#and let joong write the script

[joongdunking]

[desi-yearning]

I'm finally watching ThamePo and I thought why not do a live commentary. Let's see how this turns out.

Ep-1:

Po seems so cute😭 a babie

Why is Thame being so??? Rude???

Aww Po :( Earn I already hate you but like, with what Thame said, I'm not so sure anymore. I'm having too many Thoughts here.

Okay Thame is not that bad. He is, in fact, a softie at heart. :(

Ep-2:

WHAT TF DID PO SAY?😭😭😭 WHY WOULD HE JUST??? FLIRT??? LIKE????????

SUCH A DUMBASS, HE'S GIVING ME SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT ALREADY 😭

OOOOH IS THAME FLIRTING NOW, THIS IS GETTING VERY FUN. I love flirting/banter so much.

JOONG? OMG I DIDN'T KNOW.

So Thame is rude af. Why make a fuss over such a sweet gesture?

Are they trying to show how everything is always kinda staged and the fans would never know? Like how the gifts are actually planned by the staff. I've heard that this show is very layered and talks a lot about the toxic fan/content culture and I'm sat for it.

Thame looks so cute please I'm trying to stay mad at him 😭

Oh oh so Po already has a crush

Even personal messages are scripted. Good lord.

YASSS PO CALL HIM OUT

Okay shit this hurts, oh Po :(

Aw Thame :(((

This feels soooo soft. I love them so much already.

Po got awkward, he's adorable 😭

This show is going to break my heart, right?

"I will make everyone's wishes come true" THAME DO YOU WANT ME TO UGLY CRY BECAUSE WHY WOULD YOU WRITE THAT. URGH. Sigh.

Will Po ever correct his order or will Thame just start eating the other one? Guess we'll find out soon enough

Uncle is so silly😭😭😭

UM- WHAT???? I GOT SCARED THERE FOR A SECOND

Ooooh he's gonna try to fix things. I think I read a spoiler about what happens, I'm not sure what exactly I read though so I'm just gonna sit and hope for the best.

WHEN I SAID SOON ENOUGH I WAS THINKING IT WAS AT LEAST A FEW EPISODES AWAY BUT NO????? JUST MINUTES AWAY? LIKE MINUTES OH MY GOD

Okay I took way too many breaks while watching these episodes. I really want to watch more but college is a pain in the ass. I'll probably watch another episode later today or maybe tomorrow. Stay tuned for more ig.

[gunsatthaphan]

Just wanted to speak up on your comment about The Heart Killers trailer being subpar from a trailer perspective--because I agree. It feels like a trailer made with intention that you already know a lot of context as opposed to being for someone who has no idea what's happening going in.

I watched it knowing that there was going to be some sort of Shakespeare interpretation and that it was likely going to be Taming of the Shrew; knowing that, a lot of the plot elements and dynamics came together more clearly in the trailer. If you had no idea, you'd be totally lost because it's using TOTS as a conceptual basis rather than something totally literal, and then it's also using that concept to jumpstart a rather big plot that isn't well explained. So much is happening that it looks like nothing is happening at all. Essentially, even though First and Khao may be representing the "secondary couple" of TOTS, the reason is because their characters are actually driving the plot. Jojo is using the scenario to jumpstart his story.

Lucentio and Hortencio are combined into Kant, who is initially less interested in ensuring he woos Bison/Bianca because he's in love and wants to court them like the original; rather his goals as a "spy" are the priority (ergo all those conflicted shots of Kant because he inadvertently fell in love in 0.5 seconds but still has a job). Bison is more central in wanting to play matchmaker for Fadel because he's invested in Kant (warping the "daddy won't let me" passive plot of the original into a more active "big bro won't let me (because we're assassins)" and creating a very different dynamic that we see in a few scenes; though Bianca is involved in TTIHAY to an extent). Kant's conflict between his job and his heart is probably going to take center stage in their portion of the story.

Joong and Dunk's Katherina and Petruchio have a dynamic more reminiscent of TTIHAY than the original TOTS with its intention to develop a genuine romance between Petruchio/Style and Katherina/Fadel and bring Kat/Fadel out of their closed off shell pretty clear and not...legit tame the shrew. And all of this is not even mentioning the dynamics arising from the practicalities of the assassin vs. infiltrators plotline (which was under-explained--like it seems like vigilante work given the context clues). "Trust" is probably going to be a strong theme across the board. Jojo, as you well know, has strong credentials in balancing drama with comedy, so I think this has a lot of potential. Everyone emphasized that this is a rom-com dressed as an action drama.

It's pretty clear to me that the four of them are going to be treated pretty equally (strong 4-person plot with lots of intertwining elements) and it seems like Aof weirdly even went out of his way to imply on Twitter that FK having strong scripts/characters was a priority for all of them.

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I just wanted to put words to why you might be feeling the way that you did about the trailer and maybe even allay some fears. I never want to have too high expectations (I did the same with Only Friends lol), but I don't want to sell this short either.

okay so anon sent this back in April on the day of the lineup/THK announcement and I put it into my drafts with the intention to revisit it closer to the THK premiere date, but eventually forgot about it lol.

I didn't want to delete it however because obviously anon took some time to write this and it's intriguing to read. So in case you see this anon, thank you so much for this detailed analysis and sorry for letting it sit for so long, I think you're making some excellent points. I have not read the original TOTS but it's interesting to compare your notes to the final show and assigning the TOTS/TTIHAY characters to the ones in THK.

So I'm just gonna post this into existence for anyone who's interested - feel free to comment your thoughts below! 😊

xxx

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Thamepo episode 2 thoughts (I am still sick and it's making me super emotional and I cried twice)

Po. Baby. You literally said “it's not just for work”, why would Thame think that you meant it that way. You told him you wanted to get to know him while looking right into his eyes with your big sad brown eyes and holding his wrist gently. Bffr, my guy 😆

Nvm, he's as oblivious as you are

Nvm that nvm, he's being a little shit lmao

Mick, you suck at your job; I just want you to know that

Hi, Joong!

“Do you like it when everyone thinks your a selfish ass?”

“Isn't it better that way?” Oof

I love Sammy and Drake so much

This cupping the chin thing is insane, actually?

Thame looks so sad at all times. William is killing this role

This company is not doing Mars and their relationship any favors, these poor boys

Ugh, did Thame get the members gifts on his own? Yep. Ouch. He's trying so hard. Thame, baby, I'm so sorry I called you a dick

Baifern being confused about how Po doesn't know anything is relatable, because I took am confused about how badly this record company seems to be run

I know that Po helps fix Mars’ relationship, but I didn't think that would start on episode 2, and it's making me emotional. He's such a good guy 😭

HE'S TOO SAD FOR HIS FAVORITE SOY MILK SOMEBODY FIX IT

Po giving Thame an outlet to express himself without a script, and bridge the space between him and his members – who he clearly cares deeply for – and also not letting him hide from himself, is so incredibly kind. I hope he also realizes that he's confronting his own hurt and confusion about his breakup through confronting Thame

The reassurance that Thame doesn't have to get out right the first time, that he doesn't have to be perfect and composed and put together is so important. That man is constantly vibrating with anxiety about projecting the right image, and he needs that permission and room to just be so badly

Following it up with the offer to write a script for him to follow, bit with his own words and feelings? Ugh.

