Beans of Wisdom: Wig War II

by DB Staff

This week in Beans of Wisdom…

In “1% of Anything: Episode 1” franbergh shares an observation that you can’t not notice after reading. In comment #4, she writes:

lately i realize another truth of kdrama world.
when you’re an actor who get better, your role will also getting better. from just a guy who just say hello to lead actors and then forgotten, to a guy who own a company or at least his grandparents own it. i think thats 99,99% male lead (1&2) in kdrama is super rich guys.
but the actress, better means you’ll become poor character!
Whyyy, kdrama???!!! WHYY???

crazyahjummafan writes in “On the Way to the Airport: Episode 3” comment #5.4:

This is my view:
Love is not a feeling. It’s a will. If it is merely a feeling , people will be changing spouses like they change clothes.

Marriage is a commitment for life. In a marriage, it is not about me or him/her. It’s about us.

If both spouses put the two together, I’m very sure all marriages will work out.

If a married person finds himself/herself interested in another person, the most responsible thing to do is avoid the other person at all costs. The more you give in to your feelings, the harder it is to let go. And that is what Su-ah was trying to do.

Having said that, I feel that the main problem with both relationships is the lack of communication. Su-ah didn’t bother to talk to Jin suk about taking Hyo-eun back and he didn’t consult her about his decisions regarding HE either. She simply made a decision on her own and he sends her a manual. If he could talk so freely with the stewardess, why can’t he do the same with Su-ah?

Do-woo and Hye-won also need to communicate more. She needs to open up and tell him her problems with Annie and Do-woo needs to tell her how he feels too. Right now, I’m a little frustrated with both couples cos they are simply keeping things to themselves. It’s ok to yell at each other and scream too…better than holding everything inside.

Communication is key for lunatic4kd too. In “On the Way to the Airport: Episode 4” comment #14, she writes:

Sometimes, separations are 100% the BEST way for each person to realize how much they miss the other – or not. It forces each spouse to face their own inadequacies and meet in the middle, Tremendous compromise is needed and, usually, a good counselor can spend months helping the couple re-unite – but the best thing of all is to go home and announce, “I am afraid and sad for the differences appearing between us. It makes me not to want to be with you. I am being drawn to a kind person just for conversation.” It scares me and I’m scared for us. What should we do?” But how many rocky marriages can contain this calm and adult a warning? Nope. Not too realistic. I know from experience that when a spouse is consistently being a jerk, there is almost NO way to pull them back from the brink without drastic action from the other spouse. I applaud this drama for the gentle way it is portraying a very REAL situation. Here’s the deal, fellow Beanies: communication is everything in a marriage. You have to be truthful with each other and you have to take responsibility for the truth you tell. It’s the only way you get to see the honest reaction from the other person which, in turn, allows YOU to respond honestly and authentically. I LOVE where this drama is going and can’t wait to see how things are figured out. I’ve been where both of these good main characters are and I wouldn’t trade any of the pain I went through for the great result of the happiness I have now. Love wins. Truth is the only way out.

Pebble also writes about On the Way to the Airport in “Drama viewership ratings for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2016” comment #13.2:

This drama is about two forlorn souls having a powerful emotional connection, lust is the last thing on their minds given their circumstances. Are they being infidel, yes, but committing adultery, definitely no!
I’m rooting for the couple, so let’s forget about what is morally right or wrong and shall we just give ourselves a break @Flightey Gazelles? Why do people get addicted to dramas? Because the majority of people are too bogged down by the reality of day to day living such that everyone is leading a perfunctory kind of life on auto-pilot. Watching drama provides an outlet for emotions, through the joy and sorrow of the characters, we get to enjoy a fun ride to experience different lifestyles, different personas, and those things we don’t even dare imagine doing in real life. As such, why are we applying societal pressures on the characters in a drama? Can’t they be given the freedom to follow their hearts? It’s just a drama after all!

