Beanie level: Contract girlfriend

Uhm yeah ok it’s really obnoxiously late and I don’t know what to say here… I finally wrote something for that River Where the Moon Rewrite I said I was gonna do… you don’t need to know anything about the show to read it probably because, yeahp, guess what I don’t care about, that’s right, the show. (I did care enough apparently to make an AO3 account though, LORD help me.)

Sexy snarky herbal spy lady constantly flirting with an uptight hot general who is always Stressed TM and doesn’t trust her. Shenanigans ensue. There is no On Dal. Go Geon is not in love with the Princess. The character writing doesn’t suck. Hopefully. Historical Politics (and kinda the time period except for the reference to the Zhou) is deliberately ambiguous, so I don’t get cancelled by Netizens, just kidding and any conflicts I bring up are made up. Mostly because I didn’t want to research this for months just to do what is supposed to be a fun rewrite lol. (Months because I already spent way too long looking up the distribution of and species of certain kinds of trees, for literally, the first line only.)

You better pray really hard I care enough to at least finish chapter 2 though…
https://archiveofourown.org/works/30776009/chapters/75963617
There are more NOTES at the bottom of the chapter!
Uhm people who might care: @eazal, @ally-le, @carlybisek, @hebang, idk, I need to sleep. Crivens.

6
5

    This is the content I signed up for, Sic. What could have been!

    2
    0

    So this is Hot & Hot in a very Hot scene? 😅
    I approved of this.

    3
    0

    It finally happened!! Yaay

    2
    0

    Hot & Hot, The Epic
    The General and the Spy, A Tragedy in *snick* grrk

    Lovely, vivid imagery!

    1
    0

    I haven’t read the fanfic, but I approve of this gif!

    1
    0

Speed researching for… reasons, and oh boy! the things you come across.



5
8

Considering Vinnie just got his ass saved by a bunch of pidgeons? No, the most unbelievable part of this episode was actually that it took less than a full episode for you to find his Korean name and his mother, when it took you half the show (or whatever it was) to find out he is/was Mafia. But everyone still loves this show so I’ll go back to pretending the plot writing doesn’t drive me insane and lose me every two episodes.






7
17

    I repicked up the show after having watched the first two eps the first week. At ep 4 only, my head is already reeling. I should remember to leave my brain behind while watching.

    0
    1

      Yes with Vincenzo you really gotta do that. But the payoff is great– the dark silly laugh out loud moments!

      2
      1

        Yeah, I got a few gold moments already so far. The dialogue is hilarious, and is also decently translated, I think. I’m sure tons more is lost along the way, but it’s enough to keep us LOL-ing already!

        1
        1

          *sigh* this has triggered an essay and I can’t be bothered disclaimering it; I think you’ve all read enough of me for that to not be necessary. lol
          CC: @eazal, @mmmmm, @pickleddragon @bluewaters20

          1/?
          See, the thing is, I don’t think it’s supposed to be a “Switch off your brain drama”. Not entirely anyway.
          There are parts of it that are deliberately ridiculous yes, the parodic or satirical moments or just plain old silly spoofs; be they Vincenzo being saved by pidgeons, the dry cleaner fighting with scissors or the recreation of the French Revolution painting. I even think that the cartoonish nature of Taec’s villain is deliberate. And a lot of this is done for, among other things, comedic and stylistic effect. And those moments are actually ok, because I understand why they are the way they are.

          But for every one of those moments there are also moments the show does want you to take seriously. It needs you to take SOME of it seriously, otherwise there isn’t much about the story or the characters to root for; Cha Young’s father dying, both of their relationships with their parents, the victim’s family members being murdered, to use a few examples.
          And then there are just plain old plot related scenes. Because this is a tv show, and not just run of gags and there is still a story happening behind the spoofs. Funny that

          My issue, or at least the relevant one right now, comes with the continuity of basically everything that isn’t there for comedy or satire.
          There seems so much less thought put into the actual foundational aspects of the story. Where we’re going, how we’re getting there, why and in what way, and why that way is best (or not), what the motivations of our characters are, why that’s important, etc.

