InspectorMegre

but the most sad part is that kdramas imo are still the best entertainment globally ... they follow at least the basic rules of masterful storytelling, which is REDEMPTION ARC BASED ON ONE'S OWN EFFORTS.... most kdramas at least show creative and POSITIVE plots, with redemption arc aka character growth and positive sane healthy lifestyle and creating overall harmony, by personal efforts and inner transformation. There is warmth, compassion, sharing, growing, and a certain lightness, everything is seen through humor, even super difficult subjects are portrayed in a way that is humane and real, and there is always moving forward. The overall message is still positive. I think it is very Buddhist in nature - being in the moment and moving forward with a certain confidence and joy. Making the best of life. "Angels fly high bc they take thmselves lightly" kind of attitude - not afraid to look at oneself objectively and CHANGE.

In spite of common sexism and all their faults, kdramas are 10000000 times better than say western media, esp _ollywood, which has turned into a cesspool of negative messaging.

and imo cdramas are inherently doomed to be on a lower level i.e more matarialistic and crude level, bc China is what it is and the life there is reflected in their dramas, that sense of oppression and a fight for sheer survival cannot lead to creativity, lightness and humor when ppl are struggling to just stay alive and earn their social points. That is sad, really sad. Until their goverment and lifestyle change, it is practically impossible to produce anything on a higher vibration.

Blunt Sister lying and her darling having to act as a free psychoterapist and a nanny is like nails on chalkboard. Once, ok, we understand. But repeatedly, behaving like a spoiled brat and he having to always be perfect and babysit her, is ... just ... delulu. Which man is gonna tolerate that toxic behavior? Some codependent toxic idiot. Definitely not a nice solid smart guy.

Il Ri does not deserve a nice guy like that..... His proper response is: GO GET SOME THERAPY, RESOILVE YOUR ISSUES AND THEN CALL ME WHEN YOU ARE READY

To lie like that to cut him open just to protect her fragile huuuge ego,.... is EVIL. It is definitely not funny. And it is beyond immature, It is CRIMINAL. It is EVIL.

But... Il Ra is for women who adore Dynamite Kiss delusional story of a weak, passive woman who is sexy and kind and gets herself a sugar dady, psychiatric nurse, babysitter and hot stud robot all rolled into one. 1850s fantasy :)

Recently there have been some "more equal" kdramas.... like this one...

but you are right, too many are based on the Kollywood concept - a cruel powerful smart man saving a dumb clumzy loser woman .... non stop.

Dynamite Kiss is airing now and it is like that, totally 1850's drama and ... ppl love it... They justify his sexual harassment at work with "yes but he loves her" and justify her constant lying and total lack of effort and brains with "yes but she has to". It is frustrating to watch that in year 2025. I dont think it makes female presidents and leaders possible.

yeah it is just delusional delulu for female audience... it is better than alcohol LOL but has the same effect - turns the brain off and sends you into impossible fantasy .... which, if fulfilled, leads to divorce for sure

Based on what I have seen, C-dramas are typically a lot less sophisticated. warm and humorous than kdramas, so it is like nails on chalkboard. Hong Kong is better. But when Mainland Chinese make something special, on a rare occasion, it is something so deep that nobody else has made, like Xuan Zhang 2016 movie. WOW.

In any case, there are quite a few kdramas where FL has brains and abilities and knowledge and is very helpful, and you see an equal give-and-take relationship.

Ahh Collywood :) China also has the concept of dragon lady and cherishes domineering women... but in real life... DO they really happen... ? lol

yeah it is just delusional delulu for female audience... it is better than alcohol LOL but has the same effect - turns the brain off and sends you into impossible fantasy .... that, if fullfilled, leads to divorce for sure

my mother is 92 and behaves like a 6yr old diva...and was like that since i remember...
and yeah ML actor is overdoing it for the sake of himself having fun and also playing makjang to make sure the audience sees who he is.

