lilili

That's why I've been saying that any woman who desires men (sexually, as partners, as the father of her children) is Gorya. We are all engaging with the beast every single time. We are all facing a potentially annihilating threat.

That was heartwrenching to read. I hope her children reach out to her when they're old enough.

The expression on her face during the birthday countdown totally sold me on her feelings for him. She's conflicted but the feelings are definitely there.

Agree on this. It's at the start of episode 7 but you could skip the first part of the episode on YouTube since each episode is broken up into five separate parts and then just watch the rest. I gave some people a heads up about the scene before they watched so they could opt out if they wanted to because it really is awful and potentially triggering (though I agree it is not romanticized).

I think Thyme didn't invite her in a misguided attempt to protect her. Also he says he prefers her world to his own so maybe he wants to keep her there because that's when he's most connected to her. But Gorya is too big a star (literally!) to be contained that way. Thyme has to stop patronizing her and pay her the due respect of acknowledging her power to navigate his world.

I agree, we're only halfway through the story and Thyme still has a lot of growing to do. His reaction makes sense at this point of his journey.

I think they are setting us up for Gorya to step up and engage with Thyme as an equal. The title of the episode is The Incident of 1% which is of course about the global 1% but also I think about Gorya because she is also the 1% but she earns it through her courage, integrity and resilience.

I loved how the funeral was a huge reality check for Gorya but also so many different things playing out for all the characters. This morning it occurred to me that Kavin arranged for the flower shop to work the funeral because otherwise how would a small obscure business land a job like that? And then he explicitly tutors Kaning and Gorya on the importance of the event for their business and why they had to make sure everything was perfect. It was a huge compliment because Kavin is the most consciously political of the F4 and no way would he invite Gorya and Kaning to be there unless he respected them and cared about them. And that's just a tiny part of the whole funeral sequence. The layers of storytelling at play are incredible.

So some people are upset over Thyme yelling in Gorya's face when they were being separated by his mother's guards. It turns out that the production did film a more gentle version but they went with the one that was angrier. I'm fascinated and wish I knew why: https://twitter.com/Jlight04/status/1495208125947080711

Someone on Twitter said now they know why MJ was scared to lose his father's iPad 🤣

All of this!

It's not hypocrisy, it's misogyny.

I hate that anyone is jumping on Gorya for how she behaved in this episode. The 1% people are freakin' terrifying and willing to go to almost any limit to gain more power. Plus Lita is legitimately a perfectly appropriate choice for Thyme (on paper, assuming you don't account for what the heart wants). And Gorya's been through so much and like she said she's exhausted, god, give this poor girl some compassion. She needs it.

The 1% motif and how it played out at the funeral was freakin' incredible. That sequence doesn't exist in the manga or other adaptations. Taking the death of a billionaire who no one mourns (no tears at the funeral) and having it ripple out to the death of childhood for Thyme and the F4, the death of Gorya's ignorance about the people she's been dealing with and (for the time being) the death of her romance with Thyme, holy shit that was just stupendous writing. I am blown away.

Even if there's a succession plan it's still very messy to transition leadership for a billionaire empire. No guarantees that the heirs are ready or capable of stepping up to the job . Because of the uncertainty, other families would be looking for opportunities to increase their own power and wealth. It all seems very plausible for me except maybe for the high schoolers being pulled in that is a little farfetched.

In other versions he doesn't get hurt like Ji Hoo got hurt (Korea played up the second lead in a way that wasn't done in other versions) but he doesn't get his own love either. He becomes a very good friend for the female lead.

1) When they are in the storage room and Thyme says he hadn't understood why he'd fallen in love with her so hard but now he gets it. The look on both their faces as they are bathed in the star lights is just GAH.

2) The birthday countdown. Thyme officially becomes a man and the first thing he sees is Gorya's smiling face. It's so beautifully done it made me cry.

I had an interesting experience with my podcast partners re: our upcoming F4 Thailand episode. Two of the women HATED Korean BoF with a white hot passion so I made the F4T podcast optional for our crew. No one had to watch the new version if they didn't want to or if they did opt in, a couple of episodes would be enough for us to talk. Well, no one opted out and everyone is still watching and genuinely enjoying it, including the BoF haters. And this is true even after Episode 7 and That Scene.

Yes, this interview: https://youtu.be/Lxp6UC_J-HM

I'm taken with how poised he is in the spotlight and with all the controversies. He wears his fame lightly, if that makes any sense. He has a lot of interests outside of acting and I think that keeps him grounded.

I saw an hour long interview with him and Win and I was so taken by how thoughtful and poised he was. When he talked about his mother selling her car so he could get tutoring to win an engineering scholarship and how gratifying it was for him to be able to tell his mother to quit her job because he was making enough money to support her, it literally made me teary eyed. He's great and I really don't get why he provokes such a negative response in some people.

That's fascinating. I saw a bts with the director talking about casting and he had a lot to say about everyone except for Bright. All he said was "I thought this boy is charming. I'd like to have him for my Thyme." Which means he didn't have to think about it much, it was an obvious choice.

As an aside the director seemed exasperated with Dew. Poor Dew! But he was excellent in episodes 6 and 7 so whatever frustration the director had it seems like choosing Dew and developing him into an actor paid off.