Melancholia 멜랑꼴리아 [2021]

[mademoiselle]

Thanks for the tag @JenL and a good read of your thoughts. Yoon Su helps Seung Yoo more not just because he's a bit special (in the sense that he needs a bit more help to reconnect with the world due to his trauma) but also because Ye Rin was being cold and unapproachable. I can see Yoon Su was super passionate and has good intentions but it's getting more and more complicated now because Seung Yoo obviously likes her romantically.

 

Aw man, really? A teacher can't even hug a student in primary school? It's just primary and hugs are meant to be comforting and encouraging gesture. This reminds me so much on what the writer of Healer said about why she inserted the focus on "touch" because these days we spend too much time conveying feelings through technologies.

 

Love what you said about the show is connecting Maths to arts, buildings and literatures. I most definitely did not grew up to learn and appreciate Maths the way Melancholia presented it. I probably would have liked Maths so much more if I had a teacher like Yoon Su.

 

To be honest, I don't quite get Seung Yoo's speech in episode 4. Hahahaha. I mean I don't get the significant or whether it was delivered better than others. Maybe because Maths just all the time.

 

Yoon Su's relationship with her fiance is destined to doom, not because of Seung Yoo or the upcoming scandal but they are just very different people. Not all relationships fail because the people are too different but this one, the fiance just does not care or is interested in Yoon Su's world. I find him overly self-centered. I think that's the major issue.

 

True that... even I was like "Wow"... Director Noh's office is filled with plants. So weird. The office felt too dark actually, the light shielded by all the botanicals.

[abs-oluteM]

6 hours ago, JenL said:

As for Ms Ji's actions, I agree it's super gray...she's so encouraging to Seung woo and passionate about maths. But there's a number of things teachers can't do in real life. Definitely can't take kids to visit your parents outside of school ( @mademoiselle I didn't even think about how it was like meeting the parents! LOL)  Acts like that can be misread. But even the physical touching - like holding a teenage student's hands. My friend teaches Primary students and you can't even hug little kids back for fear it's misread these days, which is a bit sad, but probably for the best 

Yes this is true. Since most of my students are actually Seung Woo's age ( a year older)  , actually it is not recommended  for you to do anything personal with them after school especially without the consent or the presence of the parent.  Actually Miss Ji's actions @mademoiselle would probably get me into trouble even though my students are in college. Going for an exhibition like that would be okay if it was an official school trip but not one on one. As a teacher you will need to exercise your common sense - as permissible as some things may be or even if they are not against the rules,  you always need to consider if it is going to be a conflict of interest when they are officially your students in school. 

 

Ji is a good teacher - as in she's very nurturing but I am a bit frustrated with her after eps 3. Of course she means well and she wants to bring the best of out a prodigy like Seung Woo. But I feel she's unknowingly causing a lot of the issues that are about to explode, and in some ways I do feel a little sorry for her fiance. I don't think she's in love with him and has been a bit insensitive to his feelings as well given that they are in the middle of preparing for their wedding. 

[mademoiselle]

Thanks @abs-oluteM for your insights as a teacher.

 

57 minutes ago, abs-oluteM said:

Ji is a good teacher - as in she's very nurturing but I am a bit frustrated with her after eps 3. Of course she means well and she wants to bring the best of out a prodigy like Seung Woo. But I feel she's unknowingly causing a lot of the issues that are about to explode, and in some ways I do feel a little sorry for her fiance. I don't think she's in love with him and has been a bit insensitive to his feelings as well given that they are in the middle of preparing for their wedding.

It doesn't seem like both are marrying out of love too.

 

This is part of Sung Jae's character description:

 

윤수와의 결혼 역시 성재의 승부욕이 지켜낸 결과물이다.
성재의 배경에 부담을 느끼고 떠나려는 윤수와의 실연을
패배와 좌절로 인식한 성재의 승부근성이 발동했기 때문이다.

결국 아버지의 뒤를 이어 정계 진출을 하겠단 약속까지 하며 윤수와의 결혼을 밀어붙였다.

그런데 결혼을 앞두고 듣게 된 청천벽력 같은 사실.
윤수와 그녀의 제자인 고등학생 사이에 스캔들이라니.

근거 없는 헛소문일 뿐이라며 믿지 않았으나,
사람들의 입방아에 오르내리는 그녀의 이름에
자존심이 상하고 집안에서 비난까지 받으며 마음이 무너진다.

윤수에 대한 믿음은 원망으로, 사랑은 집착으로 점점 변해간다.

 

The marriage to Yoon-soo is also the result of Sungjae's desire to win.
I felt burdened by Sungjae's background and I wanted to leave Yoonsu's
This is because Sungjae's fighting spirit, which was recognized as defeat and frustration, was triggered.

In the end, he pushed ahead with his marriage to Yoon-soo, promising to succeed his father in politics.

