I asked @Growing_Beautifully to rank the apartment dwellers according to their depravity, with the top being the most depraved of them all. She shared me her list, and I think she did a good job.
When looking at the criminal offenses of these characters, it’s helpful to remember that there’s a “hierarchy” when assessing the blameworthiness of the person, and the seriousness of his/her action.
By hierarchy, I mean that a bad act is worse when it’s done purposely than knowingly. And the bad act is worse when it’s done knowingly than recklessly. And it’s worse when it’s done recklessly than negligently.
Simply put:
Purposely > knowingly > recklessly > negligently
“Purposely” means that the character consciously or intentionally engaged in the act X to cause the result Y. He DESIRED the result Y.
“Knowingly” means the character was aware that his action X will cause the result Y. He had no desire to cause Y, but he was certain – say, 90% sure – that if he did X, then he would cause Y.
“Recklessly” means that character knew of the risks of producing the result Y, but consciously disregarded them.
“Negligently” means that the character didn’t know of the risks, although he should have been aware of them.
With these distinctions in mind, you can better understand @GB’s ranking.
Here they are. I’m putting them in quotes, and adding comments as we go along.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Evil People from most to least
@pkml3 I’d lump Killer Oh and Andrew together, with Rep Oh as a close second. It’s telling that the top names are all uninfected people. The true monsters are not the infected who drink blood but the uninfected who commit crimes in cold blood, whose attitudes totally lack love.
Killer Oh (Likely just infected himself with Next) who kills without remorse, as it suits him. Who colludes with Andrew and tries to corrupt others. Who tried to infect everyone. Unfortunately, with all the Next he took, he’ll survive the bashing that Sang Hee gave him.
Just a little note here about the Next pills, @GB.
Killer Oh thinks that he’s been taking Next pills. But if you remember, back in Episode 8 (timestamp 1:01:34), YiHyun picked up one Next pill from the car floor, then saw four more pills beside and inside the bottle with a white cap. He took all the pills from the bottle and stashed them all in a police evidence bag.
So, just like YH left his blue pill box filled with his antacids in the car to be found by Killer Oh, he filled the medicine bottle with more of his antacids and left the bottle to be found again by Killer Oh. He knew Killer Oh was looking for the medicine in their room.
So Killer Oh was never in danger of becoming a zompire. But he pretended to be a zompire so he could be absolved from responsibility. There’s no doubt that he intentionally tried to kill people.
Also, the mistress bashed him with the club, but it wasn’t hard enough to crack open his skull like he did with his wife.
Andrew (Uninfected) who chooses to kill, just because. A psychopath? There was no obvious reason for his killing the Cleaner. He just liked smashing in heads?
He was a psychopath. He enjoyed killing people. His intention was clear.
YH: I know who you are. (Flashback to the time he passed by the mugshots on the “Wanted” criminals) You killed the real Ahn Guk Jin, didn’t you? How many did you kill while hiding your face?
Andrew: The infected are the same. Hiding their true self and looking for a victim while hiding among others.
Like Killer Oh, Andrew was trying to use the “Zompires did it, too!” He was reminding YiHyun and SaeBom that they’d been lenient with the zompires like the Gym Guy, Supermarket Girl, and the Fake Pastor. They refused to kill them although these zompires were potential killers.
SB: Those people contracted a disease. You were crazy from the beginning.
SB pointed out that those people were infected by a disease and were behaving out of the ordinary because of their disease.
Rep Oh (Uninfected) for colluding with evil, for consistently choosing greed, over good.
Note: Rep Oh was evil, but she was also stupid. She underestimated Andrew. Here’s her conversation with him after they sent off SaeBom and YiHyun to turn on the generator.
Rep Oh: Andrew, you did a great job. Don’t you think it would be best for the building to take care of that gun? Andrew?
I’m not sure how precise the translation was over here, but by “building” she meant the “authority” or the leader in the building, and that would be her.
Killer Oh: (interrupting) When the 5th floor couple comes up, you’re going to kill them, aren’t you?
Andrew: (nodding, then smiling)
Rep Oh: When the lockdown lifts, you’re leaving right away, right?
Andrew: Yes. I’ll have to search the other apartments.
Rep Oh: What happened here is all your doing. We didn’t know anything. You fully understand that, don’t you?
She was seeking his cooperation, as if she could negotiate with evil.
