samstones

Half way through and I am like …Hyun Bin 🤌🏻

He was made for this. Or should I rather say, this was made for him.

Daniel Riccardo will be proud of Jung Woo Sung. IYKYK 😂😅😉

okay, here we go with season finale...

Give me Keeping Up With The Baek's, please. Even if it's just for 5 minutes.

so when is the Lawyer lady gonna tell him about the voice note. She doesn't mention it once. Why is she hiding so much from him. It's not like it's her business. It's his business. He should know.

He's taking a walk in the park. One friend is dead. Other on the verge of dying. Seriously?

GIRL!!! How do you twist your ankle wearing sneakers?!!! You walk and run and climb seoul stairs in heels!!!!

Just saying. Had to say it. 😂😛😅

You know what, if the season finale is some lukewarm 1 hour cat and mouse between BKT and JGY then I'm gonna be really pissed off. Don't just send Ki Hyun to Vietnam. Tells us more of the back story on the Baeks.

The whole daddy roaming around in the hospice night and day, barely hidden in a corner, getting access to his fully charged phone to call his cronies and finding his boss suit lol no, way too much for my suspension of belief. And none in the hospice making any attempt of locking the guy in that room after acts of violence started erupting. That's just stupid.

It's a really nice show, but....

For a person who is so itchy about his privacy getting violated all the time should not be going through someone else's stuff. This is my main issue, more than anything else.

All your other points about his personality not developing cos he has been pushed into making money and facing public and doing all that starving to look good etc since his childhood has stunted his personality development and mental growth - all this is valid. But for a person who is under criminal investigation sobers up a little. Sheds a little skin under grave circumstances.

I don't have any insight as to why they didn't release all 12 episodes together after finishing them all at once. But my guess would be production budget and the second season writing was not completed. The director of this show did mention he was "rewriting" episode 5 and 6 for season 2. He said this on "The Do Show" while promoting season one. You can check it out on youtube. Plus, I think its good to think about Disney as a shareholder run corporation. To be able to invest significant sums of money in season 2 (which will perhaps have more actors and newer locations. They were shooting this show in Canada in October and November), Disney probably wanted to see the final cut and the response of Season 1. The director always intended it to be a 12 episode drama, by the way.

Do Ra Ik's character is very hard to empathize and sympathize with. Petulant grown-ass man acting like a stunted manchild. Going through someone else's private stuff, throwing tantrums everytime he is dealing with conflict, just immature and out of touch from reality. I don't like.

The girl however is lovely

A guy shot his military batch mates who were bullying and ragging him mercilessly. He snapped and went on a killing spree. Ki Hyun was his direct superior, and he got roped into the investigation, which is as per the process in all military investigations/court martials because the institution is extremely hierarchical, reports and notes and slips are being written constantly in the personnel file. So why and how the signs were missed, why wasn't the guy referred for psychological checks, rotation, transfer etc. They were making Ki Hyun the scapegoat. He claimed in his testimony he tried getting him transferred, but the commandant blocked those request.
I think Baek Ki Hyun made this part up cos when his commandant kicks him he does say "I told you to get this guy transferred long ago, and you didn't action it. Are you trying to get me in trouble?". Plus, when his batchmate confronts him to take the fall in the investigation holding cell he does say "I'm not going down alone". I think Baek Ki Hyun lied to save his ass from getting burned.

S2 is already under production as we speak. And the show has been pitched and promoted heavily to the international market, when I say international I mean Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand. I think I also saw a promotional piece on CNN as well with Hyun Bin.

Post episode 5:

Hyun Bin and Woo Do Hwan are the real story, folks.

There's this whole Episode 5 running 1 hour 2 Minutes and 25 seconds, and then there is just this 3+ minutes of those two in it. Impecable 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

Not a hair out of place in that scene. That scene for me is the mainstory of season 1.

I need more backstory about these two and their dynamic. I feel a little starved and shut out from that. Will there be more of it in Ep 6? I hope so.

Won Ji An who plays theYakuza's adopted zainichi daugther - her acting is so off. It feels forced. The whole avatar doesn't suit her. I can understand the casting choice but not the thing she's doing in scenes.

Okay - I am watching the 5th now.

a giant in Korean industry. His and Song Kang-ho's work was actually my gateway to Korean films. An absolute giant.

Think of this show in the context of the era it's set in. 1970. President Park Chung Hee was using the KCIA to terrorise the opposition and the population, pushing things into a fear-based police state. But then this same president gets assassinated by the Director of KCIA in 1979. From 1970 to 1980, Korea experienced significant political and social upheaval. Korea then experienced "Social Purification Campaigns" in the 1980s. The military-backed government under Chun Doo-hwan in the early 1980s implemented "social purification" projects that involved arresting and sending thousands of individuals, including some involved in "social ills" like smuggling and illegal drugs, to re-education camps.

So I am making an educated theory/guess about Season 2 that Baek Ki Tae will meet his end by the end of Season 2 after seeing the heights of power and influence that he so covets. Not just because of his crimes as a meth pushing civil servant, but also cos of the shift in political power and a military command taking more control under KCIA. It's just a guess. I'd be surprised if they did show Baek Ki Tae retiring and going off in the sunset with a glass of Negroni. Plus, the director of this show is not shy about making the protagonist meet a terrible end in his projects. Cos his protagonists are usually flawed human beings.

Completely agree - Yoo Ah In is the blueprint of acting choices for actors in Korea. He’s an intelligent actor and his performances have been deeply thoughtful. Although he did end up doing some preppy choices in the beginning of his career but what else do you do to get a foothold in the door. I suggest you watch Bloodhounds and , My Country - New Age (it’s a historical fiction / Sageuk) of Woo Do Hwan. I know Sageuk’s are not everyone’s cup of tea, but stay with it. His performance is so nuanced in it. Bloodhounds is just pure fun and action bromance.

I think Junho has struggled cos he was transitioning from his agency - plus he has been on a long acting hiatus, cos King The Land didn’t perform. It was his comeback to drama after Red Sleeve, but it was not well received. I mean those who like ultra cheese loved it. But predominantly people had started growing out of that chaebol and employee trope and there were too many writing flaws. I think he hasn’t been able to make brave acting choices. He keeps serving Junho after Junho. Hasn’t changed his look even for a character in years, unless people think those early blond extension highlights in Typhoon Family were “change of look”. If you take Woo Do Hwan for example, that guy has changed his look, morphed himself body, hair and wardrobe for every damn performance. From the start of his career he has made intelligent role choices. Even if it was a supporting role. He is one of the most promising Korean actors in the post Halleyu lot, and in my opinion the best among his peers. Unfortunately he doesn’t get much credit cos he isn’t doing Oppa or Binge On Greenflag Marathon roles.