I’m in!
To be clear, I wasn’t prepared to like this kdrama because of the main actors, Rowoon and Jo BoAh.
RoWoon has starred in many dramas since I first saw him in “Extra-Ordinary You” and none of them clicked with me because of his wooden acting and tired storyline.
She Would Never Know: noona relationship/office romance
The King’s Affection: cross-dressing historical with another bland face, Park EunBin
Tomorrow: contract worker as Grim Reaper with ahjumma Kim Heesun
As for Jo BoAh, I peeked at her “Tale of the Nine-Tailed” and understood why the interaction between the two male leads garnered more buzz than her and her costar’s onscreen romance. Plus, she looked like a potato (and not the super spud variety) beside Lee DongWook.
But this kdrama’s interesting mystery with great cinematography grabbed my attention and made me (temporarily) overlook whatever Rowoon and Jo BoAh lacked in their skillset. To me, “Destined With You” actually suits BOTH Rowoon’s acting style because he plays a stoic, super-rich, power attorney and Jo BoAh’s pedestrian appearance because she plays a low-level, downtrodden public servant, eager to please everybody.
In short, the stick meets the potato. It’s a match made in heaven.
Here are four things I like about these two episodes.
1. Mise-en-scène (or “setting the stage”)
It’s been a while since I’ve been impressed with a mise-en-scène of a kdrama. When I rewatched this episode and looked at the setting, lighting, props, actors, and composition of the opening scene, I knew that I had to dissect it. Bear with me or skip my analysis if you don’t want spoilers; you know the drill.
The atmosphere is ominous. Rain pours from dark skies. Crows caw while circling over the forest. An abandoned shack stands with a leafless spirit tree. And the sopping wet streamers in the front yard merge into yellow police tape on the stone walls.
Even without the appearance of the actors, the stage already sets up the premise of the drama. Yes, the shack is abandoned, but the noisy birds herald a significant moment. Something is about to come alive in this rundown shack.
As for the streamers, we veterans of kdrama recognize them as part of shaman rituals. Judging from their number, a popular shaman must have once lived here. In the midst of these streamers, the yellow police tape is conspicuously out of place.
Why?
For one, the police tape looks new and recent. They’re unlike the ragged streamers.
For another, the police tape indicates a crime scene (and hazardous areas, too). It cordons off a place where an unlawful and/or dangerous activity occurred. In contrast, the streamers designate a mystical place. To use an analogy, the police tape is to the physical, natural world as the streamers are to the supernatural world.
For me, the mise-en-scène works. It does two things well.
a. It foreshadows the clash between the natural and supernatural worlds, and the outcome of this clash (i.e., death),
b. It BACKshadows the ancient relationship of the two main leads, Jang SinYu the attorney and Lee HongJo the civil servant.
Towards the end of this episode, SinYu gets an idea of their past connection from the Shaman who used to live in this hut, but HongJo is left totally in the dark.
When they meet at the hut again, he’s been told that they’re inexplicably linked by the deities.
The camera then moves through the ruins of the front yard . In one corner, we see stones piled high. Remember “Alchemy of Souls 2”? We learned in that kdrama that this pile of rocks could be either a memorial or a burial site, right?
Beside the stones, a dead spirit tree, with its festoon of streamers, looms over the hut.
There’s no light source anywhere. With no light, things appear shrouded and dismal. My first impression then is that death permeates this shrine.
On the other side of the yard, a log is covered with candles like a makeshift altar for the dead.
Calling it the altar for the DEAD isn’t an exaggeration because, as the camera pans to the open hut, a motionless body is in full view. The way the body is positioned, it appears to be lying-in-state, like a deceased dignitary waiting for the public to pay their respects.
Then the camera shows the paraphernalia of shaman rites strewn on the floor. A clay bowl collects rainwater falling from an opening in the ceiling.
