Meari21

Yes, I see shades of Crows Zero also. High & Low had similar fight scenes too. I know High & Low gained a cult following in Korea so they might have drawn some inspiration there as well.

Dude, I thought it was my internet connection! I kept restarting my router. lol I ended up watching on my phone because the blurry scenes were more horribly apparent on my 27-inch monitor and even on my tablet. I guess the problem was not on my end.

Is it just me or is this series becoming more like High & Low? High & Low was pretty much created to promote the Exile Tribe of idols, and similarly, they chose to cast more idols in this new season of Weak Hero. Hence, the more good looking cast of actors. Plus the fight scenes, though exciting, are becoming less realistic. Not that I hate these changes but I was hoping they had stuck to the more somber and serious tone of the first season. That was what set it apart from other school gangster dramas/movies, just like Study Group went the comedy route and used over-the-top action scenes to be different.

I actually enjoyed this for the most part. The only things holding me back from giving it a much higher score are the inappropriate musical score and the lengthy and unnecessary exposition dumps they do at almost every episode. I get that they have to explain the lingo and how things work in this industry, but the fact that they felt the need to spell things out for you by making other characters discuss why some characters choose to do something or what they're thinking just to explain things is dumb, and they're treating their audience like newborn infants with close to zero cognitive skills who can't understand what's going on.

He wasn’t obsessed with Si Eun. If you’ve noticed, he had a habit of checking Suho’s Insta and fondly looking at his photos. He didn’t do that with Si Eun. I believe he saw Si Eun as more his equal but Suho he idolized.

Not true. Some teachers even straight up hit these kids and verbally abuse them. I've seen it happen. The only reason they avoid doing so is some kids took videos of them hurting the students and uploaded these videos online some years back. The videos went viral and became a social issue in Korea. That is why corporal punishment is now prohibited in Korean schools. But there are some teachers who still inflict corporal punishment on their students albeit secretly.

This was my exact same question. lol I mean, even if they can't do anything to stop all that fighting, they could've at least called the police or school security. I know for a fact that when students do their self-study inside their classrooms, teachers are almost always present because they are required to do so. The fact that there were hardly any teachers make this drama highly unrealistic in that aspect.

I don't think he was jealous of Suho, though. In my opinion, he placed him on a pedestal because he was the exact opposite of his father. He was confident, cool, and a good person who never unnecessarily hurt others. But when he thought Suho bossed him around and considered him a liability like his father did, he felt betrayed. Yeongi's growing closeness with the boys was the final nail in the coffin because he felt like she was more part of the group than he was and his deep insecurities led him to believe that Suho never thought of him as a real friend. He did what obsessive fans do to their beloved idols when the gods they worship don't behave the way they expect them to, which is tear them down. His disappointment in Suho was the reason why his idol worship obsession turned to hate. Suho became a surrogate for his father so it was him who received all the punishment from Beom Seok.

To be honest, even my Korean friends admit that their educational system is extremely flawed. That is why many of them who can speak English go to international schools or leave the country to pursue higher education abroad. Some even deliberately migrate to other countries with the hopes that their children won't have to suffer the harsh competition that Korean students have to deal with every single day of their lives. Their lack of confidence in their own educational system stems from the fact that Korean education doesn't really encourage critical thinking and individualism. Their education is highly standardized and exam-driven, and students heavily rely on their ability to memorize answers and excel in tests instead of developing cognitive functions and creativity. Precisely why there are people who study English all their lives, receive high scores in TOEIC, but have close to zero communication skills. I have to admit, though, their focus on mathematics and sciences is crazy! I've tutored high school kids studying complex calculus and it made my head hurt. lol No wonder the country is bursting with innovation. Of course this is just a generalization and I'm mostly referring to typical schools. There are special schools that do not employ this kind of system.

Xianxia dramas usually have godly beings, immortal sects, and demons or yao. Besides, there's no xianxia tag in this, just wuxia with fantasy elements. I wasn't talking about objects but ways to bypass these spells. It's like this, you undergo a lie detector test and you're asked questions answerable by only yes or no. The question is, "do you love your sister?" You sometimes love her but sometimes you hate her so either yes or no can be true for you. Either answer won't be a lie. The character was asked if he knew about something in particular, he said no. He didn't lie because he really didn't. But it didn't mean he knew nothing at all because he was actually involved. He just didn't know about the particular question that was asked. If everything is explained and spelled out to the viewers/readers, then that's not good writing imho. If you think these are plotholes, you're free to think so. I am merely answering the question you posed based on how I understood this magical lie detector test. But if that still doesn't satisfy you, then no answer will.

