My Liberation Notes

Are you a bot?????

Right, and that is so uncalled for -- the man is not unattractive, on the contrary. Can he act should be the measure here, these netizens need a life for sure

I agree that nobody should harass him, but I don't understand the "jarring" argument. Not finding an actor attractive is a personal preference, and that's perfectly fine. What I find strange is the idea that someone deemed less attractive shouldn't be paired with someone deemed more attractive. Attraction is subjective, and real people don't fall in love only with those who meet a certain beauty standard. Saying a pairing is "jarring" because one actor isn't attractive enough to be paired with actor or actress that maybe more attractive than them according to your personal taste feels unfair to both the actor and the audience.

OMG, I just realized Jian is Kim Hye-jun from Kingdom! She played the Queen, and she absolutely crushed that role. It makes total sense now why she's so good here. The Queen was one of my favorite villains in any K-drama, and Kim Hye-jun had the screen presence to pull it off. She's proving once again that she's one of the strongest actors in the cast.

Jin Kusanagi is probably my least favorite part of A Shop for Killers 2 so far. The show seems to want her to come across as this ultra-dangerous villain, but she just feels incredibly annoying instead of intimidating. Every scene with her is more frustrating than tense. What makes it worse is that she doesn't seem particularly competent at her job, which makes it hard to buy her as the head of Babylon's East Asia branch. The character has all the arrogance of a mastermind without any of the presence or effectiveness to back it up. Unfortunately, the actress's performance isn't working for me either. Instead of making the character feel threatening or compelling, I find myself getting annoyed whenever she's on screen.

Where is Bale when you need him? Now he was a worthy villain. Bale was chaos incarnate. He was unpredictable, genuinely dangerous, and had the kind of screen presence that made every scene better. He was the kind of antagonist you loved to hate. Jin, on the other hand, just makes me want her scenes to end.

As for this week's episodes, I'm finding it very hard to believe that Pasin actually betrayed everyone. This show loves its misdirection, so my gut says it's a red herring. That said, I'm now stuck stewing over all these theories for the next week. Uggghhh. 😭

I am very interested in this drama!!!!!

Right, lol

Is this show really ending this week?????

Thank you for this

Okay, so I love Kim Hye Soo a lot- one of my favorite actors- but I watched the first episode, and I am not so sure about this drama ... Those who watched the first two episodes, please let me know your thoughts. I had a hard time connecting with the characters

You have a point there, but that could be tied to it as well. I guess we will find out sooner or later.

There is a story behind why they are on the verge of divorce, and it is not because they fell out of love or dislike each other. It is actually the opposite. These two are in pain and still grieving a loss, and instead of leaning on each other, they have turned inward, blamed themselves, and let that hurt fester. That is what is pulling them apart. From day one, it has been clear that they love each other despite their actions and body language. The distance between them comes from unresolved grief, not lack of love.

So if you are worried this is one of those dramas where a couple randomly gets back together for no reason, that is not what is happening here. Their relationship is broken because of trauma, not because they stopped caring. A second chance makes sense for them because they never stopped loving each other. They just never healed. And with everything unfolding around them now, they are finally being forced to confront what tore them apart in the first place.

I agree completely... I cannot wait to see what happens next

So true

I’m honestly not sure why this drama is getting so much negativity. It feels like I’m watching something completely different from a lot of people on here because I’m hooked, line and sinker. I knew from the beginning that the father was rotten to the core, and Episodes 7 and 8 just confirmed it. Nothing about him feels clean. I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t just involved, but actually the catalyst for everything that’s happening now.

Lee Sang Hee and Kim Dae Myung are killing it. They feel so real, not like characters in a show but like actual people carrying something so much deeper than greed. The way Man Hee loves Kyung Ae, the gentleness he shows her, the way he protects her even while everything around them is burning, is almost impossible to reconcile with the destruction they are causing. That contrast makes me believe there is so much more to them than their actions. At this point, I genuinely believe the father wronged them in the worst possible way. Maybe he stole their baby or their fetus, maybe he justified it as some medical necessity, but whatever happened, it was catastrophic. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but it absolutely explains it. Everything about the story keeps circling back to the wife and a lost baby, and the emotional tone fits that perfectly.

Namkoong Min is doing something extraordinary with Tae Ju. This character is unlike anything he has played before. It is quieter, heavier, almost suffocating under the weight of responsibility and suspicion. There is a simmering calmness in him, a controlled fury that feels like it could detonate at any moment. And when it does, everyone around him should take cover. We already saw the first glimpse of that explosion in the way he hunted for his wife. He was methodical, relentless, and terrifyingly focused. Tae Ju doesn’t unravel; he sharpens. He becomes more dangerous the calmer he gets.

Lee Seol is phenomenal, and I almost feel she was handed a raw deal with this role. Go Se Yun is written to be sympathetic yet surrounded by privilege and insulated from the consequences of her family’s choices. I’m trying not to dislike her, but she makes it really hard. At the same time, I feel like I should give her the benefit of the doubt because how she reacts going forward will determine who she really is, especially as we watch her slowly realize her father may be involved in something deeply unethical. And if the show is hinting that her father used her own child’s stem cells for himself, then Se Yun’s arc is about to collide violently with the truth. Her next few moves will reveal everything about her emotional intelligence and her loyalty.

The police remain the weakest link. Their suspicion of Tae Ju based on the video was understandable at first, but their tunnel vision is maddening. They refuse to widen the lens, refuse to consider context, and refuse to acknowledge the inconsistencies in the case. They are practically useless, a narrative embodiment of institutional failure. Their incompetence isn’t just frustrating; it is part of the show’s commentary on how systems fail victims long before crimes occur.

The drama is building toward a devastating revelation, and every character is inching closer to the moment where truth becomes impossible to ignore. It is not a pristinely written drama, but the actors are doing an amazing job. I am invested, fully.

It often feels as though major entertainment companies have resorted to using actors' personal issues and controversies as promotional tools for upcoming projects. Whether intentional or not, the timing can sometimes leave a bad taste in one's mouth. The industry has become so commercialized that the line between publicity and a person's private life can seem almost nonexistent.

What makes it particularly disheartening is remembering that behind every headline is a real person. We rarely know what actors and idols have endured to get where they are, nor what they continue to endure to maintain their careers in such a demanding industry. Their struggles, mistakes, relationships, and personal lives are often treated as commodities for public consumption rather than as aspects of a human being's life.

I know this is not a new phenomenon and has always existed in some form, but it feels especially visible lately. If even a fraction of what we see is driven by profit, publicity, or media attention, then it is difficult not to feel disappointed by how readily people's lives and livelihoods can be turned into products. It is, above all, deeply disheartening.

If any drama can pull of 3 seasons and beyond, it would be this one and Agent Kim Reactivated

I don't understand what was mixed. She was fantastic and the heart of the show as far as I am concerned.

I knew we were headed her from that ended but also from the massive success :)

love hearing this