However.... it was all to give it a sudden U-turn...
DID you notice the difference in him when he sold the cooker? He was suddenly a super smooth operator ..... he behaved as an experienced player :) So.... dont give up on him LOL ....

would someone please explain - the cast is "main host" and this is labeled variety show. What does it mean?

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. what if she and LSM had a baby on their own at that village... But I dont think so... I think she hates him. Did you see how she kicked away the shoes? Seems like she is mad and remembers that he gave her poison and she lost a child (bc she died.)

WHAT IF 2ML is actually LSM's son.... ???
The prophecy said that 2ML should have not been born. Is that why?

It seems that LSM and queen met before she became the queen, bc she is wearing civilian clothes and he too, he is not in an official uniform but looks like a "neighbor next door" from a poor hood... iirc ? he wore some gray headband that is not a uniform? while she is dressing his wound...
At that time, a woman dressing a man's wound like that is a HUGE smoke of a big fire...
and perhaps they continued later bc clearly he showed up in the palace and perhaps ... they flirted.

Another poster figured it out, LSM gave her something that mimics the poison or dilluted it, but clearly it somehow failed and she went mad. Apparently, medically, when the brain is clinically dead for too long, it cannot come back :( so seems like that happened to her.

At CP's mother grave, that mad woman showed up and the guard said she lost a baby. So she probably remembered being killed and losing 2ML, who was like .. 5 or 7? at that time

But ... what if she and LSM had a baby on their own at that village... But I dont think so... I think she hates him. Did you see how she kicked away the shoes? Seems like she is mad and remembers that he gave her poison and she lost a child (bc she died.)

WHAT IF 2ML is actually LSM's son.... ???
The prophecy said that 2ML should have not been born. Is that why?

you and I are clearly born in the right place the right time bc obviously Joseon lifestyle is not for us... Can you even imagine how they all lived - always walking on eggshells, one wrong thing you say or do, or even your sheer existence, and down you go with poison or sword and some torture beforehand... !!!! omg what a lousy living.... !!!!! it is totally exhausting, never one quiet relaxed moment!!!! plus all their houses are so flimzy so there is really no place where you can talk in secret.... and esp for royals, they have like 10 people in tow watching every move... Imagine being on display like that 24/7.... ??? Sooooo many rules........ and zillions ppl trying to kill you in any way they can think of... ??? the only way to deal with that - honestly - seems to be a bigger jerk than anyone else - it is such crazy tiring life ....and we get exhausted just by watching it LOL Imo a lot of their life - in fact, most of it - is just needless waste of time dealing with sheer survival

I like that our lives are on a finer plane where we have the time and liberty to feel safe and spend time in higher-level pursuits

Oh this is a different person... this is 2ML's mother accused of adultery by Queen Dowager and then poisoned by royal order, and LSM carried the execution... You r are thinking of Crown Princess Yon Wul aka Dal I who was accused of poisoning the Queen - and I believe that queen was her mother-in-law i.e. mother of the CP who is still the CP.... Yeah... queen dowager started it all ... why? we dont know yet.

A good story is supposed to start with faulty character(s) and show them TRANSFORM UP.

In this drama, so far, there are no transformations up, only down.... At this point, there is not ONE single character who is a righteous person and who could be rooted for. So we are free to pick who we want to root for LOL In a kdrama, many characters are likely to get a redemption arc.

We are likely to pick to root for JW and HN as they started as good but weak and confused persons who were wronged ... but then both of them went majorly bad. JW actively did the crime of defrauding, etc and HN enabled it. In that process, they caused death of her father Ki Bom, they compltely betrayed and trashed SH as if he does not matter, .....

So they got about 40 episodes left to clean it up and grow up. That's plenty enough time IF they start making steps in that direction bc it takes time to get there. If they dont start maturing asap, they might never make it. A "happy ending" in 100th episode is not it LOL

Since JW is FL, we expect her to represent the "side of good" and eventually "win" and achieve that redemption arc...... however - there are no guarantees - what if she is FL bc she turns into a Darth Wader... ? Even he started as a good person who had some trauma...

