#the video is just the tip of the iceberg regarding my dislike of him

[alwaysthepessimist]

The thing is I can agree with what you said about the video not being the catalyst of Non's downfall, but at the same time that doesn't change the fact that if it wasn't for that video, maybe the police would've taken his disapearance more seriously. I know they are corrupt and they were always going to drop that case, but the video just gave them the perfect excuse to not even try to actually find him. Not only that, but the public perception of Non was very negative because of that video which sucked because if the public had put more pressure on the police to find Non, maybe someone on the police force would've felt pressured enough to help Non's family for a longer period of time. I know it's giving too much credit to the police but ,at the same time, we can't just dismiss the impact Jin's video had on the way Non s disapearance case was handled.

I didn't know the cast and crew were defending Jin, but if that's the case, then I fully agree with what the first post said about the writers misjudging that plot-line. I can understand that they wanted us to see Jin as a teenage boy who made a mistake, but who, at heart, is a good person, but I personally can't. Mind you, I actually liked him at the beginning, it's just that along the way I've realised that his defense of Non felt very performative, and that was before the video reveal. Yes, he was defending him against the group, and i'm sure he meant it, but he never put himself at risk while doing so. He never did anything that could potentially hurt his position within the friend group. He always did just enough to appease his moral compass ,but never enough to actually have an impact on Non's situation. Not only that, but the writers never took the time to explain to us where his loyalty to that friend group came from. They never explained to us why despite everything he had witnessed, Jin never thought of leaving them behind or at the very least, tell the truth to the police when it was time to actually make an impact. So it's a little bit difficult for me to empatize with his plight. And I'm saying all of that without even touching on my feelings towards Non.

Jin and the video

Or, a plot-line I think the writers may have misjudged.

In the most recent episode, we had Jin confessing to Phee that he posted the video. To most this was validation of what they already believed, to others it was confusing as there have been some contradicting clips that show Jin with a computer that was a different colour, as well as the screen flipping back and forth from night and day mode.

While this debate still continues a bit, particularly since we already knew that Jin probably thinks he must have posted it, I think the renewed reaction has cemented for me my thoughts that I think that this is a plotline the writers misjudged.

See I still - at least at this point, with the caveat that I could be proven wrong as this is horror/thriller - believe that Jin is intended to be a character that people can somewhat empathize with. He's not like Top, Por, or Tee, who are shown to be cruel and dismissive to Non. Though people deny it and talk around it, Jin is the one character that showed empathy to Non, he stood up for him, etc.

But the audience mostly doesn't empathize with Jin at all, and I think this is because the writers miscalculated.

People were already frustrated with his character even before the video incident, but the video really pushed it over the top and now Jin is the most despised character on the show.

However, I'm not sure whether the writers actually anticipated this reaction properly. The way that the show has handled it makes it seem like they haven't, because the video hasn't been touched on all that much, at least not to the extent I might have expected if the intention was 'yes, this is the worst thing done in the show, Jin is the villain who you should all hate and want to die'. We have other characters fitting that bill - Tee's uncle, Top, even Por to some extent.

Yes, the video has been mentioned, but only briefly. It doesn't hold the weight in the discussions about what happened to Non that I would expect it to if I thought the writers felt that this was the worst of the worst in the story they're constructing. (Again, it's possible that something will happen in the next two episodes that will counter this.)

And then there's the fact that people are still questioning whether or not Jin posted the video, given the different colour computers and different colour scheme. Personally I'm inclined to just go with what Jin said at this point, but at this point that's mostly because I feel like it's not going to matter.

I don't want a reveal because it's not going to make a difference. It's not something I have any excitement for, though I originally did, and it's because I know that for most viewers it's not going to land, it's not going to have the intended impact. Reveals usually are supposed to have an effect on the emotion of the audience, to make them view a character a different way, or perhaps empathize with them (or hate them more).

Though I will briefly add that of course it's possible that (if this is included) the writers anticipated this and are thinking more about the impact to the character who would be at fault, which is certainly a possibility. But if they have any intention at all for it to be a change in how the viewer looks at Jin, it's not going to land. Most fans aren't going to care, they aren't going to change their minds.

The only acceptable ending to most at this point is for Jin to die.

So with that in mind I think that the writers made a mistake with this plotline IF their intention is to write Jin as a character the audience could empathize with, because most do not. He's not coming across as grey, he's not coming across as someone people can understand or empathize with.

The act of filming and/or posting the video is, for the audience, making Jin the ultimate villain and if the show gives them anything other than validation of this thought, they are going to be unhappy.

Time will tell.