Memories of the Alhambra: The Love Story

People have long insisted that this kdrama was a love story but it wasn’t till last goodbye of Jinwoo and Heejoo that I finally believed it. Call me a sucker for goodbyes.

There’s nothing like a good adieu to pull my heartstrings. Did I tell you my favorite tearjerker is Casablanca? I watch it when I want my sinuses cleared. lol.

Here’s the dialogue in case you don’t want to watch the clip:

Ilsa wants to stay with Rick and leave her husband. However, Rick is a cynic who NORMALLY isn’t into this kind of heroic gestures. But now he persuades her to leave him since her husband needs her at his side to carry on the most important mission of defeating the Nazis.

Rick (it begins at 4:03): Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I’ve done a lot of it since since then and it all adds up to one thing. You’re getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa: But Richard, no. I, I—
Rick: You’ve got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you’ve have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of then we’d both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn’t that true, Louis?
Louis (Rick’s friend): I’m afraid Major Strasser would insist. (meaning, Yes, they’ll end up dead.)
Ilsa: You’re saying this only to make me go.
Rick: I’m saying it because it’s true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You’re part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it.
Ilsa: No.
Rick: Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but soon, and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We’ll always have Paris (meaning, their memories of Paris where they had first fell in love. lol). We didn’t have, we’d lost it, until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: And I said I would never leave you.
Rick: And you never will. But I’ve got a job to do, too. Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be a part of. Ilsa, I’m no good at being noble, but it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people (their love triangle: Rick, Ilsa and her husband) don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world (meaning their problem is nothing compared to the real world). Someday you’ll understand that. Now, now…

She starts to tear up. Rick puts his hand under her chin to look at her.

Rick: Here’s looking at you, kid.

That last line is meant to be a toast, like saying “Cheers!” before you take a sip of your drink. Before, whenever Rick said this line to her, he meant it casually.

But now, he’s telling her that he’s going to be the adult in this situation and handle things for both of them. He insists that they do the right thing and she let him go. So now, the meaning of that particular line has changed because he’s transformed. From being a  cynic, he’s changed into a heroic and romantic man.

 

Now, why am I bringing Casablanca up, you might ask.

For comparison. You need to know what my Gold Standard is for romantic goodbyes.

Of course, the goodbye in Memories of the Alhambra can’t compare to the Casablanca but TO ME the essentials are there.

This is what happened in our kdrama:

Jinwoo hails a cab and tells the driver to take HeeJoo home to Ilsan. He tells her to get in but she asks, “Aren’t you coming with me?” He says no and explains, “I need to level up regardless of the cops.” And she worries, “What if you get caught?” And he says, as a matter-of-factly, “I’ll eventually get caught. But I can’t waste my time running away.” She instantly makes up her mind, “Then, I won’t go either” and tries to release her wrist from his grip.

JW: You have to go.
HJ: How can I go by myself?
JW: I want you to do something at home for me (smiling at her).

And then, wordlessly, she gets in the cab. She continues to look at him anxiously so he reassures her.

JW: Don’t worry. It’s all coming to an end. It’s almost over now. Tomorrow at dawn at the earliest. I’ll come over in the morning. (He smiles at her again.)

She continues to look at him standing there in the middle of the road. Tears begin to fall, but she wipes them away. She covers her mouth to still her sobs. Meanwhile, he watches the cab leave and his face, considering that she is crying, doesn’t look sad at all to see her go. In fact, it looks like he’s … hmmm… not exactly happy…. but at peace watching her go away.

Anyway, in this scene, I can see the three things I consider essential in a memorable farewell scene.

1. Poignancy. It’s there. We can see it in HeeJoo’s volatile emotions.

She went from “willing” to go home, to “worried” he’ll get caught, to “resistant” and wanting to stay, to “eager” to be helpful, to “tearful” and crying, and finally to brave and courageous.

She’s going through the same rapid change of emotions which Ilsa felt in Casablanca.

To me, viewers who call her weak for crying are unrealistic. If Heejoo had not cried in this scene, then I’d have accused the writer of being unconvincing and inauthentic.

