It’s Super Bowl Sunday today, and it’s the New England Patriots vs America. lol
For those who have no clue what I’m talking about, Super Bowl is the championship game for American football. Tonight’s competing teams are the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. The Patriots have been winning championships with their quarterback Tom Brady at the helm. This is their 8th appearance at the Super Bowl with Mr. Brady, and he and team won 5 of the matches. An incredible feat, if you ask me. Today’s game may likely be his 6th win.
That’s why everybody’s rooting for the underdog, Philadelphia Eagles. They’ve never won a Super Bowl. 
As for their current quarterback? He was the BACK-UP quarterback because they lost their starter quarterback due to a torn ACL. Their back-up QB said that he was going to be a pastor after retirement.
Because of football, I won’t have time today to watch Episodes 11 and 12. I’m prepping food for tonight’s game — btw, do you know what’s on my menu for tonight? Fondu.
Just kidding. The guys will think I’ve gone full psycho on them if I serve anything like cream puffs, salad, and fondu. Of course, it’ll be pizza, nachos and dip, subs, and wings wings wings.
Hell, no! I’m not this obsessive. I’m not going to make a stadium of food.
Anyway, as I was saying, I’ll be in Super Bowl mode for the rest of the day, so I might as well post this about the death bell in Hwayugi. I failed to mention, in my previous posts, how much I love this scene in Hwayugi.
This scene in Episode 8 when SunMi realized that OhGong was fated for her is standard fare in kdramas. Typically, the lovers meet at intersections because an intersection is such an easy metaphor to grasp by viewers. An intersection in kdrama is where the characters stop, take stock, and DECIDE on how to proceed with their lives: go up, down, left, or right.
Moreover, an intersection in drama portends to the clash of two worlds, in SunMi’s case, the clash between her fantasy of love vs reality of his death,
But what I like about the Hwayugi scene is that the cinematography was very effective in communicating the tone of the story, and foreshadowing OhGong’s and SunMi’s problem. In this scene, SunMi thought that she had the love bell in her hand when, all along, she had the death bell.
Look around her, and what do you see? Festive red lanterns everywhere.
Up and down that street hung red lanterns in the shape of balls. These red lanterns signified good luck, prosperity, and happiness. But to SunMi’s great misfortune, not even a thousand of these lucky red lanterns could dispel the bad luck of that one particular black ball of doom in her hand. She didn’t know it but she was doomed.
From her perspective, when she chanced upon OhGong, with the canopy of red lanterns behind him, of course, she’d think that OG was her fated soulmate. The bell was ringing, the atmosphere was vibrant and bustling, and there he stood, as if he’d been waiting – and watching – for her appearance. It was a heady, exhilarating moment, no doubt just like falling in love.
From OhGong’s perspective, on the other hand, she was Geumganggo master, and the one he loved even if she was the “only thing in this world” that could kill him. He’d been warned by the monster that he would suffer death in her hand. Yet, as she stood there dressed in black, like a Grim Reaper, he didn’t recognize her as his death. Or perhaps he did recognize her as death AND simply CHOSE to ignore the warning of the monster.
She was “Death Foretold” personified but he didn’t care because he loved her anyway.
I love how the visuals in this scene, in conjunction with the narration of Mawang,
like here, she was the “fated death bringer”
and here, he was the one to die, she was the one fated to kill
all indicated and warned us that OhGong was fated to die.
In Mawang’s and the God Representative’s circle of friends, the belief in the IMMUTABILITY of fate is taken very seriously. Humans and even demons cannot change their fate simply because they will it or want it. What is fated is inevitable. Summer Fairy corroborated this pervasive mindset in Episode 9 when she told SunMi that a fated connection between a human and monster couldn’t be undone despite the encounter being originally a mistake of Samshin Grandma.
But like OhGong, we persist on hoping for a happy ending and choose to ignore all the warnings of gloom-and-doom. In a way, there’s a little bit of OhGong in all of us. We’re rooting for the underdogs, like SunMi and OhGong to prevail, and the “impossible” to happen.
Idk when you’ll have a chance to watch ep 12 but the loophole to the happy ending has been introduced!
Really?!! I haven’t started on Ep 11 yet.
But what loophole?! Tell meeeee!
A thousand year old demoness possessed Buja and managed to seduce SOG to be her slave forever.
I’m not eager to watch 12. But I’m dying to catch the next weeks preview.
I also can’t wait to hear your take on the appearance of the Lyra constellation in episode 11. I am sure it must mean something.
