I’m dropping this kdrama but I don’t want to leave the others here hanging. You can have this space to discuss, rant, rave, analyze, theorize, and spoilers from now on.
Here’s my last review: Vagabond: Episodes 7 & 8 Breakup
Me to Vagabond:
I’m moving on to ??? I don’t know yet.
“Extraordinary You” has been mentioned several times so maybe I’ll try that one. But I want to watch “My Country” too because of the actors.
Oooh My Country! I’m watching this series. If you ever get to it, write a post if you can 😊
My Coutry is good. I love the war scenes, they’re so “beautifully” filmed.
I’m watching My Country, Extraordinary, and Camellia and I’m finally happy with kdrama-land. My lucky kdrama streak started with Hotel Del Luna. Then I dropped a bunch, including Vagabond and Flower Crew. I’d put the remainder in this order of favorites:
1. Extraordinary You
2. Camellia
3. My Country
4. Tale of Nok Du
I am watching Flower Crew and The Lies Within (on Netflix – so far it’s an intriguing whodunit and I am hooked. Only just started last weekend).
But I have heard lots of positives about Extraordinary You – I watched one Ep. I like how it does parodies of the different tropes in Dramaland… and the female lead is adorable. The difficulty lies in how to delineate between reality and virtual. Especially apparent in the first ep but I am sure it will work itself out in the latter episodes. It should be a fun ride. I imagine there will be lots to analyze?
My Country looks heavy, content heavy. Serious stuff.
So I guess it depends on your mood. 😂.
Ok. Let me watch Extraordinary You then. I’m going to watch a high school football game tonight so I should be in the right frame of mind for a high school romcom when I get home. 🏈 🙂
What episode of My Country are you on already? Can I catch up?
Haven’t watched My Country. I can only do one Sageuk at a time (and 2 dramas at a time) and it looks too heavy for me right now (Lies Within is already heavy). Problem with Extraordinary You is that it’s already onto Ep 6(?) hourly episodes already so it’s a way to catch up. My Country is at Ep4.
That’s true. My Country is heavy. BUT I love that the medic is giving viewers comic relief! He’s actually one of my favorite characters in the show and I hope when the war is over, he’ll become a real doctor in Joseon. 😊
Also, yes. It depends on mood. Sometimes I watch My Country and The Lies Within back to back. Other times, I watch Flower Crew and Camellia (Nokdu and Extraordinary You playing in the background when I’ doing something). Then Begin Again, Trans-Siberian Pathfinders and Three Meals a Day: Mountain Village. 😂 Korean shows have taken over my viewing schedule that sometimes I miss Western shows. Also, I wonder how watching Korean shows is altering my brain.
Hello,
Normally, I’m just a lurker, mainly because I don’t have time to post and also because my English is not that good.
But, this time I’m delurking because I would like (if possible) to recommend you to watch “My Country” and to make comments about it. I think this drama is very enjoyable; however, my main reason to recommend it to you is because I think there is an interesting possible comparison that can be made between this drama and Hotel del Luna.
Before anything, I think I should say that I loved your analyses (and those of the others commentators here) about the Firefly character, they were very on point. And it is specifically about this character that I think comparisons can be made. I can see similarities between him and the second male lead in “My Country” (and it seems to me there are similarities between the Ifans reactions to the former then, and Ifans reactions do the latter now).
Thinking about these similarities made me realize that maybe there is a kind of archetypal character, where we can find the source in Jane Austin’s work. Normally, we think about Mr. Darcy archetype when we think about her works, but I think there is another type of important archetype in her work too: Mr. Willoughby – very charming, dashing, daring, capable of love/be in love, but selfish, greedy, eternally thinking first in his own interests and always suffering because his choices. The Mr. Willoughby type is that who wants to have everything: love and greedy, but when forced to decide will always choose greedy over love, and then will consider himself a victim of the world (and some will think the same, because he is really very very charming, and his suffering is real).
Maybe, I’m totally in the wrong, so I would find awesome if I could read your thoughts about this possible theme/comparison. But, maybe I’m asking too much.
I love My Country for the great actors and the story. I agree it is beautifully done. I can’t believe I’m actually into it. ☺️
It’s on episode 5 as of today.
