[Drama 2017] Save Me, 구해줘

[AlexandraReid]

BTS from naver

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Loving this two shots 

Spoiler

 

cr:naver

[icemaid]

Finally finished watching ep 16.

Really enjoyed watching this drama even though its scary..

Its one of my favourite k-drama this year!

Thank you to all who have contributed so much to this thread, enjoyed reading all your posts.

See you at the Mad Dog thread? 

 

 

(Wonder if the cast will find time to visit Taecyeon during his military service.)

 

 

 

[OppasSlyFox]

9 hours ago, enigmatic_zephy said:

I think there are subtle hints that writer has given for SM-SH to be the end game..

 

1) DC pushing for SH to be the one to save SM at every point

2) Fight between Jo's brother and DC/SH was to show that SH is actually a better hitter which links back to the fact that knowing that DC kept pushing SH to be SM's savior

 

3) SH actually confessing his love to his mother. We never got to know DC's actual words.. the best was when SH called him out on loving SM back in school when he wanted to run to the terrace to save SJ and SM

 

4) MIlitary scene... when she came, see DC does not move at all.. first they show that SH eyes wandering looking for her... and then everyone else making way for SH to step forward... they choose to stay in the background.. giving the two their space..

 

( its very beautifully subtly done.. but DC basically gives up on SM as a romantic interest.. presumably for SH)

 

 

5) SM thanking SH for hearing her plea- this is the most telling of all.. in all of this mess and so many people who helped her.. and she herself was the most amazing incredibly strong person.. and yet with her words the writer conveys that the one moment she is most thankful for is that moment with SH.. where he heard her plea.. where he came for her.. SO he is the HERO..

 

 

 

 

 

I wish we would have a season 2 only for the romance.. triangle or not..

Both are good guys and my bb Sang Mi could end up with either and I wouldn't protest. That being said, those points you bring up are more about SH's character arc going in full circle than it is about romance. He IS the central character of the story as he is the only character who goes through a major change and seeks that classic central character redemption, having failed his friends in the past. SM and DC were "flawless" from the start and remained consistently good and righteous throughout so it's not through their arcs that we conclude the story. in fact, SM has shown the same appreciation and gratitude toward DC by seeking him out, telling him she owes him her life and encouraging him to survive; we even had that moment where he emerges by himself with her only focusing on him and the cinematography highlighting it. SM has also yet to reveal any romantic feelings towards any of the guys so it's up to the viewer to decide. Personally, I think making the last scene about romantic implications kind of cheapen the characters--not just SHs redemption but SM as well by portraying her as wishy washy because just a few episodes earlier, creative decisions also framed her and DC endgame if we were to interpret them the same as you have. It also takes away from the purposeful set up that rewards the fans for sticking with the heroes by making callbacks to how they met and the turning points in their journeys

[anng]

I'm so glad that it's a wonderful ending for all to wrap up the story nicely without any draggy scenes. It's a simple story about 4 young men saving a girl from a cult but the built up of everything and the execution of each episode was exciting to watch and the cast made it even better! The last scene was sweet when they were all there for TaecYeon to see him off and perfect open ending for him & SM.  Unless DC make a move while hes gone haha.

[aisling]

I don’t know but from my point of view Dong Chul didn’t like Sang Mi romantically like SH did. Of course she was a new girl and every boy in Muji was awestruck by her beauty but they didn’t fall for her like SH. DC never said he liked her and the way I see his character is that he’s a kind of person who just can’t stand by when somebody’s being bullied. Remember that girl who was hit by her boyfriend? He came to her rescue too. He would help anyone in trouble.

 

Also he was driven by guilt because he couldn’t save Sang Jin that’s what pushed him to give everything into saving Sang Mi. 

 

I’m curious about Mad Dog, if Woo Do-Hwan will be so swoon worthy there as well 

[AlexandraReid]

Rescue Me: Episode 13

Father Baek’s shady history is starting to catch up to him as the boys continue their relentless investigation into Guseonwon. They’re rewarded with bits and pieces of crucial information, but their prying doesn’t go unnoticed by their watchful target—an organization that will use any and all means to maintain their power. Unfortunately, Guseonwon’s sinister reach surrounds our heroes no matter where they go, putting them in more danger than they realize.