Ahh. Thank you! That would be interesting. I want to see how he extricates himself from this. He’s seduced by a temptress but his heart belongs to SM and he’s already committed to SM like they’re married couples (they’ve been married twice). Knowing the Hong sisters, they’re making a commentary on the stability and endurance of love and OG’s commitment. He’ll have to survive this otherwise…hahaha…SM’s payback will be deliciously good.
Karen, I just googled the Lyra constellation. I think the Greek mythology behind the Lyra constellation is not as important as the Chinese folktale associated with the same group of stars.
Google the story of the Weaver Girl who fell in love with the Cowherd. lol. The Weaver Girl was the daughter of the heavenly god but she and the cowherd were punished for their love. They found a way to get around this separation. But just when you’d expect them to live in bliss for ever, the heavens came messing things up for the couple again. (Good heavens!!!) She was abducted and they were forced to live apart. These lovers were allowed to meet only on the 7th day of the 7th month (in the Chinese lunar calendar, of course, not the Western Gregorian calendar).
I’ve to watch Episode 11 but I’ve no time right now. But I hope OhGong didn’t go stargazing with SM and pointed out the Weaver Girl/Cowherd stars to her. lol. That would be toooo self-referential (or META!!!) for the Hong sisters.
Two star-crossed lovers on an adaptation of a Chinese folktale (fictional characters OG and SM) looking up at the night skies and gazing at stars representing two star-crossed lovers in another Chinese folktale (fictional characters, Weaver Girl and Cowherd).
hahahaha. I’d be shaking my head and laughing at the Hong sisters if they did that. Okay… I definitely have to make time and watch Ep 11.
@Karen I’m pretty sure Oh Gong isn’t possessed. At the very end, his eyes are black, they don’t have the rose petals in them. It could be that the visual effects team just didn’t edit them in but I personally think that SOG is too strong to be possessed by a demon, even a 1000 year old one.
Loophole: Rose petal demon said she wants to “become Samjang.” SOG is in love with SM, not Samjang and the twisted fate is between Samjang and SOG. Therefore, if rose petal demon becomes Samjang, SOG can avoid the fate of having to kill SM. However he’d still have to kill Bu Ja as Bu Ja is the possessed one, thereby fulfilling the stipulation of the gods that he must feel pain.
I don’t think they’ll go that route but even having the loophole there is comforting because now I’m 99% sure of a happy ending vs the 89% sure I was last week. Lol.
Packmule, really? I didn’t know that there’s a Chinese lore associated with the same constellation. Interesting.
Phikylx, do you mean when the demoness was sitting on his lap? I Guess the petals only appeared briefly? Just like the delivery boy. Initially when he was possessed, there were petals in his eyes but it disappeared when he was delivering flowers to SM.
Your loophole’s a good one, phikyl. The twisted fate, as you said, is between OhGong and SamJang and not SunMi and he loves SM.
But we’re only in Episode 12, and we still have 8 episodes (or 4 weeks) to go through. I hope the rose petal demon’s story won’t be dragged for more than 3 episodes, tops.
In your opinion, what evil does this rose petal demon represent?
Like you, I think it’ll still be a happy ending for OG and SM. Besides, have you seen Lee Seunggi take on a script that ends tragically? 🤔 I don’t know. LSG didn’t strike me as someone who’d take on a “dark” and tragic project as his first film work after military service.
Karen,
Not only that, the Koreans have adapted this Chinese folklore. It’s also the basis of their Chilseok festival which occurs on the 7th day of the 7th month on the lunar calendar.
You can read about it here.
We’ll probably know for sure next week if the demoness totally possessed OG or not. My gut feel is like phikyl’s. OG is too powerful to be hypnotized by rose petals. If the Jade Emperor is scared of him, then he should be able to handle a thousand-year old priestess. My only concern is when the other demons, like Mawang, his assistant and PK join forces against OG. He’ll be fighting a multi-front war WHILE still protecting SunMi. 🙂
Like you, I think it’ll still be a happy ending for OG and SM. Besides, have you seen Lee Seunggi take on a script that ends tragically? 🤔 I don’t know. LSG didn’t strike me as someone who’d take on a “dark” and tragic project as his first film work after military service.
I sure hope so!!! I want a happy ending. Even spending 24 hours ina year together is a happy ending for me. But like many others, I want to see more loving couple time too. Barely they are together, the priestess comes out.
@Karen Yes, I mean that part. The petals only disappeared on the delivery boy after the demoness was out of his line of sight. SOG’s petals seemed to be gone while she was still on his lap.
I do think that SOG might pretend to be caught in her thrall for a while though, and there will be misunderstandings between SM and SOG because of that.
As for what I think this arc is going to teach our couple? Trust in themselves and their love for each other, even when things appear bleak.