Been busy too with visiting sister who had her 8th baby and moving office.
Hectic but I’m about to seat down and watch episode 5. Oh wait I have to do laundry 🤣
Aahh! Welcome to the dark side…the Bitch side.
Which Jane Austen book did Mr Willoughby come from? Not P&P, not Emma, not Persuasion, for sure. Mansfield Park? Sense and Sensibility? Is he the guy that the Colonel replaced in that flighty girl’s heart…what’s her name? Mary? Martha?
🙂 I’m not a literature grad as you can tell.
But I’ll consider My Country for my replacement for Vagabond. Haha. You got me curious when you mentioned Mr Firefly from Hotel del Luna. 😂
Your English is great! You should see my Spanish and French. They’re basically nonexistent. So you’re already way ahead of me here.
Congratulations to you, Aunt Agdr03, and your sister! 💐💐
She’s a goddess in my book.
A girl or a boy?
🙂 Don’t remind me about laundry. I’ve to bring our duvet covers to the cleaners. I’m switching to heavy comforters for winter. I told you, right, that I don’t like to iron? 😂 The cleaners can iron then box the covers for storage until next year. If I iron them, I won’t have time to watch My Country and write about it. 😂
Willoughby is in Sense and Sensibility. The cad who wooed Marianne initially. Like Wickham in P&P. Both dashing, smooth talkers, lacking propriety.
Go with My Country then. It’s heavy melo and filled with dark brooding men (hello Woo DoHwan and JangHyuk). 😍
Thank you ☺️ She’s courageous and a very patient sister ☺️ New nephew is named Raphael Michael. We’ve nicknamed him Rapha 😄
I thought it was laundry that you didn’t like 😂 I prefer duvet than thicker comforters. You’re cleaners are great there. 👍🏻I prefer washing the dishes than ironing.
Oh I was thinking whether to watch Reply 1988 or The Great Seducer. I’m intrigued by the latter because of KMJ and Woo DoHwan. He’s great here in My Country. I’ve never watched him before.
😂. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… this is becoming farcical…problem is it wasn’t meant to be and that makes it even funnier 😂. Call Bullet Chicken… 😂. What happened to “The wheels turn on their axis”? Gifs courtesy of katakwasabi.
https://j.gifs.com/q7L9q7.gif
https://j.gifs.com/vlLky8.gif
bullet chicken 😂
I can’t 😂
what “bullet chicken”? Did the guy actually say “bullet chicken” or did the subs translate whatever he said in Korean to “bullet chicken”?
hahaha.
Bullet chicken reminds me of Roadrunner, you know that fast chicken in the cartoon.
Hahahahaha Bullet Chicken. WTH I haven’t seen the new episode yet cause I’m watching My Country.
But who’s “bullet chicken”? GTW?? Don’t tell me GTW’s code name is Bullet Chicken?!
I think he really meant Bullet Chicken 😂… maybe a Chicken Delivery Place? Because next gif in the line up is this. She dials “Bullet Chicken” Place? And places her order… 😂… “Vagabond”.
https://j.gifs.com/wV7lzr.gif
Maybe (the Chicken Place) that’s where they dispatch the agents? 😂. I don’t know…I haven’t been watching, just reading comments… that is enough to keep me bowling over with laughter.
I love that Vagabond is code name for a chicken place. I laughed so much.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/katakwasabi/activity/906073/
I like chicken ahjumma and wished this drama is about her and KTW.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/katakwasabi/activity/906100/
Ooooh a chicken place. I’m reminded of Extreme Job, the Korean movie where the detectives went under cover by running a chicken place. And then their chicken recipe was so good, the restaurant became a success 😂
Lol. I’m not sure if my interpretation of Vagabond=Bullet Chicken is correct. I used the FFWD button a lot and just jumped to scenes to make gifs.
I sincerely hope they will stop with the love triangle. I’m not feeling HR-DG. Forcing a love triangle won’t make me feel anything for them other than annoyance. Especially when KTW is going out of character to make it happen. Sigh
I’m confused with the politics. John and Mark is putting blame on Dynamics for the plane crash. And I still have no clue who is right or wrong. Shadow has been revealed to be the specky secretary.
