[Drama 2018] My Mister, 나의 아저씨 - Best Drama at 2019 (55th) BaekSang Arts Awards

[actionscript]

On 12/1/2021 at 10:21 PM, the_sweetroad said:

I read that in Korea, if divorce is mutually agreed upon, the couple can move forward with it. However, if it's a "disputed divorce" then a trial is needed. And - important point - if you are the cheating spouse, you are not allowed to take your spouse to trial. It has to be the scorned spouse that files for a divorce in that case. https://10mag.com/how-to-get-a-divorce-in-south-korea-guide/

 

"Korea follows the model of guilt-based divorce (Verschuldensprinzip) where, unlike in the countries with a no-fault divorce model, the party that is responsible for the marriage failure, cannot file a suit for divorce or it will be dismissed if it is filed."

 

Wow you even researched on Korean divorce laws just to gain more insights on how DH and YH would move forward? 

I’m sure cheating always referred to the physical aspect of relationships. “Committed an act unchastity” as the guide mentioned. Many said DH is already guilty of emotional cheating, which arguably is true. To borrow your words, “he is in it before he knew it.” But for me, legalities are just a formality. The moment they had a mutual understanding that their relationship is over, both DH and YH can already pursue new relationships without the other feeling betrayed.

 

 

On 12/1/2021 at 10:21 PM, the_sweetroad said:

So, with the models of divorce DH and YH have available to them, DH would have to mutually agree to a divorce or take YH to court. She could never free herself unless DH agreed. I think this plays into the story, because in the end it would still have to be DH saying "Yes, let's divorce, let's take that step." It was up to him....YH was always ready to do what DH wanted her to do, whether to stay with him for the sake of his family, or break up.

 

ALL that to say....I think they got a divorce, and I think DH finally spoke up and freed both of them.

 

This is also consistent with what YH said in ep 12 to Joon Young, that she knew DH no longer had any love for her. She is just waiting for DH to realize that and initiate divorce. So in this case, DH is out before he even knew it.  Seems like DH’s emotions always worked faster than his mind. I wonder if he made up for it in Dr. Brain. 

 

 

On 12/1/2021 at 10:21 PM, the_sweetroad said:

I don't think he would have naturally, comfortably called YH "ae omma" at the end if they were still married-but-separated. If they were still married-but-separated, knowing him he would've called her "chib saram" until he died. The fact that "ae omma" rolls off his tongue in the coffee shop while talking to an acquaintance means that it's been a while since he started calling YH that. Which, to me, means they're divorced....and have been for a while.

 

(I'm not a fan of divorce at all....but in this case I think it makes sense. It's not like he could trust her again after he knew she had an affair, knew about the bribe, and was OK having him fired. That's a lot to handle. )

 

Ohhh yes great insight! So that gives more credence that they are indeed divorced and not just separated. I recall reading Man vs Drama’s comments in one of his videos that he didn’t even care about the desk pictures and how DH would call YH. Just looking at how happy he was and how wide his smiles were, he was 100% sure they were divorced! 

 

From my point of view, despite the betrayals of YH, the marriage is actually more salvageable from her end than on DH’s side. YH’s affair is really just physical, her love for DH was still there as JY noticed. So it was easy for her to move on from JY after she found out he’s a jerk. So if DH still loves her and would woo her sincerely, I believe he can win her back. But since DH has already fallen hard for JA, it is actually DH that has reached a point of no return. But I don’t blame him as well. It’s not just the infidelity, but who she did it with, and what she was complicit in.

 

 

That’s why I see some characters serving dual purposes in the show. Sang Hoon is pathetic given his age yet he’s jobless and broke. So with YH conspiring to fire DH, it’s as if she is ok for DH to turn into a Sang Hoon. So we the viewers are given a vivid picture of the degree of her betrayal.

 

Jung Hee and Yu Ra also served a mirroring purpose to Ji An (and as you pointed out already with Yu Ra). Once they fall in love, it seemed like it’s forever for both Jung Hee and Yu Ra. We don’t have to say anything more for Jung Hee, but Yu Ra apparently already liked Ki Hoon way back when they were still doing a film together, and at the end of the show, still hopelessly longed for Ki Hoon as she still visits Jung Hee’s bar. So both served as a subtle reminder to us viewers  to not doubt that no matter how long JA spent afar from DH, her love for him will never fade as well.