Andrew: (nodding then looking at the cleaners)
Rep Oh: (asking the cleaners) Are you two okay with that, too?
Cleaner Wife: Of course, we don’t know anything. (telling her husband) What are you doing? Let’s hurry and turn the water on.
Rep Oh: Get in. We have to go to 501 and get the food.
Cleaner Wife: Oh, we’ll stop by the second floor first. You go ahead first.
The Cleaner Wife knew that Andrew was not somebody to mess around with. But her husband was rather obtuse. Her husband, like Rep Oh, thought that Andrew could be controlled or subdued.
By Episode 12, they understood that the danger of dealing with Andrew. Rep Oh beat up Andrew herself in the rooftop, and the Cleaner Couple fought Andrew in the elevator. I think that after their encounters with Andrew, they became mentally unstable, too.
Sang Hee (Uninfected) who uses any man as it suits, who acts out of greed, who does not balk at murder and is willing to commit it herself.
Attorney Kook (Uninfected) for only pretending to care as an ex-public defender, for immorality and colluding with Sang Hee, for giving in to greed and baser instincts.
Bratty Son (Uninfected) for putting himself first regardless of the harm that causes. For abandoning his parents.
Cleaner Husband (Uninfected) who was self-serving and willing to tolerate evil to get whatever he could. For dragging his wife into the pit of evil with him.
Cleaner Wife (Uninfected) for allowing herself to be led by her weak and greedy husband instead of attempting to lead him right.
SaeBom and YiHyun were right to point out that the Cleaner Couple weren’t blameless as they wanted to think they were. Although they didn’t intend nor want somebody killed, they knew somebody was going to get hurt but didn’t care.
SB: I’m sure those on the outside will judge everyone’s actions in here. You two (meaning Killer Oh and Rep Oh) will go to jail for instigating murder. (looking at the Cleaning Couple) And aren’t you embarrassed to face your son?
Cleaning Wife: (protesting) I only did that because the food was going to be distributed. Really, I didn’t know anything. I’m being honest!
YH: Food doesn’t fall from the sky for no reason. You must have known someone would end up getting hurt. I’m sure you accepted because you were told you’d benefit if you kept quiet.
Good People from least to best
Jung Kook (Uninfected) for thinking about himself first. Although he can’t be considered bad because he was cowardly, he was weak willed in the face of anyone more adamant than himself, failing to recognise the good in his long-time friends.
Yi Hun (Infected) I hope it’s just the disease acting and not YH who bit Andrew. In every other decision he put SB and others first.
I’m forgiving YiHyun because it was self-defense.
Andrew: Your wife ran away. Are you okay with that?
YH: It’s the best. I ended up liking her after meeting her at a place like this. On a clear day with a blue sky. The end too…on this kind of a day…Sending her away from her is perfect.
There. I think he was fully expecting to die on this day. Andrew approached him and pointed the guy to his head. YiHyun leaned his head back. But Andrew didn’t pull the trigger.
Andrew: This is no fun. Damn it. Look at me, won’t you? It’s only fun for me if I look someone in the eyes while I kill them.
Andrew was gloating about the way he killed his victims. He ordered YiHyun to turn around so he could have “fun” killing him while looking at death flash before his victim’s eyes.
And of course, the key point here is the eyes. Andrew got more than he bargained for. He was able to look at YiHyun in the eyes, but he didn’t expect to see YiHyun’s eyes were those of a zompire.
Brother Na (Infected) was bad for appropriating his sister’s home, but he redeems himself because he refuses to turn into a monster. His love for family and sister trumped the virus.
Lee Bo Ram (Infected) who has more compassion for the elderly parents than their own son.
Dad Kim (Uninfected)
Sae Beom (With antibodies)
For me, I would put YiHyun and SaeBom lower — or should I say closer — to the ideal goodness because they were purposely, unselfishly, proactively, and consistently did good unlike the others.
For example, Brother Na did well in the end but in the beginning, he was selfish, and he didn’t think twice about sending the Gym Guy out. Writer Na did well sharing her supplies and protesting against Andrew, but she did endanger the residents by lying about her brother’s presence in the building. The Lawyer’s wife was good, too, but because she was timid in the beginning, she was useless in resolving conflict on her own, and burdening SaeBom with her problems. The Elderly Wife was good because she didn’t cause trouble to others. But when it comes to helping others, she didn’t do much, did she?
In comparison, YiHyun and SaeBom put themselves in harm’s way over and over again, for the good of others.
