PoetryInMotion

I mean at least Korea gets suitably cold? Unless your beef is with sweaters in general, in which case we might need to duel at dawn lol

Yeah, that's the outcome I want to see, too - honestly, when I rewatched the episode, I already felt like the moments between Tae Kyung and Da On were not really romantic anymore but rather Tae Kyung being happy his relationship with someone he does genuinely appreciate is back to a good place.

And really, this is also why I don't think I'll ever fully warm up to Da On. Like, he's Mr Nice Guy 99% of the time and his personal growth is truly commendable and impressive, but then every once in a while he just does these THINGS that are just so....casually cruel? Leading on those girls, leaving So Hee to rot in the student council room, leaving during Tae Kyung's confession, now this...idk, I'm just not vibing lol

Yeah...the more I think about it, the more complicated my feelings on this particular topic get. Like, on the one hand, it's great to see Da On overcoming his hangups. I'm also not mad about him pursuing Tae Kyung per se, though it must be overwhelming from Tae Kyung's perspective to have spent all this time putting yourself back together again after heartbreak, during which time the person who broke your heart didn't interact with you at all, only for them to come swooping back in with a grand declaration - even after you told them you want to move on. I mean from that perspective it's..eehhh, but I can overlook that because Da On needed the time to deal with his own emotional turmoil.

What I DON'T like, and I said this last week, is Da On being inconsiderate to Shinwoo. I'm not saying to back off from Tae Kyung, because Tae Kyung should be the one to decide who he wants to be with and not have that decided for him because of someone's misplaced sense of chivalry, but Shinwoo sought out Da On for all these incredibly empathetic conversations - about coming to terms with his feelings for a boy, about finding the courage to pursue those feelings, giving him the heads up that he was going to pursue the boy they both like if Da On wasn't going to - and Da On doesn't really reciprocate. He just sort of went like "hey, guess what, I'm reclaiming my spot now, thanks", sweeping Shinwoo's emotions away as if he's not doubly invested now after spending weeks taking care of Tae Kyung, and I'm just like..???? What? Aren't y'all supposed to be friends? Because surely, friends wouldn't do that...? Surely there was a way to be a bit more sensitive?

Don't be sorry, I like rambling :D And I do it a lot myself.

I also prefer Shin Woo because I think Tae Kyung and him make the better couple, but seeing Da On growing as a person is a real pleasure. I think I already said it last week, but it honestly doesn't matter if Da On gets the boy or not, because he gained something so incredibly valuable by finally standing up for himself and going after what he wants. His future will be so much brighter because of it.
And I agree, all the small details are so wonderful and on point! I think that's one of the reasons why this comments section is so active, people keep discovering new things. When the series ends, I'm going to binge it from the beginning!

I thought that might help :D

Gonna point out a small detail here and then scurry back into my hole - did you notice that Tae Kyung left immediately after Da On told him to go back to the contest, but Shin Woo had to send him away several times because he hesitated to leave so much? ;D

Right?? I love character-driven shows like this where the plot naturally arises out of the different personalities coming together and interacting. I'm enjoying myself so much!
And you're right, there's so many ways this could still go! I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.

Not much to say about EP15 except WOW they're really keeping the roller coaster going, aren't they. While I can't say that it's doing amazing things for my blood pressure, I'm not mad about it? It's a very confusing situation to be in for Tae Kyung, so I'm kind of glad they're keeping things real by not resolving the issue too quickly or cleanly. It's not comfortable, but it's keeping me at the edge of my seat. And they've timed it out perfectly IMO. The uncertainty is at its breaking point of becoming too frustrating, but next episode is the finale so we'll know where things end up, and the resolution is happening at the perfect sweet spot of suspense. Major props to the show runners on that.
In other news, round of applause to Da On, Shinwoo is a babe, I for sooooome reason couldn't see when Namgoong and So Hee were interacting - I'm psyched for Thursday!

I do feel like he cares for him a lot, but I think that a lot of the romantic side of his feelings was a case of hero worship. To me, Tae Kyung and Shinwoo’s interactions, though they are awkward sometimes, feel easy and natural in the sense that they’re communicating at eye level.

That scene gave me a minor mental breakdown, not gonna lie. If they don’t give us that pairing in the show, I’m going to headcanon the shit out of it - I deserve that serotonin as a treat for the emotional roller coaster this show has been putting me through lol

Was too emosh to comment on EP13 until now, so I’m gonna combine my thoughts on 13&14.

EP13 was epic. Paradoxically, sometimes, the more I like something the less I have to say about it, but I do want to get some things off my chest.

I LOVED the conversation between Da On and the teacher. That, alongside the other instances when Da On has these rare, unfiltered conversations with someone, have to rank amongst my favourite moments in the entire series because of how meaningful they are for this character in particular. No matter what awaits Da On in the future (and yes, I’m still hanging on to my Da On/Namgoong ship), the breakthrough he had was momentous and will empower him to lead a life he’s happy with.

The other moment that will stay with me was of course Shinwoo’s confession. Though it became clear in EP14 that Tae Kyung didn’t quite yet grasp the entire meaning of that tremendous line, I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that on a scale from zero to Mr Darcy, that confession was top tier.

One thing I didn’t appreciate so much was Shinwoo’s talk with Da On. When you contrast this one with the one they had previously, I can’t help but feel that Da On came off somewhat badly. Did the claws come out a little on Shinwoo’s part? Definitely. But to me, it’s hard to blame him for that when Da On basically told him “thanks for doing all the emotional labour to deal with the mess that I caused, but I’ll be taking over from here”, as though Shinwoo’s feelings don’t matter. Shinwoo was a lot more sympathetic to Da On previously and I would have liked to see that returned. It’s the same kind of casual cruelty that has already sometimes popped up with Da On; I didn’t appreciate it then and I don’t appreciate it now.

