[Drama 2018] Mr. Sunshine, 미스터 션샤인 - Winner of Critics’ Choice Award for Drama category

[marfisa]

On 10/1/2018 at 11:54 PM, seabysea18 said:

@misspiggie @marfisa your comments always cracked me up.  Thank you. I need this to be able to move on.

 

Did we ever figure out why Eugene only had 1 bullet? Convenient plot device for his tragic demise?

 

You’re welcome. We all need theraphy...  I am also grateful for the comments and analisys of the other forum members. It helps.

 

About the bullets: Eugene came back to Korea without a weapon. We see him at the hospital, killing the three Japanese, by taking one of their guns. He fires. So, the gun runs out of bullets. What a trained marine would have done in this case, before running away, could be for sure take the other weapons and bullets. But we see instead him placing the weapon in a dead person hand... what for? As if this could be a sensible thing to do! To me is a big plot hole.  So, this is the reason Eugene has just one bullet left. Could he find other bullets somewhere else? I think he could, like killing some Japanese (he could do it even without firing) and taking his guns. There were a lot of possibilities but the writer wanted him defenseless. Ready to die.

 

[elfvanvan]

Thank you @rubie

I think you are right, HS had a premonition of him dying that is why he left the seamstress and her brother to his parents to buffer the grief of losing a son and still continuing the Kim line through adoption.. 

About the OST not doing well in Melon Chart, IMO its kinda sad and melancholic, and sometimes it reminds you of the drama too much, but for me I super love it, all of it its on my replay playlist, except for the BGM rise again by Elaine still not available on spotify

[cynkdf]

@writteninthestars09 @elfvanvan Both of you  make a good point -  the sad OSTs would remind people about the tragic ending. Today, I saw a tweet by someone who said she won't listen to Melomance's Good Day again because it was played during Eugene's death scene.

 

For all of one hour at midnight KST on 30 September HCY's OST reached No: 16 on melon and HCY was so cute, he

 

Spoiler

posted this - thanks to the Weibo fan for the post:

 

HCY: 16! oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh  (not sure if I got this right, my Mandarin is poor, sadly)

 

 

[rubie]

1 hour ago, cynkdf said:

@rubiesorry,  perhaps my post was poorly worded. What I meant to say is that from what I've seen on Twitter, many fans who love the drama right up to ep 23 were severely upset, I'd go even so far as to say, traumatized by the ending. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Yes BSB switched agencies.

 

 

No.. no, please don't apologize. I know you didn't mean bad.. and everyone here, too. It's true that the fans were upset but I think it's just that knee-jerk reaction seeing the ending so unexpectedly drastic and traumatic. Already 4 days on, I think everyone has started to calm down.. such an impact huh, just from watching MR.SUNSHINE.  For me, seeing the word 'negative' might deter new fans from watching the drama, we all just wanted more people to appreciate the drama, regardless of the ending. Hopefully, we will continue to see more comments at this thread especially. Apart from twitter (which surprisingly is buzzing with #MrSunshine), soompi is a good place for discussion and sharing. It's the old-school kinda forum but much easier to navigate from years ago.

 

I remember now... that some pages back while waiting for eps 23-24, I even speculated that EC would be the one dying in the end. I don't know why (didn't wish for it to happen, of course), perhaps because of the grim preview but now that speculative thought is obviously coming back to kick and bite so hard.

 

@marfisa at the hospital, EC did that.. switching and leaving the guns around because he didn't want the Joseon nurse & doctor to be in trouble by making it look like the Japanese soldiers were the ones shooting and in the end got themselves killed. But I get what you mean, going through Joseon with all the soldiers around, EC should have at least got himself a gun for protection. I mentioned this once, the RA could or should have taken the guns from the Japanese soldiers that they killed before disposing the bodies. If they had done that, perhaps, there would not be the situation where two or more fighters having to share a gun to shoot at the enemy. But I'm not going to criticize the RA, as they're already in a dire condition protecting the nation.

[marfisa]

 @rubie the Japanese authorities would neve held responsible the doctors or the nurses for the stooting, mainly because at that time  they were upstairs taking care of other Japanese wounded soldiers, and thus they had witnesses. Moreover they need their help to care of their future and present wounded people. It was just a plot hole, stupid as hell, and then again,  a marine would have played better his cards. I would really like to ask an expert about stategies or a soldier to get a professional opinion about this plot. As Eugene easily stole an horse, he could steal weapons too.

