[Drama 2017] Circle 써클

[Michelle Gonzalez]

I need to see ep 6.

[liddi]

Just marathoned all 6 episodes over 2 days and am absolutely stoked to find a drama that has thus far, woven a double track that delivers both on an emotional and cerebral level. The pacing is spot on, the twists and turns just keep coming, and we are continually made to think and rethink our perceptions, preconceived notions, and theories. What a brilliant ride it has been so far, and I find that myself second guessing myself each time I come up with an idea, writing it off as too obvious, then wondering whether the apparent obviousness was a deliberate red herring... resulting in plenty of mental tangled knots, albeit very pleased to be in that position  

The strong ensemble performances are such a joy to watch. I am particularly overjoyed to finally see KKW in a work that I personally love after Story of a Man and Missing Noir M, and he is back in his element, bringing to life KBG's desperation to restore his missing memories and find the brother he had lost, while sinking further in dread at each discovery. This is my first proper drama with YJG after his cameo in Tree with Deep Roots and he is nailing his portrayal as the young man who is driven to the edge as he struggles first with supporting his family, then by guilt as he frantically tries to find the brother whom he realises too late, had been right all along. GSY, whom I last saw in Six Flying Dragons, delivers a convincing performance, first as the emotionless Byul, then the vibrant HJY. I particularly love her edginess as Bluebird in 2037, beautifully showing an evolution in her character over a period of 30 years. I am less drawn so far by LGK's Lee Ho Soo, but perhaps that is the whole intent to his role, because there is a sense of disconnect and detachment which wars with sympathy when we see him slowly recovering his painful memories, and his kneejerk reaction to bury them away. I too love the scenes, accentuated by the campy music that usually accompanies "Sherlock" Hong, including the very W effect of him in the webtoons, giving us welcome comic relief without being contrived. Well done!

Circle The Beginning gives us an interesting insight to the workings behind the scenes, including interviews with the cast, director and music director. The three clues in itself are not much in terms of what we already know by now - Double Track, A Murder Case and 21 - but it was great to see how the cast interpreted their roles, and used their imagination, particularly in the future timeline, reacting to something that would only be added in the CGI, including staring at a blank glass panel  The two child actors who portrayed younger KBG and KWJ were apparently much adored by the cast and crew (I recognised young KWJ as Goblin's young Deok Hwa but only just realised that KBG was young Jang GeuRae in Misaeng). Here is one of my favourite footage from the episode, when they actually had the boys parody the iconic scene from Goblin  

Lastly, in the introductory episode, PD Min said "Since the staff and actors are creating a story that never existed before, much effort in particular areas are required while shooting. If you could be kind enough to overlook the little mistakes, I'm sure the drama will turn out much better in the end." Perhaps the execution may not be as slick as big budget works out there, but for me, Circle, at its halfway mark, has succeeded in creating two worlds and intertwined storylines that has kept me invested and at the edge of my seat throughout - an absolute treat in every way. Fingers crossed that it continues its winning streak and delivers a strong narrative all the way to the end.  

[Netka85]

After watch episode 6 I become little confused with Minister Park Dong-Gun... In the begginig I was thinking that he works on this project with daddy Profesor but turns out he didn't know. He suspicius about prof, spying WJ sunbae who seems know everything in the beginning... But if this is not PDG then who is the partner profesor in this crime? Everything points to twins dad but still something wrong... I have feeling that he was the one who turn Byul lost memory because the key what she have to this project, and Profesor try to bringing back HJY memory to knows that key.  But why twins dad do something like that? he change his heart and saw how dangers this project is for human?

@Katrina Abdul Talib My theory is also that Minister Park Dong Gun could be a chairman.  After he become knows about this project as a ambicius man, he sneak the project from prof and his a become chairman Smart World who is also Minister. He use that position to control some of things personal without any suspicius. For me he looks kind of fake when he was talk with KBG...

[AlexandraReid]

PREVIEW ep.7

 

[Katrina Abdul Talib]

Earlier comment..

...just my 2cents as I have seen Han Sang Jin in another drama playing 'villian' which suits his role here if he is the mysterious Chairman...

