Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol [2020]

[Unnie0110]

As of this write-up, there are 98K views of the final kiss scene of Ep. 16 on Naver and 1k plus comments from Knetizens.

 

Here are some of their comments (I have chosen the comments with most thumbs up)

 

-The more I think about it, the more I get angry at the ending. High kick level through the roof. If it's a drama story, it should have some context, but in fact, it's just a fairy tale-like drama, so I've seen all the exaggerated things that don't seem like a fairy tale.

 

-No, what kind of story is written like this???????????

 

-Rara thought of Jun for 5 years and played that song hundreds of times or thousands of times to clear her sorrow.. I think about how hard it would have been for Lara, so even seeing this scene hurts my heart.

 

-It is clear that the writer was angry while writing this!

 

-Ending is so absurd, why do you have to kill him and then bring him back to life?

 

-It was a drama that gave joy, but what is this in the last episode?

 

Same sentiments as us...

[Mapleoaks5]

@Unnie0110 thank you! Do writers ever explain themselves after dramas are done? I’m genuinely curious why the writer went this route and would love an explanation. Haha

[Unnie0110]

42 minutes ago, Mapleoaks5 said:

@Unnie0110 after your post on watching the call, I went and watched it lol. Man, freaked me out so much. Did you end up finishing it? I need someone to discuss that ending with. Haha

 

Yes, I have finished it in one sitting and freaked me out as well! Made me forget for a little while our frustrations with DDSSLLS. I also need someone to discuss the ending with! hahaha see below;) hahaha

 

Spoiler

After enduring the unendurable haha I was so happy for PSH that her mother was able to kill the lunatic murderous girl! BUT HECK NO! the ending credits spoiled my happiness, the future killer girl is a clever one, she warned her past self because she heard Park Shin Hye talking to her mother over the phone and somehow manage to talk to her other self before the mother and the police came! But for me it's a loophole BECAUSE, her past self already died! how could she still exist in the future?! just saying! But it was a good scare and I liked the transition parts whenever they were able to change something, it was well executed. The actors were brilliant as well, very believable in their portrayal. What are your thoughts?:)

 

[Mapleoaks5]

8 minutes ago, Unnie0110 said:

 

Yes, I have finished it in one sitting and freaked me out as well! Made me forget for a little while our frustrations with DDSSLLS. I also need someone to discuss the ending with! hahaha see below;) hahaha

 

  Reveal hidden contents

After enduring the unendurable haha I was so happy for PSH that her mother was able to kill the lunatic murderous girl! BUT HECK NO! the ending credits spoiled my happiness, the future killer girl is a clever one, she warned her past self because she heard Park Shin Hye talking to her mother over the phone and somehow manage to talk to her other self before the mother and the police came! But for me it's a loophole BECAUSE, her past self already died! how could she still exist in the future?! just saying! But it was a good scare and I liked the transition parts whenever they were able to change something, it was well executed. The actors were brilliant as well, very believable in their portrayal. What are your thoughts?:)

 

Just messaged you! 

[Unnie0110]

https://www.soompi.com/article/1440731wpp/do-do-sol-sol-la-la-sol-cast-shares-their-warm-gratitude-to-each-other-and-viewers-after-dramas-finale

[stroppyse]

Welcome to the thread @CINNABOM! This drama is finished, but I think we may end up talking about it quite a bit more even now.

 

Btw, this makes me think about this writer's intentions. It's unfortunate that unexpected endings tend to generate more reactions, even if it's anger, than logical happy endings. I'm still thinking that this writer deliberately wrote manipulations in using old tropes since that's what she's done for her previous works. It's just that even when things veered into nonsense in her previous works, she didn't take it as far into makjang/idiotic territory as she seems to have taken this one.

 

I do credit GAR and LJW with making their characters so likable that we were with them all the way, even through the nonsense, though I still think that Jun deserved several good kickings from LL before she finally accepted him. And, even though it's not mentioned, I'm going to assume that Jun figured out a way to visit Grandpa before Grandpa's death so that he wasn't weighed down by that sadness at the end of his life.

 

@JenL, Shopping King Louis has some similarities to this drama, but it doesn't veer into makjang territory. I think you would like it if you watched it. It's actually because I liked SKL so much that I even started this drama. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of GAR prior to this and wouldn't normally have watched a drama with her starring in it. This drama has caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of GAR as well, however, and I'm looking forward to what she might tackle next.

 

The bitterness hasn't quite resolved yet, though it's Thanksgiving in the US, which meant I had to think of everything that i was thankful for. I loved episodes 1-12 of this drama as you all did, so I was thankful for that. And, of course, I was very thankful to have this thread with all of you when it all started going pear-shaped. So, I'll probably end up putting some additional thoughts together on this drama before I can move on to anything else.

[eNDe]

On 11/27/2020 at 6:34 PM, mademoiselle said:

@eNDe I hope to see you more in other drama threads. Also, if you want a really good (and I mean good ending etc) then try out 18 Again (Here I am trying to sell the drama again, hahaha) . When there's end to a drama, there's a beginning of a new one. Hope to see you back here spazzing about a new one in another drama thread/s.

 

I hope too that there will be another drama that compel me to watch it weekly/ongoing to discuss my thoughts as I usually watch a finished drama.

 

Thanks for the recommendation! I would do the same with any good drama and my sister gets the end of it haha...I think I've been trying to get her watch Signal many times (as it was inspired by the American film Frequency which I love) but to no avail. I remember reading 18 Again is a remake of another American film, 17 Again. 

 

On 11/27/2020 at 9:30 PM, Just_Me said:

Go Ara and Lee Jae Wook, i never thought that they will have really great chemistry. I just love them both.  Lee Jae Wook, is promising actor. He show different persona on his role as Jun and Manbok. 

On side note: I happy to see them have fun on every BTS. Especially Go Ara haha she looks happy working on this drama. Cause I follow her dramas for long and watch the BTS too.

