I watch a lot of Kdramas and Cdramas and have a lot of opinions on what I think happens. I find it fun trying to answer some of the unknowns of these dramas and using any evidence I can find to uncover these mysteries.
~ Given that before, when Kang Cheol jumped off the bridge we were told that the comic doesn’t progress when it shows “the end”, but simply freezes at that point, it doesn’t make a lot of sense at the end that the story continues.
~ If everything associated with the manhwa world disappeared from reality when the manhwa finished, how come Cheol didn’t and was still able to return to the real world. In the same sense, when Yeon Joo woke up in the hospital after collapsing at the bus stop she was with Cheol and both of them had their wedding rings on. When Yeon Joo was in the emergency room directly after leaving Cheol we could see that her wedding ring disappeared, like the copy of the tablet, so how did they get them back if everything from the Manhwa world ceased to exist.
~ Considering that Oh Seong Moo and Ha Sang Hoon were different characters with different roles in the plot, why did Han Cheol Ho’s death lead to Seong Moo’s disappearance. In the episode previously it is shown that Seong Moo killed a nurse at the hospital he was admitted to in order to escape. If Seong Moo’s role really was as a villain (which is suggested) wouldn’t he be prevented of disappearing as he was still completing his role? I know he had a big part to play in Han Cheol Ho’s death (a fellow villain) but if anything he was still completing the role he accidentally gave himself.
~ If the manhwa ended and the tablet disappeared, where was the bridge that allowed Cheol to re-enter the real world. My understanding was that even though they could go through at will, it was still the tablet controlling their movement through the worlds, so how did Cheol get back?
~ If the manhwa did continue after “the end”, by Cheol leaving for the real world for good, would that not cause all of the characters like Do Yoon to simply not exist again? Any character with a specific role around Cheol would potentially cease to exist anyway once
~ How would convincing So Hui that Cheol was dead have enough of an impact to save her from disappearing? Considering at the time Cheol was still disappearing from rejecting the main character role, which was still a role in the manhwa. In that case, if the main character role still existed So Hui’s role still did too, so how did it save her?
~ If the original tablet was destroyed before Cheol came to the real world for the first time, how did they continuously use it throughout the series? Seong Moo destroyed it with a fire hydrant before, I’d argue to the extent that it was broken when the faceless version broke it before, yet while he could use the first one, the tablet broken with the hammer was completely unusable again
~ How come Cheol is the only character that is instantly stuck going to the real world when he has the moment of self-realisation. Do Yoon knew parts of it, and Cheol Ho found out a big part of it, yet neither of them were transported.
~ Why did the presence of the true culprit lead to the change from “the end” to “to be continued”. Considering the true culprit was in the real world at the time and Cheol had already been transported to the manhwa world again, why did his presence have such a big impact?
~ I’m quite confused as to how Soo Bong didn’t get more involved with the manhwa stuff. I understand that he wasn’t taken originally but considering he had such a main part with both Yeon Joo, Seong Moo, Kang Cheol and the situation as a whole, it would make sense for Soo Beom to also be involved.
In W, variables are mentioned a lot, as variables seem to be what keeps changing the plans of the main characters and steering their course. I will talk about a couple of the variables that we come across that exist in the laws of being of the manhwa world. They don’t really talk about specific variable but I’ll try to pick some out.
SPOILERS FOR CONTEXT AHEAD
Character Positions
One of the main variables that I’ve gone into details about in the past is the dynamic about the characters and their positions and roles in the manhwa. For example, Kang Cheol’s role is as the main character of the manhwa, with Do Yoon and So Hui as side characters. This is a big variable that is explored in some detail. Keeping to the role of the character is important, as if they deviate from what they are predetermined to do, they begin to disappear until they completely cease to exist. Some important times where this comes into play include when So Hui nearly disappeared and when Yeon Joo gained a role, so was able to be hurt in the Manhwa world, which eventually got her killed
Ability to Travel Between Worlds
This is one variable that wasn’t really discussed that much but is discussed. The characters ability to travel between the realities (and how it works) seems to change a lot and isn’t the most clear. From the beginning we know that Kang Cheol can summon Yeon Joo to the manhwa world through thinking about her sincerely (or at least that’s the impression I got) after he pulled her in the first time through the tablet. We then see that once the characters gain awareness of the situation, they can cross to the real world
Later it seems that the characters can summon each other between worlds. For example, Cheol accidentally summoned So Hui into the real world and also accidentally summoned Sang Hoon, who then killed Yeon Joo. It suggests that the characters can summon each other in and out of the manhwa by free will alone. They also have the ability to summon themselves in and out, which Kang Cheol does frequently when he can.
Identity of the True Culprit
I believe this was a pretty big variable within W, as it changed the dynamic of the culprit and how he commits his crimes. He completely changed from simply a faceless character who other than randomly showing up to kill Cheol and attempting to shoot Yeon Joo, didn’t really appear that much, to a faced maniac who is constantly around trying to intimidate them and kill them at every opportunity. I see his identity as a big variable, as it completely changed his method of attack on the main characters
By character positions I am referencing the roles of characters within a comic book scenario. For example I’ll be talking about the main character roles along with side character roles and background/extra roles. Each have their own job and function within the manhwa world. I’m only counting those that class as characters within the manhwa, therefore characters like Soo Bong I’m missing out of this, as he never went into that Manhwa world. I’ll give a few brief summaries below:
Main character: The focus of the story. The characters that the whole plot circles around. They also typically have a role that they must fulfil, whether its stopping the villain, a certain task or even part of a romance with another main character. e.g. Kang Cheol and (eventually) Yeon Joo
Villain: The main antagonist of the plot, usually with an evil aim of some kind and a hatred of at least one of the main character. e.g. Han Cheol Ho and Ha Sang Hoon (Oh Seong Moo)
Side character: The people that help the main character, whether they’re friends, colleagues or any other people who circle around the plot as the main character creates it.
Background/extra character: A character who is entirely insignificant to the story and their only function is to add extra business to scenes
Kang Cheol
Since the start Kang Cheol has been the obvious main character of the manhwa. As the main character his role was to find out who the true culprit was and catch him. His role never really deviated, although when he went against his predetermined fate, he started to disappear, as he was not following the plot and was therefore becoming irrelevant to it. He doesn’t follow the predetermined fate when he escapes getting arrested initially and then also when he manages to break back out into the real world, as he should have stayed and dealt whatever consequences he was given in order to go with the planned scenarios, hence starting to disappear until Han Cheol Ho was killed.
Oh Yeon Joo
I think Yeon Joo’s character position has changed numerous times throughout the series. When she saved Cheol, I believe that she fit nicely into the category as side character, though because she wasn’t consistently involved with Cheol, she was more of a background character who has managed to get involved with the main character. In a way, I think that to begin with, until we got the first sign of Cheol having feelings for her in episode 4 (like when he said if she told him she loved him one more time he’d be touched), she wasn’t really a character at all, but still sat within the frame of side character. In this time, this makes Yeon Joo not dying from being shot in the heart make a lot of sense. I believe she became a character at that point and when she started getting close to Cheol (after all the embarrassing incidents), she went from a simple side character to the main female lead character. She was with him throughout the time he was in the real world and even saved him again, right by his side when she could be. This change to a main character also makes sense to the fact that once she’s out of prison and living with Cheol, she is able to be injured, cutting herself as she cooks, and terrifying Cheol, who had already been threatened of her death, like his family previously.
I then think she stayed as a main character until Cheol made her turn everything into a dream. At that point, she was erased as a character and when she returned, she was simply a background character, just a character to happened to be in the same place as Cheol. That was the case until he caught her in So Hui’s apartment trying to get food and then happened to be the person with him escaping from the police after he was set up by Sang Hoon. I think somewhere they she automatically became a main character, whether it was being his accomplice, saving him again or the kiss that sent her back. Either way, I think once she came back to the manhwa world and spent more time with Cheol, she was already a main character as part of a romance with him, who was also determined to fix mistakes from the past that hurt Yeon Joo a lot. At this point, I think that she continued as main character for the rest of the series, the plot being influenced by both her actions and Cheol’s.
I also think that because of her being both real and a character, I think that is why her character position changes so easily both increasing and decreasing in prominence without her starting to disappear.
The True Culprit / Ha Sang Hoon
This may seem like a very obvious one, but the true culprit throughout the whole series has been a villain character. He has a predetermined function of killing all of Kang Cheol’s family, including Yeon Joo when he marries her. He also has a clear hatred for Cheol, planning to kill him numerous times but always having variables get in his way. That then extended to Yeon Joo when she became the main, who he eventually killed after a failed attempt in the real world.
Oh Seong Moo
Oh Seong Moo is definitely an odd case, like Yeon Joo. When he originally comes into the manhwa world, he is a background character, who just happens to try and kill Cheol while he has the opportunity. I think a background character is how he stays for a lot of the series, until he gives the true culprit his face. At this point, Seong Moo became the villain. When he gave his face to Sang Hoon, I believe that they became the same person in a way that Sang Hoon was Seong Moo’s manhwa self. Even the way that Seong Moo describes Sang Hoon is true to himself, especially at the end where because of shooting Yeon Joo, he definitely becomes paranoid, very unpredictable and extremely unstable mentally. He turns from a background character to a villain in an instant, and that’s how he stayed until his end. I think this also explains why although like Yeon Joo he came from the real world, he is still able to disappear when he seemingly acts different to the role he was presented with, when he plans to kill Han Cheol Ho and helps Kang Cheol to get a happy ending.
