[Drama 2019-2020] Crash Landing on you, 사랑의 불시착

[eLizza]

1 hour ago, bluehibiscus said:

Just finished watching this recently. Overall it was an excellent drama, by turns humorous, heart-warming and touching. The friendships FL forged in N Korea were portrayed very well. The pacing in the last episode was a bit slow for me. I guess I just wished the OTP could have more screen time together.

Yes it is an  excellent drama and I don't think I will get to witness another one in a while..

Nowadays I do like watching other dramas but the satisfaction that CLOY gave me was on another level..

Regarding the last episode..aahh..yess ..Me too wanted lots of OTP moments with them just being  happy together ...no danger..no separation..but ..sigh!! Only few minutes for the swiss-reuninon and we had a CF like epilogue which was too sweet.

 

I guess this was one of the main reason why it managed to sustain people's attention to the last moment..Just as you mentioned in the case of WWSK, when only the wedding part was left, it became boring..I often have this problem with rom-coms  that when majority of the hurdles are crossed and the OTP are in the happily ever after phase for too long doing nothing but lots of couple-y things..I start losing interest..And CLOY was always exciting with lots of thrilling and unpredictable moments till the end..

 

Lol!! However RiRi couple is an exception to my rule..I can watch an entire drama with just the two of them doing mundane day to day things that a normal couple do..

HB and SYJ is a treat to watch..after all. 

[bluehibiscus]

14 hours ago, eLizza said:

Regarding the last episode..aahh..yess ..Me too wanted lots of OTP moments with them just being  happy together ...no danger..no separation..but ..sigh!! Only few minutes for the swiss-reuninon and we had a CF like epilogue which was too sweet.

 

Lol!! However RiRi couple is an exception to my rule..I can watch an entire drama with just the two of them doing mundane day to day things that a normal couple do..

HB and SYJ is a treat to watch..after all. 

 

I feel like RJH was a bit too reserved at the long-awaited paragliding reunion. Would have preferred some raw emotion like when RJH stepped over the boundary when sending SE back to S Korea. The epilogue, while poster-perfect (I love the stills from that scene), also lacks somewhat in this aspect.

[eLizza]

44 minutes ago, bluehibiscus said:

 

I feel like RJH was a bit too reserved at the long-awaited paragliding reunion. Would have preferred some raw emotion like when RJH stepped over the boundary when sending SE back to S Korea. The epilogue, while poster-perfect (I love the stills from that scene), also lacks somewhat in this aspect.

Hmm interesting observation..

I would like to share my p.o.v on these scenes.

Regarding paragliding reunion scene I interpret it a bit differently..and I guess it aligns with his character.. Remember he always gives Seri the first preference and used to ask her to move on in her life ..So when he was standing still at the paragliding scene with Se-ri running towards him ,maybe at first he wanted to make sure if he was still welcomed in her life.. Didn't Seri once asked him to do nothing in episode I guess 11.

 

Even when he reached Cheongdamdom in SK after spending 20hrs in that tunnel, he didn't make the first move but instead Seri was the one who hugged him first and assured him that she was waiting for him..

I know it doesn't makes much sense but this was what I felt..

As for the CF like epilogue..I guess they did a time skip and RJH may have shed off his reserved persona after finally finding his happiness and boom they lived together leaving it to our imaginations..

As for that raw emotion in the one step closer scene..I felt that for RJH, it was last time he was seeing Se-ri thus he gave in to his feelings just like that hospital scene in Sariwon when he was overwhelmed by her gesture ..

PS: Another factor could be that the Switzerland scenes were shot first so maybe they were not that much into the character..It disturbs the flow actually if the ending is shot first.

Btw..you are welcome to share ur thoughts good or bad..

[celest1al]

Just posting this review on CLOY. It's a podcast series led by Eric Nam. He is a singer, but also worked as an MC for shows, and was an interviewer in Korea for section TV around 6 years ago (he mentions this) and interviewed a lot of Korean and American celebrities. He started this series called "Commit or Quit," during the quarantine where he watches 2 episodes of a K-drama and either commits to it or quits it. This one is on Crash Landing On You and was posted last month on June 15, 2020. FYI, all three of them are not regular K-drama watchers, and you can tell! They also go on a lot of tangents. Hahaha.
 

Basically, all 3 of them decide to commit to watch the drama! 