Flightey Gazelles replies:

I think that since movies and dramas are a reflection of society, its natural to have some expectations and apply some moral boundaries and so forth… But that doesn’t mean that those stories shouldn’t be told. And wanting to explore the complex human emotions involved in these kind of stories doesn’t automatically mean one condones them.
I suppose you could liken it to enjoying serial killer thrillers. It doesn’t mean you support or want them to get away with it but you want to see what leads to such depravity, how seemingly normal humans could become like that, if some people are born like that, who is responsible and how it could have been prevented. For example, one of the things I loved about I Remember You is that no matter how lovey dovey it got, it never let us forget that this are humans who are very capable of doing some pretty horrible (understatement) things.
I love with when dramas don’t shy away from this and doesn’t gloss over these things.

cherkell asks in “The K2: Episode 3” comment #4:

Why do most of the elevators I have to travel in never suddenly expanded to the width of seven men plus a camera crew circling around them, and then shrunk back into normal size? Would make life much easier for me to inflict bodily harm upon my enemies. ?

Yoyoc:

only in kdramas do you get to witness an elevator expanding its width or a lake increasing its depth.

aoiaheen adds:

The elevator was probably attracted to JCW. Couldn’t contain itself.

PV has a different question in comment #19:

Also is the production never planning on Yoona wearing anything besides a white bed gown. Is that how they saved money for everything

Lord Cobol

How many costumes do you have to not buy to pay for all those cars?

kanz:

Basically all the money is spent filming in Barcelona and filming the car chase scene.
Ji Chang Wook wearing sleeveless shirts for 3 ep is also 1 smart way to save the money.. LOL

Gaeina Lee:

I surely wouldn’t mind to watch JCW shirtless or, you know-less, if the production company need to save even more.. *winks*

shenelini writes in “The K2: Episode 3” comment #31:

Madam Yoo-jin and Jeha’s interactions are just sizzling – not necessarily in a sexual way, but more because I think she recognises in him a worthy opponent whose motives she cannot really understand. People like the other assemblyman and her brother might be cunning bastards (at least I think her little brother is too), but she understands how they tick, probably because she is similar. But Jeha? When he came to her to stop her from going after the orchard couple, and saved her from the burning car, you could see the moment of confusion and sudden interest in him because why should he? He had nothing to gain.
And for her, that in itself is intriguing because we can see how she uses people around her and her knowledge and relationships to benefit herself and her goals. And as much as Jeha’s actions throw her for a loop, she sees the value in his principles, and perhaps, does or will come to admire and respect it. Fingers crossed the show develops a much more complex psychological relationship between the two rather than an infatuation like so many comments say it’s going to be.

While YY pens a song in “The K2: Episode 4” comment #2.10.2:

A Whole New World

Sung to Disney’s Aladdin

Dedicated to JCW’s abs

Je ha: I can show you my abs
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, Anna, now when did
You last set eyes on this prize?

Je ha: I can open my shirt
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic absy ride

Je ha: A whole new world
A new fantastic six-packs view
No one to tell you no, don’t ogle so
Or say you stop that drooling

Anna: A whole new world
These dazzling abs I never knew
But where I’m staring here, it’s crystal clear
That now I’m in an absy world with you
Je ha: Now I’m in an absy world with you

Anna: Unbelievable sight
Indescribable feelings
Swooning, eyes popping, jaw dropping
At this oiled and ripped delight

Anna: An absy world
Je ha: Don’t you dare close your eyes
Anna: A hundred thousand veins to see
Je ha: Hold your breath, it gets better

Anna: I’m like that Running Man star
I’ve run so far
I can’t go back
To where I used to be

Je ha: An absy world
Anna: Every fold a surprise
Je ha: I don’t eat no more subway
Anna: Even ramien makes me better
Both: I’ll run with you anywhere
There’s time to spare
Let me share this absy world with you

Je ha: An absy world
Anna: An absy world
Je ha: That’s where we’ll be
Anna: That’s where we’ll be
Je ha: A sizzling chest
Anna: Wondrously stacked
Both: For you and me

If you need help with the melody…

Niyati has a serious question in comment #20 of “Woman With a Suitcase: Episode 2.”

What was that whole thing about ‘She’s not my type’ or ‘I though he had better taste in women’? I think people false reporting rapes are horrible, but WTF show, as if being rapeable is something anyone ought to aspire to be!

gamergal replies:

omg, THANK YOU. I was hoping someone would talk about it here. I cringed when Bok-geo was all “You’re too skinny” because wtf, just say you’re not attracted, don’t effing body shame her! And then he went and made it worse in court where he basically said she’s too skinny for him to bother raping. WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? To compound that the writer makes Geum-joo say oh he never would rape a woman he’s not attracted to. WHAT?! facepalm.

