Joo Won 주원 [Current Drama 2024 - The Midnight Studio/ 야한(夜限) 사진관]

[kittyna]

So, I haven't watched the first episode yet, but what you guys are saying and what people have been sharing on Instagram so far sound really interesting  

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Not only bar scene, the interrogation scene was also funny, like, Jin Gyeom was not able to understand the difference between "Him throwing girl off the roof, or the girl jumping off the roof", his honest replies just baffled the detective like he was not even defending himself and just answering the questions honestly, this scene reminded me of Park Si-On.

 

9 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

I was impressed with his "empty-like" facial expressions during scenes of him interacting with people.  That face is MOOD, ANYTIME, ALL THE TIME.

 

I have been getting a sense that Park Jin Gyeom would be a slightly darker version of Park Si On for a while now, so hearing you make that comparison again - and why exactly - is quite apt.  

 

22 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

3)Coming to Joo won's acting, now I understand why director asked him play as a teenager, it would have been tough for the child actor to play it and on top of that the character demands physical build for few scenes, and  it would have been an  nightmare for the casting department to find a child actor with the above requirements

 

9 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

Although I gotta admit, I chuckled a bit at the scenes of him in high school, hahahaha. Clearly.. he is a grown adult, hahahaha. But like you said earlier, I'm glad they chose him to play high school him rather than someone else.

 

I think I'll have to wait until I watch it myself to know for sure, but I am still a bit unsure about JW playing his teenage self for the same reasons that @tokkimoon described. Like, I already wasn't convinced in Fashion King and that was 2014 (heck, even buying JW playing a 22-year-old Cha Yoo Jin was a stretch for me ). But I am willing to suspend my disbelief if the role is well-acted, and if it's at least clear that they tried to make him look/feel younger than his adult self.

 

Spoiler

I mean, considering that I've literally seen Jo Hyun Jae (i.e. Han Do Joon from Yong Pal) play his own teenage self in 49 Days...yeah, I think anything JW does playing a teenager would turn out better than that  

 

9 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

The bar scene was too cute with Do Yeon. Imagine actual real life Joo Won having a conversation like that? Lol. He would be so bashful and shy. I wonder how many times they filmed that scene without them both laughing, lol.

 

I don't know if this scene is the one you were referring to, but I cracked up when I saw it on Instagram because it was just so adorably awkward   (And, now that I think about it, I can imagine close to the exact same exchange happening between, say, Cha Yoon Seo and Park Si On. Or - if she's in a particularly impish mood - Seol Nae Il and Cha Yoo Jin. You know, just to mess with him. )

 

I have to say, I actually really like that a lot of K-dramas have male leads who are...not so much ignorant, but still somewhat awkward or reserved when talking about sex. Maybe it's because most of the boys I grew up with were the ones who'd be really immature and trying to make dirty jokes about anything and everything and I just always felt that was so disgusting and crude. So I find it really endearing when someone is a bit more bashful about it or - on the flip side - just matter-of-fact and mature about it. And JW's played a number of characters like that over the course of his career (e.g. Hwang Tae Hui, Park Si On, Cha Yoo Jin, Gyun Woo) - and now we can add Park Jin Gyeom to that list as well. Although, due to his general apathy, he may take it just that step further than the others and actually turn out to be asexual - I guess I'll have to wait and see.

[kireeti2]

6 minutes ago, kittyna said:

And, now that I think about it, I can imagine close to the exact same exchange happening between, say, Cha Yoon Seo and Park Si On. Or - if she's in a particularly impish mood - Seol Nae Il and Cha Yoo Jin.)

Well, to be honest they remind me more of Park Si-On and Cha Yoon-seo, since Kim Da Yeon is aggressive like Cha Yoon Seo and likes alcohol, like in episode two she was complaining about Jin Gyeom's refrigerator which only has water bottles in it and no beer. And top of that, in the bar scene she was happy that he was finally acting as a grown-up man which definitely reminded me of Cha Yoon-Seo.

 

And coming to Episode 2, I can say it was lot better than Episode 1, like, Episode 1 was fast-forwarded a lot and  felt like editors tried to squeeze-in as much as background story as possible. But, in episode 2 it had same pace as episode 1 but I didn't feel like it was rushed and best thing is that there was  no cliffhanger. Overall, I think the story will get better over the time and ratings might pick-up.

