[Drama 2018-2019] Encounter / Boyfriend, 남자친구

[DSHK]

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched the ending of ep 12, it still makes me cry. The realization of KJH seeing her there that CSH is 100% on their relationship too just like him. That no other things is more important than being together.. They showed love is pure, selfless and true.... ahhh I love them so much Jinsoo couple...I’m pretty sure that dinner will be amazing, especially CSH is excited to eat the home cooked meal, so the mom will see how humble and simple she is, she will love her too...so excited for next week... I’m so glad that they picked to act on this drama, this one will go down as one of my favorites Kdramas of all time... I love love SHK but I’m beginning to be a fan of PBG too... He is such a good actor... love reading all the insights here...

[bebebisous33]

@NongpeeP I agree with you. In Encounter, the process of love matters the most: the little steps how they come closer and finally admit their love for each other, while for JWS, only the result matters. He even said it to director Choi. That's his way of thinking: that's why he faked the cheating, he lied to her aso. He wanted to start over and never paid attention to the way how he proceeded. This also explains why he uses the hotel as a way to come closer to her: only the result matters. He is closer to her physically but in reality, he is getting further away from her. He is pushing her to the other side.

[jl08]

 

Was catching ep 1 for the umpteenth time and the cinematography never fails to amaze me...it's so beautiful and even more breathtaking with our lead couple and the rich sunset colors.

In particular, the conversation between KJH and the garden owner caught my attention.

 

KJH : "This Garden seems to have been loved by someone a long time ago".

 

Owner : "It was a beautiful time. All that was here".

 

KJH : "Everything seems to be as it was".

 

Owner : "It was so hard to keep it intact. It was the Garden of my wife.

                The love began here and was completed here"

 

Donghwa Hotel is acquiring that land to build a hotel, while keeping the beautiful garden intact. CSH had said it's important to keep the garden so people could value the passage of time (something to that effect). 

 

A strange thought struck me while looking at this scene - would it be probable that the Garden owner was narrating his own story through the eyes of KJH and CSH? Their love is so sweet and beautiful, just like the old man and his wife cos obviously he loved his wife a lot to keep the garden intact. The Garden is a symbol of love and time - signifying the journey that the owners have gone through together and end there.

 

If this is probable, @bebebisous33 you may be right - the drama will not end at marriage but  will depict KJH and CSH as they grow old together, while their love stood still through the passage of time.

It's clear the the old man cherishes his wife so much, exactly what KJH had said to CSH in ep 12, at 38:21: 

 

"I cherish you very much".

 

Coincidental? I just have the goosebumps.....am I crazy?

 

I think I am, with all the beautiful and magical moments of KJH and CSH in "Boyfriend" and spoilt by the first-class cinematography too.

 

P/S : I really want the PD to extend the episodes to at least 24. Yes, 24! More drama from the MIL and Ex-hubby but it's ok, so long as I get to feast my eyes on the magnificent visuals and chemistry of PBG and SHK!    

 

 

 

[ahdrianaa]

1 hour ago, bebebisous33 said:

In this post, I had come to the conclusion that  the viewers are actually watching a photo album of our OTP , their love story. This is important because these photos and scenes shot in such a way will represent the memories of their love, like the love letter of the poet that was mentioned above. When you watch the introduction of this drama (the music, the visuals), you have the impression to watch an old movie, a classic. So I have the impression that the true intention of the writer and the director is to show their love story in the past, although it is not revealed yet. Why? Because the time doesn't already correspond to our actual timeline. During the episode 11, we see that JH offers the rings on February 16th but the viewers are still in January 2019.  So in my opinion, the final ending could be that we see their photo album together after their marriage aso... and the marriage can not be the ending of the story. We might see them getting older. Okay, this is just a speculation from me, yet I doubt that the ending will just end with a proposal. I sense, we might see for a few minutes more... their love story doesn't end with their deaths, the photo album will be the proof that their love still exists. Maybe the writer might use the garden in Cuba as illustration for that. 

 

Agree! Whether the love story has a “happy ending” really depends on how the person narrating the story defines happiness and ending. JH’s views of a happy ending to a true love might be very different from what people would call happily ever after.