Edited December 2, 2021 by actionscript

[sweetroad]

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

Wow you even researched on Korean divorce laws just to gain more insights on how DH and YH would move forward? 

 

I needed to. It was for the fanfic, so I could get the details straight before writing what I imagined happened. (The details didn't make it into the fanfic, just an overall course of action. And knowing the timing of processing a divorce was helpful - about 3 months if it is a mutually-agreed-upon filing.)

 

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

From my point of view, despite the betrayals of YH, the marriage is actually more salvageable from her end than on DH’s side. YH’s affair is really just physical, her love for DH was still there as JY noticed. So it was easy for her to move on from JY after she found out he’s a jerk.

 

Yes! She moved on from DJY so quickly. And DJY didn't seem to pine after her, either. They enjoyed their illicit time together but she was then so embarrassed that she liked a guy like him. And he was never going to marry her, anyway, so I don't think his heart was all that affected when she broke it off with him.

 

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

From my point of view, despite the betrayals of YH, the marriage is actually more salvageable from her end than on DH’s side. YH’s affair is really just physical, her love for DH was still there as JY noticed. So it was easy for her to move on from JY after she found out he’s a jerk. So if DH still loves her and would woo her sincerely, I believe he can win her back.

 

Totally agree...the way she talked about DH when she was with DJY, DH was always on her mind. Then after the affair ended, she started spending her evenings at home, waiting up for Dong Hoon, being solicitous of him....it was like she wanted to go back to "normal" and he wasn't having any of that. It did move me when she asked him if he still had any affection left for her. If he did, she would've loved to have been cherished by him again. She still wanted more from him than he could give though - to be #1 in his life, to move away from all the people she hated in Hugye. It would have been a tall order for them. But you could tell her heart was still wanting him to acknowledge and cherish her.

 

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

Sang Hoon is pathetic given his age yet he’s jobless and broke. So with YH conspiring to fire DH, it’s as if she is ok for DH to turn into a Sang Hoon. So we the viewers are given a vivid picture of the degree of her betrayal.

 

WOW - never thought of this before! I can't even imagine DH turning into SH! But you're right, YH was fine with completely ruining DH....and he could have turned into another SH. Ugh. That's terrible. He was already pitiful and pathetic, but to lose his job and his marriage would have been a disaster. It's interesting to think about, especially as omma was always worried about him but never too worried about Sang Hoon and Ki Hoon. If she already worried about DH even though he had a "good" wife and a good job, it would have devastated her to see him ruined the way YH was working toward ruining him. Gosh.

 

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

So both served as a subtle reminder to us viewers  to not doubt that no matter how long JA spent afar from DH, her love for him will never fade as well.

 

Nice insight. Have you read Persuasion by Jane Austen?

[actionscript]

17 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Nice insight. Have you read Persuasion by Jane Austen?

 

I haven't. Any parallels? 

 

 

Listening to this song gave all the feels of how that first dinner date between DH and JA post time skip would go. 

Though I have a feeling the song would be applicable to a wide bunch of K dramas that employed a time skip at the end.. 

 

 

[Pixaiated]

You guys have brought up some really interesting points about YH. To add my point of view:

 

Apart from our two main leads, I have always found YH to be the most compelling and interesting character in the show. Her actions at the start of the series are obviously immoral and clearly wrong, yet the picture of their marriage that's painted as the series progresses makes her, in many ways, sympathetic and relatable. Trapped in an unhappy marriage with a partner whose values never aligned with hers, who never truly opened up to her, and who never really managed to take care of her emotional needs.

 

it's almost understandable why she did what she did. Of course, she should have asked for a divorce, but this show being willing to show flawed, but not evil, characters is one of the many things that makes it so good. 

 

What's most interesting for me, though, is whether she still, to some degree, love and care for DH, even as she was cheating on him? Even as she was trying to push him out for her own affair by getting him to start his own company, this felt at least partially motivated by genuine care for him and frustration about his situation of going to a slaughterhouse (work) every day. Even as she was physically cheating on him with DJY, DH was still in her mind - evidenced by how she complained about him. There were also other small moments, such as when she placed that piece of meat onto his bowl when he had lunch with her near her office. 

