Ep 11 and 12 would have explained better in a way for u 🙌
Thanks for commenting! I will have to trust you on that one - I couldn't get there. The episodes were so long and the plot twists and rescues kept repeating.
Yes even my review is similar…. One of the worst male lead character written in c drama history
Yes! I was shocked at the writing actively explaining that all these red flags just actually showed how deep/intense his love was. Or how he might seem bad on the outside, but that's because you can't see his heart etc. So many of the modern c-dramas, either 1) try to model good equal partnership relationships or 2) make it clear that the toxic romance is toxic and not healthy or good. This is such a backslide/deparature.
Agree i honestly think the first season was better even with the bittersweet ending. The second season is like…
100%. Couldn't agree more. I am very happy with Season 1, and they really should have left it there and maybe have a short mini series as an epilogue if they really wanted. At this point, the writers were essentially copying plot points from a bad daytime drama and relying on the good will and strengths of the production to carry it through. At least with a bad daytime drama, you can laugh at the ridiculousness, but this is also very dramatic and slow so you don't even have that.
I agree, Deok Im’s voicelessness bothered me towards the end. Especially with the three year time skip I thought…
100% agree. The time skip made the whole series feel more like a 'prologue' than a completed story and totally flipped focus off Deok Im as if the Crown Prince was the main character all along. Thank you for commenting!
I'm coming to this super late, but I disagree on a number of points on It's Okay to Not be OK. I I can speak to the accuracy of the show's depictions of psychological issues, emotional issues and how to process them to get to a place where you can connect with other people and feel joy. It was actually far more accurate about interior states/emotional states of people who survive trauma than any popular depiction of childhood trauma I've seen.
The main theme of the show is family/childhood/adolescent trauma and potential roads to radical acceptance and contentment, joy in the aftermath. This is illustrated by the 3 main characters, as well as the the 'stories of the week.'
As with many who go through significant, unprocessed childhood trauma, the series opens with 3 adults who are struggling to cope with their day to day lives and all 3 may have some sort of PTSD. On top of that, they seem to all have different psychological issues: Mun Yeong (neurodivergent, antisocial/narcissism), Gang Tae (Major Depressive Disorder maybe a bit codependent) and Sang Tae (Panic disorder)
While superficially people would be confused why they were drawn to each other since they are all so different, it is very common actually for people who have been through childhood trauma to sense and seek out others who also have. You often feel unique/outside the norm.
In light of that, Sang Tae has untreated PTSD and untreated episodes of panic that are affecting his day to day functioning and ability to thrive, be at peace and be independent. I didn't feel it was his autism that was presented as something to be solved - indeed it was fairly explicit that Gang Tae was seeking out treatment for Sang Tae for his PTSD/panic.
In light of that, Gang Tae has untreated major depressive disorder (and perhaps PTSD though this is a little less clear for him) and thus views EVERYTHING as a burden and obligation, and has trouble feeling any joy in his life circumstances or planning for the future. This is a normal expression and state of mind for someone with major depressive disorder. It turns out, 2/3 through the show that he believes he does not deserve to feel joy because when he was child he once entertained the idea of letting his brother drown and he feels intense shame for this and he has never processed or come to terms with these feelings. It's very explicit that Gang Tae has unresolved issues that are his own responsibility and not on his brother.
In light of that, Mun Yueng's untreated PTSD and the effects of trauma with her parents are the reasons that she is self-sabotaging her life and rejecting human connection. She feels she is destined to be like her mother just like her father predicted. Once she realizes that she does not have a full dark tetrad type of personality like her mother, that her father's judgment was clouded and inappropriate to write off a child like that. She allows herself to open up and connect and be vulnerable.
The traumas and emotional states are all extremely well depicted on the show. Is the resolution too quick, abrupt and dramatic? Sure, but the psychological aspects of trauma: 1) always feeling your nightmare is just around the corner to jump out at you (and in highly abusive situations this actually CAN be factually true along with feeling true) 2) having to confront the nightmare and tell it that you are not defined by it and can choose differently (often done in the safety of a therapist office through exercises! Not actually as done in the show!)