However, the facts like a bolt from the blue that I heard ahead of marriage.
A scandal between Yunsu and her student, a high school student.

I didn't believe it was just groundless rumors,
Her name, which is known as the mouth of people,
My pride is hurt and my heart collapses as I am criticized by my family.

Belief in Yoon-soo gradually turns into resentment and love into obsession.

[mademoiselle]

Sigh... this top.

[abs-oluteM]

I am all caught up and what I find very sad is Seung Woo like many geniuses have been pushed to excel and they are forced to grow up quickly. And when dealt with an emotional trauma with no proper counselling , they crumble. I am not sure how much of what he has gone through in the US is made known to his parents but they forget that even though he has extremely high IQ , he was still a child and even now is still one - just a high school kid . What he needs is emotional therapy and support. How well he does in school should be secondary. 

Which is why as much as Ji's actions did frustrate me since we know it lead to alot of unnecessary misunderstandings, she is the sort of teacher that is good for him as she draws him out and gets him to see things differently. What she tries to help her students do is to help them to see things out of the box. The use of art to teach maths for example. 

 

I am actually waiting for the time jump. I can't stand all these spoilt brat entitled kids that we have to watch and their equally entitled & annoying parents and school administrators. Have seen enough IRL.  And oh, Ji and her fiancé are a clear mismatch. She should not marry him since their values are so different.

[mademoiselle]

New stills

 

On 11/22/2021 at 9:41 PM, abs-oluteM said:

Which is why as much as Ji's actions did frustrate me since we know it lead to alot of unnecessary misunderstandings, she is the sort of teacher that is good for him as she draws him out and gets him to see things differently. What she tries to help her students do is to help them to see things out of the box. The use of art to teach maths for example.

Yeah I think I'm in dilemma with her actions as like you guys said, it is inappropriate, but with his ... let's called it PTSD, he needed a teacher like Yoon Su to guide him on a more personal level. Because he isn't the kind easily open up himself if there is someone else there or they are in a class filled with students.

On 11/22/2021 at 9:41 PM, abs-oluteM said:

I am actually waiting for the time jump. I can't stand all these spoilt brat entitled kids that we have to watch and their equally entitled & annoying parents and school administrators. Have seen enough IRL.  And oh, Ji and her fiancé are a clear mismatch. She should not marry him since their values are so different.

Yeah I want to see the time jump soon too and don't want the school stuff to drag on too long. There are already people who is crucifying the show for the teacher-student relationship plot.

[mademoiselle]

😱 she didn't get married, did she? Then it's even more inappropriate!

[mademoiselle]

Aish I'm with you @abs-oluteM. Can't wait for the time jump because I'm sick of watching Ye Rin obsessed about being the best! She has no remorse and does not think it was wrong to cheat and it's all because her parents allowed her to cheat. Turns out she's been the top in school because Director Noh gave her father tips (?) or a list of questions that would be out for exams.

 

Ye Rin demands Seung Yoo to keep his promise not to do well but Seung Yoo tells her he won't be able to keep his promise anymore. That got me wonder is his geniuses also apply to all other subjects, and not just Maths...? I'm also sick of the other boy (No.2 in school) being a bully as well.

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle  looks like they will enter adulthood soon! Thank goodness...

I will watch both eps at a go soon

 

[mademoiselle]

Oh yay. Saw the next episode preview and we have the time jump! Looks like Seung Yoo goes back to Ahsung to be a teacher...

[mademoiselle]

The end of the episode ended with Director Noh ruining Yoon Su's wedding by displaying her photos with Seung Yoo on the screen. If this is the case then it is likely Yoon Su never got married. And it cuts to Seung Yoo is going to appear on TV in 2021! Lee Do Hyun looks damn fine in suit. The TV host introduced all of his accolades, including a Nobel Prize but I can't remember for what because we were told there's no Nobel Prize for Maths.

 

Going back to 2017, I was curious whether Seung Yoo's geniuses only applies to Maths but turns out the boy scored full marks for all subjects, beating out everybody. As with Ye Rin cheating, I'm honestly amazed how one could "memorise" answers to Maths. There's really nothing much I can say about this girl. She probably continues to be how she is for the next 4 years.

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle I wonder if YeRin will see some redemption in the future. For me she is the product of lousy parenting and greedy corrupt system. She's become a monster because her parents are more obsessed with results rather than education. In fact all the parents here are pretty much the same. 

 

I have watched eps 3 and at eps 4. Clearly there's no romance but I do think that Seung Yoo likes Teacher Ji. I can understand why seems she is the only one gets him, speaks his language and nurtures his gift. She on the hand has started to draw the line where it comes to things that are too personal ( like the photo he framed) so as not to cause any misunderstanding.

