Edited to add my spoilers.
1. The firefly
No, it isn’t the Captain. And it had better NOT be the Captain.
Please, gals. Albert Einstein may be famous for his Theory of Relativity and that equation E = mc2 but all you really need to know about his theory that’s pertinent to your kdrama viewing pleasure is this quote that’s been (mis)attributed to him:
Don’t let your Second Male Lead syndrome blind you to the Red Flags. This Captain is 10th-century version of a fuck-boy who screwed Manwol over. And don’t you forget it. Make him prove that he’s a good guy before you trust him again.
The firefly is Yeonwol.
In Episode 1, Ma Go looked at the house built by Manwol’s grudge and said, “The Inn of the Moon for the dead seems to have met its new owner.” Then she opened the coffin, which was full of knickknacks — from ceramic and beads to bloodied weapons.
She said, “You all, come with me, and we’ll go somewhere comfortable.” She closed the coffin and started moving the hearse. Fireflies started appearing. To me, these were animal-spirits or, to be precise, insect-spirit of the dead (like the tree is Manwol’s spirit).
One of the fireflies left the group and flitted away from the hearse. It went back to the Inn of the Moon.
Now, given what we know of the Captain’s betrayal, his deceit, and his role in Jeonwoo’s execution, why on earth would his spirit be among the dead that Manwol carried in the coffin?!
These were the ghosts of her comrade. Why would Captain be one of them? If firefly had been the Captain’s spirit, wouldn’t the other fireflies kinda swarm him and chase him out?
In Episode 5, we see a flashback of Manwol talking to Yeonwoo about building a house for her in the future.
YW: Wol! With this, you favorite tree, I’ll build you a bigger house than the biggest house I’ve seen in the city. I’ll give that to you.
MG: What? You’ll build me a house with this tree? No need, I don’t plan to live with you in the house.
YW: Ya. You’ll grow old, you can’t just roam around. I can’t let you live in a tent after you become a grandmother.
MG: I live a life with constant risk of getting capture and dying. I don’t expect to live to become a grandmother.
YW: You can become a grandmother. The fortuneteller told me that I would live as long as this tree. He said 100 years. I’ll give all of that to you.
MG: If you give them all, wouldn’t you die?
YW: That’s right. (thinking) That’s fine! I’m fine with dying because of you. I can give you everything.
She smiled at him and he smiled back.
Two important things here:
One, Yeonwoo was the one who promised, NOT the Captain, to build Manwol a house so she wouldn’t roam around. Now, she hastily left her Hotel and transferred to another place. Of course, his spirit would reappear. It probably wanted to ensure she’d safely found a new home.
Two, he’d live as long as the tree but he’d willingly give up his life for her. He is NOT Manwol’s tree, but he did fulfill his word to die because of her.
Now, in Episode 8, we saw Manwol asking Yeonwoo to wait for her.
YW: Everyone is ready. When should we leave?
MW: (looking at the wine bottler) He came. He’s probably there. I need to go see him one last time.
YW: (grabs her wrist) Man Wol, can you come back?
MW: Of course, I’ll return again.
I’m not sure about subs but I’ve two interpretations to his question. A) He was asking her whether she’d return. She answered, yes, she’d return. B) He was indirectly asking her NOT to go because he knew she couldn’t help but stay with the Captain. Physically, she could return but mentally…? Part of her already wanted to stay with the Captain. Did she really want to come back?
Yeonwoo understood her better than she did herself. He let go of her hand.
YW: (smiling, and this is more bravado than anything) If you don’t come back, it’s fine. I’ll be alright so do want you want.
MW: I’ll be back. I just need to see him one last time. Wait for me.
And he stood under tree to wait.
This is the significance of the firefly: it came back to wait for her.
The Captain wouldn’t wait for her. He said it clearly at the Lakeshore, “I guess there’s no reason for me to come back here again.” And when he hung that wine bottle on the tree for her, he intended to entrap her.
On the other hand, even though Yeonwoo died because he waited for her, he didn’t bear her a grudge. He was willing to die for her.
In Episode 9, the firefly revealed its spirit to Chansung. He was deciding whether to forget about
Chansung talked to it, “Are you by chance here looking for the hotel? Del Luna isn’t here anymore. I would lead you there, but I don’t go there anymore. I’m sorry.”
