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

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[sweetroad]

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

So even the van was in high-sync with DH! Sleepy but awakens once next to a pretty girl. 

 

Yes! In fact, during this last re-watch, I noticed that Yoon Hee says this in Ep 7 when Ji Seok calls to ask Dong Hoon to showcase his special talent:

 

YH: "Appa's special talent?"

 

 

So PHY planted this seed, along with others, earlier than Ep 12 to characterize DH as sleepy. Like in Ep 10, DH says "every cell has woken up" in his body - as I think @YukawaCattle just mentioned recently.

 

(As an aside, Enneagram Nines use "numbing" techniques and can be characterized as needing to "wake up" to life )

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

"The interest of My Ajussi lies also in the fact that the TU-C (Tie Up Cycle) works in favor of the formation of a possible new couple in a context where there seemed to be not the slightest possibility for this to happen."

 

Nice! I really do appreciate this about the show - it's not like either JA or DH were looking for romantic love; they both had many other things to worry about. It's not like My Liberation Notes, where all 3 of the siblings are actively looking for love. Plus DH was married, anyway. So this statement above nails it.

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

Thanks for sharing! It was a good read. Nothing was discussed that wasn’t touched on before in this forum or in GMS, but they used a more academic framework (The Tie-Up Theory) in analyzing DH and JA’s interactions and relationship.

 

THANK YOU soo much for reading this article and parsing it out in laymen's terms for us!! I started reading it but I usually completely glaze over in the face of academic papers, because they say in 1000 words what they could have said in 300. Haha. Your bullet points were accessible and clear.

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

-          The hugye gang are very welcoming of women. They welcomed Yura, Jung Hee, SH’s wife, and JA. So it was really YH who just didn’t want to be part of that group.

 

Yes! She excluded herself. They were always there to offer community and friendship, but she looked down on them and hated them.

 

I do wish more of the ahjussi's wives would have gone to the bar more regularly, though. Their lifestyle seemed like it would be hard on their marriages. (Or maybe their wives were glad to get them out of the house every evening . But as the police said, the wives weren't happy their husbands were drinking and driving.)

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

-          Once someone from the opposite sex catches our interest, our subconscious immediately assesses for compatibility based on psycho-emotional and sexual aspects. The paper focused on how DH and JA did that to each other – when the test was initiated in their subconscious, and at what moments each have passed.

 

-          DH passed JA’s psycho-emotional test when she heard him confront the building owner, and it consequently opened up the sexual aspect for testing – “kicking off the Biological Compatibility Test to be carried out through the only sensory channel available to Lee Ji An in that situation: hearing.”

The paper actually mentioned that DH actively blocked that biological test from JA, by avoiding any form of physical contact with her, but JA still got through primarily through listening to him, “a constant source of ‘physical’ contact that ends up creating a deep TU on her side.”

 

Very insightful!!

 

What does the article say about when JA passes DH's test psycho-emotional test, then? If he blocks the biological test from her by his avoidance...at what moment does she pass his PE test? Or you can point us to the relevant passage in the article and I'll try to wade through it.

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

To become a different person,

the one she should have been from the outset, at this point Lee Ji An needs, and must, walk

alone toward the new life awaiting her. This is why Park Dong Hoon makes a step back and

aside. Had he accommodated his physical attraction toward her, she wouldn’t have wanted

to leave anymore.”

 

This echoes what Stephan says in Man v Drama, that he thinks the final hug makes JA waver and possibly want to stay. I'm still not sure I see that (JA wavering), but it is interesting. If DH had given more hints that he wanted her to stay, or if he had been selfish and "accommodated his physical attraction toward her" I think the researchers are right, she most likely wouldn't have left.

 

The truth is that DH really didn't have anywhere to "place" JA in his Hugye life - she was still very young, probably too young to always be hanging out with a bunch of middle-aged people and not having a way of making other friends her age (especially without a job). And he was still married, so he technically shouldn't be spending more and more time with her.

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

“When he turns around and sees her, he stands up and his surprised, emotional smile,

his radiant face, his overall bright aspect confirm that his M-TU has survived and resisted

to all changes, to distance and time.

 

Yay!

 

On 5/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, actionscript said:

The drama closes with a promise, with the reciprocal desire to meet again.

