zleighz

Me too lol. Like, I HATE ads. I believe that the only way to combat the negative effect of advertising is to literally turn it off (too many people think they aren't affected by advertising and they are completely wrong).

That said, I can't help but slow clap with how creatively this show does their ppl.

ESPECIALLY The Story of Iris (brought to you by KFC!)

Unlike a lot of commentors, I would hate if the show shoehorned in a love interest for MJ. It would break the flow of the narrative and turn some of the tightest storytelling I've ever seen into a more typical drama with fluff side stories.

But we all want more MJ and the show obliges. And by making it an ad they can turn up the cheesiness, which cracks me the hell up. A+

In the garage, yes, you're right. The show was quite clear that Talay was playing Thyme. Thyme might have put his hands on Talay, but Talay completely feigned the impact of it to manipulate Gorya.

Haha ditto to Secret! It sounds up my alley.

Have you seen A Love to Kill? (Rain and Shin Minah) it is a fantastically over the top Melo of revenge+self-imposed punishment and I love it.

Having Gorya smack her head on the bar, having Ren interrupted as he went to take her to the hospital, having her so completely slouched and unresponsive in the chair.....

Damn.

When Thyme got the text saying if you want her to live.... it isn't even a threat to do anything to her. Leaving her untreated could very well be enough to kill her.

The stakes feel incredibly real. Stellar storytelling imo

Regarding studying Thyme: Her mom wanted her to. She didn't want to. And it's unclear whether she did more than watch the news briefings her mom showed her.

Something about myself that I'm aways wrestling with is how my drama preferences are kinda indefensible irl.

Like, I LOVE misunderstood FL tropes, where the ML comes to realize just how good, self sacrificing, etc the FL is and then has a huge breakdown as he wrestles with his past transgressions and incapabilities (Thirty But Seventeen, Cunning Single Lady, Familiar Wife, etc.).

But when I think about the trope it seems SO antithetical to my usual feelings. It's basically torturing the FL as prop for the MLs character growth, which isn't cool! Except I love it. 😬🤷‍♀️

So. Long story short. I've been waiting for the Gorya-in-the-water scene since the 2nd trailer and it didn't disappoint whatever this weird drama desire of mine is.

The episode addressed this textually when Gorya referred to herself regressing.

Rock on! I look forward to checking it out (while decompressing after episode 10 lolol)

I dont think I saw anyone make this exact point after episode 7 and I like it.

I think a lot of viewers have a difficult time not holding characters to unrealistic standards. Many people appeared to actually want a moral-of-the-story rather than character development. And I think your comment cuts to a pretty basic, fundamental truth of Thyme as he exists in episode 7 (at the beginning of the episode)

Yes, well said! I didn't intend to chase the person off for coming to share their feelings, but I wanted to make sure the person wanted a conversation about it first before writing up a response.

To be honest, I'm really not arguing with you or with anyone. I have a perspective to share and am sharing it. People can take it or leave it, or sit with it and come to a conclusion later. But there really isn't any contention from me. 🤷‍♀️

It was just a paragraph about how they couldn't believe so many people were excusing abuse because the actors are attractive and that there's no way to make a good adaptation where the FL goes through so much abuse to change the ML.

I was thinking about responding, but wanted to make sure the person actually wanted to engage in a discussion, instead of just stating their opinions and bailing. Glad I didn't waste my time I guess lol

"Certain kind of declaration of love"

I think this feeling will prevent you from fully empathizing with characters, and seeing what's plainly revealed (but doesn't conform to tropes - like jealous behavior, obsessing, making declarations of love etc.)

It's the thrust of my comment above... expecting "love" to look a certain way can be toxic because it can stop people from seeing anything that isn't presented the same way.

Couple questions: Are you watching the show? And, are you here for discussion? (or did you just intend to leave a one-off comment)

I don't really disagree with anything in your comment. That said, my main post is really just to get people to question their own feelings about why they think someone loves "more" than another person does, and to make sure that those feelings aren't based in expecting love to look a certain way.

Many comments all week have expressed opinions about Gorya not liking Thyme enough, but none of them seemed to go deeper than simply feeling like she doesn't behave the way they think she should if she likes Thyme (someone even talked about her not acting jealous enough smh).

Oof, the part about the smile reaching his eyes gives me goosebumps. I love it.

This isn't intended to come across like I am chastising anyone, by the way. I just want to expose people to this concept just like I was exposed to it many years ago. It has stuck with me this long for a reason.

When Twilight became huge, I listened to a panel of experts discuss the ramifications it was having on people. One of them, a middle school guidance counselor, spoke about how boys were telling her that their girlfriends were upset because they didn't think the boys loved them enough. Basically, these girls read a book where the ML would sneak into the FL's room to watch her sleep, would obsess over her eating habits, would try to stop her from driving for her own safety, etc. etc. .... and all of a sudden middle school girls felt like their boyfriends must not love them enough, since they didn't act the same way (which they really shouldn't, since these things are all about stalking and control, but I digress). They were influenced by the story to look for certain behavior as a measure of how much someone likes them.

And this is exactly why everyone who feels like "Thyme loves Gorya more" should pause and reflect on those feelings imo.

"Who loves who more" is actually a really really toxic sentiment. It doesn't do much for analyzing the characters or the narrative, but it DOES lead to unrealistic expectations for what "love" should look like, and it's a harmful comment to make because it could influence the person saying it or reading it to believe that they need to see certain behaviors from someone to believe that that person loves them.

Love does not look the same for everyone.

I don't even mean to get into the difference between Gorya and Thyme's expression of love, I just want people to be cautious with thinking that love can and should "look" a certain way, or that love can or should be measured between two people.

Alright, so I've been waiting for a discussion about the Kaning / Kavin scene at the beginning of the episode because I can't decide on my own feelings about it.

Kavin is SO INCREDIBLY flirty (and charming *swoon*) but, like, is any of that behavior intentional? Or is it all instinctive?

We know he's a flirt. We know he has some kind of feeling for Kaning. BUT WHAT DOES HIS BEHAVIOR MEAN??? Anyone wanna jump in and share your thoughts?

Also, for real, I love Kaning so much. She is doing such a good job falling for him but staying as level headed as she possibly can. At this point, it's kinda admirable how chill she still is.

Oh funny! When I think "on equal footing" I don't think of Gorya entering politics and business power struggles (narratively, it's okay but personally I hate it for her lol it's such a corrupt game to play).