[Drama 2020] Born Again, 본 어게인

[raziela]

1 hour ago, whiteclover said:

I also understand although the first 10 episodes was written by JSM, they added 2 other screenwriters for the last 6 episodes (if you look at the opening credits). So probably they were tryna save the ratings by idk, trying to change the main romance pairing? I wonder if the production team even watch what they are filming ... even JKY’s confuse during the mid-way drama production on what type of character JB is. 

This makes so much sense because there was definitely a big shift in the writing, tone and feel of the drama about the time the timeskip happened. 

 

So no wonder the later episodes have been such a mess and contradict a lot of what we saw in the earlier episodes because they brought in the new writers.  So this wasn't all JSM's fault (my apologies to her)).  It looks like there were outside influences to try to salvage the ratings and it ended up with this contradictory, badly written confusing mess of an ending.  It makes me wonder how JSM's original story would have ended.

[Haeun]

13 minutes ago, raziela said:

So no wonder the later episodes have been such a mess and contradict a lot of what we saw in the earlier episodes because they brought in the new writers.  So this wasn't all JSM's fault (my apologies to her)).  It looks like there were outside influences to try to salvage the ratings and it ended up with this contradictory, badly written confusing mess of an ending.  It makes me wonder how JSM's original story would have ended.

 

Ok but what does this say about the korean audience, does that mean they wanted JB to have the girl or did they just assume that? I mean in the end the ratings still remained pretty much the same right.

[Yi Gui]

16 minutes ago, raziela said:

  It looks like there were outside influences to try to salvage the ratings and it ended up with this contradictory, badly written confusing mess of an ending.  It makes me wonder how JSM's original story would have ended.

If they did not change the original story line, it still could be a decent show with low ratings~~it happens sometimes~~But with the hard U-turn, now it is just a low-rating show with a very ridiculous and senseless story! Shame on KBS!

[jeilopes]

11 minutes ago, Haeun said:

Ok but what does this say about the korean audience, does that mean they wanted JB to have the girl or did they just assume that? I mean in the end the ratings still remained pretty much the same right.

I heard the SH/SB always had more supporters, including in Korea. If they did this They not just ruined the loveline, but all the storyline. 
Because all became a messy.

[raziela]

5 minutes ago, Haeun said:

 

Ok but what does this say about the korean audience, does that mean they wanted JB to have the girl or did they just assume that? I mean in the end the ratings still remained pretty much the same right.

Yeah, the new writers made no difference to the bad ratings so they should have just left it alone.  Then at least the story might have had some consistency and not made the rest of the drama also look pointless and ridiculous

 

I don't know about the K-drama audience (from the ratings not many of them were watching anyway lol!) but I think the new writers tried to to make JC/JB more typical romantic hero which is why the drama suddenly turned him into a superhero and saint who every character seemed to defer to and revolve around.

 

2 minutes ago, Yi Gui said:

If they did not change the original story line, it still could be a decent show with low ratings~~it happens sometimes~~But with the hard U-turn, now it is just a low-rating show with a very ridiculous and senseless story! Shame on KBS!

Exactly!  The drama always had it's issues and was nowhere near perfect but at least if they had stuck with the original writer's story it would maintain it's original vision and consistency instead of whatever the heck this trainwreck was

[Yi Gui]

14 minutes ago, raziela said:

Exactly!  The drama always had it's issues and was nowhere near perfect but at least if they had stuck with the original writer's story it would maintain it's original vision and consistency instead of whatever the heck this trainwreck was

I cannot even believe SB/HE is one consistent person with memories of two lives...The way she was written as if she is a Multiple Personality Disorder patient in the last few eps 

[thingskateknows]

The change in writers explains everything about the 2nd half of the drama. From the time skip on, it felt like a different show.  JB's character went from a psychopathic stalker to a sympathetic hero so fast it gave me whiplash. It explains why the additional writers took a decently interesting concept and ruined it by trying to make it more 'kdrama like'.

 

The show would have worked so much better with him still being that stalker, dying for her and SH and SB together in the end. Or having them all die tragically. @raziela's plot would have been amazing too. 

