Some housekeeping rules for the newcomers and lurkers on this blog —

One, like what I said in “Mr Queen” when I wrote my crazy mad theory for the drama’s ending, I don’t do recaps, and I’m not psychic. They are spoilers in my posts. I interpret what I watch and write my unvarnished opinions and mad theories about the drama. You can take them or leave them; use them or skip them.

Two, if you’ve a theory, a good idea, or an alternative view, say it. Share it with us. But if you’re arguing for argument’s sake or for provocation, DON’T. You see, I can always revise my bad theory or make up a new one. You, on the other hand, can’t regain my good opinion of you or make up a new one, once you lose it. 🙂

Three, if you’re going to copy anything here on this blog onto another site, do credit this blog or ask my permission. Don’t plagiarize or claim to be me, like what Rosa Mae Aguilar did. Karma is a boomerang.

Four, welcome to the blog and have fun.

Rhetorical Question: What kdrama does “Sisyphus: The Myth” remind you of?

A. Alice
B. Vagabond
C. Memories of the Alhambra
D. The King: Eternal Monarch
E. None of the above
F. All of the above

For me, my answer is D. There’s a time loop.

This kdrama can’t be compared with that disgusting “Alice.” It was tasteless of the “Alice” writer to drag on with “falling-in-love-with-your-son” trope. And Park ShinHye is hands-down more charming than Kim Heesun. I’m sorry ahjummas should be banned from doing aegyo.

As for “Vagabond,” there was no plane crash, thanks to Han Taesul. I’ll take a genius engineer over a hot-headed stuntman any day of the week. I like that PSH’s chase-and-shooting scenes aren’t as vain and gratuitous as Lee Seunggi’s scenes. The rooftop chase scene in “Vagabond” was like watching a parkour to showcase LSG’s physical fitness. It contributed nothing to the plot and could have been edited out. In comparison, PSH’s rooftop scene revealed her ability to me the strength and weaknesses of both PSH and the Control Bureau.

Park ShinHye was also the female lead in “Memories of the Alhambra.” While her character in “Sisyphus” glitches just like the non-player-characters in MotA, I don’t believe PSH is a hologram or “augmented reality.” Also, Hyun Bin was a crowd-puller in MotA but the actor in “Sisyphus,” Cho SeungWoo, has delivered a solid performance.

To me, the plot device of “Sisyphus” is the same as that used in “The King: Eternal Monarch.” Just like Lee Gon, the lead characters are driven by the need to time travel in order to correct the past.

It’s my theory that Seohae has been traveling back in time more than once. She’s caught in a time loop, just like Lee Gon in TKEM.

1. Time Loop

a. To me, the opening words in the drama, “Seohae, wake up. Seohae. Time to go. It’s your turn now”, are significant.

On one level, these words from Seohae’s father sound like a conventional farewell. She’s about to leave, so she has to wake up and join the others in line.

But on a deeper level, his remark is myth-building. I think it adds nuance to the full title of the kdrama, “Sisyphus: The Myth.” He’s waking up the heroine who has the Sisyphean task of averting a catastrophe that will result in the post-apocalyptic world they’re living in.

Note to the non-English speakers: I know some of you have been translating my work so let me help you out. “Sisyphean” means never-ending, impossible, futile. When a task is described as Sisyphean, it means that the work is impossible to accomplish but it MUST be undertaken. This adjective “Sisyphean” comes from the Greek myth about a man named Sisyphus who was punished by the gods. He was condemned to push a boulder up the hill and watch it roll back down for all eternity. He couldn’t escape this task.

So, when Seohae’s father tells her, “Time to go. It’s your turn now,” I interpret this as a signal that her time has come to fix the past. She must set things in motion. She must metaphorically set the ball rolling…like Sisyphus rolled that boulder up the hill.

Also, another aspect of this myth-building is the fluidity of time.

We can’t know for certain how many times SeoHae has gone back in time. This may be her second, third, fifth, tenth time. But each time she goes back, the past is never duplicated in the same exact way. As a result, her first-ever encounter with Taesul has become a memory. In this sense, it’s become a myth because, like a myth, the original encounter has faded in time, but she keeps holding on to the memory to explain her existence and her purpose.

That’s the essence of a myth: to explain why things happen that way they did.

This time loop is obvious in the entry in her diary. “2020.08.13. Do not open the suitcase!! (Call Han Taesul!) Take it and run?” From a previous time-travel, she learned the danger of opening the suitcase. It was a point of no-return. That’s why she wrote it down to remind herself. However, that question mark after “take it and run” implies that it’s an open choice. She isn’t predestined, or predetermined to make the same choice as before.