Luckily, we usually do not get a whole series on how Darth Wader became evil... Fairy tales are always dedicated to a a faulty character who TRANSFORMED UP.

HN is portrayed as a supporting character so what do we expect of him? I think we agree he used to be a good person and it is reasonable to expect a redemption arc, but.. as Shinubi said, he is just butt snifing and agreeing to all kinds of sleezy collusions with crime for the sake of getting into JW's heart and pants, so .... HN at this point is evil too.

SH is listed as ML. So far he was a docile, slimey and somewhat good somewhat spoiled brat entitled character and we know he is an experienced sexual predator/playboy who knows how to play and use women, and is proud of that. But overall, he was a good mama daddy boy so far, obediently expecting to be a heir and having some fun with women etc on the side. Then he got a crush on JW... which showed lack of discernment with all the red flags.. and now we see his rash immature stupid conclusions and decisions... he is just too immature and impulsive... And now, he might explode into major evil.

Usually, FL / ML are supposed to be "good people who overcome evil and experience redemption arc" but ... there are no guarantees LOL In any case, we COULD root for FL's redemption arc... and HN.... and SH and others.

*Chairman imo probably will not make any redemption arc. He is just wired wrong and is too far cemented as a villain. In fact, he is a batshit crazy psychopath serial killer. He needs jail for the rest of his life.
*Nan Suk... ? hm... maybe.... but reaaaaly hard... Out of bitterness and desperation, she has built a belief system and made decisions that turned her into a monster, and she ENJOYS scheming and stealing.
*RealYC? ... she was trained as a poisonous snake so ... tough luck in overcoming that... it might be possible under the right conditions. She responded well to HR's kindness. So, under close supervision and living with someone very kind, she might overcome the trauma that made her so viciously poisonous and fighting for her life by any means.
*Manager Hwang seems to have made a U turn.
*Manager Gu has not....
*Ki-Bom's widow is doing better than when he was alive... LOL I ship her with Manager Hwang. He is QUIET and polite and helpful hunk. I think she will enjoy him. But he killed her daughter and then helped kill her husband so... I doubt they will ever ship. He will just be her helper.

*HR is a super complex character bc she has her very strong good sides and also very strong bad sides... But somehow... it doesnt get me. HR is too flat so far. The acting has to be .... different to show that complexity
*Se Mi is another super complex character and in danger of never making it.... Her situation is cushy and she has no reasons to start her redemption arc. Chances are, Se Mi stays a spoiled rich entitled girl all her life

*SH is mortally wounded and now he will either live or die, sink or swim, his next actions determin if he nurses his wounds by becoming a Darth Wader, or it helps to wake him up to become a more conscious human being, The first thing he has to learn, esp as a heir, is to make INFORMED DECISIONS. He is just too lazy to think and just blunders into emotional reactions... Clinging to JW, jumping on YC, thinking HR killed his mom... etc etc etc SW is a little boy.

*JW and HN have this "wounded kids in blind revenge" connection and that is just a wrong basis for a relationship. HN is NOT a good partner for her, bc he never holds her accountable. He used to say "dont do this, it is bad" but he never ever actually took action to stop it. He is too weak and really bad for JW since he enables her in her crimes. JW is just a spoiled brat and now armed with HN's help, she is disastrous - like a school killer teenager with a riffle. HN is her riffle

That scene of JW in SH's room trying to console him as a sister... Woooow such reckless entitlement and such reckless disregard for him.... !!!! It is like - ok I am doing whatever I want, I use you, I lie to you, I break your heart, I throw you out, and you are supposed to go along quietly and even cooperate like a docile cow.

