[Official] ♔ WonSan Lovers || HanCheon ❤ SoHwa (Im Siwan • Im Yoona) ♔

[vvan23]

Hi, im delurking here to say thank you to all chingu ere for the insightful thoughts of this drama. Never plan to watch this drama when it s airing as im not fond of yoona..

When i saw at shipper thread got wonsan n rinsan, im lurking both...but of course wonsan thread made me curious to watch tkil

I made a right decision to give this drama a chance..it s a wonderful journey n discussion here made me understand tkil better. 

Siwan did great job as won but i wonder why viewers seem to like rin more..

Im not so good in writing so i may just lurking here reading great posts from all chingu all

[angelwingssf]

24 minutes ago, vvan23 said:

Hi, im delurking here to say thank you to all chingu ere for the insightful thoughts of this drama. Never plan to watch this drama when it s airing as im not fond of yoona..

When i saw at shipper thread got wonsan n rinsan, im lurking both...but of course wonsan thread made me curious to watch tkil

I made a right decision to give this drama a chance..it s a wonderful journey n discussion here made me understand tkil better. 

Siwan did great job as won but i wonder why viewers seem to like rin more..

Im not so good in writing so i may just lurking here reading great posts from all chingu all

 

Welcome and post what ever you want to post.  Just don't stay a lurker.  This drama to me has been like a literature book - analyzing and evaluating all the nuances of the drama.  There are many who are more versatile than me and I enjoy reading too about the discussions from others.  

 

Post what ever you want to, ask questions, suggest answers and just have fun.  

[packmule3]

12 hours ago, angelwingssf said:

 

Won on the other hand, held her hands, delivered her mother's message, held the mother's hand to receive the message, even sent for physician to come to take care of her and never forgot how he felt incapable of not saving her and the other soldiers from the robbers and assassins.  This left a scar on him and a lesson learnt that you cannot take anything granted (expert soldiers, or incompetent robbers were the two that was described) and have to act judiciously instead of being reckless.  A young age to learn responsibility.  

 

 

Yes, it was clear from Episode 2 that Won was traumatized by that ambush and it left a stain on his conscience. 

 

From Episode 2.

 

The Queen attacked Rin and Won gave him a salve for his cut lips. He explained to Rin how his mother hated Rin and Jeon. And he joked that Jeon could be CP anytime because it wasn’t fun anyway. 

 

Won: Your brother will be the Crown Prince and I’ll be the Tiara Prince or the Hairpin Prince. 

 

**I don’t know what he was getting at here….unless he was joking that he was the “female” or effeminate or gay Prince because tiaras and hairpins are used by females.

 

Rin: That wasn’t a funny joke.  

 

**Probably because of what San said. She thought they were gay. 

 

Won: Not funny, huh? I guess she didn’t laugh either. Despite all my attempts at jokes.
Rin: Who?
Won: (ignoring question) We came here by horse. And that punk went by foot, so she’s probably still walking, right?
Rin: So who is walking?

 

**Rin is pretty obtuse here.

 

Won: It seems like that kick was kicked out from home when she was young. Saying that she wasn’t able to protect her Madam…wandering here and there…and ended up in the forest somehow. Then…was spotted by the teacher before being starved to death and became his student. 

 

**Won was engaging in FANFICTION!!! Lol. Quick! Call the mods! 
 We could tell that he was empathizing with the plight of the maid Sohwa.  He was bothered that a soul would suffer because the whole affair, because of him. 
  
Rin: You’ve been thinking of the handmaid all this time? Constantly?

 

**Amusement. Rin's face and tone of voice expressed amusement. That’s why we were left with the impression that Rin wasn’t at all affected or disturbed about San’s plight all these missing years because he was SURPRISED and amused to hear that Won had been bothered all these times (meaning YEARS) about it. Like he was saying, "Huh, really? you were thinking of her all these years? Wow!"

 

For the Rin crusaders, though, they might defend this remorseless and insensitive remark of Rin by saying that he was only expressing surprise that Won had been talking of San all these MINUTES, that the person Won was talking about NOT laughing at his jokes and walking on foot while they were on horseback, was San.  

 

Won: I almost killed her…along with everyone else that died. I didn’t ask for help just because I wanted to watch, so many people died. It seems you have forgotten all about it, but I didn’t. 

