#this is one reason for why I don't like Hui-jae

[mctna2019]

Episode 8 of My Country, Hui-jae tells Seon-ho that he takes Yeon hostage to use Hwi and control him.I don't care about anything else, I just want to yell at her, how well do you know Seon-ho that you talk like that? that night, he held Yeon in his arms and brought her to his room, threatened his father over her, and even lied to Hwi about her death,just for YEON.Yeon's safety is more important to him than his own life, so how dare you tell him this damn nonsense? you don't know anything about his fucking life, but you have no right to talk about him like that.

[elderflowergin]

SBS Hyena, episode 1 rewatch (part 1)

I wrote this at least a couple of years ago, and it languished in my drafts after that. It's part episode recap with a dash of style analysis. Disclaimer: I'm not trained in fashion or style writing - anything I know is from reading other people doing style/fashion/costuming analysis. This is meant to be fun, and I hope you have fun reading this if you enjoyed the show, or even if you haven't and were looking for reasons to start.

Okay, let’s hit it! 

This opening of this show is so distracting I did not connect it to the final scene of this episode until after having watched it maybe fifty times. They knew what they were doing, giving us a hot guy in the shower, displaying very fetching abs that probably required Ju Ji-hoon to dehydrate himself for a week. (But let's put a pin in my reflections.) 

Montage aside and speaking of reflections: this is the first time we ever see Yoon Hee-jae in the story. Yes, it’s in his smirking reflection. I guess we could say that's a coincidence, but I also think it means that the way he sees himself is probably not congruent with who he is on the inside, and his arc in this show deconstructs that perception he has (and in a way, we have, as viewers) of Yoon Hee-jae.

This trial gave me the giggles when I re-watched it, because it sounds like Hee-jae and Prosecutor Kwon are having a leisurely - if somewhat antagonistic -  banter over coffee. (This is not unrealistic; it would probably be exhausting to keep up with the yelling throughout.)  

Prosecutor Kwon - or the actor who plays him, Lee Ki-chan - is quite handsome, but they've shafted him here with Coke bottle glasses and unsexily messed-up hair. (I went to look up his name and learned that he played Bae Doona's totally vile, Ha Chan-hoish brother in Sense8, which I never would have known. He's also a talented singer and musician, because hey, why NOT. THE RANGE, YOUR HONOUR.)

That gown is only flattering on one person, and that is one Mr Cho Seung-woo. Who also looks great in thigh high boots and glitter eyeshadow, so you know what, that's not saying much. 

This smirk is both hot, and endlessly immature. Ju Ji-hoon's mouth does lots of good work here. (As Jung Geum-ja can surely attest to, heyo!) 

Ga Gi-hyeok is suited up here (a three-piece, even, which notably only Song Pil-jung wears, to my memory, so this is maybe a bit of a faux pas on his part), but he's not commonly in a suit, often opting for a sweater in the office.

For context: Kang Tae-oh - who memorably played K-Drama's Boyfriend and a paralegal in Extraordinary Attorney Woo - also wears sweaters at the office over shirts, with fairly informal jackets and overcoats, whereas his friend Attorney Kwon - who's about the same age - wears formal, if moderately fun, suits. In Chief of Staff, Lee Jung-jae never wears a white shirt as the titular chief of staff, and only Song Hui-seop, his boss, wears white. The first time we see Lee Jung-jae in white, he's an Assemblyman. I can't say to what extent these patterns are adapted from Korean society, which is probably very regimented and class-bound in its own way, but I really appreciate how fashion and costuming are used to implicitly denote class and status, telling their own story.

A personal aside: as an intern, I once wore a sweater/blouse/skirt combo to work, prompting an acquaintance to ask me why I was dressed like a secretary. In the present day, I absolutely do not care and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with dressing “like a secretary” - whatever that means - but back then I remember feeling embarrassed by this, like I’d flouted a rulebook I couldn’t access. Corporate dressing isn’t just about what to wear, it’s about what not to wear and how that might denote that you’re not an insider. 

So Ga Gi-hyeok’s clothes might be reflective of two things: 1) his social class - I don't think Gi-hyeok belongs to Hee-jae's level of upper crust; 2) his base-level  insecurity about his position. That is going to be significant later.