JW IS EVIL BY HER DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE, including her own. What she did to SH is 10000% monstruous, and she has shown ZERO compassion or regret. Yeah apologizing to his mother in coma, but really.... !!!! she has not done anything except that very smalll thing. She essentially disses him.... non-stop. Like he is totally irrelevant pion in her game, she keeps shutting him up.

SH's only choice is to rebel and cause chaos. Karma is gonna bite the arrogant as@ of JW... she deserves every bit of it. What she did to SH is evil, 100%. She used him, threw him away, without a blink, while pretending to be nice and even expecting him to go along witih it quietly.

JW IS ALL ABOUT HERSELF AND COULD CARE LESS FOR OTHERS, and she is even worse than her bio mother. JW is very immature and childish. Holding her bio mother to impossible standards, while she herself is even worse.

JW needs to become an adult and accept her mother as is, with the good and the bad.
JW needs to see her own faults and bad actions and greed and entitlement. Well, she admitted already she was addicted to greed and wanted it all, but never did she connect the dots that she keeps accusing her bio mom for greed - so according to the JW the god almighty, the mom cannot be greedy but liitle girl JW can.. Oh yeah?? I dont think it works like that...

HR is not 100% bad. JW blindly thinks HR is 100% evil... just bc little girl JW needs to hate someone and dump all her life frustrations on someone.... Soooooooo CHILDISH IMMATURE IGNORANT!!!! That whole "revenge" is a little kid throwing a tantrum.

SH is also too childish. He and JW keep forgetting to include Chairman as THE active participant in so many murders.

FYI - I dont hate any of these. I do not like them either LOL They are just confused and annoying kids. But they are the targeted "redemption arc" characters. So I am just listing what they have to overcome in the last 40 episodes...

and they forgot about Chairman framing KB and then killing him at the end... and killing RealJW as a girl.... Somehow Chairman is out of their awareness window although they know more than enough about him...

Would you please explain - what do you mean by "cringe"? So many ppl use that term, but what do they really mean?

She is definitely crazy... or pretending too well... .I doubt that though, in 5 yrs she would be caught pretending :)
I loved that 2ML did not scream or run to her when he saw her...

Can you imagine how bitter he must feel... It is HIS FAULT, he didnt carry it out good enough. Also, seems like he did not tell her ahead of time either.. so she really thought she was dying and probably gave up

Is HE the father of 2ML? Or a baby they had after during those 5 years in that secret village? Seems like she is thinking that the baby she is holding is 2ML bc remember, FL saw her 5 yrs ago and she was already mad thinking she lost her baby.
OH THAT IS MAYBE WHY THE QUEEN MORE EASILY WENT MAD AND FL DID NOT - one reason is that the queen thought her son was dead and as a worried mother, it was easier to flip out. On the other hand, it should have been harder to flip out, as a mother holding to her life to save her son. Seems like she gave up as she did not know the poison was fake...

Yeah... the moral of the story is, IF you are in the palace, you got butter on your head and blood on your hands
A whole bunch of psychos just killing left and right
Such ZERO respect for human life and a 100% great egotism and greed for power and $$$

I would like to know that too. Bcthat scene of fixing his face wound is waaaaay too close....they had something going on..... That is enough for adultery.

So.... is 2ML their son? Or they made a baby after he saved her? - A Queen is under heavy surveillance and essentially jailed in the palace, so it would be hard to actually bed him and have his kid ... unless they were on a "business trip" like one time deal.... OR they made the baby JUST before she became a queen......

And, the baby is small - if she lived with him for 5 years, perhaps they made a baby in that secret village, and she lost it... Hm no.... what FL saw at her mother's grave means was already mad Queen and the guard said she lost her baby. Seems like she is thinking that she lost 2ML and that is the baby she is holding and mourning.

oh oh oh which herb is that... ? how did they get it? How did you learn about it? Well then anyone would know about it... ? so Queen Dowager would have checked what poison was actually given... so she must have trusted him.. But what was that bisch Queen Dowager doing when she caused killing of 2ML's mom?