porkman

28 is an oddly specific number lol.

I can see how it's disappointing for you, but it's actually quite grounded in reality that being passive and waiting for public outrage to die down before retaliating is the best course of action for such a scandal. Nothing gets cleared on its own, but you also need to wait for the right time. You can refer to a very similar real life bullying controversy involving the kpop group AOA. It was shown that she tried to get her story out but was shut down and had the reverse effect. It isn't pleasant to watch, but that is true in reality. It's exhausting, brings down your morale and self-esteem, and makes you want to give up trying. Sure, her friends and assistants had to stay up overnight to help her. That's just how the show is presenting how a strong support system will push someone to press on. Which is also true in reality. Could it have been written better, maybe. But it's not an illogical situation imo. I think most people will end up handling the situation like her if they were in her shoes. That's why I personally don't find FL's character to be poorly written. She's just imperfect, and I can sympathize with her.

Both of the sisters' subplots are definitely going to have "open" endings since there's only one episode left. I think the show started developing their stories a bit too late and they're both in an awkward position of having the context but not moving forward much. Maybe the series would have been better with 20 episodes. But then again the theme of this show is about looking back on the past, and choosing to let go or hold on. So giving all the characters a new head start with new possibilities will be in tune with that (I can foresee some viewers not being happy though).

I didn't know that. A plot twist isn't really needed to make a good story, what's bad is that there wasn't a good buildup to keep my interest.

Even in korean cinema it has been done before, in a very famous movie.

Well... that was underwhelming. The grimness and intrigue from the start wears out fast. It felt stretched out with so many boring scenes, like it was supposed to be a film instead. For that much time invested, the payback and reveals weren't satisfying.

I only realized this was by Yeon Sangho after completing it. Guy has been making duds for a while now. Hellbound was his last decent work imo, it was niche but interesting at least. This one is wholly generic.

Exactly. For that reason I tend to especially avoid watching any mystery/crime or plot-driven shows before they finish airing, as those are the ones that are usually completely ruined if they fumble.

Rare case where a drama gets better, instead of deteriorating, as it goes on. The second half is LEAGUES better in quality than the opening episodes.

I am not engaging in your argument/debate, it's not worth my time. I am simply telling you to stop commenting to save everyone from the second-hand embarrassment. Btw, I won't be replying to your comments after this.

Here's your answer. Writers write what viewers like to see. They are not obligated to write what you deem to be realistic depictions of people. If it's something you feel offended about, drop it. Find a genre that suits you. Stop plaguing the comment section with the same non-issues over and over again, it's an unhealthy obsession. And a huge eyesore.

Thanks, that was the name

I suddenly realized why the scandal plot felt so oddly familiar to me. Wasn't there a really similar case with a Kpop girl group? I just can't remember the name of the group rn. One of the members accused their leader of bullying her for many years, which drove her to a suicide attempt. Public sentiment was initially fiercely against the leader, and people were cancelling and attacking the other members for being bystanders. But then the member's statements were slowly proved to be unreliable and people eventually sided with the leader. It feels like this show took some inspiration from that scandal. From this perspective, it definitely makes sense how FL waiting it out may be the best approach. And it also makes sense why nobody even dared to stand up for her, because they would get cancelled themselves. The netizen culture in SK is vicious.

I do like shows about the underdog getting the upper hand and taking revenge. They're like fast food to fulfill our fantasies. But so far, this is a little too stereotypical for my liking. I'm supposed to hate these villains, but I can't even take them seriously because they are too much like caricatures. I'll give it a few more episodes, maybe it's just not my cup of tea.

Even as someone not suffering from mental illness, I felt extremely uncomfortable by how judgmental and unempathetic the show felt. I know of people who do and I would never recommend this show to them. Hope you didn't feel too hurt as it indeed isn't your fault.

As a piece of entertainment, it is more than decent. But it is unsatisfactory in the messages it is trying to get across. It raised very important problems, such as being driven into a corner by a competitive society and being stuck in a poverty cycle, and feeling oppressed and helpless as a youth. These are extremely prevalent and sensitive issues in SK and other countries. The show offers a message that comes from good intentions, but it is over simplified and maybe even insensitive towards depression and mental illness. Throughout the show, there is no empathy offered to the main character's suffering, but rather a lingering feeling of "your pain is bearable compared to many others who have suffered so much more than you". Which is obviously distasteful and wrong in many ways. It's classic victim blaming, coming from an outsider's POV.

Furthermore, it ultimately does not provide any tangible solutions to any of the main character's problems and he will realistically end up in the exact same place. In the end, he's just back to square one with the wounds of living multiple lives and with the guilt of hurting others with his decision. There is no accountability for the further damage to his mental state. I can't help but feel that if that was the route the show was going to take, it shouldn't have presented such severe societal issues through the main character's story in the first place.

This is yet another highly praised show that failed to resonate with me.

Saw this in a comment on reddit:
SD's mom saying "I've been giving Samdal a hard time too. I'm going to deal with myself first" in episode 12. It was referring to how she was being a hypocrite for lashing at SD because just like her taking the beating from Eunjoo's mom, she had been silently tolerating the abuse from YP's dad all these years. And she needs to gain the courage to stand up for herself and her family now. That somehow didn't occur to me when I was watching.

I really liked the past few episodes, some moments were awesome and hilarious. It feels like the show is now fully embracing its sense of humor. The characters' chemistry gets stronger and the heartwarming moments are genuinely touching. I even like how it's shamelessly going all out on the cliche-ness of the villains. We don't need complex villains for this story.

Usually shows get a bit stagnant towards the end, but this one is a nice surprise. For me it started at like 7.5/10 and gradually went to a 8.5-9. Now it'll be great if it sticks the landing too. Crossing fingers.

The depiction of reality in this show is hard to watch at times. The mom's character is hitting way too close to home for me. Having a string of health problems but refusing to retire, stubbornly reluctant to receive medical help, going "what's the big deal, everyone else is just like me". It's good enough that she's willing to take her meds. The children are helpless and end up racking their brains and wasting time finding solutions. That's exactly like my dad. Except in reality, we're busy, tired and frustrated, and our relationships are on the verge of being ruined. Maybe I should let my dad watch this.

It's Netflix's strategy to prolong the release so they can gain/retain more subscribers. They did this with The Glory, except that made more sense with two 8-episode parts. This is a large scale production that's expected to gain a huge following, so they probably thought it will drive up the anticipation for part 2, but it just feels forced to split it into 7/3 episodes. Tbh I've already forgotten some of the plot, so... I don't think this works in their favor at all.