Han Cheol Ho
Han Cheol Ho is another relatively simple one. At the beginning he seemed to be a simple side character who was in charge of Kang Cheol’s case as prosecutor. After getting backlash from it which could affect his chances in the election, he becomes a villain, with the original aim of doing anything to take down Kang Cheol and get him charged for killing his family. I believe the aim then changed to killing him when Cheol got too much in the way and he was intrigued to find his creator. Either way, throughout most of the series where we see him, Han Cheol Ho is definitely a villain character.
Seo Do Yoon
Do Yoon has remained as a side character for the whole of the series, with his main function being as Cheol’s best friend and bodyguard. He even completed his role when Cheol was on the run, which I believe is why he never had problems with disappearing as Cheol did. His role with Cheol never changed, whether he was free or on the run.
Yoon So Hui
So Hui is another interesting case when it comes to character profiles and roles. She is initially presented as a main side character for Cheol, like Do Yoon, as his secretary and close friend, even potential love interest. When she sets Yeon Joo up to be arrested, Cheol finds out and fires her for creating a victim, like he’d been made a victim in his past, and they also stop communicating like they did. In this case, So Hui was stopped from taking on her predetermined fate and therefore started to disappear. She was always meant to take a role by her side but Yeon Joo took over that place, almost deleting So Hui from existence before they changed to the dream scenario.
It’s also interesting that after Cheol went on the run, they managed to manipulate her role so that she wouldn’t disappear again. By making So Hui sure that Cheol was dead, her position as secretary wasn’t necessary and therefore she was no longer tied to that specific role as side character, so she became a background character who just happened to be friends with Kang Cheol
In Depth Cdrama Review: Love Unexpected 2022 (Spoilers)
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy
Starring: Gong Wan Yi (Lu Fan Fan), Yang Ting Dong (Liu Ruo Chen), Li Pei Yang (Gao Ru Wen)
Gong Wan Yi as Lu Fan Fan
Fan Fan is a very interesting character. Clearly a lot has gone on in her life but seemed to take it in her stride. She’s entirely caring and wants the best for everyone, which is very clear. Once again, Gong Wan Yi has done an excellent job
Yang Ting Dong as Liu Ruo Chen
I love Ruo Chen, he’s such a charming individual and definitely got some character. It’s very cool seeing him progress as a person from someone who is seemingly very reserved and shy but confident to the extremely confident, outgoing lawyer who gets his work done as he needs. It’s great to see that change and the true character development within the series. He always shows his true feelings and would clearly do anything for the love of his life. I have a lot of respect for the character and Yang Ting Dong did an excellent job portraying him
Li Pei Yang as Gao Ru Wen
I love Gao Ru Wen a lot. He’s such a fascinating character. At the start, I was fully convinced that he was a good character, even after knowing that he’d previously been in prison for some crime and was after revenge. He seemed so genuine, Li Pei Yang clearly did an amazing job!! He seemed particularly genuine during their first hypnotherapy appointment when she had become particularly overwhelmed. His character generally seemed to be so complex and I love how it lets the story all fit together. I could have strangled him myself in the last episode but a villain is a villain at the end of the day
A Complex Storyline
The whole story follows Lu Fan Fan as a weather phenomenon sends her 12 years back in time, where she meets a younger version of famous lawyer Lui Ruo Chen. The storyline is extremely complex, very interesting though. There seems to be constant danger ahead of them in many ways. The first danger was Yi Xiao’s father, who decided to kidnap Fan Fan and little Xiao Lu as a way of getting Ruo Chen’s money. In this event, Ruo Chen got stabbed in lieu of Fan Fan by Yi Xiao’s father. The next danger wasn’t really one they saw coming. Yi Xiao got into a spot of bother when she ran away from her brother’s company and had a big argument with her friends. One of the girls nearly tripped over and would have died if Fan Fan wasn’t there to push her up and stop her falling. While stopping the girl from dying, Fan Fan whacked her head and it caused her to eventually lose all of her memories. However, the most prominent danger of them all (and the most important I think) is Gao Ru Wen, who has numerous attempts at killing her and Ruo Chen, some of which are semi-successful. There are obviously many other things that occur as well but those are the main big events
Theories
I will make a separate post about the theories and link it below as I have many of them and they are all quite long and very detailed
A Frustrating Ending
I cannot accept the end to this drama, I just can’t understand it. What doesn’t help is that there is a large number of plot holes that in months of trying to find a way of piecing the plot together in a way that makes sense, I’ve just been met at dead ends. I generally hate dream/coma endings for many reasons including:
1. Plot holes can just be thrown away as a misunderstanding, as they never happened in the first place therefore it feels like a get-out clause for stuff not making sense
2. You don’t definitely know what did or did not happen. For this drama, I have 4 or 5 different theories, each of them depends on when this coma began
3. It feels like a waste of time if you’ve watched a full series and everything that happened may have been false
4. Just the fact that there are no clear answers to so many questions we have about what happened in the series
Favourite Lines
~ Lui Ruo Chen (2012) Episode 19 - “yes sir” - it was just way too cute and as a kpop stan, reminds me of a million songs at once. Just the cuteness completely makes me smile
~ Lui Ruo Chen (2012) Episode 20 - “Xiao Pi brother. I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. How do you do it? How do you do nothing but make Fan Fan so happy?” - Ruo Chen’s interactions with Pikachu were just absolutely adorable. So so sweet
~ Uncle Lu (2012) Episode 17? - “don’t try to deny it, it’s written all over your face” - just the way he says it given the situation makes me burst out laughing
~ Qin Yang (2012) Episode 20 - “when you like someone you don’t necessarily say it, as long as I see her happy that’s good enough” - Qin Yang being sweet but it made me feel so sad, as it was the love triangle we didn’t really know a lot about, and he accepted that they were not fated that way. It was incredibly sweet to see
~ Gao Ru Wen (2024) Episode 20 - “my body is deteriorating” - this is only a favourite line because it meant Gao Ru Wen was dying. Having an evil character suffer will always be good. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he cut down on the red wine.
Slight Disappointments
the only thing that disappointed me about this series was the number of plot holes and a story that generally doesn't fit together in a timeline that makes sense
Starring: Lee Jong-Suk (Kang Cheol), Han Hyo-Joo (Oh Yeon Joo), Kim Eui-Sung (Han Sang Hoon), Lee Si-Eon (Park Soo Bong)
Lee Jong-Suk as Kang Cheol
Lee Jong-Suk did a great job as expected!! My opinion of the character is incredibly hit and miss. I definitely went through many phases of hating him, and the decisions he made, as well as plenty of phases of liking him, and those of thinking he is just as crazy as Yeon Joo at times.
One thing I thought was really good about the acting is that Jong-Suk really showed the development of Cheol through the series. For example, you can clearly see that Cheol before and after the dream scenario are like 2 completely different characters in some ways. Then again, the Cheols before and after the dream scenario are in very different circumstances. For example, the ‘manhwa Kang Cheol’ (as he refers to it later) seems very relaxed to the point where Yeon Joo has to really try hard (and do some very bizarre things) to get back to her own world. He was caring for Yeon Joo, but as soon as things started going wrong, he instantly decided to give up on it all. He seemed very quick to act, maybe too quick at times and didn’t always think about it.
The Kang Cheol after the dream scenario seemed different in his own ways. When he got to know her after the shooting incident he never forgot her and worried about trying to find her for two months (manhwa time). When he did eventually find her, he made sure she was comfortable, even if he wasn’t in the best position to be able to do so. He also made lots of better decisions, being all-around considerate. For example, he made sure that they didn’t bring back the dream scenario, that could leave Yeon Joo hurt again, and his decision to take a dying Yeon Joo to the Manhwa world where she could eventually be saved after near death to the torture Han Cheol Ho had inflicted upon him.
He definitely showed both sides of Kang Cheol really well and showed him off to be a very strong, independent character who managed to bump into his fate.
Han Hyo-Joo as Oh Yeon Joo
I think Han Hyo-Joo did a great job portraying Yeon Joo. She is definitely portrayed as a very chaotic character, who at the same time always wants the best for the people around her. In the beginning, it is extremely confusing though her logic is sound. Going from a slap to a kiss to get her out of the Manhwa was absolutely psychotic and still difficult to watch, but considering the situation, it makes plenty of sense. All the way through she seems very naive and definitely out of the ordinary.
There are some moments that make me lose full hope in Yeon Joo. For example, when she was talking about making a happy sequel with Cheol, even though his feeling weren’t taken into any kind of consideration, and then was disappointed when it didn’t go to plan. Also all the embarrassing things at the start, telling Kang Cheol about her knowing everything, although to be fair she was highly drugged up at that point, so probably couldn’t really help it. The fact that she couldn’t recall it also suggests it was more the drug than anything else.