          Like the event I am actually talking about here, the moment when Babel discovers his mother’s identity and his Korean name- that’s not a spoof scene. That’s not a satirical scene. That’s not even technically an emotionally serious moment. Not yet any way. It’s a plot point designed to move the story forward, and it’s one I have expected since episode 3, so it’s not even its existence that bothers me. It’s that 6 episodes ago, discovering that Vincenzo is the Mafia is a big deal. The lead up is a huge deal, and the reveal is also. It takes time. It takes work. But then this happens, and it’s expected but it JUST HAPPENS; suddenly they know about it, they didn’t even try. When Vincenzo has kept his true identity as the Mafia and as her son secret for so long and kept it so closely, and the Villains just find out, without any hassle.

          And there are several other aspects of the show that are like this.
          The entire Prosecutor and Paper Company subplot is redundant because they already have the Guillotine File. But you don’t know that till just now, so you’re made to think everything else they’re trying is important (whilst enjoying fake proposals), when actually it’s just… filler episodes…

          4
          8

            2/? cont.

            The Guillotine File itself is a McGuffin all because Vincenzo won’t use Han Seo against Taec and “exploit family relationships”, among other things (like apparently just not being able to come up with a more intelligent way to win). The Prosecutor’s Betrayal is not exactly unbelievable, but it doesn’t have nearly as much weight as the show wants it to have, or at least as much weight as it clearly has on Cha Young (again, her hurt at that is not a spoof scene), because the set up is lacking*, and it’s pretty much entirely meaningless as soon as Vincenzo reveals he has the File (*the Prosecutor exists as a plot device, we’re not really made to care about him at all beyond a few snarky throwbacks.)
            Another example might be going from Vincenzo saying he’ll kill Pabo (Taec) when he finds him, to saying no he wants to take everything from him in some way instead, and then back to just going on a much more apt and expected Mafia killing spree when they kill his mother. The fact of the matter is, if Vincenzo actually acted like the Mafiosa he is, the show would’ve ended at like episode 4.
            And unfortunately, this show has a 20-episode count, of nearly 30 hrs run time, and I don’t know whose decision that was, but it severely hampers the story, which is pretty clearly either being written to FILL that episode count (hence all the filler and redundancy!), or is written by someone who didn’t actually know how to write a well thought out story around his idea and concept for that many episodes from the beginning, and that’s why our Villains are weak, and things don’t make sense. (Or it’s both.)

            See the scene where Evil Lawyer-nim reveals Vinnie’s mother to Taec- it’s not a “Switch off your brain and laugh” moment. It’s an important part of the story. And for me to be invested in the events that follow it, or lead up to it, as the show wants me to be (given the ending of episode 16, and how they’ve established regret and family as themes throughout the show), when these moments lack continuity or not as much thought as other elements, it makes me wonder what the end goal or point of this show is at all.
            Because these moments are not supposed to be ridiculous, parodies, or spoofs. They’re actually the foundational moments of the story; without them, why should I care about anyone in this show? Does it want me to? Then why doesn’t it seem to care about its own story?

            3
            0

            3/3 cont.

            What does Vincenzo want to be, is what I find myself asking. Does it want to be just a comedy? Does it want to be a satire? Does it want to be an action flick? Does it want to be a serious anti hero character driven drama? Does it want to be smart? Or does it want to be silly?
            Because I think as it stands right now, none of its elements, because it has all of these, are strong enough to stand on their own, and there is a severe imbalance to them.
            If they were stronger, and more consistent, it would be easier for me to enjoy the ridiculous and the funny stuff, because I would know what was clearly stylistically deliberate was backed up by a strong story and strong writing. But, it’s not.