Oh, Po. I sincerely hope you get to punch Earn in the face. Preferably with your actual first, but at the very least with your success and how idol boyfriend

Oh, so Pemika is evil and have the decision for Thame, and presumably let him take all the blame with the group, and undermined his confidence while emotionally manipulating him. Cool. I hope she chokes

They did a good job making it look like a bunch of young guys live in this house

Ugh. Thame is so, so lonely, and all the people that are supposed to be taking care of him have so utterly failed to actually see him, and he just wants his friends back, but he doesn't think he deserves it and I am going to scream

Oh, Thame is already imprinted (and also deeply lonely), following Po to the suit shop so they can keep talking

If Thame is going out of the country for a few weeks, is Po just going to fix Mars' while he's gone?

Oh. Thame’s face when Po said his ex told him his job wasn't good enough. That boy is ready to Fite. And I hope he gets a chance to

Po being shocked to get a compliment about his job and who he is as a person? Ouch. I'm gonna fight a fictional ex boyfriend

(Ffs I should've watched this on the computer and not the TV, so many fucking ads without an ad blocker)

This is long, have a read more

Thame being so happy about the possibilities presented by the group house not being empty hurts all my feelings

Po telling Thame he's a good leader, but also gently calling him out for not trying to fix things with the other members, and Thame looking long his whole world is changing, and then staring at the suit that Po fixed I SEE YOU NARRATIVE METAPHOR

his promise was to make everyone what's wishes come true 😭😭😭

PO SPEAK UP FOR YOURSELF WITH THE SANDWICH MAN FFS

Suit Uncle, I love you. “Just tell him he died” lmao

I'm fine, I'm just crying about a sandwich, I guess? (And about a sad man who is used to shouldering all the responsibility asking for help, and an equally scared man who isn't used to being valued reaching out to help him)

[lovesanmotion]

ateez joining we got married

💌. This is: requested

Hongjoong: 

- He would be very excited about joining the revived program that all fans dread and love - Honestly he wanted to know who his paired partner is  - Because he wants to know what your favorites are - In short, he wants to get to know you - Upon the first meeting, expect a small bouquet of flowers from him - The conversation is never boring as Joong would always ask a lot of questions  - That you feel like you’re in a hot seat  - Admiring his lyric composing and him letting you listen to the mixes that he does  - And you being the first person he ever lets in inside his studio - Towards the end of the program, he would compose a song for you - Singing it for you during the final segment  - It is safe to say that you are one of his inspirations when writing a song for their next album 

Seonghwa: 

- A gentleman from the start - Would be happy to do anything for you (that you sometimes intervene and tell him to get some rest) - Will introduce you to his group, his manager and everyone inside KQ  - Lowkey will get jealous whenever WooSan are around you  - He will literally drag you away from them because he wants a t t e n t i o n - Taking turns in babying each other  - Mentally he is taking down notes of all the things you love  - Him adoring your small habits and even picking them up - Towards the end of the program, he will have a hard time letting you go  - But he doesn’t say anything because this program is all just an act but he really did pick up feelings for you - The boys will note his sudden change in habit and will point it out and ask him if that’s what WGM did to him - Of course he wouldn’t admit it but he looks forward to seeing you again - Wondering if they can try together again minus the scripted program 

Yunho: 

- Whatever he does, he does it with great effort - When playing games with the boys and you’re present, he will make sure to win the game - ^ All because he wants to show off at how good he is at playing games - ^^ And then the boys will beg him not to destroy them  - Game nights, movie nights, cafe hopping  - Dates with Yunho are the best  - Will take his time and introduce you to his family - And his family thinking that you really are together  - You wanted to tell them the truth but Yunho spoke faster and said that you two are together - Getting his close to him parents and his brother - His mom being so proud that her son found a good a woman for him  - Already asking when is the wedding and a grandson - And when the program is about to end, Yunho asked for your contact details - Because even when the show has ended, he still wants to contact you 

Yeosang: 

- Yeo would be so flustered, he would stammer upon meeting you - Would decorate your house with a lot of hehetmon drawings - You feel sad? Here’s a happy hehetmon cheering for you - You would then have to scold him because eating too much chicken isn’t good - Until he made a compromise with you - 3 chicken dinners a week  - You can feel the high blood forming but you realize that it can be fixed just by drinking water and you agree to it - Teaching you how to control his drones - When you ask him to get something for you, he will use his drones to give it you - So when the show is about to end, he starts to give you hints on where to go and find - ^ Obviously using his drones - Would cheer for you even after your pairing has ended 

San: 

- Would beg the producers to at least give him three hints on who his paired partner is - But since the producers wouldn’t give him any clue, he would take matters into his own - Would close down a cafe for the day for him  - Getting you a bouquet, an assortment of sweets and a teddy bear - You think its too much but San says its just enough - You were wondering where the barista is and you were shocked to find out that it was also San who would be serving you coffee - A day prior to filming, he took a mini course on how to make cappucino and he proudly served you one  - Taking you to his hometown and giving you a mini tour there - The neighborhood recognizing San and your heart would swell with emotions because you’re so happy of what he achieved in his career - The two of you annoying Wooyoung to no end - And when the program is about to end, San would cling onto your waist tightly - He feels like the three months he spent with you went by so fast  - And he doesn’t want to let you go - But the three months he spent with you, he’ll cherish them forever 

Mingi: 

- Prior before filming, he would be so nervous and would ask his mom for tips on how to make a great impression  - But his heart would stop beating upon seeing you in your wedding dress - Would be so happy that he completely forgot that this is just a variety show - He’s so into the program that he really feels like he’s married to you and has husband duties to fulfill - The boys don’t bother to give him a reality check because seeing as to how he’s so happy about the program made them so happy for him too - Always bringing him food to eat in case he forgot to eat when he’s immersed with his work - You start bringing food for the rest of the boys too  - Mingi being a big baby and complaining that it should only be him that you’re cooking for  - Writing a song about you and insisting EDEN and Hongjoong to add the song into their upcoming album - If EDEN agrees then so does Hongjoong - And EDEN agrees - Would be so devastated when the show is ending  - Because he has fallen for you - And so when the show ends, he hopes that you would still contact him as he would be more than happy to keep contact with you too 

Wooyoung: 

- Dresses to impress - Would lowkey feel embarrassed at his members during his “wedding day”  - Doesn’t want you getting to close to Yeosang, San, Seonghwa, Yunho, Hongjoong, Jongho - ^ Basically the other boys because he says its annoying - But deep down, he’s just a jealous baby  - Will constantly annoy the members that at least he has someone to cuddle and sleep with at night - Out of contract but would create a whole new segment for you and him at their official Youtube account  - He does this because he’s aware of the three months contract and he wants to look back at the videos that you two made together - Seonghwa losing his wits because its feels like another Wooyoung was formed in you  - When the show is about to end, he asks for an extension  - However the producers wouldn’t agree, therefore, Wooyoung will just create another WGM but its just him and you for a long time 

