Lucky me, I got to watch all seasons back to back - one of the benefits of being a janie-come-lately to kdrama is there's so much available to binge. I was a little disappointed at first with the cast changes from the first 18 eps, but ending up liking Lee Joon Gi for a mature Eun Seom | Sa Ya. Shin Sae Kyeong did an excellent job with the character of TanYa. My personal preference would have been for Kim Ji Won to continue in the role because I've seen her in so many roles where she nails strength and vulnerability - she's able to make me both want to hug her characters and hide from them.
And ... speaking of the hug/hide dichotomy, I don't think I've ever seen anyone achieve that better than Kim Ok Bin as Tae Al Ha. As bone deep evil as the character was, my heart broke when she said to Ta Gon, "That was my most sincere desperation [eng subtitle]." I could see every word vibrating anguish in her character.
It’s ok but this whole cancer thing is too much. I will finish watching when it is over
Some type of serious illness was foreshadowed from the beginning. It makes sense that something traumatic occurred that led to Seok Ryu taking a 1 yr leave from her job and eventually moving back to Korea to be closer to her family.
It also explains why Seok Ryu, despite acknowledging her feelings for Seung Hyo, hesitated to tell him how she feels, perhaps believing it would be unfair to saddle him with a girlfriend with a potential cancer time bomb.
Without the cancer (or something else that threatens their developing relationship), there is no external agent to introduce tension and the story would go flat.
or maybe seok ryu cut off the engagement cause she knows she is not well and the illness may relapse so she didn't…
Wasn't there a pool party scene a few episodes ago where Seok Ryu walked up on fiance kissing another woman? Possibly Hyeon-Jun began bailing on Seok Ryu because he couldn't handle her illness, but now he's changed his mind.
I really enjoyed Jung So Min's acting in Alchemy of Souls and This is My First Life. I'm watching Love Next Door now. Random thought: I got distracted when I saw her in shorts from behind: JSM is in serious need of custom orthotics to fix the overpronation that has her ankles and knees out of alignment. See, told you it was random.
Kind of a random thought, but Jung So Min is in serious need of custom orthotics to fix the overpronation that has her ankles and knees out of alignment. See, told you it was random.
I gave QoT a 10 overall, flaws in the story notwithstanding. I'm okay if someone else thinks a flawed drama can't be a 10. Whatever this story has that has compelled me to watch it four times already (albeit with the ff button under my thumb the last three) outweighs the many objective and subjective drawbacks. I don't rewatch movies; up until now I've been consistently one and done, yet I find myself revisiting this one for some reason I'm not sure I can define, except to say that it resonated deeply with me. Maybe I'm an angst addict, but after all the two main very immature, flawed characters went through and grew through, I really cared if Hyun Woo and Hae In got their happy ending.
I'm not wearing blinders: there were parts of the story I loathed, characterizations I loathed, and plot elements that were absurd, such as Baek Hyun Woo's hyperheroic and superhuman ability to blow off being beaten, hit by a car, and shot. Still, with all the acknowledged flaws, all over the world more people than had ever before watched a k-drama tuned in and stayed tuned in, despite it's imperfections.
It wasn't #1 in Korea and top 10 in 47 other countries because viewers thought it was flawless, but because the flaws were outweighed and made irrelevant by the synergies of dialogue, theme, plot, characters, direction, costumes, sets, cinematography, production, music, location, and acting that makes the total of QoT much more than the sum of its imperfect parts. To me, that's the essence of wabi and a solid 10 on my scale.
"While tastes may vary, it's clear that the show resonates with a wide audience, reflected in its high rating…
I gave it a 10 overall, flaws in the story notwithstanding. I'm also okay if someone else thinks a flawed story can't be a 10. Whatever this story has that has compelled me to watch it four times already (albeit with the ff button under my thumb the last three) outweighs the many real and subjective drawbacks. I don't rewatch movies; up until now I've been consistently one and done, yet I find myself revisiting this one for some reason I'm not sure I can define, except to say that it resonated deeply with me. Maybe I'm an angst addict, but after all the two main very immature, flawed characters went through and grew through, I really cared if they got their happy ending.