 

It's really interesting, and I like her feelings regarding this are not clear-cut and dry. Messy and complicated - which is to be expected considering their long, unhappy union.

 

Lastly, speaking of pictures - this is something that I really only noticed on a re-watch, but there's quite a few shots littered throughout the series where the camera focuses on a family photo of DH, YH and JS for a brief moment, usually after a not-so-pleasant interaction between DH and YH, perhaps as a reminder of happier times. Example from Episode 8:

 

 

Makes the fact that the photo of the three of them together doesn't appear post time-skip a little more significant, no?

Edited December 3, 2021 by Pixaiated

[sweetroad]

Welcome to the Forum and to this thread, @Pixaiated! So good to hear your thoughts. 

 

17 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

Her actions at the start of the series are obviously immoral and clearly wrong, yet the picture of their marriage that's painted as the series progresses makes her, in many ways, sympathetic and relatable. Trapped in an unhappy marriage with a partner whose values never aligned with hers, who never truly opened up to her, and who never really managed to take care of her emotional needs.

 

it's almost understandable why she did what she did. Of course, she should have asked for a divorce, but this show being willing to show flawed, but not evil, characters is one of the many things that makes it so good. 

 

Great point: Yoon Hee is a complex character, not a one-dimensional one. You can sympathize with her in the flashbacks of the early days of their marriage, where she says that DH is here in body only, but his heart is still in his mom's house. And then throughout their relationship, the fact that he never really opened up to her or supported her emotionally, it seems like she never knew how to get through to him, which would have been hard for 15+ years.

 

17 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

Lastly, speaking of pictures - this is something that I really only noticed on a re-watch, but there's quite a few shots littered throughout the series where the camera focuses on a family photo of DH, YH and JS for a brief moment, usually after a not-so-pleasant interaction between DH and YH, perhaps as a reminder of happier times. Example from Episode 8:

 

Ooh, good catch! You put into words something I vaguely noticed in passing but never registered...that the series would show the pictures of the 3 of them during sad moments and in sad beats, never in happy moments. (I guess we never saw any happy moments between YH and DH in the show, did we?!) 

 

18 hours ago, actionscript said:

I haven't. Any parallels?

 

Haha yes! Basically it's all about long-lasting love, and it's beautifully written. A classic with all the feels .

[Pixaiated]

7 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Ooh, good catch! You put into words something I vaguely noticed in passing but never registered...that the series would show the pictures of the 3 of them during sad moments and in sad beats, never in happy moments. (I guess we never saw any happy moments between YH and DH in the show, did we?!) 

 

There are only two moments (I think!) we see something 'happy' between YH and DH.

 

The first is the scene in the car in ep10, where they share a small bonding moment over the radio. It's a really small scene, but it's also the only time I can recall them genuinely enjoying each other's company. As an aside, JA looking in on them during this scene struck really hard on a re-watch - and reminded me of this line from her in ep16 -

 

 

The second is in ep 16, when YH, for the first time in the series, responds positively to DH's 'Do you need anything?'. One interpretation is that she is now aware of how this is how DH shows love, and is opening up to be more accepting of this form of love / care.

 

Of course, the fact that she asks for beer specifically (what they drank when she last wanted to have a serious talk about the affair) also heavily alludes to the other possibility - that she has accepted the fact that they are simply too different for each other as a couple, and that she is now taking the first step to end their relationship. In a way, this is a happy ending for the two of them, allowing them to move on from a sad, doomed relationship.

[actionscript]

On 12/3/2021 at 9:15 PM, Pixaiated said:

 

There are only two moments (I think!) we see something 'happy' between YH and DH.

 

The first is the scene in the car in ep10, where they share a small bonding moment over the radio. It's a really small scene, but it's also the only time I can recall them genuinely enjoying each other's company. As an aside, JA looking in on them during this scene struck really hard on a re-watch - and reminded me of this line from her in ep16

 

 

Welcome to the forum Pixaiated! Hope to read more of your thoughts about the show!