Jongho: 

- Would ask for tips from his hyungs on how to impress a girl  - And so all seven of them took an adventure into Jjong’s wardrobe and mix and matched his clothes - On the first day of meeting, he would serenade you - Would lowkey feel embarrassed because his hyungs are fake crying on his “wedding day”  - San making a joke at how their youngest got married before Hongjoong and Hongjoong hitting San afterwards  - Will ask you about the past guys you’ve been with before he smoothly answers “I’m glad you met me because I intend to be your last”  - Jongho - 1 - Would show his strength off at you - And you being impressed at the number of things he can do - Liking how he calls you “noona”  - When the program is about to end, he would be disappointed  - Disappointed because WGM is a good variety show and the only thing he hates about it is that it ends - His heart would leap whenever he sees you out of WGM  - Would be having a hard time re adjusting back to his old life after getting married to you 

[writingbeary]

Kingdom - To The World (pt.2)

Minyoung’s Outfit

Note:

Texts placed inside brackets are Kingdom’s show subtitles

Italicized texts are in English

Texts that are block quoted are interview cuts

────────── ♔ ──────────

Hongjoong went to the studio to gets ideas from Pirates of the Caribbean and writing down notes when a knock was heard. Pausing the movie, he stood up and unlocked the door to check who came.

"Joong-oppa! I brought you snacks and coffee. I figured you'd pull another all-nighter to brainstorm and a little sugar might help generate ideas." Minyoung entered with a paper bag full of snacks and a cup of coffee.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be resting by now? I thought you had a schedule tomorrow." Hongjoong frowned knowing how late it is, before taking the snacks thanking the younger girl for them before making himself comfortable on the couch.

"I accidentally left my script at the lockers this morning so I went to get it. I figured I’d drop by the studio and give you something while I'm at it. Don't worry, I'll get some sleep as soon as I get home and the shoot starts at 10 anyway so I'd get plenty of time before I have to leave tomo-.. later" Minyoung smiled plopping down next to Hongjoong

"Just try to get some rest soon. You're busiest among all of us with your drama on top of our promotions and Kingdom." Hongjoong reached out to pat Minyoung's head

"It's nothing I cannot handle! You know me, I can sleep whenever." Minyoung laughed as she look at the screen, recognizing the movie she turned to look at the leader excitedly “You’re watching Pirates? Are we continuing our Introduction Stage concept?” 

“I’m not yet sure but our group’s concept is mostly about pirates so we might as well stick with it.” Hongjoong shrugged taking a sip of coffee

“I always trust your decision oppa! Your ideas for songs and concepts have been all brilliant so far that I’ll follow you in whatever you plan on doing.” Minyoung declared making Hongjoong chuckle.

“I appreciate the confidence but I’ll also ask for your inputs once I talk it over with Eden-hyung” 

“Mhm. I’m just saying that if you tell me to do perform a stunt, I’ll do it. Or maybe even if you tell me to suddenly sing a ballad version of Fireworks or Pirate King, I’d do it in a heartbeat if you arrange it. You know what I mean?” Minyoung said seriously before laughing with Hongjoong. “I’m pretty sure the other members would tell you that too. That’s how much we trust you as our leader.”

“Got it. Thank you bun.” Hongjoong ruffled her hair smiling. “You should head back and get some rest. I’ll finish up here first before my meeting with Eden-hyung. I’ll see you during our meeting, okay? Did you come with manager-hyung?” 

“No. Don’t worry, I’ll just call a cab home. I’ll be fine, I’m already an adult. Geez! If it helps, I’ll send you a message once I’m at the dorms. Fighting oppa!” Minyoung pouted before waving goodbye to Hongjoong “I’ll see you the day after tomorrow!”

[What song did ATEEZ choose for their first round?]

“We just finished our practice and it’s almost 1:00AM” Hongjoong faced the camera as San and Wooyoung fiddle with the vitamins in the box with San being forcefully fed. “It’s good for your body.” Wooyoung chuckled as San looked at him in disbelief.

“We have to win first place after we eat this.” Hongjoong declared laughing

“Okay. First place? We can do it.” San nodded, trying to finish what’s in his mouth despite not liking the taste. “People say what’s good for your body, tastes bad.”

“Do each of these taste different?” Hongjoong asked as he force himself to swallow despite the bitter taste.

“Nope. They all taste the same.” Wooyoung laughed when Hongjoong confessed he might not be able to finish his before going off to get water.

“There is a reason why I made you guys eat this.” Hongjoong said as he took out his tablet showing them the division of the teams made in preparation for Round 1 of Kingdom. “So I need your ideas on what comes to mind when you think about pirates?”

San listed of things that first came into mind like guns, sword, and eye patch. Wooyoung adding in that they need the flags “We already have flags right?”

“But isn’t the ship the most important thing?” San asked as Hongjoong writes down all their ideas on the tablet for the KQ teams to check before their meeting tomorrow.

“Hey. Hey there. Park Seonghwa-ssi. Got any ideas?” Hongjoong called out to the him on the other side of the practice room. The three laughing when they noticed what is happening. Minyoung was clinging unto Seonghwa like a koala while the eldest just lets her do what she wants, patting her back repeatedly as if making her sleep.

Minyoung answered “Treasure! Pirates go sailing for treasure with their treasure map.” her sudden answer making the three in-front of the camera laugh.

“I thought you didn’t want to be in today?” San asked the girl who looked up at him from her position before shaking her head. “I’m comfortable here.” 

Seonghwa chuckled before answering Hongjoong’s previous question “Maybe like a compass, a trumpet, or a telescope.”

“You’re saying we should reuse what we used before? I like the idea.”

“Oppa, I don’t think we have the luxury not to use what we have.” Minyoung commented making the members crack up particularly with how she looked when she said it.

“Now that we’re discussing together, we’re getting lots of ideas.” Wooyoung noted as their concept grows clearer as they talk

Hongjoong looked at the growing list of ideas nodding “Yesterday, I watched all of Pirates of the Caribbean in the studio all night.”

“Did you get anything from it?” Wooyoung asked curious what they’ll adopt into their performance.

“I really want fog effects on the stage. You know how the ship appears with the fog? I really want to incorporate that to our performance.” Hongjoong explaining the scene to the members. Everyone agreeing that it’ll look great and cinematic which is perfect for the concept they’re going for.

The next day, the members sat around in their practice room to discuss the details of their performance with everyone. “Since our results for the Introduction Stage was a bit disappointing, we need to get ready for round one.” Hongjoong stated as everyone looked as determined as ever to rank higher this round. 