            It’s not like it’s something like Meteor Garden 2018 or Tale of the Nine Tailed, to use two very different but equally cursed shows, both of which I love; it’s not so bad it’s good, it’s not crack held together with miracle string cheese that you enjoy against all possible better reasoning otherwise.
            I think that large parts of Vincenzo otherwise are done extremely well. And I ENJOY large parts of it! And it’s because of this that I feel more frustrated at it lacking in key story fundamentals. I want it to be a better version of itself, because I want to LIKE IT MORE. I don’t want to be annoyed at it!

            But I do get annoyed, about every second week, and I wish I had more people to be sarcastic at it with lol.

            -end essay, nobody actually asked for pfft xox

            3
            0

            @sicarius you make so much sense oof!!

            1
            0

            Essay we didn’t ask for but enjoyed reading even if we are not as annoyed xD! You can continue to post your annoyed rants because I’ll read them and agree with parts of them whilst also enjoying the show (and forgiving these plot holes lol)

            2
            0

            I agree with @bluewaters20

            Sic, all of this makes complete sense. I haven’t reached far enough to pass any kind of judgement really other than (a) it’s a riot; (b) the Italian – um – needs some work; and (c) the episodes are really long. But your lens is very useful for me going forward!

            2
            0

            Thanks so much for sharing this. You are right.
            I’ve already said the plot doesn’t make sense, because I don’t understand any character’s motivations. Yet, I decided to look aside, because I’m enjoying all the absurdity in it, and in fact I don’t like when the plot makes advances out of the blue or we don’t get much information to explain why, and thus so many things feel like plot device. Even so, I’m willing to look aside, because I’m having fun. If I had all that you’ve mentioned we would have a perfect drama as Forest of Secrets (only perfect drama I’ve watched).

            1
            0

            Thank you for your essay as always Sic. It’s very thorough.

            As you knew from my previous comment, I didn’t make it past ep2, the reason of which you also already knew cause we talked about it perhaps in another thread or someone’s post. This case is different from The King imo because from the very moment TK started, I knew that it was supposed to be a fantasy; this, on the other hand, started very realistically as the lead was portrayed to be a consultant to a mafia group in Italy and he did many things there. AND he was smart and decisive and seemed to possess all the qualities that he should have. Than, bam! He came back to SK and all his brain had gone somehow. He got robbed by two robbers .. so the question is who actually Vinnie is supposed to be? To make a comedy out of him does the show have to make him less clever? I had this question in mind then so I stopped watching.

            I’d say that apart from the parts I haven’t watched, I completely agree with your takes on the rest. I think the problem here is that for me to enjoy a show, I have to be able to ‘trust’ it -will it be magical (ok let’s watch TK cause I’m in the mood for a fairy tale) or a completely mess (*looks at you Sisy*) but for something I can’t put my finger on what exactly the purpose of the show is or where it is going, it becomes frustration because well.. it makes me confused.

            I respect other Beans who enjoy the show though. And I also think you enjoyed it much more than I did.

            1
            0

            *bobs a cute curtsy*

            1
            0

    Unlike other Beanies, I couldn’t make it past ep.2. But I like reading you rant about it in such a fun way.. so I’ll continue.. reading your posts about it, but no I won’t watch it -at least not any time soon.

    But I like the drawing of a pigeon. What’s his name again Inchi?

    0
    1

    Plot? Who cares about the plot? I don’t care about the plot!
    It’s everything else that keeps me watching!

    5
    1

Biggest Kdrama Fashion Crime of Change was getting rid of Ju Won\’s Blue Camaro SS in Beyond Evil after the half way mark. *smh*

6
0

UGH, YOU THREW OFF MY GROOVE *throws a small golden summer palace miniature across the throne room*
*ahem*
As previously mentioned, my groove is off, thus I don’t know if this will up to my usual standard but I also don’t know what that is so, here goes nothing. Validate me @hebang, I’m doing this for you.