 

Yes I love how straightforward Ji An had always been with her thoughts, even confronting the woman who, at that point in time at least, is still the legal wife. Though emotionally DH and YH were practically already separated at that point, it is still unusual for the prospective “third party” to stir up the wife. Usually it is the other way around. Though her purpose was to let YH realize how much she has taken a man like DH for granted, JA still used “provocative” words like “I hated you a lot.”

 

And what I found specially amusing is Ji An was doing it right when YH is in the middle of acting as her lawyer, busy planning and strategizing how to make sure she doesn’t get any jail time. I mean, she could have waited after all the legal mess has at least been sorted out, right?!  (Of course the show is doing it for dramatic effect. )

Edited December 6, 2021 by ferily
Please don’t quote images. Thanks!

[sweetroad]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:15 AM, Pixaiated said:

The first is the scene in the car in ep10, where they share a small bonding moment over the radio. It's a really small scene, but it's also the only time I can recall them genuinely enjoying each other's company. As an aside, JA looking in on them during this scene struck really hard on a re-watch - and reminded me of this line from her in ep16 -

 

Ah, thanks for the reminder! That's right, they are enjoying each other's company here, but of course DH knows YH has had an affair and they haven't talked about it yet. And JA is so jealous. Love the photo you posted.

 

On 12/4/2021 at 9:26 AM, actionscript said:

Though her purpose was to let YH realize how much she has taken a man like DH for granted, JA still used “provocative” words like “I hated you a lot.”

 

And what I found specially amusing is Ji An was doing it right when YH is in the middle of acting as her lawyer, busy planning and strategizing how to make sure she doesn’t get any jail time. I mean, she could have waited after all the legal mess has at least been sorted out, right?!

 

So true! I've never thought about that before, that JA is provoking her right as she's receiving legal help from YH. She's quite the character. But I guess that now that JA is completely in love with DH, she's angry at YH that she would cheat on someone as good as DH.

[actionscript]

It’s a K drama trope to end episodes with cliffhangers, and My Mister did use it with great effectiveness. For MM, not only were these ending scenes cliffhangers, but most of them were the highlights of those episodes as well. Looking at these final scenes per episode, we get a glimpse of how the show moved the narrative forward.

 

The first 4 episodes were about establishing how the fates of DH and JA have become intertwined:

Ep 1: DH being escorted by the audit team while JA, coming out of the elevator, ignores his calls

Ep 2: DH and JA have dinner and share a ride home, as the show intersperse it with scenes of JA cutting a deal with Joon Young

Ep 3: JA steals a kiss with DH as they are photographed by Ki bum

Ep 4: JA listens to DH at the bar saying he knows someone who gets him, and he gets her, too. The steady transformation of how JA sees DH has begun.

 

The next 2 episodes were about DH finding out about Yoon Hee’s infidelity and betrayal:

Ep 5: DH finds the phone booth and meets YH coming out of her office. (With JA curiously parading in the background. )

Ep 6: DH goes to the campsite to confront Joon Young

 

These two episodes were the only ones whose ending scenes didn’t feature both DH and JA, or either one of them pining for the other. It was about DH finding out about YH’s infidelity, and learning about YH’s knowledge of the bribe to fire him yet didn’t do anything to stop it. At this point, I think the show has pretty much established that the marriage is practically over. What’s left to play out is how knowledge of this affair will spread to the other main characters, DH and YH’s inevitable confrontation, and the eventual fallout born out of this illicit affair.

 

With the infidelity issue tackled early on, the rest of the ending scenes were now focused on the story arcs of DH and JA -- their growing emotional bond and the subsequent pining for each other, their healing journeys, the sacrifices each were willing to endure for the other, the necessary struggles they would face before their eventual fated paths become irreversibly linked.

