ShortCircuit

There was a theory in here somewhere that the title, Castaway Diva, could also apply to RanJoo, too - she's been adrift for a while, since she lost her conviction and courage to sing. (And lately she's surely been acting like a diva, too, LOL).

And then there's obviously MokHa. And KiHo is the most important person in MokHa's life. Why wouldn't his story be HER story? Or better yet, THEIR story?

He set up a trap, he knew what was waiting for him. Even so - I guess there's a child inside him who still wants his daddy to truly love him. Of course he was hurt. Hope dies last, and all that...

Too bad it was wasted on Cui Lin's tantrum. So many beautiful colours. I loved it!

Why is Cui Lin so stubborn right now? She GOT what she wanted. She wanted Li Ni Crown Prince and she wanted to marry him. And when HER EX-BROTHER accused her father, Li Ni did everything he could, up to placing himself in danger, to save them both, at the price of the army.

And the army had to go, anyway - it was a private army with great merits, granted, but not controlled by the (already unstable) emperor. There was NO WAY to keep the army. Too bad that had to make Cui Yi into King Lear and Cui Lin into Cordelia.

It went kind of like:

Cui Lin: You WILL be Crown Prince and like it. And we love each other so I'll be Crown Princess.
Li Ni: *eventually finds a way to make it happen*
Cui Lin: No, not like that!!

Girl!! Make up your mind already! The wedding night went well, LOL, all things considered - from frantic sword play to the scramble the next morning, hahaha, Li Ni was kind of sweet, still trying hard to keep appeareances :D

I did like how Mr. Gu and his daughter were put in their respective places. I still wonder how Minister Gu didn't still find a way to make Cui Yi the guilty party. I guess even the useless emperor can't afford to lose Li Ni too, since there are no other options (except for the other grandson.)

And I don't know about others... I am kind of warming toward the present Empress. She does send spies to the Crown Princess (but she's responsible for everything going on in the Eastern Palace, it's basically her duty to spy on all the women there) but she seems WAY more smarter than her husband, and not obviously evil-inclined. She doesn't have a son of her own yet, though, so that's why she might be friendlier to Li Ni and his wife.

I am of two minds what to do now... Keep on and finish the drama, or wait it out a bit. I don't want it to end too soon! T_T (And I still have been careful not to be spoiled on the ending, LOL).

At 34 right now: Well, that was a beautiful ceremony. Everybody looked like they were having fun (not, LOL).

Did YOU speak up for them in those cases, too, or just noticed it was happening, though? That is the whole point.

I have no idea what denomination of Christianity you belong to, and only talked about the easily found examples of bad Catholics within the ranks of the Church (not people just going to that church) because you mentioned The Fiery Priest, and AFAIK, that one involves a Catholic priest (haven't watched it, despite how it may look, I am not really bothered by religion portrayal in dramas, and would actually particularly go around one that pretends to be really really involved in religion, since it's not a subject terribly interesting to me.)

I keep trying to put this through: they're not using bad religious people as TROPES. They're using this kind of plot because there IS so much proof in actual SK society (and other SEA countries) about the corruption and backdoor dealings of such types of cults. Frankly, it does definitely NOT look cool. I think that's the worst kind of inference you can make from this type of plots. (And it's not restricted to Christianity - it hasn't been too long since one of the previous SK presidents got sentenced to prison for corruption that involved her own personal friend who also acted as her spiritual / faith counsellor. The church she belonged to was another cult so strange they mixed up elements from three different religions to get to their own brand of pretend-righteousness. Don't worry though - that president got a 25 years sentence and she was pardoned less than three years into serving it. So you see - no corruption at all /sarcasm.)

I still wonder if you find the topic of religion portrayal still as sensitive if it involves a different religion at all. Like, are you bothered with dramas/movies that mock or support Islam, for example? Or Buddhism? Or Shintoism? Those religions too probably have their own requirements and teachings and "spiritual leaders" and whatnot, and there are so, so many movies/dramas where no respect is shown whatsoever. I am not on a fence here - IMHO, if you defend one, you defend all. Or if you do not defend all in a similar way, you don't get to be offended for only one of them. What, the beliefs of people who have different convictions aren't just as valid as yours? (You see, I'm telling you again - FAITH is one thing, religion... another, altogether.)