Han Sang Jin played as Han Min Hyuk in Birth of a Beauty - backstabbing the rightful heir to wrest control and become CEO or Chairman of the company. (Episode 18 BOBeauty, he behaved just like how he is approaching JH/BG in Circles)

 

[AlexandraReid]

Circle: Episode 5

by tineybeanie

 

 

After being led around in circles about who the villains may be, we get some solid answers at last! The momentum definitely slowed down a bit this episode, but it was a good break to let us catch our breaths and process all the information being thrown our way. As the mystery in Part 1: Beta Project is slowly being revealed, it seems like the intrigue in Part 2: Brave New World is only growing deeper.

 

 
EPISODE 5 RECAP

Part 1: Beta Project

A student, PARK MIN-YOUNG (Jung In-sun), walks warily down the street, suspicious of every CCTV and phone camera. She pulls up her hood to avoid exposure, but that doesn’t stop two students from taking a selfie in front of her, leading her paranoid self to believe they’re recording her. She arrives at the gates of Handam University, convinced that she’ll find the answers she’s looking for here. She beelines toward a public memorial shrine for one of the recently deceased students, and begins telling the people nearby that this is part of a series of murders, not an isolated suicide.

With her frantic eyes and rapid speech, it’s no wonder that the students, including Sunbae Lee, conclude that she’s a lunatic and begin taking photos of the spectacle she’s making of herself. Although she yells for them to stop, they keep clicking away, but just then, Bum-gyun steps in and shields her from the crowd with his jacket.

Bum-gyun tells her that he believes her and that he knows the culprit is an alien. As they escape underneath the protection of his jacket, the two introduce themselves in a sweet moment.

Spoiler

 

That was a while ago, and now Min-young insists to Woo-jin on the existence of aliens, and that Han Jung-yeon is one of them. When he becomes frustrated with her, much like how he was with Bum-gyun, she shows him a picture of Jung-yeon with a suitcase that has a little toy star on it. His eyes widen immediately—to him, this is proof that Jung-yeon is really the alien who lived with him and his brother when they were younger.

After leaving Min-young, Woo-jin returns to Jung-yeon, who’s waiting nearby, and grabs her by the shoulders to demand answers. He shows her a picture of himself as a child with his brother and that alien, Byul, and insists that Jung-yeon is that same alien.

Spoiler

However, plot twist: She has amnesia. Jung-yeon admits that she has no memories before the age of eighteen—she was in a car accident that left her in a coma for a year and caused her amnesia. She recognizes the resemblance to Byul but denies that it’s her, saying that there’s no way she would have looked like that ten years ago.

However, Woo-jin is firm in his belief that she wouldn’t age since she’s an alien. He tells her to smash the toy star if she really wants to confirm that she’s Byul. Jung-yeon angrily says that the star has meaning to her, and that he’s crazy if he thinks she’ll break it just for him to prove a point.

Woo-jin scoffs at the amnesia line, and that sets off her temper. She fires back that she’s undergoing psychotherapy for this, which is a source of pain for her. “This isn’t something you can carelessly mess with!” she screams.

Spoiler

 

Even so, doubts have been stirred regarding the backstory of her life that she’s been repeatedly told. Later that night she asks her father, Professor Han, how she came to have the star. He replies that she made it with her late mother in elementary school.

Almost immediately, she goes to Woo-jin’s house, where he’s still regretting not believing in his brother. Jung-yeon tells him that she’s confirmed with her father that the star is an object she made with her mother, and that it’s one of the few remaining possessions she has of her. Woo-jin only tells her that he believed her over his own brother because he didn’t want to be pulled in by Bum-gyun’s alien conspiracies, but now he’s realized he should have listened to his twin.

The next day, Woo-jin puts on Bum-gyun’s “don’t-follow-me” baseball cap and surreptitiously follows Jung-yeon to her therapy session. He peers in through the window, only to find her in the hallway in front of him, knowing that he’s followed her trail. She tells him to stop being suspicious of her because it could be a series of unfortunate coincidences.

 

His response is to ask her how this could be coincidence for email handle to be bluebird. She says that Bluebird was her favorite storybook when she was younger, but he counters that bluebird was Byul’s first word. Again, he tells her to break open the star if she wants to verify the truth.

 

Read more:: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/06/circle-episode-5/

[waterfah26]

Some comments thought like me. But it has a point that nobody say. 

 

May be Han jung yeon in 2037 already remembered everything since 2007 !!