 

Yeah I love seeing Go Ara having so much fun in this drama too and as I follow all her work, I'm always curious what's the next genre because she tend to pick a variety. I believe after this drama, some of her old and new fans would be asking her to always choose rom-com haha. I anticipated this drama because I've always wanted to see her in one (another plus point is the music theme) and I was happy knowing Lee Jae-wook is the male lead because he was really good in Search:WWW alongside experienced female leads with its plot being more for mature audience. I think both GA and LJW would have something to look forward to in this project seeing it's first rom-com for GA and first lead role for LJW therefore part of my disappointment of DDSSLLS's ending is also partly because I was hoping they both get a great finish on-screen. Good thing, off-screen they do and I look forward for both of their next project. 

 

On 11/28/2020 at 12:15 AM, JenL said:

If you read this...Thanks for reading my loooong processing of feelings! I wanted to reply to people's comments but will do it tomorrow as it's so late now!

 

@JenL Appreciate your post truly! Sometimes I might miss certain points as I will take a long time to process too and eventually got buried or forgotten until perhaps if I do rewatch scenes. So I'm grateful that you and others here are always sharing plenty of thoughts per episode and throughout while waiting for the next one.  

 

15 hours ago, JenL said:

Yes, I was totally fuming at this point because it really hurt my feelings and the logic completely dropped off for that character. That character being pretty much the main character after Lala.

 

Exactly. This is my first time to watch a kdrama where the main character that's well-loved by audience with no second lead syndrome is given almost a shake-up by the plot twist. What I'm used to see happening to a main or important character in a kdrama where he/she is being sidelined, removed or changed from a certain plot is when the actor himself is injured or facing issues off-screen. 

 

15 hours ago, JenL said:

I wish we had found out more about Jun and Lala as characters are well. So much time was wasted. I loved the side characters. But with how they treated the OTP in the last 4 episodes, the charm of the side characters faded a little because of how they were used as pawns of distraction. Like I didn't want to see Jae min play a piano song or Dr Cha and his wife reuniting. It's a real shame. 

 

@JenL @Unnie0110 I feel the same way...my overall thought of ep 16 was "what a waste" haha. There's so much more of these two characters we didn't see. 

 

14 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

I'm watching THE CALL right now in netflix , I need a good scare to forget my frustrations with the final episodes of DDSSLLS.

 

I think I'm staying away from kdrama rom-com after this as I've always had.  

I always think rom-com should have a simple, light and/or fun conclusion but it's different in kdrama land as I've been greatly reminded now. I'm going back to watching crime solving, medical or period kdrama as I usually do. 

 

9 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

I'm just thankful that everyone were all saying good things about LJW and GAR, that they did such a good job despite the poor writing in the later episodes. Many are saying that they should get an acting and couple awards at the KBS Drama year-end awards because really they carried the show despite its absurdities and stupid plot developments. We can't even hate Jun fully because he was played by LJW with such earnestness and sincerity that whatever Jun did like Rara we don't have the heart to scold him fully.

 

I DEMAND A SEASON 2, whose with me?

 

I'm with you except it must be written by someone else. Haha. 

 

-------

 

@CINNABOM Welcome! I joined in later too thanks to @JenL but it's been a great place to discuss and share with everyone here 

[JenL]

Hahaha while catching up on posts here this morning, I thought @Mapleoaks5 and @Unnie0110 were asking if the writers of this show were going to explain themselves (though it turned out you both were talking about Call, which I'm wayyyy too chicken to ever watch!!! ). But it got me thinking about the script writers again....And I think I finally understand what the writers were trying to do, though I still hate it....but it's at least it's making my logical brain rest a little bit more because I'm thinking "Oh, that's the stupid thing you were trying to do" instead of "WTF were you trying to do???" Except it's funny that they choose to use this device because it seems like a lot of people are critical of it and hate it even outside of it being used in DDSSLLS 

I hope you guys are all like @eNDe and don't mind another looooong post 

 

I can see some Koreans thought the same thing as me:

9 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

-It is clear that the writer was angry while writing this!

 

You may remember that I wrote this previously: 

 

Scriptwriter's rage over not having  their planned sad ending Theory 

A part of me wonders whether the writers had planned to kill off Jun, but got backlash from script buyers/ TV stations that they had to add him back in. Maybe they did it angrily. Because that's what it felt like....it was like, "You want a happy ending? Fine! Here's your precious Jun back! But he won't be perfect anymore!"  Actually I was going to say, the ending scenes with Jun's voice-over in the final scenes where he said "whenever things got tough I always remembered that summer when I was 19", it felt like they would have matched a drama where the character died and had this thought before he died. The more I think about it, the more I feel Jun's return could be read ambiguously - only Lala sees him return (no one else) and his character feels a bit less like old Jun (so could be made from imagination since it's been 5 years). He said he wasn't a ghost, but doesn't mean he couldn't be something else. It was a day where everyone had mentioned Jun and maybe Lala imagined him out of grief  It felt like the writer wanted to play it both ways and satisfy their own original idea as well as the audiences expectations."

 

Why I thought This

I wrote it because I saw someone on Twitter post the words Jun said without any pretty pictures framing it and realised how sad the words sounded on their own and thought if I haven't seen the drama, I would have thought that the character had died. I know it's not unusual for Asian dramas to have some "poignant" reflection in the form of a character voicing their inner thoughts or saying something soppy in a voice over at the end of a drama, but these words really did sound particularly sad:

 

 

Anyway, further to this idea...I guess I was thinking that this drama played out more like a tragedy than a comedy. And then for some reason, I remembered that @stroppyse mentioned earlier on over a few posts and her podcast that TWD ladies (the ahjummas) were like a Greek Chorus (an ancient Greek comedic device where there's like a group of people who are spectators and commentators about what's happening in those old Greek comedy plays.) I guess this triggered a memory about studying plays in high school and I remembered something a device about unlikely endings. So I did some digging and I think this is what the writers of DDSSLLS were trying to do, though why they were trying to do it beats me because it's still an annoying device and lots of people hate it: 

 

Deus ex machina (Taken from trusty old wikipedia)

 

Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence. Its function can be to resolve an otherwise unsolvable plot situation, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or act as a comedic device. The deus ex machina was sometimes used in plays to make a controversial idea more palatable.

