On Symmetry
This is why I’m sticking around with this kdrama. For moments like this, I can overlook clichés, non-existent cinematography, and second-rate acting from secondary characters.
Our couple had been at an impasse.
WooHyun misunderstood YooJung’s offer to help him financially with his new hospital venture and she didn’t realize how fiercely proud he was of his financial independence. To exacerbate their quarrel, her manager also suggested monetary compensation. He was fuming because he thought she had put her manager up to it. Giving her a disappointed look, he rejected their “contract dating” and walked out on their briefing. All she could do after his departure was to scold her manager for thinking that he could be paid-off easily, and to demand that she apologized to him.
In the next scene, YooJung was exercising.
She replayed the words she heard him say on separate occasions. “We are doctors. We’re not peddlers selling surgeries at some market. If my diagnosis is wrong, then I’ll quit being a doctor….I don’t eat with people that I don’t know.”
She also recalled their handshake shortly before they had the falling-out. He said back then, “Let’s give it our best shot because I may have to give up on myself if our cover is blown.”
Remembering all these, she told herself that their situation is difficult. In her judgment, “He seems like a difficult person, (meaning, he could be stubborn, obstinate, set in his ways, etc.) but he also seems like a good person.”
And then her doorbell rang. She jumped up from her reverie and ran to the door….
Next scene, WooHyun was at his workshop making furniture for his clinic.
He was replaying in his mind the pressure he received from people to marry. His mother told him, “Live your life with money and power, and do what you want. And fall in love too.” The wannabe fiancée said, “Instead of thinking of it as marriage, think of it as a strategy to get what each of us wants.” And his father said, “I’m worried as to what kind of deal you made with Yoon YooJung.”
Then, he remembered YooJung’s words right after their handshake which caused their falling-out. She said, “Put your personal pride aside and just tell me honestly. I want to be able to pay you back for all you’ve done. Isn’t it obvious to assume that the most important thing you need to running a new hospital is money?”
Frustrated, he told himself that he had been mistaken to expect more from her. “I thought she was a different person. They’re all exactly the same.” In his mind, she too would parlay a personal relationship into a cold economic transaction with mutual benefits.
And then HIS doorbell rang. He walked back to the living room with a delivery box in his hand.
He opened the box and inside it was a letter, flowers and an apple.
lol.
Okay, kdrama bitches!!! If there’s one word you all have to remember in kdramas it’s this: apple is “sagwa” in Korean. “Sagwa” is a homophone. It can also mean “sorry.”
He opened the letter, and written on top of it is the word “merci” meaning “Thank you” in French. We wouldn’t know the contents of the letter till later in the episode but whatever it was, he was appeased after reading it.
Then he saw a bouquet of flowers. There was another note attached to it, “Purple Hyacinth words – Sorry.” He smiled after reading this.
Finally, the next scene, YooJung’s manager got off the elevator and she was met by their in-house reporter.
The contract dating was back on again.
Do you see how subtle the script was?
I like it that the director left it up to the viewers to string the connection of the scenes together. He didn’t insult our intelligence by over-explaining things or giving us a slow-mo apology scene with a schmaltzy OST in the background. (Are you reading this, Mr Sunshine director? lol)
Instead, he gave us the SYMMETRY between the actions of the couple to guide us through the development and resolution of their conflict. YooJung was upset by their first “couple fight” but so was WooHyun. She busied herself with exercise to keep her mind off it, just like he kept himself occupied with woodwork to keep his anger at bay. She was pondering over his rigidity while he too was reflecting (and over-reacting, lol) on the coercion he received from his people. Then, her doorbell interrupted her brooding, and so did his.
However, she was expecting that doorbell and he wasn’t.
She rushed off to answer it, and off-camera, she handed a package to the door. Then, in another scene, he too went to answer the door, and off-camera, he was handed the package that she had sent earlier.
See the symmetry? The action of one character was expertly created to parallel and mirror the action of the other person so they could be linked in time and space. And the apology was their main connection.
