Today’s Poetry helped me gain a lot of insight into my feelings for this drama as we head into the final stretch.

You know the drill. See you in comments.









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    One change in me is today is that I’m finally starting to come around to Dr. Ye as a character. I mean, it’s still too little too late, but I do like him more. If he had these moments of softness in the early part of the series, I think I would have liked him earlier. Writer-nim, you’re not supposed to do all the character development in the latter half of the series!

    I came to the realization today that I’d rather have had him become a treasured mentor to Bo-young than her love interest. But this has more to do with the fact that I’d rather the show focus more on the work and Bo-young’s journey to a full-time position. I think she has so much more potential as a character there. There was so much of an urgency at the start of the series on this and now it’s basically disappeared.

    That’s why I’d rather have had a mentor relationship here. Actually, I just wish that Bo-young had a mentor period. And don’t tell me Dr. Ye is her mentor because, while I love that he’s in her corner, it hasn’t moved to the level where he is actively teaching her. I love that he is the one who is supporting her work and recognizing her value, but there’s no one who actually pushes her to reach her full potential. I think having love in her life helps, but as a viewer, I want more for her. Imagine if they’d played the Dr. Kim storyline out over a longer arc, and we’d seen her genuinely lose a mentor who pushed her to be better it would have been beautiful. It would also give her some commonality with Dr. Ye, deepening their connection while also be something that helps her work.

    And, while Dr. Ye is really sweet and loving honestly, I’m not feeling it. I feel like I should be swooning but instead I feel…weird. I like the comfortable nature of their relationship, but it feels like it’s only that way because the actors play it really well. It just feels like there’s a weird gap between the two – I don’t know if it’s an age thing or a maturity thing, but even though Bo-young has an old soul, she still feels very young next to Dr. Ye.

    As for Min-ho: there is a beautiful irony to the fact that his maturity comes with the price of Bo-young’s rejection. It mirrors how she moved on from him and matured in the years after he rejected her.

    I realize that tomorrow is going to be a reversion to his former bratty self, but I look forward to how he overcomes that instinct. He’s made so many steps in the right direction that I can’t wait to see how that plays out in the final week. I will probably be cringing through his antics tomorrow, though.

    OK, back to my palm tree to try one of these new dramas.

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      It’s really sad that they have to sacrifice a lot of potentially great story arcs for our characters for the sake of OTP guessing.

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      Oh, I like this idea. *covers my Shipper Heart’s eyes*

      Come to think of it, now that you’ve mentioned… How darn wonderful would’ve it been to have this drama have zero romance or pairings at all? It could’ve focused completely on the growth of our characters, particularly Bo-Young.. A mentor figure for her is something I would kill for.

      I’m so slow to come to this realization, so forgive me. 🤔 But wow, if I could just. take the drama, tweak it, and hand it back to the Universe, that would be lovely.

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        I mean, I’m not even opposed to her having love and a mentor. Why can’t she have both? But it just seems to me that the show decided to basically drop all her dreams. Not even to replace them with love, just dropped them.

        I’ve said from the start I wouldn’t be mad at a Ye-line because I think he’s really good for Bo-young’s self-esteem. She’s always been confident in her skill, and as we saw today, she’s not afraid to speak up and ask questions. She’s clearly brilliant at her job. But she never had anyone stand up for her, or lift her up, or push her to her fullest potential. While I think Dr. Ye is a step in that direction, it never quite rises to the level of mentorship. I’d have even loved to have him or someone introduce her to a kickass mentor who helps her ability to move up the ladder.

        I think I’m just mad that Bo-young seems to have stagnated while the ships came into play. It’s just small tweaks here and there which could’ve save it too, which makes it all the more frustrating.

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          I mean, yes! I think they could’ve woven that in, but at this point, as I reevaluate, I would be more than ok if I could replace Romance for Mentor. I just want happiness and growth for the dear girl, and for her dreams and different sides to be realized and shown.

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      If it’s any consolation, I still think Min-Ho is the endgame. End. Game.

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        I seriously hope you are right 🙂

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        …I’m not sure.

        And what’s more, I kind of don’t care?

        I’m really mostly mad at this point that Bo-young as a character isn’t really doing anything. Well, she’s happy and dating. But that’s not character growth. I don’t care who she ends up with, I just want her to be fully realized.

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          I think that in the long run, she’d get bored of stodgy-old Dr. Ye, and they’d have really different parenting philosophies. Me, he’s perfect for me, but she’s a free spirit, and I do think that Min-Ho would be better suited for her. And he’d make a much cooler dad in my opinion—yes I consider all that whe. I shop people in kdramas and in real life. I’m still on the island and it looks like that the storms are dying down a bit, or maybe we’re just in the eye of the storm and both ships better be battening down the hatches for the final blow!

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            *when I ship (autocorrect fail)

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            So, that was my theory when this whole mess started — that she’d date Dr. Ye for a bit, get it out of her system, but ultimately end up with Min-ho. I don’t see that happening anymore. The drama universe signs aren’t there – she isn’t thinking of Min-ho when she’s with Ye, she’s not got any fluttery butterflies around him, she doesn’t seem to find excuses to be with him. I feel like the ship is gone. I’m sad about that, because Min-ho was my original ship. I said in week 2 or 3 that I don’t think there is a solid foundation to the Ye-line, and I stand by that; but this show wants to pour cement on it anyway. They (Ye-line) have been shown to be very in sync, but I agree — she needs someone with a more playful energy, and the ability to empathize. I just don’t think the drama is gonna give us that.

            I actually really like the maturity arc that Min-ho is getting. I think that rejection is the one thing that’ll make him grow up. If he really stops and cares about Bo-young, he’ll see that it doesn’t take a fight for a woman’s affections; the woman chooses herself who she wants to be with. And maybe this will turn the tide, but…I dunno.

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            I just can’t shake this feeling. And I was originally on the Ye-line. So maybe I’m just protecting myself from heartbreak, beacuase if it happens (and my ship really sails) then it’ll be a happy accident. Not that a relationship can’t happen there, some people are just compatible with several different personalities, I still just have a nagging suspicion that the tables will be turned…and she’ll realize it in the last episode. Like Let’s Eat 2. Or maybe that’s my kdrama food essay affecting my reasoning. 🤨

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            And this is why I created the Island.

            No heartbreak, just drinks with umbrellas and clear skies all day and night.

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            And I’ll drink to that! *clinks fruity tropical 🍹

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