And the spirit disappeared.
2. But….but…but…Yeonwoo reappeared!!!
I don’t believe in ghosts. If a ghost sees me in the morning, without make-up and caffeine, he’s dead.
Bitch >>> Ghost
That’s why I can look at these ghosts with a clear head. They were the ghosts of Manwol’s dead. They were going to the afterlife so they could be reincarnated into different bodies.
She had said that they were killed because of her.
Notice that none of the souls behind her looked like the soldiers, the Princess and the Captain whom she also killed. She was angry at Ma Go and drew her sword when Ma Go asked her, “Who else did you kill for the sake of the dead?” She didn’t want to be reminded of the others she killed. She wasn’t taking responsibility for those.
She was only taking responsibility of her own people.
These fireflies were her people. The soldiers, Princess and the Captain wouldn’t be included among them.
More importantly, these fireflies are the spirits of the dead. At that time, when the fireflies appeared, the ghosts had NOT yet gone to the afterlife to be reincarnated. The ghosts still needed to cross over the Sanzu river. Thus, the fireflies couldn’t have been the Manwol’s people’s reincarnation.
Besides why would all these ghosts be reincarnated collectively as fireflies? Weren’t some of them fated to become humans, too? Or bears, lions, tigers, pandas?
Ghosts ≠ Fireflies
Fireflies = Spirits
Ghosts ≠ Spirits
Unless the Hong sisters really screwed up and created that plothole, ghosts and spirits are two different and separate astral beings. Yeonwoo’s ghost reincarnated, and, after taking several forms, finally came back in old Yeonwoo’s body.
His firefly however still hovered around Manwol as a spirit.
That’s my take on this.
3. Chansung can’t tell spirits from ghosts. Spirits aren’t ghosts.
Talking to it through Spirit of the firefly through the glass, he thought it was a ghost. It’s a 1000-year-old spirit.
Similarly, talking to the Spirit of the well through the glass, he thought it was a ghost. lol. This is a 500-year-old spirit. (but let me check the year again). Sorry, I couldn’t find the age of this cutie-pie spirit.
And this is a 500-year-old ghost. (lol. No wonder they were talking about his age. He didn’t age well. lol.)
That’s it for now. Going for a midnight stroll now with hubby.
*************************
Please post your spoilers, theories, rants, raves, analyses, and keeper moments here. I’ll post when I can.
I’m heading to the beach house this weekend to get in touch with my inner pina colada.
And no, I don’t have baby fat. This is my (lame) attempt at drawing a pineapple version of me.
Enjoy the show!!!
Morning! ☺️ Cute pineapple there! 👌
I haven’t seen episode 9 of HDL because I’m on episode 11 of GGS.
Han Shangyan is so grumpy, he should wear the Mr Grumpy T-shirt all the time 😄
Enjoy the beach! ☺️
Hubby is driving. I’m writing on the blog and getting carsick. Awrk. We’re stopping at the next rest stop to clear my head.
Hey!!! I’m officially declaring Han Shanyang as our second-best drama boyfriend after Xiao Nai…. although he is a lying liar.
Ciao, girlfriend!
Why do i feel like the firefly that appeared in EP 9 is the Captain? He’s been protecting/monitoring ManWol since 1000 years ago.
Also, what are your thoughts about the former classmate/serial killer? He’s giving me creepy vibes. I think he will be the cause of ManWol hurting a human (he might hurt ChanSung and ManWol will retaliate).
😂 I like the idea that Captain was reincarnated as a firefly. That way Manwol can squish him like a bug that he was. 😈
I haven’t seen Ep 9 but just based on the reincarnation logic, it’s not possible that he’s survived as a firefly for 1000 years. The average lifespan of a firefly is about 2 months. So given a year, he would have been reincarnated 6x as a firefly. So if 1000 years have passed and he’s still a firefly, then he would have been reincarnated 6000 times as a firefly.
😂😂😱
Joking aside, after what he did to Manwol and her gang, I expected him to have been reborn as a pig, at the very least, in the first reincarnation. Then, he would have to work his way up to a human being, like Mira.
