infinstar

[infinstar]

[infinstar]

 @userdramas event 20: revival

You told me that… time finally seems to be flowing. That’s enough. Don’t forget that. Keep thinking that way. No. That’s because you’re here. No. You can do it without me, too. We created this week together. We even had a normal and boring date today, too. So, let me go now. Stop talking nonsense. Remember the people at the airport? They were all full of hope. I hope you live that way, too. With a beating heart, wondering where you'd go next. I'm not ready at all. There are so many things I want to do with you. You can do them from now on. I'll be watching. I need to tell you so many things, too. I'll be listening. Kim Ram Woo. Yes, Kim Ram Woo. Don't forget. Our time together... won't disappear. It's all in you. You... You're Jung Hee Wan and also Kim Ram Woo.

WAY BACK LOVE dir. Choi Ha Na and Kim Hye Young (2025)

How "revival" was interpreted in this set (contains spoilers):

To me, "Way Back Love" is, at its core, a story about symbolic rebirth. Ram Woo's death cannot be undone and the drama doesn't let you think otherwise. However, Hee Wan's death is said to happen in a near future. But how can Hee Wan's death occurs when time has stopped for her the moment Ram Woo disappeared? Ram Woo coming back to life so to speak, as the Grim Reaper, paradoxically brings Hee Wan back to life, to a flowing time that allows her to mourn and acknowledge the complicated feelings she has bottled up: love, guilt, despair, longing, fear, etc.

The set opens with white chrysanthemums used during Korean funerals and ends with yellow daffodils symbolising renewal and new beginnings. The yellow daffodils are found in Hee Wan's room and contrasts with the dead plant visible at the same place in episode 1.

This set can be seen through both Ram Woo's and Hee Wan's point of view. Hee Wan's rebirth is at the centre of the drama whereas Ram Woo's is more subtle. When Hee Wan starts living again, Ram Woo is gone for good. Physically that is. He will, however, remain in everyone's hearts. Hee Wan will keep on seeing him in everything she does. Hong Seok will save lives as a firefighter and not a day will go by where he will not think of Ram Woo, his best friend he couldn't save. Jeong Sook will keep on painting, remembering fondly the love her son had for her paintings and how it allowed her to start tutoring Hee Wan. The week Ram Woo spent with Hee Wan gave him the opportunity to let go of his regrets and, most importantly, to say goodbye. Something he was robbed of, along with his life, the night of the explosion.

The lyrics used are from the song "Living Water" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic and belongs to the album titled "Revival".

[infinstar]

Be it a figment of my imagination... or a variation of my usual nightmare. However it happened, Kim Ram Woo is in front of me.

WAY BACK LOVE (2025)

[infinstar]

"So, hold onto it."

THE ON1Y ONE (2024). EPISODE SIX.

[infinstar]

"[Closed] [Grand Opening]."

THE ON1Y ONE (2024). EPISODE SIX.

[infinstar]

HAPPY OF THE END Sawamura Rei as Keito / Haore Episode 1

[infinstar]

That's how I felt back then, always.

HAPPY OF THE END | EP. 1

[infinstar]

The On1y One Episode 4

[infinstar]

"At this moment, I completely forgot what the English teacher said about the difference between "up to you" and "down to you". Later, I realized, the moment Jiang Tian said that, my world was upside down. My world has been completely changed."

THE ON1Y ONE (2024). EPISODE THREE.

[infinstar]

Walk a straight line to me.

[infinstar]

"I might misunderstand you."

[infinstar]

I don’t like it. You being around my family.

CALL IT LOVE (2023) dir. Lee Kwang Young

[infinstar]

Yes to all of this!! Thanks so much for writing this because I feel we lack this perspective in this space or get drowned out.

Maya is so much more aware and attuned to the discriminations she face as a person who is hard of hearing. She doesn't like to brush them off and accept it as given like Kouhei who is quite passive. Her defiance and coloured view come as a result of the subtle/overt discrimination she faces that results in that very justifiable anger. She will definitely ease up especially after understanding Taichi more and interacting with him more. Also through interactions with others such as Yasu and those in the sign language class who are kind to her and accepts her which she needs.

As much as I love Taichi, he is very flawed. I hope when he starts working for the sign company he can mature his perspective and gain knowledge. Because I think a part of what the company director said is true. In reality the adjustments needed for those who are completely deaf and hard of hearing are different. If you don't acknowledge that then it is harder to provide the actual support needed for them. We need to accept the differences and not discriminate as a result of it. Taichi's idealism regarding deaf people should be treated as the same borders on ignorance and can actually hurt people as well as save people. Not to mention actually realising his own feelings towards Kouhei.

