Memories of the Alhambra: Episode 12 Notes

Three things:

1. Those pretty Swarovski earrings

It seems like our kdrama made a lot of marketing noise about the Swarovski earrings that Heejoo received for her birthday but as an uber-bitch, I’ve a responsibility and a devil’s calling 😈to dash cold water on Jinwoo’s fangirls.

Swarovski jewelry is not acceptable as a substitute for luxury jewelry from Tiffany, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. I have a few Swarovski figurines and ornaments but I would never wear Swarovski earrings since they’re crystals pretending to be diamonds.😱

Fake GIF - Seinfeld JuliaLouisDreyfus ElaineBenes GIFs

I’ve no doubt that Swarovski can pass off as diamonds. But over time, they collect scratches because they aren’t hard as diamonds. And I’ve never heard of a Swarovski engagement ring; it’s always a diamond engagement ring as diamonds last forever.

More importantly, if you’re going to buy fake jewelry, you can always purchase elegant ones from a no-name brand for a fraction of the price of a Swarovski set. Or you can support your local jewelry artisans by buying their unique and handcrafted designs made with precious and semi-precious gems. Not crystals.

But most of all, to me, a multi-millionaire like Jinwoo presenting Heejoo with a pair of Swarovski earrings is comparable to Bill Gates buying his wife a Kia car. Sure, the earrings are pretty, and sure, the car is a reliable people-mover but the generosity of the giver seems kinda hmm… sketchy. 🤨😈

Image result for sketchy gif

Besides, if Jinwoo did his research (or the costume designer, lol), he would have known that Van Cleef has the iconic Alhambra collection since the 1960s which would be fitting for her.

Magic Alhambra stud earrings from Van Cleef & Arpels, $25k. Timeless. Classic.

More here: https://www.vancleefarpels.com/us/en/collections/jewelry/alhambra.html

A brief digression here: Lexus cars

Luxury cars are another product placement we often see in kdramas and MotA isn’t any different.  I’m nit-picking because the directors crash the illusion of wealth when their characters don’t know how to use a standard feature of their expensive cars.

Cars like Lexus, Jaguar, BMW, Audi, and Porsche all have Bluetooth technology that allows the driver to receive and send texts, access emails and answer phone calls by voice command.

Take for instance when Jinwoo’s ex-wife #1 called him. As much as it was a laudable thing to do, he didn’t really need to pull over to the side of the road to answer the phone call. All he had to do was press a button on the steering wheel to accept the call and he could have talked to ex-wife as if she was passenger in the car while he was driving.

Same with texts.

The manager of his ex-wife #2 texted him a message while he was in the car. The Lexus would have announced that he had an incoming text and it would have read the text aloud. If Jinwoo then wanted to reply to the manager, all he had to do was dictate his text. Something like, “Roses are red, violets are blue. With a face like yours, you belong in the zoo. Good luck with my Ex!” and he could send the text WITHOUT once touching the keypad.

See that? I find it jarring when Jinwoo didn’t know how to work his own vehicle.

2. JInwoo’s birthday 

Last year, she received roses. This year she had crystal earrings. But when are we going to celebrate Jinwoo’s birthday? March 4.

For the past two years, his birthday had been overlooked because of events.

Last year, this happened:

March 1: JW knocked on the door of Hostel Bonita at 1:16am. Church bell rang to coincide with his arrival. He outmaneuvered Heejoo and bought the hostel from her, and he spent the whole day leveling up to duel with HyunSuk. HyunSuk was dead by 11pm.

March 2: JW texted Sec Seo at around 2:30am to tell him that he was in his hotel in Barcelona. A few hours later, he was back in Granada attending to HyunSuk’s death and grieving family. That night, he started having doubts about the game, “Were we too hazy to hasty to sign a deal? Should we have waited until SeJoo arrived?” Even Park was saying that he had a “bad feeling about this.”

March 3: JW fell from the 6th floor at 1:16am. He woke up from surgery around midafternoon. MinJoo warned him that her sister falls in love easily. He countered, “But we only met two days ago.” 48 hours.