 

It is generally deemed undesirable in writing and often implies a lack of creativity on the part of the author. The reasons for this are that it does damage to the story's internal logic and is often so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, allowing the author to conclude the story with an unlikely ending.  The deus ex machina device is often criticized as inartistic, too convenient, and overly simplistic. However, champions of the device say that it opens up ideological and artistic possibilities.

 

I guess I didn't think about it before because the writer's used the more modern version of this device. The old version of the device was in plays and literally involved a machine changing the fate of the story (Ie. a mechanical dragon comes to set bad guys on fire). But I think  the term became more broad to mean "any unlikely event without explanation"...Shakespeare just added unlikely events to turn tragedies into "comedies" again. I think because the drama was focused on classical music, maybe they looked into classical plays too - if they new how to use a Greek Chorus, they probably thought about Deux Ex Machina too.

 

So the Korean audiences asked these questions:

9 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

-No, what kind of story is written like this???????????

-Ending is so absurd, why do you have to kill him and then bring him back to life?

 

Answer: A Greek play or Shakespeare play is like this. They loved the absurd twist.

 

Updated Theory: DDSSLLS is actually based on classical plays & is a comedy-tragedy with a Deus Ex Machina ending & The writers were trying to be "Smart" but irritated everyone who watched the show

 

So my new understanding of the drama is that it shouldn't have been marketed as a rom-com, but it was because people don't have a genre called comedy-tragedy romance, as that's not really a melodrama either . The writer probably wanted to experiment with this as a genre and use that weird device to make it "funny" or "palatable" again (It was not funny ). Jun developing cancer was hinted the whole way through from the first time he had a nosebleed on her wedding dress. And so I guess it's implied that by the time he finds out it's quite serious and there is no way out but death . In a lot of those old Shakespeare/Greek plays, the comedy they use is irony...so Jun tries not to hurt Lala but the more he tries not to, the more he does with his lies. Then he literally dies and that death feels real. Then they "fix" up all of this sadness with no logic/ no explanation by having him return to make Lala "happy" again because he is "the source of her happiness." 

 

Me: Maybe you should have just not given him cancer. He could have just had a nose bleeding problem which is common. If you wanted tragedy, I could have given you tragedy, writers 

 

Hahaha, I might be reading into it  (I swear I will stop unhealthily over thinking this drama after this post! Haha, I like how @mademoiselle is dealing with this drama and for the most part, I'm choosing to remember all the good things I liked, since there were many before the ending. I'll only post happy BTS things after this unless something major comes to light). But I do feel like this is what happened - the scriptwriter started using pretentious devices to make the story seem smart and play with the tropes and twists of Kdrama. This doesn't change my feelings about the ending, but I thought I'd share it because it felt a bit like an 'ah-ha!' moment when I read this and it would be interesting to share since we all feel like we have no idea what the scriptwriter was thinking. 

[Unnie0110]

Actually KBS released stills of Jun's return and captioned them as if explaining that Jun really is still very much alive. hahaha

That Jun was overwhelmed that he's return to Lalaland and they wished Rara and Jun to live happily from now on. Maybe because people were wondering with Rara if he's real or not So KBS really thought they did a wonderful job bringing him back without an epilogue of explanation. I read a comment in Dramabeans site that maybe it was a South Korean cultural thing. She shared that she had a Korean friend who was sick and was later told by the mother of her friend that her friend died already. She mourned this friend for a long time only to see her again very much alive with her family in an airport after several years. The mother did not even tried to explain to her what happened! Maybe the writer had the same experience? Your guess is as good as mine!

Edited November 29, 2020 by Unnie0110

[JenL]

52 minutes ago, Unnie0110 said:

Actually KBS released stills of Jun's return and captioned them as if explaining that Jun really is still very much alive. 

 

Hahaha, oh that's what I meant about Deux Ex Machina in dramas-  If the writer wanted to use that, the character would have be actually alive. In the story, they either killed him off or wanted to kill him off. But then he was brought back 100% to life - Like literally, he came back with no more health problems. But the whole point of that is that they didn't want to give an explanation to the audience why he "came back to life", what he had been doing for 5 years why he didn't contact her. That's why his character only came back in the last 10 mins of the episode. It's a story-telling technique that purposely has no logic - it just happens because they want to make it a "happy ending" for a story that was meant to be sad...If they used this technique, that's why there's no epilogue and no logical explanation 

My theory is less about Jun as a character, but more about why the scriptwriters went this stupid way with the story.

 

52 minutes ago, Unnie0110 said:

I read a comment in Dramabeans site that maybe it was a South Korean cultural thing. She shared that she had a Korean friend who was sick and was later told by the mother of her friend that her friend died already. She mourned this friend for a long time only to see her again very much alive with her family in an airport after several years. The mother did not even tried to explain to her what happened! Maybe the writer had the same experience? 

 

Hahaha, I feel like if it was a South Korean thing, those South Korean viewers you mentioned wouldn't be upset because they could relate to it and they'd be like, "oh yeah, happens sometimes"...but it sounds like a lot of people found it weird, so I don't know if it's cultural. But I have heard weird stories like that though where someone experienced a faked death of a friend or ex, only to see them later. Almost like they were extremely ghosted by a person. Maybe it did happen to them. Would be so damn weird. 

Edited November 29, 2020 by JenL

[mademoiselle]

 -- Intermission --

 

Dear Havenites,

 

Sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to announce that the Guess The Member game is officially launched. Everyone is welcome and invited to take part even if you are the volunteering Tributes! Prize to be won!

Come come!

[Mapleoaks5]

4 hours ago, JenL said:

 

Hahaha, I feel like if it was a South Korean thing, those South Korean viewers you mentioned wouldn't be upset because they could relate to it and they'd be like, "oh yeah, happens sometimes"...but it sounds like a lot of people found it weird, so I don't know if it's cultural. But I have heard weird stories like that though where someone experienced a faked death of a friend or ex, only to see them later. Almost like they were extremely ghosted by a person. Maybe it did happen to them. Would be so damn weird. 

hmmmmm.... I’m korean American and I’ve never heard of this being a common cultural thing in korea? Faking a death?! Haha. Death by fan? Yes. But fake deaths? No.

