Final week.
Are you going to miss this kdrama? What’s the final grade?
gifs from I-got-the-feels’ tumblr
Enjoy the show!
32 Comments On “Link: Eps 15 & 16 Open Thread”
Comments are closed.
Final week.
Are you going to miss this kdrama? What’s the final grade?
gifs from I-got-the-feels’ tumblr
Enjoy the show!
Comments are closed.
Kalimera @Packmule3,
Although “Link: Eat, Love, Kill” really broke my heart last week with what really happend to Gye Young 18 years ago, I will continue to say this story is a underrated gem.
I do hope both Gye Hoon and Da Hyun will get their catharsis because the skeletons in the closet have haunted them long enough, making it unbearable for them to live.
I won’t miss it. Only because I need resolution for the leads and for them to just move on with living happy lives. I don’t want to be revisiting that little suburb/township any time soon. 😬. The adults behaved appallingly 18 years ago. Which resulted in the mess for the leads 🙄 all these years. A web of lies. Just goes to show truth matters. And it may be painful at first but in the long run, it’s always the best policy. As a grade though I would give it an “A” for keeping my interest right to the end. And for the performances of JinGoo and GaYoung. How does one manage to cry without scrunching up your face or sniffling badly? Somehow JinGoo manages it with aplomb? The tears roll down his face and he looks surprised? Amazing.
@nrllee,
So instead of that “it takes a whole village to raise a child” school of thought, we have the opposite, “it takes a whole village to ruin a child.”
🤔🤔🤔
I like JingGoo’s acting. He’s convincing and sympathetic in whatever role he takes.
Episode 15 made me a mess…
Gye Young my strong and innocent child. You knew pretty well you your Oppa ga Gye Hoon.
Sorry, I can’t write anything at the moment.
I dropped this one around episode 10. I like the main lead actors, but this one just didn’t work for me. Everyone (apparently rightly) seemed suspicious, and I never could come around to the DH’s mother actually his either. I think jin goo is better suited to roles that don’t involve romance. Although I do think this bone structure is beautiful. I’d like to see this lead actress in something where it’s not necessary for her to cry in every episode.
So many people left Gye Young when she could have been saved, including the police chief who didn’t believe the two boys. Small wonder she haunts them.
@nrllee, no it’s not a story that I feel comfortable re-watching, but it has been so compelling and unusual that I hope to see a good resolution tomorrow. Such an emotional episode tonight.
What do you think of the revelation that grandmother Choon-ok isn’t Bo-Hee’s biological mother? I wonder if we’ll hear more about that.
I feel that the story reminds us of our responsibility to others, even strangers. Also to not to walk down dark alleyways alone at night (my only beef).
@packmule3 unfortunately that was exactly what happened. The repeated failure of adults behave like adults all played a part in the death of a little girl, and all the pain associated with that through the years.
As expected, the link was ”transferred” between the girls due to the promise made long ago. DH was to be the messenger/voice of GY to finally release GH (her brother) from his guilt. He needed to hear it to assuage his long held guilt.
@Fern I am not entirely sure why writer would bother to insert that detail about DH’s grandma NOT being the biological mother of DH’s mother. Honestly I feel like it’s superfluous. Is writer going to spin some sob story in their family so as to make the viewers less incensed by the family’s deception from long ago? Wrong is wrong. It doesn’t make it less wrong because somehow the circumstances pushed her to choose wrong in the first place? 🙄. And I agree about walking in dark alleys. Wae??? And that chase scene into the redevelopment zone? If I were DH I would’ve just stayed in the restaurant by pretending to get a message from mom (yes mom I will wait for you at the restaurant or something) and hung around people? 🤔😑.
That scene in the restaurant with the men was played out again. And if the killer was seated where he was, stalker LJG would’ve seen him with that last long glance down the table. Had he been sitting where truck driver was, I would’ve said yeah, he could’ve missed seeing him and therefore his surprise in the dim alley would’ve made sense. And the sequence of events doesn’t make sense if Police Chief was heading back into the restaurant after having seen LJG and fishmonger. When we saw him return, fishmonger was already back in the restaurant? 🤔.
Police chief is a dunce. He has zero detective skills and his gut feel is totally off. If LJG was killed, wouldn’t the strange meeting in the alley between fishmonger and LJG be setting off some alarm bells? 🤔. Police chief should’ve retired long ago.
Lastly, I am NOT at all happy with how they dealt with the domestic violence case. The man who beat up his dance instructor wife? The man is still hanging round with his friends…drinking? 🙄. Of his close circle of friends 2 are policemen? What does that say about the police and their stance on violence against women? 🙄👎. Don’t tell me he’s suddenly turned over a new leaf after being beat up by WT. He still had swagger in the restaurant when WT poured his drink…🙄.
