#kdrama discussion

[kyouka-supremacy]

Wait a fucking second. The first thing Akutagawa told Atsushi was “that is the fate you must bear, Jinko: you bring calamity upon those around you simply by living”. And in their last interaction, Akutagawa died so that Atsushi could live. Atsushi living literally brought the death of those around him. Oh my God.

[lily-s-world]

RIP Jane Austen, you would have loved korean dramas.

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

graduated from the shah rukh khan university of yearning pining and staying in love for decades with a specialisation in the language of the eyes

[mikuyuuss]

The Glory: my thoughts so far

Broke: I love you.

Woke: I will k1ll for you.

So I'm watching this show called "The Glory" it's about a girl named Moon Dong Eun who's plotting to get revenge on her high school classmates and teacher who bullied her, and by bullying I mean (extremely violent mental and physical abuse, which left her body disfigured, and her life ruined)

And I gotta say, THE REVENGE PLOT IN THIS SHOW IS REALLY SATISFYING SO FAR

There's already so much media that vilifies bully victims, so SEEING A BULLY VICTIM AS THE MAIN CHARACTER THAT WE ARE ROOTING FOR IS SO REFRESHING.

I haven't watched that many kdramas but this is also the reason why I appreciated Gangnam Beauty, bc just like The Glory, both the female leads are 

not vilified by the narrative for their unconventional choices, (Kang Mi-rae for her plastic surgery and now Moon Dong Eun for her revenge). In The Glory, the the trauma Dong Eun had to endure while being abused by her classmates and teacher was portrayed in a very sympathetic light, and the story instead pins the blame on the people and the circumstances that led her to make those choices. Not to mention her bullies live good lives but continue to be terrible people with NO REMORSE for their actions even in adulthood, so while Dong Eun's revenge is still morally questionable, it is also VERY understandable.

Another thing I LOVE is how realistic Dong Eun's revenge plot is executed. The show and the Dong Eun herself is aware of the disadvantages she has (with the laws and all) and so she carefully executes her revenge in the way that she doesn't have to get her hands dirty. WHICH MAKES THE REVENGE TO THESE TERRIBLE PEOPLE ALL THE MORE SATISFYING! Remember that teacher who abused her? Yeah, She orchestrated his son to kill him, by simply confessing what the teacher did to her (bc she knows how much their family values reputation) HONESTLY QUEEN, LOVE THAT FOR HER! (also the irony that she also became a teacher like him except better, and is actually kind to her students)

And this show isn't exactly the usual "ReVENGe is BAd!! DOn't throw away your life for reVEnge!!" In fact, most of Dong Eun's allies actually support her because they understand just how evil her former highschool bullies are that they needed to be punished.

Which leads to the scene with Dong Eun and her love interest Ju Yeo-jeong. When she first confessed how she was planning revenge against her bullies, Yeo-jeong thought it was just some light bullying, until she undressed and showed the disfigured scars littered across her body. Yeo-jeong being a doctor, saw her scars and understood how much she suffered that he wept. He went from telling her not to pursue revenge to declared that he is willing to be her accomplish hence this scene.

MURDEROUS VENGEFUL COUPLE, Love that for them. They probably won't come out of this unscathed, but I really want them to WIN and get a happy ending, idk if that's too much to ask for. 😩😩😩😩

[theinfinitedivides]

the alternate title of this show should be Park Jun Mo's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day/Week/Month/Year/Life/Whatever TF We Choose To Throw At Him This Time etc

[taegularities]

gosh. the terribly poetic and heartbreaking nature of love that doesn't work out not because two people don't love each other, but because the world won't let them love each other. love that runs deep, but just won't work out the way one wants to. having external issues break what might be meant to be otherwise is truly pain on a whole different level.

[hollaringmountains]

So been watching the historical kdrama my country: the new age. And well the misunderstanding between the two best friends make me gnash my teeth hard!!! Like YOU KNOW THATS YOUR BESTIEEE THEN WHY ARE YOU PLANNING TO KILL HIM!!!

Also the sis is a cinnamon that should be PROTECTED at all costs!!!!

One thing I hate about is that the beasties don't talk... and spoilers-theyalsodietogether

[khaoray]

I am not a god who saves.

[auset66]

A theme I want to discuss is Ambitions engulfing the native. Riches to Rags can we say or spiritual Liberation? ⭕️❔️

Let's dive into this black hole..... 🕳

Starting with the kdrama "Anna" staring Bae Suzy can someone explain why it looks very either jyestha or Purva bhadrapada and nothing in between?

Yet again it gives me same vibes as the famous horror movie "pearl" staring Mia Goth?