 

hench she said she is the reason of this incident in ep5 when with Lee ho soo. 

 

I'm wating the truth from her. 

[AlexandraReid]

Not sure if this posted here lol

-----

[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Circle" Episode 6

Jeong-yeon struggles with her identity as Byeol and the time has come for her to make a brave decision. Something happened in her past which was probably instigated by a key figure making a return to the story. In 2037, Joon-hyeok and Ho-soo dance around each other due to their opposing goals, a new suspicious ally for our hero surfaces and so does a worrying possibility.

Episode six confirms that a human, most probably Kim Gyoo-cheol (Kim Joong-ki-I) did something to Byeol (Gong Seung-yeon). Whether his intentions were good or not is still a mystery. I am curious if her memory loss is caused by humans, however. We do not know how Byeol's race operates aside from limited biological information. Losing one's memory could very well be their fail-safe for keeping their knowledge away from prying eyes.

This is what makes her so interesting and me so hungry for more of the drama. I can see this world expanding and making up multiple seasons, which is a rare thing in Korean drama. It will not happen, but the series has the material for it. Just what is Byeol and where is she from? How was she able to learn Korean and learn emotions if her race lacks them? Then again, maybe they did not always lack them. Maybe her own people inhibit them like Human B does.

The current carrot dangled by the writers is Woo-jin (Yeo Jin-goo) as the Chairman and predictably, I am not convinced. It would never be Woo-jin as we know him, because the series makes a point of him having learned his lesson about running away. Unless he were converted by Professor Han (Song Young-kyu) with a chip and groomed into a successor, but that reaches critical levels of cheese. The Chairman did have grey hair after all, unless the creators do us dirty and change that.

Spoiler

Ho-soo (Lee Gi-kwang) is still regretfully simplistic despite his good potential. I find his backstory lacking and while his personal choice is his right, forcing it on those which he can probably guess did not all consent to it makes him hard to feel for. The problem is that the series clearly wants us to. Perhaps his bonding with a man who chooses to live with his pain in order to keep everything that comes with it will show him a different path.

The episode re-introduces Park Dong-geon (Han Sang-jin) as an ally and of course he looks absolutely slimy. His caring mentor facade is laughable, but he clearly wants Human B for his own plans, so for now he is a necessary evil. I am also curious whether Joon-hyeok (Kim Kang-woo) saying he does not actually have his memories back means something. Should we be expecting a twist to a twist?

 

cr:http://www.hancinema.net/hancinema-s-drama-review-circle-episode-6-106741.html

[bebebisous33]

@liddi I am glad that you have joined this thread because I love reading your comments.

@larus @Michelle Gonzalez @MiAmour @diane90 @lclarakl @craptelly @titania1000 @MrsSoJiSub I am still doubting that Woo Jin is the chairman, after all what happened to him and his brother. He witnessed the kidnapping, he realised that the students never committed suicide and now, he has discovered that his own father is connected to that mental institut and experiments. He was investigating it for a long time. But something caught my attention: I wonder about the identity of the man who was talking on the phone to the prof. Han. The person was responsible for Buyl's treatment. Han was definitely not alone in this.

I am not buying it that Minister Park DG is on the good side. First, he was already investigating professor Han in 2017, yet his investigation didn't stop anything. This makes you really wonder!! Is he that bad at investigating? Why didn't he cooperate with the police back then? Then how come that he became a minister? So there is something suspicious about him. Moreover, he was the last one who saw WJ, although he claims that WJ saw later professor Han. That's what he said and this shouldn't be trusted. Moreover, he seems to know about Kim GC and his reaction gave me the impression that he didn't like that WJ was his son. So maybe he wanted to discover the new invention and become wealthy through it. Maybe his relationship with Han was not different from Han's relationship with KGC. Han stole Byul from KGC and PArk wanted to do the same.

[SoT]

Hi guy, you can update news of Circle drama at my page: 

https://www.facebook.com/Drama-TVN-Circle-써클-Kết-nối-hai-thế-giới-Việt-Nam-Fanpage-241240153009650/

[MrsSoJiSub]

I don't think Woo Jin is the chairman. It's too easy, too obvious, and feels like red herring. I don't think Professor Han is it either for the same reasons and also because professor has someone above him that he calls and answers to, as displayed in episode 6. Whomever he was talking with, and whomever that person is talking about funding and such, may or may not be the chairman. 