Mum Kim(Infected) continued (I believe) to be patient and non violent.
I must say, @GB, that the infected people: Brother Na, the Supermarket Girl, and Elderly Mom were admirable for holding off the violent urge in them. Especially the Elderly Mom! Despite being around her whiny husband and her selfish son, she didn’t lose her temper.
Shin So Yoon (Uninfected) able to stand up to her husband
Writer Na (Uninfected)
I like how these two women stood up for what’s right. The Lawyer’s Wife was shocked that she married someone so lame that he’d think about bitcoins in a time of crisis and so selfish that he’d save himself by handing over a child to a murderer. For her part, Writer Na was shocked that Andrew was demanding that they turn a blind eye to his crimes.
I’m so glad that in this drama the women weren’t portrayed as dumbbells.
Seo Yoon (Uninfected)
I like the child SeoYoon because she was smart enough to pack YiHyun’s gears for him. The lawyer didn’t notice what she was doing because he was busy lecturing his wife.
So that’s it. GrowingBeautifully’s ranking of the apartment residents and my additional comments. Thanks, GB!
The title moments, Eps 8 to 12, from komunyoung’s tumblr:
How lovely! Thanks so much @pkml3.
A small puzzle about those Next pills that Killer Oh was popping. Perhaps there was the power of faith LOL or they really might have been original Next pills, because Cleaner Husband seemed to have recovered fast from his stab wound as well. Yi Hyun did say that not all Next pills would infect people. I thought it was Killer Oh’s ‘bad’ luck that the pills he found were effective in promoting fast healing and energy, but did not give him Zompirism (yes, I just coined another word LOL)
Super @GB @packmule3. I did think it was odd that YH told Oh that not all Next pills caused the disease. And then it did cross my mind that it was because he knew Oh had taken his antacid pills instead. But then when Cleaner hubby took it and seemed to miraculously get better I got confused? The placebo effect maybe? 😂
On the Next pills, it’s possible what Killer Oh and cleaner husband took are the real Next pills but the effect on vampirism may vary. The fast healing may have taken effect first. YH can tell if any of them have turned since he will be attracted to their blood. That’s why he can claim Killer is not a zompire because he is one! I think he even said something like that.
@Janey, yes, that’s what I thought too. Those were real Next pills but without the zompire effect. That’s why those who got hurt recovered quickly without treatment.
I was equally perplexed by how both Killer Oh and Cleaner husband didn’t turn after popping so many pills. Although it was mentioned that not everyone who takes Next pill gets “zompired”, it still seemed the infection rate is pretty high judging by the sheer number of zompires in the Le Ciel apartment blocks.
Speaking of characters, I chanced upon a Chinese translation of the character bios taken from the official tvn website (https://program-tving-com.translate.goog/tvn/happiness/3/Contents/Html?_x_tr_sl=ko&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc&_x_tr_sch=http)
Two character bios drew my attention:
Kim Bok Nam (SB’s mom)
– In denial of being a source of unhappiness to SB
– Took a loan under SB’s name to run a business, resulting in SB having bad credit. Declares all that she’s done is for the sake of “being successful”
– Received life insurance payout and some assets after husband’s death and checked herself in to a nursing home
– Self centred, did not provide/give anything to SB. Believes she’s a good mother by not burdening her child
Killer Oh (Joo-Hyung)
– Oh was involved in a car accident during his medical college year and had part of his brain removed
– Bonded with medical classmate (Min-Ji) during his hospitalization and eventually got married
– Set up a dermatology franchise without formal qualifications
– Embezzled money and scammed work colleagues/staff. Pushed everything to wife, Min Ji when customers took litigation against him/his company for selling low quality products
– Commonly seen “elite psychopath” in Korea (??? really, is this that common?)
Sounds like those who’ve had a major incident/medical history somehow are able to build immunity against the virus? SB, Killer Oh were both involved in major car accident and writer Na’s brother has diabetes.
Thanks for the link @The Wanderer. That’s interesting background about SB’s mum. No wonder she was never enthusiastic about speaking with her.
That’s a plausible theory about those who develop a natural immunity. That means that YH’s knee injury was treated differently perhaps from the way the accident victims were treated.
I finally worked up the courage to watch the end of Happiness. The evil people triggered my fear response much more than the zompires.