The time loop also explains:

 • why she dreams of a wedding with Taesul. I bet this was a suppressed memory.  She married him before. But this marriage must have ended tragically since her father was adamant that she avoid Taesul and enjoy a good life.

I found this wedding pic of tumblr. Looking forward to this scene. Huh? @GrowingBeautifully, is this another Catholic wedding?!!

credit: captainjoongki’s tumblr

 • why the hyung Taesan has a picture of Taesul’s wedding in his camera. He was there.

 • why the shack has old clippings of a conference that hasn’t taken place yet. They keep RE-CYCLING the past lives…like Sisyphus keeps rolling up the boulder.

As Sisyphus, she’s ready for the colossal task of stopping a nuclear holocaust.

In case, you have seen the opening credit of the kdrama on netflix, here it is. Somebody was kind enough to upload it on youtube. If you notice, the camera rotates the images, as if the images were a boulder going uphill then rolling downhill. Next, after three nuclear warheads explodes, camera reverses course, and goes back to the beginning.

The sigma ∑ is the mathematical symbol for summation or the sum total. Usually, when we say the sum total of a person, we mean the essential characteristics of a person that makes him/her unique, like words, thoughts, actions, memories, beliefs, values, etc.  But here in this drama, it can mean the number of times Seohae and Taesul have gone back in time to try to save the world.

 

 

2. Taesul as Sisyphus

If Seohae can be Sisyphus, so can Taesul. His actions indicate to me that he too is READY to set the ball in motion, although he does not have memory of doing this in a previous lifetime.

Seongbok: You can act all messed up, but I know you’re better than this. You risked your life to save all those people. Not everyone can do that.
TS: Are you kidding me? I don’t care if they died or not. All I did was fix what was broken.

He’s stating a fact and a foreshadowing there.

It’s factual because he already demonstrated that he doesn’t care much about the world. I’ll give three examples.

First example. Look at how quickly he divested himself of his wealth while fixing the plane. He doesn’t care about his material possessions, and he has no one to leave his material possessions to, except his old friend, Seongbok and his bodyguard.

Second example. His womanizing ways. He doesn’t really care about the women he dates. One minute, he defends the flight stewardess from harassment. Then the next minute, he outrageously flirts with her. He pretends to be interested in her (“Have you been to Hawaii? You know if I ever fall in love with someone, I want to take her there.” lol. Smooth. Just smooth.) then, asks for her number.

His conscience, in the form of his Hyung, reminds him that the stewardess isn’t really his type.

Third example. Consider how he runs his company, Quantum & Time. He doesn’t care anymore about the future of his company. Seongbok reminds him of his responsibility to their 100,000 employees. He’s justifiably frustrated whenever TaeSul goes AWOL, dodges his therapy sessions, and does drugs, since his negligence directly impacts their investors, employees, and even the economy of the country. But he doesn’t care one bit about the consequences. He’s no longer interested in running the company day-to-day. He’s become focused on the pain of losing his hyung and his regrets for treating his hyung the way he did on their last meeting.

TS: (telling his therapist) Regret? Do I regret it? I do. Since that day, there hasn’t been a single day that I didn’t think about it. When I’m eating, taking a shower, when I’m driving or even lying in bed at night, it pops in my head. I shouldn’t have been harsh that day. I shouldn’t have kicked him out. I should’ve at least given him a warm send-off. I should’ve called him right away. I should’ve said, “He’s my brother” proudly in front of everyone. That’s what I should have done.

I laugh and chat with strangers as if they’re my best friends, but as for my brother, I never even had a chance to thank him. Had I known that would be the last time, if I knew, I’d do anything to go back to that day, even just once. But I can’t. I know that it can’t be undone. I just I just wish he would come back. That’s all. I miss my brother. I miss him like crazy. What do you expect me to do? Just get over it and move on? It’s easier than done. How’s that even possible? So please just prescribe me those pills. Help me, SeoJin. The pain is killing me inside.

This monologue shows the character’s motivation. He isn’t exaggerating about his level of apathy. His regret is his sole driving force. He’s hell-bent on fixing what he’s broken and atoning for his actions.

Since his words aren’t spoken lightly, I believe they foreshadow his future course of action.

If ever he’s given an ultimatum to choose between saving Seohae or the world, I’ve no doubt in my mind that he’ll choose Seohae. He won’t care if he messes up the world as long as he doesn’t commit the same mistake and lose her. He already lost his brother, so he won’t accept another loss of a loved one. And should he lose her, he’ll go do everything in his power to “fix” the situation.

