@eremin0109 no fr he rlly chose the moment Gaon would be the most emotionally volatile and unstable to suddenly try develop interpersonal communication skills and THEN had the nerve and arrogance to pit himself against Gaons so far only stable and consistently positive existing relation in an ultimatum.... I have to laugh imo he was lucky he looked desperate and pathethic enough Gaon felt bad for him rather than attack him again... all things considered Gaon let him down as gently as possible and Elijah ended up as collateral mostly because of Yohans bullheaded persistence rather than Gaon being mean or insensitive. He was super upset and shaken and had his whole support system taken apart this episode and still tried to make sure Elijah knew she still had a place in his life, if she wanted.
Ive never really cared much for Gaon opposed to Yohan, my favorite, who immidiately grew on me but these past eps hes started to really develop further depth and to me that makes him feel more even footed in every interaction with Yohan than before, but also more out of synch with Soohyun (And judge Jung Ho), who so far has been representative of the pure, the good, the black and white morality. Making her a cemented Good person but somewhat lacking as a character within the narrative, both in depth and morality, because you cant be both purely good and law abiding if the law itself is inhumane. Which is interesting seeing how shes part of the police force which has repeatedly been shown as inept, corrupt and violent, rarely if ever anything else. Thats also a place where she as a character feels somewhat elevated above her own narrative, her Goodness is beyond reproach yet she upholds an unjust system. Yohan is the Abyss, he represents grey morality, hes ruthless, corrupt, violent in his pursuit of justice. Not unlike the policemen and politicians we see attacking citizens when it comes to surface behavior and chosen methods. However hes also actively working at dismantling a system that does more harm to humanity on a daily basis than he could ever achieve in a lifetime of transgressions and violent murderous acts. Him and Soohyun are total opposites, and both have altered and influenced Gaons actions and worldview, trying to get him to take one side and then stick with it.
I think maybe Yohan, despite all his manipulations and controlling behavior, somehow represents freedom for Gaon, in that he supports and encourages Gaon to be clever, creative and flexible in both his moral framework and methods. He doesnt need or want Gaon to be good, or moral, or even all that nice to him. He just wants his loyalty, and his presence in his life. Which I think might have been a bit of a relief for Gaon, who has always been shrewd and impulsive, with a ruthless manipulative streak at times. One that both Judge Ho and Soohyun respectively have kept in check and discouraged over the years.
On the other side Soohyun gave him freedom in the form of unconditional love and support, someone who eased his mind and made life feel easier and simpler. You’re either good or youre not, you either break the law and hurt others or you dont. And being good comes naturally to Gaon, or at least he wants it to. Hes naturally warm and empathic. Soohyun and Judge Ho gave him a role and guidelines in which he could confidently state he’s doing the right thing, upholding the law and justice, hurting no one who doesnt deserve it.
Then they told him Yohan deserves it, which is really the crux of it all. Up until that moment Gaon had lived comfortably within those confides and that warped moral outlook, letting him feel good and just and confident in his adopted outlook on life and law and humanity. Them all deciding on Yohan as a specific deserving target was the catalyst for Gaons ideological transformation, as Yohan didnt rearrange his outlook on life as much as he just fed Gaons already existing tendencies towards distrust, first by deliberately making himself a tempting target for it by posturing and showcasing his fakeness and corruption and radically motivated disregard for others to get Gaons attention and lure him in, and then by isolating him and redirecting that paranoia towards his other intented targets, trying to tug Gaon along into his bubble, me and you against the world, or me and the world against you, if you dont stay loyal.
My point is that as it is Soohyn and Yohan are set up as polaring oppsites, both powerful influences and tempting in different ways. Yohan has functioned as somewhat of a Seductress in the story so far, to both Gaon and Sun Ah. This episode they both had a change of mind and gave up on him and his vision. Rejection, which, for a character whose powers lie mainly in targeted seduction and tempation is a pretty devestating blow, pushing him do a desperate leap at giving Gaon a doomed ultimatum, demanding the one sacrifice Gaon would never make in Yohans favor. Soohyun’s seduction is both more and less ovbious. Ovbious because shes Gaons female love interest, shes asked him out, hes ovbiously grown interested in her romantically and we know its reciprocated. He knows too. Less ovbious in how she doesnt do it intentionally or knowingly, its not a tool for her, just a fact she might or might not be aware of the weight of when it comes to the pull it has on Gaon.
I cant help but wonder if maybe Gaon will have to chose them both away for awhile so he can try build something for himself as solid as the cemented perspectives theyre seperately trying to sell him. Or maybe his strength narratively will lie in his mental flexibility. We havent seen Soohyun doubt, or reconsider her position, or been shown any seeds planted for her to become as dissolutioned with the system as Gaon and Yohan is. Which makes me believe she will stay somewhat morally stagnant so she serves her role as a living symbol to Gaon, and the viewers, rather than a more fleshed out character. If they go that route there will be no need to flesh her out more as she already serves her purpose perfectly. Yohan on the other hand has changed a lot as a person due to Gaons influence, but not beyond the homestead. His ideological stance and goals are the same and I dont see him bulging anytime soon, hes more likely to go out swinging or die for his cause.
At this point Gaon would never voluntarily choose either of them away, the plot needed to force their hands into pushing him away instead. SooHyun by upfront telling him to stay out of her life and way, Yohan a bit more subtle by giving him an impossible ultimatum that forces Gaon to leave and put that distance between them himself, and then not answering the phone after when Gaon tries to reconnect. Its time for Gaon to find his moral footing without them emotionally manhandling him from both sides, which is really exiting as hes been something of a wildcard for a good while now. Hes hard to predict and going to be harder still with no support systems giving him guidance, which is gonna be a lot of fun to watch for me. Hes really blooming into his role as a protagonist in this story, gradually becoming more unpredictable and morally gray enough to reflect and match the plot and world hes existing within. Hes no longer a stranger to his own narrative, hes becoming fully realized and now as of ep 12 hes all alone with no one to share the spotlight with or play right hand man to.... exiting stuff. Anyway sorry for the crazy long brain vomit this ended up being... little of it related to ur comment in the end but idk reading some of your takes on the narrative earlier had me thinking of my own unorganized thoughts after watching last night and it just spewed out all at once xoxo
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