The Manhwa World
I find the whole two-world thing very interesting too. I find it interesting that there are two completely separate but near identical worlds that each has its own rules of existence and complications. The only main difference really is that the Manhwa world can be manipulated with Seong Moo’s tablet. It’s interesting how there can be a bridge between the worlds in the form of the tablet and what implications it brought for the general plot.
Kang Cheol’s Tragic Past
I love a good tragic backstory and this drama brings no exception. Cheol grew up happily with his parents and 2 siblings. He won the gold in shooting at the Olympics with his father by his side. Shortly after, Cheol came home to find that every member of his family had been slain with bullets through the head. He spent the next 10 years attempting to find the killer, during which time he was convicted of the crime and spent time in prison because of it. Han Cheol Ho was the prosecutor on his case, who originally tried to sentence him to death before he managed to appeal it, arguing that Cheol’s social influence meant that they should give him a stricter sentence for what was a horrific crime.
Han Sang Hoon and The True Culprit
The true culprit had been created by Sang Hoon to stalk Cheol for years, with his soul purpose being killing off Cheol’s family. He was initially a faceless being with no true identity and only a set job however, it was eventually decided that in order to give Kang Cheol a happy ending, the true culprit needed a face, one that he could easily identify as a possible mastermind behind the killing. Sang Hoon decided to give the true culprit his own face, as he had been on the roof with Cheol and even stabbed him after the true culprit had knocked him down. That was a plot twist I definitely didn’t see coming but in the end it all made so much sense given the situation.
After giving his face to the true culprit, the true culprit got his own back on Sang Hoon and took away his face, placing him under his complete control like a minion that he used to manipulate the Manhwa, allowing him to continue his crimes and create fabricated evidence to create evidence to convict Cheol with multiple charges, and even get him condemned to death. At first I hated this twist, partially because it turned to horror late at night 😂. After watching it fully, I do think it was very interesting, especially leading to the point where Yeon Joo was kidnapped and eventually killed by essentially her own father. It was one plot twist I definitely did not expect but made the story so much more interesting.
Han Cheol Ho
I think Cheol Ho is a very intriguing character, who we only really get to know properly in the later half of the series. Park Won-Sang definitely portrays him very well as a kind of powerful (in terms of influence) and intelligent mastermind. He was the prosecutor who attempted to indict Cheol with murdering his parents, as he could find no one at fault. When it was decided that Cheol didn’t do it, he vowed to stop him and eventually decides to kill him. Han Cheol Ho was running in the presidential election at the time and saw his failure in handling Kang Cheol’s case as something that could negatively impact his election chances, along with all of the pieces of evidence Cheol was building up for him to be investigated. By this, I’m referencing what he wrote in his fake will for both Cheol Ho and the real culprit to be investigated.
I think the actor did a great job at making me hate his character. He is definitely that kind of hidden evil influence. His character is very interesting, willing to use his henchmen and even torture to get information out of others.
Near Deaths
A lot of characters seem to have either died or almost died in this series due to many reasons, both planned and not. I think each of these added an interesting spin, though others feel just completely tragic, even if it is resolved in the end.
~ Kang Cheol has nearly died countless times. Initially, there was the knife, which Yeon Joo saved him from, then the near poisoning. Then comes the times he tried to commit suicide but either stopped himself or was rescued. There was also the shooting as he ran away from the police, and that done by Han Cheol Ho, from which he was saved by Yeon Joo and Do Yoon respectively
~ Yeon Joo also had her fair share of near deaths. I’d count her initially getting shot as a near death, as she would have died if she wasn’t in that Manhwa world. I also count her possible being shot in the head as near death, as it would have been a true possibility if Cheol couldn’t keep the true culprit at bay. The ony real near death she experience properly wasn’t even near death really because she did die. The true culprit had shot her in the back, sending her back to the real world in a brain-dead state. Cheol found her in the hospital, was given the news and decided to take her back to the Manhwa world for further treatment (knowing that there she could be saved) where she stayed for a week before dying of her injury. Cheol managed to locate the tablet and get her father to save her
~Yeon Joo’s father had a very close call with death after being shot by Kang Cheol when he came back to the real world. He had wound Cheol up a lot, telling him that he was a completely predetermined being and wound him up to the point where he shot him, nearly killing him
Favourite Parts
~ The ending. I had spoiled it for myself so I knew what to prepare myself for. To be fair, I do this with all dramas, but the ending certainly didn’t disappoint, even if I knew what would happen!
~ Cheol pulling his car up to meet Yeon Joo when she had gone back, worrying about his condition after he was shot by the police officer
~ When Cheol tries to make Yeon Joo happy once their relationship started up again
~ Han Cheol Ho turning the gun on himself to give all of them the happy ending they deserved.
~ Every part with Soo Bong. His character is just absolutely the best of them all. He is just incredibly funny, and so down to earth with everything.
Slight Disappointments
~ The whole beginning of the drama was extremely heavy on extremely embarrassing events, so much so that I personally struggle to watch it. It gets much better after the initial 3 episodes in this regard. If you find second-hand embarrassment a problem, the beginning episodes aren’t much fun. I understand the extreme occurrences are done purposely so she has a way of ending the episodes but damn are they extreme
~ The amount of plot twists in itself is extreme in my opinion. I understand the importance of plot twists for the purposes of making the whole thing more interesting but I would argue there is a limit, and the amount of twists is extreme, from the kisses and confessions literally out of nowhere to the disappearing limbs to the decision to make it a dream out of nowhere to the random shooting to the set up to the no face cartoonist to Yeon Joo being vulnerable out of nowhere to her death to her being set up by secretary Yoon. Nearly every episode there’s a huge twist, which makes it so much more complicated every time. I think in the case of W, they also start making the series slow down considerably. The first time I tried to watch it I only got to episode 11 as the series was going so slow that I had no interest in finishing it.
~ I count this one as personal to my opinions of dramas generally. When character lose their memories, I feel like it makes at least part of the plot completely die. There aren’t many dramas that do it well either. It kind of feels like a huge waste of time, even if, like in this case, small sections also appear later on.
~ This is me being picked but I think it would have been nice at the end of the last episode to actually see Cheol and Yeon Joo get married properly. In the real world, they wouldn’t have been officially married (only in the Manhwa world) so it would have been nice to see them make it official as their relationship progresses more and they could date properly without the stresses the Manhwa brought along.
In Depth Kdrama Review and Recap: While You Were Sleeping (Spoilers)
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Thriller, Fantasy, Legal
Starring: Bae Suzy (Nam Hong Joo), Lee Jong-Suk (Jeong Jae Chan), Jung Hae-In (Han Woo Tak), Lee Sang-Yeob (Lee Yoo-Beom)
This is a masterpiece in my eyes. I love the plot, all of it. I think all of the events fit together perfectly, and there’s not one point that doesn’t make sense in the whole drama. Its hilarious seeing Hong Joo and Jae Chan’s relationship initially, with Hong Joo absolutely convinced that Jae Chan is in love with her from the beginning, which confuses and frustrates him a lot when she talks to him about it initially. It is one of few romantic comedies that are truly comedic, and its one of those dramas that you can have a good laugh watching.
Bae Suzy As Nam Hong Joo
Suzy did such an amazing job as Hong Joo. She really does represent Suzy as a very intelligent character that has her weird side (especially at the beginning) but at the same time has many charms about her. It’s great to see the progression of her character, from a very strange individual who everyone sees as crazy, to a slightly less crazy and a lot more normal. After the initial craziness with Jae Chan, she definitely started acting more human, which could partially be because she finally has someone that understands her, so feels less of an outcast. Again, Suzy does such a great job in displaying how Hong Joo develops into the confident, content woman she finishes as, who never loses her charm. She shows all of her human side, especially in difficult times, like when Jae Chan gets injured and when her testimony in the court case is completely discounted. I think this is a great thing because there are certain dramas that do this poorly, but Suzy does it perfectly, all actors do in fact.
Lee Jong- Suk As Jeong Jae Chan
Lee Jong-Suk also did an excellent job. His acting in general is incredible! I’ve seen him in quite a few dramas now he really pulls off a great performance each time. Jae Chan is such an interesting character. He is very serious about the stuff that he does, but still has a heart, though he seems to hide it a lot. When his heart does come out (to Hong Joo) its incredibly sweet, and shows his personal development. He is really shown to be a strong and collected individual, which is only changed when he’s in the most dire of situations, like when Hong Joo was seriously ill from the poison and also the incident with investigator Choi (Kim Won-Hae). Jong-Suk shows off Jae Chan’s human side very well, which I love. The acting is just impeccable around the board.
