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dangermousie November 10 2012, 02:40:38 UTC
I think Mok Dan was killed in part to bring Shunji where he was, for dramatic heft/shock, and for Kang To's story. They clearly wanted this to be a tragedy but wanted KT alive as the symbol of the revolution so poor Mok Dan had to bite it.

I don't think that Shunji deciding to kill himself before KT came affects whether he killed himself in part to atone or not. I actually like it better that he thought it through. I am sure his main motivation wasn't kindness to KT but a part of it was an act of kindness (whether realized by him or not), just as giving that wedding photo was kindness - I am sure that is the only picture of Mok Dan that Kang To possesses, and I bet he will carry it with him for the rest of his (probably short) life.

I agree that Shunji's sudden ascent into sanity was shaky, but I actually find Shunji's whole character arc the weak link in the story. I thought PKW hit it out of the park as the sweet teacher and as (an occasionally conflicted) monster, but I never could buy his descent into evil and insanity entirely. I mean, I didn't think he was hiding goodness or anything, I mean character-wise it didn't make sense for him to suddenly turn into a torturer and war criminal.

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cleobulle November 10 2012, 09:35:32 UTC
I agree that Shunji's sudden ascent into sanity was shaky, but I actually find Shunji's whole character arc the weak link in the story. I thought PKW hit it out of the park as the sweet teacher and as (an occasionally conflicted) monster, but I never could buy his descent into evil and insanity entirely. I mean, I didn't think he was hiding goodness or anything, I mean character-wise it didn't make sense for him to suddenly turn into a torturer and war criminal.

Yes, exactly! I'm the same. I found Shunji's character fascinating and PKW's portrayal excellent but I've always had trouble buying his downward spiral and the way he went from "I love Joseon people" & "Kang To is my best friend" to "I hate you all" in a flash. The potential to get there was there but it just wasn't handled properly. Once the character was there, I just rolled with it because it was fascinating to watch but the whole process of getting there was pretty shaky.

Boy... writing this reminds me how much better this drama would have been if it had stayed focused on the characters themselves and not gone on to a "Resistance Forever" mantra. There was a whole lot of potential for Shunji development wise. And Mok Dan as well. She was kind of underused in the last third of the drama (it's no surprise the actress thought she could go ahead and sign for 5 Fingers). What we got was still excellent but we could have had a masterpiece.

Ah, the wedding photo... I loved that gesture. To me it was the real act of kindness. And he finally let Mok Dan go. You can bet Kang To has the photo against his chest during that final march. So, in a way, she's there with him.

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