16 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Although, due to his general apathy, he may take it just that step further than the others and actually turn out to be asexual - I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Well, we can say that, since he find the adult films boring. But, I don't if we draw a conclusion where he might turn out to be asexual, I do feel like he has feelings for Kim Do Yeon and doctor who diagnosed him said he can get better with the help of people around him and with few medication. I think his emotions are only reserved for close people in his life,so I guess in the end he might end-up with Kim Do-Yeon(And I ship them hard, like they literally act like husband and wife, and all they need is to do is register their marriage and make it official)

23 minutes ago, kittyna said:

Maybe it's because most of the boys I grew up with were the ones who'd be really immature and trying to make dirty jokes about anything and everything and I just always felt that was so disgusting and crude

Let me guess, cousins? Or Classmates?

 

24 minutes ago, kittyna said:

now we can add Park Jin Gyeom to that list as well

I think we can add Park Jin-Gyeom and Park Si-on in one group and others in different group, like, I can see these two characters getting confused or not able to grasp about sex rather than being awkward, they would directly ask questions and be open about it. So, other characters know what they mean by sex but cannot talk about it with a girl or significant other

[tokkimoon]

I've really dreamt of Joo Won having a darker character for once, and I think Park Ji-Gyeom is kind of there! Especially at first when they introduced his character, with the dragonfly scene. Even the rooftop scene. I was actually pretty surprised about the dragonfly scene. I really like that Park Jin-Gyeom is kind of a mixture of different characters he's played in the past. At least as you've guys said Cha Yoo Jin and Park Shi-On (who is my favorite Joo Won character). I think that maybe for fan service, possibly by the end of the show... they may pair up Ji-Gyeom with Do-Yeon. Although from interviews, Joo Won kept saying "he felt bad" about her character and the unrequited love. Something like that? If they don't end up together, I'm sure, she'll open up his heart a little bit.

Also side note: Kim Hee Sun is gorgeous! I swear I am memorized by her beauty in each scene. I am enjoying her acting as well. Also, hope I age well like her, hahaha. I am the same age as Joo Won. Although is it sad, that when Joo Won was crying over his Mom, I kept thinking how cute his crying voice was, lol! Hahaha. I notice the strangest things about our Joo Won. Gotta look carefully at him, since it's been forever since we've seen him on screen!

[kittyna]

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Well, to be honest they remind me more of Park Si-On and Cha Yoon-seo, since Kim Da Yeon is aggressive like Cha Yoon Seo and likes alcohol, like in episode two she was complaining about Jin Gyeom's refrigerator which only has water bottles in it and no beer. And top of that, in the bar scene she was happy that he was finally acting as a grown-up man which definitely reminded me of Cha Yoon-Seo.

 

Ah, I see - that makes sense. And now I can see why you think Kim Da Yeon and Park Jin Gyeom are so cute together  

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Let me guess, cousins? Or Classmates?

 

High school classmates. So, like, they were the ones who'd start fooling or joking around and I was the one staring at them like, "If you can't even look at a banana without snickering, there's definitely something wrong with you."

 

(I mean, to be fair, I understood the innuendo on an intellectual level, but it's literally a piece of fruit - can't you just eat it without commenting about what it looks like???)

 

Yeah. In hindsight...maybe I'm the one who's reacting like Jin Gyeom here.  And as for family, I'm maknae by a long shot in my extended family - sort of like what you see in Reply 1988, for example, where everyone's in their teens (siblings, cousins, their friends, etc.) and then there's, like, a five year old (me). So everyone knew better than to talk about adult things in my presence.

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I think we can add Park Jin-Gyeom and Park Si-on in one group and others in different group, like, I can see these two characters getting confused or not able to grasp about sex rather than being awkward, they would directly ask questions and be open about it. So, other characters know what they mean by sex but cannot talk about it with a girl or significant other

 

 And now you've just given me this mental image of what it'd actually be like for, say, Park Si On to start asking those questions - or what it'd be like if he and Cha Yoon Seo ever took things beyond kissing. It's like...the weirdest combination of "saying everything in clinical/medical terms without even flinching" and "childishly innocent and awkward" ever.

