The thread is now open for spoilers, theories, and comments.
I also saw this poster released last January. The tagline at the bottom said, “one world, two futures.”
According to soompi —
The producers of “Sisyphus: The Myth” commented, “On January 1, the gate to 2021 has finally opened. In order to celebrate this moment and greet the new year, we have released a launching poster that symbolically captures the key message of ‘Sisyphus: The Myth.’”
They continued, “Please tune in to find out whether Tae Sool and Seo Hae, who face the destiny of ‘one world, two futures,’ will be able to open the gate to the second future after waging a fierce battle. Please look forward to the beginning of their epic journey to save the world.”
source: soompi
Let’s enjoy the show.
Thanks for the poster @pkml3.
So show is limiting it to 2 futures, which is a relief.
Park and Sigma and even Hwang are still positing that there is just 1 future and nothing will change. SH in particular is working to change the future.
I’m feel Tae Sul is on that same page as her yet. He has more immediate concerns, ie to get hold of Sigma to save his brother, and keep SH and himself alive. If in the process, the world does not face a holocaust that’s great, but I’m not sure Tae Sul actually thinks in terms of saving humanity, since the war is not imminent to him.
So the producers tell us that there will be a fierce battle. While with SH the battle will include combat of some kind, I feel that with Tae Sul, it will be the battle of wits, more McGyvering and fancy programming to undermine what Sigma has planned.
I forgot to click the Notify option. Sigh. So here goes.
One world, two futures… and so many pasts in order to change the outcome. The first future has already happened (nuclear catastrophe), the 2nd future i hope is a happy ever after. I’m rooting for the OTP to win.
Looking forward to the new episodes!
Hey @Packmule3, @GB and @Janey!
I am glad they are narrowing it down. It is already chaotic to understand how many Timelines are happening simultaneously, hence the bloopers or Easter bananas.
Seriously, after I saw the Wedding picture without Seo Hae’s handwriting at first, and then in the next sequence it was there, I was WTH…
BUT, in order not to lose my mind, I am still rooting for the hypothesis I wrote on the Bloopers or Easter Bananas thread.
Since, they are changing bits and bites in the present Timeline with the *different aka new* choices they are making, (so far, they cannot prevent the catastrophe, nor their deaths,) then it is possible the current Timeline, to be altered with these variations.
Like Jung Hyeon-Gi came back to see his dying mother and his current self was merged with his past self and this has changed the way he shoot Seo Hae – in the leg – in this Timeline.
Still, we shall see! Let’s enjoy Episodes 9 & 10!
I agree. For Taesul, the war is an abstract concept since he didn’t see it and live through it.
It’s an entirely different matter for Seohae. She was a survivor of the war so she knew the horrors. and she’d prevent the war. Hmmm. I wonder if she’d be willing to kill Taesul to stop him. 🙂
I think the Hyung doesn’t want her around Taesul because Taesul might do something stupid and heroic (like dying for her) just to keep her alive.
As for the confusion about uploaders being created in 2021, I think Taesul built the prototype — or even finalized the blueprint — in 2020 before he died. I checked again what Seohae said about the uploaders. She said, “It was around 2021 when the uploaders appeared.”
One possibility is that after Taesul died, the technology transferred to Sigma and others produced it.
I did a sneak peak before work and got halfway. Sweet time at the theme park. SH and TSul will meet young SH and her mom. We will get an answer on why her mom was the one who closed the bunker door. And surprise, surprise – the parents knew the nuclear catastrophe is coming!!! 😮
I just finished ep 9! 🤭🤭🤭🤭 So Mr. Park knows he is gonna escape and Sbecause history is on repeat.
We got D-day happening as flashback. PD nim, you dont waste bombs by shooting them into the water in targetted attacks. That is ridiculous move dude🤦🏻♀️
We got JS doing role play in assisting TS – comic gold.
We got to see origin of SH’s wound on her left side.
We got SJ being very involved in the CB x probably sigma too. She was the on there when TS was caged. Eddy gonna get dump as he should for being stupid.
We got TS coming to save his girl.
And we got daddy coming from future to save his girl😂😂😂
Let the battle begins!
@Janey. Daddy is military personnel. A lieutenant. He got intel. The country has prepared bunkers in selected areas in the cities but I wonder why people didn’t go there. Shouldn’t there be some sort of emergency drill when they built those thing? Even if the door was malfunctioned, desperation would make them try harder to open it, no? 🤦🏻♀️ Aigooo PD yaaaaa 😅
One more before I go to bed,
The Chief said SH will disappear with three shots of that FOS protein breaker. She got three shots by end of ep but she is still very much standing in the preview😅
Haha. Tell me more about Jaesun!
I like calling him Jaesun rather than Sun because that’s his real name and it sounds like Jason.
Did you mean the three deep scratch marks on her left forearm? They did look nasty.
The daddy (in the present time) must have known about the apocalypse and Taesul’s involvement because he was adamant that Seohae avoided TS when she went back. He must have known that the two of them started this whole business.
The Hyung and the Dad both thought Seohae being in the company of Taesul was a bad idea.
I can’t watch till I get home so thanks for the spoilers. 😔
@Miracle3 – I was curious and confused on SH mom’s words to SH on “I’ve been to the future and we will meet again” or something like that. I have to rewind to get the exact quote.
I agree, people should be going to shelters logically. As part of military, the dad should have been inviting others to go with them to a bunker, right?
Wait. What did you mean by water? The water reservoirs?
Targeting water is a good military strategy, miracle23. Especially if it’s water supply that’s going to flow into citizens’ homes. You can’t be drinking contaminated water.
That’s why in the event of a terrorist attack the water reservoirs are guarded. People can last longer without food but not without potable water.
@Janey I did a fast watch, but I did rush through all of Ep 9.
I noticed that the music of the Opening Credits has changed. More sombre as befits the episode with memories of destruction. I like how TSul has started fighting back in his own unique way, and with Sun in tow. What an incongruous pair!!
So SH and Park know what’s about to happen. They can plan ahead with their foreknowledge. Sigma too, probably… which is why he’s where SH and TSul are.
Now that we know where the ICB is, it’s no wonder that a nuclear strike didn’t affect those who were in custody.
It’s interesting that TSul seems to want to take responsibility for messing up (in the future). He’s still full of himself as the one and only Mr Fixit. His plan is to locate Sigma and then to fix everything (before it happens).
He plans on saving the world and then taking a vacation in Hawaii on Nov 1, 2020, with SH. SH said she’d been living on canned food for 15 years… 2020 + 15 = 2035. So she should be 23 or 24 years old. She glitches when her young self is near by.
She gets 3 jabs of someething that is supposed to make her dissipate and disappear… but so far she still looks like she’s in one piece. The preview gets me thinking that we’re having another deus ex machina of some kind, maybe. Someone comes who can save her??
More later… gotta sleep!
@pm3, ahh water reservoirs.. that make sense. But they are not nuking yet. And they were shooting the river? 😅😅😅 those initial attacks should hit the bridges, me think😅, not the river. The nuke came at an exact time in which daddy and mommy were in the know. Dad put his watch on a timer for the nuke attack.
JS is role playing as eddie🤣🤣🤣 The casting director is TS himself.🤭🤭🤭 and TS has machine that can make contact lenses at his house! Good bye Ethan Hunt! Hello, TS! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
The wound was the one at her stomach that looks like knife wound. Was a graze from bullet.
@Janey, right? I would do that if we already have such emergency plan in place. And yes mom’s words about being in the future got me raising an eyebrow too. Could she also mean like she is gonna watch her daughter from heaven? Mental note.
You made me watched Episode 9 tonight! LMAO!
Tae Sul wanted to celebrate Seo Hae’s birthday. Present Self was with Omma for the same reason. Tae Sul had an encounter with the little Seo Hae, until Sigma called and ruined everything.
The million dollar question: Who are you going to save?
The Girl or The World?
We already know the answer. Tae Sul always saves the girl.
We also got more info about what happened in the future.
Missiles and a Nuke hit Seoul, by whom?
1. Sigma?
or
2. Another State?
I think that Sigma manipulates more than we know.
My favorite scene from tonight’s episode?
Tae Sul: A MacGyver Knight in a hoodie came to rescue our girl!
P.S. Who is Agnes, that knows how to save Seo Hae?
(Park said that name to Tae Sul.)
P.S.2 Jung Hyeon-Gi you are a handsome piece of s@#$@#%#$#$… (sic)
I just watched episode 9!
Very little to say on a first viewing, other than:
This drama continues to be awfully good!
Just the first scenes of the episode: who could not like this?!
I wonder if the control bureau agent Broker Park meets is not himself, younger?!
Strange thing happened while I was trying to watch during lunch time – Netflix subtitles disappeared! It was there in the morning and then gone (only for Sisyphus) and even on the parts that I already watched. What is going on?!! Was I in a liminal time phase? I hope the subs are back tonight.
Let us know @Janey if you encounter TS and SH and if it’s the past, future or present 😂
I’m watching it now and subs are there. ☺️
I liked that TS said they need a break and it’s because SH’s birthday. No need to brag that he knows it’s her birthday though. 😄
Yes the subtitles are working! Watching from the start.
“Who are we waving at?👋 👋” ICB and Sigma, of course!
Churro is over 45cm! Thanks TSul for the info.