I hate to break it to you, but these things HAPPEN. Some of them are extremely fictional, obviously, but nobody, not even priests/nuns/whoever important in the church are not exempt from them, despite the teachings.

And it's not even so rare in the Western society. I mean, Catholic priests (mainly in the US, but I'm kind of willing to place bets it's just as prevailing in Europe) have basically become almost a synonym for pedophiles. And in way too many cases, it's earned. Nobody was accusing them for nothing. (And it's STILL happening, despite thousands of cases brought to light throughout the world). Or take the case last week - a Catholic priest from Alabama ran away to Italy and married his underage mistress and then returned to the US with her, where he was about to be indicted for corrupting a minor (his now wife). And now he's basically protected from law (probably going to get thrown out of the church, but still. You get the idea). That is not normal, and doesn't respect the teachings, but it happens.

So why should people and organisations that are corrupt or lie to their congregants NOT be accused, if they do these things? Saying they're from one religion (or any other) is not an umbrella covering them and protecting them from the consequences of their own actions.

(And there are so many Christians in SK - it's one of the prevailing religions. Almost a third of the population belongs to one or another Christian denomination, the other more significant religion being Buddhism - half the numbers - and many of the rest are non-religious people. In a pot that large, there are bound to be bad actors.)

I'm simply going to repeat myself: look up the Unification Church of South Korea (or the Moonies, as you might have heard them called.) That IS the type of Christian-pretend denomination that happens in SEA a lot. They (the South Koreans) have grounds NOT to respect fundies/zealots/cultists even if they're pretending to be Christians.

I might also point out the numerous (and terrifying) childrens' asylums run by more prominent Christian churches, also in SK, well into the 90s, beginning of the 2000s. It hasn't even been a generation. The survivors still battle their problems - problems caused by the treatment they got in those "Christian-run homes for children".

Examples (in case you think I'm inventing these things):

https://apnews.com/article/adoption-asia-pacific-south-korea-international-news-busan-736590a2b96340c4aac66616d94eea33

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Church (there is too much to link, read the notes for more info).

The point is - even IF the original manhwa creator and/or the producing team of this drama DID have something bad to say about cults, they (the South Koreans, that is) HAVE enough proof that Christian churches/denominations/sects are rife with corruption and abuse.

It's not an attack on FAITH. It's an attack on the organisations that come talking about safety and validation and inclusion and then in the back stage are doing what those people have been CAUGHT doing. Also, just because they're calling themselves Christians, it doesn't mean they act in good faith and will follow words with actions of that type.

Or even shorter (a kind of TL;DR): don't take it personally, There ARE people out there pretending to be normal and moral and even righteous - and they're not. They don't deserve your immediate support just because they claim to be like you.

1. He didn't survive the fall. He was dead for 16 years, and since he fell into (basically) lava, not even his bones or ashes survived. ***

2. Nobody - not even himself - knows where he was for that time period. His spirit probably roamed the Earth or he was stuck somewhere as a ghost, but unaware of his own existence.

3. Err... this is a xianxia cultivation story. Cultivators (or rather, "daoists", are people who "cultivate" or "follow the way" to gain a) an inner energy core - qi to allow them to be more powerful, and eventually, b) gain immortality (yes that should be the ultimate goal of a cultivator). For that purpose, they either are following their own clan/sect's sword path / teachings, or join a sect / clan as outsiders becoming apprentices to masters from that sect/clan.

One of the immediate results when gaining enough cultivation is that one should stop aging, at least in appearances. That's why, when you see someone VERY old in xianxia/wuxia, and they're a cultivator, they are supposed to be ANCIENT (hundreds or thousands of years old, or even immortals already).

So yeah - all of them age, but it's not apparent at all. *****

*** Actually, this is the drama version of how WWX met his demise. The novel version and the donghua version are different, BUT he still doesn't know where he was for that time he was dead, and he WAS actually dead, not just fell and forgot who he was until he was brought back.