Neither of them is any longer the gloomy, depressed person they both once were, and Lee

Ji An, with her “I’ll buy you a meal” has clearly signaled her intention to restart their TU-C

on new grounds.”

 

Beautifully written. Thanks for sharing all of this!!

[sweetroad]

On 5/15/2022 at 4:40 AM, YukawaCattle said:

In Robert McKee's book "STORY: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting," the definitions of the closed ending and the open ending he gives are as follows, respectively:

 

- A Story Climax of absolute, irreversible change that answers all questions raised by the telling and satisfies all audience emotion is a CLOSED ENDING. 

 

- A Story Climax that leaves a question or two unanswered and some emotion unfulfilled is an OPEN ENDING.

 

I can't find it now, but someone said over at the FGV that technically MM is an open ending, since the show doesn't show them definitively, conclusively getting together at the end. The "will they? won't they?" dynamic is strong at the end, which we all know has led to so much debate these past 3 - 4 years. Everyone has an opinion, but the show doesn't show us without a doubt, explicitly, that DH and JA are, or will be romantically together. So the commenter says technically it is an open ending.

 

And according to the definition above, where a closed ending "satisfies all audience emotion" - well, I think we can all say that MM is not really all that satisfying at the end! DH never explicitly says he loves JA, therefore many people have thought he just has mentor-ly or fatherly feelings for her at the end. Whatever the intention of the show, the actual result is that it left some things open for interpretation, and this has been pretty dissatisfying for those who do see a loveline between DH and JA. The show doesn't actually explicitly tell non-shippers that they're wrong.

 

As you say, @YukawaCattle, we need to look at the clues and the subtle ways DH expresses himself - or restrains himself - and also look at the other lovelines like KH and YR. We also look at the obstacles being removed as @actionscript says.

 

In that way we can deduce that DH loves JA and that the narrative thrust points to them being together at the end. However, because the show doesn't conclusively tell us, once and for all, that DH is divorced and that DH loves JA romantically, there's still room for those who interpret the ending differently.

 

So I think the result is that the show has an open ending, even if KWS and PHY had every intention of showing us DH and JA's love for each other and packing the show with clues. But most shows and films with closed endings don't need to rely on the audience picking up on so many clues, since they just show things explicitly or have their characters say I love you.

 

And I'm rehashing what we've talked about before, but most people will only watch MM once, so unfortunately without the DH/JA loveline being very clear the first time around, many will still walk away thinking DH and JA are just friends who are happy to see each other again.

 

That's why I think the de facto result is that the show has an open ending, since too many people walk away thinking something different than what we see the show has pointed to all along, which is a DH/JA reunion that leads to their love finding expression, finally.

 

Perhaps the best thing is just to think of it as @actionscript says, that MM is a prequel to all of that. In that case, MM would be an open ending, taking us to the point where DH and JA could get started, but they don't explicitly show it.

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[actionscript]

On 5/17/2022 at 7:03 PM, the_sweetroad said:

I started reading it but I usually completely glaze over in the face of academic papers, because they say in 1000 words what they could have said in 300. Haha.

 

Actually, the academic way of writing applies only to the first 8 pages. (Page numbers based on downloaded pdf file.) Page 9 up to the end (page 30) are no longer as academic. It’s just like reading posts here at Soompi or at other blog sites. Samples include the paragraphs I quoted in my previous post. I think it is best to start reading at the last paragraph of page 7 (just to brush up on the framework they are using), wade through page 8, and then after that you won’t experience the “academic feeling” at all. 

 

 

On 5/17/2022 at 7:03 PM, the_sweetroad said:

What does the article say about when JA passes DH's test psycho-emotional test, then? If he blocks the biological test from her by his avoidance...at what moment does she pass his PE test?

 

JA passed DH’s PE test on various occasions. But all these happened in the context of, and obviously due to, his weakened TU-C with his wife.

 

JA immediately caught his attention right in the lady bug scene in the seeming contrast that DH noticed – the most fragile-looking girl in the room seemed the most violent, when JA slapped and killed the ladybug.

 

The following moments also contributed to JA passing DH’s PE test:

-          When DH thought JA threw away the bribe money to save him

-          When DH found out and realized how JA is taking care of her granny. His “You’re a good person” is actually an indication of how he put forward a PE test in his subconscious which JA passed.

