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W–Two Worlds: Episode 1

MBC’s new supernatural suspense drama W–Two Worlds premiered today, and despite my expectations for it being really high (I couldn’t help it, okay? The comic book fan in me was just geekily excited!), I wasn’t disappointed with the first episode. It’s a heightened world, full of reality-bending twists and shot with flair, and I’m already sucked into the mystery that connects one seemingly ordinary girl and everyone’s favorite comic book hero, who by all accounts shouldn’t exist in the same time and space. What is it that’s pulling them towards one another? Desperation? Fate? Or something far more nefarious? Down the rabbit hole we go to find out…

 

 
EPISODE 1 RECAP

In a live telecast of the 2004 Athens Olympics, announcers herald a new dark horse from South Korea, who’s about to come out of nowhere and potentially win a gold medal in pistol-shooting. The seventeen-year-old shooter is competing in his very first international competition, and the sportscasters introduce him as KANG CHUL (Lee Jong-seok). [His name literally means “steel.”]

He leads the first eight rounds and makes a critical mistake in the ninth, leaving him in second place before his final shot. As he steadies his nerves and prepares for the last round, we zoom into the TV screen as it flickers, and it’s like we go through it and come out on the other side, in the richly colored arena.

Kang Chul takes his time making the final shot, and with only a second to spare, he fires. His coach (and father) is breathless as they wait for the results… and it’s a bulls-eye!

Kang Chul picks Dad up and whirls him around in a victory cheer. Dad cries like a baby and Kang Chul mugs for the cameras as they announce his gold medal win.

The TV screen flickers again and shoots ahead to the 2006 World Cup, which Kang Chul’s family—Mom, Dad, little brother and sister—watch in their living room. The shelves are lined with Kang Chul’s trophies, and when they hear the front door open, Mom calls out, “Chulie, is that you?”

But when she gets to the door, she looks up in terror. Dad hears a thud and goes looking for Mom, and finds her lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Dad looks just as terrified when the intruder, a dark figure in black gloves and black boots, points what looks like Kang Chul’s sports pistol right at him.

The shooter mercilessly guns down Dad, then the little brother, and the little sister, all four of them shot right in the center of the forehead like a twisted bulls-eye.

They miss the winning goal of the game, and the cheering crowd on the television is a stark contrast to the bloody scene. The TV flickers again, and we fast-forward two days, as a news anchor announces the arrest of the prime suspect in a brutal domestic shooting: Olympic gold medalist Kang Chul. What?

Chul looks terrified as he’s hauled into the police station amidst a sea of reporters, and the news anchor continues to narrate the facts of the investigation as we see the points unfold: The shooter dumped the murder weapon in an alley near the house, and it was later found by the police and confirmed to be Chul’s Olympic sports pistol. Naturally, the only DNA evidence on it was Chul’s own, and the blood of his four family members.

Newscasters speculate on possible motives for beloved athlete Kang Chul to murder his own family, and they say that when Chul quit shooting right after the Olympics and went into computer science, there was some strife between him and Dad over it. Still, they say, it’s no grounds for murder.

Lead prosecutor HAN CHUL-HO interrogates Chul and says there are two witnesses placing him at the scene, and reminds him of a drunken outburst the week before, when Chul had complained to his friends about Dad’s meddling, and said he wished Dad weren’t around.

Chul looks like a terrified little boy and shakes his head, but Prosecutor Han shoves Chul’s head to the table and accuses him of losing it and shooting down his family just to be free of them. He growls that Chul is a coward for killing them and being too afraid to kill himself.

Prosecutor Han calls Chul human scum and says it’s his job to keep society clean. Yikes. Chul seems to realize what deep shit he’s in and buries his head into the table as a tear escapes.

When we see Chul next, he’s in prison and an ajusshi visits to tell him that Prosecutor Han is an ambitious man, looking to make a name for himself on a famous case. Ajusshi says sympathetically that they couldn’t put it off any longer, and had to hold the funeral for his family. Augh, without him?

Chul spills a few quiet tears, and then starts breaking down in sobs. Ajusshi tells him to stay strong, because they’re not going to give up.

Chul’s trial begins and Prosecutor Han comes out strong, asking for the death penalty. Public sentiment is on his side, it seems, because people cheer in the courthouse. That makes Chul snap and he launches himself at Prosecutor Han.

The bailiffs bring Chul down to his knees, as he screams violently, “How? How…? You crazy bastard!” Prosecutor Han very nearly cracks a smile.

Elsewhere in a messy hospital office, a phone rings endlessly while two residents doze away in bunk beds. Neither of them wants to get up, but finally the female doctor OH YEON-JOO (Han Hyo-joo) caves and gets out of bed.

She happily tosses the phone to her sleeping colleague KANG SEOK-BUM (Kang Ki-young), when she sees that “Crazy Dog” is calling his phone. It’s a fleeting return to bed though, because Professor Crazy Dog is actually calling Seok-bum to get a hold of Yeon-joo.

She sees ten missed calls on her phone and freaks out, sending her on a mad dash through the entire hospital looking for Crazy Dog. She finally ends up at his office, where Crazy Dog lives up to his name and chews her out for taking this long. She’s confused when he suddenly asks Yeon-joo if her father is really THE Oh Sung-moo (Kim Eui-sung), the famous manhwa writer.

She confirms that that’s her dad, and Crazy Dog sighs, “Then why are you like this? If your father is Oh Sung-moo, how come you’re just… Oh Yeon-joo?” Ouch, it’s really in the delivery, the way he says Dad’s name like he’s a god and her name like she’s a sorry excuse for a human being. Yeon-joo doesn’t know what to say and answers, “I’m sorry, for being just Oh Yeon-joo.”

Professor Crazy Dog starts asking her all sorts of invasive questions about her family, and Yeon-joo says she lives with her mom ever since her parents’ divorce, and sees her dad fairly regularly. She asks where all this is going, and finally Crazy Dog says, “Gimme some spoilers!” LOL.

He takes out a copy of her dad’s famous manhwa, W, and says he’s super into it right now. Yeon-joo has this hilarious look on her face, like she can’t decide between mocking laughter and angry ranting.

Crazy Dog shows her that he went out and bought all thirty-three volumes, and says he’s especially a fan of W’s lead character, Kang Chul. (He happens to be holding up Volume 4, and the cover art looks awfully familiar to the super-close-up that closed out Kang Chul’s courtroom scene earlier…)

Yeon-joo agrees that the hero is awesome, and they share a bonding moment over being Kang Chul fans. Yeon-joo takes it a little too far and rambles on about how handsome and sexy Kang Chul is, and thinks Crazy Dog is raising his hand to hit her, but he asks for a high-five instead, heh.

Apparently the series is due to end this week with its final issue, and Crazy Dog can’t handle the suspense and wants to know who the culprit is. Yeon-joo says that her father never divulges story information, but when Crazy Dog offers to let her cut open AND sew back together the next open-chest surgery, she runs off to squeeze some spoilers out of Dad.

Yeon-joo starts to call her father, but thinks better of it and calls Dad’s assistant PARK SU-BONG (Lee Shi-un) instead. Su-bong answers in an agitated state, and interrupts Yeon-joo to say that he was just about to call because her father’s gone missing.

Yeon-joo laughs it off and says Dad probably stayed up all night drinking as usual, but Su-bong says no one’s seen or heard from him before last night, and Dad wasn’t at any of his usual bars or with any of his friends, and he even left his cell phone behind.

The assistants are facing a deadline today without knowing how the story ends, and Su-bong is beside himself with worry, knowing how uncharacteristic it is of Yeon-joo’s father to miss a publication deadline.

