Some EAW theories and my objective (and subjective) answers to them.
1. Jun-ho and Young-woo are related? NO. Please no.
Jun-ho is older than Young-woo. However, Young-woo's half-brother is supposedly younger than she is. If Jun-ho really is her brother, well... the math isn't mathing.
And EAW isn't a majkang. Yes there will be twists, but not that type of twist. Oh no.
2. Possible romance between Young-woo and Attorney Jung? NO.
Attorney Jung is 43 years, which is 15 years older than Young-woo. Yes, some kdramas might have a huge age gap between romantic leads. But for EAW? I highly doubt that. I never imagined Young-woo with someone like Attorney Jang, and the age difference makes me feel even more unsettled. Plus, there has been NO indication of them even being remotedly interested in each other. He's her mentor. Mentor.
If you ask me, if Attorney Jung was to be a love interest, he would have noticed that Young-woo isn't ever included in cheers or that Min-woo was being discriminatory towards her. He's a good boss who obviously cares, but not the way a lover is supposed to.
3. Romance between Young-woo and Jun-ho? Yes!
In the press conference, when Park Eun-bin talked about how inexperienced Young-woo is as regards romance, she hinted on a romantic angle between them both, even calling their romance 'ingenious'. She also said that Kang Tae-oh was a good partner to work with.
Jun-ho likes Young-woo, she's starting to like him, they'll start dating, and we'll see where it goes from there.
4. Jun-ho doesn’t like Young-woo, but pities her instead? NO NO NO. What the...? Where did this even come from?
Maybe in ep 2 this would've been feasible. But the Jun-ho in Ep 6 has advanced from showing kidness to an autistic person > respecting her as an attorney > liking her as a woman.
Why is it so hard for people to believe that someone who is (supposedly) allistic can develop feelings for someone like Young-woo? It's frustrating enough seeing Min-woo assume so. However, he knows nothing about the progression of their relationship, but we've seen it all.
I believe that this drama wants to show the realism of a relationship between an NT and an autistic. Young-woo might have moments where she feels that Jun-ho's affection for her is based on pity. How are we supposed to root for the couple if we ignorantly assume the same, despite it being plain to see that HE LIKES HER?
I guess it comes down to the way the production team wanted Young-woo to be portrayed, PEB's understanding of…
Okay, my comment is a little bit long, but here's anotherway to see it.
Imagine that Sang-tae was to be the lead character in a slightly comedic drama. The drama would have pretty, eye-catching cinematography, with extensive CGI and huge dinosaurs walking around. It's bgm is not like the heavy tones of a drama like IOTNBO. The goal of the drama is to promote autism awareness, but it wants to balance it with light-heartedness so as not to be heavy. So Sang-tae would have some quirks so the audience can root for him, have a bit of comedic timing, and be stuffed with lots of ASD characteristics to make him more relatable to the ASD community.
Point is: Oh Jung-se would've had to potray Sang-tae different from IOTNBO (possibly with a bit of overacting), not necessarily because of the autism spectrum being wide, but because of:
1. The writing (also, most female characters in kdramas are written differently than males, with more quirks)
2. The genre and tone of the drama.
If Young-woo was written the same as Sang-tae, and if EAW was a melodrama, then the comparison between them both would be valid. Moreover, Park Eun-bin wouldn't have to 'overact'. If given the same script and setting, I see no other actress doing it better than PEB.
But doesn't autism has a spectrum? Everyone with autism is different? Even in this drama this fact is heavily…
This might be off point, but Park Eun-bin and Oh Jung-se both acted in Stove League, and Oh Jung-se sometimes called her sunbae because she was more experienced than him in acting
Let me edit this, because it seems as though a lot of you have a problem understanding context. I understand Autism…
I guess it comes down to the way the production team wanted Young-woo to be portrayed, PEB's understanding of the character, and the theme of the drama. Here are my subjective thoughts on why I feel that PEB's delivery of Young-woo is deliberate.
1. When preparing for the role, PEB didn't reference any autistic character. It was textbook knowledge, coaching from professors, her knowledge of psychology (she majored in it) and possibly real-life examples.
2. Young-woo is first female main character in kdrama with autism. She is the main focus of the story. That's a really huge responsibility, especially as the topic ASD is sensitive, and the writer might have wanted to meet up to the challenge by giving Young-woo a lot of characteristics to make her relatable with most with ASD. Some aren't high functioning, but some can't go through revolving doors. Some might not exhibit echolalia, but some get scared of loud noises. Some aren't geniuses, but they have a specific interest.
It's clear that the writer knows that autism is a spectrum, and she had a lot of liberty in writing Young-woo's character. I believe there's a reason why Young-woo was written the way she was.