And that’s why he reminds me of Sisyphus. Yes, he’s tenacious. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to correct mistakes. But he’s also obstinate to a fault. He doesn’t see when he’s stuck in a self-defeating cycle. He doesn’t know when to stop. It wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up inventing a time machine so he can be reunited with his loved ones. He won’t care if his time machine will have disastrous consequences for the environment, world peace, and lives of others.

3. Hologram or real person?

Those are the questions about Seohae’s existence in the 2020 world: is she real or holographic?

Because she glitched on two occasions, and she avoided detection, I understand why she seems to be a hologram. That said, I’ll have to say that Seohae’s a real person. She eats, sleeps, dreams, and bleeds as a person, not a hologram.

Her feet were bleeding when she walked by the train tracks. When a bullet grazed her, she bled. She had nosebleeds most likely because she was exposed to radiation from the time travel. Radiation kills the blood cells in the body that help the blood clot. A hologram wouldn’t bleed.

But for me, the clearest proof that Seohae is a person is that scene when she’s shown feeling the warmth of the sun. She’s blinded by the glare of the sun and blocks the sunlight with her hand. Her hand casts a shadow on her face. A hologram isn’t capable of feeling warmth.

Should a hologram achieve these things, then I think holograms should be granted personhood, too.

As for the glitches, they can due to a transporter malfunction. Mr. Park mentioned to Taesul that there have been downloading errors.

As for “uploading,” in the opening scene the wall was full of flyers about the services of an “uploader.”

The English poster says, “Uploader. No age limit. A gun. A gun. A medicine. Open 24 hours a day. Can go back to the past. Those who don’t want to live in this world. Those who are left behind in the past. Welcome.”

I think the uploader is another word for the individual who transports or smuggles people back to the 2020. The Chief of the Immigration Counter Bureau, Team 7 referred to broker. I think an uploader and broker are synonyms. He facilitates the integration of an illegal alien from the future into the society. Mr. Park seems to be a broker/uploader. He arranged to provide services for Taesan in exchange for the key to his safe.

4. The father’s last words

This is an important scene because we get a preview of things to come. So let’s parse it.

Dad: Seohae, wake up. Seohae.
SH: Dad.
Dad: Time to go. It’s your turn now.

A number is tattooed on her left arm. 250811. Multiple conjectures can be made as to its significance. For now, I’m going to assume that it’s her birthdate. She was born on August 11, 2025. But I am aware that August 11 is an important day for Taesul, too. It’s the day their company got listed and acquired investors. August 11, 2010. His penthouse password is 100811.

SH: Let’s go together, Dad.
Dad: I don’t think I can go with you. Tell me what I told you. First, when you arrive. When you arrive!
SH: “Start running.”
Dad: Do not let anyone catch you. No matter what. If you get caught, just don’t say anything. Just pretend you can’t talk, okay?

Here’s another reason why I think SeoHae is a real person: her father worries about her enough to drill these rules in her head before her departure. If she was only hologram, it wouldn’t be a big loss if she was captured. Fear for the Control Bureau is inculcated among these illegal immigrants. According to Mr. Park, “once they catch you, you’ll never get back home alive.”He means that these time travelers can forget about returning to their world. They’ll punished either by torture or death. As for those caught harboring these aliens, like Jaesun, they’ll suffer the same fate.

SH: Yes. But let’s go together —
Dad: Second. Hurry up!
SH: “Do not trust anyone.”
Dad: You never know who’s your ally and who’s your real enemy. Don’t trust anyone. No one. Okay?
SH: Okay.
Dad: Good. What was the third thing? Come on.

Her reaction is interesting. She crumples her face and pouts. Her strong reaction gave me my first inkling that she was emotionally attached to the man, and that there’s a time loop to when she first met him.

Her number is called out, and her father shouts for her, “Coming!”

Dad: Quick. What was it?
SH: “Han Taesul.”
Dad: Han Taesul. Stay away from him at all costs. You must not cross paths with him. Don’t even talk to him, okay?

Her father’s insistence on hearing her say Han Taesul’s name (despite the guard hurrying them up) indicates that Taesul is a bone of contention between father and daughter. Not once did the father mention the Control Bureau by its name, but he singles out Han Taesul. This leads me to think that, in her father’s opinion, Taesul poses the greatest threat to her, more so than the any man in the Control Bureau. Her survival depends on avoiding Taesul.

Naturally, she breaks this third rule as soon as she gets to 2020. She follows his first rule and starts running as soon as she regains consciousness. She also remembers his second rule to play dumb when Sun catches her foraging food in the trash. But she disobeys his third rule and contacts Taesul the day after her arrival to warn him about the suitcase.

