linjitah

Totally agree. A rating of 1 or 2 usually suggests a complete failure on every level, which is hard to reconcile with a drama that clearly connected with so many viewers, even if it wasn't someone's personal taste.

I think part of the reason is that this kind of drama became successful in a way many people didn't expect. Before it aired, there was already a lot of skepticism about the cast, the premise, and whether it could work at all. Then it gained attention through word of mouth and developed a very passionate fanbase.

And, ironically, truly forgettable dramas rarely attract this level of hostility. People watch a few episodes, decide it's not for them, and move on. The strongest negative reactions often seem to happen when a drama becomes a cultural talking point and people feel compelled to argue against the praise it receives. That doesn't mean everyone has to like it, of course, but there is a difference between saying "this wasn't for me" and acting as if the drama has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I see that a lot of people here have been criticizing the show and expressing their disappointment over the past few weeks, but I guess I just don't feel the same way. To me, this is peak cinema, and it went exactly the way I hoped it would.

Maybe it's because I love when a story embraces every extreme and mixes genres without holding back. Drama, melodrama, comedy, thriller... having all of that in one place doesn't bother me at all. In fact, that's exactly what I enjoy.

During episode 13 alone, I laughed, cried, smiled like an idiot, and kept getting excited to see what would happen next. Everything just worked for me. I'm honestly so happy I never doubted this show, not even once. I've been waiting for it ever since the first trailer, and it has completely lived up to my expectations.

It has definitely become something very special to my heart, and I know I'll never forget this experience.

You’re assuming a standard lead vs second lead hierarchy, but I’m not convinced that framing actually fits this project.

From the source material, it reads much more like an ensemble narrative, where multiple characters carry substantial, interconnected arcs. That’s why reducing the role to 2ML feels misleading, it’s a fan shorthand, not necessarily a meaningful structural label.

The “A-list cast exception” argument also doesn’t really hold here, since the drama already has a strong, established lineup. It’s not a case of someone stepping down into a lesser production.

More broadly, billing order is just one surface detail. Casting decisions usually factor in script quality, character depth, director, production scale, and long-term career positioning, not just who gets the top credit.

If we're going to speculate, then yes, the casting was most likely finalized months ago, probably around the time pre-production started last fall. The official announcement being released now is a separate matter and obviously part of marketing strategy.

What I disagree with, though, is the idea that a breakthrough hit automatically means an actor should only take main lead roles from that point onward. That's not really how the industry works. A successful breakout project creates opportunities, but what matters just as much is what comes after it: the quality of the projects chosen, the directors, the scripts, the genres, and the long-term career strategy.

In fact, choosing a more serious historical drama with heavier and more tragic themes can be a much smarter career move than simply taking the first available main lead role. Not every lead role is equally valuable, and not every supporting role is a downgrade. Strategy matters.

Looking at his filmography so far, it honestly seems like either he or his management team has been making very thoughtful choices about his career direction.

I think you're misunderstanding how casting decisions actually work in this industry. Being the main lead doesn't automatically mean it's the strongest role, the most important character, or even the role that best suits a particular actor. Choosing who should play which character based solely on current popularity feels like a pretty narrow way of looking at casting.

The people involved in production and casting usually have far more information than anyone discussing the drama online, and unless we have insider knowledge, we're mostly speculating from the outside.

Also, I'd recommend reading the original manhwa the drama is based on. It gives much more context about the characters and their narrative roles, and it might make the casting choices seem a lot more understandable. In my opinion, once you know the source material, the actors being cast in these specific roles makes much more sense than simply assigning roles according to who's currently the most popular.

Personally, I'm actually very happy they cast Heo Nam-jun in this particular role. It seems like a great fit for him, and I'm really excited to see what he does with the character and how the project turns out overall.

Oh, so there were already people who picked up on that. That's so cool!

Rewatching the episodes again, I had a random thought that the naming of Lee Hyun and Dan-shim might not be accidental at all. In Korean, the pairing sounds strikingly close to the idiom 일편단심 (il-pyeon dan-shim), which literally means “one-sided heart” or more naturally “single-minded devotion / unwavering loyalty in love.”

The idiom describes a state of complete constancy, someone who remains emotionally faithful and unchanging toward one person or ideal, regardless of circumstances.

I asked a Korean friend about my theory, and she agreed it seems quite plausible that the creators were intentional here.

There are so many small, deliberate details like this in the drama that keep revealing themselves on every rewatch. Love it so much.

In South Korea, wisdom teeth are usually removed under local anesthesia too. But if the teeth are very close to the facial nerves and there’s a risk of nerve damage, doctors often recommend going to a major hospital and having the extraction done surgically under general anesthesia. At smaller clinics, though, they may still do it under local anesthesia if you sign a consent form accepting the risks.

And yeah, I also think that scene was partly meant to show Se-gye’s status, because getting it done under general anesthesia would be a lot more expensive, haha.

“It’s fictional fantasy” and “it’s not Shakespeare” is a slightly funny comparison considering Shakespeare also wrote fiction full of ghosts, prophecies, mistaken identities, symbolic time, and supernatural logic. Fiction has always been something people interpret and analyze beyond surface realism.

I will continue thinking, feeling, and engaging with art passionately throughout my life, thank you very much. For me, that is part of the enjoyment of fiction, especially when a story is clearly drawing from deeper cultural and spiritual ideas rather than simple literal realism.

I see that many viewers keep wondering what is actually happening with Seo-ri’s identity in this story, whether she is Dan-shim reincarnated, a completely new person, or a case of possession or body transfer. I just want to share one way of reading it that comes from Korean shamanistic thinking, which seems to be strongly reflected in how this kind of narrative is structured. This is not meant to be a definitive answer, and people can definitely agree or disagree with it.