 

It's really sad because I was very on board with this drama in the first half even though the writing was still clunky. It was entertaining enough. But after the time jump, it just all went downhill.

 

The thing that really was frustrating was that there was no clear romantic pairing until Episode 16. I rooted for SB and SH, but because the possibility of JB was there, I couldn't really get invested. And they set up JB's character as such a psychopath that I couldn't get on board there either. 

 

I'm just glad it's over and I'm free!

[Plummpychan]

Ugh I feel bad for Soo Hyuk, if us viewers can feel emotionally scarred like this, how would LSH feels, it must be hard to take esp seeing how he embodied his character to the fullest like that, no wonder he looks dejected in every bts/interview scene lately & loose a lot of weights. What they did to his character is emotionally drainfull.

 

I need to erase this drama from my memories & watch this sweet stranger & me interview instead to see a happy & witty LSH.

I need to see him as a main ML in a romcom badly

Spoiler

 

LSH, fighting!! 

[soondubuu]

Okay i am so sorry guys! I went back to review all the openings credits, and okay they only added a new script writer for the last 2 episodes (Ep 15 & 16) for the script. As for the screenwriter, i didn't scrutinize carefully, but i  did read somewhere that there was a change after Ep 10 for it but i can't seem to find it back!!!  i may be wrong please don't hate me...maybe they realize that JSM can't clear up the mess she created and threw some people to wrap up the stuff for her LOL/ probably K-ent being K-ent, there might be superior pressures to change the plot as well and i feel that if that had happened, the change probably started from Ep 10? Because i was almost sure SB x SH was the end game before EP 10....

 

if thats the case, i can't forgive JSM for ruining all the characters in this show, right up to the end. Especially HB...

 

1 hour ago, Haeun said:

Yes, I thought I could at least go back to the first episodes but seeing how much they were in love with each other just pains me even more knowing they didn't get their happy ending in the next life either.

Haeun deserved a healthy heart so she could commit to her love with her mind at ease and Hyungbin deserved to finally marry the woman he loved, protected and waited for.

@raziela @Haeun yeah man, they totally ruin the eternal loveline at the last episode. HB's confession (which honestly i felt the accident isn't his fault), and not them using the bookstore as now SB x JB's love place. I will feel disgusted re-watching the scenes at the same place with HE x HB / SB x SH . LOL

1 hour ago, jeilopes said:

I heard the SH/SB always had more supporters, including in Korea. If they did this They not just ruined the loveline, but all the storyline. 
Because all became a messy.

@jeilopes @Haeun i would say SHxSB had greater international supporters and balanced base in Korea as well. However, i think JKY does have a wider fanbase as compared to the other 2 actors and i do see quite alot of JB x SB shippers on the korean comment sections. But i will still say SH x SB takes up the majority both locally and internationally...

 

 

[fluffyloaf]

1 hour ago, raziela said:

This makes so much sense because there was definitely a big shift in the writing, tone and feel of the drama about the time the timeskip happened. 

 

So no wonder the later episodes have been such a mess and contradict a lot of what we saw in the earlier episodes because they brought in the new writers.  So this wasn't all JSM's fault (my apologies to her)).  It looks like there were outside influences to try to salvage the ratings and it ended up with this contradictory, badly written confusing mess of an ending.  It makes me wonder how JSM's original story would have ended.

 

Thanks @whiteclover for the earlier information. I still wonder why episode 1-4 was top notch compared to the rest of the episodes that followed. I cannot imagine how someone who could build so much analogies and bring in literature reference made such a flop ending.

 

The only fault I can put on JSM original writing of the earlier episodes are:

1. Information overload

- Almost every single piece of dialogue contained pivotal information for audience to piece together. Scenes ran through really fast. And I think Monday/Tuesday is a bad day to expect people to be able to follow so much on heavy dialogues. Hence most audience get impressed by what emotionally triggers them rather than being able to objectively process the key information laid out (the writer needs to put them in better bite sizes and limit to only a few key information to be emphasised)

2. Too much visual cues

- Aside from an intense script, the initial episodes had a lot of visual cues intended to hint to audiences another layer of the storyline. From the Mother Mary, red string, Yellow Umbrella, white dresses, the eye, butterfly, etc. Lol just mentioning them is a mouthful. It's too difficult to process for a casual drama audience. I honestly appreciated the intent because we rarely get visual cues as much in dramas but this was bordering overdoing it.

