MadelineMaureen

In roughly 84 minutes of showtime the FL was on screen about 61minutes and the 2FL was on screen for about 44 minutes. ML...only 29ish minutes on screen...

So how long did the main OTP have together without other people interrupting? 11 minutes....roughly 70% of that 11 minutes was spent talking about the 2ML or 2FL.
The FL and 2ML had the same amount of screentime in episode 11 ALONE, that the Main leads had together over both episode 11 and 12.

Yeah I don't know if i'm going to be fixated on this enough to do this for all the previous episodes, but I was bored & my brain needed something to do. Yes I realize how petty/unhinged this is. 🥺🤦🏻‍♀️

So my autism won the battle of the petty fixation.

In the last 2 episodes, episode 11 & 12, I decided to just time out of few things to see why it is I'm so frustrated with the show. Continued in spoiler tag below.

Mainly what those large numbers mean is that the actor is paying his team and staff with that paycheck. An actor only gets a fraction of the appearance fee. So taxes, agents, managers, road managers, stylist, hair & make up, body guards etc. etc.
Different industries have different breakdowns of what the actors paycheck is paying for, but I've noticed that a lot of Asian productions don't have dedicated hair and make-up teams for projects, but that they are who the talent goes to themselves.
Sort of like how some American shows don't have hair and make-up so the actors are just doing it themselves if they can.
Also keep in mind that that paycheck is sometimes the only paycheck that person will have for months if not a year or more depending on project length. That's why doing commercial/brand work is so important for actors.

Same director as F4 so I'm starting to wonder why he struggles so hard to direct interactions with an actually couple on screen. All non romantic scenes seem to be doing an okay job, but the second a couple is born it turns into a George Lucas production. Great and Jane are the only ones given enough to work with to give their characters a bit of a personality. We've spent more time with both of them(Saint/Faye) than we have seen the main leads in the same scene as each other. Aka the main leads have less screen time together than they do with Saint and Faye.

I just can't get over how quickly this show went downhill. Like I was loving this version and how they were changing a few things here and there, but no longer enjoying the changes they've main. We've had little to no moments of end game couple actually bonding together.
And because she doesn't dance like the Korean version it's not like he's really seeing her personality come out secretly like he did in the OG. We've completely lost all character growth from Lui and Guy for the sake of expanding the 2nd leads' stories...why?

If you haven't already watch her in the movie her boyfriend has directed her in. Now that is a power couple worth keeping your eyes on.

Exactly.
I love me a green flag slow-burn with the best of them, but a well written messy human drama is also my jimjam. There is a reason shows like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon were/are some of the most popular shows.
Morally grey characters will always be more dynamic and interesting to dissect. I feel like the people complaining about Ji Han being "trash" and feeling sorry for Do Han are the same people watching Dune and coming out thinking Paul Atreides is a good guy and a true messiah.

I can understand those in the comments who are queer and getting hung up on the misunderstanding of Do Han's motives for running. As being closeted in a country that could shun or kill you because of who you like is a very valid reason for Do Han's behaviour. What I can't get behind is villainizing his allies when they show disappointment in his selfish actions.
Can we all just collectively agree that their grandfather, step-father and the reporter are the real trash/villains of this story? Half-sister is spiraling, but even she was tossed aside after years of trying to be the best person for her family members only for them to toss her away/use her.
I really wanted to see what would happen if the half-brother and his wife and the half-sister were to find out Do Han's secret. Would they out their little brother to get ahead, or would that be the moral line they can't cross? A girl wants to know.
Chae Won knows/suspects something, but is willing to give the benefit of the doubt to all 3 leads because she paused and truly thought about what she knows about each of them. I feel that like Ah Jeong and Ji Han, Chae Won will protect Do Han if he were to tell her the truth.

I think the grandfather not only is behind the beating of the ex.
I think he is hiding the evidence that his son-in-law was involved in the death of his daughter and her lover...aka DoHan and JiHan's parents. I think the reason he's been covering for the son-in-law is because of business reasons at first and maybe like 5% wanting to protect his eldest grandchildren from loosing both their parents. If the son-in-law was in prison it would harm the companies more than if he just covered it up.
I just feel like the grandfather being the sole cause of the accident might be too easy of a conclusion. I don't know why I would think he would protect anyone but himself, but that's my theory.

Can I just say how much respect I have for Chae Won? As of episode 10, she's still killing it. Human with flaws, but never tipping into comic book villain arch. Love that for her. 🫰🏻🫰🏻

Do Han had been in self preservation mode for most of his life. It's okay if it takes him a second to recalibrate after being confronted with his own flaws/misguidedness. He gets there though, which is what matters.
Those are three people that love each other fiercely. They've been fighting in their own way and in their own worlds for so long...they are only just now willing to let their guards down with each other. They've been fighting their own battles, now they need to come together to win the war coming their way. Because at the end of the day they are each other's allies. They are each other's shield and sword.

THIS. The media literacy is not strong on this one this week. I'm like wow wow wow...love how the writers are showing the growth and how selfishness can take many forms and have different motives...and then I came into the comments section and they're bashing all my babies. Like WHAT DID YOU WATCH?

