I’m actually applauding Aera for her decision to distance herself from Dongmans fighting dreams. She saw what happened to her grandma and has the right to look after her own mental health.

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    then she should have never gotten involved with him in the first place back in Ep 8 or so. She’s his BFF, she knows what this means to him and what his job/life is like w/o fighting, but instead she’s making unrealistic demands that he change who he is for her. I think this is a really immature stance to take with a relationship and someone (Seolhee?) needs to slap some reality into her.

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      I see it differently, I think she just didn’t realize how hard it would be until she got a taste first hand and realized she couldn’t do it. The ultimatum she gave him was more to show him where she stands: if he’s going to keep fighting, she’s not going to stick around to see him get hurt. I think she understands his dreams, but to her they seem incompatible with her mental health while she’s with him. It’s a mature reason to leave a relationship because your life is taking a different route, and you don’t agree with their life choices. That said, I think she underestimates how attached to him she really is. She’s never going to be able to distance herself from him.

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        This is really a lovely way at explaining this perspective. Some times people expect that the way their own minds and emotions work would be the same way everyone’s would work. Mental Health is important. We have to be our own advocate before we can encourage/help others. Everyone is allowed to speak their minds and change their minds. Ae-Ra spoke hers and so do Dong Man. They’re adults and made choices for their own lives. We don’t know the future only the moment we are in. Annnyways this was a big struggle for them both. Struggle can bring strength.

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      A little late to the party, but I wanted to say that its different (not the relationship or level of love from friend to more than friends, but the difference in what you think you can handle and what you actually can handle). She thought she could handle it. She told him that she would be fine with MMA just not the TakSu fight because TakSu was going to fight dirty.

      And then he fought TakSu who fought really, really friggin’ dirty. AeRa did the interview with that MMA guy and learned that nope. What she thought she could handle and what she could actually handle are two very different things.

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