We’ve been going over this all morning, and that’s why I love you, ladies. We don’t mind spending time over details.
You’re all correct.
I blame the actor, director and editor for sloppy work. Sigh….
A = Half of the flute that was aimed at the (child’s) left side of the throat
B = Half of the flute aiming for the (child’s) right side of the throat
Uncle SEEMED to be stabbing child with Flute A, that is, the child’s left side.
But if we look closely, Flute A wasn’t digging into the skin.
Then, the camera moved the spotlight to the signet ring. The two halves of the flute were visible here. We see Flute B in the shadowy background.
But the next shot is taken from a different take or footage. The editor just put the two different footages together.
We “see” (or envisioned) that the Flute A was still pointed at the left side of child’s neck. But the look at the length of the flute and compare it with the previous screenshot.
That was inept. Actor should have remembered exactly how he had been holding the flute before the director called, “Cut!” so he could hold it again in the SAME way when the director called, “Action!”
lol. But of course, it’s possible, too, that the director told the actor to grip the flute higher.
That’s why it looked like Uncle was just squeezing the neck here. Flute A seemed to have disappeared because it was covered by that big hand.
Then the film editor again inserted another footage here. Notice that the Uncle was still stabbing the boy’s throat but he was using the left hand.
This was Flute B.
But I get now why there was a confusion. It was also ineptness.
The director called “Cut!” and continued with a second camera to shoot from above. To avoid confusion, he should have shown two hands here, so the viewers would know that the Uncle’s left hand was using Flute B to dig into the throat, AND his right hand was still holding the other flute against the boy’s left side.
Showing both hands would have oriented our eyes which hand is which.
Besides, in that screenshot, the Uncle’s right hand seemed to have dropped out of sight although we knew that the Uncle’s right hand was still gripping Flute A.
Then, this was shot from another camera. A camera was pointing upwards.
Then, another camera and angle. (Poor child! How many takes did this scene take?) The boy was wrestling with his uncle.
Another angle. Extreme close up to show that the crown prince was about to die.
Another shot from the other side. Yes. Flute A was there.
See it in the corner? You can see that it wasn’t sticking into the throat.
Here, this shot was deceptive. If the camera had lowered a bit, then viewers would have seen that there was no blood coming out where the Flute A was in contact with the skin.
Another camera angle.
Crown Prince’s hand dropped to his side. The Uncle’s right hand was still holding Flute A. But now we see that his right hand had stabbed him with Flute B.
I must say this however. This is a very good camera shot. It’s the one I like best in this whole 2 minute segment. The composition was good.
1. It was shot from below. Shooting from this angle emphasized the power of the Uncle. He was bigger and lethal.
2. This shot was askew. Or what’s known as Dutch Angle. I said this before. Dutch angles are used to add to the feeling of chaos and madness. We’re accustomed to seeing images right-side up, like in picture frames. So when the images are askew like this screenshot, we feel unsettled and we get this unconscious need to straighten a picture frame or this image.
This diagonal shot stressed what we were feeling: that the world has gone mad. An uncle killing his nephew. A madman in control of the powerful flute. Yes. This angle was the right choice.
3. Black and white. The uncle is black and the child is white. Black and white is the classic colors to denote good vs. evil.
4. Up and down. The figure of the child is hovering over the uncle. The child is up while the uncle is down. That’s another classic construct of good and evil…with good associated with the heavens and evil with the underworld.
5. The central point is the flute stabbing LG. Our eyes gravitate towards that.
6. But look at that… around the uncle’s head. Did you see that? There’s a halo made of rainbow colors around his head. Why is that?
So yes, this is a good camera shot. It conveys the theme of this whole kdrama.
Then crash. The ceiling burst.
Uncle let go of him. We see left side of the boy bloodied. We assumed that was where flute stabbed him.
But that blood there was spewing from an open wound. That’s just blood from Uncle’s hand.
His neck was definitely wounded but it wasn’t from Flute A.
But I can understand why the viewers thought that the Flute A, pointed at the left side of the child, was the one that caused injury.
Grrrr, Actor.
Boooo, Director.
Hisssssss, Editor.
Good job, cinematographer.
