peperomia

I enjoyed the first 2 episodes. I really like the leads' strong ("bumpkin country") personalities. I'm all for pure dark and broody mysteries, but I don't mind the humor, even hints of romance, here. Kind of a nice change. The synopsis gave away what's going to happen to the little brother. I think the tone and mood will change because of that.

You highlighted the best the parts of the show. ❤

The ending was absolutely beautiful in so many ways. Something minor about them at the close, but I liked how their car ride together circled back to something familiar from the start of the story - his habit of playing folklore songs and educating her about it. Don't know why, but it made me smile. Must be because she obviously understands it better now and most importantly - him. I'm sure their bond is unbreakable. The final scene of her going blind was sad, but strangely, I felt comforted that he was by her side in that moment.

I see it. Thank you so much!

Thank you! This is helpful.

So far, I don’t see a reason to doubt Joong Do as a good person. Rather, there are some red herrings trying to make viewers think otherwise (such as Soo Bin’s “JD” tattoo). The person I can’t seem to trust is Woo Jae. He’s either plotting for Joong Do to succeed as a politician or he’s plotting something against Joong Do. If the latter, it’s possible Soo Bin may have been coaxed to be one of his pawns. I don’t think the baby is the Nam family’s, but the tragedy of their son was an opportunity for Soo Bin to resolve her dire situation. I don’t think she’s a bad person though and may mature later. Back to Joong Do, if there is a twist in his character, I will pause or drop this quick. I believe he loves Hye Joo so I hope the focus of his arc is about his choices, or dilemmas, in desiring to succeed as a politician and protecting his wife. Let them be each other's rock.

I have Prime Video, but have never watched dramas on there before. I don't see it listed yet. Does anyone know if it would normally show up as upcoming or not until the airing date?

I liked the drama's ending, but I think it mostly worked for me because grandpa had already died. I didn't care for the infighting between Do Jun and the family members. So, the final arc of him returning as Hyun Woo spoke more to me. If the drama followed the novel exactly where grandpa was essentially alive to the end with Do Jun, I would've liked this version too, but not without him.

I hope Do Jun doesn't use grandpa's slush fund to acquire SY, but uses it as bait to catch his killer. I think that would be the greatest gift from grandpa (unknowingly by him).

I agree with what Min Yeong said to Do Jun. From her perspective, his actions in this family chess game can be interpreted as greed. The bargain between him and grandma was questionable. However, I don’t know if I would consider Do Jun greedy for money and power (...yet). His initial goal was a hostile takeover of SY for his revenge. Now, after getting to know and love his grandpa, I do believe he wants to protect the legacy of SY as well. If SY ends up in the hands of his uncles, aunts/cousins, he knows SY would be ruined. I do hope Min Yeong’s words to him stick with his conscience and he has his limits. For example, I am not in agreement with Do Jun using his grandpa’s slush fund to achieve his mission. It would be a misstep by him. After all, wasn’t it the slush that got him (Hyun Woo) killed? He told his grandpa that he will buy SY. I would be disappointed if he succeeds in acquiring SY, but not with his own means and intelligence. I want to see the “old” Do Jun who always proved his grandpa wrong in this bet.

With this said, I don’t believe Do Jun will use the slush funds, including the amounts from his uncle. He seems to be looking for the sources of all the slush funds and setting up a trap for them to get caught. It would be a sweeter outcome if he gets SY and punishes the person who killed Hyun Woo for the slush fund.

Do Jun looked hurt when the will revealed grandpa left him nothing. However, I don’t think it’s because he didn’t receive any shares of SY, but he mistaken it means grandpa doesn’t trust him. We all know that this isn’t the case. Grandpa obviously has his reasoning behind this. My thoughts are he knows Do Jun has a personal motivation for wanting to acquire SY (versus inheriting it) and he 100% believes Do Jun can do it. Leaving SY to Do Jun through his will could do more hurt than help him. Since Grandpa knows his own family could kill him, they would not be content with Do Jun inheriting SY and could sabotage him. Perhaps contest the validity of the will since some members were starting to clue into his illness. If Do Jun singlehandedly acquires SY on his own instead, no one can say or do anything about it.