I honestly think the chairman is their dad. It's obvious he was involved in all this from the get go, and I think he eventually came back to complete what he had helped to start. For me it's the way that chairman obviously cares about Joon Hyuk/Bum Gyeon. The chairman did not and does not want the right arm bad college dude who's name I can't remember, to investigate or harm Joon Hyuk/Bum Gyeon when he first suggested it (at that point we didn't know Joon was Bum) and it's how he has and seems to hold the picture of the twins dear. I felt that he knew from the get go that Joon Hyuk was Bum Gyeon, his son, and didn't want him harmed. I feel he's the chairman and the whole "erase memories to forget tragedy" is something Woo Jin may have learned from him. Also it's looking like he's the one who erased Byul's memory pre Smart Earth and Human B. The very thing that Human B now has perfected in 2037. This project all started with/from dad's ideas. He's the chairman imho (really really really want him to be the chairman). 

I have a feeling dad may have never known or ever wanted for his experiments to go as deep and far as suicides. Or he may have known and thought of it all as scientific risk factor and worth the grand end results. I have don't sound theories on the how's and why, but I really hope and want dad to be the chairman. 

[leeminhosny]

Spoiler

https://lmhsny.tumblr.com/

 

[diane90]

        @bebebisous33

OK. Let's check ! as I said I always analyze the facts of the story we watched all 6 eps

I don't "imagine" ! 

So; all the characters we know in 2017 already appeared in 2037 :Jung Yeon; Min Young, Jun Hyuk (LBG); Detective Seo; Lee Dong So; Pro PDG, sumbae Lee ( LHS now)...

It left only 3 persons Woo Jin, Pro Han & twins's dad .....for one place.....................Human B's chairman ???!

Pro Han ??? I don't think so; bc if he is, he already orders Lee Huyn Suk " take care" of Joon Huyk. He already put the blue bug in Bum Gum in 2017

so, normally he can do it again.

The twins's dad : I don't have the feelings and there's one important thing : Bum Gum's cellphone in chairman's hand ??! as we know, from the day his older brother

disappears, for Woo Jin, this cellphone is precious bc he can see Bum Gum face anytime. I don't think he can give it to his dad , the person he doesn't have

the sentiment for. He said to BG " Dad is gone and what ???". He didn't suffer like BG with dad's lost !

Why I think and hope the chairman is Woo Jin ???bc  it prooves that he is alive ! and as I said, the chairman doesn't "kill" really people; he just " help" people

to "forget" bad memories. and you see, in Stars Wars, Anakin Skywalker was a jedi before turning in dark side and becomes Darkvedor

[bbsjk]

Hello! I'm so happy I found this thread. I can't find other comments/responses to this drama aside from Dramabeans. Circle is my first scifi k-drama. I never thought I would get engaged in a drama again moreso a scifi drama. I think I would not go back to watching romcom/romance dramas again after this. LOL. I binge watched eps 1-4 last Friday and felt restless the whole weekend, thirsty for answers.

Anyhoo, I love LOVE LOVE Yeo Jin Goo's acting here. It's my first time watching Gong SeungYeon(?). I feel like she shines more if she's acting alone (eg. her moment of realization when she broke the star scene) because YJG overpowers her like their conversation whenshe was outside WJ's dorm room with the paper. But I'm loving her so much. She portrays her 3 roles well  

Nonetheless, there is still a part in me that wants to ~ship~ them although I've been working hard to remind myself that this is not a romance drama anymore. Heh. Despite her being an 'alien', there is still some humanity in JY that makes you feel sympathy for her like when she did not expect WJ to still trust her.  And how she reacted that she's scared that WJ might be chairman tells us that their friendship grew deeper in 2017 before WJ disappeared.  Also, WJ did not want MY to tell the Chief about JY being an alien. Although that may be because he thinks the Chief might find it absurd at that point. 

I really hope they still cast YJG in the 2037 timeline and not replace him (even if it's just a cameo) with another actor. That being said, I accept any storyline so long as he's still YJG. LOL. I don't think he is Chairman either. I think episode one gave a lot of hints. Their father was not probably actually looking for them and the kids just happened to be there when their father was really after the alien. He might be one of the 'bad guys'. And WJ learned about this and.... I don't have any theories anymore.  I think everything else has been discussed in the other posts here. 

