[Drama 2018-2019] Memories of the Alhambra | Recuerdos de la Alhambra, 알함브라 궁전의 추억

[sanika]

Joining in late to the party! Here is my theory based on the latest episode.

 

Se-ju and Marco plan to sell the game to Hyeon-Seok. HS travels to Granada with Marco after their meeting in Barcelona and they try out the game. At Level 3/4 the players get the option to either form or refuse an alliance with another player. To demo, HS forms alliance with SeJu [similar to secretary and JW] and refuses with Marco [similar to HS and JW]. During the gameplay, HS kills Marco [ his body is found near the woods in Granada] and NPC Marco is now the recurrent character after HS. Since he has formed an alliance with SeJu and has shared experience with him, NPC Marco is targeting both HS and SeJu. This is why SeJu thinks HS is the bad guy and is running away from NPC Marco [Same checks shirt(?) Episode 1].

 

HS was also heavily drinking before meeting JinWoo for their fight. He showed similar drinking habits to the present day JW. Probably he has spent the previous days fighting NPC Marco. When JW comes and tells him JOne  has acquired the rights to the game, HS wants to take the ultimate revenge at JW and at the same time salvation from NPC Marco by provoking JW to kill him.

 

It has been mentioned before, Emma is a "Healer" character in the game whereas HeeJu is a healer-like person in real life. The game character probably bestows special healing powers which has helped SeJu stay alive for the past one year in the game and will probably will play an important role once JW returns back to Granada [probably repair his leg?] .

 

Its interesting seeing the two story-lines develop - both in the game and real life. But I am definitely more invested in the game line :P. SeJu and JW are finally going to communicate after one year!

 

Cannot wait for the next episodes!!!

 

 

[sava2sava]

[lduc]

 

[alcides14ahjumma]

@NileRose Now that you mention it,  I will have to rewatch the episodes again, from 1 to 8! Lol

 About the emails, I think she knew it was not her brother for the beginning ! But, the game I believe she put the pieces together to figure out?!? Or there is a mystery with Emma?!?!

[lduc]

 

 

 

[imels]

@katakwasabi

(And I want HJ to stop crying. I'll just assume she's crying because of SJ in ep 7-8. JW does not deserve her tears. But even in ep 9 preview, she is still crying. She's turning to be a human faucet. Huhu)

sometime tears are important to be part of the stories. As far as I know, since ep 1, there is not much scenes of her crying till I started to wonder was that PSH? But, even she has to cry in every scene, I always love her cries. She’s never fell to make me sad and cry for her.

 

@sanika

Quote

(Se-ju and Marco plan to sell the game to Hyeon-Seok. HS travels to Granada with Marco after their meeting in Barcelona and they try out the game. At Level 3/4 the players get the option to either form or refuse an alliance with another player. To demo, HS forms alliance with SeJu [similar to secretary and JW] and refuses with Marco [similar to HS and JW]. During the gameplay, HS kills Marco [ his body is found near the woods in Granada] and NPC Marco is now the recurrent character after HS. Since he has formed an alliance with SeJu and has shared experience with him, NPC Marco is targeting both HS and SeJu. This is why SeJu thinks HS is the bad guy and is running away from NPC Marco [Same checks shirt(?) Episode 1].)

 

I think HS could not kill Marco, cause Marco’s level has reached 92 when HS started the game (it happened a year ago). So, based on the theory that the gamers could only find the matched opponent if they level up ( that’s why JW played the game day and night to reach level 90), I believe it’s not HS but maybe SJ. Can you see SJ aka Master’s body laid outside the train in Granada that perhaps SJ still alive. But, Marco with bad wounds escaped himself to the forest before the train reached the station, where his body was found decomposed. I believe the bad man was Marco, and they fought to claim the game.

 

[lduc]

 

 

 

cr: the owner

[lduc]

 

http://www.theceluv.com/article.php?aid=1545615264228227002 …

 

 

[40somethingahjumma]

Hyun Bin is super hot stuff with a cane/walking stick.  On top of that he's brandishing a sword mowing down virtual combatants on a killing spree. Doing his best version of a Korean John Steed.  He is Mr Cool through and through even with a limp. When all the world around him goes berserk, he calmly and suavely presents the facts. To everyone's annoyance.