He’s not like a god who can dictate to be reborn as a firefly so he can follow (or stalk) Manwol around. Besides, every time he’s reincarnated he loses his memory of his past life. Mira did.
My 2 cents. And I have NOT seen the kdrama, okay?
Chung sung is not the reincarnation of either the captain or yeon woo. It seems reincarnations have the same face. And is chung myung a firefly now haha. The shadow the firefly turned out almost looked like chung myung
YW returns.
i like the consistency this drama showing me how they reincarnated the past character with the same face..
whether the Captain will appear soon after Mira & Yeonwoo or the firefly is the Captain..well i prefer the latter cuz i don’t want Chanseong’s the reincarnation of anyone else but himself..
Not toooo fast there, my friend.
The firefly isn’t the captain.
I’ll edit this post and state why.
Random thoughts.
I didn’t recognise Yeon Woo LOL!
This episode seemed packed with stuff. I believe all the different bits are meant to converge. They seem kinda separate right now.
So this 2nd half MW has a chance to save/protect the reincarnation of YW? Will there be a weird triangle between MW, her loyalty to the past YW and present CS?
Suddenly we are thrust into the human world of crime, again indirectly tied to Mi Ra and CS, and bringing in ‘Yeon Woo’. I look forward to seeing MW’s face when she recognises him next episode.
It’s interesting that a water spirit can ‘dry up’ and fear abandonment. The theme of serving one’s usefulness and then being abandoned continues.
The Baekdu painting was abandoned by MW, but became more valuable with the death of it’s owner. She regrets now, blithely leaving it with CS.
On the thought of ‘water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’ (her champagne did not arrive LOL), except that there was the bartender’s concoction of Tears, which she found distasteful. Then there’s the thought of regret that she’d never taste the fine rice wine again, because the spirit had abandoned the well. ‘Appreciate fully what we have when we have it and be grateful before we lose it, so that there will be no regrets!’ – Is that the thought for this episode?
CS’s weakness and weak heart were mentioned something like 3-4 times this episode. More foreshadowing or red herrings?
I did mention the lone firefly before, around the Moon Tree, compared to the thousands over the lake in the past.
If MW has 3 seconds of temptation, then CS too had several seconds to decide if he wanted to stop seeing ghosts. When he is tempted by the memory of MW’s offer that he should just run away, the firefly appeared in a closed room with him. It passes through the glass pane of the window and takes shape as a silhouette of a person (too tall to be female? with long hair?). Why was it behind the glass instead of in the room with him? Why was there no face or complete form. It was probably not the usual ghost, but another spirit. Hearing CS say that he was not going to look for the hotel, the spirit leaves in the form of a firefly again. That first time we saw such a firefly was at MW’s tree. Was that her tree spirit calling him?
MW’s 3 seconds of wanting CS to come back to her. I expected him to mention 3 leaves LOL. The first time there was 1 second when she almost sat next to him under the tree. She almost picked the leaf but he awoke and kept it as if keeping her close by him. He claimed he was given 2 leaves for finding the earring … but he did not mention it as 2 moments of time. However this telephone conversation with MW, he counted it as 3 seconds or 3 moments of hesitation on her part. Seems that’s enough to make him change his mind about not seeking out the Hotel. It encourages him to bug her for the rest of his life, just so that he can keep protecting her.
He’s figured out (with MG’s help) that while he’s asking her to protect his weak body and weak heart all this time, that he’s been doing the same for her, by being the good person that he is and choosing the right path each time.
His greatest fear is that MW will die as a vengeful spirit, and since he seems to be the one who saves her in this, he knows he can never abandon her.
I like that the side characters are like Chekov’s gun. If they pop up once, they will again, and they’ll matter.
Dear @packmule, even if I am NOT in the captain ship, I consider the events involving Man-Wol’s people as unfortunate by-products of times of war.
1.- Both the captain and Man-Wol tried to ask the other to come to their side. I get that he really liked Man-Wol’s people and wanted to welcome them, not to kill them.