Yeon-joo starts to worry and heads over to Dad’s workshop, where all the walls are lined with artwork from W. She check’s Dad’s room, and Su-bong says the weirdest part is that they were working outside in the main room all night, and her father never once left his room.

The scene fades into a flashback of last night: Su-bong had asked Dad if he wanted coffee at 9 p.m., and Dad requested it at 10 p.m. instead. But by the time Su-bong brought the coffee, Dad was gone. They searched everywhere, to no avail.

Su-bong is quite the drama queen and punctuates his report to Yeon-joo with: “And he disappeared… without a trace.” He wonders if they should call the cops, but while Yeon-joo agrees that it’s weird, not enough time has passed for them to consider Dad missing. She supposes that Dad is only human and might have had a hard time parting ways with a character he’s drawn for ten years.

But Su-bong surprises her by saying that Dad was feeling quite the opposite, in fact, and said that he was sick and tired of Kang Chul and wanted to kill him in the manhwa’s final scene. Yeon-joo scoffs in disbelief at the idea that Dad would kill off Kang Chul, but Su-bong swears up and down that he saw it with his own two eyes.

To prove it, he swears her to secrecy and then shows her the frame that Dad was working on just before he disappeared. Su-bong switches on the monitor, and there’s a drawing of a man covered in blood. Yeon-joo gasps, “What is this? Why? Why…? Why would you kill our Kang Chulie?”

Su-bong says it wasn’t him, but agrees that it makes no sense to kill off Kang Chul. Yeon-joo just stares and stares at the image and asks if he’s really dead, and Su-bong hilariously points out that she’s a doctor and ought to have reached that conclusion from all the blood.

Su-bong rants about how the team has never once argued with her father over a story point until this happened, and that one of the staffers even cried. But Dad insisted he was going to kill Kang Chul, and brutally at that, saying it was his life’s wish to do so.

Yeon-joo is hardly listening because she’s so distraught over Kang Chul’s death, and she scrolls down to the next frame on Dad’s computer, which shows a hooded figure in black holding a bloody knife in the background as Kang Chul bleeds to death.

Su-bong says he doesn’t know who the hooded culprit is, because this is the last thing Dad drew before disappearing. She wonders if maybe Dad had second thoughts after putting Kang Chul at death’s door, but Su-bong is positive that he saw Dad smiling as he drew these images last night.

Yeon-joo can’t understand why he’d seem happy while killing off his own lead character, and then realizes that maybe one of W’s rabid fans got wind of this story turn and kidnapped Dad to prevent it from happening. They realize it could be serious and decide to call the cops after all.

Yeon-joo finds stacks of indecipherable notes on Dad’s desk, and pauses at one—a copy of Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son (about the Greek god who devoured one of his children out of fear that he’d be overthrown). On the back is scrawled: “Rather than be devoured, I will devour.”

As she reads the phrase out loud, Dad’s monitor begins to flicker. Yeon-joo turns to walk away from the desk, when suddenly something stops her. She’s frozen with fear, and slowly raises her hand and draws a sharp breath at the sight of blood on it.

Ever so slowly she turns around… and we see a bloody hand grabbing onto her jacket with a vice grip. Aaaaah, the hand is coming out of the monitor! By the time she lets herself get a good look, the hand yanks so hard that she gets… sucked in? She disappears, and the image of Saturn Devouring His Son flutters to the floor.

Yeon-joo is beyond confused when she wakes up on the roof of a skyscraper, and then literally trips over a bloody body. It’s Kang Chul, straight out of the final scene that Dad drew, except here he’s not a drawing, but a living, breathing person. Er, a dying person.

She quickly checks to make sure he’s still alive and empties her pockets, but it’s not like she has medical equipment in her pants. So she runs down a level and bursts into a busy kitchen, where a staff of cooks is stunned when she runs in screaming about someone dying, and asks them to call emergency.

She grabs a towel and a pair of scissors and runs back up to put pressure on the stab wounds, and a waiter follows her up as they wait for an ambulance. When she asks where they are, he says it’s a hotel. Yeon-joo says she’s a doctor and adds, “Though I don’t have a lot of talent.”

Kang Chul finally comes to and starts gasping for air, and Yeon-joo cuts open his shirt to find his chest bruised, likely from his lungs filling with blood. She stammers that she has to puncture his lung to let him breathe, and her eyes land on the pen in the waiter’s pocket.

She talks herself out of doing something that crazy, but when Kang Chul starts struggling for more air, she grabs the pen. After another round of self-doubt, she cries, “I don’t know, they do this all the time in dramas! They just… do it!” She finally works up the nerve and stabs him right in the chest, and his eyes dart open on impact.

They stare into each other’s eyes as he takes a breath, and then he passes out again. Soon the rooftop is flooded with hotel employees and then the paramedics, and it’s determined that Chul will survive.

Yeon-joo sits off to the side and sighs that Crazy Dog should’ve seen this, and wonders if she’s one of those naturally-gifted doctors who do better in action than in practice. The hotel’s manager interrupts to thank her for preventing a murder at his hotel, and she hands over her card and says she was just doing her job as a doctor.

The question that stumps her is why she was up here on the roof, and she suddenly flashes back to being in Dad’s office before this. The manager gets distracted when the waiter runs over to tell him that the bloody man is Kang Chul, and the manager totally flails at that.

Yeon-joo peers over at them curiously and wonders who Kang Chul is. The only Kang Chul she knows is the fictional hero of her dad’s manhwa, and she wonders if he’s a celebrity or something: “No wait, that’s Kang-ta.”

Suddenly two and two start coming together: Dad’s last drawing of Kang Chul lying in a pool of blood, and the man she just saved…

She shakes away the crazy thought and walks over to where Chul is being lifted onto the stretcher, and their eyes meet. Their gazes are locked on each other as he gets taken away, and she’s left standing on the roof alone.

What startles her even more is the appearance of a chyron—backwards, like someone invisible is writing it onto an image of her—that says, “To be continued.”

The camera swirls around Yeon-joo, and much to her shock, she finds herself back in Dad’s office. She reaches a shaky hand out to the drawing of bloody Kang Chul, but it’s back to being a static monitor and her finger just taps at the screen.

She screams when Su-bong comes in and says that she’s been gone for a long time, but he never noticed her absence. He happily announces that her father is okay too, because he just finished the latest issue. Dad hasn’t contacted them, but he made the deadline, and even saved Kang Chul.

Su-bong ushers her out to read the latest episode, called “Mysterious Attack,” and one of the staffers says that the series must be getting extended, because it didn’t end today. Yeon-joo scrolls through the episode, and her jaw drops at the appearance of a woman in the rooftop scene.

There it is in the webtoon, frame for frame, matching moment by moment what happened with her when she suddenly found herself on that roof. Su-bong says that Dad introduced a new character, and strangely enough, she has the same name as Yeon-joo.

Yeon-joo gets to the end of the episode and gapes at the last image. She mutters, “That’s… me.”

Then we fade into an introduction of Kang Chul as a manhwa character, narrated by Yeon-joo. She says he was born in 1987, and that his company, JN Global, is worth over one trillion won.

His story began twelve years ago, when he became a nationally beloved sports star, and then was suspected of murdering his own family. We catch up to the court scene where we last left Kang Chul in his backstory, and as he sits huddled in his prison cell, Yeon-joo narrates that he was able to appeal his case and be declared innocent due to lack of evidence.

She says that wasn’t the end of his suffering though. We see him return to an empty house after a year of imprisonment, and cry alone in his dark house. People whisper everywhere he goes, calling him a murderer. And after a year of living in agony this way, he decides to end it all.

