gilaswan

Oh gawsh… I’m trying to remember what I watched this year. I started on many but also gave up on many… Most were stumbled upon. Was unexpectedly drawn into Destined With You. Loved Twinkling Watermelon for the Back To the Future x CODA storyline. Doona was the one I actually recommended. There was something very raw and unpolished about the story that felt very honest. I actually quite liked that one. Didn’t think I would. Tried hard to find a C-drama I would enjoy this year but nothing kept my interest… hmm… A somewhat slow drama year.

Yup. He needed to grow up enough so he could established himself enough so that he could take care of her. And to the question as to how he could afford the rental downpayment (I forgot who asked) - he was very good at scrimping to save up enough when he was 16. For sure he was doing the same all those 15 years for her…

So what happened with Ran Joo and the CEO? I did like that eventually it was revealed that CEO wasn’t a bad man afterall. Probably like what Eun Mo-rae said - he’s a horrible communicator and has a way of offending people. I agree with @ktcjdrama that 15 years seemed too long, and for her being lost for so long, her reintegration seemed very quick and easy too. Maybe 4 more episodes would’ve given more time to explore the challenges of reintegration, but I reckon there wasn’t enough fodder there for it.

@abs-oluteMRe: Identity Theft - That’s dramatic licence which leaves us audience to rationalist it for them so it makes sense to us. Hahaha. Though O do think in Korea, it’s probably a very real way of handling things too. It’s such a homogeneous society with many of their laws today stemming from Joseon interactions and structures, I totally expect that more often than not their logic is likely based on human relationships than actual policy and law despite policies and laws existing. Sometimes I reckon their policies and laws exist to present them as a modern society, but their foundations are still of ancient traditions. I say this from my own experience of Korean students here who broke the law and their parents’ way of restitution seemed very wrong in our society, but very right in their eyes. It was quite a cultural hurdle to navigate. Perhaps to an international audience, it would have made sense to at least let them off with a warning or a fine. @mademoiselle was spot on about bio dad’s response. As much as I agree with @Tofu that the man needed to pay for his crimes, it would not have been in keeping with his very bitter and hurtful character. He just wanted to be right up to the end and would never allow himself to be made a criminal. His “final gift” letter was just so full of spite and venom. I just do feel that his suicide did not bring justice to Ki-ho’s friend. But well, does that mean Ki-ho and Chae-ho will be awarded the half a million won in insurance payout? I also thought that cutting such a major artery would mean mediate death. Perhaps it wasn’t as deep… but yes, glad that they reclaimed their names and dad adopted them. Loved their new names. And was it implied at the end that Ki-ho and Mok Ha got married? This writer’s characters always get married. hahaha. And it was nice to see the reporter from Pinocchio and prosecutor from WYWS. I love how she brings her former characters back always. She’s got an entire universe going!

Haha… yes, it’s back in trend now. My girl has ‘em. Mine are still the catty tipped kind but aim old, so it’s ok. Hahaha We’re already at the last episode! I like the storyline, but this isn’t giving me as much of a seat gripper twist-and-turn I’m more used to with this writer. Is she taking it cautiously after Start-up? 😂 Am still not feeling the romance vibe, but since the kiss scene was obligatory given we’re essentially at the end of the story already, it was well… nicely done. Just y’know… there wasn’t much of a lead up of any kind of tension to that point. There was more chemistry between their younger selves actors… I hope Dad doesn’t die, but psychopath dad did cut a major artery… Korean bystanders also so slow to call their emergency number?? As for RJ entertainment president - how can you trust such a person?! Wow, theirs is just such a complex and toxic relationship at the core.

How's this drama doing? I have not mustered up enough energy to watch it yet. Hahaha...

Ok. Worth checking out. Have not actually enjoyed any of Kim Yoojung's dramas since she transitioned from being a child actress.

I'm finally back and finished the drama! There was no VIU where I was so had to wait till I got back to watch the finale episodes. The middle finger sign moving upwards means "Older Brother", when it moves downwards it means "Younger Brother". This is in KSL (and I think in JSL too). It is different in Chinese sign languages where the middle finger just means "Older", so if paired with the sign for girl or boy, then it means older sister or older brother. In KSL, the sign for Jeju Island also uses the middle finger - as a complete handshape, it refers to the mountains. @mademoiselle @Tofu I guess I'm not the only one who felt that SeKyung/EunYoo's storyline didn't wrap up as nicely as Eungyeol's. Why put it as an epilogue? I was wondering what happened to her mother (did they not get a divorce after all or did that still happen?) and whether she pursued her photography instead. I was half expecting that as a wrap up, Eungyeol would actuall be enrolled in Art School like his mother and Eunyoo were, and he would meet Eunyoo at school, but she would be majoring in visual arts like Chung Ah did, instead of music. That would've been a nicer round up, I felt. I also expected Eungyeol to be the one to fully show the capability of the new line of electric guitars after dad played the few lines. Something that continued to irk me - dad's friends who I assume learned KSL to maintain their friendship with him, did not continue to sign when together with mum. She was still being left out of their conversations. But yes, they did paint a much more positive present day for the Deaf with ready interpreters at the workplace. However, it does suggest too that this type of provision is available only to the very rich, which Dad and Mum had become because the relationship with Mum's dad had been salvaged. Nice that both of them went to Gallaudet, though yeah, I reckon cos of that the college days scenes had to be edited out since Gallaudet's culture would not be so easily replicable for the screen, especially if they were having hearing actors portray deaf lives. I actually expected that Yi Chan would still become deaf. And that was good, I felt. Story-wise, it was able to portray a positive future for the deaf, even if they are late-deafened - it can be devastating, but it is not the end, which was a great thing for Yi Chan's story. All in all, as everyone here has noted, the pacing could've been better at the start, but I did enjoy the show. And like everyone else - why was "Master" Eunyoo's granddad? How did she figure that out? And why did he want to send them both into the past? Seems irrelevant to the story. I'd just have well accepted (and more logically so) his initial explanation to Eungyeol - that this was at the fancy of the deities.