What do the props convey here? Well, to me, three things:
a. The arrangement of the props hints of a desecration. The shaman’s colored bells and embroidered garment would have been precious items to the shaman, but they littered the floor.
b. Leaving the clay bowl to collect rainwater seems to be a futile exercise. Nobody is going to come and dispose of the water when the bowl is full, right? But in Korean superstition, water is an auspicious element because it washes away bad luck and brings in good luck. So this bowl of water collecting water reminds me of a cleansing ritual.
c. As for the rectangular opening in the ceiling?
To me, it foreshadows the discovery of the wooden box buried under the hut. Rain is supposedly a gift from the heavens. The wooden box contains the book of spells. It’s a godsend like the rain. The male lead will finally get a cure for his genetic illness — or his curse. Depending on how his affliction is viewed, there’s a natural or supernatural explanation for it.
Then a door creaks open, and a black leather Derby shoe steps out. Thunder crashes.
If there’s one thing incongruous in this place, it isn’t the motionless body, but the Derby shoe. The body goes along with the mysterious ambiance of the setting. But the Derby shoe?
No. It’s definitely out of place.
Why?
Because it conveys affluence. Nothing else is luxurious in this hut. The shoe is a dead giveaway that its wearer is an outsider, and a wealthy one at that.
2. Meet-Cute
Hands down, this is a better meet-cute than “King the Land.”
Lee HongJo (HJ) thinks that she’s dead, and that Jang Sinyu (SY) is the Grim Reaper coming to retrieve her soul.
HJ: (groggily) Dramas reflected the truth well.
Meaning, whatever fantasy she’s seen on kdramas has turned out to be true. She thinks she’s dead and death is happening in front of her very eyes like in the hit drama “Goblin: The Lonely and Eternal God.”
SY: (approaches her to stare down at her)
HJ: The Grim Reaper is handsome. But it’s so unfair to die like this without getting to date someone properly. No, wait. Still, I’m lucky to meet a handsome Grim Reaper like him. Aren’t I?
She then extends her hand. He doesn’t take it.
HJ: You will accompany me to the afterlife, right? Or are we going to a teahouse first? I’d like to go to the teahouse with you.
Note for kdrama newbies: The teahouse is a reference to the Grim Reaper in “Goblin: The Lonely and Great God.” Lee Dongwook’s character, the Grim Reaper, would bring the newly deceased individual to the teahouse so he/she could drink the tea of oblivion (to erase memories of his/her current life) before going to the afterworld.
Sinyu has remained silent the whole time. He then takes out his phone and begins taking pictures of her. She grumbles that Grim Reapers must collect souls using phones nowadays.
My comments:
a. The reason HongJo thinks she’s seen a Grim Reaper is because SinYu is dressed in all-black. That’s his work uniform. He alternates between a two-piece and three-piece black suit, and sometimes he wears a white shirt instead of a black one. Of course, it’s a common drama trope, that as the couple falls in love, the clothes and the hair undergo a radical style change.
b. This outstretched hand is significant. I’ll explain more in detail below.
c. I don’t know why he took a picture of her lying on the floor. Perhaps for documentation that she was trespassing in his land??
d. This meet-cute is significant because in a previous lifetime, he killed her. The Shaman who used to live in this hut and guarded this shrine discloses this information to him when he visits her.
Shaman: By the way, SinYu, you punk. I even named you. How could you not visit me?
SY: You didn’t let me go near the shrine.
Shaman: This isn’t the shrine.
She’s in a nursing home for the aged. The shrine/hut has fallen into disrepair because no one has taken care of it. SinYu thought he paid a caretaker to manage it, but the man conned him.
So the shrine became neglected in absence of a replacement shaman. But it appears that the deity of the shrine has been waiting for HongJu to appear.
SY: Were you threatened by that civil servant?
Meaning, HongJu. HongJu is a ninth level civil servant which is the lowest in the hierarchy.
SY: You told me not to touch it. Why did you allow it? She is…a total stranger at that.
He’s complaining that she allowed Hongju to touch the shrine, even to demolish it, when she wouldn’t allow him to step a foot inside the place. Upon hearing his complaint, the Shaman is “possessed” by spirit. The spirit is outraged that SinYu called HongJu a “stranger.”