Do we know which timeline they got married in? I’m clearer on things thanks to packmule3,
nrlee and wechanteur, but I’m still confused on the romance portion. I realize in this episode’s timeline we see the beginning of them developing heart eyes, but in most other episodes the relationship has seemed very platonic/bickery/siblingish. It’s almost like they’re only even aware of each other romantically because they’ve seen the wedding photo. Why/what happened in that previous timeline that made them fall in love and get married? I would say it could be a type of marriage of convenience except she writes in the diary that she loves him. Can someone explain this to me?
Have we narrowed down the amount of times she’s time traveled (thankfully narrowed down to two futures)?
Tae Sul hidden love confession : We should go in Hawaï. 🙂
Date of the trip is 01/11/2020 if I remember. So one day after all disasters.
Tae Sul operation at Control Bureau hospital : look like a “mission impossible” trope. But things are too easy, maybe because it’s ICB. 😉
I Wonder if the hospital mean also soldiers we see in the future at hospital (episode 8) are ICB in the future.
The change of musical director has not been convincing so far. And even rather counterproductive.
I don’t remember hearing the background musics of episode 9 before. And the new musics are not as dark and deep.
There is one that is well placed: 21:55, car chase. effective.
And this one badly placed, even if the music itself is good, it doesn’t fit the scene: 39:50, Seo Hae injection.
@Birdie,
We cannot know how many times the infinite – so far – loop has been repeating itself.
What we know is that somehow Seo Hae went back in time (maybe she missed her mother?) and her path crossed with Tae Sul.
@Packmule3 explained in a thread the same thing in TKEM, about the FIRST time Lee Gon went to Republic of Korea and he found Tae Eul. Hence their story started as well.
Back to Sisyphus, in that FIRST timeline Tae Sul fell in love with Seo Hae and got married as well and somehow she was killed – I don’t think it was Sigma around the first time it happened -, so he build the Uploader and the catastrophe begun. Since then, they are repeating the same cycle over and over again with Sigma being a part of the loop.
Also, I think that Gang Dong-Gi (Seo Hae’s Dad) got the info about the Nuke from his grown up daughter from the future and not because he was a Police Officer.
As it seems ICB doesn’t know everything and they cannot prevent anything.
Eddy is so dull and uncharismatic that everyone forgets about him.
When he gives a talk, no one applauds, and I guess when he’s on TV, everyone changes the channel.
Anyone can dress up as him, no one notices the difference. lol!
I cried with young SH and Mom scene. 😢
So JS can pretend to be Eddie because they didn’t see Eddie before because he was just TS’ assistant?
Yes, 3 injections but SH is still ok. If it’s not a hat/cap, it’s a hooded jumper. 😃
The Control Bureau was really effective during this episode (for the first time!).
Not only, they manage to catch Seo Hae, but they also have to control that ball and chain of Jung at the same time. So they have a handicap in their own team. 🙂
This episode is awesome. It is daunting to see the war scenes. There are some comical parts which exceed my expectations. Like TS choosing the ice-cream, and getting JS to copy Eddie’s eyes.
Oh yes! TS confession! I went back to ep 1 to check. He said “If I ever fall in love with someone, I want to take her there.”.
I hope they can meet each other there on 1 November. A point they never could before.
Questions remains if TS succeeds in saving the world, will SH disappear and merge with the younger SH. So far it seems that since the future SH is the one who flickers not the younger SH, I am not sure if the future SH can stay. Those injections that can make SH disappears – I hope there is a reversal of those that can keep SH here.
Also if Sigma invested in Q&T, the hospital is funded by their foundation, ICB is underneath the hospital, are they somewhat linked? Not sure how a foundation works, but I would thought Chairman who is closer to the day to day running of Q&T would know that. He could act on Sigma’s order to host ICB. Having said that, this theory may not work, as ICB is funded by the Lotto funds and the ICB boss knows nothing of the future.
Yes TS in this episode is just as cool as Ethan Hunt if not better lol!
Hey, agdr03. Watch Takane and Hana with me?
Poor Eddie. He’s really just a “stand-in” for the real CEO, isn’t he? Reminds me of some prince named Harry. 😂😂
I liked Taesul’s hoodie here. It was appropriate. Did you notice? It said “The Resq and Co” because he’s going to “rescue” Seohae? The Resq and Co is a real korean brand.
Oh I did read TS’ hooded jumper so its perfect for the scene! Nice! It’s good it’s not black. 😁
Stand-in Prince 👍🏻😂 I actually like him but when she came I had massive doubts. Ok! 🤐
Sure! Sure! Takane and Hana. Are we watching now? I’ll read up on your post about it. I was watching this Demon Slayer on Netflix that eldest son said to watch with him. But I watched a couple more episodes. 😊
sure sure! Takane and Hana.
Yes, the Control Bureau doesn’t know anything definitively. You see, they’ve been gathering information through the interrogation of captured illegals. The Chief warned Hyunki that the illegals lie. If they said it was going to rain the next day, they could be passing on wrong information to mislead the CB.
And yes. We can’t know how many times they’ve been reliving this cycle. I don’t think however that each loop duplicates itself in the same exact way. The big events, as listed on the back of the photo remain the same but there are slight variations leading up to the big events.
That’s how the Hyung’s words about choices become relevant to the story. They were prophetic. He said that choices mattered. If everything simply repeated itself in the SAME EXACT way, then choices wouldn’t really matter. But the Hyung insisted that good choices made a difference.
That said, there can only be two possible outcomes:
Future A: war
Future B: peace
They’ve always ended up with Future A. They haven’t figured out a way to stop the war and achieve Future B. Maybe this time, they’ll succeed.
Hey @Packmule3 Kalimera to you!
I agree with you that each loop doesn’t duplicate itself in the same way.
I was pretty sure that variations happen and those variations might change the outcome.
I am in a Lee Gon mode, so I will say that the Timeline changed in TK:EM when those varations aka the character’s personal choices were altered the last time.
I strongly believe that something like this will happen in Sisyphus as well.
Also, I have noticed that noone commented about it, but who is Agnes?
I rewatched episode’s 10 and we get to see two things:
1. A new character enters into the game : Agnes, that captures TSul, because he tried to find a medicine to save the glitchin Seo Hae.
2. SH’s dad meets with Hyeon Gi and demands to know why is after his little girl…
Yes, I also believe that this time they’ll succeeed, but not all cards are on the table yet…
Ep 10 is out already? Wow! That was quick! And there’s a new character.
I haven’t watched the whole episode of Ep 9. I just went to watch the ending. Maybe I can watch both today.
Hey @Packmule3,
I saw that I forgot to write above : “Episode 10’s PREVIEW”.
I don’t know if it is out yet. It is 20:37 in Seoul atm.
Still, who is this woman and how does / can she can help TSul?
Hi @Cleo, I think I was the only one who was speaking of ‘Agnes’ but cryptically. I said in my first post upon watching the episode that she looked like another ex deus machina, but I didn’t name her. Out of the blue, someone who can help SH recover from glitching and disappearing turns up in Episode 10!!! I hope they make more of Agnes since she has to turn up this late in the show.
I believe in happy endings for shows with this well balanced between- serious-and-light tone (so unlike L.U.C.A which gave me depressing vibes) and therefore I expect that our protagonists will make enough little changes so that the big events get pushed and the worst is averted.
A question that popped into my mind was that, if SH’s parents knew about the nuclear bomb and exactly when it would fall, why didn’t they get out of town earlier. Strangely, in the car, mum said that there was still time and it was going to be ok, but then the first missiles flew past them. So how could they get the timing so wrong!
So in this timeline, SH could tell her dad to start leaving town much earlier and that could make events turn out differently.
I hope to have time to do a proper re-watch but the next episode will be out in a couple of hours too. So much to do, so little time!!!
@pkml3 @Cleo Episode 10 will be airing in a 15 minutes… or rather the adverts will be airing after the Show’s first opening credit image. The ads will run for something like 30 minutes at times before the show proper starts. I think I’ll spend the time re-watching Ep 9 and then come back to Ep 10 when the subs are out -it’s very quick for this show… around 2 hours after the show airs, most of the subs are in. This tells me that show is very popular. I don’t look up ratings so I don’t know for sure, but I find that popular shows get subbed faster.
I think this one will be a happy ending, too.
Even though Taesul is fated to die on… when’s that again? October 31? Or Oct 30? October 31st is the “Day of the Dead” or Halloween here in the US. That sounds ominous.
Btw, did he just book a hotel in Hawaii on November 1? Lol. Isn’t that “All Saints’ Day”?
Hey my lovely @GB,
I just re-read your comment. I was not remembering what you wrote exactly, If I did I would say so!
I think that Agnes is not an Ex-Deus-Machina. She has reappeared in the loop before, hence Mr. Park knew about her.
The thing is, if this time she will change her approach / choice for some reason unknown that will alter the current Timeline.
As for what you said about the bombing timing. I think that maybe in the previous timeline let’s code it as (N), the missiles started falling earlier than in the previous timeline or (N-1) timeline. Hence the problem with time.
@Packmule3
Both of them are going to die in October 31st. Since in the grave SH were two human remains, I believe they buried them together.
Still, Hwang Hyun-Seung of ICB is stupid? He is asking what Seo Hae is doing with TSul? I mean after all this time(s), he doesn’t know anything. That was something to chuckle about…
@GB,
Since, the series are not open to us yet, I don’t know how fast they are subbing it! From your experience, I get this is really fast!
