Hyun-pil

[Soju]

He's been so tentative about Na-young, and suddenly he tells Sang-jin this very grandiose plan for her. Is he really going to drive Sang-jin to Hyun-ja agressively, or is he only prodding him to make a decision?

I wonder if Sang-ji/Young-tae CAN make a decision. Even with his memory recovered, he sitill walks around in a childlike daze. Everyone claims to know what he should do but he himself.

[Lucy]

You've mentioned the thing that really bothers me about Sang-jin/Young-tae--the fact that he acts so passive all the time. That's why I have a hard time watching this show: I can't stand him. Everyone around him is in a tizzy over him, and he just stands there staring and won't answer their questions. "Why did you do that? What do you want? Why don't you come here?" He just waits for them to give up asking, then trots along behind them. Maybe it's that he doesn't want to be a part of anything or just doesn't know what he wants, but I'm beginning to wonder why anyone wants him around in the first place!

But I love Na-young; I wish she would give up on the past and just send Young-tae back to Eun-pyo's mother. Then she could get on with her life and get together with Hyun-pil.

[Lila]

Thank you, Lucy! You've mentioned what I've been thinking: that Sang-Jin/Young-Tae is absolutely unappealing as a man. It's possible to feel compassion for his character because of his extreme bewilderment, or the likelihood that he's permanently brain-damaged -- but compassion is not passion, yet both of the women seem to be absolutely wild about him.

Not only have the writers written this character with absolutely NO personality, but they also haven't yet transitioned the character from that perpetually greasy, unkempt, ill-groomed look that he had when, as Young-Tae, he was engaged in physical labor out-of-doors and could understandably be kind of funky now and then. He's been "home" a month now, living in a luxurious environment, yet doesn't appear to be any less grubby than before.

Instead of Na-Young and Hyun-Ja each endlessly weeping copious amounts of tears about the possibility of losing him to the other woman, I'd think a more accurate exchange between them, if this were happening in the real world, would be, "You take him." "No, you take him." "No, please, dear, you take him." "No, that's OK, girlfriend, he's all yours." "You're too kind, hon, but I insist....."

Actually, am I the only one who thinks that the writers haven't exactly gone out of their way to make ANY of the characters in Sang-Jin's original family particularly sympathetic or appealing, except for his wife, Na-Young? His brother is another one with very little personality; his mother acts like an hysterical witch when she can't get her way instantly; his sister is just a huge kook; the actor playing his brother-in-law the medical hotshot plays his part as if he were in one of the warrior programs, rather than a respected medico; and even the daughter, Min-Ju, has nothing endearing about her, what with her whining, sullenness, and outright brattiness. I don't recall anybody in that family ever treating Sang-Min/Young-Tae with tenderness or concern for what he may have been through over the past 7 years, or showing him any true sensitivity for the state of shock that he seems to be in now. They don't have conversations -- they just scream questions and accusations. Why would he want to live with them, especially when he has the option of living with a family that actually loves him exactly as he is, "warts and all", with a darling and sweet little son, with a large group of deeply caring friends and neighbors helping to provide a loving and supportive environment?

I believe someone else mentioned that we might be watching a class-related message in this drama, and I think I tend to agree. The well-educated, accomplished, affluent family are, by and large, just a bunch of stiffs; whereas the blue-collar, salt-of-the-earth family have warm, loving hearts and bottomless compassion. Are these dramas popular across all classes in South Korea, or are they more of a working-class phenomenon? That might explain it.

Whew. I guess I needed to get a lot off of my chest!

Regards to all --

Lila

[dreamie]

This thread has some very good commentary in it, especially reading it so close to the end of the drama.

I think it's very interesting the men were more flatly written than the women. Last night's admission by Hyun-pil that he was weak willed (not to mention the stress on that throughout the entire episode) adds to this even more.

I've enjoyed Wife's country mouse - city mouse portrayals. It reminds me a bit of my own family, in their own country, those who moved to the town vs those who stayed in the village.