Yes, that is the lovely young sweet Attorney Na, in an olive suit. This is not a colour we see any of the other goslings wearing (goslings, because geese are assholes, and these boys - and they are all boys - seem like baby assholes themselves, except Attorney Mr Na.) 

I hate Ha Chan-ho. I hate the entire Ha family, who are all deliciously great at their jobs of being terrible chaebols. I feel like Ha Chan-ho saw his dad's cravats and went, I want that, but make it 10x douchier. This cravat is not hooked to anything, because he doesn’t wear a shirt. He’ll be taking off that jacket later and he’ll be topless, on the steps of a courthouse. Ew.

-infinity/10, docking points for the lack of a goddamn shirt and also being an abusive jerkface. 

Attorney Ma is wearing a double-breasted suit here and he looks cute. 7/10, because this difficulty setting is high. He’s actually...not wrong about many things, including Yoon Hee-jae’s dick moves. 

Yoon Hee-jae is jacketless here. I don't know if this is a first episode thing, but this changes very, very quickly, as we shall soon see.

We will never again see Yoon Hee-jae UNBUTTONED, with something in his mouth and his SHIRTTAILS HANGING OUT. This was remarkably unusual, because he's almost pathologically buttoned up for the rest of the series. I think this could be one of two things: 1) the costumers were still forming his wardrobe preferences or 2) this was a neat way to get across his carelessness and perhaps, vulnerability to what's about to come. Nonetheless, 9/10 for the messy distracted Yoon Hee-jae. 

I recapped this episode for my Instagram and the concept of a partner in a law firm doing his own laundry was just so ridiculous I dedicated two slides to bitching about it. But now I just don't care, because…

Hot damn. THEM. THEM. 

(To be continued! Next up: love letters to who else but Kim Hye-soo, of course)

[afza147]

Ep4,5and 6 Reflection of You

Coz this is fucking twisted plot ever that I can't review in 1 ep at once as I will get frustrated with their secrecy of each other.

So far I have entangled this complicated relationship chart but with few detail unravels of course..I mean..at least the writer let's loose a bit in the middle..let us breathe with air of truth..haha😅

Let's start with hui ju and woo Jae:

1. Hui Ju and Woo Jae did not tell anyone regarding their 'affair' that lasted 3 year in Ireland 👍

2.Ho Su 100% is woo Jae son (my prediction)haha

3.Hui Ju runs aways from Woo Jae coz she regret her decision of cheating.(this is not clear yet as detail are not shown yet)

Hui Ju

1.She clearly choosing her rich husband but what makes her rethink her decision?

2.why she still buy woo Jae art? Like bitch..move on

3.she such a smart ass bitch for cheating on his husband while being with her husband..I mean she even cheat with her daughter in present..like..don't forget even having ho su too

Hae Won

1.Hae Won knows about the affair and Ho Su about how?( No detail shown yet)

2.Reason she doing all the revealation of truth of hui ju affair to hui ju family( no detail yet)

3.in my opinion , hae won should just leave hui ju alone...again I'm team hui ju..coz hui ju is right when she said hae won is too obsessed with woo Jae...she should just move on ..like what hui ju did before hae won interrupt her life .

4.Hae won want hui jui to admit that she having affair with woo Jae but hui ju is still aware of the trap that was set up..yet she did feel guilty.

Hae won and hui ju husband

1.there is something but I don't know yet

2.how did they know about the affair?

Hui ju husband and woo jae

1.apparently hui ju husband the one that cause woo Jae accident

2.but is it an accident?( No detail yet )

3.do they knew each other? I mean woo Jae obviously know coz he dating his wife😅

Hui Ju and her husband

1.Her husband clearly hiding something from her but he love her

2.does he know ho su is not his son?

Woo Jae

1.at first I don't trust him, but he seem legit amnesia and mixed memory

Especially when he said he used to cooked for hae won but instead it was for hui ju..that what convinced me a bit

But still..there's the feeling of untrustable..

Especially when he smirk a bit

Hae won and woo jae

1.She clearly still want woo Jae althought she know that hui ju and woo jae having an affair.

Lisa

1.She know and Hae won definitely tell her something..still waiting on what hae won said to her ear

Of all, I just want to see how the writer will unravel the light of true of all this dark secret.