VINCENZO EPISODE 14 KISS SCENE ANALYSIS, BREAKDOWN AND MELONIA CRITIQUE

NOTES ON THE PRESENTATION:
1.If you’re new here and are NOT familiar with my Royal Kiss Analyses and are sensitive to tired snark and or the ravings of a mad queen, please keep scrolling. If you wish to proceed, please do so at your own risk; the Queendom will not compensate for any casualties instigated by sh☠️tposting. Company Insurance Policy and all that.
2. If you’re asking me why I’m doing this … you should probably scroll through my wall.
If you’re asking me why I’m nitpicking things that might not even seem worth nitpicking, well… you should probably scroll through my wall … and also know that I’m sorry but we don’t accept that kind of Optimism here.
3.Had to use a ripped version because The Swoon has weird video cuts and doesn’t have the whole thing which means it’s USELESS FOR SCIENCE so please refer to the below video for the following timestamps and pray it doesn’t get taken down by whoever before you see this.

BREAKDOWN:
RIGHT WELL THE KISS. THE KISS WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Maybe. Maybe not if you don’t ship them but that’s not my problem… I actually don’t HATE this kiss scene. It’s not my FAVOURITE but then idek what is anymore, I liked parts of it but then I also drafted this at least twice in the shower after watching it a week ago which means its flaws are annoying and worthy of critique. (despite the fact that most shower essays never get written.)

For this scene we are counting from time stamp 0:12 to 1:44 as the “Kiss Scene”, or, from move in to pull away. Whilst this is technically slightly longer than the actual literal kiss, I prefer to count these caps as the scene as well, since it doesn’t really feel like a complete scene without them.

Total length: 1:30

Cut Scenes: 22
– Ah cut scenes, the bane of my kdrama kiss watching existence. Except for when counting them cos usually that’s just funny.
– Well let’s see, if bad is MOA at 38 or Boyfriend at 28 for about the same time, and good is SLMOS EP8 with 8 for about a minute… then that puts this as about the same level as My Strange Hero, which is not the worst I’ve ever seen, but still not really that great if I’m being perfectly honest.
I genuinely don’t know why kdrama directors feel the need to have so many cut scenes during a kiss. In this case you COULD argue that it’s a stylistic and narrative thing, and in part it is certainly the latter, but stylistically I don’t see how this many contributes to the scene at all. Because for me almost always, with this many cuts, it works AGAINST itself, and draws me out of the scene to have so many; it feels more obviously manufactured and edited, and less like… well like two people are actually kissing. It makes it so much more apparent that it’s more than one take pieced back together and the result to me is far less cohesive than say if oh idk… you had a shot where you just let them go for it…
It’s not like the actors here are 12 year olds. I’m sure they know what they’re doing… actually I’m pretty sure THESE TWO DO know what they’re doing. (PSH is an outlier and should not be counted).
And almost always, it’s completely unnecessary.
Time to go over the waterfall~~

