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Six more episodes to go. The pace should pick up now.
I don’t need more filler episodes —
like Episode 6 which revolved around YiKang’s first love returning to the mountain (Really, why should I care about her past romance? It has no bearing on her present romance, does it?)
or filler scenes doubling as product placements —
like Goo Young’s mountain hike with colleague Yang Sun in Episode 9 (She said she bought SNACKS but she served themselves burgers from “Egg Drop”??!! lol. Those burgers have to be eaten on the spot, or the bread becomes soggy with grease from the burger.)
The screenwriter could definitely have trimmed the expendable scenes and storylines that lead to nowhere, and focused more on character development of HyunJo. Until now, I still don’t know what makes him tick. Where’s his character arc? Oh well…
Let’s enjoy the show.
Thanks @pkml3!
We pretty much have guessed the who and the why of the murders, now it’s the question of what HJ and YK can do about them. There was a preview of HJ’s eyes opening, I believe. But I didn’t bother to look for more spoilers.
The other question that remains and which I seldom hold out much hope to get an answer for, is how HJ’s spirit got to remain on the mountain.
Theory 1: It had something to do with his accident and/or how the ‘mountain spirit’ found him convenient or open or sympathetic, and chose him to be the guardian of the mountain.
Theory 2: Maybe it was happenstance ie HJ just happened to be at the right place, at the right time during the accident and got sucked into the mountain’s spiritual realm.
Theory 3: Kim Sol has a strong belief in spirits and with shamanism at play, could have opened up a portal to the supernatural realm. HJ came along and got sucked in inadvertently or maybe KS intentionally got him trapped.
We do know that the killer (we assume that’s KS) added Hyun Jo’s name to the list of people who were killed or to be killed. He must have been waiting for an opportunity to get at HJ without anyone suspecting him.
HJ met with the accident in the snowy Winter of 2019. KS may have had to make more than one attempt to kill HJ. It’s possible that we’ll see more moves by the killer this weekend, even before Winter strikes.
I binged watch Jirisan last week to get to ep 11. I haven’t watched ep 12 yet. Enjoying it!
@GB Perhaps due to having unfinished business? If going by the Signal rules, it seems if there is unfairness in the world and someone has a very strong desire to resolve it, the characters would have supernatrual power in the story.
I did noticed the two rangers have darker moods in 2021 – Both YK and Goo Young. Back in 2018/2019 they both seems more carefree. If YK lost HJ, then GY probably lost someone he loves?
When HJ thought the murderer went for the people relating to the flooding incident, I do wonder if it is to do with the disappearance of the Black Bridge Village. The target would be the former villagers who abandoned the the village and the cable car team. I noticed the granny who got killed and the illegal herbalist used to live in the Black Bridge Village if I caught their face correctly.
Kalimera Ladies,
@Packmule3 I agree with you.
This is the first time I will write something like this, but yesterday I was not happy with what I was watching on my screen. I got tired while I was watching Episode 11 and half of the Episode 12.
I feel that something is lacking for some time now, that has nothing to do with the actors and actress’s perfomances. This is not flowing in a proper way and I think it has to do with how the whole story is being shown to us. Thanks goodness we are almost in the end, eitherwise I don’t know If I would continue watching it.
@Cleopatra I agree with you. When Jirisan’s first trailer was released, I was so excited for the drama ! I really like Gianna and the ML also (he was very good in Hyena). Alas, this drama has been a disappointment. I was getting bored while viewing Ep 12 !
@Arihsi,
I totally get you. I really like all the actors and actresses. They are powerful in their portrayals. I don’t have anything against them. The problem in reality isn’t with them at all.
The problem lies with the director and how the story is progressing. I don’t know if the script doesn’t help him with that. They took a risk by experimenting with the time frames.
So far the story is in the present time. Then goes in the past. Then in the future that is not the present time, but the past as well using a different year. It is not working though. We get fragments of information from different periods of time.
Everything is a fragment of a fragment. I was holding back my thoughts, because I wanted to see how they will process it.
Now that the killer is known to the audience and after watching those past two episodes, I wanted to share it with my B.O.D. family and discuss it with you all.
Yes, something is making the whole drama watch a slow trip to finish. I havent finished ep.11 yet… I started while having dinner and stopped subsequently. Something is making YG and IH seemingly doubting/ suspecting GY. And GY’s expressions, questions when they told him about the cases looks like he could probably hiding something. YG and IH are trying to trap him to see if he is the murderer.
Anyway, the story is somewhat feels lacking at this point. Something is missing… I will continue to binge watch after my long holiday. Till then, take care ladies and enjoy your vacations. Stay safe!!
@Cleo @Miracle @pkml3
Oh dear, I have just remembered that I couldn’t watch the end of Ep 12. I’ll have to watch it properly now LOL.
