PrettyCarEye

GoF, just passing by your profile after reading your comments about Woman Who Marries 3x. What a disaster that show was. I'm so glad I only followed it thru my friend's recaps because I'd've surely destroyed my TV if I had watched it myself. I've read up on the writer and learnt that her ultra conservative views on family & society often seep into her dramas ... yeah, no sh*t! Anyway, I've blacklisted all her dramas. I watch TV to have fun & relax, not to be pissed off. Anyway, I see you're watching Wonderful Days. Of course I have to watch this because Mr. Lee is in it, but here again ... a writer I don't trust. People have been telling me it's not only pretty melodramatic but makjang too. If this is true god help me ...
What do you think about it?

Read some recaps. Sooooo glad I didn't waste my time watching this stupid drama! The writer is well known for her staunchly conservative views about family & society. I've blacklisted all her dramas. I don't want to destroy my computer in a rage.

Wow, can't believe he's only 16 yrs old & played in a twisted movie like Moebius!

Oh no. Not good! :)

Good to know. I'll start it as soon as a few more eps are out! I'm too impatient to watch it while they're still so few eps. How is the romance here?

I see. What about Wonderful Days? Is it any better?

Dongsæng, just had a chance to read your recap. Unbelievable what's happening in Woman Who Married 3x! #smh What the hell is that title anyway if it doesn't happen???

Then again I read up on the show a bit (morbid curiosity) & found out the writer is an old lady in her 70s. Apparently she's this veteran TV writer who is very BIG on tradition & Confucian values (given her age, go figure). So basically all her dramas are about desperate housewives living under very oppressive conditions & there are no divorces even if your husband/wife is an asshole, no independence from parents for kids (parents practically treat their kids like property for the rest of their lives), no kissing etc. Needless to say I've blacklisted ALL her dramas.

I already found out the answer, but thx! :) How are you liking Inspiring Generation? Is there any romance?

The infidelity is another thing. Forgot about that. Hate that.

But anyhow, that's what I was saying previously ... the relationship isn't sustainable beyond its initial novelty. The initial novelty is that they're supposedly on the same wavelength now because it's a new, exciting, slightly taboo (because of the 20 yr gap age AND the infidelity) encounter & it's them against the world, but is it really sustainable over time?

I don't think so. A 20 yr old man & a 40 yr old woman can not, by writ of nature, be on the same wavelength mentally or emotionally. Once the novelty of the relationship wears off the vast difference in life experience & maturity will begin to weigh heavily on the relationship. The union then takes on a strong mother/son type of dimension since women on average mature faster than men. So a woman age 43 is often more mature than a man who is also 43. Relationships are hard enough to maintain without these obstacles so what happens WITH them???

A great flaw of mine is that I'm far too pragmatic & rational in my thinking to simply suspend belief & accept whatever I'm told. Therefore, even if the show ends with them living HEA if it doesn't make sense to me I can't accept it as truth.

A drama for me is not just the sum of its episodes, but the warmth of feeling it leaves me with after the final act. When I think of the characters I want to think of them going thru life together & happy. I just can't see that happening for the SLA couple so why bother?

And just so it's said, I would have just the same reservation about the show if the genders were reversed. 20 yrs, regardless of who is older, is too much, even 10 yrs is too much.

For all intents and purposes I should be watching SLA, but I won't.

I have to BELIEVE in the relationship of the main couple - that their romance is sustainable beyond the scope of the drama. I want to picture them in my mind's eye weeks, months, years later & still see them living happily. That's the joy I get from watching dramas. Escapism.

I find the relationship between the leads in SLA unsustainable beyond its initial novelty. In the vast majority of cases a 23 yr old man is not mature enough to maintain a relationship with a woman 20 yrs his senior (I don't understand why the woman would even want to ... but to each their own). In short time he'll leave her for someone on his own wavelength (or she'll leave him, whatever the case) ... which is exactly why I don't do age gap dramas & esp not noona ones. It caters to a fantasy that I personally don't have -- wanting to date a much younger man -- so there's no incentive for me to watch it. :)

Say that to the annoying 2nd male lead too! I just don't get why these characters are featured so prominently in the drama. They're totally useless!

Omo, I just noticed that my post to you from last year was posted 3x times on your wall. That wasn't me! Must have been a MDL bug.

Anyway, thank you for the request! :)

I see you're watching Wonderful Days, how are you liking it? I don't have a good feeling about that drama. The writer is known for her over the top, unnecessarily tragic melodramas ... just the kind of thing I hate. And yesterday my friend told me there are a lot of makjang plot devices being thrown around too. Soo not my type of drama, BUT! my man Lee Seo-jin stars in it (oh why did he have to choose such a project???) so I gotta watch it. I'm just praying it won't be absolutely torturous.