These days I am watching Series with English subs. The other day, I had english subs On and I haven’t realized that I was not reading in greek…LMAO!
TS booked 2 villas in Hawaii for November 1. 😊 I feel a happy ending too.
@Cleopatra 👋🏻 @GB 👋🏻
Hey @agdr03!
Good to see you! Are you okay now?
What a gentleman. He booked two villas so she wouldn’t feel pressured to share his bed? 👍😝
Every time, they defy a dire prediction, hope builds.
Yes @Cleopatra 😘 thank you. Nice to see you here too. I hope you and your family are well?
@agdr03,
You are welcome. I haven’t spotted you online before!
We are all okay, although this COVID19’s wave is stronger and has been affected several more people than before.
We all know someone who had been positive these days. I stay calm. I cannot do otherwise since I am using the metro to go at the office.
Hopefully, things will change. Spring is around the corner and we have the Equinox as a validation!
@Cleo, yes, I remember you mentioned that you were watching Start Up in English and didn’t even realise it! LOL. That shows that you’re so at home with English it hardly matters which subs you read.
@agdr03 @pkml3 @Cleo
Yes, I like that although TSul is a player and had many ‘gfriends’, he caught on pretty fast that SH was not like one of those ladies, but rather is truly innocent, and has treated her with great respect. In fact at the amusement park, I loved that he was more like a big brother towards her, telling her to stay put in a parental way. And I liked very much that when she wanted him to put on the silly headband, she did not resort to aegyo but to a childlike pleading, as towards a recalcitrant parent. That was just the right tone for their relationship.
@GB,
Yes you are right. On “Start Up” this started. To be honest with you I am reading literature in English for many years. It was the best way to learn english according to my teacher when I was younger. She thought that even though I didn’t know all the words I could understand what a sentence should say. She was right.
As for TSul, I agree that he respects her deeply. Not only because she saved him so many times, but mostly because she is not using any antics his “gfriends” might be using before. She is innocent, because she hasn’t date at all.
I really enjoyed that there was not aegyo for TSul. She was totally genuine and he understood it. He would roll his eyes otherwise!
About TSul being a player, you know what they often say…
“A reformed rake makes the best husband.” 😂
Anyway, I do like the actor Cho Seung Woo. I admit that physically, I don’t find him — how shall I say this? — sexually attractive. But I like a man who does his job competently. He “gets” his character, and I don’t see how any other actor could have played this role of Taesul better than him. He’s able to climb into the “skin” of the character he’s playing so he walks and thinks like the character should.
So I don’t find him sexually attractive but intellectually stimulating. But who knows? In another drama, he might disappoint me.
LOL @pkml3. Your comment about Cho Seung Woo makes me want to look up his other shows. I’ve only ever watched him in Stranger 1 and 2 and I know you don’t normally go for that genre. He was superb there as well, playing a character with a head injury that caused him to not be able to connect with his feelings. He had to be compelling: intelligent, no nonsense, and not being able to emote while still not looking forever transfixed (like poor Cha Eun Woo) … if you know what I mean. In the end, his character’s very few tiny smiles were cause for much rejoicing LOL.
I like that TSul confronted Eddie of being part of the charade. TSul played the victim card so well! Spineless Eddie has not redeemed himself – no apology or explanation why he did that, he was more concerned about TSul meeting SeoJin in the hospital, he was not being a true friend here. Sad.
“You’re not CEO anymore, you are nothing here”. Hahaha! Little did he know that TSul will reduce Eddie to nothing by having him impersonated by JSun.
@GB – watch “The Classic” in YouTube. It’s a movie with CSW and Son Ye Jin. CSW role there was like Cyrano so he was not this arrogant character like TSul. I did not realize they were the same actor until recently.
Thanks @Janey. (❁´‿`❁)*✲ﾟ* I may just look up that show onYT.
I looked up CSW filmography and I see that he mainly did musicals and movies. Very few TV dramas. A versatile actor who’s serious about his craft.
I agree with you about poor or not so poor Eddy. He was less than nothing when no one could even point out what he looked like after all the time he stood around trying to be in the spotlight. TSul was shorter, not so snazzily dressed and often late, but he certainly had presence and everyone recognised him! How all those doctors could bow to Jae Sun as if he was the CEO made my eyes roll.
Ep 10 has left my head in a whirl. Now we know why dad told SH to stay clear of Han Tae Sul. And we wonder about side characters who slid by and became important. There’s a lot to unpack. It’s good though that everyone who has a stake, has come to be in the know.
Hey @GB,
I agree with you. Many information to digest. I won’t write anything tonight. Tomorrow morning, so as others to catch up as well..
This group has such interesting theories. I hope you will allow me to join. I am loving the show now, especially as we see how this is like a ball of yarn and it is tying back together.
I wonder if Agnes supplied the medicine for Sj’s mom through Sigma because well she can’t do it directly. But what part of this is her versus Sigma in interacting with TS and QnT.
Their choices have small minor changes to the timestream so I feel it is odd that Agnes said TS should not be here. I don’t think a whole month passed from the amusement park so that this is the date on the back of the photo at the orphanage.
I feel like I may have to rewatch from episode 1 now that I understand better what was happening from episode 10.
Episode 10.
A so good drama should be forbidden. LOL!!!
Now, there is many crossed path in time with different age of characters. Complex, but here fully used for improving high emotion. Great.
About Deus Ex machina! Hey!! GB! Im not agree here. It’s real plot-twists. Plot-twist with a justified explanation. (With narrative mode : first the twist, second the explanation).
Deus ex machina is something out of the blue. A bit more like TKEM. AH AH!!!
@Janey…
Ok ok ok, I understand your concerns about poor poor Eddy.
But imagine… if in the end… reaching his breaking point…
EDDY IS SIGMA.
ah aha hahhaha hahahhah ah aha ha haha.
@WEnchanteur – I thought of that possibility at one point that Eddie can be Sigma but he continues to show major weakness in character.
It would be a huge and disappointing plot twist if that happens. I will be shocked! 😮😂
@Miri – welcome to the fun!
You thought on rewatch from ep1 to 10 kind of makes sense.
I looked at the intro portion (did not skip it when I watched ep9) and it’s pretty much sequential – we’ve seen it all up to the nuclear explosion. And after that, all the scenes rewind back and showed Sisyphus and the rock in a loop. So now, I feel like we will see how these will loop ep10 onwards. And hopefully how the loop can be unraveled…
@Janey,
If we are shocked… it’s a good plot-twist. 😉
ahhh… Didn’t I mention that I love SH’s dad? kekekeke… best fighter. BrB!
@Miri That would be an interesting loop for Agnes. Maybe she came back because that was her regret, not being able to save mom. I don’t recall there was a specific date on the back of the photo for the orphanage, just the year 2020. Also, the name of the orphanage/nursery school was different from what was supposedly written on the back of the photo…
So, Agnes is SJ! hehehehe… right, I will back read now ,…
Hey @WEnchanteur,
I agree with you that Agnes is a plot twist.
I don’t agree with you that they used Ex-Deus-Machina on TKEM, though.
For Sisyphus.
After episode 10 we get to know more about the Sisyphian equation:
We already knew about Sigma, but the hidden constant that was missing was Agnes aka the future self of Kim Seo-Jin.
From what we get to realize is that Agnes is the one to blame about the ALS medicine that Sigma used to treat her mom in the current present Timeline.
If she made the medicine that it is used by ICB about the illegal tourists, then somehow she created that ALS medicine as well.
We also get to see a paradox.
In this current timeline both present SJ and future SJ as Agnes is in the same place but are living similtuaneously with different ages.
That means Agnes doesn’t go near to present SJ so as not to merge with her younger self. Also, we understand why Sigma was giving that medicine to them himself.
Consequently, if the logistics of this Universe and Time Travelling are revealed, then our OTP if they manage to avert the catastrophe can have a happy ever after (wishful thinking). Meaning both Seo Hae can live as long the grown up SH is far away from her younger self.
Back to the revelations though about Agnes (grown up SJ), Sigma and Mr. Park.
SJ definitely has regrets about her mom and dad. I don’t expect her to have any though about TSul. They way she answered to him, doesn’t show any regrets in my book. She is / was under Sigma’s orders.
From the Episode 11’s preview, Park says to SJ that “if I tell to Mr. Han what you did to his brother he won’t talk to you ever again.”
I don’t believe that Sigma is Eddie. If you watch Sigma is taller than Eddie.
Unless he was under some sort of freak surgery.
My Theory is that :
Sigma learned about Tsul from Agnes / SJ and he got fascinated with him for some reason unknown to us yet.
Hence, he started taking part in that sisyphian loop with all the others, but he took all the measurements to orchastrate his actions as their Nemesis.
Little did he know, that this time around things are about to change…
Correction: Deux Ex Machina
@Cleo, lol.
I noted that after watching the drama, but I don’t remember about what now.
I almost forgot all the drama, so I shouldn’t have take this as an example.
I disliked this drama, but I did some nice things around it, that could even please fans of the drama (if you are one).
Parodic memes : Clic on my name here, it lead to my blog, then click in header “The King: Eternal Monarch – Memes”
And a mini fan-fiction :
https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1450841/the-king-eternal-monarch-season-2-short-beginning
@WEnchanteur,
I have watched TK:EM gazillion times, so there was not a Deux Ex Machina in the end. What altered the ending, was the change in the decisions of the main characters that cooperated together with or without knowing it at the same time.
