My biggest complaint (at about halfway through) is that 'slice of life' doesn't mean no one changes and grows. There should still be development, and I'm seeing none.
The father's head swells with the smallest bit of flattery (as does the son's), and where the father is at least industrious, the son isn't just lazy, he doesn't even seem to care. For someone who supposedly has his own restaurant, he's unbelievably gullible. You'd think the events of eps 15-17 would've been a serious wake-up call. It was certainly written like a setup for some major character development -- at minimum, for the rest of the family to realize this isn't a world where they can just assume everyone has their best interests (or any interests) at heart. Possibly also with the older brother recognizing stupid mistakes could lead to his daughter being in danger?
I mean, you have the parents breaking into a serious (and not even remotely funny) argument -- at a table with a guest of some significance -- followed by a threat of separation. And then it's resolved, but did I skip an episode? There was no heart-to-heart, no speaking truth and finding a better balance between them, instead what mostly seemed like a rather inane "well, for lack of anything better, might as well go back to the status quo."
And then the FL goes and basically hands over multiple trade secrets to one of her main competitors. Bad enough she just blabs freely about the one thing that keeps their competition from copying their recipes, but then she goes and compounds it by handing over more ideas! You'd think after the times their competition has beaten them, she'd be more circumspect.
They're strangers in a truly foreign land, with no one really to rely on except themselves. I fully expected ep17 to be where they started closing ranks, being a little more suspicious of flattery, a lot less naive and trusting, maybe even considering a person's potential agenda before welcoming that person with open arms and an open mouth. But nothing changed.
It's okay to start with a dysfunctional family, but you still need character development. I think I've watched enough to feel fairly certain if there's any character progression, it'll happen a) by author fiat, not character reactions to story actions, and b) solely for the final act purpose of wrapping the story up. It's a real pity, because it started out so well, and it's a real waste of a talented cast.
Ep25, and seriously, what does it take to make SL finally acknowledge reality? Is there no one who will dunk his head in a bucket of ice water? At first he seemed to just have a crush (sweet but harmless) but he's graduated into full-on obsession. It's not funny and it's not cute.
our first intro to Mr. Mean (the elder prince) he seems earnest, and it's framed to make it seem like his father is so cruel. then we get the meeting btw brothers, where the next prince a) gets in a dig that not-yet-the-crown-prince still isn't yet the crown prince, b) swears he's totally behind the NYTCP, c) drops a tidbit about their youngest brother*, and rounds it out with d) the "you were so kind" bit.
So with no further context, the general impression is it's the next prince that's sarcastic and up to no good, while the NYTCP is overall still possibly a decent guy. And it's only once the NYTCP meets up with LS that we have the info to realize "so kind to" probably meant "you beat him on a regular basis", which also (in hindsight) puts (b) in question as to whether that's also sarcasm.
It's a particular trick I really like, for character introductions, where a character is presented as either despicable or angelically innocent, and we don't figure out the truth until the story's had time to shift the frame of reference.
* While I think NYTCP needs to be roasted on a spit then crushed under a ton of broken concrete, I suspect that other prince is no better. After all, why tell NYTCP about goings-on in some other city unless there's a reason you want him out of the way for awhile?
Rewatching ep15 and it only just occurred to me that "you were so kind to him as a child" was (to butcher an old phrase) nothing more than selling out peter to keep paul safe.
in my language sub, at the beginning, it says the family entangles with their "ancestor", or the person…
Let's say DNA always splits exactly at 50% from each parent (it can vary wildly but this is for the sake of argument. So 50% from each parent, 25% from each grandparent, 12.5% from each great-grandparent, etc.
Keep going backwards to where you only 1% DNA -- that'll be from your great-great-great-great-great grandparent. Let's say a generation (duration from being born to giving birth) is, on average, about 25 years. That means if you're 25 this year, your 5th-great grandparent lived around 1850. Not even a full 200 years ago.
And (to make the math easier), let's say the exact year in the Song Dynasty is 1020. That's 41 generations ago. You're at basically .0002% by 1550, and you still have 530 years to go. When we get to 1025, you're at your 39th-great grandparent, and the percent DNA you carry from them is 0.00000000009%.
I think we left "hint of incest" back around 1925.
in my language sub, at the beginning, it says the family entangles with their "ancestor", or the person…
My understanding is that "ancestor" doesn't have to be in your family, if they're super-old. It seems to be a term roughly like "elder" but in a "elder-squared" sort of way.
I have to say, I was hoping this show wouldn't do the 'we just stole the treasure so now we're going to sit here and wait to be discovered' nonsense but then it went and did that. Oh, well. Hope springs eternal.
Okay, got it: this series has at least four (possibly more?) plot devices. Where a normal person would look for the exits, the plot devices are ultra-dramatic about being determined to throw themselves knowingly into a situation that could kill them. And in doing so, their blind stupidity forcefully creates a conflict, raises tension, and ultimately triggers a change in one of the protags.