Cases Dealt With By Jae Chan
Jae Chan deals with a number of very interesting cases. I think they are all well planned out, have a great amount of detail within them, and also love how they show the true fight to get the true verdict heard. The first case was one about a domestic abuse case of defendant Park Joon Mo (Um Hyo-Soop). I think this was a great starting case, as it opened up many places for relationships to open up between different characters. For example, having So Hoon being good friends with Seung Won (and therefore getting Jae Chan involved in more ways than one) was a great way to add twists to the storyline. His second case was the case of the cat serial killer who killed his brother and tried to disguise it as a car accident for insurance money. The third case was the case of the ex-Olympian who mysteriously died. I like this case for a few reasons. When they got to the ending point of the case, they started getting suspicious about Yoo Beom (always a positive). It also led to some great character development, a lot for both male leads. The fourth case he had to deal with was that of a teacher and author who killed one of his students who tried to expose him for using them as near slaves. That was also a very interesting case, as it really showed the shear lengths that Yoo Beom is prepared to go to, but also the determination Jae Chan has for getting the job done right and the true culprit caught, even to the point of putting on a baby voice to make a kid feel comfortable and confess
The last case is by far the most complex. Initially there were investigations over someone who stole phones to make a living. They caught the guy selling one of the phones back for 10 million and caught both him and the guy buying the phone, knowing there could be suspicious stuff on it to need to pay so much to get it back. On the memory card of the phone retrieved by the guy that stole them were the pictures of the victims of the IV serial killer and more victims that died after the falsely accused killer got sent to jail. Hong Joo and Jae Chan then got caught up in an arson attack in the bunker house of the guy buying the phone back and were then trying to find the true IV serial killer. Most of their questions were answered when she very nearly killed Hong Joo, and then was pushed to her death by Yoo Beom but Jae Chan had to fight to get him indicted of his crimes
Love Triangle
There is a definite love triangle in this drama, though it does seem to be pretty subtle most of the time. Nonetheless a triangle does exist between Hong Joo, Jae Chan and Woo Tak. It’s definitely more subtle though, as Woo Tak hides his feelings for Hong Joo, knowing that she’s already very happy with Jae Chan and as they’re all good friends, wouldn’t want to get in the way. He never outwardly says this, only that Hong Joo is the person he likes in the ending scene of episode 15
Injuries and different outcomes
I actually think they did something really clever with these different injuries, whether that was intentional or not In the show a number of people get hurt for different reasons but the main ones I’m referencing is the chopstick incident with Hong Joo and So Hoon (Kim So-Hyeon), Woo Tak getting stabbed by Kang Dae Hee (Kang Ki-Young), Jae Chan getting shot by Yoo Man Ho (Jeon Gook-Hwan) and Hong Joo being poisoned by Ha Joo An (Lee Eun-Woo).
The reason I think they’ve done something clever here, is that they’ve almost portrayed the different kind of future changes that can occur. In the chopstick incident, Woo Tak dreams that after her mum got essentially threatened by Yoo Beom, So Hoon attempted to stab herself in the hand with a chopstick (in the restaurant) so she wouldn’t be able to continue piano and her mum wouldn’t have to worry about money. In that dream, Hong Joo saw what So Hoon was up to and put her hand in the way, getting stabbed herself and ending up in a bloody mess on the floor. By bringing Jae Chan to the restaurant instead of his colleague, Woo Tak managed to completely change what happened within his dream, so instead the situation ran smoothly and nobody was hurt. In this situation, the scenario of the dream completely changed for the better, as instead of a scenario where Hong Joo got badly hurt, the situation was resolved
In the incident with Woo Tak, Jae Chan had a dream about Hong Joo and Kang Cho Hee (Kim Da-Ye) being in danger from Kang Dae Hee on the roof of a water tower building, about to be attacked for what they know about him murdering his younger brother. Knowing this, when Jae Chan bumps into Woo Tak in the morning, he asks him to make sure that at the time Hong Joo had said in the dream that she wasn’t alone, thinking that if Woo Tak was with her, the whole thing could be prevented. Instead, it led to Woo Tak getting stabbed, allowing Cho Hee to escape with Hong Joo. They were hiding but found by Dae Hee, who swung to hit them before being startled by Jae Chan. In this case, the dream itself didn’t change (as the blood dreamt on Dae Hee’s hands makes sense to be Woo Tak’s, but he may not have known that before) but he managed to affect the outcome, so the girls didn’t get hurt. So in this case, the dream didn’t change, but the outcome got better, as Cho Hee and Hong Joo weren’t attacked as he got there just in time.
In the incident with Jae Chan, Yoo Man Ho was feeling angry at the prosecuting team (specifically Jae Chan) for releasing Do Hak Young (Baek Seong-Hyeon) of the crime of killing his daughter, though he was already proven innocent of that crime. Man Ho then proceeded to shoot Jae Chan as he waited to cross the road to meet Hong Joo in a revenge filled fury (after Yoo Beom had given him pictures of Hak Young with Woo Tak and Woo Tak with Jae Chan to make him suspicious that there was an agenda behind releasing him). In this situation, Jae Chan came moments away from death before reviving, which completely devastated Hong Joo. In a previous dream she saw him crossing to her completely safely without any incidents. In this case, it shows a dream changing completely, but ending up with a worse outcome, as it changed from Jae Chan being perfectly fine and healthy to him almost losing his life after being shot.
In the incident with Hong Joo, a long time dream of Hong Joo’s nearly came true. This was a dream that she’d dreaded for over a year and even disappeared from her job to prevent that dream evening before coming back with the hope that if it were to happen, Jae Chan and Woo Tak would be able to save her. She had originally dreamt that on the day, she would be lying in a grassy area surrounded by trees dying quietly in the pouring rain. 15 minutes before it happens, Jae Chan wakes from dreaming about it and calls Woo Tak, so they can all make their way there to save her. Yoo Beom proceeded to add a tablet to Hong Joo’s coffee and once she was knocked out, he proceeded to take her up to the roof of the law building he worked at and left her in a wooded area, on the grass. Ha Joo An then proceeded to inject her with a paralysing poison before leaving her to die. She then got rescued by Woo Tak and Jae Chan took over once she’d got to the hospital, giving her rescue breaths to help her paralysed lungs. In this case, it shows a dream that didn’t really change but the outcome was a lot better than it would have been. Before, Hong Joo would have definitely died on the roof of the law firm but since the change this time, although the dream itself didn’t change, Hong Joo’s life was saved and although there was no change from the dream to really, the outcome was significantly better.
The reason I think that these have been done in a clever way is the fact that all of the cases are different, whether the dream or the outcome has changed is unique in each case. It definitely reminds me of the conversation Jae Chan and Hong Joo had in the very first episode after the car accident while they were in the hospital. In that episode they were discussing what direction the dreams that they have could go if they try and change them. The way that these incidents have occurred (and how they’re all different in their ways) to me are like representations of each of the directions that the path has steered off to. They originally described it as water flowing in other directions and I see it as they’re representing all the different directions it can flow in.
Hatred for Lee Yoo Beom
I don’t think I will ever be able to describe my true feelings in this case. At the very start, it just seems like he is a kind individual, who was dating Hong Joo and wanted to take her on a nice Valentines date and protect her if anything was to happen. That very quickly turns around. That was something I definitely did not see coming but as soon as it happened, his true character really came out.
You can see, firstly from the first episode and the pain he would have caused if the car accident had occurred, and from then on it only gets worse. The fact that he’s more than happy to throw people under the bus for himself is just tragic and shows what a sly snake he really is. I didn’t think that Yoo Beom hated Hong Joo enough to tell Ha Joo An (a freaking serial killer!!) that she was suspicious of him sending her fabricated evidence (as she is a reporter for the press). To then aid in what could have been the death of Hong Joo. It’s hard to think that these two individuals were DATING at one point!! I think regardless of whether the accident would have happened or not, Jae Chan really saved Hong Joo from misery if she had stayed with Yoo Beom.
I don’t think there is enough space to list all of the things he’s done for me to see him as a trash person. I think what he did on the final episode was really cruel. He already knew he was in the wrong, knew that he probably wouldn’t get the non-guilty verdict he was hoping for, as there was too much evidence against him but in rage decides to run over and kill his ex-employee and good friend. Forgiveness isn’t something he will ever deserve after that, and he’s once again left us broken and swimming in tears
I’ll try and list some of the trashiest stuff he’s done.
-> although it didn’t really occur, framing Hong Joo for crashing and killing Woo Tak
-> making excuse after excuse to make others think that Jae Chan is discriminative again him because of their history
-> giving Man Ho the photos of both Hak Young with Woo Tak and Woo Tak with Jae Chan
-> aided a serial killer
-> tried to kill Hong Joo
-> killed his ex-employee and old time friend
-> literally everything he has ever done
There’s a couple of things that made me very happy: when the female judge slated him for considering that a female judging panel may mean that the ruling could be unfair, his reaction when he found out that Hong Joo had survived, but also also when he found out that she’d woken up
Tragic backstory
The backstory for this show is truly tragic. A rogue soldier escaped with a rifle and grenades because he was struggling. He went to find his brother Choi Dam Dong, but before his brother could get back to him, he went rogue. The police chief saw him as he was in the shop with his son (Jae Chan). He sent his son away to safety before confronting the soldier and getting shot to death. The soldier then ran away and boarded the bus that Hong Joo was riding (with her father driving). Hong Joo had seen this soldier in her dream previously and warned her father that if they don’t do something, they’ll all die. He tells everyone the bus has broken down and puts Hong Joo in charge of getting everyone away. He eventually tackles the soldier before both of them blow up with the bus. Later, they save Dam Dong from trying to drown in a lake because he felt so guilty about the results of his brothers actions.
