What kind of a fucked up person would wish a pedo a good life? This actor abused a minor and filmed it and was…
That's fine for you. But let's not pretend that corrupted lawyers don't also exist. Or if not even corrupted, then certainly, competent and strictly professional lawyers that will do whatever they can to win their case and get least damage and sentencing for their clients and when those clients happen to be vile criminals, this is a problem.
What kind of a fucked up person would wish a pedo a good life? This actor abused a minor and filmed it and was…
Yes, but lawyers are also human and a private entity who are allowed to prioritise their career/business/livelihood needs.... Which leads to really wealthy criminals being able to buy off corrupted and skilled lawyers and it turns into a battle of wits in the court.
An incompetent but well-intentioned lawyer representing an innocent party vs a highly skilled, selfish lawyer representing a guilty party. Chances are, the innocent party would unfairly fail the case on such terms. (Then it depends on the competence and/or corruption levels of the prosecution and judge.....)
HE IS ACTING AS A ZOMBIE AND HE AINT THAT GOOD LOOKING .WHAT U EXPECT??
Just saying. You can give your critical opinion on his acting skills. That's fair. I've only really loved him in Weak Hero so far but I've seen very limited work of his.
Just, his physical looks are not relevant. There's role opportunities for every type of face and built.
What kind of a fucked up person would wish a pedo a good life? This actor abused a minor and filmed it and was…
I've just got to say, I hate legal loopholes. Human law systems in general are so black and white with a bunch of long-winded text which can either leave loopholes for some criminals to escape their crimes or overpunish someone in comparison to their real crimes. There just often feels like no in-between.
HE IS ACTING AS A ZOMBIE AND HE AINT THAT GOOD LOOKING .WHAT U EXPECT??
His looks are irrelevant unless you think the only acting roles that exist are standard romcom male leads where even the type of beauty of the romance actors is standardised.
Beauty is also subjective and there's plenty of people who find him attractive.
The man is gifted in subtle expressions and eye acting that convey complex mix of emotions.
Like there's a viral scene of his from season 2 (ep 3) where he smiles without his lips smiling at all and yet it's obvious he is smiling (because of his new friends' antics). It's a clear moment of long earned peace and start of healing/recovery.
Korea isnt beating the cant drive allegations. literally almost every drama somebody getting hit with a car in…
In the OG timeline yeah, but the driver was drunk and sleepy and this was back in 1995 when traffic fines were less harsh
Yi Chan was a hyper child, ~17 years old is still a child and he almost got into a road accident in like episode 4? by simply not paying attention. He shouldn't have chased after that yoyo when he stopped the other younger kid in caution, but again... that proves he himself is still a kid.
As for the new timeline..... it was a murder attempt.
she's a con artist and a criminalShe's not supposed to be likeable. But she is a tool the writer uses to portray…
Likely one of these reasons:
Actor bias
Or liking her as a character - like when people like some villain characters in shows
If they are excusing some of her unforgivable actions- then that's another thing
Though some of her actions are justified: like the premise of building up a "fake high value brand". How she goes about it may be wrong in some ways but the idea itself is fine since....all these brands really are fake at the end of day.
Thank you for this eloquently analytic and thoughtful review. I've watched the show but I had mixed feelings over my experience of it. There was something very unique about this piece of media but I also wasn't blown away by it, so I couldn't mentally rate it. Your review makes me appreciate it a lot more and gain better understanding of the glowing praises I've heard for this drama.
"refreshing lack of sexing-up the crimes"
"serial killing as entertainment disgusted him"
" not glammed up for screen, so lacks pacing, thrills & character arcs writers inject by altering history"
👆Especially this part of your review has made me rethink how I view this genre (as a lifelong fan of crime thrillers.... seriously my first ever chosen book as a child was a detective story)
My main problem was feeling like there was a lack of.... actual profiling ? And also feeling like the serial killer cases were bit repetitive (why did all of them have pyromania + abusive father + sexual trauma ?......unless that bit is true to the real life cases it was adapted from). And I felt like there was a lack of...... professional growth with the team? I mean, we keep jumping through long time skips and off-screen legwork yet when they return on screen they still somewhat act like they're on day 1? (I guess some of that is for audience benefit......)