SH: Then what about Mom? What if she dies?
Dad: We all die in the end.

Here, we’re presented with SeoHae’s purported reason to meet Taesul: her mother. Seohae implies that her mother has a precarious health, and somehow, Taesul is a factor to her return to good health. Not meeting Taesul may result in her mother’s death. In Dad’s opinion, however, the cost of SeoHae’s encounter with Taesul far outweighs the benefit to his wife’s well-being. He’s accepted death for him and his wife, and doesn’t want SeoHae to contact Taesul even if her mother has to die in the end.

SH: But I can’t leave you alone here, Dad.

Meaning, if her mother dies, then Dad is all alone in that world. It’s implied here that their separation is final.

Dad: When you get there, you’ll find lots of good food and all of your favorite fruits. Real fruit, not the canned ones. So just go. Eat everything you want. And do whatever you want. Just enjoy your life. Promise me.

Another interesting point. In her father’s mind, Han Taesul and enjoyment of life are mutually exclusive. Meaning, they can’t occur simultaneously. She cannot meet Taesul and enjoy life at the same time. It has to be one or the other. This is very interesting because Soehae has dreams of marrying Taesul. This tells me that her father already knows the outcome of meeting Taesul. This is the second hint that there’s a time loop in the story.

And then, Seohae’s number is called again. “Number 250811!” And again the Dad shouts. “Coming!”

Dad: Promise me. If you don’t, I won’t let you go. (she nods her head) Let’s go.

This is also another compelling reason why I don’t believe SeoHae is a hologram. Her father won’t wish her joy in her new life in the 2020 world if she wasn’t his real daughter.

Speaking of daughters…

The family photo in the SeoHae’s locket isn’t the same family pictured in the co-pilot’s car. If you observe closely, the man in the co-pilot’s picture is wearing a suit with stripes on wrist. It looks like a pilot uniform. The dad in SeoHae’s locket is wearing a brown jacket.

These photos are of two different family units composed of a dad, mom, and daughter.

5. Mr. Park’s phone conversation

Park: Did you arrive okay?
TS: Yes.
Park: Then you should’ve called me. Where did you fall then?
TS: Well, the reed field in Gimpo.
Park: Goodness! That must have been pretty rough. There have been download errors these days. Everybody keeps falling over there. You aren’t injured, are you? And oh. What about the Control Bureau?
TS: It’s alright.
Park: That’s a relief. So did you bring it?
TS: Well, yes. I did bring the stuff, but what exactly do you mean?
Park: I guess it’s natural to forget. I mean the key! Did you bring the key?
TS: The key? Yes, I have the key.
Park: Are your limbs all there?
TS: What?
Park: Are your limbs all intact?
TS: Yes.
Park: That’s good. Your health is most important. All right. Let’s meet. Bring the key.
TS: Where should I go?
Park: No, it’s fine. We’ll come pick you up. Where are you now?
TS: I’m at an acquaintance’s house.
Park: An acquaintance? You said your limbs are all intact, right?
TS: Yes.
Park: But let me ask you something. What’s the number written on your right arm?
TS: (couldn’t answer)
Park: Yah! You’re not Han Taesan are you?

My notes:

One, Mr. Park mentioned his limbs. Twice.

In his flashback in Episode 1, I noticed that Taesul looked at his hyung’s left arm oddly. At first, I thought he was checking to see if his hyung was injecting himself with drugs. But his brother could have some other issues with his arm. Whatever it is, it would be devastating for him to lose an arm.

Two, the trick question

lol. The trick question is actually the reason why I said that the numbers on the Seohae’s left arm is her date of birth. The travelers must have a form of identification. Since a passport is irrelevant and can even be dangerous, the birthdate is the next best form of identification.

If Taesul had been a time traveler, then he wouldn’t have any problems answering Mr. Park’s question. He would know that the number was simply his birthdate and the number was tattooed on his left arm, not his right arm, unless he was missing a left arm.

6. SeoHae’s phone message to Taesul

SH: Han Taesul?
TS: (voice recording) Quantum & Time is always waiting for our customers’ precious feedback.
SH: Listen to me carefully. There are people who are watching you.
TS: (voice recording) Whether it’s a suggestion or a complaint, we’re here to listen to everything you have to say. Please leave your message after the tone.
SH: They’re coming to get you. Run. If you’re caught, you’ll die. They’re a lot scarier than you think. Don’t trust anyone.

She searches an entry in her notebook. She’d written down a reminder for herself. “2020.08.13. Do not open the suitcase!! (Call Han Taesul!) Take it and run?” I like that she had the foresight to write this down. One can never tell when amnesia strikes.

