Eleison

I like this one so much better than their other dramas I've seen!

Right! Yeah, that makes sense, but the drama never gives us an explanation for why Ga On would have to do that by living with his coworker 🤔; even stranger is the fact that Yo Han lets Ga On live there for what seems to be no apparent reason (and he knows that Ga On doesn't entirely trust him yet, so why let his critic live with him? Is he paying rent?). Did I miss an explanation somewhere? I could suspend disbelief when Ga On was recovering from the effects of the bomb, but even when he recovered we still see him living there. Also, while Ga On was recovering, didn't Yo Han take his phone away for a while? Lol, how was Ga On so chill about that? He was a patient, not a prisoner. I know they were revealing to the audience more about Yo Han (they were teasing us with possiblities: "Is this guy a crazy person or is he secretly a zealot for justice with unconventional methods?"), but a few things like that that happened went unaddressed by characters (aka the writer) and I was hoping maybe I just didn't catch these reasons provided as opposed to them just not being written into the script. I get that they are nitpicky, and I know Kdramas always require some form of suspension of disbelief to enjoy them but for some reason it really bothers me that these plot points never get explained. 😫

Whoops, good point about the spoiler tag!

Thank you for clarifying! I can see what you mean now by "something deeper" as something "unsaid" or "beneath the surface." I've never read the original script or watched interviews with the actors so I didn't know what you're describing as "unsaid" was intentional and meant to be queer understones. I suppose this checks out with the night robed/shirtless scenes between Ga On and Yo Han if the undertones are indeed a directing choice.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. :)

When you say that there are "obvious hints of something deeper" between Ga On and Yo Han (and by "deeper" I assume you mean "romantic"), do you mean romantic love is a love with an inherently deeper connection than the love of friendship?

I haven't finished this, but I don't understand why Ga On continues to live at Yo Han's place even after he recovers (and why did it take so darn long to recover from a couple cuts?)... the twists and details are carefully paced and released bit by bit throughout--so why don't they ever address this large detail? Is it for his protection since the bomber was still not caught? Even then, nothing is being done to protect the female judge or Yo Han (who the bomb was intended for), so why Ga On? It makes for good development between the characters involved but is never explained, which kind of bothers me. It's so random and feels like a sloppy oversight by the writer.

At this point, I'm curious to see where on earth they'll take this with 6 episodes left to fill AND I'm curious to see how they will connect everyone together. Many of the characters' stories only overlap because they know Sol Hee or Do Ha and I have no idea how they'll tie everyone together. I like the idea that Kang Min will solve the mystery. They're doing a great job keeping anyone with a clear motive from us, or at least keeping us from having strong reasons to suspect any of our possible suspects... all we have to go off of right now are things like, "He's shady," or "Something's not right about her." 🤣 They haven't given us anything concrete.

If Sol Hee's dad was somehow involved I could totally see that becoming a reason for the typical "break up" at the end of the drama where the FL and ML find out that one of their loved ones is responsible for their significant other's suffering and they feel too much guilt to keep dating. However, I hope I'm completely wrong, cause that's one of my least favorite Kdrama tropes. 😵

Getting American Western movie vibes from the trailer!

These seem like some valid factors! Maybe his character will end up being a bit like Ok Taec Yeon's role in Vincenzo, who at first just appeared to be a derpy intern until more of the plot unfolded and, come to find out--he's the main villain!

I would recommend Alchemy of Souls (fantasy) or The Master's Sun (ghosts) by the Hong sisters over this drama.They are quite different genres from this drama, but both quite good. I liked Master's Sun less because I don't like the dramas with ghost stories/afterlife plots very much (e.g. Hotel Del Luna, Mystic Pop-Up Bar, Tomorrow, Bring It On Ghost, and Missing: The Other Side). Most of these are fabulous dramas, I just decided I don't enjoy this genre of Kdrama. But if you like the dramas from the list above, you'll like Master's Sun. And AOS is becoming a Kdrama classic already.

Is it possible we might find out the brother is delusional like his sister? She seemed pretty messed up, and that sort of toxic behavior rarely crops up in a family without other versions of toxic relationships and dysfunction existing already. (I mean, Brother is pretty off his rocker from what we've seen so far, too).

I wonder if the brother knows his sister killed herself and due to his guilt (in his attempt to deflect it and assuage it) he blames Do Ha, hoping to pass off responsibility to him instead. I wonder this because of the brother's very intense reaction when Do Ha says to him, "She had you, too! Why didn't you protect her?" He seemed stunned by those words... and then became completely belligerent and irrational.

🤷‍♀️ Idk, I'm just thinking out loud. 😅

But with the mom being so obsessed by her political image, I can't see her rationalizing how murdering her son's girlfriend could improve things for her, especially if it happens to come out? I guess if she wanted to immediately end the talk of her son's "crazy girlfriend" in the media, she might think rashly in the short term. Also, several scenes with her indicate that she, like everyone else in Do Ha's life, thinks he killed his ex. Why would she be so reluctant to see Do Ha and be around him if she knew for sure he wasn't the murderer?

I was definitely a bit confused by that scene with Deuk Chan finding out about his wife's affair. Why did we need to know all of that?