-          “The attraction he feels toward Lee Ji An moves from recognizing himself in the sorrow that the young woman has to endure.” It’s captured quite well when he said “I know someone who gets me. I think I get her, too.”

-          When DH found out why JA slapped Asst Manager Kim.

 

After all the above events, he started to crave for JA – looking at her direction in the office, looking forward to walking home with her, having drinks with her at the pub, etc.

 

And in the pub scenes with the hugye gang, DH is often caught thinking about JA:

-   When he told KH someone gets him

-   When he told JH there's a girl who is 30,000 years old

-   When he asked JH why is life so annoying (which happened when he was ignored by JA in front of the pub)

-   and so much more!

 

As the paper put it: “For Park Dong Hoon, these are small but highly craved treats that help him survive, distractions from his burden of anguish—they are, among other things, serotonin shots that ease up that anxious feeling to be on the verge of going crazy.”

 

And his Tie-up with JA is fully-formed when he confronted Kwang Il: “An instinct of protection, when it leads to self-sacrifice for the other, is a feeling that, if directed at an opposite-sex potential partner, goes hand in hand not

only with a more than ascertained compatibility, but with the possibility that a TU has already occurred.”

 

And we have already discussed how DH, after hearing Song Won’s advice to think about himself first, has started to become more assertive:

“From this moment on, his constant effort at self-repression makes way to a Park Dong Hoon who accepts to be furious, and who vents his frustration by punching anything within reach, from his house’s door to the company’s CEO who stole him both his wife and his career. Now, his TU to Lee Ji An becomes visible, as he, while riding his car together with his brother, by chance notices her looking at him at a crossroads, and finally feels his heart pounding.”

 

 

On 5/17/2022 at 10:38 PM, YukawaCattle said:

That's why I said, "If people admit the clues, then MM will become a closed ending. If people can't admit the clues, then MM is an open ending to them."

 

Because the definition given by Robert McKee depends on the audience's personal feelings.

MM can be open and closed ending at the same time because this matter is only up to the audience's personal feelings.

 

(I think I didn't misunderstand his definition...? What I get is it is only depends on yourself.) 

 

It is impossible to require others that "clues can not be counted in." 
After all, everyone's understanding is not the same.

Maybe some people understand at first glance, but some people take a long time and still can not see.

And that's what I find interesting about this issue.
Because everyone's judgment criteria are different, MM has a selective ending. (According to Robert McKee's definition.)

 

Well, nothing is black and white, esp. when it comes to art as these TV dramas are. So it is natural that different people will always get something different from them regardless of the artist’s (the PDnim, the writer, etc.) intentions.

 

I’ll take CLOY again as an example. (CLOY spoilers ahead!)  While watching the show, the biggest question that came to my mind is given the political realities of the leads’ respective countries, and given their social standing in them, how can they realistically get together? And should marriage be in the picture, how can they pursue it while avoiding the dire consequences of their actions from their gov’t and their societies?

 

By the end of the show, were these questions answered in an emotionally satisfactory manner? For me, not really. What the show delivered is a half-baked ending at best. They did find a way to meet, but is their set-up sustainable for the relationship to flourish long term? The main questions I raised were not answered.

 

So does it mean CLOY has an open ending? I don’t know, but as I said, nothing is black and white when it comes to these things.

  

 

Now going back to MM, allow me to wear my character-drama hat for a while..

 

For those who see MM as a romance drama, then the ending might indeed seem open-ended. But for those that see MM as a character drama, I think the ending can be seen as a closed one. Because DH and JA being together is not the main point of the show, even if it implied that they will be together. From the character drama point of view, the fact that both JA and DH were able to heal and transform into better versions of themselves provides for an emotionally-satisfying ending to the story.

 

I think I already mentioned this before.. For non-romance dramas that have love lines in the story, even if the intention is to imply that the main lead will get the girl, the show will usually stop short of having romantic acts for an ending as it would look inconsistent to the show’s genre. An example I gave is The Game, which being a psychological thriller, also ended with the male lead and his love interest agreeing to meet for coffee. Was that an open ending? For me, definitely not. It is obviously implied that they will start to have romantic dates.