SH: (looking worried) The suitcase! Do not open the suitcase. You must not open it. If you do, we’re all doomed. Just wait for me. We’ll meet soon, so do whatever it takes to –
TS: (voice recording) All right. Thank you very much for your feedback. Your words of encouragement and constructive feedback are always immensely helpful to all of us at Quantum & Time. We hope you have an excellent day. We love all our customers.
SH: Han Taesul? Han Taesul.

Noteworthy things:

a. “We love all our customers.”

Seohae blinked rapidly when Taesul’s voice recording said this standard formality. She probably thought he meant the words.

b. If she remembered to bring that old diary back in time with her, then her mind was made up from the start to encounter Taesul. There was no way she was going to adhere her father’s third rule.

To me, her determination is the third evidence of a time loop. But I find it sad that she was the one left with the memories since Taesul didn’t appear to recall anything.

c. The camera shot

As SeoHae warned Taesul to leave the suitcase alone, he discovered the suitcase out in the field.

Here, the director employed a clever camera trick to give the impression that these two events were happening simultaneously. He used an airplane to connect the two.

In the field where Taesul was standing with the suitcase, an airplane flew overhead. As the plane passed over his head, the camera cut to SeoHae. This time, the camera showed a toy plane hanging behind her head.

This transition shot used two matching images of a plane: one, a real aircraft, the other, a toy. By including a plane in their backgrounds, the director made the viewers perceive a connection between Seohae and Taesul, despite the fact that they were separated by time and location.

In addition, the airplane also linked them to the co-pilot who entered his car and was about to get killed.

This camera shot is called a “match cut.” It’s a method of transitioning from one scene to the next by matching one item found in the first scene to another one resembling it in the second scene.

The other time the director used this method to link the two characters was the wedding photograph.

Taesul was developing the film in his dark room and the camera zoomed in on the wedding picture. Then, the camera cut to a goblet falling to the ground, and Seohae dropping to her knees. She was wearing her wedding dress, and she’d been shot.

I thought it was great way to transition between scenes and at the same time, move the plot forward. The director further connected the blood on her dress to her nosebleed when she woke up. In my mind, the director was reaffirming what Seohae’s father said to her in the beginning. “Stay away from him at all costs. You must not cross paths with him.”

7. The Death Threat

Unless more characters or groups are introduced later in the drama, the only viable suspect is the hyung, Han Taesan. He would know how to get inside his house and, as a photographer, he would correct his younger brother’s mistake and hang the painting right side up. He wouldn’t be able to resist fixing that, as an artist, and as an older brother.

Edited to add this: This painting is “Trafalgar Square” by Mondrian. 🙂 It’s hanging in the Museum of Modern Arts in New York.

8. The love letter from the child

Taesul finds the fan letter is funny because of the age of the writer. To me, it’s a foreshadowing.

TS: (reading the letter) “Dear CEO Han Taesul.” Goodness! Lee Haena, a first grader from Nakmin Elementary School, wants to marry me when she grows up. What do I say in reply? How about this? “Dear Haena. By the time you can get married, my telomeres would be so short that my cells probably wouldn’t be able to divide anymore. So I suggest you find someone with healthier cells.”
Bongseon: Come again?
TS: You don’t get it? Then how about this? “Dear Haena. By then, I’ll start receiving my pension.” Good one, right?

He doesn’t know that as he speaks, the woman he’s going to marry in the future, hasn’t been born yet.

This scene actually got me thinking that the number 250811 branded on her arm is her birthday. There’s no point to its inclusion in the story. lol.

Edited to add this:

9. My explanation of the train scene.

Link: Sisyphus: Eps 1 & 2 Explaining the Train Mysteries

Excerpt:

Here’s my short answer: Different clocks. Time is NOT uniform for all, and what you perceive as your present time – or your “now” — is different from what I perceive as my “now.”

Let’s put it this way: I’m on Planet Bitches three light-years away from Earth. Now, you look at me through the telescope and you see me waving at you hello.

You think that I’m waving at you *now* when actually, what you’re seeing is something that I did three years ago in my time, on my Planet Bitches. Do you get it? 🙂 Our *now* times are different. For all you know, I can already be back on Earth, being treated to Girl Scout cookies upon my arrival while you’re still viewing me on the telescope. Ha! I’m in two places at one time.

If you keep all this in mind, you’ll get how SeoHae escaped the Control Bureau and why Taesul disappeared in front of Seohae.

Here’s my long answer:

Sisyphus: Eps 1 & 2 Explaining the Train Mysteries

 

****************

That’s it for my “first impressions.”