All in all I don’t understand the motive of the plane crash. Which is the main plot of the drama. Lol
Vagabond, Episode 9. In a flashback, Hoon said his samchun Cha Dal-geon “spits in the streets.” I am dying 😂 ewwwwwwww I don’t ever want to be in Hae-ri’s shoes where I have to fall in love with a guy who “spits in the streets”
So the secretary was Shadow, eh?
The personality fits. I told you it has something to do with his attitude when people asked him out to dinner. Jessica tried it and he ended their call asap.
Then he did the same thing with that Min.
Min invited him to eat out and he walked away. lol.
It was rude behavior but it showed that he wouldn’t tolerate rubbing elbows with these scumbags even though he was one of them. lol.
And yes Dynamics is to be blamed for the plane crash. Edward Park is the evil-est guy there and Micky is the one who killed Michael on his orders. He’s also the Monitor Man…the one who ordered the Raymon the assassin killed.
🙂
Like what @Mslee said: “Well as for me I will stick to watching just to see how this mess will resolve.😛”
Okay. Let me say what I’ve picked from this week’s episode.
1. Go Hae Ri showed a new skill. She’s good in memorization. LOL
2. In episode 10, Kim Woo Gi said something that I found funny because it’s a comment we can relate to most of the time as we watch this drama:
“All that fucking commotion for nothing.” 🤣
3. There’s another scene for high-five! Why do they have to do that again? Not as cringey as their first though. Haha
4. By the way, who else here thinks that there is more chemistry between Lily and the Unkillable Guy compared to CDG and GHR?
His poker face and her cat face and their sarcasm when talking to each other look more like a couple thing than the high five. And this: “I’m sweating in the armpit. Get off me.” 😂😂😂
Even in Ep. 9, these two have short conversations that brought some humor. I want to transcribe it here but I’m dozing off so if I’ve got time, maybe I’ll try tomorrow. 😊
Now it’s clear that it isn’t a war between CDG and the corrupt officials of Korea but a fight between two lobbyists or better say between Dynamics and J&M. It’s obvious though that Edward got more powerful connections than Jessica.
@Storm Moon it does seem like Edward Park was more powerful but the president was also about to choose John & Mark so I’m also a bit confused although I don’t let it bother me because we’ll find out anyway
In Episode 10, I like that Dir. Kang didn’t die. Also, the secondary characters are shining here from Hae-ri’s bestfriend to the chicken restaurant owners and of course Ki Tae-woong. And I agree, the assassin girl and the Unkillable Guy had a moment in the car 😂
I will watch a drama with Assassin Lily as the main character.
whoa! Really? Is Lily back? What time?
She’s a funny character; she reminds me of a Batman evil female character.
Ki Tae Woong shines in ep 10. I joked that he should kill the leads and take over the show…but he managed to do that without actually killing the leads. Good job KTW. Lol! The gunfights are OTT and not logical but it was exciting. Not even one stray bullet hits the good guys and I’m just whatevs. You guys are lucky 🤣.
I won’t mind a Ki Tae Woong and Bullet Chicken ahjumma spin-off drama. Her phone call in ep 9 and she told him not to die was the best moment of episode 9 to me. She was so non-chalant. I like chicken ahjumma and Kim Sun Young playing her makes me like her maybe more than I should. Hahaha.
@katakwasabi Now that’s a good idea. I think Vagabond would have been better if it’s like Jason Bourne and the main lead is Ki Tae-woong and he works with the chicken place owners and Director Kang. If it MUST have romance, then just let him and Hae Ri be together. There’s no need for a love triangle, especially when the other guy is a brash character who spits in the streets. It’s so unsanitary. 😂
I see the chicken place ahjumma everywhere since Reply 1988. In Eun Joo’s Room, BTIMFL, Camellia. She’s everywhere. You’re right, she makes the chicken place ahjumma character more likable.
@packmule3 Oooooh you’re right. Lily is like Harley Quinn!
😂 something must be VERY wrong with the main plot if we start wanting spinoffs of minor characters and start shipping even the most obscure dalliances. Honestly if they had promoted this as a parody of Jason Bourne like Space Balls was of Star Wars I would’ve believed it. 😂
True that. 🙂 Just tell us that it was Chase Ball or Bullet Chicken, and we’d have dumbed down our expectations and gone along with the inanities. But noooo, they have to hype this show as an espionage/thriller/action film.