I really like this story but please please stop this writer from making his/her internalized sexism evident please. I even realize why those nuggets were included: cause, see? He’s not attracted to conventional pretty girls! He’s totally waiting for someone like Geum-joo, who may be older but a REAL WOMAN.

And yet Geum-joo is beautiful and probably just as skinny as Yoo-ri. What is wrong with society that it celebrates one woman body-shaming another???

Okay rant over. Please, show, no more of this shit. I want to watch Geum-joo kick butt.

Niyati adds:

Also what I was upset about is the implication that the hero wouldn’t find the heroine attractive enough to rape. RAPE IS NOT A COMPLIMENT show. And the idea that people have ‘raperworthy ‘ types is disgusting.

So yeah, show, to second what gamergal said. I’m on the way to liking these characters. So no more body shaming please. And no more trying to suggest that being rape worthy is an accomplishment..

gamergal also has another observation in comment #21:

I liked how they showed Geum-joo’s careless attitude about pulling apart the victim’s statement in Suk-woo’s rape case. She didn’t care if it was legit or not. She saw a flaw in the argument and honed in on it. And with rape cases it’s pretty much always the victim’s account against the accused’s. So a lawyer’s work is both super simple and complicated from the get go. Whether conviction happens or not depends a lot more on the personality, presentation, and believability of the victim than on actual facts. The show keeps emphasising that and I like that they do. Because that is how law works. It’s unemotional and totally dependent on human biases working in your favour.

betty writes about Moon Lovers in “Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching” comment #25.1:

I keep finding so many things wrong with it, and yet…. and yet

it’s like Moonlovers is my on-off boyfriend I’m telling myself “ok we’re never hooking up again” and then it calls me, looking all sexy, taking off its mask to show off its new bb cream covered face and I’m just staring at it with this vague expression that for some reason gets interpreted as pity when no, I just feel uncomfortable when the camera is all up in my face why does this keep happening

where am I going with this

*whispers* Moonlovers, I don’t know what to do with you.

While TourmalineMillie views Moon Lovers differently. In comment #42, she writes:

I think I’ve finally realized why I’m so invested in Moon Lovers.

You know how you can have two children: One’s a mostly well-behaved, no-trouble-giving imitation of an angel and the other is a troublesome, sometimes headache inducing imitation of the devil? And because the first child is almost perfect, you tend to give most of your attention to the troublesome one, and you’re always wondering if that child got into trouble or did something bad when you weren’t looking. Making it almost impossible to even think about anything other than that child.

Yeah, yeah, Moon Lovers has a whoooole lot of issues (which is honestly not as bad as people are making it seem, just not something that was expected). But I’m always wondering what kind of issue an episode will bring, what kind of comparison it will elicit, what kind of discussions it will cause, WHY THE HECK IS IT NOT MONDAY YET, that sort of thing. This makes me completely unable to focus on other dramas that I KNOW have better editing, and not so much closeups.

At this point, I’ve just accepted that I’m obsessed with it. The differences from the Chinese version makes me really excited to see how it will go.

It’s all grey areas this week for the royal family in Moon Lovers. TourmalineMillie writes a case for the ruthless Princess in “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 12” comment #7.1.1:

She’s pitiful in the sense that her gender and position in Goryeo society has made her the person she is.

Looking at her thinking hard after Yo’s proposal and Wook’s insinuation of sending her to Yo to be a hostage, I was struck by pity. She’s evil, yes, but a place that requires you to be that evil just to survive is not quite a place to go on vacation, you know?

I don’t necessarily feel sorry for her because I do agree that she deserves some karma for her evil deeds. I just feel pity about why she’s had to become that way.

While kumoiwa focuses on a different character in comment #67.1.4.1:

I think the most fascinating thing about Wook is his obsession with wanting to be recognised as the good guy. It shows so much in his insistence on not wanting to be a “traitor”, even if he’s done everything that a traitor would do, ergo try to usurp the throne that his father specifically left to his eldest brother. It’s just like, he wants to gain EVERYTHING that can only be obtained if you’re the bad guy while being acknowledged as the good guy. He’s so full of contradictions because he doesn’t want to admit his own greed and ambition I feel, and that’s what makes him so interesting to me!