I want to write down an article on TK:EM, but I haven’t had the time, because I want to write it both in greek and in english.
I will read your blog! Thank you for the info! 🙂
@pklm2 @GB I watched Cho Seung Woo in Life and Stranger 1. In Life he was acting with Lee Dong Wook, and yet despite LDW’s good looks, CSW’s acting makes him the one who stand out in the show. Totally agree with what you said. He interprets his roles very well. I am so used to the emotionless role he had in Stranger 1 or the no nonsense CEO in Life. So watching TS slowly growing on SH and displays the subtle change in emotions throughout the episodes is a pleasant surprise.
The new information about the dispatch team and each of them have own mission. Mr Park said that back then ICB did not exist, so that proves each loop people can change the future, although may be slightly.
I always wonder why SH is the chosen one to save TS, is it possible that SH was also from this dispatch team and her mission was to save TS? That’s probably how they met and got married in the first loop?
Seo Jin – does the Agnes still love TS? Is TS her regret? She always acts like she is helping but afterwards stabs TS in the back. I am slightly worried if Agnes is the one who can provide the cure to bring SH back. I hope there is no catch like the other times.
Also what does Mr Park mean that “She wont be the same girl that you used to know”. What will be different? I wonder if that means she will lost her memories.
I think perhaps the good choices to be made are not just from SH or TS, but also people around them? Like Hyun Gi came back to apologise to SH and offered them a car to escape back in ep 4. Slowly through the slight improvement in each loop, they can change the future.
@GB why didn’t you watch Life? That was brilliant. By the same writer as Stranger1&2. As @Viva intimated, CSW was at his brilliant best there. The issues explored in Life were pertinent and well thought out. From both sides. And CSW brought both sides of the argument to light. I loved it. It explored the whole premise of what happens when a large corporation takes over ownership of a service industry, in this case a hospital. He’s the only man I know who would be able to give Gabriel Macht a run for his money and pull off Harvey Specter. It’s the swagger. I still remember that scene in Ep2 where the doctors in the hospital had called a meeting to talk about the takeover and how disgruntled they were. He strides in, takes the podium and just totally deconstructs all their arguments one by one. Exerted his authority with a stare down. And made sure they knew who was the boss. If you can track down the movie Marathon, do watch it. It’s a true story about an autistic boy who loves to run. And it brought the whole issue about autism to the fore in Korea. So much so that mothers who suspected their children were autistic would take them to the doctor and refer to the condition as the Marathon disease.
I am behind in this drama. My interest in Mouse is flagging because the writer has given me one plot twist too many and appears to be writing herself into a hole. Just like she did with God’s Gift 14Days. 🙄. I am contemplating dropping it. So when this weekend is over (I have a busy one) I will try to catch up here.
Viva,
I’m behind with “Sisyphus.” But yes, it would make sense if TS was Agnes/SeoJin’s regret. I told you all that her motivation didn’t square up and I thought her jealousy was exposed at the oddest times.
In Ep 1 when during a professional consult, she brought up his womanizing ways. Then, in Ep 6, when interrogating him about the key, she brought up his emotional need to hurt others as compensation for his insecurity.
I said she sounded like a woman scorned. She had an unrequited love and wanted to force him to love her.
And if i may add, she still kept their photo together on her desk where she folded the photo to hide his image. She is regretting letting him go and losing her parents, me think.
@Miracle23: I also like SH’s father scene in the elevator. He’s a fast response fighter.. Now we know why SH became a badass fighter too..
Seeing KSJ = KimAgnes … ok she looks older here while Sigma still looks the same when he first came. I wonder if Canned Fish is an anti aging product that have not been discovered yet. 😅
I can’t really get what is future SJ’s true objective here.. because I don’t think she still cares about TS anymore. More like she hates him and somehow wanna make him suffer. Or she just indifferent towards him at all.
And she came in the first batch to the past… But who sends them in the first place. Is it the higher up? I also wonder who he is..
@Birdie007
My thinking is because this is a Sci-fi action show, romance takes up less screen time and more subtle. From my observation, there are moments built up throughout the episodes.
Here is how I see they progressed:
Ep 3 -4
TS started off declaring SH was not his type. TS asked SH to stay away from him because of the fear of radiation exposure. Later, TS went back to save SH twice (the car crash and the bridge jump). I felt TS is opening to SH.
Ep 5 -6
TS still not fully trusted SH and wanted to part way but agreed to stay together. They had a late night conversation with beer. SH fell asleep and leaned on his shoulder. I felt the dynamic has started to change. He looked at her differently.
When TS fitted an earpiece on and SH, (By the way, I love SH’s earrings!) she was holding her breath. He had a very soft gaze when he spotted SH in the garden and offered to take her to the amusement park. She smiled. He asked her to be careful. That’s another shift in their relationship.
After betrayed by his friends, TS was truly alone. He told SH he only trusted her in the market. They met on the bridge. She smiled warmly to him. He responded with a boyish grin. I think TS has fallen for her.
Ep 7 -8
Still on the bridge, when TS was nervous, SH reassured him and led the way and he had a small grin. TS acted all jealous when JS was around. He also looked very worried/heartache/compassionate when patching up SH injuries later. To me that’s just confirm he is very much in love with SH.
So when the amusement park date happens in Ep 9, it seems natural to me. 🙂 The date shows how important SH has become to TS. It gives a strong base to support the roles reversal. Now TS is the one on the mission to save SH.
@Viva, Great points in the progress of the ‘romance’ between the leads. Yes, I do believe that T Sul’s attitude started changing from the time they got ‘caught’ by Asia Mart’s gang, and he realised that the time travel thing was ‘real’ and SH came back fighting against the MIB on her own when he had thought she’d run away. He was trying to get the E car to start and she told him to run away without her.
Their amusement park outing seemed not so much a romantic date to me, as mixture of a deserved break, a reward for all SH’s hard work, and a kind of apology that she’d been hurt time and time again to protect him, partly because he’d been stubborn and had not agreed to her plan to lie low. The vibes on that ‘date’ were also more like a big brother who was indulging a little sister, although with the hint of caring for her romantically. I felt it was just right for this couple, and would be the best way for TSul to get into her heart. Also the method used by Jae Sun was likely the way that would not work at all since she was focused on completing her mission before she ‘disappeared’ and was not in it to survive into the distant future in this timeline.
Hi GB! 🙂
I saw your earlier comment about ratings. The domestic rating is currently around the high 4s, dropped from the 5-6 range. It seems revenge dramas (not my genre) are popular domestically. Also Mouse seems popular too (not my genre again).
Sisyphus in my view has an interesting story despite its flaws. Being a fan, I naturally hope it receives more recognition. However I think I should follow the wise advices here and ignore the ratings. This rating business is hard to understand.
Sci Fi seems to attract polarising views. I saw that with TK:EM. I haven’t watched Memories of the Alhambra but read some polarising views on it too.
Ahh and Life is good if you like Stranger. @nrllee I remember that stare down! Quite a contrast to the TS hiding behind SH here.
Some questions and observations from these recent episodes:
Who was SJ talking to on the phone after sending off TS and SH? Sigma would be the obvious one, but if Agnes could be the one supplying her mom’s meds, then maybe she was on the phone with her future self – that would be wild. If she was on the phone with Sigma, that would suggest Sigma and CB are in cahoots.
As TS demonstrated with the necklace, the future and present versions will merge if they come into contact with each other. With the necklace, it was relatively simple since the two versions basically looked the same, but the future self is older and looks different from the present self so how will they merge? I’m guessing the present self will override the future self.
The scene with Seohae leaving for the past without her father’s knowledge suggests a different loop than the opening scene in ep 1…unless dad followed her to the uploader station. Random thought about their survival in the future – looks like they can find canned food but how do they get water?
Bing Bing was eating ramen which isn’t the first time ramen has made an appearance. There was the ramen incident in the plane, TS found ramen in his hyung’s backpack, and Officer Jung brought a suitcase-full for his mom. Is there any significance to the ramen? Maybe not, I guess the director or writers just love ramen a lot…
I’m enjoying the character of TS, the genius engineer. He wears his hoodies and wields his phone well. 🙂 However, I was thinking someone could easily knock his techie weapon out of his hand and he wouldn’t be very good at fighting with his fists…will we see him compromised in a future episode?
Officer Jung is still angry and scary…will we see his transformation and decision to go back to the past? And when will hyung Taesan make an appearance again?
Recently, I read a theory about how Sisyphus can escape the loop which is breaking off a piece of the rock each time and carrying it to the bottom, building up a mountain of small rocks. Metaphorically, changing a bit of the past with “good choices” each time can build up to the eventual breaking of the loop.
I found 2 Swoon interviews with CSW and PSH. I’ve not had time to watch them properly, but I feel that CSW’s thoughts on his character gives us a greater insight into Tae Sul as well as into himself.
Gotta run now but I’ll be back to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ntLoHsrMgQ
Thank you @GB for the tip!
Kalimera! I just watched them!
@Viva,
Thank you for this recap of the progression of the romantic story, showing balance and accuracy.
As Sisyphus is a story with a lot of action and plot-twist, indeed, it leaves less room for romance. This is an inherent factor in all dramas of this kind, which have more difficulty in rendering the feelings of the characters. From experience, I would say that the sentimental story works better when you rewatch the drama.