Also, I'm on the fence about how "not-sensationalist" the drama has been about traumatic real history..... since we spend quite a bit of the screentime watching the actual crimes happen with their respective criminals maniacally getting a sadist kick of out inflicting trauma. Compared to how little time we spend with the victims in question. (They themselves made a point about how these killers get more undeserved attention by the media and public than their innocent victims who led colourful promising lives). I mean... with each case, the acting role star is obviously the villain..... But I suppose that was inevitable with the profiling plot ?
The balance with the first case was really good though (which was ironically before they set up a profiling job). I remember the victim more than the pathetic perpetrator. The hunt was exciting/felt like a good introduction to the brainwork that goes into profiling to figure out the pattern left behind by a criminal vs assessing whether the suspect in custody is who you're looking for or if you're letting his innocent face/previous friendship bias your stance.
I didn’t like the ending. The fact that everything changed, and on top of that, they didn’t update their memories…
Yeah, I think it was a result of a number of things:
1- Needing to adhere to the 16 episode limit (honestly wish they greenlit it for extra/special episodes like some really popular dramas got back in the day.... though this was underrated! in Korea)
2- Wanting to leave the drama at a peak, cheerfully, happy note because the purpose has been to inspire people to reclaim their lost youth. (Because dealing with the time travel fallout would get back to somber waters and without the whole kid gang together there's less scope for the chaotic comedy and unbeatable chemistry that ruled the '95 arc. Also, screentime would need to be contractually maintained for the second leads/young parents. But even going back to the split time storytelling from ep1-2 would not work in favour because now both time periods would be equally sad, especially with Yi Chan's heartbreaking journey to recovery).
3- Ah.... time travel..... there is.... so MUCH to consider with this. It's not just the cathartic reunions which are easy enough to write. But spending more time in the new timeline would naturally meaning exploring more of what's actually changed. Did Viva Grandpa live longer since he was warned by EG to take care of his heart ?? Did EY's young cellist friend still succeed in taking her own life or was that somehow prevented due to butterfly/snowball effect of time ? If the timeline for either of these deaths changed what would that say about fate/death/etc vs power of humans over the inevitably of death? Are philosophical questions like this something you want to touch on as a writer that's only trying to promote "living your own life to the fullest". Especially in the same drama where a character's disability is not prevented via supernatural fix because that would go against their message.
Did real Se Kyeong reconnect with her friend Cheong Ah after deciding to spend more (alternating) time in Korea to know her bio father ? If so, then she must've learned about her impossibly magical daughter impersonating her.... Did EunEun grow up as childhood friends as a result of Yi Chan staying in contact with everyone (the Watermelon boys were very close with Viva Haraboji/Jonathon) ?
Also did the two sets of parents raise their children fully knowing who they would become since they've both met their future children? If so, how would that affect their parenting in both good and bad ways ? (Like expecting your child to grow up to be a genius guitarist in love with music when he's not even tried it out yet and hasn't chosen it yet?). Or if they don't remember their future version of kids whilst raising them.... then what actually do they remember of those very significant memories with them in '95? Or how does knowing the future affect their outlook on life (good and bad ways) ?
Amazing cast. Rich, complex characters with equally compelling relationships. Addictive top tier OST. Too little breathing time to actually appreciate anything.
Dear all the viewers with the attention span of a goldfish. Kindly go back to TikTok, YT Shorts and social media scrolling and STOP pushing for TELEVISION to reduce screentime !
I recommend this one-shot short fanfic series on ao3 (seems to need login to view it). It's as best as perfectly true to canon writing that I've come across, and is somewhat cathartic because it has all the key "missing" reunion scenes for Eun Gyeol- his girlfriend, then his dad, and finally his mom (the fic I've linked).
Honestly, with a time travel drama, there is no true perfect ending. There's simply no option that satisfies everyone perfectly. If Eun Gyeol returned to his original timeline, then it would mean that his magical time in 1995 where he suffered so much and spent so much care into investing in a better future for his parents and the best brother/friendship he built with his dad...... all of that would go away and just become a dream that he cannot share with anyone or nor have anyone understand it (except thank god his time travel partner). That outcome would equally hurt Eun Gyeol, especially when his character was so fixated on making his parents happier and almost decided to stay back in 1995 and sacrifice his own life in order to be there for his father. So, yeah, him returning to a future where he sees his dad has actually listened to him and actually remembered the last promise he made to him and actually let himself shine (unlike in the original timeline where he'd burdened his self worth on his children.....), ofcourse Eun Gyeol is going to be happy to see it.