Shots/Camera Angles FEATURING Hand placement/movement/positioning AND Lip Action:
I counted 10 but could be 8 in theory. We’ll go with 10- that seems like a lot I mean that kind of is a lot but for kdramas not really… could’ve been 12…
~List that definitely doesn’t have the right terms sue me I didn’t go to film school:~
1. Over Cha Young’s LEFT shoulder
2. Over Vinnie’s left shoulder
3. Low angle front on
4. Low angle behind Cha Young, to the left
5. Mid close up, front on and level (debatably the only one you ACTUALLY need)
6. Slightly more level and slightly more directly behind Cha Young
7. Shoes
8. Over Cha Young’s RIGHT shoulder
9. Over Vinnie’s Right shoulder
10. Medium Long shot, high angle, front on ish
asdfghjklkjhgfdsa
– Lip action: Putting this one in first cos it’s RELEVANT
Considering these two are both in denial about their feelings, I am ok with the double fish eyes BECAUSE hear me out, it is part of the character development as it were, AND they both end up just making out anyway … HOWEVER
– Idk what makes me more mad, excessive cut scenes or like really bad camera angles. Actually no, I do. It’s bad camera angles especially when they mean you can’t frakking see what’s going on– are we watching a kiss scene or AREN’T WE PDNIM.
– Okay so narratively I am fine with honestly probably about 8 of these camera angles, I would still personally cut it down to about 5 if you include the shoes, and 6 if you want a long shot. (You could also just do it in 1… but let’s not get ahead of myself)- I don’t MIND the cuts when it goes from him being flustered and surprised, to him responding, to HER being surprised, to HER responding AGAIN; like it works NARRATIVELY but but what I do have an issue with is
– Why in the ever loving shit are there so many shots that obscure the kiss
– I’m serious if you COUNT the shots that like Actually show THEM LOCKING LIPS there are MAYBE maybe 15 seconds OF RESPONSIVE GOOD KISS SHOTS, (20 if you count him not responding but EHHHHH) and since I’m not a generous person when it comes to drama critiques
– 15 seconds. Of 90. That’s 16%. Why are you like this. JUST FRAKKING –
– LINGER ON SHOT 5. IT’S NOT HARD.
– 1:20 HAND PLACEMENT TIME MY FAVOURITE PART maybe idk,
I’M GOnna go off at a slightly weird direction here but if you consider a Good Kiss Scene like a piece of art, perhaps like a sculpture ok, if we consider this, a kiss scene needs good composition in the same way–in order to be satisfying kiss scenes they need to look aesthetically pleasing and be balanced; it’s why if they’re in an awkward position, you the viewer is just not into it. (or is that just me? Am I just an art/kiss scene snob?) Whatever, therefore
I would’ve liked it better, if he’d gone more for the waist with his right hand, and pulled her slightly to him, and thereby having her tip slightly back, either from him or the natural progression of movement, which would’ve made HER hand movement and placement less awkward with her elbows akimbo- this positioning can work, you just have to… well make the angles look right. It’s a piece of artwork ok, BALANCE IT… or in this case unbalance it in order to… rebalance it… ye ken?
– The closer they are the better it is.
– The hand positioning of him cupping her face is fine, but I wish we could’ve seen more of it and for longer (See above and below)
– Now for the things you probably didn’t notice but will be unable to unsee
– …
– At 1:27 her hand is on the side of his neck
– At 1:28 her hands are locked AROUND his neck
– Why isn’t there a connecting scene, why did you just jump from one to the other, nobody would be complaining if the kiss scene was 4 seconds longer and we saw that shift, I don’t know WHY IT HAS TO HAPPEN LIKE THAT
– 1:31 LIPS LOCKED doesn’t really look like they’re stopping any time soon
– 1:32 OOP A CUT to them PULLING AWAY
– Rubs temples
– I suffer so much in ways you will never know
– Namely in that for a scene that lasted a minute thirty I felt like we only scraped the surface of THE POTENTIAL of THAT KISS
–
But here’s the thing ok, the crux point if you will, you could easily do this entire scene, WITHout losing the narrative points, in one shot, one cut, and one camera angle, and in my humble, extremely professional opinion, it would not take away ANYTHING from the scene, in fact, in many ways, it would/might add to it.

MOVING ONWARD!!!!!
SQUIRE! CHANGE THE OVERHEAD PROJECTION SLIIIIDE!

Jaw line: You know who has a great jawline for a slim dude? Bai Jingting. You know who doesn’t have my favourite jawline? Song Joong Ki. I’m sorry Carrot Boy. It’s not bad, there are just better.
For example… Jeon Yeo Been’s.

Male leads hand structure: They emphasised it more when she was hugging him tbh… which coincidentally was imo probably the most impactful part of that scene. Ahem.
Comparatively there was not a lot of focus on the hands during the kiss… like their KIND OF WAS but also not, it’s the same thing as with the camera angles- they were THERE they just weren’t THERE.
Related Side Note: If it were me, just cos I could, I would’ve shifted the focus at the 50s mark from her face to the ring lol

Atmosphere and Context: Fantastic and Hilarious, I love it, please get married have an army of smol Mafia children thank you~

Song: Should they have kissed to one of the few songs in the soundtrack that has lyrics, that also extremely maybe too aptly fit their scenari…[Read more]

16
34

Jiyong would be proud. (AND a Palindrome.)