3. Ambiguity, time jumps and flashbacks

- Another barrier that further escalates the problem was the way the edit and cuts were sequenced to create ambiguity. It is great for a movie where you would get from start to finish in one seating and figure it out all in that 1-3 hours. But it's frustrating as a 16 piece drama laid over the course of weeks. Even in the first episode where they did a 4 year jump between JC meeting HE, when they returned back to the normal timeline, there were no proper indicator to the audience. 

 

I think these key issues hindered the initial ratings a lot as a lot of audience either gave up on trying to figure out and put too much mental effort in the drama. Or they had put it on hold to watch once it has been completed to avoid the mental torture in between. Either way it sank the ratings.

 

Oh yeah, and don't forget, it's also really dark hence not to general public's liking.

 

1 hour ago, Haeun said:

Ok but what does this say about the korean audience, does that mean they wanted JB to have the girl or did they just assume that? I mean in the end the ratings still remained pretty much the same right.

 

I think what they did not expect was that the drama brought in a huge response for the couple HE/HB. When they steer onto ep5-6 and realised public comments were not so interested in the psychopath storyline, they dug themselves a hole with too much focus on the love triangle.

 

I think JB ended up having the girl was not due to public response but he was originally signed as the main lead (if we relook into cast listing, we will see him as the first name). But I don't believe originally under JSM's intent, he was supposed to get the girl as how we are seeing neither. I believe his character was supposed to be a lot more tragic and he was supposed to be the killer (who was not consciously aware of his own doing). The psychopath/schizophrenia pathway was what I presume to be the key discussion making him the main lead, not the romance pathway.

 

But I think they chugged that part out of the window due to further midway reactions of how people cannot relate to the super dark psychopathic/sociopathic character which we see in JB and find his actions dumb and demands to get more of the romance aspect of the show.

 

Perhaps it would have ended up with SB realising her feelings to some extent for JB (due to some clues we see in ep1-2) but I believe the writer might have wanted to end with a more complex premise like a love/hate situation where SB would find it too difficult to accept what JC had done and JB would also be too guilty to accept SB's love for him although they might feel some deep feelings for each other. I think loving deeply but separating was the essence I found in Wuthering Heights which did not really fully came out during the end of their past life, hence I thought after making all those references to Wuthering Heights, it should come back in present life.

 

But because they threw out the psychopath/schizophrenia aspect for JB/JC midway, it just ended up with a trashy shallow connection between JB and SB in the end. This is probably done also to make him still feel like a leading character (probably due to some contract terms or whatsoever agreement between YG and KBS from the start).

 

Either way, based on clues left by original writer, I think it was difficult to connect SH and SB storyline back together because they still needed to link JB back into the picture. Also if we were to reference back to Wuthering Heights, it was not meant to be a one sided love after all even if it did end that way. If SH and SB did end up together, it would be under a similar condition as Wuthering Heights where the FL leaves the one she loves deeply, for someone she loves less deeply but gives a more satisfactory overall experience hahaha. (But they did not do that probably because YG's contract with KBS was to have JKY as main lead so if JKY's not some crazy killer nor did he get the girl, I think he will obviously not remain as the perceived main lead position).

 

So this is why stakeholders and viewer ratings and comment can make something good, bad very quickly. 

 

1 hour ago, Yi Gui said:

If they did not change the original story line, it still could be a decent show with low ratings~~it happens sometimes~~But with the hard U-turn, now it is just a low-rating show with a very ridiculous and senseless story! Shame on KBS!

 

Hard to say. Because I think if the writer had kept it as dark and tragic as she might have wanted it to end with, although it would leave a good impression on a small pool of fans (I would be greatly pleased and impressed if they had pushed through with it but judging from how the writer is new, she probably didn't have as much power to fight for her script), it might still leave a very very very bad rating. People might still be angry at the ending because of how tragic it is and because they still don't get the romantic ending that they want.