“Since we’re sticking with the concept of being pirates, it’ll be fun if we make it like a movie.” Wooyoung suggested

“Then Hongjoong-hyung will be Joongyi Depp.” Jongho quipped with Hongjoong playing along. “San will be a swordsman. San has to fight.”

“As for Wooyoung..” Hongjoong looked at Wooyoung trying to think of a role when Yunho suddenly said “Chef” making everyone laugh at the unexpected role.

“Oh! That’s true though. We all need to eat and someone has to be the chef.” Minyoung said through her giggles

“So when a war breaks out, he’ll be fighting with frying pans.” Hongjoong chuckled doing fighting motions as if he was holding pans in both his hands while Wooyoung just laughed in disbelief at the idea

“As for Yunho since he’s tall, he’ll be in charge of raising the anchor.” Yunho nodded before firing another remark “Seonghwa-hyung can be the parrot on the Captain’s shoulder!” At this everyone laughed imagining the it.

[Parrot Seonghwa, featuring Hongjoong’s shoulder]

“I’m..I’m not even a human?” Seonghwa asked laughing at the idea

“For Yeosang-hyung since he is smart, he can plan strategies.” Jongho continued on.

“What about me? What am I? Oh! I can be the doctor! I like Chopper!” Minyoung exclaimed making everyone crack up at the random remark.

“Okay that’s enough joking around. We can position ourselves and show something in terms of our gestures.” Hongjoong explained as the others nodded already thinking of what to do for the performance.

“We’re not ordinary pirates. It’s a contest in a way..so in order to look more fancy and grand, I think we need fantasy elements. For example, we can have the Kraken come out.” Yunho suggested

“So based on what we said so far, let’s scatter and talk to the professionals if these can actually come true.” Hongjoong nodded delegating tasks to everyone

[They split into the music team and the choreography team and continue the discussion.]

“The TF team was formed just for Kingdom.” Hongjoong explained to the camera while Minyoung and Jongho nodded. “All the members are scattered right now.”

"The reason we split up is because we cannot waste time. We still have our promotions on top of making preparations for Round 1. So I came here with Minyoung and Jongho to discuss the music" Hongjoong explained to their producer Eden

“Personally, I think of Jongho’s crazy high notes as one of our strengths.” Eden started glancing at Jongho as he explained his idea, then turning to look at Minyoung who looked at him curiously.

"I was thinking along the lines of showcasing our main weapon and the hidden weapon." Hongjoong continued as he tapped both of them on their shoulders

"Right. People already know about Jongho's strength but I think it's about time we unveil ATEEZ's hidden treasure. So I’m wondering if I should add 3 or 4 levels of pitch for the both of you and blast them away with that." Eden suggested with Hongjoong agreeing almost instantly when Eden declared “Nevermind. Let’s just go with four. Since we’re doing it anyway, we should go all out.”

Jongho shifted in his seat knowing there’s no backing out of this plan when Minyoung sat up and said in all seriousness along with a blank face "Ah. It is time for my death. You’re asking me to die” making everyone laugh at her antics.

Minyoung let out a sigh before smiling “Since my leader says so, I have to prepare myself thoroughly and execute it well. I'll do my best, at least enough not to drag Jongho down!"

"You'll do well bun." Hongjoong grinned already planning how to highlight the youngest two’s vocals for the performance.

[What did you mean by hidden treasure?]

"It's actually a bit of a shame for me to say this..but we haven't really had the chance to let Minyoung's vocals shine in our songs. Although, we've made her do the killing part of songs here and there but she is mostly highlighted for the dance. If I were to put it in figures... I guess you could say we were only able to show off 40% of her potential as a vocalist." Hongjoong smiled before continuing "You can definitely look forward to it."

[Are you feeling pressured for Round 1?]

"Of course! This time, I was given a very important role that could really make or break our performance. I'm nervous but I think the excitement overshadows that nervousness. I just want to show off what ATEEZ is capable of and give back to our fans who continues to support us." Minyoung answered with a confident smile

“Let’s not worry about anything else and make a movie out there.” Hongjoong looked at everyone as they gathered in for their group cheer before they head to the stage. All of ATEEZ nodding with a smile before they cheered “9 makes 1 king!”  

“Is that a ship?” Chan asked as he moved a bit closer to the monitor as the familiar sound effect was heard.

“Waah. That’s so ATEEZ.” Changbin nodded as the ship interior is shown before the music starts

“I guess their entire stage is set inside the pirate ship.” Q noted to the other members of THE BOYZ.

“Everyone has a story.” Eunkwang leaned in, anticipating the upcoming stage.

“I guess they’re going with the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean for this stage.” Jaeyoon noted finding the feeling of the opening similar to that of the movie.

“I guess he’s the Captain. That so cool! He wore a fur coat!” Bobby noted already absorbed in the performance.

“This is a movie. Totally a movie” Chan commented as the scene played and changed into Hongjoong’s opening rap.

“I asked Minyoung what they planned to do for this stage and all she told me is that I’ll understand when I see it. I can see why she didn’t tell me anything now.” Jisung chuckled as Minyoung’s part played after the opening rap.

“They really prepared a lot for this one. So cool. This arrangement is totally my style.” Eunkwang confessed watching the performance intently.

Everyone was surprised when Wooyoung danced together with the bone-breaking dancers but even more when the Kraken came into the screen. Out of everyone, Bobby was the most excited at seeing the creature. “It’s the Kraken!”

“That’s crazy. How did they come up with this idea?” Jisung exclaimed, letting out an astonished laugh

When Seonghwa sang the chorus, everyone’s mouth was hang wide open and cries of joy were heard from the groups as he fired at the creature killing it. The excitement from that scene has not yet faded when the camera changed and zoomed in on both Jongho and Minyoung on the platform as they sang the bridge as if answering one another. They were also unprepared for when both the youngest members of ATEEZ suddenly pulled off a 4-level high note, leaving most of them speechless.

Minhyuk gasped at how high the notes were while Changsub and Eunkwang clapped in admiration, knowing how hard it is to hit those notes.

“Just how high are they planning to go?” Sangyeon laughed in awe at how the two were able to hit the notes clearly.

Inseong chuckled in disbelief before saying “I can’t believe they’re going all out right now.”

Jisung not expecting the high notes let out a laugh, amazed at both of his friends as he clapped for them. “Wow.. Hold on.” Changbin managed to say shocked at what just happened

Chani laughed astonished particularly towards his friend, exclaiming “Park Minyoung! You’re crazy. From the highnote, now you do this?” when Minyoung took center position during dance booster of the last chorus before passing the focus to Seonghwa for the ending.

After the performance, the groups couldn’t help but compliment the group as they showed off and proven that the title monster performers wasn’t a title without reason.

“They’re awesome” Junhoe stated while Bobby who was still excited with the Kraken and the high note agreed nodding endlessly.

(Comments after the performance)

SF9 Inseong: I was really impressed with Jongho-ssi and Minyoungie. They both hit four high notes. SF9 Jaeyoon: Right. I knew Minyoung-ssi could sing well but I never knew she could do it this well. SF9 Chani: *proud smile* Minyoung pulled a huge surprise attack. 

