The thread is now open for SPOILERS, comments, and theories.
I almost forgot that this is Monday-Tuesday kdrama. I must have been traumatized like this child.
Oh no! What will we watch on Wednesday and Thursday now that “True Beauty” ended??
Let’s enjoy the show.
So, Episode 3 shed some light to Ji Oh’s story.
He is a chimera according to Oh Jong-Hwan.
He is human but his genome was enchanced with animal genes. So he is human and he isn’t. As I have said in the previous thread the primary animal is the electric eel, but the (good) doctor also found jellyfish traits.
I really liked that in this episode Oh Jong-Hwan as a scientist talked about the ethics of science and how he was opposite to the work of his ex friend aka I have the God-Complex Scientist Ryu Joong-Kwon, who wants evolution on the human species no matter what.
Also the surprising thing is that the one who created Ji Oh is Goo-Reum’s missing father. What a twist.
Why did he comply? Was he different from the crazy scientist? He didn’t know what he was doing in the first place? I bet he did. (I really like that actor since he was the HaRam’s Dad in Black Series. )
Still, why did they abandon Goo Reum?
Also, who are these people that they are planting bugs in a police officer’s mobile phone? Does that mean that ranking officials know about the experiments and they are okay with that?
I am waiting for Episode 4 to find out more.
Lastly, the Nun believed that Ji Oh was a demon.
I am not okay with that. The whole scene reminded me how women were burned from the Inquisition back in the days, because they were different – ahem witches. *shudders*
She accused the boy as a demon, but who was the real culprit of the fire ? The whole scenario with the burning church, the accusations and the scene where she was throwing at a kid Holy Water like she was an exorcist was anticlimatic and awful!
I still cringe to what I saw!
Thanks @pkml3. I guessed that you forgot and I knew I’d not be able to catch the show as soon as it was up. I’ll remind you next time!!!
Hi @Cleopatra
I’ve got to work first … watch will take place soon. ∩(︶▽︶)∩
🙂 Thanks, GB.
Hmmm…. I was neutral at the end of Episode 2. And after 3 episodes I normally have a feel for a show, as in I feel positive or negative about it. It’s unfortunately veering towards the negative at the moment.
Reasons:
I should have developed more attachment to our main characters than I have and become more invested in their stories than I am.
Gu Reum keeps getting beaten up and thrown about so badly, but she gets up and walks around fine after that. It beggars credulity and that takes me out of the show.
The editing seems to lack finesse as in music is cut off abruptly.
Show obviously has drones at work for aerial camerawork which is pretty, but I’m not sure how that helps with the plot.
The long sequence with the nun was over the top and unconvincing. She seems demented. Touching the face of an adult, briefly, when 20 years before he was a child with smaller features, and still being able to recognise him as the same person, made me roll my eyes.
Sudden inexplicable out of character behaviour was jarring. Gu Reum didn’t even want to have Zi O sitting next to her in the car but when the nun vehemently rejects him by throwing up, Gu Reum touches his arm consolingly.
Zi O who’s afraid of people, and who generally sits around moping, must needs to confront the demented nun and allow himself to be provoked – at length – so that he blows up. It felt too calculated a scene, and deliberately lengthened.
Episode could have ended promptly after 60 minutes, with that long scene in the church feeling more like filler.
On top of that, there’s this possible red herring? – Show is starting to raise doubts about seemingly nice Det Choi, who handed over the case without us being shown whether he protested or not. Because we did not see that scene, we are in doubt. Det Choi also gave the new mobile phone to Gu Reum with a tracking app activated inside it. This smacks of the same thing that was done to this same actor’s character in Alice that got me upset. At least in Alice we got to love him quite a bit before he appeared to ‘turn bad’, which threw us for a loop, but this show is doing it maybe too soon?
I’m not sure how far I’ll watch. The episodes need to be tighter.
@Cleopatra, I’ve just read your post after I watched Ep 3. Yes, the insisting that the child is a demon is wrong of that nun. There are qualified people who need to investigate and observe before any conclusion is reached. She exceeded her expertise and was most uncharitable.
What I object to actually is how show is again making the Catholic Church ridiculous and adding a negative perspective by scenes of the sort you mentioned.
Perhaps there’s also misogyny in this production. The evil has as its backer a woman cult figure. The ‘foolish’ followers who give her power are females who give up their babies for experimentation. Nuns are made to look like over zealous wannabe exorcists. Even Gu Reum does not appear to be a sympathetic character.
