzong and it seems that he does.

I am so impressed with the character and the actor is terrific. Wish his role was a bigger one.