He stands on a bridge overlooking the Han River and thinks back to the horrifying moment when he’d come home to find his family gunned down. Yeon-joo narrates that he’d never once thought of an end like this, and was overcome with rage and futility.

He cries at the memory of holding a belated memorial service for his family all by himself, and then lets go of the railing. As his body starts to fall forward, Yeon-joo narrates that in that split-second, one phrase came to his mind: “come-from-behind victory,” the way he’d ultimately won his gold medal.

As lightning strikes overhead and rain begins to fall, Kang Chul dangles from the bridge by one hand, having chosen at the last second to fight for his life. Yeon-joo narrates that he chose victory over death, and knew that he wouldn’t be able to turn things around until he found the true culprit. So he decided then and there that he would find his family’s killer before he died.

In the classic rise-from-the-ashes hero moment, Kang Chul steps forward in the pouring rain, each step making him stronger and more determined to change the course of his life.

The screen fades into a webtoon drawing, and then we fast-forward to the present day, after Chul’s rooftop stabbing. A news reporter says that the surgery went well, and the entrance is lined with fans wanting to wish him well.

A well-dressed young woman is allowed into Kang Chul’s hospital room, and she reports to Chul that she searched everywhere for the doctor who saved his life, but couldn’t find any trace of her. This is YOON SO-HEE (Jung Yoo-jin), Chul’s assistant, and So-hee says that there’s something off about that doctor.

She looked, and there’s no such place as Myungse Hospital, where the doctor claimed to work, and all her contact information is fraudulent. So-hee says that the cops suspect the doc of being an accomplice to the attack, but Chul says no, she isn’t.

So-hee argues that Chul has no memory of the attack, and he says it’s just a gut feeling. Chul wants them to find this woman, “Because I think she holds the key to my life.” From the couch, Chul’s right-hand man and bodyguard SEO DO-YOON (Lee Tae-hwan) silently drops his tea in surprise.

So-hee finds the assessment over-the-top, and assumes it’s because the doc was pretty and he fell for her at first sight. Chul argues that she wasn’t pretty, and that’s not why he thinks this, though So-hee remains unconvinced that a playboy like him was thinking of it differently.

Chul whines to Do-yoon (whom he calls “hyung”) that he’s never heard of an assistant who talks to her boss this way, but So-hee totally ignores them and presses for an explanation. Chul says that he feels like this doctor will hold the key to his reason for existing.

That doesn’t explain anything from where So-hee stands, and she breaks into banmal and argues that his reason for existing is that his parents fell in love and made a baby. Chul reminds So-hee to only use banmal when they’re alone, and tells her to make sure that the police sketch artist doesn’t make the doc too pretty, otherwise they’ll never find her.

After So-hee storms out, Chul supposes that she’s pissed again, and Do-yoon just calmly drinks his tea and says the doctor must’ve been really pretty. Lol.

Chul looks at Yeon-joo’s card again and says, “Oh Yeon-joo… where are you now?” This fades into a webtoon frame, and Yeon-joo is flabbergasted to read it.

Fellow fan Professor Crazy Dog busts into Yeon-joo’s office and gets all worked up at the absurdity of her father writing his own daughter into the story, and points out that her business card in the webtoon is real. He’s especially offended that a quack doctor like her could save Kang Chul’s life, and is up in arms, thinking she asked her daddy to be a character, and will ruin a masterpiece like W.

But Yeon-joo is too worked up herself to listen to Crazy Dog, and ends up shoving him out of the room so she can process what’s going on. She locks the door and tells herself to think, and calls up Dad’s assistant Su-bong.

Su-bong agrees that it’s Yeon-joo in the webtoon, and that the story is taking a weird turn. He still hasn’t heard from her father, and doesn’t even know where he’s holed up and drawing these from.

Yeon-joo tells him that Dad’s not the one drawing these: “It’s just happening, ever since Kang Chul didn’t die!” She knows she sounds nuts, but says, “Kang Chul is alive and looking for me! The world of W exists! The world where the real Kang Chul exists!”

Su-bong assumes she’s talking crazy, so Yeon-joo shouts that she saw him, and just hangs up. She goes back to her monitor and asks the Kang Chul in the webtoon why he’s looking for her, and why he thinks that she’s the key to his existence.

 
COMMENTS

That was a lot of ground to cover in the first episode, but I’m really glad we got this far in the story, because this is essentially the setup we’ve been promised in the teasers leading up to the premiere, and I like knowing that everything else from here on out is new territory and we don’t know what to expect. It’s really the supernatural premise from writer Song Jae-jung ( Nine, Queen Inhyun’s Man) that hooked me from the get-go, but I was happy to see that the hybrid manhwa/real-world universes were executed stylishly. It helps to have such beautiful artwork, but I also like that Kang Chul’s world is directed to look very much like a comic book, and that I felt the mood and tension of the darker parts, like Dad’s world and the mystery surrounding him.

I thought it was clever how the writer used the fact that Kang Chul was a famous fictional character within the story to have Yeon-joo narrate and give us his abbreviated backstory. The reactions from his diehard fans tell us a lot too—despite being fictional, when so many people are rabid fans of a character, it makes us trust that he’s something special. But the trick is, of course, that Lee Jong-seok has to play the character like he’s a real person, not a caricature, and I like that everyone in the world of W the manhwa lives life as if it’s just real. For now. Then on the flipside, there’s a fun level of meta when Crazy Dog is fuming mad at Yeon-joo for being written into the storyline of his favorite webtoon. From his perspective, his favorite series just jumped the shark, and I love how violent his reaction is when he thinks it’s her fault. It kind of is, but then, she didn’t know she was changing the story by saving Chul’s life.

There’s just a really compelling conflict here, between the father who inexplicably wants to kill off the hero that made his career, and the daughter who wants to save him. At first it may have been instinct to save the dying man in front of her, but as she and Kang Chul connect across their parallel universes, I suspect the strife between father and daughter will increase exponentially. I find Dad to be such a fascinating character—I like the slightly unhinged creative mastermind feel to him—and the mystery surrounding him is dark, dense, and eerie. It made me wish we could just stop at his desk and pore over all his scribbled notes for clues. I really enjoy that the weight of his character will provide a contrast to the otherwise light and somewhat flighty Yeon-joo.

I find her endearing though, because she confesses to be rather average at her job and seems equally excited to be linked to Kang Chul as she is confused about the whole thing. But beyond these two characters and their connection to one another, I love that there’s a huge overarching mystery at play. Why is the barrier between their worlds breaking down? Was it Chul’s desperation that broke through and pulled her into his world, or was it her earnest desire for him not to die that made it possible? Or are they both just puppets being directed by Dad, or someone else? I guess this means they’ve hooked me.

 
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It was really awesome, huh! There's been nothing this good in years....I'm so excited to find something this good again!

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But there was Healer in late 2014-early 2015...

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Found Healer incredibly overrated by i-fans, the lackluster ratings in Korea seem to verify that. I think in terms of supernatural shows/world changing/time travel shows only Signal, Nine, QIH are the ones that have been really good that I can think of off the top of my head.

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Oh my gosh finally someone who thinks healer is underrated - i agree. Signal is a masterpiece.

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Omgee. +1k I was not into healer at all. I watched it because of all the hype but it was not my cup of tea.

I love love love Miseang and Signal. They were gems. I loved Nine also so W is hitting all the right notes for me. ??

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agreed.. it's too overrated... healer i mean. i only watched it up to the scene where they sleep together in ealer's hiding place.. next are just too predictable

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Healer was makjang. *dodge eggs and tomatoes thrown at me*

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I dont think lackluster ratings proves that a drama is overrated or it isn't good (agree with Arashi that There's been nothing this good in years).

