Platinum Fox

I will support you in that thinking, but for a different reason. The writing of it was super clever and witty. It is one of the best parodies I have seen on kdrama tropes. It is also a parody on the movie, Spellbound which it is based on. One of the characters in the movie is a romcom writer. This drama is an homage to that character.

Viewers just wanted a simple detective style drama where they didn't have to think about anything. jmo

In appearance they should be a good match as they are equal in status and both are working towards becoming the CEO of their respective companies. However, like this show points out looks can be deceiving for good or for bad.

Actually, the grandmother asked the mother to terminate the adoption, but mom refused. Min Hwan overhears them, and this began his inferiority complex which drove him to kill Ji Hwan in the end. So grandma basically caused Ji Hwan's death because of her comment. It is a self fulfilling prophecy.

It also didn't help that they were sending him abroad to study business. In Korean dramas, it seems like to me, if a child can't handle something, the parents send the child abroad.

Happy drama watching.

Ji Hwan's granny (as grannies always know best) had the necklace made for Ji Hwan because she had a premonition that Min Hwan was going to kill Ji Hwan. It was supposed to protect him from death. This is why Ji Hwan's granny went to the mother and wanted the mom to terminate Min Hwan's adoption papers. Mom, who seems so loving, refused and said that Min Hwan is also a part of the family as well, but they were going to send him abroad to study. Because Min Hwan overheard them talking, this drove him to not feel loved. Because of this inferiority complex, he killed Ji Hwan. So granny's premonition was true, but she is the one who caused it. Sometimes we are are own worst enemy.

The necklace just symbolized her guilt for surviving while Ji Hwan died. The necklace was supposed to protect him from dying, but it didn't as she had it. She had survivor's guilt. It is only when she was able to talk with Ji Hwan and he comforts her by saying, "I will gladly die for you that she is able to forgive herself for living in his place. Yet, even when she could see ghosts, she still helped them and didn't ignore them.

The drama is all about how we allow certain things in our life to run it. Yeo Ri allowed the ghosts to run her life until Prosecutor Ma stepped in. PM's granny allowed superstition to run her life. Min Hwan allowed his inferiority complex to run his life. While there were literal ghosts, there were also figurative ghosts, the ghosts in this drama are our guilt, fear, happiness, past, or whatever it is that we allow to run our lives.

The ghosts didn't disappear from this drama. They were just in different forms, and viewers couldn't or refused to see that. jmo

Yes, I have often watched kdramas and said, "This reminds me of the movie..." They seem to be movies that are older ones like from the 80s and 90s.

How have you been?

I still haven't watched If Life Gives You Tangerines. The main actress in it is IU. I have tried to watch several of her dramas and have made it through three episodes before giving up. Just tried to watch Hotel del Luna and had to stop because it is just the female version of Guardian: The Lonely God or Goblin. I made it through 13 1/2 episodes and just had to stop because of how illogical it was and there was no chemistry between the leads, except the guy leads (bromance).

Got any good recommendations? I just finished Spooky in Love. The reviews for that would scare anyone away, but it is actually a good remake of the movie Spellbound. It has Park Eun Bin in it.

Have a great week and happy drama watching.

I have to agree with you on that. I struggle to find intelligently written kdramas anymore. For me, this is an expertly written parody on all genres of romcom. But to each our own.

No, it is not a Ghostbuster's type of drama. It is a parody on kdrama ghost genre dramas that answers the question, "what is scary about love?"

As I wrote to another commenter who had the same question. Why waste screen time on Park Seung Jae death? Yeo Ri already knows who killed him. Remember the four of them were on the yacht: Ji Hwan, Min Hwan, Yeo Ri, and Park Seung Jae. Ji Hwan is dead. Yeo Ri didn't kill him, and Park Seung Jae is the one who is bribing them. Who is left? Also, Yeo Ri does not give justice to ghosts who do not deserve it. Does Park Seung Jae deserve justice? His death is poetic justice. Also, there is a scene where Yeo Ri is sitting at her office desk, and a black figure glitches behind her like it is trying to get through. The next we know Ji Hwan is in front of her. Is the glitching ghost Ji Hwan or Park Seung Jae? My thought is Ji Hwan needed to get through because he needed to tell Yeo Ri about the white truck of doom as how did she know Gang uk was in trouble in the first place?

As to the florist's ghost, remember Yeo Ri asked if the flowers were from the florist they usually used and the Mr. Bong said, "Yes." She knew right then that there was something wrong. When she called the florist her suspicions were confirmed. For me, this is the only time the writer made a mistake in the writing. As Yeo Ri could have just told the truth about the flower arrangements not being the way they usually were. She grew concerned and when she called she wasn't satisfied with the answer, and went out to discuss it with the owner. Once she was there she stumbled upon his dead body. Ha Ri could have filmed all that as well. But the writer seemed to want to throw another ghost moment with the can and have a tender moment between PM and YR.