Jamie wants to warn us about real-life Wang Sos. In comment #12.1.1, she shares:

Many years ago, I married a persistent and possessive guy who said exactly the same thing to me (that we could just get divorced if it didn’t work out and I didn’t want to stay married). However, when I wanted a divorce, he went full-blown stalker-y, along the lines of what Wang So has already said: “Just you try to run away from me and see what happens.”
It was very, very frightening. Not romantic. 🙁

FanOfLeeJunKi’sMane replies:

Listening that “possessive” from Wang So from an era that is patriarchial is something I can understand.. (That’s how the teacing for boys were, before civilization). I mean, they want it, they take it (women, throne, power, money).

But I guess possessiveness never dies, like that pick up line “you’re the first to have ever treated me this way” (10th)

Jamie:

One thing I learned from it is that we (girls and women) often romanticize possessiveness from men, because it makes us feel special–that we are meant to be as a couple, that this is a love story for the ages, that the guy is so laser-beam focused on us because we are unique to him,–when really, it is a character trait of his (obsessiveness, possessiveness) that has nothing to do with us. If it wasn’t us, it would be someone else he is fixated on.

I love Wang So as a fictional character because I believe he is good. I don’t think he’d ever really hurt Hae Soo for trying to leave him.

But in real life? No. It happens too often.

And YY writes about a certain confrontation in the same episode (comment #17.1.1.3):

That was a very sad scene. I cried. For the love they once shared, for the people that they were. One year on, and how different both of them are now: she utterly broken in body and spirit, he, forming a hard veneer around his heart to cope with the guilt and the pain of abandoning the girl he loves. I understand Wook, his family commitments, his helplessness, his frustrations, the resolve to seize the throne as the only way out to protect those he loves, including Hae Su.

I think she still loves him, and I think it’s very real that she can’t let go, one year on, it speaks of the complexities of the human heart and the human psyche…the mind says one thing but the heart says another. Because she loves him, she’s ready to excuse him for his abandoning her. She tells herself, it’s okay, as long as he really did love me, and he wasn’t faking it, that’s good enough for me. I was good enough to be loved once by a prince. She has sunk into such depths of despair she has convinced herself she’s the lowliest of the low, and undeserving of any love from anyone, let alone a prince – she’s been cursed for being a blight on people’s luck, and it’s been drummed into her so long she believes it. Her physical disability, her limp, as well as her servant’s appearance, would be an immense blow to her self- respect and pride, she being a girl whose life and career revolved around beauty and makeup. She would have told herself, I’m maimed, I’m ugly now, I don’t deserve to be loved by anyone. She is a broken being, neither alive nor dead.

So has to fix her back, piece by piece, her mind, if not her body. It would take a lot of patience and love, but he’ll be able to do it, with the courage and strength that he possesses. Hot headed that he is, and flawed that he may be, he moves me and makes me cry for his unwavering, selfless love for Su. Never has a woman been so loved. When he said “You’re beautiful as always”, my heart broke, I just wept….so, so touching.

I think that limp, the way she drags herself, that awkward gait that she has now, to me, is a stark contrast to the fleet, quicksilver movements she used to display; she could never be forced to sit still, stand still, obey and conform….she would try her best, but her impatience would take over, and boredom would set in, so she would just give up, and dart off somewhere and get into mischief. But this new shuffling, clumsy, awkward gait she has now, it’s painful to watch; she’s slow, and she drags herself, and the heavy tread of her footsteps, as she painfully makes her way up the steps, placing one foot, step by step, inching her way up so laboriously….it was hard to watch. They broke her, and I don’t know whether she’ll ever heal again, and I just feel so sad looking at the her now. I think if they break her any further, she’ll just die

Starfall has eyes for something else in comment #122:

Also, Yo’s eyeliner is…winged? The more evil he gets, the fancier his eyeliner becomes smh

Ruby adds:

Not only that, he is sporting eyeshadow too in this episodes. You know shit is about to hit the fan soon.

HD replies:

Haha your comment reminds me of the scene before the final showdown between gil tae mi and ddang sae in Six Flying Dragons..when gil tae mi takes his own time to apply the blue eyeshadow.

Andy Pandy explains about Yo:

He was upset that everyone could only keep talking about So’s BB cream that he felt it was necessary to step up his makeup game, lol.

