[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

Hi ladies XD I'm wondering do any of you here know who the cinematographer of the Dokkaebi drama is? his film cinematography left me in awe in every scene, OMG it really took my breath away seeing how beautiful the scenes were visually TT v TT

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

Hiiiiii chingus  I'm saying this because today is just about right ~

I'm saying this because I cannot get over this serious withdrawal symptom yet...

I'm saying this because I have painfully watched these videos till the very end without understanding anything =))

On another day that is just 'bout right, will anyone please be SOOOOOOO KIND to sub these long videos pleaseeeeee? TT ^ TT

this very long one: T.T

 

 

and this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw-6BZltxIA&t=358s

I'm desperately hoping for the sub T_T I must start learning Korean seriously then.... awwww :((((

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

Hi Chingus, I am desperately looking for the name of this song. Please does anyone know about this music? TT v TT 
 

 

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

Hi everyone, I'm sorry to interrupt you guys, I don't know if this was asked before but by any chance do any of ya know the name of this song? Has it been released yet? Thankya 

even tragic scene is conveyed in a serene slow-mo fashion, awww <3

 

By the way, it seems that Gong Yoo was really into teasing his female co-stars with hand-warmer when camera around haha, pls jump to 1:00 here :)))

 

Happy watching the coming epi 12 everyone muahhhh 

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

11 hours ago, maryofbethany said:

dramabeans mentioned this:
"Granted, the separation gave us Eun-tak’s declaration of love and Shin’s latest heroic slo-mo rescue, but the core of their relationship dynamic still hasn’t changed. If given the chance to do it all over again, I’m sure Shin would have kept the truth from her, and that small amount of power she had in knowing it was swept under the rug once Shin became aware of a much bigger truth—which, like the last big truth, he’s still stubbornly keeping from her.

I’m not too worried about it at the moment, since I hope that part of the evolution of his character is that he learns to let Eun-tak in and trust her to make decisions with him, but if there was ever a wakeup call, her leaving was it. Right now she only knows that he’ll die if she removes the sword, but how mad does he think she’ll be if she finds out that he’ll die if she doesn’t? Not because of the whole dying part, but because he kept it from her?"

yes, that was the last main problem i have with Shin-Tak's relationship.,.... since it is then unknown that Shin told Euntak that she will died by fatal accidents if both refused to follow their fate.... i wish Shin will be more transparent with EnTak, and totally open up to her... so is it proven that Shin did NOT tell EunTak about what will become of her.... how i loath her hurt upon him keeping that greatest dark secret from her.. i totally want a transparent relationship between them.
and just like Girlfriday, i trusted in EunTak 's decision when danger approach, that she is mature enough to make the right decision, and having character enough to be self-less, and not blindly go noble idiocy when danger arise.
loved eunTak for her even recognising her fondness toward that Baseball boy TaeHee is just puppyfirstlove... i could say, she can tell the diff between what she felt for Shin and what for TH are diff.... jsut have this feeling at 29 yrs back in Quecbec, the man in the resturant should be Shin himself, Since Euntak was shown to touch her necklace fondly before her "mysterious man' appear. if she know who is the person who gave her the necklace (her ex bf), yet meeting another 'new bf' , how could she touches her necklace with much anticipation ... as if the giver of that necklance will be meeting her.

Edit:  Goosh, i was chatting away, didnt realised, it is Page 501. and Post 10001. thank God for a beautiful space to meet great fans of 3 ships here, who most of us simply loved all 4 casts together!

 

 

Hi thank you for sharing the issue remained, I actually had thought the same when KS still hides this Red lady's warning from ET. But then, I persuaded myself that KS chose his own way, by not telling her the warning, he wished she could live freely, brightly and cheerfully as she has been without any fears of life risks. How can a person live comfortably if well aware that she can face severe deadly accidents at any seconds. Each time ET says she must go out, KS insists that he will go with her, together like a package, that's the way KS cares and protects ET, what's more touching and beautiful than that? 

Besides, through the waiter at Quebec restaurant, KS did see ET future at her 29 years old, so he might be somewhat assured that within 10 years, she will still be safe; that may also be partially why KS told GR when they were sitting on chair drinking wine watching the 'kids', that (thanks to seeing the miracle of desperation of the mortal guy in the tea shop) he would desperately look for a variable in the deity's plan, a door to open the chance to live for both even it may take 10 (months?) or (100?) years.

