It already started snowing on the mountain, in the past timeline T_T
So, Se-wook is one of the killers, but the main killer got rid of him pretty fast. Well, good riddance.
It looks more and more like Dae Jin is either the killer, or in the know somehow. He was in the forest when Se-wook died, he had a bunch of yellow ribbons in his hands (though they looked pretty battered up, so he might have been removing them... what if he was actually placing them, though?)
It looks like there'll be some romance in the next part, which I'm not actually that much against, if it doesn't take over the plot completely.
The soundtrack also began growing on me, too... I am going to see this through to the end :D
EDIT: So am I imagining things, or did the drone catch an image of KHJ on the mountain top?...
He's back so soon?! (Not that I'm complaining, but I thought they had to do at least 20 months of military service). He's a great actor, so good to see him back! I hope it's a good drama, he really has to be a lead in more dramas!
Edit: I see he went in as an active duty Army soldier, they're required to do 18 months, so that does compute. Yay!! That means there was no medical problem or whatever for him to be discharged before the mandatory period (like with Choi Jin Hyuk). I'd very much like to see WDH in an action story :)
The moon bears are all that was lacking in my life today, thank you for that!!As for the drama...
Hyun-Jo is trapped in one of the 28 worlds that super-impose on Mt. Jiri, and he can influence our world somehow. It was SO cool how the rookie could finally see him!! And the man they rescued due to Hyun-Jo's warning also saw him clearly. That world where he is / the ghost realm is so sad, all the trees are down, and it's all a wasteland...
I have high hopes they manage to wake him up, his fingers moved... but why was there a bruise? Was it caused by the rookie passing through his ghostly presence?!
The presumptive killer - Se Wook, if I'm reading the character chart correctly - is definitely not acting alone. He placed the bombs, and the poisoned yoghurt too, maybe, but the one with the glove isn't him, I don't think. My bet is on the one who's telling YK about the ghosts on Jiri. Why would he care unless he's taunting her?
Re: the poacher losing his life. It doesn't bother me much, except for his kids being left orphans. Other species have the right to survive along us, I don't care about his fines for breaking the law. Don't get into the kitchen if you can't handle the burns.
That brings me back to the people in danger - so far, most if not all of them seem to be poachers and/or illegally trespassing (except for the soldiers). I wonder what the man they rescued was actually doing on the trails... unless him taking a yoghurt bottle that didn't belong to him is considered worthy of punishment by the deranged killer(s).
I’m on Ep 2. I thought Hyun Jo was still in a coma in the hospital. Am I missing something?
I'm not sure yet (haven't gone back to check) but when they change the timeline (which they do indicate in the beginning of the flashback), the screen ratio aspect also changes - like, it goes from the usual 4:3 to the 16:9 aspect, with black upper and lower edges. So you know you're still in the flashback timeline as long as these two black edges are still there.
So yeah, in current time, JH is in a coma and YK is in a wheelchair.
the theory that ML is the protagonist and his ghost is the antagonist is also don't match, because ML's ghost…
Hyun-Jo's spirit/ghost (if that's what it is, maybe it's an older ghost who just took up HJ's appeareance) only (apparently) appeared after HJ fell into coma.
The person/thing who killed Sgt. Kim is definitely the same one who poisoned the yoghurt drinks and maybe the same who ties those yellow ribbons to lure people to their deaths.
Strangely, it seems he/it is always leading them to same mountain ledge - or is it just me thinking it's the same narrow mountain ledge? Does it have anything to do with the man/spirit?...
First a blood sacrifice on the mountain (Sgt. Kim), then Hyun-Jo destroyed the mound of stones, Hyun-Jo himself left some of his blood on those stones, now he's seeing people dying on the mountain...
And in the present day, Yi Kang too knows how to decypher messages left in stone mounds. Does that mean she somehow got parts of the gift too? And how come it's related to Hyun-Jo?
The only part I really, really didn't like was the young shaman (with no reflection in the water, yeeeck!) telling Hyun-Jo he would haunt the mountain after his death. I mean, let's leave the poor man alive, why don't we? I don't want to have an option of having to choose between Hyun-Jo's life and Yi Kang's legs...
Also, what the hell was that reaction? Is Aek homophobic?! The guy just tried his best to celebrate with him,…
So it definitely wasn't just me thinking back to that trope, LOL. I thought it might be I've read too much yaoi and that the show wouldn't make it seem they just might do that, but I guess the set up was obvious enough.
No, I know it's based on a novel (though to be honest, I wouldn't read that novel now even if there was not much relation between the drama and the novel except the name) and not a manga, I was just saying it definitely looked like they were fully prepared to use that manga trope LOL. I guess they decided against it because it would have become too rape-y, yeesh.