 

 
EPISODE 13 RECAP

We rewind a bit to find Father Baek threatening Sang-mi in the sanctuary after he explains why he selected her to be his Spiritual Mother: She reminds him of Yu-ra, his previous Spiritual Mother trainee and Disciple Kang’s daughter—the one he pushed too hard, resulting in her suicide.

“Why don’t you try shouting for help,” he says menacingly as he steps closer, “because the only person here to rescue you is me.” He strokes her cheek before Sang-mi slaps it away, snarling, “Do you mean you chose me and my family because I reminded you of that girl you killed?”

 

At that remark, Father Baek swiftly throws her down on the ground before pinning her arms above her head. Sang-mi looks up in terror as Father Baek darkly states that Sang-mi gives him no choice but to change his approach, before he yanks up the hem of her skirt.

But before he can go further, Sang-mi frantically begs him to stop with tears streaming down her face: “I understand now that you can do whatever you want to me. I won’t run away anymore. If this is really my fate, please give me a little time to accept you.” Father Baek relents and confirms that he can trust Sang-mi before agreeing to wait until “the fruit fully ripens.”

 

 

=== Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/09/rescue-me-episode-13/

 

 

 

COMMENTS

Continuing on from last episode, this episode continues to act as a turning point of the story. Until now, Father Baek never failed to disguise his lust for Sang-mi; however, as he grew impatient towards Sang-mi’s hostile attitude against him, he revealed his true desire for the first time.

This display of lust lowers Father Baek from the untouchable holy stature that he assigned to himself to as the “messenger of the New Heaven’s God” to the level of an ordinary person because he isn’t immune to worldly desires, and his humanization has the effect of stripping away his image of invincibility. Consequently, while Father Baek still has a menacing presence, Sang-mi has learned how to provoke and manipulate him to respond in the way that she needs. This, combined with new awareness about his dark past, reveals an Achilles heel that the protagonists can take advantage of to take him down.

This episode showed us the havoc Guseonwon wreaks on not only our protagonists’ lives, but also on the lives of other ordinary townspeople. Ironically, it also provides viewers with more hope for the malicious organization’s takedown, because Sang-mi has gained allies: a reporter working alongside her on the inside as well as a skeptical but determined detective. Guseonwon may seem to have a hold on all sectors of the town, but maintaining its grasp is becoming increasingly difficult as the boys turn to external sources for help. This has the positive effect of making the show less frustrating to watch.

Spoiler

 

It’s interesting that the two people who’ve shown willingness to help them—So-rin and Detective Lee—are both from Seoul and seem to be in Muji unwillingly. This is likely no coincidence, however, because their indifference to maintaining power in Muji makes them less susceptible to Guseonwon’s bribes and threats; the two have no interest in securing their future in Muji when they’ve found an opportunity to return to Seoul.

I’m so relieved that Mom now knows not to swallow the red pill. I was worried that we would be back to square one in terms of her progress after the last episode, but instead, it’s looking like Sang-mi is gaining back one of her parents. Mom’s look of horror when she was talking to Sang-mi’s dad makes me confident that she’s fully in possession of her mental faculties, and her show of insanity in front of Disciple Kang reassures me that nobody suspects her yet. The longer everyone believes Mom to be insane, the safer she’ll be.

Speaking of moms, Disciple Kang seems to be less affected by her flashbacks of her daughter. Although she’s frozen for a moment, she’s been shaking them off more readily. I used to think that she could help Sang-mi, but now I’m starting to think that she’ll be one of the last to let go of her faith. The moment she admits that Guseonwon is a lie, she’ll have to come to terms with the fact that she’s sacrificed her only daughter and a great deal of her life for a mere con. Perhaps she’s aware of that on some level, and this awareness feeds her desperate need to hold on to Guseonwon’s lies. I’m curious to see what the last straw will be for Disciple Kang, because it’s going to take a lot for her to truly snap out of her reverie.