And no not just "vibes" it's the same message I feel just different fonts. Pearl feels more like a bit straight up reckless while Anna on the other hand feels more structured able to handle it all inside. Same like Griffith from "berserk" anime.

Yet all three of them have same inside feelings.... something they want, something material Related to world. A sense of hole, insecurity, fear they want to run away from and for that they can go to any lenghts making World turning against them till they become the monster they can no longer hold? No I don't feel that with yohan from "monster" anime or "light" from death note. I don't know why or what makes all of them same yet so different. All three of them wanting something big for themselves they did worked for it hard then why only them getting beaten by villian arc and dead end so bad? Turning their dream into death bed? (Metaphorically).

And I have two more example for my bollywood lovers. Wanna hear it? "Rockstar" though his journey was more of like good boy to liberation very Jupiter like straight up. Though still I think it has some of it... a bit...here and there.

Though Another one being "Dirty Picture" staring Vidya balan, is something I feel same message yet again. A rebellious countryside girl having strict parents and low on money dreaming of being the super star. She runs away from home and achieves immense success in the male-dominated film industry. Crawling her way on top. However, this exacts a heavy price from her. Slowly, she loses her innocence, sanity, familial bonds and at the end her life too.

Three more examples actually with the same theme. One being Kdrama "sky castle" and other two being real life case of:

1. Indrani Mukerjea and 2. Harshad Mehta

One fairytale yet toned down version of it (according to me) I feel is Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" with her wanting to experience the land world with legs which is unthinkable straight up. Then achieving it somehow anyhow selling her TRUTH (her voice) and getting to her ambitions walking on "stairs of lies" and "other bad means" (getting help from ursula) After achieving it finally it all shattering yet again. But in this the native overcome and come out victorious as opposed to other examples where it ends with either severe punishment or someone's death or making the native villain. 🌋

Now i know all these examples vary a bit from each other, some extreme to others some toned down but they still have the same theme and message. An ambitious native wanting the world due to knowing the reality of it all from a very early age, with chaotic dark past and harsh childhood. They do everything they can to run away from it, not wanting to face the same reality again. The "FEAR" always is there, like their past life will come and drag them back to hell. This (most of the material things) even though can be out of reach almost unthinkable they work hard very hard for it, their world around this dream based on LIES AND OTHER BAD WAYS, USING OF PEOPLE. just before they can fully achieve it or just after they feel like they finally got it. ALL SHATTERS. Most of the time giving a sad ending to the native making them the villain.

I don't know you tell me what do you think? What nakshtra is this? And why? And what's the actual message here? I don't understand myself fully. Because Jyestha isn't supposed to die down by its weight of ambitions and Purva Bhadrapada isn't supposed to even run towards these "validations" in the first place it all comes natural to them. [Technically]

Could it be Vishakha cause I have seen many male celebs suffering big time with law, making them go from Richs to Rags and many severe consequences. But then again if it is, then why not women? Cause I don't see this theme with vishakha women. 🌬⚓️

Or could it be Ardra because of not just rahu (the influence of rahu beyond right and wrong) but because of first time experiencing rahu (own mind opinons thinking and luxury)? Thats why only ardra i dont see that theme being in other two (swati and shatabhisha). Just more or less "same" journey as lucifer.🌪⚡️

Or could it be Mrigashira wanting to run away from source as much as it can to experience full on freedom? 🎡🌆

Or could it be simply just their karma and Saturn now getting back at them? 🪐🎠

So I am yet again confused, It did hit me just now. Like man that's life of a hell. ☄️🗑

[greenteabelle]

just finished watching the frog (2024) and wow i'm surprised go minsi manages to stay so skinny because she absolutely ATE AND DEVOURED her character !!!

spoilerish discussion below

there are some things that i feel like the drama did right and some that were just like ... you didn't have to do that but you did and now we're here like huh ?

for example , i love the fact the yoo seunga is just batshit insane . like , no redemption , no reasoning , just a plain old psycopath who kills like a child throwing tantrums . sure , her childhood probably had contributed somewhat to who she became , like her never receiving the approval or trust from her father who's too busy trying to keep up appearances , but it's so insignificant that you can tell that the drama doesn't try to humanise her at all .

yoo seunga is just purely insane , and i respect the drama for making that decision !

which is why it makes me feel so conflicted regarding the decision for her to ACTUALLY kill off the child . like murder is already bad enough , but the child of your husband ??? like i was genuinely so shocked i had to pause the drama a bit and debate whether i wanted to continue the drama or not , because i felt sick to my stomach .