THE BOYZ Juhaknyeon: I was really surprised when they sang the high notes. Really. 

THE BOYZ Hyunjae: Me too. I thought it was over, but they hit another high pitch. It’s a lot more difficult since there are two of them who did it. *laughs*

iKON Jinhwan: When their performance airs on TV, this will be a legendary performance for them.

Stray Kids Felix: The moment the Kraken came out.. *sound of awe* Stray Kids Changbin: I’ll go see it in person. *stands up* Stray Kids Chan: Yah.

THE BOYZ Sunwoo: They chose the performance they could do well and show who they are the best and executed to perfection. 

BTOB Eunkwang: There were no flaws. Even as another singer, I thought it was really cool. 

Stray Kids I.N: When they got off the pirate ship, everyone danced as a  group. That was very impressive for me.  Stray Kids Han: I loved the Kraken. How did they come up with the idea?  Stray Kids Chan: Wahh. Kraken. Really. That’s all I can think about. Stray Kids Han: No wonder Minyoung wouldn’t give me any hints on what they prepared. Seriously.

iKON Bobby: I was so nervous when Kraken showed up. They defeated it. He shot his gun at the end. iKON Jinhwan: You were so happy iKON Bobby: I was so overwhelmed with the grandeur. It was incredible.

ATEEZ finally done with the performance thanked everyone as they made their way backstage. Minyoung hugging Jongho with tears in her eyes saying “We did it. We really did it.”

“You did well.” Jongho returned the hug, patting the girl’s back lightly. He knows how hard Minyoung had to prepare and how high the pressure she felt for this performance. He was really proud of her and glad that they can finally show off her talents through the show.

“This is why people love Kingdom.” Hongjoong grinned at the camera when it focused on him, Seonghwa adding in “It feels liberating.”

“We all had this feeling. After the performance, we had such a good feeling. I was satisfied with that.” Hongjoong explained when asked what he thought of their performance

As soon as the group is back in their waiting room, everyone commented how it felt liberating after they finished the performance.

“When we finished our performance, I felt so proud of ourselves.” Hongjoong confessed as the other members let out a laugh

“Didn’t you choke up?” Seonghwa asked chuckling

“Do you know who cried after the performance?” Wooyoung grinned teasingly and moving his hands to point towards Minyoung who was still a bit teary-eyed.

“Yah. Let her be. She did extremely well.” Yeosang reached out towards his friend patting his arm

“Who says she didn’t? We all did well but you have to admit, Minyoung had a higher hurdle than any of us.” Wooyoung stated defending himself. “I’m proud of everyone but right now, I’m most proud of Minyoung.”

(Phonecall with Chani and Minyoung)

Minyoung: Hello? Chani: Youngie-ah! What’re you doing? Minyoung: I’m at the broadcast station for our album promotions. Why? Chani: Is ATEEZ preparing well for round one? Minyoung: Are you trying to spy on us right now? *laughs* We’re still not done since we have to promote our album well too. Then what about SF9, are you preparing well? Chani: *laughs* yah. We haven’t even started anything. Minyoung: Ahh. That means you’re almost half way done right? What song are you going to do? <Fanfare>? <RPM>? <Now or Never>? Chani: *surprised* Why are you asking- Minyoung: Oh! So It’s one of the songs I said *laughs* so which one is it? Chani: Why did I even bother to call you? *sighs, chuckling* Minyoung: *laughs* Alright alright. Let’s just see each other’s stages during the filming.

[As expected, these two friends know each other so well]

(During SF9′s Stage)

“I talked to Chani last week and he said they didn’t get to practice as much but every time he says that, it always ends up something incredible. I don’t really believe him anymore.” Minyoung told her members as she focused on the monitor.

“That’s also what you told Jisung when he asked, no?” Jongho laughed as the girl shrugged

“It must be <Now or Never> given how they’re describing the song” San concluded

As SF9 started their stage, everyone wondered about what concept they’re going to show for this performance. 

“Omo. That was a mirror? Are they going for Snow White?” Minyoung asked outloud making Hongjoong look at her laughing “Why Snow White?” 

 “I don’t know. They’re wearing red outfits and Snow White has the Witch with the mirror. Don't mind me." Minyoung shook her head realizing how far fetched the theory sounded.

“Oh, I got goosebumps!” Jongho confessed as the song’s overall atmosphere was changed into a darker tone than usual, highlighting SF9’s vocal and acting abilities.

"What is Chanhee doing? Did he suck blood or something? Omo. Are they vampires? Is that what's happening?" Minyoung fired continuously, Wooyoung who was getting distracted by her comments reached out to place a hand over her mouth. "Shh. Let me watch in peace."

"I know I shouldn't say this when their concept is far from it but Dawon-sunbaenim looks adorable." Minyoung commented, trying to stifle her giggle, as Dawon's part came with a mirror on his back. "..it's like he is pouting"

San still focused on the performance pointed to the monitors and said "I have no idea what is happening but this performance screams SF9. It shows off their mature characteristics. It’s all sexy."

“Oh he took his heart.” Hongjoong noted as the music cut off for a second transitioning to a group dance sequence.

“Omo. SF9-sunbaenim. This is really sexy.” Minyoung mumbled with Wooyoung glancing at her, as the opportunity to tease her presented itself again, saying “Are you falling in-love right now?” Minyoung became flustered shaking her head, lightly hitting his arm. “I didn’t mean it like that!”

“SF9-sunbaenim really showed off their acting skills. Their expressions were really on point.” Minyoung exclaimed clapping when the performance ended.

“I really got goosebumps throughout their stage. Wow.” Jongho agreed still in awe of how the performance went.

“But really..they know what the fans want. The fans love concepts that exude these charms and well, they have every capability and the confidence to pull off this concept. They’re all so cool.” Minyoung explained her thoughts from before as the other members nodded in agreement that SF9 does fit well with the concept.

“So are mature concepts are your style? Sexy?” Wooyoung continued to tease her while Minyoung blushed but kept quiet knowing that answering him would only fuel his teasing. 

While this was happening the members of the Minyoung protection squad, as fans would call Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Jongho, looked at each other with a silent agreement: make sure Minyoung doesn’t get too close with the rest of SF9 if they’re her type. If she’s going to be dating anyone then they have to get through at least the three of them before anything else.

All of the participants gathered inside the studio while waiting for the production staff to tally the results of Round 1 for both the expert’s evaluation and group evaluation. ATEEZ were seated beside iKON, a wish granted for the group as they all wanted to interact and get closer to their senior.

“Later..What time are you going?” Chanwoo asked Seonghwa who was seating beside him. 

“We’re probably going to go straight right after this finishes.” Seonghwa answered truthfully, Minyoung who also heard the question looked over, piping in “We still have a schedule around 8 today.”

Jinhwan nodded before asking “How many weeks has it been since the start of your comeback promotions?” at this the whole of ATEEZ had their full focus on iKON, a bit giddy for being able to talk with their idols.