 

 

[enigmatic_zephy]

3 hours ago, OppasSlyFox said:

Both are good guys and my bb Sang Mi could end up with either and I wouldn't protest. That being said, those points you bring up are more about SH's character arc going in full circle than it is about romance. He IS the central character of the story as he is the only character who goes through a major change and seeks that classic central character redemption, having failed his friends in the past. SM and DC were "flawless" from the start and remained consistently good and righteous throughout so it's not through their arcs that we conclude the story. in fact, SM has shown the same appreciation and gratitude toward DC by seeking him out, telling him she owes him her life and encouraging him to survive; we even had that moment where he emerges by himself with her only focusing on him and the cinematography highlighting it. SM has also yet to reveal any romantic feelings towards any of the guys so it's up to the viewer to decide. Personally, I think making the last scene about romantic implications kind of cheapen the characters--not just SHs redemption but SM as well by portraying her as wishy washy because just a few episodes earlier, creative decisions also framed her and DC endgame if we were to interpret them the same as you have. It also takes away from the purposeful set up that rewards the fans for sticking with the heroes by making callbacks to how they met and the turning points in their journeys

Which scenes allude to DC being a romantic interest from writer's point  of view?

 

And i agree we don't know what SM wants.. infact it would be ridiculous to think that she would go anywhere near romance.. her need right now is to find her own identity - education, work etc etc..

 

Unless you point out specific examples, from what i see writing has made SH to be the romantic lead in ever so slightly..

 

DC hitting that big guy, and then when SM comes DC is getting hit.. giving SH that chances to show off as the hero.. .. in fact it is so obvious that i felt bad.. because this drama did not need romance to be made obvious.. a wistful look on the army enlistment day would have been enough..

 

And most surprisingly its DC's attitude towards SM.. that romance is gone .. its not there in his eyes.. all of a sudden in ep 16.. 

 

so yeah, all clues point to SH from writer's perspective

[AlexandraReid]

IG updates

==

 

WDH selca w/ lee jea joon (played as his friend, Daeshik)

 

[AlexandraReid]

new clip from ocn

 

 

SM's dad endup become loyal to fake cult? how pity lmao

 

[ChyuuNyuu]

WOOOOWWW HAPPY ENDING!! .。･:*♡◟༼ຈ 3 ຈ༽◞⌒♡*:･。.

I really liked the ending but it was definitely not perfect. There is a fine line between a rushed ending and an ending that connects all the loose ends a nice swoop … if you know what I mean ^^' and for me it felt a bit…rushed? I wished the makers had spent less time in the past and more time infiltrating the cult because I found those last 6 episodes absolutely thrilling!

I really liked how Apostle Jo and our Pedophile were handled. Although I wished that this whit haired murder rapist would rot in jail until the end of his days because dying is him escaping his sentence he deserves imo.

 

Also SM's dad…that poor dude…he needs some hard core salvation lol my wishful thinking is is this scene hinting us that there will be a second season. But I think this scene meant to show us how brain washed people can become or rather stay – even if the cult leader is long gone –!

Now to Sang MI. I LOVED how she stopped SH and said that now she wants to walk out of this church by herself with her head held high! YOU GO GIRL! I also loved how she said to DC that she will save her family. It was clear that she needed their help but she was never really the damsel in destress. She found her inner strength as she realized that she had friends that will help her…LOVE IT!

I also loved how SM's mom saved SH's mom. That was awesome! How brave those two women were or rather are. Actually I just realized how many strong female characters this drama has. I'm very much impressed! Sang Mi, Sang Mi's mom Bo-Eun, Apostle Kang, the reporter, Sang Hwan's Mom, the police officer…One doesn't see that often in KDrama world.

 

Nonetheless I was a bit disappointed that the reporters death was kinda swept under the rug  (ب_ب)

 

And I didn't really liked how the focus was set on SH in this last episode. Because for me it's was the whole group who worked together to help SM. Specially Dong–Cheol who INFILTRATED THIS FREAKISH CULT! For me it seemed as if it's SH who comes in and saves the day…I would've liked a scene where she thanks all of them…

And I HATED how in the end the story pushed for SH and SM…whats up with that? Or is it just me? Perhaps it's because SH is the main protagonist and they wanted to show their friendship in the end…I would've liked that but that's not the feeling episode 16 gave me…(urgh I hate my second lead syndrome  (눈‸눈))

 

Anyway anyway I'm not ranting here (just a little =P). I'm really happy how different this drama felt. It was indeed a very good mystery thriller with some fresh new faced that I'm looking forward to seeing in other dramas that are hopefully just as good!