Now with EP14, again I don’t have words for everything, but I do want to quickly talk about So Hee. I’m not going to enter into a debate about whether or not she deserves a redemption arc. We’re obviously getting one. I WILL say, this is a good way to go about it. She finally apologized properly and it was made clear that a betrayal of that proportion will take time to heal from regardless. The only thing I could have done without were the tears during the apology to Da On. Girl, keep it. It felt manipulative and she’s really not in any position to be making demands as to their friendship going forward. Da On has more patience than me with the way he walked back the boundary he set last episode.

Also, Tae Kyung is a lovely little bean. Anyone who’s that interested in and willing to look for the good in people, even people like So Hee, cannot be selfish, and that’s that on that.

This was the best episode yet. I'll come talk about it more once I've stopped crying.

Glad that got resolved, didn't mean to make you question your sanity lol

Yeah, I suspected, but I've learned to tread carefully once the Nazi mentions come out - people have said some truly wild stuff to me about that in the past. My apologies :) And you're right - we only use the third stanza now, though the second is not as bad as the first. Ode to Joy would've been a beautiful choice, but I'm guessing it didn't make the cut in the end because there's nothing explicitly "national" about it.

Ich denk auch nicht, dass die mit Absicht unsere Nationalhymne nehmen wollten, ich denk eher, dass die halt eine Xylophonmelodie gesucht haben und dann dabei gelandet sind, ohne es zu realisieren xD Wenn's echt ne andere Melodie ist, müssen die sich schon sehr ähnlich sein. Ich hab auf anderen Plattformen diverse Leute gesehen, die auch die Hymne rausgehört haben, und aus OP's Kommentar geht ja auch hervor, dass er's so gehört hat. :) Aber bis ins Letzte sicher sein kann ich mir natürlich nicht, dafür müsste ich die Person fragen, die die Musik ausgesucht hat.

"Deutschland über alles" gehört ja wie gesagt nicht mehr zur Hymne dazu ^^ aber wenn du dir diese Xylophon-artige Melodie anhörst, die kommt, während sie im Auto sitzen, ist das die gleiche Melodie wie "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit", kann man sogar mitsingen ^^° bisschen schneller vielleicht, aber definitiv erkennbar

Oh...my god, I'm dying lol. I have no answers to your other questions, but as to the first one, that's not Deutschland über alles, that's just the German national anthem. Deutschland über alles used to be a verse in that, which we don't use anymore for obvious reasons, but the other verses, set to the same melody, are still the same.
Source: I'm German and cringed into the stratosphere during that part
Edit: Unless you know that already and this was sarcasm, in which case my only excuse is that my brain is temporarily melting from the cringe

It's a wild ride emotionally, that's for sure :( Thing is, when Shin Woo said he wouldn't step back anymore? I FELT that. He's really gone above and beyond to make sure that Da On isn't afraid to shoot his shot, so in my mind he's got every right to go full steam ahead now. At the same time, he's so considerate of Tae Kyung's feelings and the heart wants what it wants so like.... :/ I don't know anymore. I'm just strapping in for the rollercoaster at this point.

The thing is, they'd genuinely be good together I think :((( Namgoong's emotionally intelligent out the wazoo, so Da On's tendency to be indirect wouldn't faze him so much, and he could bring out a levity in Da On that would be really beautiful for him, he's so confident and secure in himself which Da On could ALSO learn from and he appreciates and protects him, and....fucking hell. I'm in it now, I'm so fucked, this is all I'll think about today

Guys, when I tell you this episode put me THROUGH IT...! Probably why I had to edit this comment approximately 10 000 times lol

I was proud of Da On, and sad for him too. He's starting to stick up for himself and reaching out. When he told that student to wait because he needed to talk to Tae Kyung first, my heart melted a little. One, because that assertiveness is so good to see from him, and two, because it was subtle but meant so much. At the same time, I can understand why Tae Kyung didn't appreciate the gesture. He's not one for indirect communication anyway, and it must have felt like too little too late as well.

I usually HATE HATE HATE the faux chivalry of "oh no, don't be with me, I don't deserve you" because you don't get to decide for another person how they should feel, but surprisingly I didn't mind it so much this time because after that failed attempt at reconciliation Da On must have truly felt that he couldn't be what Tae Kyung needs.

Namgoong is truly everything of the sort. Also, am I the only one whom the Namgoong x Da On ship hit like a truck?? I know it's probably a ghost ship, but man, that scene.....

Shin Woo is an angel, period. Teeny tiny bit pushy with Da On, maybe, but you can tell it comes from a good place. He deserves the world, but unfortunately we all know that feelings don't work like that.

It's....interesting to me that the show keeps playing both sides as to who Tae Kyung will end up with. I debated with myself whether I liked it or not, and ultimately decided that I do like it - because this episode showed that there are ways in which both options could turn out to be The One. Also, one aspect that is often overlooked in romance dramas, and which I appreciate seeing here, is that successful relationships are not only about feelings, but also about choices. The deepest love means nothing if you're not compatible in day-to-day life, and there's always more than one person who could be a good match for you, so what matters in the end is what you decide. The person that is right for you, ultimately, is the one you choose, every day.

Now that I think about it, this is also a fun nod to the source material, where your choice literally is how you end up with whichever character.