[CINNABOM]

@JenL Very good points. There are certainly elements of tragedy-comedy in the show, and they were totally right about the ajummas being a greek chorus. However, unlike a greek chorus that provides insight into the characters, it seems the ladies were always wrong.   

 

If the writer truly meant to kill Jun, I can't make sense of it. She left too many hints about a reunion. First, there is harabeoji and Sunja's story (you'll meet again if it's fated to be), Dr. Cha's movie quote ( If you love something set it free. If it comes back it's yours.), Jun saying he might suddenly disappear and asking RaRa to hold on, and finally RaRa's quote (if you endure through the hard times, you can reap the benefits). I think the writer wrote herself into a corner with all the twists. She wanted to subvert tropes and stereotypes, but I think she wanted to execute one big twist with Jun being alive, but didn't know how to execute it properly. 

[JenL]

2 hours ago, CINNABOM said:

 However, unlike a greek chorus that provides insight into the characters, it seems the ladies were always wrong.  

 

Hahaha, I think this is the writer making a play on the Greek Chorus. Like borrowing the idea, but making it a bit of a joke as they were still ahjummas gossiping, so of course they weren't always right....though they did guess some things like Mr Cho liking the hairdresser!

 

2 hours ago, CINNABOM said:

If the writer truly meant to kill Jun, I can't make sense of it. She left too many hints about a reunion. First, there is harabeoji and Sunja's story (you'll meet again if it's fated to be), Dr. Cha's movie quote ( If you love something set it free. If it comes back it's yours.), Jun saying he might suddenly disappear and asking RaRa to hold on, and finally RaRa's quote (if you endure through the hard times, you can reap the benefits). I think the writer wrote herself into a corner with all the twists. She wanted to subvert tropes and stereotypes, but I think she wanted to execute one big twist with Jun being alive, but didn't know how to execute it properly. 

 

I think everyone will have a different theory about what the writers were trying to do and who really knows except them 

 

I will say that the more I've thought about over the last couple of days, the more deliberate her non-explanation seems. I don't think she confused herself...I think she wanted to have one up on viewers. She probably also wanted to use those lovely quotes to look like red herrings.....so you were expecting a reunion, but then she gave you tragedy. When you were sad, she brought him back.

Haha, I think everyone has focused on the first part of what I said about the writer's wanting to kill of Jun  But what I meant to focus on was not about the killing him off part, but more about the part that she wanted to use an easy and non-explainable solution to solve what was seemingly an impossible solution (Jun's cancer and potential to die). She might have wanted him to die or to not, but basically, it's a bit greedy - she was wanting the two different endings without weaving a logical explanation for it. Because honestly, I think she knew she could do things like add an epilogue, as she had done the whole way through, so it's not that she had no idea how to explain it....but many scriptwriters do like to use old play-writing devices, so I wouldn't be surprised if she used the one mentioned above because it was always known as a "comedic" device for transforming tragedies. But it just wasn't funny.  

[Just_Me]

Waaa...this thread still so much alive 

 

Glad that it's seems you guys already move on .. surely will check some of your tempting recommendation drama but maybe will skip the one with horror-thriller genre cause I am totally scaredy-cat..

 

But,but..am I the only one still struggling(but not as much as before)??..

 

Am I late for write some more? Can I still talking little more about this? Have everyone done dealing with this drama? 

Maybe yes, then I am sincerely apologize in advance cause I'll still write some more thoughts to get it out from my brain so I can let it go peacefully hahaha..of course you could skip this altogether...

 

On 11/27/2020 at 8:45 PM, Mapleoaks5 said:

yes, Juns mom never says he died. She just said he can never come back, but Lala makes the assumption that he died and the mom never corrects her. Which I found so bizarre. How can she not correct her? “No he’s hasn’t died, but he’s really really sick and we don’t think he has much time” or something like that? . 

 

On 11/27/2020 at 10:36 PM, stroppyse said:

Yes, the translation is right. However, Jun's mother actively led LL into thinking Jun was dead by speaking in the past tense to refer to Jun as in "Jun had been very ill." And when LL point blank asked if Jun was dead, the mother just bowed her head and cried.

 

Jun's mother was actively helping Jun lie to LL, though I'm sure her tears were real at the though of Jun being ill.

Thank you so much for confirm it, since I watch it right after woke up at 3am so I thought I miss out something. Yes, his mom not telling the entire truth is the points where the story begin to fall. But this is what I thought (seriously I don't know that I'd ever try so hard to understand why drama characters did what they did)

 

- Jun playing piano video recorded a month before. Rara-Jun talk on phone everyday ever since Jun left for his treatment (like Ms.Jin said to TWD ladies) so I assume they still doing so until Christmas day, cause if Jun suddenly stop pick up the phone that will be too suspicious even for Rara to miss out. Jun might be really want to come on Christmas but his condition get really worsts to the point even the doctors told Jun Mom to prepare for the worst since there's no hope anymore. Jun mom must be emotionally confused and heartbroken about it but she determine to fulfill her son last wish. So she come to Rara and tell her about Jun and when Rara ask her if Jun already dead, she say nothing because she've been told that Jun could die anytime soon and she know Rara definitely will ask to see Jun but on other hand she at least want to fulfill her son wish : He don't want Rara to see him being ill. How heartbroken and sad Jun must be if at his very last moments of his life the last thing he see is Rara crying over his death. Jun mom loves Jun very much so she could only think about not make him any more sad.

So she left Rara without telling Rara the entire truth and Rara maybe too shocked to even asking further more. 

