lilili

When I got married we signed the papers at the church with the reverend as the officiant/witness so in our case it was all done on the same day but my understanding is that's not the case in Korea, you have to go to a government office and register your marriage. Re: the FL, she says in a voiceover that registered marriages cost more than simply having a ceremony. She's had multiple registered marriages but not all of the weddings are registered.

I agree, this is nothing like her previous dramas. In fact, a lot of people hated the first two episodes because they were expecting a standard issue PMY romcom and got weird dark trauma instead.

Yes but her registered marriagesdidn't overlap

People are confused about the FL's marriages so briefly: in Korea, the wedding ceremony is just that, a ceremony. You have to register your marriage to make it legal. The ML & FL have a registered marriage, in other words they are legally married. The FL has had wedding ceremonies with other men while she is married to the ML but the marriages haven't been registered so it's just a ceremony, not legally binding.

Okay, now that that's out of the way: four episodes in and I freakin' love this drama. It's so deeply weird. We thought we were getting a standard issue PMY romcom and instead we got romcom elements with dark childhood trauma and an LGBTQ character who isn't a caricature. Also Go Kyung-pyo's social anxiety disorder tsundere with a great body is making me feel things 😅

I think maybe the 2ML and gay bestie are end game and OMG I would love that so much.

There's a lot of time for the story to go completely off the rails but even if it turns into a complete mess in the end these first four episodes have been so good.

His facial expressions during the dinner with his boss had me literally screaming. But he's also bringing it in the more intimate and intense moments. I've always liked him but he is eating this role.

There's a gay character and the 2ML is entering the contract relationship to kill gay rumors so I'd say it's not the conventional SLS or love triangle but of course it depends on how it plays out.

I'm so curious if they will really go for gay relationship with the 2ML because that would be amazing.

I love your description of the relationship between the ML & FL. I think it's poignant that he struggles to connect with people so he pays for a contract relationship so he has someone to care for by feeding her. And she starts to fall for him because he's given her a safe, quiet space where she's fed and no one makes demands on her.

She had cheek implants put in and it's way too much.

I had the same thought about the male lead, and how it would have been interesting if Lee Min Ki had played him. I do really like Go Kyung-pyo though and I'm already hooked on this drama 2 episodes in.

I just finished Not Me which is a Thai BL but the romance is not the main point of the drama. There's a lot of social critique going on and the plot involves people who become vigilantes to try to correct social injustices. The actor who played Phupha in F4 Thailand is really excellent as the 2ML who is an artist and has his own romance.

Love this and just want to add that Thyme is a beast but so is Gorya. She's a fighter, she's loud, she's messy and she needs someone she can push on hard and who will match her in strength and emotion. Ren is not that person for her. He's too introverted and calm, it's not a good match much that I love him.

I agree with what you said about it being a masterpiece but only to a, certain point. For me it was up to episode 12 when Lita's arc ends. Then it was manufactured drama and implausible behavior from the leads. I would still describe this as a flawed classic that's a must watch, esp for Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers/Meteor Garden fans.

Some of the cuts of the plot were because of covid delays and not being able to travel overseas. They had a rough time on this production. It took two years to complete and they only filmed their last scenes last month.

The ending is seen in the very first scene of the very first episode. Thyme and Gorya meet in the stadium and Thyme narrates how she's changed his life in a voiceover. It's a future scene and then we see everything that leads up to that moment. I think we will end up back there in the last episode of the series.

The main problem is they are stuck with the Hana Yori Dango plot. They did so much to update and make it better but this part of the story is a complete mess in every version. I was hoping F4T would beat the curse but nope.

"the entire theme is for coming to age ceremony rather than romance" <<< This and that's why I'm fine with the lack of a kiss. There is so much going on here with the characters growing up and yes, physical intimacy will be part of that, but the main point in this version isn't the love story but how all the characters grow and change for the better. That's why I'm attached to Thyme and Gorya as individuals, not just as part of the ship, and why I'm attached to each of the F4 as individuals, not just a blob that follows the main couple around.

I've seen every drama version except for MG 2018 (dropped after 2 eps). I just completely disagree with what you're saying (and no I don't think the drama is perfect, I didn't particularly like how ep 11 was executed). The supporting characters get less screen time because the drama is shorter but they are far more complex than in other versions. The writing is so tight that even minor characters like Tia and Glakao get more and more interesting development.

I wrote a long comment about it below. I know most people love the episode but for me the flashback to Talay and Phupha went on too long.

I think all of the F4 characters are much more fleshed out in F4T than in any other version. This is separate from whether any of them get a romance (and fwiw the K&K characters are not end game in any version except for BoF).

You have Ren who is so different from Rui, Lei and Ji Hoo that it's almost like a new character. He's complex, he doesn't do things in obvious ways (provoking Thyme into a fight to admit he loves Gorya, taking Gorya on a date to test her feelings for Thyme). He's evolved from a person who only cares about Mira to the biggest champion for Thyme and Gorya.

Kavin is complex too. He's the most power conscious of the F4, the most likely to use the levers of power in his favor (valedictorian because his uncle in the education minister). But he also in some ways is the most respectful/least paternalistic when it comes to Gorya and Kaning. He tries to tutor Gorya at the funeral, he gives Kaning the precious flower patterns that belong to his grandmother. As a person who wields and understands power, he's affirming that Gorya and Kaning are powerful too.

MJ is the heart of the F4, the one who calls out poor behavior like Thyme's red card to Gorya and the kidnapping. He's also the most invested emotionally in the friendships and works to keep everyone together. In other versions the fourth lead just smirks in the background.

The show did all this while grappling with shoveling plot into 16 eps that takes a minimum of 18 eps in other versions. Amazing.