[bluehibiscus]

 

3 hours ago, eLizza said:

Hmm interesting observation..

I would like to share my p.o.v on these scenes.

Regarding paragliding reunion scene I interpret it a bit differently..and I guess it aligns with his character.. Remember he always gives Seri the first preference and used to ask her to move on in her life ..So when he was standing still at the paragliding scene with Se-ri running towards him ,maybe at first he wanted to make sure if he was still welcomed in her life.. Didn't Seri once asked him to do nothing in episode I guess 11.

 

Even when he reached Cheongdamdom in SK after spending 20hrs in that tunnel, he didn't make the first move but instead Seri was the one who hugged him first and assured him that she was waiting for him..

I know it doesn't makes much sense but this was what I felt..

As for the CF like epilogue..I guess they did a time skip and RJH may have shed off his reserved persona after finally finding his happiness and boom they lived together leaving it to our imaginations..

As for that raw emotion in the one step closer scene..I felt that for RJH, it was last time he was seeing Se-ri thus he gave in to his feelings just like that hospital scene in Sariwon when he was overwhelmed by her gesture ..

PS: Another factor could be that the Switzerland scenes were shot first so maybe they were not that much into the character..It disturbs the flow actually if the ending is shot first.

Btw..you are welcome to share ur thoughts good or bad..

 

I’m fine with Seri hugging him first as she has always been the more impulsive and exuberant one and he has always tried to restrain his feelings for her own good before giving in. I am referring more to how he looked at her and reacted. At the point of the paragliding reunion scene, their love had matured a lot more compared to when he crawled through the tunnel so i was expecting a bit more. After all, he was the one who suggested that they try to meet again in Switzerland. Maybe we could have got a bit more into the effort he made to get there to meet her even if he’s not the type who would talk about it. As you pointed out, they shot the Switzerland scenes first so he may not be fully into the character yet or the director had a different interpretation of the scene.

[TotoroSY]

@celest1al  Thanks so much for posting that video review here! It was first posted on youtube in June '20 so this means CLOY is still being talked about in US till then. Good run for the drama in the States.

 

@bluehibiscus Welcome to CLOY thread! Glad to see new posts in here. Happy to see another happy audience for the drama. I think the finale episode was in a way to cater to fans love for the show. It was super long, and took time to wrap up a lot of the different characters storyline. I am happy to see how the writer and director gave enough time for the NK F4 soldiers, Manbok, the NK ahjummas, SD, and even YSR's family. But you are right, there could have been more of the OTP interactions which all of us love the most. And the last reunion scene, Captain Ri was probably a little bit too cool LOL!! I wish they showed him looking for her too, and some backstory of how he got to Switzerland finally. Then he can all cool at the end cuz we would have seen the efforts he put into earlier. But I guess the writer/ director is telling the story from YSR's perspective, and not RJH. Its similar to the writer's previous work My Love From Another Star, where the male lead was also more of a mystery and we mainly see the story from the female lead's POV.

 

As for the epilogue ending scene, I actually love it a lot. This was probably the 2nd or 3rd year that the couple reunited in Switzerland, so by then they are like a married couple and just enjoying each other's company. Being the stoic guy he is, I don't think RJH will suddenly become overly emotional. Only during dangerous time or final farewells that he reacts that way.

 

Interesting discussion about WWSK. I enjoyed this drama a lot too, and watched it 2X. But agree that once the couple got together, the plot became a bit draggy and the storyline was not as sharp. Nevertheless the OTP chemistry was great there!

 

@Dee.84  Thanks so much for posting the translation of PD-nim interview with the Japanese media! Here's a bigger picture of his replies. I love all the details they went into to create the stories, the characters and also the NK village. Also LOVE the part where the PDnim purposely recruited the 2 Parasite's actors for the show! Brilliant move! They were 2 of my most fav characters in the show. It displayed their humor vs their intense roles in Parasite.

 

 

[Dee.84]

 

Crash Landing On You is loved in SK

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding the Japanese article on CLOY where the Director was interviewed, I am not sure if this is the article itself or another version:

 

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3b5e9e594c46f4b86b72a569580cd1e54d0cfd55?page=1

 

 

 

[eLizza]

@Dee.84 thanks for those info..

Btw isn't it amazing that despite having 6 of its episodes being aired in 2019, CLOY still managed to rank so high in that no. of viewers list for 2020 first half..