2.- It is said that for commoners morals are paramount, but for ruling classes context is king. Some people hate the captain for using Man-Wol to get a sneak attack, the reality is that he destroyed enemies of the (Silla) State (our beloved band of highwaymen) that were hindering communications and travels through the countryside. He did so with the lowest body count from his side. As much as Man-Wol is the main character and this is her story, in reality every soldier must have had their loved ones and their families. So for a commander to be able to both accomplish their mission and return with very few casualties is a great thing to do.
3.- ¿Do I like the way he did it?… No, I don’t like it. But I understand where he came from. I pity the guy.
An interesting thing is that Realpolitik is very present and very alive even to this day. Once you start to shed those beautiful Human Rights and see what is really happening, you see advances in some places but also that we are way more “medieval” than we would like to acnowledge.
The capability of excercing violence is necessary (hence MaGo 4), so it must be done carefully and ideally by only one actor: the State (or the gods). Otherwise you could have lots of warlords fighting each other (or rebels controlling different areas), the land would not be at peace and both development and economic prosperity would be pipe dreams. So in order to pacify the countryside, Man-Wol’s rebels had to go in an exemplary way to disuade other enemies of the (Silla) State.
As a disclaimer, I am still trying to download Episode 9, so my understanding of what happened is still pinned up to episode 8.
This must be a small detail, but according to Wikipedia, Gojuryeo fell in 668 CE, so the captain was not a 10th century f*ck-boy but most probably a 7th century one. Not that the specific model of the bas**rd matters.
On the captain, I am somewhat ambivalent. If events went down the way we were told, I can agree with FGB4877 he was doing something dutiful while also agreeing with Pkm3 that he’s an absolute asshole and the last thing we’d want is his reincarnation as a spirit firefly or human being.
My reservation is that things may not have been what they seem. We didn’t even see her kill the captain. Also, I’m kind of stymied by what sin she committed that was so so egregious.
On the firefly: I’m not sure I can agree with it being Yeon Woo’s spirit since he just showed up in the flesh as a detective; however, symbolically in allusion the firefly works better as YW than CM. The Hong Sisters drew heavy inspiration for Man Wol from the Diana/Artemis mythos, for the manager from the Diana/golden bough ritual, and, not so heavily, for Yeon Woo from the Diana/Apollo twinship, brother myth. Apollo was Diana’s twin (YW and MW have seemingly sibling-like relationship), he was the God of stringed instruments (YW plays one), he was the God of prophecy and seers (YW goes to a fortuneteller). He is the god of the sun, so it seems to me if he is to appear at night as a spirit, a firefly would be the ideal vehicle for a Sun (fire) entity.
But the captain is more heavily associated in other ways. I really can’t make up my mind.
I know what you’re trying to say. And I know that this is a romcom so eventually the Captain will be scrubbed clean and be a choir boy in the end. Besides, I don’t think the Hong sisters have really come out with true villains.
However, having said that, I’m calling out the Captain’s actions as despicable, not because they’re historically inaccurate or because they don’t serve a purpose in the story, but because of the second male lead syndrome I did mention that, didn’t I? Did you miss it? that impressionable women are afflicted with.
You must have noticed by now that a lot of kdrama watchers are very susceptible to a handsome face, and they romanticize bad behavior. They’re titillated when a guy relentlessly pursues the girl because they think that’s a sign of true love.
For instance, the Captain approached Manwol and Manwol told him brusquely to go. He ignored and continued to flirt with her. Why? Because he had a bad motive. Realpolitik, as you said, and she was collateral damage. Fine! Let’s go with that.
But she was clearly uncomfortable. But since she didn’t say a word, her consent was assumed. And now, the fans see this whole interaction as heart-fluttering and they admire the Captain, not because of his realpolitik (because really now, do you think they care about geo-politics of that century?) but because of his bad behavior is legitimized as the romantic norm.
If the girl says no, the guy can keep on pushing, flirting, fooling her around, seducing her with pretty words, because he’ll eventually “win” (actually, deceive) her. She’ll eventually fall in love because a bad boy is soooo worth it.
I know this is just one scene, but can you imagine that same ambiguous consent/nonconsent icky feeling repeated in other kdramas? That’s the kind of “indoctrination” these young women are getting from watching drama after drama, mindlessly. That’s the kind of fantasy that young women shouldn’t learn to internalize…or at least learn to recognize.
