Ah, sorry, just as you saw many of these comments, I saw plenty of those I mentioned.
I didn't read the novel, but I read some comments how she was barely there. That's kinda sad. And annoying.
You got attacked for that? Woah, that's really horrible. As you stated, it's very common all over the world and needs to be adressed and talked about. You bring up a great point with the single parents. I read a bit about the difficulties of single mothers in Korea, and it would be great to explore that in kdramas.
Regarding MY again: I guess most of the comments saying she is not really needed mostly consider the first half of the show. Because, let's be honest, if we mentally cut her scenes out from the first half, almost nothing in the story would change. And that's a really bad sign for a character. Additionally, most of her scenes were (due to the love line) very similiar and didn't give a lot of insight into her as a person or her development. And impact+getting to know a character means connecting the viewers with the character. If that is lacking I understand why so many feel that she is unnecessary. I actually root for MY and her development and hope she becomes her own person during the rest of the show.
While I do think a lot of the hate is overblown and undeserved (her actions/mistakes/inexperience...), there are some legitimate criticism that can be acknowledged and discussed.
And not every complaint is because of (internal) misogyny or jealousy of their celebrity crush. Using this as an argument to slap down every bit of criticism is kinda annoying.
I actually like MY as a character on her own, but the way she was written in the first half of the show did her zero favours. The entire writing involving their relationship was lazy as hell.
She appeared in a few scenes either snapping or staring at DJ, in an unending repetition. In universe it went on for years without any change. And I really need more to root for a relationship.
It was as if the writer was too lazy to actually build their relationship, basically throwing the ball to the director and editor, who only used the same basic and stale cues to force the viewer to acknowledge the fact that romance is supposed to happen right now (good looking man+woman standing next to each other, romantic bg music...). And it seems so lazy, especially in contrast to the other writing, making it standout in a bad way even more.
It sometimes seems to me as the writer was forced to include her this early, but had no idea what to do with her, just scrawling down the most basic of interactions. And tbh MY deserves more. FLs in general deserve more (especially better writing and motivations that are not wrapped around a man)
Lee Sung Min is just so utterly fantastic in his role. I hope he'll get a few nominations and awards next year.
In some scenes he looks utterly terrifying. I would rather meet some kdrama villains/killers than get into the crosshairs of this ruthless business grandpa.
At the same time LSM does portray the vulnerability and care for his family. And it's so great. One of the best scenes was at the end of episode 6, when he officially met the chessboard opponent.
20...last time I remember that is a consenting adult. Stop projecting this bullshit. Its a show. Drama. Fiction.…
You actually point out an aspect of time travel stories that is really interesting to explore. And it shows how those stories are eefected by the medium in which they are told (eg. TV vs book). If it's written, the POV (1st person or 3rd limited/omniscient) gives by design the opportunity to deep dive into the actual feelings and thoughts of the time traveller. That way the reader is aware in what ways the time travel/being reborn actually effects the perceptions, thoughts, experiences, hormones or memories.
In a TV medium it is not that easy. The watcher can be made aware of it, but as shows thrive by 'show don't tell', it's not as easy as for example the narrator mentioning it in their though process. It still can be done of course, by the characters actions, body language, behaviour towards other people, narrating voiceover or even explicit conversations about feelings/thoughts.
And if we look at the first 3 episodes nothing really says or hints that the 'waking up in another body' ultimately changed him. I consider him still as Hwa Young, who just had ten years in another body additional to his years as Hwa Young. Who he is and was as a person ultimately didn't change, as his actual formative years (original child- +teenager- +adulthood) already happened.
Yes, he bonded with his new family the actual Soonyang outsiders he had no beef with (I actually love his relationship with Jin dad and brother), but I think he still considers his OG family as his actual family. He still visits them after 10 years (Side note: I theorize that due to that they will be pulled into the future twisty game), is very aware and very passionate about privilige (talk with Min Young about her privilige in contrast to his actual working class background).
Including other actions like his utter disinterest in girls so far, even with 19/20, until MY, shows in my perception that he is still the OG Hwa Young in every way except physical (Compare Cher. She is 76 but looks younger due to plastic surgery. HY/DJ looks younger due to time travel). Meaning this second puberty had like zero effect on him. I think then it's understandable why he had no interest in such young girls/women so far.
