namopanik

Right? I was thinking separating Dong Cheol and Sang Hwan for a few episodes was a brilliant move, because Ok Taec Yeon wasn't being directly overshadowed by Woo Do Hwan's presence & Dong Cheol's golden hearted bad boy vibes so we could grow fond of him, but one scene of them passing each other and it's all in vain.

could someone recommend me something similar? Short, suspenseful mystery story with twists?

The more I think of it, the less I like the shape it took in the second half or so. It's enjoyable as a pretty to look at segeuk, but as a psychological drama it turned weak and disjointed, for me at least. I know the majority likes it, but I barely pushed myself to finish last two episodes and gave up to fastforwarding and recaps in the end.
Shouldn't have spoilt myself with real history. The love triangle part was both underdeveloped and unnecessary. Frankly, I think it would be more interesting to explore relationship between brothers and their respective approach towards power and powerplays without simplifying things by focusing large portion of the conflict on the girl. Madness and cruelty of the King was first skipped over, then used as a device to make him look pitiful, then used as a pretext for replacing him. Drama!CP had way too much agency. Myung Hee's role was gradually less and less important in order to maintain the romantic image of the main pair. Stupid, passive loyalty without a broader view on the state's good was presented as something admirable.
I feel disengaged towards this drama, not the best thing after investing 20 hours. Also, a feeling that the story closer to real events would be far more interesting than the fiction isn't ideal. It had many good points, but they faded after weeks of finishing and everything fell flat. I don't know whether it's a drama fault, or it's just not what I wanted to get. Probably the latter.
/vent over.

/As many flaws Hwajeong may have, its first half or so manages to be everything this one wasn't while sharing many similar plotpoints and types of relationships between characters. So if you're disappointed with Q7D, you may want to try that one.

They also namedrop Satan (translated to Devil in my subs, pronounced like sahtan, not saytan, but I gues it makes sense historically speaking). Boat of Salvation is a classic Christian imagery, too, but here the sense is different obviously. With how they're hinting towards a mass suicide(?) with that one I'm starting to wonder if there's some underlying, maybe not even fully intentional connection with the Sewol ferry disaster and that's why the writer chose a boat from all the things?
I think they are very clever with how they're playing with Christian elements for showing how cults work using parts borrowed from the main stream and hiding in a plain sight. But sometimes it hits unsettlingly close to real cult's traditions and current issues (for example: the way the pill is placed on Sang Mi's mother's tongue like a communion; child abuse swept under the rug). With that ambiguity I feel from time to time as if they could be talking about real religion and not sketchy cults only. But mostly it's a mash up of everything, aimed to look eerie and brainwash-y, and expose some mechanism of using elements of mainstream cults for their own agenda.

Fun fact: those red neon crosses seem super foreign and ominous to me, but now that I started paying attention, they aren't unseen in a city landscapes in other dramas, like it was a normal thing. I thought it was a prop made from a scratch for the drama.

I'm holding on the though she's left for the end, with her own proper arc. It's was cool to acknowledge she's shoved aside, but we want more of her. Justice for Sa Rang!

It does. Thank you :)

it did, both episodes are out raw, but viki doesn't have it at all, and dramafever has a page but nothing uploaded so far (+regional restrictions). And without them, there are not subs.

/ODK is said to sub it (according to soompi forum)

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I'm not sure kisses are even a thing in school dramas. I wouldn't be surprised if they teased the audience with almost kisses till the end. Or is it only a case when one or both of the main cast is still underage?

So far, how much medical in medical it has (compared to Faith, because I see it mentioned above)? Does this tag only serve as a backdrop or do they focus heavily (and graphically) on the medical cases? Does it have hospital politics? Or a scene of two teams betting on a patient's life to prove who's cooler? In other words - is it more clash of characters/eras and fish out of water hijinks, or just a typical medical drama spiced up with time travel for no good reason?

it looks so good, I hope it gets subbed soon on the wave of Save Me hype. And is that the sharp-cheekboned villain from Voice? Win-win.
/some sources list it as a 2015 movie, filmed from early 2015 onwards and premiering in Oct that year at Busan Festival. I guess it might have troubles with theatrical distribution or just went straight for DVD in the end. So rating it in 2016 wasn't that stupid afterall :P

Not sure which 11 you mean, but I agree the show is generally heavy on voice-over and verbal explanations by third parties. Not a fan of those either, but I got used to it by now and it definitely stays. What saves it for me is that the show can be subtle when it makes an effort to not rely on those tricks. It can depict very much with stares and gestures alone, either leaving the audience uncertain what main characters are actually feeling or making it obvious without words, depending on the spot in the plot.

I'm impressed by this show, I really am, but after episodes 5-6 I'm starting to wonder can it pull a 16 episodes format, because there's only so far a mood building and emotional distress overload can take us. People being idiots for the sake of maintaining status quo can become tiring really fast and those two episodes were full of 'if onlys'. If only Sang Mi grabbed on the weakest link, the policewoman who was hesitating instead of the man. If only she stayed low, raised no suspicion leading to nailing her door and escaped quietly at night (but in his current state, I'd rather have a nailed door between me and her father). If only Sang Hwan wasn't a bloody idiot and didn't approach her when she was surrounded by her captors. And so on and on. We established a few things - people are generally oblivious and easily manipulated although the policewoman is a possible hope, Sang Mi still has a will to live, Sang Hwan feels guilty enough to help no matter what, Dong Cheol has new friends that can provide raw power. So I'm not as much complaining on this development as fear that 'if only' may turn into a formula. How many times can we watch her almost saving herself/getting saved? Some plot progress would be very much of use after all that intro, but we have a binary situation: captured/saved, so there's not much space to work within until we get to the second part, only making her situation even worse.
What's the endgame? Dismantling the cult and all its connection in the town? Or just liberating Sang Mi? Maybe it's my lack of empathy talking, but at this point I'm having trouble to care about other victims of the cult, parents included. They're just zombies.

so did Kang Ha Neul make his cameo or not?

1. Arghh, why not spare a second for that big cart passing you? But amidst another of those little speeches on birdcages and whatnot getting kidnapped by Song In doesn't sound like such a bad idea anymore.
2. I'm having troubles to choose which Rin is the best Rin: angry Rin, sibling goals Rin or dazzled Rin.

All three of them are equally important (Won - Rin - San).
If you're asking who gets the girl, we don't know yet for sure. In the book it's Rin, but they might have changed it to Won for the drama. I hope they haven't because 2nd-leading Won opens up a space for more interesting character arc, if he wins nothing substantially changes between him and Rin.

It's way too good to find it randomly. Why am I only hearing about it now? It's quirky, intriguing and wraps itself within 4 hours. It exceeds typical harem formula posing a few deeper questions. It had me guessing, suspecting everyone and still fooled me several times. I'm not very sure how to feel about the last episode, but overall it was very enjoyable.

A ghost appears briefly, but it's 99% a figment of a troubled, drugged mind. The drama stands pretty firm on 'religion is BS preying on human weakness and misery' viewpoint.

Woah, it's so good once you pass the cliches. I'm glad I gave it a second shot. I expected some OTT misplaced crime mystery, but it's a perfect amount of guesswork so far. They're using prefabricate types as a starting point and taking it in a very interesting place. I'm sold!
/lol, did they just referenced The Wailing in ep 3?

Oh, I see. That's the problem I have with cdramas, frankly. Despite huge money pumped into making it they usually end up looking off.