Kelekat

What's funny is there's another commenter who couldn't figure out the relationships surrounding the FL for the entire drama. I'm completely baffled by that. Completely. However, that person didn't anger me at all as they fully acknowledged it was their own inability to follow that was the cause. The drama actually explains all of the relationships around the FL very well.

I tried reading through some of the comments on here and I have to say some are making me angry.

I'm not referring to the ones where people couldn't get into the drama for whatever reason - to each his own.

Some people are clearly skimming through the drama and missing huge plot points out of the story but then coming on here to comment about it being poorly written. Others seem to have watched but - and I'll admit I've come across this elsewhere - because things aren't explicitly stated they aren't able to follow the subtleties of the story. Like reading between the lines is too much for them. Those people need everything to be stated for them to get it. I honestly can't get angry with that second set of people though. It's a personality trait so it's something they'll run into often and I actually feel badly for them. Those other people though...

I started responding to some of the questions where people were confused about the storyline but the fact that the questions are all over the place - there's no consistency to what people are confused about - proves to me that it's not an issue with the drama but with the people watching. If there was something about the plot that wasn't properly covered the questions would tend to be centered on that issue. That's not the case at all here. Also the extent of the questions that some people have shows they didn't just miss a scene here or there, they missed multiple scenes over multiple episodes covering multiple topics - meaning, they weren't properly watching.

So don't then come on here and act like the drama wasn't good when you KNOW you didn't even watch it properly.

I have no problem with others disliking something I happen to love or vice versa. I respect people's differences of opinion, when they have a reasonable basis for their opinion. However, when I see people bashing a drama (it may even be a drama I didn't particularly like myself!) but their reasons for disliking the drama are completely unfounded I have a problem. If you know you didn't watch it properly, DON'T COME ON HERE AND COMMENT! Don't mislead others with your bs. Don't affect other people's impressions just because you're too lazy to watch the show properly.

There are two set of commenters below that particularly stand out and I'm not going to bother responding to them directly because I don't want to waste my time on people like that especially since the conversations never go anywhere, but I felt the need to make this post to hopefully prevent others from behaving similarly.

EDIT: It's only as I finished writing this now that I realized both sets of posts I mention were made by the same person (*smh*) and it actually proves my point because their first set of comments says how bored they were and that they'd started skipping, then the next set of comments talked about how disappointed they were by the end when so much about the drama wasn't explained well and didn't make sense.................like, seriously? I had no intention of responding to either sets of posts when I thought they were comments from different people but upon realizing it was one person I gave in a few seconds ago and had to point out their hypocrisy. I'm weak, I gave in to my frustration.

It's obvious from your questions that you skipped a whole lot of the the drama since you missed so many of the plot points and since many of your questions wouldn't have been answered in a single scene but actually over several episodes. So I'm curious as to why you're surprised about things not being explained well when you, in fact, are the one who did the skipping??

As I'm writing this I just realized I'm correct too. I only just caught on that you commented earlier about being bored and starting to skip early on.

I don't understand how or why you would post on here complaining about issues you have with how the drama was written and how things unfolded when, in fact, the reality is you didn't actually watch it properly or take the time to try to understand it at all.

Was the opposite for me. The K2 was a letdown for me and I loved this one. It's funny how people are so different right?

Well-said.

The other commenter is correct. It doesn't overshadow the rest of the story at all. The romance is practically a plot twist. It definitely enhances the story. This drama does an outstanding job of blending multiple genres seamlessly. The story is mostly about untangling this mysterious past that ties the leads together, and all the crime, tragedy, politics, etc. that surrounds it.

This drama, to this day, is still one of my all-time favorite asian dramas ever. It's such a perfect blend of multiple genres. Everything about it is done so well. I have no clue what the other person is talking about with taking some time to grip the story since it literally begins from the first second. The entire story is about secrets of the past being revealed and the effects of that past on the leads today (not just on their relationship but on the characters themselves). But it's more that the present has its own story that's being affected by this mysterious and extremely dangerous past.

The romance plays a role in the story, it doesn't take over. It enhances what is an already powerful story. It's one of the most well-written, well-balanced dramas ever. To this day it's one of my favorites. You cannot remove the romance because it drives the story but you can also absolutely enjoy the bigger plot and all the action. Trust me when I say it's not what you're thinking when you think of the romance. I highly recommend watching the first few episodes and you'll quickly get a feel for how the show blends the genres. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up regretting not watching sooner.

Other than never being able to stand Eun Jae's mother even the slightest, my only real issue - and reason for not being able to give this drama a perfect score - is that they used perpetuating such a huge and life-altering lie as a way to grant us a happy ending for Eun Jae..and Ji Won. That doesn't sit well with me.

It's obvious Eun Jae's father was a murderer who committed familicide - he killed his son, very likely his own mother and attempted to kill his wife - and that Eun Jae is the primary witness to her brother's murder and her mother's attempted murder. To try to convince her that her memories surrounding both of those situations was incorrect is seriously flawed - the human mind isn't that easily fooled, either via nightmares or some other method, one way or another her mind would seek to resolve the inconsistencies in that 'solution' she's been presented and would try to resolve them. The girl's a psychology major! Someone that smart and with a personality like Eun Jae's would simply do some basic research to find out the truth about drugs not showing up during a standard autopsy. It's such an easy lie to discredit. The problem with trying to convince her that her memories of what happened are inaccurate is that she has very clear and consistent recollections of what happened and understood exactly what it was she was seeing. In the case of her mother she even took the time to swap out the drinks while avoiding being caught doing so by her father (you have to be very lucid to do all of that)! Finding out that her father died shortly thereafter would only solidify her recollection of what had transpired - she wasn't THAT young. Let's be real.