The first 5-6 episodes were so slow I mostly was considering dropping this, then I caught up with the last three eps so far, and the change is very obvious. I don't know what they did - did they fix the script to increase ratings, or tried to make it more dramatic, or what? But it definitely did not go well.
Not to mention that Japanese Oishii water or whatever it is - I'm getting sick of the commercials for it LOL. There was a whole scene between the secondary pairing LOL, just for that commercial. So bad :D
You're already watching The Untamed (according to your list), that and Word of Honor are the best from China. Another very good Chinese BL is The Sleuth of Ming Dinasty, but as usual, it's Chinese, so the hints are all you're going to get.
From Japan, you've already watched the dorama His - watch the follow-up movie His, too, it's better than the drama. Also, No Touching at All is very good and follows the manga closely. If you can take more than just BL - that is, quite a few sex scenes, then The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (based on the same-titled manga) is pretty good too.
From Thailand, I see you've already watched 1000 Stars and ITSAY&IPYTM, so you definitely should complete their top 3 best dramas with Theory of Love. And JUST for the campiness of it all, try YYY. The main story and the MLs are not that great, but watch it for the antics of Queen Porpla. He's a hoot.
From SK there are mostly movies to be watched, and most of them are ending in tears, so no recs there, unless you really want to become sad. But there's a short almost-BL comedy that never seems to be watched enough, that I HIGHLY recommend to everyone, called The Boy Next Door. It doesn't pretend to be BL, but the difference is so small it's measured in nanometers.
Also, what the hell was that reaction? Is Aek homophobic?! The guy just tried his best to celebrate with him,…
He, Aue and the woman chef - forgot her name - have a backstory. They were in a competition or something together and maybe none of them won, but Aue seems to have come on top anyway somehow.
For villains, it's not enough that they win, other people definitely must lose. So this one's motive for this time is to make Aue a laughingstock, not just randomly put him in a contest and let him try to win - and lose - again.
Thank the powers that be for small favours, the way the episode was set up AND if this was a yaoi manga, then definitely Viphob would have made Aue "pay with his body" in order to save Aek from his evil intentions, and that would have been the death strike for this series.
(Don't believe me on yaoi manga plots if you'd rather... but that, sadly, is very much a trope whenever there's talk about taking revenge. It even made its way into yaoi anime - has anyone seen "Gravitation"? Less graphic than in the manga, but still left in. So at least they didn't go THERE with it.)
Since you mentioned Wei Wuxian's casting, I also Adore XZ of course. I recently discovered Chen Xing Xu through…
I looked up Goodbye My Princess... it's a sad ending, isn't it? I'm in a bit of a down mood, I don't want angst right now, LOL. And I DO like for the characters I grow to like to be alive at the end of the story. But I'll keep an eye out for CXX for future, happy-ending dramas :D
I don't think they would have dared to make WWX darker - if they could, they would have moved closer to the novel and involved all those corpses that keep going around WWX (like the women corpses in the inn when he meets LWJ, that in the drama was switched to a meeting with LXC and no corpses LOL. Or the part with the child corpse that munched on Wen Chao's hands in the final revenge scenes... yeeesh!! I am not certain I'd have wanted to see them, though I did manage to go through them in the novel. He is definitely more gray than what could come through in the drama, and still, Xiao Zhan - and the script - did him justice. )
Xiao Zhan is definitely a gem of an actor - he's handsome, he has the acting skills needed and he's mature enough to be able to switch roles when he needs to. I've watched - so far - TU, Douluo Continent, The Wolf, parts of Joy of Life (that one needs a lot of attention, and my life's been hectic in the past few years, I can't concentrate for so long - plus, it adds the highlight of a good drama waiting for me, if no new XZ dramas come around soon), and Jade Dynasty. I haven't watched the short movies, his TV show episodes (I'm not a fan of TV shows), and Oh My Emperor (because the trailer doesn't look promising) and Fight Breaks Sphere. I'm waiting for new material from him, mainly TOOL and The Longest Promise, though it'll still be a while until they're released. I'm just happy he's still in the industry and so there WILL be dramas from time to time. I'm willing to wait.