In the logic of Korean shamanism, a person is not seen as a single fixed “self” inside a body. Instead, what we call a self is made of different layers, often described as 혼 (life-spirit, higher, more “animating” spiritual essence), 넋 (emotional residue, memory, lingering attachment, “leftover self”), and 영 (spiritual presence, overlap, that often appear in dreams, rituals, possess living bodies, exist simultaneously as memory). These parts can weaken, separate, or re-form depending on events like trauma, dreams, or death.

From this perspective, Dan-shim’s death (or near-death?) in the Joseon era does not necessarily mean a complete ending of identity in a simple linear way. It can be understood more like a rupture, where her spiritual existence does not fully disappear but continues in a different form. Seo-ri in modern time is then not necessarily a “new soul replacing an old one,” but can be read as a later expression or reactivation of the same spiritual thread that was already connected across time.

The childhood period where Seo-ri seems to change is actually very important in this reading. In shamanic terms, this can happen when the 혼 (life-spirit) becomes weakened or partially displaced due to shock, trauma, or a spiritual break. When this happens, a child may seem different from before, more emotionally flat, less connected to their natural abilities, or simply “not themselves.”

At the same time, the 넋 — the emotional memory and deeper imprint of who the person is — does not disappear. It stays present in a latent form, even if it is not fully expressed. This is why certain abilities, such as Seo-ri’s acting talent, do not feel newly acquired when they return later in life. Instead, they feel like something “coming back.”

Even the memories involving her grandmother can be understood through the idea of 인연 (karmic connection), where memory and identity are not strictly locked to one timeline or one version of a person, but can resurface through strong emotional or spiritual bonds across time.

So in this reading, it is more about seeing both Dan-shim and Seo-ri as different expressions of one continuous but fragmented spiritual process moving through time, rather than separate identities replacing each other.

Everyone here is coming up with theories about how it will all end and what twists and turns and tropes still lie ahead, but I’m thinking... what if, in the end, it turns out that all of this is just Se-gye’s dream MWAHAHAHA. Simply because he’s been binge-watching a drama starring the actress he’s obsessed with day and night… just like we’re all obsessed with him😭🙏

Many would hate that, personally, I would love it.

I’m not sure honestly, I think it works the same way as on any other website? I just have a Korean keyboard installed on my PC, so I can switch languages and type Hangul directly instead of copy-pasting.

The ornament in the intro what you are talking about is 나전칠기 (najeonchilgi) — a traditional Korean craft where small shimmering pieces of shell are inlaid into lacquered objects like jewelry boxes, furniture, or accessories to create decorative patterns. In the intro I personally saw the paintbrushes, which probably refer to Lee Hyun because he paints. And I think it’s actually a dog rather than a fox, while the silver knife is likely the one gifted to Dan-shim.

I was looking through different reactions on Korean forums again, and I found this comment that got a lot of likes, so I wanted to translate and share it here:

“I’m majoring in playwriting/dramatic writing right now, and even my professors have been mentioning this drama lol.

They said comedy is originally the hardest genre to pull off, but this is one of those works where the directing, the writing (especially the internal logic/coherence), and the actors all fit together perfectly.

In class, when we write plays, we’re taught not to include objects that pass by meaninglessly for no reason. But in this drama, even things like the pebble or the taffy stick that seemed insignificant at first aren’t just thrown in carelessly, so the story’s coherence is really well maintained.”

Yes, he is great! I would love to see him in more projects in the future.

I don’t know why you were so quick to assume everyone is watching with the same Netflix subs. Personally, I know Korean and usually watch the drama without subtitles first, then check different translations later out of professional interest and for comparison. In the original scene, Seori first says 손톱 (nail), and then Se-gye says 팔 (arm).

People here seem very eager to criticize Netflix subtitles in general, but honestly, as someone working in translation, I’d say the subs for this particular drama are actually quite good. A lot of the nuance, especially in jokes or double meanings, is extremely hard to translate concisely while still keeping the scene natural and watchable. Most viewers probably don’t want half the screen covered in translator’s notes instead of watching the actual drama.

And in this specific scene, it’s a bit strange to use it as an example of “bad subs,” because the line itself was translated pretty literally. The only thing really open to interpretation is the implication behind the words, and that naturally depends on the viewer. I already explained above how I personally interpreted it, so I don’t really see much point arguing over that part.

I mean... we haven't seen a single window in Se-gye's house that overlooks Namsan, the only windows we saw are the ones facing the inner garden lol. He basically lives in a cave, so there's definitely a double meaning here. I wouldn't blame Twitter for pointing out that haha

Yes, something like that, as if time and space become thinner at that moment and they either move between them at that moment, or feel two realities better that exist in parallel. I'm not sure yet which version is more likely, but I personally prefer the latter more.

In Joseon specifically, court astrologers would carefully observe such celestial anomalies and report them to the king as possible omens of disorder or impending political change, often treating them with real state-level seriousness.

And I find it interesting that in the drama there is a contrast between past and present perception: what was historically an alarming omen requiring caution and interpretation is in modern scenes described by announcers in a light, almost tourist-like way, as something beautiful to observe or even take picture of.

The comet to me marks a turning point where fate becomes irreversible. In traditional East Asian cosmology it is associated with disruptions in the Mandate of Heaven, signaling legitimacy crises or political instability. In the context of the drama, though, I read it more as a visual marker of a threshold where time and fate feel unstable, suggesting that history is about to shift, repeat, or correct itself.