junebug

You would think being terrified that she is "running wild" would have kicked her butt into gear a bit but now this week's episodes it's like she's not even really worrying about that at all? It's weird.

Yep! I mean if Uk mysteriously fell into a coma (reaching here 😅) are we to believe she would just sit by his side hoping he gets better until the end of time? What would she be doing if not for Uk? There's NOTHING else up her sleeve, nothing else she cares about, nothing for her to explore, even if she fails? It's frustrating.

Oop, just left a very similar comment to this, before seeing yours 😅 I agree. I thought we'd get to see her doing something cooler and more high stakes by now. Feel like the show has lost sight of her arc a bit.

I think my main grievance with the show is that it started off strongly as Naksu's story filled with so much forward momentum for her character, and then as time went on it shifted to the Uk show. Everything she does, she does through him, and is trapped in a web of Uk, Yul, Crown Prince, and oddly does not seem to resist against this in any way. Taking on the role of maid was funny and interesting at first, but now it is episode 14 I am tired of her cleaning for this person, cleaning for that person, etc. I also feel her emotional state/inner thoughts are not made as clear to the audience as those of Uk's. I get she is changing as a character, but it's annoying that the urgent goal she once had has been eroded, so it doesn't feel like she is actively working toward anything on an episode to episode basis. She just gets tossed around from scene to scene with Uk, Crown Prince, Yul, Uk, Crown Prince, Yul, Uk, Crown Prince...repeat. I would've appreciated even if she had a mini side quest to do on her own that she could've sneaked around and done, separate from the guys. The dudes are busy enough but when left on her own all she does is clean. Again, her priorities have changed and she has feelings for Uk, but she's not a completely different person. Where is her spark?

Sadly agree. I still enjoy it but it has not lived up to the first few episodes. Thought the story would feel bigger and more exciting, less repetitive romance.

Yes I agree! He could be used in other areas of the storyline much better and it would be more interesting. Their scenes with the same old flashbacks are beyond stale at this point.

Yul is actually more interesting to me now that he is showing his flaws and people are hating on him 😅 I will take a character who has unlikable moments over one who is bland (which is kind of how I found him before) any day. I think his conflict is interesting even if I find his behavior frustrating.

People are flattening him by saying he is just trying to protect Uk and Mu Deok. Sure he is, he thinks he is, but only according to his own flawed moral compass. He is protecting them from taking a "bad path" in his eyes, but preventing them from doing so is not helpful to Naksu. Are his intentions evil? Of course not. But that does not make him right.

Agreed with you 100%! She seems really sweet but is going to get hate thrown at her just like liking Uk. Since it's obviously not going to go anywhere I hope they'll move past the unrequited love quickly. I wish she and Mu Deok could be friends :(

Oo didn't know that. Very cool, I hope so! I really like her character ☺️

I am aware she is a side character 😊 This show is plenty long enough to give its side characters a bit more to do, in my opinion. Hope to see it happen!

Yes, wondering about this too. It has to come up somehow! Though I almost would not put it past him to forget about this because, in honesty, he isn't the brightest villain of the bunch lol.

So was Yoon Ok really just brought on board to cause minor unnecessary angst with Uk and nothing else? If so, I'm disappointed. She entered the show dramatically just for them to basically not use her at all. I hope she gets to do something more important.

I really do see what you mean! I'm not sure I agree that the main point of the drama is just to raise awareness. Sure that is part of it but I do think this drama is trying to go beyond that. And I think it is fair to criticize the manner in which they are doing that and how people are talking about it. More representation is a net good in my opinion, for sure, even if it is flawed. But people just being "aware" doesn't mean they won't perpetuate harmful stereotypes, so it's good to have conversations like this!

For me I don't think I could ever keep up with an ongoing Cdrama because the amount of episodes released per week is too overwhelming 😅 Most people who watch Kdramas are watching a few at once so I think this schedule makes sense. I personally like having two eps a week. When it's dropped all at once the hype disappears faster.

