[Drama 2017-2018] A Korean Odyssey/Hwayugi 화유기

[Anna Tan]

1 hour ago, briseis said:

You have to give it to the Hong Sisters for creating such an intriguing character like Son Oh Gong. Each episode reveals a new fascinating puzzle piece to the mystery that is the Monkey King. 

He wasn’t always a complete cynic, he used to be friends with humans, he trusted once. But once bitten, twice shy and it’s only apt and logical that he would end up like this and protect himself behind an armour of cynicism since it was a human who betrayed him and who caused him all the pain of being roasted alive for 49 days and robbed of his freedom for hundreds of years as a punishment. It explains why he betrayed SM all those years ago - because rather than to be betrayed once again he betrayed her before she could betray him. It explains why he holds humans in comtempt and looks at them with so much cynicism. It sheds a new light on what he told BJ about getting revenge and also why he decided to help the mermaid punish her killer even if it meant hurting a human, why he tells SM that he has no reason to care what happens to the human. And I truly admire the Hong Sisters for letting the mermaid to mete out her punishment instead of the usual trope of forgiving the person and letting the human justice take over - death is too quick and too merciful for some crimes. Which leaves the question, did Oh Gong get his revenge? 

 

The betrayal was a lifechanging moment in Oh Gong’s life and it’s what shaped his personality - why he possesses the hint of darkness and full-blown cynicism about humans and love you don’t see in the other demons like Ma Wang and PK - AS IF THERE WAS SOMETHING BROKEN DEEP INSIDE HIM - and it also explains WHY HE FIGHTS TOOTH AND NAIL AGAINST CARING FOR A HUMAN.

 

Finally, it explains why he took such interest in Seon Mi from the beginning - it was a human who betrayed and hurt him and now there is this human girl who saved him, who trusts him and who also cares about him and protects him when he has only known hurt and betrayal from humans. However, on the other hand, he did the same thing to SM that was done to him - he betrayed her and then let her bear the consequences and punishment.

 

 

I like your analysis about OG not trusting humans and how it made him the OG he is. In the beginning, he doesn't care about SM so he betrayed her because that was what happened to him. He expected SM to grow up cynical and resentful like him but she is responding differently. That made him regret his actions a little... Along the way, he tried to be nasty to her but she is always responding with gratitude and love, that goes against his belief and so he finally made the decision that he will not let harm come in her way as she is a different from the humans he knew. .

 

I must say LSG played this role very well (I can't imagine another actor doing it) As an audience, LSG can make me sense  SOG tenderness despite his cynicism.. He is quite a softie at heart... He is apologetic towards SM and MW... He kept BJ despite complaining about smelly she is and that she is better off dead... He is upset when SM secretary complained about SOG not doing anything for her... Those short and quiet moments that we see when he is looking away from SM or when he is by himself , is actually his true self.....  

 

Thanks for your insights!

 

[estrellita1122]

Hi everyone 

I so excited to watch ep 7. I am just getting outbof work and i have read almost all the comments you have share about ep 7 and I cannot wait to get home and see it. After i watch i will give my thoughts about it but i have to wait until is sub. Now i will watch it raw but my thoughts have to wait when I complete understand what they are saying. 

[ForgottenSoulx]

3 minutes ago, estrellita1122 said:

Hi everyone 

I so excited to watch ep 7. I am just getting outbof work and i have read almost all the comments you have share about ep 7 and I cannot wait to get home and see it. After i watch i will give my thoughts about it but i have to wait until is sub. Now i will watch it raw but my thoughts have to wait when I complete understand what they are saying. 

might as well wait for viki subs its 77% atm. 

 

So i just saw its ratings which is 5% which is quite a drop from and nearly a season low.. weird , will go up tomorrow though. 

 

In Seoul that is a season low . 

[briseis]

10 minutes ago, jinsunmi said:

The ratings for ep 7 are not good... i'm not surprised, i think it was boring,

i like the actors and the hong sisters but there are too much useless scenes.

Yes, it took a -1,5% dive with the rating nationwide being 5,131 % and 5,044 % in Seoul

[ForgottenSoulx]

4 minutes ago, briseis said:

Yes, it took a -1,5% dive with the rating nationwide being 5,131 % and 5,044 % in Seoul

Why though its weird to dive that much for pretty much no reason its odd ;p 

 

did a new show start?

[Mau_Cherry]

 

A Writer has there taste and there style to - So for the Hong Sisters.... I don´t know for Big - but as I see it all Dramas has a good ending with the Couple beeing together in the end. Even if it was a nine tailed Gumiho.

 

I kinda feel that those two loves and needs good endings just like me - and so I will put my trust in that believe. There might be a seperation (thats for sure KDrama Style) and was used often before. but in the end they are together.