Jamie writes in comment #23:

But how did we get from Yo, captured, on his knees and surrounded by soldiers at the palace to Yo somehow escaping through a forest? For a couple of minutes there I wondered if this was a special punishment for royal traitors, to be hunted like an animal on foot!

And don’t they know, even back then in Goryeo, that when someone seems to die and falls off a cliff, but their body isn’t recovered, that they have lived and will be back? Go find Yo! He can’t have gone far, injured the way he is!

Speaking of cliffs, Ryeo notices something and writes in comment #57:

Btw is that the same cliff that LJK said he’s fallen off from three or four times already? Lmao That definitely is the sageuk cliff

pogo:

I’ve seen that cliff in Arang and SWWTN, I thought it was some kind of MBC location until it turned up in Joseon Gunman too. lol.

Nayour adds:

He fell off that same cliff in Two Weeks too.

pogo suggests:

They should just keep his wardrobe there, with clothes to go down the cliff in. Sageuk robes hang on the right, modern clothes on the left.

And Nayour:

They should just name the cliff after him at this point. Lol.

Lattes has a creative use for the evil family in “Fantastic: Episode 9” comment #6:

Urgh Sul’s mother in law and sister in law are such witches. Honestly if I wanted to torture someone, I’d just make them spend a day with those two.

While Imbuk writes about the greatest love of all in comment #7:

Loved how ji soo made sul see herself ( so happy to see him back better!). Its just sad that, that family had reduced her to this person where she stopped seeing herself as precious. Because only when you love yourself knowing your strengths and flaws will you be able to see another imperfect person and love them. I am happy that sang wook made her see who she really is. I cheered when she did a smack down on her husband and the confrontation scene was just as effective but I think knowing that family they will use their last chance soon enough so, waiting for that epic scene when she leaves that slaughter house. Go sul!

maryxiah writes this gem in “Moonlight Drawn By Clouds: Episode 13” comment #3.1.2:

I like the metaphor of cloud and moonlight in this drama too. I know the director said there’s no grand metaphor here but the way we see it is entirely different. I agree that the cloud represent the people, and the moon represent the monarch. The people could make or break the monarch, so if they decide to overshadow the moon, their moonlight (power) wouldn’t be able to shine through, but if the people decide support the monarch, they could shine and literally become Moonlight Drawn by clouds.

At comment #3, Elle shares some insights regarding the OST selection in Moonlight Drawn By Clouds:

I’m still gathering my thoughts after watching the episode, but I first want to commend Gaemi for the awesome music directing. All the songs in this episode were used in the most devastatingly heartbreaking way. I was crying like a baby when SSK’s Fondly, Goodbye played as Ra-on kissed Yeong. And when the music crescendoed as she positioned her head so her forehead touched his lips? I was a goner.

I was a bit annoyed with Love is Over last week, but damn was it so painfully glorious and soul crushing during that ending scene with Yeong.

I really liked Lee Juck’s Interlocking Fingers, but I felt that the message was more about promising to never let go once you meet again after a long separation rather than not breaking up at all. Which may be what Ra-on was thinking.

Now excuse me while I relisten to Fondly, Goodbye and wallow in my own pit of Moonlight-induced despair.

“Love Is Over” seems to have a lot of mixed reviews, though, as we see in the replies.

maryxiah:

When I first heard Fondly, Goodbye, I knew it was foreshadowing breakup, but after so many episodes of happiness, it was simply too far from my mind until they decided to bring it back in full force today and become our episode’s title.

I really love Lee Juck’s Interlocked Finger, because it echoed our hope as well that they’d reunite again and never let go. I love it more than any I’ve heard so far, I feel sorry for Baek Ji-young but her Love is Over is borderline driving me crazy mad.

If I could afford to lose a table, I’d flip the table at home. Sadly, I couldn’t. ?

Sancheezy:

*at least we have emoji

(°—°) ┬──┬
( °— °)╯ ┬──┬
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

(ʘ∇ʘ)ク 彡 ┻━┻

/(ò.ó)┛彡┻━┻ (one hand, I am so strong)

lunatic4kd says at #28 of the Episode 13 post:

I’ve never seen a drama employ moments of absolute silence so well. They are SO different from any other drama that the extra emotional plunge into the blankness of no sound catches my heart and hurls it over the precipice – as if I am screaming silently while falling over a cliff. It makes me hold my breath because I know the angst has wrapped around me like a squeezing snake – and the emotion of the moment becomes almost too much to bear…but just in time, the sound comes back…and the music..and the raindrops…and I let my breath out. With it comes hot tears…and I am in awe. As someone said above, this amazing drama has brought me back to the beginning when I discovered dramas and was overwhelmed with joy at the magic of the world up to that point unknown. I bow in the direction of South Korea with both hands over my heart.