Wooyoung immediately answering “The first week has ended so it’s the second week now.” to which Hongjoong adding in “We came back around the same time as sunbaenims.

“Ah but the choreography for Fireworks is really intense, how did you have the time and energy to do two performances together?” Jinhwan praised them, in awe and curious how they could manage to prepare for the round 1 stage while having to promote with such an intense song. ATEEZ laughed understanding what he meant but offering no comment.

“Were you the one who did the high notes?” Bobby asked Jongho beside him the latter nodding “Ah yes. I did it with Minyoung” motioning to the girl who bowed to the rapper. Bobby was smiling looking over the two vocalists when Jinhwan explained “Bobby said he became a fan.” 

“Ah. Thank you.” Minyoung surprised to hear the revelation bowed in thanks.

“Yeah really. Those high notes were just out of this world, more than the Kraken. For real..you’ll be first this time.” Bobby smiled as ATEEZ thanked them for the compliment.

Yunho taking in the opportunity to talk with iKON confessed that during their trainee period, everyone watched iKON’s performances and practiced their stages a lot. “That’s true. When we were trainees, during our monthly evaluations, everyone here did at least one iKON song for the test. We all did <Apology> and <Rhythm Ta> together.”

“That must have been tough.” Junhoe chuckled, thanking ATEEZ for liking their songs.

“How long has it been since your debut?” Bobby asked curiously

“We debuted in 2018.” Wooyoung answered

“Ah it has been a while. But it’s tough, isn’t it?” Bobby recalled his own experiences when they first debuted while ATEEZ just laughs awkwardly as they cannot deny that it does get tough. “When do you rest then?”

“When the promotion ends..” Jongho started trailing off, Hongjoong finishing the sentence for the maknae “When promotion ends, we get our breaks then.”

The continued to talk regarding promotions when Bobby suddenly asked them where their dorms are with Wooyoung readily describing the place making Bobby in particular excited as it is also near his residence. San invited him to visit the company sometime while Bobby agreed that he’ll drop by when he can.

“If there’s some time, it would be great to get a meal together.” DK suggested as all of ATEEZ agreed, excited at the idea.

“I’ll get your number sunbaenim.” Wooyoung shyly said making the rest of iKON chuckle and agree saying they should get each other’s contact number before they leave the studio today.

“I already have Minyoung’s number though?” Chanwoo confessed making his group members look at him in disbelief. “Yah. You didn’t tell us that though?” while ATEEZ looked at Minyoung who suddenly felt shy with all the attention she’s getting from both her members and iKON.

“We met through SF9′s Chani.” Chanwoo added in as the girl nodded.

“Ah but..we haven’t really talked after exchanging numbers.” Minyoung confessed shyly, wanting to hide herself or use Seonghwa as a shield. This information made both groups laugh, iKON acknowledging Chanwoo as a true insider for having celebrity friends outside of their company.

“That’s true. Sorry, let’s grab a meal together with Chani.” Chanwoo chuckled an apology. 

“Now we’re going to announce the results of Round 1 that you’re so curious about.” the MCs started while all the groups waited with bated breath. The atmosphere in the studio suddenly becoming tense as no one knew what criteria the experts used for their scores or who the experts were. They also didn’t know how the other groups voted. There were a lot of unknown factor in the show made it harder for the groups to anticipate the ranking for the round, particularly so since this is only 50% of their overall score.

Minyoung suddenly feeling nervous, held unto Wooyoung’s and Seonghwa’s hands, trying to get some comfort. She felt as if she’ll faint the longer it takes to announce the results. 

“Today’s first-place team will be given the authority to select the bracket for round two.” MC Changmin announced as all the groups gasp and commented that points aside, it’s a huge advantage to be able to do decide the bracket.

“I’m curious who the experts are.” Seonghwa wondered

As the MCs announced that all of the expert evaluation scores will be announce all at the same time, Minyoung closed her eyes tight mumbling “I cannot take this. Can you just tell me what the results are? I cannot watch. I’m too scared.”

“I’ll look for you.” Wooyoung patted the girls’ hand, giving it a light squeeze.

[What’s the result of the expert evaluation scores?]

As all of the members gasp, Minyoung who had her eyes closed asked scared “What is it?”

“Minyoung-ah, you can look.” Wooyoung let out a relieved sigh as ATEEZ placed first for the expert’s evaluation scores. At this, Minyoung peeked and immediately hugged the male in her joy. “I’m..reading it correctly right? We’re currently in first?” she asked as if in disbelief

“I’m actually relieved and glad that the things we wanted to do were actually conveyed properly.” Yunho confessed during the group interview.

As the results for the group evaluation were announced, Minyoung immediately hid behind Wooyoung scared that the rankings would change drastically.

[What will be the results of the teams’ evaluation?]

“ATEEZ you’re currently in first place. You wouldn’t want to step down. Do you think the others rooted for you?” the MC asked the group everyone nudged Jongho to answer for the team

“The eight of us finished our performance today without any regrets. Well...I’m not sure.” Jongho let out a laugh nervously as there really was no way to know how the other teams voted. Kingdom is still, after all, a competition. Everyone could have voted strategically to secure the points.

The MCs continued on with the show and as soon as the results were all announced, ATEEZ finally felt like they were able to breathe. They kept the number 1 spot even as the group evaluations were added in. Minyoung bit her lip trying not to cry as she felt the pressure lift off a bit. Seonghwa noticing it, rubbed circles on her back smiling at her. Minyoung turned to him and placed her head against his arm as she took deep breathes to calm herself down.

When asked how she felt during their interview “It just..It feels like our efforts were seen not only by the experts but also by the senior groups. We felt disappointed during the Introduction Stages so we steeled ourselves to do better and rise up the ranks but to actually be rewarded with the top spot just made me feel overwhelmed. It’s like hearing everyone say ‘good job today’ after a long day of hard work.”

“The past two weeks were really hard on us. All of the members has many moments when we were exhausted both physically and emotionally. One thing I can say confidently now that the results came out is that it was really hard, but we did our best. I think I can say that now.” Hongjoong concluded nodding

“We did well. ATEEZ is so lovely.” San adding in making the rest of the members smile, even Minyoung who was trying to fan her eyes with Jongho patting her back in comfort.

“Since we won first place, let’s take this energy and work hard to prepare for a great and fun performance.” Hongjoong declared before they did their team cheer “9 makes 1 team. Let’s do it!”

────────── ♔ ──────────

ATEEZ Minyoung Masterlist

Disclaimer: This is just a work of fiction. Any portrayal of real people is a combination based on what we could see on cameras and imagination of the author. This is purely fan fiction written for entertainment. Thank you for understanding.