3. While Sang-tae isn't quirky, Young-woo certainly is. And it could or could not be related to her autism. Quirkiness isn't just narrowed down to autism. Most light-hearted kdramas have quirky FLs. Young-woo is the FL, and being quirky (which may seem like overacting) gives her more appeal to the audience.
4. The tone of the drama is light. If it was a melodrama, or had a serious theme, Young-woo's character's traits might have been toned down to seem more 'convincing'.
The writer had a lot of messages to convey about autism. If the mood of EAW was serious and sombre, and if Young-woo was more 'realistic', then the messages would be too in-your-face. By maintaining a balance between comedy and realism, the main points of the drama could be made clear to the audience without EAW feeling like a documentary.
eg IOTNBO had an autistic character as one of the leads but it barely gave knowledge on autism (that is, it showed struggles autistic people face, but there was hardly any facts about autism). EAW has addressed a lot about autism - that it's a spectrum, the history of Asperger's etc. If EAWs facts about ASD were added to IOTNBO's melo tone, and if Young-woo was more like Sang-tae, (plus the fact that Young-woo is the central character), it would have felt like an ASD documentary.
If given the same script as Sang-tae, I believe that PEB would've still done a fantastic job. For now, with the way Young-woo is, that's how the producers want us to see her, and that's PEB's interpretation of the role.
6. This isn't really a point, but it's something my classmate mentioned after watching both IOTNBO and EAW. Oh Jung-se in real life doesn't seem so different from Moon Sang-tae. Park Eun-bin is a complete 180 from Woo Young-woo. Her characters are usually so different from each other (and so different from PEB), and she puts in a lot of effort into her delivery, and she is doing the best she can.
I respect her for playing this role despite initially rejecting it, and despite the huge pressures that came along with it. There's only one other kactress that I believe can do justice to this role. So I try not to nitpick PEB's portrayal so much. (Might I add, I also appreciate you being respectful of her.)
7. I wouldn't say that Young-woo isn't convincing as someone who is autistic, because there could be a person with ASD whose traits are 'exaggerated' that it could seem like they are 'acting'. It may be far-fetched, but it's possible. Lots of people have mentioned that they know someone who behaves just like Young-woo.
I'm not trying to argue with you, though. I've seen a few people who feel the same way as you do. Your viewpoint is in no way illogical or disrespectful. We might not agree, but we are enjoying the drama so far, and that's what's important.
Autism is very different in real life. Not all autistic child appears to be as same as lead actress here. I have…
Autism is a very wide spectrum, and there are a lot of autistic people irl. Maybe you just haven't seen the ones like WYW yet. Maybe you can't either, because there's no two autistic people that are the same.
However, lots of people have said they know people with nearly the same characteristics as YW, so ASD isn't much different irl as portrayed in this drama. It actually sheds more light on the range of neurodivergence, and PEB may not be autistic, but she's doing a damn good job.
1. Jun-ho and Young-woo are related? NO. Please no.
Jun-ho is older than Young-woo. However, Young-woo's half-brother is supposedly younger than she is. If Jun-ho really is her brother, well... the math isn't mathing.
And EAW isn't a majkang. Yes there will be twists, but not that type of twist. Oh no.
2. Possible romance between Young-woo and Attorney Jung? NO.
Attorney Jung is 43 years, which is 15 years older than Young-woo. Yes, some kdramas might have a huge age gap between romantic leads. But for EAW? I highly doubt that. I never imagined Young-woo with someone like Attorney Jang, and the age difference makes me feel even more unsettled. Plus, there has been NO indication of them even being remotedly interested in each other. He's her mentor. Mentor.
If you ask me, if Attorney Jung was to be a love interest, he would have noticed that Young-woo isn't ever included in cheers or that Min-woo was being discriminatory towards her. He's a good boss who obviously cares, but not the way a lover is supposed to.
3. Romance between Young-woo and Jun-ho? Yes!
In the press conference, when Park Eun-bin talked about how inexperienced Young-woo is as regards romance, she hinted on a romantic angle between them both, even calling their romance 'ingenious'. She also said that Kang Tae-oh was a good partner to work with.
Jun-ho likes Young-woo, she's starting to like him, they'll start dating, and we'll see where it goes from there.
4. Jun-ho doesn’t like Young-woo, but pities her instead? NO NO NO. What the...? Where did this even come from?
Maybe in ep 2 this would've been feasible. But the Jun-ho in Ep 6 has advanced from showing kidness to an autistic person > respecting her as an attorney > liking her as a woman.
Why is it so hard for people to believe that someone who is (supposedly) allistic can develop feelings for someone like Young-woo? It's frustrating enough seeing Min-woo assume so. However, he knows nothing about the progression of their relationship, but we've seen it all.