 

P.S. these are solely my opinion of what happened and I do not speak on behalf or know what really went down between YG and KBS or any other parties related hahahaha (in case anyone took me too seriously).

[raziela]

8 hours ago, fluffyloaf said:

 

Thanks @whiteclover for the earlier information. I still wonder why episode 1-4 was top notch compared to the rest of the episodes that followed. I cannot imagine how someone who could build so much analogies and bring in literature reference made such a flop ending.

 

The only fault I can put on JSM original writing of the earlier episodes are:

1. Information overload

- Almost every single piece of dialogue contained pivotal information for audience to piece together. Scenes ran through really fast. And I think Monday/Tuesday is a bad day to expect people to be able to follow so much on heavy dialogues. Hence most audience get impressed by what emotionally triggers them rather than being able to objectively process the key information laid out (the writer needs to put them in better bite sizes and limit to only a few key information to be emphasised)

2. Too much visual cues

- Aside from an intense script, the initial episodes had a lot of visual cues intended to hint to audiences another layer of the storyline. From the Mother Mary, red string, Yellow Umbrella, white dresses, the eye, butterfly, etc. Lol just mentioning them is a mouthful. It's too difficult to process for a casual drama audience. I honestly appreciated the intent because we rarely get visual cues as much in dramas but this was bordering overdoing it.

3. Ambiguity, time jumps and flashbacks

- Another barrier that further escalates the problem was the way the edit and cuts were sequenced to create ambiguity. It is great for a movie where you would get from start to finish in one seating and figure it out all in that 1-3 hours. But it's frustrating as a 16 piece drama laid over the course of weeks. Even in the first episode where they did a 4 year jump between JC meeting HE, when they returned back to the normal timeline, there were no proper indicator to the audience. 

 

I think these key issues hindered the initial ratings a lot as a lot of audience either gave up on trying to figure out and put too much mental effort in the drama. Or they had put it on hold to watch once it has been completed to avoid the mental torture in between. Either way it sank the ratings.

 

Oh yeah, and don't forget, it's also really dark hence not to general public's liking.

 

 

I think what they did not expect was that the drama brought in a huge response for the couple HE/HB. When they steer onto ep5-6 and realised public comments were not so interested in the psychopath storyline, they dug themselves a hole with too much focus on the love triangle.

 

I think JB ended up having the girl was not due to public response but he was originally signed as the main lead (if we relook into cast listing, we will see him as the first name). But I don't believe originally under JSM's intent, he was supposed to get the girl as how we are seeing neither. I believe his character was supposed to be a lot more tragic and he was supposed to be the killer (who was not consciously aware of his own doing). The psychopath/schizophrenia pathway was what I presume to be the key discussion making him the main lead, not the romance pathway.

 

But I think they chugged that part out of the window due to further midway reactions of how people cannot relate to the super dark psychopathic/sociopathic character which we see in JB and find his actions dumb and demands to get more of the romance aspect of the show.

 

Perhaps it would have ended up with SB realising her feelings to some extent for JB (due to some clues we see in ep1-2) but I believe the writer might have wanted to end with a more complex premise like a love/hate situation where SB would find it too difficult to accept what JC had done and JB would also be too guilty to accept SB's love for him although they might feel some deep feelings for each other. I think loving deeply but separating was the essence I found in Wuthering Heights which did not really fully came out during the end of their past life, hence I thought after making all those references to Wuthering Heights, it should come back in present life.

 

But because they threw out the psychopath/schizophrenia aspect for JB/JC midway, it just ended up with a trashy shallow connection between JB and SB in the end. This is probably done also to make him still feel like a leading character (probably due to some contract terms or whatsoever agreement between YG and KBS from the start).