 

Like you, I think the story is being narrated, most probably by one of the main leads and I am tipping in favor of JH being the narrator. I think the snapshots are indicative of memory but also remind me of those illustrations in fairy tales,  especially since @stardustvoid pointed out the painting of the little prince, I can’t help but draw connections between the little prince and his rose. 

 

The little prince and his beloved rose watching the sunset remind me of JH and SH’s encounter at Malecon beach. 

 

For me the way the drama has been presented is reminiscent of a book with illustrations and if JH is the narrator, I can’t help think that the entire drama is actually him sharing his story where it’s something like The Notebook - An old JH is reciting their story, in this scenario they did get the conventional happy ending - SH has Alzheimer’s and he retells their story to her to remind her of their shared memories and the pictures are the illustrations of their story or she has passed away and JH - just like the old widow teacher and Samuel is sharing his love story with someone young who is also in love. 

 

I don’t know why but I think that if one of them passes away then the other will too. Even the first time they met, they cheated death together - a car crash which could have resulted in his death and SH almost falling down in her drugged state. 

 

The two of them are a lot like Noah and Allie from The Notebook, so the ending to Encounter should be something heartbreakingly fulfilling like it was in The Notebook , JH and SH’s love deserves that “ending”

 

 

[bohmi]

Support for Kyo & Encounter from DOTS writer (Kim Won Suk)

-----------------------------

 

cr. ayeoniiiiii & ayeonarchive

[bebebisous33]

@jl08 @ahdrianaa I had exactly this movie in my mind, when I wrote my last comment. However, the writer and director are presenting the story in a different way: we see them meeting first in Cuba and in The notebook, they are introduced as an older couple. If my assumption is correct, then I prefer the drama because the present is much more important, while in the notebook, the elderly couple is introduced first. Their love story is presented as a past, as a memory, whereas in Encounter, we are following their love story in the present. However, I sense that at the end, their love story will be briefly shown as a memory... but we follow them in their present life.

[stardustvoid]

@ahdrianaa OMG, you just made me cry with your post. That would be a beautiful ending, with an elderly JH narrating their love story.

 

I mean there are hints that SH might pass away before he does

 

”until your last breath”

”until you’re an old granny” “I guess I should live long then”

 

So yeah, may be somehow their love story reflects that of Samuel and his wife

[ahdrianaa]

4 minutes ago, stardustvoid said:

@ahdrianaa OMG, you just made me cry with your post. That would be a beautiful ending, with an elderly JH narrating their love story.

 

I mean there are hints that SH might pass away before he does

 

”until your last breath”

”until you’re an old granny” “I guess I should live long then”

 

So yeah, may be somehow their love story reflects that of Samuel and his wife

 

Don’t forget that when SH was scared to be alone JH promised SH that she would never be alone anymore and he would never be further than a metre away from her, even that was too far for SH so he changed it to 10 cm. 

 

Would JH really let SH face death all alone ? He will always be no more than 10 cms away. 

 

 

[bebebisous33]

JWS and his mother are like a prince and a queen. When JWS hoped, CSH would appear at the death anniversary, this picture came to my mind: this is like a royal funeral, where the deceased king brings his wife to the afterlife. She is forced to follow him to the mausoleum. Back in the past, servants and wives had to follow their king so that the monarch wouldn't feel lonely in their afterlife. For JWS, it didn't matter if this meant her "death", as long as she would be by his side. That's when I came to realize why JWS's world is associated to death.

Money is the reason. Money destroys everything: family, love, friendship, loyalty etc. When CSH lived in the high society, she had no friend, her family was almost nonexistent and when she started living with JWS, it got even worse. She almost died in there, she was like in a coma. Money is the reason why director Choi betrayed CSH, why chief section Lee also joined director Choi, why KJT also betrayed Donghwa Hotel, why JWS could never win CSH's love, why he has no friend... money kills everything. It uses greed as motivation. So my conclusion is that at the end, JWS will realize that his money is the reason for his loneliness, why he couldn't win CSH's heart and that's when he cuts ties with his mother.  