sihyeon's death proved her lack of humanity from the get-go and ensured that there wouldn't be any redemption for her , yet i still wonder if it's truly necessary .

another thing i feel conflicted about is how yoo seunga died , because i genuinely believe the last showdown should have ended on the night she was surrounded . it was the best timing , and dragging it out to involve her husband and for him to be the one to deliver the final blow was just .... URGHHH IDK IT FELT A LITTLE FRUSTRATING ???

like my guy jeon yeongha was SUFFERING ( which does not negate his responsibility in covering up the crime just because he " didn't want to overthink " (??) btw ) and he doesn't even get to see her locked up and rotting away in jail ??

yeah if i were him i would have ended it all !

speaking of suffering , URGHHH I FEEL SO SAD FOR THE KOO FAMILY !!!!!!!!!! i honestly think focusing on their story alone would have been sufficient , but oh it hurt so bad i just wanted to rip my hair out !!!

like i fully understand that seo eunkyung had it rough , especially since she was the one who found the body , but straight up blaming it on koo sangjun was just RAHHHHHHH !!! not blaming her for it btw , i'm just lamenting the effects of ptsd and what damage it can genuinely cause to people , like they could have been so happy if it weren't for that damn killer FUCKKKKKK

and don't even get me started to koo sangjun getting dementia because i straight up started bawling when he started organising his bed like he used to in fhe motel !!!!!! why can't kind people have happy endings oh my goddddd

but overall , i don't regret watching this drama , even though it is admittedly ridiculous at some points ( like mother yoon bomi was CARRYING the entire south korean police force on her back and how does yoo seunga have so much strength in her tiny body to kill so many people like i need her pilates routine )

also side note i screamed when park mf chanyeol showed up on the screen because HELLO ??? I WAS NOT AWARE WE WOULD HAVE THE STAR OF EXO NEXT DOOR IN THIS SLASHER-ESQUE THRILLER DRAMA ??? that's what we call range !

so yeah 9/10 kdrama for me and if you disagree i think you are correct !

[anditendshowyoudexpect]

we want characters and their actions to be relatable and realistic and we want them to be more decisive and stronger and make better choices than we would in their shoes, which sometimes looks like we see them as interchangeable pieces of digital meat. "why is she so hung up on this loser when he keeps hurting her while there's this sweet other guy who is so good to/for her?" countless variations of this in countless posts and comments for every other show with any hint of romance in the plot. "it's only because he's the male lead". no, it's not. i mean, yes, of course it's because he's the male lead. and it's also because she's human. because that sweet other guy is not this guy. because she loves this loser who hurts her and who may be an asshole or may be hurting too. because they are all a little or a lot broken inside. because there was no one in their life to teach them how to do this properly. maybe they will learn. maybe they won't. maybe they'll keep hurting each other, maybe they'll move on to hurt someone else. but of course we want to see realistic life but not exactly real life. we want better. lie to me. the good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. no one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after. liar. yeah. i know.

... did i say relatable and realistic? oh no, forget that. you know how when you haven't experienced something or, like, seen it really up close, it's not actually real? yeah. jk of course we are empathetic. to a point. "but what's so hard about just asking her out, what's the worst that can happen? she's gonna say no? it's not the end of the world!" um, yeah, for this guy the attempt itself might feel like a fight of his life and rejection exactly like the end of the world. honey, i love your confidence and self-esteem but not so much how you think that if you have been like this since you were three years old everybody who isn't deserves your frustration and, let's face it, contempt. you don't see me foaming at the mouth waiting for you to make decisions that take me split second, do you?

every time he watches season 2 of Detective Anna, Sch., endlessly frustrated by Shtolman's secretiveness and Anna's pain, sighs: "if only Klyuyev didn't end up cuckoo (and dead, i usually add, don't forget dead)... he is a much better match for her, young, handsome, intelligent, rich, progressive. imagine their children!" she doesn't love him, you see, i say patiently over and over again, she can't turn that off and turn this on, she loves this old guy who went missing for five years and never tells her anything, okay? yeah. he knows. he just wants better for her, like her mama. he also knows that if characters always listened to common sense like we want them to, a lot of people wouldn't watch them being sensible. and that if real people always listened to common sense, i could be having this or an entirely different conversation with someone else.

fictional people, i'm setting you free of myself and my expectations

be stupid, be irresponsible, be assholes, be doormats, be angry and irrational, be dependent, be sick, be toxic, be whatever we allow ourselves and other real people to be because we are not watching the big picture of our lives on a screen

but

yeah try to be happy in the end

we are trying too

not all of us succeed

but god we are trying

[m0netsberm]

What were they doing for eight years? This situation goes beyond just a lack of communication, putting Hyun-oh circumstances with the old ladies aside. Eun-ho and Hyun-oh were dating for about two years when her sister disappeared. Her disappearance was widely reported in the news, with search teams and a significant police presence. I understand that Korean laws prioritize privacy, but a young woman was missing, and her face must have been plastered everywhere.