But like a mother could be and like she once said Jun mom not give him up even the doctors said otherwise. She ask the doctors to keep treat him as best as they can and after some times Jun miraculously start to recover. Still not sure about his condition if he could really recover or just really got worst again, he decide to keep it secret that he's actually still alive cause he doesn't want to give Rara a false hope just to make her sad again for the second times. And in my thoughts, Jun who struggle to recover will come times to times to Eunpo, secretly watch over Rara from afar to get his strength (and maybe to make sure Rara still single that's why after 5years he walk in to Lala Land so confidently with such a happy smile haha)

 

 

On 11/27/2020 at 8:45 PM, Mapleoaks5 said:

Also why wouldn’t she go to the funeral? Or ever visit his grave?? Just like her dad she never visited him? Unless they show that off camera. 

 I don't know if they make it purposely as part of her characters or just simply make it for the sake of plot twists, but Rara tend to accept everything as it is, maybe because grow up doing most everything she told to do, like piano and the wedding things. Or maybe because she simply easy to trust anyone so she never they would ever told lies. 

- after her Dad passed away, Mr. Moon told her to be away even not to attend the funeral, she really did it. I feel this is weird since Dad is the only family she has not to mention she loves him so much and really close to him, shouldn't she at least secretly come? But now I know it's shown that way because they need to make us think that her Dad actually still alive, and we did!

-when she receive piano from Dodosolsollalasol, she could actually find out who is the one send it that could lead her to his true identity but since they promised to meet after a month she just wait for it even she once said she's curious. But of course that will be too soon for Dodosolsollalasol revealing..haha

- when Jun want to break up because he doesn't like her anymore, even when Dr.Cha and Seung-Gi can't believe Jun change overnight, she accepts their break up. Rara know should know Jun better after all what they have to got trough, so I kinda wish that Rara try to found out his true reasons. But maybe because they're on break for 6month and those photos make it believable for Rara.

-when Jun Mom came and told her about Jun, said she maybe too shocked to even ask more. Jun mom could have cut ties and contact, change her number that's why Rara not able to reach out Jun family ever again. But of course they make it this way (no funeral), since Jun will have to come back in the end

actually, that help her to move on and recover from her bad times easier somehow.

 

 Still make no sense? Hahaha I am so sorry but I think I will stick to this ' scenario ' so I can let this drama go peacefully.

 

Also I don't want to hold grudges on Jun anymore. He's just 20yo with so much happens in his life, he has so many good traits but he surely allowed to has flaws too. I am not agree with some of his choices but now I can understand him. So I want to remember him as Jun that I  cherish because he loves Rara sincerely and wholeheartedly, reach out to her when she's alone after her dadp passedaway, he's willing to do anything to make sure Rara keep smiling, make sure has a place to stay, and make sure she's comfortable enough while adjusting to her new life. He even take care of Mimi for her!!

I feel bad for Rara because I can't feel as happy as her the moment I see Jun's back for the first time at those last minutes..i even feel the scenes is doesn't seem real that time..haha sorry Rara..

I finally can say that I am happy too, because they are happy together now 

(But still little annoyed at how they execute those last minutes )

That's it. 

 

I don't know if anyone here have watch drama "Find Me in Your Memory", but there's so similar situation there. ML Mom terminally ill too and she hide it from the ML until she die, his Dad  also said nothing. She even ask her husband not to let ML come to funeral and to tell him only after it finished. She didn't want her son to see her lifeless body and remember it as last memory he has of her. Of course ML terribly devastated for days after he learn the truth, but after come back to his sense he only remember the good memories about her and realized that for her entire life his Mom trying to give him only good memories as much as possible. That's what finally help him cope with his grieves, accept his mom choice to keep her illness and feel his mom love and be grateful for it.

 

I think I will do that too, I'll remember many good memories  while watching this drama, accept all the flaws esp the ending cause it's part of it and I just will be grateful for it as whole..

 

 

 

[stroppyse]

4 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

Am I late for write some more? Can I still talking little more about this? Have everyone done dealing with this drama? 

 

Write as much as you want and for as long as you want. I still keep coming to this thread to read people's thoughts. Plus, I still haven't written any final thoughts on this drama or anything. Still working on getting through disappointment.

 

5 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

And in my thoughts, Jun who struggle to recover will come times to times to Eunpo, secretly watch over Rara from afar to get his strength (and maybe to make sure Rara still single that's why after 5years he walk in to Lala Land so confidently with such a happy smile haha)

 

That's a nice thought. I'm torn about this. On the one hand, it means that Jun kept a watch on LL to reassure himself. However, during all that time, LL thought Jun was dead and had to cope with her grief. It seems selfish somehow.

 

8 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

I feel bad for Rara because I can't feel as happy as her the moment I see Jun's back for the first time at those last minutes..i even feel the scenes is doesn't seem real that time..haha sorry Rara..

 

I was totally wondering if Jun was real or not as well.

14 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

Also I don't want to hold grudges on Jun anymore. He's just 20yo with so much

 

Actually, he's 25 years old now since there was a 5 year time jump.

 

14 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

So I want to remember him as Jun that I  cherish because he loves Rara sincerely and wholeheartedly, reach out to her when she's alone after her dadp passedaway, he's willing to do anything to make sure Rara keep smiling, make sure has a place to stay, and make sure she's comfortable enough while adjusting to her new life. He even take care of Mimi for her!!

 

Yes, he is that Jun.

[Unnie0110]

It seems like KBS has not gotten over Rara and Jun just yet. They have just posted several videos and stills from the drama again in their instagram account. I'm sure people are still complaining left and right about the ending but some are just relieved that Jun was alive after all. After several days of sadness and disappointment, I'm starting to calm down hahaha I still can't re-watch Episode 16 as a whole though but I really appreciate the piano duet of Jun and Rara (that was one great scene), it's a nice happy version/rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star;) I also loved the part in Episode 15 when Rara finally remembered her first meeting with Jun! How can she forget when he's that dashing and nice! They are so cute together! I remembered why I love this drama because they're such a happy pill! There's something about the way GAR and LJW interact and present their characters when they are together, that touches their viewer's hearts and brings a little bit of everything nice in this world. I never knew that a shortage of a watermelon juice would bring me so much sunshine;)  

Edited November 30, 2020 by Unnie0110

[eNDe]

4 hours ago, Just_Me said:

And in my thoughts, Jun who struggle to recover will come times to times to Eunpo, secretly watch over Rara from afar to get his strength (and maybe to make sure Rara still single that's why after 5years he walk in to Lala Land so confidently with such a happy smile haha)

Haha I love this idea...watching over RaRa is so Jun so why not? Cool.