Hey @GB,
I totally understand your frustration. Still, I will give it a try since I feel that the actors are doing their best so far, acting wise.
The director Kim Hong-Sun has directed some remarkable Tv-Series like:
1. The Guest (I want to see that one)
2. Black (That I love for many many reasons)
3. Voice
4. Warrior Baek Dong Soo
As for the Writer-nim Chun Sung-Il, it is the first title of his that I am watching.
I am interested in L.U.C.A., philosophically speaking about the ethics of Science.
And I haven’t watched Alice. So, I cannot say much about that.
Still, I don’t want to think that Chief Choi Jin-Hwan is the bad guy. That would be a bad written cliche. He looks like he cares.
I think that they show Evil / Corruption to its true form, whether is a woman cult figure, the guy who follows her orders and tries to capture Ji Oh, the crazy scientist with the God Complex, or those who are corrupted cops or the killers who have enchanced body parts.
Unfortunately, there is corruption everywhere, that is the message they want to portray. I will answer if they did it rightly or wrongly later on.
I don’t know if they wanted to make the Catholic Church ridiculous. But the whole scene was awful to watch. People always hate what they cannot understand. Those who are different from them, are demons, evil spawns, witches / warlocks.
I will give it a try, although I have also noticed the things that makes you being disappointed.
Another kdrama that bashes the Catholic Church? Should we be surprised, @ GrowingBeautifully?
And yes to the misogynistic overtones. I don’t get these male kdrama screenwriters. (rolling my eyes at the writer of Mr Queen).
Do they really think women are dumb not to read between the lines and see the message they’re promoting about women? I’m not one of those feminist-nazis but these dramas are sure raising my hackles badly.
@Cleopatra and @pkml3
I’m glad @Cleo that you can find some points of interest in this show. I did note that a there are some good themes it could enlarge upon, if it chooses to, such as: the morality of ‘human engineering’ and the question of what makes an individual, human, or conversely, does not being naturally human make one a monster. What rights does he have? Further, what makes one a person. Is being a member of the human species enough to make one a person?
Yes, @pkml3. When in Ep 1 I saw the motif of the red cross and then the cult ceremony, I became wary of how the church was going to be portrayed. A deranged nun, supposedly spewing the Prayer of St Michael against what she perceived as a demon, bothered me. It gave a very wrong image of the attitude of the Church, of what the Church would do, how prayer is to be prayed or even how exorcism is properly carried out. I felt that once again the image of the Catholic Church was tarnished. As for demon possession shows, the kdrama, The Guest did a far better rendition of a priest carrying out exorcism, (although again it had this same actor who’s playing the crazy scientist, as a priest who had turned to the dark side *big sigh*).
I too am not a feminist-nazi, as you say. I’m more for fair drama treatment of all categories of people. However when I start to suspect that there’s some kind of imbalance in a group’s portrayal, it spoils my viewing pleasure.
It’s weird if I’m more interested by the story of the villains’ henchman and the red hair girl than the leads?
I see it coming…
Lock Ji Oh up to run some tests because we all can! *Facepalm*
As it seems, everyone has their own agenda.
Some want to “make a better world”, but what they mean is totally different.
Some want to declare that a “non-human” is out and about in the world.
Go Reum’s dad tried to sell him to another group.
Basically, it’s all about money, fame and glory. *shudders*
Still, Ji Oh holds my interest and sympathy so far.
As it seems, Ji Oh holds the ability to adapt in battle, which sounds good to me, after all that beating he got in the first episodes.
That means his genome sequence is re-writing / re-grouping / re-creating every time he gets attacked.
I have this idea that we haven’t seen yet all his powers manifested.
Also, the Kyosuenim didn’t share some info with GR while he informed her about JO and told her to “Lock Him Up”.
In Episode 5’s preview we get to see that Ji Oh is tired of running away and he decides to stand his ground. Things will start to change.
And we hear Go Reum say : “Don’t leave me until I say so. Ever.”
Now I want to watch Episode 6…
Kalimera from my part of the world.
I have watched the first episodes and I wanted to share the following thoughts.
1. As Sayaris pinpointed above the story of the villain’s henchman and red hair girls are rather interesting.
They were both experts in their army field. The were being set up with killing their teammates. That means Kim Cheol-Soo the man we get to see under the cult leader is kinda powerful. If he can put up such acts in order to make those people be in his team, that means the conspiracy is kinda huge and the corruption is spread like an octopus.
Also, he has disciplines who have enchanced body parts:
Like the red haired girl / Yoo-Na who lost her leg because of the real ammunition in her rifle.