I am sure that the Chinese sensors probably wouldn't have accepted a "kid destroys his maternal family roots"…
Yes it definitely seems like there were potential different endings they were working with. Though, I can recall at least one Chinese Drama (Le Coupe de Foudre) where there is some approval of cutting out an abusive parent who can't get better.
Yeah coming from PTSD that was not it. She had untreated grief in the begining of the plot but after that nope…
Yeah, agreed.! If i'd had to stay what type of disorder I'd have thought they were trying to depict borderline personality disorder and vulnerable narcissistic traits. Regardless if it's that or bipolar or npd, t most people who have this complex a problem do not magically get better, if anything they usually get worse, and the road to recovery and therapy is difficult. Also from a safety perspective she's a dangerous person to be around children no matter what she has.
You put in words exactly what I felt, especially in the beginning, re the " evil exaggerated caricature in the…
Thank you for your very thoughtful comment! I watched this over a year ago, and I still am annoyed about the amount of screen time devoted to the evil priest - I almost dropped. I really liked the power corrupts aspect too, and the show still lingers on for me so I'm glad I stuck with it. Look forward to reading your reviews.
I feel the same way but I just put in on hold for now - I got up to 26 but just couldn't make it past the mind…
Glad I am not alone! I admire your persistence. I too had seen the discussion about how it improves (some said past episode 20 and others past 26), but I just couldn't stick with it.
The main theme of the show is family/childhood/adolescent trauma and potential roads to radical acceptance and contentment, joy in the aftermath. This is illustrated by the 3 main characters, as well as the the 'stories of the week.'
As with many who go through significant, unprocessed childhood trauma, the series opens with 3 adults who are struggling to cope with their day to day lives and all 3 may have some sort of PTSD. On top of that, they seem to all have different psychological issues: Mun Yeong (neurodivergent, antisocial/narcissism), Gang Tae (Major Depressive Disorder maybe a bit codependent) and Sang Tae (Panic disorder)
While superficially people would be confused why they were drawn to each other since they are all so different, it is very common actually for people who have been through childhood trauma to sense and seek out others who also have. You often feel unique/outside the norm.
In light of that, Sang Tae has untreated PTSD and untreated episodes of panic that are affecting his day to day functioning and ability to thrive, be at peace and be independent. I didn't feel it was his autism that was presented as something to be solved - indeed it was fairly explicit that Gang Tae was seeking out treatment for Sang Tae for his PTSD/panic.
In light of that, Gang Tae has untreated major depressive disorder (and perhaps PTSD though this is a little less clear for him) and thus views EVERYTHING as a burden and obligation, and has trouble feeling any joy in his life circumstances or planning for the future. This is a normal expression and state of mind for someone with major depressive disorder. It turns out, 2/3 through the show that he believes he does not deserve to feel joy because when he was child he once entertained the idea of letting his brother drown and he feels intense shame for this and he has never processed or come to terms with these feelings. It's very explicit that Gang Tae has unresolved issues that are his own responsibility and not on his brother.
In light of that, Mun Yueng's untreated PTSD and the effects of trauma with her parents are the reasons that she is self-sabotaging her life and rejecting human connection. She feels she is destined to be like her mother just like her father predicted. Once she realizes that she does not have a full dark tetrad type of personality like her mother, that her father's judgment was clouded and inappropriate to write off a child like that. She allows herself to open up and connect and be vulnerable.
The traumas and emotional states are all extremely well depicted on the show. Is the resolution too quick, abrupt and dramatic? Sure, but the psychological aspects of trauma: 1) always feeling your nightmare is just around the corner to jump out at you (and in highly abusive situations this actually CAN be factually true along with feeling true) 2) having to confront the nightmare and tell it that you are not defined by it and can choose differently (often done in the safety of a therapist office through exercises! Not actually as done in the show!)