 

And I think because they both make such a quirky couple, I'm starting to believe that only RaRa and Jun could ever understand each other actions. I'm just going to rewatch this drama, enjoy the good moments that made me love it in the first place and thinking of the cast's hard work who showed up each day to complete it. I don't think I'll be over this drama too soon. Hope the cast, especially for GA and LJW, will meet again in year-end awards show if not for another project. 

 

2 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

It seems like KBS has not gotten over Rara and Jun just yet. They have just posted several videos and stills from the drama again in their instagram account.

Yeah! I wondered why there was update on the drama this week. haha. 

 

Sharing the MV for another OST if you haven't watch it because the music video use only the light and happy moments of Jun and Rara so it's my fave MV of all the OST: 

 

 

[CINNABOM]

Lol @Just_Me I am also not done talking and thinking about this drama. Netflix just posted the final scene on the Swoon, so I decided to watch it again.

 

 

Honestly, after watching just the scene alone I thought the writer/director had such a perfect ending. If we didn't have to go through the other 55 minutes of episode 16, I would be so happy with this ending. Even now, I'm starting to accept the ending just because of how beautiful this scene is. It's like a love letter to the drama and the city of Eunpo. 

 

The first shot is a cloudy but beautiful day followed by a view of the city with its colorful rooftops. RaRa starts playing Jun's welcome song, and we get a shot of the flower shop on top of the hill (this makes me a little sad because according to @JenL's blog, the set has already been taken down ). Finally, our hero arrives and starts running uphill as RaRa beckons him to come home by playing the piano.  

 

I really appreciate these final scenes because it reminded me of the beauty of the drama. The writing wasn't perfect, but when it was good, it was really good. It gave me something to look forward to every week. So thank you Netflix and KBS, please make another drama with Go Ara and Lee Jae Wook! 

[JenL]

9 hours ago, Just_Me said:

But,but..am I the only one still struggling(but not as much as before)??..

 

Am I late for write some more? Can I still talking little more about this? Have everyone done dealing with this drama? 

Maybe yes, then I am sincerely apologize in advance cause I'll still write some more thoughts to get it out from my brain so I can let it go peacefully hahaha..of course you could skip this altogether...

 

@Just_Me No,no, all good. Please write more! I'd love to read what you have to say  I'm also still processing and getting over too! I understand the feelings - it's the double sadness of a series you liked ending and the sadness of the ending not being what you wanted. I keep saying I'll get over it...but the truth is, I think it'll be some time before I truly get over DDSSLLS!  I think the more you talk about it, the less angry/sad you feel. I'm at a much, much better point now. I've had a lot of things I've written down and read a lot of other things that were written down and answered a lot of other people's ideas....and while I'm not happy with the ending, and I definitely still have times where I feel that very, very uncomfortable dissonance of loving the first 12 episodes and being very disappointed with the last 4, I'm more focused on how much I loved Go Ara and Lee Jae Wook's Chemistry, how technically it was a happy ending and since I can't physically change the ending, I've made peace with it as much as I can in different ways. Only time will heal the rest by making me nostalgic 

 

10 hours ago, Just_Me said:

She ask the doctors to keep treat him as best as they can and after some times Jun miraculously start to recover. Still not sure about his condition if he could really recover or just really got worst again, he decide to keep it secret that he's actually still alive cause he doesn't want to give Rara a false hope just to make her sad again for the second times. And in my thoughts, Jun who struggle to recover will come times to times to Eunpo, secretly watch over Rara from afar to get his strength (and maybe to make sure Rara still single that's why after 5years he walk in to Lala Land so confidently with such a happy smile haha)

 

In many ways, I'm a bit weird.... I haven't theorised that much about Jun as a character  I think a lot of people were upset by Jun's actions in the story (ie. how could he cut off Lala for 5 years without word). For me, while I was distressed about that, I was more upset about the outside world events that lead to this. After all Jun's actions don't exist in a void- they are controlled by the writers of the drama  (Hahaha, if you've watched Extraordinary You you'll understand what I'm talking about: Jun's character, if he had an Ego, was probably cursing the writers for making him sick and do such Makjang actions at the end! Maybe this is why I'm less mad at Jun than I am mad at the writers...Jun's just a character, but the writers are real people )...But yes, I was more upset about this: How could the writers play such a dirty trick (Jun's death and return) and not fill us in with explanations (Why did the writers not fill in the gaps?) 

 

But if I had to try and grapple on a theory for Jun's actions as a character, maybe being sick was so painful and miserable that he needed to break away from everything he loved and use it as a motivation for recovery  Still not an ideal explanation and yes, selfish, but I suppose if he really suffered, he might think that he didn't want people to suffer along with him and suffering for a long time....like it would literally drain the happiness right out of Eunpo and he didn't want that for everyone, especially if they were already worried about Grandpa  But he also knew he couldn't hide it for 5 years, so he took the stress out by just killing himself off. I suppose if you're dead people are devastated, but time heals all after 5 years...the person who died turns into a distant, fond memory. However, if someone is sick for 5 years, you're constantly stressed and worried for them and suffer in that respect, especially if they do then die before your eyes. This doesn't change my feelings - I'm just saying it as a thought. I would definitely still prefer a different ending...but this is the best I can do to justify Jun's actions within the story. 

 

10 hours ago, Just_Me said:

I don't know if they make it purposely as part of her characters or just simply make it for the sake of plot twists, but Rara tend to accept everything as it is, maybe because grow up doing most everything she told to do, like piano and the wedding things. Or maybe because she simply easy to trust anyone so she never they would ever told lies. 

- after her Dad passed away, Mr. Moon told her to be away even not to attend the funeral, she really did it. I feel this is weird since Dad is the only family she has not to mention she loves him so much and really close to him, shouldn't she at least secretly come? But now I know it's shown that way because they need to make us think that her Dad actually still alive, and we did!