 

The next 4 episodes form the foundation of their growing affection towards each other, specifically on how JA’s love for DH has taken root:

 

Ep 7: DH and JA share a laugh at their fave bar, after JA overhearing DH calling her pretty which prompted her to run to him

Ep 8: JA finds and looks at DH at the train platform with longing eyes, still grappling with the thought that her growing affection for DH seemed mutual after all, with special thanks to the very astute (and prime shipper) Joon Young

Ep 9: JA crumples to the ground as she finds out that DH finally learns of her dark past, yet is totally sympathetic of her

Ep 10: JA reveals her feelings to DH, the spy trailing them notwithstanding

 

The next 4 episodes are all about resolving key plot points, yet these were all told through DH and JA’s points of view:

 

Ep 11: JA assures halmeoni that DH is doing fine, while recalling the painful outbursts of DH, on how he felt being sentenced to death by YH’s affair

 

The highlight of ep 11 was obviously the confrontation between DH and YH, yet the most excruciating details were still told through the flashbacks of JA in the ending scene, showing her deep sadness on what DH was going through.  I think the show didn’t want to lose momentum pushing forward the fated destiny of DH and JA. The confrontation between DH and YH was clearly one of the key plot points of the show, yet it chose to reveal these through JA’s perspective, of her sympathizing with what DH was going through.

 

The next two episodes now tackles the other key plot point of the show – DH’s promotion. Yet again, these were manifested in the ending scenes through DH and JA’s bubble:

Ep 12: DH and JA share a drink after JA’s subordinate interview with the executives

Ep 13: After his panel interview for his promotion, DH, realizing JA might have left for good after finding the slippers back, restlessly looks for JA.

 

The next episode tackles the final key plot point – JA’s wiretapping:

 

Ep 14: DH discovers about the wiretapping and reaches out to JA to call him

 

With all key plot points tackled, what has remained is to tie up the tangled fates of our protagonists..

 

Ep 15: JA pondering that if she is to be born again, she wants to be born in that neighborhood. She already told Jung Hee earlier (in ep 13 before she ran away) that she liked that neighborhood, which JH took to mean she liked DH. Here JA is repeating the same message.

 

Ep 16: DH and JA meet again after a year-long (or could be two as some have surmised) separation.

 

Did they just greet each other warmly as promised before finally moving on with their respective lives? That would have been the most momentum-breaking, anti-climactic plot twist ever! Just looking at how the show laid out all the ending scenes of each episode, it was apparent to me how it intended to end the narrative between DH and JA – the thrust of their intersecting story arcs, having resolved all plot hurdles, would come down to a climactic union of these two kindred spirits.

 

Prior to doing this exercise, I have categorized this drama as primarily a healing drama, with romance thrown in as a sweetener. But looking at what the show have drawn out and threw in each and every final scene, the needle now had tilted a bit more towards it being primarily a romance drama. These ending scenes revealed to me the intentions of the PD by showing us a glimpse of his mind, on what he considers the highlight of each episode and how it contributes to the overall story he wanted to tell. If you guys have seen that English TVN commercial of this show, it described this as an age-gap romance and even compared it to Goblin, and mentioned the two leads as “the most unlikely and most exciting romantic duo in the history of Korean dramas.” At first I thought that was some foreign studio misinterpreting the context of the drama, of them not getting the memo to tone down the love line. But they turned out to be quite accurate.

Edited December 8, 2021 by actionscript

[sadiesmith]

12 hours ago, actionscript said:

At first I thought that was some foreign studio misinterpreting the context of the drama, of them not getting the memo to tone down the love line. But they turned out to be quite accurate.

 

I had to laugh at this line. Having been "there" from the very beginning there was definitely a shift from the early reports and promo materials billing this as a age-gap romance to "human" drama around the premiere. Like you said, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, pleasing all and making it endlessly interesting to discuss. I have a feeling the prevalent impressions at thefangirlverdict blog will lean platonic, but it will be great to see if some people see it differently.

 

Many thanks to you and @the_sweetroad@Pixaiated for the recent great discussions. How you both still find new things is amazing. Keep them coming. I love hearing things from a guy's perspective. 

[sweetroad]

2 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

I have a feeling the prevalent impressions at thefangirlverdict blog will lean platonic, but it will be great to see if some people see it differently.

 

We need to go and evangelize over there.

 

But I already feel tired thinking about it.

[actionscript]

8 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

I have a feeling the prevalent impressions at thefangirlverdict blog will lean platonic, but it will be great to see if some people see it differently.

 

6 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

We need to go and evangelize over there.