 

 

**See? Won ALSO got the impression that Rin wasn’t bothered about the deaths. Won's voice was reproachful when he said, “It seems you’ve forgotten all about it, but I didn’t.”  Furthermore, I have to point out that if Won’s impression was somehow wrong, this should have been the perfect moment for Rin to correct him or deny it. But he didn’t. Silence is admission. 

 

Won: I couldn’t confess that it was me. 

Rin: (changing topic) Since this is expensive, I’ll use it well. 

 

Rin was given the opportunity to explain, clarify, deny and confess what he knew about his brother’s role. He just needed to speak up and he squandered the opportunity. His silence is admission. 

 

There's another thing that happened in Episode at the hunting incident that showed how differently these two men reacted to that infamous day but I'll post it later.  Won was always the better man. 
 

 

[angelwingssf]

14 minutes ago, packmule3 said:

 We could tell that he was empathizing with the plight of the maid Sohwa.  He was bothered that a soul would suffer because the whole affair, because of him. 

 

That's why a person like Won (i.e drama Won) would be a great ruler.  Empathy is something not everyone possess.  He was so bothered by it, that he never forgot about that.  But Rin on the other hand was clueless as ever.  

 

Both Won and San are comfortable with touching each other.  Won holding San's bloodied hands.  San wiping her snot on Won's sleeve.  Both of them didn't flinch.  Most normal human beings are not that way.  

 

23 minutes ago, packmule3 said:

Rin was given the opportunity to explain, clarify, deny and confess what he knew about his brother’s role. He just needed to speak up and he squandered the opportunity. His silence is admission. 

 

 

He knew they were guilty and that was treason and everyone in the family would have been affected.  But Lin did not trust Won ;  He only used him when he could not do the stuff by himself.  Otherwise he would have acknowledged it way earlier ; But the story had to progress in that way.  Hence the drama.  

[packmule3]

16 hours ago, angelwingssf said:

 

That's why a person like Won (i.e drama Won) would be a great ruler.  Empathy is something not everyone possess.  He was so bothered by it, that he never forgot about that.  But Rin on the other hand was clueless as ever.  

 

Both Won and San are comfortable with touching each other.  Won holding San's bloodied hands.  San wiping her snot on Won's sleeve.  Both of them didn't flinch.  Most normal human beings are not that way.  

 

 

He knew they were guilty and that was treason and everyone in the family would have been affected.  But Lin did not trust Won ;  He only used him when he could not do the stuff by himself.  Otherwise he would have acknowledged it way earlier ; But the story had to progress in that way.  Hence the drama.  

 

But she balked when it came to spit. lol. He spat on his finger and he told her, "Come here!" meaning he'd wipe off that smudge with his spit. 

 

Spoiler

Ewww... That was the oddest thing to do. But I know mothers who did that to their children (did you and @ZarraJae?) when they had a spot of dirt or marker on their faces.

 

Also, did you see how they would share cups??

From  Episode 2.

 

From Episode 4. 

Spoiler

 

Anyway to continue what I was saying about how they handled guilt from the San's mother's death. There was a scene in Episode 3 at 45:20 that I thought people overlooked. It showed their character better than those silly eye contacts and longing gazes.  

 

Rin:  That must be her. The one with her face covered. The Minister’s daughter. Will you give your greetings?
Won: And say what? I caused your face to turn that way seven years ago?
Rin: Or you just say hello. 
Won: I don’t want to. 
Rin: Wouldn’t that alleviate the pain in your heart a little?
Won: That kind of greeting is distasteful. 

 

 

Won’s guilt was always self-imposed. He decided that he failed to do something that caused injury to others. And he wore his guilt like a hair-shirt. Meaning, he doesn’t want to alleviate or lighten the pain as Rin recommended because Won regarded the pain itself as a form of punishment. That was his way of atoning for deaths and the injuries. By remembering his wrongdoing, by memorializing it in his heart, he was in effect, taking responsibility for it. 

 

And that’s why he found Rin’s suggestion to greet the fake daughter distasteful. 

 

For one, it was as if he was “pardoning” himself. Forgiveness should come from the person who was injured. But by greeting the BiYeon (the fake daughter) and NOT revealing his role in her injury, he was basically making amends without admission and apology. It’s a cop-out. He was only seeking to make HIMSELF feel better at her expense. 

 

And that was distasteful to him. 