Back in the cafe, HeeJoo already saw the wound on JW’s neck and the blood on his clothes. She knew that fighting the NPCs took a physical and emotional toll on JW. She’d asked him in disbelief, “How can you live like this?”  She also sensed that JW was putting up a brave front earlier when they talked. Further, she suspected that something was wrong when he pulled her back again inside the dressing room for that kiss. It was uncharacteristic of him to do a “stolen” kiss. So to me, she must have known that something was afoot, only he wasn’t telling her.

It’s myopic to think that she cries only for herself because she can’t bear to part from him. She cries for him too — at the sight of him standing there all alone on a mission she can’t be a part of.

More importantly, if viewers think that tears are a sign of weakness, then they haven’t encountered a soldier’s wife watching her husband leave for deployment. I haven’t seen a stronger of women as the wives of military soldiers. They cry not because they’re weak. They can dry their own tears, thank you very much. But they cry because they know the cost of sacrifice.

2. Caring. You can hear it in JW’s assurances. He was making sure she wasn’t frightened and he didn’t want to let her know of his mission.

His deception actually started earlier in the café. He knew she could see his bloodstained clothes but he pretended as if nothing was wrong.

JW: I knew you were coming. I told you not to log on unless you were in my hotel room because it’s dangerous. Are you ignoring my warnings? (She was too shocked at the sight of his injuries to answer him.) Have a seat. People are looking at us. They recognize me, you know. See? They’re taking photos. (He was cajoling her to get her out of her shock.)

He ordered a drink.

JW: (continuing) I’m glad you’re here. I was on a break, you see. (He talked as if he wasn’t injured.) You can keep me company for an hour. That’s all I need to recover. (She teared up again but didn’t respond.) How’s your grandma? Is she out of the hospital?
YJ: Yes.
JW: I want to find SJ fast, but it’s not easy. I’m only at level 95. But it’s hard to level up when you’re a high-leveled character. Did you bring you car? (She nodded yes so he poured water instead. He shot an NPC) Like I said, it’s dangerous. Log out immediately. Don’t log on unless you’re near Emma. We don’t know what more could happen.
YJ: How can you live like this?
JW: This is the only way. Don’t worry though. I’m the highest-level user now. They all tremble when they see me. (joking and bragging.)

Both times, he deliberately downplayed the gravity of the situation. He didn’t tell her what Rick told Ilsa in Casablanca, “Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be a part of” but his act of shielding her from the truth, demonstrated his caring tenderness for her.

3. Transformation. It’s plain to anyone that JW was no longer that same man who berated her for her dump of a hostel back in Episode 1. He had complained about the trouble of going up six flights of stairs to his room without an elevator, but now he could bear much suffering and agony just to level up in a game.

But to me, one of his biggest transformations was learning to trust in love.

Remember what he said in a voiceover in Episode 8 (48:21) as he hobbled back into the empty school building to start battling NPCs and level up. He said, “There’s something I wanted to tell Heejoo if I ever got to meet her again.

There was a flashback of his wife indignantly protesting, “They’re ruining my husband’s life. They’re extremely cruel. I’m telling you!”

He continued, “I wanted to tell her that I was sick of…”

Then another flashback of his first wife screaming, “Hyunsuk also lived in agony. He always wanted to reconcile with you. He cried and drank every day. We weren’t always happy.”

He continued again, “seeing fake tears and tears filled with excuses. So, the fact that she cried for me when I wasn’t there, and how she looked after me while I was sleeping meant so much to me.”

Flashbacks of HeeJoo running after his train and sitting beside his bed.

I think he finally learned to recognize and accept love. In the past, he was trying to figure out Heejoo and understand how anyone would care enough to chase him and watch over him, so he simple OBSERVED her in action. Without smiling.

Watching her running after him

Watching her sitting behind him

But now, he got it. He learned that tears were a sign of love, too. While he once was a cynical man like Rick in Casablanca and he thought that tears were only cheap sentiments, he believed HeeJoo when she cried for him.

And I think that he needed something and someone real to believe in before he went on his quest. After all this time he spent in the game, the Augmented Reality had taught him not to trust his eyes because no matter how real something looked, it could always be simulated.

If ever he disappeared in that weird deadzone where SeJoo had been missing for a year, my guess is it would only take him that singular memory of Heejoo, in love and in tears,  to bring him back.

Here’s looking at you, kid. lol.