Striking is that JH considers himself as rich. Sure, he has no debts and his father could give him a roof and good food. Like CSH said, he has something CSH doesn't have: a loving family.  JH is rich too because he has friends, true friends who won't betray you (see HI). 

[Jemrie]

“There’s no right or wrong when it comes to loving someone. No one considers whether or not someone is suitable to fall in with beforehand. Love begins way before one can even think that far...Jin Hyuk.

 

[rabbit0901]

Hello. I've been lurking here and finally decided to log in. Did you guys notice that the broadcast date of the drama replacing Encounter is February 6, but Encounter ends on January 24? Maybe they're planning to air special episodes or commentary with SHK and PBG on January 30-31? I'm still hoping for an extension but I doubt because if they were planning for an extension they would have announced it by now. So hopefully we get at least special episodes. 

 

Thank you to everyone keeping this thread alive, it's such a delight to read your insights.

[stardustvoid]

11 minutes ago, winter spring summer said:

Hello. I've been lurking here and finally decided to log in. Did you guys notice that the broadcast date of the drama replacing Encounter is February 6, but Encounter ends on January 24? Maybe they're planning to air special episodes or commentary with SHK and PBG on January 30-31? I'm still hoping for an extension but I doubt because if they were planning for an extension they would have announced it by now. So hopefully we get at least special episodes. 

 

Thank you to everyone keeping this thread alive, it's such a delight to read your insights.

Thank you for this information. Between a special episode and an extension, I think an extension would be better lol

 

But these are all wishful thinkings from me

[jl08]

@Jemrie

 

Oh my....this gif from you renew my goosebumps again....why are KJH and CSH looking so sensuous here?

I had thought their Cuba kissing scenes are so passionate and oh so intimate with biting and pulling....somehow, this is just  a simple gentle pushing on the swing but the manner that KJH uses his palm to touch CSH's legs with that tender glance up at her face and his eye contact with hers is more than a simple push on the swing. Even this, our OTP is able to make us flush red-hot with their intimate gesture. It's heart-fluttering...

 

KJH's face is full of love while CSH is basking in his love. PBG and SHK are really out to kill us with their chemistry! I'm gonna miss #Boyfriend really bad. Like PBG said at the press con, "Boyfriend" has lots of heart-fluttering moments and they more than fulfilled their promise. This drama will hold a special place in my heart forever because it's about true love and its sacrifices that make us cherish our other half so much.

 

Beautiful take with a gorgeous couple.

 

[rabbit0901]

@stardustvoidYes I would choose an extension too, since special episodes like director's cut or deleted scenes and behind the scenes footages are usually included in the DVD. (If they're going to release one)

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by winter spring summer

[rabbit0901]

Maybe this was already mentioned here but I think I must have scrolled past it while I was backreading so I'll just ask, does anyone know what song Jinhyuk was listening to when he was wearing earphones at the bus stop? 

[dcartajenas]

Hi everyone! Been a lurker in Soompi for the longest time. ENCOUNTER made me logged in and post a comment for the first time.

Just wanna ask... the intro of ENCOUNTER before episode 1 started was CHS Walking in a garden with paintings displayed in the walkways. I happened to observed it after rewatching episode 1 for the nth time that she stopped by a certain painting and gazed at it, then episode 1 starts... Does anyone noticed it also?

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by dcartajenas

[gumtaek]

 

credit:@summergum_ Twitter

 

[caileysmiley]

IG update by Kyo

Credit Kyo1122

[stardustvoid]

22 minutes ago, dcartajenas said:

Hi everyone! Been a lurker in Soompi for the longest time. ENCOUNTER made me logged in and post a comment for the first time.

Just wanna ask... the intro of ENCOUNTER before episode 1 started was CHS Walking in a garden with paintings displayed in the walkways. I happened to observed it after rewatching episode 1 for the nth time that she stopped by a certain painting and gazed at it, then episode 1 starts... Does anyone noticed it also?

 

 

 

Yup, she actually bought that painting and is on display in her house 

[dcartajenas]

3 minutes ago, stardustvoid said:

Yup, she actually bought that painting and is on display in her house 

@stardustvoid Thank you!