Eleison

Ah, well, Alchemy of Souls does have some romance in Part 1, but it focuses more on their comradarie than their romance, though Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger and Part 2 resolves it but it's also heavier on the romance. So, yeah, may not be your cup of tea?

Curious that they have Jae Wook as the lead and his spotlight in the poster is more pronounced but the synopsis is all about Jun Young's character who's listed second in the cast list. Huh! 🤔

I get why people wanted her to end up with the 2ML in Start-Up (Seon Ho was incredible in Start-Up, and Joo Hyuk did not bring the charisma and acting chops to offset him), but I'm one of those who thought she ended up with the right guy, since he was the one who believed in her when no one else did. The 2ML supported her, too, but in the way that you're supported by a coach, teacher or mentor (as someone coming down to your level, not as an equal), and certainly not as a lover. You don't douse your beloved with reality repeatedly and remind them over and over of their potentially imminent failure while begrudgingly showing your support, you completely support them in their endeavors and come alongside them in their passions. And someone can't really argue about which was more deserving; they were both liars (and each quite flawed in his own way), so that argument is moot. 😂

I'm glad I wasn't on the thread when it was airing, I heard the debates were extremely heated and intense. 😅 I think it might be one of the comment threads on MDL that has the most comments logged? I haven't checked myself, but I could believe it.

He was fantastic in Alchemy of Souls. :)

So sweet! Everyone was so adorable in this episode, and I loved the ending (Jin Su's attentiveness to Baek Du, in particular, was very heartwarming). Wish we had had more episodes/scenes with the friends back together! :)

The gentle, meandering pace was a really nice change from the typical drama, and somehow they made it work.

I usually like seeing redemption (and was just pointing out that Kdrama MLs usually have them if they're morally gray or start out awful), but I appreciate the recs and time spent explaining! :)

Haha, avoid because it wouldn't be my cup of tea. 😂 I didn't know Kdramas like that existed, haha. Korean movies, yes, but wow, a Kdrama. I guess they do go there!

All these replies are giving me a great list of dramas to avoid, haha. "Somebody," you said it's called? How do they keep the viewer invested in the drama

I guess I meant "redemption arc" in a broader sense, like a character has some kind of change of heart at some point towards the good or they are portrayed as someone fighting for a kind of justice that seems like brutality if seen to look that way, because real "justice" isn't being served, etc.

Kdramas, from what I've seen, just don't usually write (as a genre) super difficult leads to peg as a "good guy" or a "bad guy" unless they plan to make it quite obvious by the last few episodes that he's actually a good guy misunderstood or a good guy who's made mistakes and becomes a better man, or, "But it was for a good cause," etc.

But that's just what I've observed from what I've seen. :) I do think that trend and formulaic consistency is starting to change, though?

Haven't seen any of those, but it does seem more common with Netflix? It just seems that those producing Kdramas know that a good majority of their audience doesn't just watch Kdramas for good acting and clever stories/creative plots, they are looking for a certain kind of story, and one consistent thread throughout these stories is that the leads are people you can root for by the end of a Kdrama. The best (and most popular) ones do such a great job creating arcs from annoying, awful, horrible or morally gray to some kind of character who has grown significantly in one way or another by the end. I think that's why most Kdrama watchers (though not all, certainly) watch them. They can usually count on good to win by the end if they start it (even if it has a sad ending).

Hello! I'm well. :) And you? I was curious what you thought of Death's Game, as there were some very heated debates on Part 1 and 2's threads about the message being preachy and guilt-inducing vs. beautiful and life-affirming. I thought I saw you post on that thread.

100% agree that the start of Gumiho was better than the second half, but I also didn't care for some of the ML's vampire-ish qualities during their romantic scenes. But yes, Hye Ri does cute and clumsy really well and has good comedic timing :) I also thought after seeing this screenwriter, "There will be steamy scenes in this," 😅 since those were key scenes in each of the other two dramas she wrote. I was really new to Kdramas when I watched Secretary Kim, and I've come to appreciate Min Young more since watching that (loved Seo Joon before starting), but I thought the brothers' trauma transference and being kidnapped together as children was super dramatic (even for a Kdrama) and the tension and build up to their bedroom scene was drawn out too long for me. (P.S. Have you noticed that Kdramas can still successfully build romantic tension over sexual restraint? Few other cultures churning out entertainment now have any cultural or moral reasons to take things slow or show restraint in that regard so there's less and less of it being shown in film/tv; I've found only Kdramas still try to build a romantic arc around it since there's still some lingering cultural stigma in SK against cohabitation and pre-marital intercourse; it's interesting to observe how that gives them room to build that lingering stigma into their stories to create romantic tension; a western example would be Downton Abbey. After the leads got together, it got boring 😅).

I haven't seen it, but I'm familiar with the basic premise.

But doesn't he turn himself in at the end? Cause I'd call that a redemption arc. :)

I can't see a Kdrama being greenlit to include an ML who ends up being an actual serial killer without a redemption arc kicking in at some point. Totally possible with a 2ML, but THE ML? Hmmmm...

As I was writing the above, I literally thought, "Wait, is this a Netflix Kdrama?" Sure enough. Now I can believe this drama could have an ML who's a serial killer. Cause I have yet to watch a Kdrama with an ML who is evil. Morally gray? Plenty of those. But an all-out baddie? I have yet to see one. But seeing as Netflix likes to push the envelope on the Kdrama formula, it's certainly possible with this one. 😏

Yeah, sorry, all have the same screenwriter. :)

I adore Park Hyung Sik, but I'm not a huge fan of My Roommate is A Gumiho (I thought it was... boring) and What's Wrong With Secretary Kim? (sacrilege, I know) soooo... I might wait a bit longer to see how this unfolds over the coming weeks before starting it.

I'll be checking out what ya'll have to say from time to time, though!

Anyone think this will ever come to U.S. Viki? 😂 Still waiting... *sigh*

Add the intense emphasis on a perfect appearance and you have a bleaker picture of "success" that's even less attainable. 😬

My mom has a book from the early 2000s called "1,000 Places To See Before You Die," and there was not a single page about SK. It's crazy to think how far the country's come in entering the global stage (particularly with technology, but also in entertainment/music) within the past 20 years, and it makes sense to me that they're reeling from the breakneck pace of "progress." Probably not a pace that can be sustained unless they make some changes as a country!

I could see how it might be a bit disappointing if that was the only thing that you watched it for (especially if you had expectations that didn't get met); it could have done the friendship even better, but I still preferred it over this drama's bromance. :)

Right? He was just fantastic in this. Stole the show!

Rewatching this and just came back here to say how much I loved Cha Young Jin in this; he slowly won me over and by the end he was my favorite character.

Some of my favorite scenes were those where he was quipping back and forth with Kim Nam Wook (the speech writer and "acting" press secretary):

YOUNG JIN: 😑 "I didn't ask if it was possible, I want you to make it possible."
NAM WOOK: 😌 "You're born with that, right? You always say the right thing, but you always sound like a jerk." ☺️
YOUNG JIN: 😑 (after Nam Wook walks away with a smug expression) *under his breath* "Watch it, punk."

😅😅😅