The thread is now open.
How’s the show coming along? Are we being set up for an OTP guessing game ala Reply series?
Is it going to be this young kid?
gifs from junghaesin’s tumblr
Or this ahjussi? lol.
Did I tell you that I find Daniel Choi attractive only when he wears glasses? He looks like Clark Kent (aka Superman’s alter ego) with his glasses on, but he looks like Spongebob without them.
Let’s enjoy the show.
Thank you, @packmule3.
Clark Kent because of the big chin and jawline? But without glasses he looks rather annoying, like the rest of his features don’t deserve that jaw? Oh, I guess I’m in a bad mood tonight. Maybe for me, eyes win over everything else.
LOL @pkml3, not too long ago I went back to some old posts and saw exactly this that you say here. He only looks good with spectacles and a grungy nothing much without them. Strange, isn’t it?
I feel that if there is going to be a coupling with our FL, it will be with Daniel’s character, but much later, as they avert disaster for their little department.
I have to agree that Daniel Kang only appeals to me when he has glasses on. I am behind with this drama. Will need to carve out time to catch up. I can feel spring in the air where I am so the garden has been beckoning. 🙂
https://twitter.com/kdrama_jam/status/1559007805067198475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1559007805067198475%7Ctwgr%5Ec3085c0a2c1ab119ab2c2dbba822e843db3afc81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforums.soompi.com%2Findex.php%3Fapp%3Dcoremodule%3Dsystemcontroller%3Dembedurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fmobile.twitter.com%2Fkdrama_jam%2Fstatus%2F1559007805067198475
This is him without glasses on. His eyes look smaller? Is that it? The glasses enlarge them? Making them seem more prominent in his face? Otherwise his jawline becomes the first thing you notice when you see his angular features.
I’m enjoying this drama in a low-key way, @nrllee.
The episode titles are a big help because they tell me what to look out for.
#7 You’re just my long running dream
Not all webtoon artists make it. For some, the dream of breaking into the industry and working on their own series remains a pipe dream. It’s good to know when to stop and move on.
#8 I’ll become your unchanging sincerity
For some webtoon artists, the inspiration for their work is like a lover. It keeps running in their head, demanding to be noticed. They abandon it at their peril.
I like the way the young man, Joon Young, is falling in love with our MaEum. He’s just hanging around her. How many of my exes fell in love with me that way? 🤪
He seems to be a decent, reliable kid. And MaEum is teaching him to love his job as Webtoon PD with her enthusiasm and dedication to her
But he’ll have to reconsider this “spy” business soon.
Daniel Choi’s character? He’s interested in her but his “barely noticeable” courtship would have frustrated me if I were MaEum.
Weak sauce.
This is the OTP, though.
As for the genius newbie artist that MaEum is handling, it creeped me out that he said that he viewed MaEum as his “god.” But I get that he isn’t homicidal.
@packmule3 me too (enjoying it in a low key way). I like that there are no histrionics (not a huge political drama). I like that OME’s sister and mother are on her side and cheering her on. Honestly I would be happy if OME ends up being single. She can handle herself and she doesn’t seem to be the type to “need” a man to “complete” her. She’s fine on her own. She has an indefatigable effervescence that keeps her bouncing (yes bouncing) through life’s storm clouds. She’s the sort of girl that makes lemonade when life gives her lemons. I can’t help BUT like her. And I think that’s what is happening to those around her. They cannot help but be amused/buoyed by her never say die attitude.
True, @nrllee.
On MaEum doesn’t need to end up with either man. The romance is secondary to the focus on process of webtoon development.
But it popped up in Ep 8 when OME was napping at the conference room table and the young guy (I keep forgetting his name!) decided to copy her. The camera showed them in that mirroring pose. (56:06)
Anyway… it’s easy to see why the men around her — her coworkers and her artists — would fall in love with her. The way she shines her attention on them makes them glow and feel warm inside. Kinda like the ☀️sun shining on a 🌻 sunflower.
@nrllee and @packmule3, I’m not convinced that Daniel Choi’s character is best for OME. He’s a lot older than her. Like @nrllee said, I would be fine if she stayed single, at least for the time frame in this drama. I feel like she needs to get more life experience beyond judo and webtoons, if you know what I mean. To me, she still seems very young in some ways.
