hananiarashi

Actually, both these kids have veen traumatized, esoecially Hyorin. She's been having constant panic attacks throughout. Is In-hye going to be able to manage that? In-hye seems ro me quite disturbed herself, having no empathy for her sisters. So it seems to me especially weird to have these two disturbed, immature kids out in the world without guidance

I guess they just didn't give off an almost-18-and-ready-to-be-independent.vibe, especially Hyorin who has been babied by her family all her life and still acts like a child a lot of times. In other cultures high school atudents are probably a lot more independent but in Asia where I am, this is often not the case. We don't kick our kids out the door when they turn 18. Most live with their parents until they get married. We have a different set of family values. As I said, both of them have been traumatized and that, qlong with their youth and inexperience in life, could lead to trouble.

Yes I have a right to feel whatever I feel about that ending, and to express it in this forum. So I don't get why you are debating with me about my reaction. What exactly is your point? That I am wrong for feeling that way? I never demanded for anything to change. I never said the drama is crap. I actually rated it 9.5. i just said the ending made me feel empty because there was no follow through after all that, as you correctly termed it, sexual tension. And there you go again with insisting I want them to end up together. Please read my original comment. Anyway, I don't get what your problem is with my comment then if you admit everyone has a right to feel how they feel about the story and to express it in this forum. As i said, I have no problem with you loving the ending. I am not going to argue with you about your interpretations. I just don't get why you feel the need to debate with me about something as subjective as how that open-ended ending made me fe el. As I said, let's agree to disagree.

their relation was platonic -- you see, this is not a fact but just your interpretation. That is fine. You can interpret the story in whatever way you want. But please don't try to impose your interpretation on others and state it as fact. It's not. I don't agree with your interpretation, but I am also not going to attack you for it. It is futile to argue about something that is open to various interpretations, so let's just
agree to disagree.

That is your interpretation. As I said above, the ending left me feeling empty because of the unresolved arc. Also, please read my original comment. You keep harping on about me demanding that they end up together. I said in my comment that they do not necessarily have to end up together for their arc to have a more satisfying ending. A follow through on the built-up arc would have sufficed, even if it's just an initial acknowledgment or taking the closeness a step further. No matter what you say though, the ending left me unsatisfied. I don't know how you can argue with how I felt. As I already explained in my previous comments, it's not about wanting them to get together "for the sake of being together." Did you read my comments? It's not because they're good looking and all of us who want a better ending for them are that shallow (as you imply) and just want them to be together no matter what. As I previously explained, the writers started this -- they set up that boiling romance, that sexual tension. They set that up. It's not like it was not set up and people just want something out of nothing. They set it up but did not follow through. That is the reason why many feel unsatisfied. Great if you loved the ending but don't make assumptions about people or disparage those who did not like it.

I never said it was a love story. I said there was a built-up arc implying there was going to be a deeper connection between Do-il and In-joo. As I said, the writers could have chosen to have everything between them perfectly platonic, but they didn't. They implied in so many ways that there was something there, so of course the audience expected a follow-through and a resolution. No one would have expected anything if the writer/writers did not set it up. And please don't talk about fan service. I am not a "fan" or a "shipper." I am just a viewer who felt dissatisfied that the writer did not provide a satisfactory ending to an arc that they started. I said in my original comment, if you take the time to read it again, that they need not necessarily end up together, but it would have been better if at least there was a deepening of their relationship or an acknowledgment of feelings, feelings that were implied but implied quite obviously for anyone but the daftest viewer. The sexual tension was there and written in, all the smiles and glances. No one can deny that. Also, I was not here to say the writer has no right to write the story she wants. The story is already written. i was just saying the ending left me feeling empty because of this arch that felt unfinished. That's all. That's how I felt. Surely you're not going to argue with how I felt? LOL. I feel like you're replying to someone else because I never requested for the writers to change the ending. I just said it left me feeling empty. I just expressed how I felt. If it was all satisfactory for you, great. But I had a different reaction to it. There really should be no argument here. About the attraction not having that much importance, that is your interpretation. I guess that is the thing with unresolved arcs -- it leaves everything open to interpretation. Still, I would have preferred (and that's my personal preference, not yours) for that particular arc to have had a more satisfying conclusion.