 

The most interesting twist in recent days is that now Jeong-hun is able to join in the game and he has actually seen the game's resident evil zombie.  Of course it's fraught with danger... we can't have too many people privy to the secret otherwise there won't be opportunities for office politics to rear its ugly head.  I wonder about Prof Cha and what his game might be.

 

Nice to see that they're contextualizing the game for different markets but it's hilarious... I don't know if there's any significance to this... to see all these beta testers swinging their arms at some invisible enemy right in front of Sejong the Great. And then JW... coolly pulls up and guns down the Joseon swordsmen. I don't think it's purely aesthetics just to have the statue of Sejong preside over an AR game from his bronze (?) throne. 

 

Although I think HB and PSH have great chemistry that's waiting to explode and I'm sure the show is trying to imply that they're kind of in love with each other already... even while they're pretending not to be... I really think the writing of HJ (and directing) needs to be a lot of tighter. I didn't have a problem with her being angry for being kept in the dark and for him going incommunicado on her BUT her reaction went a bit too overboard for my liking. I was uncomfortable with the charge that he conned her while I understand that it was anger talking. He didn't tell her about the brother going AWOL but she did get a nice 10 billion won out of their brief encounter in Granada. It's not as if JW took the game and ran. The family was compensated quite handsomely. And then her male friend... workshop partner... made it out that JW cheated them out of house and home. I dunno...  all that... again... felt OTT. It just seems like everyone else in this show overreacts except for JW, Prof Cha, MJ and maybe JH. I like HJ and unlike her detractors I do see her purpose in the show but I just wish Kdramaland would be less extreme with their handling of female protagonists especially after they've fallen in love while misunderstandings ensue.

 

I love the banter between MJ and JW. It's absolutely one of the highlights of the show. In fact, MJ is an absolute scene stealer. The back and forth between those two is always delightful comic relief. Of course she doesn't have any kind of emotional investment in him so their relationship can have a kind of amusing honesty that two people who carry emotional baggage can't.

 

The second wife... oh my word... what a piece of work. And it does beg the question... why in the world did he marry her in the first instance? I'm beginning to wonder if JW was really such a bad husband (as has been the claim) or if he was just a poor judge of women. I'd love to know more of the backstory behind his first marriage. He seemed genuinely crushed when that went awry.

 

What's the deal with Prof Cha? He plays his cards close to his chest. But he feels like a man with a thousand secrets. I understand the need to protect the company and the livelihood of hundreds of employees but there's something about him that screams "shifty". I've got to wonder if he knows more than what he's saying about his son's death. Is he responsible for it?

 

More and more I'm convinced that JW is the most honest and sanest person in this show especially now that he's been broken and pushed to the brink. It was fight or flight and he chose to fight... with the aid of alcohol and drugs. How can he explain to anyone about his present predicament? It seemed that flew over the cuckoo's nest and stayed there. But when you're the only one who can see what's really in the cuckoo's nest... there's no convincing anyone.

 

I'm glad that there's a possibility that SJ is still alive. I was wondering if CHS could be alive but I don't see how. If it works like The Matrix... then he shouldn't be. 

 

I've been thinking that there's not a lot more gaming related type dramas coming out of SK. Maybe there have been and I've slept walked through all of them. Sure we may see the inside of an internet cafe often enough. But this is a country that produces the best Starcraft players in the world and there are young guys from their late teens to their earlier twenties winning international gaming tournaments. Of course I imagine that the vast majority of dramas are targeted at females.  

[Jennypyho]

Both HB and PSH is my favorite actor and actress.  Honestly, if the main lead is not either of them, I may not watch this drama.  The pace is too slow and it's seems not much progress after 8 episodes.  It's a waste of HB and PSY pairing up without any impressed romance.   The writer develops the female lead  so week that every episode is the solo of HB and AR games levering up.  HB acts really good and extremely handsome without doubt.  Unfortunately, I cannot see any breakthrough of PSH as the character in this drama is so weak that she cannot acts a lot except crying.  It's too bad for her as I really like her. If she will play the role of Emma,  Emma should come out in the earlier episodes, now it's too late....