Also, if you haven’t seen Memories of the Alhambra yet, this is one of the best dramas on your watchlist. 🙂
@GB,
For the scene in the amusement park. There is still the hidden statement “Let’s go to Hawaii” 😉
I hope you were able to recover from your flu.
@Royangi,
This makes a good explanation for the fact that Agnes can’t help So-Jin directly.
As an indirect link, it made me find a simpler theory about Sigma.
Sigma is a normal person originally, so he was born somewhere, but on the other hand, he will never become old.
1- Sigma arrives in 2001, coming from the future.
2- Sigma meets his younger-self, and he merges with him. (this resets his age).
3- Sigma uses the uploader (in 2021 or a bit later), and goes to 2001. Go back to step 1.
This loop repeats an unknown number of times. Sigma will never live after 2021.
@WEnchanteur
Yes, this is the hint of the romance that our TSul is edging towards. I noticed though, that SH had no choice but to leave the tickets to Hawaii on the bench, and fight the MIB. Of course TSul could always still retrieve them in softcopy, but SH’s having to abandon those tickets also speaks into how their love often has to take a backseat in the face of a bigger fight.
I believe that SH, being the romantic girly, girl warrior, did take into account that her past self had called TSul her beloved. At the same time she’d seen the wedding photo, but did not have marriage in her plans. She was open to the possibility that she’d loved him before and could/did love him again, but the immediate need to survive and keep him alive would take precedence.
She is aware of him but has not displayed any other interest in him, other than that he’s the object of her mission.
Thanks for asking about me, I’m more or less recovered (usually it goes and comes back) and more sleep will probably set me up for lots of convoluted thinking.
Sigma – I kind of like your theory of Sigma, and how he can ensure he never dies or grows old. Unlike Park or Hwang or the late Dir Kim, Sigma has seemingly no personal ties to maintain or bother about. Thus he can simply continue as himself forever without a care, except perhaps, to care if an endless life would have meaning. However we do not know for sure if immortality is his aim.
@pkml3 was positing that his attitude shows a deep seated anger. He can live in opulence and have good food, but as if to spite himself or all that the world can offer, he chooses to keep his home bare and to eat canned food. He could build relationships but he chooses to use people and discard them. He is fatalistically waiting for the next time 50 million people will die, and thus spares no energy to invest in people.
We now know that he came as one of the original advance team, therefore he did not come out of regret, however we do not know whether he carried out his mission as a member of the advance team, or whether he had gone rogue from the beginning.
The mystery surrounding Sigma keeps us interested and guessing.
@royangi
Good point. This show deliberately does not make clear which came first and which loop we’re seeing.
When the photo was found by SH in the grave, one moment there was no writing behind it, and the next moment there was. Was this a sign that we were seeing two very similar and yet different futures because they were scenes from 2 different time loops? Show does not clarify.
Similarly, was the Ep 1 dad who had warned SH not to meet TSul in a different time loop from the Ep 8 dad? They both knew TSul was bad news, but one didn’t know SH had sneaked out to be Uploaded.
I wish there were more clues about which things happened the same way or differently in the current time loop. I want to make a list of these, but except for 1 guess, I can’t be sure of the others. 😉
Episode 9 Rewatch.
A few details that stand out, or were not exposed before.
02:40 – Tae Sul wants to celebrate Seo-Hae’s birthday. But in reality, it’s young Seo-Hae’s birthday. Nothing indicates that it is the one of the adult Seo-Hae, it depends on the moment when she returned in the past.
03:37 – This is a flashback of Tae-Sul, but curiously, the child’s badge shows Han Tae-San.
03:42 – Wild theory: Sigma is the other older child dressed as a bear. 🙂
04:50 – Seo Hae forces Tae-Sul to put on the stuffed hat. For this, she declares that she never had the chance to do this in the future. Just more confirmation of her lost youthful shortcomings, or why she’s still looking for that as an adult. Though afterwards, she says it was a joke.
05:45 – Seo Hae can finally take a real ride! Cf previous scene in the apocalyptic world, on the destroyed ride.
06:40 – Confirmation that Tae-Sul is not at ease in altitude. (first clue episode 1 during the shock in the plane). Then he fainted during the stunt on the cable. Then here, he does not want to go on the ride. This is consistent with his refusal to have a high position in his company.
07:30 – Tae Sul asks Seo Hae if she will disappear, because he never invented the uploader. She answers “probably”.
08:50 – Close-up on the watch that Sun gave to Seo-Hae, which she is wearing.
09:42 – I’ve made some criticisms on the new BGM, but on this short scene where Seo-Hae’s mother is nearby, the music is good.
13:40 – From here and for two minutes, a very large number of sound effect well placed. The background music is also quite good.
15:20 – Another very good fight, with a unique shot dynamic. However, there is a bit of a jerky effect at times. Otherwise, good idea to introduce some fast slow motion.
16:00 – That bastard Jung shoots Seo-Hae!!!
16:20 – The BGM is pretty good too. This rewatch is productive, I was curious to pay more attention to the BGM.
18:00 – Some good deep and sinister sound effects.
18:50 – Flashback. Judgment day. Seo Hae asks her parents several times where they are going. The attitude of the parents indicates that they know what is going to happen and have knowledge of the impending attack.
19:40 – The first attack of rockets and missiles. I think some of the explosions are a little too weak. Otherwise, Dantesque scene, just phenomenal in a drama, never seen. It reminds me of the Korean blockbuster Ashfall.
21:05 – Piece of arm holding a smartphone. Otherwise the fear is palpable in the crowd. Very good panic scene.
21:30 – The car chase against the missiles. Very appropriate BGM. Another totally crazy scene for a drama. The quality is convincing.
23:10 – Some missiles get lost in the river. Maybe they were aimed at the bridges.
23:50 – Short, chilling, angelic music to accompany the slow motion destruction of the tunnel.
25:40 – Seo Hae’s father has an assault rifle and even a backpack. This confirms that he already knew it would be today. I don’t know how much he knows about how things are going to go.
26:50 – More good background music. My previous judgement was hasty, or based on specific music not fitting certain scenes. But for now, I’m discovering that there is some good work on the BGM.
27:05 – Seo Hae’s mother asks “has it started?”. She’s talking about the nuclear attack. Another confirmation that the parents knew in advance.
28:45 – Cruel fate for Seo Hae’s mother, stabbed. Did they know this? That explains her sacrifice later, apparently she has little chance to survive the stabbing.
30:00 – Arrival at the shelter. Was this the destination from the beginning? I have a doubt. Or is the father surprised because the digital code opening is broken?
29:55 – It is now clear why the shelter can be closed from the outside, but can later be opened from the inside, once the opening controls are fixed.
31:05 – The father looks at his watch “We have 3 minutes left”. He knows exactly what time the nuclear explosions are.
32:00 – Another good BGM. Sad.
37:35 – Good performance by Park Shin-Hye, becoming hysterical with anger. Ouch! My eardrums!
38:55 – An important explanation from the head of ICB. What measures the success of time travel is a protein. A nucleus located behind the eyes that controls the biological clock and allows to measure time. I haven’t gone to see any scientific papers, but it’s plausible. Then, the relation between this and a quantum teleportation phenomenon like the uploader? Teleportation causes a mutation of the genes, at that level, which determines the success of time travel. The explanation is a bit short to fully understand the relationship between the two. What is even more curious is that the personal capacity to measure time (depending on the gene) allows the traveler to remain stable, to keep his quantum structure. This is quite in line with the experience of change of state according to the act of observation, in quantum physics.
39:50 – As soon as the serum is injected into Seo Hae, we see her making wide eye movements. Trying to maintain her bearings, not just visual, but temporal.
I find the BGM inappropriate for the scene. I suppose it’s music reflecting Seo Hae’s mental confusion, but on the other hand, it doesn’t support the gravity and anguish of the situation.
40:40 – The head of the ICB asks what’s going on in the last day. So he doesn’t know about the nuclear attack?!
41:43 – Shot of broker Park’s assistant. (white/yellow shirt). I take note, because I have the impression that he looks like one of the members of the ICB.
42:46 – Broker Park states that he will be released from jail tomorrow afternoon. He knows the events of the future. It was told to him by someone at his younger self.
48:20 – Tae Sul finds the hospital. He adds that So-Jin used to work here, and that it belongs to his foundation. Was this the same hospital where Tae Sul was sequestered? Is there any connection between So-Jin and the Control Bureau?
48:32 – Poor Eddie looks at a picture of him and So-Jin, apparently disappointed by his (barely) sentimental story.
51:30 – Confrontation Eddie – Tae Sul. One stone, three shots !
The scene allows to :
– regularize the relationship between the characters.
– to get the document of entry to the hospital.
– to take a close-up picture of Eddie to help Sun to disguise himself.
55:00 – “Don’t forget the eyes”. This short sequence can easily be missed. But here, Sun does EXACTLY the same look that Eddie Kim always does. Really good look. 🙂
The whole scene is for comedy, because I think Sun could have entered the building quite normally, without disguising himself, and gone straight to the elevator. The place seems open to the public, like any hospital.
The whole scene is cut with flashbacks explaining the technological tricks used to enter the building, to disguise oneself, to get past the security. A way to highlight the genius of Tae Sul.
