Snowdrop 설강화 [2021-2022]

[abs-oluteM]

Is it only the two of them @mademoiselle? I was hoping to see my faves JSJ and Yoo In Na

[mademoiselle]

2 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

Is it only the two of them @mademoiselle? I was hoping to see my faves JSJ and Yoo In Na

Yeah just the two of them with PD.

 

 

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

[abs-oluteM]

Look at this chart

https://twitter.com/Korean___Dramas/status/1471078674854137862?s=20

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM Are you trying to say it's complicated?

But the chart made by this poster always look complicated.

[mademoiselle]

 

[mademoiselle]

 

[JenL]

Has this started already?! 

 

[mademoiselle]

7 minutes ago, JenL said:

Has this started already?! 

Yep. Episode 2 tonight but I'm not sure I should start it since the Koreans are petitioning to the Blue House to axe it. It has reached 150,000 in a day.

[JenL]

55 minutes ago, mademoiselle said:

Yep. Episode 2 tonight but I'm not sure I should start it since the Koreans are petitioning to the Blue House to axe it. It has reached 150,000 in a day.

 

Still?! Wait I forget...what's the big deal with this one? I know there's some sort of historical inaccuracy they feel wronged about? 

[JenL]

Oh I just read up on the history of this era and I can see why people are angry. It's a shame because I feel they could still tell a story about this time, but they completely trivialised or twisted dark events that needed to be acknowledged. If this continues, it seems likely this drama could be cancelled. Now I'm not sure about watching it either 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

@JenL Yeah I'm waiting it out for now. The petition has reached 200,000 in a day now.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

[Alice Wonderland]

What the heck with so many oppose the drama already? I thought it was done deal so they finally air this, no? I tried ep 1, ffd a lot. Seems fun but heavy. I am not sure I will continue either. The ending reminds me of Sky Castle, it started with an incident. 

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

 

[SilverMoonTea]

I think it's good that they're not collapse under pressure. 

 

 

Probably when have time will try this. 

[mademoiselle]

If JTBC can stand its ground then I'll start watching HAHAHA

I want to see injured Jung Hae In (in pain) anyway :P

[mademoiselle]

@abs-oluteM @SilverMoonTea Motivation

Spoiler

 

 

 

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

[mademoiselle]

BTS

 

[40somethingahjumma]

It's not like me to wade into controversy unnecessarily but I was eager to see Jung Hae-in and Jang Seung-jo in this. It's a tad slow in parts but I like aspects of it. The budding romance is cute. The lass playing the lead female is okay but she not as nuanced as the others. It's not a deal breaker.

 

The quality of the production is good and the start is promising. As far as I'm concerned the only way we'll know if the rumours about the plot are true is if we get to see the whole show. I intend to keep watching partly because that era is of interest to me. Plus it's Jung Hae-in and Jang Seung-jo...

 

It seems that JTBC is soldiering on. In fact we could be getting 3 episodes this week. Yay.

[mademoiselle]

 

[mademoiselle]

LOL, I tell people to wait to see how the situation goes before watching and here I am already up-to-date with the latest episode. I was "sold" by Hae In's shirtless photos and then him in suit. 

 

Anyway, I just finished episode 3 and most episode is spent on showing us Soo Ho trying to leave the dorm without notice. The ending had you on the edge of your seat because the NSA is closing on on him and he turns back again to Yeong Ro. GAAAAH.

 

Jung Hae In as Soo Ho is sooo charming here and good nuanced acting from him too just on the scene where he's riding the bicycle with Yeong Ro on the back. He knows he must leave but there's a sadness sweeping over him as farewell is near and not knowing when they'll see each other again...

 

Still don't know Soo Ho's identity but it is pretty clear that he is from North Korea and is a spy and has some mission to carry out although probably not related to whatever happened in real history (otherwise this goes against what the Knetz accused JTBC of). I'm not sure if Knetz's anger will subside a little bit in the scene where Lee Gang Mu (Jang Seung Jo) said so himself as he confronted his superior that NSA did frame the people as North Korean spy. I'm almost reluctant to check Twitter because I don't think it'll change Knetz's minds.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention I'm really intrigued with Yoon Se Ah's role as the Housemother of the dormitory. She seems to have her own backstory to tell. To me, Yoon Se Ah always play a beautiful character so I'm really digging her image/makeup here. There's also a mystery behind the death of the former Housemother, whom I think will be cameo by Yum Jung Ah.

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by mademoiselle

[40somethingahjumma]

It's a decent enough drama and none of the controversy around claims of historical distortion really bear out so far. It is a piece of fiction focused on very specific ordinary female lead who inadvertently stumbles into something akin to political dynamite. There are certainly multiple agendas at play but it is interesting that members of the political class of the north and the south are doing backroom deals and playing some kind of bigger game. 