Or am I wrong - I don´t know there early works.

 

This Drama is so crazy. I have a lot to laugh but there is still the underline that hits my heart. Good that tomorrow (i checked the watch - today) is the next Episode.

 

[briseis]

The relationship between Seon Mi and Son Oh Gong is becoming more and more intimate and it’s him who initiates the intimacy it despite being the one who is resisting this relationship and his own feelings more. First, he takes SM to his home, his sanctuary, and she is probably the first human who ever stepped her foot there; and you can notice that the outside garden of his home is where he took her already in episode 1. Later he even pours and gives her the glass of his favourite alcohol and finally he gives her his fur coat which is much more personal than giving her normal coat because the fur is connected to his true nature. 

Until now, the reason for OG’S imprisonment was barely mentioned but after the reveal in episode 7 and seeing how evasive he is about it the circumstances must have been traumatic and it must also be important for the present.

GGG or no GGG, Son Oh Gong has been consistent in his treatment of Seon Mi and has been hot and cold with her ever since the first episode: one moment offering a talisman to her, the next being a richard simmons and telling her to age slowly, one moment wanting to eat her and the next personally repairing her umbrella,… and now once again he is so viciously cruel to her, unable to resist the need to hurt her for hurting him, only to offer so much kindness later which he masks under the guise of the bracelet’s magic. If the bracelet allows him to tell such hurtful things to her, its power over SOG must be extremely limited (as Ma Wang said in episode 3  - it makes him protect SM but it can’t erase OG’S “devilishness” which is a synonym for his inherent nature). What makes him to linger his hands on SM’s shoulders and and later on her arms and to take her bare hand into his in order to place the bottle in in, isn’t GGG’s magic either - it’s his need to touch her and be close to her. Her kind words and sympathy before about his punishment clearly affecting him. Whenever Oh Gong says something terrible to SM, he always betrays his words only moments later with his actions, body language and facial expression - it’s as if his body already knew what his brain still can’t accept.

[kimia_spr]

5 hours ago, Wotad said:

 

she would never kill him and i dont think he would ever kill her, i could see them both dying and enter heaven together that could be a decent ending.

 

If one dies and leaves the other alone ill hate it ,  he gets his reward of getting back into heaven but chooses to be reborn as a human - could also be good. 

 

I dont want a depressing ending please. 

I thought about it too. That they can both die and have happy life in heaven for ever. 

I really hate sad ending.... 

And i saw most of hong sisters drama and all of them had happy ending. I really hope this one be like them too. 

Haaaaaaapyyyyy endiiiiiiiiiinggggggg please

[melleri]

1 hour ago, Wotad said:

Why though its weird to dive that much for pretty much no reason its odd ;p 

 

did a new show start?

Not sure, but Bad Guys 2 was down too as well as My Golden Life (though that seems normal for Sat episode to be lower) Well, it's not bad but kinda weird to go down so much. That's lower than the premier ratings.  Anyway, hope for better ratings tomorrow  I heard this episode had a bit too much of the rival love interest and not enough Seunggi. Plus the episode was 20 minutes shorter.  I think that was the main issue. It peaked at then kiss scene but the ended.  Usually the last 20 minutes are the highest rated. 

[kimia_spr]

34 minutes ago, Mau_Cherry said:

 

A Writer has there taste and there style to - So for the Hong Sisters.... I don´t know for Big - but as I see it all Dramas has a good ending with the Couple beeing together in the end. Even if it was a nine tailed Gumiho.

 

I kinda feel that those two loves and needs good endings just like me - and so I will put my trust in that believe. There might be a seperation (thats for sure KDrama Style) and was used often before. but in the end they are together.

Or am I wrong - I don´t know there early works.

 

 

 Beside big and warm and cozy? I see all of their drama and they had happy ending if im right. 

But there is something that make me worrid. All of them was just romcom and about love. But beside romance this seems have a little politics in it too.in that case, sad ending is possible too. 

[TAoJC]

Literally OH.MY GAAAASH!!! If I didn't see the kiss BTS pics I would be even more shocked !! The kiss was priceless but the REACTION OH MY ! IT WAS EPIC, Ma secretary's reaction was literally mine !!! Oh I'm enjoying this so much !!!!  

[haymochi]

Aawww the rating dropped a lot...

it's okay 5% is still good.

I hope it won't drop even more

 

I have to admit ep 6 was the most epic ep. So was Oh Gong betrayed by a human before? Never knew that....don't tell me he was punished before because of that human

[astrobooy]

 

Kinda sad with the big drop off (ratings) 

But i didnt watch this show for the ratings lul . 