[eLizza]

This person is based on LA and a member of Television Critics association (I had to use google to know what it is ... lol!! )..

Inspired by Bong Joon Ho's one inch barrier comment ,decided to embark on the journey of kdramas..This is what she had to say about CLOY..

CLOY domination indeed...And FYI ..she is a professional critic...A tight slap to those who say that CLOY is all about lead actors' romance whereas the writing and directing were not extraordinary.

 

 

 

PS: You can read the full thread on twitter.

[eLizza]

CLOY being the most popular internet drama of first half of  2020 ...Apart from breaking TVN's record...people were heavily engaged in CLOY related discussions in internet..

The difference between CLOY and the other two dramas is hugggeee.. Imagine if the first 6 episodes of CLOY that aired in 2019 also included in this survey!!!

http://enewstoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=1403650…

 

 

 

 

[kehrite]

After 450+ pages of comments, I have nothing particularly new or insightful to add... BUT, this is the first drama my husband watched with me, and after the tunnel episode he kind of sighed despondently and said, "well, this guy sure makes all other men look like crap...!" 

[Jbelr]

On 7/19/2020 at 5:11 PM, Dee.84 said:

Saw this on twitter:

 

Oh thanks! Saw that too, I just thought there’s a longer one and I hope there is.  Any updates on Seoul Drama awards, I’m still hopeful for them to get an award. 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Jillia
Please do not quote Twitter links, thanks!

[forumsoomp]

https://www.hellokpop.com/featured/15th-seoul-international-drama-awards-unveils-complete-list-of-nominees/

 

15th Seoul International Drama Awards Nominees  :   

 

"Crash on Landing" nominated under mini-series

 

 

[MsHoon2219]

Love this reaction video on CLOY by Americans of different backgrounds and age with ties to absolutely no ties with Korea. A must watch! 
 

 

[blue_fleurs]

In a recent interview of SYJ headlined SYJ overwhelmed by Japan success of CLOY (something like that!) I am so happy to read some of her thoughts on specific CLOY scenes!  That's what I really hoped for when the drama ended a while ago.  I don't know how to carry over the quote from the SYJ thread but you can find it over there.

 

I'm paraphrasing from memory - but SYJ saying the final good-bye scene in episode 16 was an unforgettable one means so much - because indeed that scene made such an emotional impact on viewers - we all cried so, so much.   I can't get over that scene.  She said it required immense emotions by both actors (HB and her) and the characters' emotions exploded.  Yes!!!  I'm comforted by knowing that what we suspected (that it must have been a difficult and emotional scene for them tenfold compared to viewers watching them in that scene) is, in fact, true.  

 

Miss them so much.  What are the chances now to get a panel interview where the director, HB, and SYJ sit and talk about specific scenes?  Ah, sigh.

[Seriya]

Hello, just discovering this thread now after falling in love with CLOY.  Hope there are still some fellow late watchers around!  CLOY is actually my first kdrama but I think CLOY would be a very enjoyable series by any standard. It made me laugh more than I expected, especially the North Korean scenes, and the acting and chemistry by the leads and supporting actors was impressive all round! 

 

Read that SYJ asked for the reunion kiss scene to be filmed again before a green screen because she felt the emotions weren't all captured the first time they shot in Switzerland?  Great that she had such high standards for such a pivotal scene, and great that the director allowed for the reshoot (not sure this is always possible because of the expense?).  I saw another green screen scene in the BTS where SYJ has her hair in a bun and she and HB look like they are just in a photoshoot with arms around each other's waist.  Does anyone know what that scene was about? I don't recall it in the actual series?  Was it for one of their photos in their Swiss cabin?

 

The BTS videos were really interesting to watch and just shows how much work and how many people go into filming a series.  Also so impressive to see how SYJ can kind of turn on/off her tears or even be so immersed in a scene that she doesn't stop crying after cut.

 

If there's a tiny, teeny imperfection when it comes to CLOY for me is that perhaps the kissing scenes could have been better?  I don't know if it's the norm for kissing in Kdrama to be so chaste or just because of Seri and Ri's circumstances in CLOY that made the hesitate and not have passionate kissing. Except at the very end.  I also thought they might have been more affectionate when living in the same apartment in Seoul.  Like how could they resist lol.  I guess the director was going more for sweet than sexual tension, but SYJ and HB could have set the house on fire if they wanted to go with UST.  It did feel a little strange at times that these characters in their 30s were as shy and chaste as teenagers at times.  So many scenes of them just standing there, not touching and looking at each other for 10 seconds.