 

But I already feel tired thinking about it.

 

I’m hopeful though. I believe people would tend to uncover more of the romance with succeeding re-watches. I’m not sure if it’s because there would be more chances to discover the nuances, the tiny details hidden in the body movements, facial expressions, etc. Or it is because we have this love score in our minds that doesn’t get reset to zero with every re-watch, but instead the score gets added cumulatively with each iteration -- until such that seeing their first scenes together in the first episode would already feel like they are already in love! 

Edited December 8, 2021 by actionscript

[Pixaiated]

9 hours ago, sadiesmith said:

 

I had to laugh at this line. Having been "there" from the very beginning there was definitely a shift from the early reports and promo materials billing this as a age-gap romance to "human" drama around the premiere. Like you said, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise, pleasing all and making it endlessly interesting to discuss.

We will probably never know how much the direction / writing changed due to the controversy at the time's of the show airing, but I agree that what we got was perfect. Not just in terms of pleasing all and being interesting to discuss, but it is also what makes the most sense for the narrative / characters in my opinion.

 

JA's feelings are made clear constantly throughout the series, both by her actions and her words. DH is a lot more unclear on the surface, but that also makes perfect sense given his character and circumstances. Him actively pursuing JA at any point throughout the series would have been against his character (and going against why JA fell for him in the first place!) and morally questionable given the circumstances.

 

Which is also why the time-skip at the end is perfect - it gives the time and space for JA to explore a bit more of the light, for DH to be a little more selfish, and for both parties to resolve the many external issues such as the marriage and JA's legal problems. That said, it would have been really nice to see their personal journeys instead of having a time-skip, but that's clearly not the focus of the show and we also ran out of time, so it's understandable.

 

28 minutes ago, actionscript said:

I’m hopeful though. I believe people would tend to uncover more of the romance with succeeding re-watches. I’m not sure if it’s because there would be more chances to discover the nuances, the tiny details hidden in the body movements, facial expressions, etc. Or it is because we have this love score in our minds that doesn’t get reset to zero with every re-watch, but instead the score gets added cumulatively with each iteration -- until such that seeing their first scenes together in the first episode would already feel like they are already in love! 

 

I simply can't picture either of them falling in love with someone else. How do you move on from this?

Edited December 8, 2021 by Pixaiated

[sadiesmith]

4 hours ago, actionscript said:

I’m hopeful though. I believe people would tend to uncover more of the romance with succeeding re-watches. I’m not sure if it’s because there would be more chances to discover the nuances, the tiny details hidden in the body movements, facial expressions, etc. Or it is because we have this love score in our minds that doesn’t get reset to zero with every re-watch, but instead the score gets added cumulatively with each iteration -- until such that seeing their first scenes together in the first episode would already feel like they are already in love! 

 

Thread for ep 1&2 is now open. I was pleasantly surprised to see the moderator share so much of her own thoughts on the episodes: https://thefangirlverdict.com/2021/12/08/open-thread-my-mister-episodes-1-2/

[actionscript]

10 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

We will probably never know how much the direction / writing changed due to the controversy at the time's of the show airing, but I agree that what we got was perfect. Not just in terms of pleasing all and being interesting to discuss, but it is also what makes the most sense for the narrative / characters in my opinion.

 

I’m inclined to think they didn’t change anything. All actions and body language shown by DH and JA in the last scene were consistent with the growth of their character arcs, and I think any physical affection shown even after a time skip would have seemed out of place. Even that handshake at the end (and as most have agreed, it was more of DH holding JA’s hands, given that it lasted for 32 seconds), they couldn’t even show the entire sequence. They  just showed its initiation and the separation of the hands, but for the 32-seconds in-between, their hands were hidden below the frame. A 32-second handholding in full view would have given things away too evidently. True to the tone of the show, they kept everything subtle. 

 

10 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

I simply can't picture either of them falling in love with someone else.

 

They don't have to. They have each other. 

 

10 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

How do you move on from this?

 

I've read someone wrote several pages back that you just don't. You just accept that MM will always hold a special place in your heart. I for one have stopped fighting it. 