However, a preliminary comment is that I’ve come to agree with another person’s point of view, that the plot is too little for so many episodes and Show has been eking it out with lots of extra stuff/fillers.
I agree that the execution where we go back and forth on the timeline, – now even adding 1995 to the mix – is somehow not working well in this Show. I too wonder why, when in other Shows we can cut back and forth with no issue.
Maybe it’s because the time shifts and scene transitions are not contributing to a clear overall arc. It seems that we are getting more side stories, rather than that those cuts and scenes are moving us forward at a regular pace. We seem to be stumbling and stopping, jumping ahead and then pausing in the actual storylines. Maybe Show is trying to emulate the uphill task of mountain climbing where we have to sometime backtrack and detour to get to the top?
What saved the episode for me:
I was very interested in the rescue of the people during high precipitation. I didn’t realise that water accumulates so much on mountains, as it rushes down the slopes, bringing with it lots more than just water.
So although this did not add much to the movement towards investigating the killings, it still riveted me.
I also was interested in YK’s backstory. It explains why she reacts the way she does. There is a lot of self-blame, regret, anger at self etc going on with her, and it’s been eating at her since her parents died. I don’t know if she ever bothered to get counselling or therapy for the trauma she went through.
OK I’d better watch the last bit before I say more and have to eat my words!!!
Ahh! Arrrhhh! I’ve seen the end of Ep 12.
Was one of us not saying that the rangers in 2020 were somehow not so bright and easy anymore? Perhaps it was because of the difficult 2019 all round.
I guess killer did make an appearance… but once again it will look like an accident?
@GB Unnie,
I don’t know if it was the killer who cut the rope or an accident did happen with a surge of water coming their way.
I agree with you about Yi Gang’s story that is so sad. It was the only scene I got emotional with her outburst.
The thing is that they have opened the time jump from 1994 to 1995 then to 2019 – 2020, which makes it hard to follow.
We were okay with the Black Bridge Village and why the killer is doing the killings. Inserting 1995 timeline in the mix how does it help us?
What did these people do in 1995, for the killer to decide to murder them since 2018 (?) and beyond? It doesn’t make sense anymore.
It is getting too complicated and I don’t know how this will make sense in the end. If I will be that dedicated to accept their explanation.
Hi @Viva!
Thanks for your reminder about Signal’s premise. I actually could not recall the reason for the past being able to call the future.
Yes, unfinished business is a good possibility. I heard (I think it was) YK, who mentioned it too. HJ, like the spirits of the dead with grudges who stick around on earth, has unfinished business and therefore is stuck on the mountain. YK, in believing this, is compelled to help complete this unfinished business in order to stop more killings and to release HJ’s spirit, hopefully back to his body, before his family decide to pull the plug.
OK… it was you who mentioned the rangers’ darker moods. Yes. I agree. It’s possible more than one ranger lost someone they loved in 2019. Also Il Hae is already suffering pain in his knee, so he’s losing his ‘job’.
Were you able to see the faces of the Black Bridge Village people in 1991 and compare them to the granny and herbalist? I can’t recognise them because they were young then. I think the only 4 from 1991 that we can recognise now are Yang Geun Tak, Kim Sol (then a child), Jo Dae Jin and his sunbae/boss Kim Gye Hee
HJ is trying to find out if there’s a connection between who’s murdered and who ran away/survived from the group in the shack in 1995. I didn’t hear if any of them were the Black Bridge Village people as well. Were they supposed to be volunteer firefighters?
Hey @GB!
I think I saw the illegal herbalist (almost dead because of poison yoghurt) talking in the village about the cable car. Then the old granny (dead because of poison yoghurt) near the stream. I will go back and check later tonight. That’s why I am guessing the motive is that he hate people who left the village as well as the cable car promoters. They didn’t stick around to support the mayor.
The young kid saw ghost lights back then. Weren’t the moon bear be around back then? Also he saw the man in black shoes. Is the murderer inspired to copy the man in black shows so dressed the same.
I finally signed up Viki to watch this and turned out ep 12 is not even available yet! 😂 I watched the first 1-11 in Dramacool but the buffering is getting worse and worse. I hope the ep 12 will come out a few days and I can catch up on the discussions here!
@Viva, yes, it seems to be getting harder ie takes longer and longer to get the episodes now. Both subbed and unsubbed. The buffering was so bad I decided to go to sleep. Episode 12 took me more than 1.5 hours to watch and I didn’t even finish it on the first go.
@GB, I skimmed through ep 10 to find the scenes with the dead granny. It is around timestamps 20.50 (dramacool) or 20.59 (viki). I can’t find the illegal herbalist so I could remember wrong.