To explain: characters have motivations (in good stories, foreshadowed), will react to events and/or new information, will change course as needed. Plot devices exist only to push the story forward, so they're set on a path regardless of new information/warnings, and it doesn't really matter why, either. All that matters is they force the story into a crisis.
There's just no there, there, with a plot device -- and turns out I have zero sympathy for cardboard. (I also have damn little respect for screenwriters/authors who rely heavily on plot devices, but that's a rant for some other day.)
Does anyone else find a certain trio somewhat suspicious? (Details in reply.)
Okay, disregard. It's just bad writing. Whoever wrote that part wanted to withhold any information until the right dramatic moment, even if that required normally-savvy characters to suddenly trust with no evidence.
Does anyone else find a certain trio somewhat suspicious? (Details in reply.)
I mean, the kids show up and seem legit (if a little too self-sacrificing and hard-headed). But when they meet FYX, all they do is cry loudly. It feels like their goal isn't really to reunite, but to make the biggest possible scene they can.
I mean, as opposed to: you don't remember us? But I'm so-and-so, you met me in X at Y, this is so-and-so, you brought him back from Z. iow, giving as many details as they can to a) show they're the real thing and b) maybe prod FYX into remembering them.
That's the more likely/natural reaction, seems to me. Instead, the instance FYX recoils (or leaves), the kids promptly burst into seriously loud wailing. It's not funny and it's not cute, and it's also not a realistic reaction. Unless one of those five writers finds unrealistic character choices really amusing, all it does is make me especially suspicious: the kids can't give more information because there is none.
I think this is a rebirth story. They always start like this swearing to get revenge after death
What has me confused is the description makes it sound like the guy's sister dies, and comes back as the blind girl. But then his sister is alive & well in ep2. Is the description just really badly written?
I'm a little confused... the show opens with a death, then switches to the blind girl... who isn't the sect guy's sister, because the sister is still alive? Was the dying part a flash-forward?
No one will become the president of Korea without the US approval !Interesting statementI think it’s them letting…
I took that to mean that's the common perception, and perhaps also made for a catchy quip in Korean, even if the reality is a little more complicated. It's not like it's unheard-of for the US to intervene in otherwise established governments; actually, in some decades and in some regions, it would've been unheard-of if the CIA were *not* involved.
To make the line be a little more accurate, all you really need to say is the US has historically proven very good at (and certainly more than willing to) create chaos in the right places for a government to collapse. Assassinations, sudden flows of money and/or arms to the opposition, or just outright orchestrating coups. The CIA has proven over and over again it has no shame, no ethics, and accepts no limits.
So in short, if Korea elects a president that won't play along with US policy, it's a legit question to wonder whether ensuing domestic unrest is authentic -- or inflated to monstrous proportions thanks to strategic and intentional interference by the CIA.
About Munju, she is actually not an ordinary women, remember she prefers gather dirts of her husband family instead…
which ironically made me praise her as a damn smart woman. jewelry won't keep you warm at night, unlike suspending your mother-in-law over a blackmail bonfire.
given the stats that women do tend to outlive their male spouses, a very savvy move on her part to come up with a means of self-protection. (and, we cannot ignore that she found it out because her husband refused to go along with his mother's tax evasions, and instead called her out on it!)
Ok...."Dead man tell no Tales".....lolJunik is dead and he cannot defend himself on anything so it is…
I think the ringer for me is that -- having all this tremendous amount of money -- he left every single penny to his wife. I mean, at the least, I'd expect a trust fund to be created for the son, with rules about how & when the son can access it & who manages it.
Alternately, if his radar was pinging that hard, ten days before is still enough time to, idk, create a trust of some sort for his son, pay off his mistress' house mortgage, write her a check for 100-grand (since it seems like that'd be chump change in that family). But if he truly loved his son that much, just leaving the son out completely boggles my mind. He and the FL may've lost the passion in their marriage, but from their recorded conversation, they didn't seem to have lost their love. You don't put yourself between your spouse and a gunman unless you really do want your spouse to live.
"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all." -- H.L. Mencken
Alternately, the benefit of a reply like the above is it helps me identify the fascist in the conversation, and then mute them.
Except for the fact that they depicted the US exactly as they are lol
when someone (among the korean characters) basically said the US leadership (that is, the president) is basically a brainless but egotistical saber-rattler who just wants to have a war -- all I could think was: well, they're not wrong.
(the crowning touch: the egotistical idiot president is a lot of talk during an interview, even throwing the gauntlet -- which the in-story news reports was immediately walked-back by the white house even as the white house didn't exactly contradict the president's boasts... which is, uh, pretty accurate right now.)
The father's head swells with the smallest bit of flattery (as does the son's), and where the father is at least industrious, the son isn't just lazy, he doesn't even seem to care. For someone who supposedly has his own restaurant, he's unbelievably gullible. You'd think the events of eps 15-17 would've been a serious wake-up call. It was certainly written like a setup for some major character development -- at minimum, for the rest of the family to realize this isn't a world where they can just assume everyone has their best interests (or any interests) at heart. Possibly also with the older brother recognizing stupid mistakes could lead to his daughter being in danger?