So, yeah. It was a stupid way to try to give us that happy ending for BOTH Eun Jae and Ji Won (justifying her lying). To try to make it seem like telling such a huge lie was okay was just unethical writing. Think about it. Eun Jae's mind isn't going to simply accept that. Think of all the mental struggles that lie is setting her up for as it tries to puzzle its way through the many inconsistencies.

To try to make it seem like such a bs excuse would last long-term for Eun Jae was just LAZY writing, because the solution didn't fit the character and it didn't stick to the standard maintained throughout the drama for its duration up till then. It was a stupid and weak quick fix, and for WHAT? The didn't hold back when concluding the storylines for the other girls - Jin Myung in particular - so why not just let it play out realistically? I would have appreciated it so much more if they had so the mother could grow the fuck up and the girls (and her boyfriend) could band together to support Eun Jae through the rough times of accepting the truth about her dad. He's already dead. It's not like he can be punished. She also can't be punished as she had no clue what he'd put in the drink.

It didn't disappoint! I think I may have liked it even more this time around. It continues to be one of my favorite dramas. It's relaxing and soothing even when it's complex. That sisterhood is truly beautiful. The romances are definitely secondary to the overall plot of the story.

There's one reason I can't consider this perfect and that's due to the 'solution' they chose to go with in the final episode.

LOL! It's perfectly okay! I get where you're coming from too. The things that stood out and made a drama special shouldn't be trifled with, especially when dealing with sequels. It'd be different if they even said those following releases were a remake or something else, then it wouldn't be as...offensive? I think that might be the right word. With sequels you've already set up your audience's expectations and if they're returning it's because of the things they liked about the drama. The fact that they got it right twice means they understood what their audience wanted. So to know but still stray from that in corresponding sequels - especially if the variations are drastic - would only succeed in completely disappointing and alienating said audience. Bad move. I'd be crazy upset as well.

Plus I'm known for my rants on here LOL! I'm the last one to be bothered by someone else doing it. I love people being excited over what they enjoy!

LMAOOOOOOO!!!! I totally did NOT expect this to be your reason but it's such an authentic one! I haven't watched any of them yet but I may just take this as a warning and steer clear of anything other than seasons 1 and 2, when I do eventually watch this.

I'm so glad you took the time to clear that up for me because that's exactly the gist I'd been getting - that there was all this anger about the outcome but not a single one of those comments I read ever mentioned the FL showing signs of having feelings for the SML to justify this impression that he basically got screwed over with the outcome. It stood out too. That no one was mentioning her feelings for him. The more I read the more wrong it felt that the subject of his affection, that everyone so strongly wanted him to be with, that how she felt never seemed to be factored at all.

I haven't given up on the drama completely. I just can't handle the heavy right now. The type of stuff they show in that first episode is the stuff that would send more off the rails regardless of where I saw it - whether it be a Hollywood movie or an asian drama - but Kdramas tend to be very upfront and in your face with their realities of situations like those which they really do face and BECAUSE I know it really happens it's particularly extra super-duper difficult for me to watch.

I WILL watch this at some point though, once I'm better prepared and in the right frame of mind to deal with it all.

You haven't watched the 3rd season?

I actually stumbled across some info about this earlier this evening when I was looking for something else entirely lol. Anyway, here are a couple of links which shed some light on your question about the kid:

https://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/ul9psa/just_finished_age_of_youth_season_2_and_im/

https://www.soompi.com/article/1056879wpp/son-seung-won-shares-thoughts-park-eun-bins-sad-epilogues-age-youth-2

This series played a huge part in my introduction to kdramas. It's one of the first I watched years ago. Somehow I haven't watched it again since though so I remember absolutely none of the details. However, a lot of the comments on here resonate with me in terms of it holding a special place in my heart.

This will be my first attempt at watching it again. I hope like hell it doesn't disappoint.

I cannot, for the life of me, follow what the hell that person in the 2nd review above is trying to say.

Had to come back and watch this again after just watching the Japanese version. That one made me so damn angry it's inconceivable. There's a lot I know I'll be skipping in watching this again now but I needed to get my fix of the main couple on here. Their confidence both in themselves and in one another is to this day one of the things I love. (I already rewatched You Are My Glory just a few days ago or that would be what I'd watch now because that drama is just all around fabulous AND I'd get my fix of an unshakeable couple).

Oh I posted about this a couple of years back. There's no way she's not anorexic here. It was scary to watch. It's why I wasn't surprised when the scandal came out that she had to use surrogates to have kids. Anorexic people cannot get pregnant and have long-lasting fertility issues even if they later overcome their illness.

It's not that no one has said anything about it though. It was commented on heavily for several years. It's just that the drama is old now so you're not seeing comments about it much anymore.

Thanks so much for responding! This is just what I needed.