2busywatching

I had same thought but I see no body talking about that

I agree, I also live he experiments with his roles a lot

Many of the women in this show are freaking amazing. Xiguang's mom, her aunt, even her paternal grandmother, and the friends she found at her company. They are all girls, girls. This reminds me of LOVE IS SWEET & YOU ARE MY SECRET. These shows have some really amazing female characters, not just the MFL but most of the women in these shows. Love shows like these, where they uplift each other and aren't jealous of every single thing.

Also, Yin Jie is so real for saying one of her wishes was for her bestie to get together with a rich CEO😂. Xiguang has bad luck with friends in her college days, but in her working phase, she has found amazing friends and human beings. Also love how Lin Yusen's cousins are amazing (except one). Instead of being salty and supporting their parents' cat fight for name, they support him. And how can I forget the best of all, Jiang Rui 💜, one of the best brothers out there

I'M HOOKED

Well atleast you noticed on the post cards, my dumb ass thought he was hinting her something and not actually writing the right date 🤣

God, I'm so stupid. I just realized the drama is set in 2013. I'm on episode 25, and the lecture scene is going on, and I just discovered the graph has no data after 2012. That's when it hit me.

I mean, even though it started with 2011 shown as past and 2012 as present. The fl didn't know what WeChat was, even though it's constantly shown as their preferred way of online communication in many modern shows. Then there's handing out cash everywhere, when in modern drama you rarely see that. Every time they have to pay, it's tap or scan to pay. ML wrote 2013 on postcards, and I thought he was hinting at some specific date. Aahhhhhh, I feel so dumb RN 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 the fact that I rarely miss small details in a show and I missed such a big one is so funny and embarrassing to me.

Being said that...I'm really enjoying this show. I didn't expect it to be this amazing, but I'm hooked. Thank god Chinese dramas air almost 2 episodes per day and not 2 episodes per week. I would have lost it because I binge-watched the first 19 episodes so fast that waiting weeks would have killed me. Also, I'm in love with the OST, especially the opening track, and him walking towards her during the wedding episode, and the OST playing in the background is my favorite scene.

I agree that just is just exhausting. In earlier episode it felt like I can't breathe whenever he is present on the screen

Gu ran as well

I never said what Jun Seo did was legal or that I denied the fact that he tried to kill her.
I said I didn't find him an unreliable narrator (there is a difference between an unreliable narrator and an unreliable person) because even if we keep aside his book connecting all the cases, he never covered Ahjin’s crime or made her a damsel in distress most of the time; he said what he saw, good or bad. Personally, I never felt he slandered Ahjin completely or just said her response was because of trauma, so she is not at fault. You have a different viewpoint for an unreliable narrator; I had a different viewpoint. You don't have to force your one on me and vice versa.
In most of the unreliable narrator stories, the person who is narrating stories hid their part of play till the last, making us believe they are not even responsible at all (example: of the top of my mind, I can think of The Silent Patient; till the end, we see the physicist as a person who is with a cheating partner, and he is trying his best to help Alicia; until the very end, we see his true face). Jun Seo never hid his part or his wrongdoing. Most of the time, he dreaded it; he did have a hero complex, as Ah Jin made sure he never forgot that. That same savior complex we see in the café owner when he was near Ahjin.
I think we’re using ‘unreliable narrator’ differently. I’m talking about narrative reliability, not moral or psychological reliability. Jun Seo is absolutely compromised, complicit, and dangerous. I just don’t see him misrepresenting events to the audience or hiding his role, which is why I don’t personally read him as an unreliable narrator.

I just finished the drama, and overall I liked it. And, Jun-seo is still the most interesting character, and I honestly do not understand why so many people are calling him an unreliable narrator.

