Public Service Announcement: Past Lives is now available to rent on Viki. Best to see it in a theater if that’s possible for you, but if not, see it any way you can. Bring tissues.
I’m so confused. MDL and AsianWiki both say that 1993 stabby guy is called Park Cheol-won, played by Ji Woong-bae. In 2023, there’s a character named Park Cheol-won played by Kim Sang-ho (the balding actor who was recently the doctor boss in Not Others), but he’s not the recycler; he’s the security company employee who removed all the CCTV cameras from the murder scene, and who the police think is behaving suspiciously. The nameless recycler is played by Song Jae-ryong, who does look a lot more like 1993 Park Cheol-won (Ji Woong-bae). So either MDL and AW have their character names/actors mixed up – which is completely possible – or 1993 stabby guy and 2023 recycler are not the same person. (Or I missed something, which is also completely possible.) What gives?
Ok I didn’t see the stabby guy and recycler as the same person. So it’s possible the recapper was wrong. Their faces didn’t look like the same person but I need to go rewatch to confirm.
Kim Sang Ho is definitely the security guy and he is too famous to be confused with other faces.
Yes, I think the recapper got it wrong – I was baffled when she said recycler = stabber. I’m pretty sure stabby guy was not identified by name in the 1993 scene, but Kim Sang-ho’s 2023 character was definitely named out loud as Park Cheol-won by the police. I originally posted this in the recap thread and then deleted it because the MDL character names could be a spoiler; I’ll be interested to see if anyone else catches it or if the recapper corrects it.
It’s @reply1988‘s Beanie Bingo! Looking for patterns in the beanie levels of random Featured Beanies at the top of the fanwall. I think she started by looking for a full set of Errand Boys but we’ve branched out and run with it, as beanies do.
We had to branch out looking for those mini wins as I don’t think we will ever beat my 7 Errand boys or what should be a really easy win of 8 blue beans considering how many people have them. Even on the slot machines matching 2 cherries gives you some bells and flashing lights😆
Very artistic… at least it puts the rumor of changed FL to rest.
As of now they are estranged but still are / or will be joined by the full moon.
Amateur attempt at analyzing the poster.
Destined With You, ep. 3:
I love this overhead shot. She looks like a white rose blooming.
(He looks like a Lego minifigure, but that’s a separate issue.)
I don’t know, maybe when I run out of dramas to watch, I’ll try it, it wasn’t particularly fascinating for me after first ep, so I put it on hold, one thing though, I wish I also had handsome 6’2 feet tall guy to offer me a company 😂
My Dearest:
I looked back at the first-episode extended dream after finishing Part 1. Gil-chae has passed through all the seasons of her life (and the drama), drawn by Jang-hyun and by the red thread of fate, leaving behind butterflies and wild geese – symbols of marital harmony and fidelity – and racing from her home blooming with spring flowers through summer fields, autumn forests, and desolate snowy mountains. She passes through an evergreen pine forest, the boundary between the mortal and spiritual realms. Now her thread has run out and she’s arrived at sunset, at the seaside – at land’s end – where he says, “I have been waiting for you at this place for a long time.” It’s the beach where we first saw him outnumbered by a ragtag army. They’re both wearing white, the traditional color of shrouds and mourning. They’re DEAD, you guys. He died first, some time before, and has been waiting for her in the afterlife. Now we’ll have to wait to see whether they are DEAD dead, or if it really is just a dream.
I think this also links to the folk tale Ryang-eum told about Gap Soon and Gap Dol; although she loved him, she married the rich man her parents chose for her and lived a long life with her husband and children, only to wish on her deathbed to return to Gap Dol, to spend eternity with him. I do think that’s the most likely ending for their story right there. (Any resemblance to The Red Sleeve is probably not coincidental.) Of course the drama could be messing around with us – but it hasn’t yet.
However. Given how intensely angry I am at ALL of our leads (except Eun-ae) and most of the minor characters as of the end of Part 1, frankly, I don’t give a damn if anyone’s alive at the end.
On the other hand… I think you just broke the mental block I’ve been wrestling with regards to my reaction to this weeks episodes with this post, so, uhm, thank you? I think? hahaha I had pieces of it, but nothing was cohesive and putting itself in the right order, etc, etc, becoming an actual argument.
Noooo, I am desperately trying to erase what I have just read from my memory.
But I have to admit that you are probably absolutely right in your analysis of the dream.
However, I don’t think we will see a retelling of the folk tale about Gap Soon and Gap Dol. So far, My Dearest has pretty much followed GWTW’s playbook for major milestones. Therefore, I assume that Gil-chae will either continue to be unmarried (yes, I know, I’m clutching at straws) or widowed at the start of Part 2. Furthermore, the official description of the drama states that Gil-chae is a woman with two failed marriages.
If we were currently on episode 18, it would be possible that Gil-chae has a year-long marriage with the officer, but it is unlikely that we will see Jang-hyun and a married Gil-chae pining for each other for 10 episodes.
Long text for a Monday morning, but I had to cheer myself up somehow.
I see it similarly, but I’m wondering if we’re supposed to see Gil Chae’s first engagement to the soldier who died as her Charles Hamilton (Scarlett’s first husband who dies immediately), Gil-Chae’s officer as Frank Kennedy (I think that was his name–Scarlett’s second husband who dies after about four years of marriage), and then Jang-Hyun would be her third husband. Or is Gil Chae’s second failed marriage with someone other than Jang Hyun? Either way, I don’t see “My Dearest” spending too many episodes of Gil Chae’s marriage to the officer; I expect a time skip pretty soon after Part II starts. But after that, I’m not sure what to hope for. If Jang Hyun and Gil Chae marry, it means the show is really following GWTW all the way through, and I don’t want to watch Gil Chae still holding him at arm’s length the way Scarlett did Rhett, and, of course, the whole Bonnie Blue tragedy.
But if Gil Chae and Jang Hyung *don’t* marry, I also don’t want to see 10 episodes of them continuing to hurt each other and themselves with other relationships, misunderstandings, and the machinations of jealous others.
I think her first fiancé is Charles Hamilton and the officer is Frank Kennedy’s equivalent. So I believe that sooner or later she will marry Jang-hyun. Since Gil-chae, unlike Scarlett, is long over her first love and knows that she loves Jang-hyun, I have high hopes that her marriage will be different from Scarlett and Rhett Buttler’s. This is where MY DEAREST and GWTW differ significantly.
I should clarify: I don’t expect a full retelling of the Gap Soon story or to have to trudge through a long marriage between Gil-chae and someone other than Jang-hyun. I do expect they will be together at some point in this life, but will be separated by events and by death and reunited only after it. The big complication of her marrying someone else is the prohibition on widows remarrying that @kiara and @indyfan have discussed at length. There were ways around that, but that will really set up a conflict between Gil-chae’s adherence to traditional values (her filial piety, for example) and her willingness to do anything including defying those values (urging Eun-ae to pretend there was no assault by barbarians, working in a smithy) to protect her people. And there’s also the Chunhyang parallel, which leads to quite a different ending.
@lapislazulii Count me among the straw-clutchers, though – I would love to be as wrong as I have often been! I predicted a tragic together-after-death ending for Alchemy of Souls and was totally off-base (and glad to be). In some ways I’m just trying to inoculate myself against the pain to come. And I know I’m biased because I so despise that book that I don’t want to see the obvious similarities play out.
but yeah no gosh lol, I know it’s going to be tragic but the foreshadowing has been heavy but lightbulbs have been turned on thanks to your analysis of the dream here
now watch me stubbornly refuse to see the glaring signs of a doomed end in part two … the clownery continues for me even after Red Sleeve 🤡
I never thought of that. Thanks….I think. 😅 While I am ever so sad as well, looking at the fan wall, I suspect I may have a minority opinion in the recaps. I better get a glass of soju. Or a bottle. 😀
Oooh. I wanna hear them!!! If it gets too rough over there will you post your thoughts here on the fan wall so the rest of us can read them? I’d also have a better shot of responding so this is a selfish ask as well. 😇
He he. I’m trying to clear up some points on the engagement practices in Joseon with Kiara in one of the older fan wall posts (from just a few hours ago, ha!) so I understand.