[AlexandraReid]

Rescue Me: Episode 14

 

Cracks begin to form in Guseonwon’s foundation as more past secrets are brought to light, causing our heroes to find strength in each other as our villains start to fight amongst themselves. The plans that our heroes have set in motion start to bear fruit, and despite the setbacks they encounter, you know what they say about enemies: The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

 
EPISODE 14 RECAP

We return to the service hall’s tense confrontation, with Dae-shik wielding canisters of gasoline and a lighter, ready to burn Guseonwon to the ground. Dad tells Sang-mi to stay back, but Dong-chul is the first one to take action as he barrels forward and holds Dae-shik back. As he struggles with Dae-shik, he yells at Dad to get Sang-mi out of the room.

“Why are you here? Are you one of them?” Dae-shik asks angrily when he realizes who it is, but that doesn’t stop him from punching Dong-chul in the face.

Dong-chul pins Dae-shik to the wall and waits for Sang-mi and Dad to exit the hall before he tells Dae-shik, “I’m not one of them!”

 

“Why are you stopping me then?” Dae-shik roars. Dong-chul reminds him that he’d wanted to live well with his mother, which stills Dae-shik’s rage. “I will destroy this place no matter what. Could you please trust me and go back?” Dong-chul asks imploringly.

At this, Dae-shik stops struggling and staggers against the wall. But when they hear voices from outside the hall approaching, Dong-chul thinks fast, asking desperately for Dae-shik to punch him. When the congregants reach the door, Dae-shik does as Dong-chul asks before sprinting out the side door.

The congregants help Dong-chul up to his feet, and Disciple Jo remarks that Dong-chul is actually quite manly after all. Dong-chul just meekly says that he wanted to be able to protect Spiritual Mother. “You have such a pure soul,” Father Baek remarks. “New Heaven’s God will make great use of you.”

 

 

=== Read more: http://www.dramabeans.com/2017/09/rescue-me-episode-14/

 

 

 

COMMENTS

So, very interesting. Family has definitely always been a focus of this show, but it seems like mothers in particular are now coming to the forefront. Sang-mi and Sang-hwan’s moms are both waking up, albeit in slightly different ways. Hopefully, neither husband is forgiven for their breaches of trust and their willingness to keep their wives in the dark.

At first glance, it seems like our protagonists’ plans were not well-coordinated, but they’re actually meshing nicely to form a cohesive master plan in their effort to take down Guseonwon. In fact, it’s clever that they have multiple ways to take down Guseonwon, in case one plan goes awry or Guseonwon tries to figure out and stop one of their plans.

Dong-chul acts as insider support for the other plans and greases the wheels of their operations, while Sang-mi’s role is both to make Guseonwon believe that she’s going along with their salvation plan and act as the central unit for the group inside of Guseonwon. Sang-hwan is our primary agent outside of Guseonwon, and he gives the group the legal, political, and media clout that’s necessary to fully destroy Guseonwon. There’s a lot of moving parts involved, and our heroes are doing a good job of juggling them all.

It’s really heartening to see how Sang-hwan in particular has matured. It isn’t that he’s put his connections to his past behind him—far from it—but he’s been able to turn those memories and regrets into stepping stones for his current actions, and he is very clearly learning from his past mistakes. In addition, even though he’s cut off his connections with his father, he knows that his father plays a huge role in his life and the town, and he is able to use that relationship to leverage his own purposes for the greater good.

Spoiler

 

The continuity with Jung-hoon’s livestream is also a well done and useful part of the story. The livestream is a plot device that not only gave the heroes some information about the cult’s past in another city, but it also created believable conflict when Disciple Jo used it to lure and capture Jung-hoon.

 

 

In that vein, it would be really easy for our heroes to feel continually outmaneuvered by Guseonwon, but I’m really impressed with how they’ve managed to stay ahead of the game through a combination of quick thinking, lucky breaks, and a well-timed punch here and there.

I also enjoy the setup of the villains getting impaled on their own swords, so to speak. It’s clearly meant to be ironic that Disciple Kang was injected with her own drug, with poison being a key part of her character. As for Disciple Jo, it’s been shown over and over again that he’s so greedy for money that he keeps attracting trouble and attention to Guseonwon. And the fact that he and Wan-duk keep killing people left and right and burying them in the woods is surely going to come around and bite them back.