There is however a lot to unpack. We could probably end up having another 16 episode drama altogether to explore both, CheongChan's new path in life from 1995 and EunEun's return and their start of fixing their own lives as they settle into this new life.
(Personally, I like to believe that suspicious sparkling Lavender teas that 'Master' made them drink was to help their brain slowly assimilate to the changes in the timeline and download two sets of memories.)
I think, the writer chose the outcome which Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu would prefer- their parents being happier and therefore letting their kids live their own lives instead of treating them like an extension of themselves.
And that, is still in spirit of the show- like the wise words Eun Ho told his brother (later Master repeated a version of them in his goodbye):
"Not all conditions need to line up and be perfect for your life to sparkle"
If anything Eun Gyeol's been driven this message multiple times in his head by like every character that cared for him. And as a time traveller, he knows he's going to have to sacrifice something. Maybe in ep 8 he would have been fine returning to his own reality, but after episode 14 with finding out about his mom's abuse and promising to screw over her leech step-family? And no way after episode 15 when his dad's fated accident has changed to himself being the cause (which I think is a change Yi Chan will obviously prefer). That traumatic memory isn't going anywhere unless Eun Gyeol forgets his journey to 1995. He can't heal now if that event is seemingly "erased" for him. His "this" dad already knows he's suffering guilt for it, so he'll be equipped to deal with it 28 years later. His OG dad won't know that and won't be prepared to actually heal his son without dismissing his trauma as "just a vivid nightmare".
There's a whole bunch of other traumatic events from 1995 that his "this timeline family" would be better equipped to heal - like the time Eun Gyeol found his mom in that closet. From my interpretation of that scene (plus what follows after at Grandma's home)- whilst Cheong Ah was finally being freed from her nightmare and crying tears of release...... Eun Gyeol was at the same time getting trapped in that room instead (being breathless and suffocated but unable to express himself and needing to push aside his own feelings to be strong for his young mother.... then later suppressing his cries out of sight of his family as they start to genuinely heal, become free and laugh).
This is not something that can just be brushed over or forgotten and the only person who can come close to healing him from this moment is the young mother who was there with him (but only when she's older and become his mother again). (The fic I linked at the start of this reply basically explores this)
Then there's the murder attempt, kidnapping, almost being trafficked out of the country (in a time period wherein he holds no real identity), almost dying from electric shock (bro doesn't even know he went into cardiac arrest), that one minor car accident he brushed off......... he's had no time to process any of this because his attention was always taken up by his parents being in more imminent trouble.
The perpetrators for these events are imprisoned for their crimes in the current timeline. However, in the OG timeline those guys are far more powerful (too hard to take down), enjoying the riches and power that belong Cheong Ah's family. How would Eun Gyeol be able to defeat them if he returned to the original 2023? If they tried to kill an annoying "orphan" teenager back in 1995 for trying to expose just to Cheong Ah's father.... what would stop them from killing off an old man (Cheong Ah's father in 2023, the only person who could challenge them) to fully claim his power and then silence his estranged bio daughter's poor family with their influence? We have a whole strew of dramas that have this plot (ragtag team of poor heroes spending XXX episodes to expose corrupt, rich, influential syndicates).
As for Eun Yu, I think she will just be happy to not have an obsessive, controlling alcoholic for a mother and for her favourite dad to be back in her life saving her from her mom's personality lol. She's done her "coming out" to her mother, and lowkey both her and Gyeol came out to her bio grandpa, plus Gyeol's met both her parents in '95, which means, atleast she won't have a hard time explaining the time travel to them in 2023.
I'm so sorry this reply has gotten so long, but I really have so much to say for this drama and its rich characters and evergreen message.
Oh it's a Netflix original?So now they're pushing a trend of further cutting down runtime of kdramas from the…
If they want they can adapt it as a movie if that's all the runtime the story needs but if they want it as a drama, then there's probably room for more exploration than a film's limited screentime allows for.