 

Either way, based on clues left by original writer, I think it was difficult to connect SH and SB storyline back together because they still needed to link JB back into the picture. Also if we were to reference back to Wuthering Heights, it was not meant to be a one sided love after all even if it did end that way. If SH and SB did end up together, it would be under a similar condition as Wuthering Heights where the FL leaves the one she loves deeply, for someone she loves less deeply but gives a more satisfactory overall experience hahaha. (But they did not do that probably because YG's contract with KBS was to have JKY as main lead so if JKY's not some crazy killer nor did he get the girl, I think he will obviously not remain as the perceived main lead position).

 

So this is why stakeholders and viewer ratings and comment can make something good, bad very quickly. 

 

 

Hard to say. Because I think if the writer had kept it as dark and tragic as she might have wanted it to end with, although it would leave a good impression on a small pool of fans (I would be greatly pleased and impressed if they had pushed through with it but judging from how the writer is new, she probably didn't have as much power to fight for her script), it might still leave a very very very bad rating. People might still be angry at the ending because of how tragic it is and because they still don't get the romantic ending that they want.

 

P.S. these are solely my opinion of what happened and I do not speak on behalf or know what really went down between YG and KBS or any other parties related hahahaha (in case anyone took me too seriously).

Excellent post.  I very much agree with your analysis and I think you are probably very close to how events unfolded.  I think some of the writer's decisions (e.g. very dark themes, overly complex plot, complicated and dull psychopath storyline, JB's difficult character) and some confusing directing/editing turned the audience off and tanked the ratings early. The attempts to scramble out of that and increase the ratings led to more changes, the rookie writer couldn't fight for her original vision (whatever it was. Maybe the literary references would have made sense?) and it ended up with this total mess.  I also agree there was a push behind the scenes to make JKY more of a standard lead male and that's why we saw his character turn into the hero of the hour and the sun every character revolved around in the ending episodes.

 

This drama has highlighted one of my big issues with the Korean filming system: often actors sign on to dramas with incomplete scripts and just have to hope for the best.  When the cast signed on only the scripts for the first four episodes were available.  I'm sure none of them foresaw the drama turning out so badly. LSH, especially, and JSY were really short-changed by this botched script.

[JelliKelli]

I guess I am in the minority in liking the JB/SB loveline . I feel like the story could have been great if it were more tightly written. If SB character would have been less obtuse until the very end, And if the past/present characters were more clearly defined, it would have been easier to be satisfied with HA/HB laying their loVe to rest in the past timeline, and to allow the JB/SB loveline to grow in the present. HA was madly in love with HB, but SB fell in love with JB ultimately. It was when they all got their memories back that it got so convoluted. Did HS ever come back or was he HB the rest of the time? Was JB JC all the time after the injury? I just think the writer and director was at fault there. I think the actors did their best. I liked the elements of both men doing wrong things for what they thought was the right reason. I liked that there was the element of be careful how you judge people because the person who seems “perfect” on the outside isn’t so perfect maybe. I found JC/JB storyline to be the most compelling. JC was a pure hearted person born into the worst of circumstances, and tried so hard to be recognized as human, and as JB born into a family of Sociopaths, who was constantly baited into going black never did. I feel like the characters HB/SHand HA/SB were kinda flat. I feel like LSH did a great job with what he was given to work with. Likewise JSY. I always find JKY mesmerizing. I just wish he would pick better projects. Well, I guess I liked this drama better than Kill it. He was so cute in Search WWW, super in My Ajusshi, and huggable in Come and Hug Me. I have also liked LSH since Scholar when he played the heck out of Gwi. That was a terrible drama, but he was fantastic! Best of luck to all the actors going FWD. It’s not your fault that the writing, directing, and editing stunk. (Ok, I will say I could see where the writer wanted to go. It was a great story told in a terribly ineffective and frustrating way.)

[Arcticmama]

Again this are my personal thoughts.

 

Although I am one of the few sympathizers of GJC/JB here in this threads since Episode One, I am also surprised at how the story romantically ended as I really thought HS and SB will end up together (that red string connecting the dolls on her wedding day along with the promise to only marry him in that life that's a no brainer to me that they will be together in the end, they have to be the one true pair!)