[katakwasabi]

3 hours ago, imels said:

@katakwasabi

(And I want HJ to stop crying. I'll just assume she's crying because of SJ in ep 7-8. JW does not deserve her tears. But even in ep 9 preview, she is still crying. She's turning to be a human faucet. Huhu)

sometime tears are important to be part of the stories. As far as I know, since ep 1, there is not much scenes of her crying till I started to wonder was that PSH? But, even she has to cry in every scene, I always love her cries. She’s never fell to make me sad and cry for her.

 

I suppose its personal preference. Imo, tears are not that important in this story. Some of her crying scenes i understand, some of it is just meh. And JW comparing tears was just reaching. Did they make JW have 2 ex wives just to let him compare their tears to HJ? To show how different HJ is? How contrasting they were?  

 

Its not helping that she decidely stayed put and not do anything when she suspected it was not SJ who was emailing her. She said JW gave her lots of money, why not hire a private investigator to help clear her suspicions? But nope, she just waited. If JW didnt come that night, she would still be waiting.

 

Also not helping is Emma the game character is still not appearing in the game. I didnt like the programmer progamming emma to look however he wants her to look like. She's a looker he says. It was kinda creepy. This scene imo took away the mysterious aura NPC Emma in the earlier episode had. 

 

I'm not a fan of how HJ is characterized. Half way through the series and i havent warmed up to her. I'm staying to see how the story goes especially the game. 

 

Imo, the female characters in MotA are written to make JW look good while disregarding how it makes the female look like. The only one i see that complements (not compliment) JW when they are in a scene together is Jinjuu.

 

Disclaimer: this is my opinion up to ep 8. My opinions are subject to change depending on how the characters are fledged out and how the story goes in upcoming episodes.

[Celi67]

There are many reasons why people cry. In ep 1 HJ cried out of frustration . When JW scolded her about her hotel though she did reason out but we can’t argue with our customers . As my boss said customers are always right. In ep 6 she cried maybe because of guilt as to what happened to JW since he fell down in her hostel so she is somehow responsible for it and of course she has somehow develop feelings for JW . After giving her flowers he just left   So how do you feel . Of course frustrated. Some here says that how can HJ fall for JW in just 2 days but in reality there’s call live at first sight. In ep 7/8 I think she cried for SJ because she blamed herself. Some here commented why HJ never even bothered to look for SJ but remember JW sec sent her emails about SJ and HJ told JW that she actually doubt it later but she dared not ask so when JW cane to her hse she thought JW is going to tell it himself but he didn’t because he had his own reason . In that part HJ is showing her respect to JW . There are times in our life that we don’t want to ask because we’re scared to know the truth. So ep 7/8 HJ cried for SJ and remember she has to keep this from her grandma and sister. So the only way to burst her self blame and frustration is through crying. Anyway PSH is an actress who can cry beautifully and full of emotion so you’ll feel how she feels . You don’t get annoyed not like other actress . PSH and HB are really portraying their character so well . Same with the other cast. 

 

But I agree with you that this writer focus on one only. And for me she’s not as good writers as what I read about her. She had good ideas but her style of writing is everywhere . The pace and the flow is not that smooth . It’s quite slow . It’s already ep 9 and yet too many hanging questions . She should remember it’s only 16 ep at least if it’s 2o ep then I think is fine . That’s my opinion for now . Let’s wait and see the coming episodes . 

[sanika]

5 hours ago, imels said:

@sanika

 

I think HS could not kill Marco, cause Marco’s level has reached 92 when HS started the game (it happened a year ago). So, based on the theory that the gamers could only find the matched opponent if they level up ( that’s why JW played the game day and night to reach level 90), I believe it’s not HS but maybe SJ. Can you see SJ aka Master’s body laid outside the train in Granada that perhaps SJ still alive. But, Marco with bad wounds escaped himself to the forest before the train reached the station, where his body was found decomposed. I believe the bad man was Marco, and they fought to claim the game.