Thank you for taking the time to sort us out, @packmule. 😁🍪🍪🍪
Did it make sense though? Did I miss out on something?
To think that the bad guy could have just taken a gun and shot him in the head…
That would have made the situation less confusing and the crime quicker, and more importantly, more efficient!
These big bad guys always go overboard in style. 😀
Yes, thank you, @Packmule3.
Because LG got stabbed on the right side of his neck by the flute and is left with a scar (the mark of the flute), I suspect there’s a tie-in with Lee Gon’s right shoulder getting the magic zap whenever he’s in the presence of a thunderstorm in either world. We have yet to learn if:
-Lee Lim experiences the same phenomenon. If so, then it has nothing to do with being scarred by the flute.
-The repeated zapping will have a cumulative effect on Lee Gon.
-The fire-web markings that appear on Lee Gon’s shoulder indicate he has a special connection to the portal, which shows the same markings on the obelisks as they become visible. Lee Gon didn’t experience this pain before going through the portal, even though he had the scar and possessed half of the flute since he was age eight. Carrying the marks of the flute and the portal on his body may make Lee Gon magically stronger than Lee Lim.
@WEnchanteur, right! And the bad guys always monologue too, giving enough time for the mystery rescuer to appear.
@welmaris I only made the link when you mentioned it in the other thread about Evil Uncle’s right hand man in the other post. This man had a scar in his right shoulder too? Similar to the right shoulder fire web markings from the lightning LG had? I thought if it had anything to do with his neck scar, the epicentre of the scar would’ve originated from the neck scar but it looked to be a totally separate thing? Anyway I need to watch Ep4. I am behind.
^argh I made no sense. I meant the epicentre of the fireweb markings during the lightning event. I need a second cup of coffee.
Although… didn’t TE slap him on his right shoulder as she headed out to the toilet after their dinner date? The scene where he ordered more takeaway and she came out later and complained about how expensive the bill was. Could well tie in with why he doesn’t like being touched. 🙂
My next comment was lost… TE slapped him on his right shoulder as she headed out to the toilet when they had dinner (ep3). Might also tie in with why he doesn’t like being touched.
Maybe the scar placement doesn’t matter. Recent episodes show King Gon in pain with strange markings to his back and shoulders. This theory may be farfetched, but in being stabbe d by the flute, did King Gonactually become the flute-the personification of the flute and all its power? And does that set upthe ultimate battle of good and evil with the king in possession of the sword too?
Gon is the boy who lived. He’s a hocrux with flute powers. Evil uncle is voldemort. They will battle it out and only one will survive.
Out of scar topic….I really want to see Luna and how she ties to the whole plot. I want her to appear or be talked about so we can get more info either she is good or bad. I’m hoping Luna is the bad evil controlling evil uncle.
@katakwasabi good analogy 😂. There’s a Luna in Harry Potter as well. She was actually one of my favourite characters. I actually preferred her to Ginny (in the movies) and also to a certain extent in the books. 😂
Thanks for sorting this out @pm3! You’re a champ! At least we know the scar is on the right spot but just disappeared for a bit when LG wore that pink sweater.
Thanks @pkml3
Such interesting comments here!
@Welmaris
That’s what I was saying too… might Lee Gon encompass more and more of the portal? According to the info on the show, he’s supposed to close the portal. Might that include sacrificing himself? (If we take Goblin’s case, killing the baddie meant that Goblin had to die, so yeah.)
@nrllee I understood what you are saying. We do not see any other scars on LG. The fiery web has not left behind a mark until lightning (and thunder?). I’m guessing that it was activated by going through the portal and goodness knows why lightning (and thunder?) should cause the pain.
The henchman of LL had what looked like a burn scar permanently on his shoulder. But his henchman had not gone through the portal.
Yes, if the flute had caused the damage to LG that now manifests as the fiery web, then we should have expected the spread of the web from the original scar, but we don’t see that.
I’ve got to re-watch … but that thing about being touched by JTE causing the fiery web… I thought she slapped his left side as she walked behind him from his left to his right. I have to stop motion it!
If her touch has such dire consequences, then their being together is jeorpardised. And they were in close quarters on that horse, so, is he now going to get fiery web breakouts on his chest and hands as well? LOL.