 

8 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

Especially at first when they introduced his character, with the dragonfly scene. Even the rooftop scene. I was actually pretty surprised about the dragonfly scene. I really like that Park Jin-Gyeom is kind of a mixture of different characters he's played in the past. At least as you've guys said Cha Yoo Jin and Park Shi-On (who is my favorite Joo Won character).

 

Spoiler

The bits with the dragonfly and the rabbit really stood out to me of the short clips I've seen so far, since they both show how Park Jin Gyeom might be like someone like Park Si On (i.e. high intelligence, curiosity towards nature and animals, etc.), but also how completely different he is. Like, we can see that Jin Gyeom had no malicious intent in what he did to either the dragonfly or the rabbit (unlike children who later develop antisocial personality disorders like psychopathy, for instance) - he was more just genuinely curious, like, "What happens if I pull at its wings?" or "We cut paper in class, so what else can the scissors do?" But at the same time, there's no way in hell Park Si On would ever let his curiosity go in that direction under the same circumstances.

 

Another similarity between Park Jin Gyeom and Park Si On, though, is that they're both the way they are because they are neurologically different from most people. As for Cha Yoo Jin...he's different in that I see his reserved, blunt personality as being more the result of how he was raised than something innate.

 

8 hours ago, tokkimoon said:

Although is it sad, that when Joo Won was crying over his Mom, I kept thinking how cute his crying voice was, lol! Hahaha. I notice the strangest things about our Joo Won. Gotta look carefully at him, since it's been forever since we've seen him on screen!

 

And I will confess to cracking up during *that* crying scene in Gaksital, so really, your reaction doesn't surprise me at all.

 

In my defence, re: Gaksital, it was because I had no idea that JW would end up making a sound and facial expression quite like what we got in that scene, and I was just like, "Whoa...what the hell was that???". But still, you wouldn't think I'd end up laughing when most other viewers felt sad, you know?

[tokkimoon]

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

 

And I will confess to cracking up during *that* crying scene in Gaksital, so really, your reaction doesn't surprise me at all.

 

In my defence, re: Gaksital, it was because I had no idea that JW would end up making a sound and facial expression quite like what we got in that scene, and I was just like, "Whoa...what the hell was that???". But still, you wouldn't think I'd end up laughing when most other viewers felt sad, you know?

OMG, I almost wrote that in my post but I deleted it. I was wondering if the internet would meme Joo Won again this time around, lol! It wasn't as surprising this time, hahaha.

Real question is, how many characters is Joo Won going to have play out to not be hysterically crying? Just kidding!
 

[kireeti2]

58 minutes ago, kittyna said:

"If you can't even look at a banana without snickering, there's definitely something wrong with you."

I think "Banana" is sort of outdated one, now they laugh at "69" , that's right, now even numbers are looked at as sex joke

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

And now I can see why you think Kim Da Yeon and Park Jin Gyeom are so cute together  

In the dram everyone around them know that they are into each other and not able to express it. Like, the detective who adopted Park Jin-Gyeom said this to directly to Kim Da Yeon  that "Park Jin-Gyeom will only date her" , which sort of establishes that they need some push in their relationship  to take it to next level

 

[kireeti2]

And also from few fan accounts I got to know that Alice's ratings has hit double digit, for second episode it got 11.1% and 10.2%

Ratings

[kittyna]

JW posted a blooper from Alice on his Instagram.

 

Someone found the shoes Park Jin Gyeom's wearing in one scene.

 

Some more photos from the Alice press conference - And now I'm really curious about that shirt - I don't think I've seen JW wearing a low neckline in a long time.

[kireeti2]

25 minutes ago, kittyna said:

JW posted a blooper from Alice on his Instagram.

Lol, it was funny. Did Joo won kicked that can because Kim Hee Seon laughed while delivering the dialogue?

[kireeti2]

So, I have just now completed watching the second episode with subs and I can say that it is much better than first episode and has done a fairly good job explaining the questions I had in the first episode. I was like I would the mom of  that kidnapped little girl will come from future just to see her, and then they reveal that the girl dies in when she goes to abroad to study because of a disease and to stop that she came to the past and promised her not to go to abroad. But, in a see they show us that girl is already suffering from some sort of disease, she was scratching her hands while she was in her sleep. So, I guess this is some kind of metaphor to show that no one can change the future.

