IM SO SORRY I LITERALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT😭😭
spoiler warning for latest chapters
Anyhow, the recent arcs have been very very good! I’ll take some time later to write properly about them, but I find it neat that in episode 159, we get confirmation that Bari is queer. Hes always been very queer coded but 159 just confirms it imo, like sure they don’t say outright but I don’t really see how it can be denied that he’s queer. I’ve already talked abt this but HTBAD has such great lgbtq representation, HTBAD does a great job of depicting all kinds of relationships (queer ones , platonic ones, platonic ones familial etc) it’s such a good series Eon’s writing is the best .
HTBAD being a series about love and second chances is what makes it so beautiful, the fact it can show the range of feelings people can have and how second chances aren’t a bad thing are so<333
HTBAD also just does a Great Job of writing toxic characters too, like they’re bad people but the fact that they’re complex makes them all seem very realistic. Especially for Yeongno, the fact we the readers see him spiral into the worst version of himself in real time is why it makes what happens all the more impactful. I think it should be noted that Yeongno DID have the chance to change, but because of the type of person he is he didn’t change for the better. He knows he sucks and doesn’t really try to better himself, but he tries to do good things which end up backfiring horribly because he has good intentions but awful really bad execution. He really should just leave Sunju alone, while it’s okay to want to make amends, hes way too hasty and forceful about it and won’t give her space which is really creepy too . I strayed a bit from the OG topic but Yeongno is a Great example of anti character development.
Yeongno in General is Just interesting , hes very regretful of his actions but he doesn’t really know how to have a healthy output for his feelings so he bottles them up. The fact that he’s a liar is what ultimately leads to things crumbling apart for him, if he had told the truth a bit earlier to Sunju in its full things would’ve turned out much different than they did . Although Yeongno isn’t totally irredeemable, the pain he has caused Sunju is unforgivable and at the very least should respect her wishes
In regards to Yeongno’s friendship with Bari, based on the way Yeongno treats Bari he seems to have a soft spot for him. Yeongno doesn’t really lie to Bari or try to deceive him (at least early series 💀), and seems to genuinely care about him (early series). Yeongno is Even depicted to be a little envious of Bari because he knows Bari is so different from him, Yeongno knows Bari has what he doesn’t , pure kindness , Yeongno wants to be like Bari, at least a little bit, but doesn’t really know how to be good like Bari. Goes to show just how much his desperation changed him for the worst .
On the topic of Bari’s friendships , Bari, Yeongno, and Miri all used to be much closer 200 years ago than currently. At least, Miri and Yeongno considered themselves Bari’s friends they did NOT like each other. They just put up with each other for Bari’s sake . It seems they all came together as friends because Bari was friends with the two of them , but 200 years changed both Yeongno and Miri and they ended up drifting apart cause of the time. Early series the trio are quite literally drinking their lives away so it wouldn’t be unfair to suspect they were all just at bad points in their life and that’s why they weren’t as close, but 200 years ago, post Bari’s failed ascension they seemed to get along a little better, this whole post is just rambles so I don’t have time to find the exact episodes but I really like the flashback episodes since they give lots of introspective on the imoogi’s relationship with eachother !
HTBAD is very much a Series that becomes better on the re read. It’s already phenomenal on the first read but once you read again new things start to stand out, and seeing the series in a different perspective makes it feel new. Eon’s planning for HTBAD is SO good if you haven’t already I highly recommend re-reading this series it’s such a good experience
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