MadelineMaureen

Grandma was picking up something between them in episode 18 and then sister had to go and take a dookie all over it. 🥺😭

Think of it like him not only dedicating his win to her, but also conveying that he wants to provide for her. He is trying to prove himself enough to eventually marry her, but because of his background he feels he needs to have all his ducks in a row so that she can have a stable home with him. I kind of thought it was cute, like "Lets combine our income"/You are who I win for.

🤣🤣😂🤭🤭

okay to explain why i say similar story & not just vibe(meaning personal feelings/reaction to the material). i consider 'storyline' & 'writing' two different things. 'storyline' is the over all picture, 'writing' is the individual touches/personality of the show. Bones vs Flesh/Skin
Male Lead: Older male who is talented enough in his hobby/passion to make it his sole career(and be the top in his field) lives a life outside of the fame that could be attained to focus on academic/other professional pursuits, and is at the precipice of deciding where his path goes next, when he meets a girl who reminds him of his pure joy & passion in his field of interest.(not that they werent still passionate about it prior to meeting the FL)
Female Lead: College age girl in her final semesters of school is just beginning her professional career when she meets someone who inspires her to not only reach for the stars, but to remember WHY they chose the profession, because they love it. Is patiently and persistently pursued by someone she admires for their talent in their common interest, encouraged by ML's friend group to date & insistent in their praise of their "no girlfriend, focused on work & school only" mentality until hearing/seeing the FL.

Sweet small-age-gap slow-burn romance. One is targeted toward a more adult/mature audience. also you can fight me, but LMLMV had the best OST of any drama i watched all last year(sorry Hidden Love). I wouldnt necessarily describe the relationship between Yin Guo & Lin YiYang as as fluffy as LMLMV male & female lead's. One is cotten candy sweet(fluffy), the other more like a rich dark chocolate(comforting butterflies).

Honestly feel like im giving tasting notes at this point...it's time for me to go to bed. also my neurodivergence is showing so that's fun. 🫠

hobbies can be passionate. but at the moment im at in the show it is not his job nor final goal. he owns a billiard place just like how the lead in LMLMV had a stake in their studio.
& the main reason i say "in story" is honestly because it is low drama & every friend ships them together & there is a junior-senior age gap. it's a vibe not a one to one. & LMLMV was one of my highest rated shows of 2023 so it was a compliment from me.
the focus on hands & looks in AASOL are similar to the focus on looks & voice in LMLMV. the attention to detail and slow unfolding. both couples have someone who is at there talent height trying to make a decision for their future & someone who has been working hard & finally entering the professional arena. what im getting at is i like stories where the leads have things in common that they are passionate about & can connect to.
interest at first sound vs interest at first sight both first loves etc. one major difference in this one is there has been almost zero development of supporting characters. which tbh im totally fine with. give me all the fluffy feels i can take with the mains.

I swear some people think she should have jumped on him the first week & others are like slow your roll their little buddies getting a little too intense there.💁‍♀️😐
I love their awkwardness & how he reminds her to practice & focus. While actively showing interest & pursuing her he makes sure that SHE isnt inconvenienced by HIS interest. His natural instinct is to take care of her. That can be overwhelming/confusing to someone like Yin Guo.
Right now pace & story are similar to Love Me, Love My Voice....similar field of interest, the older more experienced in the field seeing it as a hobby, while the younger is pursuing a career in that field.

I feel like a lot of people arent realizing that she is in Finland for a few months. It takes a few weeks to fully warm up to the idea that the older, attractive, & talented stranger is serious about pursuing her. Knowing full well that if they do start to see each other there is a potential end date looming.
Add on that neither of them have really dated prior & they are going to be a bit awkward in their approach. He's patient & willing to slow his pace to hers, but he never stops showing his full interest.
He took an instant interest in her from the moment he saw her. She was in a new place with nowhere to stay in the middle of the night during a snowstorm with a sense of responsibility of protecting herself & her cousin, so her guard was up.
To me it's a slow burn of two people who know what they want & can come to that conclusion quickly, but being new to dating/wooing are taking it slower.
Hell, I had my first kiss abroad(first time out of the country) when I was sixteen....we knew each other for like 2ish days....this relationship is glacial in comparison.

Lin YiYang is extremely careful with what he says as what he said in the past was what sent him on a completely new life path. He doesnt want to make a mistake.

There are people that are interested in them from their past that show up, but nothing drama Llama level yet. More or less a stating of clear "this is my boyfriend/girlfriend, they are mine" from the leads to the outsiders.
As of episode 14 it's giving 'Love Me, Love My Voice' vibes i.e. all of their friends shipping them together & giggling like kids cause their friend likes someone. Low drama, slow burn, with a slower pace that emphasizes looks & distance that grows smaller as they progress. The hand placement shots 🥰 Giving Mr. Darcy hand flex levels of 🦋🦋

I'm having major beef with the writers at this point.
I just can't with Cheong Ta...a whole-ass shaman with NO ONE to leverage against them sides with the bad guy because "reasons" um...wtf? If you can talk to both Ak Hee and Hyun in the mind palace thing why wouldn't you give them a heads up? Also if you can come and go as you please to shoot a poison dart or whatever at the king, I think it's safe to say you don't have to do what the bad guy wants. They could have just as easily shot Sajo Yoong, but that would make too much sense.

I was truly enjoying this show at the beginning, but with the rape plot point and now stupid character choices I'm getting extremely frustrated.