So far it's been roller coaster ride..and still is

Never in a soap opera k drama..before..so it's a bit overwhelmed ..let's see if I able to keep this up or maybe drop..I don't know..

[mctna2019]

Seon-ho and Sung-rok relationship(1)

Since Seon-ho has other layers apart from being emotional he was an interesting and complex character so his relationships with other characters are very interesting. here is belong to him (although I'll put from other series and characters) and I want to write my personal understanding of his relationships with other characters (this time for Seon-ho and Sung-rok,the relationship that I'm sure has many fans, including myself)

They don't have many scenes together, but it is strong enough to make a big impact on the series, and one of the reasons for that is the complexity of both of them.

About Seon-ho: Well he is always in trouble for his situation (being a bastard and also his mother's social status) so he had a certain guard against everyone even if he doesn't show it (except Hwi, Yeon and to some extent Hui-jae because they never humiliate him for this reason) well, Song-Rok humiliates him (of course not because of being a bastard, we will talk about it in Song-Rok's section), so the beginning of their relationship is not good so we can't imagine they going to work together But the scene where Seon-ho tells Sung-rok that he will take orders from him one day is shocking, both because of Seon-ho's gaze and the fact that it happens right next episode.(Seon-ho has a calm and introverted personality, the times when he threatens someone seems to be very different, that's why I like those sequences so much) Seon-ho needs Sung-rok, Sung-rok is also abandoned and he needs new master , so Seon-ho takes the opportunity and their relationship moves forward more seriously. At first, there is no emotion (for either of them), it is just their mutual work commitment (especially Sung-rok). Song-Rok isn't a treacherous person and doesn't involve emotions in his work, this is enough for Seon-ho to keep him (actually, Seon-ho is never the one to leave Sung-rok like Lee Seung Gi) their relationship continues like this. until he get uses to Sung-rok's presence with him . Sung-rok keeps telling him the consequences of Seon-ho's decisions (for Seon-ho himself). But Seon-ho is so obsessed with Hwi that he doesn't listen to him and always gets into trouble while Hwi won't be there to save him (although Seon-ho knows everything before Sung-rok's words) when Hwi stabbed Seon-ho and this incident makes Seon-ho finally able to give up on him (I'm not stupid, he still hasn't given up on Hwi, he just managed to show him how broken he was for the first time in action), when Sung-rok tells him That touching dialogue about the relationship between a master and his warrior could be the point that Seon-ho becomes emotionally attached to him (or perhaps earlier, when he throws Seon-ho's sword at him with Yeon's ribbon he tied to it )To be honest, we know that until this scen he has been by Seon-ho's side, but right at this point, our perspective changes and we see him as an important person next to Seon-ho, who is like a family to Seon-ho in a way. He becomes an older brother and even a father that he has never experienced. Seon-ho tells him that he knows Sung-rok protects him , which means he's never careless about him, it's just that circumstances don't allow him to take care of Sung-rok as well (we know who I'm talking about).Seon-ho allows him to be with him in the attack on Bang-won's residence even though he knows he will be killed, maybe because Seon-ho knows how it feels to protect someone you care about, and he knows him well (like him) and on the other hand he has no attachment to life and he is sure that he'll be killed, he didn’t think that Sung-rok would die before him and this is such a big shock for him that he drops his sword slow down and give in to Bang Won to kill him (I really didn't expect that look and cry from him), then he grabs Sung-rok's body again and can't leave him. They couldn't tell their last words to each other(especially Seon-ho). He returned Sung-rok's sword, either because he knowed himself as guilty as ever, or because he wanted to die more than ever. When he thanked Sung-rok for everything, even though Hwi considered him his friend again and was by his side, I found him very lonely.