Btw, by teleporting to Quebec to buy that vintage necklace before ET will buy it herself in the future, KS actually is changing the future, a small act that may surprisingly contribute to vary the deity's plan later on, who knows :))

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

10 hours ago, packmule3 said:

 

@dramoron and @Athenaries. I'm tagging you both to save you from clicking on my profile. lol.  My profile's pretty boring, isn't it?

 

Awww sorry to cut your delightful post and mentions, I must say your analyses and reflections on the drama, characters, situations... so far are really mindblowing, thank you dear I have enjoyed reading your philosophical thoughts and sharings so much No I havent finished reading them so I will continue digging on your profile hehe, please dont mind me    @packmule3

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

2 hours ago, Sarang21 said:

I don´t think that it´s the reason why she wanted to leave. I think it ´s because she failed to pull out the sword. Because of that, she thought that she is not his real bride and therefore doesn`t have the right to continue to leave in the house. During the conversation at subway after they went to watch the movie ET said "when the real bride shows up...No." "I will leave before she shows up.". in one the scene in ep 8 she was laying in bed and was happily hugging her dolls saying that now she doesn`t have to leave because she was able to touch and even pull out the sword a little bit. It was the absolut confirmation that she is his bride.

 

4

 

Ohhh that's right. Thank you for correcting me, dear :"D So when she had been about to leave desperately, she happily (though physically injured)  found out with relief that she could finally stay since being capable of pulling the sword being his real bride, and right then suddenly discovering/being revealed that her pulling the sword means KS's death so she must leave eventually. Oh my god, my poor ET, she has had to struggle and experience all those continuous downs and ups and downs in a very very short term, too much a mental/emotional crisis, me feels :((

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

4 hours ago, RobinM said:

 

No. I actually watch this drama quite well but thanks for the concern. 

Maybe she could be the direct Eun Tak we all know and confront him to get  the whole story right there instead of taking it upon herself to run and make him worried and desperate to find her?  If this is actually what happens. We don't know. She may have been planning to leave but her actual reason  for bolting to a ski resort and not telling anyone is pure noble idiocy particularly if and when he finds her, tries to talk to her and she refuses to listen. 

 

 

 

 

 

2

Yeah I get what you wish to see. Maybe it's just that I feel a Eun Tak who is a little bit different from the direct ET you feel. In my view, she is the one who can naturally easily express her feeling and directly ask the questions that concern her; but also the one who quickly accepts the situation. Consider the birthday cake scene at epi 1 when ET found out her mom was dead, she cried a lot, hurt a lot but also quickly accepted the death of her mom. She also quickly accepted that she was bride of a dokaebi. At the scene when KS first touched her hair (maybe epi6?), before that she confessed that she also wished to see her future at 20, 30 years old despite her having no future; but she consoled KS that if it is her fate, she will accept it, and told KS not to worry, "I won't be miserable all the times" then. Also, because she confessed her affection and asked quite many times about how KS's feeling towards her, but only received an indifferent response from him, she accepted that this ahjussi does not like her, so she had decided to move out. And now, knowing that her pulling the sword will kill KS, she decides to run sooner. That's totally sensible to me. 

By the way, when we are now clueless about how the story is going to turn out, may we start deconstructing the characters traits and emoti so that we may figure out their next action? I am really eager to know you guys' point then 

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

10 hours ago, RobinM said:

Aigoo. K drama Noble idiocy... instead of talking it out and trying to find a solution  someones runs  away and angsts. I had hoped they would avoid this cliche. Oh well.maybe it will only last the episode. 

 

 

 

 

Actually, the fact is Eun Tak had already made her clear intention to leave Kim Shin's house a bit long before GR told her about the real consequence of her pulling the sword. Did you remember the scene (in ep 8 maybe) KS went to ET's room and saw her suitcase or bag all packed on the bed; ET also worked more jobs (singing at weddings) to get prepared to leave the house. She had believed that KS did not like her and believed that after her pulling the sword, KS would find and marry his 'some beautiful girl' who is not her. That's the reason why ET told KS at Subway that she would move out of the house and go far away from KS before he finds and marries 'that beautiful girl'.