And I don’t even know if I’ll be in the minority. I don’t even have an essay tbh. I see this kind of plot line all the time in our contemporary cinema and also around my life. Same old, but so well done. So see you in the recaps. Ppl can disagree as they will.
Yeah. I understand that. We can form a fan wall thread too if it comes to that. However, my thoughts are not that deep here. Don’t expect much! We have some long passionate essays in MD recaps.
I think the range of reactions was diverse, no? But, I said my little piece. But honestly, I was too tired to type anything meaningful after reading all those comments, and just skipped all the personal stuff.
It may also be that I don’t have anything of depth to add, but I may also be reaching drama/commenting burnout.
I read the first few hours with interest, yes. I would have been WAY more interested to have a conversation with trusted Beanies about our personal reactions, though!
Maybe one day that will happen…but relatedly, I have many more thoughts on what you’ve just said here about “drama comment burnout” which I think I have my own version of…I want to write up a little thing about that plus some thoughts on your throwaway line yesterday asking me (facetiously) how to keep your heart out of a show.
I’ll tag you in to wherever it goes, @indyfan , in part to save @elinor from “Fan Wall Post Bloat.” Although, @elinor, as a more veteran Beanie, if you’d like me to tag you in to this other meta-DB conversation, you’re obviously more than welcome. Just let me know if you’re interested. Now that I’ve typed this, I guess I think @indyfan doesn’t have a choice 😂
I applaud your well-grounded and very plausible analysis, not just because it rings true, but also because I’d frankly (see what I did there?) prefer this ending than one that truly follows the GWTW Rhett/Scarlett playbook. Although, of course, I suppose we could get both (Jang Hyun declares himself done with Gil Chae in life as Rhett did to Scarlett, but then dies before they can work things out and be reunited). I also can’t see a true adherence to the Gap Dol story, not just because it’s too significantly different from GWTW (we’re currently paralleling Scarlett’s second marriage to a decent man–according to Mitchell’s characterization, not according to any modern reader, btw– who ends up dead after about four years into their stable marriage in a KKK raid gone wrong) but because I can’t see what the story would do for 10 more episodes if Jang-Hyun and Gil Chae are apart for all of it because she’s living out her long, semi-happy life with another man.
So I’ll cling to some hope that in their time on Earth together the two of them realize at the same time that they love each other deeply and are able to do something about it, even if it ends in death. It really is a testament to how good this show is–and how much I *don’t* want them to go the GWTW route all the way through–that I would consider that a happy ending of sorts.
I have to admit, my reaction was –
90% “Gil-chae, you fucking idiot!” over and over.
5% “Jang-hyun, you really screwed that up! Have you learned nothing?”
5% “Dammit, Ryang-eum, did you have to live down to our expectations?”
and then circling back to “Gil-chae, you fucking idiot!” again.
I doubt I’m going to have any further or deeper reaction. I’m disappointed and pissed off.
Well, if you end up having further thoughts, I, for one, am interested.
I’ve skim-watched everything up to this point (I watch all the scenes that center on our central “Love V” intently, but literally skip all the historical sageuk parts)…but as of last episode I am truly struggling mightily (and here I mean morally) with the narrative parallels to the “racist POS,” if you know what I mean, and I think you do. That “culture of honor” was no such thing.
Sigh. In terms of this drama, though, I gather I know exactly what happens given the parallels and, therefore, don’t need to watch. Is that about the size of it?
Forgive me for being off-topic, but for no fault of this post and all of the twitter boss’, my natural instinct took my finger to the ‘X’ logo to “close the window” 😂. Must be the most poorly thought out social media logo I’ve seen.
Wow, the music video definitely could use an upgrade in production quality, but the music is higher quality than lots of nugu kpop groups lmao. This is so cool!
So there’s two Q-pops now then.
Because Kazakhstani Pop is also known as Q-pop lmao.
Love listening to music in other languages though, so thank you for allowing me to cross Quechua off my list.
Um, this sounds pretty patronizing. Kpop itself, both music and dance, developed out of originally Western (American/European) rock and pop styles that have become universal in their influence and now the influence flows globally in all directions. Quechua is both old and a widely-spoken modern language – like Korean. This isn’t a language reboot because it doesn’t need one.
didnt quite mean it like that. what I mean is, they got an original background so it would be great to see something based on their own culture and background and /or personal ideas. how to say… I have frequented folk music and other festivals 32 years. so I met hundreds of bands from different countries. But there has not been a ketchua band on these festivals.
Me, trying to keep up with my entire current drama watching schedule.
I’m glad one ended last week, although I already have two replacements for it. 😵💫
You absolutely know you have a problem when all you can think of when seeing adorable Mike Wazowski are other scenes on treadmills from k-dramas. Here are some…starting with the one that came first to my mind. In all honesty, it’s for the manager. You believe me, right??
Wicked, wicked Seon-ha! I almost didn’t get past the first gif. I’m sure one exists somewhere of Yoon Hyun-min on the treadmill in his skivvies from Bora!, but I couldn’t find it and didn’t want to frighten the horses anyway.
Nah, FWIW, you directly mentioned me on that Open Thread post—nothing. Just know that I always want to hear what you have to say, and respond to you…so, if I don’t respond, it’s because I didn’t see it 🙂
This show is going to KILL ME DEAD. Namgoong Min fighting in fur-lined armor is going to put a stake through my heart and make sure I never come back to life.
Why am I watching this? Why can’t I stop? It’s many hours past my bedtime but I might as well watch something else for a while because my heart is pounding and there’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep anytime soon. Holy shit.
I can’t say what I want to say about your stake through the heart comment because Isa’s listening and hasn’t seen HeartBeat yet. But you can imagine it, @elinor. 🙂
@amfalulawatching: I’m a little shy to share this in the WWW thread, but here’s a gift link to a Washington Post article about saving money on streaming services. I’m going to try some of their recommendations, as my monthly streaming costs for four services (Netflix, Viki, Hulu, Prime) are spiraling and there’s no way I’m paying for another. I’m also willing to go to the dark side but I understand if others aren’t.
There’s a big difference between spoilers in recaps, which are simply not OK and not allowed by DB commenting policy, and spoilers on the fanwall. (For beanies who’ve been hiding under a rock or spending time in the Real World (why?) – HeartBeat has just occasioned a LOT of discussion about fanwall spoilers.) It’s good practice and a courtesy to put the drama title/episode number and maybe some other non-revealing image or comment in the top post on your fanwall, and then put your spoiler-filled commentary in replies to yourself – that gives people the option to not click on them. My own opinion is that that should always be done in the first few days after an episode, especially a finale, airs because so many beanies won’t have seen it yet. However, lots of people don’t do that, most of us know that the fanwall is likely to be rife with hot takes and TMI (especially after WHAT WAS THAT ENDING), and I recognize that I’m near the far end of the spectrum when it comes to being sensitive about being spoiled.
If we hear about a drama based on, say, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ there’s no expectation that anyone won’t already know the story and the ending. Others fall somewhere along the continuum from “everybody knows this story” to “I’ve vaguely/never heard of it and can’t guess which way it will go.” Little Women was an interesting case because it was clear from the first announcements that it would differ hugely from the book, and the interest lay partly in how it would relate the source material to such an incredibly different context.
And then there’s the extreme case I’ve seen once or twice where there’s a news item about an *upcoming* drama and someone comments that they’ve read the source material (novel, webtoon) – and that in the original story, “A and B don’t stay together, C dies, and D is the villain.” Maybe that happens, maybe it doesn’t in the drama, but now you can’t not have expectations based on that. What that spoils is the ability to experience the drama as itself in real time. Comments like that might just be clueless but sometimes come across as pointless showing off. I admit, that irks me – but that’s me, and lots of people don’t care or even prefer to be spoiled.