The will was revealed when grandpa was still alive. When Do Jun went to see grandpa at the hospital, the scene made it look like he was going to confront grandpa about the contents of the will. Instead, Do Jun tells him that they won the soccer game…he won their bet. After Do Jun bowed before leaving, grandpa happened to pass. I believe grandpa left at that moment because he felt assured he made the right decision about the will. First, Do Jun did not question him about it. Second, since Do Jun was able to prove that even the impossible is possible (Korea reaching the semifinals), grandpa had absolute faith Do Jun can acquire SY and continue his legacy. Grandpa's passing was sad, but I do think grandpa left in peace. He knew Do Jun truly cared about him and he was certain Do Jun would win this final bet as well.

Based on ep 15, even though Sung Hoon is the mastermind of the revenge plan and Yoon Jae was the executor, Sung Hoon didn’t intend to kill anyone. However, he allowed Yoon Jae to kill Baek’s daughter to kickstart everything. Since realizing Yoon Jae has gone of the rails in a serial of murders, I can see why Sung Hoon allowed Sung Joon to capture him. It may be seen as betrayal to Yoon Jae, but I think it was the only way for Sung Hoon to stop him from killing more. In the end, I believe Sung Hoon will take responsibility for all the wrong that has happened in the plan…which…I am getting tragic feels.

Regarding Sung Joon, the revenge was in the making of 20 years and he was part of it. Sung Hoon’s indifference toward Sung Joon at the beginning of the story makes senses now. However, part way through, I do think he realized he cares about Sung Joon and tried to remove him from the plan. Sung Joon wants to know whether Sung Hoon ever truly cared for him as a brother. I hope this aspect gets conveyed between the two brothers by the end.

The Ryu brothers' parents were connected to the Hope Welfare Center --- perhaps to the embezzlement case? Since RSH is boy #11, I think he has a secret plan of seeking revenge against his adopted parents.

In Sung should be boy #12. The restaurant lady seemed to recognize him.

Charles mentioned a missing brother who died. He could be a brother of boy #24. (I know this is drama-land, but I can't imagine boy #24 surviving after being run over twice.)

I think RSH, In Sung and Charles knew each other all along and have been working together from the start. Their agreed goal was likely to reveal the shady truth about the center and expose those people connected to it. However, one/two of them has changed the group’s original motive and started killing --- probably In Sung/Charles.

I believe the title "Blind" means the story is about the killer(s) punishing those people who turned a blind eye to the kids at the Hope Center, but I know you what you mean.

I’ve been thinking this too. When RSJ first met the shaman, she channeled one of the boys. (I assume Boy #24 who presumably died from getting run over.) The boy referred to RSJ as “hyung”/big brother. JYJ/Boy #13 is the youngest so referring to him as big brother didn’t make sense to me. Also, the boy said, “You don’t know who you really are.” So, I believe RSJ’s memories may be distorted and thinks he’s Jung Yoon Jae (because of the reason that you stated), but I wasn’t sure if the writing was going to go this route. Also, the killer said he’s Jung Yoon Jae so maybe he is.

Either way, the killer should be Boy #11 or #13. Mimicking the joker in their killings is likely because of the blood smeared across the bottom half of their faces when they tried to escape as kids. My suspicion is RSH is the joker with the possibility of Boy #12 being an accomplice, either the juror with the glasses or the chef. From what we've seen of the kids' personas, it makes more sense for the joker to be Boy #13 and RSH as Boy #13.

I woke-up early this morning to watch the finale before work and I’m still trying to process all the emotions. 😭

I wasn’t expecting MRF to die, but he did honorably and heroically. Not only did he save HF (as he promised his parents), but also the Red Flower Society’s mission to rescue Jianghu. What a moment when he recited the true meanings of the martial arts world as he finished-off TGN.

