DramaAjumma

I'm with you. I miss the tragic vision of the old sageuks.

The ending was a pretty much a reflection of the rest of the show -- a rather mixed bag.

What did the show want to be? That seems to me to be the million dollar question. It seems to suffer from more of an identity crisis than Cotton Candy. Is it a lightweight melodrama or a slice-of-life drama? Or underdog fantasy? The kitchen sink approach undermines what could have been a much more coherent product. The cast seemed to lurch endlessly from crisis to crisis and spent so much energy putting out fires. Okay so the events are true to what goes on in the industry. I don't doubt that but what's the point of all that constant feeling of jeopardy apart from the old makjang trick of getting the audience sitting on the edge of their seats with crisis management.

Regardless of whether or not the drama was tagged as a romance (I don't look at the tags to get my cue on what these shows are about), romance was teased all throughout. The writing itself dropped these crumbs. The show even brought in an aunt for that purpose and whose impact on the overall story was minimal at best. What we have clarity on, however, is Cha Jae-hyuk's feelings for Kim Je-na which works for me on some level and with everything that's gone on with the women, he probably has the best character development in the entire show.

Rather than plot holes, I'd say that the show tends to introduce characters and subjects primarily as obstacles rather than saying anything coherent in the narrative about the industry or the characters. Why introduce the predator director so late in the story otherwise, for instance? In truth he isn't just an obstacle, he's a criminal so to move on from what he's done just because of he's a loving father beggars belief. To add to all this we've got Hyun-ji's grandmother going into coma just before the big broadcast. Another obstacle, another hoop to jump through and yet another deus ex machina to resolve the matter. Hyun-ji doesn't have to make any hard choices because fate is on her side. In fact no one in Cotton Candy really has to make very hard choices to succeed because there are people of goodwill around them that support them unequivocally along the way.

It's a fairy tale in which once you get hold of the spell, you can ward off demons.

Doesn't look like regret to me. ;)

On some level the show is too crowded and too busy for a 12 episode drama. Or at least the front end should have been better paced to make way for more of these individual arcs. While I thought that Stella's story was potentially interesting, it was introduced late and resolved too quickly for a problem of this magnitude.
The relationship dynamics are the best part of the show and if one doesn't think too hard, that might be enough to cover the show's weaknesses.

It can't just be me surely but the way Jenna looks at Cha Jae-hyuk suggests that she might have special feelings for him as well. Not that I blame her.

Episode 29 is where they share the first kiss so that could be considered as when they got together.

I can't understand why the rating is so low as well.

I believe that this is a useful perspective to hold. It's a balanced view of their dynamic especially considering that we are looking at people from the 5th century here who really didn't have a lot of choice in marital partners. While she did might have and he didn't, they have known each other since they were kids. "No marriage" was surely never a realistic option of a young man of his age in that world. It was ludicrous for him to even say that to his father. Eventually, one hopes that he can see her more as an asset than a liability so that she will grow up as well.

I don't think the primary focus of the show was really about who the killer was but why the killer was doing what he was doing. It was fairly obvious who the most likely candidates were. I certainly thought that the real mystery was motive and the thinking behind the selection of victims.

To me the bad guy plot of this show really doesn't fit the rest of the drama. It's almost as if it's a different show.

It's a investigation plus search and rescue show with supernatural elements.

Although I pretty much figured out the bare bones of the plot from the first episode, I still enjoyed this wonderful work of art. Lovingly made and beautifully acted. A deeply moving resolution.

Compelling television from start to finish.

Two episodes are just too short.

Although Liu Ran is acquired taste, I really don't mind her even if she did push her luck a little more in the past episode. In fact, I don't really mind the romances here overt or subtle because they're part of the characters' development. If this is a character-driven show that I believe it to be then even the overly persistent Liu Ran has a part to play. Already there's a big difference in Hong-yi in his interactions with her. Moreover, if she weren't pushy type, he wouldn't accommodate her as readily or as soon she has. It's also clear that she's changing as well.
They really aren't as dissimilar as they seem on first appearance -- both are "all are nothing" types.

The kissing scene was pretty good. 29 episodes later.... The dam finally broke.

I believe it was originally a British production -- Criminal Justice.

Finally all caught up and ready for the finale. The whodunit side of things reminds me more and more of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The difficulty with the whole thing has always been trying to put a motive to these killings and because Hyun-ju was the outsider, it was hard for him to come to any quick conclusions. On top of that he was up against a local who was better equipped to navigate the terrain. It was only as he spent time with the people and on the mountain was he able to gradually put the pieces of the puzzle together.
I also really liked the non-linear presentation of the narrative because it's in all likelihood how memory works... more as unreliable fragments than a clear cut series of images depicting events.

Although I don't always think that the supernatural element meshes that well with the whodunit, the ambition of the writer has been admirable. There's an overt message pertaining to the ecological importance of Mount Jiri and an acknowledgement of it as a sacred space demonstrating that science and spirituality can coexist for the greater good. The juxtaposition of the current photographic technology with Hyun-ju's premonitions are an example of this. This also speaks to importance of perception in framing who gets to tell the story and why.

I had an inkling when I first started that this is a show best marathoned continuously over and on hindsight there's definitely justification for thinking that.

The point of his spirit moving around in the mountain shows his resolution to find the killer despite being incapacitated physically. Yi-gang pretty much comes to that conclusion. It also reinforces the idea of the mountain as a sacred, spiritual space trying to push back against the evil that's at work. Hyo-jun receives his calling to fight the darkness before he begins working as a ranger and is still acting as an instrument of the mountain as it were.

Same. It's definitely one of the more interesting storylines.

Personally I like everything about this show and it does get better over time. It's definitely an ambitious undertaking trying to keep the balancing act going with all the various elements. There's probably some discontent about when the serial killer might be revealed but it's actually not the primary focus of the show.

Because there's such a divergent set of views, it's always best to watch it and make your own assessment.

As far as I can tell, Victoria is using her own voice here and it suits the role of being a bit of a tomboy. She's one of the good guys if occasionally reckless.
As far as I can tell, everyone is using their own voice in this show.