I mean, you have the parents breaking into a serious (and not even remotely funny) argument -- at a table with a guest of some significance -- followed by a threat of separation. And then it's resolved, but did I skip an episode? There was no heart-to-heart, no speaking truth and finding a better balance between them, instead what mostly seemed like a rather inane "well, for lack of anything better, might as well go back to the status quo."
And then the FL goes and basically hands over multiple trade secrets to one of her main competitors. Bad enough she just blabs freely about the one thing that keeps their competition from copying their recipes, but then she goes and compounds it by handing over more ideas! You'd think after the times their competition has beaten them, she'd be more circumspect.
They're strangers in a truly foreign land, with no one really to rely on except themselves. I fully expected ep17 to be where they started closing ranks, being a little more suspicious of flattery, a lot less naive and trusting, maybe even considering a person's potential agenda before welcoming that person with open arms and an open mouth. But nothing changed.
It's okay to start with a dysfunctional family, but you still need character development. I think I've watched enough to feel fairly certain if there's any character progression, it'll happen a) by author fiat, not character reactions to story actions, and b) solely for the final act purpose of wrapping the story up. It's a real pity, because it started out so well, and it's a real waste of a talented cast.
So with no further context, the general impression is it's the next prince that's sarcastic and up to no good, while the NYTCP is overall still possibly a decent guy. And it's only once the NYTCP meets up with LS that we have the info to realize "so kind to" probably meant "you beat him on a regular basis", which also (in hindsight) puts (b) in question as to whether that's also sarcasm.
It's a particular trick I really like, for character introductions, where a character is presented as either despicable or angelically innocent, and we don't figure out the truth until the story's had time to shift the frame of reference.
* While I think NYTCP needs to be roasted on a spit then crushed under a ton of broken concrete, I suspect that other prince is no better. After all, why tell NYTCP about goings-on in some other city unless there's a reason you want him out of the way for awhile?
Keep going backwards to where you only 1% DNA -- that'll be from your great-great-great-great-great grandparent. Let's say a generation (duration from being born to giving birth) is, on average, about 25 years. That means if you're 25 this year, your 5th-great grandparent lived around 1850. Not even a full 200 years ago.
And (to make the math easier), let's say the exact year in the Song Dynasty is 1020. That's 41 generations ago. You're at basically .0002% by 1550, and you still have 530 years to go. When we get to 1025, you're at your 39th-great grandparent, and the percent DNA you carry from them is 0.00000000009%.
I think we left "hint of incest" back around 1925.
To explain: characters have motivations (in good stories, foreshadowed), will react to events and/or new information, will change course as needed. Plot devices exist only to push the story forward, so they're set on a path regardless of new information/warnings, and it doesn't really matter why, either. All that matters is they force the story into a crisis.
There's just no there, there, with a plot device -- and turns out I have zero sympathy for cardboard. (I also have damn little respect for screenwriters/authors who rely heavily on plot devices, but that's a rant for some other day.)
I mean, as opposed to: you don't remember us? But I'm so-and-so, you met me in X at Y, this is so-and-so, you brought him back from Z. iow, giving as many details as they can to a) show they're the real thing and b) maybe prod FYX into remembering them.
That's the more likely/natural reaction, seems to me. Instead, the instance FYX recoils (or leaves), the kids promptly burst into seriously loud wailing. It's not funny and it's not cute, and it's also not a realistic reaction. Unless one of those five writers finds unrealistic character choices really amusing, all it does is make me especially suspicious: the kids can't give more information because there is none.
To make the line be a little more accurate, all you really need to say is the US has historically proven very good at (and certainly more than willing to) create chaos in the right places for a government to collapse. Assassinations, sudden flows of money and/or arms to the opposition, or just outright orchestrating coups. The CIA has proven over and over again it has no shame, no ethics, and accepts no limits.
So in short, if Korea elects a president that won't play along with US policy, it's a legit question to wonder whether ensuing domestic unrest is authentic -- or inflated to monstrous proportions thanks to strategic and intentional interference by the CIA.
given the stats that women do tend to outlive their male spouses, a very savvy move on her part to come up with a means of self-protection. (and, we cannot ignore that she found it out because her husband refused to go along with his mother's tax evasions, and instead called her out on it!)
Alternately, if his radar was pinging that hard, ten days before is still enough time to, idk, create a trust of some sort for his son, pay off his mistress' house mortgage, write her a check for 100-grand (since it seems like that'd be chump change in that family). But if he truly loved his son that much, just leaving the son out completely boggles my mind. He and the FL may've lost the passion in their marriage, but from their recorded conversation, they didn't seem to have lost their love. You don't put yourself between your spouse and a gunman unless you really do want your spouse to live.
Alternately, the benefit of a reply like the above is it helps me identify the fascist in the conversation, and then mute them.
(the crowning touch: the egotistical idiot president is a lot of talk during an interview, even throwing the gauntlet -- which the in-story news reports was immediately walked-back by the white house even as the white house didn't exactly contradict the president's boasts... which is, uh, pretty accurate right now.)