Here, once again, Tae Sul is the one who thinks, not the one who acts. Characterization of the character present from the first episode (scene of the plane crash where the pilot is the one who acts). This adds to the need for Sun to be employed as a partner and gives his character an extra purpose (other than the comedy centered on the love triangle or various comedy scenes, and of course the very good plot-twist of the rescue of Seo Hae in the car, and then of Tae Sul with the cup).
58:00 – BGM is good for a high-tech undercover scene.
01:02:16 – The ICB member I thought I saw physically close to one of broker Park’s assistants. I’m probably psyching myself out too much on this one ^^
01:03:30 – That bastard Jung kicks Seo Hae in the head with a pistol butt (they still could have added blood). His colleagues can’t enter the room. It’s already been three times that Jung is nothing but a liability and an embarrassment to ICB. But he’s not fired? LOL! Maybe ICB’s motto is to keep only top-models and incompetent people. 🙂
01:04:20 – Plot-twist! In the sense that the suspense of the 3rd injection is resolved here by: the injection takes place! But fortunately… the effect is not immediate. ah ah.
01:08:05 – Here also the BGM is good, with a theme reminding an alarm. And the scene starts with a fire alarm.
01:09:08 – That scum Jung was really going to shoot Seo hae! Despite the fact that she managed to convince him that his whole attitude is moldy and only depends on his regrets. It’s understandable that he’s asking to be forgiven, the poor old man.
01:09:40 – End song. Pretty good OST.
@WEnchanteur,
I did a quick reading on your last comment :
It was Seo Hae’s birthday.
If SH is the grown up version of the younger SH, who she is, they share the same birthday.
So, it doesn’t make sense what you wrote above.
About your wild theory:
The boy that was wearing the bear custome is TSul’s brother.
He doesn’t like an amusement park because it made him remember, the hardships they – as siblings- went through.
@GB,
I have written above my theory how Sigma involved in the first place in the loop.
I think Agnes / SJ was the reason and I still believe so…
Episode 10 Rewatch.
A lot of things I missed first time.
01:31 – The control office is team 7, because it’s affiliated to the other 6 offices of the same kind. Except that it is the only office dealing with temporal immigration, and that officially, there are only 6 teams.
02:30 – Seo Hae’s father visits the daughter of the head of the ICB.
She tells him that she is not in contact with her father anymore.
Apparently, he has been the head of the ICB for 10 years.
04:40 – A letter renting a villa for the girl. To help her escape the war? I thought in the previous episode that the head of the ICB did not know. Or does he know but is not sure?
The letter is traced back to the ICB hospital. This will explain that Seo Hae’s father will be there later.
06:20 – A member of the ICB is beaten by Seo Hae’s father.
Good fight scene in an elevator. The father is quite a fighter!
07:45 – Seo Hae’s father unfolds her wanted notice.
08:10 – Again, a good BGM. Maybe it’s the same team of musicians as before (only the director has changed). I recognize a characteristic synth sound used a lot by one of the musicians.
09:28 – Excellent fight scene between Seo Hae and Jung. All in sequence shot, with some Gunfu, and the same alarm/techno background music used already.
12:10 – McGyver sequence. The good old trick of the electric cable in the water ^^
13:40 – Tae Sul is madly worried about Seo Hae. Really.
Hmm… The message is clear, isn’t it? 😉
14:20 – Striking line, in which Tae Sul minimizes his feelings that he just showed abundantly a few seconds earlier. He’s not going to scare this easily impressionable girl?! 🙂
SH – Why did you come? It’s dangerous.
TS – You’re the only one who can protect me. So I came to save you.
15:05 – So-Jin appears like a zombie. Oo
The spooky chick…
So she’s somehow affiliated with the Control Bureau?
I don’t understand anything anymore.
16:55 – Just after helping, So-Jin betrays again. It seems that she calls Sigma.
17:30 – Of course, So-Jin’s card doesn’t work. Bitch!
17:40 – All the supermodels raise their guns at the same time.
It looks like a kpop video. The genre of the music doesn’t match that though. BGM correct.
Of course, they immediately go into freeze mode to give Tae Sul and Seo Hae time to have a chat.
18:10 – An interesting information. Tae Sul talks about Hawaii, but also adds, “I heard it was good there.” This suggests that he’s never actually been to Hawaii, and therefore never met a woman he was in love with.
Yes, this discussion is endless. Meanwhile, ICB is in time stasis. 🙂
19:10 – Very funny shot. Broker Park and his two assistants, guns in hand. But also 3 species of spider men. Probably extras from a circus, with contortionist abilities.
20:20 – Lots of people killed everywhere! Time traveler prisoners, as well as members of the ICB. We’ll have to re-cast!
23:55 – Bang! Jung seriously injures one of broker Park’s assistants. Bastard!
He’s going to shoot Tae Sul too, just to kill Seo Hae too. The fool!
24:18 – PLOT-TWIST! Seo Hae’s father electrifies the despicable Jung!
This is pretty plot-twist heavy, I forgot to mention the previous one, when Broker Park is going to shoot Tae Sul too, but in the end, he shoots the door.
Note, the whole BGM so far is disappointing, plain and unoriginal, for this series of sequences.
24:39 – Seo Hae says ” Dad “, in slow motion, voice with echo.
The effect works well between Seo Hae and her father.
28:10 – Good music on the piano, while So-Jin gives the ring back to Eddy, who is thrown away like a dirtbag, without explanation.
30:15 – Broker Park looks at some pictures of his family.
What’s up? Am I hallucinating or what?
This is the daughter of the head of ICB?! Is that his wife?!
Well, the wife of his younger self?!
In this case, it is he who sent the envelope with the villa rental? But with the hospital as sender? HELP! I am lost. 🙂
Good BGM by the way, I recognize the “Signal” style.
35:25 – Broker Park says that “Seo Hae wanders in different timelines like a ghost”. Pretty hard sentence to decipher. I don’t have a conclusion to draw from this.
36:06 – The advanced team. The first ones to use the uploader (but we don’t know in what year). Sigma and broker Park are part of the team. They each have a mission. So-Jin also, under the pseudo of Agnes.
Park says “at that time, the control bureau did not exist”. I don’t know the meaning of the sentence. Does he mean the year he arrived in the past? So before 2002? Or is he saying that the control bureau does not exist in the future? Or is he saying that the previous timeline did not have a control bureau?
37:20 – Park says that So-Jin may know who Sigma is 😉
Then that even if Seo Hae “comes back”, she will not be the same… Probably something about her memories. Amnesia trope ? ^^
About BingBing, Park’s assistant, is she going to fall for the handsome Sun?! 🙂
42:40 – Seo Hae’s father questions Jung.
I wonder if Jung knows that Seo Hae is the daughter of his former colleague. Normally yes, he should have seen this poster before? But the scene gives me the impression that this is the first time he sees this document.
I also wonder if Jung is going to try something really horrible: such as attacking Seo Hae when she is a child. This guy has gone so crazy that anything is possible.
46:50 – Tae Sul proves to Seo Hae’s mother the reality of time travel.
Good mystical BGM.
He demonstrates this by making the two medallions merge.
Key information for us viewers about this process.
48:10 – Flashbacks when Tae Sul talks about Seo Hae.
Another good chilling BGM, at least for the intro.
50:30 – Here the BGM reminds me one of MOTA for the intro.
52:22 – Here, a recent BGM already heard several times. Beautiful. Especially the passage in 53:14.
55:05 – Scene from the future. Seo Hae’s father says he saw Seo Hae die. Was he talking about how she is disappearing now? In this case, in the previous timeline. Maybe the new timeline brings another conclusion to this situation as a result (it’s even almost certain, otherwise there’s no more heroine from episode 11).
58:50 – BGM a bit too classical and unoriginal for the listening. On the other hand, very effective for the scene.
59:05 – Broker Park says:
“Aigoo Aigoo.”
Then he laughs.
Then he adds again:
“Aigoo”. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
(that’s about what he does already 50 times in the drama, lol)
He’s the kind of nice character who always smiles and laughs at you, whatever your relationship with him is: friendship, dislike, or even when he shoots at you! I even think he’s more smiley when you annoy him. There are people like that… 🙂
01:01:20 – Tae Sul enters the orphanage. Good lighting game with the candles and the light rays behind, coming from the door.
Again an interesting BGM.
01:02:05 – A cage falls from the ceiling! LOL!!!
Suddenly the drama strays into Tex Avery mode. 🙂
I remember a scene of a cage falling from nowhere like that in Empress Ki, in a forest trap.
Normally, you should see the trap just by looking at the scenery.
And here, the cage… right in the right place?
Why not a hole leading to a crocodile pond… 🙂
01:02:11 – More general shot. The ceiling is just one meter above, or I’m victim of optical illusion. Impossible to hide anything here. Is there any sense to this cage coming from nowhere? Well, it was the same with the general plan in Empress Ki…
01:06:45 – Cliffhanger!!! Sigma opens the doors, full light.
And Tae Sul is like a dork locked in a cage from a cartoon.
Ah ahahah.
@Cleo,
Thanks for the explanation about the child bear.
I was not able to recognize the child actor Tae San.
Then I was confused because the name tag Tae Sul is wearing says “Tae San”.
So I guess since Tae San works for the park, he lent his badge to his younger brother, so he could enter for free.
For Seo Hae’s birthday, I give a more detailed explanation:
Let’s take Seo Hae in the future, the scene where she discovers the grave.