From start to end, he never changes or distorts the truth. I thought in the end might be a sign he was, but didn't't see it.
Even regarding the grandmother’s death, I have seen comments saying Jun-seo accused Ah-jin and only realized the truth after the recording. But, he never clearly says she pushed the grandmother. He only talks about Ah-jin praying in the hospital, saying he does not know what she prayed for or whether God listened. [and that the pattern he saw from the start] That's not an accusation

Jun-seo can see what Ah-jin is capable of, but he struggles to accept it. That struggle is not dishonesty; it is denial shaped by years of manipulation. Accepting the truth would mean accepting that his protection was misplaced and that the bond he believed in was built on manipulation. That is not easy to face.

We see this clearly early on. Even when he realizes A-jin planned her father’s death, he still goes to the police and takes the blame. Not because he is unaware of what she did, but because he cannot emotionally accept it yet. He keeps reasoning her actions through trauma.

Kim Jae-woo’s death is the turning point. That is when Jun-seo stops just rationalizing and fully accepts who A-jin is. He asks her a simple question: whether she will stop. She says no. From that moment, he stops justifying her actions and begins clearly distancing himself. [It starts after In-gang death, tbh]

I feel especially sorry for Kim Jae-woo. He never truly saw who Baek A-jin was and died believing in a version of her that did not exist. It is also frustrating to see the husband escape consequences, but that feels intentional. He is a chaebol, and the show reflects how powerful people often get away with their crimes.

What unsettled me the most was A-jin’s expressionless eyes. That emptiness was terrifying, especially knowing how many deaths and ruined lives she is directly or indirectly responsible for, and also the fact that the husband was also taken aback for a few minutes, knowing that Jae woo's died knowing and A-jin let it happen so that she could have something on her husband. That's how cruel she can be.

Jun-seo is not unreliable narrator. He is a character who moves from denial to clarity. He never rewrites Ah-jin’s truth. He simply reaches a point where he can no longer lie to himself. And, I think the husband's plot was weird cause that 1.5 episode is like a fever dream.

Thank you for debriefing your pov

I guess we discussing same thing but we are naming it differently

And that a morally grey antagonist can also be main lead.

To me I see a big difference in morally grey antagonist and protagonist. For example Song hye kyo's character in The Glory will fall under a morally grey protagonist while character like Beak A jin or Eve (from Eve) are morally grey antagonist

I guess it will come under rom com and if you are some one who love happy ending this is the one also from it is in genre of from friends to enemies to lovers

Give shooting star a chance you will definitely love him

I have no idea about his korean fan base but I'm still baffled by the fact that he is this underrated around the globe. He is such an amazing actor, and his eyes speak a lot. The way he changes his mannerisms for each of his characters is mind-blowing. His drama never disappoints me, ever

On episode 8 and it really interesting to me that A jin is written as morally grey antagonist rather than morally grey protagonist.

Also like how both In gang and Jae ho see pieces of them self in A jin but they are both different in the way they mirror those pieces. Where one fear what he sees the other empathize with that.

And to me Jun seo character is most complex and intresting of all. It feels like he sees and knows what Ajin is capable of but can't believe that is the truth (lives in denial but it not simple) that denial is curated through the trauma bond and being forced to become a protector and then manipulated and gaslight for saving her throw years by a person who knows when and how to pull him.

The rating does no justice to this amazing drama. I can't believe I binged it without any distraction. It’s going on my re-watch worthy list.

Also, what an impressive OST list, such great chemistry between characters, and numerous amazing cameos in the show.

I particularly adore Oh Manager’s character. [but after Dr. Ham, I’m biased, I know.] He had a crush, & took full responsibility for it, never burdened Ji Song with it, and never became nasty or creepy towards her. I genuinely love how their friendship blossomed throughout the entire show. When she rejected him, he respected that and the crush remained, as it naturally happens in real life [it didn't vanish]. However, he also knew when to stop and was respectful to her throughout the show.

There is couple of time when I come accross nasty comment on Slice of life drama here on MDL top reason is they are slow pace and not over the top for them and they think slice of life is bad genre. (Last line makes my blood boil)