 

Another example that came to mind is The Truman Show (Jim Carrey). It is a satirical comedy drama and totally not a romance story, yet the last scene shows the girl love interest running to meet the male lead. Nothing more is shown but the intentions are clear and beyond doubt. Now should they show a hug or a kiss, that would introduce inconsistencies to the show’s tone and genre.

 

This makes me sometimes think that perhaps MM is a character drama, such that they don’t have to explicitly show that DH and JA would end up together, yet imply that is the case without doubt, just like in the case of The Game and The Truman Show.

 

So implying the leads will get together but not explicitly showing it apparently is a trope or technique used by non-romance shows to conclude the love lines in their story. But we have discussed how MM has utilized so many romance-drama elements and tropes, which once seen, would make it hard to see MM to be any other than a romance drama.

 

When it comes to art, it will always be different shades of gray to different people. 

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[sweetroad]

On 5/19/2022 at 7:36 AM, actionscript said:

Actually, the academic way of writing applies only to the first 8 pages. (Page numbers based on downloaded pdf file.) Page 9 up to the end (page 30)

 

Page 30! I admire your patience! All right, I'll try it again when there's a moment.

 

On 5/19/2022 at 7:36 AM, actionscript said:

As the paper put it: “For Park Dong Hoon, these are small but highly craved treats that help him survive, distractions from his burden of anguish—they are, among other things, serotonin shots that ease up that anxious feeling to be on the verge of going crazy.”

 

And his Tie-up with JA is fully-formed when he confronted Kwang Il: “An instinct of protection, when it leads to self-sacrifice for the other, is a feeling that, if directed at an opposite-sex potential partner, goes hand in hand not

only with a more than ascertained compatibility, but with the possibility that a TU has already occurred.”

 

Thanks so much for listing out all these events where JA would have passed DH's PE test. Basically, many of their key scenes between Ep 2 - 9 served to tie them together.

 

One interesting thing that came to mind is that even when DH confronts Kwang Il, he still calls JA a "girl", i.e. "Why would you beat up a girl like that?"

 

However,

 

On 5/19/2022 at 7:36 AM, actionscript said:

Now, his TU to Lee Ji An becomes visible, as he, while riding his car together with his brother, by chance notices her looking at him at a crossroads, and finally feels his heart pounding.”

 

Whoa...we've talked about it before, the transformation from DH looking at JA as a girl to looking at her as a woman, and I love the way the paper puts it here .

 

On 5/17/2022 at 4:38 PM, YukawaCattle said:

That's why I said, "If people admit the clues, then MM will become a closed ending. If people can't admit the clues, then MM is an open ending to them."

 

Because the definition given by Robert McKee depends on the audience's personal feelings.

MM can be open and closed ending at the same time because this matter is only up to the audience's personal feelings.

 

(I think I didn't misunderstand his definition...? What I get is it is only depends on yourself.)

 

Interesting discussion and sorry to get back to it so late.

 

I'm not too sure about this, that it only depends on yourself... I'm not sure if the audience is the first point of reference, or only point of reference. The way I read Robert McKee's definition, we have to factor in KWS and PHY's intentions and the questions they raise and the answers they give.

 

What questions did they raise in the story? And what answers did they give? (This could be a whole other rabbit trail.) As far as the question - do DH and JA love each other and will they pursue a romantic relationship?, the answers are in the clues they've packed into the story, like we know.  But they knew that half the audience wouldn't pick up on those clues; KWS and PHY were sly and coy. They could have been very explicit and told everyone that the shippers were right and the non-shippers were wrong. That's why to me, based on RMcK's definition, it's still an open ending. Too much is left open to interpretation at the end, and that's the way KWS and PHY deliberately designed it. (Otherwise they could have just had people say very clearly what was up, or like in Notting Hill, shown a pregnant Julia Roberts resting on a bench with Hugh Grant. Now there is a closed ending, conclusively shown).

 

However...

 

On 5/19/2022 at 7:36 AM, actionscript said:

Now going back to MM, allow me to wear my character-drama hat for a while..

 

For those who see MM as a romance drama, then the ending might indeed seem open-ended. But for those that see MM as a character drama, I think the ending can be seen as a closed one. Because DH and JA being together is not the main point of the show, even if it implied that they will be together. From the character drama point of view, the fact that both JA and DH were able to heal and transform into better versions of themselves provides for an emotionally-satisfying ending to the story.