While we thought it was the Mayor’s son behind all the murders, there must be another black glove person back in 1991. The one who pushed the bear in the well and the one who potentially killed Kim Sol’s mum. Have we figured who that was? Do we think it was Yang Geun Tak?
Did chief Jo really miss Kim Sol’s mum’s body three times? Or was there an insider hiding her body and only revealed it after a certain time.
Kim Sol’s parting conversation with HJ at the end of ep 10 said villagers left because of the ghost lights. Ghost lights always happened before something bad happened to the village. I wonder what he meant by that? Also he was the one prompting chief Jo’s gloves can be easily picked up by someone else in ep 11. He was trying to clear chief Jo’s name. If he is the murderer, what is his motive to tip YG?
Still waiting ep 12 on Viki, hopefully before ep 13 airs lol!
Thanks @Viva for reminding us.
So the granny who died, really was a villager of the Black Bridge Village?
True, what you say about Kim Sol not wanting blame to fall on Jo Dae Jin.
If the one who killed Kim Sol’s mother is still alive, he (or she, but I think he) must be near or in middle age at least. We have to add 28/29 years to the age of the killer. Yes we still have the 1991 killer at large, and we do not know if the 2019 killer is the same person or yet another.
I watched Ep 12 with difficulty. I hope you have a better stream of it and soon!! 🙂
Yes, @GB the Granny and Herbalist were Black Bridge Villagers.
Yes, Kim Sol fits the profile of a serial killer. For example, many serial killers are survivors of childhood trauma. Kim Sol saw the disintegration of his family and the suicide of his father. Many serial killers also suffered a maternal loss, abandonment or separation early in life. Kim Sol’s mom was killed.
Serial killers also like, crave and seek notoriety. To me, when Kim Sol stepped in to cast a doubt on Chief Jo’s guilt, it wasn’t because of altruism. He wasn’t doing it to be kind or helpful. On the contrary, it was narcissism. 🙂 He wanted to show her that he was mentally superior because:
a. he pointed out something that she didn’t consider. He made her think. Serial killers often taunt the police when the police get some “facts” wrong.
b. she has no clue that the real killer was in front of her, interacting with her. He enjoyed that he could fool her.
c. he wanted recognition. He wanted to see if she or HungJoo suspected him already.
In Epsode 11/12, I thought his arrival at that shrine with the big stone was planned, too. He was stalking her. So it’s a “good” thing the alarm sounded when it did, because she had to rush off to prepare for the forest flood.
As for the 1991 killer of Kim Sol’s mom, that’s 30 years ago. That couldn’t be Jung Gook the colleague or the other colleague with glasses. They were too young then. I suggest that he’s a different killer unrelated to the 2019 killing or that he was either Chief Jo or Chief Jo’s colleague.
Anyway, I’m steadily losing interest in the whodunnit mystery of this drama. 🙂 The story has meandered too much that I’m forcing myself to care about what would happen to the lead characters. For example, in Ep 12, I just fast-forwarded to see whether YiGang and HyunJoo survived the forest flood. I didn’t care anymore about their rescue mission.
If there’s somebody else who was doing the 2019 killings, this writer only has 4 episodes to convince us. The clock is ticking. ⏰
The streaming was good last night so I caught up with ep 12. No breaks! I have the benefit of binge watching it within a week or so therefore the gap is less hollow for me. It is entertaining to watch the visual effects and the prettiness of Jirisan.
HJ character has very little background. We see a lot more focus on YG, her first love, her dead parents story etc. This seems a Gianna show to me. They are busy showcasing her (not just a pretty face! But are into actions and deep emotions too) and may be that’s why other character developments are weak.
Ahh I see, Kim Sol just wants to throw people off track. True I can’t think of another one. He could be just inspired by the 1991 murder that killing is the way to take “justice” in his hands. Still not 100% clear on the motives. I see a point for the restaurant owner, the illegal herbalist and the cable car man. They are taking and profiting from the mountain or disrupting the order. Perhaps granny for abandoning the village. I can’t see the link for HY’s dead team mate and Yang Sun yet. What did they do wrong? They are similar age to Kim Sol. I can only guess they know something about Kim Sol and could potentially expose him.
Like @GB I like the rescue scenes. They tackled fire, water, snow. Interesting to know how they dealt with a mountain fire. I remember a flash flooding incident in our country caused a few deaths. Apparently, the water can rise quick without people knowing. I am not sure about the deeper meaning of the show just yet. I didn’t watch Kingdom and only have Signal to compare. Signal has a deeper meaning – to give justice to the weak and the loops means they wouldn’t stop trying to right a wrong. I am waiting to see if Jirisan has any deep message. Protect the wildlife? Respect nature?
@pkml3 May we have the thread for Episodes 13 and 14 please? 🥛 🍪 🥛 🍪 🥛 🍪 🥛 🍪 🥛