-when she receive piano from Dodosolsollalasol, she could actually find out who is the one send it that could lead her to his true identity but since they promised to meet after a month she just wait for it even she once said she's curious. But of course that will be too soon for Dodosolsollalasol revealing..haha

- when Jun want to break up because he doesn't like her anymore, even when Dr.Cha and Seung-Gi can't believe Jun change overnight, she accepts their break up.

 

This is very true Lala doesn't question things, which is very consistent of her character. And maybe that's the thing - they wanted Jun's death/ non-death to mirror her father's. I feel that she is just accepting and forgiving of people and situations around her. If that's the way things are, she accepts them as fate. So Jun coming back from the dead? Well, she'll accept that as fate that they should be together  Haha, I wish I was that simple - I love overthinking everything!

 

10 hours ago, Just_Me said:

Also I don't want to hold grudges on Jun anymore. He's just 20yo with so much happens in his life, he has so many good traits but he surely allowed to has flaws too. I am not agree with some of his choices but now I can understand him. So I want to remember him as Jun that I  cherish because he loves Rara sincerely and wholeheartedly, reach out to her when she's alone after her dadp passedaway, he's willing to do anything to make sure Rara keep smiling, make sure has a place to stay, and make sure she's comfortable enough while adjusting to her new life. He even take care of Mimi for her!!

 

Hahaha, you're so cute! I don't think I was mad at Jun per say. Baffled and disappointed by his lack of logical explanation...but angry at the writers for not giving him one! 

I think he's a good character. Having sort of researched and come up with that theory about the the writer's wanting to use techniques in old comedy-tragedy plays, it does make me feel the writer was trying to make "comedy" with irony. Jun's actions were intended to be "kind" even at the end, though ironically, it wasn't the best course of action to take. And of course, I think they deliberately wanted to use an "unlikely event without explanation" to subvert the trope of a dramatic death (tragedy) and flip it back into comedy (like haha, he's alive! Surprise suckers.) Maybe knowing this, I don't like how the writers wanted to one up me, so I've made peace with the feelings. Like you @Just_Me, I'll remember the Jun I want to love who gave us all heart flutters and that's fine. 

 

10 hours ago, Just_Me said:

I don't know if anyone here have watch drama "Find Me in Your Memory", but there's so similar situation there.

 

Nope, never seen it! Haha....maybe it makes me a terrible person....But honestly, I hate dramas about terminal illnesses and I hate medical dramas. I'm not sure if I've ever made it through one entire medical drama in my life, even if it was mixed with another genre (eg. slice-of-life or comedy or fantasy). I feel like I should try Hospital Playlist since everyone loves it soooo much, but the word hospital puts me off! I don't particularly like episodes and episodes of stress/ tears/ anxiety of whether patients will be ok or get sick again or die / graphically icky symptoms of illness like bleeding or throwing up. If someone told me one of the characters were ill in this, I probably would have backed away  Hahaha. I was already queasy with Jun's nosebleed in episode 1. Well, good thing they didn't make it obvious until I was too sucked in to leave 

[Just_Me]

13 hours ago, stroppyse said:

Actually, he's 25 years old now since there was a 5 year time jump.

Ah, yes.. you're right..but I mean he's 20yo when he got his illness

 

8 hours ago, eNDe said:

Sharing the MV for another OST if you haven't watch it because the music video use only the light and happy moments of Jun and Rara so it's my fave MV of all the OST

Waa Thank you..i haven't watch it yet..

 

8 hours ago, eNDe said:

Hope the cast, especially for GA and LJW, will meet again in year-end awards show if not for another project. 

I hope KBS will hold the Drama Awards Show this year. Or they could make cameo appearance. I hope they're invited to some variety show. I enjoy their Swoon content very much haha

 

8 hours ago, eNDe said:

11 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

It seems like KBS has not gotten over Rara and Jun just yet. They have just posted several videos and stills from the drama again in their instagram account.

Yeah! I wondered why there was update on the drama this week. haha.

Haha, I have to double check the post date when I saw it 

 

3 hours ago, CINNABOM said:

Lol @Just_Me I am also not done talking and thinking about this drama. Netflix just posted the final scene on the Swoon, so I decided to watch it again.

Yaaay, glad I am not the only one

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

 

3 hours ago, CINNABOM said:

Honestly, after watching just the scene alone I thought the writer/director had such a perfect ending. If we didn't have to go through the other 55 minutes of episode 16, I would be so happy with this ending. Even now, I'm starting to accept the ending just because of how beautiful this scene is. It's like a love letter to the drama and the city of Eunpo. 

Agree with you. I even got little teary when I watch this clip alone..(I am not sure how to react when I watch it on Ep.16 haha)

 

3 hours ago, CINNABOM said:

(this makes me a little sad because according to @JenL's blog, the set has already been taken down ).

..it could be new spots or destination while visiting Mokpo. I once saw posts about this building when it's still under construction, so it's understandable that it must be taken down after the filming finished. 

 

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

No,no, all good. Please write more! I'd love to read what you have to say  I'm also still processing and getting over too! I understand the feelings - it's the double sadness of a series you liked ending and the sadness of the ending not being what you wanted. I keep saying I'll get over it...but the truth is, I think it'll be some time before I truly get over DDSSLLS!  I think the more you talk about it, the less angry/sad you feel

Aww thank you, I also love to read your thoughts, and I enjoy your @JenL discussion with @CINNABOM about Deus ex machina..

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

In many ways, I'm a bit weird.... I haven't theorised that much about Jun as a character

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

ButBut if I had to try and grapple on a theory for Jun's actions as a character, maybe being sick was so painful and miserable that he needed to break away from everything he loved and use it as a motivation for recovery

He also knew he couldn't hide it for 5 years, so he took the stress out by just killing himself off. I suppose if you're dead people are devastated, but time heals all after 5 years...the person who died turns into a distant, fond memory. However, if someone is sick for 5 years, you're constantly stressed and worried for them and suffer in that respect, especially if they do then die before your eyes. This doesn't change my feelings - I'm just saying it as a thought. I would definitely still prefer a different ending...but this is the best I can do to justify Jun's actions within the story. 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this, ..,

 

I tend to overthinking (maybe almost about everything?! Haha) Actually I am just trying to understand why the characters did what they did esp Jun and his Mom and fill in the hole from their pov so I could follow the story till the last scenes where Rara and Jun finally meet again. (This way the last scenes doesn't feel like it's forced happy ending or make me think "uhm, what happened here?!) 