 

I think I already mentioned this before.. For non-romance dramas that have love lines in the story, even if the intention is to imply that the main lead will get the girl, the show will usually stop short of having romantic acts for an ending as it would look inconsistent to the show’s genre. An example I gave is The Game, which being a psychological thriller, also ended with the male lead and his love interest agreeing to meet for coffee. Was that an open ending? For me, definitely not. It is obviously implied that they will start to have romantic dates.

 

Good points! We've discussed MM's genre before, and once again KWS and PHY were a bit coy. I think that factors into this conversation as well.

 

On 5/19/2022 at 9:22 AM, YukawaCattle said:

So what I want to discuss here is not a closed ending or open ending issue, but "under such a situation(different people have a different point of view), what kind of MM's ending is? Is this kind of ending have a name for it?"

 

Should we just call it "a beautiful ending" then?

 

I think KWS and PHY definitely wanted to make a healing drama (explicitly), and definitely wanted to show that DH and JA loved each other (explicitly in some ways) but ended up keeping their actual romantic love subtle. Probably due to initial audience backlash, unfortunately.

 

So I agree with @actionscript - we can look at it from a lot of different angles because it's not black and white. Some might call it an "ambiguous ending" when it comes to DH and JA and what will happen between them. For me, because I really, REALLY wish they had explicitly put our doubts to rest regarding DH's feelings for JA, it's still technically an open ending.

 

However, what's becoming clearer is that the show tackled quite a few themes -  huge life themes - and they pulled it off masterfully. In that sense the show, being the masterpiece that it is, defies categorization.

 

On 5/19/2022 at 9:22 AM, YukawaCattle said:

But about CLOY, I think people who see the reality of the male lead and female lead should feel that this drama is absolutely a closed ending. 

Did you still have any questions when seeing their wedding photos?

 

 

On 5/21/2022 at 3:13 PM, YukawaCattle said:

I think divorce is a sure thing.
The topic is not something that the audience can choose.

 

I totally agree with you that all clues pointed to DH and YH getting a divorce. However, again, without things being explicitly shown to the audience, much of the audience will most likely not catch that they've gotten a divorce on the first watch. Especially when the subtitles for TVN and Netflix say otherwise. In fact, the subtitles for TVN have Dong Hoon saying, "Having my wife around vs. not." What is that?!!

 

On 5/21/2022 at 3:13 PM, YukawaCattle said:

On this point, KWS's interview in the Blu-ray director's edition also verifies this:

 

KWS: "If you put a group photo of three people together (DH, YH, JS), won't it look too warm? That's very different from the outcome of the drama that has been going on here."

 

Great to know that he said something like this. Shows what his intentions were. But again - too bad a lot of people saw the three pictures of YH on DH's desk and thought that they were still together

 

So I think we need to balance the intentions of KWS and PHY (putting in dialogue and clues about DH and YH's endgame), with what they knew the audience might not catch. It's actually kind of frustrating! Especially when many Koreans themselves, watching the show in its original Korean, still think that DH and YH's marriage survived.

 

And over on Man v Drama, some of the Korean commenters praise DH and JA for resuming their guardian/ mentee relationship in the end , each happy that the other one is doing so well.

 

Sometimes I think that if the Koreans watching it in Korean can't pick up on all the clues - and KWS and PHY knew that would happen - then that's something we need to keep in mind when we approach the drama. For some reason they did let the audience choose to believe certain things - and they were OK with that. At least, they never came out strongly and said otherwise. Even though they completed their story and wrote it well.

 

~

 

@partyon, who has heard me talk endlessly about MM, just brought this new Soompi Quiz to my attention:

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1526508wpp/quiz-which-of-ius-k-drama-characters-is-your-soulmate

 

Who do you guys get?

 

 

[actionscript]

On 5/17/2022 at 9:24 PM, YukawaCattle said:

I would like to organize the scripts that appear in MM.

 

- Yu-ra's movie is a short description of Ji-an's story in MM and tells the audience that the love is beginning.

 

- Sang-hoon's script is a metaphor for "What if Park Dong-hoon didn't meet Lee Ji-an...?"

 

- And Ki-hoon's script is to tell the audience that Park Dong-hoon and Lee Ji-an will end up together and start a new relationship.

