Queen Hwang Jung Eum acting in one of Kim Soon Ok Makjang stories is gone explode everything she didn't do this…
I need to watch Secret! This actress was so annoying in Kill Me Heal Me and so many other dramas. Barelly ok in Giant, but.... crazy good in Incarnation of Money!! I don't think she's a bad actress, just a style I don't like when she's over-the-top but I don't feel it in the drama. Since IoM, I'm always ready to give her a chance to surprise me in a good way.
High quality article, I salute your dedication. Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done…
That's right. But since the screenwriter writes a screenplay and not a novel, it's her responsibility to make sure that things happen on the screen. It's a technical document studied for that in the production chain. Finally, the director (who normally has a good understanding of the story) can fix things within certain limits. But having no knowledge of directing, and relying only on my intuition and experience as a viewer, the director seems to have done a good job here.
I don't know if this was planned for multiple seasons. I have to assume not. Reducing the story to 10 episodes is indeed a harsh constraint. The pace of the first 5 episodes would have been satisfying in a 16 episode drama. And the following episodes would allow enough time to reveal everything properly, assuming that the writer does the right thing.
I much preferred Sisyphus which also had the constraint of going from 20 to 16 episodes. The principle was clearer and more focused, more inventive even. But in retrospect, I can say that this drama had serious confusion problems as well. Besides, many viewers turned away from it because of that. However, there were some intense scenes as far as emotion is concerned. And the start hooked fast.
I am disappointed with the result of the writer, but I know that she has done a lot of work for this. The problem is that a story often decides itself, and that we find ourselves in certain dead ends, difficult or impossible to correct. We can just notice afterwards that it is done and hope to do better next time. But if we direct the story too much, it is the opposite problem, it becomes cold, flat and mechanical. That's a bit the impression I have here. Hence this impression of doing complicated, just to do complicated. I would be curious to know her creative process, and how she built all this, but unfortunately it's the kind of information that is very hard to find because the writers never talk about it at length.
Wow! wow! I'm here for that! I usually don't like Hwang Jung Eum because she often overact, but it could be great in a Kim Soon Ok drama. With director Joo Dong Min, it's the dream team.
High quality article, I salute your dedication. Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done…
Your article convinced me that this drama could have been much better if better rendered. Assuming your explanation is right of course: there are mind-blowing events in the last episode, with the intentions of the two blue ghosts.
Yes, the healing is the scene with the localized time bubble, where the blood goes backwards. When I saw this scene, I immediately understood that SaeHa was alive at the end (especially since he couldn't be a version of the past since it's impossible to travel in time beyond the starting point). So your interpretation that SaeHa is dead seemed strange to me. But I had nothing to propose anyway. I'm not involved enough in the drama because I was pushed away from it. For the blood puddle, I interpreted that it was ManOk's blood puddle. I had noticed when I rewatched the scene that they are looking up to the sky as well. But I didn't remember that the grid had interference if the temporal choice became unstable. And besides, I didn't have time to think about that before. I remember to see the grid become instable after the Ghost leave when jumping, but not much.
The drama is too complicated to redo. The writer was certainly overwhelmed by so many plot points everywhere. Very hard to keep something like this at arm's length. She must have had a brain ache. The structure would have benefited from a faster start. Shorten episodes 2 to 5. Try to gain at least one episode, to start the time mess earlier. This would give time to e xplain a little better, or reinforce some principles with redundant scenes. This was done for the fact that SaeHa is not the son of the Janitor. Unfortunately too late. But it helped a little. I counted another scene after that. Then another one, beginning of episode 9. There is a discussion between SB and SH, rather long. Here, pure "Tell", 100% explanation and information and nothing else. With more time, regular additions of explanations and a little redundancy would have made it all understandable, even without this scene.
Your article sums up two principles of screenwriting well. "Show don't tell" and "Every scene advances the plot". However, there are other important principles. Such as "never confuse the audience". As well as "provide proof of concept". And of course "don't be boring". And some others.