 

 I was thinking that Marco wanted to kill SeJu to get all the money from the game as Marco and HS had a secret deal in order to get the rights to the game before JW. As you said, after the fight in the train, SeJu was still alive in the game but Marco was probably heavily wounded as well. Marco goes to meet HS and tells him that SeJu got away. It would have been easy for HS to kill Marco when he was heavily wounded and leave him to rot in the woods near Granada.

 

I also have another theory. During the first fight between HS and JW they lost levels when they got into a physical fight. But the 2nd time they fought in the park, no such warning turned up [if I am not mistaken]. I have a feeling that Marco created a backdoor into the program in order to deactivate that function in order to kill SeJu on the train in the game. But since he himself died shortly after, that feature has not been turned off in the game which is why HS also died.

[carnation18]

1 hour ago, Celi67 said:

There are many reasons why people cry. In ep 1 HJ cried out of frustration . When JW scolded her about her hotel though she did reason out but we can’t argue with our customers . As my boss said customers are always right. In ep 6 she cried maybe because of guilt as to what happened to JW since he fell down in her hostel so she is somehow responsible for it and of course she has somehow develop feelings for JW . After giving her flowers he just left   So how do you feel . Of course frustrated. Some here says that how can HJ fall for JW in just 2 days but in reality there’s call live at first sight. In ep 7/8 I think she cried for SJ because she blamed herself. Some here commented why HJ never even bothered to look for SJ but remember JW sec sent her emails about SJ and HJ told JW that she actually doubt it later but she dared not ask so when JW cane to her hse she thought JW is going to tell it himself but he didn’t because he had his own reason . In that part HJ is showing her respect to JW . There are times in our life that we don’t want to ask because we’re scared to know the truth. So ep 7/8 HJ cried for SJ and remember she has to keep this from her grandma and sister. So the only way to burst her self blame and frustration is through crying. Anyway PSH is an actress who can cry beautifully and full of emotion so you’ll feel how she feels . You don’t get annoyed not like other actress . PSH and HB are really portraying their character so well . Same with the other cast. 

 

But I agree with you that this writer focus on one only. And for me she’s not as good writers as what I read about her. She had good ideas but her style of writing is everywhere . The pace and the flow is not that smooth . It’s quite slow . It’s already ep 9 and yet too many hanging questions . She should remember it’s only 16 ep at least if it’s 2o ep then I think is fine . That’s my opinion for now . Let’s wait and see the coming episodes . 

I agree with your analysis because it is based on what actually happened in the show. There's no point in arguing to make PSH character different because it is very much linked to HB struggle in love. Their is consistency in her character in a sense she is soft-hearted and generous to anyone having single-handedly raised her family after they became orphaned. She extended this attitude to HB/Jin Woo when he fell from the stairs on her hostel which is under her care. She took care of him while he was recovering and eventually develop feelings for him. Having recognized her actions of care, HB also cant help but develop feelings for her after being deprived of such things from his ex wives. So when he left without saying goodbye, she was heartbroken after HB showed some interest in her as well when she hugged her and asked her to stay with him in the hospital under the rain. SH didnt know about the game, thus her feelings shouldnt be invalidated. She was acting based on the reality she is experiencing. While HB was acting based on the two worlds he is in. Viewers should really be sensitive in forming opinions about a character. I trust the writer's storytelling because in the end it is the writer's story. We are just here to witness how he would go about it. If you want a different character, go and make one but leave this one be.  

[bebebisous33]

9 hours ago, sanika said:

Joining in late to the party! Here is my theory based on the latest episode.

 

Se-ju and Marco plan to sell the game to Hyeon-Seok. HS travels to Granada with Marco after their meeting in Barcelona and they try out the game. At Level 3/4 the players get the option to either form or refuse an alliance with another player. To demo, HS forms alliance with SeJu [similar to secretary and JW] and refuses with Marco [similar to HS and JW]. During the gameplay, HS kills Marco [ his body is found near the woods in Granada] and NPC Marco is now the recurrent character after HS. Since he has formed an alliance with SeJu and has shared experience with him, NPC Marco is targeting both HS and SeJu. This is why SeJu thinks HS is the bad guy and is running away from NPC Marco [Same checks shirt(?) Episode 1].