YJ offered the proverbial olive branch (or in this case, the purple hyacinth posy) to end their disagreement, and her apology made him realize that he’d been wrong in his estimation of her. In her clumsy way, she had only ever wanted to show her gratitude for his help. She didn’t mean to offend him. Hence, the word “merci” on the letterhead. All along, she wanted to thank him.
😀
Unlike in other silly kdramas there was none of the over-the-top and prolonged misunderstanding. We didn’t have to suffer through a patronizing male or stupid aegyo female. (I hereby declare a moratorium on aegyo for kdrama heroines over 30 years old and/or with a college degree.) Unlike the grotesque caricatures of adults in Devilish Joy and Where Stars Land (hahaha), the characters in this kdrama behaved a lot more sensibly and realistically.
But what I found most romantic was the UNDERSTATED way that writer revealed how much the letter had meant to WooHyun. He kept her letter as a bookmark to remind him of her.
She had written, “I sincerely wanted to thank you and help you with your situation, but I suppose it didn’t come across so well. Sorry. And I really didn’t mean to eavesdrop on your call. I really just happened to hear it. I apologize for Jae Kyung as well. Please accept it.”
Simple words but her sincerity shone through. Of course, she fake-shivered after she re-read her note. It was meant to be self-deprecating. She was glad that their tiff was over.
And his smile here more than made up for the disapproving look he gave her at the briefing. To me, it meant that they have begun to understand each other and solve their differences as a couple.
*************
My review for Episode 3 is coming. (I hope, lol.)
Loved your analysis!!
Thank you very much for your review and i love Fluttering Alert the leading couple is very nice, they have a lot of chemistry.
I agree. Both YJ and WH are decent characters.
Unfortunately, this kdrama is being overlooked because some viewers already dismissed the plot as unoriginal.
Oh well. (shrug)
We can’t dictate what they should/shouldn’t like. But we can always SHOW them that they’re missing out on a lot of things. 😀
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Chinggu!!! 🙂 I have missed you!!! Most of all I have missed your posts and insights!!! 🙂
So this is the drama that will make us interact and have conversations again 😉 I love it!
I already love this drama, after the 4 episodes, I am happy with how our couple are going along. I really do admire YEH because she never fails to have that chemistry with her Leading Man. She is my first ever favourite Korean actress, so I do not care what anyone else says about this drama.
I will be here to watch it with you 🙂
PS. I am actually following The Beauty Inside too. I see that you’re not a fan and I totally understand 🙂
See you here and at Soompi!
Hugs!!!
You’re here, too?!!!!
Okay, let the good times roll.
I thought The Beauty Within was so-so but…
(spoiler alert/shallow alert!!)
I was never really a big fan of Lee Minki’s gecko face, and the actress reminded me of my pointed shoes. Too retro-looking. 😂
I would have stuck with the kdrama if it weren’t for 100 Days My Prince.
Well? What do you think of our couple here? I think they’re a great match!
Chingguuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
Long time no chat!!! hehehe
Remember agdr03? It’s Me!!!
I had another longer post but I don’t know where it went hahahaha
Let me try this first if it works. hehehehe
Of course, I remember you!!! We’re the royal ladies of Warm and Cozy. lol. We rocked that forum.
Of course our couple here is definitely a GREAT MATCH! They are so natural and genuinely kind, that’s what I love it them. I am looking forward to this especially now that we are back!!! hahahaha
To be honest I was never a fan of LM too but I just started the drama out of curiosity and I honestly did not mind it. Maybe it’s the idea that the character changes to a different person once a week got me in. LOL! at what the actress reminded you off hahahahaha
I did watch 100 Days My Prince too but I was dissappointed with the ending.
Anyway, let’s see where we go with Fluttering Alert. You know what? That was what I felt actually, it really was fluttering when our couple are together especially when they finally introduced themselves to each other. 🙂 Their chemistry is something great too! I really really like it!