There are a few good dramas that did not rate as high, and there are high rating dramas that are not "quality" dramas.

It's all about taste, really. People watch shows they want to watch. Does not really equate to quality.

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Nothing supernatural about the show, though. Just good acting (and chemistry), and solid story from start to finish.

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The first half of Healer was executed very well. The show just wasn't that original and the writers didn't know what to do with the plot in the back half. I got very invested in the romance though, I thought that was the best part of the show. I also thought the theme of expendable children was very powerful and the metaphor of the people unconscious in the locked room was also well explored.
I think Healer would have been better if it had had a better finale. A good final episode can redeem a lot but the writers didn't seem to know how to end it.

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If you have not watched Signal, you are missing out.

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The cinematography on the bridge scene was amazing, the bloody hand pulling her through the screen, wondering who the hooded man could possibly be (the cartoonist himself?) There was so much that was just so spot on!

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Did the hand out of the monitor remind you of Ringu? It reminded me of the Japanese horror movie. I'm curious how many people would be freakes out about it.

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ooo I was thinking the same thing.. the hooded man is probably the cartoonist.. because of all the people, he is the one who really want Kang Chul's dead

can't wait for ep 2!

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I am wondering if her father is the one who shot him(main character) because in episode 1 the co-worker said that he wanted to kill the main character of the manga.( I don't remember their names)

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I loooooved the drama so much ???? even I hate that the heroine is a doctor!! What's wrong with Korean dramas nowadays ??

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Because it's the doctors season now! Next we'll probably have a round of detectives or supernatural themes drama!

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Lol. You predicted very well. 2017 is starting out to be a year of crime/mystery dramas.

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I think we need Yeon-joo as a doctor though, she has to save Chul every time she's sucked in W world, right? If she has no knowledge as doctor, she wouldn't know what she had to do with his bleeding lung, she probably didn't even know his lung was bleeding. But the unique part, I think is when the writer made Yeon-joo character as an ordinary resident, not some brilliant and extraordinary surgeon.

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But she is not a geeenius doctor at least.

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Yes to that, at least. When the fact that Yeon-joo is a doctor sank in, I thought that this will be a huge Descendants of the Sun comparison. But I'm expecting more from the narrative here.

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I'm ridiculously excited for this drama. Ep 1 just did it for me. I was surprised by how gripping it was. Hope it continues to be awesome!

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Totally agree. I saw the first episode and immediately told DH that I found us another kdrama to watch together. Previous to this we watched Signal, and before that, Healer. I know he won't like this as much as Signal - too much girly stuff - but I am really optimistic.

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I keep refreshing the page until I can finally see the recap! Yay. Thank you for the recap girlfriday, that was fast (despite your busy schedule)! <3

I had high expectations because the drama is written by the writer of Queen In-hyun's man and then they added Han Hyo Joo, plus Lee Jong Suk! I think I have to wait for my excitement to see it objectively but I was ecstatic after watching the first episode and not disappointed at all.

I agree that everything that we know about the show has already been laid down in the first episode and that I am full of anticipation for the next episodes. I'll just wait for everything to unfold. It's been a while since I was excited this much for the next episode just after watching one.

Oh, show. This is love at first sight.

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Queen In Hyun's Man is an absolute gem. The amount of thought put into the motivations and personality of all of those characters gives me high, high hopes regarding this writer. Yay for smart characters!

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I'm obsessed. The episode moved so fast, and I love how the premise gives us two storylines. Yeon-joo even conveniently summarised the webtoon's origin story for us! It'll be interesting to see how Kang Chul reacts once he finds out his a fictional character and his entire life was simply the musings of a crazy author. Gah, I'm so excited.

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But that's just it! What if he's NOT a fictional character, what if the author's having a bit of a psychotic break because he's suddenly discovered he's not a genius webtoon creator - he's actually a dimension-crossing shaman type.

Can you imagine thinking for a decade that your own genius made you a pop-culture celebrity, and then finding out you were basically a newscaster for someone else's life? Of course, it gets scarier to think that the author might have initially been narrating Kang Chul's life unconsciously but is now deliberately reversing the flow and trying to impose his will on Kang Chul...

I am totally happy for none of these questions to be answered for quite some time, by the way, just like it took a while for Queen In Hyun's Man to unfold all the different ways to take advantage of time travel.

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I love how you thought about it like that :)))
makes you wonder if all those great storytellers were actually just "dimension-crossing shaman types."

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I think there's a very good chance it's something like that... and maybe dear old dad is also the killer of his family, thinking it was something he just did in a dream.

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I don't think Han Hyo Joo's father is the killer of Kang Chul's family. The person who killed them is an expert shot -- 4 heat shots perfectly placed -- yes at close range but still, impressive. I guess we'll just have to wait and see who the suspect will be, but based on my profiling, it's someone who is an excellent shot, possibly inconspicuous, therefore possibly Korean to blend in during the killings, he's also good with a knife as well. So good that Kang Chul has no recollection of the assassination attempt. He also has a beef with him as well, and wanted revenge. I don't believe Han Hyo Joo's father is a crack shot but you never know....

Incidentally, loved this first episode -- well done in all points, writing, directing and acting and a damn riveting story in just a few minutes -- I was hooked from the moment he pulled her into the monitor.

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*brain blown*

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Me too, love at first sight. More accurately, love at first poster. Waiting for the 1st ep felt like ages. Thank goodness it wasn't disappointing. The drama is so pretty and stylish, and you can easily be absorbed in its worldsss.

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W is FINALLY here!! I can't believe how much I was waiting for this and how much it met and then exceeded my expectations. Thank you for the speedy recap!

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I think I might be in a minority because I only liked it okay. The main female lead was a little too screechy, and though I'm a fantasy buff, the plot hasn't sucked me in and suspended my disbelief. But there's always tomorrow! Maybe I was just in a bad mood.

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Don't like HHJ character is incompetent typical childish korean female character.

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Was surprised that HHJ's character was kind of ditzy and her acting was over the top sometimes. The story, however, was so different from your typical Kdramas that I'm interested in checking out future eps.

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i still think she need to do that in order to show the comical side of the drama.. if she acts too well and too serious, don't you think the drama will be portrayed the other way?? darker than it already is ???

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I agree about HHJ. She seemed to go overboard with her acting. I thought her some of her expressions when reacting to the supernatural stuff were solid, but she needs to tone her acting down a little bit.

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I'd give her a chance to get comfortable. First episodes tend to be overdone a bit both from an acting and directing standpoint.

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Me too..

Maybe expectation was too high..

It was ok. The female lead was ok. Nothing was off.. but it couldn't draw me in to make me want it enough that I find it hard to wait for ep2..

But I hope ep 3 onwards should pick up because 1-2 are usually slow

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But the actor playing Kang Chul is not acting enough too. His expressions are dead. Han Hyo Joo is miles better.

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Well, he was quite near dead in parts of this episode. The gazes during those scenes were actually my favorite part of his acting so far. The crying scenes, I didn't really feel for him, but that could also be because his story is pretty extreme (Olympics winner, entire family murdered) so there was nothing I could relate to.

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I liked this drama from the first second and became downright giddy during this episode! Only one episode down and I feel I have found my new 2016 crack!!
I want mooooore!!! Noooow!!!!!!!!

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Lee Jong Seok is like 86% leg.

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+1 :P

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lol so true tho

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lmao yes.

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Actually his body proportions do not add to 100%.

So, if you think legs are 86%, then his long arms are considered to be not normal - so quite possibly 33 % arms, he has broad shoulders which are also not considered normat - I guess 25% of him is shoulders and then there is the torso. I needs to be 50% I think.