And now when mis-knowing that KS does not like her, but she knows for sure she loves KS, and her pulling the sword will kill the one she loves, what is the choice out there for ET to make if not running away? You just need to watch the drama more carefully and attentively to details so as not to run into a hasty conclusion. It will not be a cliche if it happens in a reasonable, sensible accordance with characters' traits and emoti, will it?

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

oh gosh, this episode 8 is kinda creepy, how miserable all our 04 characters are, how tragic the drama becomes TT TT

1 hour ago, bgcldxx said:

i wonder if the red lady said that that is the reason for ET existence then after she pull the sword, there won't be any reason for her existence anymore, which means she have to die anyway @@ then what's the different ? ? 

 

 

 

 

maybe the difference is that ET won't have to suffer more deadly severe accidents or maybe when finishing this destiny (pulling out the sword), she can live another destiny, her own destiny, like the independent bright 29-year-old woman at Quebec's restaurant?

 

48 minutes ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

and our DH is maturing..

coming into owning up to his duties as a family.. serve the goblin..

 

I can't stop crying everytime i think how perfect Goblin's life is right now..

1. His sister reincarnated and is alive in the same time as now... and so close

2. The one boy with whom goblin's journey started has reincarnated after all these years and is right back with him to serve him again

3. The king whom goblin gave the ultimate respect and position in his life (thy words are my command) .. has not only met him but befriended him and has become his one true friend

4. He has found his first love..

 

It is one big happy family and now they want him to die!!..

 

I challenge you to a debate round.. GOD!.. pick any k drama and any scene that defies logic.. and i will debate for the scene.. winner gets a wish granted (unconditionally!)

 

 

 

 

yeah you nail it, how perfect Goblin's life is right now TT TT 

but but... the lady in red (the God of Birth) told Kim Shin that when he was first born as Kim Shin, she wished him happiness. I guess that since he had not lived a single day in happiness before he was killed by the King, the god of birth made him re-born as a dokkaebi so that he can experience such a happy life now, and as a principle, when a person completed his destiny - the god of birth's wish, it's time for his life to end now? 

I still believe, however, to uncurse the curse, pulling out the sword is a must, but it will only put an end to his status quo as a dokkaebi, then after that, he can live his true destiny, as a mortal being, in true happiness with the one he loves, as he was so miserable having been mistreated by the King, having seen all of his fellows die through 938 years, it is totally completely unfair for him to be turned into 'ashes' literally TT TT

BTW, is there no preview this epi? I don't see it :"(((

 

[[Drama 2016-2017] Guardian: The Lonely and Great Goblin 도깨비]

12 hours ago, happypuppy said:

I didnot have a chance to back read all of the comments. Does somebody notice the difference of the sword?

sword that JeT failed to draw is the sword which KE used for daily basis (playing around with GR/DH or with JET in quebec-the water fountain). This sword has brown handle

the sword that JET can draw now, got so many bloods on the handle, exactly the same one like the sword used to kill KS.

so my theory is that the REAL SWORD itself appear when KS' true love level is boiling enough that the sword 'decides' to resurface

 

 

4

 

 

 

Had not noticed there were two different swords until you pointed out. Thank you Chingu :>

So now I understand. No one can get prepared for one's death, neither can Dokkaebi. Death (just of his status quo as dokkaebi , hopefully I can say so) will only come at the time he is the most not ready, not prepared. The real bloody sword on his chest is really a punishment, in the sense that at the time his heart is deeply touched by love and happiness, it also causes him the most painful and hurting by the sword on his chest...(the first love, big heartbeats and heart attack scene at epi 5's beginning; and now epi 7's ending), OMG it's such a heartbreaking fate, how pitiful KS has been TT TT

Because Shin was bad having caused hundred of deaths on his bloody sword, because Shin was miserable having been mistreated by his most unexpected friend - the King, because Shin has been good and doing good things with his soft heart so far, because 938 years of the curse are more than enough, I really hope that Shin can finally live in peace with his bride as a mortal being. 