I blame the writers. The spy thriller writers Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum researched each book they wrote exhaustively before sitting down to write their first draft. The screenwriters of Vagabond, on the other hand ??? They can’t make up their minds whether to fangirl Suzy or Lee Seunggi so we get aegyo moments for “smart” Haeri and chase scenes for the undead LSG.
But oh well.
She plays it like Harley Quinn, right? Although the last Batman movie I saw was the Dark Knight, I do hear the buzz about new characters.
‘the undead LSG.‘
That he is 😄 He faced off with what 8-10 assassins and they couldn’t kill him, not even one shot. He really is unkill-able 😁
Agree that Lily and other bad guy is better than our main pair.
At least for now it looks like there’s more good guys, thanks to Bullet Chicken. I’ll leave it here. ☺️
Good morning! 🌞
LSG is like a zombie. He can’t be killed off. But it would be ironic if after all these death-defying heroics, he’d be killed off in the final scene, and die due to some cold virus or tetanus.
Will somebody please tell me about Lily’s moment with a bad guy? Please? Did it involve handcuffs? hahaha. Which bad guy?
I like Lily because she plays naughty very well. lol. If Suzy Bae can learn to project that kind of deadly naughtiness on screen, she’d be a killer actress.
“he’d be killed off in the final scene, and die due to some cold virus” – packmule3
Cold virus after kissing Go Hae Ri 😂
Hmmm… come to think of it, if Lily is an NIS agent with that attitude, she’d be a better Go Hae Ri right? She’d be a badass NIS agent.
OMG 💡 Lily should have been an NIS agent pining for Ki Tae-woong! Kill off Dal Geon and Hae Ri in the plane, and the whole show is about Lily and Ki Tae-woong taking on the bad guys. A mix of Jason Bourne Ki Tae-woong, Harley Quinn Lily and a little Mr. and Mrs. Smith viiiiibe.
You know, I was just about to say that when I read your last comment.
Lily and Ki Tae Woong would have better — dare I say this? — chemistry. He’s all good and she’s all bad so there’s that tension which is important between leads.
Girl, here are the marks of Lily and that guy’s scenes 😂
Episode 9
7:04 – 7:44 then skip to 48:46 – 49:06
Episode 10
10:06 – 10:26 then skip to 35:26 – 35:44
Thank you, Storm Moon!!
Yes! Exactly! Now I’m imagining how they’d play off each other on screen and it’s making me excited. Sizzling hot. I now demand a spin off or a new show! Lily and Ki Tae-woong deserve a better story. 😂
The coolest characters so far are KTW, Lily, Chicken Ahjumma. I also like Gang and the Bullet Chicken delivery man. He’s a savant right? It looks like the “diversion” scheme was done by him.
What the hay??
Just when I decided to break up with this show, they introduce interesting characters?
“The coolest characters so far are KTW, Lily, Chicken Ahjumma. I also like Gang and the Bullet Chicken delivery man. He’s a savant right? It looks like the “diversion” scheme was done by him.” – Storm Moon
I also like Go Hae Ri’s bestfriend cause she gets things done, and Ki Tae-woong’s sidekick cause he’s the voice of reason.
And yeah, I think the delivery guy looks pabo ish but he’s a genius.
Lollyminx, oh yeah. I appreciate her more in the last two episodes and yes you’re right, KTW’s sidekick is also someone to root for. I hope he doesn’t die in the later episodes.
@packmule3, come back girl! Please watch with us. There are only 6 remaining episodes. So forget about the leads, lol, even just for the sake of the new characters, let’s see it to the end. Haha
I like KTW. He had some savage comebacks in ep10 and it make me like him more. Never thought it was possible to like him more.
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/katakwasabi/activity/907390/
He owned ep 10. He might steal the thunder from both main leads. Wait…this had happened before and it might happen again? Hahahahaha
I’m gonna gif some Lily-KTW moments. There aren’t many. But Lily saying she should be the one who kills KTW…makes me want a new drama for them. Dang. I want a lot of KTW spin-off dramas. A drama with KTW, Lily, Bowl hair assassin, Kang, Bullet Chicken ahjumma and ahjusshi, hamster and satoori friend sounds be awesome. Hahaha 🤣.