[Takes deep breath, touches third rail] See You In My 19th Life was a tough situation because there were beanies who had webtoon-based expectations going in, and beanies who had none, and it was darn near impossible for both groups to give unrestrained comments in the same space. There was a power imbalance there because the webtoon readers had the potential to spoil (in both senses) the non-readers’ experience of the drama but not the other way about; on the other hand, having to suppress webtoon-related comments probably felt pretty irksome at times to the webtoon readers who were bursting with their own reactions and insights.
The funny thing is that, as it progressed, 19th Life diverged so much from the source material that the webtoon readers were as much at a loss as anyone else by the final episode. I actually felt really badly because on Reddit (where people were okay with spoiling the webcomic, and we also had spoiler text that we could use liberally) I would reassure people “oh, don’t worry, this isn’t going to happen,” and then later it turned out I was wrong.
Yeah, spoilers irk me too. I try to be very careful about what I post. Even fun gifs I would wait two days before I post.
I didn’t come to the fan wall until I finished the last two episodes of heartbeat. That’s the only way I could avoid being spoiled.
I didn’t watch it, but history was definitely a spoiler for The Red Sleeve. And there are sageuks (The Three Musketeers, for example) that end at an extremely convenient moment for the main characters.
“How sad do I want to be today/this week/this month?” is always a relevant question when researching the history behind a show.
Initially? I’ve no idea. I meant the concept itself.
Elinor was just talking about different kinds of spoilers (webtoon etc), and how they can influence our expectations going into a show, and there’s no better kind of spoiler than that which has already come to pass 😂
For any sageuk or period drama that follows history close enough or uses direct history in someway, where history is a integral part of the story, history itself is the spoiler.
Ofc, for some of us, that’s why we like historical sageuks hahaha.
Red Sleeve is one of the most obvious examples I can think of atm; some viewers had no idea it was an adaption of history and that therefore the FL was going to die at the end, and that some of us knew that from day 1, and they were most upset when they found out. (Reader, I must confess, I laughed)
And for airing, My Dearest, knowing the history helps know the placement of events and potentially predict certain events better. The background story is all accurate to the background history haha.
For looser fusiony sageuks ofc, it’s not necessarily as helpful or as much of a spoiler because those kinds of dramas don’t shy away from veering from history if need be (MDBC *ahem).
And hot dramas draw in new beanies, which is awesome and welcome – and sometimes occasions an adjustment period for everyone. I’ve been the Spoiler Police more than once and less than courteously, which I regret and will try not to repeat.
TL;DR Note to self: err on the side of caution and kindness. [finger hearts]
Apt and interesting discussion! I tend to think on your wavelength too about what might be ‘good practice’ but also the ‘definition’ of a spoiler is indeed a lot deeper than you’d think right?! Sometimes when I’m writing comments on reddit, I always have to re-read and think about what I’m going to say from a few different angles to see if I should be redacting certain portions before I post. It’s never a straightforward matter, and it’s very interesting when you add in elements like book/webtoon adaptations!
It’s cool that we’re all of different opinions when it comes to spoilers – I sometimes like having things spoiled so I can watch in peace and other times I stay the hell of the internet to avoid even the tiniest glimpses 😂
I also agree on the good practices. And I say it as someone who doesn’t mind spoilers, but why not be considerate of others who do. It takes so little. But since there is no official policy, it will always be Beanie Beware outside of the recaps.
It’s hard for a newcomer to navigate this when spoilers are allowed pretty much everywhere else online. I remember getting rapped on my knuckles some time ago when I discussed the preview in the recaps, not understanding the exact cut off point for the discussion.
As for the deeper discussion, food for thought. But maybe it’s worth posting a little reminder when the discussions begin for the next webtoon and other adaptation.
As Kfangurl says (in her review of Bora! Deborah), “if a Show says it’s a rom-com but doesn’t give you a happy ending, then you’ve basically been catfished.”
Oh crap, Mo-tak is going to die before the end, isn’t he?
Also HOW does a 53-year-old man have those abs? Those are not pool noodles. I’m a lifelong gym rat surrounded by same and I’ve never seen the like in person. Respect.
I guess that’s what you reap after living diligently for years. Han Suk-kyu is also still in a very good shape. On the other hand, I was shocked when I saw Lee Min-ho’s picture this morning with bloated cheeks. And his body doesn’t seem as fit as before.
I was thinking about this when I started the second season last week. I think they are probably going to kill off one of them, and it makes sense for it to be one of the older/mentor ones. Of the options, I think Mo-tak is most likely. Then this week they seemed to be confirming my suspicions. I will cry so hard. Just trying to prepare myself.
What I found “funny” was that I read the top of @elinor’s post before seeing any of the photos, and I “misread” Mo-tak as Ma-pi, and I though, “Oh, no, she’s not seen Unlock the Boss to the end yet?”
Are you by chance watching Not Others? Ahn Jae Wook took off his shirt and I was like, dang! I wondered if actors just know they have to stay in that kind of shape, even into middle age.
I am, and yes, that was admirable, too. I mean, I definitely admired it! But the pressure to stay in shower-scene-worthy shape for decades must be exhausting. I will give enormous leeway to any actor, regardless of gender, if they don’t do that but keep their acting abilities sharp instead.
LOL
And I did think, how exhausting to have to exercise that hard basically forever 😣 Although I think it’s part of Confucianism to honor your body (and also don’t damage your body out of respect for your ancestors who gave it to you)(how plastic surgery fits into this is another story, isn’t it?). But I may not have that right.
HeartBeat: Others are probably ahead of me, but I finally noticed that every episode up to 10 ends with In-hae and Woo-hyeol together at night. When they have their first proper kiss at the end of 11, the sun comes up beyond her window. In episode 12, when she’s unconscious in Do-shik’s arms, it’s night again.
You couldn’t miss that sun rising when they kissed! Such a blinding metaphor for the dawn of their relationship. And I just loved it! Purrfect for my cheesy show.
The sidekicks sleep upright in closets. One hangs like a bat (?), the other does not. It makes no sense in any vampire lore but I jumped when I saw them.
I’m not entirely sure I processed what on Earth I was seeing at the time. I did notice that they made him up a “bed” but didn’t make up theirs. I wondered why…. until…
Thanks for this. It was the only jump scare in the show so far for me, except it’s so not. So absurd, and utterly fitting for this show. A gif or video grab might do it more justice. I haven’t the skills.
See…no. The one you did to that “locations in Kdramas” site (sorry, I don’t remember the name right now, and am on a European train and my reception stinks so I can’t really look it up) corrected for the additional quotation mark at the end…and Wikipedia doesn’t.
But then one day I also tried cnn.com and it totally rewrote the address completely. Let’s see what happens here.
OK OK OK LOOKIE LOOKIE LOOKIE !!! I AM NOT INSANE NOT INSANE I TELL YOU NOT INSANE. I CAN ACTUALLY WRITE HTML WITH MY OWN HANDS, DID IT FOR A LIVING IN THE EARLY JURASSIC. AND YET!
The quotation marks issue is the part I’ve had the most trouble with, and I think it also depends on the site. Some sites seem to “protect” themselves from direct links with automatic redirects. I usually test my comments first by going to some old post on my fanwall and replying to myself, then deleting that reply when I’ve determined it works. Of course, by the time I do that, the conversation has often moved on.
Have a great trip! I tend to just stare out the window instead of watching dramas – train trips are not a thing for me here in the US, but I love them in Europe. I was so disappointed when I found that some TGV lines in France run in ditches for much of their length and there’s no view but weeds along the embankments.
Elinor Lies
September 21, 2023 at 11:43 AM
Public Service Announcement: Past Lives is now available to rent on Viki. Best to see it in a theater if that’s possible for you, but if not, see it any way you can. Bring tissues.
Elinor Lies
September 16, 2023 at 8:58 AM
The Kidnapping Day: possible spoiler/question in the comment below.
