To me, season 1 was brutal but didn’t explore the characters very deeply. Season 2, on the other hand, focused much more on the personal stories of the people who took part in the deadly competition, characters like Thanos, MG Coin, his pregnant girlfriend, the transgender contestant, the old lady and her son, who was in debt because of gambling, and others. For me, that’s exactly why season 2 was better.
"The plot is overly ambitious and weaves together too many complicated themes from mental illness, various social injustices, transgender issues, terminal illness, corporate greed, vengeance and, atonement" I don’t quite understand why this is an issue from your perspective. The drama is inherently dark, and the creators don’t shy away from that fact. There is even a warning before every episode, cautioning that it might cause discomfort for more sensitive viewers. From the color palette and opening music to the overall tone and visuals, everything about it is deliberately dark. Anyone who decided to give the show a try would have recognized this from the very first minute.
So, I find it puzzling when someone chooses to watch a show like this and then complains about the heavy themes. The situations, characters, and scenarios depicted are all things that could potentially occur in daily life in Taiwan, where so many people live. To me, it’s refreshing to see something so raw, dark, and devoid of the typical "sunshine" we often see in other dramas. It’s unflinching, real, and uncompromising, which I find both bold and captivating.
Beautifully written post. Really appreciated, I agree with most parts, but I couldn't put it into such well constructed sentences. Thank you very much :)
"and the claims of society and family traditions, this could all be pretty depressing. But amazingly, it's not." I cannot agree, the protagonists claims directly that they feel miserable in many aspects in their life, living in the countryside and everyday commute seems to be energy and time consuming, getting back to home when two baby boomers parents always are in bad humor, work in the field in order to helping their dad's responsibilities, failure after failure in a matter of finding love ( at leas in the begining) all of this creates narrative when they are really depressed characters and I felt that most of the times. I think it could be quite realistic and relatable, hence so many people enjoyed this drama, as I did.
I agree with you to a certian point, but what do you mean that "what happens is realistic or not; at a certain point, the drama only seeks to entertain without taking into account the veracity of what is shown". Imo this shows its pretty realistic, every issue showed in this drama could easily happened it our fast paced world when people are getting so obssesed with money, status etc, marriages problems, suicide etc also has been showned realistic, of course in capitalistic, competitive society like SK
So, I find it puzzling when someone chooses to watch a show like this and then complains about the heavy themes. The situations, characters, and scenarios depicted are all things that could potentially occur in daily life in Taiwan, where so many people live. To me, it’s refreshing to see something so raw, dark, and devoid of the typical "sunshine" we often see in other dramas. It’s unflinching, real, and uncompromising, which I find both bold and captivating.