Regarding Namgoong Min's statement that the second part will have a happy love line. I don't think he meant there will be a turn in the drama into a more traditional romance, bc he chose to be in the drama for the very reason that it isn't. There's a difference between a beautiful tragic love story and a beautiful happy love story. And not everyone expects or wants a happy ending for GC and JH. There are some us who see that their love is largely imaginary, because without mutual trust, respect and in-depth communication there's only the physical attraction. Which is without doubt important but not everything. Without having really made effort to really get to know each other, there are many people here who don't think that they should end up together at all. This is a very valid viewpoint, imo. Many don't even care anymore whether they end up together or not, including me. They are impossible with each other, and as characters they are so frustrating that I don't feel empathy for either. It's a novel type of romance drama, as Namgoong Min has said. When we don't want the romance to even continue because it's just pain or when we don't see a a chance for happy ending, that's definitely a new type of romance drama. I'd actually be disappointed with a happy ending. I expect historical events will continue to bring huge challenges their way (I read up on the history, including slave hunters). I'm in fact most interested in how the history will be portrayed, I don't have to be invested in the love line.
People will always say "Korean netizens think that" when the interpretions are in fact as divided as we have seen here. People take a few comments and then generalize and go up in arms to defend the drama from an imaginary enemy (=stupid MDLers or k-netizens).
that's a major spoiler even if it comes from Namgoong Min (he shouldn't be doing this) so pls use the spoiler…
there's a difference between a tragic love story and a beautiful love story. And then we who doubt that there's "love" at all without mutual trust, respect and in-depth communication. Which they lack. A lot of people here don't think that they should end up together. Many don't even care anymore whether they end up together or not. They are impossible with each other, and as characters they are so frustrating that I don't feel empathy for either. It's a novel type of romance for sure, as Namgoong Min has also said. When we don't want the romance to even contunue because it's just pain or when we don't see a a chance for happy ending, that's definitely a new type of romance drama. I'd actually be disappointed with a happy ending.
Most of these are not romcoms. (e.g., Youth of May is historical, tragic drama, Miss Hammurabi is a workplace and law drama). But that's okay, it just shows how genre mixes are common and mixing adds quality.
Cha Eun Woo definitely has great comedic skills. Particularly in Hit the Top. But I always get the impression that he's secretly amused and chuckling at something (maybe at himself, a lot of the time, at least in Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung). If you compare him to Hwang Min Hyun, Eun Woo is a downright acting genius. I have no doubts about him only getting even better with time.
that's a major spoiler even if it comes from Namgoong Min (he shouldn't be doing this) so pls use the spoiler…
Personally, I blocked all the people who attempt to control the conversation here and elsewhere. It's disgusting and morally reprehensible to the max. Everyone has a voice and a right to their own judgments and experiences. Your turn tomorrow, an-yo_ne. If there's anything that you could and should learn from being here is that people will interpret and see a drama differently and have every right to do so.
The beginning was great. The 4 main characters in disastrously unhappy marriages found their true soul mates. Both of the main couples were extremely beautiful together, we could see how they gradually grew their mutual bond and how they were really meant to be together. The relationship between Ye Ji Won and Jo Dong Hyuk was the most beautifully depicted I've ever seen in a k-drama. They were just fantastic in this. However, 6 episodes in I realized this is not a k-drama but a j-drama. The Korean remake gets a nasty turn into very conservative around ep 9. Eps 9-15 are just the main characters agonizing over their sinning and their ex-partners doing their very best to ruin their lives. It took me ages to finish this, I took a long break. The last episode was good. If you want to experience some bittersweet moments and be moved to the core of your being, this is a drama for you. But if you're more liberal minded like me, you'll also get totally frustrated by the conservative k-turn.
I just wish more dramas had FLs with a backbone and common sense. Personally I would find the story more enjoyable…
I totally agree. There's no possibility for me to empathize with or like the FL. But be prepared for the hordes who say "c'mon it's just a romcom." But in my view romcoms really need likeable and relatable characters. People here attack me for saying this, because it's hurting the character's feelings. (I didn't know fictional characters can get insulted by comments here but that's what they claim.)
I am with you. It's not just flashbacks but flashbacks within flashback with constant timeskips in eps 12 and…
the worst most insulting commenters are not here or maybe I managed to block them already. totally agree. I'd be much more interested in the agency and how the superpowers came to be/how they were developed in the first place.
Jang Hyun hunts his own countrymen like animals in Qing, knowing that they will be mutilated. (One of the many things he doesn't tell Gil Chae). The ending scene probably means the people he wronged or their relatives will take revenge on him.
I'm sad but honestly their relationship was always a dead end to start with imo. They were both too prideful and…
Yes, it was a dead end from the start. But I think Ryang Eum did what he did bc he thought GC had found love and he'd also seen that GC & JH together were just toxic with each other
She doesn’t deserve him. Not because she opted out, but because she perpetually holds the worst possible interpretation…
I totally agree with you on all points. I don't feel any sadness or tragedy, since I can't empathize with the characters. They definitely have no chance of succeeding and if they end up together somehow in s2, that will be short-lived.
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People will always say "Korean netizens think that" when the interpretions are in fact as divided as we have seen here. People take a few comments and then generalize and go up in arms to defend the drama from an imaginary enemy (=stupid MDLers or k-netizens).