DramaHeroine

I have neither. So I have nothing to distract me from the fact that I have 5 days to wait for next weeks eps, lol.

This is too accurate, lol.

Someone actually commented down below a quote from the scriptwriter in an interview that makes everything make sense. I'll copy it here:

https://www.tatlerasia.com/culture/entertainment/korean-screenwriter-chung-seo-kyung-interview

"You mentioned you’re working on a new TV project. Can you tell us more about that?

Yes, I’m working with the director of Vincenzo for a Korean adaptation of Little Women. The leading actresses are Kim Go-eun and Nam Ji-hyun while the male lead is Hwi Ha-joon from Squid Game. I actually read the book, Little Women when I was young and I really loved it.

Recently, I had the chance to read it again when working on this drama and I find that it’s a bit boring and not interesting anymore. The sisters are too nice in the books and I don’t think young people are really like that these days. The Korean adaptation isn’t going to be exactly like the book, some things will remain the same like of course, there will three sisters and their personalities will remain more or else the same."

It hasn't been obvious to me. Aside from the synopsis being different, I hadn't been seeing much else out there about this drama that signaled to potential viewers whether it would or would not be a true adaptation, but it says below the synopsis that it is an adaptation, and that inherently comes with expectations. Personally, I think if you're going to say that a story is based on or adapted from something else, it should actually be based on or adapted from that thing, not just take bits and pieces the writer likes and throw out everything else, so I think my point stands that they can just create their own story. That may not be how others feel about it, but it is how I feel.

I think it's hard to decide based on the information we were given. Sometimes it's difficult to parse through people's feelings and perceptions and get to the truth of a situation, even without the complication of disabilities like Autism being involved, and I think this is one of those types of situations. The young woman's relationship with her mother is obviously complicated, and her mother is almost certainly using her fear as an excuse for directing her daughter's life to some extent. But there's also a strong possibility that the young man really was taking advantage of the young woman and didn't truly love her. And then we have to factor in how the young woman feels and wants, and maybe she is allowed to make bad decisions, no matter how much any of us might wish we could stop her from doing so. It's just a complicated problem that doesn't have a simple answer.

I think presenting the case in this way was probably an intentional decision on the part of the writers, using it as a way of making the viewer think more critically about this sort of thing as well as to draw a parallel to Young Woo and her own difficulties with being seen as a fully-fledged human being with her own legitimate thoughts and desires and agency.

For me, this episode made me want to be more careful in how I analyze other people and their choices. Even if I believe their choices are wrong.

I wouldn't worry too much. I'm sure they'll deal with opposition and judgement, and there might be missteps and mistakes, but I think the drama is pretty clear that they will end up together in a happy and healthy relationship, regardless of others' opinions.

Just read in someone's comment below (6 days ago) that this is Not going to be a faithful retelling. They kept the personalities of three of the sisters, and it looks like they scrapped the rest.

The screenwriter also called the original book boring/not interesting anymore, so there's that.

Reading this confirms what I've been thinking about this drama's synopsis, and now I really wish they weren't calling it an adaptation of the novel but just treating it as its own thing.

And the book is boring/not interesting anymore? Okay. Then why make an adaptation? Why not just...write your own story???

How do we know that she's already died in this version? My assumption is that they just cut her character from the story completely.

I don't think that 1964 drama is based on the book. I think it was its own thing. The 2004 one might be based on the book, but as there's not really much info on the drama page, we don't really know.

The synopsis is a little difficult to follow, isn't it?

I think it's meant to be an adaptation of the book, but the synopsis is very different.

I'm pretty sure Nam Ji Hyun is meant to be Jo and Park Ji Hoo is meant to be Amy. But the synopsis makes me think this isn't even going to be a faithful retelling of Little Women, so all bets are off, honestly.

This synopsis is pretty different from the storyline of the novel, so I wouldn't trust this drama to be very similar.

Here are the major differences between the book and this drama that I can see just from the synopsis:

*This 'major incident' with a 'wealthy family'. Nothing like that happens in the book. Yes, their family is on the poorer side, but there's no epic battle against the rich and powerful. All of the sisters go through their own trajectory of growth and maturity to do with their relationship with money, but it's a personal trajectory for each of them. Meg yearns to be a polished young woman like some of the young ladies she knows who live more privileged lifestyles than her, Amy is the spoiled youngest child who wants fine things and to always be the center of attention, Jo laments the fact that if she had more money she could actually pursue her dreams but instead she's stuck trying to convince others to invest in her and her talent. What these young women experience is a battle within themselves for contentment and self-satisfaction. The story is about them growing up and discovering what's really important to them.

It's Not actually about money at all.

*This drama has the Mystery genre and the synopsis makes mention of some sort of mystery to be solved, but there is zero mystery in the original novel whatsoever. I don't have any other thoughts on this other than why???

*They've completely deleted Beth, the fourth sister. First she dies in the book, and now she's been nuked from orbit like she never existed. Poor girl can't catch a break. I guess they're allowed to remove her character if they want to, but it feels like such a waste. Beth was very important in the novel and played a central role in a particularly poignant portion of the original story. Removing her just...ugh, it hurts.

I'm very cautious about this drama for now. The part about going up against the 'wealthiest family' and there being a mystery to solve gives the whole thing a very different feeling from the original novel. Maybe the drama will come out, and it will be closer to the original then the synopsis makes it sound, but for now, I'm trusting my drama instinct and saying this is going to a pretty significant diversion from the source material, in which case, Why Not Just Be Your Own Thing, Drama??? That's allowed.

If this is based on or even just inspired by Little Women, I'm interested to watch it, but the synopsis we've been given is not the story of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Alcott's Little Women has four sisters (and the 4th sister plays a pivotal role at one point in the story), the family is on the poorer side but there is no 'fight' against a rich and influential family, and the story has a very strong focus on romance. And those are just the obvious differences that I can see right off the bat. If the drama writers want to tell a story of a trio of sisters going up against a rich family, they should just tell that story. They didn't need to act like this is going to be based on the novel.

The original Little Women is a totally different story. The connection between it and this drama is tenuous at best, from what I can tell.

Random English on products were really common in Korea when I was there in 2012. I assume it's probably still the case now.

I'm behind on the episodes, because I've been on a week-long trip, but so far, I've been happy with how all of the characters have been written. Even the characters that aren't getting much screentime have still been interesting and added something to the story.

It made me so mad when his colleague chastised him the way he did. It's obviously a tough situation to be in, but you should never be angry at someone for doing the right thing, even if it has frustrating consequences.