[Pixaiated]

Doing a re-watch of some scenes in the first couple episodes, and a detail that struck me as really interesting was that JA asked for precisely 20 million won for the job of firing both Parks - more or less the exact amount needed to cover her debt. She clearly could have asked for more considering they did just spend 50 million won to fail to fire one Park.

 

The obvious reason for asking for so little is lazy writing / plot reasons (After all, there's no story to be had if JA could just fire the other park and be debt-free). I could also see it as adding to JA's character - showing that she's not doing this due to greed, but being pushed to do so to get out of her shitty situation.

[sweetroad]

2 hours ago, Pixaiated said:

JA asked for precisely 20 million won for the job of firing both Parks - more or less the exact amount needed to cover her debt. She clearly could have asked for more considering they did just spend 50 million won to fail to fire one Park.

 

I never thought of that before, that she could have asked for 50 million since that figure was already out there, and that she only asked for 20 million. Good insight!

 

On 12/7/2021 at 7:21 AM, actionscript said:

It’s a K drama trope to end episodes with cliffhangers, and My Mister did use it with great effectiveness. For MM, not only were these ending scenes cliffhangers, but most of them were the highlights of those episodes as well. Looking at these final scenes per episode, we get a glimpse of how the show moved the narrative forward.

 

Love this entire breakdown! Sometimes I would go to sleep trying to remember how each episode ended....and here it all is in one post now. Thank you!! They really used their ending scenes to great effect.

 

On 12/7/2021 at 7:21 AM, actionscript said:

Ep 11: JA assures halmeoni that DH is doing fine, while recalling the painful outbursts of DH, on how he felt being sentenced to death by YH’s affair

 

The highlight of ep 11 was obviously the confrontation between DH and YH, yet the most excruciating details were still told through the flashbacks of JA in the ending scene, showing her deep sadness on what DH was going through.  I think the show didn’t want to lose momentum pushing forward the fated destiny of DH and JA. The confrontation between DH and YH was clearly one of the key plot points of the show, yet it chose to reveal these through JA’s perspective, of her sympathizing with what DH was going through.

 

Oh wow - yes! They could have easily shown it in a linear fashion, through simply staying with DH and YH in their apartment and showing us their conversation, but they instead chose to show it through JA's eyes and sympathy.  Great discovery!

 

13 hours ago, actionscript said:

I believe people would tend to uncover more of the romance with succeeding re-watches. I’m not sure if it’s because there would be more chances to discover the nuances, the tiny details hidden in the body movements, facial expressions, etc. Or it is because we have this love score in our minds that doesn’t get reset to zero with every re-watch, but instead the score gets added cumulatively with each iteration -- until such that seeing their first scenes together in the first episode would already feel like they are already in love!

 

You're right, and I'm encouraged by this. I definitely catch more each time I re-watch MM, and the score isn't reset to zero every time I start watching again...the breadcrumbs and purposeful things that PDnim added in just stand out to me more.

 

 

 

[actionscript]

13 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

I never thought of that before, that she could have asked for 50 million since that figure was already out there, and that she only asked for 20 million. Good insight!

 

I think that when JA also asked for 10M from DH in lieu of the dinner-for-a-month she initially requested, it’s to replace the deal she had with Joon Young for DH’s head, not on top of it. She was just really desperate to get Kwang Il off her back.

 

And I also liked how the show made sure JA never got a single cent from DH or YH.. She didn’t touch the 1M (when DH requested for staggered payment) that DH laid down on the dinner table, nor did she take YH’s offer to pay her to get out of the picture in ep 9. She also initially had no plans of touching the 10M that Joon Young paid her to date DH, which she just kept in the bank. She was only forced to use it to pay off her balance to Gwang Il as DH was planning to pay off her debt. The show made sure to establish that she wasn’t into DH for any financial gain.

 

13 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Love this entire breakdown! Sometimes I would go to sleep trying to remember how each episode ended....and here it all is in one post now. Thank you!! They really used their ending scenes to great effect.

 

Yes I really find almost all the ending scenes captivating, that’s why they’re some of the scenes I repeated several times outside of an end-to-end re-watch, to the point that I’ve memorized them like the back of my hand! I would even surmise that the PD planned the episodes with the end in mind, and worked backwards. That’s why it’s one of those I dissected in trying to get into the PD’s mind.