To round out the rankings of people in the building by wickedness, I’ll add my opinion of those who died during the show. From bad to better:
Trainer Kim Seung Beom (infected) – I put him on the evil side. He knowingly sold illicit drugs: he was operating a black market operation with product from a shady source, touting the pill’s effectiveness as a stimulant (one of the four major types of illicit drugs; the other three are depressants, narcotics, and hallucinogens). He lied about having taken Next himself. He also got his job in the building because his noona, Apartment Representative Oh, wanted him to help convince residents to vote for her. We don’t know if he was aware her ultimate goal was to use the Apartment Representative position for fraudulent purposes.
Preacher Sun (infected) – His faith may have had a measure of sincerity, as we saw him praying alone, but he was aware of his wife’s plan to skim money as Apartment Representative. He was aware of intent to defraud, and didn’t intervene: he colluded. He incurred guilt by omission, so falls onto the evil side.
Cleaning Lady (uninfected) – She tried to not be a burden. She stayed quiet. But because she didn’t speak out to defend the falsely accused, she helped perpetrate evil.
Penthouse resident Kim Se Hun (uninfected) – He shared his food and water supplies with others. He wasn’t comfortable going out in public, but forced himself to come to the gym to vote against forcing Trainer Kim outside the building. He may have been quirky, but he was generally a good guy.
Not ranked, because we didn’t see them for very long in the building, but a few words about Seo Yoon’s parents. They seemed like relatively good people, struggling to make ends meet with a chronically ill daughter. SY’s mother seemed more an advocate for SY’s health than her father, which in my opinion tips the mom toward the good side of the scale and the dad toward the bad. I fault both of them for taking an unprescribed medication to increase their stamina: that’s never a good idea. I don’t care if the person who sold it to them claimed it was safe, herbal, whatever: there are too many ways illicit drugs can go wrong, from bad interactions with other drugs being taken, to being tainted during or after manufacture. Claiming something is safe just because it is natural and herbal is nonsense: remember, hemlock and belladonna are just two examples of naturally growing plants that are deadly if consumed. And as for SY being left home alone often by her parents, even though she’s a child (the actress who played her was age 9), that is culturally acceptable in South Korea even though it might cause concern in people from other cultures. Because it is something considered normal in South Korea, I’ll consider it a neutral factor. https://keia.org/the-peninsula/south-koreas-unsupervised-children/
Looks like there was a “Christmas special” for Happiness- this appeared on my YT feed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Jfd7JPBPpI&t=694s
Worth a watch as they covered questions from fans and a little more.
I’ve seen it with some Chinese subtitles, some tidbits:
– Script was still being written as they begun filming (I thought the script was completed beforehand). Was kept very secret even HHJ/PHS didn’t know if it was going to be BE/HE
– Director thanked viewers who liked the drama, was surprised by the overwhelming feedback judging by the low ratings. HHJ then rebutted by saying she was satisfied with the ratings considering the timeslot XD
– HHJ reinforces SB’s character is very similar to her true nature. Her close friends rang her after watching the first few episodes and asked her when is she going to start acting (rofl)
– PHS has slimmed down considerably. He mentioned he’s pleased to have join this project as he had buffed up from his military training to present a more “dependable” Yi Hyun
– HHJ asked director why the letter “e” was flipped around. This was discussed with writer-nim but no surprises it was to reflect when things were made right in the end. Also director said “e” represented/encompassed many things in the drama
– Both HHJ and PHS genuinely wasn’t expecting any loveline and was surprised by the couple’s development in the end. When asked when did SB realise she liked YH, reply was when SB thought he was stuck alone in the apartment during the lockdown but saw YH and hugged him (that was pretty early on, wasn’t it)
– Ad libs confirmation: #1 was when SB was checking on YH’s palm wound and told him to “tell noona if he’s hurt anywhere else”. YH naturally replied “OK noona”. #2: Ending scene where SB started running
– On villains: Writer nim says he’s encountered villains like Killer Oh and Rep Oh in real life
– Ending of other characters: Writer-nim says think “justice to be served to the evil characters, and good ending for the good characters”. Implies good ending for HTS and wife and child
Thanks so much @TheWanderer! Your translation from the Chinese was very helpful. I hope someone will add English subs too!
Thanks for this, @TheWanderer. 👍👍
I’m watching “Uncle” right now and when it was revealed that one of the leaders was getting kickbacks from her work as representative of the apartment complex and the parent school association, I was reminded of Rep Oh.