 

Moreover, Won would be dismissing the pain that Biyeon had gone through. He would be assuaging HIS pain but he was NOT easing hers at all. It would be selfish of him to make use of her again in this manner, only to make himself feel better. For me, Won's remark displayed that he wasn't at all insensitive to the pain he caused to others. 

 

He chose to be an honorable man rather than take the easy way out simply so he could feel good for himself. I think this was good foreshadowing of his decision-making process in Episode 20.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

[angelwingssf]

17 minutes ago, packmule3 said:

Both Won and San are comfortable with touching each other.  Won holding San's bloodied hands.  San wiping her snot on Won's sleeve.  Both of them didn't flinch.  Most normal human beings are not that way.  

 

I am little bit on the extreme side.  I always used to keep those tissues in my purse even and don't like anyone doing that.  But I am fine with the blood.  I used to clean wounds and stuff and don't feel uncomfortable.  

 

Wiping someone with spit  -  didn't do that either.  As I said, I am bit extreme.  With my first child I did not know to take care of her well.  But by the second one I had gotten a little better - emphasis on the little.  

[angelwingssf]

22 minutes ago, packmule3 said:

And that’s why he found Rin’s suggestion to greet the fake daughter distasteful. 

 

For one, it was as if he was “pardoning” himself. Forgiveness should come from the person who was injured. But by greeting the BiYeon (the fake daughter) and NOT revealing his role in her injury, he was basically making amends without admission and apology. It’s a cop-out. He was only seeking to make HIMSELF feel better at her expense. 

 

And that was distasteful to him. 

 

Rin's moral compass and Won's moral compass are different wavelength. Won would deliberately go though the pain,  and it is heartfelt.  It is not lip sympathy.  Whereas Rin would hide behind a mask and start something with lies hidden behind his face and not get into it unless he is thrown under the bus.  

[packmule3]

2 hours ago, angelwingssf said:

 

I am little bit on the extreme side.  I always used to keep those tissues in my purse even and don't like anyone doing that.  But I am fine with the blood.  I used to clean wounds and stuff and don't feel uncomfortable.  

 

Wiping someone with spit  -  didn't do that either.  As I said, I am bit extreme.  With my first child I did not know to take care of her well.  But by the second one I had gotten a little better - emphasis on the little.  

 

Same here. I always have tissues. When I travel abroad, that's one of the first things I buy from the convenience store: tissues. Hotel tissues and toilet paper can be rough so I prefer to look for the brand I'm accustomed to. 

 

My children were messy eaters when they were toddlers so if I had to spit to wipe off all the smudges on them, I might as well lick their entire faces. Ewww...

 

5 hours ago, vvan23 said:

Hi, im delurking here to say thank you to all chingu ere for the insightful thoughts of this drama. Never plan to watch this drama when it s airing as im not fond of yoona..

When i saw at shipper thread got wonsan n rinsan, im lurking both...but of course wonsan thread made me curious to watch tkil

I made a right decision to give this drama a chance..it s a wonderful journey n discussion here made me understand tkil better. 

Siwan did great job as won but i wonder why viewers seem to like rin more..

Im not so good in writing so i may just lurking here reading great posts from all chingu all

 

Really? We made you watch TKIL? hahaha. I'll take it as a compliment. 

 

Thank you for delurking and I'm glad that our discussions here have helped you understand TKIL better. That was our primary goal, you know: To try to put things in the right perspective and in the proper context. 

 

Many of us here strongly believe that the WonSan side was given short-shrift because of the “majority rules” in the drama thread and was prematurely dismissed after the drama ended without people actually THINKING THROUGH the plot and characterization. 

 

But oh well.  As far as I’m concerned, it’s their loss, not ours. It's a waste of energy and time to engage people to think critically when they're entrenched in their "feels."  Lack of understanding is a poverty of reasoning and observing skills. pwahahaha. 

 

So go ahead and post. Feel free to add pictures. If you see pics of Siwan and Yoona (oops! I forgot you’re not a big fan of hers. That’s okay), feel free to post them. I actually like Yoona as a person – or at least as much as I “know” of her as a person – so I’ll have to admit that I’m predisposed to like her acting. 

 

Don’t worry about your writing. Just share your love for WonSan.  I have to laugh about this because many of the lurkers must have the wrong impression that we’re writers here. Lol. I think only a couple of us have blogs: @mslee and @moraven14. @YourHighness .  might be in the show business, I’m not sure. And Lol, you don't really want to see the kind of writing I do at work... 