Tbh, I don't wanna see KS and GR cry anymore, it's very sad, it hurts my little heart so much TT TT, but it's just half of the road now, so I guess I must be prepared for more tragic stories to come :(((

P.S: I really like the way Gong Yoo plays the role in this drama, he makes a completely different character compared to his other characters in the previous dramas and movies. Just bring all his roles in 2016 in comparison, we can see the difference. In Goblin, the way he acts, the way he speaks, the way he manages his eyes, his facial expression, etc. all created a perfect Lonely and Great God who has lived nearly a thousand years, now he turns calm, melancholic, tranquil and reserved (to express his affection for ET - he once asked ET why she could easily show her feeling) but also fun, cute, and child-like at times (the souls of the old and of children are very alike, I don't know why but I feel it through my experience). I just want to express my appreciation for Gong Yoo's relentless acting endeavour so far and in 2016. Scripts he chose are gold (in Silenced, The Age of Shadows, etc.) ^^

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

9 minutes ago, maria1983 said:

yes , who said that word ? who ? who ?

because he will came after you ... hahaha

i believe he's just like the rest of the world ... you all are obsessed with internet . look to us now .

omg , not yet monday? not yet ? i Can't wait anymore ... why this torture ? we have to know . Will HJ and JH continue the relation ?

Haha yes we are all internet addicts haha I wanted to crack a joke to help time pass soon so that Monday will come fast  awwwww of course our OTP will continue the romantic relationship  

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

What... why KRW is with his cellphone most of the time shooting? Is he reading our witty, eager, continuous conversations and comments here? OMG LOL =))) who has just said "sex"  lol =))))))) 

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

"What if one day you don't love me anymore, but I start loving you like crazy n can't live without you?"

OHHH DAEBAK, writer-nim you got mah thumbs-up this time, really admire you, you really understand human love, oh my god, this is the most insecure part lovers have to face right?... and now you make it really make sense in Hye Jung's inner mind and feeling towards her relationship with Ji Hong. How you build and develop the characters and how you convey love-life lessons in Doctors are what make you my cup of tea scriptwriter now and then ...  I can't wait to see how our couple handles this time... sure that you won't disappoint me writer-nim, because I always believe in the films KRW chose teeheee > ^ <

P/S: millions of thanks to all friends on this thread for your prompt updates, great translations and insightful comments, wow I love yaaaaaa <3 <3 <3 you quenched my thirst for Doctors 

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

12 hours ago, dhia205 said:

<picture/fishing scene>

all i can say is.. KRW, GET A SLEEP PLEASE.... but yes they looks like a college student on date. and the caption really make me laugh

 

Ohhh then they do fit the characters even in the sense that both HJ-JH/ KRW-PSH are lack of sleep for being too busy :))

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

Hi guys, after watching epi 10's finale and lucky to read a friend's post on page 491 saying that HJ does not want only happy part of JH, but she wants all of him, even the difficulty, fear and insecurity parts...Yeahh I totally agree and you know what , these below-marriage vow lines immediately come through my mind:

"Do you take her/him to be your wife/husband? Do you promise to be true to her/him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love her/him and to honor her/him all the days of your life?…I do."

Ohh so our two leads are mutually learning to become each other's good partner, sharing fun and happy moments together, but also together facing, dealing and overcoming troubles and vicissitudes of life... Back then HJ had been determined not to get married, but wait, now she does not realize but she is gradually becoming a good partner in even a marriage too 

She was afraid of marriage but I'm sure that she and JH in the end will have a wedding that definitely makes the most sense ever because now they are being prepared for it ehehehe ;))

[[Drama 2016] Doctors 닥터스]

1 hour ago, CatWhiskers said:

Ok. I am just gonna forget the kiss ever happen! Lol. It was so awkward. It wasn't their expression or what..I understand that JH knows what stage HJ is at; no relationship experience, she has her defense up real high.....so he warn her before hand that he is gonna do smtg to her...what a man does to the woman he likes...and swoop in for a gentle kiss. But MY GOD....PD...why why...did u get KRW to sort of bend at his knees a little. So awkward. He could just lift her face up with both his hands and kiss her. Up to now, everything was perfect till KRW did that bend at knees thing. 

 

Okok....end of rant...IMMA just gonna remember the hugging scene and the rain scene for this episode. Lol...I cannot bear to look at the kiss a 2nd time till they are better kisses in later episodes. (I know there will be!!!!!)

