#just like episode 16

[magicaldragons]

'in the name of pain and outrage'

an analysis of the ending

I say this with utmost love, but episode 16 was a shitshow.

i walked into this show accepting it at face value – a show that would take itself lightly, with a compelling subplot marinated in humor, and a dose of sweet romance.

this show tried to include very mature, sobering themes with slapstick humor, which is definitely possible if balanced properly, but i feel this show was not able to achieve this the way do bong soon or others could.

to get some of the discrepancies out of the way:

they never told us that the women's senses were connected, geum joo should not have been able to feel namsoon's thirst – that's something they abruptly added to fuel the tension of the situation.

there is absolutely no reason nam soon would react like that to the drug, when you compare it to how every other user was affected by it.

the strength exerted by gil-joongan did not feel like enough to knock her out like that

and with how easy it would've been to leave the situation, it's very obvious that nam soon taking the drug was an ill-planned way to raise the stakes and increase suspense

the homeless couple truly had nothing of value to add to the show or it's message

none of the show's themes or messages were delivered properly towards the end, and it went against everything it preached.

the immediate tone change after ryu si-o's death did not do any justice to the effort put into his characterization

i do not understand how nam soon became a cop, all technicalities considered

why was she throwing humans out a window from the second floor, even if they're criminals??

they REALLY cheapened the whole marriage conversation by bringing money, property, and heirs into it. that was NOT romantic or wholesome. hee-sik deserves better parents, tf.

side note: i'm pretty disappointed with namsoon's character arc, but lee yoo mi worked within the purview of the script to give us honestly wonderful acting, especially in episode 15.

now, to get into the ending, i'll start with this:

what we got, felt like an empty victory. hollow and out of place.

i've always been an advocate for all parts of a show coming together to create an experience – there's usually no single keystone.

but as soon as si-o died, the rest of the episode felt like a blur, with all loose ends being succinctly wrapped up and prepared for season three. byeon woo seok, and his characterization really carried the show as a unit, and added to its cohesiveness. i did not find myself rooting for geum joo and nam soon's successes afterwards

because they had failed the ONE thing most of us had been hoping for them to do:

to save people who were victims of oppression from those with the power of money, and empower them, including to save si-o from his oppressors, and help him take down pavel.

there is no satisfaction in geum joo doing it by herself, because she has no emotional investment in destroying pavel.

losing hwaja and si-o, watching namsoon & heesik become one dimensional all of a sudden, and seeing tertiary unrelated characters having their loose ends tied, is extremely unsatisfactory – for a show that had an incredible cast and so much potential.

at the same time: i loved the portreyal of gil joongan's mission to help the elderly and her enthusiasm for her future, and the addition of binbin + looking into their past from an additional angle also really elevated the emotional context of si-o's character arc.

i loved each character, truly, and to not see the plot and writers give them the detail and care they deserve, is wholly disappointing.

the show took me on a whole journey, emotionally,,,but to know exactly what would make it better, and be aware of its discrepancies makes me grieve the potential it had to truly leave an impact on its viewers, with a solid takeaway message.

[randomloserlover]

cobs destroys mephone's objectsonas

[dramashii]

BYEON WOO SEOK as Ryu Sun Jae in LOVELY RUNNER (2024)

[bunnieswithknives]

Dale's relationship with work is so fascinating to think about. Like he's ALWAYS working, nose always buried in his tablet, but the second he hears Dev is doing something as simple as a treasure hunt to earn something for himself in A New Development? Like the face he makes before dismissing the idea has always stuck with me.

That's not the face of someone who's thinking "ha, that's so stupid and beneath us, we're too rich for that", that's the face of someone who, even if only for a second, is having traumatic flashbacks to having to work himself near to death for the bare minimum. It's just such an interesting detail, I'd love to see his character get explored more if there's ever a season 2.

His relationship to working is so maladaptive ♥♥♥♥♥♥

[golyadkin]

Something something living with your mistakes Something something period of adjustment

[marshmallowgoop]

No matter how special it is, a kid's lunch is still just a kid's lunch.

I dunno, I liked "The Genius Restaurant" (Episode 1,089).

