Kseniya Green

Yes. And I think this is a truth of life that not everyone wants to acknowledge. If there's something through which you can be yourself, then losing it feels like losing a part of yourself. But the only way to not fear death is not to live.
The drama features this theme of death and afterlife, with "Dance Macabre" as a particularly significant composition. And I don't think it's about doom. I think a truly deep connection between people in some way transcends life itself, as something that makes you both mortal and immortal at the same time.

What I find interesting is that Wuthering Heights is a story about class inequality and the dehumanization of people of the "wrong" class or nationality.
This drama takes a different socio-psychological turn. Here, the connection between two young men is contrasted with a narcissistic system in which you must prove your exceptional value, and everyone else is seen as a resource or an enemy.
But the antithesis to a narcissistic world isn't actually autonomy. Absolute autonomy is a myth, and a harmful one at that.
The true antithesis is the ability to find yourself in something outside yourself and trust this natural reality of the soul. That the soul always exists in connection with something, something you would choose even if you knew you had only one day left to live.

Here, in my view, romantic love is present, especially evident in Jeongyo's behavior, but the main theme is the connection between souls, yes. On the level that each of them cannot be themselves without the other, just as a musician cannot be a musician without music.
And this is what is truly the opposite of codependency. In codependency, a person gives up their identity to maintain a connection.
In true love, a person finds themselves in a connection with another.
And that's what they had, it's just that this connection has been damaged, and with it, their own identity.
So I think it's almost certain that we'll either have a reunion of two souls or a "Romeo and Juliet" type of ending, nothing in between.

Wuthering Heights also features the theme of wilderness, as an element to which the main characters' souls belong, and where they can be together, free from social rules, prejudices, and hierarchies.
In the drama, music plays the role of this element. And Pio's grandfather even compares music to something wild.

I remember watching Mr. Sunshine and thinking that the character Gu Dong-mae had an artistic side, and in another life, he could have been an artist or a musician.

And now I think Jeongyo is a good illustration of what such a person could have been if he'd had a happier childhood and the opportunity to channel his natural passion into art.( And also if he'd been gay).
But regardless of their sexual orientation, the Achilles' heel of such people is the same: they're capable of surviving anything in the wilderness, sometimes at the cost of becoming a criminal, but they survive.
But they're inevitably drawn to the delicate and refined, a certain noble beauty. And if they can't live through their passion, it burns them from within.

I always approach the screenwriter's opinion from the perspective of being interested in what was consciously put into the script, but ultimately, any drama is the product of many people's collaborations.
The script often provides a more straightforward framework of characters and relationships - and that's fine. The director and actors build more complex and nuanced characters on top of this framework because they see and feel in real time how it plays out in the final product. What works and what doesn't. What feels right and what doesn't quite. It's always much more than just a visual illustration of the script's concept.

It's very obvious, yes. But I'm glad the screenwriter had the courage to admit it honestly and not gaslight viewers who simply saw what was intended for this drama.
I just really hope it doesn't end exactly like Wuthering Heights 🥺.
But at least now we don't have to worry about sudden het anymore.

Yes. And there's a psychological element here that I consider fundamental to understanding Jeongyo's actions, and which proponents of the "they're just friends" theory fail to grasp.
Jeongyo found himself in his father's situation.
And perhaps that's one of the reasons why he continues to support him. Jeongyo faces the question: did he ever even know the person he loved most? Perhaps he invented the Pio he loved, while the real Pio was an empty, primitive, envious person who manipulated him the whole way? Living with this question is deeply humiliating and deeply damaging to one's trust in oneself and in relationships on a global level.
Revealing Pio's true feelings for Jeongyo isn't about making Pio look good, or even about Jeongyo forgiving him.
It's about Jeongyo forgiving himself for loving this man.

I think the term "happy ending" isn't right in this situation, but I really want a "hopeful ending." Yes, deep wounds can't be patched up with a bandage, and trauma of this magnitude haunts a person for life. But nevertheless, as long as a person is alive, there's a chance to create new happy memories. They don't compensate for the past, but they will give meaning to life.
And the compassion of others, especially those involved in your trauma, plays a huge role here. It's very difficult to begin healing when no one acknowledges your pain.
It's crucial that someone - especially Pio - recognize the extent of Jeongyo's trauma, because otherwise, even if Jeongyo drops a bombshell of evidence on them all and goes abroad, he might never be able to be close to anyone again.
The feeling that all his love and inspiration might be thrown away will haunt him until the end. He needs to experience that this isn't true. And then it's entirely his choice what to do about it.
So, Jeongyo doesn't need to forgive and forget - he needs to be heard, to share his pain, so he can begin to build a new life for himself.