Like the soldier in charge / Yi-Son who lost his arm, because Ji Oh electrocuted and burned his arm.
Although the Yoo-Na told everything about the conspiracy to Yi-Son, he continue being disciplined and focused to his cause, i.e. to bring Ji-Oh to the Crazy Doctor’s Lab.
>>
Unrealistic response to a life altering moment. Yi-Son lost everything, yet he follows blindly orders from the people who ruined his life! I do hope he will “wake up”, if he isn’t dead after the explosion in episode 4.
As for Goo Reum, the Kyosuenim told her very important truths about who she is and what she has to do with her life.
Although, the dear Professor believes that Ji Oh shouldn’t be created and wants him contained in a cage.
The problem is Ji Oh was created. I don’t think that Ji-Oh being contained in a cage will solve the problem that the Crazy Doctor with the God Complex / Ex-friend plus Goo Reum’s father created in the first place.
Also, Goo Reum’s dad helped created this Human – Animal Hybrid. I don’t like using the human exterior + animal interior train of thought of the Professor.
And then he tried to sell Ji Oh to another group in order to gain money.
So Goo Reum’s dad and mommy dearest, are not that innocent too.
Especially as it seems, the story will show traces or more of romance between our main leads. After the Goo Reum’s voice over in Episode 6’s preview the romance is plausible.
As for Ji Oh, so far, he is being chased like a mouse, being beaten up and almost being killed, being betrayed by his only friend, being called names, being under tests in order to find out who or what he is that puts him under huge stress.
Hence his power are resurfacing every single time, creating havoc in the process.
He is also the one who have saved Goo Reum several times since the beginning of the series. As it seems they will save each other!
IMHO, Ji Oh is more humane that all the above characters we have seen so far in the series.
That’s all for now 🙂
P.S. The song I was anticipating from the Series so far is out! Enjoy!
Thank you @Cleopatra for the comments on episodes 3 & 4. I agree that, by comparison, JiOh is indeed more humane than any of the other characters. Despite all the genetic splicing that has gone on to create his physical make-up, he seems to have mutated into a proper human being, leaving all the other characters greatly lacking in the more admirable human qualities.
I was not surprised when JiOh’s friend from the past betrayed him, nor when it became more clear that GooReum’s parents were involved in HumanTech. In fact, GooReum’s physical resilience is becoming more noticeable, so I won’t be surprised if her history includes a bit of genetic splicing as well. She certainly has become obsessively single-minded about revenge for her parents, which can’t be a helpful state of mind for an operating police officer. I also wonder if Captain Choi JinHwan knows more about her than he’s letting on.
The villain YiSon can’t be dead. He has so much to live for, to wit, one of JiOh’s arms.
The field of speculation for this series is broadening and intensifying. Congratulations are in order, I think, for screenwriter Chun SungIl; I really like the way he thinks.
Hi @pkml3 as promised, this is a gentle reminder to open a thread for Episodes 5 and 6 of L.U.C.A. (￣▽￣)ノ
It’s kinda like Frankenstein for the monster theme. Not very original. I think in Awaken, the question was better adressed because the ML was the suspects for the different murders.
Hey @Juriel,
Thank you for your kind words!
I like Ji-Oh so much as a character. You are right about GooReum’s genes. It makes sense why Ji-Oh doesn’t find it a threat. He told her about it. She is the only one that his skin is unaffected!
As for Yi-Son, you are right he has to be alive. I also wait a change of sides at some point.
Let us all enjoy Episode 5&6 🙂
Hey @GB !
@Sayaris I agree about the Frankenstein homage. I wrote it in Episode 1&2 thread. Still, I enjoy it so far and I don’t mind this intextuality.
So far, the k-dramas I have watched are connected with a book or a theme or mythology or an idea. So, it’s okay. What I like about it, is the conversation about the ethical part of these tests.
So far, as @Juriel commented as well, Ji-Oh, as the non-human, is more humane than “the humans” around him.
I remember watching many many years ago Seaquest DSV. If you can remember Warrant Officer Anthony Piccolo, he was genetic engineered as well.
I love sci-fi and fantasy genre. So I am open to many things, as long as they are well written and executed efficiently. 🙂
@pkml3 I’m not sure if this is going to be an ongoing BoD show, however it’s Monday over here, and if some Bitches want to discuss the show, then the next episode thread is due!
Ok. Will open thread tomorrow morning. Left my laptop on the kitchen counter and we were almost halfway to the beach house when I remembered! Senioritis….