 

But then even with SE/SB & HB/HS pleasant love story, I had a nagging feeling that HE and GCJ has deeper connection just not blatantly obvious, more like a soul level kind. That feeling started after HE all of a sudden felt rejuvenated (that was after GJC stayed all night at the hospital holding her hands) she started feeling better after that; and then the next was when SB almost drowned and HB saved her, JB for awhile touched her hands while trying to save her also.  Later after, she told JB she felt someone hand while she was in the water and she felt deep sadness somehow.  (I forgot what episode that was) I then assumed JB will play a big role in SB's life (thats also when I thought about the heart transplant idea only it did not turn out that way).

 

Also, I know many keep saying GJC killed HB that tragic day. While that is true, in my opinion JC also did not go there with the intent to kill HB . HB arrived at that location, he was the one who pointed a gun at JC, he has a knife in his pocket, he's the one carrying those weapons thereby he's the one with the intent to kill, JC merely defended himself and fought tooth and nails to survive and in the process HB got stabbed and stabbed even more after JC lost all reasons. (that's why we tell kids not to be horse-playing with sharp objects.) 

 

 I truly enjoyed reading everyones thoughts and opinions even those that are in contrast with mine are very enlightening.

 

. 

[Yi Gui]

1 hour ago, fluffyloaf said:

I think what they did not expect was that the drama brought in a huge response for the couple HE/HB. When they steer onto ep5-6 and realised public comments were not so interested in the psychopath storyline, they dug themselves a hole with too much focus on the love triangle.

 Thank you so much for the long post of your interpretation, I find you inference is possible and reasonable.

 

But I was still surprised if they were so insensitive to viewers needs and did not expect the audience's love for the safo couple~~ I mean, how could they not tell so many viewers would fall in love with the couple, as long as they can see  the way how their relationship was played out? No doubt they are professional in the area, so an alternative explanation id perhaps as you speculated, power plays within the writing team~

 

Either way, the story could be better, at least better than this version...Now I just really want to unsee the show, and I am esthetically traumatized ... 

 

@raziela  Yes, I saw it and corrected it. Thanks!

[raziela]

29 minutes ago, JelliKelli said:

Spoiler

I guess I am in the minority in liking the JB/SB loveline . I feel like the story could have been great if it were more tightly written. If SB character would have been less obtuse until the very end, And if the past/present characters were more clearly defined, it would have been easier to be satisfied with HA/HB laying their loVe to rest in the past timeline, and to allow the JB/SB loveline to grow in the present. HA was madly in love with HB, but SB fell in love with JB ultimately. It was when they all got their memories back that it got so convoluted. Did HS ever come back or was he HB the rest of the time? Was JB JC all the time after the injury? I just think the writer and director was at fault there. I think the actors did their best. I liked the elements of both men doing wrong things for what they thought was the right reason. I liked that there was the element of be careful how you judge people because the person who seems “perfect” on the outside isn’t so perfect maybe. I found JC/JB storyline to be the most compelling. JC was a pure hearted person born into the worst of circumstances, and tried so hard to be recognized as human, and as JB born into a family of Sociopaths, who was constantly baited into going black never did. I feel like the characters HB/SHand HA/SB were kinda flat. I feel like LSH did a great job with what he was given to work with. Likewise JSY. I always find JKY mesmerizing. I just wish he would pick better projects. Well, I guess I liked this drama better than Kill it. He was so cute in Search WWW, super in My Ajusshi, and huggable in Come and Hug Me. I have also liked LSH since Scholar when he played the heck out of Gwi. That was a terrible drama, but he was fantastic! Best of luck to all the actors going FWD. It’s not your fault that the writing, directing, and editing stunk. (Ok, I will say I could see where the writer wanted to go. It was a great story told in a terribly ineffective and frustrating way.)

 

I shipped HB/SH and HE/SB but I actually wouldn't have minded the JB/SB if it had been better written. i actually thought that was where it was going to go in the early episodes but it didn't so I began to be sure SH/SB were endgame to parallel their first lives. As you said the story was told in such "a terribly ineffective and frustrating way" that it just didn't make sense. You also pointed out some great themes that the drama should have explored but in the end everything just fell flat, was ignored, forgotten, neglected.  It's frustrating because the drama had so much potential but, yes, the execution was just terrible. The drama could have been so much more in the hands of a better director and writer. (I will give the editors a pass as they were live shooting!)