😈 I was on my sons’ school board. How come I was never offered any bribe?!! 😂😂 Sure, I was asked to endorse SAT test preps, tutorial services, and whatnot, but I could attest that we received no financial recompense, not even a gift card to Starbucks. 🤪 In truth, parent volunteers end up donating money, service, and time to the school.
I’m really interested to know more about the secret lives of apartment and school representatives in SK.
I laughed at the piece of tidbit from HHJ — her friends asked her when she would she actually begin acting since she was just essentially playing herself. 😈
@packmule3 I’m also intrigued with the kickbacks that could be received in SK, does come across as very profitable from what’s presented in Kdrama land. Back in my home country, bribery is also commonplace but not so much in a school setting. I do recall my parents often have to self fund donations and fundraisers from the school. As you’ve mentioned mom would be out of pocket and spend more time as a parent volunteer so maybe it’s more to do with the school setting.
Quite surprised by HHJ’s actual character. So looks like she’s pretty tough going despite her feminine appearance. In the video she also mentioned on set PHS once called her “hyung” and she was a little shocked.
On the very cool scene where PHS chased after HTS in the basement carpark (HTS was “abducting SB), apparently PHS threw up during the filming. PHS explained that it was a pretty hot day, and they did a few takes of that scene, each time he ran with all his might. After that the crew made sure to check up on him regularly every time there was a similarly intense scene.
On favourite scenes/dialogue:
Director- Scene in the basement gym where the residents interact/argue. Each actor put in a lot of effort to bring their characters to life
Writer- Elevator confession scene (he was proud he could finally write romantic dialogues too)
Was the ending scene SB’s imagination?
HHJ’s response: That’d be too sad
Director: Interesting for viewers to interpret it as a BE
Ending scene with SB’s colleague
– This was shot at the start of filming (along with other scenes as he was a guest star), before the ending was finalised. Director deliberated with writer if that scene was to be added but they decided to add in anyway. Remains an “open ending”
For those who can read Chinese, here’s the link to the translated video:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Pa411z71Q/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.0
@pkml3 It was such a good joke. I guess we now have a pretty good idea of HHJ’s personality. 🙂
Thanks for the link and details notes, @Thewanderer!
If that’s HHJ’s personality (like SB), then she’s pretty cool. When I first watched her way back, I thought she was Suzy. But I actually like HHJ’s acting better than Suzy with minimal or no aegyo. And even from a beauty side, I prefer HHJ facial features over Suzy. They should be cast as sisters: HHJ as eldest (34) along with Park Shin Hye (31) with Suzy (27) as youngest. That will be powerhouse drama.
I just wanted to drop by and say how much I enjoyed reading all the posts and comments related to perhaps my number 2 favorite kdrama of all time. Also that I remember reading and enjoying all of pm3 comments in the reply 1988 forum and was so surprised to find this gem. Sad that I only found both after both series had finished airing so I couldn’t geek out with you in real time. Maybe in some future drama although I tend to be a rewatcher rather than a volume watcher.
Welcome to the blog, @koalatown. I’m not finished with this kdrama yet. 😂😂 I just have to shovel snow today with my hubby. The first snow of the year.
Thank you for your kind welcome to the blog. Can we play- Answer the plot hole game? I know on some other forums people complain about many perceived plot holes. I have some thoughts about them, but welcome other thoughts too… and other plot holes that need filling 😉.
These are my speculations only and could be entirely wrong and hopefully some of it was cleared up in the commentary which I have only seen bits and pieces translated in English. So feel free to correct me if the writer/director answered any of these.
1. What happened to TS’s wife and baby?
I think they are both cured. We know this because 1. TS told SB that all his wife needed was another dose of her antibodies to be cured. 2. When he was injecting her and his superior and other soldiers came, he pulled out his gun on them. His superior asked him if he knew what he was doing, and he said yes. Then he proceeded to finish the injection with the gun still trained on his superior. Then, he puts down the gun, but doesn’t surrender until after he turns and sees that his wife’s facial discoloration (a sign of the infection) had resolved. Then, and only then did he surrender. We know from before when he stole the first dose of SB’s antibody at gunpoint that he would do anything to cure his wife and child. There is NO WAY he would surrender unless he knew they were cured. I don’t think we need to see them healthy in an epilogue to know they are.