Elinor Lies
September 16, 2023 at 8:58 AM
I’m so confused. MDL and AsianWiki both say that 1993 stabby guy is called Park Cheol-won, played by Ji Woong-bae. In 2023, there’s a character named Park Cheol-won played by Kim Sang-ho (the balding actor who was recently the doctor boss in Not Others), but he’s not the recycler; he’s the security company employee who removed all the CCTV cameras from the murder scene, and who the police think is behaving suspiciously. The nameless recycler is played by Song Jae-ryong, who does look a lot more like 1993 Park Cheol-won (Ji Woong-bae). So either MDL and AW have their character names/actors mixed up – which is completely possible – or 1993 stabby guy and 2023 recycler are not the same person. (Or I missed something, which is also completely possible.) What gives?
Blue (@mayhemf)
September 16, 2023 at 10:23 AM
Ok I didn’t see the stabby guy and recycler as the same person. So it’s possible the recapper was wrong. Their faces didn’t look like the same person but I need to go rewatch to confirm.
Kim Sang Ho is definitely the security guy and he is too famous to be confused with other faces.
Elinor Lies
September 16, 2023 at 10:58 AM
Yes, I think the recapper got it wrong – I was baffled when she said recycler = stabber. I’m pretty sure stabby guy was not identified by name in the 1993 scene, but Kim Sang-ho’s 2023 character was definitely named out loud as Park Cheol-won by the police. I originally posted this in the recap thread and then deleted it because the MDL character names could be a spoiler; I’ll be interested to see if anyone else catches it or if the recapper corrects it.
And I could be wrong, of course.
Elinor Lies
September 15, 2023 at 6:06 PM
Shanah tovah u’metuka. Wishing you all a sweet new year filled with hope, justice, and peace.
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
September 15, 2023 at 6:12 PM
Happy Rosh Hashanah to you, Elinor!! 😊
bbstl 🧹
September 15, 2023 at 7:31 PM
From your mouth . . .
☺️☺️☺️
And a Happy Rosh Hashanah to all!
Elinor Lies
September 13, 2023 at 8:52 PM
Eight different levels, and nearly consecutive – the only one missing is Eunuch in Drag.
mmmmm
September 13, 2023 at 11:56 PM
What game are you guys playing now? 😅
Elinor Lies
September 14, 2023 at 12:07 AM
It’s @reply1988‘s Beanie Bingo! Looking for patterns in the beanie levels of random Featured Beanies at the top of the fanwall. I think she started by looking for a full set of Errand Boys but we’ve branched out and run with it, as beanies do.
Reply1988 - Mother Bean (DB Wooga squad)
September 14, 2023 at 12:22 AM
We had to branch out looking for those mini wins as I don’t think we will ever beat my 7 Errand boys or what should be a really easy win of 8 blue beans considering how many people have them. Even on the slot machines matching 2 cherries gives you some bells and flashing lights😆
Reply1988 - Mother Bean (DB Wooga squad)
September 14, 2023 at 12:19 AM
Good catch!
vienibenmio
September 14, 2023 at 8:21 AM
This is the first time I’ve seen myself featured and that makes me oddly happy to see, so thanks for sharing!
Elinor Lies
September 13, 2023 at 9:53 AM
Heartbreak alert: My Dearest Part 2 confirmed to start on October 13.
indyfan
September 13, 2023 at 10:27 AM
How beautiful is this. The moon extends down the beach to the curve of a mountain range? Is that right? What does this signify?
Cera (@Seeker)
September 13, 2023 at 10:32 AM
Very artistic… at least it puts the rumor of changed FL to rest.
As of now they are estranged but still are / or will be joined by the full moon.
Amateur attempt at analyzing the poster.
bbstl 🧹
September 13, 2023 at 12:29 PM
They can’t get out of each other’s orbit!
Oh 😖 ouch, sorry to all for the bad Dad joke!
Cera (@Seeker)
September 13, 2023 at 7:45 PM
It is perfect !!
Yes they are indeed always circling around each other. Very aptly 👏
kiara
September 13, 2023 at 5:53 PM
I don’t understand the rumor. It was always sure that the leads would be the same from start to finish.
Cera (@Seeker)
September 13, 2023 at 7:55 PM
It may have something to do with Lee Chung-ah, her chemistry with Namkoong Min and people shipping them in their 3rd drama together.
jillian
September 13, 2023 at 10:41 AM
Gorgeous poster! The wait will not be that long.
korfan
September 13, 2023 at 11:20 AM
Counting down the days!
loveblossom🌸
September 13, 2023 at 11:23 AM
Ooooh, the moon symbolism. Beautiful poster.
Why are they so far apart? D;
kiara
September 13, 2023 at 5:48 PM
Gorgeous!
I have nothing to watch till Part 2.
Peridot
September 14, 2023 at 7:34 AM
Beautiful poster!
Elinor Lies
September 5, 2023 at 9:34 PM
Destined With You, ep. 3:
I love this overhead shot. She looks like a white rose blooming.
(He looks like a Lego minifigure, but that’s a separate issue.)
Chubbysocks
September 6, 2023 at 2:10 AM
I don’t know, maybe when I run out of dramas to watch, I’ll try it, it wasn’t particularly fascinating for me after first ep, so I put it on hold, one thing though, I wish I also had handsome 6’2 feet tall guy to offer me a company 😂
lapislazulii
September 6, 2023 at 2:16 AM
he looks like a lego mini figure 💀 why can’t I unsee this now (or stop laughing 😆)
Chubbysocks
September 6, 2023 at 3:50 AM
He definitely does 😂
Kurama
September 6, 2023 at 3:30 AM
He chose a beautiful dress for her at least.
Cecee
September 6, 2023 at 7:25 AM
The lego minifigure is completely selling it to me. Forget the rose, we have a life size lego man!!!
Elinor Lies
September 3, 2023 at 9:52 PM
My Dearest:
I looked back at the first-episode extended dream after finishing Part 1. Gil-chae has passed through all the seasons of her life (and the drama), drawn by Jang-hyun and by the red thread of fate, leaving behind butterflies and wild geese – symbols of marital harmony and fidelity – and racing from her home blooming with spring flowers through summer fields, autumn forests, and desolate snowy mountains. She passes through an evergreen pine forest, the boundary between the mortal and spiritual realms. Now her thread has run out and she’s arrived at sunset, at the seaside – at land’s end – where he says, “I have been waiting for you at this place for a long time.” It’s the beach where we first saw him outnumbered by a ragtag army. They’re both wearing white, the traditional color of shrouds and mourning. They’re DEAD, you guys. He died first, some time before, and has been waiting for her in the afterlife. Now we’ll have to wait to see whether they are DEAD dead, or if it really is just a dream.
I think this also links to the folk tale Ryang-eum told about Gap Soon and Gap Dol; although she loved him, she married the rich man her parents chose for her and lived a long life with her husband and children, only to wish on her deathbed to return to Gap Dol, to spend eternity with him. I do think that’s the most likely ending for their story right there. (Any resemblance to The Red Sleeve is probably not coincidental.) Of course the drama could be messing around with us – but it hasn’t yet.
Elinor Lies
September 3, 2023 at 9:53 PM
However. Given how intensely angry I am at ALL of our leads (except Eun-ae) and most of the minor characters as of the end of Part 1, frankly, I don’t give a damn if anyone’s alive at the end.
Seon-ha
September 4, 2023 at 3:37 AM
I see what you did there.
Chubbysocks
September 4, 2023 at 11:07 AM
Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
September 3, 2023 at 10:10 PM
Thanks, now I’m dreading PT 2 even more LOL
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
September 3, 2023 at 10:36 PM
On the other hand… I think you just broke the mental block I’ve been wrestling with regards to my reaction to this weeks episodes with this post, so, uhm, thank you? I think? hahaha I had pieces of it, but nothing was cohesive and putting itself in the right order, etc, etc, becoming an actual argument.
korfan
September 3, 2023 at 11:21 PM
Since this started, with those opening scenes, I’ve thought they both died.