"Show don't tell" is one of the most misunderstood concepts, even among screenwriters. For example, you can "show" something, and at the same time reinforce it with "tell" if necessary. It is also misunderstood in script writing because some people think that because of this, it is not possible to describe the inner state of the character or the tone (mood) of the scene. But it is useful for the actors and the director. As long as it is not overused. In truth, "show don't tell" applies mostly to the resolution of meaning and actions on screen, more than the actual writing.
"Every scene advances the plot", a scene objective can be something else too. Character revelation, new information, theme development for example. And in some cases, just a comedy or emotional scene with little impact on the plot. When we consider that the audience has seen something that they have not had time to understand, an explanation scene is not useless, it actually brings new information for the audience (but not for the script in the strict sense). If in addition this scene is reinforced by comedy, conflict, emotion or character rendering, it's perfect! Several objectives at once for a scene is better than just one by the way.
This is problematic because I once gave a script for feedback and someone said: take out that scene, it's unnecessary, it's already been said. Unfortunately, that was bad advice. I had created a voluntary redundancy to help the audience. It's very logical at the same time to receive this kind of advice, because at the script level, it's indeed unnecessary. But reading the script makes it easier to see all the details, since only what is important is written. The transition on the screen and the temporal flow of the movie is however different in the perception of the audience. This should never be lost sight of, but unfortunately is too often. And even unintentionally by the writers who try to do so, myself included.
"Never confuse the audience" is an obvious principle. It doesn't matter how clever the work is, if the audience gets confused, they reject everything and stop watching. We see it on this comment thread or on other blogs. It's absurd to blame the audience if they don't understand. The audience came in good faith to have a good time in the first place.
"provide proof of concept": because it's sci-fi, or fantasy, with a high-concept, the rules of the universe must have logic and be sufficiently expressed. Otherwise, the audience is lost and has the impression that anything and everything can be told, and that nothing makes sense. And when this is not done, incomprehensible things pile up on top of each other, the spectator can only make assumptions. A house of cards ready to collapse at any moment. There is a need to have a solid foundation and to state clearly on a regular basis. Not for everything, and not necessarily immediately, but the grey areas need to be cleared.
If the explanation is not given, or is given later, the writer can use a technique that shows the audience that she knows where she is going (to make them wait).
Example: SaeHa is going to spend two months replacing the SaeHa who should be in this time frame (principle of "the character replaces himself"). Impossible to leave this under silence as it is done in the drama. It seems logical to me to include a scene (or a part of a scene) where the character wonders. For example, he's looking to see if there is another SaeHa here. He understands the situation, that he is replacing himself and is certainly surprised by it. This may require a monologue, a voice-over, or showing what he is looking for his other self. But in this way, the audience, even without having the explanation, has the certainty that this is not a plot-hole and that the matter is considered seriously by the scriptwriter. So that there is a rule behind it. This is a (partial) proof of concept, but sufficient at first. It is also possible to add a short scene, just after SaeHa goes back in time, to see the SaeHa who stayed here. Logically, he should have had a two-month amnesia. Showing the character questioning this, or asking his parents what he was doing. And there you have it, we have a pretty much coherent universe. It's not complicated. It's just that the screenwriter must always keep in mind the logical implications of what she's saying and bounce on that, and how it's perceived by the audience. Always put yourself in the audience's point of view, it's very important.
Probably it needed 2 more episodes to spend more time, instead of making a time jump. Or there was nothing related to the main plot to tell at this point.
Was Disney+ Grid challenging? After almost a week, the much-awaited "Grid Explained" is finally up! https://im.youronly.one/snoworld/그리드-grid-explained-2022116/Fair…
High quality article, I salute your dedication. Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done her job better.