Shaman: You killed that woman. The owner of the bloody hand that caresses your cheek. Karma will swallow you. And you will struggle in horrible pain. But all the pain and curses will end. Finally, the owner of the wooden box showed up.
e. To me, the backstory is the central point of both the mise-en-scène and the meet-cute. In some distant lifetime, SinYu’s previous soul killed HongJu’s previous soul. She cursed him and his descendants that karma – in the form of a bloodied hand – would cling to them until they were consumed.
In the present time, SinYu and HongJu meet again in the hut. HongJu knocks herself out accidentally when she encounters SinYu in the hut. Although it looks like history is repeating itself, in reality, a new and fresh story is about to unfold. Their meet-cute is a correction of the tragic past.
That’s why the Shaman gave HongJu permission to demolish the old shrine. She knows that HongJu is about to bring a new age, a new world to SinYu and his descendants.
See this?
This was HongJu on the day of the demolition of the hut. She’s skipping on the wooden bridge, and the sun’s shining brightly on her.
f. SinYu has learned so far to live with the cursed hand, but it was slowly debilitating him. He has no choice but to seek help from the same woman he had killed in a previous lifetime. Whether or not, she’ll agree to help him is his problem.
3. The hand-holding
The hand-holding is significant for two reasons.
a. Because it shows the progress in of their relationship
At the end of Episode 1, SinYu chances upon HongJo crying behind a big signage, and he offers his hand.
SY: Are you crying?
HJ: (wiping her tears)
SY: Do you want me to stay or leave?
HJ: I want you to leave.
SY: I want you to come with me.
Lol. He speaks like the Grim Reaper here.
Then he extends his hand to her. This is obviously a parallel to the scene in hut.
Back then, she offered her hand. She was ready to accompany him to the afterlife. She thought she was dying, and he was the Grim Reaper. But he walked away.
This time around, he’s the one to offer his hand. He wants her to come with him so he return the wooden box that belonged to her. He knows he’s dying, and he’s been told that she’ll be his “angel of mercy” to end his pain. But she refused.
The refusal is consistent. Just like how he ignored her extended hand because he thought she was a nutjob, HongJo rejects his extended hand now because she thought he was a heartless person.
But then, in Episode 2, a drunk man assaults HongJo on her way home. SinYu fends off the drunkard and says something to the stranger which I find noteworthy.
Drunk man: Who are you?
SY: I told you to wait. You should wait when you’re told to. Why would you go up alone?
Hmmm…What does he mean? I can’t figure out the context of his statement. Does he recognize this man?
Anyway, he turns his attention to HongJo who’s still sitting on the ground. He offers his hand to her and this time, without hesitation, she grabs it. They walk away from the drunkard. She doesn’t let go of his hand.
HJ: Why did you follow me (home)?
SY: I was bored.
HJ: (stopping to look at him)
SY: Can I let go of your hand now?
HJ: (quickly releasing it)
SY: (observing the flickering streetlights) By the way, don’t you know how to file a complaint? If the streetlamps are bad, ask for replacements.
HJ: They said I should wait until they change them to LEDs.
SY: Then ask your family to pick you up.
HJ: I don’t have a family.
My comments:
i. He’s always telling her to “file a complaint” whenever something doesn’t go her way. As an attorney, he’s used to filing complaints to get matters attended to and settled expeditiously. But that’s not her style. She prefers face-to-face contact and utilizes interpersonal connections to get things done. The only time she’s known to have “filed a complaint,” she mistakenly reported her boss for graft and corruption.
ii. Family is another theme in this drama. HongJo appears to be an orphan. She has no other family member. In contrast, SinYu is a member of the illustrious Poongsan Jang clan. He’s said to be the “oldest” son, but he could also be the “only” son as well. His blind 70-year-old grandfather is on record as the longest living member of the Jang family. I get the impression that the male Jang members are cursed to die an early death.
iii. HongJo saw his male clan gather at the demolition of the shaman’s shack. She took a photo of him, saying “What a unique guy from a unique family.” I think this is a foreshadowing that she’ll destined to have a special place in this clan as the mother of next generation of Jang.