Nefret
September 3, 2023 at 11:55 PM
Noooo, I am desperately trying to erase what I have just read from my memory.
But I have to admit that you are probably absolutely right in your analysis of the dream.
However, I don’t think we will see a retelling of the folk tale about Gap Soon and Gap Dol. So far, My Dearest has pretty much followed GWTW’s playbook for major milestones. Therefore, I assume that Gil-chae will either continue to be unmarried (yes, I know, I’m clutching at straws) or widowed at the start of Part 2. Furthermore, the official description of the drama states that Gil-chae is a woman with two failed marriages.
If we were currently on episode 18, it would be possible that Gil-chae has a year-long marriage with the officer, but it is unlikely that we will see Jang-hyun and a married Gil-chae pining for each other for 10 episodes.
Long text for a Monday morning, but I had to cheer myself up somehow.
lapislazulii
September 4, 2023 at 2:15 AM
I’m clutching straws with you there Nefret!
loveblossom🌸
September 4, 2023 at 6:27 AM
Me three! 😭😭
LaurenSophie
September 4, 2023 at 7:54 AM
I see it similarly, but I’m wondering if we’re supposed to see Gil Chae’s first engagement to the soldier who died as her Charles Hamilton (Scarlett’s first husband who dies immediately), Gil-Chae’s officer as Frank Kennedy (I think that was his name–Scarlett’s second husband who dies after about four years of marriage), and then Jang-Hyun would be her third husband. Or is Gil Chae’s second failed marriage with someone other than Jang Hyun? Either way, I don’t see “My Dearest” spending too many episodes of Gil Chae’s marriage to the officer; I expect a time skip pretty soon after Part II starts. But after that, I’m not sure what to hope for. If Jang Hyun and Gil Chae marry, it means the show is really following GWTW all the way through, and I don’t want to watch Gil Chae still holding him at arm’s length the way Scarlett did Rhett, and, of course, the whole Bonnie Blue tragedy.
But if Gil Chae and Jang Hyung *don’t* marry, I also don’t want to see 10 episodes of them continuing to hurt each other and themselves with other relationships, misunderstandings, and the machinations of jealous others.
Damn this show, lol!
Nefret
September 4, 2023 at 8:07 AM
I think her first fiancé is Charles Hamilton and the officer is Frank Kennedy’s equivalent. So I believe that sooner or later she will marry Jang-hyun. Since Gil-chae, unlike Scarlett, is long over her first love and knows that she loves Jang-hyun, I have high hopes that her marriage will be different from Scarlett and Rhett Buttler’s. This is where MY DEAREST and GWTW differ significantly.
Chubbysocks
September 4, 2023 at 11:10 AM
I also believe they would end differently than Rhett and Scarlet, I believe they will give us happy ending
Elinor Lies
September 4, 2023 at 8:40 AM
I should clarify: I don’t expect a full retelling of the Gap Soon story or to have to trudge through a long marriage between Gil-chae and someone other than Jang-hyun. I do expect they will be together at some point in this life, but will be separated by events and by death and reunited only after it. The big complication of her marrying someone else is the prohibition on widows remarrying that @kiara and @indyfan have discussed at length. There were ways around that, but that will really set up a conflict between Gil-chae’s adherence to traditional values (her filial piety, for example) and her willingness to do anything including defying those values (urging Eun-ae to pretend there was no assault by barbarians, working in a smithy) to protect her people. And there’s also the Chunhyang parallel, which leads to quite a different ending.
@lapislazulii Count me among the straw-clutchers, though – I would love to be as wrong as I have often been! I predicted a tragic together-after-death ending for Alchemy of Souls and was totally off-base (and glad to be). In some ways I’m just trying to inoculate myself against the pain to come. And I know I’m biased because I so despise that book that I don’t want to see the obvious similarities play out.
Kiara’s fanwall post deserves another read (all of hers do!):
https://www.dramabeans.com/members/kiara/activity/1447827/
lapislazulii
September 4, 2023 at 2:14 AM
hahahhaha *starts crying*
but yeah no gosh lol, I know it’s going to be tragic but the foreshadowing has been heavy but lightbulbs have been turned on thanks to your analysis of the dream here
now watch me stubbornly refuse to see the glaring signs of a doomed end in part two … the clownery continues for me even after Red Sleeve 🤡
Nefret
September 4, 2023 at 2:19 AM
Let’s be together in denial.
lapislazulii
September 4, 2023 at 2:22 AM
all of us need to make like a virtual hand-holding circle to hold each other through whatever part two throws at us 🫂
lapislazulii
September 4, 2023 at 2:21 AM
*and the foreshadowing
indyfan
September 4, 2023 at 3:40 AM
I never thought of that. Thanks….I think. 😅 While I am ever so sad as well, looking at the fan wall, I suspect I may have a minority opinion in the recaps. I better get a glass of soju. Or a bottle. 😀
Seon-ha
September 4, 2023 at 4:57 AM
Oooh. I wanna hear them!!! If it gets too rough over there will you post your thoughts here on the fan wall so the rest of us can read them? I’d also have a better shot of responding so this is a selfish ask as well. 😇
indyfan
September 4, 2023 at 7:31 AM
He he. I’m trying to clear up some points on the engagement practices in Joseon with Kiara in one of the older fan wall posts (from just a few hours ago, ha!) so I understand.
And I don’t even know if I’ll be in the minority. I don’t even have an essay tbh. I see this kind of plot line all the time in our contemporary cinema and also around my life. Same old, but so well done. So see you in the recaps. Ppl can disagree as they will.
Seon-ha
September 4, 2023 at 7:33 AM
Nah. I don’t feel comfortable over there. Just not my speed, I’m afraid. I’ll read your thoughts eagerly though!!!
indyfan
September 4, 2023 at 7:39 AM
Yeah. I understand that. We can form a fan wall thread too if it comes to that. However, my thoughts are not that deep here. Don’t expect much! We have some long passionate essays in MD recaps.
indyfan
September 5, 2023 at 2:13 AM
I think the range of reactions was diverse, no? But, I said my little piece. But honestly, I was too tired to type anything meaningful after reading all those comments, and just skipped all the personal stuff.
It may also be that I don’t have anything of depth to add, but I may also be reaching drama/commenting burnout.
Seon-ha
September 5, 2023 at 4:16 AM
I read the first few hours with interest, yes. I would have been WAY more interested to have a conversation with trusted Beanies about our personal reactions, though!
Maybe one day that will happen…but relatedly, I have many more thoughts on what you’ve just said here about “drama comment burnout” which I think I have my own version of…I want to write up a little thing about that plus some thoughts on your throwaway line yesterday asking me (facetiously) how to keep your heart out of a show.
I’ll tag you in to wherever it goes, @indyfan , in part to save @elinor from “Fan Wall Post Bloat.” Although, @elinor, as a more veteran Beanie, if you’d like me to tag you in to this other meta-DB conversation, you’re obviously more than welcome. Just let me know if you’re interested. Now that I’ve typed this, I guess I think @indyfan doesn’t have a choice 😂
indyfan
September 5, 2023 at 6:24 AM
Call, and I shall come.
bbstl 🧹
September 4, 2023 at 7:30 AM
This is so well done, @Elinor , thanks for thinking this out and sharing with us.
LaurenSophie
September 4, 2023 at 7:36 AM
I applaud your well-grounded and very plausible analysis, not just because it rings true, but also because I’d frankly (see what I did there?) prefer this ending than one that truly follows the GWTW Rhett/Scarlett playbook. Although, of course, I suppose we could get both (Jang Hyun declares himself done with Gil Chae in life as Rhett did to Scarlett, but then dies before they can work things out and be reunited). I also can’t see a true adherence to the Gap Dol story, not just because it’s too significantly different from GWTW (we’re currently paralleling Scarlett’s second marriage to a decent man–according to Mitchell’s characterization, not according to any modern reader, btw– who ends up dead after about four years into their stable marriage in a KKK raid gone wrong) but because I can’t see what the story would do for 10 more episodes if Jang-Hyun and Gil Chae are apart for all of it because she’s living out her long, semi-happy life with another man.