 

So just post about WonSan. No worries.  

[packmule3]

41 minutes ago, angelwingssf said:

 

Rin's moral compass and Won's moral compass are different wavelength. Won would deliberately go though the pain,  and it is heartfelt.  It is not lip sympathy.  Whereas Rin would hide behind a mask and start something with lies hidden behind his face and not get into it unless he is thrown under the bus.  

 

Do you think it has something to do with Rin belonging to the "second family"? They're royal-blooded and they're close enough to be Kings, but they're not. They needed to learn to curry favors or ingratiate themselves to preserve their status. 

 

I dont know. I'm still on Episode 4, going on Episode 5 on my rewatch. 

 

@bebe1989, do you have a link to that Infinity Challenge 459 you mentioned? I might want to watch it. Thanks. 

[angelwingssf]

24 minutes ago, packmule3 said:

Do you think it has something to do with Rin belonging to the "second family"? They're royal-blooded and they're close enough to be Kings, but they're not. They needed to learn to curry favors or ingratiate themselves to preserve their status. 

 

 

I don't know if it is belonging to the second family.  I don't think family has anything to do with a person's moral compass.  But the environment does.  He grew up with a father who pushed things aside so that they would not be hurt.  Rin learnt that from his dad.  Maybe it was the times that they lived.  I guess most of them were used to getting bribed and do favors for one another. (Pimir - Secret) ;  Even after being with Won, he had not learnt honesty.  I remember he told his father that the crown prince will find out since he has started investigating.  Saying that only when he is going to be in trouble, he will come clean and only partially.  

 

Even though they are royal blooded, they are not smart.  Foolish even, in some instances, liars in many others, and greedy with some of the children.  As you said, maybe they had to do that in order to preserve their status.  

[packmule3]

To @Kissy13

 

I know how you feel 

 

Crushing on a character and

Spoiler

 

Crushing on the actor who played the character

Spoiler

credit: koreaboo

 

is like me when I was little 

 

Praying for a unicorn and a pink pony at the same time. (It ain't happening....)

 

Please, please, please. OMG, either one will do. 

credit: pinterest

  Happy Wednesday!!!!

[leedale9198]

Hello everyone. I'm one of the readers here and on the main thread of The King in Love. I decided to delurk because it's about time hihi. The WonSan ship  made me create a soompi account. 

 

Today I'm going to share what got me to TKIL 

 

So I'm not really a kdrama fan, I just watch what interests me and when I'm bored, and I'm not like looking forward or watch every release of new kdramas. I would rate myself as just below a casual fan.

 

I watched Ruler: Master of the Mask because of Kim Myung Soo (L of Infinite). You see, I'm an Infinite stan so yeah. Anyway, I'm so disappointed of the drama. I ship the CP w/ HwaGun cuz I like her character, she's strong, stubbornly strong, she appeals to me more than Ga Eun. I can totally get why the OTP there is CP-Ga Eun. It's just so disappointing for me because the drama killed L's character, Ga Eun IMO is made a damsel in distress, etc. 

 

I'm sorry if I'm sharing about another drama here. I'm just showing the premise of what got me to watch TKIL. So after watching ep. 38 of Ruler (I didn't watch the last episodes), I was casually browsing on the available dramas in the site where I watch kdramas. Then I found TKIL. I was hearing about it due to lots of mediaplay cuz there's Yoona. At first I hesitated to watch another kdrama, an ongoing one. But I watched still. I got turned off watching it the 1st time cuz it came from current time then flashback then current then back to flashback. I was not used to the sequence. I gave it a 2nd chance and it hooked me cuz the story's interesting and the sequence also got me curious haha. So yeah .

 

Gonna share more on my thoughts about TKIL, WonSan, the main thread and this thread. I'm so thankful I discovered that the forums exist, it's really my first time cuz as I said I'm not really into kdramas. BTW just wanna shoutout to my fav poster here, hello packmule3 unnie. Your analyses made me read the drama forum and in the process made my TKIL journey more enjoyable. Also just gonna say hello to YourHighness . because her icon (dp or profile picture?) triggered me that she's a CP - GaEun shipper hihi. For bebe1989 for creating the WonSan thread. Just so disappointed the WonSan shippers were thrown off the bus and called "fanfictioners" pfff. The mod is so biased.

 

I'm really really new to this. Wish i could be friends with y'all. And that I can tag you, etc.