Besides, one of the spells in the Book of Spells was a spell for getting pregnant.
iv. The hand-holding here is brief but it’s still a step in the right direction.
b. Because the “Red Hand” likes to hold his hand
This is the second reason the hand-holding is significant. When SinYu offered his hand to HongJo and she held on to it, his hand briefly offered comfort, security, assistance, and companionship. In contrast, the red hand seeks vengeance and death. It wants to take away his life in retaliation for what his previous soul did.
Hence, in the ending of Episode 2, it grips his hand as he drives the car. It wants to steer the car straight into the guardrail which HongJo and her team decorated with red zonal geraniums.
4. HongJu’s weakness
Normally, I would find her weakness annoying, but I get how this will come into play in this drama.
SY: In what way was that boy nice?
He’s referring to a boy in high school that HongJu fell in love with.
SY: Did he buy you pens and tteokbokki?
HJ: What do you mean?
SY: I was wondering why you knowingly stole your friend’s boyfriend. Now I understand. You’re the type to get excited about the smallest gestures of kindness and confess your feelings impulsively.
Two things here:
a. He made an error in hearing only one side (his girlfriend’s) and assuming that it’s the entire truth. He should have listened to HongJu’s side of the story, too.
b. I don’t get why he’s upset that she got herself rejected by his colleague. What’s it to him?
HJ: What do you even know about me?
SY: What? I just said what I saw.
HJ: You’re right! Even the tiniest acts of kindness excite me and make me happy. Because nobody is kind to me. Happy now?
Then she walks away.
My comments:
a. She imagines herself in love with somebody who shows her the slightest bit of kindness because she has low self-esteem, she feels unappreciated, and/or she feels lonely.
b. Once bitten, twice shy. Since SinYu told her the painful truth without any regard for her feelings, she won’t see his acts of kindness toward her as a sign of affection. She’ll doubt him every time he’s nice to her, and he’ll have a hard time convincing her that he’s sincere.
With anybody else, she can be a doormat. But with him, she’ll be a tough cookie.
c. There’s an imbalance of power here. SinYu has to be nice to her because he needs her to cure him of illness. She, on the other hand, doesn’t owe him any kindness. He already killed her once anyway.
I can see them entering a contractual relationship. That’s one appeal of this drama for me.
That’s it. My First Impressions. Looking forward to episode 3 tonight. 🙂
Thank you @Packmule3 for writing this.
Since I started it on a whim and my dedication at the moment lies to “Moving” and “My Lovely Liar”, I said I would watch it quietly.
Still, that bloody hand was kinda weird in her act…Just saying… o.O
I’ll give this a try. Thank you.
Right?
The bloody hand can be the metaphorical explanation of his body becoming paralyzed or encountering gripping pains.
But the supernatural/mystical explanation of the bloody hand is the curse.
But yeah. I couldn’t help thinking to myself…”Yah! Be careful that you don’t grab him by the balls, you perverted red hand!”
@Fern,
Give this a try! I would like to talk with you about it! *grins*
So very true! Bloody Hand and deep Red as being in danger or imminent death.
It is not our fault! I mean he said something like, “I need this, but not now… I have work to do…” and I am like ? |What the? Let’s rewatch this scene. I haven’t read right what he said…
Hahaha. @Cleopatra. Glad to know that I wasn’t the only one who got the innuendo there.
This is what he said the first time, after he let the hand crawl up his body.
“Don’t do this today. I have a trial in the morning. I’ll be in trouble if you touch me. Red Hand. I asked you not to do this when I’m busy.”
Then, his coworker walked in and asked who he was talking to. He replied, “To someone who likes me.”
If we were to view the Red Hand as the disembodied part of a woman he killed (and a woman he had romantic relations with), then it’s understandable that we read this as something risqué. You know, like he was telling a lover as she put the “moves” on him, “Hey, darling. Don’t distract me. That feels good but not right now.”