As I have repeatedly said throughout this drama. The literal ghosts disappeared for two episodes, but in those episodes we got more of the backstory on Ji Hwan's death (our main ghost) and our living, breathing
ghosts (figurative): Yeo Ri, Min Hwan, and Han Se-in. Also, they weren't in Singapore long enough for the local ghosts to hunt her out. It would have looked bad if the hotel where they stayed was haunted. But they did give us symbols of death. In Min Hwan and Yeo Ri's rooms there are stuffed owls which in traditional Malay culture means harbingers of death, bad luck, and disaster. In modern Malay culture they mean good fortune and wisdom. Prosecutor Ma is also included in that as when he and Yeo Ri walk down the hall there is a stain glass window with an owl on it. All three of our main characters have had something happen to them around death and dying. All three characters also represent the new belief as well.

For me, the created a parody on romcoms which reflect something that is in the movie. One of Yu Ri's friends in the movie is a romcom drama writer.

Hope this helps. Happy drama watching.

Yes, for me, this drama is a parody on kdrama romcoms based on one of the characters in the movie.

Yes, I have had a good laugh at all the commenters on here who complained about such little things which is why I wrote my original post.

I have watched the movie several times. Twice within the last couple of weeks just to see what easter eggs, they put in the drama from the movie.

My biggest fear is that they are going to keep Min Hwan as a really bad villain. I have had second lead syndrome throughout the entire drama. Not that I wish him with Yeo Ri, but I want him to have a happy ending. He deserves it. He only did what he does to Yeo Ri, to get her and his family to acknowledge him. He is a ghost to them. I know most viewers wouldn't agree with me.

In my book, Park Seung Jae's death was poetic justice.

Happy drama watching.

No, it was not the wrong shirt. Since the white t-shirt had to be cut off of him in order to place the paddles on him, he had to wear the black shirt that he had on over the white shirt. Our boy has learned that he needs to wear two shirts as Yeo Ri keeps ripping them off.

Because Ji Hwan gave the necklace to Yeo Ri, it went against the natural order of how things were suppose to go in the yacht incident. Ji Hwan was supposed to live and Yeo Ri was to die. In order to right the wrong done at that time, Yeo Ri needs to "die" and give the necklace back to the original owner, Ji Hwan. It will not resurrect him, but it will allow him to move on into the afterlife if he so desires.

I have three guesses as to the ending: my first guess is Prosecutor Ma will place the necklace back on Yeo Ri, so that she will survive. And she can return it to Ji Hwan. My second guess is that Ji Hwan after helping Yeo Ri find closure for his death and giving a good scare to Min Hwan, will gladly sacrifice his life as he said he would on the boat. No matter what scenario plays out Ji Hwan will still remain dead (unless they do a zombie). Third, Prosecutor Ma will keep the necklace as he has Ji Hwan's heart, so it will protect him from seeing ghosts, but it will also protect him death which is what his grandmother is so afraid of. This way the two can be together without him being terrorized by ghosts. For me, the third ending is the weakest ending as it would change how the movie ended. The movie had a beautiful ending.

What the writer has done in the drama is help the viewer visualize what the movie didn't explain but left to the viewer's imagination. I won't say anymore in case you are planning to watch the movie.

As to the text that Yeo Ri got, it was Min Hwan who sent the text, not Park Seung Jae.

Hope this helps, happy drama watching.

Remember in order for her to get rid of seeing ghosts there must be a sacrifice! Ji Hwan sacrificed himself on the yacht, now it is her turn to sacrifice herself for Ji Hwan's heart. He needs to be able to go to the afterlife. Also, how did Yeo Ri know that Gang uk was going to be hit by the white truck in the first place? Ji Hwan told her.

What Park Seung Jae said at the beginning of the drama is so true. You can manipulate public opinion at the drop of a hat. The same goes for this drama. At first, commenters were angry when this show wasn't a detective style drama when the title, Spooky in Love, clearly shows it is a romance that will be spooky. Not a detective style drama where the romance is a subplot.

Secondly, commenters were angry when the literal ghosts didn't show up in a couple of episodes. They felt the writer had lost her way. The writer clearly showed the audience in the first 20 minutes of the drama that she was going to poke fun at and use every definition, idiom, and symbol pertaining to spooky, horror, ghosts, death, and love. This included the traditional beliefs (superstitions) of a country as well as the modern beliefs, literal and figurative ghosts, and many more. Watch to spot them yourself.