They're still minors. I know there are cases where minors are forced to become independent, but those are often the result of wrong choices or unfortunate circumstances, and does not often end well. In this case, it is true that it was better for them to be removed from that house, but not necessarily to be allowed to roam the world unsupervised. Both of them obviously need guidance. In-Hye is showing what seems to be psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies with her lack of empathy, and Hyo-rin must be traumatized from living in that house and from everything that subsequently happened. They need guidance and most probably meds and therapy. In-Hye is not being forced into this situation. She has sisters, both of whom dote on her despite their financial situation. She has a choice. She just chose, selfishly, to escape her old life of poverty and leave her sisters behind. And it's not about them having money. It's them both being somewhat disturbed, traumatized teenagers and needing someone to help them make wise decisions instead of indulging in whatever whim they want. If you've ever raised children and teenagers, you'll know what I mean. Teenagers are very volatile and most tend to make unwise choices based on immature thinking, spurred on my raging hormones. Are you saying minors should be left to do things on their own? The reason there is a law for minors to get consent on a lot of things is because the law recognizes they need supervision, and there is a reason for that. They are not mature enough to handle important life decisions. Hyo-rin, especially, seems quite immature and is just being led on my In-hye's rashness.

Aren't In-hye and Hyo-rin minors? They're high school students. Right? Why are they being allowed to roam the world with tons of cash and zero supervision? I mean, I'm all for freedom and escaping from toxic and oppressive situations, but I also think children need guidance because they are not mature enough to handle a lot.of.thinga. are the writers encouraging children to rebel and leave their families? In-hye's sisters are quite loving and supportive of her even though they could not provide the luxurious life and, I think, narcissistic fantasies she wants to indulge. I think In-hye is self-indulgent and selfish, despite that speech of hers at the end. She never won me over. It's important to not let life circumstances bring you down,but deserting and hurting people who care for you in the pursuit of your own desires is just pure selfishness. And this teenage fantasy of running away from your family, why are the writers indulging it. They're seemingly saying,yes you can and you shoukd. Hyo-rin's case is different,but IMO she should still be under close guidance and supervision, especially given what happened.

I also wanted to add that I think i think in-joo underwent a lot pf.personal growth throughout the story. She's made a lot of realizations. She has come to realize that her initial dream of happiness -- to have a house of her own where she could live happily with he sisters -- is not tenable because her sisters have lives and dreams.of their own. I'd say she's come quite a way, and so did do-il. In a way, you could say in-joo has helped him transform from someone who cared only about money and vengeance to someone who actually cared. He's started to learn how to cate for someone, obviously because of in-joo. And vice versa. He's also helped In-joo break out of her old ideas about what he life could be. This is the arc I'm talking about. This is the arc that they built up but didn't
follow through on. IMO, it's a more important arc than the one regarding inkyung and her adoring boy. If resolving arcs is outdated, then why did they resolve all the other major arcs except for in-joo's. It's not just about them ending up together for the sake of ending up together. There is an arc here that also involves their personal growth that IMO could have been resolved more satisfactorily in any number of ways. They could have steadily built up the relationship so that when the curtain falls, they are at least that much closer. If you read my comment, I said the did not need to end up together. Just a moving forward, a stepping up to a deeper closeness, would have sufficed. But that ending, they had not taken one step towards each other despite everything they've been through together. IMO that could have been executed much better even without the characters actually ending up together.

I agree with some of your points, and in real life it would be perfectly acceptable and actually advisable to take your time and make sure you are whole and mature and not messed up and needy before getting into a relationship. So IRL, I agree that in-joo should do some serious soul-searching before getting into a serious relationship. That being said, this is not real life. This is a story, and within the confines of a story, before the curtain drops, you need to provide your audience with the catharsis and satisfactionthat they need after going through all the conflict. We need that resolution to something that writers built up, or else you tend to feel dissatisfied. If they wanted this kind of ending, they should have kept in-joo abd do-il's relationship perfectly platonic. No stares, smiles, glances that obviously implied something. Again this is a story, and even though IRL I actually don't think we need anyone to be okay, in a story, you want, as much as possible, to have everything wrapped up, all dangling threads followed through, in order to feel satisfied. I don't believe good storytellingtechniques and archerypes are ever outdated -- conflict, denouement, catharsis -- these age-old archerypes are still relevant because they're based on the human psyche. No matter what the new generation thinks, the idea of what a good story is has not really changed. Anyway, the way they ended inkyoong's storyline is very happy ever after,. so why can't they at least give in-joo and do-il's built up story a more satisfying ending?