This is what he said the second time:
He was musing, “Is being an attorney supposed to be boring? Or did my mind change?”
Then the light flickered and he sensed the hand coursing up his body. He said, “I do need comfort right now. But could you go wash your hands? Isn’t the scent of soap better than the smell of blood?”
After insulting the Red Hand, lightning struck, light flickered and he was rolling in pain.
Again, if we were to view the hand as the hand of the murdered woman/cursed hand, then the woman was offended by his sarcasm, and struck back at him.
Of course it was an innuendo. I mean seriously… LMAO!
As for the past, I am curious to know, how he killed her. From the trailer, I have realized they had romantic feelings for each other!
Correction: how come*
If they were involved romantically, then something happened…
I don’t know why the previous SJ killed her. For now, I can only speculate given what we know about the behavior and personality of the current SJ. I think there’s a parallelism between the past and the present SJ.
Maybe the past SJ killed her out of jealousy???
The present SJ didn’t like the attention that HJ was giving to that other guy. I snorted when he asked her “why are you tucking your hair behind your ear?” Sure, he was calling her out for flirting with the other guy, but did he HAVE TO do it in front of the other guy???
Hi @pkml3, I had similar thoughts but no time to complete Ep 2 or put them into notes. Thanks for your quick first impressions.
I was thinking I might give this a miss despite the premise, but perhaps I’ll try another few episodes. 🙂
@Packmule3,
What you speculate is not entirely wrong. I mean, if he wronged her and then killed her and she cursed him for that, your theory is plausible.
The other thing is that she was a very capable Shaman. Was she killed because of that? Was she accused by some and the previous reincarnation of SY had to execute her?
If that is the case, then someone else should be cursed with them. Just because it was only his family, then again, means something happened within their clan.
I won’t be able to watch Episode 3 tonight. I have to watch back to back “Moving”‘s episodes.
I will write some more tomorrow!
I’m just now watching ep. 1 after reading his thread. Two times while in his law office, Red Hand caresses Shin Yu’s cheek and he leans into it, eyes closed, like a lover rather than pulling away. His actions don’t match his words (essentially, “Not now, the timing’s inconvenient” and “Can’t you do something to overcome your unpleasant smell?”).
In a doctor’s office, Shin Yu is told that untreatable vascular abnormalities in the left side of his brain are causing the headaches and right hand tremors he’s experiencing. Other possible symptoms include “loss of sense in your hands and feet, and language impairment might happen.” Calling the affliction genetic is the medical way to say the male line of the Jang family is cursed.
The first time we see Red Hand interact with SY, icy breath comes out of SY’s mouth, and Red Hand’s fingers intertwine with his right hand before oozing up to his left cheek, causing the veins in his cheek to become visible under the skin. Impaired language. Shaking right hand. Vascular abnormalities on the left side of his head. We see SY’s afflictions manifested supernaturally.
The doctor specifies that SY’s vascular abnormalities lie close to his basal ganglia, so I thought that was important information being given to us viewers. What does the basal ganglia do? Medical science hasn’t yet unlocked all its secrets, but it is known that the basal ganglia plays a big part in controlling the body’s voluntary movements. Signals coordinated by the basal ganglia can cause something to happen (contract a muscle, for instance) or keep something from happening (prevent nearby muscles from engaging when not needed). The basal ganglia also plays a part, less well understood, in:
–Evaluating goals and risks
–Eemotions and motivations
–Learning, forming habits, planning and carrying out tasks, etc.
It is an ironic juxtaposition that right after Hong Jo learns the owner of the decrepit shrine is “from a noble family, with a lot of land, a son of a chairman, and a successful lawyer” and decides she hates Jang Shin Yu sight unseen, SY learns his health is so precarious that he may lose control of his body and may due suddenly. It is also ironic that right after the doctor tells SY to avoid stress, Hong Jo marches into his office and gets into an argument with him about the demolition of the shrine.
…die, not due. I shouldn’t be composing comments on my phone using my thumbs.