My girl CLS --- a beautiful blossom from beginning to end --- and even after in spirit. She yearned to be the person whom HF misses and became the flower on the jade token that accompanies him. I think how the flower goddess and the young man met each other in the legend is similar their first meeting. The flower goddess fell in love with the young man who always weeded for her. When HF first met CLS, she was crouched down tending her flowers in the valley, blending in with the sea of blue blossoms. HF didn’t weed the flowers for her, but he watered them for her. When they were back in the valley at the end, it looked like he did the same chore for her as well. I'm not letting myself be disappointed in their ending because at least in this story, CLS knew HF reciprocated his love before she died. (Yes, this is the way I choose to interpret it.)

Many of the characters spoke about having a better fate with their companion/lover in their next life. I truly hope they do.

Big kudos to the writer, director, cast and crew. They delivered amazing fight scenes in every episode and brought the hearts of the hero/heroine characters to life. Sure, there are some things that could be nit-picked, but at the end of day, I love this drama. So much nostalgia flowing from when my parents used to watch re-runs of 1980s wuxia and this one for me is up to par with them.

It’s sad, but I think her sincerity for her sect stays true to the character. She is an upright person (very much like HF) so I didn’t expect her to break away from it.

I have a soft spot for CLS, but a lot of respect for Ziyi. She loves him, but in her conversation with HF, her words to him had no hints of it. She said everything she did for him was for repayment and atonement, but that’s not entirely true. She only said what was needed to say to free herself and HF as well. You can tell her heart was breaking, but it was the selfless thing to do.

Thanks for sharing this. I saw the finale trailer last week and got the feeling HF will open-up his heart to CLS. For him to say it would be great to live in the Poison Valley forever meant it would be a simple life of just him and CLS. CLS’ farewell words to him were that she really wants to see what his mustache will look like, but unfortunately, she is unable to. I think this line ties back to when she made a fake mustache for HF to disguise themselves in the capital. He joked with her that she could use her skills to turn him into grandma and her into a grandpa, making them appear as an old married couple. She laughed, but in her head voice, she said unfortunately, she doesn’t have the luck/fate to grow old with him. At the time, I thought she said this because she knew HF already had Ziyi in his heart, but in hindsight, it was partly due to that she is ill and her time is limited. 😥

I am mostly anticipating the scene of MRF crashing the Heroes Gathering and aiding HF. There should be some good fighting scenes and bonds deepening. Next is HF's time with CLS in the Poison Valley. It will be bittersweet, but I have faith that it will be beautifully done. This is because I thought the story did a great job with the closure between Ziyi and HF, even in the respect/friendship between Ziyi and CLS. There is a lot of heart in the lead characters, which remained consistent and is a rarity in wuxia stories nowadays.

Ziyi and her relationship with her Tianshan master reminds me of Zhou Ziruo and her Emei master in another Jin Yong novel, Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre. Emei was supposed to be an upright sect, but the master was evil and manipulative. She made Zhou Ziruo do all sorts things in the name of duty and promise. In the end, Zhou Ziruo had wondered if she was not brought to Emei as a child, would her life have turned out differently as she would be able to follow her heart, not her master's wishes. I think about this a lot with Ziyi. If she was not affiliated withTianshan, would she have a different fate with Hu Fei ? She may discreetly go against her master to do what she believes is right, but since Ziyi has made an oath to the sect, someone as upright her will not break from the sect in the end.

Totally agree. These three share an incredible bond. Even more special with a kid in the mix who’s spunky and can pull-off cheeky so sweetly. It's funny how Xiao Mei wasn’t too impressed with CLS at first, but now she admires her so much and wants to be her disciple. I had a good chuckle when she said MRF treats others like beasts when teaching martial arts. So, she’d rather use her brain than exert her body learning martial arts. Also, of course, it was hilarious when she asked CLS if she and HF "did it" and tied the knot. 🤣

They did a great job casting the young girl portraying Xiao Mei. I’m impressed. Love her.

I thought it was Fu Kangan and Chen Jialuo who resembled each other, which Hu Fei mistakens Chen Jialuo as Fu Kangan when he first meets him. In Book and Sword, Fu Kangan is supposed to be Qianlong's illegitimate son. Qianlong is supposedly of Han descent, not Manchu, and brothers with Chen Jialuo --- making him actually Fu Kangan's uncle.