And this blog is different from others. You know that. As much as I love kdramas and romantic guys, I have to call out when the narrative glorifies coercive, predatory (but hey, it’s realpolitik and she’s collateral damage), stalking, harassing or abusive behavior of either sex.
Hey, I’m “woke” feminist!
In real life, girls should know better than to fall in love with guys who treat them like the Captain did. Second male lead syndrome, notwithstanding. The Captains’ choice was clear when he betrayed her and had her friend executed. He was screwing her over. She became statistics: better kill her and her 20 merry band of thieves than kill 2k villagers or 30k countrymen. A good writer can justify that because this is a romcom. But in real life, that’s not acceptable.
Imagine this: I’ve a mission to bomb…say, a metro tomorrow at 5pm. My husband is on that 5pm train. But if I alert him, he’ll freak out and sound alarm. Because this mission is too important to fail, I go ahead and detonate the bomb as planned. If for some reason, he survives and he finds out my role in it, do you think he’ll even bother question whether I loved him or not?
If the Captain comes again knocking on the door, either as a ghost or a reincarnation, a SMART girl like Manwol should remember this age-old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
Re Go Go Squid, I finished it last week. It’s not my kind of story at all but I fixated on Li Xian’s charismatic frown and what dreadful outfit Nian would wear next. I will send one warning and then shut up: she might be a genius but if you’re waiting for her (like I was) to break out of docile mode and really impress, don’t hold your breath. This is Li Xian’s show.I could go full-blown sarcastic about Nian Nian but I won’t because I watched till almost the end despite my headshaking so something drew me back! Have fun!
Love your random thoughts GB. Things are still not converging for me either but I have no doubt they will. I’m not sure how that water spirit story ties in except as another ‘moving on’ story. Perhaps it was just to introduce the idea of spirits, little water gods, like that other story introduced the imaginary friend ghost. Different types of ghosts and goes and spirits. I mean, what is Man Wol?
As soon as I saw Yeon Woo, I wondered too if some triangle would be formed between him, Man Wol and CS. I have to say I believe MW saw YW as a brother in the past but I could see CS getting terribly jealous if she’s just friendly to him!
I’m still trying to figure out the intent of Chinese entertainment when they come up with shows like Love O2O, Put Your Head on My Shoulders, and this one Go Go Squid.
I love these shows. I was fully engaged and entertained when I watched them. More so than with most kdramas, to be honest.
But then I also qualify for AARP membership (AARP = American Association for Retired People), I’m in a profession formerly dominated by men and my generation cracked the glass ceiling. And I wasn’t a virgin when I married.
When I watch these shows, I’ve this feeling that I’m being educated (or brainwashed) on the Chinese cultural expectations of an exemplary Chinese woman of today. Be smart, be very smart, be well-rounded but inexperienced, be innocent, kind and cute. But above all don’t be an outspoken, brash, bitchy, Westernized woman. The virtue-signalling in these Chinese series is strong.
I really should feel insulted but I end up laughing instead. If I had a daughter, she’d definitely wouldn’t be raised like the female leads in these Chinese romcoms I’ve watched. But I wouldn’t mind if she dated guys like the ones in the romcoms. The guys are sweethearts.
So, no, I’m under no illusion that Nian will break the mold. Even if she did, I don’t think I’d be laughing as much as I have watching GGS now. I ALREADY know how a confident, single-minded, and sassy girl, who’s UNLIKE Nian, would react to a guy like Shanyan in real life…and it wouldn’t be quite as pleasant or comical.
Hi @Barbrey! Great to see you here! As you can see, we’re having a blast picking into every last bit of thread in a rather rich tapestry of tale and myth.
I like your idea that introducing the water spirit is to educate us and CS about more variations of inhabitants of the spirit world. It was because of the water spirit that it entered my mind to also put the firefly entity into ‘spirit’ as opposed to ‘ghost’ category.
It’s good to see how water spirit managed to move on with help … again yes, it could be a prefiguring of one option for MW. YW wanted to help her by building a house out of the tree to put down roots and she refused, and has ended up as a wanderer with a tree that travels with her.
