ShortCircuit

His parents have been dead for a decade or so, he's moved past the initial shock/pain/rage/negation/bargain/acceptance phase. This time, he's been thrown back into a preventable situation that he didn't know much about even before, so he tried his best to not let it happen. At that moment though, it looks like it did happen.

He's not going to go through the original phases of loss again, he's more like "what went wrong? WTH did I miss?!" so yeah, understating the emotion in the scene.

Add to that the script, which makes it a cliffhanger scene because that's how it works in kdramas.

And also keep in mind this is probably not going to go the road of deeply-felt, heartache and melo type of story. It's adapted from a manhwa, those are way more dry than dramas (I've read a few, and even my favourite ones are still pretty dry and stoic when it comes to how characters act). So I'll give LJG the benefit of doubt of having actually portrayed the character precisely as he (KHW) appears in the story, and not as a "normal" person who got thrown back in his previous life.

PS In my opinion, the most emotion-charged scene in his revival was going home and half-expecting to find it empty, his parents still gone. You can see it there - the hope and self-mentoring not to expect the parents to be there, the repeated self-checks of not letting himself belive it for a second it's real. He can do it, so it's not a case of ability, more probably it's a case of plot.

As for not liking his acting not even in FoE... well, I'm way over the other side of that fence. He broke my heart in that drama, too many times to count. I guess he can be perceived differently by different people, but I, myself, like him and his acting. To each, their own, I guess :D

I seriously doubt he still remembers the school stuff by now (particularly maths, LOL). Nobody usually does, if they don't need it for their everyday life. He's probably going to remember the laws and rules etc (now imagine those changed in the intervening years, that's going to be interesting :D).

It's more like 20yr KHW wakes up one day and suddenly he has all the memories and life experience of 30+yr KHW, than "going extinct" and being totally replaced. He's the same person, it's just that he gets a memory dump from his previous life.

The trouble with set memories is that he already made very important changes, and chaos theory says there are going to be results he never expected because he deviated from the original path. His parents are not dead, he didn't have to go get a MMA life to get money for school, he entered law school on first try, etc - and on the other side, CTS didn't have to cover up the accident his son caused because his son won't be alive to get a position in parliament (or whatever it's called in Korea), but now he has no son and so his road will also deviate.

It's not all rosy, if you change things. It's going to deviate from what you remember, the only useful bits remaining are that he knows how those people think, their personalities and ethics, and can guard against fake friends and not put his trust in people who aren't trustworthy. That is, IF he knew them beforehand. Lee Min Soo is already an enigma for him, because he never met him before.

So it's a double-edged sword...

What do you mean, a dream? This is a pretty straight-up reincarnation/rebirth revenge story. The main plot has already started - KHW died in his first life but his death goddess has some issues with his killer so she sends KHW back to a previous time in his life, so he can grow up better prepared and with a better plan to bring down the villain. That's all there is to it, don't expect much more LOL.

This is going to sink or swim based on delivery and consistency of the plot.

There is no body because he's never been thrown off the building in this timeline. It happened in another life, another time, another universe. Since, he (his consciousness and all his memories) has been sent back to his younger age, to have another go at trying to bring down CTS.

The events in his past life never happened in this timeline. Yes, it's a cheat, and it's a time paradox, but that's how it works in this genre. Accept it as a cheat and move on.

BTW, regarding your comment about how the kids were defeated by a prosecutor etc - it's still a 4-to-1 fight. In real life, he wouldn't stand a chance. But since it's fictional, he gets to use those memories and defeat a whole gang of street scramblers. Add to that, he didn't yet have a chance to actually train in his martial skills either - it looks good, but memories of how a move goes isn't enough, there needs to be some muscle power behind it, and he shouldn't have that in his younger body, or not yet, anyway.

The ladies won't care anyway LOL. Lee Min Soo doesn't care either. And TBH, he (KHW) doesn't act like he's older around the girls except for the white knight behaviour - it certainly looks like he was the random virgin prosecutor LOL. Then again this is a fantasy type of story, unless there's romance (of the chaste kind) involved, they will all appear to be eunuchs and pretty little nuns.

Where did KyuRi go? Did she miss getting into the same uni?