On another note: It will be really interesting on how the ten years emotional bonding to the parts of the Jin family (parents, brother, grandparents) who were not part of his original life and death will play out and how it will effect his emotions and choices. Great potential there.
Sorry for rambling, but I actually love time travel very much. There is so much to discuss :)
Nonsense, so he can only date women in her 40s who are actually pedos unlike him who is forced into this situation.
Did I say that anywhere? 🙄🙄🙄
As other responses said it's fiction, so it would be no problem to just keep romance out of this show to not go into this whole topic.
It's of course a possibility that he will be honest to her and tell her, which would change the entire situation and would be an interesting narrative plot point.
20...last time I remember that is a consenting adult. Stop projecting this bullshit. Its a show. Drama. Fiction.…
Normally I have zero problems with age gaps. But it's not normal. Yes, he is reborn. But he retained basically every experience, memory and feeling he had in his prior life. So he is not a 20 year old guy. He is (except physically) in his 40s.
And it's never okay to begin a relationships under false pretenses. It doesn't matter if it's secretly married, false identity or in this case the fictional scifi reborn another identity. It's just something I really dislike.
If you have no problem: Fine, idc. But I can dislike it and say why I dislike it 🙄
The romance is really bad. I basically hate it. He is a 40something guy with an actual whole other identity, who wants to get with a 20-year-old. And she doesn't know. Meaning she never really consents to the actual real situation. It has some really bad (and potential horrifying) implications.
A really fantastic show overall. But I do prefer the first half, before Jae Hyun went to Yonder. As soon as the setting became Yonder, the future happenings were very obvious. Furthermore, it was more of showing their experiences in Yonder while leaving the heavy insinuations and questions behind (the non-consensualness of forcing Jae Hyun into this situation, Yi Hoo's choice basically murdering Jae Hyun, what makes a person, can a memory construct like Peachs' father actually be a sentient being?....)
And I am in love with the acting, cinematography, use of music and directing. It came together beautifully.
Cheolie didn't deserve to die but I don't think he is blameless in his own death , he was a messed up kid that…
Agree in your points with the kids. It's bitter irony that Cheolie taught Jong-Suk his dangerous philosophy and that it's needed to kill to be free and save. And he taught that by involving an utterly innocent cat. And then Cheolie asked Jong-Suk to help him (even by force) to reach his goals If he falters. Well, that was a success.
Regarding adult!Jong-Suk: His actions became more and more horrible no doubt, but I think it's because Kyung-Min awakened that dormant mindset (portrayed by His delusions of Cheolie). So in his mind he was basically in the same Situation as in the past, coupled with the same mindset. Meaning he had a become a monster to survive and not be a pig, and you do that by killing (like the cat and then Cheolie).
Wow. What an amazing drama. The end was phantastic. "Let's go meet Cheolie" indeed.
It was such a fitting end and seeing them dead and then the visual of them as happy kids overlayed on top of them was just heartbreaking. It just dropkicks you again into the realization that it's a goddamn tragedy and that their fate could have been changed if someone would have helped and stood up for all three of them.
I didn't read the novel, but I read some comments how she was barely there. That's kinda sad. And annoying.
You got attacked for that? Woah, that's really horrible. As you stated, it's very common all over the world and needs to be adressed and talked about. You bring up a great point with the single parents. I read a bit about the difficulties of single mothers in Korea, and it would be great to explore that in kdramas.
Regarding MY again: I guess most of the comments saying she is not really needed mostly consider the first half of the show. Because, let's be honest, if we mentally cut her scenes out from the first half, almost nothing in the story would change. And that's a really bad sign for a character. Additionally, most of her scenes were (due to the love line) very similiar and didn't give a lot of insight into her as a person or her development. And impact+getting to know a character means connecting the viewers with the character. If that is lacking I understand why so many feel that she is unnecessary. I actually root for MY and her development and hope she becomes her own person during the rest of the show.
And not every complaint is because of (internal) misogyny or jealousy of their celebrity crush. Using this as an argument to slap down every bit of criticism is kinda annoying.
I actually like MY as a character on her own, but the way she was written in the first half of the show did her zero favours. The entire writing involving their relationship was lazy as hell.
She appeared in a few scenes either snapping or staring at DJ, in an unending repetition. In universe it went on for years without any change. And I really need more to root for a relationship.
