This scary thought just entered my head: IS THIS DRAMA AN INTENTIONAL DELULU BAIT FOR WOMEN TO MAKE THEM THINK…
A lot of tropes and cliches are designed based on the fantasy of women, but not all tropes double down, and triple down, and quadruple down this hard in other dramas.
His character was a huge fail for this one. The love triangle trope completely displaced the actual main plot causing the ratings for this show to plunge.
There was a small window for a love triangle, but this character has taken too much space, and this is probably one of the biggest disasters this year, and all because of this character alone.
I honestly don't know how much the MDL rating affects them, but I do hope that one way or another they are getting…
That's the least they should do to reward our time. We should be surprised with a lot more! We should get SML out of the picture immediately have at least the two episodes and a half of what was promised, a story about the in-laws (hopefully by next episode couple) and their baby in a family drama about healing.
I put this drama on hold a little bit in hope that I see improvement in the future EP but I am so sorry I can't…
The only other drama where I have seen something similar was "My Sweet Mobster". The love triangle trope was different but it was a constant for the first 10 episodes with the classic oblivious girl that doesn't realize that this guy wants her, and spends a lot of time with the guy, and even after getting together with ML the other guy feels that he has the right to keep ML in check.
I agree with this comment to 100%! Things are moving forward, but I don't see the love triangle wrapping up yet,…
My favorite part of your well written and spot on comment is that what he is doing is not love. Also, thank you for highlighting that his approach is not romantic in any way, but more like an all out attack on a poor girl that doesn't know how to respond.
I insist that while it doesn't look like it, episode 9 made huge progress, and more compared with any previous episode even with the constant presence of SML, but with a different reaction from FL.
I consider that episode 9 is one of the best episodes so far, because for once, we had full scenes about family and discovering a wound, which is necessary to start healing. And again, even in the Love Triangle department, even with that second date, and even with ML thinking that FL is now dating SML, I feel like things are moving forward, and I don't think that these writers would shoot themselves at this point.
I believe that the subtle hints and differences are all around and are building up to the girl getting away from the stalker, and the both boy and girl start walking towards each other.
A reason why I believe (hoping it starts on episode 10) that this is slow cooking in the background is because now that ML is temporarily gone it should be easier for her to spot what's wrong with these interactions with SML.
For context, it looks like these dates are perfect for a girl, but they have never have an intimate and heartwarming moment. All these things have happened with ML and not with SML: Slept together (only sleep, but that counts), carrying her, touching her hand and hugging her.
What does this tell me? (and I don't think this is a coincidence, it is there on purpose!) it doesn't matter how much screentime and how hard SML has forced his way into her life, there are things that won't happen between them because they don't have that kind of relationship!
Let me finish this comment saying that all my hopes are on episode 10, because I don't want to believe that these writers would be so cruel as to ruin their story, waste our time and kill every little detail they have developed for their romance so far.
As I wrote above, I think they let FL and SML have relationships followed by a some-years-gap
I was joking with that idea, but it makes no sense. The writers have been developing the love triangle to have FL choosing real versus ideal, and authentic versus elaborated, but even accepting SML feeling would defeat the purpose of the love triangle. Making her uncomfortable around SML would be wasted, if ML leaves and she just falls back into SML.
The whole empty-nest energy the ML leaves behind - the unspoken “we actually need you here” / “this doesn’t…
I agree with this comment to 100%! Things are moving forward, but I don't see the love triangle wrapping up yet, unless the writers pull a full stop on it, which I doubt.
I have been noticing for a while now that whenever FL is with SML, she feels like she has to be there, and that's maybe out of respect because he is her team leader, or because he is older, or because they know each other from before, or because he was her crush, or all combined. However, episode 9 made it extremely obvious in different occasions. For example, in the scenes where they bring her cake and the co-workers start picking on her and the team leader she looks extremely uncomfortable, not shy, but uncomfortable, to the point that when she makes eye contact with him she looks away in discomfort.
One thing is beyond doubt, and that is that writers want to present the guy that should be perfect for her on paper, and the one who is actually perfect for her. Another example is the restaurant, she went with SML, very elegant, very date like, but it wasn't until she went home to ML when she could feel comfortable. This trope is as old as Dramaland.
My problem is that while necessary for the trope for her to go deep into these dates with SML to experience hands on the difference, this is taking too long. The diner at the restaurant and the famous first date was more than enough, but we are forced to watch a second date where he tries to replace ML in the house (which has its own purpose of making her see that nobody can replace him at home or in their family), and according to the preview there is still more. Now we have in our hands a girl who finally is showing how uncomfortable she is, but is still a pushover to SML's advantage, and if that was not enough co-workers and probably other people around her that will start talking about how good they good together and they must be dating and stuff.
As you mentioned, ML absence should be a catalyst for a change, but I am hoping that she doesn't just feel uncomfortable, I need her to feel suffocated because that's what is actually happening to her. I need FL to realize not only that she loves ML and should go to him, but that her environment is pushing her to a relationship that she doesn't want.