11
1

Can we go back to the hand to hand fighting that was like actually good for a kdrama? Everything relating to guns in this just pisses me off. Oh you have a bullet in your liver from a SHOTGUN? Do you perhaps mean buck or bird shot pellets? Because I’m pretty frakking sure you do not have a shotgun slug in your liver when you were shot at roughly 20 metres. Might have a chunk taken out of the side of you though.



13
15

    I find the gun fights here v cool but I understand show inaccuracies can ruin the enjoyment of dramas so thankfully I’m not very aware of them (the doctor-ey bullet-ey facts)😅

    2
    0

    I thought they were using hunting rifles, not shotguns???

    1
    1

      Also, I think whatever kind of gun they were using, the impact wouldn’t be so much that Han-seok would be missing a chunk of his side. These are hunting guns, after all. Hunters often want the animals they kill to be relatively intact.

      0
      1

        1. It was shotgun. I would show you a screenshot but I can’t be bothered. 2. You can use a shotgun to hunt, depending on your ammo and desired hunting target. See: buckshot or birdshot. 3. If he were shot with a shotgun SLUG and NOT pellets, he would have a chunk out of his side, because that’s what a slug will do to you, especially at that distance (you can actually also hunt with shotgun slugs but it’s not as common) 4. I tried to decipher the markings on the end of the shells but couldn’t tell what kind of ammo he was using, so I don’t know what specifically to get mad at hence the post that covers everything. 5. I also have no idea what they thought they were hunting in the first place or why Taec decided to go with his younger brother whom he definitely does not trust, out into the middle of nowhere with two guns and then turn his back on said brother. But drama has to drama.

        7
        1

    Just generally, it’s really hacking me off that there are so many guns in Vincenzo. Have they suddenly relaxed Korea’s gun laws? I don’t think so. It makes kdrama more like (bleah) American tv with a lot of guns.

    4
    1

    I really thought he had been hit in his shoulder…
    A hot in the liver, and the jacket intact…
    The only thing that saved the whole scene was KDY acting (why is this guy so fracking good??).
    I won’t say anything about Taec because I love Taec and I’m a good fangirl.

    5
    1

      Can I just say how much I love that Taec fans are honest about how bad his acting is. Like they love him despite his bad acting. It’s refreshing, especially considering some of the deranged stans that pop up here every now and then. But then I see who his fans are and idk – maybe he’s the Thinking Person’s Wooden Idol.

      6
      1

        He’s such a cutie pie!
        And he tries hard, so you have to love it, because he works hard on it.
        Maybe he’s getting better? Or something? Or… not?
        I told you once, it’s just like Keanu Reeves. Another walking cutie pie.

        3
        1

As difficult as it is, I’m pretty sure Mr. Cho here just wants to threaten Vinnie and not actually shoot him; in which case you’re supposed to be Mafia bro, you should’ve frakking disarmed him on your way round.



12
3

    It wouldn’t surprise me if he did it to remind Vincenzo of his priorities.

    Or Cho did it because he too also knows about the Guillotine file and that also can add value to his 30 percent.

    At least me know the gold is still there.

    5
    0

    I chuckled at you calling Vincenzo Vinnie. I only watched one episode and stopped watching once he was shown to come to Korea: His character changed and instead of being a smart Mafia, he became a .. not so smart person (Aren’t you supposed to be The Mafia?) I understood that the show wanted to be OTT but if it was at the cost of staying true to his character, I had to say goodbye.