 

Sorry chingu, I have to disagree with you about KRW's bending at knees - part. I feel that it is the very bending knees showing how gentle JH is toward HJ. Right from the last stories (HJ took the challenge to do surgery for the kid; and HJ's grandmom's surgery record story) we all see that JH didn't try to change HJ's intention, he just accepted things she did and chose to stay beside her, helped her. Why would he have to forcefully kiss her even just by lifting her face up, while in that situation, he just would like to be like a wind coming to gently touch the girl's lips and would not want to make her scared? 

I just want to say that the kiss scene is all fine and makes sense to me. It's not about PD's fault nor something. It is perfect in the sense that it is close to real. I'd prefer a scene that is contextually reasonable rather than the one just for artistic effect only. 

[[Drama 2016] Descendants of the Sun 태양의 후예]

That DotS won Daesang is a sure thing. All DotS troopers know that it is worth it. Nothing to be controversial about. 

But for all the haters out there,  DotS plotline is far from being shallow. People who say it’s shallow actually are the ones who don’t, or can’t, see deep enough.  If by some slim chance you guys would like to see how DotS is profound, you may read the below and change your prejudice.

Here we go, the most insightful tribute to DotS in my opinion:

 

On 4/26/2016 at 5:34 AM, Meowth07 said:

I'm suffering the worst withdrawal symptom ever! Couldn't watch anything else. So I thank DotS' god for Ep Special #3, which kept me from dying, for now (means next week I'll be dead for real TT_TT). This ep special is actually the reason I write this post.

I need to confess this first, I love DotS not because of its love story, of SongSong couple's skinship and kissing scenes, which seems everyone is so drawn into. I like the loveline, like all the lovey dovey stuff, but I don't go crazy over it. Strange huh. Perhaps as it's clear to me that DotS plotline is a compromise. 

 

Writer Kim Won Seok's original script was about doctors and war. It's apparently a great story, proven by winning first place in a national contest. But years after winning, it was still left on papers, not made into a movie/drama. Because clearly, that story wouldn't sell. Kdrama viewers want loveline, couples, shipping etc... not a "boring" slice-of-life story, no matter how meaningful. It's a fact. It's the charm and also the downfall of Kdramas all these years anyway. So what to do? The production team invited KES to turn it into a love story - that would definitely sell. Simply speaking, they wanted to tell a deeper story, they got to spend more than half of screen time telling a love one first. (I'm not criticizing, it's a very good love story anw). Still it resulted in much less time for the original one. So people who complaint about the "shallow" plotline of DotS, see that it's the audiences' "fault", not the writers' they had to compromise it this way. If anything, the writers did a daebak job conveying tons of meaningful stuff with less than 8 episode screen time (less than half of 16eps). The way they did it with so little time (and more importantly to not shift the focus from the love scenes which was for ratings) was leaving underlying hidden messages, under-telling those stories, behind every line, every scene and every character. It was brilliant imo as who's interested will be able to think more about it and have their own interpretation.

 

The four main characters' lines conveyed a lot of messages: soldiers-doctors, their oaths, idealism and sacrifices. I think it's clear enough. Yet the under-told stories of minor characters is another layer. They all got one behind some very few lines.

 

- The soldiers.

 

Sgt. Choi: "Why would a pretty and well-paid woman go out with a soldier?... You never know when she'll change her mind. Thinks of when she finds out what we do. Isn't it obvious she'll tell him to transfer or to leave the army?"

Wasn't that what he was told by his wife or her family? As if being a soldier wasn't hard enough, they have to deal with their family's opposition too. Or wasn't that what he felt towards his wife, felt sorry for her for marrying a mere soldier?

 

That leads to Si Jin's dad's line that I found so true: "You should have become a judge or a doctor. No one appreciates a soldier these days". Who to fully understand that rather than the man who reached his career's retirement day, lived all and heard all.

 

Private Kim Ki Bum: "I tried getting beat up, even paying them. How did you... get out?"

He's not the first nor just in a few the army has "saved" that way. It's a fact many men with a broken life go into military. It mostly depends on them of course as the army isn't God almighty. But it gives them a chance to turn their life over, and sometimes that means everything. "It turns out the army is perfect for me." Beautiful isn't it?