Imbuk talks about love and trust in comment #68:

‘Sometimes, Not knowing the truth is a gift’
this is what I thought when ra on asked her mother why she didn’t keep it from her forever or told her sooner. That scene was emotional. I have always thought truth liberates but in her case it tied her down.
Even then I didn’t think ra on would leave the palace without telling yeong. Even though she kept hinting at goodbye, I thought she would tell him before she finally left. He deserved to know from her, in my opinion.
I thought she would tell him the way yeong told her he was the Crown Prince. Though it may feel like telling i am the rebel’s daughter is not the same as telling I am the crown prince. It is actually the same thing. They were born that way. It is not like ra on chose to be daughter to the person who caused the rebellion so its not her fault at all. I am sure he would have trusted her because when you love someone it also means you trust them. Because love is actually giving someone the power to break you but trusting them not to.
I understand that yeong wouldn’t have let her go but when he realizes how dangerous It is for her in the palace he probably would have sent her to a safe place himself. But, Now he has to deal with the confusion of how true her feelings were, like with the case of kim hyung along with the hurt of her leaving him.
But, I guess this is better for the drama as a whole.

The awesome second leads get some love from Kayak in “Moonlight Drawn By Clouds: Episode 14” comment #4.1.3:

I agree wholeheartedly with how well this show employs its second leads; you sympathize for them because they are genuinely good people who care for the first leads and do not exist merely for conflict. Of course you root for the first leads’ romance here not just because you were told that at the press conference but because they are so clearly meant for one another; for Yoon Sung and Ha Yeon, their infatuation with Ra On and Yeong respectively is more “wrong time, wrong place” instead of a “welp, those are the k-drama rules.”

While in comment #92, suegarbaby relives a painful past thanks (or no thanks?) to Ra-on:

This episode honest-to-goodness hit me like a stone in the chest. Yesterday’s episode was bittersweet and poignant, but this episode was a wrecker, certified wrecker. I felt as though I was thrown back into my high-school past where youthful first love was intense, all-consuming and absorbing, and then the big break-up hits and you’re left reeling in bewilderment wondering where it all went wrong and how you were going to cope.

And because you were at school, you had to keep it all together and still try and get the grades because how can something as trivial as heart-break possibly be allowed to impact something as momentous as your future (because good grades determine your future!). Everyone from your family and friends worried about you but you still have to put up a facade that everything’s ok so that you don’t burden them…

I was right there with Ra On, every single moment of the way, and it was seriously awful. Just plain awful. I knew exactly what it was like to cope like that, and how it felt to be able to just let it out in despairing sobs when the heart hurt so damn bad…

[…]

I thought over why, why was I so affected, and yes, the acting was superb (Kim Yoo Jung, you are KILLING ME. KILLING ME!). But you know what, it was also the way the character coped that just brought that boulder crashing down. In a day where there was no cellphones, no internet, no karaoke, no clubs or bars, that was how you coped. Distraction techniques were so different back in the past compared to today. I’m probably dating myself by saying all this, but back in my days, the coping mechanisms were just so different to today’s methods.

We don’t drown ourselves in alcohol or with gorging on comfort food. We didn’t have social media or discussion forums or the world-wide-web to go to for solace and re-calibration or for a sense of perspective. No self-help books or Agony Aunts.

I can’t believe I am writing this here but honest-to-goodness, this youth sageuk has somehow connected with me in crazy unexpected ways, I am now reduced to blabbering like a madwoman. Sigh… I hate that it has made me like this. And I was coping fine actually, until THIS EPISODE!

Anyway, it was Ra On’s heartbreak and they way she tried to cope and the way she broke down that really did it for me. Hit me like a ton of bricks. And so, I take my hat off to Kim Yoo Jung, to the director, to the writer, to the music editor, to the entire production crew, because, congratulations! You have won my deepest, greatest respect, ever.

paroles asks in comment #1 of “The Lonely, Shining Goblin in his secret garden”:

Is there a need to make his love interest a “high school senior”? Really? I’m not sure if it’s even going to add any substance to the story.