    0
    1

      I hath been calling him that for weeks hahahaha
      Ah yes… hmmm funny you should mention the dumbing down of the Main Character for comedy or plot, for that is a major part of my issues with this show and will be part of a rant I write about it… IF I can be bothered to write said rant; it will all depend on how next week goes.

      2
      0

The ship hath sailed. But at great cost.
And thus with the ashes of Go Geon’s entire character burning on the floor, I hereby finally pronounce this Dropped.
I’m sure @eazal will keep me updated of any future scenes that might be interesting enough sans dialogue and plot, for me to rip for my rewrite.






8
6

    I saw what he said to his dad, and thought of you…🤣 I figured you would have thrown something.

    3
    1

    Nothing makes sense, Sic, nothing.
    It will be really hard sticking to this drama now, specially when we know they both are going to die.
    Such a waste of interesting characters…
    I will keep you updated, promised!!

    3
    1

      By using the FF button. That’s how I’ll be sticking.

      2
      1

        I shall not torture myself farther. I have already been FFwd for how many episodes? 2019 still haunts me; I will give up now and save myself.

        2
        1

          I watched a sum total of maybe 15 minutes of episode 14. I’m honestly not sure how they are going to fill another 6 episodes, but I also know I’m going to see this through to its bitter end, so…there you go.

          0
          0

Did your IQ drop 100 points when she hugged you or what?






2
2

    He WAS struck DUMB (in the smarts sense) by Jin Woo, not CY. Would make more a more interesting plot…

    0
    1

      If only.

      I feel like I’m the only one annoyed by the fact that he should’ve figured out it was Taec a minimum of four episodes ago, and also utilized KDY to figure it out AND bring him down sooner, but because the villain writing in this is dumb, and because they have to fill a ridiculous episode count (it’s 26 hrs min, 30 max for crying out loud) for reasons that I drafted a very long rant essay in my head about, we get lines like THIS that make only pretend sense.

      2
      0

You could engage your brains…



4
0

Is shooting a martial art: discuss. -_-
4
7

    hahahaha I feel like she was referring to at her house since she wouldn’t have seen the shooting.

    3
    1

      Yeah I thought about this too—

      it makes no sense for her to say this now. She’s seen him fight several times before. Why only bring it up now. Because he took out three shooters? Mr. Lee did the same- he referenced Vinnie’s fighting skills, that only he and the paralegal were privy to- aka the shoot out- but nobody saw anything.
      It’s odd placement, and doesn’t, imo, make sense. The context for the conversation is skewed. But then I felt the whole start of this episode to be weirdly … paced… among other things.

      3
      1

        hmm…perhaps it’s one of the many questions that she’s just got for him and since he came out of a (gun) fight, I guess she asked. I mean they really haven’t had a break. Although it does seem like a bit of a filler conversation…they could have had that over the drinks but hey.

        0
        0

    I mean if you fight with guns like this, sure? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsiv1mo0HTQ

    0
    1

      I recommend the whole song despite the ridiculousness of the MV, but if you want the shortcut I am referring to 1:13

      0
      0

    According to Google and Wikipedia, yes, shooting is a martial art. As in Art of Mars.

    1
    1

      There are even gun katas as shown in the movie Equilibrium.

      Then there is the “form without school” (a la Bruce Lee) version of shooting as a martial art in the movie Shoot’em Up.

      1
      0

Obsessed with the Hanok architecture in this the most to be honest.









15
11

    The house is to DIE for, totally understand why they would both be so stubborn about staying in it lol

    4
    0

    Is this the same house as Personal Taste?

    0
    1

    Comment was deleted

    0
    0

    Did you read my mind? I need to know more!!

    1
    1

      When I was in Seoul last, I came across this brilliant book on Hanok Architecture in a tea house in Insadong; I took a picture of it as I mean to try and find it online and buy it one of these days. (Obviously, I couldn’t pinch the tea house’s copy)

      3
      0

    So, where are the chimneys? Whether burning gas, oil, or coal, there should be a stack to release the exhaust out of the immediate area… I know when I lived in Korea, our house had a chimney, so where are they?