15 Comments On “Memories of the Alhambra: The Love Story”

  1. I am so with you on this. Most Kdramas make me cringe at how the love story is getting played at but this sets it apart. A romance developed through pain, suffering and loss. I like the Then and Now of Jin Woo’s character. While he was the definition of a jackass back in the early episodes, you can clearly see his transformation and his caring nature towards Hee Joo, something he’s unaware that he’s capable of. I’m still holding on to the recent interview of HyunBin indirectly implying it will be a “Happily Ever After” after all the chaos this game has brought.

    P.S. I always love reading you commentaries.

  2. Like many others who have commented, I also greatly enjoy your articles on MOA. They definitely provide a wider perspective of things we might have overlooked when we were too preoccupied by all the other crazy stuff that was happening. Thank you for enlightening our minds! While the AR concept is new and refreshing, the love story is what I looked forward to the most. Despite it not being the main focus of the series, I am happy so far with what we received. It was nice to see Jinwoo and Heejoo’s love progressed. I also appreciate how mature and respectful they are towards each other. I get a content feeling whenever I see them together. Before I write too much, I just want to say thanks for writing your positive and insightful thoughts on this drama 🙂

  3. Lovely. I really enjoyed your thoughts here, especially in light of what we learned in the last post about the romance plot being kind of a “bonus”—which resonated with me because I didn’t really go into this drama particularly expecting or desiring a romance? And I think without that expectation, I’ve always been pretty content with what we were shown, found it believably one-sided until recent episodes when Jinwoo’s at rock bottom and I could see why he *needs* Heejoo. To accept her love, finally (remember all the times he was ?? at Minjoo shipping them lol), and to let his caring for her develop into actual love too. Maybe their loveline isn’t what you’d typically see in a kdrama—it’s not an innocent first love or a fluttering love or a passionate love—but they got there in spite of some pretty terrible circumstances. I’m rooting for them lol 😊

  4. This. 👍

    “More importantly, if viewers think that tears are a sign of weakness, then they haven’t encountered a soldier’s wife watching her husband leave for deployment. I haven’t seen a stronger of women as the wives of military soldiers. They cry not because they’re weak. They can dry their own tears, thank you very much. But they cry because they know the cost of sacrifice.”

    Yes. They fight their own battles in the Homefront alone for the greater cause. That unwavering belief is what sends their men off with greater resolve to get the job done and return home safe. We owe so much to our men in uniform. Tie that yellow ribbon HeeJoo, writer-willing, he may yet return home to the real world and back into your embrace once more. ❤️

  5. I’ve always felt that HeeJoo’s softness and caring attitude is a perfect foil for JinWoo’s toughness and arrogant attitude. Her unselfish love is what changes JinWoo and gives him an anchor when he has no other support left, and even gives him strength to fight back. I felt that in the first kiss scene, when he lets go of his stick to hold on to HeeJoo, it was meant to be symbolic in a way.

    I completely agree with your thoughts on the often-ignored silent strength of women, such as wives of soldiers going to war. Strength doesn’t always mean kick-ass fighting – it requires a lot of mental strength to see the man you love go into danger alone with high chances of him dying, and yet letting him go because that is what he wants.

    I think the writer of MOA did a fabulous job not only with the game construct, but also with the love story in the background, and I do not think that HeeJoo is an afterthought or a plot device. If the writer Song did re-write the script, she revised it at the correct places, so that the flow of the main couple’s relationship seems perfectly logical to me – exactly how you have pointed out that a cynical man learns slowly to trust in love because of the power of love of an unselfish woman.

    By the way, I really love all your witty and insightful posts on MOA. It’s a kdrama which I adore, and I like how you dissect theories and plots to reveal things I may have missed out while viewing it myself.

  6. hi packmule3!

    now i know your Gold standard of romantic goodbye 😛 thanks for sharing. I admit i haven’t watched Casablanca.

    While reading the Casablanca dialogue, that particular scene of Jinwoo & Heejoo flashed thru my mind. It’s almost the same, the kind of love that pierces your heart. The love that you longed for but pursues the right thing at the right time.

    Since that moment in Granada where Soojin hysterically brokedown at Jinwoo up until ep14, Heejoo has always been able to see through Jinwoo beyond her eyes can see.

    And though Song Jaejung claimed that romance was inserted, i’d say she unknowingly created a beautiful lovestory. To me. it felt more that the game was rather the plot devise to the romance.