Not alone. I have so many theories I want to dig into and came to the comment section to see if anyone was thinking the same thing only to find comments from people who either aren't watching the same show or don't understand the concept of morally grey characters. 😭😭😭
I just wanted to talk about all the things the grandpa has been doing and hiding and manipulating. 😤🥺🥺😞

Grandfather is trying to make DH Elsa. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.

First off I'm sorry that this show is so triggering to you. Recently watched one that triggered me because they fell into the Hays Code era tropes of queer=villain/needs to die.

As a queer person myself I just need to say, we can be wrong. WE can be the selfish person. We can hurt people with our actions and inactions.
Being gay/queer is still a very foreign concept for many Korean people. The writers could do better with Do Han expressing the fear that comes with being closeted in a homophobic country.
But Ji Han is upset his favorite person is lying to someone he loves. He's upset that the person he's held on a pedestal and done everything for(selfishly, but still) didn't love him enough to open up. BECAUSE HE'S HUMAN, and humans are flawed. Love is messy. Humans are messy.

They aren't killing the queer, and they aren't making him a murderer...so I'm putting this show in the win column for Korean shows. Still side-eyeing the shit out of 'My Lovely Lair'. My one MAJOR critique with Ji Han's reaction is not once did it cross his mind that his brother was Bi/Pan. Like people, WE EXIST TOO.

I tried to look and see what you normally watch, but either the site isn't working well or you don't keep track with episodes/shows watched so I couldn't get a good gauge on what you're used to. I saw a lot of Thai dramas, which are known for their deeper and richer queer storytelling. Korea is still very much a conservative country. Only within the last decade or two have people in entertainment come out publicly of their own free will. (There have been multiple forced outings)

I can't tell how old some of these people are, but some of the comments read very young black and white thinking. When I try to see some peoples' profile to get an idea of other shows they've seen to see how they could form such a polarizing view of the same show I'm watching happily, their profile is either private or brand new.
I just wish some of them would have the decency to put their comment in a spoiler tag...They are leaving hatful essays that take me a day to scroll past. Everyone is welcome to their own opinions, but some of the takes on this show are just poor critical thinking and media literacy skills.

I'd like to remind t he class that Do Han is just as selfish as his best friend and brother. He knows what he's asking of his best friend. He's been lying to his brother and running away every chance he gets...leaving him with people that hate them. They are all guilty. They are all still growing and evolving. Do Han wanted to drive off into the sunset with his fingers plugging his ears and his hand over his eyes. He's run from his brother, his lovers...plural, and even used his best friend to run again. They all know they had a part to play in this. I feel sorry for all of them. They all love each other, but because they couldn't let all of their walls down and trust each other they ended up getting shot by friendly fire.
That's what makes the story interesting. They each have their own flaws, but below that first outer layer are loving and loyal people. The only reason Ji Han and Ah Jeong act on their feelings is because they know something that makes Ah Jeong's "realtionship" with Do Han invalid in their eyes,

These are some of the most realistically written and portrayed characters I've seen in a while. Do Han, Ji Han, Ah Jeong, and Chae Won all are flawed but loving people. They all make selfish choices and they all learn to look at themselves and how they are affecting those around them. Because character growth in a drama is what I always want from these types of set ups.
They are all growing each episode. They miscommunicate, but still work on themselves to get past that miscommunication. Or they wake up and look around them for the first time in a while and see what their choices have done. ITS SO GOOD.
No one is doing complete 180. Everyone is acting how a human with their personality would act.

Do Wan ran away from every responsibility he's ever had. He ran from his family. He ran from his lovers. He even ran from his own brother who needed him the most, knowing full well that he was leaving him with people that hated them both.
Ji Han, was misguided on what could make Do Wan happy, and only realized recently that what he was doing was selfish. Ji Han thought he could never receive love and power himself so he worked to make it so his brother is powerful. If his brother, whom he loves most had power, than he could receive love. They both lost the unconditional love that their parents gave them at a critical time in both of their lives.
I think it shows amazing growth from both of them to recognize their own selfish and self-serving ways. How they both used the people they loved most to attain their version of "happiness".
With the the female leads....
Ah Jeong, can be self-serving, but it always came from a place of what she believes is the right thing to do. When she's finally tested by a personal desire for the first time in her life, she gives in. Her one act of selfishness becomes the down fall of everyone she wants to protect the most.
And finally, Chae Won is selfish, but she knows it. She doesn't apologize for it, but she also knows when to look deeper into things, to look outside of her own desires and pause in achieving her goal.

I'm loving what the writers are doing with how selfishness can take many forms and the growth all the mains go through when confronted with their selfishness.
Thoughts in spoiler tag below

Once again we spent 5 minutes of a 45 minute show with our lead couple. The other 40 minutes were spent on the villain. And those 5 minutes with the FL and ML were spent TALKING ABOUT THE OTHER GIRL.
Not even a day or montage of the FL and ML dating has happened yet. Who ever is directing this should just stop. While waiting for the episodes of this drama to air I looked into other things the leads had been in. I know they can act well. But in this you had ML acting like a plankman. What the hell is going on with this show? They completely took out the soul of this IP to make a show about the second girl. Just wondering if anyone else noticed she has more screen time than any other character in the whole damn show. If she's not on screen she's being talked about. Like who wrote this adaptation?

Yeah...I wouldn't have been able to handle this show earlier in the year because of person reasons because of this plot point. When in doubt, hold out....and wait from the nice people to tag the proper triggers.