 

Thank you for compiling these scripts. These are all easter eggs, hidden clues and messages from the PDnim, that are obviously put in there for a reason. One thing I’m sure everyone would agree on – these are not filler scenes, put in the show just for humor and entertainment. So if everyone would at least agree on that, then it means everyone again agrees to this conclusion: these scripts have meanings relevant to the story.

 

What could their meanings be? Again, perhaps I’m just biased, but so far I can’t think of any other than what you have put forward. They all point to how DH and JA’s story will unfold, and that DH and JA really is end-game.

 

 

But as we have mentioned, there would always be viewers who wouldn’t accept these hidden messages, much less catch them, and will have different interpretations of the ending. You are right, for some group of people, the show has an open ending and a closed one for some. I don’t know what do you call this type of endings.. Perhaps “ambiguous” as @the_sweetroad put it?

 

So why didn’t the PDnim just provide for a more explicit ending? I’m just speculating here, that perhaps that was due to the backlash?

In the press conference they had back then to address the backlash, the PDnim mentioned how they will self-censor some scenes but will continue with the main message of the show.

Again, I can be over-reading things here, but given the context of that reply, admitting to “self-censor” seemed an indication of guilt, isn’t it? Guilt from what? From what they are being accused of in the backlash? Hhmmm...

 

Hotel Del Luna spoilers ahead…

 

In HDL, it wasn’t a happy, romantic ending that some shippers are hoping for. But the drama has shown a dreamy sequence to end the story, causing some viewers to think that was the happy ending they are looking for, or that it at least has an open ending. The Hong sisters categorically denied that in an interview, that it was not meant to convey a romantic or even an open ending, squashing any speculations.

 

I think in the case of MM, there were no such categorical answers nor denials. They did not confirm nor deny anything, but kept their statements vague. Again me reading through the context of the events – silence/avoidance could be a sign of guilt. 

 

On 5/19/2022 at 9:48 AM, YukawaCattle said:

I want to share some cases of story within a story that shows up in K-drama here with you guys to show that such a metaphor technique is not only used in MM but also frequently shows up in other dramas. That is, this thing actually is common sense in drama, not a new thing in MM.

 

*Notice that this post has Spoiler of Squid Game, Crash Landing on You, and Business Proposal.

 

 

Thank you again for compiling these examples of story within a story!   You are right, they all provided clues, again easter eggs, as to how their respective stories will end. (I specifically enjoyed the examples from Squid Game and CLOY!!) And it shouldn’t be any different to the movie and scripts inside MM’s story – they all provide clues how MM will end. As I mentioned above, these are not filler scenes just for entertainment for sure!

 

 

On 5/21/2022 at 9:13 PM, YukawaCattle said:

I think divorce is a sure thing.
The topic is not something that the audience can choose.

 

For me, the contrast in the desk photos at the end is definitive, not necessarily of divorce, but that DH and YH are no longer a couple, that they have freed each other to pursue new relationships.

 

The use of contrasting technique is so glaring here. The photo of DH, YH, and JS has been focused perhaps more than a dozen times throughout the show, such that the focus of the photos in the end that are starkly different can only mean one thing.

 

@YukawaCattle, if you could compile the other instances where the contrast technique is used in the show, then it could perhaps be more convincing that such a technique is indeed used in MM and is consistent in how it was used throughout. 

 

And since you mentioned SH’s story in ep 15 means they are single, then that photo of the 3 brothers at the desk indicates that DH is single-at-heart at that point in time, before the reunion with JA.

 

On 5/21/2022 at 9:13 PM, YukawaCattle said:

On this point, KWS's interview in the Blu-ray director's edition also verifies this:

 

KWS: "If you put a group photo of three people together (DH, YH, JS), won't it look too warm? That's very different from the outcome of the drama that has been going on here."

 

I wonder what was the context of this answer from KWS? Because on the surface, it seems to mean that DH and YH are indeed no longer together. But of course it could mean something else given the context of the question.

 

 

2 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

@partyon, who has heard me talk endlessly about MM, just brought this new Soompi Quiz to my attention:

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1526508wpp/quiz-which-of-ius-k-drama-characters-is-your-soulmate

 

Who do you guys get?

 

I got Cindy! It’s a sign that I should watch The Producers next! 

