kdrama: Chuno, eps 8-12
After the traumatizing montages in the second episode of Spartacus (what I watched of them, at least) I will no longer complain about wardrobe choices in Chuno. Though I am glad Dae Gil and Wang Son have proper shirts now. Though I’d rather Wang Son just went away. If I were charmed or amused by sexist sleezes, I’d watch more of the so-called-comedies Hollywood churns out.
Speaking of unpopular opinions (because I know I’m the only one to prefers Dae Gil with his shirt on) am I really the only one to have no desire whatsoever to see Dae Gil and Un Nyun together as adults? Granted, I could tell from character descriptions and information about the show which part of the triangle I’d be more interested in, but I’m almost anti-interested in the present Dae Gil and Un Nyun having any sort of a romantic relationship. I mean, I’d happily watch a drama about the doomed and tragic love of their teenaged selves, but I can’t see them being happy now. Actually, I can’t really picture Un Nyun liking the man he is now at all if it was the “him” she first met (I mean, she will because he’s the boy he loved, but…). Let’s face it, even Sul Hwa really only likes him because he pretty much saved her, and because she’s 17, and a handsome guy who chastely takes care of you (and I think he and General Choi are the only men she’s met who haven’t wanted to sexually use her in some way) while obsessively loving and searching for a woman who may not even be alive for 10 years is about the most amazing and dreamy thing ever when you’re 17. Also, while I sympathize with Dae Gil, his love is a little too deeply into the obsession side, and not in a way that appeals to me. (Plus, while not his fault, he’s not in love with the Un Nyun we “know,” but with a teenager she hasn’t been for years, and I’m not even sure the Un Nyun on his pedestal is an accurate representation of the younger Un Nyun, either.)
I normally don’t feel compelled to explain why a popular pairing doesn’t work for me, unless it's something where an aspect actually seriously annoys me (which isn't the case here) but I make an exception here. (I think some of the popularity is because of Robbers though? At least the pre-series popularity? I may watch that.)
Meanwhile, I like how simple they’re keeping the Un Nyun/Tae Ha romance. Most series would have them agonizing over how they can’t be together because of secrets/duty/the past/Dae Gil/his dead wife, but Chuno doesn’t waste my time with that. (OK, that one guy is apparently going to pull “Woman is bad! Woman distract Man from duty!” soon, but I can’t imagine either giving him the time of day over that. I mean, his reaction to “she’s a distraction!” was to propose marriage, after all. “She is! Hey, I like being distracted! Excuse me!”) It’s a very adult approach, and by that I mean in terms of sensibilities, not sex. Also, I think a very large part of why Tae Ha and Un Nyun appealed to be more from the start as characters is that neither is ignoring or trying to forget their pasts, but they’re both moving on and determined to look at the future.
Also, Tae Ha’s first proposal was one of the best failed proposals ever. Even Baby Prince was like “You can do better than that! I can do better than that, and I can’t talk!” Really, the “look at what a cute family they are!” bits with those three are extremely blatant and rather manipulative, but with that much cuteness on display, does anyone really care?
I’m kind of disappointed that the plot with Un Nyun’s brother is already gone, not just because two of my favorites-Baek Ho and the assassin-are gone, but also because it removes a lot of Un Nyun’s plot outside of “the woman both men are in love with.” But then, the series seems to be transitioning from being mostly about Dae Gil’s plot and the slaves to being mostly about Tae Ha and his rebellion. And while I think those are the stronger and more interesting plots, the transition is creating a bit of narrative awkwardness, and a bit of floundering, which I think Un Nyun is receiving the brunt of, narratively speaking.
BTW, I don’t think the assassin is dead. Aside from Chul Woong (and oh, how I giggled at “wounded Chul Woong can’t take down Tae Ha just-escaped-from-slavery-and-malnourishment-and-mistreatment, but he can still take down a dozen, healthy, rest, well-fed guards!) Tae Ha seems to be careful not to kill any of his opponents (probably because they’re all just doing their jobs, even if it interferes with his goals). It also looked like he’d twisted the blade so that it was pointed away from anyone’s belly, and was using the hilt to make the hit harder. (Tangent: A punch to the gut can do a lot to a person, including make them writhe on the ground, puking until there’s nothing left, but it’s extremely unlikely to knock them out, despite how often fiction likes to tell us it will make someone calmly and quickly pass out.) Still, I doubt she’ll be back. That plotline seems to be done with, and I’m sure she can find paychecks where she won’t have to get past someone she now knows can easily kill her first.