 

Col. Park: "I'm saying we should avoid what we can. ... Hand in a detailed report."

Col.Park isn't an easy one to love, and I see lots of people aren't fond of him. When in fact he's the type of "good" soldiers, more, a good commanding officer. He did what needed to be done, not what he wanted to, he obeyed the army's important rule: "follow commands and don't create troubles". He didn't ignore problems, no, he just knew to collect info and wait for a better time. He kicked his men's butts all the time, yet protected them from outsiders (when Mr.Jin threatened to sue them). The army consists of C.Os like him, not the "arrogant" type like Si Jin. And that's a good thing.

I just love his scene with Mo Yeon after Si Jin's death. His replies to her were everything a C.O could say, could feel under those circumstances.

"I ask for your cooperation."

"Was his death for our country?"

"Yes. It was."

"Even then his country makes me sign this document?"

"I apologise."

Few words said, with sincerity, with proud, and with regret. Acknowledging something unfair is hard, acknowledging that unfairness and having to accept it, to work with it, more than one time (probably not the first time one of his subordinates died right), is just beyond difficult. People could think being a commander is easier than being a field soldier, working on a desk, giving orders.. But the responsibilites and burdens they carry are the heaviest, cause it can't be worded, can't be showed. 

 

Gen. Yoon: "I know, that you did a right thing as my guys. I appreciate it. But the order remains unchanged."

He said this re the Arab VIP ops. Since the beginning he's a good general who knows what's right and what's for politics. Same as Col.Park, his core isn't often showed, but disguided by the rigidity. The two of them made me think hard about what under the surface of some "scary", "hateful" in-charge people, and what they'd have to lose if their subordinates did something wrong. Not easy at all isn't it.

Not wanna talk about his opposition towards MJ-DY relationship though, cause if one thing I know for sure, is that army dads are always overprotective of their daughters, even controlling. It's hard to blame him since it comes from love.

 

Argus: Aww, the biggest "plothole" lots of people complaint about, as they need more details about his changing side. But what's so surprising about it really? Si Jin said: "It's just another one of those stories of a man following money after leaving Special Forces. Either being a mercenary or a villain." Yea, being a soldier is difficult, quitting it is not easy either. And war is cruel enough to change anyone. The fact that Argus wasn't that special of a story, he was only special to Si Jin, because he was Si Jin's idol from his earlier military days. So sad wasn't it. Argus represented the group of soldiers who lost their beliefs, for various reasons. There were sadly a number of them.

 

- The doctors.

 

Chi Hoon: "You've become a real doctor, Lee Chi Hoon". This line was said to him more than once, it's his character's story - becoming a true doctor. I think it's kind of familiar to people who have watched medical shows such as Grey's Anatomy, House M.D. ... Easy to say, but not easy to get, that's why it needed abnormal circumstances like an earthquake for him to truly comprehend.

 

Dr. Song: well many things to say about him. A "normal" guy by all standards, yet dependable, trustworthy, at the same time easygoing and not trying hard to be on top of anything. Life often strucks him down, as it to nice people. Yet he stays stable, decent. He's the type of sunbae, of colleague, that Mo Yeon's very lucky to have.

 

- The Doctors Without Borders characters.

 

They are probably the core characters from the original script. Perhaps that's why they got the most tale-telling fragments with their scenes. Such a shame their stories couldn't be told with more details, still it's so touching.

 

Chen Kang: He's a peripheral character, yet his one scene was worth thousands words. His coffin was next to a soldier's, they got the same type of funeral. A doctor in warzone was no less than a soldier, as he fought the war, protected the people too. Has anyone ever thought of what kind of brave soul to become a DWB? Medical training, promising career, easy lifepath, yet they chose to go to some godforsaken land. Soldiers do it due to their job and training, DWBs do it due to their choice and their heart. And just like soldiers, they passed away to keep their beliefs alive.

 

Ye Hwa: Realizing Chen Kang's dead, she didn't go hysterical, didn't cry asking "what? how? why?", just silently accepted. That scene spoke volumes. Their acknowledgement. They know they'll probably die doing this job.