━━━━━━ʕ ˵• ₒ •˵ ʔ━━━━━━

Writing Beary Corner

I seriously wanted to cry when I had to rewrite this because the site ate my drafted one. I don’t think I was able to capture the initial feeling anymore and it definitely got a whole lot shorter after rewriting but I tried to at least..make it a bit decent.  Again, I have already drafted posts up to the Reborn stage but Kingdom “episodes” would be slowly posted to avoid spoilers for the people who haven’t watched it yet. 

Thank you and I hope you enjoy reading this!

-Mimi

15

[ahxiang]

You know i wasn't even big fan of 2moons2 but j9 really showed everyone who talented they are. They had one of the cutest friendships you know. Don't know how true that information is but i saw that Joong said that they still are friends and are still in touch. They just forbidden to communicate in public. Hope its true

FORCEBOOK IN HANFU 😭😭😭😭😭😭 why did you plant this thought in my brain!!!! and with shoulder-length hair or even with long hair pulled back in a ponytail!!!! Oh my goooooosh. Forcebook in historical bl when! Gmmtv I DEMAND. it's trite, but let them be on different sides of the barricades. Oh, I already have a little plot in my head 👀 who do i need to write/bribe for them to take this and make it into script and to shoot it

I don't want to give you false hope but i think forcebook shooting fbsr right now 👀 bookie's last ig stories look sus (there was very good twitter post about it but I can't find it now sorry). So manifesting our boys being back soon 🥺🙏😌

I'm the same anon btw. You are so sweet! From now on I'll send you asks to ask about your opinion okie :)

sorry it took me so long to respond anon!! your ask got buried in all the notes from the sensory issues eaw post i made.

they were such a cute pair of friends! i really do hope they are still in touch despite the distance.

I'M SORRY BUT THE IDEA CAME TO MY HEAD AND I HAD TO PLANT IT IN YOURS. as ira always tells me when she sends me the most fucked up posts, "misery loves company". bc forcebook would be soooooo good in hanfu!!!!!! and a historical drama???? pleaseeeeee, i need that in my life now. i will bribe them with you, whoever they may be, this is so important.

and i'm right there with you manifesting a forcebook comeback. gmmtv please, we need our boys back!!!!!! it's imperative that fbsr gets a s2, enchanté gets a wedding movie, and forcebook grace our screens once more.

and lastly, anon, i would be honored to have you back again. ily!!!

[dramaruni]

@bpdaf so this answer opened a can of worms (that I can call procrastination) and I wanted to address it, but with the limited characters in the reply function, I decided to answer it with a new post. Also sorry if this come as an attack, I promise it's not. I just became really curious if I had the wrong idea about the live-shooting system as I was ready to refute your points, but realized I didn't have enough knowledge to do so.

*also tagging @jahe, @yasmini24, @le-amarant as they also replied to my post and I figured maybe you were also interested in this (although it's really long and rambly, so I don't blame you for ignoring the post entirely). So yeah warning, this post is really long.

So I'm well aware of kdrama's live shoot system. But I did wonder if it was normal to start shooting 6 months before the first airing episode, as I was under the impression 6 months of shooting exceeded the standard duration of filming. But I couldn't actually refute it without some data to back that up. So I went to find data.

According to Wikipedia's page on Korean Dramas, they write: “As producing a series involves high expenses, production companies seek to shoot the episodes in the shortest time possible. In contrast to practices elsewhere, the first four episodes of Korean series are usually shot in advance, but the rest are shot continuously as the series is being aired.”

This fits in line with what I believed about Korean dramas live shooting system. They film a couple of episode ahead of time and then rest comes while it's still airing to fit with the audience response to it. Even preproduced dramas are sometimes reshot and re-edited while it's airing. But it didn't really say anything about the average filming duration for a drama or what shortest time possible was defined as. Probably because all dramas will aim for different things and given the content it can vary a lot how long it takes to film.

But I highly doubt it took Vincenzo 6 months to shoot something around 4 episodes and then crammed the rest into the 2 remaining months, as they knew from the start they had 20 episodes to fill.

So let's go through some other drama's shooting schedule to compare with Vincenzo.

I chose to limit the list to 2020 dramas (as they were likely affected by the pandemic) and tvN dramas, so it's the same broadcasting company as these dramas will likely share the same practices. Obviously with the amount I have included, I can't make any definite conclusions, but it does show a pattern.

*disclaimer I tried my best to accurately determine the shooting duration from when filming started to when it ended, but not all of these dramas had that information readily available, so I made do with the information I had at hand. This means some of these are just estimations.

So without further ado, here's the list:

Vincenzo:

May 2020, Director Kim Hee Won and writer Park Jae Bum teamed up.

July 2020, Song Joong Ki and Jeon Yeo Bin were considering the drama, while Ok Taecyeon had confirmed

September 2020, filming started

February 20th, 2021 first episode aired

No episodes April 17thand18th

April 17th, last episode script delivered

April 23rd, filming wrapped

May 2nd, 2021 last episode aired

Shooting time: 8 months

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 6 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: 8 days

1. Crash Landing on You

*not affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic * includes overseas filming

July 31st, 2019 – first script reading

End of august 2019, filming overseas begin

December 14th, first episode airs

January 12th, filming wrapped

February 16th, 2020 last episode airs

Shooting time: 5 months

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 4 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: 1 month + 4 days

2. It’s okay not to be okay

I couldn’t find the exact time shooting started, so these numbers are based between March and May, as I assume they didn’t shoot without Oh Jung Se being casted and while the table read photos were released in May, it could very well be they had started shooting before this.

February 2020 Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji casted

March 2020 Oh Jung Se casted

May 8th 2020, first script reading photos released

June 20th 2020, first episode aired

July 31st 2020, filming wrapped

August 9th 2020, last episode aired

Shooting time: 3-5 months

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 1-3 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: 9 days

3. Start-up

August 4th, all the leads are confirmed for casting

September 2020, promotional starts to come out

October 17th 2020, First episode aired

November 21st 2020, Bae Suzy wraps up filming (assuming filming wraps up around the same time as her as she is the lead)

December 6th, last episode aired

Shooting time: 2-4 months

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 1-2 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: around 15 days

4. Hospital playlist season 1

*only aired 1 episode pr. week

October 2019, principal photography took place

March 12th, first episode aired

Late April 2020, filming wrapped

May 28th 2020, last episode aired

Shooting time: 7 months (couldn’t find when they actually started shooting, so let’s just pretend they also filmed around October)

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 6 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: 1 month

5. A piece of your mind

February 7th 2020, article of the first script reading

February 13th, first photos from drama unveiled

March 23rd, first episode aired

April 8th 2020, tvN announces that 4 episodes are cut due to low ratings

April 28th, last episode aired

Shooting time: 2-4 months

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 1-2 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: N/A (couldn’t find the exact time but they also axed four episodes and I don't know how much that affected filming)

6. Psychopath diary

*not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic

August 2019, first script reading

November 20th, first episode aired

January 9th 2020, last episode aired

Shooting time: n/a

Shooting duration before first aired episode: 3-4 months (assuming they started shooting shortly after the first table read)

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: n/a

7. Stranger /Secret Forest season 2

* preproduced based on the information I found

January 2020, first script reading

June 20th, 2020 lead actors wrapped filming (But I only found this article that says this)

August 15th 2020, first episode aired

October 4th 2020, last episode aired

Shooting time: 6 months

Shooting duration before first episode aired: 6 months

Filming wrapped before last airing episode: 4-5 months

What does this mean?