So = he is 86+33+25+50 = 195% man.

So, that satisfies me.

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How can you forget the sexy eyes and lips ^^ omo I forgot the calculation lol

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You found the final 5% to make 200% man.

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OMG...I love your math. I think you are a GENIUS!

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Your math is not flawed in the least. He is 200% man. Excellent!

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I have no arguments with this logic.

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There's stull 1% left if we take into account what Rj and y said. Must the the mole at the corner of his right eye that's super sexy. =P

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As a former mathlete, I'm enjoying all the maths happening right now xD

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I was pleasantly surprised with the first episode. I thought the show would waste a whole episode explaining Kang Chul's backstory, but they didn't. I liked how they used our heroine as a voice over to explain his story in a comic book type of way like girlfriday stated.
Is anyone else really impressed by the artwork of the manwha?!? LSJ was translated perfectly into a cartoon, as were the other characters, in an art style that is very (at least in my opinion) appealing and rather beautiful. Does anyone know the artist responsible for the artwork?

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I read somewhere (I think soompi forums?) that they hired a Lee Jong Suk fan who's been doing fanarts for him. How credible that is (or how credible my memory is), I cannot vouch for it at all! It would be cool though if that's true. I do know that they use the Misaeng webtoon artist for references.

--
Honestly, I'd love to read ten years' worth of Kang Chul's life! heh. I'd buy those manhwas.

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they might not have had to draw it from scratch but use a Photoshop filter to turn images into drawing-like images (samsung phone has a native app that also does this amazingly well), then just add on other textures to make it look like drawings. As a regular manga and manhwa reader I can tell you Ive never seen manhwa that looks so realistic lol and as a longtime PS user I can also attest to the ability of PS for turning LJS into manhwa form using filters :)

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I was blown by the attention to the artwork that was given. It is amazing the work they put in to create at least semi legit art for the show.

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I AM IN LOVE. Need I say more?

Ok, you talked me into it...you don't have to twist my arm... Tomorrows episode can't come fast enough! Is dad stuck in cartoonverse? Is the comic going out of control and that's the reason dad needs to kill our comic book hero - to stop it from coming to life...and maybe allowing the big baddy to come into the real world? The possibilities are mind bending...

Thursday I need you!!! Come to me my precious!!!!

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aww I recommend you to continue watching Uncontrollably Fond.. the storyline is actually good and their love story is definitely moving me. I just finished watching ep 5 and I'm definitely intrigue on how the story unfolds even though it could have a typical ending..

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[SPOILER]

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Have you tried Let's Fight Ghost? BTW what Japanese dramas are you watching these days? I'm watching a girl and 3 sweethearts ( love kento yamazaki) and happy mari.

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I'm watching Hapi Mari (because I like the manga) and From 5 to 9 (Yamapi is love) at the moment!

After Mirror of the Witch, I could use some more mystery and fantasy dramas to fill in the void.... W might just do the trick!

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Muahahahahahaha... 1st ep is sooooo good!!!

HHJ-eonniiiiiiiii, hwaitiiiiing!!!

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So dammna good 1st Ep, jongsuk never disappoint us

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Truly. Amazing since School 2013 \m/

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I like that Kang Chul's entire world is a little more heightened, like the comic book aspects are showing up a bit in the overall style of the universe. Stuff like the really clearly-enunciated and specific things shouted in the courtroom - I can completely imagine those words being shouted from off-panel in a comic, but it's just that tiny bit odd to hear in a "real" world. It also feels like they're deliberately framing some of the comicworld shots to match up with comic conventions.

I'll be really interested to see how comicworld hospital will clash with Yeon Joo's in-depth knowledge of a working hospital. I don't expect them to pull a Truman Show, where the backs of sets aren't completed and the extras go on lunch break, but it would be cool if some comicworld scenarios make general sense but aren't logical to someone with area expertise like Yeon Joo - I want to see how much the world is constrained by Dad's concepts.

Strong start and a lot of stuff to think about, and the supporting cast looks great!

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Yep, I thought the differences between the comic universe and the real world wereparticularly clear in the clean bloodless shots of Kang Chul's family and the way he just sat up when Yeon Joo punctures his lung.

It'll be interesting too to see if Kang Chul has the opportunity to enter the real world and experience the limitations of reality.

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As far as I know, at some point Kang Chul will get in Yeon Joo's world (she meets him in her hospital, it's shown in long teaser), I can't wait to see Crazy Dog's reaction meeting his comics idol

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Good point!

The direction is also different in the two different realities. The mahnwa reality has a lot of static shots--that is, shots where the camera isn't moving, and all of the characters are moving within the frame. Shots that take place in Yeon-Joo's reality, on the other hand, tend to have more organic, flowy camera movements that makes it feel less cinematic and more like real life.

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Honestly this first episode didn't draw me in as much. The plot is interesting but doesn't spark, and as for the protagonist, is it just me or does she look like she's overdoing it? I haven't read the webtoon so I dunno if she's that way in there too, but from someone who hasn't read it, it looks like she's overacting. I assume she's meant to be quirky, but there's a fine line between quirky and just plain weird. Welp hopefully the show will draw me in later, but for all the hype I was hearing, this show didn't amaze me in any way. It's like another time traveler thriller, or another typical story.

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There is no webtoon, buhahahahahaha. This drama has an original script. It is NOT based on some comic books.

Though I really want those comic books shown in the drama. They are sadly not real.

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They NEED to be real. If not, k-drama producers are missing a huuuuuuge opportunity in making tons of ₩₩₩₩, ya know?

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I do wonder though if you're were slightly (and maybe unconsciously) affected by the thought that there's a "source material". it feels as if you created an impression based on the cliche that "adaptations are never really good enough!"

The episode had subtle brilliance to it. If you place yourself in Oh Yeon Joo's shoes, and suddenly see your actual self in a comic - everything you do and say, what you're wearing, the way your hair was styled - all of it on a piece of paper (monitor), I wonder how'd you react?

also, I don't know what made you say it's "another typical story"... what's typical about it?

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I loveeee the Eps 1 .. I hold my breath while watching it.
And got a goosebumps when the 'to be continued' shows up.
Can't wait for next eps ..

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So I'm head over heels in love with the premise of this show. But I'm a bit confused by Han Hyo Joo's character.

Han Hyo Joo is a good actress, so I'm having trouble understanding what seems like overacting on her part. She's cute and a relateable fangirl at times, but other times she comes across a little too damn quirky™. It seems as if she's playing for comedy even when the scene calls for some seriousness. I don't wanna be to too harsh in the first episode but it has me worried about the direction they're giving her.

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THIS! is definitely how I feel every time I saw her screen presence in the first episode.

I hope her character will become better with upcoming episodes. I mean Jin Sung from Beautiful Mind also have some problems but they made her more reasonable on further episodes.

Maybe give Han Hyo Joo a chance to prove herself?

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HHJ has always been a limited actress.

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Really? I liked her, she seemed... flighty. Like she would be one of those easily-distractable people in real life. And I liked that she's only an okay doctor, and not wholly confident in what she's doing.

I particularly like that a slightly flighty character has a better chance of fitting into the comic-book world more easily. If she were serious, then that could dent the high-concept comic universe with a tone mismatch. Basically: if she's too serious, it will make the thinness of the comic book world more evident and less engaging. And we already have stuff in the comic universe like a pneumothorax patient sitting straight up to stare into his doctor's eyes, very specific courtroom shouts, and comic beats like teabags being dropped on cue.

She feels like she actually could fit in a comic, which is good because she's in one.