 

Sadly because of jealousy from the other especially Ye Rin, I can see how she will be wrongly framed. 

[mademoiselle]

6 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

I have watched eps 3 and at eps 4. Clearly there's no romance but I do think that Seung Yoo likes Teacher Ji.

I failed to keep tag on what episode we're on now (hahahaha too many dramas) but you should be updated now, right? There's definitely no breaking of moral and a teacher-student romance even though yes, Seung Yoo has fallen for Yoon Su. However Yoon Su has clearly drawn the line and I don't believe she has romantic feelings towards him at the time. With this development, Netizens condeming the show can cut Melancholia some slack now.

6 hours ago, abs-oluteM said:

I wonder if YeRin will see some redemption in the future. For me she is the product of lousy parenting and greedy corrupt system. She's become a monster because her parents are more obsessed with results rather than education. In fact all the parents here are pretty much the same. 

Yeah. She really is a product of poor parenting. I was so baffled by her defiance against all the wrong things she did. Honestly it's so scary that they are being groomed to become the heirs in politics, businesses, media etc. It's so immorally wrong and this wrong will never be corrected because they were being so incorrectly educated by their corrupted, power-hunger parents.

 

[abs-oluteM]

@mademoiselle what I meant was I was done with eps 5 and watching eps 6 ahahahaah. I am mixing up all the numbers. Eps 6 made me so mad. Why are there so many awful parents in this school and even more awful educators?  If not for the ending of eps 6 where SY became an adult, I would have dropped this show. The last bit gave me some hope. I could not stand that he was a helpless student that was being used because of someone's jealousy. Urghhhh.

 

Now I look forward to what he would do to all these bad people. Please SY , give them a taste of their own medicine. 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 7

 

Yay to time jump and Seung Yoo all grown up. With a slight change to hairstyle, clothings and mannerism, Seung Yoo has become a mature man though I think for a 22 years old, it's a bit too mature. However I'm willing to forgo with the idea that this is because of what happened, Seung Yoo forced himself to grow up even more.

 

Unfortunately Ye Rin is still going to be part of the story and Seung Yoo still bothers her. At this point it seems more like she's just obsessed with him and perhaps is having a dilemma of harbouring a crush on him, as well as hating his genius talent.

 

Director Noh is manipulative, even with her own daughter! But Jin Kyung is such a good actress that I look forward to how Seung Yoo plans to revenge and take her down.

 

After Director Noh wrecked Yoon Su's wedding, Yoon Su disappeared. Seung Yoo drops out of high school but took GED and was accepted into Hankuk University. The irony is Ye Rin also went to Hankuk but since we have the 4 years time jump, we don't know if she went there because of Seung Yoo and whether or not they took the same course, though I highly doubt it because she can't possibly cheat all her way through of Uni as well! Plus she sux in Maths so why torture herself taking something she's not good at when in Uni we're supposed to start specialising. This episode doesn't tell us what all these rich kids major in after high school but they were invited back to Asung as mentor. There are a new bunch of kids now, including Director Noh's daughter, Ye Rin's brother and a girl on scholarship who is secretly receiving tuition from Yoon Su at an academy.

 

The academy is quite secretive and we don't yet know who the owner is however I'm wondering whether it is Director Noh's half sister. Only she has the money to do this.

 

Although Yoon Su acted cold towards Seung Yoo when they met again, she could not ignore the paper he left for her dad to read.

 

Episode 8

Since he's at legal age now, Seung Yoo is also taking the initiative with Yoon Su. Hehe.

 

 

[mademoiselle]

Relationship Chart has been updated!

 

[mademoiselle]

Episode 8

 

Hmm, looks like not only Seung Yoo is seeking to expose Director Noh's corruption but Yoon Su herself seems to be cooking something up on her own! The theme of the show became something completely different now, but in a good way. I find it more captivating. Not sure if I could trust the subtitles but in this episode, after Director Noh's daughter stole Si An's presentation, Yoon Su decided to show herself who is behind the "clinic". In that conversation, the subtitiles mentioned the clinic is hers.

 

It bothers me that Seung Yoo tells Yoon Su that he won't make the second mistake again about "falling in love with the problem and tries to solve it". What does that even mean? He obviously still loves Yoon Su, so how can he not want to love her, be with her and so on...?

 

Every time Seung Yoo has a scene "alone" with Si An, it makes me nervous. They even go out one-on-one (visiting Yoon Su's father) in this episode! With "his history", he really should be cautious although at the moment Director Noh needs him so she wouldn't do anything to him yet. But she is already spying on him and knows he's paid special attention to Si An. The Principal even broke into Si An's locker! How disgusting.

 

Meanwhile perhaps Director Noh's daughter might be the key to bring down her own mother for being a thief and not feeling sorry about it.

 

P.S. The kids at Asung continues to be annoying.

 

BTS