    Yes I know I’m being a nudge…

    3
    1

    we walked thru Bukchon when we were in Seoul – walking distance from Insadong… gorgeous, gorgeous architecture, masonry, plaster/rock walls, woodwork, gates, iron hardware…

    if i won a huge lottery (and you’d need it), i’d purchase one of those beautiful, historic homes…

    i sorta did not like the modern upgrade that was featured in that Ji Chang Wook drama – his home in seoul. they replaced the original sliders with big, double paned sliding glass doors, and covered the interior sliders with solid material rather than showcasing the beautiful, different treatments of glass and translucent panes….

    3
    1

      I have also walked through Bukchon, I loved it, and somehow got a day with hardly any people. And Insadong is maybe my favourite district in Seoul.
      AND- If I had a million dollars, I would get a hanok architect to build me a house, 100%.

      I’ve been in a couple of cafes that melded the modern and the traditional really well, but I I do think it has to be done with taste.

      3
      0

    yes yes yes! They’re showcasing this well! The homes are beautiful, even the one he got as a substitute!

    2
    0

Noooo… why would you say that… 👀
4
0

Because the creative process is weird and extremely subjective to the individual? Duh.
For me it’s weird variants, like only being able to write certain stories by hand, or on the keep notes on my phone because I am a feral child (did I max out the character limit on a note? yes. was it extremely annoying? also yes)



7
0

when you casually miss your dysfunctional criminal children that gave you an existential crisis for like a month

6
4

Why was that gun fight in Vincenzo so disappointing lol. Not even a single double tap. *smh*

5
9

    Vinnie hasn’t shot a gun in a while…it was just a warm up hahaha.

    1
    1

      I kept thinking and baffled at my thought that he should get a machine gun or automatic rifle rather than reloading them and wasting time. (which I assume doesn’t need to be refilled? excuse my lack of gun knowledge.)

      2
      2

        You still have to reload an assault or automatic rifle lol. But it’s only 3 v 1 so it would’ve made it easier, yes. As long as… Vincenzo knows how to aim.
        Although he definitely should have set up a gattling gun in the underpass; that would’ve been frakking hilarious.

        Tbh though, I think the stunt coordinator is just not as good at gun fights as hand to hand.

        3
        1

          In a constricted area, like a tunnel, a Claymore mine is used by those in the know. Much more effective and efficient.

          Or if one just had to use a gun, a sawed off, squeezed shot gun sometimes known as a sweeper.

          Or if one insisted being suicidal and use a pistol, at least pay homage to some of the great pistols from cinema – like Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum, or Bond’s Beretta, … or to be over the top use a 60 caliber pistol (they exist)

          Or to stick with the pyromania theme, the lighter should have come into play!

          1
          1

        I don’t know much about guns either but something about machine guns that just make me think they are loud and for people who lack skills in shooting. Vincenzo seems too classy for that hahahaha

        1
        1

    It was just a gun fight. It didn’t show us anything new or interesting about Vincenzo. A real lost opportunity.

    0
    1

Vincenzo when he wakes up every morning.



14
1

Bonus Post: Assassin Wizard dude was really just like “dang it’s SUCH a waste to KILL her” and I couldn’t agree more.



10
1

    She can’t die!
    Well that will men Geon would die.
    Can she ride their child as a Silla’s assassin to avenge his/her daddie?

    1
    0

👀👀👀👀👀 *internally screams*
Great, now I have to keep watching this for another week…






8
5

    I’d dying!
    And I need those earrings.

    2
    0

    This drama is like Groundhog’s Day, I say the same thing every week, I just can’t quit it.

    1
    0

    They look quite alike, don’t they?

    0
    0

    They’ve got you in their crosshairs, don’t they!

    1
    0

    What! Oh! This happened!

    Hmm, for a couple of seconds I did wonder why I stopped watching this.

    2
    0