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The episode where bitna fights satan

Weak Hero s1 took a glimpse of an idea from the webtoon and expanded on it, creating character depth and scenarios that were not a part of the webtoon

I have a lot of hope for this writer and drama team, and I am expecting that they will take the *concepts* of the webtoon and character ideas and form their own 8-episode arc with intention and meaning, and not a major focus on webtoon plot

Every time I think of f4 Thailand, I’m blown away by the tight writing and intentionality of everything

Take, for instance, the shoe motif. In every version, the FL kicks the ML, but only in F4 Thailand is the kick actually metaphorical.

The shoes are not just about how “good shoes take you to good places” they are also a metaphor for her family’s love for her (contrast with the j-version, which uses a lunchbox). Her family’s love for her is represented by her new pair of shoes, and Thyme ruthlessly tries to destroy them.

His speech as he cuts them up represents his mother’s worldview, which he thinks will break Gorya’s will. Instead, Gorya puts the destroyed shoes on her feet and kicks Thyme(‘s worldview) on his ass for the first time in his life. It leaves a literal mark on him (iirc the episode is titled footprint of meteor) and propels him on his path to break free from his mother’s skewed philosophy and towards redemption.

There’s no comparison. The character in the manhwa is just a 2-dimensional bully and Bumseok is a fully realized, flawed individual. The drama took a mere hint of an outline and created an amazing profile of human frailty

“Not even Kinnporsch has a 9”

In contrast, I think it is one of the best stories from any drama (Korean or other) that I’ve ever seen, and has caused me to think so often and so deeply about the characters and storyline

Take, for instance, how it flipped expectations so radically. It set everything up to be a typical “misfits stand up to the bullies” and it gave us that too, to introduce us to our characters and to set up their relationships. And then, in the second half, it took a hard-right turn and showed us that the true “villain” was actually the very relatably human fragility of Bumseok, a “weak hero”.

I could honestly talk about the drama a without stop, because it has so much depth to plunge.

Even the kids’ scenes were boring to you?

I thought the kids were a delight but the teen versions were skating on my puffed up love for the kids and for the original source material

I found myself unsure of how I like the drama tbh. I thought it had some uproariously funny moments (the scene where the two women scream and their BL novel hits the floor had me rolling) and the characters were all very reasonable and acted reasonably. But I skipped a lot to get to the end and was more *respectful* of the characters than interested in them, I guess.

I’m curious why everyone is saying the ending was rushed?

To me, it clearly wrapped up their feelings for each other in episode 11. WE, as the audience, understand their feelings. But because No Gain No Love LOVES the tropes, they brought back the 11th hour separation for our leads. We don’t need to see them any longer than we got. We already know they love each other, and their separation was a sort of formality so that the FL isn’t worried the ML is living his life for other people, and so he can explore his life with his mom and her family before coming back “where he left his heart”.

Hmm. The drama had some of the most fun with tropes that I’ve ever seen, using and subverting them at the same time.

For instance, when the writer curses at the CEO to die, only for the truck of doom to come barreling straight for him… and then swerving and missing him, it subverted the expectation that he would be hit. And yet, the writer ended up passing out and needed to be rushed to the hospital anyways, which fulfilled the expectation that someone would need to be saved during a scene like that.

So many of the cliches were so cleverly deployed.

Absolutely agree. I had no idea how they would/could end it with anything resembling a satisfactory solution to the structural problems they uncovered, and in the end I think they ended on such a perfect, elegant solution.

So many people cut “corporations” slack without holding the people who make those decisions accountable. I even have a friend whose whole department is being fired, and her response was “I can understand why the business made this decision” which is so heartbreaking. Because, no, a business did not make the decision to fire them and go for cheaper labor… people did!

I’m hoping that she ends up figuring it out on her own when he’s being treated unfairly, and her justice switch flips on before her hurt feelings can

Here’s one of my favorite Twitter threads from that time that gives you an idea of the depth of analysis (that this drama richly deserves):

https://x.com/subway_dates/status/1485132857135669248

You should’ve been on here while it was airing, you would’ve fit right in…

Each week was a deep dive into the new episode. So much analysis of the character arcs and metaphors, and the way the story took canon moments from the source material but added an iceberg worth of depth. Like how the most basic “f4” concept of the red card was turned on its head the moment Thymes mom gave her heartless speech about how her business was run like a family and then like a football team, where you have to give them a red card. THIS was the first moment that blew my mind. How they so deftly turned the red card from a petulant rich boy who bullies for attention, to a devastating, desperate plea for his mother’s respect.

And the way he gives his speech in the gladiator arena to break his victim’s spirits, spewing the same twisted rhetoric that his mother feeds him… only for Gorya to fight back against his rhetoric and his worldview (in the shoes that represent her family’s love and support) and to literally kick a new perspective into him

My god I could go on and on.

It was phD-thesis level analysis on here fr!

This man has the rizz to lead more dramas. Give the people what they want!

I have never seen an adaptation that feels so completely faithful yet doesn’t actually follow the scenes from the book.

I love the novel so much and I know the story beat for beat, and I am blown away by this adaptation so far. Truly, they captured the essence and yet are creating their own version. I’m excited to see what comes next!

In the book (they may change it for the drama) she and one of the MLs end up dating. Their relationship is really rocky because she has always closed herself off to others and he doesn’t understand that she feels very strongly for him. He thinks that she’ll be moving on to a better school than him, and that she has a boundless future, and that she doesn’t even really like him anyways, so he breaks up with her even though he’s very much in love with her.

No one dies.

Did you watch Princess Silver? It’s another show where he just shines (tho I can’t wholly recommend the show itself). He adds such emotional depth to his characters. I need to seek out more of his dramas

The drama IS Jing Chao. His character completely drives the story and the leads revolve around him from beginning to end. And the actor is absolute perfection. I am such a huge fan now

This is a fantastic drama and definitely one of my absolute favorites. I kind of can’t believe it’s so under the radar for so many, though, and so unappreciated by so many too. I loved it 💯.