Father Baek, of course, is caught by vices of his own. He feeds off of people’s desires and religious beliefs, preying on various women along the way, and now he’s about to pay the price. Finding out one by one that each of our major enemies have these weak spots to strike at is pretty delicious, considering that they made themselves out to be the ultimate judges of sin and goodness.

There’s some plot threads that I don’t see being pulled into the resolution, like Dong-chul’s mentor’s grudge, or Sang-hwan’s dad’s power play with the other Muji political officials. I’m actually glad that they haven’t become big issues at this point, especially since we’re near the end, because I didn’t find those parts of the show nearly as captivating as the struggles of the show’s younger generation. It’s good that the show is sticking to what it does best, which is the action from our core group of friends and allies.

Meanwhile, the pieces of their plan are still falling into place, and I’m sure that our heroes can make a comeback despite the recapture of So-rin. This may be the toughest night of their lives yet: There are still two episodes to see how it all shakes out, but I’ll buckle in for the ride and hope that I don’t run into a Guseonwon van on the way.

 

 

 

 

[TheaN]

On 9/24/2017 at 10:12 AM, MrsSoJiSub said:

I didn't like that the human trafficker (all those poor souls in the dungeon. Imagine the many drunks, homeless, etc that may have had people who care for them or no who were tortured and damaged to the point the lunacy and fear Dong Cheol's father displayed) gets to be the "hero" who finds and arrests Jo and received no punishment for his evil crimes. I hope Jo reveals all his trafficking and bribes taken during his trail and the man is stripped of his job, jailed, and shamed and shunned.

 

I think you are referring to  JH's (David Lee) dad?  I don't think of him as a supplier of human fodder.  I believe he thought he was actually doing some good and that Guseonwon was taking care of these folks while he was cleaning up the streets at the same time.  He probably viewed his bribes as "blessings", so yes, he was delusional in that respect.

 

Seeing him at the end on his son's video stream tells me he probably lost his job.  I was glad he was honest with his son in the end and placed himself under arrest with the femail cop.

[AlexandraReid]

 

[maddymappo]

The ending was a soft landing.

As usual I watched peeking out between my fingers 

I thought that the journalist's death was sad, I was hoping she would be a future romantic interest.  They left the mains unscathed. I know I thought I couldn't bear the death of any of the 4Fs or SM's mother or SH's mother, but I am thinking now that the end may have had more impact if one of them died.  I know that is cold to say but somehow the ending was not as intense as the rest of the episodes.   

 

SH going off to the army made sense.   I liked the petite police lady getting tough with those creeps. It was a nice touch.  I thought that SH and DC fighting together was a good moment. It felt like when they were younger and before  SH started to reign himself in to support his father's goals.  

 

Ultimately SM reminds us at the end that it was SH who saw her silently mouth "Save Me" in the van, and because of that gave her the hope she needed to work to bring the place down.  I think his desire to make up for the guilt of not helping her in the past and his determination to make up for it, was a strong plot point that brought everything together.

 

Along the way we are seduced by the fight with his gut, DC.  He is a charismatic character, (more so than old yellow hair, don't know what the believers saw in him),  who takes big risks and threw himself into the most dangerous situations. How could we not routing for him and his virility and cuteness naturally made us want to fix him up with someone and SM was the only young female for most of it, then just a small role for the journalist.  I guess they could have developed a sweet hometown love for DC who waited for him to get out jail.  

 

All in all this was a worthwhile drama. I enjoyed the acting and the plot was so suspenseful each episode went really fast. The OST is good too.

[rocher22]

DC and SH are equally important in this story and both of them , in different ways, gave their best to help SM.

However DC was somehow pushed to the side.

Its a familiar method in dramas, where second lead simply shines.

[maddymappo]

5 hours ago, rocher22 said:

DC and SH are equally important in this story and both of them , in different ways, gave their best to help SM.

However DC was somehow pushed to the side.

Its a familiar method in dramas, where second lead simply shines.