I hate to say it but maybe they wanted in joo to be a "strong independent woman" LOL. They didn't want both sisters to end up with men. One of them has to end up alone, standing on her own feet. I would have preferred in kyeong to take on that role. Maybe they thought that was too predictable? In that sense, the ending felt like the ending of GOT, where it was built up throughout the story that Jon Snow was the lead but in the end, Arya ended up killing the night king. They thought that would be better because it was unexpected. Writers should learn that it is always better for the audience to get the ending you built up for them, rather than a surprise twist in the end that would not provide any sort of denouement or catharsis. It's that final sigh of relief that makes us love good stories. We went through all that conflict and we are rewarded with a good ending. You can add twists, but stuff you built up over all the episodes have to be followed through or else there is a feeling of dissatisfaction, like you went through all that trouble for nothing.

What were all those secret glances and secret smiles for? GRRR

I don't know. I think what he said to the female bodyguard was a semi-admission of sorts. He said, if you knew I loved her, why would you do this? I read that as an admission, anyway. Pretty sure he likes her. In Joo also likes him, which is why she felt sad in an earlier episode when he said he would be going away and they wouldn't have any sort of contact, I think it's quite obvious she at least has a crush on him. But I think she's too naive to realize he feels the same way. So all the more reason for the writers to have given us a more satisfying ending to this part of the story. I don't understand why they left it hanging when they gave the other couple a "perfect" ending.

Loved the whole exciting ride but the ending left me feeling empty. They should at least have given us something better for in joo and do-il, at least a moving forward in the relationship even if they do not necessarily end up together yet.

IKR. She was obsessed with it and kept bringing it up every single opportunity LOL.

They're both currently airing kdramas, so the comparison is valid and your analogy is weak. They can be compared based on overall writing and power to engage.

Same. The character just isn't likable or relatable. Too stiff and too controlling. Even when she broke down in tears i could't feel anything, and i actually find her noona romance cringey because of this and because I couldn't detect any chamistry between her and the ML. I actually want her to end up with the ex LOL

I totally agree. In good dramas, you can actually feel how attracted they are to each other. You are drawn into the romance or situation. Here, no such connection is established and we sort of feel like watching this random couple that we don't really know go through relationship problems. Not fun. IMO it's partly due to the way the characters are written. They're not well-rounded. They're sort of flat. So you don't get drawn in. I find the FL especially hard to connect to. Good chemistry between actors might have saved this, but I just couldn't feel anything between these two.

The leads just don't have chemistry, and not just because of the age gap. Their relationship just isn't...that interesting. Also think the FL's character is too stiff to actually relate to. I don't feel any connection to her and find myself not rooting for their relationship. I know the second lead guy was an a**hole but i almost want her to end up with him. This just overall feels flat and uninspired, and the trying-too-hard love-and-weather voiced-over metaphors just are not helping.

Seems like the new generation of drama watchers don't understand the value of catharsis, or are not aware of it. They HATE conflict of any sort and just want fluff, fluff, fluff, endless cute scenes full of fluff and no substance. I always read comments saying, I love this drama became it is so stress-free and has no drama. So ironic! The reason you watch dramas in the first place is for that catharsis. That's the real value, one that is apparently lo the new generation of viewers.

I totally agree with the OP, by the way. The characters are not even likable. Ung is somewhat likable but Yeonsu definitely isn't. From start to finish the writer did not really give the audience enough reasons to relate to her or to like her. I absolutely agree with the shallowness of the relationship. Like we spent more than 10 episodes watching the painfully slow plodding dance of these two to get back together, and when they finally get back together, it's all just awkwardness and slightly cute but totally empty, substance-less scenes that don't really make you feel anything. So anticlimactic. You don't even get why they even like each other. Sounds a lot like obsession and attachment more than anything.

The no-plot slice-of-life technique works if you have well-written characters. But here, we have zero plot and flat characters. So what else is there to hang on to? Cute cinematography?