Katakwasabi,
I will definitely watch a spin-off like this! Especially if KTW gets an angsty shower scene.
I did not pay attention to the Hoon-Dalgun scene in ep 10…I didn’t notice he said his uncle spits on the streets. Disgusting.
Anyways…here are some Lily and Ki Tae Woong gifs~
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/katakwasabi/activity/907779/
@snow flower…looking at KTW and his mannerism so far…somehow I expect him to be fully clothed for his angsty shower scene. Lol
Hahaha @katakwasabi right? I was laughing so bad when Hoon said that. “He spits in the streets.” 😂 I never want to be in Hae-ri’s position but I guess she has no choice because just like the heroine in Extraordinary You, Hae’ri needs to fall in love with Dal-geun cause the writers said so. 😂
Wait, what? What do you mean “He spits in the streets”?
Did you mean he habitually expectorates or he just ptyalised just one time, for emergency reason, like he was coughing up blood so he hacked it out and spewed on the streets? 😂😈
Gross if he’s a habitual spittoon-er.
The latter – Dal-geun habitually spits in the streets. His nephew said so. 🤭 It’s a flashback at Hoon’s school and he was talking about his uncle in front of the class. Hoon said Dal-geun spits in the streets but he took care of Hoon when his parents died.
Now I feel guilty for making fun of Dal-geun when he did took care of Hoon. 😬 In my defense, spitting is unsanitary.🤭
Thanks for the gifs @katakwasabi!
No problem @packmule3. Gif-ing is 2nd nature now. Hahaha!
Behold my new dream team:
Ki Tae Woong x Lily x Scarface
http://www.dramabeans.com/members/katakwasabi/activity/908158/
Their charisma is overflowing! 😎🌋
Ep 11! Finally we have some smarter NIS agents. There still are random WTH moments, but it was overall fun. It’s better that now I see the agents are doing more agent like stuff and less of Dalgun parkouring around the city.
I’m just gonna assume the drama is not taking itself seriously at all. The bullet chicken place is home for a savant hacker conspiracy theory fan 😆.
Thanks for the update, katakwasabi. I’m traveling right now, so I’m might have time to watch this on the plane. 👍
Look, Go HaeRi is in Sydney. ☺️ Don’t know if it’s for a magazine photo shoot or holiday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4MUY9XBZTC/?igshid=1o7a0s8yxvikx
Last episode done and I’m laughing hysterically right now! 😂😂😂
Good thing I’m not deeply invested on this drama or else I’d feel betrayed or played by for the last few minutes. (And that’s because, for most of us here, the joke has been “detected” since the earlier episodes so no big deal about the absurdity of the ending.)
I couldn’t say I regret finishing this one because I still had a good time and a good laugh. In fact, for most parts, Episode 16 is way better than the previous episodes. It’s just that it looks more like a pause than a stop. Had I not known that today’s episode is the finale, I would think that there’s an Episode 17 coming next week.
HIGHLIGHTS:
*Edward is Samael, the evilest one. (@packmule3 already hinted it a few times from the start.)
*Dal Gun secretly became a mercenary of Black Sun (Edward’s den)
*Everyone thought CDG is dead except for the former president, Lily and the unkillable guy. Yes, until the end, Hae Ri thought he’s burned alive. So she’s out there looking for a chance to avenge his death which she can’t ever do had she stayed as NIS agent.
*Hae Ri became a Top Lobbyist, trained by Jessica. That “bold aura” we were hoping to get from the beginning, it’s here in this episode but only for some short minutes.
*No limelight scenes for SSR.
Sorry, I can’t give longer details. Almost 3AM here and I’m dozing off already.
P.S.
Lily, Lily, Lily! You’ll just love Lily until the end. She has a lot more scenes in this episode.
Pwahahaha.
Edward ✅
Dal Gun (he’s Lee Seunggi, right?) I said he was going to infiltrate or join the bad guys. ✅
Lol. No wonder my first impression post was getting hits/views again.