Also, Deuk Chan being super upset about his wife having an affair and doing something rash about it is one thing, but why would he do something to his friend's ex (and wasn't this before he was making money off Do Ha? It makes sense to me now why he wants to keep things hush hush, but going to such lengths back then still doesn't make sense to me). We clearly don't have the full story; definitely more development to come as far as the CEO is concerned, cause something's not right!

The 1st part is very well done, but ends on a dreadful cliffhanger. I think the reason many viewers diss the 2nd part is because the 1st part was so good. After it ended, viewers had staggeringly high expectations with very specific ideas of what they wanted from the 2nd part.

The only hope/expectation I had was a happy ending and some hopeful and happy development between the leads romantically (both Jae Wook and Youn Jung are just amazing actors; I thought Youn Jung was SO adorable and endearing in this) and because that was it as far as expectations went, I was able to enjoy the 2nd part. It was very different from the 1st part, but I still think it was just as strong but in different ways. Even in the 1st part the pacing was a bit poor at times, and there were similar moments in the 2nd part.

I think many people miss that the parts mirrored each other. Naksu was the one who freed and empowered Jang Uk to reach his potential in the 1st part; Uk played that role for Naksu in the 2nd part. Naksu is cold and calloused in the 1st part while Uk is a cheerful and endearing chatterbox, full of passion, conviction and optimism; their roles are reversed in the 2nd part. I could go on and on. Just because Naksu never went back to fighting like an assassin doesn't mean she's not a strong female character. It annoys me when people think a "strong" female is only one who can fight well or kick butt in an aggressive, physical sense. I appreciated the more nuanced writing of Naksu that didn't actually fall into gender stereotypes once you look beneath the surface and take BOTH parts into account.

I also think the world building for Dae Ho was incredible, and I think that's another reason a lot of people had unmet expectations, because your imagination can so easily run wild with all the possibilities for this story and these characters. Props to the Hong sisters for building such a fascinating place and for creatively mixing a lot of genres! I describe it to people as Harry Potter meets Lord of The Rings meets Avatar the Last Air Bender meets historical Korean sageuk.

If you liked the 1st part and leave an open mind for the 2nd part (where it will go and take the leads), and enjoy romantic development, you will probably enjoy this part just as much as the 1st part. Give it a try; it's worth the hype! The ending might be a bit underwhelming if you go into it with (again) specific expectations, but it's very sweet and (I think) satisfying.

I didn't think of that when I watched that scene but it totally checks out with the level of thoughtfulness he's shown up to this point. Pretty cute indeed!

I enjoyed this, for the most part! However, there was something about it that was off, and I can't put my finger on what. It was well-acted (Kan San was a little weak, though...), and a few parts of this were really well done, but I couldn't fully immerse myself into the story and world for some reason. What confused me was that the writing was pretty good, and the twists and reveals were carefully timed and thought-through, but it somehow still felt lacking. I can't describe what it is, but I will name a few dramas that had a similar quality to them (for me): Police University, School 2021, River Where The Moon Rises, Lovers of the Red Sky and even to some extent Forbidden Marriage. I hesitate to call the quality I can't name "bad writing" because I don't know enough about the process of making a film or TV show to know how to label it so maybe it has more to do with editing or directing, 🤷‍♀️. Maybe it's just a low budget? None of the dramas I just mentioned created a world that felt "complete" or "developed" enough to enter into it fully.

I agree with many on this thread that think Yi Sheol and the Watchman plot stole the show. I LOVED how you had no idea who everyone was for a good few episodes and the reveal about Shi Yeol's identity (for me) came out of nowhere. They did an excellent job dropping hints about him (that you only notice if you go back and look for them) while still keeping you guessing. Some seasoned Kdrama watchers were onto it much faster than me, but that part was really fun to watch unfold, and the reveal was pretty awesome; it rivaled scenes in some far more popular and established sageuks. So, again, not entirely bad writing, but something was still missing.

It's an enjoyable watch nonetheless!

Yes, the premise is creative and they're playing with the nuance in a satisfying way so far, I think! It's not deep enough to be super philosophical, but it's delving into the complicated nature of relationships. I'm a little worried about what they'll fill the second half with, but hopefully the writing continues to be consistent moving forward!

Haha, I think (I hope) the confusion is intentional and will be cleared up as we get more information about both Do Ha's past and Sol Hee's power. 🤷‍♀️ Or it could just be poor writing. Time will tell, I guess!

Yes, I already found the fact that Kdramas have OSTs with singing/lyrics distracting from the story, and would prefer to not read the subtitles for the lyrics on top of that, but I think some people like them because they can be related in theme to the story or scenarios? I don't know. I've never been a huge fan of music in flim/TV shows being anything by instrumental (except for like a time skip/time passing montage), but to each his own. I've reconciled myself to a pop singer crooning in the background when something romantic happens now. 😔 Sometimes I think it's nice but often I think it makes the scenes feel cheesy... All that to say, I agree with you. 😅

Yes, I agree! Just because it's set in a dark period in Korea's history doesn't mean they have to kill her off at the end, and in such a lame way. Her death was so unnecessary!