Yes, but there really isn't traditional jealousy and vying for her affection and another jealous woman involved like in romantic dramas. This one is different. If I were to make positive criticism ( because I really liked this drama on many levels) I would give DC another love interest, another hometown girl who always loved him, or the journalist and made her death more profound and painful. This was a difficult drama to watch because of some much sorrow in the opening, the bullying and suicide of SM's brother.  But after that even though we felt bad for the little boy and journalist, we did not get too involved with those characters and commit our hearts to them, I think at the end there needed to be one more death or near death of someone we felt more deeply about.  That would have given it that final wham.

[Sujin-a]

Hi chinggus, new on this thread, and I just want to share my thoughts on the ending. 

 

Han Sang-hwan - Up until the very end, he still upheld his virtue that justice can be achieved  without having someone's blood on one's hand. I admit that Dong-chul provides that relatively more active approach in saving Sang-mi, but for the sake of the story, it's nice to have two different approaches in dealing with Sang-min's situation. I love that he ended up enlisting in the drama as is in real life aheee.

 

Dong-chul - Woo Do-hwan definitely stood out in the acting department from episode 1. It was a great revelation that his father was all a long a poor victim of the cult, but I would've preferred a longer exposure for the both of them inside the basement.

 

Sang-mi- I didn't know Seo Ye-ji before this but after watching "Save Me," she does have a good future in Chungmuro. 

 

Baek Jung-ki - I mean, what else could've been done for him to pay for what he has done? 

 

Jo Wan-tae - A good actor you'd love to hate. I just felt like his and Baek's conflict could've been more than just kicking him out of Guseonwon. I can't think of any alternative, but I'd love more tension-filled episodes between them.

 

Kang - I'm still trying to understand how being inside that "torture" chamber pushed her to "help" Sang-mi's mother. It seems like she has always been jealous of that "Spiritual Mother" title, that's why I can sense her subtle envy toward Sang-min. In one episode, Baek pointed out that Sang-min's father made a huge sacrifice by giving up her daughter. You'll notice that Kang was shook a little (because obviously she also sacrificed her daughter). So, I'm happy that she helped Sang-mi's mother to escape (for her own ambitions).

 

Im Joo-hoo (Sang-mi's appa) - Worse father, great actor. See you in "Along with the Gods." 

 

Overall finale review: From episode 1 to 15, I felt like watching the first hour of a movie, while the finale episode was the second hour. Except for few dramas , many KDramas indeed struggle in extending the plot to 16 episodes to the point that I've gotten used to it. But I agree with one comment above that the ending was simple, straight to the point and no extra drama.

 

On 9/25/2017 at 5:39 AM, aisling said:

 

Also what about Apostle Kang and Governor Han’s assistant? Shouldn’t they be punished by law too? Apostle Kang tortured reporter Hong and who knows how many people in the past. Both women knew what their bosses were doing and didn’t report it to the police. Doesn’t it make them accomplices?

 

I'm not a legal expert, but there are no proof to incriminate Apostle Kang  except if Wan-tae or Sang-mi's mother will testify. But even that, those will still be circumstantial. She must've moved far from Muji already, and can no longer be traced. If she'll be investigated, she can easily claim that she's drugged like the other believers.

 

BTW, am I the only one who feels weird about the role of Joon-goo? When he first arrived in that pub and met Dong-chol, there were theories that he might have something to do with the cult OR must have a crucial role in rescuing Sang-mi. And then in episode 14 or 15, he was hired as one of the trusted men of Spiritual Father. He turned out to be an all-around lap dog, and only did a good job in helping Dong-chul in the final episode. He had such a strong presence that I thought his role would be bigger.

 

Anyway, I enjoy this drama from start to finish (I'm currently in a drama slump actually). Looking forward to more thrilling dramas from OCN. 

[kawaiibooty]

 

@stroppyse Sis! Help! It says Dong Cheol and Love line in the interview with Seo Ye Ji and I'm dying to know what it is about ...

http://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=109&aid=0003626567&lfrom=twitter

Onegaii <3

[picadrama]

and the award of Worst Father of the Year goes to.....

drumroll pleaseeeeee 

 

Sang Mi's Daddy. 

who giftwraps his own daughter and serves her up to a creepy pedophile fanatic. 

 

/great acting tho ! 

[icemaid]

Thank you @stroppyse for the translation.

You are gem in this thread till the very end...

See you in  thread.