So I’ll cling to some hope that in their time on Earth together the two of them realize at the same time that they love each other deeply and are able to do something about it, even if it ends in death. It really is a testament to how good this show is–and how much I *don’t* want them to go the GWTW route all the way through–that I would consider that a happy ending of sorts.
Elinor Lies
September 3, 2023 at 12:36 AM
My Dearest episode 10:
Elinor Lies
September 3, 2023 at 12:37 AM
I have to admit, my reaction was –
90% “Gil-chae, you fucking idiot!” over and over.
5% “Jang-hyun, you really screwed that up! Have you learned nothing?”
5% “Dammit, Ryang-eum, did you have to live down to our expectations?”
and then circling back to “Gil-chae, you fucking idiot!” again.
I doubt I’m going to have any further or deeper reaction. I’m disappointed and pissed off.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
September 3, 2023 at 1:34 AM
ngl, this episode was like pulling teeth for me hnggg
Seon-ha
September 3, 2023 at 8:29 AM
Well, if you end up having further thoughts, I, for one, am interested.
I’ve skim-watched everything up to this point (I watch all the scenes that center on our central “Love V” intently, but literally skip all the historical sageuk parts)…but as of last episode I am truly struggling mightily (and here I mean morally) with the narrative parallels to the “racist POS,” if you know what I mean, and I think you do. That “culture of honor” was no such thing.
Sigh. In terms of this drama, though, I gather I know exactly what happens given the parallels and, therefore, don’t need to watch. Is that about the size of it?
Elinor Lies
August 27, 2023 at 5:48 PM
I know this is going to get lost in the thicket of My Dearest posts, but –
Kpop goes everywhere:
Elinor Lies
August 27, 2023 at 5:48 PM
More: Q-Pop: Peru’s social media phenomenon Lenin Tamayo fuses Quechua and K-pop
lapislazulii
August 27, 2023 at 6:06 PM
this is fascinating!
Anne18
August 27, 2023 at 6:07 PM
Forgive me for being off-topic, but for no fault of this post and all of the twitter boss’, my natural instinct took my finger to the ‘X’ logo to “close the window” 😂. Must be the most poorly thought out social media logo I’ve seen.
Elinor Lies
August 27, 2023 at 6:10 PM
I’ve done that too! I would suspect them of trolling us all if I thought there were anyone left there who’s that clever.
Anne18
August 27, 2023 at 6:12 PM
😂
mindy
August 27, 2023 at 7:30 PM
Wow, the music video definitely could use an upgrade in production quality, but the music is higher quality than lots of nugu kpop groups lmao. This is so cool!
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 27, 2023 at 7:36 PM
So there’s two Q-pops now then.
Because Kazakhstani Pop is also known as Q-pop lmao.
Love listening to music in other languages though, so thank you for allowing me to cross Quechua off my list.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 27, 2023 at 7:45 PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q-pop
bbstl 🧹
August 27, 2023 at 8:30 PM
Well, just, dang. Thanks for this!
redfox
August 28, 2023 at 7:56 AM
room for development and would definately prefer them creating their own style instead but it is great that old languages get a reboot.
Elinor Lies
August 28, 2023 at 9:10 AM
Um, this sounds pretty patronizing. Kpop itself, both music and dance, developed out of originally Western (American/European) rock and pop styles that have become universal in their influence and now the influence flows globally in all directions. Quechua is both old and a widely-spoken modern language – like Korean. This isn’t a language reboot because it doesn’t need one.
redfox
August 28, 2023 at 9:38 AM
didnt quite mean it like that. what I mean is, they got an original background so it would be great to see something based on their own culture and background and /or personal ideas. how to say… I have frequented folk music and other festivals 32 years. so I met hundreds of bands from different countries. But there has not been a ketchua band on these festivals.
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 2:31 PM
Me, trying to keep up with my entire current drama watching schedule.
I’m glad one ended last week, although I already have two replacements for it. 😵💫
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 2:33 PM
Comment was deleted
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
August 25, 2023 at 2:41 PM
You can do it, Elinor!!! We believe in you!!!
Seon-ha
August 25, 2023 at 4:12 PM
You absolutely know you have a problem when all you can think of when seeing adorable Mike Wazowski are other scenes on treadmills from k-dramas. Here are some…starting with the one that came first to my mind. In all honesty, it’s for the manager. You believe me, right??
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 6:08 PM
Comment was deleted
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 6:09 PM
Seon-ha
August 25, 2023 at 6:23 PM
You know just how to cut me, Marcia. 💔 😼
Seon-ha
August 25, 2023 at 4:26 PM
…next…
Seon-ha
August 25, 2023 at 4:47 PM
Here’s my last one. And it’s the real comparator. I promise that I can stop any time.
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 6:07 PM
Wicked, wicked Seon-ha! I almost didn’t get past the first gif. I’m sure one exists somewhere of Yoon Hyun-min on the treadmill in his skivvies from Bora!, but I couldn’t find it and didn’t want to frighten the horses anyway.
Seon-ha
August 25, 2023 at 6:29 PM
You mean THEEEEES ONE?
Elinor Lies
August 25, 2023 at 8:05 PM
HOLY SHIT! Yes.
I love the way it was day when he’s clothed and night when he’s much less clothed.
Weirdly, DB is not serving me notifications when you respond to me. I get them for everyone else. 🤔
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
August 25, 2023 at 8:30 PM
I’ve had some issues with missing notifications, too!
Seon-ha
August 26, 2023 at 4:26 AM
Just goes to show that I really am ‘Jan’.
Nah, FWIW, you directly mentioned me on that Open Thread post—nothing. Just know that I always want to hear what you have to say, and respond to you…so, if I don’t respond, it’s because I didn’t see it 🙂
IsaGC
August 26, 2023 at 1:39 AM
The sequences in the gym were hilarious in Bora Deborah 😅
Elinor Lies
August 22, 2023 at 1:10 AM
So I’m way behind everyone else and I just finished My Dearest episode 4 and …
Elinor Lies
August 22, 2023 at 1:10 AM
Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.
This show is going to KILL ME DEAD. Namgoong Min fighting in fur-lined armor is going to put a stake through my heart and make sure I never come back to life.
Why am I watching this? Why can’t I stop? It’s many hours past my bedtime but I might as well watch something else for a while because my heart is pounding and there’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep anytime soon. Holy shit.
IsaGC
August 22, 2023 at 1:18 AM
I’m looking forward to reading your reaction to the Episode 6 😅
Seon-ha
August 22, 2023 at 4:08 AM
I can’t say what I want to say about your stake through the heart comment because Isa’s listening and hasn’t seen HeartBeat yet. But you can imagine it, @elinor. 🙂
You are watching it because Freud said so.
Snow Flower
August 22, 2023 at 4:55 PM
Me too.
Elinor Lies
August 18, 2023 at 9:53 AM
Moving, episode 9:
You’re doing fine, hun.
dramadillo
August 18, 2023 at 12:10 PM
He’s certainly mastered the essentials, it seems.🤣
Elinor Lies
August 19, 2023 at 10:53 AM
@amfalulawatching: I’m a little shy to share this in the WWW thread, but here’s a gift link to a Washington Post article about saving money on streaming services. I’m going to try some of their recommendations, as my monthly streaming costs for four services (Netflix, Viki, Hulu, Prime) are spiraling and there’s no way I’m paying for another. I’m also willing to go to the dark side but I understand if others aren’t.
https://wapo.st/3P3iK1t
Elinor Lies
August 16, 2023 at 10:20 AM
Rant: On Spoilers
What is a spoiler, anyway? It’s tricky. More below.
