Eleison

True, they have plenty of fodder in just SK, 😅 but it might still be too soon and too close to home. 😬

Also, to be fair, not a single country portrays other countries in their entertainment media accurately. There's always cringey syerotypes and poor representation, reducing types of people to things they're not, over-simplifications and sometimes stuff that's just plain wrong. Eh, what can you do? 🤷‍♀️

It just proves media is out to entertain, not to inform. And no one wants it to do that, either. That's what they watch documentaries for. 😉

They ever-so-slightly hint at a maybe-something between the two non-fighting friends of the study group. It could be budding romance, or a special connection over not being able to fight. 😅

Both have themes of friendship and have bloody fights and have to do with bullying, but that's about where the similarities end.

I know l, right? Both martial arts in Cdramas and this are STYLIZED fighting to fit a genre that includes unique-unto-itself fighting. I guess people just didn't expect that with all the comparisons to Weak Hero (which to me still didn’t have super realistic fights, either. Someone getting beaten to a pulp in a high school classroom with adults just standing and watching and the person doing it getting off scot free? Um... realistic in whose reality?)?

True, that's a very good point, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with his ability to detach from the mindset that imprisons the high schoolers.

I just thought it was refreshing to see what it can look like for someone to not take everything in high school so seriously, and the drama did a good job showing that being distanced from the things that feel like world-ending issues when you're young helps you to not put so much stock in the "important high school" things as some are tempted to do. Not that Dong Min, Ye Na and Yu Jeong are dealing with trivial things, but I'm thinking normal high school insecurity stuff, not things that are actually serious issues like bullying and anything of that nature. And maybe this show is not that deep, but I enjoyed the contrast nonetheless.

So much of the civilized adult world is SO much better than high school, and it can give young'uns hope for the future, you know? I'n always encouraging teenagers I know how great being an adult is. Being young is overrated. 😅

Haha, thank you! It was a fun part, I just didn't get the fuss. 😋

Also, so far this show has a lot of cute things, and some not-sure-how-I-feel-about-them-yet things, but I do like how secure Hae Seong is at school beside his high school counterparts. They drama is doing a good job of showing the confidence in one's self that adulthood brings, juxtaposed against the insecurity of being in school as a teenager. In high school, EVERYTHING is high stakes and in your head every little thing can bring about the end of the world. While Hae Seong's unassuming kindness to everyone and immunity to cliques is great. I love the contrast he makes against the background of "high school."

Okay, what was up with the leaf in the water? Can someone help me out? 😅

Wow, not the typical actor bio. 😅

Very true, older dramas can be so cozy and charming! Also, not sure why, though. 😅 They have terrible hair, styling, over-acting, gimmicky comedy, sometimes stupidly toxic romances, and all kinds of negatives, but somehow they're still so fun! 💁‍♀️

The Chairwoman says a lot of not-great things... 😅

Of Season 1, or Season 2?

Haha, I'm sticking with it for now, I just like having someone to root for, and it's not been super easy to find one so far... 😏

Thank you! I just have to watch the choices of the characters, then, too see who's "good" and "bad." Got it. Ignore all the titles and names for things that predispose me to think a certain way about them. 😅

I mean, so far, Ning Que is even a bit gray for me--not solidly a champion of good yet. When he doesn't have time to think, he's focused on helping those who need him, but other than those moments, he seems mostly out for just revenge and achieving his own goals. Though since it's such a long drama, I assume he has an arc and improves somewhat by the end?

If it was in English, the cursing would get old REAL fast. Korean doesn't bother me as much; it doesn't sound as harsh to the ear.😅

And then Se Hyeon explains that Ga Min has too much integrity to do that--he wants to have his score reflect his actual effort/skill. Which is adorable (not realistic of high schoolers, so many will cheat or cut cornera whenever they get a chance, but a sweet ideal all the same).

I think the superficial read of Ga Min is that he's obsessed with studying and getting good grades, but he's really more obsessed with growing and learning. This is why he doesn't guess, because it's not a out the grade, it's about growing and improving. He doesn't need perfect scores, just getting one more answer right even if he still has an F, delights him. And I love that this show pushes that message (like with Sun Cheol's grandfather, too): learning and growing intellectually is worth doing all by itself, and it's a special thing students get to do; it can be enjoyed for itself if one sees learning as valuable in itself. And Ga Min seems to get that. ☺️

Everyone makes it seems like "The Child Of Hades" spells doom for the world due to the curse or prophecy or whatever. All the rhetoric is he's bad news, but why? Ning Que is just doing his thing--is this a lie spread by Xiling? I'm wired to think as a Westerner that a "priest of light" would be a good character, but Wei Guangming seems (so far) like a not great dude. And what exactly is Xiling, and why do they have prophecies about "The Child of Light" and "The Child of Hades"?

I'm confused by something:

It means they finish filming after it starts airing. This can often mean the ending is rushed and poorly written. Pre-produced dramas tend to be better and consistently more even from start to finish because the writer/director have time to polish it and not rush to finish (for instance, Study Group was pre-produced). I think most Cdramas are pre-produced as well.

For some reason, though, I think it's a cheaper way to film than dramas that are pre-produced.

Hopefully this ends strong despite not being pre-produced! So many Kdramas nosedive in the last 1/3 of the drama...

It's also just less common when the woman is older and the man is younger, so people make it a bigger deal (and it feels like a bigger deal). I think it also feels like a more significant gap because guys typically take longer to develop (biologically), and let's be real, society doesn't expect them to mature as quickly as women... so they often don't. "Boys will be boys" is a terrible assumption/expectation that needs to die.

Also, our society today values equal partnerships in romantic relationships. People with age gaps may not all fully be equals (intellectually, educationally or emotionally), and that makes them seem less suited for each other, and may legitimately cause problems in the relationship. Just because both are adults doesn't mean they are equals in maturity, responsibility, and lifestyle/beliefs/choices.

Age gaps can create an extra chasm here between people even though there's a spark or chemistry or tumultuous feelings and it won't carry them through when mundane life sets in.

Whelp, romantic Kdramas have a 95% chance of having childhood connections between the leads, so it's kinda what you're signing up for when you watch them. 😉

It's just one of those Kdrama tropes I don't think is going away...