latteholic

It's a bummer. I feel like around 50 episodes would be more sufficient to properly tell the story of this scope.
Also, do you know if this is officially the final season? My main problem watching season 1 while it was currently airing was that I thought it was an 18-episode drama, and it felt kind of slow trying to wrap up its own story. If I had known it was planned to have 3 seasons at least, then I probably would have enjoyed it more.

Thanks for the correcting me! I forgot they said that and only remembered that they only said that he's an igutu.

I know. I'm sad as well that they killed him off. But the moment he ran back to that burning warehouse, I knew that it was over for him.

I guess they initially regarded Eunseom as just some random Igutu, but with Saya (and Chae Eun also being present) they discovered that he was the son of Asa Hon and Ragaz. The younger Neanthal was particularly happy because he had helped take care of them (Saya and Eunseom) when they were still babies.

They're not in mid conversation. They were just staring at each other then the scene transition to different location with the start of Taelha's sentence in that new location being part of the transition.

isn't that referring to what Eunseom said?

because there were 2 song joong ki

lol. I totally would watch this!

I went back to find that article: https://n.news.naver.com/article/008/0004277534. The article at that time mentioned that Studio Dragon had signed a three-season contract with Netflix (not parts). I recall the discourse on Twitter/Tumblr speculated that each season would consist of 18 episodes, just like in Season 1, totaling 3x18 = 54 episodes (though I remembered it being around 50 episodes all this time).

However, it's been four years, and somewhere along the way, Disney+ took over the deals for international licensing. Xabara was supposed to have larger roles as well in season 2, but due to her scandals, I think they may have written her out of the script instead of recasting.

Also, since it's been four years, many things might have changed. Still, they did plan to have multiple seasons from the beginning, and they might have to reconsider now, taking into account factors like the budget, actors availability, etc.

I also want to see more of the Neanthals. How did they survive all this time, how many are they (I know Rottip and another Neanthal girl, and now another Neanthal who also helped take care of Saya and Eusom when they were little). Also, I want to know more about Song Jong Ho's backstory during the time after the Neanthal purge and when he reunited again with the younger Neanthals. But since they're not main characters, I probably should lower my expectations.

ikr! KOB's performance is truly remarkable. I really like her portrayal of Taelha and the intricate layers of her character: an ambitious woman, a loving mother, and her complex love-hate-betrayal relationship with Tagon. I've already tempered my expectations for SSK, and thus far, she has performed adequately. Her physicality suits the role, and she exudes a goddess-like presence. However, there are moments when I wish she would emote more.

The main issue I have with this season is trying to match the new actors' faces with the side characters, which is probably related to some scenes that I found to be jarring, because it made it difficult to remember why certain characters are relevant in some scenes.

Also, I was wondering if this will be the last season. I remember a couple of days after Part 3 finished, there was an article that stated this was supposed to be a 52-episode drama, which I think makes sense, considering it probably will take that many episodes to flesh out the story, just like other more traditional sageuks.

you can, but you will be very confused.

yes, so it's not a screenwriting issue, but it's your preference, which is fine. Some people like character-driven story like this one and wouldn't mind the continuous flashback to flesh out the character, some like plot-driven story and they get antsy when the plot is left for several episodes for the sake of the character development. The writer could have move those flashback episodes to the beginning and have more linear story, but it looks like he wants to hook the audience with the current plot and go back to the past to explain the NIS and the school involvement and why the kids are where they are and why the characters are behaving the way they are. Ultimately, it's the writer's decision to sacrifice the current plot for a dedicated flashback for character development as long as it aligns with the overall goals of their screenplay and the story they want to tell.

I think he is Aramun who has to pretend to be Inaishigi. He survived the waterfall test because he was helped by the Momo Tribe, not because he has the skills to overcome the waterfall trial. Meanwhile, he's the only one who can ride Kamoru (like it's in his nature).
However, since Tagon has claimed/pretended to be Aramun, it then makes sense for him to claim/pretend to be Inaishigi because, in the end, he was supposed to fight Tagon, just like Inaishigi fought with Aramun.

As if they separate from the crowd to have a private conversation? I don't think they will have that conversation in front of the public.

Yeah, I thought only Song Joong Ki and Kim Ji Won got recast. I like Lee Jun Ki, so I don't mind. I'm worried about Shin Sae Kyung since she's so wooden, and I think it's going to be hard for her to fill Kim Ji Won's shoes. She's passable so far, but I have lowered my expectations. I just didn't expect any other recasting. I like the character of the Neanthal girl, but I thought she could be played by any other actress. However, Kim Sung Chool fits the role of Ip Saeng to a T. It's going to be a bit hard for me not to see his character as the other actor who played him and not as Ip Saeng.

Nooo... they're recasting Ip Saeng as well... 😩

drown them like what the gangster tried to do to Joo Won in ep 10.

or he could have used GPS to go to school from their house... 😊
I just meant that when he delivered chicken to that cellphone place the first time, he was struggling to find the place when he was inside the building of that shopping center. At least from that scene, he's clearly still bad with direction.

They're trying to flesh out the teacher's character because you see him transition from joining the school as just an agent to becoming a real teacher. This also adds more emotional weight to his meeting with Joo Won because Joo Won was the reason he wanted to protect/help the black agent in the first place. Also you get some introduction to other potential gifted kids, meaning that there are more of them than what we thought in the beginning.
Personally, I don't mind it because I've always liked character-driven stories more than plot-driven ones. Even though I also want to see the plot move further than the end of episode 17, I do think it's necessary to have episode 16 focused on the teacher's backstory.