[Guest norakim]

So... there's going to be a love triangle in the second couple relationship. Alice, BuJa, and PK. Honestly, I kinda wish they would give BuJa's storyline more time.  

[haymochi]

Maybe it dropped due to the other drama airing final ep?

anyway let's just forget about rating.  with such a good show , we should enjoy the drama pleasantly 

 

i guess Oh Gong imprisonment has something to do with a human  or Sunmi past life.  This sounds like a major heartbreak... Sunmi said if she ever betrayed him, he can stab her heart and i also heard in the preview Oh Gong said "If you die, i die too"

Gosh....

[sadpluto]

Hey guys, I'm new to this thread and just decided to un-lurk after catching up on all the episodes. I loved today's episode, it was hilarious, I don't know why it dropped in ratings.

 

 @haymochi I think they mentioned that a human was responsible for Oh Gong being locked up at the five element mountain in the first place. That's probably why he doesn't really have much sympathy for humans and doesn't try to blend in with jobs like the rest of the gang.

 

I wonder if Jin Seon Mi is the reincarnation of that human. Remember in the first episode Ma Wang said only humans can see and enter that house and Seon Mi was that special human who could. How could it be that in 500+ years no other human was born with Jin Seon Mi's abilities? Could it be that because she was the one who locked him up, she was the only one who could release him?

 

The first time the heavens had him locked up was because Oh Gong was a troublemaker and no one could deal with him. Just like how they are using Sam Jang right now to achieve their agenda, maybe they used that human to lock Oh Gong up until they needed him again. Then when the gates of hell were about to be opened, Jin Seon Mi was born with her special abilities. The heavens then set fire to that mountain which prompted Ma Wang to walk that path where he encountered little Jin Seon Mi whom he sent to get the Princess' Iron Fan. Jin Seon Mi then frees Oh Gong and is punished to become Sam Jang who is needed to save the world right now. I don't think Jin Seon Mi was made Sam Jang as punishment but that she was deliberately put on a path where she had no choice but to do all the things to become Sam Jang. Why else would she be born with these abilities if it wasn't preordained that she would become Sam Jang later?

 

The reason why everyone was so confident that she could put the GGG on Oh Gong was also that she had succeeded in locking him up in the past, so she could do it again. I think that human was specially made to control the Monkey King by the Heavens so they could finally lock him up last time after they couldn't kill him. Now that human was reborn as Jin Seon Mi because the Heavens needs to free Monkey to save the world and JSM is the only one who can control him.

 

What do you guys think? Also, I apologize if someone else has already presented this theory as I haven't back read all the pages yet.

[briseis]

1 hour ago, haymochi said:

i guess Oh Gong imprisonment has something to do with a human  or Sunmi past life.  This sounds like a major heartbreak... Sunmi said if she ever betrayed him, he can stab her heart and i also heard in the preview Oh Gong said "If you die, i die too"

Gosh....

Yes, it occured to me. We still haven't learned why Seon Mi could see ghost in the first place and why she could enter a house only humans could enter but one that they couldn't see. About the "I die, you die" quote he also said that in episode 7 when after he told her he can't stab her since he already told that she can't die  until he dies. Connecting OG's heart to SM means connecting his life to hers, it's the Heaven's way of making the undefeatable, immortal and indestructible Son Oh Gong, The Great Sage Equal of Heaven, finally mortal. They gave him a weakness, his very own Achilles' Heel - JIN SEON MI. The question is in what specific way will it influence him.

"You are the only one in this world with the power to kill me."

Edit: But who knows, perhaps the preview is misleading as preview often tend to be.

[incoty]

 

 

[gutibear]

just watched the subs..oh my goodness, I have so much fun laughing. Animated MaWang is soooooo funny.. And I hope nothing bad will happen to BuJa TT^TT

[ForgottenSoulx]

2 hours ago, astrobooy said:

 

Kinda sad with the big drop off (ratings) 

But i didnt watch this show for the ratings lul . 

 

5% for cable still good 

1 hour ago, haymochi said:

Maybe it dropped due to the other drama airing final ep?

anyway let's just forget about rating.  with such a good show , we should enjoy the drama pleasantly 

 

i guess Oh Gong imprisonment has something to do with a human  or Sunmi past life.  This sounds like a major heartbreak... Sunmi said if she ever betrayed him, he can stab her heart and i also heard in the preview Oh Gong said "If you die, i die too"

Gosh....

 

which drama aired final ep? 

1 hour ago, sadpluto said:

 

I think you make a good point but if she locked him in there he would have hated her and would have been shocked.

 

I dont agree with this past life stuff because he would have hated her from the first episode but still like reading theory's.