And I might add, the relationship between the Park Jin-Gyeom and Kim Do-Yeon is cute and heart warming to watch, like, he can see how much they care about each other. Like, when Jin Gyeom got hit but a truck she was the one who was at the hospital and scolding him like a concerned wife, like what kind of police man breaks the traffic rules and when Jin-Gyeom brings the topic that he saw his dead mom, she was like "Why don't you get over her death and concentrate on the ones who are alive and care about you?" And she leaves him saying not to call her, because she needs some calm down her anger against him. If that's not a husband-wife relationship, I don't know what it is

And coming to Jin-Gyeom feelings towards her, we can see it in a subtle way, like, when she was in his apartment she complained that why there is no alcohol in the fridge and then we can see the next the the fridge was filled with tons of alcohol with 10 soju bottles and 10 beers (it reminded me of Cha Yoo Jin's behavior) and when that guy from future tries to attack Jin- Gyeom in the lift he sort of says that he killed Do-Yeon and it infuriates Jin-Gyeom and then he overpowers him and shoots him in the hand, and gives him a strong warning that he treats only few people as human beings and tells that he'll kill him if even if he finds a scratch on her body(Not a romantic way to show his concern, but I'll take it and it's one of the cliches which is fine by me) And back at the hospital Do-yeon can't stop smiling for some reason, maybe it's because she was attacked by the perp thinking she is his girlfriend/wife and Jin-Gyeom partner was like, you didn't had to shoot the perp twice and asks him if he shot the guy because he got made that he tried to hurt Kim Do-Yeon, I guess everyone around him sees his love/concern towards her except Jin-Gyeom

Overall, the second episode was great improvement over the first and there are tons of characters to be introduced and lot of subtle comedy scenes to laugh about, like, for instance, when the team gather for drink Do-Yeon says that "Because the Jin-Gyeom's partner got shot he gets to eat tons of meat", she almost wished to get shot to eat lot of delicious meat, I think watching scene would make sense than describing it

P.S - My apologies if someone finds my review as a spoiler, I tried explorer more about the relationship between Kim Do-Yeon and Park-Jin Gyeom and tried to keep it spoiler free

[kittyna]

A couple of miscellaneous goodies again:

 

1. I finally found a complete English-subtitled version of JW's compliments video. The previous one had skipped from the museum comment to the one about his dimples - nor had it translated the written text.

 

 

2. How they filmed the car chase scene - Maybe the fact that it's green screen/CGI was already obvious for most viewers (you know, in the interests of the actors' safety and all that), but it's still fascinating to see the process with our own eyes.

 

3. A few more miscellaneous costume-related posts - And let's just throw in this one for Kim Hee Sun as well

 

12 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Lol, it was funny. Did Joo won kicked that can because Kim Hee Seon laughed while delivering the dialogue?

 

Hm...I think she only started laughing after JW kicked the can; it sounds more like she was just getting choked up when saying her lines. My guess is that JW just decided to react as himself rather than as Park Jin Gyeom for once - the caption he wrote translates loosely to "Same scene, different feeling".

[kireeti2]

 

[kittyna]

So...I guess you can say I'm halfway caught up now, because I just watched Episode 1 of Alice!

 

Overall, I think it's good so far. It's definitely got an intriguing premise and characters that leave me with just as many questions as it does answers - which, you guys will know (@kireeti2 especially) means good things for you guys on this forum in the long run  

 

That being said, there are a few things I want to touch on in more detail, so...spoiler time!

 

Spoiler

1. The Book/Prophecy

 

I'm definitely curious about this part of the set-up. While I guessed from the trailers that Park Sun Young (still calling her this so as not to confuse her with the 2020 version of Yoon Tae Yi) and Park Jin Gyeom were, in some way, linked to the prophecy itself (and all the references in the book to "the baby" seem to point in this direction as well), I didn't expect there to be at least two different factions or groups among the time travelers from 2050. So we clearly have the "Alice" team that's interested in retrieving the book - and only in retrieving the book - and we also have this other guy man whose goal/mission also includes killing the author, any witnesses, etc.