  7. Agree. I don’t mind if she re-wrote it, fast and furious, because of the addition of PSH to the cast. 🤷‍♀️ Sometimes last minute additions, adlibs, extempore speeches, and anything resembling spontaneous combustion 🔥 show creative genius at work.

    It’s been interesting observing how the brain of writers and artists, not being either one myself. There’s a French phrase “faire feu de tout bois” which translates to make fire of all wood. It’s a very picturesque way of saying “be resourceful” and use everything you have at hand to achieve your goal. That’s what the writer did with her script, IMO.

    I heard that parting line from Casablanca “Here’s looking at you, kid” was an adlib, too. It wasn’t originally in the script but Humphrey Bogart added it. 🤣

    Thanks. My #4 bitch rule is I dissect only kdramas that I like. If I dislike a drama, it isn’t even worth bitching about. 😈

  8. I think I should watch Casablanca because it’s a love story and for that goodbye scene ☺️

    I did feel that angst/tugged in my heart when HJ and JW parted ways especially after that kiss. Sorry, kisses are important to me 😂 But even when HJ cried after seeing JW all hurt and covered in blood, I knew too that JW really cares for her. It will be interesting how it will end.

  9. pwahahaha. I know kisses are important to you… and to me, too.

    I haven’t watched MotA Ep 15? Any good? (I was busy watching college basketball. lol.)

    And I have yet to start on Clowned Crown, Eps 3 and 4. Every time I’m about to start, I feel bad rooting for the clown when I know that the King is still alive.

    That’s THE dilemma for the clown… at least from what I gather from the movie. No matter how more benevolent the clown is than the presently doped-up King, he has no right to the throne.

    If he gets too attached to the throne and the Queen to the point of seeking to destroy the King so he can steal them, then he’ll be no better than the enemies of the King: the plotters, the assassins and the princes-in-line who all want to kill the King, too. 🙂

  10. MotA was pretty shocking to me, but the pieces of the puzzle are coming together, I think. Though I am confused still about one point, I guess it will be revealed in the final episode. I really respect the writer and the director for keeping up the suspense in this drama for so long and being unpredictable till the end!

  11. Wow, lol, I wonder how you manage to write so brilliantly on things, which we fail to see haha. While reading that anecdote from Casablanca I was wondering how come it matches so perfectly with that goodbye scene from MOTA, and you’re right, these scenes have the same setup. Both jin woo and richard are trying to ensure that the girls are safe. While in jin woo’s case, he doesn’t let it show that he cares, which is part of the reason I wanted more of their story, but what you said works too!
    I think after watching the finale, and now that I am reading your posts on the explanation of the flow of events, I wish the writer had you as the co-writer lol. Trust me, I don’t think she had half of these thoughts in mind when she was writing it. At least your analyses make a lot more sense than her explanation of the game [and the romance].

  12. 😆 nearsea. She couldn’t pay me a million dollars to do her job. (Offer me $2M and my assistant will schedule you an appointment.) At this point in my life, I can pick and choose what I want to do. And writing a script to please a majority of the audience with crappy taste isn’t quite my thing. 😈

    Yes, the Casablanca comparison worked well, didn’t it? It was a spur of the moment thing.

  13. Or maybe SJJ had Casablanca as inspiration for that goodbye scene 😉

  14. (sorry, I forgot translation, please erase previous french post, and this sentence ;-))

    The scriptwriter was criticized for later integrating the love story, as if it was something that would weaken her script. This is a way of seeing things that is totally false, but understandable.

    It so happens that I also had a similar problem in writing W Season 2. Several factors contributed to an unexpected love story at one point in the story, and I had not detected that. However, this occurred at a time in the story when emotions were low. So I did the same thing as Song Jae-Jung, I incorporated a romance where there was none.
    Who do I have to thank? The sky? Or the obscure entity that I call “The Story” and that is written in automatic mode instead of me, daring to brave everything?
    The quality of my script improved significantly after that.

    So instead of seeing this as an inappropriate addition to Song Jae-Jung’s script, it is better to see it as the missing masterpiece, to make his drama perfect! I’m sure she must have felt it. Her own story must have also surprised her. In fact, I would dream of having dinner with her so I could ask her all these questions…

  15. I can read French. 🙂

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