One more ep. To finally find the bodies of GY and GH’s dad. And to provide closure. It’s sad 😢 but I am glad for GH’s sake. They will get their proper burials and GH can start to heal and move on.
Kalimera Ladies,
I am glad that everything is coming to a full circle and that finally the truth is out there. We need closure ASAP.
@nrllee I agree with you in everything you said.
@Fern, yes we should be careful of walking in dark alleys. I don’t.
@nrllee, you have pointed out some logic failures in the script and the huge failure to address domestic violence in the case of the aerobic instructor’s husband. Perhaps it will happen today?
Also, I wonder under Korean law if Bok-hee would indeed have served jail time for killing the accomplice, as policeman Ahn said? The man was trying to kill the policman. She saved Ahn and that could have been proven. Was it because she had some sort of weapon perhaps which is forbidden? In the current day she no longer has a witness because the policeman is presumably dead and she can’t say that she was persuaded by him repeatedly not to confess. Perhaps the fact that Choon-ok isn’t Bok-hee’s actual mother can make her a more reliable witness? They didn’t seem to be living together 18 years ago. Where is EAWoo when we need her?
Just musing here: There are the other two women’s deaths; it made me wonder briefly if the stalker killed them or did he lead them, as before, to the fishmonger? I know it was the stalker because the fishmonger had that moment of returned blood lust after drinking alcohol. However, IRL I do rather think it’s unlikely that he could stay ‘clean’ from killing for 18 years when he gets such a rush from murder. I also wondered how he and the policeman became friends because it seems he wasn’t from the area? Army buddies? And didn’t the fishmonger look like the stalker in the last 2 episodes? There was something similar in the way the actors were styled.
Finally, we will have to see GH’s mother hear the truth that her husband is dead and that GH knew it was probably true because of his dad’s wallet returned to him by the police some time back. He kept it from her thinking it was best. It will be difficult to watch. I don’t know how much of her sanity will return.
So many dramas with crime revolve around money. There is very little of that here, except for some characters hoping to keep their jobs and normal ordinary lives. It makes their actions even more realistic and pathetic somehow. No one was trying to get rich quick, upgrade their class or defend their chaebol benchmarks or stock shares.
GH hugging his sister’s ghost wrecked me. I wonder if we will get some scenes where the sun is shining in this dark, dark town?
@Fern, I’m also not understanding the grandmother and mother revealing that they are not related to each other. I hope the reason is revealed in the last episode.
The hardware store man was also haunted by the ghost. It is such a terrible thing to be haunted for 18years for something that could have been done. Then again, so many people in this drama are holding such regrets for a good part of their life. I hope there is a good resolution in the end.
There is so many loose ends to tie for the last episode which I will only get to watch 24hrs later. I hope it ends with hope even if the leads don’t end up together.
On alleys, I’m really annoyed with GY for always walking in them…and through the redevelopment one where it is more deserted. And then I will be upset with her for doing that so often….but conclude it is for the sake of the story…
I finished Link. I really enjoyed the Finale!
It gave Gye Hoon the so needed Catharsis and… not going to spoil it for you!
Yes, we are given an answer about the connection between Halmeoni and Eomma!
Tomorrow my friends I will comment more!
I’m so glad that the ending wasn’t rushed and we got many answers and actions from the survivors that were needed. That’s all I can say without spoiling. It was a very good ending imo.
Happy to hear that it ended well, @Fern. Give it a few hours and you can do spoilers. How can you talk about the ending if you don’t give spoilers? 🙂
@packmule3, I was following @Cleo’s lead. 😉😇 SPOILER: Grandmother is actually Bok-hee’s mother-in-law. While she had her flaws, she is probably the most responsible of all of the adults.
It ended, in a way, with the capture of the murderer, so the last episode was a natural tying-up of loose ends. While the tragedy isn’t glossed over, there is a feeling of release along with a renewed sense of responsibility and ethics among the characters. Better late than never, rather than too little too late.
I really appreciate the casting in this drama. From the children to the neighbours to the main players, it was very well done. I thought the actor playing the stalker did an amazing job. The grandmother played by Ye Su-jeong was another favourite character. I wasn’t impressed with the mother at the beginning, but I warmed to her after a while. Perhaps my perception came about because the woman who plays the grandmother has a very subtle style and great body language; my eyes were drawn to her in all of her scenes.
It’s time for bed, now. I must catch up with AoS starting tomorrow.
Just finished. I am a bit ambivalent about the ending.
Things I liked
– that they finally found the bodies of GY and her dad. Closure for GH and his mother
– the reconciliation between GH and his mother. I liked that they didn’t gloss over the mother-son and made it seem like it was going to be an ongoing work in progress.
– GH and DH getting together again BEFORE he found the bodies. It looked like he was already at peace and was moving on with his life.