Also, why is Sajo Yoong still breathing? The ministers all just witnessed his secret army men come out of the shadows and threaten the king. There is proof that he is not the late king's biological son...so the lack of actual action to stop him is more than disappointing. They also suspect him of murdering the late king, which he did, so yeah he should have been dead dead at the top of ep 11. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

5mins into ep11 and I want to tap out again. I think I need to watch a different show for a bit and come back to this one later. I really enjoyed discussing this show with a few of the people in the comment section, but I'm struggling to find the good things after that rape scene.

20 episodes, for me indicates that they will be cover a large political/mystery plot point and have a developed romantic comedy aspect as well. Think Strong Woman Bong Dong Soon.

For those coming to the comment section now that the show is over to see if it's worth the 8hour watch time, short answer is yes, it's worth it.
Lee Dong Wook is in every episode with 6 & 7 being from his POV prior to the events of episode 1. Even though the show is starting with his funeral, rest assured he is one of the main characters of this story.
There is more than enough room for a season 2, but it ends season 1 in a good place story-wise that you wont want to burn everything down.
If you have any questions about something that would be a spoiler just ask and I'll answer under a spoiler tag.

Honda was such a lovely character, I'm glad his brother was looked after. The actor did a really great job making us connect with him so quickly.

I keep a journal of the shows I watch to remind myself what happened in each episode. Even logging what was going on in episode 10 I had to stop at the 40 minute mark and take a break. I haven't picked it back up again. I just, for some inexplicable reason, didn't think that rape was on the table for this episode. It was jarring and honestly made me sick. I think it was the fact that it was false sense of him getting himself out of the situation only for him to wake later to find out, nope the person he cared for the most raped him while he was drunk.

Simi spoilers ahoy:



Season 2 needs to be the "present day" time frame of season 1, but from Jeong JinMan's POV as he hunts down Bale and Babylon while they have their guards down and are focused elsewhere. If there were any loose ends those scenes can be a new "present day". There is so much potential for storylines. I know there is an IP for this, but I'm not sure what happens in the OG story. Even just walking us through the trap that JinMan and Pasin started to form 14 years ago. Wouldn't be shocked to find out that Lee Dong Wook already filmed all of the missing POV scenes for a season 2. Also if Jian doesn't punch her uncle after he pulls an Easter resurrection move I'm going to be disappointed in the writers and the character.

I swear if one of the first scenes from season 2 isn't Jian beating the shit out of Jeong Jin Man I'm going to be so disappointed. Yes, she loves him. Yes, she's happy he's alive. But that kind of plan, no matter how needed to get Bale's guard down, is fucked up and he deserves to be punched in that beautifully alive face of his.

Not gonna lie I thought my dyslexia finally won reading your comment. 🥺🤣😂🤦‍♀️

I feel like season 2 could focus on the present day(two-ish weeks or so) from season 1 showing it from JinMan's POV, as we only got to see one part of his plan/trap for Bale. Starting from Jung Min attempting to hack into the shopping mall site for the first time. That would have alerted JinMan that Babylon might have reneged on their deal.
For all I know they already filmed everything for a season 2 and decided to split the footage into 2 distinct seasons to create conversation around the show. Like Netflix did with The Glory part 1 and part 2.
JinMan was injured in the last scene. He would have needed to pay his old boss' family a visit, and get behind Bale now that he was facing toward Jian and the shopping mall instead of watching his back. There was about a week before the Jian sees him in the morgue/funeral home, and I think it was the 3rd or 4th day that the battle takes place in season one so JinMan had about 2 to 4 days to play ghost of Christmas past while everyone's guards were down. We also have the week prior while Jung Min is being the least subtle spy known to mankind. And the full trap plan that was started 14 years prior. They have a lot to work with just in past scenes, not to mention they could still have things to finish in a new present day for season two.
I would like to see JinMan struggle over the choice to make Jian like him a little more as well. We saw glimpses, but I feel we need to see him go back and forth with his choice over the years as he becomes more decided in his plan and confident in Jian's abilities to survive.

JinMan was definitely fighting someone at the same time Jian, Brother, Pasin, and MinHye were fighting at the house/shopping mall. He was freshly injured in the last scene. While Babylon thought he was dead he could have snuck in a back door, so to speak, now that Bale was showing his tail. Bale or the director could have gotten away to continue a new present day scenario.
Season 2 can show the present day week from season 1 in JinMan's POV and a new present day showing them hunting down the anyone that might have gotten away. If the Director/JinMan's old boss from Babylon took his grandson under his wing like JinMan did Jian, it could also continue the story in that manner. Honestly, whether they end it here or continue on with the bits left out/future of the shopping mall, these 8 episodes were soooooo good.

Jeong Jin Man was freshly injured at the very end. So season 2 could cover another battle that wasn't show between Bale and JinMan. Bale might have survived again, and season 2 could be actively hunting him together with flashbacks to the whole trap plan that Jin Man had put in place to get Bale to show his tail i.e. his fake suicide.

Yeah, or we'll get to see that while Jian was dealing with the people at the shopping mall Jeong Jin Man was dealing with Bale and the Director(his old boss) in person. Hence why he looks a mess in the last scene with fresh blood and wounds on his body.
I think that he knew she would either handle it on her end or take the exit plan he put in place. But he still needed everyone focused on the shopping mall and Jian, not him. That way he could get closer to Bale.
I really loved the show so I hope we get a season 2 with more from Jian, Jin Man, Brother, Pasin and Min Hye. The cleaning crew at the end was a nice touch. Also, totally called that the detective and bus driver were in on it in some way. (the people playing the characters are too known to me to show up for less than 2 mins imo)