Part Two- Will we ever know how this happened to THE REAL HAS COME? What follows is speculation:

How did this happen? If you know the history of Gallipoli then you know that it actually took the efforts of many people to screw things up that badly. The writer is not the only one to blame here- although the initial problem of too many side couples probably does come from the writer. To this we should add the laziness and incompetence of the casting people: Just a few weeks before production the actor who was going to play the ML dropped out- because of a scheduling conflict and was replaced by Ahn Jae-hyun who had been going through a divorce. The actor who played the ML’s father dropped out after episode 15. What does this tell us? That the casting people did not lock people in for the duration of the drama, which is essential to a show as long as a weekender. Not only that but the whole tenor of the scripts that were written after AJH was brought aboard shifted as if the rehabilitation of his image was now the primary goal of the drama. (Note: I don’t think it worked). It is possible that bending the show to fit one actor resulted in bending it even more to satisfy the demands of others- the time-skip might have occurred to satisfy the vanity of the two actresses whose characters have babies during the show but perhaps never wanted to be seen pregnant (Note- this is speculation but it does explain the blunder).

But add to this cowardice in the head office because we saw the show pull its punches again and again. Example: Our childless older brother and wife ultimately wanted to turn to a sperm donor in order to have a child and the audience was essentially promised that the FL’s uncle would be the donor- but it never happened. Because it would be controversial? But this show was supposed to be controversial! Or the possibility of a “Double In-law” marriage if the FL’s brother was to the ML’s sister (Gasp!) even though exactly that happened in the recent and hugely successful Weekender ONCE AGAIN, complete with a beautiful wedding (and a truly lovely bride).

Perhaps most shocking is the idea that KBS, who has more experience with weekenders than any other organization, should have dropped the ball so completely. It is obvious that the top brass there have lost the plot to use an old naval term. They need to take their bearings again and to take Weekenders seriously again. It is painfully obvious that they did not do that with THE REAL HAS COME. The laziness shown in casting for this show is just a symptom of a deeper disease: An utter lack of seriousness taken towards a longer form drama.

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    Although, I was wondering how they would make Baek Jin hee look pregnant. She’s practically emaciated. And she’s also not immune to controversy herself, just hearing up with her boyfriend during this show as well, and I think she was also blamed to breaking up his last relationship too. Actually, a show about her life might have had had better ratings. But what if life imitates art and she starts dating one of her costars here? Or has one of their babies?! Yeah, I could have written a better drama.

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    What, he kidnaps his own daughter??? 😂 I cannot take this seriously at all.

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    I don’t know, I still think they changed (or annoyed 😁) the writer.

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    I finally found your post mortem/autopsy post a couple of days ago. So, first – thank you. Because it confirms for this weekender newbie that TRHC is a true anomaly from the genre. Perhaps a sign of the future weekender, but I hope not. Thus, I’m venturing into Live Your Own Life because on the face of it there is amazing potential for major mixing between the two major families (I’ll write more over on that forum).

    Back to TRHC – although I wondered if the last-minute change of ML might have contributed to what happened, I never really considered that some of what happened lays at the doorstep of the casting director. It makes sense. But in the end, except for the Main Couple, the other cast members were simply treated as non-entities who were paid to show up and phone it in.

    So, I will add a couple perhaps meaningless tidbits which I found on Instagram. I don’t follow any celebrity on IG, but I frequently check in on favorites or actors in ongoing dramas.

    While several TRHC actors showed off their good-bye “cakes” and flowers (handed out on location or at the studio), there were ZERO “goodbye or “thankyou” ig posts for the Jang family and Joon-ha. Their last filming was actually at Incheon airport – about 5 days before the final weekend. Jung eun Jae posted a photo where he received a birthday cake from staff at Incheon(his birthday was same day apparently).

    The beautiful Che Joo Young moved on quickly – promoting her brand associations, including the Veronica Beard grand opening in Seoul. No “final” photo, no cake, no bouquet. Good for her – her disdain for top brass is crystal clear.

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      It was very clear to me that everyone outside of the main couple was treated like furniture after the midpoint of the show. The FL’s image also needed to be upgraded at that point as well because she had just dumped her boyfriend- whose previous relationship had been ruined. So she too needed to be made to look more saintly.

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