#his character is soo queer coded lol

[k-wame]

George MacKay as Hugh Legat MUNICH: THE EDGE OF WAR (2021) · dir. Christian Schwochow

[thedeviljudges]

is bad and crazy outright queer or is it just moreso sus/coded? just curious. debating on whether i should pursue the watch, and, yes, this is a significant deciding factor lol.

short answer: if this is your criteria for watching it, idk that you'll be happy. i personally read the lead as bi, even if it's not coded, solely based on behavior. but in terms of actual coding, idk that it's there (esp given we're only 4 eps in).

and i'm going to reveal a 'spoiler' that was already given away in the synopsis but it seems people didn't realize that going into it? like, they gave it away (meaning it's not even a spoiler, exactly), but i'm giving you a heads up before you continue reading regardless.

so the main character, ryu soo yeol, is a police investigator who has a personality named K appear. so it's assumed soo yeol has DID. with that in mind, it's not queer bc i mean... it's himself (but i mean... who is that stopping really???? lmao)

more spoilers:

unfortunately, there is implied het. the main female lead, lee hee gyeom, dated soo yeol in the past. as of right now, we know nothing of their relationship. k does seem to be infatuated with her (per ep 4), and i really hope they do not push for them getting back together bc it's kind of clear they broke up bc soo yeol is... a whiny sub, jfaldsj. more like he has some growing up to do bc he's quite selfish. he really does come off as a malewife, and i do like him and hee gyeom as friends. they do make a supportive pair, and she puts him in his place as she should.

so with that said, with 4 eps in, idk where they're gonna take the potential romance component. it is something to consider. but truthfully, the show is so much fun that i really don't care. i can ignore it if that's where they lead it, which is saying a lot about how much fun i'm having. however, i hope it doesn't play a huge role bc again, the show is fun, and truthfully, it doesn't need any of that in it. i think it has so much merit to stand on its own without it being a subplot, so my fingers are crossed it's nipped in the bud real quick.

AND i will say that ep 4 is the only ep where it's been hinted marginally more than others, and even then it's minimal. like it has nothing to do with the main plot of the show is what i'm saying - at least right now. it's not the sole focus, which is why it's so easy to ignore bc literally the plot takes up 99% of the episodes.

[sholb]

on a rewatch I realized how clever wwx was being during the archery competition scene. like on the first watch I thought it was a fun little scene where wwx gets to flex on the jin cousins and look great while doing it but on the second I saw that wwx wasn't (just) showing off or doing it to one up jzx; he was protecting the wen prisoners the best way he could in the moment short of speaking out. by taking all the offered arrows (only four, one for each competitor) and hitting dead center w every one, he both rendered the competition obsolete and ensured that no one else would be shooting at the wens. the jins can't even be mad w/o looking sore for their loss. what else could jgy even say but "that was just a warm up anyway" w/o admitting that the competition itself wasn't meant to be that easy, that the jin heirs can't compare to that display of skill, that what wwx just did was a direct reply to jz's call to best jzx's shot and not just an extravagantly showy trick. i think this also serves as a reminder that wwx is actually v clever. he knows how to maneuver around the rules and etiquette of his society, he's quite skilled at it. he utilizes what others perceive as an arrogant/shameless persona to his own benefit. it's kind of 🤔 that even fans of the show and of wwx himself fall into this trap but that's a whole other discussion on the way fandom views queer and nd coded characters lol.

it also makes me think of how many characters accuse wwx of arrogance and showing off bc while it's true that wwx Does like to show off sometimes, it's practically never seriously like it's almost always a joke and when it's not, wwx tends to actively downplay his achievements and discourages excessive praise. (i! wonder! if wwx was deliberately projecting an attitude of "look at me aren't I soo obnoxious" about his own natural talent for things as a way to ease the sting of being less talented off of jc's shoulders.) the audience is meant to perceive this more easily after jin zixun is introduced bc he is the ACTUAL embodiment of true arrogance, someone who does seem to feel a pathological need to flaunt his skills and seem better than everyone else, especially in comparison to wwx.

anyway this was probably all very obvious already