Eleison

Thank you! I was wondering if it was going to be described as a projection of his grief to cope, but it's just a game fantasy element essentially?

Thank you!

I agree, but you do a feel a little less worried for him because a man can easily overpower a woman who pushes herself on him. Not as easy if things were reversed, which is why it feels less urgent/serious/scary.

I like that they also didn't just show him having no self control in the face of a sexual experience. He had no interest in her, he put up boundaries, and reminded the ex-girlfriend/fling why they existed.

I think this scene was included for a few reasons: 1) It was comedic, and set the tone for the hanky panky going on at this company; 2) it showed us the ML had a history with women and was not a newb to romance (which is important for his character); and 3) that the ML has values.

What is a "system webtoon"? 😅

Haha, picked up on the fact that you're a man, so no clarification needed. 😉 I just cringed over the oversimplification. I haven't seen this drama yet (but the fact that elsewhere you said Lovely Runner was worse made me think I might still enjoy it. 😅 I actually enjoyed Lovely Runner, and Goong, which was admittedly a toxic hot mess), and I'm not sure I'd agree with you that Yi An didn't have a "job" or "work"--I'd have to watch it and then decide, but all that aside, I still felt the comment needed consierably more clarification to not imply things you didn't mean. Hence, the facepalm. 😅

I agree that giving people a pass simply because they're pretty is silly (it drove me nuts on the Pursuit of Jade page, everyone freaking out about a gorgeous villain); on that we can agree!

The facepalm was reacting to the reduction of human dignity to usefulness. I feel like it's kind of a male version of this comment, "What's the point of a woman if she never has babies?"

Maintaining humans have value only when they're useful or fill a specific role is treading into dangerous territory, don't you think? And I would make distinctions between a "job" and "work." They are not exactly the same thing. I think all humans need some kind of "work" to find meaning in life, and for practical reasons, that's usually a job. But the implication in your comment was only certain types of job or work makes a man truly a man.

"I've seen you all calling other male characters losers who had a job and didn't have any big issues." I'm not quite clear on what this has to do with my comment, but by all means, if I'm one of the "you all" mentioned, I'd be happy for you to present a comment of mine where I've done this so I can be properly chastised for contradicting myself.

I also made no comment about the show, so I'm not sure why you assumed I was automatically giving a cute male a pass?

"What's the point of a man if he doesn't have a job?"🤦‍♀️

Yeah, if people say Goong was better they need to watch it again. 😅 It's a horribly flawed drama that I love to pieces in all its terrible glory. It has some great things about it, for sure but as a complete package it is a wreck. 😅

I thought that drama portrayed Christian elements REALLY well, too. It was a standout, for sure, amongst dramas. But yes, unexpected there!

I get a kick out of how literally everyone here calls Jo Jae Yoon's character "Jinmu"--and it needs virtually no clarification.

Poor dude's been irreversibly typecast. He'll never escape Jinmu. 😅

She didn't know until the last few episodes. 😅 But I think it worked out because thay was where all the tension from the plot came from, for the most part. At least HE knew.

This comment gave me so much joy (a breath of fresh air from the insult war in the comment section). So entertaining to read. 😅

You actually made me want to watch it because this "review" is giving me waves of old timey Kdrama flashback vibes (those from the good old 2010s and thereabouts). This sounds like just another of those problematic, terribly flawed dramas that I adore to pieces. 😅 (I love a lot of the clean, well-written, tightly plotted and acted innovative, polished Kdramas, too, but I've got a soft spot for the mixed bag of entertaining and ridiculously plotted glory that is the Kdrama). 😅

Ummmm... have you seen the trailer? This is going to be goofy. And Extreme Job, one of the screenplays of this screenwriter, was super comedic.

I thought the hanok village was really cozy. It suited Season 2, I think, and the kind of storytelling of this drama.

And I loved the added element of how those in a coma can come and go from the village, as well as the hint that Jonga can see ghosts now, too! I do hope they pull off a season 3 at some point!

While I love Captain Kang, I do miss Thomas. 😔 Have no idea why he's listed as a "support role." He should be in the guest roles section as I think he has three minutes if screentime in the entire season. 😅

It took me a bit to get into, but I really enjoyed this, and as much as season 1! I think the stakes don't feel quite as high because none of the main characters have loved ones in the village (unlike season 1), but I loved that they built up your love for Il Yong so you become fully invested in his character, and they do a great job getting you to care about all the characters and their stories. It really gives the victim's perspective, which is so fresh and needed!