Coincidentally, water spirit was relocated to a place with a spring (I think I read in subs?) but MW who has just relocated to the new place for the nice water (and mageolli!), has lost the source of that water. She has to find a new source (with CS’s help). Maybe like the water spirit, it should be a place where she should stay put and stop her wandering.
What exactly is Man Wol is a good question. She’s practically a minor deity herself, what with teleporting into virtual and real places without a problem. I wonder why she wants to be driven. She could have used her telekinesis powers to move her champagne over as well, why wait for the movers!
MW is such a privileged not yet dead human, with a very flawed spirit, who does not see how to be grateful for all that MG has done or allowed her. CS has to keep chipping away at her arrogance and self-interest to get her into blooming good health Heh!
I’ll comment on your other post tomorrow, @GB!
My swoon-worthy moment for this episode was Chansung’s explanation of the three-second count he gave Manwol. I love that it referred to the leaf. That time, she only hesitated for a second. This time, she hesitated for three seconds.
I love it because of the tension. A second is only a second, a brief moment in time. But when you’re holding yourself in and fighting hard not to give in to something you really want, a second can seem endless.
I like it also because of their connection. It was only three seconds but in that time, he was singularly attuned to her and hanging on to hear her answer. He knew she wasn’t indifferent to him as she pretended to be.
And I like it because time stood still. MaGo told them that Manwol’s clock would start running. She also told Manwol it wasn’t up to her to stop the flowers from blooming. Lol. Then just like that, Chansung made time stand still.
oh my god,i almost miss your edited post?!
ok so the idea of ‘firefly is Captain’ had dismissed..
is 9th ep theme is about fear & abandonment?
the well’s spirit fear to be abandon by his worshippers..so better get aways before getting forgotten completely..
but what about Manwol & Chanseong?she abandon him out of fear for his safety..i can’t seem to unwrap my head around this..some help pretty please?
@Papai
I guess if we want to see a parallel between water spirit and CS being abandoned, then it’s another reverse mirror image thing.
Water spirit knew he was in danger of running dry and was proactive in running away before he got abandoned. His fear of abandonment led to him running away. In effect, he is the one who abandoned the well and the people. He gets relocated to a new water source where he will stay put so that he won’t dry up on his own (alone).
Chan Sung, our number 1 coward who should have been deadly afraid, in contrast, did not run away but embraced the danger (the curse). He did not want to leave but he was abandoned for his safety (among other reasons), however he is proactive in coming back, and he’s likely to stick with the hotel wherever it goes, in spite of the constant risk of being near MW. He knows he is not alone and challenges MW to be with him to protect him always.
👍 yes! Ep 9 is about fear and abandonment. The firefly returned because it promised it won’t abandon Manwol. The spirit of the firefly probably felt abandoned again just like the spirit of the well feared being abandoned if he couldn’t produce water so it left first.
Better be abandonER or the person to walk away than be the abandonEE or the person left behind.
CS determined that he didn’t care if she abandoned him bec he’d do the UNcool thing and bother her i.e., cling to her even when she abandoned him already. He thought she abandoned him because he was a nuisance and he was getting in the way of her plans.
He was sticking with her bec his greatest fear is to see her lose her soul and be extinguished forever by MG 4.
In the same way, she worried about his safety and well-being, he was worried about her safety and well-being (or her eternal damnation) too. So he tossed away the potion.
The subs on Viki are terrible in the Ma Go scene. It doesn’t help that the writers are doing another wordplay with cool/UNcool behaviors. I couldn’t make sense of her conversation with CS about leaving or not. Will have to re-do LATER and connect it to CS conversation in Ep 3.
😘 Thanks, @GB! We think alike.
@PKM3 I had no idea what that convo was about either. My subs were from kseries dot net. It might be worthwhile to rewatch for me too. Maybe we can compare notes on that scene? Anyone else understand it?
Dear @packmule3, I am also worried about the long term effect of brainwashing in media.
I come from a country that celebrated the poor woman when she slept with the rich man and preferred the bad boy over the hardworking nerd. We ended up with the one bunny who had five bunnies who had five bunnies each one. Of course there wasn’t the possibility of properly educating nor provide for so much people. Middle classes who commited less self-goals (sabotaged themselves less) were in a better position to get a good education and therefore better jobs than the poor folks. Then a charismatic leader who presented himself as a champion for the people and that said that everything they didn’t had was because the rich and middle class took from them. Eventually the country collapsed.