The fact that she never confides in him, attempt to seek comfort or assistance (and telling him while he was drunk has no effect - except that nosy reporter being all up in her business) or that he didn’t notice any changes in her is baffling. Her grandmother also passed away some time after that, yet still, nothing. If the scene in episode 5, where he abruptly dropped her without any explanation, is indicative of their dynamic, it raises even more questions. Did he do this without reason constantly throughout their relationship , and why did she never question it? Why did he never elaborate? Or hell, if he or she did.. can this show please show us this.

Were they merely maintaining a facade of normalcy? Playing at the happy couple? The show has yet to demonstrate any reason for these characters, even after therapy, to be together. Or why they were even together in the first place. Yes, I know they "loved each other" but a relationship is more than just attraction. They never discuss their families or past experiences at all during those eight years? Their relationship feels very superficial. Very neither here nor there.

This isn’t some post to show how she would be better with Joo-yeon or anything like that since he has a connection with Hyeri, not Eun-ho, and the show has yet to establish anything between them as of yet. They have issues to be resolved individually as well. I just need some clarification - I need more than cutesy moments between them - I just want to understand someone please explain. We are all just as confused, right!? RIGHT!?

[btsicedtea]

Jihyuk and jiwon's relationship is the total opposite of sumin and minhwan's.

While the former two are incredibly wholesome and open, with a relationship based on trust, Sumin and Minhwan's relationship is stewing in toxicity, built on a thin web of lies.

Jihyuk won't look at another girl the way he looks at jiwon, Minhwan was staring at Jiwon at the altar.

Jiwon and Jihyuk go out of their way to love and help each other.

Minhwan ruins the brakes on his own car to ensure his wife's death. (that blows up, quite literally, in his face later btw)

A relationship built on lies never lasts long

[pages-and-pixels]

This Woven Kingdom Spoiler Review

These are my unfiltered thoughts with little to no editing directly copy pasted from my notes. This is a spoiler filled review. There will be a plot summary at the start which will have no spoilers but then the spoiler section will start

Name: This woven kingdom Author: Tahereh Mafi Series: This Woven Kingdom Book 1 Previous Rating: 4.25⭐ Reread Rating: 3.75 ⭐

Plot

Alizeh is a Jinn Queen. Her parents were killed and her home and kingdom was destroyed so she works as a servant in a noble's house and tries to avoid everyones notice (tho that's impossible because she's the main character). Kamran is the crown prince of the kingdom of Ardunia. Something happens and Alizeh's life is in danger the whole book is her trying to get out of it

My thoughts

It's a reread. I really enjoyed it the 1st time so I have high expectations don't remember much but I want to read the 2nd book hence the reread. I really liked Alizeh and Kamran when I first read it and the world was amazing, but the thing that really bothered me this time was that the whole story spans 2-3 days only. The characters feel too strongly about each other given that they literally met 2 days ago

Kamran is literally like 'I love her' on the 2nd day after they meet, Alizeh too!!

Alizeh is really hardworking and she never complains I loved her character in the start but then her HUGE internal monologues made it irritating to read sometimes

As for Kamran, I liked him tho he's just angry for the whole book

I don't think much of him apart from that

The writing is too flowery and descriptive. The whole thing with the apothecarist at the end was so unnecesary!! This book could have been cut in half

I skipped the whole scene of miss huda and didn't feel like i missed a thing

I would've loved this book if the events took place over 2-3 weeks instead of 2-3 days. There would've been more time to build character relationships too

After this I was sceptical wether i should read the next book or not as I read some reviews and they said that barely anything happens in the 2nd book too

But the hype was so huge that i wasn't willing to give up so I decided that ill read the 1st 10% of These Infinite Threads and if i don't like it i won't continue the series

Right now I'm at 15% and the story's moving at a decent pace but if i get fed up of the characters or the plot then I'm going to dnf it immediately without a doubt

Current Read: These Infinite Threads Currently Watching Series: Love Next Door ep 12, Judge From Hell ep 2, No Gain No Love ep 10

[leftoverpizzasauce]

i would love to make friends with similar interests. my friends don’t read danmei or even basic webtoons, watch dramas or play the sims.

i literally read all the books they recommend me and they won’t bother to sit through one of my kdrama or movie suggestions. 😓

[handkinkbis]

Alignment chart after ep 13