Happy (belated) birthday, Jimjam.

[Song link] [YouTube link]

[charmac]

Friday night we talked to Charlie about how much we loved Season 16 and are looking forward to 17, and "We miss Mac being a fake bad-ass," was his example when he was talking to us about how he is really trying to prioritise getting back to who these characters really are, and digging into the weeds of them all.

It’s so special to hear directly from him that the character’s core wants, cares, and motivations are what he uses to drive every episode plot (and I am going to spiral about this forever, I think).

[radiantmists]

reading animorphs sequentially instead of in whatever random order you can get your hands on them is such a trip because you can see these kids getting progressively better at war and worse at being happy, you can see how traumatic events from one book echo into the next ones but never quite get dealt with because these kids have no real way to take care of their mental health, you can see their relationships deepening but simultaneously gaining friction and faultlines as they learn just how far they'd go for each other but also how far they'd go in general...

obviously this series was meant to be episodic in nature, and i actually think that might be the better way to first encounter it, but the arc of the series in publication order is extremely well-crafted

[blueskittlesart]

atla live action generally sucks for all the reasons everyone is saying it sucks and i am in no way a live action remake promoter but one thing i will say. they Get the fire siblings. they understand.

[paperclipcore]

(Some) People in the ii fandom right now: SHIPPING THE CONTESTANTS TOGETHER OR WITH MEPHONE4 IS INCEST THAT'S PROSHIPPING AND IF YOU STILL SHIP ANY CHARACTERS YOU'RE A DISGUSTING AND TERRIBLE PERSON!!!!!!

People in real life: Hey man what's up?

[teatitty]

One thing Naruto fandom does that pisses me off is when they act like being a Chuunin makes you automatically weaker than a Jounin when its a proven fact that Jounin ranks aren't that common at all. Most shinobi are chuunin rank. You become a Jounin either by taking an exam [as Temari recommends to Shikamaru] or the village just collectively decides that you're The Fucking Shit and elects you for it so no exam needed [Kakashi is the best example]

Sakura and Shikamaru are both chuunin with jounin level capabilities. The ongoing gag of Shippuden is that Naruto is still a genin despite basically being a god. Your rank does not equal skill or power level, the only difference is whether you take on S-Rank missions by yourself or not. That's literally it. The only time a "superior officer" matters is in the fucking field when you have a team captain leading the mission [and it's entirely possible for a chuunin to be the captain instead of a jounin depending on experience and who is better suited for that role per mission]

Iruka arguing with Kakashi at the chuunin exams wouldn't be shocking in universe because he's yelling at a jounin it'd be shocking because it's Kakashi who is super famous and feared the world over. I doubt most people are really ballsy enough to get in his face about something just because of his reputation, and that has nothing to do with his rank and everything to do with who he is [I could make a whole separate post about that argument and how neither of them are wrong or right here for different reasons but I won't]

In short: chuunin are the ones who run the village, not jounin, and a ninjas rank is not indicative of their power or skill. Stop that shit

[chrliekclly]

jst realized i cn post this whole page now since i didnt draw n e thng while we shot mental health day, so heres all the doodles i did on set to try to remember things this season!

[leixinyus]

[yangsejongs]

because i can't let things go i'm thinking about the qot finale and it's still frustrating to me. baekhong spent 14 episodes falling apart and getting back together and lost all that progress to her surgery and subsequent amnesia...what was the point of all that relationship development if they were just going to have a blank slate to start over? was the relationship development just for hyunwoo's benefit, since he is the one that kept his memories intact? (and i understand why it is relevant for his character since, at the beginning of the drama, he hated his life and hated being married to haein and changed on those points.) but if haein was going to get this life-saving surgery, survive, and forget everything, why not have this happen in an earlier episode so she and hyunwoo get a chance to rebuild and we get to see them deal with the mistakes of the past as they work towards their chance at rekindling their love? idk

[puppyeared]

Ouhhhh friendship I love friendship……..

[nbmudkip]

i dont care if liking steven universe in 2024 is cringe it was a good show that was highly influential to me throughout literally the entirety of my teenage years and i continue to enjoy it to this day