Ye Hwa's background is another touching story. She's half-blooded, doesn't really think she's Korean. "All people who speak Korean are Koreans?". She lost her family, had no where to go, not Russia, not Korea, she had to go to Canada where they rejected her too. Sadly, it's a common story of many people born in warzone.  

 

Daniel: Somehow I think Si Jin character was adapted from the original script's Daniel, as they're both the image of an ideal hero (I'll write about Si Jin the hero below). Daniel is like Schweitzer, like Nelson Mandela, the role model of all DWBs. Hence his role and his lines are actually to convey their messages: about medicines, producing and patents, about pharmaceutical companies, the thousands of people who die everyday due to those issues. It's just something we normal people are often ignorant of.

 

Daniel's airport interview, parallel with Mo Yeon's lines in ep15, was the ultimate message from the doctors' side in this story: "Life over profit. No profit is greater than a person's life." It sounded so simple. Yet not everyone truly got it.

 

- The workers.

 

Manager Ko: "I've worked hard to send my children to college, so they can live the life they want now. And my wife... There isn't much to say really. We spent more times looking at pictures than being with each other."

Isn't that the story of many manual labourers? Working long hours, far away from home, almost all their lives in order to give their family a better chance. It's not just Manager Ko, I believe many workers at that construction site shared the same story.

 

Kang Min Jae: "Ahh I can't be bothered. I'll just die". I laughed at that scene.  He's an immature kid apparently. Just that he didn't have many good things to look forward to. He had no family, and he's Korean but never been to Korea. Probably his parents were oversea workers like Manager Ko. He didn't get an easy life for sure. Another story of some normal people which we can easily overlook.

 

- The Urk people.

 

Valentine: "We sell everything here, but women and information."

She's really cool. In war-torn countries, where there's lack of men, it's often a woman has to step up being the community leader. A fierce and strong one like her is to protect their other women. She reminds me of Melanie Hamilton in Gone With The Wind, the way they're mentally strong dealing with the aftermath of war.

 

Fatima: "You want me to trust soldiers? Have you experienced a war? Have you seen a soldier in a war?"

Yes, soldiers are heroes to their country, and they're monsters to the other side, especially to civillians, to kids. It's not pretty, it's the ugly truth. People said DotS propagandizing army and patriotism, with this one line I say it just told the truth, from both points of view. How often do we have that?

Mo Yeon said a kid like Fatima should have been able to learn the right thing, like cheap medicines are the ones that could save lives, not to know the narcotics are good for making money. That plus what Fatima said, is the image of kids in war-torn countries. They've seen, 've known the things no kids should have seen and known. 

 

The other Urk little kids supplement to the picture. They were hungry, uneducated, played around dangerous sites, they just didn't know better. Not an uncommon story you could hear in some war-torn countries, when children found an old mine or grenade, they played with it, they died or crippled. It's heartbreaking indeed. If there weren't enough reasons to be against war, the children alone would suffice. 

 

- Last but not least, the "divided nation" with Sr.Lt.Ahn.

 

I put this alone in one category because I believe it's the deepest point the original script wanted to touch. DotS started with this North-South plot at the very beginning, and one of Si Jin's line which I found amusing: "... yet I don't want to meet you once every year". The nuance was that NK and SK have one day every year that family members living in the two sides can meet each other. Well... The final ep16 repeated it: "The man I love is a soldier of the ROK, the only divided nation in the whole world." It's kind of strange-placed in a love confession line, but makes perfect sense to the other meaning. My country was divided once, enough for me to be moved deeply by this subplot. I can only imagine what it meant to Korean viewers. The comradeship between Si Yin and Sr.Lt.Ahn on screen absolutely carried a deeper longing on their hearts.

 

 

... Wow... How many life stories were there? All in less than 8 ep screen time... If I could have one wish about DotS, I'd wish to read Kim Won Seok's original script. I really want to get everything about those stories. In reality, I couldn't ask for more, seeing it as a compromise with limited screen time like I said. Surely to me, DotS plotline is far from being shallow. People who say it's shallow actually are the ones who don't, or can't, see deep enough.