 

HS was also heavily drinking before meeting JinWoo for their fight. He showed similar drinking habits to the present day JW. Probably he has spent the previous days fighting NPC Marco. When JW comes and tells him JOne  has acquired the rights to the game, HS wants to take the ultimate revenge at JW and at the same time salvation from NPC Marco by provoking JW to kill him.

 

It has been mentioned before, Emma is a "Healer" character in the game whereas HeeJu is a healer-like person in real life. The game character probably bestows special healing powers which has helped SeJu stay alive for the past one year in the game and will probably will play an important role once JW returns back to Granada [probably repair his leg?] .

 

Its interesting seeing the two story-lines develop - both in the game and real life. But I am definitely more invested in the game line :P. SeJu and JW are finally going to communicate after one year!

 

Cannot wait for the next episodes!!!

 

 

But Marco and Se Ju had reached the same level and CHS had only reached the level 4. I doubt that CHS would be able to kill him just like that. Even if they form an alliance, HS has not the same skills than SJ.

However, I also think that Marco tried to kill Se Ju because Marco asked SJ to keep the deal about the game a secret from his family. He wanted to get rich without SJ who was a minor. Besides, when SJ called JW, he was in Barcelona and not in Granada, while the body of Marco was found in the woods near Granada. CSH was looking for SJ and had no idea where he was. HS had started drinking even before meeting Marco (flashback from CSH's wife, comment from professor Cha).

 

However, I sense that there could be a third party that JW and CHS were not aware of. Here is my theory: What about KSB? Right now, we are all focusing on Park and professor Cha but why not look elsewhere?

Don't you find it strange that

- KSB recognized JW right away

- he keeps following HJ (even moved to Seoul)

- he keeps warning HJ about JW?

Is it a coincidence that the patent was registered under the name Hostel Bonita? SJ is a minor, how could he have come up with such an idea? On the other hand, KSB is older and had his own shop, if I am not wrong... so he knows how to create business and about patent rights. Imagine... if SJ had died, maybe KBS could have proposed to buy the hostel bonita... but JW entered the picture. KBS couldn't let HJ and JW know that he knew about the game. 

If he was the third party who helped them to create the game but he was not a registered player, he could have made an alliance with Marco in order to get rid of SJ but Marco died in the process. Either he got killed by SJ while the latter defended himself or KBS killed him for real when Marco was looking for SJ in the game. Anyway, that's why Marco became NPC Marco. KBS wanted to use the game in order to murder SJ. Since Zombie Marco has a high level, SJ has issues to fight him back. He came back to Granada in order to warn KSB because SJ thought that Marco had betrayed him with CHS after meeting the CEO... Why would he run back to Granada, when JW was already in Barcelona? They could have met there... In my opinion, he went back to Granada in order to warn his other partner but didn't think that KBS was the one who betrayed him. Only in the train, he realized the betrayal as zombie Marco appeared. No one knew how and when he would arrive in Granada, except his family. He had told his sister about his arrival and KBS got aware of it.

Let me know what you think about it

@stroppyse @Kasmic @blademan@40somethingahjumma @stargazer187 @wenchanteur   

[katakwasabi]

Since they are returning to Granada in ep 9-10, i cant wait to see more of this 

 

@bebebisous33 its totally possible that SB is one of the masterminds behind the game. SB's description (credits to dramamilk)

'He is a student learning how to make guitars with Hee-joo in Granada. He has finished all his studies so he can go back to Korea but He has lingering attachment to Hee-joo so he hesitates going back to Korea. But all of a sudden Jin-woo shows up in front of Hee-joo. Jin-woo bothered Sang-beom from the beginning so what he felt became true. He only has eyes for Hee-joo, though he pretends like he does not'

 

If SB is the main villian that would be pretty awesome since not many are looking his way. He is also pretty close to HJ and her family. The amount of devestation and betrayal HJ will face  would be huge if SB is involved in all of this. And SB even offered to follow HJ to Granada. I thought he offered because he cared for HJ so much, but after reading your theory, maybe he had something to hide and doesnt want HJ to find in Granada.

