FreshKicks

Ikr! This was the payoff for the viewer after tolerating his remote personality for so many episodes, and getting angry with him, often even hating him on her behalf.

When he finally does get emotional you've traveled a long road with him as the guy who never expresses himself, so when he opens up and becomes so emotional it hits you in the gut.

A lot of viewers of the Kdrama are happy that Heon is a softer version of the ML, but the consequence could be that they'll miss seeing that beautiful scene -- which I still rewatch every now and then because both of the guys did a fantastic job with it.

Sol Yi is the only character whose behavior isn't maturing as she gets older. All the other characters are becoming adults. What was the director thinking?

This Heon guy does not apologize and is incapable of being humble. For him to say that he never considered that he and Sol Yi had broken up is the height of arrogance.

Sure, buddy -- it's just a lovers' spat when you move out of the country and don't contact your supposed girlfriend for several years, then return without telling her. He clearly thought he'd show up again and she'd take him back without a second thought.

He's so much less of a man than Dae Sung.

She and he both had a very bad day that day. He lost a patient and she was sexually assaulted.

Then she learned that he was thinking about going to the US and had never even consulted her, despite the fact that they'd been dating for a few years.

He then actually DID leave, without further discussing it with her. If he didn't consider them broken up then he should have tried to get things right again. He repeatedly made her feel that he was the one calling the shots. He deserved to lose her, and he deserves to have to work his ass off to get her back.

Based on the preview I don't think we'll be getting the scene where Heon and Dae Sung drink together and Heon bares his soul. It looks like it's Jin Hwan who will give Heon a lecture instead of Dae Sung, and then the female doctor colleague will push him even more until he finally asks Sol Yi for forgiveness.

Dae Sung, meanwhile, will probably just be turned into the guy who didn't get the girl.

If this happens I will be extremely disappointed, since that scene between the FL's two suitors is arguably the most powerful one in the entire Cdrama version.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I too was thinking how there is still so much to cover, especially the family issue, and it has also occurred to me that there's a danger of the ending being rushed.

So far, though, I agree that the pacing is just right. Without trust a true relationship isn't possible, and so much of what has happened so far is the two of them slowly reaching a point of absolute trust.

And I'm just about to watch those episodes that you mention, so I know I'll have an enjoyable weekend coming up, and a fun week next week. :)

They won't be able to be together in a permanent way until all of the schemers around them have been permanently dealt with.

For example, Huai Nan needs to see through Zhan Yan's lies with such finality that he wants her out of his life forever.

Think of the way she has been pretending to be the girl who was at the window in high school. Exposing that lie will unravel of the very premise of their relationship. There's also the matter of the necklace. It's been mentioned in passing that Luo Zhi was asked to pass it along to Huai Nan (another lie), but this version of the series hasn't yet made that an issue between Huai Nan and Luo Zhi. This will also be part of Zhan Yan's undoing.

In fact one of the best pleasures of this series will be in seeing Zhan Yan and her sycophants exposed and destroyed.

I expect there will be other moments like Ge Bi finally realizing that Mohan is shallow and selfish. By the time he does that, I expect that Bai Li will be involved with her new suitor (who hasn't yet appeared in this series) and will have become more independent of Ge Bi.

I'm enjoying it more and more. I could quibble over which characters are cast better in the other version but this one is entertaining on its own.

I don't think that opinion is so unpopular. :)

The make-or-break 'emotional' scene will be when Dae Sung and Heon get drunk together and Heon talks about how much he's been misunderstood for so many years. He will say how Sol Yi has been the only steadfast thing in his life after everyone else has abandoned him, and Dae Sung will finally give up trying to win her. Then add to this the scene later where Heon will bow his head to ask Sol Yi for forgiveness, and she leaves him hanging as to whether he will be forgiven or not.

I'm eager to see how this all plays out. If Yo Han can pull it off then he will win my respect.

However, since the Heon character is such a teddy bear in this version, there's less for him to confess to. They might not bother with these events at all and just have Heon and Sol Yi reconcile and get engaged.

I don't know what's with the director asking the FL to keep acting like she's a hyperactive middle-schooler. She and Heon are both adults now. I was hoping that by this time her performance would become more mature as well. Instead she just keeps on doing what she's always been doing, and it's all the more cringe-inducing.

Good catch!

I'm glad they didn't make too much of a fuss over the guy who wears makeup. ^_^

I think it's more likely that the used to date but don't anymore. If the husband was cheating on her, I think the writers would have dropped a few hints here and there.

It's time for a restraining order.

If they aren't now, I think they were before.

I don't know the book at all, but compared to the earlier, shorter series this one seems to include more "side stories" like the invention contest. I don't remember there being an author event in the other series either. (They've been building up to that for such a long time, I hope it happens soon.)

So I'm guessing that this version might be a more complete adaptation of the book.

One of the pleasures of the earlier series was watching Bai Li gradually gain self-respect and independence. I hope that will happen here too.

Lame.

The plot didn't advance very much this week. It was a good travel advertisement for Chiang Mai, though.

For all its flaws I'm okay with the series. Cute boys and a chill atmosphere -- no villains, and female characters who are fully realized instead of being there to serve as plot devices to drive the men together. I really like Nam.