@Old American Lady
This is such an interesting thought. On the one hand some of us are toying around with the idea that LG is taking on the properties of the portal. Here is a thought that he’s become the personification of the flute.
I’d like to think that the reason the flute comes along once in 20 years, is to let the King use it for good. Magically, the flute seems to have a soul of it’s own, since it can call out to LG, and possibly, it might choose to inhabit a good soul, his soul, in particular, for it’s own safe keeping, since it got broken. Perhaps it’s been asleep for over 20 years, but the portal has woken it up.
The lightning (and thunder) with lots of rain, might be the stuff of the supernatural. We wait to see how the ‘weather’ ties in with the fiery cracks/web and shoulder pain.
@Katakwasabi
I like this. It’s so apt. If Jo Yeong is the Unbreakable Sword, then LG is the magic flute.
Together, they may actually be able to use the flute powers to do some great good.
Currently, however, we are at the stage where LL and LG, becoming aware that the other knows of their existence, are going to gather forces for battle.
I guess these episodes we’ll see which elements will be arrayed and under whose command, and why, and if anyone remembers that there is also a quest to get the flute back into one piece … or have it totally encapsulated in LG. 😁
“ I’ve got to re-watch … but that thing about being touched by JTE causing the fiery web… I thought she slapped his left side as she walked behind him from his left to his right. I have to stop motion it!”
You’re probably more right. I just thought it was unnecessary for her to slap him as she walked past. 😂 Maybe it was just to highlight her irreverent behavior, nothing more.
Did some thinking. What if the flute is both evil uncle and Lee Gon? The flute is split in half, and during that process both evil uncle blood and Lee Gon blood seeped into the bamboo flute.
So…both will have to die to end the flute effect.
I need more details. I wish this was a movie so I don’t have to wait long to know what’s going on. Hahahaha
I don’t want LG to die. 😁 Maybe LG will be more powerful because he was marked by the flute as @Welmaris said. Also he heard the flute sound when it was still a whole piece so I think he’s definitely ahead of uncle there.
He just needs to decide which universe he wants be in before he closes the portal. And that’s the end? 🤔😂
@nrllee, I just saw the scene of TJE hitting LG on the shoulder and it was his left shoulder that she struck. So the fiery web may have nothing to do with her hitting him. Now the question is why he feels pain at that spot. Why not at the neck scar? So we wait and see.
Thanks @GB. So irreverent of her. 😂.
@nrllee,
I quote you :
“Did anyone think there was a time skip? I thought it was odd that TE handed in the form and asked when her new ID tag would be ready and the lady replied usually in a few weeks…then TE said, “O so end of Oct then?”…then when ShinJae hands her the ID tag, she looks at the back and sees that it’s 11Nov. Which was “today”…she didn’t seem to think that it was Nov11 and the boys had to tell her that it was? Unless I missed something?”
Yes, it’s a very confusing moment, as the drama is full of it.
I didn’t understand anything in that scene. It doesn’t look like an ordinary elipse.
It’s as if TE had missed several weeks, that she had travelled to the future. Or that her character lived a month without being aware of it. Her thinking stops in October, and she comes back into her body a month later.
So either that or it’s just something very badly rendered by the drama or the script.
In addition to this kind of moment, there are tons of strange and diverse characters or scenes, often with a lot of confusion because some characters look alike or echo others.
I have the impression that the drama is still in its set-up phase, even after 4 episodes. There’s really a lot of detail, and foreshadowing.
At the moment, I’m not re-watching anything. I think that every detail I miss, that raises an unknown mystery, or every moment I don’t understand is a normal process of the viewer experience.
I like being surprised, or discovering later that something I didn’t understand, that I had forgotten or barely saw, causes a twist. That’s the point of this kind of process, by the way. To deliver unclear information that prefigures future plots. It’s a pity that this isn’t done as part of a more exciting narrative.
Either this confusion and unreadable accumulation is normal and intended to disorient.
Or the viewer is supposed to understand more or assimilate what is happening, but in this case it is too badly done to do so. Never mind, I take the drama as it is presented without tiring myself out. I don’t re-watch a drama until it’s finished, if I liked it, and then I enjoy looking for the details, or understanding what I didn’t understand the first time.
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