For SaeHa's death, strangely you didn't notice the "healing" temporal field the previous time. Which is understandable because it has become impossible to notice everything in the drama. Me, I didn't notice that the blue Ghost 1 was looking at his Device to show that it was different. And impossible to see that the devices were different while watching. Just a messy situation where the writer refuses to make the action clear and makes it deliberately confusing. Bad "show don't tell". There were other solutions though, change the line of speech, change the character's outfit. It's a bit like that for everything in the drama. Not to mention other flaws that I don't have time to recapitulate.
Episode 7 starts with a confusion so monstrous that it kills the drama by itself. We see the child and think it's…
Even when there is an explanation, it's in some scenes details, it's so painfull to stick all, as it's everywhere, fast and blurry, with an accumulation of differents things to find, and often contradictatory elements that's say something else, with so many confusing mysteries to understand at the same time. GOSH. It's so bad screenwriting.
I could add that on top of that: - Purpose of the drama was unclear in episode 2 à 5, understandables but a bit boring. Spend so much time on that. - Grid element don't collide with time travel, so is more a plot-device (this or another thing). Drama title don't make sens. Forced thematic. - Characters are mostly cold sad and dull (even the actors does their best). Not likeables, we don't care if they live or die. - No emotions provided in the show (except the excitation during fast scenes part2). As flat as a western serie about that, even more flat than some good ones. - Never any proof of concept (so suspension of incredulity end to crash). - Nothing clear about how the time travel work, and fantasy elements like "the characters replace themselves". Ok but tell why and how in a SF story. Or ghost vanishes so why not other things she's supposed to trigger? Cause to effect go from future to past for her but not other things? If there is a reason for that, is it so difficult to says it at one point? Or the writer even don't know and drop that because it's cool (yeah it's cool now, but later not so). - and some others little problems I took note during watching.
Only thing I liked are CGI, fast paced action/thrill scenes in part2. But they needed a good storytelling with that to have really a full impact.
I don't know if I'll have time to write a review, but this drama fall into the category "screenplay tips about what you should avoid to do".
Exactly, what the F$$k was that mess about😡?It was interesting enough to keep us watching… Hoping that at…
Episode 7 starts with a confusion so monstrous that it kills the drama by itself. We see the child and think it's SaeHa. Even on the dramabeans recap, there is this misinterpretation (they are used to recapping though). And there are two flashbacks at the beginning of the scene that shows the CCTV scene to better deceive us.
This should be a plot-twist, a revelation, but it was never pitched that way. To work, the revelation should have been reinforced (the meaning becomes clear to the audience), or even placed in the previous episode, before starting the time travel (flashback or cliffhanger). Telling this as if it were "normal" is a serious mistake.
So from this point on, it is difficult to be immersed in the action and thrill scenes (although good), because we spend our time wondering and being confused instead of enjoying the drama. And other confusions or illogicalities never explained will continue to accumulate afterwards.
Why does the bomb still explode even though the plug isn't pulled? And what does the ringtone have to do with…
You got me! I didn't see that or remember. At first I was thinking it was a automatic timer on the bomb. Then I forgot to think about that again. We see the old lady has some ability to create a bomb with chemicals, but don't remember to see her create a timer. And it could be really difficult to make. Maybe the smartphone ring is just a reminder. A basic alarm clock on her smartphone set at 13:45. So she know she has to trigger manually the bomb now.
1 
I don't think she's a bad actress, just a style I don't like when she's over-the-top but I don't feel it in the drama. Since IoM, I'm always ready to give her a chance to surprise me in a good way.
Maybe he will be the good guy here?
I don't know if this was planned for multiple seasons. I have to assume not. Reducing the story to 10 episodes is indeed a harsh constraint. The pace of the first 5 episodes would have been satisfying in a 16 episode drama. And the following episodes would allow enough time to reveal everything properly, assuming that the writer does the right thing.
I much preferred Sisyphus which also had the constraint of going from 20 to 16 episodes. The principle was clearer and more focused, more inventive even. But in retrospect, I can say that this drama had serious confusion problems as well. Besides, many viewers turned away from it because of that. However, there were some intense scenes as far as emotion is concerned. And the start hooked fast.