***** The body WWX is brought back in doesn't LOOK like his original body either, except in the drama (because they lucked out on the perfect actor to portray WWX, and didn't want to change him for the resurrected part). The donghua has him looking different, and in the novel it's clear he doesn't look like his original self at all.

I won't be reading any previous comments, in case of careless spoilers, but did they REALLY release all the rest of the eps in the express package or are they stringing them out? Thanks!

He hasn't yet (haven't watched the trailers for the last two eps). He also might have a plan about Jo Cheon and doesn't want it spoiled. Particularly since nothing would have stopped the killers to putting the blame on the Vigilante, either.

Yeah, I bet you go and complain about every movie or series that portrays OTHER religions not in the rosiest light too, right? Right? Like, turning off every movie that has muslim terrorists in it (because it puts the whole faith in a bad light), or every movie about the NI conflict (because it's protestants against Catholics, we can't have that), or basically every other Bollywood movie about any religious strife in the peninsula, modern or ancient world either, right?

Religious figureheads can be corrupt and it has absolutely ZERO to do with FAITH. With religion, particularly in the way these supposedly Christian sects are acting in the SEA, you can totally bet there is a lot of corruption. Just research a bit about the Unification Church of South Korea. You'll definitely find some interesting info on how totally un-Christian they've been behaving for a long time.

The OST is slaying it each and every episode.

This started out so bland and run-of-the-mill but does it really shape up toward the end or what!

I think if this will be open ended though - if first season does well, we can expect more. I wouldn't say no to it :D

Why the hell did he have to let go of his peace just so that those sheltered idiots could get to tell HIM who he is to marry and take in his home and have children with?!

And Miss Gu, another snake in the grass, together with her slimy father who was always just looking out for no. 1 while pretending he was all about the country and its wellbeing... until he got a chance to become a royal grandfather and who knows - maybe a regent until his daughter's possible sons reach adulthood, just in case something happens to Li Ni along the way?

The discussion with ex-Crown Princess should have shaken Ying a bit - she will NOT own even her own feelings anymore. That was a scary description. I don't think Ying even knows what the hell she's asking for. But then, she clamoured about it for so long, if she becomes CP and hates it, it's all on her.

So what now - did we get the normie Jieshuo traitor coming in and pointing at Cui Yi so that Li Ni has to go and take future father-in-law out, right? And so she'll then hate him and maybe ask for her three claims, and maybe (very probably) lots of even more blood will be spilled in these few last eps, right?

We're almost in the end game now, let's hope the actors didn't tell us careful lies when they said it's a HE LOL.

Dammit... they took that man and broke him into pieces. Yeah, I know, circumstances bla-bla-bla.

Is it Minister Gu or someone reaching out to him, though? Also, won't the piece of trash drop dead already? He doesn't have his happy juice and will die anyway, I hope he takes Gu and Gu daughter with him. Bastards!

Eps 30 and 31 might be the best of the drama so far. I'm enjoying them so much there's been a lot of re-watching LOL.

Again with the cuteness. I can't even

LOL. He's becoming an adorable dork and her brother is also smitten. I just love SamSoon's bubbly personality, she's the best of the sisters yet :D

Will this have a noona romance?!! At such a great age difference?? Hmm...

There are times football matches really shouldn't be aired, boo!

I wonder who won.

People let him, for reasons. He's an useful puppet to lots of strongmen around him, you can be sure.

He's a man of his word. He wants to put his cousin on the throne (that was rightfully his, actually, since he's the ex-Crown Prince's son). He doesn't want to leave him alone there, prey to whomever wants to rule in his place. He'll stay to see the dynasty secure.

But he doesn't want to live in a trap - he's way more dangerous married and having kids close to the palace (to rival his imperial cousin's brood, when he gets one) than off to the border, guarding it and presumably not toeing the waters of imperial power.

And he doesn't seem to have his close circle of friends in the army anyway, so that boulder has been taken out of the road anyway.

TBH though, I sure expected WanNiang to realise the Nanny was poisoned - the woman was strong despite her age, then she eats a bun and drops dead, and WanNiang DOESN'T notice that curious coincidence?

What, she lost a few braincells between the moments she discovered how Li Jun's consort could have been murdered through goldsilk, and now?

I expected her to be smarter than this.