 

 

[mslee]

anyeong to all who finally delurk

feel free to add your thoughts..

 

@packmule3 @angelwingssf @Kissy13 ok I can't tag you all..lol..but here are some random gif..feel free to use them if you have something to share..spazz on them..add more insights...

 

Spoiler

this one has been discussed..how she was given the right to kill him but instead she fed it to the dog..lol

 

her explanation at the bridge scene was like a confession of her to him that he does not have the right to die without her permission

 

 

snooping at the Wang residence... curious of Jeon..

 

 

bantering..as usual..uri WonSan..

 

i thought I caught the moment when she was clumsy with the teapot.. mianhae

 

the accident...

 

 

fussing over him... 

 

 

and of course the confession of were the real culprit on her father's death..

 

i love Siwan's acting here..effortless

 

 

 

 

realization..

 

 

 

[mslee]

part 2

how can we not love Won? all reasons to doubt his friend Rin but he still ran after him just to talk to him to be honest with him. if he did use his power as the CP..he could have had the royal guards arrest him..ran after him..but no. He wanted the truth as Rin's friend. 

and this is why I really lost my respect to him. He could have trusted Won. His ways of "solving and helping him" are for me worthless. He does not have the brains to pull such schemes.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

last conversation with his mother the Queen.. if only Won could have rewind this moment..perhaps he would not be harsh on her. and all because of his love to San.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[deandraluv]

9 hours ago, packmule3 said:

Anyway to continue what I was saying about how they handled guilt from the San's mother's death. There was a scene in Episode 3 at 45:20 that I thought people overlooked. It showed their character better than those silly eye contacts and longing gazes.  

 

Rin:  That must be her. The one with her face covered. The Minister’s daughter. Will you give your greetings?
Won: And say what? I caused your face to turn that way seven years ago?
Rin: Or you just say hello. 
Won: I don’t want to. 
Rin: Wouldn’t that alleviate the pain in your heart a little?
Won: That kind of greeting is distasteful. 

 

 

 

Won’s guilt was always self-imposed. He decided that he failed to do something that caused injury to others. And he wore his guilt like a hair-shirt. Meaning, he doesn’t want to alleviate or lighten the pain as Rin recommended because Won regarded the pain itself was a form of punishment. That was his way of atoning for deaths and the injuries. By remembering his wrongdoing, by memorializing it in his heart, he was in effect, taking responsibility for it. 

 

And that’s why he found Rin’s suggestion to greet the fake daughter distasteful. 

 

For one, it was as if he was “pardoning” himself. Forgiveness should come from the person who was injured. But by greeting the BiYeon (the fake daughter) and NOT revealing his role in her injury, he was basically making amends without admission and apology. It’s a cop-out. He was only seeking to make HIMSELF feel better at her expense. 

 

And that was distasteful to him. 

 

Moreover, Won would be dismissing the pain that Biyeon had gone through. He would be assuaging HIS pain but he was NOT easing hers at all. It would be selfish of him to make use of her again in this manner, only to make himself feel better. For me, Won's remark displayed that he wasn't at all insensitive to the pain he caused to others. 

 

He chose to be an honorable man rather than take the easy way out simply so he could feel good for himself. I think this was good foreshadowing of his decision-making process in Episode 20.

 

 

 

I noticed that too.   I think this scene reveals more of Won,  his character and intelligence.   

 

Even Rin mentioned that Won was very intelligent.  (Even in episode 19, in his  letter,  Rin told Won that generals aknowledged how smart  Won was and they were fearful of him.)      I like his way of thinking and how he answered the King when he was interrogated in front of people.   Now that I think about it,  I just realised,  perhaps that is what appealed to me when I watched TKIL in the first place.....  I find smart and intelligent men attractive.     Especially an intelligent man with good look like Siwan's......I am hooked. 

 

You see,  I watched TKIL because of Yoona,  I like her as a person.  Actually,   I am fond of another member of SNSD and have been watching their variety shows, and I like Yoona then.   I watched her in K2 as well.   So, in regards to the male leads in TKIL,  I had neither bias nor preference.   I was open to any OTP shipping at first.  But as I continued watching, I found that Won was very charming, good looking, caring,  intelligent and passionate.   He had better chemistry with San than Rin to San.  San liked Won so much since the beginning.   Won made San happy.  (No matter how hard I tried to like Rin,  I couldn't, for some reason,  not for me.   It is a matter of preference, I think.)