Another thing I shouldn’t: judge dramas by the real world. I’m at the part of ep. 1 where the shrine is being demolished, and I can’t fathom why, since it was a site of cultural significance (I assume, based on SY’s online search for restoration experts), there isn’t an archaeologist on site to stop demolition if potentially significant artifacts are found. But hey, then the book of spells wouldn’t have fallen into the right hands.
I’ve noted that how this show is pieced together, the editing, helps understanding of the storyline. For instance, in Ep. 2, SY goes online to research (a man after my own heart!) Aeng-cho, the author of the spell book in the wooden box. The related Joseon-era era documentation he finds states, “Wily shaman, Aeng-cho: Aeng-cho is a female shaman. She is secretive.” And “The person who killed Aeng-cho was Jang Mu-jin.”
In the very next scene we see HJ staring adoringly at the compliment left her on the City Hall website by her crush. SY interrupts her, and immediately accuses her of wrong behavior (charging City Hall for overtime when she’s just having fun). Is HJ wily and secretive? She does immediately shut off her screen so SY can’t see what she was looking–and giggling–at. This also strengthens the idea that Jang Shin Yu is a suspicious and jealous person by nature. Placing those two scenes side by side lead us to have expectations about the present based on the past.
I didn’t want another tidbit to slip by. When SY meets HJ in front of City Hall to give her the locked wooden box, she at first refuses to take it, afraid she may find something unpleasant inside. She’s not crazy to be cautious: think of all the stories about horrors unleashed when long-closed things are opened. Pandora and her Box. The curse of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Raiders of the Lost Ark. But SY suggests that an interesting relic might be in the box, “Maybe a painting of [by] Shin Yun-bok.” The look on HJ’s face in response to his comment suggests she catches his reference.
I didn’t, so I looked up Shin Yun-bok. He was one of three famous Joseon-era painters who realistically depicted the daily life of their time. His work leaned toward the erotic, which caused him to be expelled from the royal painting institute.
@Welmaris LOL. Trust you to research thoroughly and give us these enriching nuggets of information!! 😆😜😂😇
Something in Episode 2 wasn’t made clear by the Netflix subtitles. HJ and SY are outside City Hall at night, after leaving work. SY offers to drive HJ home. HJ declines: We’re not close enough for that.
SY: What’s your definition of being close? If we eat together? Or if we hold hands? Tell me how you define it. I’ll do whatever, so let’s get close.
HJ: Why must we get close?
SY: [Bogo sipossoyo…] The subtitles translate it as “I want to see…” Longtime watchers of Kdramas will recognize that the words also mean “I missed you” in honorific form (yo).
HJ looks nonplussed, until SY continues, “the spell book in the wooden box.”
We have to keep our ears tuned to catch double meanings. I think this writer likes to play on words, but the subtitle team isn’t necessarily going to help us discover when that happens.
I think I’ve figured out the scene in the alley when SY subdues the drunk who accosted HJ due to alcohol-fueled mistaken identity. (The drunk did call HJ by a name other than her own, and also noona, when HJ is obviously younger than him.)
Drunk: Who are you?
SY, while glaring at the drunk: I told you to wait. You should wait when you’re told to. Why would you go up alone?
His words were meant to seem spoken to HJ, but were really directed to the drunk. Their true meaning? She may appear alone, but she’s not. I’m big, bossy, and always going to be nearby, so don’t try anything like this again. The message conveyed is similar to women living alone setting men’s shoes outside their door, or hanging men’s clothing on their laundry line.
But I also think SY used the situation to speak his true mind to HJ. He was miffed she left him in the car while she went to retrieve the book. You want me to wait for you? No. You are supposed to wait for me. How imperious!
I suspect this also gives us a clue about the power imbalance that existed between the two of them in the past.
Kalimera Ladies!
@Welmaris is on a roll!
We get to see in Episode 3 a glimpse of the past. SY is having a dream.
In that dream sequence / old memory from beyond, SY was a Turenim from a Noble family and HJ was a girl from a peasant family. We understand that difference from their shoes.