 

Eps 1-4 were about laying down the plot and the character arcs, then ep 7-16’s endings all revolved around the growing loveline between the two leads. In fact, only ep 9’s ending dealt with healing, on JA learning that DH was sympathetic of her dark past. That’s why I’m now inclined to think this is primarily a romance drama, and a masterfully-done love story at that. I haven’t encountered any show that made viewers so invested in the love story of the leads.

Edited December 9, 2021 by actionscript

[sweetroad]

15 hours ago, actionscript said:

And I also liked how the show made sure JA never got a single cent from DH or YH.. She didn’t touch the 1M (when DH requested for staggered payment) that DH laid down on the dinner table, nor did she take YH’s offer to pay her to get out of the picture in ep 9. She also initially had no plans of touching the 10M that Joon Young paid her to date DH, which she just kept in the bank. She was only forced to use it to pay off her balance to Gwang Il as DH was planning to pay off her debt. The show made sure to establish that she wasn’t into DH for any financial gain.

 

Good point! I never caught that, that she truly never got a single cent from DH.

 

15 hours ago, actionscript said:

Eps 1-4 were about laying down the plot and the character arcs, then ep 7-16’s endings all revolved around the growing loveline between the two leads. In fact, only ep 9’s ending dealt with healing, on JA learning that DH was sympathetic of her dark past. That’s why I’m now inclined to think this is primarily a romance drama, and a masterfully-done love story at that. I haven’t encountered any show that made viewers so invested in the love story of the leads.

 

Agreed. The show kept coming back to JA and DH, and giving them time together, or showing how much they missed each other. The phone call, their only moment "together" in Episode 14, was so heart-wrenching. And like I keep thinking these days (because it keeps dawning on me each time I watch snippets of the show), the show consistently puts things in that they didn't need to. Which means that they deliberately added things in on purpose. Sneaky PDnim!

[actionscript]

17 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

Good point! I never caught that, that she truly never got a single cent from DH.

 

So it was really all Joon Young’s money that paid off JA’s entire debt to Kwang Il. That’s why I can see how he would feel he was also a victim in this entire scheme. I really don’t dislike him that much. Haha! He is a prime shipper of DH and JA, even encouraging JA’s feelings by telling her that “DH eating & drinking with you means he likes you.” I won’t be surprised that in another lifetime, perhaps back in the Joseon era, he could have been the neighborhood matchmaker that brought DH and JA together. 

 

Between Joon Young and Kwang Il, the latter is still the bigger bad guy for me, despite his redemption arc. He somehow got a free pass with those 3 counts of physical assault. JA should forgive him for her own peace and happiness, but that shouldn’t stop the wheels of justice from rolling.

 

There’s one scene of Kwang Il I still don’t get. Here are the snippets of Kwang Il’s scenes in the final 3 episodes:

 

Ep 14: Kwang Il and partner steals the computers from Ki Beum’s place.

 

Ep 15:

- They start listening to the recordings and realize what they are about.

- Kwang Il listening to JA asking for a hug, which DH refused. Kwang Il gives out a faint smile

- Kwang Il hears JA telling DH about their childhood. Here, he sheds a tear, seemingly moved

- Kwang Il calls JA’s phone but was out-of-service, calls Saman and learned that she had already quit, rushes to her place then barged into her flat to find it empty (this sequence I can’t decipher)

- His partner calls Joon Young to demand 100M in exchange for the recordings

 

Ep 16:

-  Kwang Il fervently copies the files into USBs, while his partner is still trying to convince him to go with his plans of blackmailing Joon Young

-  Joon Young’s detective goes after Kwang Il and he destroys the computer and sends the recordings to DH

 

I still couldn't figure out the scene I highlighted above. He was trying to find JA. What do you think were his intentions? That came after he heard JA telling DH of their childhood that seemed to have moved him and pushed him to see the light. But in this next scene when he was looking for JA, he still seemed to have that angry demeanor.. And he still barged into her place which we know she hated the most.. And yet the next scene in ep 16 Kwang Il seemed a changed man already.

 

Any thoughts?