 

And.... Won's character didn't disappoint me.   He continued to be a sensible and smart Crown Prince throughout the drama.   He even became more matured in the latter episodes.   He wanted to reach out to his Dad.   On the scene when Won and Dan brought cookies for the King,  his father ridiculed him at first,  but Won brushed it off and didn't get so affected by it.  He was cool.  He was a changed man.   Then the King asked him to play the game together.   

 

Welcome to @vvan23 and @leedale9198 .  So glad you join us and decided to delurk......

 

 

 

[deandraluv]

2 hours ago, mslee said:

part 2

how can we not love Won? all reasons to doubt his friend Rin but he still ran after him just to talk to him to be honest with him. if he did use his power as the CP..he could have had the royal guards arrest him..ran after him..but no. He wanted the truth as Rin's friend. 

and this is why I really lost my respect to him. He could have trusted Won. His ways of "solving and helping him" are for me worthless. He does not have the brains to pull such schemes.

Totally agree with you.   That is one other reason why I don't like Rin as a character.   

 

He tended to hide things from Won.   Perhaps I don't find him appealing for that reason. 

 

I live when Won confronted Rin that he knew that Rin spent a night with  Song In,  Gang Yang.   Won knew everything that was going on,  he was waiting for Rin to tell him the truth,  but he just came to Won asking for his permission to marry San.  Sigh.... He thought he could outsmart Won?    (I like Won on that scene, btw)

[alekaonu]

Annyeong chingu deul, I mean Wonsaners 

 

Welcome on board to the "delurkers" @vvan23 @leedale9198 let's have fun here.

[mslee]

Random...

This was San's father's thoughts.. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

I really thought the writer would follow up on this father's instinct about Rin's true agenda. I mean he did realize that Jeon was in cahoots with those who murdered his wife. San in this episode clearly told him about Jeon. Of course in the latter part of the drama when there was investigation she had to deny Jeon's involvement. But her father found it odd in this episode why he chose to go to prison with jis daughter. 

And Won was also surprised of Rin confessing that he likes So Hwa then. It was of Rin's own action which later on Won just thought he could be acting on his behalf. Because he also confessed his feelings at the same time to the king.

 

Thank you @bebe1989 for the link. Now i can't help but spazz on siwan's smiles and wit on the program. And made screencaps

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[packmule3]

2 hours ago, deandraluv said:

 

I noticed that too.   I think this scene reveals more of Won,  his character and intelligence.   

 

Even Rin mentioned that Won was very intelligent.  (Even in episode 19, in his  letter,  Rin told Won that generals aknowledged how smart  Won was and they were fearful of him.)      I like his way of thinking and how he answered the King when he was interrogated in front of people.   Now that I think about it,  I just realised,  perhaps that is what appealed to me when I watched TKIL in the frist place.....  I find smart and intelligent men attractive.     Especially intelligent man with good look like Siwan's......I am hooked. 

 

You see,  I watched TKIL because of Yoona,  I like her as a person.  Actually,   I am fond of another member of SNSD and have been watching their variety shows, and I like Yoona then.   I watched her in K2 as well.   So, in regards to the male lead in TKIL,  I had neither bias nor preference.   I was open to any shipping at first.  But as I continued watching, I found that Won was very charming, good looking, caring,  intelligent and passionate.   He had a better chemistry with San.  San liked. Won so much.   Won made San happy.    (No matter how hard I tried to like Rin,  I couldn't, for some reason,  not for me.   It is a matter of preference, I think.)

 

And.... Won's character didn't disappoint me.   He continued to be a sensible and smart Crown Prince throughout the drama.   He even became more matured in the later episodes.   He wanted to reach out to his Dad.   On the scene when Won and Dan brought cookies for the King,  his father ridiculed him at first,  but Won brushed it off and didn't get so affected by it .   He was cool.  Then the King asked him to play the game together.   

 

Welcome to @vvan23 and @leedale9198 .  So glad you join us and decided to delurk......

 

 

 

 

I agree. Smart and intelligent men are hot. Not the book-smart and maladroit nerds, okay? I mean the mentally-stimulating, witty, and self-confident men who do their job well.

 

I once read that coffee lovers like their men the way they like their coffee. If that’s the case, then I prefer my kdrama heroes to resemble my husband: hot, bold, smooth, and strong enough to bring me back to life on dreary mornings.