 

So, this part leaves me with two main questions. First of all, is Park Jin Gyeom really the person who's referred to in the prophecy? And secondly, if so, did Park Sun Young choose to stay in 1992, change her identity, move to a different city, etc. in order to protect him from forces that would seek to destroy him for the sake of preserving "Alice"? Her reaction to seeing the drone again on the night she's attacked does make it look like she'd been living in hiding all this time (wearing her scarf to cover the mark on her neck, her concern for Jin Gyeom's safety over her own, etc.).

 

If Park Jin Gyeom really is the person in the prophecy, then I think there's reasonable argument that Alice will turn out a bit like the story of Oedipus - not in the literal "kill his father and marry his mother" sense, but in the sense that everyone's actions to prevent an unfortunate prophecy actually end up bringing it about (because now whoever tried to take out Park Sun Young and Park Jin Gyeom has only succeeded in royally pissing him off). And if the person orchestrating the attack ends up being Yoo Min Hyuk...you get the idea.

 

2. Jin Gyeom's Childhood

 

This is the one part of the first episode that didn't really sit well with me. Not because it was played out poorly - the actors, director, etc. all did a great job - but because all the stuff about Jin Gyeom's childhood behaviour (the dragonfly, the rabbit, etc.) turned out to be a massive red herring. The drama tried to create this whole set-up that Jin Gyeom would turn out to be a sadist or a psychopath, and I sense that it was all done just to create the opportunity to subvert all that with the incident surrounding the bullied student's suicide. (i.e. "He's a psychopath - no, he's just got apathy - no, he's really a psychopath - no, he's not because he's had a conscience all along.")

 

Narratively speaking, it makes sense. But because this is media, and media representations can be really powerful...the drama is really walking a tightrope here in terms of how it portrays neurodivergent people (i.e. people with conditions or disabilities specifically relating to how their brains are innately wired, such as autism - which is a common real-life non-sci-fi cause for alexithymia). A lack of emotional capability is NOT the same as a lack of empathy or conscience - and considering that there's signs that the scriptwriters drew at least some inspiration from mild forms of autism in creating Jin Gyeom's character (the high intelligence, the extreme sensitivity to noise, etc.) I'm not a fan of how the drama seemed to conflate a lack of emotion with a lack of empathy at first, even if it ends up disproving it. There could have been clearer ways of showing his apathy in the childhood scenes (e.g. mini-Jin Gyeom reacting strangely calm in a situation when most kids his age would cry or laugh or whatever) that wouldn't end up this morally blurry, or inadvertently spreading negative stereotypes.

 

3. The High School Story line

 

That being said, I do really like how this part turned out, especially for what it does for both Park Sun Young and Park Jin Gyeom as characters. We see here Sun Young's determination to help her son because, quite simply, she knows him best. She knows that he's not the sort of person who'd actually push someone off the roof - and, more importantly, she knows that Jin Gyeom's not the sort of person who would lie about it if he actually did. So when he says he didn't do it, she knows, 100%, that he didn't. But at the same time, I can definitely understand why the dead girl's mother, if no-one else, takes it out on Sun Young, and the moment when Sun Young crouches down beside the other woman was really powerful, as it shows how they're both simply mothers trying to do what's best by their children in the wake of a tragedy.

 

Moving on to Jin Gyeom, I loved that he was actually trying to save the girl when she fell, and that he then tracked down the students who had been bullying her to retrieve the evidence for the police. This sort of determination to see justice done without hesitation is also shown in the epic takedown scene when Jin Gyeom's an adult, and I would argue that those moments were alexithymia done right  Jin Gyeom is a very logical or rational person, who doesn't feel the same way most people do; however, it's because of that that he's able to go into a dangerous situation without fear or hesitation (e.g. beating up the whole gang of bullies in the washroom, tackling the murder suspect because the whole threat of taking a hostage wouldn't faze him at all, etc.). And, I should point out, that even though he says that he's not going to let saving the hostage stop him from arresting the suspect (i.e. that whether she lives or dies isn't a priority)...he still makes sure to rescue her first  

 