I for one am glad we get to see these characters in the wider world and how they grow instead of just focusing on solely on the romance because it makes it all feel so much more grounded which is what I love the most about Japanese dramas in general!

I do not like the hate Maya's character gets. Is she annoying? Yes. But she's so much more than a love interest. Infact she's not even Kohei's love interest at all. She's a very well written character. This writer always introduces new characters to bring a new perspective to the main characters life to bring a new conflict not to create drama but because these conflicts have always been there but because Kohei and Taichi are both people who'd rather not talk about them, they need outsiders to intervene and ask what their relationship means to them . This is very much important for the narrative. Infact this is the reason why I love this story. Because it gives the characters, even the side characters time to understand things. To communicate properly.

No one's perfect. Maya has a different coping mechanism. She's trying to protect Kohei from Taichi because she thinks Taichi is just using him and will throw him away soon. Is that assumption wrong ? Yes. But we cannot blame her for thinking so because, first she doesn't know Taichi well and second her life experiences have proved this assumption right. We cannot deny that most people do that. Maya brings a perspective from the partially dead community which is very much needed in the story to question things and to compare her life style with Kohei. Kohei used to be at a worse state when we began, due to Taichi's presence he now has a healthier way to deal with his deafness.

Sai and the company who's profits from sign language also brings an important perspective. Kohei has been feeling isolated his whole life from the hearing and the deaf community because he's inbetween, doesn't fit anywhere. It also portrays how capitalism takes advantage of everything but this company itself will give a much needed job to Taichi but his sole reason to do the job is because he wants to do something for Kohei and people like him. Not because he pities him but because he loves him that much. So much that he cannot not do anything. But that itself will make Kohei feel used . As if, Taichi befriended him just to climb the ladder.

This story is full of misunderstandings and will continue to be that way. Are misunderstandings annoying? Yes. But they are very humane. I love the way this story continues to handle them because humans miscommunicate and this is a story of how Taichi and Kohei grow as people through their support for one another and their presence in each other's life that brings the sunlight. I do not like the complains that they don't spend time that much together nowadays. Yes because this story is about them falling in love while growing as individuals. Their love helps them through it which is why I love this story. It's not just a BL. It's not just a story of a deaf person finding love as salvation. It's so much more than that. It's about Kohei and Taichi. And they are so much more than just some gay deaf-hearing men in love. They have complexities and opposite personalities which clash and cause misunderstandings but how they deal with it is what's the story is about. Because they are different, they love each other. Because they love each other they try to understand one another. Because of that, they continue to again and again and again chose to love one another.

[infinstar]

I HEAR THE SUNSPOT ひだまりが聴こえる (2024) EPISODE 09

[infinstar]

KIM YOUNG KWANG as Han Dong Jin CALL IT LOVE (2023), ep. 5

[infinstar]

All the Long Nights (2024) ‘夜明けのすべて’ dir. Sho Miyake

[infinstar]

In this soba eating scene, the gaga subtitles were off regarding the subject/meaning of Hiroko's thoughts.

そうそう ... 本来はこういう反応だよ ( Indeed, Normally that's how people would react )

危うく間違えるとくだった ( I almost misunderstood it )

This is important because it is essential to how Hiroko has been acting throughout this entire episode! From the moment Ayaka declared to pursure Hiroko infront of everyone, she has been gauging everyone's reaction to Ayaka's confession/actions. When the coworkers had a positive attitude towards it, it enabled Hiroko to answer positively to Ayaka's advancements and let her guard down momentarily. When confronted with a coworker?/business partner? who framed Ayaka's confession as a type of identity exploration of the youth "before they eventually settle down", Hiroko felt that familiar/what she had been expecting as the reaction to all of this from her experience in the past. This reinforced her mindset as it fed to her own biases that ultimately the world has not changed afterall and she nearly misunderstood that it was okay to be open about it and be accepted.

Ayaka on the other hand is almost blind/indifferent to everyone's reaction/opinion to her feelings as she bulldozes ahead to the detriment of Hiroko. They are both polar opposites. Hiroko cares far too much about what others think of her and subsequently of Lesbian relationships (either romanticing it through works of Yuri or not taking it seriously at all) that she has not even considered what she should do/want now that she can't avoid it anymore. Ayaka can't seem to understand why would Hiroko withdraw from acting on her feelings when she likes her and definitely needs help understanding Hiroko's worries. Even after Risa questioned her whether it was okay to say it infront of everyone after knowing what happened in the past, Ayaka did not get it.

Again, I dont think any character is particularly wrong in their actions (apart from that old man) they are all approaching it from their own insecurities or lack of it in the case of Ayaka. Not everyone will think about the major consequences of their actions before acting and some will only think of that and I love how this episode depicted it.