Additionally, I wouldn't want the writers to keep rewarding something that is wrong. SML is a manipulative person who in more than one occasion was aware that he would be breaking a family in the making, someone that is inserting himself by force in the life of a girl that just became a mother therefore taking advantage of her fragile situation, someone that is willing to go behind her back to isolate her and someone who is taking advantage of her kindness. SML doesn't deserve any more dates or any more attention, or spend more time with her outside of work.
Good luck! I personally liked the development for ML, the attitude of FL throughout the episode was important because to me, she looks more and more uncomfortable with a certain someone that keeps getting screentime.
Just wait. They have some more tropes to play, e.g. the some years gap, amnesia. Always when you think they cannot…
I thought about the same thing! We are all expecting for him to turn back at the airport or for her to stop him before he leaves, but since the purpose here seems to be to make everyone watching this go mad, I don't see impossible that he leaves and that she cover her own eyes, go with the flow and in a blink of an eye is living an empty life where she presents a fake smile complacent and convincing herself that it was the best option where only SML is happy because he got what he wanted. The cherry on top would be that ML came back years after to find out that she is with the guy thinking that she never cared about him and is just leaving the best life, meaning that he was abandoned all over again, repeating a cycle of infinite trauma related to family.
Yea, let's not rinse and repeat the bs the dramas full of. 2nd straight drama this FLs been in where she's being…
Sadly enough, the only thing that is not a complete mess in this show right now is the male lead trauma and healing journey now that he found out about the truth. The problem is that the healing journey seems to be directly related to his ability to recover his new family for a chance of a healthy family instead of just starting from scratch somewhere else.
There was a small window for a love triangle, but this character has taken too much space, and this is probably one of the biggest disasters this year, and all because of this character alone.
I insist that while it doesn't look like it, episode 9 made huge progress, and more compared with any previous episode even with the constant presence of SML, but with a different reaction from FL.
I consider that episode 9 is one of the best episodes so far, because for once, we had full scenes about family and discovering a wound, which is necessary to start healing. And again, even in the Love Triangle department, even with that second date, and even with ML thinking that FL is now dating SML, I feel like things are moving forward, and I don't think that these writers would shoot themselves at this point.
I believe that the subtle hints and differences are all around and are building up to the girl getting away from the stalker, and the both boy and girl start walking towards each other.
A reason why I believe (hoping it starts on episode 10) that this is slow cooking in the background is because now that ML is temporarily gone it should be easier for her to spot what's wrong with these interactions with SML.
For context, it looks like these dates are perfect for a girl, but they have never have an intimate and heartwarming moment. All these things have happened with ML and not with SML: Slept together (only sleep, but that counts), carrying her, touching her hand and hugging her.
What does this tell me? (and I don't think this is a coincidence, it is there on purpose!) it doesn't matter how much screentime and how hard SML has forced his way into her life, there are things that won't happen between them because they don't have that kind of relationship!
Let me finish this comment saying that all my hopes are on episode 10, because I don't want to believe that these writers would be so cruel as to ruin their story, waste our time and kill every little detail they have developed for their romance so far.
I have been noticing for a while now that whenever FL is with SML, she feels like she has to be there, and that's maybe out of respect because he is her team leader, or because he is older, or because they know each other from before, or because he was her crush, or all combined. However, episode 9 made it extremely obvious in different occasions. For example, in the scenes where they bring her cake and the co-workers start picking on her and the team leader she looks extremely uncomfortable, not shy, but uncomfortable, to the point that when she makes eye contact with him she looks away in discomfort.
One thing is beyond doubt, and that is that writers want to present the guy that should be perfect for her on paper, and the one who is actually perfect for her. Another example is the restaurant, she went with SML, very elegant, very date like, but it wasn't until she went home to ML when she could feel comfortable. This trope is as old as Dramaland.
My problem is that while necessary for the trope for her to go deep into these dates with SML to experience hands on the difference, this is taking too long. The diner at the restaurant and the famous first date was more than enough, but we are forced to watch a second date where he tries to replace ML in the house (which has its own purpose of making her see that nobody can replace him at home or in their family), and according to the preview there is still more. Now we have in our hands a girl who finally is showing how uncomfortable she is, but is still a pushover to SML's advantage, and if that was not enough co-workers and probably other people around her that will start talking about how good they good together and they must be dating and stuff.
As you mentioned, ML absence should be a catalyst for a change, but I am hoping that she doesn't just feel uncomfortable, I need her to feel suffocated because that's what is actually happening to her. I need FL to realize not only that she loves ML and should go to him, but that her environment is pushing her to a relationship that she doesn't want.
Additionally, I wouldn't want the writers to keep rewarding something that is wrong. SML is a manipulative person who in more than one occasion was aware that he would be breaking a family in the making, someone that is inserting himself by force in the life of a girl that just became a mother therefore taking advantage of her fragile situation, someone that is willing to go behind her back to isolate her and someone who is taking advantage of her kindness. SML doesn't deserve any more dates or any more attention, or spend more time with her outside of work.