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+100

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+1

*hold up sign saying GODDESS MIRANDA*

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The characterization put her squarely in the comic character checkbox. I'm sure the actress/direction will alter her subtly as time goes on.

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If you dropped me into a world where a young adult leaps off a bridge, somehow manages to grab on backwards with one hand, hoists himself up and then strides down the street with the short of epic music that comes with a cape, swearing vengeance with on his family's killer....

Yeah, I'd be unable. It'd be a really boring drama, because half of it would be me trying to persuade myself I'm not crazy and that I won't die completely if I leave this toilet cubicle.

I mean, she's not got very high self-esteem and she just saved the life of her comic book hero using a BIRO.

My nerd girl heart was swelling and freaking out for her.
I thought she was reasonably calm, tbf.

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HHJ is never a great actress people make her to be...
She is good at picking her projects and quite lucky

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I think she's supposed to be a teenage fan-girl that never really grew up. I'm just not sure why we're supposed to be invested in yet another child-woman. This writer seems to like them though. She had the same female characters in Nine and in Queen Hyeon's man; silly, not very competent and very emotional.

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The best first episode :D *squealingggg* I'm so hyped with this drama and worried that the drama might dissapoint me but whoah what a first episode.

On the other hand, I think HHJ can potray OHJ better than this, knowing HHJ slayed that Dong Yi character. I find HHJ far too focus on OHJ comedic side, when she has to faced serious scene HHJ still use the comic relief OHJ, maybe because it's her first time playing clumsy character? Or has she done this before? Anyway I think being funny as natural as possible is far more difficult than act serious or crying, maybe she still warming up with OHJ.

And LJS always slay in sad scene, I can't see Soo Ha, Dal Po, or Nam Soon in Kang Chul, he surely has good eyes for his dramas. Our little puppy chaebol!

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I think he's most similar to Park Hoon, but that kind of makes sense since he's kind of supposed to be overconfident I think. Anyway yeah he nailed the crying scenes.

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I am in love too! I can't even describe it in words. The story is so unique for a Korean Drama. I loved 9 Time Travels. I knew the writers was not going to disappointment.

LET THE FANDOM BEGIN!

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Don't know of anyone thinks the same...but I think the barrier between the two worlds broke down when she picked up that image of Saturn Devouring His Son and read the creepy quote about devouring on the back of it. That image looks hell creepy....just a theory but I think entering the other world has something to do with that image. It's like the image is a key?

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The freaking picture almost gave me a heart attack. It was really creepy and I'm so excited for what more of this drama will give me !!!!

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At first, I thought the same thing. But they didn't really focus on it afterwards. I believe that it has a deeper meaning. Like GirlFriday wrote - the image is an "about the Greek god who devoured one of his children out of fear that he’d be overthrown." I think there is something there. Maybe Chul is the "son" who might overtake the dad. Or maybe the dad is part of both worlds. *Spoilers*

The preview shows the dad in his office again like nothing happened. Maybe he can travel between both worlds. I'm not sure. All I know is that I want mooooooeeerrr.

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I thought the same! The father is clearly Saturn and the son is Kang Chul or the webtoon. The father has seen the webtoon come to life and he wants to kill it, but we don't know the reasons or why he thinks it is dangerous. Anyway, it is exciting to be given these hints and I will look forward to see more details and know which is the role that the father is playing in all this.

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How fitting that 'W- Two Worlds' is premiering on the same day that Comic Con begins in San Diego. Art seems to be imitating life quite a bit these days. Yay for the distraction of so many great dramas all happening at the same time right now!

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Lee Jongsuk looked so handsome as a cartoon character.....he seriously left me in awe.

But the real him.....just meh (don't get me wrong, I love him too)

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ikr, I'm one of those people who don't find LJS as handsome as everything says. I mean he looks good but not that handsome...however his cartoon character is definitely handsome! Lol

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From what I've read and seen, it appears that Korea has a very specific set of standards when it comes to ideal beauty for men and women. I think he's so popular for his physical appearance because he meets so many of these "ideal" standards: long legs, small head, v-line face, (visible Adam's apple ?), porcelain skin tone, etc.
All of those particular ideal characteristics aren't that physically appealing to me personally, probably because I'm not from Korea.

I think he's a talented actor with on-screen appeal which makes him appear more attractive. He has a nice voice and a kind face, so in that regard I can see why people are crazy about him.
I'm not that physically attracted to him but I do think he is pretty and has a great smile.

I love watching him on my screen, and I can't wait to see the leads together again. From some interviews I've seen, they have adorable chemistry.

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He is a talented actor for sure. I love all of his past dramas, and get a lil head over heels when he was in Pinocchio.

But now, his structure got more smoother, I really can't explain it but I still have faith on his talent. Still, I will never be bored to mention how good looking the cartoon version of him

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Just to chime in - although I personally find LJS to be a good looking man, he is not in fact a very good representation of the ideal Korean standard (that would be more along the lines of Go Soo, Won Bin, etc). LJS tends to lean a bit feminine for Koreans, which is why some negative comments about him complain that his looks are "more fitting for second lead than main protagonist".

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+1 for his acting skills! His micro-smiles, his crying that feels real but not overdone...

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Your description of physical his attributes and appeal were well put.

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Ahhh I loved the first episode! No qualms about it at all so far, I think show is just slowly building up to be more and more exciting! Fantasy-romance have always been my favourite kdrama genre, and plus this has Lee Jong-Suk innit, so need I say more?! (: Can't wait for moreeeee!

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this is new and different, i like it alot already!

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I enjoyed this episode.. I wish it was longer! Like you said, this was setup, I am excited to see what's happening and why. I also enjoyed how the drama was filmed to separate the two worlds.. Interesting contrasts.

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As an LJS fan, I anticipate his dramas the most. I also prepare myself for him or his drama to disappoint me. I tell myself a lot of things that could go wrong so that if it does disappoint me, then my heart can handle it.

I am also a Webtoon, Manga, Manhwa, Anime fan. So, my excitement for this plot has scared my own emotional involvement in something!!

This episode blew me away. And I have watched every preview, every BTS, every picture shot, everything that has been discussed. I am in the center of that fandom. Despite knowing what this is all about, I was absolutely thrilled with this episode.

And I know I have colored eyes when it comes to LJS but I am so happy I am his fan. He is fabulous and makes me proud!!

The direction, the tension was on point and I loved everyone.

I will say though, at the very end of the show, when HHJ's character gets all freaked out when stuff actually kind of hits her, I found her slightly screechy but I am kind of assuming, if you are living in real world and Aomine Daike from that Basketball Manga pulled me and then I appeared in that Manga, I might get even more screechy and quite possibly start screaming like a nutcase. So, I get her! 'Coz, as a fan of such things, It is understandable. Ha ha.

Can't wait for tomorrow. This is definitely the best of the current crop.

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AHHH I love Aomine Daiki as well. So happy to meet someone who knows Kuroko Basketball in drama beans hehe :D

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Don't want to get off track. But my Manga/anime love is something else!! Hye there fellow lover of Aomine Daiki. Nice to meet you!!

But back to this drama, LJS looks like a manga character too :-D

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LOL Lee Jong Suk really does look like a manga character. In real life if I was pulled into something like Kaichou wa maid sama and met Usui or Tamaki from Ouran host club I would also be pretty screechy and start to scream. But its nice to see someone who also has the same obsession as me with anime and korean dramas :D

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Let's find another thread and fan girl together!!!!

eeeee!