It’s her birthday, let’s say 28 years old (just for the example).
Then, two months later, she uses the uploader.
Her age is therefore 28.2 years.
She arrives in 2020, and has her first adventures that we see in the drama. I round it up to one more month.
So her age is 28.3 years.
So during the scene in the amusement park, even though it’s her birthday as a child, as far as her birthday goes for biological age (28.3), it’s not really her biological birthday.
Unless I missed some information somewhere, indicating that by chance, Seo Hae’s biological age from the future coincides?
@ GB, hope you feel better soon!
I think it is harder to spot SH’s part in the romance. As you said she is always busy saving TS, in action fighting or struggling to survive. Yes you rightly pointed out she left the tickets on the bench. It is very hard to show much emotions in those circumstances.
Although from my viewing experience, with the help of background music and slow motion, the show gives us some hints when SH is possibly moved by TS. When TS came back to save her the first time, the slow motion of TS opening the car door, how would SH feel at the time? The moment TS swam towards a sinking/almost drowning SH, how would she feel seeing TS coming back? Again, when she was tortured by officer Jung, the moment she knew he was coming back to save her, she had a very fainted smile. From her view – TS always comes back to her.
The question is – can a man and woman relationship stay platonic, after been through so much? Would her heart move at least a little when he came to save her those times?
@WEnchanteur – I put Memories of the Alhambra on my watchlist. 🙂
The way TS held SH after finding her on the corridor where they lock her up felt different. It’s more than just a concern for her safety. Looking forward to how TS will escape Sigma from his cage, but Mr Park is outside anyway.
I feel this one will have a happy ending so hopefully I’m right. 🙂
@WEnchanteur That’s an interesting theory about Sigma merging with his younger self in a never ending loop to gain immortality. I want to know more about Sigma’s background and motivation.
For computer files, the most recent version overrides the older version; however, for time travel, I think it makes more sense for the version connected to the current timeline to remain…but who knows? It’s just hard to make sense of time travel.
Lol about the CB being like supermodels or a Kpop boy group. There should be a music video with a Sisyphus concept.
@GB Yes, it’s unclear whether the two different photos were used on purpose or if it was a prop oversight. I actually didn’t notice that until it was pointed out on this blog! Seems unnecessarily complicated if it was indeed done on purpose. But again, time travel is complicated and it may be a clue for discerning viewers.
Also, I watched the interviews you posted about, thanks for sharing! I haven’t seen Cho Seung Woo in anything else and was convinced he’s Han Tae Sul so it was interesting to see his real person interview. 🙂
@nrllee
You know, your interpretation makes sense. It’s better than thinking the writing on the photos was a prop glitch. … Except for the way it was portrayed.
(Ep 8: 1:10:26 onwards) The corpse glitched, the memories of the corpse came to SH. Later she’s looking at the diary and the photo drops. We see the back of it is blank. Nothing glitches. Next view of the back of the photo and the words are there. So your interpretation might be right, but the way it was executed was execrable.
Me too. I always don’t want to watch. Especially if there’s a sound effect that goes with being cut (I go ugh! ooh!) No way that tiny bandage in the end would have been enough.
As for the family videos or photos, I was thinking maybe genius TSul could hack through all kinds of Cloud storage to actually locate stuff pertaining to SH. LOL.
I liked the way show made it look like TSul watched videos, however it was also SH’s memory/dream because we see all 3 ie mum, dad and SH (Ep 8, 46:36 onwards) and those times mum wasn’t filming them.
@royangi
You’re welcome. I too just bothered to find out that Cho Seung Woo does/did lots of musical theatre and films. TV dramas are not so common for him. His theatre background is likely the reason he does whole body acting so well.
Brief Thoughts about Park of Asia Mart
Up til Ep 10, we have gathered:
Park came on the first Uploader with an advance team and so ‘knows’ Sigma and Seo Jin who were also in that advance team. The team’s missions seems to have been to prepare for regular time travel from the future to the past. Each team member also had their own mission.
Park made his own Downloader which is underground, under the Mart, and stayed on through the years, waiting for someone to come from his time. He has family members, so we assume he could be waiting for them. Park seems to have time traveled only once and stayed put to grow older in the current timeline. The other possibility is that he’s waiting for himself to be uploaded again, so that he can merge with his younger self.
In the meantime ICB gets formed. He has a run in with Hwang and is detained underground. The time goes a bit crazy here, because if the nuclear bomb was dropped in October 2020, and he was saved from the fallout because he was underground, then it must have been his younger self that had a run in with a previous Hwang. Now once again in 2020, Hwang recognises Park.
Could they (back from the future Park and Hwang) have met in a year previous to 2020? Park tells him that he survived the nuclear bomb because he was detained underground. Now they meet again in 2020. This explains Hwang remembering him.
Brief Thoughts about Hwang
He worked for NIS, supposedly retired 5 years previously, and disappeared, but we know that he’s been unofficially head of ICB Team 7. His daughter broke off contact with him 10 years previously. However at that time, he’d already been busy catching illegal immigrants while his wife was sick. This means he had been working for more than 10 years on catching time travelers. But perhaps only in the last 5 years has he been officially head of ICB.
It’s indeterminate if he ever time travelled. He spoke to Jung as if he and Jung were from the same timeline and were affronted by time travelers who took advantage of their foreknowledge to make successes of their lives. He also seemed clueless about Han Tae Sul or about what was going to happen, as shown by the questions that he asked SH.
However he found out from Park that Park got away from being killed by the nuclear bomb. He must know that there would be a bomb and when it would drop. So there’s a contradiction in what he knows or doesn’t know.
Anyway, we see that he has a grown up daughter whom he has not contacted directly. He has likely been keeping an eye on her, however, and sent her tickets to fly Business Class to Guam, (in an envelope printed with the name ‘Jaae Hospital’). This again points to his knowledge that a bomb is going to fall, and that he wants to get his daughter and her family to somewhere safe.
GB Thanks for the recap on Hwang and Park.
So Hwang knew. I currently interpret that the goal of ICB is not to change the future to the extent that they don’t even bother trying to stop nuclear bomb and save lives.
One thing the show is really good at is keeping it unpredictable. While Mr Park seems likable, I can’t be sure if he is a friend or enemy to our leads.
Have you seen the Q&A on JTBC’s Instagram? Don’t read the remaining of this comment further if you prefer to work out the plots without hints 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMrMr2LjkNC/
I don’t know Korean but using my phone, google translate and credit to soompi Sisyphus forum, one question from the Q&A helps clarify that if they beat Sigma, there will be no nuclear war, no uploader and no Seo Hae from the future.
[potential spoiler starts]
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMneUmfs0b7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I also saw this picture from Instagram. Looks like a sad Tae Sul with and a disappearing Seo Hae. So, I am not currently hopeful that our leads can have world peace and still go to Hawaii together in the same timeline. Let’s hope the show is not predictable and give us a good enough ending (but nothing like DoDoSolSollalaSol!)
[potential spoiler ends]
If google translate is doing its job…another question seems to clarify is if people meet themselves during time travel, time paradox happens, and memories are shared. Therefore I currently interpret that in 2035 when Seo Hae touched her dead self from the previous loop, she shared the memories of love for Tae Sul. That’s why she didn’t take the uploader to save the world or her mum before, not until she shared the memories of the dead Seo Hae. The love from the memories is strong enough that even knowing she is probably going to die again, she is willing to try.
The remaining Q&A seems to just confirm what we knew, like Tae San is not dead yet, Anges is the future Seo Jin, Seo Hae’s Mum had to shut the door because it was faulty. There is one more but I really can’t work out what Google Translate said lol.
@GB That makes sense about Mr. Park and Hwang recognizing him. The younger Park must be held somewhere else, not at the CB. I guess we’ll find out more about that and the circumstances that led him to jail.
@Viva Thanks for sharing the Q&A! The one Google Translate mangled must be the one about the shot they gave SH. It says the shot will cause her to disappear like a ghost and wander through time and space, as we learned in ep 10. I’m still holding out for a happy ending for our leads!
@Viva @royangi
Weird Fatalism?
What is striking is that there does not seem to be anyone else besides SH who cares that their capital (or country) is going to be annihilated by a nuclear bomb. All the uploaders came just to what?… solve their regrets, make money and holiday in past Seoul and then run off to save their own skins while letting everyone remaining get bombed? Don’t they care about their families, descendants, human life?
What’s the point of traveling to the past only to face the same future or worse, without at least trying to warn or save their world.
@royangi At the risk of tying myself up in knots over the time that Hwang and Park met, I’m thinking it would have had to have been long before 2020. Park got out then, and he gets out again this time in Sept 2020. However, at the time the bomb drops, he will somehow have to be in detention again and saved again. Of course in this time loop, we’re waiting to see if enough has changed so that the bomb is delayed or does not drop at all.
Ep9 notes (apologies if someone has already mentioned it before)
– SH’s dad seems to know when the nuclear warhead will hit? How does he know this? Strange place to have a bunker but okay. They were enroute to SH’s aunt’s place when the missile attack started.
– a SeonHo was mentioned by little SH when she was in the car enroute to Auntie’s house. She was supposed to have meet up with him? Coincidentally, henchman 2 who has the kidney condition imprisoned in the CB building is also named SeonHo? 🤔
– the weird dad calling for YeJi? Was that just for dramatics or something significant?