He was chased by NPC HS from afternoon till late at night. After their late-night visit to the weapons store, HeeJoo brought him home to recuperate.

March 4: He was in and out of consciousness because of his medication so he missed his birthday.

Several days (or weeks?) passed. Then, he awoke from a long slumber like Sleeping Beauty…err… Sleeping Handsome on HeeJoo’s birthday.

His impromptu gift to her: an extravagant bouquet of roses.

This year, a similar pattern occurred.

March 1: Church bell rang to signal HyunSuk’s memorial service. JW opened door and barged in the middle of the eulogy.  JW returned to work and visited HeeJoo later that evening. He came clean that SeJoo had been missing for a year.

March 2: He went to the abandoned schoolhouse at 2:30 am. He doubled his effort to level up and reach the Marco’s and master’s levels. He told manager of his ex-wife #2 to settle the divorce within the week.

March 4: He was immersed in his game so he missed his birthday.

March ??: Prof Cha visited Park at the headquarters. Park confessed that JW only showed up for that one day and had been playing the game ever since.

Meanwhile, JW reached Level 90 and received Hawk’s parchment. He had 48 hours to complete mission. He gave Sec Seo a few hours grace period to level up so he could use guns. He stopped Heejoo from flying out to Granada. Minjoo discovered that his divorce was finalized at last. JW had lunch appointment with boss, Park and his ex-wife #1.

Then, more or less 24 hours later, he and Sec Seo were back in Spain, taking the night train to retrace Sejoo’s travel from Barcelona to Granada.

At 8am the following day, he lost Sec Seo. He arrived in Granada for the third time to visit Alhambra for the first time. He had four hours left in the quest. At around 11am, his quest was suspended with 30 minutes left. He searched for Sec Seo in the morgue.

More or less 24 hours later, he was back again in Seoul, crossing Park and Heejoo in mid-air as they themselves flew to Granada. Jinwoo was forced to leave office and rest at home.

Several days passed and then it was HeeJoo’s birthday again. This time around, HeeJoo didn’t leave him and she waited for Sleeping Handsome to wake up to have dinner together.

His gift: a pair of Swarovski earrings.

We can see that there’s a cyclical pattern that begins on March 1 and ends on HeeJoo’s birthday. Something develops in a span of 48 hours: Heejoo falling in love with him and his quest to find Sejoo. His birthday is always forgotten. And his downward spiral to despondency and irrational thoughts is always broken by Heejoo.

3. Is JinWoo crazy?

It’s been speculated in another forum that JinWoo is schizophrenic. Now, I’m not going to use that term because a) I don’t diagnose fictional characters lol, and b) the good old word “crazy” suffices.

My short answer is NO. I’ve considered that angle, too, because Jinwoo is often an unreliable narrator but the recent developments in the story attest to his sanity.

If we deem Jinwoo crazy because he sees this hallucination,
then Sec Seo is also crazy because he saw and fought the bloody HyunSuk, and
Professor Cha is also crazy because he finally saw what’s been tormenting JinWoo daily for the past year.

But we know that craziness isn’t contagious. Jinwoo, Sec Seo and Professor Cha didn’t catch it from each other.

They didn’t collude to become crazy together.

Neither Sec Seo nor Professor Cha WANT to be crazy like Jinwoo and see the hallucinations like he did.

And Sec Seo said, “He hasn’t changed.” He meant that Jinwoo remained the same man that he was before he started seeing these crazy hallucinations. That is, Jinwoo was sane and reasonable before the hallucinations, and he was still sane and reasonable after the hallucinations.

Now, I’d give more credence to Sec Seo’s words and judgement since he personally knew the guy than I’d would the opinions of third parties like SangBeom and the traffic police. THEY weren’t qualified to assess Jinwoo’s state of mind.

 

They became crazy on their own after their exposure to the game.

I say that when three individuals, of different personalities, ages, and backgrounds, experience the same outcome from exposure to the game, then the game is the problem.

