I get it, they're highschool boys, and I did read the synopsis of the first two novels in the series, BUT, that relationship is definitely NOT healthy. Unless they turn out to be very S&m, the way Kiyoi is abusing Hira just because he can in no way signifies he likes him. More like he has a pet bug and likes tearing off its wings for kicks and giggles.
It's almost as bad a Konohara Narise's Cold series, where they went from a dubious non-defined relationship to straight-up torture in the later novels. I hope this doesn't turn out as dark as that series. I really like some of these BL novels/manga, but that doesn't mean all of them need to be put on a screen.
This is how you do it. Ep 4 is much, much stronger than the previous one, on par with the first in the series. If they manage to keep the tension up, it'll be a blast.
The drama does best when focusing on KHS's problem of innocence (or not), not when it tries to deal with implied corruption (or simple lazyness) from the other parties of the judicial system. I guess that side would work well when the tale is set in Europe or the US (because we're expecting some/a lot or corruption and/or incompetence from the police), but in this version, it just doesn't. All the gathered evidence points at KHS, it's not incompetent/corrupt to follow the evidence. Yes, they could dig in deeper, but according to the evidence they do have the killer. That's why Shin Joong Han's actions are so worthy - he really does the heavy lifting and goes the extra mile.
I am interested in the newbie lawyer too - when first introduced, she seemed a little drone in a big lawyer firm, not so ready to act independently. Seeing her learn so fast from SJH was a joy.
Nice cliffhanger, too. I'll be waiting for the second half of the series - this is finally confirming the great start.
PS I loved seeing SJH get some money too :D (and if the herbal cure works, he'll be a happy clam soon :D)
It HAS to be Goo-Young. Yang-Sun died, but it definitely looked like an accident. And he's the one with the lack of social awareness who always seems a bit cold. If one of the rangers turned out to be a psychopath, he would be the one.
And the accomplice is very probably Kim Sol (the one who turned the bus onto the bridge).
From the preview, it looks like there's finally going to be some interaction between Hyun-jo's spirit and Yi-Kang. Keeping fingers crossed. Though TBH I still think he's going to wake up in the last minute of episode 16.
PS Nobody told us what happened to the ticket girl in the end, did she actually get rescued and checked her ticket?!
Or you may just have a short attention span... Most crime dramas are slower and emphasizes the smaller details,…
What is it these days with certain fans of certain dramas? If I (or other people) happen to not like an aspect - or more - of the drama, you take it personally, as if you're the one directly affected by it. (This is the general "you", not you the commenter above. I feel there's a need to clarify.)
Just for more reading comprehension for people also taking it badly. I SAID... EITHER the writer is trying too hard to make it more general than the original setting of the story, OR they don't try to write it strongly throughout, hoping that the ending will bring back watchers who did not like the progression. THAT is an opinion. NOT a complaint. A complaint would go more along the lines of - the writer lost the plot completely and I was actually liking it before, but not after they did this or that.
Not that I care either way, to be honest. I've watched plenty of thriller, noir, detective, action, courtroom etc, dramas, to know what works for me and what doesn't. This is not even the first adaptation from an UK/US drama that SK producers made. So far, what I'm seeing with this drama is a very good start but a slowing down in the immediate episodes, and that's a bit foreboding FOR ME. If it happens to be your preferred pace, more power to you.
What I DON'T appreciate seeing in the comments section is snipy fits like "you have a short attention span", "go watch an action movie", "ignoramus", etc. Those are called argumenta ad hominem, when you're attacking me personally for a different opinion than your own, not the opinion itself. Those could actually turn away people from watching a drama, if they keep getting attacked out of nowhere for just a comment. Echo chambers are great if you don't want dissent, but it's healthier to entertain other opinions too, even if you disagree with them.
That being said, DO have a nice day and let's stop this here, please. I have better things to do with my time, and I'm sure you do, too.
Or you may just have a short attention span... Most crime dramas are slower and emphasizes the smaller details,…
I'm not going to get into an argument over a drama that hasn't reached its midpoint. BUT. Please don't give me pointers on what to watch, that's my own choice, thank you. Also, I'm not complaining - that's my honest opinion on this episode and on the drama so far. Since I'm taking time (of my own free time) to watch it, I do feel I can express an opinion on it, just like you are. Have a nice day!
I had basically given up after ep 7, but I never dropped it. I just finished 8. I just... no I just can't. I can…
She's in admin&coordination in the present timeline, not an active ranger. Also, she could do volunteer work if there's no funding for admin things.
If a disabled person cannot try to do something you would imagine a normal-abled person only could do, we wouldn't have disabled people climbing the Everest and the like. As long as she's not supposed to actively climb (that is, in order to rescue someone) etc, she's fine by me. I admit I have no idea if there's any regs in SK that would stop her from being involved with Mountain Rescue/Rangers, but it's not unheard of elsewhere.
After the explosive first episode, the tension kept going down, down, down... The 3rd ep is basically your everyday court/prison drama. I don't even care if he's guilty or not (I did, in the first ep).