They've done film to drama adaptations before. For example 17 Again to 18 Again's 16+ hour length drama (with mostly, the drama being much better in emotional beats even if few plots were unnecessarily added to lazily buy extra screentime ).
A lot of dramas these days are actually suffering from too short runtime. Notably Weak Hero Class 2, which was meant to be an adaptation of the main plot of a lengthy webtoon and had a wide gallery of characters but had little breathing room for the world building and progress of relationships.
DP didnt need to be cut down into seasons, and then have the second season only at 6 episodes and still leave things unfinished.
Well, here's hoping they wrap the plotline for this drama and don't things hanging for a never going to happen sequel bait.
There was a small scene with the designer saying the person he knew as "Sarah" ordered two
Not sure, there's no scene but I assume that Sarah got used to having KMJ run her tailor errands like how it actually started the first time ? And that this particular dress fitting and delivery was done before their fight and before Sarah fired her.
Honestly all the POVs of these people are so unreliable because they're trying to sell themselves to the detective. So we can only guess at the true story by comparing the common themes between the various alibis. Who knows how much Sarah was actually aware of and had planned for?
Quid pro quo.
An incompetent but well-intentioned lawyer representing an innocent party vs a highly skilled, selfish lawyer representing a guilty party. Chances are, the innocent party would unfairly fail the case on such terms. (Then it depends on the competence and/or corruption levels of the prosecution and judge.....)
Just, his physical looks are not relevant. There's role opportunities for every type of face and built.
Emotionally? There's no difference between 15 years and 11 months old vs 16 years and 1 month old
Age gap between a 40 something person and a teenager aged 15 or 17 ? Again, no difference.
So yes, people can use the pedophile term even if it's not legally true
Okay, now I'm not at all surprised that he got involved in a controversy lol
You guys have the emotional range and intelligence of a teaspoon.
Beauty is also subjective and there's plenty of people who find him attractive.
The man is gifted in subtle expressions and eye acting that convey complex mix of emotions.
Like there's a viral scene of his from season 2 (ep 3) where he smiles without his lips smiling at all and yet it's obvious he is smiling (because of his new friends' antics). It's a clear moment of long earned peace and start of healing/recovery.
Yi Chan was a hyper child, ~17 years old is still a child and he almost got into a road accident in like episode 4? by simply not paying attention. He shouldn't have chased after that yoyo when he stopped the other younger kid in caution, but again... that proves he himself is still a kid.
As for the new timeline..... it was a murder attempt.
And even if she did throw us a name at the end there... would we even be able to believe her?
Actor bias
Or liking her as a character - like when people like some villain characters in shows
If they are excusing some of her unforgivable actions- then that's another thing
Though some of her actions are justified: like the premise of building up a "fake high value brand". How she goes about it may be wrong in some ways but the idea itself is fine since....all these brands really are fake at the end of day.
"refreshing lack of sexing-up the crimes"
"serial killing as entertainment disgusted him"
" not glammed up for screen, so lacks pacing, thrills & character arcs writers inject by altering history"
👆Especially this part of your review has made me rethink how I view this genre (as a lifelong fan of crime thrillers.... seriously my first ever chosen book as a child was a detective story)
My main problem was feeling like there was a lack of.... actual profiling ? And also feeling like the serial killer cases were bit repetitive (why did all of them have pyromania + abusive father + sexual trauma ?......unless that bit is true to the real life cases it was adapted from). And I felt like there was a lack of...... professional growth with the team? I mean, we keep jumping through long time skips and off-screen legwork yet when they return on screen they still somewhat act like they're on day 1? (I guess some of that is for audience benefit......)
Also, I'm on the fence about how "not-sensationalist" the drama has been about traumatic real history..... since we spend quite a bit of the screentime watching the actual crimes happen with their respective criminals maniacally getting a sadist kick of out inflicting trauma. Compared to how little time we spend with the victims in question. (They themselves made a point about how these killers get more undeserved attention by the media and public than their innocent victims who led colourful promising lives). I mean... with each case, the acting role star is obviously the villain..... But I suppose that was inevitable with the profiling plot ?