 

Does anyone know what scenes were filmed in Jeju? Did they film in chronological order after the Switzerland scenes? Yeah, another criticism i would make is that the Switzerland scenes were a weak point in the series imo, despite the beautiful scenery. The destiny theme was pushed a bit too hard.   Those beautiful shots of the leads with HB in black and SYJ in purple with her arm around him were so nice but not used in the series?  But I thought the happy ending in Switzerland was quite well done on the whole. 

[eLizza]

@Seriya thanks for sharing your thoughts..

I agree with u on the  lack of skinship part between RiRi couple. Infact most of us were frustrated as there were so many missed opportunities..HB and SYJ have a chemistry to die for.But maybe the reason could be that it was the script's demand that they shouldn't cross the line or something like that..I guess it is our only consolation..

I think there was some mistranslation over the reshooting thing..She just mentioned that the reunion scene had to be done with CGI as the emotions didn't properly built up..There was no mention as to who requested for it..

On 8/24/2020 at 6:02 PM, Seriya said:

I saw another green screen scene in the BTS where SYJ has her hair in a bun and she and HB look like they are just in a photoshoot with arms around each other's waist.  Does anyone know what that scene was about? I don't recall it in the actual series?  Was it for one of their photos in their Swiss cabin?

Yes you are right..that photoshoot was for their cabin in Switzerland..

As for the last BTS pic where Seri was wearing a purple cardigan...many of us think that there was an alternate ending but couldn't push it through due to political or some other reasons.

[MsHoon2219]

On 8/24/2020 at 12:02 PM, Seriya said:

 

 

Does anyone know what scenes were filmed in Jeju? Did they film in chronological order after the Switzerland scenes? Yeah, another criticism i would make is that the Switzerland scenes were a weak point in the series imo, despite the beautiful scenery. The destiny theme was pushed a bit too hard.   Those beautiful shots of the leads with HB in black and SYJ in purple with her arm around him were so nice but not used in the series?  But I thought the happy ending in Switzerland was quite well done on the whole. 

From what I read somewhere, the Jeju scenes were from episode 1 where Seri was in the DMZ, running in the minefield and was being chased by Capt Ri and the ducklings. 
 

I believe the Switzerland plot was chosen because it is historically a neutral country between SK and NK affairs. Another reason could be because it is a preferred destination of the NK elite which RJH and Seo Dan characters are a part of. Kim Jung Un and his siblings have lived and studied in Switzerland when they were younger under different names. The Swiss plot could have been inspired by this. Lol. It also happened that Switzerland is one country that allows assisted death which was a driving point in Seri’s story.

On another note, I love this forum but if you want more active discussions on CLOY you may join us on Reddit! We have a weekly rewatch discussions if you feel like watching the series again. Lol 

[eLizza]

This is amazing...

Netflix Australia and New Zealand has been listing out Best shows in the world for a week..

And guess what?? CLOY is the representation for the korean language.Other shows included are the likes of Money Heist ,Dark ,Sacred Games, etc..

 

CLOY world domination indeed.

 

 

[Seriya]

On 8/29/2020 at 2:56 PM, eLizza said:

@Seriya thanks for sharing your thoughts..

I agree with u on the  lack of skinship part between RiRi couple. Infact most of us were frustrated as there were so many missed opportunities..HB and SYJ have a chemistry to die for.But maybe the reason could be that it was the script's demand that they shouldn't cross the line or something like that..I guess it is our only consolation..

Thanks for replying!  This was my first kdrama so wasn't sure what the general level of skinship is, or if it differs depending on the timeslot of a series.  To be completely honest, I did think some of the kisses did look slightly awkward here because with Asian drama they often don't move their mouths/lips much, not that I'm expecting open mouthed kisses or anything.  Not sure if that was more to do with actors or the directing for those scenes to show hesitation and shyness and RJH being a reserved character with little dating experience.  The finale kiss was a more passionate one, as befitting a reunion situation, so we had that at least.  I didn't expect passionate scenes for a family friendly series like CLOY but the characters were really super chaste in the Seoul apartment scenes considering they are characters in their 30s who had basically declared their love for each other.  Even when drinking soju together and sitting on a bed together, they kept a physical distance.  Like you said, maybe the script/directors/actors decided the tone was to be one of sweetness and restraint rather than to tap into sexual tension.

