I just feel so bad for KJ. He is walking on eggshells most of the times with the step-dad and that kind of immature mother. I really hope they won't make TU villain. The bond he shares with DR and BH is so precious. I wish the drama was already finished then I could binge watch it all day long.
Many people, including me, were mainly dissapointed by the script which went downhill halfway through the drama.…
First of all, I understand your disappointment, as it has happened to me before. I initially loved the beginning of some dramas so much, but later on, they didn’t meet my expectations. I apologize for intervening here, but I am also interested in the respectful conversation that you both shared, and I have read both of your comments. And English is not my first language. Sorry for very long comment.
What most people disliked was the ML and how the FL's healing journey was portrayed.
First of all, this ML is one of the most unlikeable leads in recent dramas. Back in the 2010s, many MLs were like him. I disliked him many times, even cursed him, but I still don’t hate him and don’t find him irredeemable.
Both the FL and the ML have childhood traumas. However, for the ML, he isn't even aware of his trauma, has never acknowledged it, and is therefore unaware of how negatively it impacts his life and the FL's life as well. Many people sympathized with the SML, which they couldn’t with the ML. It’s important to recognize that the ML was a kid when he was abandoned by his mother, and from then on, he was neglected by his father until his father's death. He was merely a teenager left with loan and no family at all. Although he has a loving family of grannies, it didn’t start that way. He had to pay back his father's loan, and the head granny didn’t love or care for him initially. So, the dynamic between them wasn’t unconditional. Based on what the drama showed, the ML's love language is actions. He doesn’t know how to express his thoughts and feelings, and it is extreme in some cases. Many times he means and intends one thing, but what he says expresses the opposite. To understand what he actually means, his facial expressions were needed here.
I think the reason behind his ghosting the FL for the first six months is that he was scared to enter into a relationship due to the dysfunctional family of his. Moreover, he is of lower social status than the FL despite his more successful career due to his mother abandoning him, gambler father, being orphan, and a group of loan shark grannies. After the drastic breakup, he was hurt as well, but he hid that very quickly before the FL could register it. He wanted the FL to move on quickly, but the way he did it made it seem their eight-year-long relationship didn’t matter to him at all. Also, based on the double life the FL was leading, she was sabotaging her own career. He wanted her to do well, but the way he went about it was utterly disrespectful to her. He tried to conceal his feelings for her, but the way he did it left the FL feeling extremely miserable. His actions cannot be justified solely based on his traumatic past. But for the freezer incident, only the female producer was responsible, the ML wasn’t. However, he came to the rescue even when he didn’t have to. But even then, he caused more pain by saying that the FL embarrassed him. He actually did everything the FL once demanded from him when they were a couple. He gave up the 9 PM news, came to rescue her, etc. But each time, he didn’t express that he was doing these things because he loved her. So, the FL sees such actions as pity.
Now the healing journey: I saw some comments claiming, 'Oppa's kiss fixed her DID,' which I disagree with. The FL is by no means spineless, and she didn’t accept the ML back just because she didn’t have anyone else (as we know, she had both Juyeon and Jion). Rather, I admire her for not accepting the ML when he couldn’t commit to her wholeheartedly. She didn’t accept his favors to get more projects. She didn’t accept that he would only take care of her when she was sick.
After the forest incident, the ML went to receive the FL because he was the one who picked up the phone call. If he hadn’t gone, the FL still would have returned because she realized she couldn’t continue living her life that way. It’s true that she needed someone to return home, and the ML just happened to be that person. She got closure with the SML even before she got back with the ML, so she was going to break up with the SML regardless of whether she got back with the ML or not. Deep down, she knew the ML loved her during their relationship, and she accepted him back only when he himself returned to her (ep 10 ending scene, he had to come forward while she waited).
Though she often seemed childish with him, she was always vocal about how she felt for him and expected him to do the same. She was more mature and understanding in communicating with the ML. For the ML, he needed to open up to the FL and realize that he could depend on others.
To conclude, the ML didn’t impress me like other MLs, but I do understand him if I see him as a traumatised person. He wasn’t the shining armor for the FL, as the FL wasn’t the damsel in distress to begin with.
Kangju's dad 🫣🤣 I don't even feel bad for him getting slapped back to back. This is the first drama where middle-aged people also excite me this way. Btw Darim is looking cuter with her hairstyle.
I just watched "My Dear Youth, Coffee Prince" and I hope after 13-14 years, the cast of TW will be able to sit down and reminisce about this drama. I can't express how much I love this drama.
I hope the girl Charim gets more screen time. We barely see her when she is one of the leads. Alhough she seems bitter about everything, it seems something bad happened to her which she couldn’t share with anybody in her family. Otherwise she used to love Darim so much and was so protective of her.