[mctna2019]

Seon-ho and Sung-rok relationship(2)

About Sung-rok: He seems to be a rough and hard character, he doesn't get caught up in his personal emotions (although those emotions are somehow responsible for his death) and perhaps his most important and best trait is his loyalty. He is a person who acts more than talks. He got to where he is through difficult circumstances, I think the Jurchens were also a people who were looked down upon a lot so it's not nice for him to see someone like Seon-ho rising at such a young age (it's not about jealousy, he thinks Seon-ho is a selfish and spoiled kid who hides behind his father) but he isn't and Sung-rok doesn't know, he humiliates Seon-ho for that. his perspective changes when Seon-ho offers him to work for him.His pride won't allow it, but I love that scene both (Seon-ho's authority) and how Sung-rok quickly makes his decisive decision and shows his loyalty to him from the very beginning.Of course we lose a lot about the two of them after that sequence (how they got closer) also that two years they spent with jurchens.He has a grudge against Hwi (because of Liaodong) but Seon-ho forces him to spy on Hwi (and Sung-rok knows that it's not actually spying but Seon-ho's way of protecting Hwi) and I love the scenes that how he got angry at Seon-ho's behavior.(Among all the characters who considered Hwi a hero, he was the only one who didn't have a good relationship with Hwi, and this is interesting, on the other hand, it shows how much he cares for Seon-ho) Seon-ho is a fool (I love him, but He was really stupid by following and having some sort of dangerous addiction to Hwi, even though I love their bromance the truth doesn't change) Sung-rok keeps warning him about the consequences of following Hwi, but what's more interesting It’s that Sung-rok follows such a person. He can leave Seon-ho over and over again (I don't mean that Seon-ho deserves to be abandoned by him, it's what we expect him to do considering the character he has) but he doesn't leave Seon-ho. He fully consciously and voluntarily sinks into that pit slowly and mostly with Seon-ho.From one point on, no matter what Seon-ho does, Sung-rok is always by his side. I don't know his moral principles, but Seon-ho wanted to build an equal country in which there was definitely a place for Sung-rok's people too(Jorchens), on the other hand, Seon-ho couldn't fulfill his promises and failed. And that's another reason why Sung-rok could let him go (I'm so thankful he didn't). You know, I think he saw Seon-ho's intentions when others didn't (as I always say, him and Yeon) I don't know if it was just that or something else, maybe he saw someone who was very lonely and fragile and needed to be protected, like a younger brother . All this breaks my heart even more.Someone wrote that Sung-rok saw the truth in Seon-ho. Hwi has three friends who like his father, he also has Hui-jae and Bang Won to support him and lift him up whenever he failed, but after Yeon's death, Seon-ho only and only has Sung-rok.Sung-rok wants to do all those things alone and fill the place of all the people Seon-ho doesn't have and be his family. Yes, Hwi was Seon-ho's best friend, Hwi and Yeon are his country and in a way his family, but Sung-rok is definitely a family to Seon-ho all those twelve years and supported him, trusted him and never leaved him alone. That's what makes him so precious to me, no matter what his principles were, he really fought honorably.I'm glad he was able to tell Seon-ho that being with him didn't feel bad for him and reassured Seon-ho. I can't forget his eyes whenever Seon-ho was hurt. He had a kind heart and opened it only for Seon-ho. I'm glad that Seon-ho also noticed and was aware and appreciative of all his work. And it calmed me down so much that Jeong Bum (I loved him so much) treated his corpse with respect and even buried him instead of Seon-ho who was injured. Although his death was very sad, the way he looked at Seon-ho, the words he wanted to say and couldn't, breaks me all the more.

[afza147]

Ep2 reflection of you

Ok..I see what u want jtbc..ambitious jtbc

So far I have to quit watch ep2 halfway coz it was quite disturbing to me that hae won or hannah kept bothering the people around hui ju

Literally..but after calming down and watch some spoiler..I'm able to proceed back to finish ep2.

I can see many similar location to other drama such flower of evil vibes,dol dol sol sol la la sol (church) and goblin vibes again .

I feel like watching a tvn drama kinda vibe rather than jtbc kinda vibe..again

So far, some mystery was resolved

1.Maybe hae won telling the truth about lisa bribing her friend to do her schoolwork, but that does not validate her action of smashing her ear..so she still wrong.😡

2.the mystery man is Seo woo Jae that hui ju husband kept visiting and Hae won is married to him and discharge him

3.one of the reason why hae won have problem with hui ju is maybe she was stealing his man..😑 so yah..that I don't argue.

But still I'm on hui ju side now

This hae won or hannah clearly pissed me off even in next week preview