 

I've always wondered why I was more drawn into those "side stories" (let's temporarily call it that) than into the loveline unlike most ppl. After watching ep special #3 I got my answer. It's because that was not only what the writers really wanted to tell, but also what the actors really wanted to act out, under the "mask" of a love story. It unbelievably warmed my heart knowing SHK's favourite scene was when Col.Park came to her after Si Jin's death, and SJK's was his crying scene after killing Argus. They - SHK and SJK - got that too, the deeper stories of DotS. They were not just here for a romance, no matter how lovely. They are great actors who truly understood the script and their characters. No wonder why their portrayal of all the "side stories" always crushed my heart, and left the strongest mark on me. I think I'll have to respect the hell out of them after this:)) They are not the type of "mere actors", they are the type of Leo DiCaprio actors who'd want a truly meaningful story to work on. If it wasn't for SHK and SJK, wasn't for their understanding of the story, but other actors who only got and were only good at the loveline, I don't think I'd love DotS this much.

 

**

 

By no means I'm undervaluing the love story of DotS. As said, it's a very good one, as expected from KES. Say what you want about her but until now she's still the queen of romance in Kdramaland. Ok, first, Heirs wasn't her fault, or at least not solely. SBS asked KES for it: a romance between and chaebol teenage guy and a poor teenage girl. So what did viewers expect really:)) SBS favors the chaebol-theme so much, cause it means adorsements, PPLs, high ratings, guaranteed success; don't forget they rejected DotS due to the lack of those. KES managed to make Heirs watchable, even enjoyable, so point to her. Second, KES really loves her characters, always stays true to this, never "betrays" one character for the sake of another - which sadly can't be said for other Kwriters, esp for the arrogant tvN with their game of indulging/provoking ships war (that is just beyond disrespectful to viewers). Anw, what I mean is KES's a good writer and deserves her reputation. She created a beautiful love story in DotS. I can't really complaint even when it's too beautiful it pretty much overshadowed my favourite "side stories".

 

Everyone has already said what's so great about the relationship between Si Jin and Mo Yeon, mature, respectful, no bs push-and-pull or misunderstandings... Some people said it was not so great due to the lack of character development of Si Yin. But to me it's fine. Actually in most books and movies, it's a common formula, when one of the two main characters staying the same while the other developing; cause two character development could be confusing. The one staying the same is the moral compass, the touchstone of the story; every story needs one to maintain its unification. It's difficult for Si Jin to develop, as he's kind of ideal since the beginning - a soldier who puts his patriotism first, above himself, above his personal life. I don't mean he's an ideal soldier, as someone said he's selfish to do what he thinks is right, not what the army needs him to do. No, he's an ideal hero,  the selfless one goes above the rules, above the greater good to save the little people. Doesn't everyone dream to be a hero like that? So it's ok for him to stay the same, to always appear to save the day. After all, without a bit of fantasy and idealism, human life can't be bigger than its mundaneness. Si Jin character serves this purpose. On the other hand, Mo Yeon is the human part of the story. She had some unstable moral issue, she fell, she overcame it and became a better doctor. She had reasons for rejecting him, understandable reasons, then after witnessing everything, she put her common sense all aside to accept that man, even if it crushed her heart every day. Eventually, she's the one I saw as the most beautiful character of DotS, more than Si Jin, because of those two development. A great real human being is better than a great fictional hero. Hence it's all fine by me. I don't need her to become a heroine to save him instead, since it'd just make her be similar to him, not different, not better. For all, he was the one who said he must have done something great in his previous life to deserve her now. With that, the writers made it clear that Mo Yeon character is "the sun" of DotS after all.

 

( @gilaswan @smiletall  @happyfruit @... This is my overdue discussion re the character development in ep14. Sorry I had to abort it cause of the absurb amount of ending speculating posts at that time. I love all your posts very much )

 

**

 

I wrote too much... Thanks anyone who read till this line! I agree with you all that DotS is by no means flawless. Yet I hope everyone could consider it under the light of all its obstacles: the first big pre-produced Kdrama, about soldiers (how absurb! lol), almost everyone against the idea since the start; and under the light of a compromise: the real stories that the original script wanted to tell. They managed to make it through, financial problems, personnel problems, to create two very deep layers of stories in only 16 episodes. It's just applause-worthy. So for "all of DotS, all its curves and all its edges, all its perfect imperfections" I just love and appreciate every one bit.