So the drama that comes closest to Vincenzo's filming duration is Hospital Playlist, but they also did things a bit differently. According to their Wikipedia, they only aired 1 episode a week to comply with 52-hour week system and to avoid overnight filming for the cast's and crews' health. So that would extend their shooting time. They also had the same amount of shooting time as Vincenzo before the first episode aired, i.e. 6 months, but Hospital playlist was only 12 episode drama so they also had less content to fill.

The rest of these dramas has a shooting time with 6 months or less. I will say though a lot of these dramas are not action-packed (also I haven't checked the budget for any of these), so comparatively they probably have different needs when filming. The drama that comes closest in terms of action is Stranger/Secret Forest, and it's also pretty close in shooting time with only 2 month different (that's counting from the first table read though). This was however pre-produced so they wrapped up filming before the first episode even aired (if my information is correct). Also this was a season two so they were operating under a little different circumstances.

But with the exception of Stranger/Secret Forest (preproduced) and Hospital Playlist(tried to work with humane working hours), none of this drama has a 6-month filming duration before the first episode aired. In fact some of these dramas don't even exceed 6 months of filming. Meaning they had less time to shoot before the first episode aired. Their production was probably also lower and none them did CGI (although I haven't watched all of them so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) as that should also be accounted for.

So 8 months of filming is a lot to allocate to a drama, at least it's not the norm. There are other dramas that exceed that filming time that didn't make the list (Mr. Sunshine sorry too much research for at this point), but obviously that is not the standard.

Obviously I don't know how the filming was divided, how many of the episodes they had filmed before the first one aired. I don't know how many of the episode scripts were written before it aired. But I can see that even with the live-shooting, Vincenzo has some very uneven scheduling that doesn't align with how the rest of these dramas did their scheduling and airing. None of the mentioned dramas had any delays (in airing, I can't be sure about filming as some of them are probably affected by the pandemic), and yet Vincenzo did, even though they had spent more time filming before the first episode aired.

Also, most of these dramas wrapped up filming with more than a week to spare before the final airing, with It's Okay Not To Be Okay coming the closest to the airing date (with the ones where I know the date when they finished shooting), but they also only had 1-3 months of filming before the drama actually started airing so much less time than Vincenzo. And although they didn't have CGI, they did have the animations for each of the fairytales which I don't know how long it took but I can imagine it took some time.

So then I looked up another drama not by tvN but by Park Jae Bum:

Good Manager/Chief Kim

December 15, 2016 first script reading

January 25, 2017 First episode aired

March 30, 2017 Last episode aired

I couldn't find the date they finished filming, but given they only started a month before airing (honestly I felt super sorry for the cast and crew when I saw these dates), I am assuming the hit the last airing date pretty closely with filming, and that would give them 3 months of filming roughly. And they also had 20 episodes like Vincenzo.

I haven't seen this drama myself, so I can't say anything about the writing quality, but here Park Jae Bum was working under even more time pressure and was able to deliver the ending on time and as I hear, it was pretty a pretty good ending (but I haven't seen it, so feel free to refute me). And yet he couldn't do it for Vincenzo. So I do think something happened with ending, whether it was Park Jae Bum just took a long time writing it for whatever reasons, or someone/thing (be it something personal, writer's block, execs not liking the ending etc.) actually interfered and that prolonged the writing or entirely changed the ending.

Anyway this became too long, so let me just end it here.

I wish I had time to make a more comprehensive list so I could be more definite in the conclusion because obviously I can't base everything of the schedule of 8 dramas that also vastly different in production quality, genre and content.

So yeah I might have just wasted the last three-four hours making something that doesn't even make sense. But hey, at least I'm less prepared for the exams now, good use of time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[weirdthingshappenman]

Vincenzo

So I ended up watching Vincenzo as Tumblr pressured me. I must say I am glad I did. It was full of action and is different from what I am used to watching in kdramas, and that was quite welcome. I don’t like the shows in general, where nothing happens and everyone is always happy, alive, saved by the bell, etc.

First of all, Song Joong Ki did an exceptional job here! I was drawn in since the first moment. I have only seen him in Descendants of the Sun, but even so I knew he was a good actor and follow him. I believe this is the role of his life. 

Taecyeon on the other hand I watched in Let’s Fight Ghost and I must say here he stole the show! I was gaping the entire time he was on screen. The range of his acting and emotions was wonderful.

The humor parts were a bit strange for me. That is what almost made me stop watching it but after her father dies things start to get so good that I had to know what would happen next. There was a point when I could not stop. 

I don’t know if the writers had external advice or help, but the script was like that of any show from UK or USA. Except for the funny parts which I guess were included to please the Korean audience. My point with this, is that it was fantastic. I was surprised that a korean show (not movie, in movies they can be pretty gruesome and they don’t care) could be so rough and bloody and intense.

Vincenzo and Hong Cha Young had such amazing chemistry! I did not know Jun Yeo Bin from before but I really enjoyed her as a main character. I liked how the writers showed the two characters fighting the bad guys and her accepting him for who he was. Then we even started to have a Cha Young in the gray moral area, fighting and killing bad guys.

She was also funny and not ladylike, not perfectly composed or cool like the usual female characters. She was funny and acted silly, and he fell in love with her like that. I loved that!

The placement of propaganda was there, but very subtle. I liked that. The inhabitants of Geumga Plaza were funny and every now and then they would surprise us with a bit of the story of some of them. I liked that very much too. The owner of the dry cleaning terrified me with his scissor. I would close my eyes during those scenes because it looked painful on the receiving end hahahahaha.

I must say this is what a James Bond movie would be for me. The show got more and more savage, to the point where I was surprised that a korean audience would accept it. It is hands down the best drama of this year. I was literally gaping the episode where his mom gets killed and he goes full savage, let alone at the end when Cha Young gets shot and Han Seo sadly dies. 

The last episode was so intense that I ended up exhausted. But I enjoyed it very much. I was actually surprised that there was the possibility of them ending together. I had the idea that Vincenzo would prefer to stay away to keep her from harm. My romantic loser self was happy though hahahaha.

I could write on and on about the finale. The deaths were so ruthless, and what Joong Ki said kept running through my head about how people were rooting for a villain in this drama. The fact that we see this as the only option to “cleanse” and “serve justice” says a lot about our world as it is now. 

FOR MORE REVIEWS CHECK MY BLOG

[joongdunking]

Dunk and his obsession with mermaid Joong 🧜🏽‍♂️

April 2022

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[joongdunking]

🤣😭

And this was why Dunk said come here baby and carried Joong.!!! I need to add this to my Dunk and his obsession with mermaid Joong list!