So Wag_a_Muffin tries to guess the plot:

“a high school senior who remains optimistic despite her painful life.”
Hmmm. Maybe part of her past pain is that she’s been held back fourteen times and she’s actually 26 years old? And she’s optimistic that THIS YEAR she will actually be able to graduate?

Yoyo has a different take:

So I’m guessing Kim Go-eun will be a high school senior until episode 14, then she graduates, ends up running after the goblin, gets hit by a random speeding Kia in one of those crosswalks of doom, doesn’t die but is in a coma, wakes up, pulls out the IV, gets a hold of her samsung smartphone, rushes to meet the goblin, gets a big hug, a fake kiss with a 360 degree turn in either a rainy setting or a snowy night fall.

Undividlylove:

You forgot the part where she stops for a Subway first…

So transient adds:

And the last scene opens up with the dating blissfully in a Subway joint

In “Drinking Solo: Episode 9” #10, A writes:

Dude was such a jerk in this episode, I actually had to mute the wedding scenes as I watched because I was cringing so hard! That being said, I have to say, my Jane Austen senses are tingling… I feel like we’re entering Pride and Prejudice territory here, and I hope they handle it as well as the book did. I think Jung Seok is heading for Classic Darcy Confession Type 1 (I love you in spite of you being way below my league), and I hope Hana shuts him down as brutally as Elizabeth does. I can’t wait to see it while cackling with glee…

motomoto:

OMG yes! Mr. Darcy’s Confession #1 is so glorious because it highlights his failings (pride) so much, and he is genuinely surprised when Elizabeth shuts him down. As if insulting your lady love’s family and situation would get her to accept him. I can see Jung-seok operating by the same logic, and I can’t wait to see the fallout.

What I’m looking forward the most is of course Jung-seok’s redemption arc. After Mr. Darcy gets rejected he acts so contrite and proceeds to grovel in the best possible way: quietly, sincerely. Jung-seok however is not as stoic and repressed as poor Mr. Darcy and I can’t wait to see what lavish acts of kindness will he do to get into Hana’s good grace.

Sancheezy continues the Drinking Solo talk in comment #2 of “Open Thread #468”:

This show feels so familiar for me in personal level cause I actually allocated 4 or more times a week for myself. It’s the time when I go out alone, enjoying the selfish part of me, not worry about whatever people said even when people still glared at me.
Somewhere along this some people got the idea that dining alone in a restaurants is a sure sign of solitary and unsocialist (imo) . But there are those who abhor the very idea of spending a moment with themselves as enjoying the inner joy, the inner madness, the subconscious realm, the real self in a way that other can’t see or don’t need to see.
Well.. I just think that I have to enjoy myself before I setlled down or not healthy anymore.
Our life is full of interaction and I feel that I have the responsibility to mind what others think in our interaction, but that also restrain me to do what I really want to do.
It’s not that grand moment of life amd death, it just sometimes your friend talk trashed you are tired of, your boss keep getting into personal problem and announce it, people you meet is all in bad day mode and if I continue my involvement with them after the legal time, I may ruin our relationship, people like to be listened.

Imbuk replies:

I don’t watch drinking solo. But I do get your points about enjoying solitude and people who don’t understand it. I don’t think its selfish at all to enjoy our alone time. Because, I always feel that we need to see ourself as ourselves first and love that person before we can see ourselves as a daughter, son, mother, father, sister, cousin or friend. You know, solitude allowss you to be yourself and not to be someone’s son or someone’s sister at that moment. I agree with you, this definitely improves our relationship with others because everybody wants to be listened to and when you get your daily dose of solitude and enjoy being yourself, you get more intuitive to other people’s feelings and less self centered.

And further down in the same post (comment #7), also writes:

I love that we all converse here without knowing each other’s physical appearance, nationality, religion, age, qualifications, background etc (unless we reveal that ourselves) and hence judging others based on any of these is eliminated and we only interact with them based on what they are saying right now. That made me wonder, whether will we be able to do that when we meet new people around us, will we able to see them for how they are being and what they are saying at that moment alone without linking it to any of the above mentioned aspects and making a conclusion based on that (on what they are conveying as well as about them)? I guess, that is not really possible because its something ingrained in us. So, for giving me this oppurtunity as well as for so many other reasons I love dramabeans and also for letting me rant, of course.