The backstory is truly tragic, as a lot of the stories in kdramas are these days. I love how the backstory really plays such a big part in the dynamic of how they do things in the present.
Slight Disappointments
-> I still feel robbed of that original kiss scene, it would have been so cute if it had actually happened like that for their first kiss. Their first kiss was very cute regardless but we were still robbed of the dream version. Their kiss was very awkward, very funny but awkward
-> They were very quiet about the rest of Jae Chan’s backstory. For example, we are introduced to Jae Chan’s mum but other than the memory of him being told off by her after the motorcycle accident and them all mourning at their father’s funeral, we have no idea what the dynamic was around them. We also have no idea what happened to her after the period around the funeral, because all we know is that he has passed away (as Seung Won told his friend), so Jae Chan and Seung Won moved together by themselves. Obviously this is just a guess as we are not given any solid answers.
-> I think it would also be good to know how Hong Joo got her dreams in the first place. They figured out why Jae Chan, Woo Tak, and then Inspector Choi have their visions but no insight in to why Hong Joo was the first
Favourite Scenes
-> church choir scene. The fact that they actually filmed a scene like that. Such a great laugh
-> every time they refer to each other by their nicknames. I like how ‘Youngduk Giant Crab’ is used because of Jae Chan’s long limbs. Very original on Hong Joo’s part. I love it even more when Cho Hee calls him the nickname too. I also think the name dog poopie is immature but still smart on Jae Chan’s part. She really does disappear whenever he looks for her, so the name makes sense. It’s very sweet that they gave each other these nicknames
-> Jae Chan figuring out that Hong Joo is Chestnut. So so sweet. Though this confuses me a little, as supposedly he knew from the very beginning when he first saw her at the bus stop?
-> This scene. Do I even need to explain. The reaction of both Jae Chan and Hong Joo are so funny
-> Hong Joo and Jae Chan being saved by inspector Choi, also inspector Choi looking out for Jae Chan when Hong Joo’s condition was so uncertain. I just thought it was very heartwarming to see the relationship betweent these two at its peak
-> the ending scenes. I just think its so sweet. The scene at prosecutor Lee and prosecutor Son’s is hilarious, she clearly kept aiming for prosecutor Sin but the first time Jae Chan caught it, then Hong Joo did. Definitely sweet, and then to show us the big photo from what was their wedding, very sweet. from then we can assume they live a long and happy life together
Starring: Park Bo-Young (Do Bong Soon), Park Hyung-Sik (Ahn Min Hyeok), Ji-Soo (In Gook Doo)
In my opinion, this drama is an absolute masterpiece. I think it’s the funniest kdrama I’ve seen yet, I’m fully obsessed with it. Honestly had such a laugh watching this, it was incredibly fun to watch. Of all the romantic comedies I’ve seen so far, it was definitely one of few that actually fits properly into that category. I absolutely love the combination of a complicated love story, a tale of someone with a great power and also one of 2 great mysteries that need dealing with. I like the fact that there’s a lot going on; like at the same time, they’re dealing with the complicated romance triangle while finding out who keeps threatening Min Hyeok, while also trying to learn more about the random murder and kidnappings of young women in the area. I love that they represent the different links between each character really well and how the actions of Bong Soon (typically) can change the dynamic between other characters. I think my favourite examples of this is the change from pure jealousy to supportive of Min Hyeok and Gook Doo and the change from Soo Tak wanting the end of Bong Soon and Min Hyeok (through his brothers instruction) to them all being very close (relatively).
Park Bo-Young does such an amazing job as Bong Soon. Bong Soon has her own quirky personality, sticks to her goals but at the same time has the confidence and the drive to help others. Although she has been given the power of strength, she always has the mindset of wanting to do good with them, even if at times she wished that she didn’t have them at all. Bo-Young makes that very clear through the acting of the character. Bong Soon is so cute, when they say small but mighty, with Bong Soon they are not joking. She is not afraid to stand up to what’s right and help out, using her strength for the best. I loved the plot point with the bomb on the top of the AINSoft building, it was quite an interesting way to validate getting her power back, and really showed how through a small space of time, the relationship between her and Min Hyeok had changed so much. It was also one of the events that really showed her human side and this was represented incredibly well.
Park Hyung-Sik also did an incredible job as Min Hyeok. From the very start he was clearly that stereotypical rich young business owner. At first I didn’t understand the whole thing around them telling people that Min Hyeok is gay and not wanting to cause a scandal so he could have almost an excuse to hire her rather than a male body guard who wouldn’t have her level of strength. If they hired her without that kind of excuse, others would get suspicious as to why a female was hired (which in reality was her strength but others wouldn’t know that). He does give out a lot of subtle hints at the beginning about liking her, like some of the smiles, and the time they take together. It gets more and more telling as time progresses that he isn’t really gay. When they do officially get together, it’s very sweet. Hyung-Sik did a very good job portraying the change in Min Hyeok as Bong Soon’s feelings for him grow.
I feel like I need to mention Gristle, I love him so freaking much!! The way he reacts to Bong Soon is always funny, and especially certain time, like ever time she teaches him a lesson (like trapping him with the table and the silverware bracelets) and also hsi reaction after she had lost her powers when he had tried to show her off to Min Hyeok and Secretary Gong was hilarous! His character generally is so cool. I’d only ever seen Kim Won-Hae in ‘While You Were Sleeping’ before in this and gosh my respect is through the roof. I love that he plays both Gristle and Kwang Bok, and think having him play both characters added another level of comedy to the story. Gristle is so dramatic and Kwang Bok is not so far off too. Each way, Won Hae did a spectacular job.
The last episode seems like such a great way to wrap it up. Now that they’d brought an end to the kidnapper and made the streets safe again, they had the space to enjoy their lives together. Min Hyeok managed to bring Bong Soon’s dad home, making it possible for him to propose to Bong Soon and eventually marry her. Their relationship really progressed towards the end of the drama and it was really sweet to see the development. Their wedding is very sweet and its great to see all the characters happy together. Of course Gristle made it 10x as funny. It was sweet to see Bong Soon and Min Hyeok as the couple they were destined to be, and overjoyed to be newlyweds. One of the funniest parts of the series in my opinion, the Buddha smirking at Bong Soon’s Mum’s prayer for Bong Soon to conceive a boy, for her then to give birth to twin girls, who then cause great trouble and pain to everyone who tries to look after them, as they both have the same strength passed down to Bong Soon by her own mother. It was also good to see Bond Soon fully using her powers for good, by constantly helping others, although it would probably be wise for her to take some time out to look after her girls, and it would certainly mean that Min Hyeok would be injured less by his own princesses.
This drama is great for people who like to see a love story unfold but also love an element of mystery, a bunch of action and a bucket load of laughs.
Things That Appear in Most Romance / Romantic Comedy Kdramas
Disclaimer: this will contain spoilers of plot points listed below as I will be using examples from different dramas to back up my statements
Romance / Romantic Comedy: W, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon, Guardian: The Lonely And Great God, While You Were Sleeping, Pinocchio, Love Alarm etc (these are just some I know about)
I will also include parts from Love Unexpected 2022 (a Cdrama) where I think it fits too.
Key of included dramas: W (W), Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (SWDBS), Guardian: The Lonely And Great God (GTLAGG), While You Were Sleeping (WYWS), Pinocchio (P), Love Alarm (LA), Just Between Lovers (JBL), Doom At Your Service (DAYS), Love Unexpected (LU)
SPOILERS AHEAD
1 -> Love triangles (obvious or subtle)
~ (W) Pretty obvious between Kang Cheol, Yeon Joo and So Hee. Kang Cheol and So Hee and Kang Cheol were the fated lovers, as almost male lead and female lead characters within the comic, but when Yeon Joo arrives, that romance turns into a triangle, with So Hee being the one to miss out
~ (SWDBS) Not obvious at first but eventually becomes an extremely obvious love triangle between Bong Soon, Min Hyeok and Gook Doo. It’s not initially obvious due to the fact that Gook Doo is trying to keep his current relationship in tact, while suffering due to a long-term love. The only visible romance bridge at this point is Bong Soon’s crush on Gook Doo (and possibly Min Hyeok’s disgust). It then progresses to Gook Doo breaking up with Hee Ji and actively seeking out Bong Soon, as well as Min Hyeok releasing subtle hints that he also has feelings for her. This is where the triangle really begins, and its Gook Doo who misses out, although he does so graciously and continues to maintain a great relationship with Bong Soon
I almost see it as having 2 triangles running simultaneously, the Bong Soon, Min Hyeok, Gook Doo triangle as the main one, but a Hee Ji, Gook Doo, Gong Gi triangle at the beginning too, making it compliated as a side triangle
~ (GTLAGG) I wouldn’t even call this a love triangle really, but the jealousy displayed is funny either way. There is a point where Eun Tak bumps into her first love Tae Hee. She wants to spend more time with Tae Hee, having had feelings for him for a very long time, to the horror of goblin.