I read somewhere (idk if it's here or dramabeans comment section) that the lights from the UFO reflected differently in WJ's eyes in ep 1. But I don't know if that is anything significant. Some even said WJ might not be BG's biological brother. But I'm scrapping the idea that he is an alien as well since he grew up to be 2017 WJ unlike JY. 

I apologize because this post has gotten messy. This drama is really hard to comment on because I'd either end up sounding like a delulu or a fool who look like she did not watch the drama at all.

Thank you so much! Sorry this got long. 

[Michelle Gonzalez]

rewatch the minuter preview i found  jin is neuroscience student. I Think he one that. Creted the chip but he is not chairmen i yhink two the profesor or twin dad. He is the most myterious caracter for their dad becuase he does want to presude kgb.

 

[larus]

Circle Two Worlds Connected episodes 5&6: Trust Is Dust.

Hey Circle Clubbers! I think it's safe to say, three full weeks into our story that this show is consistent in doing at least 3 things: (1)Finding a way to make everyone inherently suspicious. (2)Answering a few questions, while creating just as many (if not more) new ones. (3)Dropping one big plausible reveal. Circle:Two Worlds Connected is no where near tipping it's entire hand, nor is anyone walking away without a little blood or bug on them. The theories keep mounting and now that the keychain has been shattered and some old photos have been uncovered, getting at the truth may involve more than the Kim brothers had imagined.  Join Akua, E-kun and I as we share our ideas and angst, then jump down to the comments and give us your thoughts!

read more https://www.dramafever.com/news/circle-two/

[0ly40]

preview june 12

 

[bebebisous33]

@diane90 It is good to discuss with you about the identity of the chairman, but honestly, it would be great if you change your tone: "I don't imagine" sounded a little harsh to me, only because I expressed some doubt about it. It is definitely possible that the minister Park DG could play the role of a double agent.   

[diane90]

8 minutes ago, bebebisous33 said:

@diane90 It is good to discuss with you about the identity of the chairman, but honestly, it would be great if you change your tone: "I don't imagine" sounded a little harsh to me, only because I expressed some doubt about it. It is definitely possible that the minister Park DG could play the role of a double agent.   

 

sorry if you feel like that! Honestly it's not for you when I say this words

[AlexandraReid]

Team Dramabeans: What we’re watching??!!

Why are there so many good shows to watch lately? Is anyone else watching so many dramas all at once that fictional worlds are starting to blur together? Every time I open up a new episode of a historical drama, I find myself having to ask, Wait, who’s the king in this one? I should probably just choose a few to binge-watch later, but sometimes it’s the fun of being in on the discussion now that keeps us watching! –girlfriday

 

javabeans

• Circle: I get so excited to watch this show every week that sometimes I have to calm myself down before I start, and sometimes I actually stop watching because I’m getting too excited and it’s too late at night and if I finish this episode that’s sure to have another game-shifting cliffhanger at the end, I won’t be able to sleep. I’m a fan of the innovative sci-fi plot and sense of mystery driving this, but what I really love is that at core, this is a love story between two brothers who have lost each other and will push the boundaries of what they know to be truth to find each other again.

 

girlfriday

• Circle: Oh, the brotherly love, it hurts so good. It’s so great to watch them work with the same side characters in both timelines, because now that there’s so much overlap in the two worlds, I love comparing each of the relationships. I don’t even know how it ends and I already want a second season of this.

 

gummimochi

• Circle: I always love a thinking man’s show, one that gets me nervous and tense and whose cliffhangers leave me thirsty for more. Last week’s major reveal was fantastic, and now we’re learning more about the side characters who populate Smart Earth. I can definitely see why everyone thinks that Woo-jin is the brains behind the Human B project, but then again, who really knows for sure?

 

tipsymocha

• Circle: I luff this show. The story is perfectly paced so that as soon as I figure out the answer to a certain plot point, the reveal happens and then they throw a couple more questions in there. I really enjoy the 2037 timeline as well, if only because it gives a little comedy to relieve some of the intensity of the 2017 half, even though the stakes are just as high with our missing twin. It’s also fascinating to see where our characters in the present are in the future, and I’m left wanting to know more about how they got there and why. Monday can’t come soon enough.

 

cr: http://www.dramabean...re-watching-55/