Elinor Lies
August 16, 2023 at 10:21 AM
There’s a big difference between spoilers in recaps, which are simply not OK and not allowed by DB commenting policy, and spoilers on the fanwall. (For beanies who’ve been hiding under a rock or spending time in the Real World (why?) – HeartBeat has just occasioned a LOT of discussion about fanwall spoilers.) It’s good practice and a courtesy to put the drama title/episode number and maybe some other non-revealing image or comment in the top post on your fanwall, and then put your spoiler-filled commentary in replies to yourself – that gives people the option to not click on them. My own opinion is that that should always be done in the first few days after an episode, especially a finale, airs because so many beanies won’t have seen it yet. However, lots of people don’t do that, most of us know that the fanwall is likely to be rife with hot takes and TMI (especially after WHAT WAS THAT ENDING), and I recognize that I’m near the far end of the spectrum when it comes to being sensitive about being spoiled.
If we hear about a drama based on, say, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ there’s no expectation that anyone won’t already know the story and the ending. Others fall somewhere along the continuum from “everybody knows this story” to “I’ve vaguely/never heard of it and can’t guess which way it will go.” Little Women was an interesting case because it was clear from the first announcements that it would differ hugely from the book, and the interest lay partly in how it would relate the source material to such an incredibly different context.
And then there’s the extreme case I’ve seen once or twice where there’s a news item about an *upcoming* drama and someone comments that they’ve read the source material (novel, webtoon) – and that in the original story, “A and B don’t stay together, C dies, and D is the villain.” Maybe that happens, maybe it doesn’t in the drama, but now you can’t not have expectations based on that. What that spoils is the ability to experience the drama as itself in real time. Comments like that might just be clueless but sometimes come across as pointless showing off. I admit, that irks me – but that’s me, and lots of people don’t care or even prefer to be spoiled.
[Takes deep breath, touches third rail]
See You In My 19th Life was a tough situation because there were beanies who had webtoon-based expectations going in, and beanies who had none, and it was darn near impossible for both groups to give unrestrained comments in the same space. There was a power imbalance there because the webtoon readers had the potential to spoil (in both senses) the non-readers’ experience of the drama but not the other way about; on the other hand, having to suppress webtoon-related comments probably felt pretty irksome at times to the webtoon readers who were bursting with their own reactions and insights.
vienibenmio
August 16, 2023 at 10:32 AM
The funny thing is that, as it progressed, 19th Life diverged so much from the source material that the webtoon readers were as much at a loss as anyone else by the final episode. I actually felt really badly because on Reddit (where people were okay with spoiling the webcomic, and we also had spoiler text that we could use liberally) I would reassure people “oh, don’t worry, this isn’t going to happen,” and then later it turned out I was wrong.
Blue (@mayhemf)
August 16, 2023 at 1:17 PM
Yeah, spoilers irk me too. I try to be very careful about what I post. Even fun gifs I would wait two days before I post.
I didn’t come to the fan wall until I finished the last two episodes of heartbeat. That’s the only way I could avoid being spoiled.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 16, 2023 at 2:02 PM
You missed one. History ITSELF as a spoiler… so much fun. 😂
Ally
August 17, 2023 at 4:42 AM
Oh, where was this said initially? I remember a sageuk recap recently, maybe 2 years ago now.
Elinor Lies
August 17, 2023 at 8:06 AM
I didn’t watch it, but history was definitely a spoiler for The Red Sleeve. And there are sageuks (The Three Musketeers, for example) that end at an extremely convenient moment for the main characters.
“How sad do I want to be today/this week/this month?” is always a relevant question when researching the history behind a show.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM
“How sad do I want to be today”, every time, honestly.
💜🍍☠ Sicarius The Queen of Melonia ☠🍍💜
August 17, 2023 at 6:30 PM
Initially? I’ve no idea. I meant the concept itself.
Elinor was just talking about different kinds of spoilers (webtoon etc), and how they can influence our expectations going into a show, and there’s no better kind of spoiler than that which has already come to pass 😂
For any sageuk or period drama that follows history close enough or uses direct history in someway, where history is a integral part of the story, history itself is the spoiler.
Ofc, for some of us, that’s why we like historical sageuks hahaha.
Red Sleeve is one of the most obvious examples I can think of atm; some viewers had no idea it was an adaption of history and that therefore the FL was going to die at the end, and that some of us knew that from day 1, and they were most upset when they found out. (Reader, I must confess, I laughed)
And for airing, My Dearest, knowing the history helps know the placement of events and potentially predict certain events better. The background story is all accurate to the background history haha.
For looser fusiony sageuks ofc, it’s not necessarily as helpful or as much of a spoiler because those kinds of dramas don’t shy away from veering from history if need be (MDBC *ahem).
Ally
August 17, 2023 at 8:38 PM
I think it was Red Sleeve actually.
Elinor Lies
August 16, 2023 at 10:22 AM
And hot dramas draw in new beanies, which is awesome and welcome – and sometimes occasions an adjustment period for everyone. I’ve been the Spoiler Police more than once and less than courteously, which I regret and will try not to repeat.
TL;DR Note to self: err on the side of caution and kindness. [finger hearts]
Elinor Lies
August 16, 2023 at 10:25 AM
@lapislazulii @attiton @indyfan @vienibenmio @hopefulromantic (None of this is AT YOU, it’s just @ you!)
lapislazulii
August 16, 2023 at 4:30 PM
Apt and interesting discussion! I tend to think on your wavelength too about what might be ‘good practice’ but also the ‘definition’ of a spoiler is indeed a lot deeper than you’d think right?! Sometimes when I’m writing comments on reddit, I always have to re-read and think about what I’m going to say from a few different angles to see if I should be redacting certain portions before I post. It’s never a straightforward matter, and it’s very interesting when you add in elements like book/webtoon adaptations!
It’s cool that we’re all of different opinions when it comes to spoilers – I sometimes like having things spoiled so I can watch in peace and other times I stay the hell of the internet to avoid even the tiniest glimpses 😂
indyfan
August 17, 2023 at 2:27 AM
I also agree on the good practices. And I say it as someone who doesn’t mind spoilers, but why not be considerate of others who do. It takes so little. But since there is no official policy, it will always be Beanie Beware outside of the recaps.
It’s hard for a newcomer to navigate this when spoilers are allowed pretty much everywhere else online. I remember getting rapped on my knuckles some time ago when I discussed the preview in the recaps, not understanding the exact cut off point for the discussion.
As for the deeper discussion, food for thought. But maybe it’s worth posting a little reminder when the discussions begin for the next webtoon and other adaptation.
Elinor Lies
August 15, 2023 at 7:28 PM
HeartBeat finale:
Elinor Lies
August 15, 2023 at 7:28 PM
As Kfangurl says (in her review of Bora! Deborah), “if a Show says it’s a rom-com but doesn’t give you a happy ending, then you’ve basically been catfished.”
lapislazulii
August 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM
why isn’t there a laughing but also crying bc I’m sad emoji 😂😭
Elinor Lies
August 15, 2023 at 7:32 PM
Me, I’m looking for the “smashing my head against the wall” emoji.
I’m going to go watch something very violent to relieve my feelings.
Seon-ha
August 15, 2023 at 7:47 PM
I have to go to bed. All are welcome on the rant wall. Bring over whoever shows up, PLEASE.
Unaspirated
August 16, 2023 at 6:07 AM
Can I come too? I don’t think I’m as heartbroken as many are, but I’d like to be in solidarity with all y’all…
Seon-ha
August 16, 2023 at 6:10 AM
@jls943 OF COURSE!! Check your at-mentions.
Elinor Lies
August 6, 2023 at 11:34 PM
Oh crap, Mo-tak is going to die before the end, isn’t he?
Also HOW does a 53-year-old man have those abs? Those are not pool noodles. I’m a lifelong gym rat surrounded by same and I’ve never seen the like in person. Respect.
The Uncanny Counter 2, episode 3.
Cecee
August 6, 2023 at 11:57 PM
Oh don’t kill Mo-tak!
bewitched
August 7, 2023 at 1:02 AM
I guess that’s what you reap after living diligently for years. Han Suk-kyu is also still in a very good shape. On the other hand, I was shocked when I saw Lee Min-ho’s picture this morning with bloated cheeks. And his body doesn’t seem as fit as before.