As for Douluo Continent, I rather liked it, but more for the ensemble cast and their progress. I haven't read any of the volumes of the novel or watched the donghua (except for the first episode), and it looks like it's a whole gigantic beast slowly moving along. I don't think the donghua is finished yet, LOL. That's a huge time investment, wow. So I'm pleased with DC, and I would appreciate more seasons, but at the same time, I'd rather have him appear in something new and maybe more modern? Except for TOOL I don't think he has any modern dramas (with the exception of the military one, and that one too seems a bit strange). He should be able to get interesting plots, maybe this time he'll find something really challenging and interesting. I'm all ready for a police drama, for example, with him as a lead :D
Even with playing it at 2x speed I got three episodes behind LOL. Still sticking with it for Nuna.
Also, what the hell was that reaction? Is Aek homophobic?! The guy just tried his best to celebrate with him, didn't get violent, why the need to punch him? He would've understood the kiss was unwanted with words just fine.
The introduction of a "sophisticated" villain at this late time doesn't save the show from becoming a bore fest. I had some hope when the "contest" started but if they keep Aek and introduce Aue as a contestant, then what's the eventual end? There are only three eps left, at this point I don't even
Wait so who’s the old man they rescued from the hospital?
He's the chemist who invented the drug the Chinese mob is trying to sell in South Korea in the first few episodes. Those tattoos on him are supposed to be the drug's formula. That is, if you're referring to the old man HJH visits in the hospital after we're told he (the old man) is going through a withdrawal. He doesn't say a lot, and had a place mostly in the first few eps when HJH met the Chinese and destroyed their new lab.
There was another old man saved from a secret hospital level that YJI took out and who ended up killed by Baek Mo Sa on a bridge. That old man was an information broker and former master spy of the SK, who used to deal mainly with NK and China, and so he was involved in some schemes some ten years back (when Baek Mo Sa first went "missing" after being sold to the NK intelligence.)
3 
It looks more and more like Dae Jin is either the killer, or in the know somehow. He was in the forest when Se-wook died, he had a bunch of yellow ribbons in his hands (though they looked pretty battered up, so he might have been removing them... what if he was actually placing them, though?)
It looks like there'll be some romance in the next part, which I'm not actually that much against, if it doesn't take over the plot completely.
The soundtrack also began growing on me, too... I am going to see this through to the end :D
EDIT: So am I imagining things, or did the drone catch an image of KHJ on the mountain top?...
The cinematography, the story, the cast, the OP and ED - beautiful!
The best episode ever - episode 6, hands down. I've no idea how this series isn't better known, but I am happy I got to watch it.
Still - does anyone have an idea of the long wall of text at the end of episode 8? That part got left untranslated for some reason.
Edit: I see he went in as an active duty Army soldier, they're required to do 18 months, so that does compute. Yay!! That means there was no medical problem or whatever for him to be discharged before the mandatory period (like with Choi Jin Hyuk). I'd very much like to see WDH in an action story :)
I have high hopes they manage to wake him up, his fingers moved... but why was there a bruise? Was it caused by the rookie passing through his ghostly presence?!
The presumptive killer - Se Wook, if I'm reading the character chart correctly - is definitely not acting alone. He placed the bombs, and the poisoned yoghurt too, maybe, but the one with the glove isn't him, I don't think. My bet is on the one who's telling YK about the ghosts on Jiri. Why would he care unless he's taunting her?
Re: the poacher losing his life. It doesn't bother me much, except for his kids being left orphans. Other species have the right to survive along us, I don't care about his fines for breaking the law. Don't get into the kitchen if you can't handle the burns.
That brings me back to the people in danger - so far, most if not all of them seem to be poachers and/or illegally trespassing (except for the soldiers). I wonder what the man they rescued was actually doing on the trails... unless him taking a yoghurt bottle that didn't belong to him is considered worthy of punishment by the deranged killer(s).
As for the drama...
So yeah, in current time, JH is in a coma and YK is in a wheelchair.
The person/thing who killed Sgt. Kim is definitely the same one who poisoned the yoghurt drinks and maybe the same who ties those yellow ribbons to lure people to their deaths.
Strangely, it seems he/it is always leading them to same mountain ledge - or is it just me thinking it's the same narrow mountain ledge? Does it have anything to do with the man/spirit?...
And in the present day, Yi Kang too knows how to decypher messages left in stone mounds. Does that mean she somehow got parts of the gift too? And how come it's related to Hyun-Jo?
The only part I really, really didn't like was the young shaman (with no reflection in the water, yeeeck!) telling Hyun-Jo he would haunt the mountain after his death. I mean, let's leave the poor man alive, why don't we? I don't want to have an option of having to choose between Hyun-Jo's life and Yi Kang's legs...
No, I know it's based on a novel (though to be honest, I wouldn't read that novel now even if there was not much relation between the drama and the novel except the name) and not a manga, I was just saying it definitely looked like they were fully prepared to use that manga trope LOL. I guess they decided against it because it would have become too rape-y, yeesh.
