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Fans of the series/actors/actress who cannot take criticism pls do not read below.

I had to write this because I want to avoid offending people who have a hard time taking in any view that is different from theirs.

You like this drama, I really don't. It is very surprising to me why you do given your list of other dramas that you like. Actually I am at a point where I hate-watch it. It is mainly because my expectations were very high and I thoroughly dislike the writing and the characters in this drama. There is not one that I find well written and/or likable.

There's plenty of blame to go around for both the FL and the ex - both of them are wrong. The way they both handled all the illness stuff. I will point out the most blatant one. The ex asks the FL to "snap out of depression". Really bad choice from the writers - the ex is supposed to be very well educated and with access to Google. Known fact: you cannot snap out of depression or get rid of it by pure will. Maybe 1% of patients. It would have been much better to blame it on fatigue from the ex part.

Parents of FL are really bad (mostly the villain mother). They will deserve the suffering they will get when they find out about not being told about the suffering of their own daughter. Because that is what you get when you put those high expectations on your own kids and you do not support them unconditionally. Even if they fail or make bad choices (it's not like being a cook is equal to being a crook for example).

The ML reaction to finding out about cancer is awful. Many have pointed out in this forum that he moves the discussion to himself - how can you do this to me? The FL has done it clearly to protect others and not disappoint them (she is very wrong of course). But when you find out first you must express sympathy, show care and point out your mistake of not conveying to the suffering part that it as always a very good idea to share things because you have their back. Turns out that the constant bantering has this sort of consequences, even if viewers find it "funny".

Second couple is infantile. All is forced between them and very naive. These are 30+ adults. The only character for which I have a little sympathy is the journalist, but even he is written like a 14 year old sometimes. Pls write them to act like mature people. Same for the parents of the ML. You would expect people in their 50 to have learned that communication is key. It is just frustrating to see their interaction - for heaven sake this is a diplomat and a doctor. Both with training in communication but failing so miserably. And not wearing slippers when shards of glass are on the floor - they could have written a mo,re credible motive to fall and be caught.

The more I look at this drama the more I like "Because this is my first life". Now there I liked all characters. Parents were very realistic. Character development was top-notch. Social critique was superb. I was longing to see Jung So Min in a good rom-com role. This was more promising then her other roles in Soul Mechanic, Monthly Magazine Home or The Smile Has Left Your Eyes neither of which I liked though she played well. But this is the biggest disappointment. The writing for her character is bad and she cannot make it better. At least it helps me with appreciating other 3 dramas that are ongoing right now which I watch with much more pleasure than this one.

It means that you should skip comments that do not interest you and do not ask questions if you are not interested in understanding.

AI explains: "A lighthearted sense of humor refers to an easygoing, playful, and good-natured approach to humor. It involves finding amusement and seeing the funny side of situations without taking things too seriously or being overly cynical."

Also note that I said "attempt".

A lighthearted attempt at humor. Not everybody in this world wears slippers indoors. So it is striking for some of us. I usually do not wear slippers. But recently I found a pair that I love and wear them all the time.

The weak link of the story here is the reaction of the ex when he gave up. His explanation was very dumb. As a very educated person with access to Google he should have known that depression is not something you can "snap out of it" or overcome by pure will. The screenwriters should have found a more realistic arc. This was very por.

Gigantic unrealistic situation in this drama :)

Everybody knows that in all k-dramas everybody always wears slippers. And there is no unannounced guests in a k-drama house that doesn't find that pair of perfectly fitting slippers. If a an alien with the most surprising feet arrives in a k-drama house he sure will get a good pair of slippers.

But today we saw not one but 2 (!!!) adults barefoot. Older adults - absolutely unbelievable! And the one scolding the other for being barefoot than goes with only socks and gets injured. They are very educated people not some drunk bums.

I don't have words to describe my surprise.

What other tabu will be smashed in the next episodes?

They wear for sleep the same things people wear around the world. Clothes in drama are very far from reality. When I walked around in Seoul and Korea the only thing that I noticed is that people pay a lot of attention to the brands they wear.

Reply 1988 is being set in the past and has a lot less emphasis on product placement and more on historical accuracy (including clothes of course).

My theory about clothes in general. Dramas have high production costs. To reduce them they try to get sponsorship for anything. I believe in this case sponsorship from a sweater company pays more than sponsorship from a pajama company. You will see very fashionable clothes worn by "poor" people in some dramas. Some high end clothes worn in bed and perfectly arranged after a night of sleep - to confer the image they can look perfect even after being worn in bed.

Isn't more a parody of those tropes? Because some things/situations/characters are exaggerated on purpose for comedic effect.

thank you

A typo for what? I was asking because I did not understand. If for tropes exactly what is metaphoric or figurative in this comedy

?
troupes=a group of dancers, actors, or other entertainers who tour to different venues.
"a dance troupe"
tropes=a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.
"perhaps it is a mistake to use tropes and parallels in this eminently unpoetic age"

Top 4 comedy moments in E05

IMHO the key to watch this drama is comedy and satire. This drama is not a realistic one. It tries to make fun of real life habits and also of life as presented in other dramas. If you watched enough k-dramas you will get some jokes, if not....then just drop it and don't spoil it for those who enjoy it by posting comments . It also has serious moments (aka more realistic ones), but all in all it dwells in humor and not the very subtle type. I really enjoy it and will start here a top for my favorite moments that made me laugh or at least giggle.