@mademoiselle I'm heeeeeeere!!! Binged it on the plane and over the weekend and I'm all caught up! I'm loving the story and glad for the absolute lack of ambiguity on who has the love line with the FL. Writer's learned her lesson from Start-up's catastrophic set up. Is the director the same one she's always worked with too? And she has a thing for reporters (and her ever faithful YGN broadcast network ya? She's got this whole universe written up through all her stories!) While I love the story, I have to say I don't feel the romance between Mok Ha and Ki Ho. No palpable chemistry and tension between the two other than the good acting. Older brother's acting is also, emm.... mm... not doing it for me. But yes, I love the story. I agree with @ktcjdrama that while he did look up patricide (I was alarmed when he did!) but Mok Ha in her innocence and steadfastness did get him to decide otherwise. Getting beaten up would "revive" (sadly) grounds for protection because of domestic violence. I think the laws in Korea really don't protect women and children very well. But from the way the story is written, it seems like between now and (back) then, things have changed.

I trusted her until she messed up Start-up… hahahah… Wifi has been very poor where I am… I’ll have to catch up when I get home, including final episodes of Twinkling Watermelons! Let’s see if I can stay awake to watch at least one episode of this drama. Trying to download now before my flight!

@mademoiselle I want to watch but haven’t got around to it. Am traveling where the wifi is unstable. Why should the writer be on the banned list? Who wrote this drama? 😂

@mademoiselle I read on this thread but also saw a clip of the director talking about his editing decision to end where he did - open ended to some extent. His reasoning was that both Wonjun and Doona were still very young and whether they would get together again or not was open. I think when Wonjun and Doona met, there were indeed many things she was going through - a dysfunctional teen hood, demanding and emotionally absent mother, a manipulative and controlling manager she encountered in her youth, a deep sense of loneliness. He wasn’t a perfectly put together person either. By his own admission, he was trying to escape certain responsibilities too. They were neither perfect for each other. If Wonjun “saved” her, I didn’t feel it. At least, I don’t think that was what the director intended to draw out in their relationship. I feel that their encounter was one of chance, an unexpected collision of molecules and atoms that resulted in a chemical reaction of sorts. Were they romancing each other? I don’t think so either. They were attracted to each other in a semi-destructive way but neither had developed sufficient maturity to deal with the other’s issues. Doona brought out a more risk taking side of Wonjun which Jinjoo appreciated but it also “took him away” from her; he on the other hand made her question what ordinary was and if she could accept that in and of herself. Doona certainly led the relationship at the start, almost calling all the shots. She initiated the first kiss with him backing up onto the counter - what a role reversal of a first kiss trope! But there was a very subtle change in Wonjun when he started taking charge after she began accepting the ordinary life that came with being with him - that scene where they were kissing and she stops and tells him, “Let’s go back in.” He doesn’t follow but instead pulls her back for another round of making out. But Doona couldn’t stay away from the limelight and public life. She did crave it and her manager knew it too and exploited that in her when she was younger. When Wonjun left her side to attend to family matters, she goes back to the lure of the stage, and that unravelled another “mess” which brought her back to celebrity. Then came the question they both had to answer: could they weather this together? Was theirs a “soulmate” relationship like that of Wonjun and Jinjoo, ever comfortable with each being always present for the other? Perhaps it was just a “summer fling” which Wonjun feared it was but Doona by then thought it had stabilised into happy-ever-after? It was neither, because they had not yet arrived at the same stage of life. Yang Sejong (like Kim Taeri in 2521) did amazingly well and convincingly as a 20yo - that’s 10 years younger than his actual age! His insecurities, burdens of being the man-of-the-house with the passing of his father, frustrations of attraction to an older (albeit not by much) woman, were all very well portrayed. Loved it! @ktcjdrama@abs-oluteM Would I rewatch this drama? Possibly not. It’s one of those emotionally draining shows like 2521. But would I recommend it? Absolutely. Like 2521. There is a certain truthfulness in the story telling which I appreciated.