Yes, I love that @Welmaris is enjoying this drama so much. 🙂
@Packmule3,
So very true! I have missed her…
@Cleopatra…aw, I imagine you crying “bogo sipossoyo” like Tae Eul as Lee Gon rode Maximus through a street full of assailants to rescue her.
I’ve been watching a lot of dramas, old and new, and haven’t had the patience to comment on all of them. I finally got around to watching D.P. Season 2, finished it in two days, but because I couldn’t place in the story a character who reappeared at the end of the lat episode of Season 2, I went back to review Season 2 and ended up rewatching it instead of scanning. (And I quickly found my answer.) I was even more impressed with D.P. Season 1 the second time around.
@Welmaris,
I love that scene from TKEM very very much. I find the whole sequence from where Lee Gon came with Maximus, until they finally embraced totally poetic. The truth is that I have cried for TKEM, but not for this show.
I understand what you are saying. I am dedicated to “Moving” and to “My Lovely Liar” this month. So, I am active on those threads.
I am also watching “The First Responders Season2” which I enjoy without commenting about it. I have also watched “Not Others” which was refreshing, although it ended too quickly for my liking, leaving an open ending.
I haven’t watched “DP” at all, but I might give it a try later on, if you say so.
Erg. Poor typing skills on my phone with my thumbs while laying in bed (when I should be asleep). I rewatched the first season of D.P. immediately after finishing Season 2. And the character who reappears at the end of the last episode of Season 2 is seen early in Episode 1 of Season 1, played by Shin Seung Ho, who played Crown Prince Go Won in Alchemy of Souls 1 & 2.
I also liked seeing Son Suk Ku in a very different role than what he played in My Liberation Notes. He inhabitants his part so well in D.P. that I didn’t recognize him as the same actor who played the enigmatic Mr. Gu in MLN.
@packmule3, it’s been a long time since I found an opening scene so atmospheric and enticing.
I haven’t started episode 2 yet, but I noticed that the hooded raincoat worn by HJ is similar to some clothing worn by a shaman. I wonder if we’ll get the view of the shaman in a similar position. I’ll watch episode 2 in a little while.
The first appearance bloody hand was supposed to be creepy, but SY’s reaction to it was calm and slightly annoyed. I agree with @Welmaris that he didn’t reject its caress. This made me wonder how long he has had this experience, what happened in the past if he did reject it, and if in their previous lives he and the hand’s owner had a loving relationship before the death.
I saw comments that SY held DJ’s hand in episode 2, so he must subconsciously be used to holding her soul’s hand.
I thought that the father completely understood the value of the shrine to SY and also noticed and understood SY’s tremor. It made me wonder if the curse sometimes skips a generation or simply comes to the men at random ages.
Right, @Fern! I forgot to mention her hooded raincoat! It looked like the white shaman dress used for ceremonies.
The contrast between the two characters is striking. He has vertical height, in black, wearing leather Derby shoes (lol, my guys wear Oxford, though), silent, frowning. She has horizontal ground, in whitish blue, sneakers, crazy blabbering.
True. The way he didn’t fend off that hand going up his body meant he was used to it.
And it makes sense because he’s had the illness for quite some time now. The doctor noted its progress.
Yes, to a relationship in the previous reincarnation. But right now, I can’t tell what level of relationship:
Work colleagues/she’s a shaman, he consulted her
Friends
Lovers with no skinship
Lovers with skinship
Lovers with carnal knowledge 😂😂
SY deadpanned to his coworker that he was talking to someone who “liked him.” He didn’t say however that he liked it in return.
Since in episode 2 Hong Jo gets a ride home with Shin Yu, gets her hand held by him, sits to read the spell book with him, laughs and hits him familiarly on his back… I’m considering that they are close to becoming close! LOL.
Thanks for the first impressions packmule3! I started watching the series because of what you shared.
I am looking forward to find out more about the curse SY has and how the love spell will make them truly care for each other. The story behind HJ and NY and also Me Kwon.
The writer for this drama is the same writer who wrote 100days my prince. I enjoyed 100 days my price alot so I hope this drama will be as good as that.