Either the writer doesn't give a damn about retaining audience's attention, hoping to get it back in the later episodes, or they're not really trying to make it about the MCs but try to give it a kind of hopeless, it-could-happen-to-you feeling... which they're not really succeeding at, IMO.
I wish I had watched this before The Veil, that one coloured the way I'm looking at this (particularly in ML's expressions and tics.) I also wish there was a lot more actual sports scenes in it rather than (drier) management hell scenes.
I feel like there were more secondary plots/characters backround stories in the first half, the second half mainly focused on the ML and the opponent CEO. The BG OST sounded amazing, too bad it was just the one theme, and there weren't all that many pop songs included either, so it felt a bit lacking.
Overall, a good watch, though, and I got involved, but it'll probably fade away. Still, it was entertaining as it was happening.
WYB's character (Baili Erlang?) looks a LOT like Tang Fan from The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (foodie, not really involved into anything much yet.) The not-wanna-marry subplot better be important in the long term.
The woman guard - SiYue? - had a lot of action scenes and they were okay, I guess. Though I don't know enough about the period to know if there really were any kind of women in the Imperial Guards, nevermind high ranking. Also, the princess is really stupid - even with lots of guards around, it doesn't make sense to expose herself to the crowds if the Imperial family is under any kind of threat - unless she's a brat. I guess she IS a brat.
And the other MC - BingZhu? - WTF, is he supposed to be unhinged?! In a haha kind of way, like Cpt. Jack Sparrow, or in a lunatic kind of way, like off his rails, a bit cuckoo, with a few loose marbles, etc? I actually dislike him. His background story should rather make sense, or he's going to be what sinks this drama.
Other than the annoyingly CGI tower-of-babel thing in the middle of the capital city, the cinematography is crisp, I like it. The OP and ED are nice enough (the OP at least is not yet another sweet/sour pop song, though they forgot by the end of the episode, LOL). The story isn't gelling yet, but it's only the first episode, I'm willing to see more of it before forming an impression. There are a bit too many characters, but happily I've already read up on Wu Zetian's period (for other reasons) so it's not all completely foreign, and slowly revealed inner workings isn't something to scare me off. Unless they don't make sense by the end.
Yang Sun went to save lottery girl with anothet ranger ( chief caled him Dong hyup ) so he was there and could…
Weren't there three people on the fallen tree rock? One was holding the end of the rope while Yang Sun went to get the ticket girl. The killer / suspect (maybe it just so happens he has black gloves, everybody there seems to have them) looks to be somewhere higher than them at that moment. Maybe he goes down and cuts the rope?
So, not Dae Jin, not Goo Young... Only Il-Hae is left. And he's up the mountain with GY and YK. Wonderful. Unless…
He's kind of young, isn't he? To have been involved in the 1995 flooding somehow, and to have some relation to the death of Kim Sol's mom in 1991... He also doesn't seem really all that fit for climbing and would definitely be noticed going around the ranger stations and shelters...
At this point, Kim Sol MIGHT be one of them (I mean, Se-wook seemed to be another killer-in-training and was definitely keeping in touch with the master planner, too), but not the first one, I don't think so. If the policeman would be another apprentice... he and the killer would have to related somehow too.
Until their motivation is revealed, we're all going to go in circles around the comment section :D
DAMMIT not again!! That preview scene is going to be the very last frame of the last episode, isn't it? #@$#%$^&*!!!!!!
So, not Dae Jin, not Goo Young... Only Il-Hae is left. And he's up the mountain with GY and YK. Wonderful.
Unless it's the old chief, the one who resigned after the potato bomb incident.
If they kill off Hyun-jo after all this, I'm going to do unspeakable things to something in my path at that moment. Hopefully just furniture.
But whoever was on that mountain 1. had a shelter or 2. was there on purpose (didn't see Il-Hae with the rest of the people who had returned but at this moment, I don't trust anything more).
3 
It's almost as bad a Konohara Narise's Cold series, where they went from a dubious non-defined relationship to straight-up torture in the later novels. I hope this doesn't turn out as dark as that series. I really like some of these BL novels/manga, but that doesn't mean all of them need to be put on a screen.
The drama does best when focusing on KHS's problem of innocence (or not), not when it tries to deal with implied corruption (or simple lazyness) from the other parties of the judicial system. I guess that side would work well when the tale is set in Europe or the US (because we're expecting some/a lot or corruption and/or incompetence from the police), but in this version, it just doesn't. All the gathered evidence points at KHS, it's not incompetent/corrupt to follow the evidence. Yes, they could dig in deeper, but according to the evidence they do have the killer. That's why Shin Joong Han's actions are so worthy - he really does the heavy lifting and goes the extra mile.
I am interested in the newbie lawyer too - when first introduced, she seemed a little drone in a big lawyer firm, not so ready to act independently. Seeing her learn so fast from SJH was a joy.
Nice cliffhanger, too. I'll be waiting for the second half of the series - this is finally confirming the great start.