@mademoiselle Am gonna download episodes for my return trip on the plane to watch…

I just finished watching this. Downloaded it to binge on the plane. @mademoiselle you didn’t like it? I did! Very sad, but very real. The same kind of feels as 2521. The emotions, though not in the same context, are those I remember from my youth, when relationships were intense and tumultuous, where some desired more than others could give, and anger kept or released were very much out of confusion that only hindsight of maturity can give clarity to. Would I want to live those years again if I could turn back the clock? Probably not. But these are exactly the emotions that make who we are years down the line. And sometimes, there is hope that at a better future time when maturity allows for better management of these emotions, you can actually return to those relationships and make them work. @ktcjdrama @abs-oluteM

Gee… talk about a cliff hanger…

I stayed up to watch last night’s episode despite being so tired (I shouldn’t have. Paid for it this morning being a sleepyhead at work). I’m so very glad that there is finally movement in the story! The pacing hasn’t been the best. Finally, Yichan realises he likes Changan, and Chungah isn’t being an annoying self-distancing and angsty character! It was getting very tiring and tiresome. I do like how he is organically picking up sign language through self-study and communicating with her, and I do like it very much that the rest of the boys are also learning how to sign with her! And yes! Finally too Eungyeol and Eunyoo know they’re both from the future! The Squid Game reference was when he changed into the green track suit just before they were to go to the movies together and she remarked that he looked like a character from Squid Game and he thought to himself, “What? Was that a type of saying in 1995?” So yeah, he brushed it off as a possibly a reference to something he didn’t know. Likewise when he responded in shock to being referred to as a CODA and she thought to herself “Was the term not yet coined in 1995??” But good that mystery’s out!

@mademoiselle I'm definitely not over Jang Shinyu. I'm still trying to like Rowoon's new character. A bit of a bumbling idiot, that one. Hahaha...

@mademoiselle I tried to continue with my watch last night and fell asleep another 20 mins in 😅. eotteoke? hahaha

I just finished watching it today and am trying to decide on this Sekyung/Eunyoo line… hmm… Its already ep 12. Why can’t they already find out they’re both from the future? Eungyeol is smart but he’s still not adding up all the clues he’s picked up on already. I’m getting impatient. This push-pull with mum and dad is also starting to get tiresome. Mum’s just this really angsty deaf teen which, while I get it, for the sake of moving the plot along, couldn’t we just get going already? That said, I do think Yichan actually does like Chungah. He likes the idea of Sekyung but he feels more for Chungah. He just doesn’t know it yet.

I wanted to ask you about this. I got as far as 20 mins of episode 1 and gave up. Was gonna try to give it another shot tonight. I think it's really cos I can't get on board the non-shinyu-ness of this character. + FL. Even for the fashion shoots, I have to say Rowoon just looks better with CBA (what a coincidence that both are "Cho"). CYH just looks a little too young to be convincing in her role? I don't know. Will give it time. This line made me chuckle. Hahaha... yes. The long hair ain't doing it for me. Like I said, I'm all ok if he's walking the runway, but emm... Naw. I'm all good with him being an a period drama - he looked good as Jang Mujin, and even in The King's Affection. But a bumbling scholar... I'll give it time... I'll give me some time... hahaha. I didn't feel the chemistry between Shinyu and Hongjo right at the start, but that's alright y'know. It was supposed to be like this. But I certainly liked Shinyu from the start. Right down to disliking his arrogance. I felt that the character was believable. I'm waiting to warm up to this role now. Too soon after DWY though. Maybe his agency should have negotiated a later release with more time in between.

I was thinking exactly that too! I get the whole outfit - if he were on the runway! But seriously?! Aiyoh. I need the dapper look back. Not getting the chemistry with FL too. Still have Shin-Hong withdrawals…

@mademoiselle Oh no... is there no more? Sobz... I'm rewatching scenes that I like now. Hahaha...

Thanks for sharing about your own journey. Did you eventually pick up ASL (I assume you're in the US?)? @TofuI'm looking forward to seeing more interactions with the bandmates! Am still wondering if Dad will still lose his hearing, just a matter of how.

Support structures in Singapore aren't so good in the universities, sadly. We continue to struggle with providing good access beyond high school. Even at high school, provisions continue to be a challenge. Maybe this might end up being my life's work - to see things improve here. So while theoretically, they should get an interpreter, there aren't enough here for that. At best, they get note-takers and will need the help of coursemates to help you get through. But all that will only be possible if you first have a language foundation - which I am still wondering how Chung Ah developed, based on how the show presents it. Dramatic License. It's a common misconception that sign language is universal but that is not the case. Each country and native deaf community has its own native sign language. Within each Native Sign Language group, you can even have dialectic differences/variations across states and provinces, especially in big countries. The sign language used in the show is Korean Sign Language (KSL), which is distinctly different from, for example, American Sign Language (ASL) or Australian Sign Language (Auslan). So, no. It is not universal.