I actually think KHW has the best chemistry with HanMi, I don't feel it (or not yet anyway) with HeeAh. If there's a romantic plot at all, I hope KHW and KHM either become lovers, or best friends at least.

None of them pull the rejuvenation makeup except for LJG, LOL. If those are first-year law students (or in the process of getting through law school), they're all either admitted on their 10th or 20th try LOL, or the makeup artists couldn't do anything with how they appeared so they just... gave up :D

Bad-Shinigami-no-cookie-girl-in-red said she would be found next to CTS in the second life, so she's not there yet... I was expecting KHW to meet her in law school. It's still early, maybe it'll happen.

So, now CTS's son died instead of KHW's parents, is CTS going to go on an eye-for-an-eye approach and try to get KHW so that his parents also lose their son? LOL, bad target in that case :D

Who is the man with his face hidden in that bar? Is he the same as the killer (also un-rejuvenated) following KHW on that bridge?

Side-note: that was the flattest beer to ever beer - no foam, no air-bubbles, no fizziness, nothing. I pity the actors who had to drink it. Is that normal for Korean beer, I wonder, or did they need it to be that way for continuity reasons?

Waiting for what's next :D

Second episode is much better. I guess I'm okay with a not-too-deep-but-action-filled LJG drama. The selection process probably went like this - LJG decided he needed to stretch a bit and show off that black belt LOL, so AML was picked. No complaints from me.

And I have this impression this revenge rebirth story actually does have a System - that's what Lee Min Soo is there for, LOL.

He won't be. He can REMEMBER he was, though, so that's what will definitely count.

Just my 2 cents on the follow-up plot lines, based on how this usually works. I'd love to see it derail :D

Sorry for over-explaining then, LOL, I'm quite fond of such tropes, as I've already said (in anime, webnovels, dramas etc.) It's probably easier to notice the tropes and fit their meaning if you've seen enough of them, though I hope they adapted the manhwa well enough for everyone to understand the underlaying motifs, too, even if they're not familiar with the genre. The MC will try to change the rules or events so that painful things don't happen, and he's allowed to, as long as he works toward the scope he's been set in order to be given that second chance at life. Sometimes that will lead to completely different outcomes, or will save / sacrifice different people than those that were involved in the first life timeline, or the MC won't be able to change those most important plot keys because then he'd never get to the second chance life timeline setting.

I think that's why some of the lighting of the scenes is washed out, at times. Like it's in a "fantasy world", so it doesn't have to feel "real". And I have to say I like the theme, I have this feeling I've already heard it somewhere else, LOL.

It's off-screen and only implied, you don't get to see it. The drama itself is warm and cozy for a long while, then it gets a bit bittersweet at the end, but not on the romance side - which is on fire.

Do give it a chance :)

Nah, in revenge rebirth manhwa stories, it either goes the way of superpowers (like in Rugal, for example), or normal-powered human with foreknowledge of fated moments / seminal incidents (this looks to be the way for AML).

Mr. Queen is not based on a revenge manhwa, but is more of a historical rom-com type (and not a manhwa at all, though TBH I'm not sure).

Loops are only happening in very specific types of stories - a very good Chinese drama using that plot is Reset. Origin stories that involve seminal incidents usually have some kind of time paradox or "fated moment" that can't be prevented so that the MC HAS to go the way of revenge. (Though I hope the parents are saved here, I really like the actors and want to see them more). Signal has a part that uses that trope in a very good (and pretty hurtful) way.

From experience, I enjoy the dramas based on manhwas more than the manhwas themselves, usually because of the art... But that's just me. If you get to the parents' hit-and-run in the manhwa before tomorrow's ep, please spoil me on their survival please :D

Err, judging from ep 1 only and with no knowledge of the manhwa it's based on, no, that summary doesn't work for this drama.

Or do you mean to say you're looking for a drama that had that particular plot?

Usually in a reborn/transmigration/isekai story, there are some rules the MC can't ignore, of they'll be swept back to the original version of their life and die/disappear/something bad will happen to them anyway.

I haven't read this particular manhwa, but I'm pretty addicted to the reborn/transmigration type of stories, and I really really hate not having a cheeky System in this drama, too :D (If you're okay with BL, you can check out the donghua of Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, LOL, that's the perfect example of how this genre works.)