And one not-so-spoiler-y comment: Jin Gyeom's reaction to his mother's death was as epic as I thought it would be. But I will confess that I watched that whole bit with the volume turned down, because experience has taught me just how much JW goes into...let's just say, "stage" mode when he raises his voice. So, for the sake of my own hearing (if wearing headphones) or my family's peace of mind (if watching with the computer speakers)...yeah, I tend to turn it down when I see moments like that coming  

 

So, those are some of my thoughts about this first episode so far. There are more things I could say, but I'm choosing to focus on aspects that haven't been discussed or brought up yet on this forum. You know, offer a different perspective, since I can't get all meta and film-analysis-esque like @kireeti2 does  

[kireeti2]

54 minutes ago, kittyna said:

since I can't get all meta and film-analysis-esque like @kireeti2 does  

Wow! Says a person whose episode review is like book version of the drama, Like, after reading your analysis I will probably wait for your episode review instead watching the rest of the drama from now on wards

Why do I feel like you are pulling my leg with this comment? I know my review is gibberish and I will not be able to understand it properly if I read it, but, was my review that bad?

54 minutes ago, kittyna said:

hen I think there's reasonable argument that Alice will turn out a bit like the story of Oedipus - not in the literal "kill his father and marry his mother" sense, but in the sense that everyone's actions to prevent an unfortunate prophecy actually end up bringing it about (because now whoever's tried to target Park Sun Young and Park Jin Gyeom has only succeeded in royally pissing him off). And if the person orchestrating the attack ends up being Yoo Min Hyuk...you get the idea.

I too feel like it will be on the "Oedipus" story line but not that extreme. But, I do feel like in the end Park Jin Gyeom will have accept his misfortunes and ending will be some what bitter-sweet in nature

54 minutes ago, kittyna said:

I loved that he was actually trying to save the girl when she fell, and that he then tracked down the students who had been bullying her to retrieve the evidence for the police.

More like for Kim Do-Yeon not police But, I did like that scene where just goes in the washroom with just one objective, to retrieve evidence and there was almost no anger in him, he is like "I am here for evidence and I will break bones your bones if you fight with me"

54 minutes ago, kittyna said:

This is the one part of the first episode that didn't really sit well with me. Not because it was played out poorly - the actors, director, etc. all did a great job - but because all the stuff about Jin Gyeom's childhood behaviour (the dragonfly, the rabbit, etc.) turned out to be a massive red herring. The drama tried to create this whole set-up that Jin Gyeom would turn out to be a sadist or a psychopath, and I sense that it was all done just to create the opportunity to subvert all that with the incident surrounding the bullied student's suicide. (i.e. "He's a psychopath - no, he's just got apathy - no, he's really a psychopath - no, he's not because he's had a conscience all along.")

Well, in directors defense, it was in 1995 and 2010 when mental health issue is seen as a first world thing and in Asia especially in East Asia, public was deliberately aloof to this issue. Like, real dialogue or at least recognition of mental health in Asia started in recent times

[kittyna]

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Well, in directors defense, it was in 1995 and 2010 when mental health issue is seen as a first world thing and in Asia especially in East Asia, public was deliberately aloof to this issue. Like, real dialogue or at least recognition of mental health in Asia started in recent times

 

I should rephrase that. In the context of the story (i.e. what characters think about Jin Gyeom's condition, behaviour, etc.), it all makes perfect sense and it is also highly realistic for people to assume that he's a psychopath who'd hurt animals or push a girl off the roof just because he could. But from the perspective of the writers, director, etc., I think that they could have done better with what happens when Jin Gyeom's five years old.

 

Spoiler

So, for instance, I actually like the bit when he's twelve and Park Sun Young develops appendicitis. It's still hard to watch - because you do feel really bad for her and know that she might not have wound up so bad off if Jin Gyeom showed more concern - but his reactions there are more in line with a lack of emotion, especially since Sun Young herself tries to brush it off. She's the typical sort of mother who says, "It's okay; it's no big deal" to try to calm her kids - except that Jin Gyeom can't read between the lines and so he takes her "it's nothing" literally. And, in his head at least, it's not so much that he doesn't care about his mom, but that he's like, "Well, the doctors have this taken care of, and she'll be okay - so why would I start freaking out and begging to go to the hospital with her just because that's what the you [the paramedics] expect that of me? So you guys take care of her, and I'll just take care of myself, please and thank-you."