I want to add that when a writer writes a plot about things is not expert of, hires experts to get advice...  so I think KES next time will be better off hiring some consultant on matters she clearly has no clue.  

[burningpotato]

Nope, no, uh-huh, not acceptable. 

 

Finally saw the last episode, and... nope.

 

Couldn't SOMEONE get a happy ending? Was this necessary? Nope.

 

Seriously, even as it was happening, I was thinking "He could have shot out the pin from the other side, or he could have shot it and then jumped. This doesn't work. I can accept everything else, but this doesn't make sense." 

 

I mean, I guess that the writers wanted to honor the truth of war by killing everyone? I guess? But the only survivor was the least interesting and least compelling character!

 

Honestly, I don't even want to go back and watch favorite scenes now, knowing how it ends. It's not all the death that gets to me. That was always going to be part of it. It's the way it played out. 

[marfisa]

@rubie I watched again episode 23 till the scene of the hospital. I apology, because I was wrong, Eugene had a gun on his own. But to fire the Japanes he uses a gun taken from the first Japanese he puts down. Then he put it back in the hand of the dead Japanese. So I should watch the restof the episode  to find out where the bullets of his own gun went, because I don't remember at all.  Still, he could steal a gun and bullets anywhere. I am upset.

[aurelionsol]

Delete

 

 

 

 

[marfisa]

@charray may I put the story you digged about dye the fingernail on my group on Facebook? I will credit you and name this forum of course. There are many people in need to something nice, to feel better. Thanks in advance

[charray]

29 minutes ago, marfisa said:

@charray may I put the story you digged about dye the fingernail on my group on Facebook? I will credit you and name this forum of course. There are many people in need to something nice, to feel better. Thanks in advance

 

Sure, no problem. You can post or share whatever I had shared here in this thread as you wish and wherever you like. It is for sharing. No need to credit me or my name. I am a shy person. 

[charray]

18 hours ago, pearlynguyen said:

 

 

I think the black bird is Go Ashin because of the following:

1. When little Eugene looked up to the sky and saw a black bird, Go grandpa did mention something like “look down, don’t look up it’s dangerous for you as a slave”. It eventually costs him his life because he met Ashin – the black bird
2. At the harbor where DM shot AS (Korean names/places are very hard for me to remember), the shot where she wearing a black suit and jumping roof with the sun behind, she looked just like a black bird flying in the sky. And later, DM told HK “I shot a black bird so it could never fly again.”
3. At Eugene’s last moment after he got shot on the train, he looked up to the sky and the black bird was there again. It symbolizes that he has made sure that Ashin – the black bird is still soaring high.
4. At his burial site, the black bird was there to show that AS through was not with him physically but in spirit and she would guide the next generation Domi, just like she is training for the next generation gunners.
5. HK once told AS “because you decided to wield a gun, 3 men have lost their ways” and granpa Go also said something like “will the black bird ruins the sky…” Eugene also asked himself right after he got out of prision: “Is there a reason why you caused so much turbulant in my life?…”

This is just my speculation. Talking about the last train ride and the burial site, my heart aches again. Like @Rubie said, at the end, AS couldn’t even visit his grave in person…they are forever separated. 

 

I think I quite like this theory. Perhaps it is to show that Ae Shin had died by 1919 and the black bird is to symbolise her spirit had returned to Eugene in Joseon and to keep him company and visiting his grave. Makes it less sad and lonely this way.

[rubie]

Artbook & stickers by Ruro

 

[aurelionsol]

 

After thinking about the series, storyline, forced script, mistakes (lack of logic and realism, unreal scenes and behavior of characters, disappearing and appearing characters and many more...) and strange solutions, I lost interest in this thread. I just feel bad thinking about the whole production and lost potential - this series could have been much better. Many things could have been shown with a much better way and the message would be similar - the way of returning the heroine to Joseon (american legation in Japan, DM, emperor delegation) is a terrible and forced and I could write a few pages about many things done badly in Mr Sunshine. The ending is not shocking, sad but spoiled by the use of the main characters in this way. Writers should satisfy both sides realists/pragmatists and those who are delighted with symbolism (unfortunately, exaggerated in MR Sunshine). 