I am disappointed with the result of the writer, but I know that she has done a lot of work for this. The problem is that a story often decides itself, and that we find ourselves in certain dead ends, difficult or impossible to correct. We can just notice afterwards that it is done and hope to do better next time. But if we direct the story too much, it is the opposite problem, it becomes cold, flat and mechanical. That's a bit the impression I have here. Hence this impression of doing complicated, just to do complicated. I would be curious to know her creative process, and how she built all this, but unfortunately it's the kind of information that is very hard to find because the writers never talk about it at length.
Yes, the healing is the scene with the localized time bubble, where the blood goes backwards. When I saw this scene, I immediately understood that SaeHa was alive at the end (especially since he couldn't be a version of the past since it's impossible to travel in time beyond the starting point). So your interpretation that SaeHa is dead seemed strange to me. But I had nothing to propose anyway. I'm not involved enough in the drama because I was pushed away from it.
For the blood puddle, I interpreted that it was ManOk's blood puddle. I had noticed when I rewatched the scene that they are looking up to the sky as well. But I didn't remember that the grid had interference if the temporal choice became unstable. And besides, I didn't have time to think about that before. I remember to see the grid become instable after the Ghost leave when jumping, but not much.
The drama is too complicated to redo. The writer was certainly overwhelmed by so many plot points everywhere. Very hard to keep something like this at arm's length. She must have had a brain ache. The structure would have benefited from a faster start. Shorten episodes 2 to 5. Try to gain at least one episode, to start the time mess earlier. This would give time to e
xplain a little better, or reinforce some principles with redundant scenes.
This was done for the fact that SaeHa is not the son of the Janitor. Unfortunately too late. But it helped a little. I counted another scene after that. Then another one, beginning of episode 9. There is a discussion between SB and SH, rather long. Here, pure "Tell", 100% explanation and information and nothing else. With more time, regular additions of explanations and a little redundancy would have made it all understandable, even without this scene.
Your article sums up two principles of screenwriting well. "Show don't tell" and "Every scene advances the plot". However, there are other important principles. Such as "never confuse the audience". As well as "provide proof of concept". And of course "don't be boring". And some others.
"Show don't tell" is one of the most misunderstood concepts, even among screenwriters. For example, you can "show" something, and at the same time reinforce it with "tell" if necessary. It is also misunderstood in script writing because some people think that because of this, it is not possible to describe the inner state of the character or the tone (mood) of the scene. But it is useful for the actors and the director. As long as it is not overused. In truth, "show don't tell" applies mostly to the resolution of meaning and actions on screen, more than the actual writing.
"Every scene advances the plot", a scene objective can be something else too. Character revelation, new information, theme development for example. And in some cases, just a comedy or emotional scene with little impact on the plot.
When we consider that the audience has seen something that they have not had time to understand, an explanation scene is not useless, it actually brings new information for the audience (but not for the script in the strict sense). If in addition this scene is reinforced by comedy, conflict, emotion or character rendering, it's perfect! Several objectives at once for a scene is better than just one by the way.
This is problematic because I once gave a script for feedback and someone said: take out that scene, it's unnecessary, it's already been said. Unfortunately, that was bad advice. I had created a voluntary redundancy to help the audience. It's very logical at the same time to receive this kind of advice, because at the script level, it's indeed unnecessary. But reading the script makes it easier to see all the details, since only what is important is written. The transition on the screen and the temporal flow of the movie is however different in the perception of the audience. This should never be lost sight of, but unfortunately is too often. And even unintentionally by the writers who try to do so, myself included.
"Never confuse the audience" is an obvious principle. It doesn't matter how clever the work is, if the audience gets confused, they reject everything and stop watching. We see it on this comment thread or on other blogs. It's absurd to blame the audience if they don't understand. The audience came in good faith to have a good time in the first place.