Thanks for the news!
I’m waiting for the musical to start but I’m glad to hear updates from my “favorite” kdrama. 😂
😂 I am reading that quite literally the drama went full circle…back to where it started with sniper Dalgun (LSG) taking aim at Suzy (she comes out of the car)… and it ended…
The wheels turn on the axis… and they keep turning… no reveal as to who or what Axis is… and the bad guys are still at large. 😂. Lots of incredulous people left befuddled.
Everyone’s saying, that can’t be it? Surely there will be a Season 2? But it sounds like it’s not confirmed 😂. Apparently staff and cast are exhausted (it’s taken 11months to film)…so everyone’s noncommittal about getting back on the horse again after just getting off. Suzy’s supposed to film some movie with BoGum?
I just finished the final episode and it was meh. It definitely was not finished finished. All the bad guys are still out there doing bad stuff. Go Haeri did join Jessica. Nothing from the good guys after she went to prison to get info from Jessica about who Samael is.
Lily and the bad guy are with CD. He was able to kill Jerome finally. I won’t even bother with how all the bad guys got out of prison. LOL.
I agree with someone who said give me back the 16 hours of my life. LOL.
I arrive too late as usual, so I answer this open topic.
I hadn’t seen any dramas or anything for several months.
So I saw “love alarm”, and “vagabond”.
For vagabond, I just read on a blog that the main character was even more incredible than James Bond.
Concerning the plot, your feelings are true, namely who is the main villain. With such a charismatic actor, you can quickly feel it. You’re also right about the fate of the former evil principal.
The drama uses processes as seen in the 24h chrono series or the XIII comic strip.
Betrayals, reversals of situations to unhook the jaw, plots in plots in plots in plots, former enemies become allies, etc..
I really liked that drama! Just because it’s intense and addictive. And very easy to see. I was in the right frame of mind, and I folded it in three days.
The writing is good about the narrative, but the story is scabrous and confusing. This seems inevitable to me, because to obtain a suspenseful effect or a twist, one must not hesitate to make the story a slave to the narrative. Casing suspense scenes is not as easy as it sounds, if you want the story to look like something. All this is well placed in the general chronology.
I’ve written a lot of scripts like this in the past, for roleplaying games. I am well aware of the tricks to be used, so that sometimes it is “far-fetched”, not very realistic. So I’m pretty forgiving.
This drama is a performance. I’ve never seen so many action scenes with an honourable quality in a drama. In addition to that, filming abroad. How is that possible with their budget?! In France, a series had tried to get some action “Braquo”. I had seen the making-of of the show. Just for a scene with one car hitting another, it was an avalanche of expenses. The technical constraints are so enormous.
For me Suzy Bay is necessarily a plus. She brings humour to the beginning of the story. And her charm is irresistible. She has such a pretty mouth. I don’t think she’s phenomenal as an actress, but she’s holding up well. I appreciate her since ” I wish you where sleeping “. That’s more than you can ask an ex-girl band.
The drama contains a lot of flaws, I chose to ignore these. Like sometimes unrealistic scenes. For example, an unarmoured car, shot by assault rifles: the occupants should all be dead ten times. Survival is too often a pure miracle.
A little dumb characters too, like the autistic computer scientist who eats chicken. The super killer is doing a little too much (plus, looking like nothing, she constantly fails in what she does).
Abusive product placement (the scene at subway looks like an ad).
The end which is clearly an indicator “end of season 1”. I think it’s a shame that Korean dramas are moving towards an American style.
Moreover, the whole drama has this American side, as if it were a means of conquering the international market.
Other dramas to advise you, in the style of Vagabond. I know two of them: IRIS and King2Heart.
IRIS: it’s more solid everywhere, the way the story is told, photography, romance, realism, seriousness.
King2Heart: the geopolitical context is very good. The confrontations between the hero and the villain also. And the tension of the last dizzying episodes.
These two dramas are therefore better than Vagabond, which is more of a luxury entertainment.
On the other hand, vagabond is still striking, in the sense that he sets the bar very high, concerning the debauchery of action, in the universe of Korean drama.
There you go, sorry for laying a huge paving stone for a change. And sorry also for my very bad English: -)