The first 5-6 episodes were so slow I mostly was considering dropping this, then I caught up with the last three eps so far, and the change is very obvious. I don't know what they did - did they fix the script to increase ratings, or tried to make it more dramatic, or what? But it definitely did not go well.
Not to mention that Japanese Oishii water or whatever it is - I'm getting sick of the commercials for it LOL. There was a whole scene between the secondary pairing LOL, just for that commercial. So bad :D
From Japan, you've already watched the dorama His - watch the follow-up movie His, too, it's better than the drama. Also, No Touching at All is very good and follows the manga closely. If you can take more than just BL - that is, quite a few sex scenes, then The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (based on the same-titled manga) is pretty good too.
From Thailand, I see you've already watched 1000 Stars and ITSAY&IPYTM, so you definitely should complete their top 3 best dramas with Theory of Love. And JUST for the campiness of it all, try YYY. The main story and the MLs are not that great, but watch it for the antics of Queen Porpla. He's a hoot.
From SK there are mostly movies to be watched, and most of them are ending in tears, so no recs there, unless you really want to become sad. But there's a short almost-BL comedy that never seems to be watched enough, that I HIGHLY recommend to everyone, called The Boy Next Door. It doesn't pretend to be BL, but the difference is so small it's measured in nanometers.
For villains, it's not enough that they win, other people definitely must lose. So this one's motive for this time is to make Aue a laughingstock, not just randomly put him in a contest and let him try to win - and lose - again.
Thank the powers that be for small favours, the way the episode was set up AND if this was a yaoi manga, then definitely Viphob would have made Aue "pay with his body" in order to save Aek from his evil intentions, and that would have been the death strike for this series.
(Don't believe me on yaoi manga plots if you'd rather... but that, sadly, is very much a trope whenever there's talk about taking revenge. It even made its way into yaoi anime - has anyone seen "Gravitation"? Less graphic than in the manga, but still left in. So at least they didn't go THERE with it.)
I don't think they would have dared to make WWX darker - if they could, they would have moved closer to the novel and involved all those corpses that keep going around WWX (like the women corpses in the inn when he meets LWJ, that in the drama was switched to a meeting with LXC and no corpses LOL. Or the part with the child corpse that munched on Wen Chao's hands in the final revenge scenes... yeeesh!! I am not certain I'd have wanted to see them, though I did manage to go through them in the novel. He is definitely more gray than what could come through in the drama, and still, Xiao Zhan - and the script - did him justice. )
Xiao Zhan is definitely a gem of an actor - he's handsome, he has the acting skills needed and he's mature enough to be able to switch roles when he needs to. I've watched - so far - TU, Douluo Continent, The Wolf, parts of Joy of Life (that one needs a lot of attention, and my life's been hectic in the past few years, I can't concentrate for so long - plus, it adds the highlight of a good drama waiting for me, if no new XZ dramas come around soon), and Jade Dynasty. I haven't watched the short movies, his TV show episodes (I'm not a fan of TV shows), and Oh My Emperor (because the trailer doesn't look promising) and Fight Breaks Sphere. I'm waiting for new material from him, mainly TOOL and The Longest Promise, though it'll still be a while until they're released. I'm just happy he's still in the industry and so there WILL be dramas from time to time. I'm willing to wait.
As for Douluo Continent, I rather liked it, but more for the ensemble cast and their progress. I haven't read any of the volumes of the novel or watched the donghua (except for the first episode), and it looks like it's a whole gigantic beast slowly moving along. I don't think the donghua is finished yet, LOL. That's a huge time investment, wow. So I'm pleased with DC, and I would appreciate more seasons, but at the same time, I'd rather have him appear in something new and maybe more modern? Except for TOOL I don't think he has any modern dramas (with the exception of the military one, and that one too seems a bit strange). He should be able to get interesting plots, maybe this time he'll find something really challenging and interesting. I'm all ready for a police drama, for example, with him as a lead :D
The introduction of a "sophisticated" villain at this late time doesn't save the show from becoming a bore fest. I had some hope when the "contest" started but if they keep Aek and introduce Aue as a contestant, then what's the eventual end? There are only three eps left, at this point I don't even
There was another old man saved from a secret hospital level that YJI took out and who ended up killed by Baek Mo Sa on a bridge. That old man was an information broker and former master spy of the SK, who used to deal mainly with NK and China, and so he was involved in some schemes some ten years back (when Baek Mo Sa first went "missing" after being sold to the NK intelligence.)