On this issue, I'll hold off on judging until the finale. Depending on the ending, this move could be a failure or a meaningful decision.
I see a possible meaning in this: the creators are deliberately depicting a situation in which no one sees or hears Jeongyo, because Pio must be the one to make Jeongyo's suffering visible - to all the other characters and, by extension, to the audience.
Because the theme running through the drama is that Pio has a talent for expressing things as they are through music. This is his gift, but it was buried too deeply. Only by detaching himself from the theme of personal guilt and worth will Pio be able to hear Jeongyo and let his voice shine.
So the climactic concert scene should be about Jeongyo.
And this could be done in a way that compensates for the lack of Jeongyo's pov.
But if they don't strike the right tone, yes, it could be a critical mistake for the drama.

Depending on how this drama ends, it will be either queercode or queerbait.
When the queer subtext is consistent, logical, and doesn't derail in the ending, I classify it as queercode. Given that homophobia is still very high, it's understandable to me that big-budget projects with popular actors are generally wary of being openly queer and prefer to "sit on two chairs." It's sad, but ultimately, a kiss and a direct confession aren't necessary for a story about love - even in hetero love lines, it doesn't always present.
If a drama consciously creates queer romantic associations but then drops them in the ending, it's queerbait, and I don't consider that acceptable. So we'll see how it plays out.

Yes, the drama clearly has biblical themes too.
Two young and innocent people created their own shared paradise.
But then they were separated.
And they met again, no longer innocent, in hell.
But somewhere inside them, this paradise still exists.

Also: one appears sullen and indifferent, but saves the other when the other is in trouble.
One searches for/picks up a lost valuable object for their romantic interest.
The rich partner arranges illuminations/candles/fireworks solely for the romantic interest.
A shoulder to lean on on public transportation.
One helps the other overcome PTSD.
One's parents caused serious harm to the other/family.
A third wheel who is always supportive and offers a shoulder to cry on, but the character ultimately chooses their troubled first love.
They have their special place.

And that's really only part of it. There are much more

Yes. I think this is the fundamental difference between friendship and romantic love. A friend can walk beside you, shoulder to shoulder, but they always remain separate individuals, with their own separate lives.
But when you're in love, you let that person into your soul. And if your lover betrays you, it doesn't just break your relationship with that person, it can also break your relationship with yourself. It damages something deep inside.
I believe this is exactly what happened to Jeongyo. Sadism sometimes arises when you can't bring yourself to break a connection, even if that connection feels rotten.

I think Pio managed to capture real feelings at that moment, and neither of them were quite ready for it. I think Jeongyo also has a hard time hearing his own feelings. He plays the role of a cold-blooded avenger, but it's a defensive role, while inside he's burning.
It's no coincidence that after that, he seemed to retreat and even tried to replace Pio with another pianist. I think Jeongyo both longs and fears that Pio will be able to play it right.
Regarding the difference between guilt and compassion: in guilt, a person is chained to their own feelings. Yes, feelings about how wrong they acted, but still, it's a personal pain, a feeling of "I'm bad, wrong." It's a pain of broken self.
In compassion, a person detaches themselves from the question of "who I am" and is more concerned with how the other person feels, what it was like for them to live with that.
If Pio had been empathetic to Jeongyo's feelings, he would have understood that by taking on his mother's guilt, he was wounding Jeongyo again, this time himself. The irony of the situation is that to understand Jeongyo's pain, Pio must understand how much he meant to him.

In my opinion, they both, in a sense, lost themselves and "joined the dark side." Pio by covering for his mother. Jeongyo by trampling on what was dear to him.
But in my opinion, Pio must regain himself through compassion FOR another, for Jeongyo.
Jeongyo must regain himself through the compassion OF others to him.

Jeongyo deliberately tries to hurt Pio because the connection with him is so painful, and at the same time, Jeongyo cannot break it even when it hurts like hell . So, he tries to at least share this pain, so as not to feel humiliated. But Pio, in his depressive, frozen state, does not even express compassion. Taking the attitude of "kill me if it makes you feel better" is not compassion. Jeongyo needs Pio's empathy, not sacrifice.

Exactly. Very important words. I honestly don't understand how fans can do this, it's so disrespectful to the actors.

For this reason, for me, just as important, if not more so, than "how it ends" will be how they handle the performance scene of Jeongyo's piece.
I think it's crucial that this scene be about Jeongyo, about what he's been through - much much more so than about how well Pio can express it.
If they leave Jeongyo's experience off-screen to highlight it in this scene, to make the revelation effect stronger , that will be fine.
If the focus is still on Pio's feelings, that would be very wrong.

But seriously, I don't think that will happen. It would be a strategically spectacularly stupid decision.

This drama borrowed a large number of romantic and queer-coded tropes, including from other classic queer-coded dramas. Any ending that excluded the possibility of a queer reading would be a deliberate gaslighting of the audience.