PS I loved seeing SJH get some money too :D (and if the herbal cure works, he'll be a happy clam soon :D)
And the accomplice is very probably Kim Sol (the one who turned the bus onto the bridge).
From the preview, it looks like there's finally going to be some interaction between Hyun-jo's spirit and Yi-Kang. Keeping fingers crossed. Though TBH I still think he's going to wake up in the last minute of episode 16.
PS Nobody told us what happened to the ticket girl in the end, did she actually get rescued and checked her ticket?!
Like the don't-go-breaking-my-heart ummie of Lan Zhan's from The Untamed:
https://imgur.com/a/i969AjF
And the gonna-catch-them-all ummie of Ning Que from Ever Night :D
https://imgur.com/a/KvmaRZu
But yup, lots of ummies all around. What can you do when it's raining (or you want to look badass, or you're heart-broken...) There's no helping it :D
(I don't know how to link gifs...)
Just for more reading comprehension for people also taking it badly. I SAID... EITHER the writer is trying too hard to make it more general than the original setting of the story, OR they don't try to write it strongly throughout, hoping that the ending will bring back watchers who did not like the progression. THAT is an opinion. NOT a complaint. A complaint would go more along the lines of - the writer lost the plot completely and I was actually liking it before, but not after they did this or that.
Not that I care either way, to be honest. I've watched plenty of thriller, noir, detective, action, courtroom etc, dramas, to know what works for me and what doesn't. This is not even the first adaptation from an UK/US drama that SK producers made. So far, what I'm seeing with this drama is a very good start but a slowing down in the immediate episodes, and that's a bit foreboding FOR ME. If it happens to be your preferred pace, more power to you.
What I DON'T appreciate seeing in the comments section is snipy fits like "you have a short attention span", "go watch an action movie", "ignoramus", etc. Those are called argumenta ad hominem, when you're attacking me personally for a different opinion than your own, not the opinion itself. Those could actually turn away people from watching a drama, if they keep getting attacked out of nowhere for just a comment. Echo chambers are great if you don't want dissent, but it's healthier to entertain other opinions too, even if you disagree with them.
That being said, DO have a nice day and let's stop this here, please. I have better things to do with my time, and I'm sure you do, too.
If a disabled person cannot try to do something you would imagine a normal-abled person only could do, we wouldn't have disabled people climbing the Everest and the like. As long as she's not supposed to actively climb (that is, in order to rescue someone) etc, she's fine by me. I admit I have no idea if there's any regs in SK that would stop her from being involved with Mountain Rescue/Rangers, but it's not unheard of elsewhere.
Either the writer doesn't give a damn about retaining audience's attention, hoping to get it back in the later episodes, or they're not really trying to make it about the MCs but try to give it a kind of hopeless, it-could-happen-to-you feeling... which they're not really succeeding at, IMO.
I feel like there were more secondary plots/characters backround stories in the first half, the second half mainly focused on the ML and the opponent CEO. The BG OST sounded amazing, too bad it was just the one theme, and there weren't all that many pop songs included either, so it felt a bit lacking.
Overall, a good watch, though, and I got involved, but it'll probably fade away. Still, it was entertaining as it was happening.
The woman guard - SiYue? - had a lot of action scenes and they were okay, I guess. Though I don't know enough about the period to know if there really were any kind of women in the Imperial Guards, nevermind high ranking. Also, the princess is really stupid - even with lots of guards around, it doesn't make sense to expose herself to the crowds if the Imperial family is under any kind of threat - unless she's a brat. I guess she IS a brat.
And the other MC - BingZhu? - WTF, is he supposed to be unhinged?! In a haha kind of way, like Cpt. Jack Sparrow, or in a lunatic kind of way, like off his rails, a bit cuckoo, with a few loose marbles, etc? I actually dislike him. His background story should rather make sense, or he's going to be what sinks this drama.
Other than the annoyingly CGI tower-of-babel thing in the middle of the capital city, the cinematography is crisp, I like it. The OP and ED are nice enough (the OP at least is not yet another sweet/sour pop song, though they forgot by the end of the episode, LOL). The story isn't gelling yet, but it's only the first episode, I'm willing to see more of it before forming an impression. There are a bit too many characters, but happily I've already read up on Wu Zetian's period (for other reasons) so it's not all completely foreign, and slowly revealed inner workings isn't something to scare me off. Unless they don't make sense by the end.
So far, so good.
Watching priority: 3/5, will continue, slowly.
At this point, Kim Sol MIGHT be one of them (I mean, Se-wook seemed to be another killer-in-training and was definitely keeping in touch with the master planner, too), but not the first one, I don't think so. If the policeman would be another apprentice... he and the killer would have to related somehow too.
Until their motivation is revealed, we're all going to go in circles around the comment section :D
Unless it's the old chief, the one who resigned after the potato bomb incident.
If they kill off Hyun-jo after all this, I'm going to do unspeakable things to something in my path at that moment. Hopefully just furniture.
But whoever was on that mountain 1. had a shelter or 2. was there on purpose (didn't see Il-Hae with the rest of the people who had returned but at this moment, I don't trust anything more).