I am afraid we might be shutdown for going offtopic :-)

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Aw, Usui Takumi and Tamaki are among my favorites. But I think I would die happy if I could share a manga with Zero or Tomoe....awww, **deep sighs** just thinking of the possibility makes me dizzy!!
At least LJK is flesh and blood and we might meet him sometime, haha!!:D

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My ultimate 2 manga/anime biases!!! (of course i've read and seen barely a dozen, still!)

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This drama is so pleasing as a manga fan. In the opening sequence each shot really looks like a panel of a comic, I can easily see a manga narrating the story through a news broadcast.

I sympathise with HHJ too, I was wondering what real world skill I could bring to a webtoon alternative universe. Ehh...do you want some shoddy legal advice from someone who barely passed law school?

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Long time for a strong pilot episode. They're usually very weak. Loved it! Love LJS! So happy he's back. I like the premise waaay more than his last drama (dal po). So excited to be hooked!

(Though Kim so Hyun is pretty addictive to watch too. She is sooo cute!)

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Kim Soo Hyun has really nice good teeth and laugh.. :)

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Oh my god, I love it. The first episode had everything -- suspense, mystery, and comedy. Kang Chul is both cheeky and badass. I can see why Korea is in love with him and would have rioted if Dad had killed him off. I never even read one volume, yet I'm already invested in his revenge. I love his camaraderie with his assistant, whom I suppose has a crush on him. Yeon Joo is so refreshing as a bumbling, always second-guessing herself doctor. As she was patting herself on the back, all I could think was "stop putting your bloodied hands on your face."

I honestly thought W would beat Uncontrollably Fond, but Wednesday-Thursdays are chock-full of crack. I feel so proud of my School 2013 alumni with special mention to Lee Ji Hoon and Lee Yi Kyung who were fantastic in Mirror of the Witch. I cannot wait for tomorrow.

A huge thanks for the recap, girlfriday!

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Well, on the one hand, I really, desperately want to comment on this episode because I loved so much about it. But I also want to go to sleep so I can watch the next one already! Why? Because the show kept Dad completely in the dark this hour and I can't wait to see just what he's been up to. I keep wondering whether Kang Cheol has already altered the course of the manhwa before. Otherwise, why would Dad be so fixated on ending his life? Surely there must me a reason why he's so bent on destroying him. Just what is going on?! Why do I have so many questions already and why does having so many questions make me this giddy?!

Ahhh, it feels so good to have a show like this. Just give me more.

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There were so many little pieces of art in his room. I kept wanting to glimpse it all in case it turned out he was a servant of Culthulu...

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ok if I were Korean I would easily change the channel from Uncontrollably Fond to this.. but thank God I can watch both of them so I dont have to betray my Woobin. this is soo goood! I didn't expect much tbh but it totally got me hooked. please stay good, show.

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IKR. I am so thankful that I can easily watch both shows without betraying one over the other. Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jong Seok are both awesome and I hate it that these best friends are being set up to compete with each other. Hope nothing comes between their awesome bromance even if one show does better than others.

For me, UF and W are equally good and completely different genres. They are just incomparable.

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+1

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Yes! I hate that they're getting compared because they're totally different from each other and I am LOVING them both right now.

Even if they were the same, it's like saying I can't love City Huntet AND Healer.

Come on now... :) :)

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Hehe I'm so thankful I can watch one or another without affecting the ratings too.

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I'm glad I don't have to choose too, but I have to say that the latest (today's episode, I think it's 6) episode of Uncontrollably Fond might lose viewers in Korea to W. It was almost pure filler. Disappointing because I thought it had finally hit its stride in ep 5. It's bad timing to be putting forward a sub-par episode if it's competing with W for the time slot.

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I think I know what's going on in this story.

I think the killer who was after Kang Chul (Lee Jong Suk) is the webtoon himself.

Why do you think I concluded this?

You remember the scene in the bridge where KangChul was about to jump? I think the webtoon should have ended there. And at that moment, the webtoon acquired a mind on its own.

The webtoon author noticed this that's why he's desperately trying to kill KangChul to end the 'webtoon'

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ooooooo...Creepy... and creepy good theory....

I also feel KC has changed the narrative before...I think he may be rewriting a few things by being rebellious. For all you know, he used the webtoon writing to become rich!!

So many possibilities. It is really fun to imagine all this...

And I am not at all creative!! So, I get amazed by the theories. Though, I am keeping away from all of them except my own. I am keeping away from all the smart, creative thinkers though...

he he he.

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The webtoon couldn't have ended there. Wasn't where Kangchul was about to jump near the beginning of the webtoon series? It would have been a really bad webtoon if it ended with the main character just committed suicide after his family was killed.

Are you saying the webtoon itself saved Kangchul?

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I also suspect the cartoonist is Kang Chul's murderer since he's trying to hard to kill him off. What I find strange is that since Kang Chul is trying to stay alive, why doesn't the cartoonist just write give Kang Chul his revenge by letting him find his family's killer. He can just make up some random person and that would end the series. Kang Chul gets his revenge, his name gets cleared and live happily ever after. THE END. The cartoonist is making things difficult for himself.

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Isnt yeon joo's world also fictional

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YES! She is in our drama!

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Are WE real?

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We are drama characters for someone who created a mass production drama! Sounds weird ! I mean are leads or second leads or extras? Damn look at our population?????

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Where are our flower boys then?

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@wapz yesss!! that's the million dollar question cause I haven't seen any..... yet

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If this is true, I'm living in the most boring drama ever written.

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lol. mind blown! Maybe, we're in someone's drama or webtoon.

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Thats not what i meant Wasn't it written somewhere that [POSSIBLE SPOILER???] YJ s world is also a comic book and the reason her father is obsessed with killing KC because the writer wants him to kill kc

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I'm not sure if that's true but just in case it is... that's a huge spoiler.

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Lol is it weird that I now want to what that spoiler was? I am quite curious! Anyhow, can't wait for the next episode!

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LOL, me too. I'm definitely curious. I guess it was an actual spoiler and not just a theory?

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Very probable

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Meta commentary ftw!

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This is not a spoiler ( exasperated) it was mentioned in the articles discussed in your forum infact.

Please check the facts correctly. Im discussing a theory not a spoiler. I would never do that.

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Sorry. I did remember those discussions but I thought your comments were saying that the theory was actual fact.

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I haven't been this excited about a drama since forever and I'm so glad it's living up to expectations so far. I love the character in both worlds and I'm looking forward to unraveling the multiple mysteries this drama has to offer.

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Ohh I cannot wait to watch this after work. But based on the recap, sounds it will be good.

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I guess I'm in the minority who likes HHJ's acting here and her overreactions after finding out what's happening, I mean just getting inside a comic is already crazy what more if you got into a comic and you met your fictional crush and at the same time changing the story (for the better or worse) because of your self, damn your life and damn your fangirl life.

Meanwhile the W comic/manhwa fans discussing on their own thread like:

"I heard the new character is his daughter"
"Damn I knew that girl she's a real doctor, I used to be her patient, ugly af!!!! Kang Chul is mine!!!"
"His daughter probably force him to be on the manhwa, that girl is ruining the story!"
"It's ok for me, as long as Kang Chul is alive, I thought W will end now, I'm so glad there's more, my feeeels"
"Why Kang Chul always been on an accident, this is getting draggy, and the superwoman doctor is always on the right moment so cliché"
"It seems like the author doesn't know how to create romance story"
"But I like the Secretary for Kang Chul tho, my OTP ?"
"I like it, Oh Yeon Joo is a refreshing character, and it's the right time to have Kang Chul a romantic partner"
"Oh Yeon Joo love Kang Chul"
"A key to my life, Kang Chul is so sweet"
"I want more romance!!!"