2. How did Andrew not get bitten on the rooftop when TS showed up and kidnapped SB?
I believe the writer showed us that there is a post infection period after a rabid episode when they return to normal and they don’t immediately turn back into a zompire if they see an uninfected person- possibly like a “post-ictal” state with seizures. The scene right before the roof scene was the conniving outside tenant who had gotten in thanks to the supermarket lady and vlogger trying to get into 501 but the kid was too smart. Then SB and YH showed up and essentially threatened him and he ran away. Presumably this was after he had already recently bitten the writer’s brother as he has blood on his face and claimed to have only taken a tiny bite. He didn’t go immediately zompire and attack them and he clearly was afraid for his own safety. So my guess is that the 2 zompires that had almost attacked the pastor and detective but were deterred by the pastor’s tainted blood smell had their rabid episode end just prior to going to the roof top. Andrew the serial killer threatened them with his trusty hammer that he had used to kill the cleaning lady. He used the hammer to break down the lock and probably threatened to kill them if they didn’t leave. We know that the security zompire at least was still “post-ictal” when TS came and looked in the stairway as we saw him lurking there but he didn’t immediately turn zompire or try to bite TS. Later when SB showed up after TS had secured the door we hear the security zompire banging endlessly on the door in a rabid state.
3. Why didn’t TS just ask SB for help looking for antibodies instead of kidnapping her?
I saw another user on another website talk about how TS knew that there were moles/spies everywhere and if he asked SB for help that it would tip off the pharma guy and higher ups that she might be special. They might then try to take her themselves and prevent TS from being able to save the cure first for his wife and baby which ultimately is all he cared about. By using the kid as an excuse to get SB out, this might not tip his hand. I also don’t think it was blood he initially wanted but it was a consolation prize. If he really only wanted her blood, he had several earlier opportunities to come clean about it. She point blank asked him in the hallway if he was here for her and her blood and he didn’t answer her question but instead said he was there for the kid. Then on the roof again SB says she thinks he’s here for her, but she doesn’t know why. He tells her that they found antibodies in her blood but don’t know if they’re effective even if it means letting her get bitten. Then he shoots off the doorknob and lets the zompire security guard in. So perhaps this was really the test he was thinking of doing (but in a more controlled laboratory setting), but when it didn’t seem to be working, he then shoots the zompire in the shoulder. Perhaps he didn’t shoot to kill the zompire (like in the head which is a smaller target) because he couldn’t risk injuring SB and losing her antibodies even though SB thought it was because he was being kind. Clearly he didn’t think she was going to want to come nicely with him since he already had prepared the tranquilizer needle which he used on her. He probably didn’t want to cut SB’s brains open to check for antibodies as that would risk killing her, but he could do a lumbar puncture and test her cerebrospinal fluid for the antibodies. That would be a far more invasive test that she likely wouldn’t easily agree to, and definitely YH would not let him if he knew. The extreme test would be to get her reinfected to see if she was still able to resist.
4. What are the doctor and wanna-be housing rep in court for?
I think the fact that they are both sitting on the defendant side together means that they are on trial as co-defendants. So of all the various evil things they did, 2 stand out as things they did together to me. One is as accomplice to murder for 15th floor doomsdayer as they both knew about and encouraged Andrew to kill doomsdayer for food and water. A 2nd is also accomplices to attempted murder for YH (and even SB) as they both clearly stated to Andrew that they wanted them killed when they returned from turning on the generator and the cleaning people witnessed the discussion.
I think separately the doctor could be tried for murdering for his wife.
5. Why didn’t SB and YH just trust TS because he seemed the smartest and knew what he was doing?
From the beginning he was very dishonest with them and was caught in several lies several times by them so why would they trust him? Initially when YH asked if the rabid episode had something to do with a drug TS said no it was an infection. We the viewers know later that TS had learned it was a side effect from the clinical trial just before it went onto the market that night his wife got bitten. So he lied and YH learns later that it was a lie when the derm lady had the NEXT drug in her apartment and YH again asked TS if it’s from the drug. TS doesn’t answer but deflects the question with a question that “I’m sure you’re not here just for that”. Technically he is acknowledging that it’s true without saying it. Early on when SB was being tested for infection she asked TS how the trainee that was infected was doing and TS lied that he was recovering remarkably well. The next day SB encountered the trainee and he turned rabid on her so clearly that was a blatant lie as well. So there is no reason for either YH or SB to trust TS from episode 1.