I believe that this drama wants to show the realism of a relationship between an NT and an autistic. Young-woo might have moments where she feels that Jun-ho's affection for her is based on pity. How are we supposed to root for the couple if we ignorantly assume the same, despite it being plain to see that HE LIKES HER?
Sigh.
Imagine that Sang-tae was to be the lead character in a slightly comedic drama. The drama would have pretty, eye-catching cinematography, with extensive CGI and huge dinosaurs walking around. It's bgm is not like the heavy tones of a drama like IOTNBO. The goal of the drama is to promote autism awareness, but it wants to balance it with light-heartedness so as not to be heavy. So Sang-tae would have some quirks so the audience can root for him, have a bit of comedic timing, and be stuffed with lots of ASD characteristics to make him more relatable to the ASD community.
Point is: Oh Jung-se would've had to potray Sang-tae different from IOTNBO (possibly with a bit of overacting), not necessarily because of the autism spectrum being wide, but because of:
1. The writing (also, most female characters in kdramas are written differently than males, with more quirks)
2. The genre and tone of the drama.
If Young-woo was written the same as Sang-tae, and if EAW was a melodrama, then the comparison between them both would be valid. Moreover, Park Eun-bin wouldn't have to 'overact'. If given the same script and setting, I see no other actress doing it better than PEB.
1. When preparing for the role, PEB didn't reference any autistic character. It was textbook knowledge, coaching from professors, her knowledge of psychology (she majored in it) and possibly real-life examples.
2. Young-woo is first female main character in kdrama with autism. She is the main focus of the story. That's a really huge responsibility, especially as the topic ASD is sensitive, and the writer might have wanted to meet up to the challenge by giving Young-woo a lot of characteristics to make her relatable with most with ASD. Some aren't high functioning, but some can't go through revolving doors. Some might not exhibit echolalia, but some get scared of loud noises. Some aren't geniuses, but they have a specific interest.
It's clear that the writer knows that autism is a spectrum, and she had a lot of liberty in writing Young-woo's character. I believe there's a reason why Young-woo was written the way she was.
3. While Sang-tae isn't quirky, Young-woo certainly is. And it could or could not be related to her autism. Quirkiness isn't just narrowed down to autism. Most light-hearted kdramas have quirky FLs. Young-woo is the FL, and being quirky (which may seem like overacting) gives her more appeal to the audience.
4. The tone of the drama is light. If it was a melodrama, or had a serious theme, Young-woo's character's traits might have been toned down to seem more 'convincing'.
The writer had a lot of messages to convey about autism. If the mood of EAW was serious and sombre, and if Young-woo was more 'realistic', then the messages would be too in-your-face. By maintaining a balance between comedy and realism, the main points of the drama could be made clear to the audience without EAW feeling like a documentary.
eg IOTNBO had an autistic character as one of the leads but it barely gave knowledge on autism (that is, it showed struggles autistic people face, but there was hardly any facts about autism). EAW has addressed a lot about autism - that it's a spectrum, the history of Asperger's etc. If EAWs facts about ASD were added to IOTNBO's melo tone, and if Young-woo was more like Sang-tae, (plus the fact that Young-woo is the central character), it would have felt like an ASD documentary.
If given the same script as Sang-tae, I believe that PEB would've still done a fantastic job. For now, with the way Young-woo is, that's how the producers want us to see her, and that's PEB's interpretation of the role.
6. This isn't really a point, but it's something my classmate mentioned after watching both IOTNBO and EAW. Oh Jung-se in real life doesn't seem so different from Moon Sang-tae. Park Eun-bin is a complete 180 from Woo Young-woo. Her characters are usually so different from each other (and so different from PEB), and she puts in a lot of effort into her delivery, and she is doing the best she can.
I respect her for playing this role despite initially rejecting it, and despite the huge pressures that came along with it. There's only one other kactress that I believe can do justice to this role. So I try not to nitpick PEB's portrayal so much. (Might I add, I also appreciate you being respectful of her.)
7. I wouldn't say that Young-woo isn't convincing as someone who is autistic, because there could be a person with ASD whose traits are 'exaggerated' that it could seem like they are 'acting'. It may be far-fetched, but it's possible. Lots of people have mentioned that they know someone who behaves just like Young-woo.
I'm not trying to argue with you, though. I've seen a few people who feel the same way as you do. Your viewpoint is in no way illogical or disrespectful. We might not agree, but we are enjoying the drama so far, and that's what's important.
However, lots of people have said they know people with nearly the same characteristics as YW, so ASD isn't much different irl as portrayed in this drama. It actually sheds more light on the range of neurodivergence, and PEB may not be autistic, but she's doing a damn good job.
Also, the lady in Our Blues had Down Syndrome.