Finally, viewers have been angry with the writer for using every kdrama romcom trope there is saying it showed lazy writing. When clearly (or maybe not) the writer used them to manipulate the audience, so she can set up for the final grand illusion. Every trope used in this drama was to either further the plot, illustrated a theme, provided humor, or all three. They were not used because of lazy writing. Also, the tropes reflect one of Yu Ri's (movie spelling) friends in the movie who is a romcom drama writer.

It has been a wild and wonderful ride. I wish I could watch this drama again for the first time, but since I can't, I will settle for watching time and time again to spot all the creative ways the writer illustrated the themes and characters of the drama and movie.

Happy drama watching!

Major spoilers on the structure of the drama below:

No, as the audience is not watching it in the spirit (pun intended) which it should be watched. This drama is one big magic horror illusion which is the main theme of the movie.

So was that an inside joke in episode three where he was told he was the third choice for the job?

The ghosts haven't disappeared; they are just in a different form, living breathing people. No one has talked about how Yeo Ri and Min Hwan are almost always shown in split screen with one side being crystal clear and the other a reflection or hazy. No other characters are shown like this.

Maybe like the drama has been saying, "You need to look below the surface of a person." Maybe that person has a good reason for being what you call a red flag.

In this drama, Yeo Ri is the red flag female as she can literally make people see ghosts. Because of this, she chooses to live an isolated life, and because of this choice people say mean and nasty things about her. Her reputation and image are dragging down the company stock. She is a water ghost like Ha Ri said. But is she really that kind of person?

And you have Min Hwan who hasn't harmed a hair on Yeo Ri's head even though he has been rejected twice. Yet, pretty much every viewer has expressed that he most likely had something to do with his brother death. Now, is he trying to ruin her company? Maybe yes, maybe no? All he wants is for CL and Reina Hotels to merge. Since Yeo Ri won't do it with him the easy way, he is going to do it the hard way. All is fair in love and business.

I thought it was a very tender moment when Min Hwan gives Yeo Ri a set of gloves. Not only had no one given her any, but they remind us of what she did for Min Hwan back in high school when her hands protected his ears. Now, he is protecting her hands from harming anyone. He understands why she wears gloves and why she isolates herself. Is a bad guy or just out to make a name for himself in the hotel world?

The drama has been saying we make assumptions all the time about people. Both men and women can be abusers. Research has actually shown that more men are physically abused by women. The statistics are skewed because men don't report it, unlike women. Women have been encouraged to report it. Men, on the other hand, have been taught to hide it as it will make them look like less of a man. jmo

Happy drama watching.

First, no, Yeo Ri is not a literal ghost. She is a figurative ghost. After her failed marriage attempt six years ago, she decides to live an isolated life with ghosts as her only friends (the bride ghost). Her employees say really mean things about her and the dress designer says, "So this is what you look like." Meaning Yeo Ri is someone who doesn't socialize like most CEO's do (they network). So that image illustrates that she can see her employees, but they can't see her. She is a ghost to them. It also sets up for the ghost story in episode 10.

As for Ji Hwan, he is shown standing behind Yeo Ri (she can't see him), but he is also reflected in the mirror. Cha Gi saw him. Also, we know that Min Hwan was standing off to the side and saw everything. Now, did he see Ji Hwan? We don't know as he has the pendant. We also see illustrated what a water ghost is and does (ex-fiance/elevator). We also see him like you said through a water vision.

In the first 20 minutes of the drama, the drama writer illustrates that he is going to play on every definition, idiom, and symbol of ghost, death, superstition, spooky, good fortune, and love. He has done it really well. I am still trying to find all the symbols (lions, crows, owls, bats). Puns at least English ones: Seoul/soul, geoul/ghoul (mirror). I am sure there are more, but I do not speak or read Korean. So I am sure I am missing many of them.

I hope this drama wins many awards as it has been excellently acted, filmed, written, and directed and has a wonderful message, "stop looking only at the surface of things, dig a little deeper. If you don't, you will miss something beautiful. " jmo

As for Yeo Ri herself being a literal ghost, it is quite possible as in the movie Yu Ri plays a fake ghost in the magic show. The writer seems to doing the opposite concepts when it comes to ghosts.

In movie, the main ghost is a girl/drama boy.
In movie, Yu Ri asks to try on the necklace and ghost gives in/drama the boy wants her to wear the necklace. Yeo Ri is reluctant to wear it.
The main ghost creates havoc for Yu Ri/ in the drama living person, Min Hwan creates havoc for Yeo Ri in the drama.

So it could be quite possible that the final illusion is that Yeo Ri is a literal ghost. We shall see.

Happy drama watching.