 

11 Comments On “Memories of the Alhambra: Episode 12 Notes”

  1. I found the Swarovski gift stupid too. I get it that it’s product placement and they had to use them somehow but it has no sense in this movie. Why would JinWoo give her those earrings? It’s worse if I think at the thoughtful gifts given in Fluttering Alert for example. Sure this couple doesn’t compare and their circumstances too are not ideal for a normal relationship but JinWoo could have still done better than Swarovski.

    Loved the part about JinWoo’s birthday. And now I wonder if it’s intended or not that his birthday falls always in this period that the story is shown (March, both years) but he can’t give it any attention and it’s not relevant enough to even mention.

  2. hello chingu!
    it’s funny i’ve been thingking whether JW and HJ have the same birthday. It turns out the gap between JW’s aurora’s state is weeks and not day lol

    Now you know JW yah, when you put a ring on her, Tiffany it is 😉

    I also thought that game is the problem. Jinwoo stated it before to Park. It seems SeeJoo cannot control the game and he was trapped in it Based on the EP 13 preview,he doesn’t want to sell the game anymore.

  3. What I find repulsive about product placements is that it normalizes consumerism.

    When an impressionable girl for instance sees Park Shin Hye wear those pretty earrings, the brand sticks to the brain. “Oooh. I have to get Swarovski, too! It’s a brand associated with class.” And the seed of aspiration is now planted in the girl’s mind that Swarovski is a “must” for sincere love declarations and that to be rich and classy, Swarovski is part of the outfit. It’s become a “status symbol.”

    That’s how ads work. 😂 They create a “want” and a “need.” And viewers must be reminded to come back to reality. No, a Swarovski is so unnecessary. If you’re going for a fake jewels, the cheapest one should do and you don’t need branding for that.

    But if you’re going for real, then THIS doesn’t cut it at all because it’s only simulated diamonds. Why buy fake when you can afford real?

    They don’t make good investments either. 😂

    There were a few product placements in Fluttering Alert, too. But as you wisely pointed out, the PP weren’t associated with the gifts the couple gave to each other. Instead, the Fluttering Couple gave thoughtful personalized and home-made gifts as if to prove that SIMPLE is BETTER. The gifts came off as more heart-felt and sincere. Anyway, I like that show’s “message” on love better. Thank goodness the film was a low-budget one! (Wink) 😉😂

    And thank goodness too that I don’t have any demands that the romance in MoA be integral to the plot. Otherwise, I would pan the show. 🤣😂😈 To me, the game is the highlight, not the romance, so I could watch the kiss, for instance, clinically and dispassionately. Notice that I haven’t written about it? And I usually analyze and rate kisses like an Olympic skating judge. 🤪 With scoreboards, too.

    I stay for the game and for me, the romance is only secondary to the plot. The story is action-driven. To me, it’s the game that advances the romance story, and not vice-versa.

  4. 😂 Yes, JW’s “Princess Aurora” state was at least a week. Did you see the empty blister pack for his sleeping pills? If a sleeping pill is good for 8 hours of sleep, (it doesn’t make sense for a pill to last only 4 hours) then you can tell that he’d been taking it for quite some time. 2 blister packs = 20 pills. If he took 2 a day to be sedated 24 hours (lol) that would mean, he’d been taking pills for 10 days.

    But there was also that empty bottle too. 😱🙂

    I don’t really pay attention to the previews because I don’t know if I’m going to be trolled by the writer or not. 😀 But yes, it was mentioned by somebody else that SeJoo has last-minute second thoughts about selling the program.

    But we knew that already, didn’t we? In his phone conversation, he told JW that he didn’t want to sell to HS bec he was a bad guy. But he felt he had no choice unless he came up with another buyer, JW. My “feel” here is he intended to present JW to HS as THE buyer or as his excuse for backing out of their deal with HS. SeeJoo wanted Jinwoo as the buyer, fait accompli (or as a done deal) when he met HS.

    Ha! The ring doesn’t even have to be a Tiffany. It can be a personal design that he’d have one of his friends create for him. Something with a guitar, for instance. He’s rich anyway.