Seon-ha
August 7, 2023 at 5:57 AM
My attention is split in that last photo between the abs in question and how flippin’ awesomely cool Yeom Hye-ran looks AGAIN.
Elinor Lies
August 7, 2023 at 8:59 AM
Doesn’t she? I love her even more this season. And I’m glad they didn’t randomly make her hair go dark again – she EARNED that grey.
Unaspirated
August 7, 2023 at 8:56 AM
I was thinking about this when I started the second season last week. I think they are probably going to kill off one of them, and it makes sense for it to be one of the older/mentor ones. Of the options, I think Mo-tak is most likely. Then this week they seemed to be confirming my suspicions. I will cry so hard. Just trying to prepare myself.
Seon-ha
August 7, 2023 at 9:43 AM
What I found “funny” was that I read the top of @elinor’s post before seeing any of the photos, and I “misread” Mo-tak as Ma-pi, and I though, “Oh, no, she’s not seen Unlock the Boss to the end yet?”
bbstl 🧹
August 7, 2023 at 9:23 AM
Are you by chance watching Not Others? Ahn Jae Wook took off his shirt and I was like, dang! I wondered if actors just know they have to stay in that kind of shape, even into middle age.
Elinor Lies
August 7, 2023 at 9:31 AM
I am, and yes, that was admirable, too. I mean, I definitely admired it! But the pressure to stay in shower-scene-worthy shape for decades must be exhausting. I will give enormous leeway to any actor, regardless of gender, if they don’t do that but keep their acting abilities sharp instead.
Seon-ha
August 7, 2023 at 9:41 AM
Yes, I think we could each name a fair number of actors who we wish would go to “Planet Acting” or “Acting Theory Fitness,” a.k.a. The Acting Gym.
bbstl 🧹
August 7, 2023 at 10:53 AM
LOL
And I did think, how exhausting to have to exercise that hard basically forever 😣 Although I think it’s part of Confucianism to honor your body (and also don’t damage your body out of respect for your ancestors who gave it to you)(how plastic surgery fits into this is another story, isn’t it?). But I may not have that right.
Elinor Lies
August 5, 2023 at 7:43 PM
HeartBeat: Others are probably ahead of me, but I finally noticed that every episode up to 10 ends with In-hae and Woo-hyeol together at night. When they have their first proper kiss at the end of 11, the sun comes up beyond her window. In episode 12, when she’s unconscious in Do-shik’s arms, it’s night again.
indyfan
August 5, 2023 at 8:11 PM
You couldn’t miss that sun rising when they kissed! Such a blinding metaphor for the dawn of their relationship. And I just loved it! Purrfect for my cheesy show.
Elinor Lies
July 22, 2023 at 9:55 AM
@reply1988‘s Someone’s Got To Do It 🫘 Beansprout 🌱 Service Medal for sweeping old threads to pick up treasures that might otherwise be missed.
Reply1988 - Mother Bean (DB Wooga squad)
July 22, 2023 at 9:58 AM
😆 Love it, thank you
korfan
July 24, 2023 at 12:40 AM
Mr. Peabody!
Elinor Lies
July 19, 2023 at 11:19 PM
@dncingemma
Siri, show me something completely innocuous that is nonetheless the stuff of screaming nightmares.
HeartBeat episode 8.
Elinor Lies
July 19, 2023 at 11:23 PM
The sidekicks sleep upright in closets. One hangs like a bat (?), the other does not. It makes no sense in any vampire lore but I jumped when I saw them.
DancingEmma
July 19, 2023 at 11:26 PM
OMG! Why?
LT is Irresistibly Indifferent, Dame Judi
July 19, 2023 at 11:32 PM
I’m not entirely sure I processed what on Earth I was seeing at the time. I did notice that they made him up a “bed” but didn’t make up theirs. I wondered why…. until…
indyfan
July 20, 2023 at 12:24 AM
Thanks for this. It was the only jump scare in the show so far for me, except it’s so not. So absurd, and utterly fitting for this show. A gif or video grab might do it more justice. I haven’t the skills.
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
July 20, 2023 at 3:26 AM
This scene shocked some laughter out of me!! It was so unexpectedly funny.
Margo of the Resilient Lip Gloss
July 20, 2023 at 5:35 PM
Did you see Ok Taecyeon’s insta story showing all three with those masks on ?….I don’t know how to link or send images or even go bold yet….
Elinor Lies
July 20, 2023 at 9:29 PM
No – I wish I could see it! I don’t do Instagram.
You can always just paste the link into a comment – not the most elegant but it works.
Margo of the Resilient Lip Gloss
July 20, 2023 at 9:43 PM
Could not figure it out, so I added the photo to my fan wall. Enjoy!
Elinor Lies
July 12, 2023 at 7:56 PM
Warning beacon? Bat signal?
HeartBeat episode 6.
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
July 12, 2023 at 8:21 PM
I just finished watching ep. 6. It’s all just so GIF-able and screenshot-able!!
🧛♂️ 💔💔 but 👧💔💔💔💔
July 13, 2023 at 4:53 AM
and best part i get to watch it all over again just to screenshot it… cause one time is never enough 🤣🤣🤣
HopefulRomantic 🦋 Tigermoth
July 13, 2023 at 5:49 AM
Yes exactly!!!😂👍
indyfan
July 12, 2023 at 10:05 PM
I see em. I see em. Can’t miss em. 😂
alasecond
July 13, 2023 at 10:22 AM
what bat, it is mouse
Elinor Lies
July 7, 2023 at 10:20 AM
Hyperlinks (HTML “a” tags) in comments:
Seon-ha
July 7, 2023 at 10:23 AM
I mean. Yes. I’ll try my own. Look. Wikipedia on ASMR. I mean, watch it work, but it didn’t on that one Sound Candy post.
Seon-ha
July 7, 2023 at 10:25 AM
See…no. The one you did to that “locations in Kdramas” site (sorry, I don’t remember the name right now, and am on a European train and my reception stinks so I can’t really look it up) corrected for the additional quotation mark at the end…and Wikipedia doesn’t.
But then one day I also tried cnn.com and it totally rewrote the address completely. Let’s see what happens here.
Seon-ha
July 7, 2023 at 10:26 AM
OK OK OK LOOKIE LOOKIE LOOKIE !!! I AM NOT INSANE NOT INSANE I TELL YOU NOT INSANE. I CAN ACTUALLY WRITE HTML WITH MY OWN HANDS, DID IT FOR A LIVING IN THE EARLY JURASSIC. AND YET!
(Yeah, that was all-caps just for you.)
Elinor Lies
July 7, 2023 at 10:48 AM
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I feel so seen.
The quotation marks issue is the part I’ve had the most trouble with, and I think it also depends on the site. Some sites seem to “protect” themselves from direct links with automatic redirects. I usually test my comments first by going to some old post on my fanwall and replying to myself, then deleting that reply when I’ve determined it works. Of course, by the time I do that, the conversation has often moved on.
The filming locations site is https://koreandramaland.com/
Have a great trip! I tend to just stare out the window instead of watching dramas – train trips are not a thing for me here in the US, but I love them in Europe. I was so disappointed when I found that some TGV lines in France run in ditches for much of their length and there’s no view but weeds along the embankments.
bbstl 🧹
July 7, 2023 at 12:44 PM
Thank you for this thing that I didn’t know existed! I wrote it down and hope I can do it right when the time comes 🤞🏼
Minka
July 8, 2023 at 7:38 PM
Chiming in to share that you can actually test if the format in your comment works thru this site: Visit W3Schools.com!
Eternal thanks to @hades for the service of documenting and sharing the comment formatting tips.
Seon-ha
July 8, 2023 at 11:27 PM
Comment was deleted
bbstl 🧹
July 7, 2023 at 10:49 AM
koreandramaland.com