Honorable mentions: how can feelings not change when whole neighborhoods change, here come my son the philanthropist who gives away his money as fines and settlements, gym training for throwing ex-husband overboard.

4. How can I show him a small portion of my back- what if he falls for me? Funny referral to all k-dramas where you have to wait for ep 8 for a little had-to-hand touch and ep 13 to kiss.

3. The talk about sperm. Big double entendre at the end. I can hear the gasps of the indignation from certain people: "this is p...". Relax. It's only harmless talk.

2. Lifting the lady like an Olympic event of weightlifting. Now that's a goal! Being prepared to take somebody to the ER. Even if that is not the most recommendable course of action in certain situations.

1. Arranging the haircut in the stairway. Funny because you would have expected maybe exactly the opposite. Or maybe it did happen but they had time to arrange their hair and their clothes :). Also I could hear the AAAAAHHHHs when they showed Young Dae's face in close-up from his fans.

What were other funny moments that you enjoyed in this episode?

I am very surprised how you can classify her very acceptingly as "might not always behave well/her reactions are often not the best". Her behavior is often appalling. Cue to her beating her daughter, husband and ex son-in law (Prediction: her son is next when he losses the money for buying followers :). Her desire to ship her daughter to the US. She is totally uninterested in what were her daughter struggles abroad were. Never saw her express regret. Never saw her say "biane". And I could go on had I paid more attention. Arranging a room is not remotely enough. Yes she is the "villain" in this drama and my hope for a redemption arc for her is postponed. Let hope is not indefinitely.

Yes, the bragging behavior is frequent. But that does not make it acceptable. I would expect the screenwriter to have one of the other mothers qualify the behavior other than rolling their eyes. Because it also insulting to the mothers who do not have daughters/sons with successes acceptable for bragging (although having a daughter who works as an emergency medical technician is as noble and worthy of bragging as any other profession: cleaner or lawyer for example). I would expect those who comment here to be more bothered.

Let's take this as a test for her evilness: let's see if her own daughter told her about her cancer. Because if the FL did not tell her means the scars she inflicted on her own daughter were very bad - stomach cancer is one of the worst types of cancer and not telling your mother about it is really bad. Maybe there is the seed for a redemption arc.
If we look as narcissism on a spectrum she does exhibit elements of vulnerable narcissism ("People with this behavior are much more sensitive. Narcissistic behavior helps to protect them against feeling inadequate. Even though they go between feeling inferior and superior to others, they feel offended or anxious when others don’t treat them as if they’re special" - yes, I googled this).

Let's do a small recap
-she beats her daughter for no good reason
-she beats her husband, who is clearly struggling and needs support
-she beats her daughter's ex before it is clear if he is at fault. At least she fed him before.

And this is not the worst. Some viewers take it as good comedy. Nobody in the movie condemns clearly her beating behavior.

Let's be clear: hurting somebody is not funny. Beating family members is not loving behavior. This drama does not make it clear that this type of behavior is not remotely acceptable.

[start]My bet for the next to get a beating is the son. Then the ML. [end of sarcasm]

Please hit me with some comprehensive analysis on why did the FL broke up with her fiancé because I am totally lost. Who is to blame? Please base it on their dialogue.

I will surely rewatch MM many times. I just galloped through it now because I enjoyed it so much.

When I checked what other dramas were written by Park Hae Young and found 2 others that I highly enjoyed I realized that I was focusing too much on actors when picking new dramas. So I immediately made a new folder named Screenwriter - to pick dramas based on scripts. And I will sure check her other works.

Noted - I added Fingersmith to my library's waiting list.

Lets have a discussion about Doctor Slump sometimes at that drama's forum. My angle there is more about the educational value for Korea especially and I did not dwell that much on artistic value.

Totally agree. But I doubt it will happen. The show improved in ep 5-6, but by now my expectations are lower.

Since I cannot send you a direct message and cannot comment on your profile page, I want to thank you here for giving me the necessary nudge to watch "My Mister". It shot directly to no 1 in my list of over 125 kdramas. What a gem! It was for a long time on my plan to watch list but all the summaries that I read were so far from the subject of the drama.

Please continue with your pertinent and balanced comments. We do disagree in some aspects, but you did recommend My Mister. Life is good.

Could you please elaborate. Did you hear that expression in real life? When would a Korean use it? In what other context, other than human relations? In Korea do you attain enlightenment by going to a Buddhist temple for example?

I have a question for somebody who understands the original dialogue in Korean. In ep 4 in the hotel "steamy" scene, the FL says something that is translated in 2 different ways on Amazon Prime. In the CC translation it is "as someone who has been around the block", while in regular translation appears as "as somebody who has found enlightenment". The second translation is incomparably much funnier. But actually what does she say in Korean? How funny is it in Korean? What are the references and innuendoes in Korean? Thank you for "enlightening" the rest of us :)