 

9 minutes ago, Yi Gui said:

 Thank you so much for the long post of your interpretation, I find you inference is possible and reasonable.

 

But I was still surprised if they were so insensitive to viewers needs and did not expect the audience's love for the safo couple~~ I mean, how could they not tell so many viewers would fall in love with the couple, as long as they can see  the way how their relationship was played out? No doubt they are professional in the area, so an alternative explanation id perhaps as you speculated, power plays within the writing team~

 

Either way, the story could be better, at least better than this version...Now I just really want to unsee the show, and I am esthetically traumatized ... 

That was from @fluffyloaf 's excellent post. I was just quoting her!

[jeilopes]

 

[GingerK]

I just have to say I'm not sure I believe they brought in new writers. Me thinks they might feel bad for the writer and made that ish up. Because it already had a too many hard to swallow moments with JB & SB. It makes no sense that they would bring in two new writers and it was a garbled, irrational mess.

[innrukia]

@Plummpychanagree Lee Soo Hyuk looks dejected even in his final speech. I was thinking he might be surprised with the last  few episodes with how they wrap up the story. Same as you I wanted him to be in a new drama badly. 
 

Btw, Jung So Mi vs Jung Sa Bin... could it be the writer wrote this storyline based on her fetish towards psychopath & murderer

[jeilopes]

The same photos I already posted and a video.

 

And maybe JKY will do another drama before enlistment. I wish him the best and a better script.

 

 

[soondubuu]

2 hours ago, fluffyloaf said:

The only fault I can put on JSM original writing of the earlier episodes are:

1. Information overload

- Almost every single piece of dialogue contained pivotal information for audience to piece together. Scenes ran through really fast. And I think Monday/Tuesday is a bad day to expect people to be able to follow so much on heavy dialogues. Hence most audience get impressed by what emotionally triggers them rather than being able to objectively process the key information laid out (the writer needs to put them in better bite sizes and limit to only a few key information to be emphasised)

2. Too much visual cues

- Aside from an intense script, the initial episodes had a lot of visual cues intended to hint to audiences another layer of the storyline. From the Mother Mary, red string, Yellow Umbrella, white dresses, the eye, butterfly, etc. Lol just mentioning them is a mouthful. It's too difficult to process for a casual drama audience. I honestly appreciated the intent because we rarely get visual cues as much in dramas but this was bordering overdoing it.

3. Ambiguity, time jumps and flashbacks

- Another barrier that further escalates the problem was the way the edit and cuts were sequenced to create ambiguity. It is great for a movie where you would get from start to finish in one seating and figure it out all in that 1-3 hours. But it's frustrating as a 16 piece drama laid over the course of weeks. Even in the first episode where they did a 4 year jump between JC meeting HE, when they returned back to the normal timeline, there were no proper indicator to the audience. 

@fluffyloaf i really liked your analysis here. Its no doubt you will excel in your industry  looking forward to your productions in the near future!!

 

I actually liked the premiere of the drama and felt that it was very balanced between the romance and thriller aspect. We quickly open to a story of a detective and his lover and a ongoing serial killing case. The entire plot was fast paced which led me to continue watching !! But i do agree the transitioning parts were weird and barely noticeable in the drama, i was confused on the 4 year leap too lol. It was then in episode 3 & 4 that i felt the editing was kinda off?? But i got over it afterwards because it got better.

 

But in the modern set up, i felt they introduced too many characters, which aren't useful or properly utiliized. Eg. STH introduction linked to the suspect that SH caught in the first few episodes. I am okay with this set up, but then STH kind of disappear off in the middle of the series (only occasional appearance)  and then suddenly they remember oh he has to take revenge and appear just when JB gets shot in the abandoned building. LOL

 

Another character will be SA's? I read the character synopsis that she was suppose to be sort of like a "bad" woman who have fleeting relationships with several men (because this was written in the description "The same was true of love. Sang-ah loved men, and when she got sick of them, she threw them away"). So i thot oh probably SH will just be engaged to her without love or any sorts, but then the opening proved elsewise? The show did kinda made SH a pseudo jerk for dumping his fiancee right before the wedding for another woman. It may be seen as justifiable because SA turns out to be psychotic, but what if she wasn't? 