It is NOT funny to raise to bed everyday in a ruined country.
In K-Dramas a trope that really scares the Hell ot of me is the good girl that finds an obnoxious, toxic man and decides that by knowing him and not letting him go no matter what he does to her then she will discover he always had a golden heart. That is not a sound dating advice.
My money is in Dramas as an escape but also as a distorted mirror in their respective cultures. My bet is that probably Korea with its long working (and studying) hours probably have an unusually high proportion of socially disabled people, and the Government needs to find them partners in order not to get a gray population (a population with very few workers for every retired person).
Of course I can be dead wrong.
Dear @barbrey,
“On the captain, I am somewhat ambivalent. If events went down the way we were told, I can agree with FGB4877 he was doing something dutiful while also agreeing with Pkm3 that he’s an absolute asshole and the last thing we’d want is his reincarnation as a spirit firefly or human being”.
It is said that the ability to entertain two opposing ideas at the same time is the signature of a smart person. I couldn’t agree with you more.
There’s this part of the Well Deity’s situation – that scene about “even if the makgeolli changes its water source, no one will really know the difference as long as the branding is the same.”
Like reincarnation – the exterior doesn’t change (in this drama at least, till now they return with the same faces) but internally they are no longer the same people.
MR giving up on CS as a love interest instead of pushing on (same face, different decision)
Then YW turned up (same face, different “career”)
And then them likely falling for each other..
The only one who is standing still is MW.
Good to know that that is changing too.
@Kaxx, I like your interpretation of that statement about the Makgeolli. The name stays the same, or the label and the outside looks the same, but internally the souls have changed and react differently.
I’m reminded that @packmule3 and I discussed the irony: how although MW herself is the same, she has changed her title and the label of the hotel from guest house to something upmarket, and was upset that Ma Go still called her place an inn. Changing the name did not change the essence of her. In fact she has been only changing her exterior and her label, (as in her endless beautiful outfits), but she refuses to change where it matters, on the inside.
The Episode 3 conversation with MG at the Moon Tree:
“MG: Are you looking at the moon that has come up today? Or the moon that came up a thousand years ago?
MW: They are all one and the same.
MG: (giving her a funny look then changing topic) The flowers in the garden have blossomed brightly. You must have taken good care of your guests so far at the Guest House of the Moon.
MW: I’ve changed the name of this place. It’s not a guest house. It’s Hotel del Luna. Stop calling me an innkeeper. I’m the president.
MG: They’re the same thing. I saw the human who was serving you had left. When he dies, it will soon lead him to life.”
Before this, we had the irony of MW saying about her 48 different Hotel managers: “They’re all the same people. It’s useless to count.” Where it referred to others, each unique individual was subsumed under his title of manager, but MW never changed or grew or improved, although her ‘job title’ did. She is blind to this.
Now she is/will be blindly thinking that the same looking humans are the same as their past incarnations, even though they are different inside. Can we call her a blind hypocrite?
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@Barbrey
“My reservation is that things may not have been what they seem. We didn’t even see her kill the captain. Also, I’m kind of stymied by what sin she committed that was so so egregious.”
I think she went on a killing spree post Captain. One that was not justifiable. It was overkill. Which is why vengeance is never quite just when left to the avenger (one not of the Marvel variety). But it didn’t serve to assuage the bitterness or hate she harboured. Instead it fed it. To the point she was even willing to kill MaGo for saying stuff which annoyed her. Which is why CS is such a mystery to her. He harbours zero ill will to the people he meets. He extends grace to those who don’t deserve it. Which is the very reason I would loathe it if the Hong Sisters somehow turned his story into a “To Be Continued” one of the Captain. They are nothing alike. To use the adage of the Captain just fulfilling his duty as a soldier is an excuse. He shouldn’t have led her on in the first place. He was a soldier, she was a thief. They were never going to have a happy ending. An honourable man wouldn’t have encouraged her and given her ideas. The fact that he did in spite of it makes him out to be an unworthy man in my eyes.
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