I'm not wearing blinders: there were parts of the story I loathed, characters I loathed, and plot elements that were absurd, such as ML's superhuman ability to blow off being beaten, hit by a car, and shot. Still, with all the acknowledged flaws, all over the world more people than had ever before watched a k-drama tuned in and stayed tuned in, despite it's imperfections. It wasn't #1 in Korea and top 10 in 47 other countries because viewers thought it was flawless.
You get to believe we somehow missed the imperfections, we didn't. We also didn't miss that, for all it's flaws, there's something in the synergies of dialog, story, plot, characters, direction, costumes, sets, production, music, location, and cast that makes the total of QoT much more than the sum of it's flawed parts. To me, that's the essence of wabi, and it's a solid 10.
I'm sorry but this is one drama is just downright crazy. 1. The glorifucation of physical appearance, that's how…
Really good analysis. This should be a review. To be fair though, from my close family and professional association with police and prosecutors, the statement "the more you're close to the law, the more you break it" is spot on absolutely true.
What the heck happened in episode 5? Han So Hee Jang Hee Jin / Oh Soo Jin's appearance changed and the next scene she's in it's changed back. That makes no sense. What makes even less sense is that Go Se Yun | Lee Mi Do acts like it never happened.
Kill Bok Soon was an unexpected delight, especially how the mother daughter dynamic played out. In fact, all the personal-professional relationships were so well played that the movie kept me guessing to the very end. I will definitely watch the sequel!
Infantile character asa love option. I'm missing the attraction of the borderline pedophilia motif. Ends on a choice between actual adult with leftover relationship issues vs. clumsily manipulative mental/emotional tween. It's not a cliff hanger as much as it is a relief that it's over.
Note on musical selection: if the performing guitarist is too lazy or unskilled to lift their fingers when changing frets they don't belong on a professional soundtrack. Squeaking steel guitar strings makes fingernails on a chalkboard sound like a melody.
And ... speaking of the hug/hide dichotomy, I don't think I've ever seen anyone achieve that better than Kim Ok Bin as Tae Al Ha. As bone deep evil as the character was, my heart broke when she said to Ta Gon, "That was my most sincere desperation [eng subtitle]." I could see every word vibrating anguish in her character.
It also explains why Seok Ryu, despite acknowledging her feelings for Seung Hyo, hesitated to tell him how she feels, perhaps believing it would be unfair to saddle him with a girlfriend with a potential cancer time bomb.
Without the cancer (or something else that threatens their developing relationship), there is no external agent to introduce tension and the story would go flat.
I'm not wearing blinders: there were parts of the story I loathed, characterizations I loathed, and plot elements that were absurd, such as Baek Hyun Woo's hyperheroic and superhuman ability to blow off being beaten, hit by a car, and shot. Still, with all the acknowledged flaws, all over the world more people than had ever before watched a k-drama tuned in and stayed tuned in, despite it's imperfections.
It wasn't #1 in Korea and top 10 in 47 other countries because viewers thought it was flawless, but because the flaws were outweighed and made irrelevant by the synergies of dialogue, theme, plot, characters, direction, costumes, sets, cinematography, production, music, location, and acting that makes the total of QoT much more than the sum of its imperfect parts. To me, that's the essence of wabi and a solid 10 on my scale.
I'm not wearing blinders: there were parts of the story I loathed, characters I loathed, and plot elements that were absurd, such as ML's superhuman ability to blow off being beaten, hit by a car, and shot. Still, with all the acknowledged flaws, all over the world more people than had ever before watched a k-drama tuned in and stayed tuned in, despite it's imperfections. It wasn't #1 in Korea and top 10 in 47 other countries because viewers thought it was flawless.
You get to believe we somehow missed the imperfections, we didn't. We also didn't miss that, for all it's flaws, there's something in the synergies of dialog, story, plot, characters, direction, costumes, sets, production, music, location, and cast that makes the total of QoT much more than the sum of it's flawed parts. To me, that's the essence of wabi, and it's a solid 10.
Jang Hee Jin / Oh Soo Jin's appearance changed and the next scene she's in it's changed back. That makes no sense. What makes even less sense is that Go Se Yun | Lee Mi Do acts like it never happened.
The chemistry between the leads was great, despite the bizarre script. I'd like to see these two in a GL that deserves their talent.