It so nice to see you’ve got this now 🙂 I guess I will be around for awhile 😉
LOL! Yes we were the Royal Ladies indeed! We rocked the Warm and Cozy Forum alright! 🙂
With WH and YJ, I have to keep myself checked as I do not want to ship. Well let’s see their first kiss first hahahahah
Sigh….
Don’t remind me about 100 Days My Prince. That’s why I haven’t watched the last two episodes.
I was in Chicago when the last two episodes ran. By the time I got back, my good friends here already told me what to expect from the last episodes.
And nope. I don’t want to know. In my mind, I’ll rewrite the ending so our couple can have a longer time together… AND KIDS. Kids are important.
LM wasn’t bad in his previous drama. I liked him there probably because his features matched the prettiness of the actress.
I’m not so wild about the notion of love being disconnected from the physical form. It’s a nice concept but in reality… if my husband suddenly transformed into Adolf Hitler or Charles Manson or a 6 year old boy…or girl while we were making love, I’d puke.
See that? So yes, I get what the writers are trying to say, but no, I can’t suspend my disbelief and my squeamishness long enough to have sex with somebody who DOES NOT look like my husband. WE ladies got to have standards….
It’s too early to ship-SHIP them but they should be okay. They’ll probably have that soulful/meaningful/clean kiss first with little tongue action or anything else. (I mean he’s in a hospital bed, right? They can hardly make that hospital bed rock and creak. Plus the upper torsos won’t probably even touch…because of his injuries. So it’ll be all lips.)
hahaha. Don’t remind me about the kiss in W&C. That guy Yoo Yoon Seok can kiss alright. And so can Kang Sora. Their kiss was heart-fluttering.
But I think YEH can kiss well, too. IIRC, Goong hyped the kiss between YEH and what’s his name? That druggie actor? But she’ll probably have to do the lip action here. I’m not sure that actor here can kiss well. He looks goody-two-shoes/Mr. Prim and Proper.
Oh gosh! I just revealed myself to be a closet fanatic about kisses. lol.
🤣 I am in hysterics at your kiss description between our fluttering couple here hahhahah I guess your right about not to expect any tongue twisting??? because they are in the hospital hhehehe
YEH can definitely kiss but I have not seen CJM kiss. So time will tell. The Goong leading man was Ju Ji-hoon and that was a good kiss.
Oh all these kissed made me miss ‘that’ kiss by our W&C couple!!!
I agree, do not worry about watching the last 2 episodes of 100 Days My Prince. It was very disappointing. I wanted her to be in the palace with him and yes, with kids too but it was not given to us. There was a part there too where I thought was that necessary? Anyway I have moved on from it.
With the changing forms in the Beauty Inside, I do wonder if the couple will ever have kids in the end. I guess I will find out. It will be interesting how they will end it. But I like the lead couple’s chemistry too so that’s why I am enjoying it.
When you put it that way though, it does put me off! 🤭 I guess my standard went out the window hahahaha
🙂
I didn’t mean to put you off “Beauty Inside.” As I said the theory is good. Love is “supposed” to be blind after all.
But love is NOT entirely blind because we just don’t love with your emotions but with your brain as well. And your brain is guided by our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.
If we’re all soul, sure then. Emotions can rule; I can be attracted to kindness, chivalry, valor, intelligence, eloquence, loyalty and so on. The physical aspect of love won’t matter.
But we are body and soul. We love a physical being not just his spiritual self. That’s incorporated in the marriage vow even. “In sickness and in health.” We’re promising to love the body of the beloved in whaver physical state it might be.
The writer of 100 Days My Prince simply couldn’t control the story. It ran all over the place like a hyperactive child, and the writer/director wasted time over the stupid things.
Like that riddle. What the heck? What was the point of that scene? To give that Mayor Sidekick minutes? To show that he and LeeYul bonded? Like who cares about their friendship! I want to see how HS could settle in her palace life and survive with the evil queen still there.
And then there was the last-minute addition of an insurrection or some civil strife. Like who cares?? What’s the point? To kill of the Minister? There was a better way to end the story and expedite the death of the Minister without eating up precious minutes from the OTP.