~ (WYWS) It was not the most obvious thing but the triangle that is Hong Joo, Jae Chan and Woo Tak is definitely sweet. Woo Tak was obviously the one to miss out, considering I think everyone but Hong Joo knew about his feeling for her, but he never openly admitted it to her. It was very sweet though, as he clearly understood that although he has feelings for her, her heart lies with Jae Chan and it was still good to remain as best friends. I think I should also mention Hwang Mi here too
~ (P) This is an odd one because there are many instances that may or may not be different love triangles. You could argue an In Ha, Dal Po, Chan Soo love triangle while they were in school, in Dal Po’s case shown by his determination to show up Chan Soo in the game show. You can also argue a Dal Po, In Ha, Yoo Rae triangle, though realistically Yoo Rae was never going to come out on top. In Beom Jo’s case, his intentions were clear, so I don’t see him in a triangle really
~ (LA) I think the triangle is the most obvious of the dramas listed here. The drama between Jo Jo, Sun Oh and Hye Yeong is very clear from the start.
~ (JBL) Although the feelings of both Moon Soo and Kang Doo continuously change, there is a very clear triangle between Moon Soo, Kang Doo and Joo Won throughout the series. Joo Won is the person that misses out in this triangle, which is a shame really considering how much he tried to truly show his feelings for Moon Soo
~ (LU) This love triangle is also extremely subtle but there nonetheless. The love between Fan Fan and Ruo Chen is clear but its not until later that we find out about Qin Yang’s feelings.
~ (DAYS) This love triangle was a secondary storyline, which I thought was quite different to the normal triangles you typically see. It is also very messy, and very unclear a lot of the times as Ji Na’s feelings about both Hyeon Gyu and Joo Ik are extremely unpredictable at time.
2 -> Main characters trying to break up with their partner due to the feeling of putting them in danger
~ (SWDBS) Bong Soon tries to break up Min Hyeok because she feels that because she is uniquely strong, she is a danger to him (which is quite evident from past incidents). I mean she had already broken his foot by stepping on it and injured secretary Gong. There was also the knife incident but I currently can’t remember whether this is before she tries to break up with him or after this incident occurs.
~ (LU) When Fan Fan wakes up from fainting (after Qin Yang’s accident), she immediately leaves because she knows that it was partially her fault that they were in that situation in the first place and considering that during her time in 2012 she’d had both Ruo Chen and Qin Yang in hospital because of her (because they were saving her), it meant she saw herself as a danger.
~ (W) I’m not sure this really counts but I feel like the whole situation where Yeon Joo rewrites their whole past as a dream (although under Kang Cheol’s instruction) is similar to them breaking up to limit the element of danger that they would bring, to not only people in the real world but limit the danger to the characters within the comic
~ (WYWS) Again I know this is not exactly the same as the characters breaking up due to danger, but I think it’s similar enough. By this I’m referencing when Jae Chan tells Hong Joo that he chooses not to believe her mainly due to his responsibilities as a prosecutor, but also because if they believed in the dreams and it went wrong, he questioned whether Hong Joo would be able to deal with the consequences
3 -> Characters getting injured (weapon or not) in the place of another character
~ (SWDBS) This scenario occurs when Kwang Bok (who was hiding) appears and runs over to stab Bong Soon in the back. Seeing this occur, Min Hyeok runs over and gets stabbed instead, ensuring that Bong Soon was safe while sustaining an injury which thankfully wasn’t too bad
~ (GTLAGG) Although this is slightly different again, I see goblin’s sacrifice when he uses Eun Tak to pull the sword out as this kind of thing. At the time, Joong Hoon is roaming with the intention to cause disputes and choas, and also to kill both Eun Tak and Sunny. Goblin sacrificed himself by removing the sword, and therefore in the process made sure both his sister and his bride stayed safe from possible harm
~ (WYWS) Again its slightly different but I’d categorise it in the same way. When Hong Joo and Woo Tak were looking for Dae Hee after putting different pieces of evidence together. Woo Tak gets stabbed and eventually gets badly beaten up, and after Hong Joo comes in to grab Cho Hee, he grabs Dae Hee’s legs, leading to him getting beaten up more, so they could get away safetly.
~ (LU) A similar thing happens that occurs in SWDBS, nearly identical. After Ruo Chen and Qin Yang had rescued the two Fan Fan’s from Yi Xiao’s father, Ruo Chen and Fan Fan embraced, for Yi Xiao’s father to then grab a knife and head to stab Fan Fan (as her back was to him) Ruo Chen noticed this and swung around to be stabbed himself, leaving himself in a poor condition for Fan Fan’s safety
~ (Doom At Your Service) This is another unusual one for many reason I will list. A criminal had faked being passed out and grabbed a scalpel from the back of the ambulance he was riding in and attempted to stab Doom (as he had got in his way numerous times). Dong Kyeong saw what was happening and swiftly turned around to block him getting stabbed. Before that could happen Doom grabbed the blade, so Dong Kyeong wouldn’t get stabbed either. Like what I talked about with Goblin, a similar situation also occurs here, where doom disappears so Dong Kyeong can survive and cure her cancer
4 -> Tragic backstories
~ (W) Kang Cheol’s backstory is tragic, as a random hooded individual randomly kills his whole family, while years later he gets framed for
~ (SWDBS) It’s slightly different but I see Min Hyeok’s backstory as kind of tragic, having lost his mum and being bullied by his half sibling as he was growing up.
~ (GTLAGG) Eun Tak’s backstory is very tragic, as she grew up all her life seeing deceased people, but tragically lost her mum when she was 9. She was able to see her mum for the last time because of her ability to see the deceased but its tagic nonetheless. She then had to grow up getting abused by her aunt and cousins, and also being tracked down by a grim reaper.
~ (WYWS) Both main characters have a tragic backstory. Jae Chan got into a lot of trouble with his dad (the police chief) for a motorbike accident and faked report cards (though it was really Lee Yoo Beom’s doing). He then heard his dad apologise for being too harsh after the incident when his mum had kicked the two of them out. Jae Chan’s dad was later shot to death by a runaway soldier, as he tried to apprehend him. That runaway soldier then boarded the bus that Hong Joo’s dad was driving. Her dad sacrificed himself and saved his daughter and all of the other people on the bus by getting them off safely before the bus blew up. That soldier was the younger brother of investigator Choi, who felt guilty for not being supportive enough of his brother and because of the hurt his brother cause, attempted to kill himself. They all had a lot of trauma in their pasts
~ (P) Ha Myeong (Dal Po) had a very traumatic event happen to their family, where his father (the fire chief) was killed in an explosion where they were trying to put out a fire. They didn’t find his body for days later and the blame was put on his father for the whole incident, which put a lot of blame on his family and even led to his mum killing himself and trying to kill him with her, leading to him ending up in his adoptive family.
~ (LA) Kim Jojo had a very tragic backstory, where she only just escaped alive when her parents tried to kill the three of them in a suicide attempt. She constantly gets backlash for her dark past, which doesn’t make the trauma any easier to get over.
~ (LU) I’m not entirely sure this counts because it’s very unclear what did or did not happen in this series but Fan Fan (pre time travel) had quite a traumatic past after her mum was involved in a fire when she was 12, and spent the next twelve years in a coma, where she was constantly struggling to find ways to pay for her hospital bills
I believe that Eun Tak’s ability to see ghosts is due to her being the fated ‘goblin’s bride’. While she has that fate, she is able to see ghosts but when that fate is not valid, her ability to see the ghosts also disappears.
What I mean by this is when goblin was around, Eun Tak had the ability to see ghosts. However, when goblin disappeared after taking the sword out to defeat Joong Heon, Eun Tak could no longer see the ghosts. Her not being able to see them was (in my opinion) down to the fading of her birth mark when she was in danger (which was really finished off by Joong Heon), then came back as normal again once goblin had returned.
As to why Eun Tak can see them in the first place, I believe that this is due to the fact that she is a missing soul, doesn’t appear on the lists of the living or the dead, and being revived by goblin before he was born, put her in some kind of existence that isn’t fully human. Again, this only really comes into place when goblin exists in that reality, so in the time where goblin was essentially removed from existence, Eun Tak can’t see the ghosts because that fate is not the same, and in fact, if goblin doesn’t exist, neither does the goblin’s bride
Disclaimer: This is obviously based solely on my opinion, which is individual to my preferences when it comes to genre etc. I am very much into dramas where there are supernatural elements, magic or superhuman abilities kind of thing. Either way, I will give an honest review of each drama I have watched so far
The Sound of Magic (2022)
~ it really is a magical story. The magician is a real sweetheart, his character is so good and I love the detail they go into with him, including his backstory. He really is the star of the show. The character of Ah-Yi is also quite sweet and her story is very complex and its very interesting to see. Plenty of unexpected turns occur, so you never know how events will turn. Overall, it is so warm and truly magical at times.