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ME TOO!! As a long time comic fan, I totally get her reactions. And HHJ pulled that adorkable cute character so naturally. I never knew her before and now I see why people praise her acting all the time.

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I thought HHJ's portrayal of Yeon Joo was really realistic too lol. She was relatable to me because who the hell wouldn't be freaking out over what happened to her?!She's also basically the only source of comic relief in an otherwise very tense, suspenseful drama so I really enjoyed her scenes.

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Haha, you're not alone! I was too lazy to write it, but I completely agree. I do get where people are coming from, but I think her character will settle into a nice rhythm once she's done grappling with the impossible. We may have fully accepted the premise of this drama, but she's the one experiencing it. Frankly, I love her reactions because I don't think I'd be able to hold it together either if such a bizarre thing happened to me. In fact, I don't think there even is such a thing as 'over-reaction' for a situation like this.

LOL @ your W fan comments. So on point.

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LMAO your hypothetical netizen reactions. I got the same vibes from Crazy Dog. He sounded like a salty fanboy when the story didn't got the way he wanted too.

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I actually liked her acting alot. she can't be too serious or we will spend 5 episodes just having her come to terms with the alternate reality. And the show vibe is generally happy and quirky. So i don't have any objections. She is not going overboard as to be annoying. She is completely in the 'fun, clutzy and watchable' territory

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+100 love this comment!

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I like her acting too. It is believable given the situation she is in now. She is a natural! I am not familiar with the actress but I see now why people like her.

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lol....your 'netizen reactions' ae really good.

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I think HHJ's acting was too much only at the beginning after she got out of bed. I liked her reactions to the supernatural stuff. Maybe the overacting was HHJ and the PD trying to establish her character's quirky personality.

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I am hooked! Excited about this show as I'm a fan of Han Hyo Joo. I'd say it was a pretty strong first episode. It had the right amount of everything to pique your interest and get you anticipated for the next episode.

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What a strong first episode!

I'm loving everything about it, but most of all, I love, love, LOVE how they tell Kang Chul's story as a comic book character. Watching kang Chul's world unfold feels like reading a comic book itself. At the back of my mind I was like "Ah, so these must be the cliffhangers." and can even imagine it as comic-book style. The tiny meticulous details like character-drawing, framing etc really makes me feel like I'm actually "watching" a comic-book W.

And I love that they didn't lay down every single thing about Kang Chul's life on the get go. It left me wonder; what happened to Kang Chul after the bridge scene? Did he manage to get his revenge? Or solving the mystery? Or how did he get to be so rich in 2016? Who are his two minions? How did he meet them? - It's like flipping through W-the comic book, so we only get the gists of the Kang Chul's story. I would need to "read" the whole 33 volumes of W, to fall in love with Kang Chul, and to turn me into one of his rabid fans. So I really hope other volumes of Kang Chul's life will be told in the next episodes and this drama does justice to it. Can't wait!

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W is crazy good! Loved the first episode, there was so much going on in RL and webtoon life. I can't wait to find out more about the cartoonist/father, too. Loved that it wasn't the ending but is to be continued...but why?

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First ep of W was very good and unique. Now i prefer watching W than UF. Maybe because i really don't watch melo. Hope it will stay good and the rating climb up.

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I am worried that if everything that happens in the comic world gets printed and published does that mean when they will have those swoon worthy kisses that will also be broadcasted to the whole world??!

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I saw someone was talking about how their bed scenes may be broadcast through the webtoon.

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If that happens I will die from second hand embarrasement!

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and imagine what comic book fans would think about her dad who drew her daughter in this kind of scene

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See?! This is why I love Dramabeans. I seriously have been waiting for this drama to just come already. As they gave us more teasers the excitement just grew and grew. I told as many as I could about this drama and that there was too many factors that just screamed to me that it HAD to be good. Especially cause of Lee Jong Suk. And the writer. And it di not disappoint. In fact I think I'm going to watch it again.
This drama better be awesome or I will be pissed.
Thanks dramabeans! Another reason why I love you!!! Just when I was sad that this might not be recapped Girlsfriday posted this. I love you all DB staff and hopefully all goes well in LA and with the boss herself, Javabeans. Fighting!! We send all our love and strength to continue!

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I just knew it. In the first five minutes, any drama with lee Jong Suk in it will just stab me in the heart (no pun). argghhhh I am on vacation, I dont want heartbreak and tragedy and unfairness AGAIN. Is he addicted to this kind of characters?

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Loved this episode. It had everything to look promising: the story, the execution, and Han Hyo Joo&Lee Jong Suk together.
Now, I will go and light some candles to pray for the story to be consistent for the rest of the drama. It's been ages since I watched any drama that made me feel really excited, so it'd better be good. :D

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Fangirl mode ON !!

I feel like when i was watching my superheroes stories back then. I love it. ^_^

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It paid off avoiding spoilers and not reading about this drama. My mind is totally blown by episode 1. I love sci fi and this episode was so fast paced. My adrenaline was going and I was squealing. And considering I don't actually like the main leads and was planning on avoiding it; the story just sucked me in.

Please, please writer have a clear and well conceptualised parallel world plot in place. If it's done well it should be brilliant. Totally sold on the OHY character.

Still have no clue about the plot and who the 2nd leads are. That's what I mean when I said I read nothing about this drama beyond the initial casting. The lead couple. That's it.

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So it's like you felt in episode 1 all the "Omo... Daebak... Really???" reactions we've been getting in installments from the teasers for the past month.

Must have been such an intense hour for you :D I'm glad you survived it. Now we all journey to the unknown that is episode 2!

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I love sci fi stuff. Hope it stays good. Couldn't care less about the romance. Too many comments in too many dramas where it's the only constant comment. I would like good plot development being discussed.

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If there's a writer I trust, it's this one. Nine and Queen In Hyun's Man are two of my facourites because of how well written they were. Especially Nine. That's why I really wanted to watch W, because the plot sounded awesome and I trust the writer.

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Exactly! My face was :O! half the time!

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I loved the first episode. I was all kyaaaaaaaaa! Its jong seok!!!!! I love thrillers of this type. This whole episode reeked of mystery & I enjoyed it.
But there is this doubt/ possibility / whatever idea that popped from the back of my head when I saw that killer, we haven't seen much of him but from the body build it felt like Lee himself. What if that is his alter ego. I mean we don't even know someone holding a grudge against the kang family, then again its just first ep today I can't wait for 2nd !!!!!!!

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I saw the first episode without subs and I like it that it is seriously making me think about getting a subscription to Viki. Anyways I liked the first episode and I can't wait for the second one and the rest to see where this story will continue to go. I seriously have faith on the writer I truly enjoyed "Nine" and I hope this doesn't disappoint.

This is sort of dark to admit but I was laughing when Lee Jong-seok character's parents were being killed. It's just that in every drama his character always loses his parents, when will he be able to keep his parents?? XD Thanks for the recap Girlfriday :)

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there's eng subs on dramafire.com tho.. you can also download it once it's uploaded because it's already hard subbed

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Hi, do you know where.can dwnld koren drama. Last time easy to dwnld..many website can go such as mysoju. But now, hard to find it.

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Me too, laughed at his parents death scene, it was just so dramaic and truly in comics style, I don't exactly feel bad about it, his life was such a thriller and it seemed like author didn't intend to make it too dark or serious

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I didn't know that Kang Ki Young, Lee Shi Un, and Lee Tae Hwan are all in this drama together, that's like the most awesomest sidekick, times three!

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+1000 Yup, love them all.

I really hope Lee Tae Hwan and Kang Ki Young get to have scenes together at some point, but they're from different realities so I'm not sure if it will happen...

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