One question I want to ask you from this passage: "However, what Eun Ho does not know, but the viewer does, is that in her loneliness, Hye Ri appeared at least once before Eun Ho—though Eun Ho cannot remember it. The screenwriter and director added a thought-provoking yet beautiful detail to the events with this. It's a clever trick because we cannot be sure, but that particular gesture from Eun Ho has never been seen in the series. This small detail, which could easily be overlooked, has significance during the conclusion of the events at the 'last supper.'" Did HR appear again when EH was in the forest?
I agree with your review. The story is quite deep and needs a lot of time and attention to understand. I think it is one of those dramas that you shouldn't watch when you are stressed. I also understood that how EH got back with HO at the end. Most viewers are angry at this. But the love between HR and JY was always platonic. And HO has gone through a realistic character development. He is quite different from other MLs as he will require guidance from EH and people around him. But the understanding between EH and HO was always present as EH surely knows how to comfort HO even though she behaves in an immatured way when HO is around. I support the writer as she didn’t navigate the storyline to merely please the viewers.
What most people disliked was the ML and how the FL's healing journey was portrayed.
First of all, this ML is one of the most unlikeable leads in recent dramas. Back in the 2010s, many MLs were like him. I disliked him many times, even cursed him, but I still don’t hate him and don’t find him irredeemable.
Both the FL and the ML have childhood traumas. However, for the ML, he isn't even aware of his trauma, has never acknowledged it, and is therefore unaware of how negatively it impacts his life and the FL's life as well. Many people sympathized with the SML, which they couldn’t with the ML. It’s important to recognize that the ML was a kid when he was abandoned by his mother, and from then on, he was neglected by his father until his father's death. He was merely a teenager left with loan and no family at all. Although he has a loving family of grannies, it didn’t start that way. He had to pay back his father's loan, and the head granny didn’t love or care for him initially. So, the dynamic between them wasn’t unconditional. Based on what the drama showed, the ML's love language is actions. He doesn’t know how to express his thoughts and feelings, and it is extreme in some cases. Many times he means and intends one thing, but what he says expresses the opposite. To understand what he actually means, his facial expressions were needed here.
I think the reason behind his ghosting the FL for the first six months is that he was scared to enter into a relationship due to the dysfunctional family of his. Moreover, he is of lower social status than the FL despite his more successful career due to his mother abandoning him, gambler father, being orphan, and a group of loan shark grannies.
After the drastic breakup, he was hurt as well, but he hid that very quickly before the FL could register it. He wanted the FL to move on quickly, but the way he did it made it seem their eight-year-long relationship didn’t matter to him at all. Also, based on the double life the FL was leading, she was sabotaging her own career. He wanted her to do well, but the way he went about it was utterly disrespectful to her. He tried to conceal his feelings for her, but the way he did it left the FL feeling extremely miserable. His actions cannot be justified solely based on his traumatic past.
But for the freezer incident, only the female producer was responsible, the ML wasn’t. However, he came to the rescue even when he didn’t have to. But even then, he caused more pain by saying that the FL embarrassed him. He actually did everything the FL once demanded from him when they were a couple. He gave up the 9 PM news, came to rescue her, etc. But each time, he didn’t express that he was doing these things because he loved her. So, the FL sees such actions as pity.
Now the healing journey:
I saw some comments claiming, 'Oppa's kiss fixed her DID,' which I disagree with. The FL is by no means spineless, and she didn’t accept the ML back just because she didn’t have anyone else (as we know, she had both Juyeon and Jion). Rather, I admire her for not accepting the ML when he couldn’t commit to her wholeheartedly. She didn’t accept his favors to get more projects. She didn’t accept that he would only take care of her when she was sick.
After the forest incident, the ML went to receive the FL because he was the one who picked up the phone call. If he hadn’t gone, the FL still would have returned because she realized she couldn’t continue living her life that way. It’s true that she needed someone to return home, and the ML just happened to be that person. She got closure with the SML even before she got back with the ML, so she was going to break up with the SML regardless of whether she got back with the ML or not. Deep down, she knew the ML loved her during their relationship, and she accepted him back only when he himself returned to her (ep 10 ending scene, he had to come forward while she waited).
Though she often seemed childish with him, she was always vocal about how she felt for him and expected him to do the same. She was more mature and understanding in communicating with the ML. For the ML, he needed to open up to the FL and realize that he could depend on others.
To conclude, the ML didn’t impress me like other MLs, but I do understand him if I see him as a traumatised person. He wasn’t the shining armor for the FL, as the FL wasn’t the damsel in distress to begin with.
"However, what Eun Ho does not know, but the viewer does, is that in her loneliness, Hye Ri appeared at least once before Eun Ho—though Eun Ho cannot remember it. The screenwriter and director added a thought-provoking yet beautiful detail to the events with this. It's a clever trick because we cannot be sure, but that particular gesture from Eun Ho has never been seen in the series. This small detail, which could easily be overlooked, has significance during the conclusion of the events at the 'last supper.'"
Did HR appear again when EH was in the forest?