It was as if the writer was too lazy to actually build their relationship, basically throwing the ball to the director and editor, who only used the same basic and stale cues to force the viewer to acknowledge the fact that romance is supposed to happen right now (good looking man+woman standing next to each other, romantic bg music...). And it seems so lazy, especially in contrast to the other writing, making it standout in a bad way even more.
It sometimes seems to me as the writer was forced to include her this early, but had no idea what to do with her, just scrawling down the most basic of interactions. And tbh MY deserves more. FLs in general deserve more (especially better writing and motivations that are not wrapped around a man)
In some scenes he looks utterly terrifying. I would rather meet some kdrama villains/killers than get into the crosshairs of this ruthless business grandpa.
At the same time LSM does portray the vulnerability and care for his family. And it's so great. One of the best scenes was at the end of episode 6, when he officially met the chessboard opponent.
It's a show that really stays with me. The more time passes, the more I appreciate and think of it.
In a TV medium it is not that easy. The watcher can be made aware of it, but as shows thrive by 'show don't tell', it's not as easy as for example the narrator mentioning it in their though process. It still can be done of course, by the characters actions, body language, behaviour towards other people, narrating voiceover or even explicit conversations about feelings/thoughts.
And if we look at the first 3 episodes nothing really says or hints that the 'waking up in another body' ultimately changed him. I consider him still as Hwa Young, who just had ten years in another body additional to his years as Hwa Young. Who he is and was as a person ultimately didn't change, as his actual formative years (original child- +teenager- +adulthood) already happened.
Yes, he bonded with his new family the actual Soonyang outsiders he had no beef with (I actually love his relationship with Jin dad and brother), but I think he still considers his OG family as his actual family. He still visits them after 10 years (Side note: I theorize that due to that they will be pulled into the future twisty game), is very aware and very passionate about privilige (talk with Min Young about her privilige in contrast to his actual working class background).
Including other actions like his utter disinterest in girls so far, even with 19/20, until MY, shows in my perception that he is still the OG Hwa Young in every way except physical (Compare Cher. She is 76 but looks younger due to plastic surgery. HY/DJ looks younger due to time travel). Meaning this second puberty had like zero effect on him. I think then it's understandable why he had no interest in such young girls/women so far.
On another note: It will be really interesting on how the ten years emotional bonding to the parts of the Jin family (parents, brother, grandparents) who were not part of his original life and death will play out and how it will effect his emotions and choices. Great potential there.
Sorry for rambling, but I actually love time travel very much. There is so much to discuss :)
As other responses said it's fiction, so it would be no problem to just keep romance out of this show to not go into this whole topic.
It's of course a possibility that he will be honest to her and tell her, which would change the entire situation and would be an interesting narrative plot point.
Good for you that you have another opinion. 🤷
And it's never okay to begin a relationships under false pretenses. It doesn't matter if it's secretly married, false identity or in this case the fictional scifi reborn another identity. It's just something I really dislike.
If you have no problem: Fine, idc. But I can dislike it and say why I dislike it 🙄
He is a 40something guy with an actual whole other identity, who wants to get with a 20-year-old. And she doesn't know. Meaning she never really consents to the actual real situation. It has some really bad (and potential horrifying) implications.
Otherwise, I really enjoy the show.
But I do prefer the first half, before Jae Hyun went to Yonder. As soon as the setting became Yonder, the future happenings were very obvious. Furthermore, it was more of showing their experiences in Yonder while leaving the heavy insinuations and questions behind (the non-consensualness of forcing Jae Hyun into this situation, Yi Hoo's choice basically murdering Jae Hyun, what makes a person, can a memory construct like Peachs' father actually be a sentient being?....)
And I am in love with the acting, cinematography, use of music and directing. It came together beautifully.
Regarding adult!Jong-Suk: His actions became more and more horrible no doubt, but I think it's because Kyung-Min awakened that dormant mindset (portrayed by His delusions of Cheolie). So in his mind he was basically in the same Situation as in the past, coupled with the same mindset. Meaning he had a become a monster to survive and not be a pig, and you do that by killing (like the cat and then Cheolie).
All 3 are just walking tragedies.
It was such a fitting end and seeing them dead and then the visual of them as happy kids overlayed on top of them was just heartbreaking. It just dropkicks you again into the realization that it's a goddamn tragedy and that their fate could have been changed if someone would have helped and stood up for all three of them.