Same, @Fern. I feel the same way about Daniel Choi’s character.
But I’m convincing myself that they’re the OTP so I have low expectations of anything/anybody else.
To switch topics here because I don’t want to get too involved with the pairing…
This kdrama reminds me of “Start-Up.” But instead of businesses, it’s about developing webtoon. In #Ep 8, On MaEum just had her first sales pitch. It was similar to Suzy’s character doing her first-ever presentation on stage for their company product.
One other thing…
The product placement is nonstop! I’ll have to make a list of all the products shown per episode. Subway showed up in a “big way” in Ep 7. /sarcasm
In another episode, there was a coffee/energy booster pill that OME gave to young guy. I’ve to find that scene again. The PPL was so blatant. 😂
This show is not getting good ratings despite it being aired on a free-to-air national network rather than cable TV. That’s a shame, because I think it is well written and acted.
By the end of these two episodes, everyone has figured out PD Gu’s family situation, right? (SPOILER) That woman we see quietly watching over Jun Yeong is his deceased sister, either as a benevolent spirit or appearing in his thoughts. In reality, PD Gu lives alone. (And the home in which he lives is in the affluent neighborhood featured in SKY Castle.)
I hope PD On has enough sense to figure out that artist Sin Dae Lyug needs psychiatric help. What differentiates someone suffering mental illness from others is intensity, duration, and ability to function within society. We’ve seen that Artist Sin has violent reactions to simple touch; that’s a problem with intensity. So far he’s been able to limit his violence to an initial defensive motion, but continues to shake in fear even when he sees the touch was accidental or well intended; that’s a problem with duration. As for functioning within society, Artist Sin is managing, but barely. He’s said that without his webtoon, he has no reason to live.
I’m not liking the character of Om Ma Eum’s sister, NuRi. She’s anonymously posting negative reviews of webtoons, enjoying the process of tearing down others’ work. She must know she’s doing something wrong, because she’s so secretive about it. It won’t be a surprise to us viewers that her identity will be revealed and the backlash will hurt PD Om, but I’m curious whether or not Writernim can convince us that PD Om had no idea her own sister was undermining her pursuit of her dream. Even with the top half of NuRi’s face obscured, I have a tough time believing Ma Eum wouldn’t recognize her sister in pictures and videos. And if PD Om isn’t keeping tabs on the naysayers, she’s not properly doing her job supporting her artists.
Oh, good points, @welmaris.
I’ve been skimming through the episodes so I totally missed that spoiler you mentioned.
Spoiler
Really? She’s dead? But who’s been drinking all those cans of beer and bottles of liquor? PD Gu himself? I thought he couldn’t handle even a sip of beer.
I don’t what to make of Artist Sin Dae Lyu (?) but, I agree with you, he definitely needs help.
It seems to me, too, that being a PD requires some sort of background in psychology, counseling or human services because the PD works with artists suffering from some sort of stress or another. On MaEum can’t just be peppy cheerleader and meticulous scheduler. She also needs the skill to assess mental health and do a crisis prevention or an intervention.
I agree, too, about NuRi. I didn’t pay attention to the timeline. Did she start her vlog before or after MaEun got her job at the webtoon? She should have known that her actions could jeopardize her sister’s future with the company.
Just finished Ep6
Yes @packmule3 I think we discussed the female (in previous posts) who keeps appearing in PD Goo’s life and worked out she’s someone who was deceased in his past. I thought she was his mom initially (who died young).
Why does Goo hide the fact that he drinks? His home was littered with empty soju bottles and beer cans. He drinks soda when he’s out with the team.
Tbh I prefer Goo for ME? If I had to pick between the 2 men. Goo and ME have been through so much more together? Daniel Choi’s character hasn’t made inroads yet. I guess this will happen in Ep7/8. He obviously likes her. But like @Fern I feel like he’s too old for her. I like Goo’s level head. He has good business acumen. I feel like he is capable of turning the team’s sales figures around if he put his mind to it.
And yes @welmaris, gothic melancholic webtoon artist needs professional help. When he draws those black and white webtoons, it almost looks like it’s a form of catharsis for him. His mind is not well.