Despite the fictionality of Ae-Shin and Eugene and their love in the first half they were so credible by KES that it was not necessary to force what happened in the second half of the series. I have the impression that they wanted to attract/mislead viewers because they had the right to go to the US - their sad experience and accomplishments for RA and opportunities that they could had abroad for Joseon/RA.

Ahn-Chang-Ho could spread the words about Joseon situation (political activist) and Japan wrongdoings then why force Ae-Shin and Eugene in this way... KES forced point of view on this period and the result. Short-sightedness or avoiding uncomfortable topics?

It is interesting that KES chooses characters and hides the one who killed Ito Hirobumi in 1909. Read the biography of An Jung-geun a Korean nationalist. The character is quite interesting because he recognised, he accepted Japanese imperialism but he didn't like certain methods (which was understandable by the wrongdoings of the Japanese) and he fought actively with them and he had a different vision Pan-asianism. Ahn strongly believed in the union of the three great countries in East Asia, China, Korea, and Japan in order to counter and fight off the "White Peril", namely, the European countries engaged in colonialism, and restore peace to East Asia. He followed the progress of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War and claimed that he and his compatriots were delighted at hearing of the defeat of one of the agents of the White Peril, but were disappointed that the war ended before Russia was totally subjugated.

Ahn felt that with the death of Ito, Japan and Korea could become friends because of the many traditions that they shared. He hoped that this friendship, along with China, would become a model for the world to follow. His thoughts on Pan-Asianism were stated in his essay, "On Peace in East Asia" that he worked on and left unfinished before his execution. In this work, Ahn recommends the organization of combined armed forces and the issue of joint banknotes among Korea, Japan, and China.

 

Thank you all for your time, dialogue and making individual theories and thoughts about Mr Sunshine. 

I need to look for something that will fix my crushed mind. As I mentioned, I want to forget about this series as soon as possible. It will take some time for me, but I've been going through it a few times with Kdramas.

 

[charray]

2 hours ago, aurelionsol said:

 

 

It is interesting that KES chooses characters and hides the one who killed Ito Hirobumi. Read the biography of An Jung-geun a Korean nationalist. The character is quite interesting because he recognised, he accepted Japanese imperialism but he didn't like certain methods (which was understandable by the wrongdoings of the Japanese) and he had a different vision Pan-asianism. Ahn strongly believed in the union of the three great countries in East Asia, China, Korea, and Japan in order to counter and fight off the "White Peril", namely, the European countries engaged in colonialism, and restore peace to East Asia. He followed the progress of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War and claimed that he and his compatriots were delighted at hearing of the defeat of one of the agents of the White Peril, but were disappointed that the war ended before Russia was totally subjugated.

Ahn felt that with the death of Ito, Japan and Korea could become friends because of the many traditions that they shared. He hoped that this friendship, along with China, would become a model for the world to follow. His thoughts on Pan-Asianism were stated in his essay, "On Peace in East Asia" that he worked on and left unfinished before his execution. In this work, Ahn recommends the organization of combined armed forces and the issue of joint banknotes among Korea, Japan, and China.

 

Thank you all for your time, dialogue and making individual theories and thoughts about Mr Sunshine. 

I need to look for something that will fix my crushed mind. As I mentioned, I want to forget about this series as soon as possible. It will take some time for me, but I've been going through it a few times with Kdramas.

 

 

Thank you for sharing the above on Anh Jung Geun. So much history to learn and find out about Korea during that time period.

 

It is nice having you on this thread with us. Hope you will get over the disappointment of this drama soon. Usually watching and getting absorbed into another drama is the best way to get over a drama.

 

For me, after the initial trauma and shock of that cruel train scene, I have now accepted the sad ending for Eugene particularly after reading the views of others. I understand that many viewers think that Ae Shin embodies the spirit of Joseon and that is why everyone is protecting her including even having the emperor sending a delegation to Japan to bring her back to Joseon which we will think is illogical and makes no sense.

 

 

 

[rubie]

Time for a break, time to heal  Just like many of us, the wonderful artist(s) sharing lovely MR.SUNSHINE artwork is also having post-drama syndrome (re: comment section).

 

Art by mmeflm

 

[linygirl1]

On 10/3/2018 at 1:42 PM, coco_dohl said:

Yap From what I've seen, only a few members here are a little disappointed, and some disappointed people on Instagram, on Twitter as far as I know nobody regrets the end of the story, only people who can't sleep until they fall ill see the main character's slaughter

 

KoalaPlayground, Mydramalist, Asianwiki, hancinema, Especially annoying sites like Dramabeans I have never seen reviews there seriously

Agreed. At first I was disappointed because who doesnt want your favorite characters to live and have a happy or not so tragic ending?