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

Hahaha, if you've watched Extraordinary You you'll understand what I'm talking about: Jun's character, if he had an Ego, was probably cursing the writers for making him sick and do such Makjang actions at the end!

yes, I've watch it too..and I can visualize it in my mind right away..

 

3 hours ago, JenL said:

Haha....maybe it makes me a terrible person....But honestly, I hate dramas about terminal illnesses and I hate medical dramas

Haha, no..not at all..everyone has their own preferences and that's okay..

 

 

4 hours ago, JenL said:

If that's the way things are, she accepts them as fate. So Jun coming back from the dead? Well, she'll accept that as fate that they should be together  Haha, I wish I was that simple

 

Ikr! I wish I could be that simple sometimes but I am not sure that will it be okay to be that simple in real life. At least I'll try to be as simple as Rara about this drama and accept how it ended so I can enjoy again it as whole. 

 

Thank you so much everyone 

Found this on IG

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CILht_QjjXt/?igshid=1uyl90p7t2fn

[stroppyse]

13 hours ago, Unnie0110 said:

I really appreciate the piano duet of Jun and Rara

 

This scene was reminiscent of a virtual duet that the American singer Natalie Cole did at one of her concerts with her deceased father Nat King Cole on one of his greatest hits.  I heard that there was not a dry eye in the house, and it became a radio hit in the US when it aired. I put the clip of it in the spoiler.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[eNDe]

On 11/28/2020 at 9:46 PM, JenL said:

The other drama which reminds me of DDSSLLS in terms of warm, community type feels is Yong Jiu Grocery Store, also on Viki:

https://www.viki.com/tv/36674c-yong-jiu-grocery-store

Hmm...I will check this out! Thanks for sharing! Growing up, I used to watch a lot of Chinese local drama in Singapore although I didn't understand the language. There were so many good ones back then. Now that I remember...I watched one called Facing the Music (1998) that was about music, piano and neighbours which probably why I dramas like DDSSLLS can easily put me in brakes and follow it week after week.

 

On 11/29/2020 at 8:10 AM, JenL said:

I guess I didn't think about it before because the writer's used the more modern version of this device. The old version of the device was in plays and literally involved a machine changing the fate of the story (Ie. a mechanical dragon comes to set bad guys on fire). But I think  the term became more broad to mean "any unlikely event without explanation"...Shakespeare just added unlikely events to turn tragedies into "comedies" again. I think because the drama was focused on classical music, maybe they looked into classical plays too - if they new how to use a Greek Chorus, they probably thought about Deux Ex Machina too.

I haven't mention this but thank you so much for this information. Definitely if we go by theory, this is it. haha. Gotta applaud the writer to experiment throughout till the end. 

 

13 hours ago, JenL said:

Nope, never seen it! Haha....maybe it makes me a terrible person....But honestly, I hate dramas about terminal illnesses and I hate medical dramas. I'm not sure if I've ever made it through one entire medical drama in my life, even if it was mixed with another genre (eg. slice-of-life or comedy or fantasy). I feel like I should try Hospital Playlist since everyone loves it soooo much, but the word hospital puts me off!

It's totally fine. I would stay away from horror genre because I don't like scaring myself unnecessarily. However there may be an exception once in a while like how my sister made me watch Train to Busan or The Ring, all because she's scared and need a company. Anyway, you should watch Hospital Playlist! It has Go Ara and Ye Ji-Won (HY's mum) as cameo role. It's written by the same writers and producers of Reply series so the drama is a lot more on the fun, humour and friendship side rather than the blood, tears and cries. Or I would recommend the Reply series if you haven't watch any and then you can watch Hospital Playlist to enjoy even more of the style of the writer and the amount of cameo actor/actress from his past dramas. Oh and of course, there's music! A live band style! I love it! 

 

 

8 hours ago, stroppyse said:

This scene was reminiscent of a virtual duet that the American singer Natalie Cole did at one of her concerts with her deceased father Nat King Cole on one of his greatest hits. 

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing it here! 

 

 

9 hours ago, Just_Me said:

Found this on IG

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CILht_QjjXt/?igshid=1uyl90p7t2fn

Hahaha...so creative! And I like the compilation of the 3 meetings between Jun and RaRa! 

[JenL]

I think I've recovered sufficiently to not feel so much over the ending or time has finally started to heal my feelings enough for me to feel pretty nostalgic for all the things I love. Or it's just my love of BTS videos got me motivated enough to sub the last BTS :)

Thanks once again @stroppyse for the translations! And not sure if you've seen this already @Just_Me, but here's a Youtube version for anyone who still hasn't seen the subbed final BTS

 

 

Also for @eNDe not sure if you knew, but there was a third classical OST released for the last piano songs. This is the full version of the welcome song (a 3 minute long version of Twenty Fingers)...I'm guessing it's the version that Lala plays at the ending just before Jun turns up: 

 

 

And for those who liked Lala's piano arrangement which she played with Jun (pre-recorded) I think this is the version of the song:

 

 

 

[stroppyse]

Thanks again for the subs @JenL!

 

It's interesting that in the earlier BTS', GAR seemed more comfortable with Dr. Cha than LJW actually as they laughed and teased each other. However, in the later BTS', GAR and LJW seem a lot more comfortable with each other. I think it may be because LJW is so reserved or shy perhaps? GAR seems to be a much more outgoing personality, plus she is a noona to LJW both in RL (30 y.o. and 22 y.o.) and in the drama (24 y.o. and 19 y.o. at the start of the drama). Not sure you can do that many kiss scenes without becoming somewhat more comfortable with each other?