This season feels a little less dramatic, with the leads more adjusted to their roles. Less heartache, less drama, less suspense. But I liked it that way. It fit this season well.

It still has that ache to it at times as you hear each character's story, and hear about their pain, dreams, fears, hopes and longings, and then eventually say goodbye. But I think it felt less acute than season 1 because of Detective Shin's fiance, which just made season 1 so heartbreaking (I loved that they kept the original cast and just expanded and grew their friendships; everyone is so endearing!).

I really want Il Yong to join the squad!

Nope, his body got lost too long ago. 😔

I liked it better than Hotel De Luna! And I like that the ghosts aren't creepy. 😅

By all means, if you're going to go the childhood connection trope route between the leads, then do it like this.

Instead of these ridiculous plots where the ML and FL meet each other out of nowhere as children or teenagers for like 20 seconds and then "remember each other" after they start dating? Nah, ridiculous.

If you're gonna do it, commit wholeheartedly and connect them through some traumatic event (like in While You Were Sleeping or I Can Hear Your Voice, or Castaway Diva and What Happened To Secretary Kim?).

This drama delivered in that department, and I realized these kinds of "childhood connections" I can get behind. It gives context/reasons/basis for the seemingly random connection of the leads when they first meet, and actually makes the plot feel more realistic, ironically. And it also makes the moments of egregious noble idiocy, self-sacrificing to the point of what sometimes feels like masochism, and over-the-top behavior these lovers engage in for each other feel more warranted. 😅

So, I kind of like the way this drama just goes full-bore Kdrama on the tropes. 😅

Okay, this drama was pretty over-the-top at points and required some serious suspension of disbelief at times (like I'm Not A Robot), but ultimately had a lot of heart and even some thoughtful commentary on the interactions between humans and technology (in a very nonscientific, Kdrama sort of way 😅).

I've been curious about this drama since noticing it's one of the few decently rated Kdramas with the ML (loved him in Tunnel), but I saw mixed reviews and was a little worried about the direction they'd take the AI relationship stuff. I'm happy to report it was handled with care, and not made weird or gross or uncomfortable. It did a good job working on a fairly seamless transition for the FL from Holo to ML and while the drama had a lot of other flaws, this was not one of them.

This is a story about how deeply humans need connection, and the way technology can be used (poorly or well) in the journey of growth towards (or away from) connection and closeness with others.

In fact, I saw this drama as a hopeful take on AI, in the sense that it follows the path of some old sci-fi that confirms AI is not nefarious, but PEOPLE can be. Holo highlights people's greatest weaknesses (whether that's exposing their loneliness, revealing their greed, ambition, fears of connection, insecurities, etc.). The drama does conclude the world wasn't ready for Holo, and I think that's interesting social commentary.

I also saw the difference between what the FL experienced and the concept of "dating AI" that we're hearing about today being that, unlike people in these situations who are escaping their pain and loneliness and not pushing for real healing, Holo helped the FL face this pain instead of escape it (and she had the integrity to realize this tendency in herself, as she noticed it didn't TRULY give her what she wanted, deep down). Also, the FL had people around her (including Holo) who pushed her to face her insecurities and fear of being abandoned or rejected because she was different and seek the actual connection she was craving with REAL people, people who would be there with her and for her through all the ups and downs (the ML had to learn this, too, in his own way).

This drama probably gets the award for shortest FIRST DATING ERA in a drama EVER (cause you know how there's always a separation or misunderstanding or timeskip, etc. before a reunion and second (usually final) dating era? Well, this drama is no exception), but I still the enjoyed the leads together and thought they did well. The FL is not the most memorable, but she does well, and I thought the ML did a great job. This does have similar vibes/themes to I'm Not A Robot and Are You Human, Too?, so, if you liked those, most likely you'll like this

There were some outlandishly unrealistic moments in this, but you know what? It feels extremely KDRAMA that way (think of endings of dramas like Doctor Stranger or The K2, but happier), and that gives you a flavor of the way this show resolves the threads of our plot.

Also, a lot of people complain about love triangles in Kdramas, and of course, this drama has one. But it's the most amicable love triangle you'll ever see in a Kdrama (if you watch, you'll see what I mean).

It was fun, and while it took me an episode or two to get into it, I enjoyed it!

One last note on the childhood connection trope (done well here, I think):