[bebebisous33]

@katakwasabi Yes, the betrayal for HJ would be huge. On the other hand, she would have a similar experience than JW and understand better why JW became so cynical and distrustful. So far, no one has been betrayed so often than JW. In the next episodes, he will experience another backstabbing. JW was right: CSH and his wife made excuses for their betrayal, trying to blame him for their own actions. And this will be repeated: Cha and Park will claim that JW is delirious and endangering the company, hence they need him to be removed from his CEO seat. 

[bebebisous33]

@katakwasabi Another point for this theory: not only he wanted to follow her to Granada in order to locate SJ through his sister but also he wanted to take away HJ from JW's side, when JW was in recovery. Remember, he complained to JW that HJ would spend too much time for him and he had always wanted to celebrate her birthday. Since JW was awake, HJ could celebrate her birthday. KBS kept pressuring her to leave the house, not even waiting for secretary Seo. Only after some time had passed (but before Seo's arrival), zombie Cha appeared. So if KSB is our culprit, he might know that HJ serves as protector. Therefore he needed her to leave JW's side so that NPC Cha could make his entrance. 

What if KBS is able to use zombie Marco and zombie Cha? That explains why there is no trace of another login: at the top, we only have Marco, Master and Zinu. Yet, I believe that someone could use the accounts from dead people in order to enter the game and get rid of his "enemies". The accounts could have been hacked after their death, no one has noticed it. 

 

Another point for this theory: the music (guitar) JW hears just before zombie CHS appears: memories of the Alhambra. KSB makes guitars and I am quite sure, he can play the guitar too.

Anyway, I am a firm believer that murder was the real motive of Marco and Cha's death... and JW is not responsible for his friend's death. KBS even stigmatized JW as murderer, as a lunatic person although he didn't interact that much with him compared to HJ.

[PororoQueen]

Love to see many interesting theories from chingus, our waiting days till saturday will be faster with this discussion.

 

One thing I noticed, that we haven't had enough scenes or stories about the New World company (CHS), I wonder who's the computer engineer or staff behind this company.

[dramaobsessed]

18 minutes ago, bebebisous33 said:

@katakwasabi Another point for this theory: not only he wanted to follow her to Granada in order to locate SJ through his sister but also he wanted to take away HJ from JW's side, when JW was in recovery. Remember, he complained to JW that HJ would spend too much time for him and he had always wanted to celebrate her birthday. Since JW was awake, HJ could celebrate her birthday. KBS kept pressuring her to leave the house, not even waiting for secretary Seo. Only after some time had passed (but before Seo's arrival), zombie Cha appeared. So if KSB is our culprit, he might know that HJ serves as protector. Therefore he needed her to leave JW's side so that NPC Cha could make his entrance. 

What if KBS is able to use zombie Marco and zombie Cha? That explains why there is no trace of another login: at the top, we only have Marco, Master and Zinu. Yet, I believe that someone could use the accounts from dead people in order to enter the game and get rid of his "enemies". The accounts could have been hacked after their death, no one has noticed it. 

Anyway, I am a firm believer that murder was the real motive of Marco and Cha's death... and JW is not responsible for his friend's death. KBS even stigmatized JW as murderer, as a lunatic person although he didn't interact that much with him compared to HJ.

 

@katakwasabi@bebebisous33 Very interesting theory and plausible especially because we know nothing much about KBS except for he makes guitars and he has one sided love towards HJ. I thought it a bit weird when he told HJ that he wanted to expose what JW did to the media....I thought that was a bit extreme...going straight to the media before trying to talk to JW or find another way to "settle" the situation with the company or JW himself first....

 

I know he comes off a bit jealous and resentful of JW and they are trying to make us believe its due to his crush on HJ but there could be an underlying reason as you said...It could also be he is the "consultant" who gave SJ ideas on creating the Emma character since he knows about guitars