6. If SB is so badass why didn’t she just shoot Andrew in the head when he had YH at gunpoint?
Here I think @pm3 made a good point in an earlier post that both YH and SB are capable of killing people due to their training, but they had refrained to kill anyone up to that point. Their humanity and taking the harder road instead of the easier road again. I think she again was trying to find a way to save YH without killing a person even a murderer. Also I don’t think she was willing to risk YH’s life if there resulted in a happy trigger finger. However after Andrew turned and started lunging at her I think she was only just a few seconds later than YH at shooting him. YH had shown that he would do anything to protect SB and was just quicker to the draw. Some people bemoaned that this was another “guy savior moment”. However, I think he took the responsibility of the kill (as she had previously said when she had given him the gun earlier in the show) so she wouldn’t feel bad about it.
Sorry for the long post. I just can’t get over this show!
Hi @koalatown! Welcome and thanks for your impressive points on plotholes. They seem very well thought through and quite plausible.
Agree about your 1). I do also think that TS’s family would have ended up well. It was the colleague of SB that was a question mark, since he didn’t look well yet. But I found from another source, that the scene of him was taken at the beginning of the series (he only had a guest role and was not meant to stick around or come back at the end) and so he didn’t look like he had recovered yet.
2) The Andrew not getting attacked plothole, I originally put down to him being more ferocious than the zompires LOL. Probably no one else had ever threatened them with any weapon, although from their zombie-ness, I doubt that would necessarily have stopped their attack. It’s possible that their sanity kicked in, in the nick of time for Andrew. He claimed that he merely told them to go, and they left.
3) I’m not sure but am willing to go with @pkml3’s conjecture that TS who does ‘experiments’ was doing an experiment on the rooftop. It was perhaps more to see if SB would react in any abnormal way as a sign of whether her antibodies were still ‘good’.
I agree with your 4). Those two joined hands to commit more than one murder via Andrew.
5) All along, SB and YH only trusted each other. I was surprised, though, that SB very early on also trusted Lt Lee Ji Soo.
6) Yes I agree with your and @pkml3’s viewpoint(s). That they chose to not become monsters themselves. I guess, I’m not personally hung up on whether the guy saves the girl or she saves herself or she saves him, etc. In this show we get all three scenarios, I feel, and it does not detract from the strength of all the characters. Being able to let another person help one, is also a sign of strength. 🙂
Welcome to BoD @Koalatown!! I love this show as well, I still play the OST frequently. As @GB said, you’ve covered the plot holes really well. On your last point, I really admire the restraint that SB and YH has (unless it’s gonna harm SB) to kill and harm a person if another way is possible. Police folks should imbibe this value.
@Janey I actually always get HHJ mixed up with Song Hye Kyo- I still find strong resemblences to this day. Maybe it’s just me? There’s more of her works to look forward to- Pirates 2 and Disney+ Moving I think. I also really enjoy the OST, in the Christmas commentary director had requested for “quality, impactful scores” for the drama, so definitely quality>quantity.
Not quite sisters but I’m really looking forward to “39” with Son Ye Jin and Jeon Mi Do (can’t remember the third actress’s name)
@koalatown @GB
On point (3) I personally still think it’s a plothole. If HTS had taken the time to explain his motives, I think SB would have definitely been more cooperative/forthcoming. If he was worried that the higher ups would target SB when they know she potentially holds the cure, it was equally high profile when he abducted her from the apartment. He had tried using SY as a smokescreen, but remember, he left with SB only without the child. Also, there are spies/moles within the dorm/lab facilities, I don’t think HTS had any better chances of hiding SB and conduct his own experiments there.
@TheWanderer You know the 2 actors I keep mixing up, although when put side by side, they don’t look that alike?
Kim Kyung Nam of The King: Eternal Monarch and Wi Ha Joon of Bad and Crazy. The photo below has them looking different but I thought I saw Kim Kyung Nam with the same hairstyle as Wi Ha Joon, and forgot which actor I saw in which show.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WTsCslMxh0xEh52xnwyOqWt6DSVNCCth/view?usp=sharing
@GB I totally agree with you! Bad and Crazy is not on my radar but it keeps showing up on my social media. I recently finished King Eternal and thought it was the same actor too!
Hi5 to that @Koalatown!! LOL.
OK, I’m going to try and get hold of Our Beloved Summer Episode 10 with soft subs now… *fingers crossed!!!*