– Sun was wearing a very loud shirt with cats all over. Is it significant? Mr Sigma and his cat drawing?
– Sun pretending to be Eddie 😂 at the hospital. Why did they need so many other doctors in tow? It’s not like they were contributing to the conversation? 🤔
– how cool is TSul in the end? 😂 Walking in there to rescue his woman.
Question I have (from Ep8)
– the grave that SH found. Hers and presumably TSul? Is that the result of a failed iteration? I assume so? Because if TSul is saved, the world is saved? So I guess if we go on the basis that TSul alive = no war, no uploader (?). The different permutations would be
1. TSul dead, SH dead = war and uploader
2. TSul dead, SH alive = war and uploader
3. TSul alive, SH dead = no war, no uploader
4. TSul alive, SH alive = no war, no uploader
Ideally we would get number 4 but I guess if we end up with 3, it’s still okay howbeit sad? I am assuming that because we’re getting people coming back from the future that so far they’ve only gotten to 1 and 2? Never to 3 or 4? Because once we get to 3 or 4, the loops stop because there are no more people coming back from the future? Am I making sense? 😂
lol. I saw the “Taesul walk” to rescue Seohae and I frankly wanted to kick his ass. Like, hello? She could be tortured right at this very moment. Could he speed-walk for a bit here? There was no sense of urgency considering that there’s an emergency going on.
Ugh.
That’s why I find it hard to be serious with this show. 🙂 I get that that Taesul is a genius and all. And that Cho Seungwoo is a great artist and all. But I think the director and writer are star-struck. They’re paying too much homage to the man, and less attention than required to the story.
Yes. Seems like the grave has SH and TSul’s bones. It’s a result of a failed iteration.
Do you remember that tv show, “Heroes”? The slogan for the show was “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” This kdrama adapted that slogan. It’s “Save the genius, save the world.” But the slogan applies chiefly to Seohae. SHE thinks that if she saves Tsul, she saves the world.
However, for Sigma the cat-lover, he’s given TSul a proposition. It’s either/or. It’s “save the girl OR save the world.”
I still don’t know what motivates Sigma. And that’s one of the reasons I’m disappointed with this writer and this script: weak characterization of the villain.
For one, there’s no backstory to explain his motivations. What makes him tick? What’s the deal with him? He’s so angry with the world but I don’t get WHY. I’d be annoyed with this writer should she/he dump Sigma’s sob story on us at the last minute. Did he have a childhood trauma? A family trauma? A bullying incident? What gives?
I don’t see any compelling reason for Sigma to behave in a particularly heinous way so I can’t relate to him.
For another, I don’t get his connection to the Taesul. Why did he pick Taesul in particular to start the nuclear holocaust? If he had to travel back in time and meticulously plan — for 20 freaking years — the downfall of humanity, wouldn’t it have been better to pick an easier target? Like that crazy-ass North Korean dictator? Why couldn’t he have traveled back in time, and infiltrate Kim JongUn’s coterie and just start the war from his side?
I don’t get how Sigma’s fate is intrinsically linked to Taesul that he’d waste all this time, and his energy just to defeat him.
So there. I get that it’s a lovefest for the main protagonists, but it frustrates me that the writer and director think they can hide the weaknesses of the script (and the direction) with all the smoke-and-mirror tactics.
Hey @packmule3!
I get your frustration. I wrote above after I watched Episode 10 that for me the most logical explanation regarding Sigma has to do with Agnes / Seo Jin.
I think that in the first time they went back and the grown up Seo Jin wanted to help her mother, she somehow brought in Sigma to give her father the medicine and the whole thing made Sigma to get obsessed with Tae Sul.
For what reason ?
Maybe because he is that genius?
Maybe because he envies the man?
Maybe he envies that he picks up Seo Hae everytime?
I cannot see any other reason WHY Sigma is obsessed with Tae Sul, since he was not in their immediate cycle in the current timeline and we get to see his grown self that came back from the future.
Thanks, Cleopatra.
Maybe you’re right that SeoJin is Sigma’s link. But even then, the motivation isn’t a strong enough reason to destroy the whole world.
So what if Taesul is a genius? It could be argued that his genius invention, the time traveling machine, wouldn’t have been created if he hadn’t been pushed to by “circumstances” created by Sigma himself. So Taesul “owed” his genius invention to Sigma.
What about envy? He’s not killing millions of people because of envy.
Because of SeoHae? But until now, Sigma hasn’t shown any predilection for interpersonal bonding. So why would he envy Taesul’s relationship with Seohae?
Like you, I don’t get Sigma’s obsession with Taesul. And this is the writer’s failing. He/she treats Sigma like a convenient prop. Sigma was introduced to the story simply to create chaos, and push the protagonists to do heroic stuff. But he’s one-dimensional.
Look: in Harry Potter, we get why Voldemort is obsessed with the kid. Their connection was Harry’s mom, wasn’t it? In L.U.C.A., I get the obsession of the mad doctor with perfecting the human species. He had extra fingers that he felt shouldn’t have been cut off.
But here? I just don’t get Sigma’s motivation.
@Packmule3,
If I ever answer to your comment, it will be a success! I lost my answer twice already…
I agree with you that Sigma is one-dimensional and we cannot understand this motivation.
For that reason I really cannot get the Writer-nim. He created a universe, but he forgot to make a solid bad guy.
If you think about it they used the greek myth, but mostly its technicalities and not its depth. Which I find rather disappointing, but what can I do?
I am really drawn in by the fact that the writer-nims have great ideas, but some of those are not that good in execution, hence some stories are lacking, while others are way better.
I haven’t decided in which category I will put Sisyphus, but I have decided not to get frustated about it.
I know for sure that writing is not an easy thing to do, but you get better if you study, books or scripts, it depends what you are interested in.
So, I will send you lots of virtual cookies with greek olive oil and orange juice, in order to have a great day ahead!
@GB That’s a good point – what about all the other people who came back from the future? If 5% survive and are not caught by CB, there should be about 12,500 others. They would know about the war but as you say, SH is the only person we know of who’s trying to stop it. She does say in her letter to herself that she’s the only one who can do it, but why is that?
Have you watched a show called “The Mentalist”? They have seasons building up the villain Red John, who can influence a network of followers to do bad deeds. When the revelation finally came, it was so anti-climax to me. I can see the same vibes with Sigma. Currently I am not sure if the writer can deliver a motivation strong enough, so I have chalked my expectation of the revelation to the Red John level.
I noticed the shows has twice showed us Seo Hae has a soft spot of not killing what she perceived as innocent – the rabbit and the boy. My current theory is that Seo Hae could be on the first advance team, meant to kill Tae Sul but couldn’t. Ended up protecting him and since their lives intertwined. Sigma, who is on the same team, probably wants to prove that even people are given the chance to correct the past mistake by the time machine, they just make the same wrong choice every time, no matter how many times they tried. Human nature, right? We regret and complain and want to go back to the past to change it, but will we actually do it?
@royangi thanks for the translation! 🙂
@cleopatra I think this writer is saying that we are sum of all our decisions and we can indeed be the bad guy. She shows with Hyungi and Taesan that they made decisions that led to really bad outcomes for others, e.g. Seohae or the world. If we don’t make the choice to forgive others, or ourselves in the case of Taesan, then we can lead to nuclear war that kills everyone. Overly dramatic maybe but I think that is the metaphor? from this story. In the same vein, little changes can add to a big change that saves the world.
Hey @Miri,
If you read my comments in this blog, you will find out that I am rather interested in Ethics, mostly by the Philosophers Aristotle and Kant.
I totally get what you say. I believe that as human beings we know what is right or wrong. We have a morals compass in us. There are indeed times that our actions might hurt others. We might even be the bad person in someone else’s story.
Things like can and may happen. The thing is that if we know what we are doing is bad and it will hurt others and we are still are doing it, then we are not that morally good persons.
For me Hyungi is a fool. Mostly because he knows the truth, but still he wants to find a scategoat for his mother’s death. He was manipulated and made awful decisions based on lies and not in judgement.
He knew that his partner was a good person, yet he believed what he was told in Episode 11.
I don’t know if you have seen Episode 11 yet, but the nuclear war happens because some are greedy and bad in their souls. It is not a little act but a some of bad acts combined together.
We have already discussed above and I have written it before, that I believe what the mathematician Lee Gon of TK:EM said.
“Beatiful equations are simple.”
If you change your behaviour even little by little then you can change the present and consequently the future. I don’t agree with what everyone says, I mean the characters, about the mirroring stuff.
There are physics laws that we know and don’t know about. One of them is that Time is not linear, but rather happens similtuaneously past-present-future at the same time. As a theory I find it more logical than an endless loop… 🙂
Oh, this topic has moved a lot since then!
I noticed the following subject: how to classify Sisyphus. Or Sisyphus is not serious enough about the scenario.
This is something that bothered me at first too. I was hoping for a more sober, dark and realistic story. A bit like the drama “Train”. The kind of story where you don’t laugh much. Or just a little at the beginning, like in MOTA.
Since then, I have long since given up on that.
The drama wants to keep a minimal level of carefree, tension-releasing effects based on comedy, the spectacular or some tropes, like the one of the hero who stays calm while his plan works like a charm. So the context is that of a more classic drama, rather than a pure and hard SF story.
How to classify it? I would put this in the same category as the “Stargate” series. The heroes face dangers, but there is a general feel good tone.