 

After watching CLOY, I started watching SJY's earlier series SITR and was surprised to see so much natural kissing and intimacy between the couple so I guess the tone of kdrama can really differ depending on the writing and directing. 

 

That said, restraint and subtlety can enhance romantic chemistry depending on the story.  One of the biggest reasons for CLOY to be such a good drama imo is that they built up the attraction and the push and pull between the two leads very well. 

 

Quote

I think there was some mistranslation over the reshooting thing..She just mentioned that the reunion scene had to be done with CGI as the emotions didn't properly built up..There was no mention as to who requested for it..

Yes you are right..that photoshoot was for their cabin in Switzerland..

As for the last BTS pic where Seri was wearing a purple cardigan...many of us think that there was an alternate ending but couldn't push it through due to political or some other reasons.

Ah I see, thanks for the clarification. So do kdrama generally shoot in chronological order and even airing as they shoot, except for the overseas filming which would have been shot out of order? Do they read through the entire script for all the episodes during their script reading before filming?  I enjoyed those brief bts clips of the script reading. They are all excellent actors so I'm not sure I could tell if they shoot out of order like for films, but it would have been interesting to start shooting with the ending scene in Switzerland.  I wouldn't have known it was a green screen scene without reading about it.  It seems like there is time pressure with the shoots for tv series so glad they got to do the ending scene again to perfect it. 

 

I think the ending was about as happy as it could be while leaving space for imagination.  It was enough for me to know they managed to find each other again in Switzerland and even set up a home there.  I didn't need to see them with twins running around or to know that RJH would defect in the future.  But there are other kdramas/movies featuring North Koreans so I don't know if political reasons would be a factor in the ending here?

 

I thought they presented the human side of NK quite well here, while not entirely ignoring the darker aspects of the regime but not delving into them as that was not the focus of the series.  The depiction of everyday lives and relationships in NK were a highlight and arguably a bit more interesting than the SK scenes for me.

 

They looked too pretty in the black/purple cardigan pics. Deserved a framed photo in their home at least! 

 

22 hours ago, MsHoon2219 said:

From what I read somewhere, the Jeju scenes were from episode 1 where Seri was in the DMZ, running in the minefield and was being chased by Capt Ri and the ducklings. 
 

I believe the Switzerland plot was chosen because it is historically a neutral country between SK and NK affairs. Another reason could be because it is a preferred destination of the NK elite which RJH and Seo Dan characters are a part of. Kim Jung Un and his siblings have lived and studied in Switzerland when they were younger under different names. The Swiss plot could have been inspired by this. Lol. It also happened that Switzerland is one country that allows assisted death which was a driving point in Seri’s story.

On another note, I love this forum but if you want more active discussions on CLOY you may join us on Reddit! We have a weekly rewatch discussions if you feel like watching the series again. Lol 

I've been to beautiful Jeju but didn't recognize those forests/running fields as part of the island!   I thought it was just somewhere in mainland SK.  SYJ looks like a good runner btw lol. Do you know where in SK the paragliding scenes in NK were filmed where they both jump off the cliff or was that all CGI?  And I'm guessing the NK village was a built set? But then I saw this pic of HB & SYJ at a famous Busan restaurant so it seems they went on location around SK as well?

 

I agree that Switzerland was featured because it is traditionally where NK elites go for studies because it is a neutral country.  I liked that they touched on the difference in lives between NK villagers, elites etc with a deft touch.  I didn't find that the scenes in Switzerland from the characters' past to be a strong theme in the storytelling, but I guess the writer wanted to hammer in the themes of fate and destiny and the characters saving each other.  But for me, the story of the 2 characters simply falling in love in NK in the present was enough for me. 

 

Yes, I'm still rewatching too but skipping all the villain scenes heh. 

 

I was also wondering about, is it normal for Seo Dan's mother and uncle- or in any Korean relationship- to have the woman kind of kicking/shoving the man as a point of humour? Is that a cultural thing?  I didn't realize till after watching CLOY that they were in Parasite as well! 

 

Was CLOY expected to do well before release because it was written by a writer who had written hits before and 2 top actors?  Or was it not expected to do well because of the NK premise etc?  It seems the series has exceeded expectations in terms of popularity both in SK and abroad.  Well deserved!