Ugh. Ambitious, neophyte writers are the bane of my kdrama existence.
Ah yes, Ju JiHoon. He’s another good kisser.
Let’s wait and see about the kiss of the WooYoo (or the U-Yu = milk) couple. It’s only the 5/6th episode so I’m being prudish and holding off on the torrid kiss until they get to know each other better. I wonder who’ll stab (it IS a stab wound, right?) him though?
But please not another AMNESIA plot. I’ve reached my yearly quota of amnesiac heroes.
Oh so true that we cannot just love using our hearts but we need to use our brains too. A lot of people would be at peace if they really use both not just one or the other 🙂 Don’t worry there is only 4 episodes left so I want to see where they will take the couple there. But I doubt kids will ever be involved.
Wow! You mentioned all of the one’s that I questioned too in that story line for 100 Days My Prince. I didn’t go in their forum as I just watched it and see if it was going to get my interest and it did but then like you said the story went all over the place. Lucky I was not that much invested in it.
I agree that we will need to wait for our WooYoo couple to get to know each other better before we see any heart fluttering kiss but the way that their going, they are getting there, I really felt that after the financial misunderstanding, they understood that they are good, kind hearted people. That’s why I find their fake dating funny 🙂 It doesn’t look fake because they are genuinely going through it.
Does it make sense???
I feel the one who will stab WH is someone whose either sent by YJ’s ex or what’s that evil lady’s name whose trying to get WH to marry her? LOL! No interest in trying to find out her name hahahha
I don’t think there will be amnesia as he will kiss when their at the hospital. Unless we are anticipating this wrong 🙂
“Sigh….
Don’t remind me about 100 Days My Prince. That’s why I haven’t watched the last two episodes.
I was in Chicago when the last two episodes ran. By the time I got back, my good friends here already told me what to expect from the last episodes.
And nope. I don’t want to know. In my mind, I’ll rewrite the ending so our couple can have a longer time together… AND KIDS. Kids are important.”
A thousand apologies for ruining it for you. 😂. Yah…you didn’t really miss much… Last scene was good though…the petal confetti and the kiss… Other than that, the other bits in Ep 15 and 16 were regrettable and forgettable… Longer time needed with OTP for sure… And yes to legitimate babies…imagine cute WDs and HSs mini-mes? 😍 If only to cleanse the mind once and for all of the whole trolling of who’s the illegitimate baby’s daddy 🙄
Yes I have been secretly reading your posts. I haven’t started any dramas…real life is busy enough. I was going to start Mama Fairy… But never got started. Fluttering alert I thought about… I may just read your recaps and see if it gets me motivated enough to lose sleep over. 😂
PS I am not sure how your feelings are re Orange Man’s toppling off the pedestal post election. But me I am rejoicing (and I am not even American nor do I know of the intricacies of being Republican Vs Democrat)… All I know is that I turn the TV off whenever he appears in the news… after the eloquence of the Obama era, my ears bleed when he opens his mouth to speak. (Feel free to delete this if I have inadvertently hit a nerve I shouldn’t have). 🙂 Peace out.
Fluttering Alert: there’s a lot of trope involving the bad guys (power struggle, conniving women, etc) to move the plot along. But I keep my eye on the romance so I don’t get unnecessarily bogged down.
100DaysMyPrince: if the writer were a pilot, she just flubbed her landing. Ugh. She missed the landing strip and crashed through the airport. But I would agree with you. That tie-in with his diary writing (were they diaries he kept while they were married or AFTER his return in the palace?) would be romantic.
As for elections. I’m Washington born and bred. Presidents come and go. I’m a **redacted, lol** who works with Ds/Rs. I don’t hate them because I know my family and my children’s families will be here in this beautiful city long after all these politicians have retired, left office, or died. What I find unacceptable is this never-ending attempt to de-legitimize this president. Living here has become unbearable. The hatred (and I’m sorry to say that it’s mostly coming from my party who’s supposed to be compassionate and tolerant) has got to stop. I’m heeding the advice of a good friend who said that when they go low, we go higher.