Tomorrow (2022)
~ just a quick note, this series probably isn’t suitable for people who get triggered by events such as suicide, and generally very poor mental health. I personally really loved this series. I get some serious second hand embarrassment from Joon Woong, he’s a very funny character. Mr Lim’s character seriously has me laughing at times. The characters are all so unique and the relationships built are hilarious. What they deal with is all quite a sensitive subject but the way they go about it is really interesting. I’d even go as far to say its quite warming the way that they deal with such series, they definitely do a very good job.
Our Blues (2022)
~ definitely quite different to my usual kind of drama. it is all around groups of people that live on Jeju island. I love the structure of this series, how it goes into groups individually and goes into each story separately, while still managing to incorporate all of the other people involved. It gives everything a very community like feel. They go into so many different stereotyped conditions, including problems with money, disabilities and mental health problems (and plenty more!). All of these problems are approached in a way that makes it very interesting to watch. You get to learn about each individual and see the relationship they form with others. There’s always sad time and happy times, but the community always finds a way. It’s a very heart warming story
Love Alarm (2019)
~ I’m not going to lie, I really couldn’t get into this series. I watched the first season and a few episodes of the second but struggled to continue, though this is definitely because it doesn’t really fit into the genres I typically watch (nothing against the series). There are a lot of flashback moments, maybe too many sometimes. I know all of the dramas I’ve listed so far include flashbacks but in this show they only really show one specific flashback and its the same thing played over again. I think Kim So-Hyun is exceptional and really does a good job portraying Jo Jo. I think it’s a good series to watch if you like a series very focused on romance and the twists and turns that it brings
Just Between Lovers (2017)
~ the story presented in this series is very interesting. It’s good that you get to see development of each of the characters, which are all very unique. They each have their stories, and each story is unique to them but at the same time they are like puzzle pieces that fit together to reveal the true story. There is definitely a fair share of unexpected events, but they make the plot very interesting. Lee Jun Ho does such an amazing job as Kang Doo. He really makes all of his character intentions clear, and did a really good job. This is great for anyone who loves romance with that little bit of problem solving too
Goblin (2016)
~ this has got to be my favourite drama of them all so far. There’s elements of romance, of supernatural beings, and plenty of comedy. Gong Yoo and Dong Wook completely make this a work of art. Kim Go Eun as Euk Tak too. I love all of the characters a lot. Eun Tak is so bubbly and enthusiastic and Deok Hwa is so unique. Of everyone I think Deok Hwa makes me laugh the most. Together all of the characters truly have the greatest dynamic and the whole plot is clearly very well structured. It is an absolutely hilarious series in parts, but at other parts you don’t know what could happen. There are definitely some tense times but it makes the series very intriguing
While You Were Sleeping (2017)
~ probably tied as my favourite with goblin. It’s another series where you have to tie together puzzle pieces. Given what the series is primarily focused on, its no surprise that there are many pieces, and plenty of twists and turns to make things difficult. I love being able to see stuff on a case by case basis and the developing relationships between each set of characters. The quality of acting is absolutely top notch. As leads, Jong Suk, Suzy, Hae In and Sang Yeob did such a great job. The surprise twist just add to the incredible acting and make it a legendary drama in my eyes
Pinocchio (2014)
~ I love this series a lot. Good to see Jong-Suk and Da-Reum again. Acting is absolutely phenomenal. Did I expect what was going on? No. Did that make it really fun to watch? Hell yeah. From emotive backstories to quirky side characters, Pinocchio is probably a perfect definition of romantic comedy. The general plot is very intruiging, with plenty of twists to make it a great watch. Seeing the building of relationships between all of the characters is very nice. Altogether a great series
W (2016)
~ I tried my best to stick with it and watch it through, though I only managed 10/16 episodes. If second-hand embarrassment makes you suffer, the first 3 episodes are near constant suffering. The drama is very strange. In my opinion it is also very slow at times, and at those times you’ll watch an episode and it feels like nothing has happened and its almost like an hour down the drain. Again, just my opinion but I find the plot very irritating at times for many reasons. One of those reasons is the amount of plot twists. Plot twists are great, but there is a limit, and I think part of why it feels so slow is because after so many changes, it gets quite boring. The whole series is 16 hours of full-on tension in my opinion. It is also quite confusing at times because they will jump between not only the real and cartoon worlds, but between times too. Random flashbacks make it quite confusing. The only thing that ever so slightly saves it is Lee Jong Suk’s acting, though I still can’t finish it
~ with some reflection and a bit of a break, I have now finished the series. To be fair, when you get to episode 11 onwards, the series gets quite interesting. The rest of the series was a very fun watch, I think it’s just the beginning of the series that is a little slow. It actually gets really exciting, and although I still think that there are a lot of plot twists, they make more sense and feel more planned out than the previous episodes. They all contributed to the story, rather than feeling out of place and just shaking everything up constantly. Altogether I think the series is good now I’ve finished it.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017)
~ I think this turned into my favourite drama so far! This is honestly such a masterpiece. Its the first romantic comedy that is truly a comedy, not just pure romance or more awkward and embarrassing than comedic. Spent so long laughing at this series. The characters are all amazing, acting is impeccable, links between characters are great and there’s plenty oh mystery around it too. Cannot recommend this series enough if you want a good laugh paired with romance and a touch of jealousy
True Beauty (2020)
~ Another disclaimer, I didn’t get all the way through the series so I’m only commenting on the parts I have seen. If I’m honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of this series. I only stopped watching because I could sense the same thing happening over and over, and the amount of misunderstandings was insane. A misunderstanding makes an interesting point in most dramas but there were just way too many, to the point where I feel that Joo Gyeong isn’t even taken into account at times. Otherwise I think it’s an okay series, your stereotypical love triangle that gets more complicated by the second. Looking back, I think that it may just not be my kind of drama generally.
Doom At Your Service (2021)
~ I thought the story was absolutely beautiful. I did get slightly bored at times though. It almost runs off two separate stories, the main story, about Dong Kyeong’s journey, knowing she is dying of cancer and then her relationship with Doom (Myeol Mang), and a side story which I think takes all of the spotlight at times, about Dong Kyeong’s writer best friend and the love triangle she is in with two best friends. I kind of think that the second storyline overtook the main storyline sometimes, and at times made the whole thing feel very slow. The characters of both Dong Kyeong and Doom are so unique, I adore them a lot. There’s one plot twist in there, which I won’t say for spoilers sakes, but it’s the one of the few kinds of plot twist I absolutely can’t stand. To be fair, they covered it really well in my opinion and instead of simply complicating the story, it adds to it and does make an interesting twist in the story. One thing I must mention too, which you wouldn’t understand unless you’ve watched it, is KEVIN IS AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND.
Boys Over Flowers
~ I haven’t got very far into this but will update as I progress. So far it’s so cool. I’m only a few episodes in but its already incredible. I’ve heard many good things and so far it’s all making a lot of sense. The love triangle is absolutely hilarious, and so far quite confusing. I’m sure It’ll clear up more as the episodes progress. Its so funny and I love Jan Di. I also hate Jun Pyo with all of my heart and I hope he learns a very big lesson.
~Now I’ve finished the series I’m absolutely in love with it. It’s such a fascinating series. I had heard many good things about it and see it as a true classic. All the characters are so unique. At times my heart felt like it was in tatters, especially for Ji Hoo. The storyline is great, there’s plenty of plot twists, each adding an interesting spin. The end twist really came at me by surprise but finished in such a heart-warming fashion. It’s great if you like your typical awkward romance with plenty of misunderstandings. I will add that my respect for Ji Hoo is through the roof, and I’ve never had less respect for a character like Jun Pyo’s mum. She dug herself into a whole and is never coming out. Not going to spoil anything but couldn’t recommend more!!
If you watched the series, you’d know that there is a time when goblin manages to get his sword removed and spends 9 years in a mysterious place, where he walks until Eun Tak summons him again. But where is that mysterious place?
Context: In episode 13, goblin figures out that the purpose of his sword is to take out Joong Heon, as it is the only thing that can stop him from killing all of the people he loved. Eun Tak had a very close call with him, where as she was talking to Sunny, he tried to attack. As he attacked he was warded off by the birth mark on her neck. Joong Heon attacking like this meant that Eun Tak’s birth mark started to fade, meaning that her ability to see the deceased disappeared. Goblin took Eun Tak to the helipad of the company building, knowing that is where he must defeat Joong Heon. When Eun Tak eventually manages to summon him, Joong Heon uses Eun Tak’s body to try and remove the sword from the goblin, before he is summoned out by the reaper. Eun Tak then collapses and gobin uses the opportunity to use her hands to grab the sword and with the sword, obliterates Joong Heon into nothingness. After an emotional goodbye he is seen walking in a place that looks like a snowy dessert.
So my theory: I think that this is a land between earth and the afterlife, almost like a kind of purgatory. You can hear both god and Samshin talk about their doubt about his decision to stay in that place. It is also made very clear that it isn’t the place he originally intended to go. The reason I think this is because it is a place that’s not the afterlife where goblin is able to keep the promise he made to Eun Tak. The promise I’m referring to is the promise to always come as rain and come as the first snow too. He wouldn’t be able to do that if he went fully to the afterlife, so I think the place he eternally walks is somewhere in between, where he can keep his promise but he’s not in a place where he’s with Eun Tak at the same time.