– the parting of ways for wife beating loser hubby and aerobic instructor.
– the revelation that DH’s grandma was actually the mother in law. And she only came into the picture when DH went missing. So this story made sense.
– EunJung and JinHo (?) getting together.
– Policeman JunHo and DH’s mom going back to the Police station in the end (to make a statement? Confess to what happened all those years ago?).
Things I didn’t like
– I really didn’t like how it seemed like the writer felt compelled to give everyone a happy ever after. After giving us a realism for the reconciliation of mother and son, the other resolutions felt strangely overly optimistic and trite. That’s how I felt watching the final episode. Taxi driver suddenly became warm and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. Truck driver and his wife somehow magically seemed to have moved to a better space as well? 😑. Honestly I would’ve liked to see him at the very least go to therapy or something? Something that tells me that there were consequences to his decision to ignore GY’s please and leave her alone in the alley. His being haunted by GY for 18years was suddenly not a problem anymore? Just because life with his wife was on the upside? 🤷🏻♀️
– What happened to the body of the guy DH’s mother killed? Did I miss something? Would his body be unearthed with the confession by BH and JunHo?
– GH deciding to head back to the original restaurant in the suburb/township to kickstart it again. I find this very hard to believe. Forgiveness is one thing, but to keep being reminded of that traumatic event with all the triggers surrounding you (now that the truth is out) is going to make forgetting hard. Moving away and starting afresh would’ve been a more reasonable outcome. That’s just my personal thought.
– I find the writer’s depiction of the killer somewhat improbable. He was suddenly struck with a conscience and didn’t kill JunHo. Even though he didn’t seem to have any problems chasing down DH afterward and attempting to kill her. His refusal to admit to killing GY all those years ago was also a sticking point for me. Why deny it? And I agree with @Fern about the killer keeping his bloodlust at bay for 18years…it doesn’t fit the profile of a serial killer.
Having said that I would still give this drama an “A” because it kept my interest right to the end. And the acting was superb all round.
I really like the end regarding the main arc.
I was looking for Gye Hoon to find both his sister and father in order to move on with his mother in peace. I am glad that his mother realized that she did harm to Gye Hoon with her attitude and all the blaming she was accusing him of.
Gye Hoon was carrying his own guilt and sadness, but also the burden of all the other people were throwing at him, both from his immediate family but also the people in his old neighbourhood who were involved in the case.
I am glad that his friend WonTak found peace with his father as well. They suffered a lot, because the Chief was obsessed with the false testimony the killer gave him targeting the piano teacher.
It was really touching that Lt. Han and the ex-Chief, in order to redeem themselves were looking for Gye Young. I really liked that the Police who was unable to find Gye Young 18 years ago, did find her in the end, along with her Father.
I am glad that Gye Hoon and Da Hyun went back together and tried to find their paces after their link was severed.
I really liked the ending. It is poignant. Yes, there are right. Tell what you have in your heart, before it is too late, because you don’t know if you will wake up or continue to exist tomorrow.
Tell them that you love them dearly…
-Saranghe Da Hyun-ah.
-Nado saranghe.
@nrllee, I think that the author didn’t give us a complete happy ever after. I agree that the endings for the side characters of the taxi driver and the truck driver seemed to me to be unrealistic. But most of the others were finding ways to make some sort of reparation whether rapidly or slowly. The walk to the police station; the Chief who honoured his word to retire; Gye Hoon and his mother; Won Tak and his father. Also, the scene when Bok-hee starts to argue with Da Hyun quickly after a touching moment shows that some things will never change.
I understand what you mean that it may seem psychologically unrealistic to return to the same location to open the restaurant. However, I think that its success means a turn-around in the perception of the town and an upturn in the local economy. I’ve seen a single popular business start off in an area that is not trendy and draw in other good businesses. The future renaissance of the town is what the writer is invoking symbolically. But that’s not why Gye Hoon returned. He did it to be close to where Da Hyun is. They acknowledged that they have a difficult history and still want to be together. Their relationship and the location of the restaurant both embody that sentiment, so in a dramaverse it is logical.
I think that the killer didn’t kill Officer Ahn outright, but still he left him unconscious with a head wound inside of a locked warehouse. Could he judge that well whether he had inflicted a killing or debilitating wound or not? To me, the killer left it to chance that Ahn would be found in time.
@Fern I agree she (?) did well with the endings in the main characters (realistic), and she should’ve continued that with the side characters. That was my main gripe. It just felt very shoe horned. Like an afterthought. Not a deal breaker. Overall the drama was paced well and I liked the characters.
@Cleo those voiceovers were real gems. I liked how they voiced truths and didn’t leave the viewers any doubt about those themes. ❤️
Kalimera my dear @Fern,
The killer didn’t kill Lt. Han because they were childhood friends.