To which Sancheezy replies:

I think judging people by the information we know when we met someone physically is normal. What make it different is our action after that, 1st impression is bound to happen and we just need to accept that but don’t use that as the ultimate judgement for someone. So I take it as 2 things; 1st impression and what our bussiness is about.
We have 2 eyes, 2 ears and 1 mouth, so it really make sense to see a lot, hear a lot but only talk the things that needed.

Imbuk finds another love triangle in “Jealousy Incarnate: Episode 13” comment #10:

I just now realized that there is a love triangle between na ri and her two job designations – weather forecaster or announcer. 😉 also, pd oh telling her to choose one, could it also be taken as a metaphor for choosing one among the men? I think hwa shin is weather forecaster, something she is comfortable with and enjoys doing and announcer is jung won, like its her dream to be one and he is perfectly dreamy. Lol, I blame this show for making me find metaphors and triangles in places they probably didn’t even intend to.

But Gomie has a different view:

I think Hwashin is annoucer which nari always dreamt of and Jungwon is the weather forecaster, which she is assigned and like. She applied for audition as announcer but doesn’t have the gut to let go her weather forecaster job because she is affraid she will fail again, despite she likes it too. at the end like what her boss said she should choose one and she’s conflicted

In the same post, TurtuallySarcastic writes (comment #15):

Chef Rak. is. asexual.

Can I give him a hug (or no, the actor playing him, since Chef Rak does not like to hug) for representing me and other asexuals in K-dramas ?!

I like how Chef Rak gave Ja-young and Sung-Sook time to process the news, because they will need time to come around, if you consider the importance of sex in our society. I did not like how they went from fighting over him to willingly handing him over to each other, as if his asexuality made him no longer eligible.

Sung-Sook pointed out that she is a woman with needs, and Chef Rak’s sister worried about him being impotent and not settling down in a previous episode. I have heard these and many other arguments before, so I do understand where they are coming from, and I am glad that the show tackles their concerns. I hope it enables the audience to learn about asexuality along with them.

I assume that Chef Rak was merely listing his personal preferences (dating multiple women, not touching them), since asexual people are generally able to experience all kinds of love and skinship (except the sexual/erotic kind) just like everybody else does.

Chef Rak already showed us that love, by being Dae-Gu’s guardian and taking care of the other flat residents. He already is the father figure of our flat family, he does not need a woman (or two) to settle down with.

Of course, there is still that swoon inducing look he gave Sung-Sook during the college consultation to consider…

Can we just ship him with the audience? We can appreciate him from afar in exchange for good food and many of those swoon inducing looks! 😉

Team Chef Rak fighting!

Hi there writes a bittersweet reminder in comment #17:

I watched this episode on the day of my mom’s 11th death anniversary, and I burst into tears in the scene with hwashin and his mom.
It just reminded me of how great moms are. Some times when you do something really bad and even worth punishing, if she does punish you, she will blame herself like she did the bad thing and then she will even apologize!!!
To those who have the blessing of having their parents in their life: cherish every moment with them and do your best to keep them happy.
Thank you drama for reminding me of such a great treasure in my life.

There was a lot of discussion on the sudden hair change in “Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Episode 13,” including this particular convo started in #6.1.1 by Yoyo:

Can I pretend that Queen SMS is an evil witch drinking a magical elixir to keep her young but the potent ingredient to that elixir was Taejo’s hair (alá Disney’s Tangled)? So when Taejo died, she no longer had the means to produce the elixir so her true age shows. Because there’s no other logical explanation for her hair to turn grey all of a sudden.

Miamiloveskdrama answers:

I just figured she lost her husband and decided screw the wig it itches and makes my neck hurt and it is not like I got to look good for him any more. That or the other queen beat her up and stole her wig.

jomo replies:

OMG
If only they had shown THAT on screen!! Forget the sons’ sword battles, let’s see the Wig Wars. Lmao

YY:

The only logical explanation:

1. The queen lost all her hair. She yanked off all her hair, down to the roots, every single strand of hair, in her grief.

2.The white hair was a wig.

3.The wig belonged to the old king.

And Cris W.’s comment in #18:

Queen SMS became CL overnight. Bad, bad kween bitch.

Know your Dramabeans history: read up on the first Wig War here.

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