I like that dad came round for ME (thanks also to mom and sis who got him over the line). It took guts for ME to stand up to him. How apt that it was in a Dojo with a father-daughter spar. Father got her first and then ME got her own back. She was leaving on her terms. I liked that she had that heart to heart with him in familiar territory for them both. Not at home in the living room or somewhere else eg a cafe. It was like Judo was the elephant in the room for them outside the Dojo. But when sparring, it was front and centre. Inescapable. It was addressed. And ME took off her judo belt for the last time.
I will try to catch up on Ep7/8 tonight.
Finished Ep7&8
I think SDL had been abused as a child? Probably by a female in his life? I’d hate to think it’s his mom but the flashback he had when Baek’s wife touched him had a blurred image of a boy with a chain around his neck. 😢. And the boy with the chain around his neck appeared again that stormy night when he was drawing.
And the reason why Goo had those Soju bottles and mess in his house is that he’s letting people use his house? That’s why he got that weird text from someone needing it Friday/Saturday night. And why he returned home and there were people partying inside at the end of Ep7 when he got the call from Pomme. Actually I thought they were going to put him together with Pomme initially but nothing seems to be happening on that front. Even after the creepy stalker incident.
We get more scenes from Daniel Choi’s character with OME. But I don’t feel anything from her end. Not with him or with Goo. She’s just treating them as friends right now. As far as the chase goes, it looks like Goo is more invested in ME than Daniel Choi’s character? Understandably so. They spend so much time together and have so many shared experiences? And the mirrored sleeping on the table seems to be tipping the odds in his favour?
I hope SDL didn’t jump off the roof of the building. 😬. Ep8 ended with ME and Goo running after ME received a random phone call.
I’m finally starting to catch up with this show. I watched the first seven episodes over the last five days.
I was hoping it would be a lightweight/happier show because the opening credits looked like it was going to be a fun dive into the world of webtooning (and because Kim Se-Jeong was so cute in Business Proposal recently). Instead, we are witnessing a lot of stress, tension, and despair: from the artists under near-constant stress to produce and finish their weekly webtoons, from the webtoon company management struggling to prove their worth and make their website profitable, from the PDs to prove their worth to their artists and their management, from the artists who never make it or who give up because of the physical and emotional toll of deadlines. Not to mention there’s also a somewhat psychotic cartoonist (who’s having flashbacks of child abuse) and an established cartoonist who’s being stalked!
[I am perhaps more sensitive to seeing this type of workplace stress having once been a newspaper reporter who worked under constant deadlines and had to continuously prove her worth. I finally walked away from it and went to graduate school to pursue a new career.]
This show could have handled the topic of webtoons in so many other (creative) ways. Like the opening credits, our heroine might imagine herself in a different webtoon every week–e.g., the challenge of the week might be presented as a particular webtoon she sees herself as a character in. Or maybe they could have thrown in some office romances (I’m thinking of Romance is a Bonus Book here–not my favorite show, but I did like the whole publishing world they created within it)? I’m not sure I need to see a romance for the FL, but I would like something to lighten up all the tension. Her younger colleague mooning over her doesn’t count.
It probably also doesn’t help that my spouse and I have started to watch an episode of Sandman together every evening–the CGI is gorgeous and worth watching just for that, but it’s dark and cold and I need something to counterbalance all that darkness.
So I might come back to TW after we’re done with Sandman.
Good points, @nrllee.
The SDL character seems complicated. He’s a victim of child abuse; he has prosopagnosia; he worships OME as god (what will happen if she fails him?); he has poor social skills; he’s a genius; he’s obsessive. But all these make him interesting character to develop.
I don’t think he committed suicide. He has his work to live for. His series is about to be launched. I’m more worried that he injured somebody because of his hallucinations.
Thanks. I didn’t know Goo allowed friends to use his house. Did they pay or was that gratis? Is he rich or is he down on his luck?
Yes, I thought the writers were setting him up with Pomme but he doesn’t look interested at her at all.
That’s the other reason I’m reminded of “Start-Up.”
Daniel Choi’s character plays the older mentor like that “Good Boy” in “Start-Up.”
Bubbly OME is Suzy’s character.
And Goo is Nam DoSan. Except Goo isn’t goody-two-shoes like Dosan.