So yeah, it's cheating, but it's within the "rules" of the genre.

It got really interesting in the second half of the episode, when LJG had a chance to show some emotions again. Though TBH, LKY spouting those lines about caring for gender issues and not forgiving sexual harassment/assault (in his CTS persona) did leave a sour aftertaste.

Also, I don't want to see KHW falling slowly into the sky like Miles in Into the Spiderverse, LOL. Somehow the action sequences of the intro fell flat for me.

I don't want to see a time paradox /seminal incident (because I like Park Min Chul, I want him to play the dad role for longer!), can someone who read the manhwa spoil me on this, please? Is the accident preventable at all?

Highlights:

KHW as a bad-ass prosecutor: Facing up with a prosecutor with a weapon for more than three minutes is participating in organized crime. Resisting arrest in such cases means a fine of up to 50k dollars. **smirk** I just made that up.

LOL!

Bad-Shinigami-no-cookie-girl-in-red: Make him suffer!!
Reborn KHW: I want to learn maths. Teach me the ways of maths!

(Watchers: She meant CTS, not YOURSELF!)

(Also, maths teacher): How long has it been since you last learned maths?
Reborn KHW: Some ten years, I think.
Myself, trying to do some quick calculations in my head: Dammit... it feels like it's been a lot longer than ten years LOL.

It might become interesting, but so far it's nowhere near the adrenaline rush FoE gave me. I hope it does get at least up to that level. Let's go, AML!!

I'm not yet wowed. But I kind of expected it from a story adapted from a revenge manhwa, they tend to get pretty formulaic. More under the spoiler.

What did you do now, you put that imagine of Bilbo running from Bag's End in his hairy feet, yelling "I'm going on an ad-ven-TURE!" in my head :D

Thanks for the spoiler, oh well, I'm a sadist at times, and that first gif is... interesting. So I might binge this sometime soon :D

Thanks for the rec!

This looks a bit like Hunter/Wolf Hunter (2021), which I liked a lot (in terms of being rather gritty, not as a plot. Though I highly encourage people who like gritty/frontier's people/morally gray characters to take a look at Hunter, it's worth it.)

But spoil me on this, please (because I hate to get involved and watch characters I like, die): does the MC survive? I like Chen Fei Yu (and he was good in Ever Night), is his character just a tiny bit likable, so that one can root for them with no restraint? :D

It's never going to get easier, but it'll be less present, over time. Not that it'll happen very soon. Hang in there, it does eventually get better, though they're always going to be missing.

Just remember the good memories and don't shy from mentioning them whenever you think of them. Keep them with you and they'll never go away completely.

Be well!

Yeah, I'll remember that line LOL. It works perfectly in any and all circumstances. I'm just going to have to work on delivering it with that extreme seriousness of Dr. Gu's LOL.

LOL, Pepsi China branch doesn't waste time :D

What is it with the bamboo shoots on the label though, is it a special flavour or just a marketing trick? I'd try some bamboo Pepsi myself, though I bet it's regional :(

Love is Sweet - Luo YunXi and Bai Lu. It's not as lovey-dovey as OoL but it is dopey-lovey LOL. Also lots of clichees, but who cares, they work, and Bai Lu is beautiful as always while Luo YunXi's smile is to die for. (Yes I like him a lot. Does it show? :D)

The Romance of Tiger and Rose - it's also not too lovey-dovey but more cutesy-flirty LOL, watch it for the fruit theatre (yes there's one, and it's crazy LOL). It's a costume drama, and more female-centric, but worth the watch (and the laughs).

If you're okay with (very much hinted but nowhere explicit) BL, you could also try The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty. That one's also a hoot - you get a drop-dead-cute gluttonous MC, a stern soldier MC (who is the best cook, and yes, cooking scenes are included, yum!) who can't resist the cute glutton either LOL, and the most mischievous and lovable third wheel who basically steals the show whenever the mood hits him. I loved that drama :D (and yes it's romantic. But as I said, not explicit, not even as much as The Untamed).

One that is less liked on MDL is A Girl Like Me, another costume drama where the ML is basically slowly falling for the FL, which is a bit of a hothead. Still, they're good together and the romance and mutual understanding is good.