If it were a random ignorant comment I would just brush it off but seeing thousand of people enthusiastically agree made me feel really 😕😕😕😕

Thanks for such a thoughtful response! You're right, we can't deny Park Eun Bin is adorable 😆 It's not that she isn't cute, but the specific way some people treat her character, especially when it comes to things like talking about her stimming, (or even mimicking her stimming 😬) It's not that people can't find her cute, but some people treat her as if she's an adorably peculiar child.

I don't think it's possible for the writers to be perfect, especially because every autistic person has different experiences, and will have different thoughts on the show. It's certainly not fair to blame the writers for the behaviors/potential misunderstandings of the audience. It's just when so much of the audience is perpetuating harmful comments, it made me pause and question things.

You're right that it is going to be uncomfortable in some ways no matter what. I think, even if the writers do get everything right (which is not realistic, as there's no single concept of "right") part of that work is the audience having productive conversations and trying to talk through discomfort and make sure critical voices aren't lost in a sea of positivity, no matter how popular the show is.

It's tough for sure. I just thought I'd speak out on some discomfort because of how much traction some ignorant comments are getting lately. But I don't have a solution except to remind people to be thoughtful. Thanks again for your comment! 😊

Yes I agree with you, I don't think people are intending any harm. Certainly a lot of watchers are young and I get that. I just felt the need to get my discomfort off my chest because it's not just some ignorant statements here and there, but seems to have become the dominant way people talk about the show now that it has blown up. When such messages are the top trending reactions of an audience, it is hard to ignore. I also worry valid criticisms are drowned out by the overwhelming positivity. Just sharing my discomfort and hoping people might be more careful about the manner in which they speak more often :)

I am not saying everyone calling him a "green flag" has bad intentions or means it in that way. Or that he isn't a nice person. He is! 😊 But many comments seem to have behind them a thought of "Jun Ho is morally superior, a perfect man, because he treats an autistic person with decency and respect, like any other human." Again, not all, and I'm not saying anyone is intending harm, just that it nags at me.

I'm enjoying EAW (though I think the rating and hype gave me unrealistic expectations, if I'm honest) but am I the only one super uncomfortable with the way the majority of the audience is engaging with this show? 😕 I love Park Eun Bin and don't feel qualified to make a judgment on her performance of an autistic individual, but many of the "shes so cute 😢" reactions come across as infantalizing. I just saw a viral tweet, which actually someone even commented below, saying "Because they closed the lights, you can't tell who is disabled and who isn't" about their kiss scene; nobody sees anything wrong with that? 😕😕 The implication that "you can hardly tell she's disabled, she just looks like a 'NORMAL' person" is pretty gross, and it has 15k likes. As if the point of the show is to prove she is "normal" enough for her autism to not be visible? Um, no. I've also seen tons of people acting like Jun Ho is a saint and a "green flag" just for having feelings for an autistic person.

Anyway, I really do enjoy the show but a lot of the popular discussion around it has been a turnoff to me. I do wonder if people would treat Young Woo differently if she didn't come across as so "cute and quirky" in a digestible manner to non-disabled people. The show does a lot well and I appreciate it, even though the last couple episodes were just okay to me, but the responses from large parts of the audience does have me questioning, "is the show encouraging these ableist responses with its execution, or are people missing the point?"

With all respect this is a pretty weird question. What if we asked, "can you prove with numbers that the storyline is NOT being dragged by the love triangles?" 😅 Critiquing TV writing doesn't work like that. And it's not something to be proven or disproven. Some people will, using their experience and knowledge from watching television and reading stories, get a sense that certain elements of a show are causing a story to drag/are not necessary. Others may not feel that way/may enjoy it. If many many people are making a critique then it's something to take note of, though of course you do not have to agree ☺️ Enjoy the show and let people feel how they feel about it—nothing needs to be proven from either side with graphs and figures.