 

Also, i felt like the drama didn't link the yellow umbrella murders across the two lives well enough. They just show like ocassional crime scenes and only probably right until the last 6 episodes did they decide to focus on it, making everything seem very anti-climatic and sloppy.

 

1 hour ago, JelliKelli said:

I guess I am in the minority in liking the JB/SB loveline . I feel like the story could have been great if it were more tightly written. If SB character would have been less obtuse until the very end, And if the past/present characters were more clearly defined, it would have been easier to be satisfied with HA/HB laying their loVe to rest in the past timeline, and to allow the JB/SB loveline to grow in the present.

@JelliKelli hi there, i am glad you commented. I enjoy reading contrasting opinions but it is really scarce on this thread  i started the drama believing JKY will end up with the girl, lol since he was the main lead? But they included the red strings and HE's vows at Episode 2 to show the eternal love between HE x HB! But til then i wasn't in this ship yet because, this was gonna be a melodrama!! I thought in the reincarnated life, JB and SB will fall in love, and thats when SB regains her memories and the series will work on proving JC's innocence and giving both HE x HB + JB x SB a good closure, of course not forgetting a good closure for SH as well. But then up til ep 10, they threw in more dialogues and moments to make us think that SH x SB was going to be the end game. They went far to even showing SB was wiling to die for SH (taking that stab) + telling Jb her feelings wouldnt change??  I would rather they removed JB & SB's student-teacher dynamics, and just made them colleagues that fall in love and SH being involved in the love triangle? Then later work to have a closure with everyone.

 

1 hour ago, Arcticmama said:

Although I am one of the few sympathizers of GJC/JB here in this threads since Episode One, I am also surprised at how the story romantically ended as I really thought HS and SB will end up together (that red string connecting the dolls on her wedding day along with the promise to only marry him in that life that's a no brainer to me that they will be together in the end, they have to be the one true pair!)

 

But then even with SE/SB & HB/HS pleasant love story, I had a nagging feeling that HE and GCJ has deeper connection just not blatantly obvious, more like a soul level kind. That feeling started after HE all of a sudden felt rejuvenated (that was after GJC stayed all night at the hospital holding her hands) she started feeling better after that; and then the next was when SB almost drowned and HB saved her, JB for awhile touched her hands while trying to save her also.  Later after, she told JB she felt someone hand while she was in the water and she felt deep sadness somehow.  (I forgot what episode that was) I then assumed JB will play a big role in SB's life (thats also when I thought about the heart transplant idea only it did not turn out that way).

@Arcticmama i know right ! But i do agree on your point that HE x GJC had a deeper connection. It was evident in the hospital scene when HE felt rejuvenated and thought it was HB by her side. I totally missed the drowning part when JC held her hands ?? But now it seems like they are referencing it to the hospital scene back then? I guess many viewers who are alr sold the eternal concept have neglected these scenes because they seem trivial. If only better writing was put in place then i believe everyone can have an appropriate closure  

 

56 minutes ago, GingerK said:

I just have to say I'm not sure I believe they brought in new writers. Me thinks they might feel bad for the writer and made that ish up. Because it already had a too many hard to swallow moments with JB & SB. It makes no sense that they would bring in two new writers and it was a garbled, irrational mess.

@GingerK yes yes, i might have seen it wrong. Because with or without new writers, the show was equally bad. I am sorry if i made you guys even more mad!! I am trying my best to give the drama and the production team a benefit of doubt but i just can't  because i wasted 16 hours on this...

 

aside, the ending clip on Youtube... haha the comments section are insane + dislikes > likes. I wonder if JKY/LSH will actl post anything about the drama? because it seems like JSY (and her staff) are the only more active ones on social media ??