The balance with the first case was really good though (which was ironically before they set up a profiling job). I remember the victim more than the pathetic perpetrator. The hunt was exciting/felt like a good introduction to the brainwork that goes into profiling to figure out the pattern left behind by a criminal vs assessing whether the suspect in custody is who you're looking for or if you're letting his innocent face/previous friendship bias your stance.
1- Needing to adhere to the 16 episode limit (honestly wish they greenlit it for extra/special episodes like some really popular dramas got back in the day.... though this was underrated! in Korea)
2- Wanting to leave the drama at a peak, cheerfully, happy note because the purpose has been to inspire people to reclaim their lost youth. (Because dealing with the time travel fallout would get back to somber waters and without the whole kid gang together there's less scope for the chaotic comedy and unbeatable chemistry that ruled the '95 arc. Also, screentime would need to be contractually maintained for the second leads/young parents. But even going back to the split time storytelling from ep1-2 would not work in favour because now both time periods would be equally sad, especially with Yi Chan's heartbreaking journey to recovery).
3- Ah.... time travel..... there is.... so MUCH to consider with this. It's not just the cathartic reunions which are easy enough to write. But spending more time in the new timeline would naturally meaning exploring more of what's actually changed. Did Viva Grandpa live longer since he was warned by EG to take care of his heart ?? Did EY's young cellist friend still succeed in taking her own life or was that somehow prevented due to butterfly/snowball effect of time ? If the timeline for either of these deaths changed what would that say about fate/death/etc vs power of humans over the inevitably of death? Are philosophical questions like this something you want to touch on as a writer that's only trying to promote "living your own life to the fullest". Especially in the same drama where a character's disability is not prevented via supernatural fix because that would go against their message.
Did real Se Kyeong reconnect with her friend Cheong Ah after deciding to spend more (alternating) time in Korea to know her bio father ? If so, then she must've learned about her impossibly magical daughter impersonating her.... Did EunEun grow up as childhood friends as a result of Yi Chan staying in contact with everyone (the Watermelon boys were very close with Viva Haraboji/Jonathon) ?
Also did the two sets of parents raise their children fully knowing who they would become since they've both met their future children? If so, how would that affect their parenting in both good and bad ways ? (Like expecting your child to grow up to be a genius guitarist in love with music when he's not even tried it out yet and hasn't chosen it yet?). Or if they don't remember their future version of kids whilst raising them.... then what actually do they remember of those very significant memories with them in '95? Or how does knowing the future affect their outlook on life (good and bad ways) ?
Dear all the viewers with the attention span of a goldfish. Kindly go back to TikTok, YT Shorts and social media scrolling and STOP pushing for TELEVISION to reduce screentime !
A drama ≠ A movie
I recommend this one-shot short fanfic series on ao3 (seems to need login to view it). It's as best as perfectly true to canon writing that I've come across, and is somewhat cathartic because it has all the key "missing" reunion scenes for Eun Gyeol- his girlfriend, then his dad, and finally his mom (the fic I've linked).
Honestly, with a time travel drama, there is no true perfect ending. There's simply no option that satisfies everyone perfectly. If Eun Gyeol returned to his original timeline, then it would mean that his magical time in 1995 where he suffered so much and spent so much care into investing in a better future for his parents and the best brother/friendship he built with his dad...... all of that would go away and just become a dream that he cannot share with anyone or nor have anyone understand it (except thank god his time travel partner). That outcome would equally hurt Eun Gyeol, especially when his character was so fixated on making his parents happier and almost decided to stay back in 1995 and sacrifice his own life in order to be there for his father. So, yeah, him returning to a future where he sees his dad has actually listened to him and actually remembered the last promise he made to him and actually let himself shine (unlike in the original timeline where he'd burdened his self worth on his children.....), ofcourse Eun Gyeol is going to be happy to see it.
There is however a lot to unpack. We could probably end up having another 16 episode drama altogether to explore both, CheongChan's new path in life from 1995 and EunEun's return and their start of fixing their own lives as they settle into this new life.
(Personally, I like to believe that suspicious sparkling Lavender teas that 'Master' made them drink was to help their brain slowly assimilate to the changes in the timeline and download two sets of memories.)
