Eleison

Thank you! I just have to watch the choices of the characters, then, too see who's "good" and "bad." Got it. Ignore all the titles and names for things that predispose me to think a certain way about them. 😅

I mean, so far, Ning Que is even a bit gray for me--not solidly a champion of good yet. When he doesn't have time to think, he's focused on helping those who need him, but other than those moments, he seems mostly out for just revenge and achieving his own goals. Though since it's such a long drama, I assume he has an arc and improves somewhat by the end?

If it was in English, the cursing would get old REAL fast. Korean doesn't bother me as much; it doesn't sound as harsh to the ear.😅

And then Se Hyeon explains that Ga Min has too much integrity to do that--he wants to have his score reflect his actual effort/skill. Which is adorable (not realistic of high schoolers, so many will cheat or cut cornera whenever they get a chance, but a sweet ideal all the same).

I think the superficial read of Ga Min is that he's obsessed with studying and getting good grades, but he's really more obsessed with growing and learning. This is why he doesn't guess, because it's not a out the grade, it's about growing and improving. He doesn't need perfect scores, just getting one more answer right even if he still has an F, delights him. And I love that this show pushes that message (like with Sun Cheol's grandfather, too): learning and growing intellectually is worth doing all by itself, and it's a special thing students get to do; it can be enjoyed for itself if one sees learning as valuable in itself. And Ga Min seems to get that. ☺️

Everyone makes it seems like "The Child Of Hades" spells doom for the world due to the curse or prophecy or whatever. All the rhetoric is he's bad news, but why? Ning Que is just doing his thing--is this a lie spread by Xiling? I'm wired to think as a Westerner that a "priest of light" would be a good character, but Wei Guangming seems (so far) like a not great dude. And what exactly is Xiling, and why do they have prophecies about "The Child of Light" and "The Child of Hades"?

I'm confused by something:

It means they finish filming after it starts airing. This can often mean the ending is rushed and poorly written. Pre-produced dramas tend to be better and consistently more even from start to finish because the writer/director have time to polish it and not rush to finish (for instance, Study Group was pre-produced). I think most Cdramas are pre-produced as well.

For some reason, though, I think it's a cheaper way to film than dramas that are pre-produced.

Hopefully this ends strong despite not being pre-produced! So many Kdramas nosedive in the last 1/3 of the drama...

It's also just less common when the woman is older and the man is younger, so people make it a bigger deal (and it feels like a bigger deal). I think it also feels like a more significant gap because guys typically take longer to develop (biologically), and let's be real, society doesn't expect them to mature as quickly as women... so they often don't. "Boys will be boys" is a terrible assumption/expectation that needs to die.

Also, our society today values equal partnerships in romantic relationships. People with age gaps may not all fully be equals (intellectually, educationally or emotionally), and that makes them seem less suited for each other, and may legitimately cause problems in the relationship. Just because both are adults doesn't mean they are equals in maturity, responsibility, and lifestyle/beliefs/choices.

Age gaps can create an extra chasm here between people even though there's a spark or chemistry or tumultuous feelings and it won't carry them through when mundane life sets in.

Whelp, romantic Kdramas have a 95% chance of having childhood connections between the leads, so it's kinda what you're signing up for when you watch them. 😉

It's just one of those Kdrama tropes I don't think is going away...

She's definitely a creepy weirdo. I don't think she likes ML, but she IS odd. The way she treated her daughter in Episode 4 was very strange.

She should have tried pinching his nose first! 😅

But I think I can safely say this is the first time I've seen a kiss used to stop a sneeze. 😅 It's maybe not one of the more romantic uses of the kiss, haha. 😉

Yes, and the way he reacted afterwards was adorable. He was channeling his high school boy persona at what happened and his face was perfect; the way he wriggled out of the way and clapped his hand over his mouth with an expression of pure horror. I was dying! 🤣

Yes, they were so sweet!

Definitely not done in the U.S. for high school if you're doing things properly and to protect yourself legally (as a teacher).

Besides, most kids have phones, and most of them have Gmail on their phones; it's almost as effective as a way to reach them, if necessary.

Typical Kdrama romance: love at first fight. 😉

And specifically high school bullying. Don't think I've seen a single Kdrama set in high school without bullying of some kind.

It's just that I've seen many dramas I've enjoyed a lot more. That said, it was definitely my favorite among the ones I watched with him. He did a great job distinguishing between his robot and human self. ☺️

He's great in Are You Human Too?, but the drama itself is kind of average. It's not terrible, but it's not upper crust drama material. Same with When The Weather Is Fine. He does a really great job in both, but neither drama I loved, loved. Started Watcher but never finished it.

Ah, I see. Maybe I saw "original creator" and conflated that with screenwriter-- I just remember seeing something about the writer being the same. My bad!

But the actors for Sang Yan are completely different in each series so it doesn't feel related at all, as the ML for this is such a different vibe from Sang Yan in HL.

I read more comments and got my own question answered. 😅