 

9 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Wow! Says a person whose episode review is like book version of the drama, Like, after reading your analysis I will probably wait for your episode review instead watching the rest of the drama from now on wards

Why do I feel like you are pulling my leg with this comment? I know my review is gibberish and I will not be able to understand it properly if I read it, but, was my review that bad?

 

Please continue - I can't comment on things like the acting, narrative pacing, whether the story's fresh or cliché, etc. simply because I seldom have an opinion on those. So that part's on you. 

 

By the way, some other miscellaneous details that I didn't get around to commenting on earlier, but that I still liked:

 

Spoiler

1. I knew about JW's shower scene in advance (didn't we all?), but I wasn't expecting Kwak Si Yang to have one as well, so that was a surprise.

 

2. Park Jin Gyeom's comment to the police detective about his high school drama class cracked me up: "She's in my acting class." "You take acting?" "My mom made me. She said it would help me [socialize/open up to others/etc.]" 

 

Yep, definitely an Easter Egg if I ever saw one  

 

3. I'm not sure what the significance of this is going to be (if it's already explained in Episode 2, forgive me my ignorance), but I thought it was interesting how literally everyone (both in the neighbourhood and in "Alice" in 2050) did a double-take after Jin Gyeom starts crying for his mother.

 

4. I hope we get some sort of flashback or backstory on Park Jin Gyeom and Kim Do Yeon's friendship, because it's now clear that they only became friends after the whole incident, when Do Yeon realized she'd misunderstood Jin Gyeom all along.

 

5. The little girl in the beginning - is she mini Yoon Tae Yi? Maybe? And what's the connection between 2050-Tae Yi and 2020-Tae Yi? It doesn't really make sense that they're the same person (since it's implied the 2050 Tae Yi is in her 20s and we already know the 2020 Tae Yi is in her 30s), so I definitely want to see where the drama goes with all this. Is there just one Yoon Tae Yi, or are there two?

 

[kireeti2]

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

is she mini Yoon Tae Yi?

That's highly unlikely, won't she recognize her younger-self

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

2. Park Jin Gyeom's comment to the police detective about his high school drama class cracked me up: "She's in my acting class." "You take acting?" "My mom made me. She said it would help me [socialize/open up to others/etc.]" 

It almost felt like Joo won was describing his own high school life, since we all know that he joined acting classes to overcome his introvert nature, definitely felt like an Eastern egg to me

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

4. I hope we get some sort of flashback or backstory on Park Jin Gyeom and Kim Do Yeon's friendship, because it's now clear that they only became friends after the whole incident, when Do Yeon realized she'd misunderstood Jin Gyeom all along.

I don't think we will have one, due screen time constrain and there is lot to explain about the Kim Hee Seon's character background. I think we'll just have to accept that she is the only friend/girl friend(in near future), and they relationship sort of feels like they are beyond dating, like the way they care about each other. So, I am happy with

 

these two characters' relationship, definitely in my top 3 couple of Joo won's drama

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

1. I knew about JW's shower scene in advance (didn't we all?), but I wasn't expecting Kwak Si Yang to have one as well, so that was a surprise.

No, Joo won mentioned it in press conference, that "Look forward to Kwak Si Yang shower scene

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

But from the perspective of the writers, director, etc., I think that they could have done better with what happens when Jin Gyeom's five years old.

Oh, you mean that writers sort of made him look like a person with lack of empathy from very young age? That was really hard to watch for me as well, since the character thinks rationally he will take everyone's word in literal meaning, like even in interrogation he was not trying to hide anything, he was pretty upfront about the series of events

 

1 hour ago, kittyna said:

simply because I seldom have an opinion on those. So that part's on you. 

I am not that opinionated and picky kind of a guy, I just try to state the facts with the data at my disposal, I don't try to portray my opinion as something infallible

[kittyna]

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

I am not that opinionated and picky kind of a guy, I just try to state the facts with the data at my disposal, I don't try to portray my opinion as something infallible

 

Oh. My. God. - I meant that as praise, not criticism! I just mean that you actually can look critically at a drama and how it's produced and have some way of deciding for yourself whether it's good or not, whereas I just tend to take it as it is without thinking about any of that.