In my opinion, he also knew that they were last seen together, so if his collegues were start looking for him, they would easily catch him. So, he didn’t kill him, but hit him hard.
@nrllee,
True. Those voiceovers and the last scene with the kids running in front of adult
Gye Hoon and Da Hyun was beautiful crafted. I am glad they have included that little scene.
Everyone has found peace, even Gye Young. <3
@Cleopatra, I forgot that the killer knew that the others in the police unit knew that they were together. Thank goodness, eh?
@Fern,
Yes. Thank goodness! I didn’t want something bad to happen to him and have to deal with that at the finale.
@Cleopatra, I was sure that Det. Ahn was dead from the previews to the episode. The killer had no compunction about murdering the stalker and said outright that he would have killed his accomplice from 18 years earlier. I thought he was in survival mode since he was still going after Da Hyun and would kill anyone in his path before leaving the area. The policeman believes that it’s because they were friends and even blamed himself. Perhaps that is true or perhaps not. The stalker never actually told where he buried the bodies. He only gave a clue to Det. Ahn.
I wonder if their conversation in the jail got recorded or witnessed, because Det. Ahn could potentially be implicated as well if not in real life, especially if he confessed his involvement in a killing 18 years earlier. But that’s a theory about a scene from beyond the ending of the story, so irrelevant, right?
I loved the whole production, but am glad that it’s over because gosh, if you have children, this sort of thing is a perpetual nightmare.
@Fern,
Yes, you are right. The preview actually fooled us.
Regarding the killer, he was “in a high” / killing spree.
Well, he didn’t confess it officially but unofficially he had confessed it to Lt. Han before he hurt him. So, Han’s testimony has validity since is also a cop.
Lt.
Han had a lot of regrets because they (Han-Eomma and Halmeoni) thought that DaHyun’s case had nothing to do with Gye Young’s, when they should have left open the possibility that it was connected.
I don’t think they went to confessed what happened. Most likely Lt. Han asked out DH’s mother and they lived together. What is the use to do something like that after 18 years ? Living with the memory of what they have done was / is a punishment.
@Fern, you are right. The show dealt with loss, grief, a killer and a neighbourhood that looked their business and didn’t do anything when they should protect an innocent child.
So far the only person who actually felt bad for what he did was the Piano Teacher. He was shameful not because they were thinking he did it. He was shameful and remorseful because he didn’t take her with his car that day.
The Piano teacher is the complete contrast of the Truck Driver.
The first one’s life was destroyed and the second one was living “happily” with his wife. And that was an irony.
I am glad that in the end the Piano Teacher started to find back himself and he was okay with WonTak. They tried to build their family back and Min-Jo was the glue.
I thought Lt Ahn was going to be killed too. I have another theory why killer didn’t kill Ahn. And it wasn’t because they were childhood friends. He told Ahn he knew he would be caught if he killed Ahn because people knew they were last seen together. And the question was how many more he would kill before his inevitable capture. I think he didn’t kill Ahn because Ahn asked to be killed. Ahn was so riddled with guilt over his part in the whole affair (he brought the killer into the neighborhood, trusted him to search the house where GY was locked up) that he (Ahn) thought he deserved to be killed. Once that happened, the thrill of the kill is gone. Most serial killers like their prey to fight to stay alive. It’s pointless to them if the prey just lets them. He didn’t plead for his life like LJG did. So paradoxically he was spared as a result.
@nrllee,
You have a point. Most of the times, killers don’t spare their victims.
If “Throught the Darkness” is followed by Season 2 I would like to know, if your suggestion is a scenario that can actually happen. Mostly because their cases are based on true data on serial killers and their infamous cases.
I forgot to post it earlier, here is Ella’s latest FMD for Link!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NAkX8nvfEM
Enjoy!
@nrllee, that’s a good point. Ahn did ask to be killed because he felt he couldn’t live with so much guilt – and he ended up living. Irony.
There were a few flashes of humour in the last bits. When Gye Hoon said he had bought the land where they were searching for the remains: ‘Wasn’t that extremely annoying?’ the ex-Chief asked. ‘It sure was,’ responded Ahn.
Da Hyun calls Min Jo ‘Police’ and Min Jo calls Da Hyun ‘Stew’. I didn’t catch what they called Eun Jung.
@Cleo Thanks for that recommendation. I have read good things about that drama. I think I will need to be in the mood to watch anything too dark right now.
…continued from above… hit post before I finished…
@Cleo So I might give Through the Darkness a miss for now.
Kalimera @nrllee,
I totally get it if you are not into the genre.
It is rather dark and the role Kim Nam Gil is playing is also an Empath,
so we get to see what the destructive nature of his work does to him. 🙂