  5. Wow! Those detailed dates and what happens every time is daebak! 🙌🏻 I didn’t even noticed the dates. I think I need to rewatch the whole thing but I’ll just read your blogs about MoA. 😉

    I just finished episode 12 and the thing that struck me the most was when JW told HJ how his parents died when he was young, he doesn’t have a wife nor kids, he had a best friend who was like a brother but he died, his secretary who was like a brother too died, the man he treated like a Dad turned his back on him and he has another best friend who doesn’t believe him. I mean with all of that I really felt sad for him. And if HJ didn’t believe him then there really was no hope for him at all. He really reached the end. Maybe this is why he doesn’t celebrate his birthday ☹️

    HJ really likes JW 😊 Im not sure I can be like her in real life. I mean when did you think she fell in love with him?

    Oh I like Swarovski BUT like you said they are not diamonds ☺️ I agree that for a CEO, JA is pretty stingy 😂 and not techie when it comes to cars 😂

    I’m loving those Lexus! Especially that blue one that Secretary SEO drove when he went to JW’s location.

  6. I like Sec Seo’s Lexus. It’s a chick magnet, I tell you. And it’s a hybrid, too!

    I’m also not a techie with cars but those Bluetooth functions are the best, I swear! I can text my husband exactly where I am and how long it’ll take me to get home without lifting a finger off the wheel. They’re so convenient.

    My husband also tells me that I can adjust the air conditioning/heater/temperature in the house FROM THE CAR so the house is warm and cozy when I arrive home but that’s beyond me yet. One step at a time, I told him.

    Oh! Good point, @agdr03!! Maybe that’s why he doesn’t celebrate birthdays. Because for a long time now, he’s has no family to celebrate it with so he’s gotten used to it. Lol. Meanwhile we have Heejoo who has family and friends who make a big fuss about celebrating 🥳 her birthday each year. She might be poor in material things, but she’s rich where it matters.

  7. It’s amazing what those techie gadgets can do. That texting but never lifting a finger of the steering wheel is indeed great. I can only accept calls while driving in my cars Bluetooth.

    I don’t have a luxury car but if I win lotto tomorrow I’m buying that hybrid Lexus exactly like Sec Seo’s one 😄

  8. I forgot to comment about the kiss scene 😂 You do judge it like a Supreme Court 😂 It made me miss Warm & Cozy kiss scene 😍

    Anyway I was happy for HJ because she finally got kissed after waiting for awhile 😬 I agree too that the drama is really all about the game. The romance comes second and yes I don’t even care if it’s there or not.

  9. Can someone pinpoint to me when/where JW gave HJ the earrings? I feel like I missed a scene? When she said you gave me the earring I was so confused! Thank you and I’m loving the content of this site! Can’t believe I haven’t stumbled upon it until now!

  10. She said it. 🙂 Episode 12, before the date.

    When she crossed the street and greeted him happily, he teased about the way she looked. “What’s that dangling from your ears?” She answered, puzzled, “You told me to wear something nice.” He answered, “You’re prettier when you wear something plain. I regret asking you to dress up. Get in.”

    When she got in the car, he asked her where she wanted to eat.

    She ignored him.

    “Can I choose?” he asked.

    When she continued the silent treatment, he asked her, “Are you mad?”

    She then turned to him and said, “You gave me these earrings. You sent them to me for my birthday.”

    🙂

    Meaning, he chose the earrings and had them delivered to her… just like he did with the ROSES he ordered sent to her last year.

    Either that or he had his SECRETARY choose the earrings and deliver to her. 😂😱

    She continued, “I wore them for your sake (to show her appreciation) and that’s all you’re going to say? (that he wanted her to wear something simple??!)”

    He also continued, “But they looked pretty when I picked them out. Take them off and we’ll exchange them.”

    See that?

    The scene when he gave her the earrings wasn’t actually shown but it was implied from their conversation that he had them delivered to her house just like the roses were delivered. It was his first time seeing the earrings on her because he picked them out himself either online or at the store.

  11. 🤫 Shhhh. This is a stealth blog. Only bitches allowed here and we value our exclusivity and anonymity. We post naked… errr…😱 I mean, stark truths about dramas we love.

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