 

(I know you're the one who usually ends up having to point out to me how something I meant well - like some of these emojis - could be used in a toxic or passive aggressive manner elsewhere, but if I say I like something of yours or "Please continue", I mean it.)

 

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

So, I am happy with

 

these two characters' relationship, definitely in my top 3 couple of Joo won's drama

 

And now I'm curious: which are the other two?  

 

3 hours ago, kireeti2 said:

Oh, you mean that writers sort of made him look like a person with lack of empathy from very young age?

 

Bingo!  Which is why I was a bit wary of the five-year-old scenes, but was okay with the rest.

 

A behind the scenes pic from JW's Instagram

 

And apparently, apathetic male leads are an actual thing now? I knew that this would be an overlap between Alice and Secret Forest 2, but not Flower of Evil as well. By the way, I love the second slide on this: "Not a psycho. We just don't feel things." Bit of gallows humour there, don't you think?

[flutterby06]

 

 

Source: http://w3.sbs.co.kr/search/popup/photoView.do?t=i&q=주원&no=9&sort=DATE&pc_searchclick=sub_img_cont_01_10

 

Loved the first 2 episodes very much. Love how many people are praising Alice premier and impressed by it. But some other other are a bit skeptical about the theoritical issues related to time travel and confusing relationships.Unless there is a big plot hole I'm fine as long as story, and acting and CGI(because it  is Si-Fi) is great!

 

 

Director nim said in press conference that Alice is a Human SF drama that tells a story about family getting reunited- for me that family is - Yoon Tae Yi- Park Jin Gyeom- Yoo Min Hyuk. What I am looking forward to is how they will make is possible because everyone is living in different timeline.

 

 

Park Jin Gyeom    : “No matter which world you’re in, I’ll protect you,”

Yoon Tae Yi           : “If it’s for you, I could do anything,”

Yoo Min Hyuk        : “I have to be stronger to protect what’s precious to me.”

Kim Do Yeon         : “Save her. But don’t get hurt even a bit,”

 

After watching the individual poster with character tagline I had a feeling this drama may not have much of romance. And after listening to the Directors side he kind of confirmed it. Even if there's a romance, familial love may get more focus. I don't mind if such thing happens.

 

Even if there's romance between Jin Gyeom and Do Yeon, they may not be that obvious. While we see Do Yeon harboring one sided love, Jin Gyeom even though thinking her just very good friend is very protective of her. Which is also natural for a unfeeling character like JG to be very protective because he only cares for handful people and she is among those few.

 

 

Also I think the drama team is trying to keep it a mystery so people keep their interest in this side of the story but do not focus too much on it. JW said he felt sorry to Do Yeon, Da In said she hated Jin Gyeom for for being like that but she also said may be becuse for 10 years she have gotten used to Jin Gyeom's unusual caring! But Do Yeon and Jin Gyeom's relationship has already become low key cute. So....

 

JW looks so handsome in Alice.. 

But like you guys are saying it looked JW a bit unnatural in School Uniform considering he's a big guy but it was necessary that JW plays that part so we could see transition of JG's little changes in character when he was with his mother Park Sun Young aka Yoon Tae Yi.

 

Here's Some of his handsome moments in Alice:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kittyna]

I'll come back with replies to @flutterby06 some other time, but I actually wanted to stop by to point out something about the two kids who play mini-Park Jin Gyeom.

 

Namely: am I the only one who noticed their names???

 

5-year-old Jin Gyeom: Moon Ju Won

12-year-old Jin Gyeom: Moon Woo Jin

 

That's quite the coincidence if I ever saw one!

[flutterby06]

2 hours ago, kittyna said:

I'll come back with replies to @flutterby06 some other time, but I actually wanted to stop by to point out something about the two kids who play mini-Park Jin Gyeom.

 

Namely: am I the only one who noticed their names???

 

5-year-old Jin Gyeom: Moon Ju Won

12-year-old Jin Gyeom: Moon Woo Jin

 

That's quite the coincidence if I ever saw one!

 

I wanted to mention it too.. specially the one called Moon Ju Won!