I was afraid of that ...

Huh? What's makjang in the making? Wonderful Days or SLA?

Marriage is a PARTNERSHIP. They're times of hardship and times of good harvest. I'm not downplaying anything. In this day & age it is not up to the man alone to provide! In the best of situations, fine. But when push comes to shove & times get rough we just have to do what needs to be done. Four yrs of struggle is nothing when considered marriage is for a life time ... or at the very least MORE than 4 yrs.

Æ-ra suffered, so did JW. He didn't around on his laurels doing NOTHING. He was busy inventing stuff ... stuff with REAL potential ... and trying to find people to invest. It's hard work, trust me. I'm sure any man in JW's situation doesn't relish the idea of living off his wife. Most men don't. They were each working toward a common goal, or so he thought, until she threw in the towel. Remember what she said: 'I was in for the long haul when you were feeding me, not when I'm feeding you!' or something to that effect. That just goes to show ...

And there's absolutely no bait & switch. Fine, she married a civil servant whom she KNEW had entrepreneurial ambitions!

You're arguing on semantics and emotion. I'm not gonna take the bait. :)

I'm done talking. It's clear you're not open to thinking about this rationally at all so I'll leave you to it. Hate on JW all you want, doesn't change a thing! :)

What in the world are you talking about? JW was the epitome of nice, humble & with a good job (until he quit). That's why she married him!

JW did NOT change ... he was/still is that nice, humble, nerdy guy who craves her love. The only misstep he made was to leave his job without discussing it with her (and even so ... she eventually accepted his decision & went along with him focusing on his inventions). Otherwise if she was completely against his entrepreneurial endeavours, at the time or later, she should have insisted that he go out & find himself another job no matter what.

Æ-ra, however, did change. At the beginning of the marriage when his future looked set she led him to believe (or he naively arrived at that conclusion on his own) that she'd stick by him no matter what, but when they encountered a boulder in the road, she bailed!

Wanting a secure life doesn't make her a gold digger, but loving someone & marrying them only on the condition that they provide the lifestyle to which one thinks they're entitled is the hallmark of selfishness & greed!

Falling in love with someone & marrying them because they're beautiful is the first rule of attraction & where love sprouts its first bud. The mechanism is as old as time. You do it, I do it. So find a more sensible reason to hate JW rather than something so silly.

JW is as much at fault so he shouldn't hold a grudge if she's willing to let go of hers. But so what if he does so a little long than her? I'm sure nobody would enjoy the realization that the person they loved with all their heart mostly saw them as a wallet.

Living their dream together with Æ-ra, that is!

I completely agree with you. And I did say the same in my posts above yours. Yes, he should be sorry & grateful to her (as she should be to him) ... deep down I think he really is, but he's still too caught up in the blame game to acknowledge his part. A bit silly & immature of him, but give him some time & he'll come around because SHE is ultimately the woman he wants to be with.

And don't get me wrong, I am NOT on JW's side (I was before, but as the show progressed I became more neutral because I saw where they BOTH royally screwed up). I just think it's sooo easy for some women, when a relationship breaks down, to lay all the blame at men's feet without looking at their own faults. Æ-ra did this & that's why JW started resenting her back (because she acted like he did NOTHING at all in those 4 yrs when he was actually working his butt off to find investors).

When you marry an entrepreneur you can't expect to live a cushy life right off the bat. Four yrs of struggle is actually nothing compared to reality. I have an issue with Æ-ra's huge sense of entitlement that JW is OBLIGED to financially support her no matter what (but when she had to support him for 4 yrs she got fed up & left).

Anyway, we DO actually agree! JW should man up, apologize & get on with the business of living their dream! :)

You keep saying that ... that he married her because she's pretty. God forbid we marry someone we find physically appealing! JW may have been nerdy in his past life, but he was still a handsome man. I'm sure Æ-ra noticed that too! JW had no expectation of her other than her loving him & staying by his side (while Æ-ra loved him as long as he's able to provide the cushy lifestyle she wanted for herself). Again, I don't blame her for wanting to living well. What I blame her for is thinking that it's ONLY JW's responsibility to make her live in style (and when she had to do a little hard work she bails). I blame him for being too naive to realize that love never conquers all! Love pretty much leaves your ass out in the cold, without food when you're not bringing in any money & the rent is due. That's how love works. It thrives only under very specified circumstances.