So I believe that goblin spent his 9 years alone walking between the land where his bride still roamed and the afterlife, so he could keep his promise to her
At the very beginning of the series it is stated that ‘when a long-cherished desire is buried in an object that’s been touched by human hands or human blood, it becomes a goblin’. In Kim Shin’s case, I believe that this long-cherished desire was the desire to free Wang Yeo from the control of Joong Heon. When Wang Yeo’s older brother was on the throne, he ordered Kim Shin to protect his brother and make sure he didn’t die, as it was clear even to him that he was being entirely influenced by Joong Heon, even at a young age. I believed that Wang Yeo’s brother knew exactly what Joong Heon was doing (by this I mean getting poisoned and becoming a father figure to control Wang Yeo), so gave the king’s order to Kim Shin in order to make sure that Wang Yeo was safe.
Throughout Wang Yeo’s reign, he was influenced to hate Kim Shin, who had risked his life countless times for him and slayed thousands under his name. He also resented the fact that because Kim Shin had defeated so many enemies, he gained masses of respect from the people he was also protecting in the process, the everyday people who were ruled by the king. Both Kim Shin and Kim Seon tried to warn Wang Yeo about this, but he was so far under Joong Heon’s influence that he didn’t believe them and even killed Kim Shin for crimes of treason, and Kim Seon for being the sister of a traitor.
My point is, Kim Shin was determined to keep Wang Yeo alive and protect him, as instructed by Wang Yeo’s brother. He tried his best to follow the king’s orders, which eventually led to his own downfall. He had a strong desire to stop the harmful influence that Joong Heon had on Wang Yeo. I believe that kind of desire could have contributed to Kim Shin becoming a goblin
I also believe that the desperate prayers of the people that looked up to Kin Shin as a hero, who defeated many of the enemies of their lands, also led to Kim Shin becoming a goblin. Their prayers showed support for Kim Shin and may have consequently led to Kim Shin being able to resurrect, as they poured their desire into prayers after he was killed for a wrongful crime.
To conclude I think the combination of the countless prayers from the people supporting Kim Shin and his own desire to stop Joong Heon contributed to Kim Shin becoming a goblin.
Why do Wang Yeo and Kim Seon Keep Meeting Each Other in Each Life?
It is very clear throughout the series that in all 3 of the lives that we’re shown, Wang Yeo and Kim Seon (whether by those names or different names) keep finding each other and always seem to get into romantic relationships together. I’ll share my main reasoning why this is the case.
SPOILERS FOR CONTEXT AHEAD
Context: Within the series there is a part where (I think Eun Tak in Canada when talking with goblin about the maple leaf) it is suggested that if you catch a blossom petal as it falls (and don’t drop it) then you’ll be with your first love forever. There is a scene later that shows King Yeo and his queen outside. As Kim Seon falls backwards, King Yeo stops her from falling and aids her back up. Before helping her back up, you can see Kim Seon catch one of the falling blossom petal (though the scene is shown numerous times and its not obvious every time they show it).
I think that considering the idea that catching a maple leaf means that you’ll fall in love with the person you’re walking with seemed to be true (as goblin finds true feelings for Eun Tak), it wouldn’t be impossible for the blossom petal idea to also be true. It is very clear that King Yeo was Kim Seon’s first love, so it makes sense that in each of their lives now they’re together. Obviously there’s one life of Kim Seon’s lives that we don’t know about so we can’t be sure about whether they came across each other in that life, but we can guess they probably did, but wouldn’t have known about the past like they did within the life showed in the series.
I think this means that they have been fated together since that first life, and they’ll stay together throughout their remaining lives and into the afterlife, as catching the blossom petal was so symbolic to their relationship.
These are just my interpretations on how ‘Goblin: the lonely and great god’ could have ended. The writers left the ending completely open so here are a few of my ideas:
SPOILERS AHEAD
Rough recap of important events of the last episode: goblin (Kim Shin) proposes to Eun-Tak to which she happily agrees to marry him. They plan out their wedding and have a beautiful time with just the two of them in the buckwheat field that is so important to goblin. The day after they marry, Eun-Tak sacrifices her life for a bus full of small children. She dies, breaking goblin’s heart for a long time and causes what grim reaper described as a very long rainy season. 30 years later, grim reaper (Wang Yeo) deals with his last case, which turns out to be Sunny (Kim Seon). They leave together, with goblin left alone once again. A short time after, he finds both grim reaper and Sunny in their reincarnated selves as a detective and actress respectively. When goblin takes another trip to Canada, the reincarnated Eun-Tak is waiting for him
Ending Idea 1: When Eun-Tak returns to goblin, she is actually an angel. There is angel references sprinkled throughout the series. For example, the door code of the goblin’s house is 1004, which in korean is 청사 (cheongsa), which also translates to angel. The people watching the news of the accident describe people that make those kinds of decisions as angels, and grim reaper himself talks about the significance of human sacrifices. Using this (and the fact that if grim reapers and goblins exist, angels could too) one theory I have is that Eun-Tak came back to see goblin as an angel. She became an angel for her good deeds (like the opposite of what happens with grim reapers) and was able to go back to be with goblin. In that case, they would both live together as immortals and help people on earth like goblin has been doing for many years, like simply providing sandwiches to support those in difficult situations. They would live happily together forever
Ending Idea 2: When Eun-Tak returns to goblin, that is the beginning of her second life and her and goblin will live through each of her remaining lives happily together. In the 30 years between his bride’s death and being able to see her again, it is clear that while characters like secretary Kim aged, goblin did not, suggesting that he is still immortal. I like to think that in this situation, they’d keep finding each other with each of her reincarnations and maybe in her fourth and final life they’d start a family together and live as happily as all of her lives before. At the end of that life I believe that they would both be able to go to the afterlife together and would stay there forever as goblin and his bride. Now that goblin is no longer bound to his sword and is no longer being punished, passing to the afterlife is something he theoretically should be able to do now
Ending Idea 3: If goblin was unable to move on to the afterlife now he was back, I believe 2 different ending events could occur. First is that he will live alone forever on earth, but he now had 4 lives full of beautiful memories to keep him motivated to continue helping others. Although he would be lonely for eternity, he knows that his bride is watching him, which would be relieving for him. Another theory is once Eun-Tak passes away in her final life, she may be able to remain in ghost form to stay with goblin for eternity. She could live similar to all of the ghosts she helped on her way and stay in a form where she can still fully engage with goblin
Disclaimer: these are just theories and are in no way explicitly proven true, I am simply sharing my opinion and compiling what evidence I can
So we know that Ji Eun-Tak was fated to be the bride of the goblin (Kim Shin) but here I’ll explore the reasons why:
SPOILERS FOR CONTEXT AHEAD
So for context of my arguments: When Ji Yeon-Hee was pregnant with Eun-Tak, she spent a lot of time talking to a grandmother figure (Samshin). During one of their conversations hameoni told her that if she was within the brink of life and death, she should pray earnestly, as there may be a god with a tender heart listening to her. Later, Yeon-Hee gets into a hit-and-run incident, where she does get to that point between life and death. She prays, as the grandmother figure had suggested, but instead of praying for her own life, she prays for the life of her unborn child. Goblin (who admits later in the series that he was drunk at the time) revived Yeon-Hee, saving both of their lives. Eventually, Eun-Tak was born and from birth was fated to be the goblin’s bride.
Reason 1: the goblin saving her and her mum’s lives fated her to be his bride. The goblin could hear Yeon-Hee’s selfless prayers and then revived her, so both her and Eun-Tak could live instead of dying to the hit-and-run. He provided a miracle so it is possible that because he provided the miracle of life to Eun Tak, who was destined to die that day, God provided the child as his own miracle, that could finally end his immortal life.
Reason 2: Yeon-Hee’s prayers and desperation to save her fated her to be the goblin’s bride. It is mentioned at the very beginning of the series that ‘when a long-cherished desire is buried in an object that’s been touched by human hands or human blood, it becomes a goblin’. I theorise that this suggests that the goblin was created due to the not only Kim Shin’s desire to stop Joong Heon but also the desire to save those that he died trying to protect. In his case the object would be his sword. I think in Yeon-Hee’s case, her great desire was to save her unborn daughter and as her daughter was the subject of her prayers and desire, it meant that she became his bride.
Reason 3: Eun-Tak as the goblin’s bride is the direct result of meddling with life and death. When Eun-Tak failed to pull the sword out initially and asked what she really was (if not the goblins bride) goblin told her that she was simply the result of meddling with life and death. It is suggested that the results of such a thing become ‘miscellaneously omitted’ or special cases. This is the reason why she can see ghosts and why she did not appear on the list of life or death until grim reaper registered her. Considering that meddling with life and death has this kind of effect, it wouldn’t be impossible for this to also contribute to Eun-Tak becoming goblin’s bride