 

It's not a perfect show by any means but the actors are doing a decent enough job with what they've been given. I have a few issues with the directing decisions made here but that's a personal niggle. There's been some criticism of the leads' performances but the awkwardness is appropriate considering the circumstances in which the romance is blossoming. Soo-ho's reluctance is understandable and certainly more understandable than Young-ro's overt desire for some progression when she barely knows the guy and when he's a man on the run. While no one can blame her falling for him (it's Jung Hae-in afterall), her lack of discretion is potentially dangerous.

 

The unpredictability of human behaviour is a fascinating  aspect of what the show brings to the larger narrative. The best laid plans can be thwarted if individuals don't follow the prescribed/expected script. One can see that for instance in Gang-mu's refusal to obey the orders of his superiors. it's clear that he's a maverick among his peers although very much a man of his time, party to all the usual human rights abuses of that era. His aggressive female colleague (obviously crushing on him) is another nutty renegade. Then there was Gwang-hae, making an unexpected appearance on Open Day and creating a great deal of disarray. 

 

In all honesty, unless the outraged Knetz have actually seen the entire drama, I don't take a lot of stock in what's been said. This isn't about who knows more about SK history or who has the right to speak about SK history. This is ultimately about a drama and its depiction of an era. For me personally if I'm going to be objectively critical about a drama, I need to be able to see it before I can pronounce some kind of judgement of it. Forgive me if I'm not inclined to take someone else's word for it. Especially when hardly anyone has seen the final product.

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 2021 by 40somethingahjumma

[mademoiselle]

OST 1

 

OST 2

 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 5

 

The pace of this show is kind of slow. All of episode 3 spent on Soo Ho trying to leave the dorm. Episode 4 they re-entered the dorm and episode 5 they are stuck in the dorm. Can we spend less time in the dorm from episode 6 onwards?

 

Anyway, I finally got my head around the political part. Eun Chang Su and Nam Tae Il on behalf of the Aemin Party tried to dissolve another political party which Professor Han belongs to. They thus devised the plan of defecting Professor Han to North Korea and in doing so render the other party ineligible for presidential election (confirmed there was a presidential election in 1987). The North Korean higher up working with them is Soo Ho's father, Im Ji Rok. Must it be so complicated? Wouldn't a simple but ugly scandal do the deal like these days?

 

Therefore our poor male lead, the North Korean spy with legendary code name Taedong River No. 1 / Im Soo Ho and et al. were sent to South Korea to retrieve Professor Han. Rogue NSA agent Lee Gang Mu got in their way and ruined the whole plan. There's also another character in North Korea that doesn't appear to want Soo Ho success. She had another spy spied on him but Soo Ho is very much treasured by his father so he wants him alive and back in North Korea. It honestly makes me laugh watching 3 stooges and their respective partners trying to be in charge of the situation. Not to mention two crazy NSA agents Lee Gang Mu and his ex-lover, Jang Hanna. 

 

There's some backstory to Dr. Kang Chung Ya (Yoo In Na). She looks suspicious when Nam Tae Il mentioned Taedong River No. 1. I'm half expecting her to be a North Korean spy. She had to be actually. And then there's the epilogue in episode 5 for the Housemother Pi Seung Hee. She went into the room but we weren't shown what she was doing... and then the clue that she was taping something to her legs (which I'm guessing weapons). Probably another spy. As for Gye Bun Ok played by Kim Hye Yoon — there is not one scene where she doesn't annoy me. Kim Hye Yoon is literally reprising the same role she played in Sky Castle as the rude and disrespectful Kang Ye Seo.

 

I still don't know how to feel about this show. I've read enough of South Koreans' outcry of why Snowdrop is inappropriate. I also understand the creative contents intended. It appears the writer wants to use this backdrop to tell a story of a North Korean spy falling in love with a South Korean girl (I think) who happens to be the daughter of the NSA's chairman. I can see how the premise plays a great conflict for the star-cross lover. However, this whole "history" is still very much raw in the victims and their families' minds and to use this as a backdrop for the drama brings back unpleasant memory for these people.

 

JTBC clarified they did not romanticise NSA; it's hard to tell whether they did or didn't since I'm not familiar with the history. I wish this is the case. At first I see in previous episode when Lee Gang Mu confronted his superior, indirectly admitting NSA do frame the people as spies. However in this episode, we have Eun Chang Su spoke a line to Jang Hanna that the lives of the people come before the NSA agents. Errr, isn't this contradicting? Or it's because this is spoke by Eun Chang Su so his words is to be taken as BS? And if NSA were as bad as the Koreans believed them to be, then I find it difficult to believe they would concede to Soo Ho's demand during the shoot out.

 

The controversy aside, I do want to know what will happen to Soo Ho. Jung Hae In playing an anti-hero/misunderstood character of the sort is a compelling reason to follow through. I do like seeing him going from that sweet, gentle guy from before to a deadpan spy mode. Very smexy in a way. He obviously worries about Yeong Ro and is distracted by her during the shoot out but still very composed and calm about it.

 

BTS