Insightful as always PM3 from Washington. Leaving me pondering 🤔 – how to divorce the democratic system from the person it’s put there in power. I am bereft of solutions. Probably best to leave it at that and return to KDrama land chatter. Thank you for making me think. I may just start Fluttering Alert. There aren’t too many medical procedures in the drama is there? I have an aversion to Medical/Surgical Dramas because so much of it is too unrealistic for me to take seriously.
Same here. I avoid medical dramas too — simply because I can’t stand the sight of blood.
Btw did you see that post on Do Kyunsoo on mydramalist? 😂 It’s called Stalker’s Guide to Do Kyungsoo. I thought YOU had written that piece.
🙂 A few nights ago we hosted a dinner for friends. Of course, politics was discussed around the dining table. It couldn’t be helped. But they knew they overstepped the bounds of civility when I’d signal for the next course to be served or another round of wine to be poured. 🍷 lol. That was my way of “refereeing” the discourse without a whistle or a gavel.
There’s nothing like good food and good wine to steer conversation back to better topics. Really, we have so much more in common than we have differences.
I must warn you though. Just focus on the couple in Fluttering Alert. The secondary actors are just bad at acting (like the actor who played HongShim’s fake Dad) that they make their characters more despicable than they are. And the brother?!!! Ugh. You’ll come to appreciate Do Kyungsoo’s acting a whole lot more when you see the idol portraying the brother. DKS — I really thought he was a classically trained actor when I saw him in My Annoying Brother.
“Btw did you see that post on Do Kyunsoo on mydramalist? 😂 It’s called Stalker’s Guide to Do Kyungsoo. I thought YOU had written that piece.”
Me…scurrying off to skim read it…
Sadly no…I didn’t pen that dissertation. My first encounter with DKS was in 100DMP…and then I watched every other one of his appearances…kinda similar to my approach with Yoon Shi Yoon,,.discovered him in Mirror of the Witch and then went backwards with his previous dramas…never made it to Baker King…figured I had watched enough to formulate a bias. 😂
I am diligently following his (DKS) progress now whilst YSY is on hiatus (he’s gone MIA with no word on future dramas yet so my attention needs to be diverted elsewhere to fill the void). Swing Kids looks right up my alley…good clean fun and throw in Jared Grimes and I’m sold. Just not sure when that movie will make it’s way to my part of the world…
Thanks for the heads up regarding the other cast members…another idol? Well I guess most of them have to move to other pursuits because of the limited lifespan of an idol in the kPop world. I will see if I can squeeze in an hour here and there to play catch up with Fluttering Alert. 🙂
Hey, I like Yoon Shi Yoon too! I thought he was another boring guy but after watching him on 2D1N, I decided that he was a solid good guy, a team player. I watch 2D1N for the comedian Kim JoonHo, Donggu (YSY’s moniker) and Defcon. Lol. I’ve a funny taste. YSY is such an eager beaver. He’s athletic but he’s oddly klutzy with games that involve three-step physical motion.
I mean this guy can run fast, right? But put him in a contest that involves, say, running fast while balancing a jug of water on his head and singing Happy Birthday and YSY is going to flat-out lose the race. 😂
That never fails to get me. He’s athletic but his body can’t multi-task.
Okay. Just try to catch up when you can. I’m going to watch that Mama Fairy did now. Subs are slow because Viki is doing it. I sure do miss my Dramafever.
I will send you a link to a site I use to watch (no ads/pop ups and subs are pretty fast). I can’t access any sites where I am located in the world, even if I pay for premium membership I can’t watch live or when the drama is still ongoing (not even Viu or Kocowa) 🙄…I have to wait till it is finished before I can access any. Blackberrypie sent me the link and I have been using it since. I will send the link to your gmail account.
Thanks a lot, @nrllee. I’ll check it out tomorrow. Good night!!