First off, using the word retarded is a dated and offensive slur and really should not ever be applied to anyone, ever. If you must, call it an intellectual disability, as using the word retarded could cause a lot of hurt, as with all slurs.
Secondly, I know a lot of autistic people who are far more well-adjusted than someone who spent the last 15 years on an isolated island would be. Besides, I'm frankly amazed by Mok Ha's adaptability and endurance. If this is how she is after the awful hand life dealt her, then she could have been phenomenal if allowed to develop normally.
Isolation, particularly as a teen during those years when people learn social skills, that does things to people.
You spoke as if she should have gained a new perspective, some new kind of wisdom. But all those years, the world probably felt incredibly small, incredibly stagnant, and this new one she has just been thrust back into, incredibly expansive, even overwhelming. It's believable if her brain might short circuit a bit.
But then again, I may be able to relate to her as I can understand years-long isolation, if nowhere near as dramatic as hers. Or as total. Most people would have really killed themselves, not just made one unsuccessful attempt. Assuming they'd even survive in the first place.
I stayed up to watch today's episode and have no regrets. Honestly, not sure how this drama will reach further highs, because this ep was peak brilliance.
I enjoyed this. For the first time ever, I watched a drama airing from start to finish (I have a habit of getting distracted week 4 and coming back months later to binge the end, or dropping forever) and for all its flaws, it was pretty fun.
And it did contain flaws. I think the drama could have been condensed to a few less episodes, and that would have made for a tighter narrative - there were some shenanigans I didn't enjoy... but thinking back, they were all related to Eun Gyeol, who I never did manage to warm up to. I got so frustrated with the repetitive "Don't do this." he'd spout, and then when asked why, he had no better than, "Because I said so." Like really, he kept expecting that to work. I don't think he grew as much has he should have. Perhaps a different actor could have brought something better to the role, but oh well.
To make up for this, I loved the other mains. Cheong Ah was so expressive and easy to feel for, Yi Chan was fun, once I grasped his character - it was the moment he ran down the street swinging his school-bag in circles that made him feel real, in a lifelike way many drama characters never do (despite his unrelenting optimism). Even Eun Yu was a character I liked, with her clear and apparent character arc.
I seem to be in the minority, but I'm glad they didn't manage to prevent Yi Chan's accident. From a narrative POV, it would have made everything too much of a neat fix-it, made it have less weight and harder to connect to emotionally. It may have tasted sweet to avert the tragedy, but would have left a bad aftertaste (imho). I'm glad they didn't erase his disability, and instead created an alternate reality that allowed him to live a full life (even though it stretches realism) and that was a much, much nicer note to end on.
vigilante made me think of UNORDINARY. Any webtoon readers here?
Huh. I haven't seen this drama yet so I can't remark on the similarities, but I have read the first... about 70 chapters of Unordinary (until I caught up the releases and then lost interest, this was a few years ago now)
Nothing is ever more satisfying than a good reveal. And this writer, if I remember from her other dramas, is very, very good at writing them.
Fortunately we now have 5 episodes to let it land.
Secondly, I know a lot of autistic people who are far more well-adjusted than someone who spent the last 15 years on an isolated island would be. Besides, I'm frankly amazed by Mok Ha's adaptability and endurance. If this is how she is after the awful hand life dealt her, then she could have been phenomenal if allowed to develop normally.
Isolation, particularly as a teen during those years when people learn social skills, that does things to people.
You spoke as if she should have gained a new perspective, some new kind of wisdom. But all those years, the world probably felt incredibly small, incredibly stagnant, and this new one she has just been thrust back into, incredibly expansive, even overwhelming. It's believable if her brain might short circuit a bit.
But then again, I may be able to relate to her as I can understand years-long isolation, if nowhere near as dramatic as hers. Or as total. Most people would have really killed themselves, not just made one unsuccessful attempt. Assuming they'd even survive in the first place.
And it did contain flaws. I think the drama could have been condensed to a few less episodes, and that would have made for a tighter narrative - there were some shenanigans I didn't enjoy... but thinking back, they were all related to Eun Gyeol, who I never did manage to warm up to. I got so frustrated with the repetitive "Don't do this." he'd spout, and then when asked why, he had no better than, "Because I said so." Like really, he kept expecting that to work. I don't think he grew as much has he should have. Perhaps a different actor could have brought something better to the role, but oh well.
To make up for this, I loved the other mains. Cheong Ah was so expressive and easy to feel for, Yi Chan was fun, once I grasped his character - it was the moment he ran down the street swinging his school-bag in circles that made him feel real, in a lifelike way many drama characters never do (despite his unrelenting optimism). Even Eun Yu was a character I liked, with her clear and apparent character arc.
I seem to be in the minority, but I'm glad they didn't manage to prevent Yi Chan's accident. From a narrative POV, it would have made everything too much of a neat fix-it, made it have less weight and harder to connect to emotionally. It may have tasted sweet to avert the tragedy, but would have left a bad aftertaste (imho). I'm glad they didn't erase his disability, and instead created an alternate reality that allowed him to live a full life (even though it stretches realism) and that was a much, much nicer note to end on.