For me now that the inital shock and emotions of watching the last few episodes are wearing off. I can appreciate why the story ended as it did. Each character had power in their deaths by choosing the exact moment that it would be the most benficial to Joseon and to Aeshin. Once I go back and rewatch it I will have deeper thoughts but for now my impression is that it ended the only way it could...in agonizing heartbreak :-( <3

 

[rubie]

Clip: ggone_arjenia

[seabysea18]

12 hours ago, marfisa said:

@rubie I watched again episode 23 till the scene of the hospital. I apology, because I was wrong, Eugene had a gun on his own. But to fire the Japanes he uses a gun taken from the first Japanese he puts down. Then he put it back in the hand of the dead Japanese. So I should watch the restof the episode  to find out where the bullets of his own gun went, because I don't remember at all.  Still, he could steal a gun and bullets anywhere. I am upset.

 

Probably KES wanted to remind us that Eugene was never good at counting bullets. Remember he failed the drill test and Kyle made him run laps?  It would be a tongue-in-cheek moment if they showed a replay of that scene when Eugene counted the bullet in front of AS.  My goodness this show was obsessed with replaying the scenes to explain minor/major plot points like we didn’t get it. My take is Eugene was a fool in love when it came to Ae Shin so don’t expect him to have any common sense because the writer wouldn’t allow him to (ok stop crying now. Its over.)

 

I wish it could be perfect because I truly love the drama but the ending was like a deal breaker for me.  I was not convinced of his death because as a character Eugene was a great strategist and always made the right decision in the most precarious situations, at least that’s what KES led me to believe. It was a heroic death but I don’t buy it. I feel the writer just wanted to have the most impactful ending without a care for character nor storyline consistency.  If Ae Shin represents Joseon then I expect her character to shine as fire flower (was that her line?) but what I got was a very lackluster AS.  She almost faded into the background while her loved ones died protecting her.  I couldn’t connect with AS in the last 2 eps with the AS I came to love in the first 22 eps. Even AS-EC or AS-DM reunion scenes upset me.  The scenes were very underwhelming (due to time constraints I guess)  Anyway I could go on and on about the imperfection but I should just accept that this is it.  And then there were none except AS!  

 

Now if someone can write an alternative ending/fanfic that will ease us some pain   Any Homeland fans in here? I was #Quinning for a long time, endured a whole season of Quinn being tortured and Carrie forgetting him until they completely killed him off in the next season.  I since then abandoned the show. At least there is no season 2 for Mr Sunshine because I don’t see how they can bring Mr. Sunshine back to life. 

[rubie]

October 5, 2018

 

Traditional Andong opens up its doors:

The nation’s cultural capital makes efforts to welcome new visitors

ANDONG, North Gyeongsang - Home to a fair share of Korea’s historic and traditional culture, Andong is ready to show a different side of itself to the new groups of visitors visiting the city thanks to its role in the TV drama “Mr. Sunshine,” with actor Lee Byung-hun. 

 

Some scenes were filmed at Manhyujeong, a traditional Korean pavilion located in the city. Those looking to recreate the romantic moment they saw in the drama are already making plans to visit the southern city. 

 

Full article at INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily // Photos: dongho_gt

 

[cynkdf]

17 hours ago, rubie said:

 

 Hopefully, we will continue to see more comments at this thread especially. Apart from twitter (which surprisingly is buzzing with #MrSunshine), soompi is a good place for discussion and sharing. It's the old-school kinda forum but much easier to navigate from years ago.

 

 

Dear @rubie sorry to cut your lovely post. You will definitely see more comments from yours truly, whether some people want it or not LOL  - just try and stop me  Although it will be on my favourite subject ... I'd try  my best to keep on topic.   Thanks for the link to the article about Andong - guess who in July last year was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of North Gyeongsang Province?

 

Spoiler

http://tour.gb.go.kr/en/page.do?mnu_uid=273&amp;tmp_uid=2454&amp;cmd=2

 

For folks interested in going to Andong, this  will hopefully be of interest:

 

https://keuphoria.blogspot.com/2018/01/andong-part-4-lesser-known-places-of.html