 

Speaking of hot coffee… did you notice the difference in Won’s reaction to hot objects?

 

Here he was fussy like a baby, and he held the pot only for a few seconds.

 

Here he endured it the hot water poured on his face slowly. No amount of pain would induce him to wince or shout to gratify his enemies. 

 

And for San, who treated him when he got burned by the hot tea and scolded him for being stupid, we know she wouldn't be able to bear Won being tortured and humiliated … all for her sake.

 

Hi @leedale9198,

 

Did you celebrate your birthday about a month ago? If so, belated happy birthday!!!!

 

I liked HwaGoon, too. I watched Ruler until the moment of the CP’s return as the head of FedEx (or whatever that delivery men were called). 

 

Spoiler

 

I recall the CP saving GaEun (she’s the lead, right?) and they rode on a horse. She was like, “Are you the Prince?” He said, “No.” Then she went, “But I think you are.” He insisted, “No. I’m telling you I’m not.” Then, she said, “Uhh…okay. If you say so.”

 

Head bang. Head bang. Head bang.  To me, the director and writer wasted a good horseback riding scene with  that silly dialogue.  

 

In contrast, I liked the reunion scene with Hwagoon. Unlike GaEun, she didn't know with certainty that CP survived death. All those years, she lived in hopes that he was alive somewhere. But the nanosecond he walked into her council room, she knew it was him. Unlike GaEun, she didn’t have that silly “Is that you? It must be you!” charade.

 

I loved that she instantly recognized him and she didn’t require a confirmation. Her heart knew.

I loved that tears started to well up in her eyes although she must exercise control.

I loved that tension between joy and restraint,
between sadness and pride that he survived well without her, 
between utter relief that he was alive and simple despair that she couldn’t let him die again. 

I thought that brief scene was romantic and it reminded me of Casablanca, for some reason.

 

But that was the last episode that I watched.  I knew Hwagoon wasn’t supposed to be, and I wanted to end it there with that image of her. Vive l’amour! 

 

But once more I digress…

 

If you want to tag somebody, you'll need to type the @ symbol, then the name. You'll have to type slowly so that a box of choices will appear and you can scroll down to the right name. You don't have to call me unnie. I want to downplay my age.

 

Go ahead and post about the memorable scenes in the drama or the fun things you like about WonSan or Siwan, if you want.  Write a fanfiction, too. We won't report you, lol. 

 

And I agree with you that flashbacks take some getting used to. But you know, the usage of flashbacks does fit in nicely with the story. For me, this kdrama is like an autobiography. Won is recounting the story of his life and specifically, the love of his life, to San.  And usually, when a person tells a story, his memories aren’t strictly chronological. There’ll be an occasional detour or digression (like what we did earlier with Ruler) before the whole point is revealed. For me, flashbacks are like those little bursts of insights when a person is reminiscing about the past. 

 

I think Episode 9 is a good example of the use of flashback. The beginning and the ending scenes showed an impasse or a standoff (literally, because they were standing) -- Won and San were on the cusp of a monumental decision that would affect the rest of their lives. The middle scenes then explained the events that led to their impasse. 

 

It’s like… hmmm…. time was paused or put on hold at the tea party. Then, like a videotape being rewound, we got to review all the prior incidents leading up to the tea party. When we reached the ending of the videotape, time again resumed and we now saw the consequences of decisions make three days, two days, one day before the fateful tea party.  There was no way we could fast-forward this. The tea party could only have been understood in hindsight.

There you go. I hope you post soon. It should be interesting to hear all the observations and insights from the new posters. 

 

[deandraluv]

5 hours ago, packmule3 said:

 

I once read that coffee lovers like their men the way they like their coffee. If that’s the case, then I prefer my kdrama heroes to resemble my husband: hot, bold, smooth, and strong enough to bring me back to life on dreary mornings.

Speaking of hot coffee… did you notice the difference in Won’s reaction to hot objects?

 

Here he was fussy like a baby, and he held the pot only for a few seconds.

 

(I messed up the quote bar...sorry) 

 

Ooooh......  You and your man..... @packmule3

 

By the way,  on the above gif,  do you see Dan and Rin's expressions looking at Wonsan touching each other so comfortably?.....(another skinship)  They must have wondered how Wonsan could get that close to each other.   Dan must have been bewildered how they met and got acquainted.