I think, the writer chose the outcome which Eun Gyeol and Eun Yu would prefer- their parents being happier and therefore letting their kids live their own lives instead of treating them like an extension of themselves.
And that, is still in spirit of the show- like the wise words Eun Ho told his brother (later Master repeated a version of them in his goodbye):
"Not all conditions need to line up and be perfect for your life to sparkle"
If anything Eun Gyeol's been driven this message multiple times in his head by like every character that cared for him. And as a time traveller, he knows he's going to have to sacrifice something. Maybe in ep 8 he would have been fine returning to his own reality, but after episode 14 with finding out about his mom's abuse and promising to screw over her leech step-family? And no way after episode 15 when his dad's fated accident has changed to himself being the cause (which I think is a change Yi Chan will obviously prefer). That traumatic memory isn't going anywhere unless Eun Gyeol forgets his journey to 1995. He can't heal now if that event is seemingly "erased" for him. His "this" dad already knows he's suffering guilt for it, so he'll be equipped to deal with it 28 years later. His OG dad won't know that and won't be prepared to actually heal his son without dismissing his trauma as "just a vivid nightmare".
There's a whole bunch of other traumatic events from 1995 that his "this timeline family" would be better equipped to heal - like the time Eun Gyeol found his mom in that closet. From my interpretation of that scene (plus what follows after at Grandma's home)- whilst Cheong Ah was finally being freed from her nightmare and crying tears of release...... Eun Gyeol was at the same time getting trapped in that room instead (being breathless and suffocated but unable to express himself and needing to push aside his own feelings to be strong for his young mother.... then later suppressing his cries out of sight of his family as they start to genuinely heal, become free and laugh).
This is not something that can just be brushed over or forgotten and the only person who can come close to healing him from this moment is the young mother who was there with him (but only when she's older and become his mother again). (The fic I linked at the start of this reply basically explores this)
Then there's the murder attempt, kidnapping, almost being trafficked out of the country (in a time period wherein he holds no real identity), almost dying from electric shock (bro doesn't even know he went into cardiac arrest), that one minor car accident he brushed off......... he's had no time to process any of this because his attention was always taken up by his parents being in more imminent trouble.
The perpetrators for these events are imprisoned for their crimes in the current timeline. However, in the OG timeline those guys are far more powerful (too hard to take down), enjoying the riches and power that belong Cheong Ah's family. How would Eun Gyeol be able to defeat them if he returned to the original 2023? If they tried to kill an annoying "orphan" teenager back in 1995 for trying to expose just to Cheong Ah's father.... what would stop them from killing off an old man (Cheong Ah's father in 2023, the only person who could challenge them) to fully claim his power and then silence his estranged bio daughter's poor family with their influence? We have a whole strew of dramas that have this plot (ragtag team of poor heroes spending XXX episodes to expose corrupt, rich, influential syndicates).
As for Eun Yu, I think she will just be happy to not have an obsessive, controlling alcoholic for a mother and for her favourite dad to be back in her life saving her from her mom's personality lol. She's done her "coming out" to her mother, and lowkey both her and Gyeol came out to her bio grandpa, plus Gyeol's met both her parents in '95, which means, atleast she won't have a hard time explaining the time travel to them in 2023.
I'm so sorry this reply has gotten so long, but I really have so much to say for this drama and its rich characters and evergreen message.
Viva La Vida✨
They've done film to drama adaptations before. For example 17 Again to 18 Again's 16+ hour length drama (with mostly, the drama being much better in emotional beats even if few plots were unnecessarily added to lazily buy extra screentime ).
A lot of dramas these days are actually suffering from too short runtime. Notably Weak Hero Class 2, which was meant to be an adaptation of the main plot of a lengthy webtoon and had a wide gallery of characters but had little breathing room for the world building and progress of relationships.
DP didnt need to be cut down into seasons, and then have the second season only at 6 episodes and still leave things unfinished.
Well, here's hoping they wrap the plotline for this drama and don't things hanging for a never going to happen sequel bait.
Honestly all the POVs of these people are so unreliable because they're trying to sell themselves to the detective. So we can only guess at the true story by comparing the common themes between the various alibis. Who knows how much Sarah was actually aware of and had planned for?