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liaahx September 13 2012, 04:53:28 UTC
It was definitely a brisk pace for a ~70min episode, over before I knew it. I didn't want it to end there, especially because that last scene was the best (or at least my favorite) of the entire episode. I thought SJK's acting was superb in that scene - his reaction to Jae Hee, how his eyes welled with so many emotions, varying from disbelief, pain, anger, a mixture of all three. He just became more vulnerable than he could help it in that scene, and it broke my a heart a little. I think it just made an impression on me because it was a bit shocking to see this rise from him, given how we were just previously lead to believe that he'd become this cold-hearted womanizer without any feelings. Here, we got to see the old Maru surface, still a good guy after all, still carrying that pain of a lover's betrayal. It was really a good place to end and it leaves me wanting for the next episode.

I'll have wait for the subs to qualify the episode more fairly, but just based off the raw, I actually do agree with your score. I liked the episode just fine, but on a visceral level, I don't feel a connection to the world and it's players (perhaps with the exception of Maru, thanks to that last scene) just yet. But I'm looking forward to episode 2 and the following episodes to flesh the characters and the story out a bit more.

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clairiere September 13 2012, 11:19:36 UTC
I think that's why I can't quite criticize them for how fast they moved in the first episode. I read the script first (a real page-turner btw) and when I saw the ending (how Maru met Eun-Gi for the first time and how he came face to face with Jae-Hee after six years), I remember thinking that's where I'd want the characters to be, positioned for fireworks, heading into the 2nd episode. Was there a better way to get there, in terms of facilitating the viewers' understanding or emotional involvement? I don't know, but it's brimming with so much potential and so many questions we hope they'll address that it does make you want to see what they'll do next.

And yes, SJK is superb. :) He's not 100% Kang Maru just yet but I missed watching him do what he does best, sell a role like nobody's business. And I love that he does it all w/o going for excess.

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