[chickfactor]

12 hours ago, the_sweetroad said:

 

 

@partyon, who has heard me talk endlessly about MM, just brought this new Soompi Quiz to my attention:

 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1526508wpp/quiz-which-of-ius-k-drama-characters-is-your-soulmate

 

Who do you guys get?

 

 

 

 

I got Cindy. 

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[Sleepy Owl]

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[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

 

[YukawaCattle]

銝祈剜

[actionscript]

On 5/23/2022 at 12:11 PM, YukawaCattle said:

My hometown people(a writer) explain that there are two kinds of open endings.

One is disguised as an open ending, and the other is a real open ending.

 

(Original article: https://www.domorenovel.com/%E9%82%A3%E4%BA%9B%E7%B7%A8%E5%8A%87%E5%AF%AB%E5%87%BA%E3%80%8C%E9%96%8B%E6%94%BE%E5%BC%8F%E7%B5%90%E5%B1%80%E3%80%8D%E7%9A%84%E7%A7%98%E8%A8%A3/ )

 

Thanks for sharing about the different types of open-endings.

 

I agree with you, MM has a “disguised” open ending. As the article says: “It just wants to avoid the obvious results, so that you can actively participate in the ending, and more clearly feel the power of the story.”

 

The show thrived in being subtle, and in stirring the viewers' emotions not through what was said, but what was left unsaid. So that disguised open ending fits perfectly to the style and tone of the show. 

 

And that’s why the show bothered to put in so many clues and easter eggs to reveal the intent of the show. Those easter eggs would have been pointless if the ending was shown in black and white. So easter eggs + disguised open ending was apparently designed and planned for from the very start.

 

 

On 5/23/2022 at 5:19 PM, YukawaCattle said:

@actionscript, your words give me an idea.

 

Because EP1 Sang-hoon’s script is “There is no woman in MM,” which also means “What if Park Dong-hoon didn’t meet Lee Ji-an…?” I think EP1 Sang-hoon’s dream means that finally, Sang-hoon and Ki-hoon will both find a woman. 

 

-

 

SH: In the future, I am going to build a town for middle-aged men. Only middle-aged men like me will live there. 

 

KH: Those who find a woman and escape will be killed. 

 

SH: Of course. But they won’t escape. There are no women. No one will find a woman. It’s a town where men can live in peace. It’s a simple town where men can depend on each other. We will make ramyeon for each other.

 

KH: You are talking nonsense.

 

SH: It’s simple. For example, “Come in for ramyeon” won’t mean anything else.

 

KH: Why would it mean anything else?

 

SH: Exactly. You can live in the town without a worry. When I make that town, you can be the head of the town. The head of the town. And I want to be the cacique. (<— Chinese translation is this subtitle.)

 

KH: Gosh...

 

It became clearer to me now. That epilogue at the end of ep 1, the only epilogue in the entire show, is yet again another easter egg, as that scene doesn’t really fit into the flow of the story. The entire conversation of SH obviously smacks of sarcasm, saying that no one will end up with a woman. Being sarcastic, the intention obviously is the opposite -- everyone will get the girl by the end of the story. And placing it at the end of ep 1 was apparently to showcase the contrast on how the last episode will end – of DH getting the girl.

 

 

On 5/25/2022 at 10:02 AM, YukawaCattle said:

After thinking about it for a few hours, I don't really understand why we still have to question, "Does Park Dong-hoon like Lee Ji-an or not" and "Is Park Dong-hoon divorced or not."

On the subject of loveline, tvN has confirmed it in their overseas promotions.

They confirmed this from the trailer to the poster.

 

Poster: Note the last sentence

Source

 

Thanks for that poster! I’ve never seen that before. I find it amusing that the write-up focused on DH’s feelings. JA’s feelings are out in the open, so saying DH is trying “to deny his feelings” hits straight to the heart of the issue. That somehow solidified my observations before that a good part of the show really is about DH’s restraint, epitomized by that seemingly out-of-character whack on JA’s head. And that gives credence to your theory that all those instances of DH calling JA a “kid” was indeed that of DH being in denial.

 

 

On 5/25/2022 at 10:02 AM, YukawaCattle said:

The integral of e^{-x} on [0, \infty) is always equal to 1. 

Do people who have never studied Calculus know that its integral is equal to 1?

Probably not.

But it won't become other answers just because these people can't see it.

 

I studied calculus but I also didn’t know.