"provide proof of concept": because it's sci-fi, or fantasy, with a high-concept, the rules of the universe must have logic and be sufficiently expressed. Otherwise, the audience is lost and has the impression that anything and everything can be told, and that nothing makes sense. And when this is not done, incomprehensible things pile up on top of each other, the spectator can only make assumptions. A house of cards ready to collapse at any moment. There is a need to have a solid foundation and to state clearly on a regular basis. Not for everything, and not necessarily immediately, but the grey areas need to be cleared.
If the explanation is not given, or is given later, the writer can use a technique that shows the audience that she knows where she is going (to make them wait).
Example: SaeHa is going to spend two months replacing the SaeHa who should be in this time frame (principle of "the character replaces himself"). Impossible to leave this under silence as it is done in the drama. It seems logical to me to include a scene (or a part of a scene) where the character wonders. For example, he's looking to see if there is another SaeHa here. He understands the situation, that he is replacing himself and is certainly surprised by it. This may require a monologue, a voice-over, or showing what he is looking for his other self. But in this way, the audience, even without having the explanation, has the certainty that this is not a plot-hole and that the matter is considered seriously by the scriptwriter. So that there is a rule behind it. This is a (partial) proof of concept, but sufficient at first. It is also possible to add a short scene, just after SaeHa goes back in time, to see the SaeHa who stayed here. Logically, he should have had a two-month amnesia. Showing the character questioning this, or asking his parents what he was doing.
And there you have it, we have a pretty much coherent universe. It's not complicated. It's just that the screenwriter must always keep in mind the logical implications of what she's saying and bounce on that, and how it's perceived by the audience. Always put yourself in the audience's point of view, it's very important.
Or there was nothing related to the main plot to tell at this point.
Half of it was useless to write, if the screenwriter had done her job better.
For SaeHa's death, strangely you didn't notice the "healing" temporal field the previous time. Which is understandable because it has become impossible to notice everything in the drama. Me, I didn't notice that the blue Ghost 1 was looking at his Device to show that it was different. And impossible to see that the devices were different while watching. Just a messy situation where the writer refuses to make the action clear and makes it deliberately confusing. Bad "show don't tell". There were other solutions though, change the line of speech, change the character's outfit. It's a bit like that for everything in the drama. Not to mention other flaws that I don't have time to recapitulate.
I could add that on top of that:
- Purpose of the drama was unclear in episode 2 à 5, understandables but a bit boring. Spend so much time on that.
- Grid element don't collide with time travel, so is more a plot-device (this or another thing). Drama title don't make sens. Forced thematic.
- Characters are mostly cold sad and dull (even the actors does their best). Not likeables, we don't care if they live or die.
- No emotions provided in the show (except the excitation during fast scenes part2). As flat as a western serie about that, even more flat than some good ones.
- Never any proof of concept (so suspension of incredulity end to crash).
- Nothing clear about how the time travel work, and fantasy elements like "the characters replace themselves". Ok but tell why and how in a SF story. Or ghost vanishes so why not other things she's supposed to trigger? Cause to effect go from future to past for her but not other things? If there is a reason for that, is it so difficult to says it at one point? Or the writer even don't know and drop that because it's cool (yeah it's cool now, but later not so).
- and some others little problems I took note during watching.
Only thing I liked are CGI, fast paced action/thrill scenes in part2. But they needed a good storytelling with that to have really a full impact.
I don't know if I'll have time to write a review, but this drama fall into the category "screenplay tips about what you should avoid to do".
This should be a plot-twist, a revelation, but it was never pitched that way. To work, the revelation should have been reinforced (the meaning becomes clear to the audience), or even placed in the previous episode, before starting the time travel (flashback or cliffhanger). Telling this as if it were "normal" is a serious mistake.
So from this point on, it is difficult to be immersed in the action and thrill scenes (although good), because we spend our time wondering and being confused instead of enjoying the drama. And other confusions or illogicalities never explained will continue to accumulate afterwards.
Maybe the smartphone ring is just a reminder. A basic alarm clock on her smartphone set at 13:45. So she know she has to trigger manually the bomb now.