I feel guilty that I’m not more interested in the slaves and their plotline, though. I really like the shooter, and the girl who’s so enthusiastic about joining the slave rebellion, but I get a bit “meh” when the plot switches to that. I think because, while I like and am interested in almost all the protagonists, and am interested in most major characters, I’m more interested in the characters and their individual stories than the central plots, and they don’t seem to have much going on outside of the slave plot.
Speaking of unpopular opinions (because I know I’m the only one to prefers Dae Gil with his shirt on) am I really the only one to have no desire whatsoever to see Dae Gil and Un Nyun together as adults? Granted, I could tell from character descriptions and information about the show which part of the triangle I’d be more interested in, but I’m almost anti-interested in the present Dae Gil and Un Nyun having any sort of a romantic relationship. I mean, I’d happily watch a drama about the doomed and tragic love of their teenaged selves, but I can’t see them being happy now. Actually, I can’t really picture Un Nyun liking the man he is now at all if it was the “him” she first met (I mean, she will because he’s the boy he loved, but…). Let’s face it, even Sul Hwa really only likes him because he pretty much saved her, and because she’s 17, and a handsome guy who chastely takes care of you (and I think he and General Choi are the only men she’s met who haven’t wanted to sexually use her in some way) while obsessively loving and searching for a woman who may not even be alive for 10 years is about the most amazing and dreamy thing ever when you’re 17. Also, while I sympathize with Dae Gil, his love is a little too deeply into the obsession side, and not in a way that appeals to me. (Plus, while not his fault, he’s not in love with the Un Nyun we “know,” but with a teenager she hasn’t been for years, and I’m not even sure the Un Nyun on his pedestal is an accurate representation of the younger Un Nyun, either.)
I normally don’t feel compelled to explain why a popular pairing doesn’t work for me, unless it's something where an aspect actually seriously annoys me (which isn't the case here) but I make an exception here. (I think some of the popularity is because of Robbers though? At least the pre-series popularity? I may watch that.)
Meanwhile, I like how simple they’re keeping the Un Nyun/Tae Ha romance. Most series would have them agonizing over how they can’t be together because of secrets/duty/the past/Dae Gil/his dead wife, but Chuno doesn’t waste my time with that. (OK, that one guy is apparently going to pull “Woman is bad! Woman distract Man from duty!” soon, but I can’t imagine either giving him the time of day over that. I mean, his reaction to “she’s a distraction!” was to propose marriage, after all. “She is! Hey, I like being distracted! Excuse me!”) It’s a very adult approach, and by that I mean in terms of sensibilities, not sex. Also, I think a very large part of why Tae Ha and Un Nyun appealed to be more from the start as characters is that neither is ignoring or trying to forget their pasts, but they’re both moving on and determined to look at the future.
Also, Tae Ha’s first proposal was one of the best failed proposals ever. Even Baby Prince was like “You can do better than that! I can do better than that, and I can’t talk!” Really, the “look at what a cute family they are!” bits with those three are extremely blatant and rather manipulative, but with that much cuteness on display, does anyone really care?
I’m kind of disappointed that the plot with Un Nyun’s brother is already gone, not just because two of my favorites-Baek Ho and the assassin-are gone, but also because it removes a lot of Un Nyun’s plot outside of “the woman both men are in love with.” But then, the series seems to be transitioning from being mostly about Dae Gil’s plot and the slaves to being mostly about Tae Ha and his rebellion. And while I think those are the stronger and more interesting plots, the transition is creating a bit of narrative awkwardness, and a bit of floundering, which I think Un Nyun is receiving the brunt of, narratively speaking.
BTW, I don’t think the assassin is dead. Aside from Chul Woong (and oh, how I giggled at “wounded Chul Woong can’t take down Tae Ha just-escaped-from-slavery-and-malnourishment-and-mistreatment, but he can still take down a dozen, healthy, rest, well-fed guards!) Tae Ha seems to be careful not to kill any of his opponents (probably because they’re all just doing their jobs, even if it interferes with his goals). It also looked like he’d twisted the blade so that it was pointed away from anyone’s belly, and was using the hilt to make the hit harder. (Tangent: A punch to the gut can do a lot to a person, including make them writhe on the ground, puking until there’s nothing left, but it’s extremely unlikely to knock them out, despite how often fiction likes to tell us it will make someone calmly and quickly pass out.) Still, I doubt she’ll be back. That plotline seems to be done with, and I’m sure she can find paychecks where she won’t have to get past someone she now knows can easily kill her first.
I feel guilty that I’m not more interested in the slaves and their plotline, though. I really like the shooter, and the girl who’s so enthusiastic about joining the slave rebellion, but I get a bit “meh” when the plot switches to that. I think because, while I like and am interested in almost all the protagonists, and am interested in most major characters, I’m more interested in the characters and their individual stories than the central plots, and they don’t seem to have much going on outside of the slave plot.