singsfromthesoul

We can hold him responsible because at 27, you should know that pursuing a 15yo is wrong. The concept of a power imbalance is everything in this case. An older, more famous man in his late 20s and a child star in her mid-teens were never gonna be on equal footing. It is always the responsibility of the person with more power not to abuse it

Well, all the cast and crew already got paid for their work, as streaming doesn't pay royalties/residuals, just a fixed price for the work done. This is actually a big reason why that strike happened in the entertainment industry in the US back in 2023. Just saying this in case, y'know, you find it deep in your heart not to support a show starring a predator!

Supporting the show regardless signals that you, as an audience member, don't care whether the people making them commit heinous crimes/behave badly as long as you're entertained. If that's true of you...well that tells me everything I need to know about you

Lovely article, but am I the only one who doesn't see 'Alchemy of Souls' as a historical drama? I keep seeing people call it a historical, which feels inaccurate/misleading given that the story takes place at an indeterminate point in time in a fictional country. It's a fantasy through and through!

As the great Shakespeare once wrote: "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."
(The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2)

The element in the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl about him hiding the coat and that leading to marriage reminded me a lot of selkies in celtic mythology, who were women who could transform into seals by donning a seal-coat. In many tales featuring selkies, a potential partner hides the coat, as it would force the selkie to stay a woman on land instead of returning to the sea.

Thank you for writing this article, very interesting. I'm a big fan of mythology and folklore and learning new stories has been an unexpected (but welcome) part of getting into asian dramas. Good article, would love to see more content along these lines on MDL!

This looks deliciously campy. Spectacular, gimme 14 of 'em!

I hadn't thought of it like that but that's an excellent point. It's a "you're more than your family/circumstances" type of thing. Good catch!

They're fine, they end happy. I was just pissed about some of the choices with the other couples.

I believe Kang Hong Suk was in the Korean production of 'Hadestown' playing Hermes a few years ago as well. Great musical, fun role! I saw a clip and was like "wait, I know this guy!"

The orphanage was their first meeting!

Here's an english-language source confirming plot, air date and that it's two episodes!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joanmacdonald/2024/09/19/no-gain-no-love-to-air-two-spin-off-romance-episodes/

I'm starting to get a bit stressed out about this bc we're two weeks out from the NGNL finale and there's not so much as a poster. The illogical part of my brain is worried the existence of this show will just have been a collective delusion, lmao

Still needs development for sure! I feel like we'll probably get it in this second half of this show

Very possible as well! Probable, even. It's also possible that she realizes she doesn't like him like that anymore and those were just the remnants of unresolved feelings from high school and meeting him again will help her get closure. Maybe that's why the actors fo the spin-off are her and the ceo, because the ideal man in her mind will shift from Ha Jun to Gyu Hyun

We still don't know if he'll find out about her basing one of the leads in her smutty novel after him, it's entirely possible he takes it badly and hates her for it or is disgusted. Ha Jun sees her as lovely and innocent (knew her as a teen, thinks she writes fairytales), where Gyu Hyun has seen her rougher, less 'socially acceptable' side (writes smut, will sue you and skip away happily). It's possible that the former might be disappointed by her true self, while the latter will love her true self. I think that's the key to the dynamics there, not the other stuff.

FR, I feel like the writing/directing team actually knows comedy because certain moments that could've otherwise been very normal have been elevated enough to produce actual laughter. The dinner scene was great, but another example for me was the "are you my fa-/I've been infertile for years" scene. In the hands of less skilled people, they could've fallen very flat or simply been delivered in a straightforward manner.

She's a youtuber who does historical fashion and pop culture content! Her video was on the current state of romcoms. Here is the link in case you're interested!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdOS0q6jcCg

Omg, I was watching Mina Le's video just yesterday! I'd heard the term 'screwball comedy' before, but as she was explaining the different elements I found myself going "I think 'No Gain No Love' is a screwball comedy". Glad someone else thought so!

Exactly! I remember my mom keeping one in a drawer when I was a kid because they were rare. Can't say I've seen them in the wild, and I worked at a department store for a while (had to handle the register). It just stuck out at me as odd and kinda funny! If it's a luck thing as the other user mentioned it would make more sense, though still a bit random!

If anything, the preview implies they have to stay 'together' to keep up the charade!