The rule of thumb in writing is "show don't tell". They don't need to specifically mention something to let the viewers know about it. Most of the time, they show it. The fact that one of the guilty criminals was able to pass the test, shows that it's not reliable. Like I said, it can be compared to a lie detector machine, it's not always right because people can beat it depending on how they answer the question and how the question is phrased. I don't think this is xianxia, though as there are no gods. This is more like a combination of wuxia and xuanhuan because of the dark fantasy elements.

These are some of my favorite dramas of all time. lol

If you're into crime mysteries and detective stuff, I'd recommend Under the Skin. No romance, though, just an engaging bromance between the two male leads. If you happen to like anime, I Am Nobody is a must-watch as it's based on a manhua that was turned into a Japanese anime and finally adapted into live action. They also adapted a popular Japanese manga/anime, Hikaru no Go, into a live action drama that I thought maintained the essence of the source material. And if you're willing to give Taiwanese dramas a shot, I'd suggest you check out Oh no! Here Comes Trouble. These are all modern dramas. But no romance, just some bromance (not BL).

To answer your question, those spells don't always work and are not always reliable. There are people who can use tricks to beat the spells just like some people can bypass lie detector machines. This was demonstrated when they used the spell on someone who was guilty but he appeared to be telling the truth. Later they found out he was indeed involved in the crime. I doubt this will work with far more powerful people. Like you, I enjoyed the first few episodes but I lost interest the moment the female lead was introduced because that's when the drama dragged and it affected the plot progression. In the book, Xu Qi An has multiple love interests, including the Royal Princess, who's supposedly his favorite among his harem and the one that plays a more important role in the story, even though he's married to Lin An. They made her appear to be a major character in the drama because most C-dramas have a male lead and a female lead and they decided to stick to that formula. But in truth, there is only a male lead and the rest are supporting characters. Having said that, I actually enjoyed the last act of this series. It's not perfect, I must admit. But I don't think it's terrible. It could've been so much better if they had made this truly a wuxia adventure drama with zero romance.

I totally understand. I took a break from this drama and picked it up again just a month ago. I was so annoyed by the mistaken identity subplot that went absolutely nowhere. I also wish they didn't include any romance. I would've been happier with a purely male-centric wuxia drama.

But that's the reality that people in ancient China lived in. It's also a culture thing. These historical C-drama romances are actually unrealistic as men of stature in those days had more than one wife. Theirs was a highly patriarchal society, after all, and women were just pawns whose real power lie in their ability to manipulate their husbands. I, for one, would like to see that kind of realism portrayed in a historical C-drama one day.

It makes sense. These actors are supposedly all friends, especially those under the same agency. It's just that I've never heard of them nor seen evidence of them being best friends.

Funny you talk about not believing in conjecture when you yourself presented a conjecture that she killed herself with anger and revenge in mind. It's obvious that you have taken a side and so have I.

Hmmm... It could simply because they were in the same agency and they had to keep up appearances. Actors pretend to be friends to enhance their image and such and for promotional purposes. But I have never seen photos or videos of them hanging out outside of work so I was surprised when people brought up that they're friends in real life.

Park Seo Joon? I've never heard of them being close at all. Maybe just showbiz work friends? As far as I know, his best friends are the boys from the Wooga Squad: Park Hyungsik, Choi Wooshik, and V. And didn't he supposedly throw shade at Soo Hyun after the release of the "Paris mannequin" video? The guy from Garosero even posted a positive comment on his Instagram because of that. lol And I recently saw an old interview of Choi Wooshik that resurfaced where he was asked about Soo Hyun and he couldn't give a positive comment about the latter. He looked very uncomfortable when asked if he thought Soo Hyun is a good guy. I can't say for certain that these are indeed signs that Soo Hyun is not a good person or whether these actors are his friends or not, I'm just sharing what I know. Jung Hae In seems to be one of his closest friends and I've heard that he frequents room salons.