Eleison

I've been to Albania and Kosovo! I thought the language was beautiful, and I enjoyed all the brightly painted buildings in Albania that I heard became popular after communism fell. 😊 Mirë pafshim!

Also, I enjoyed the episodes with the leads bickering the most, so I think I liked the first half the best, but I still enjoyed the whole thing!

What about the ending? That's it's happy or sad, or more specific than that?

It's very subtle and gradual, but I'd say the last three or four episodes. After Kim Hui Won dies.

And I kind of love that KS lost. She was a great sport about it, too! She boldly faced a thing she had devoted her life to, and left with no regrets.

Yay! I'm satisfied. I didn't know how they were going to squeeze the main leads' story into the remaining 3 minutes, but somehow it passed muster. I would have liked a bit more showing the leads together at the end (as others have said), but it still was a solid ending. I'm okay with it because the romance was subtle throughout, anyway, and it was never the focal point; more of an implicit undertone. It was always more about how he supported her, how they grew and changed, and less about their romantic moments together.

...Yes 😏. If you watch to the end you'll know what I mean.

I'm at about the 16th episode and am actually really enjoying this! I've only done two Cdramas before this, and this is my first period Cdrama. So far the pacing, script and acting (and sets/scale, my gosh, these sets are huge? Especially compared to Kdrama sets; are they stationary sets/villages, like the historical towns/palaces in SK that are just always there?), have all been quite good, and it seems like very good production value. The ML is a little wooden (up to where I've gotten to, at least), and I feel like they repeat to (and about) Niao Niao, "You were raised without parents which is why you're so unruly and will be our excuse to make allowances for you," WAY too often, like a broken record. If I were Niao Niao I would just scream with frustration at how often they repeat the (painful) obvious. Instead of making it about Niao Niao (like it's her fault, which it isn't), say "It's my fault" instead (which it is; the adults made/allowed her to be what she is), move on, and try to see the positives in the midst of the negatives. I know mom really cares about her, but gosh darnit, why can't she show it better? It's not like Niao Niao can mind read. Unless you TELL her you love her and SHOW her that you do and explain why you do things that you do, how is she supposed to know? 😤 I know some of it is that Niao Niao sees things from the perspective of a young person who still sees the world without as much nuance as a more experienced adult might and much more black and white. As smart as she is, she can't see past the overt treatment her mother gives her to see the factors at play in her mother's mind and intentions; hopefully this will be something she'll come to understand better as she matures (and I hope the mom does some maturing, too, by learning how to communicate better and make sure Niao Niao knows her heart). It still bothers me, and while I thought the mom had some valid points early on, I am now fully Team Niao Niao. She's irreverent but compassionate and fiery, and only makes trouble when she believes people deserve it. She's usually spot on, and her clever antics are so fun to watch. (The mother/daughter dynamic actually reminds me a lot of the Pixar movie BRAVE.). While these two women's interactions in this drama annoy me, I also find their chemistry and interplay really interesting, since they're both so intense and intelligent. Well-written female characters! Also, can I just say, Zhao Lusi is ADORABLE.

I realized after writing this that what made the reveal so effective was they used a different actor for younger Yi Sheol so we couldn't figure out the Watchman from the flashbacks. That's why the reveal came out of left field. But yes, that is a great moment and very well-executed!

How far did you get? I would definitely say their comaraderie and friendship (in all its bickeriness) is more the focus than the romance, so while I wouldn't say it's a "forced romance," I would definitely say the romance is an undertone, and very subtlety and slowly built over the course of the episodes; their love for each other comes softly, I guess you could say. But that's just what I noticed! 😏

I'm just aware of Spotify (I found the BGMs for this drama on there already; that's where I usually find BGMs). Sometimes smaller dramas have only the OSTs released, but some also have BGMs.They are often officially released on Spotify from what I've seen.

This seems very different from this screenwriter's other dramas; I'm curious if it will be as good as her others, which are all excellent. She's one of my screenwriter go-tos, so I hope, hope, it's good. I guess we'll see!

This was supposed to be the 2nd of the two games TY would set up for her, and the plan was for Kwon Suk to "lose" this game through intention with TY's help, after which she would retire, but as TY saw Kwon Suk get back into boxing and his respect and admiration for her grew, he started to change his mind. As Kwon Suk started getting back into the game and seeing the stakes involved and knowing herself better, she also started to rethink losing. TY knows that things could end very badly for him if Kwon Suk chooses to win rather than move forward with losing, but now that he cares about her and only wants what's best for her regardless of how things go south for him, he's going to let her win if she wants to. I think he's realizing he should never have worked with the game-fixers to begin with, and is actively trying to undo his mistakes despite the costs involved. That's at least how I interpret things thus far! 🤷‍♀️

Yes, it is a bit puzzling why he's not sharing anything with her! Perhaps he knows she'd change her mind or give up on the match (or intentionally lose, like they'd planned) in order to protect him and he doesn't want to influence her in that way?

Why must TY turn himself in the day of the match and miss her fight (and I know his intentions got thwarted, but still)? Is there another reason besides increasing the drama of him missing her big day? There must be a reason behind it on his side, at least? Is it so that they can catch everyone (and to protect everyone TY knows) before the game-fixers lose their minds if Kwon Suk wins? This part still confused me a bit.

I think Oh Bok wants to continue to control Tae Young and keep him under his thumb so he has access to athletes and game-fixing through TY as an agent. He sees TY as ruthless and smart, and therefore a useful tool. But he's also not an obedient minion so he keeps having to threaten TY to keep him in line. And at this point, TY will also lose Oh Bok and the game-fixers a lot of money if he doesn't keep his word which is what Oh Bok is most concerned about at this point in the drama. He's worried Kwon Suk will win after all; I'm also not sure how TY is going to protect his mom since if Kwon Suk wins, the game-fixers will go on a rampage to get back at him, right?

I wonder how many of us are going to visit this page before watching Episode 12? Haha, I am; just in case. I know the preview is probably a fake-out to some extent, but it still makes me nervous. 😅

I've read comments that said Epsiode 11 today, and Episode 12 next Monday.

Interesting! That's an older one, yes? Does it have a similar feel to this one?

As others have said below (so, sorry to join the chorus!), try to keep watching. I felt similarly at first when I was started, but what helped me see past his stubborn invasion of her privacy and isolation was also remembering how desperate his situation is. That scene where he's retching on the floor of his apartment because he's so terrified his mom could die... that scene helped me see where he's coming from. And the best Kdramas take characters you like but can't fully root for and transform them slowly before your eyes to be characters deeply endeared to you. Tae Young is one of those characters. Also, he's kind of right that she will just continue to hide and live like a shadow if she doesn't eventually face her reality head on. He's aggressive and pushy but that's his jerk persona which hides compassion and care for those he works for, and he tenaciously fights for them once he's their agent. That becomes clear as the episodes progress.