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Post by leeanable on Oct 30, 2013 18:42:38 GMT -5
Welcome, Tom!
I thought last night's episode was a very honest depiction of people doing the very best they could to deal with the suicide of a friend/father/mentor who did awful things for reasons they may or may not fully understand. They're in shock and working through their grief. It's understandable that they're not quite ready to dance on his grave just yet. I can certainly see why many people find that ending unacceptable, but it makes sense.
I guess I would have liked to see Samsaeng and Geumok go from shouting sharing a room, but there's not a lot of time left to explore that relationship any further when loose ends need to be tied up. Although, going easy on the flashbacks could have freed up time for a scene to bridge that gap.
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Post by grace on Oct 30, 2013 20:09:08 GMT -5
Welcome Tom. If this is your first drama....then your in for a lot more better ones then this! I usually watch on Dramafever, there I catch the newest ones some of them have been really good!
I also agree with the flashbacks, they take up a bunch of time, but I think the writer really couldn't elaborate any more in the time they had left so they put those in for fillers. Two more episodes and its over. As always we complain, but I think we miss "them"(characters) once its over. Now Friday on to getting famiilar with new faces.
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tomw
Midori
Posts: 76
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Post by tomw on Oct 31, 2013 1:59:10 GMT -5
OK, one to go. I am enjoying it very much. The acting is very good. I have never seen these actors before so each one 'is' the actual character.
I was hoping they were going to rerun this starting Friday but I guess not. I am in no hurry for a new series. I am looking for the box set of Samsaeng. I think this may be the subject of my thesis.
One question. Mr. Sa could have come back after the war and brought his daughter with him. Dr. Bong was so indebted to him for saving Geumok that he could have still become the manager of Bong Pharmaceutical and his daughter would have had a good life. Unless Seoul was very negative toward illegitimate children, which was probably the case. But Mr. Sa could have pretended that he married in the countryside and had a child and then pretended his wife was killed during the war. He could have pretended to be a widower with a child.
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Post by sara79 on Oct 31, 2013 8:07:14 GMT -5
Overall a good drama and worth my time. It was definitely not the usual same plot. Ending was kind of rushed and not very cathartic with Mr. Sa, Geumok, the corrupt cops and government officials all go unpunished. May be this drama should have been named "Let Us All Forgive". With four young actors the drama did not have a marriage ceremony but a full fledged funeral for the herbal dad.
Poodlepal, I agree with your assessment of Sammy being a sad sack. She has this look as if she is carrying the entire burden of the world. She rarely cracks a smile.. talking of cracking of smile, Sammy did last night last scene where she looked the best. I always wonder the actress who portrayed "Bokhi" would have been great for Sammy's role with her perky,smiling and take charge attitude. That was what we saw in a 12 year old Samsaengi. Also being tall she would have been a great match for Dongwu matching him inch by inch in height. Another important aspect of the drama is its length ... 120 episodes and not 180.
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Post by grace on Oct 31, 2013 8:52:18 GMT -5
Tonights the ending...we get to see some loose ends tied up but not in any length. It allows us to see what has transpired in the past 5 years. As you said Sara...it is a "lets all forgive" drama which is not a bad thing. MAYBE we will even get to see Sammy keep that smile she had in the last frame last night!
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Post by poodlepal on Oct 31, 2013 18:04:19 GMT -5
I agree. Bokhui's actress would have been better for the role. She would have had Mr. Sa arrested and Geumok behaving herself and would have taken over Bong pharmaceutical and found a 600 year old ginseng. That drama stunk, but the character was great.
Tom, you are absolutely right. Geumok could have had a decent life as his daughter. I guess he was afraid they'd catch on that she was the decoy baby and what? Kill her? Doc is a weak man. If he had stood up to his parents and studied Western medicine like he wanted, he would have cured Samsaeng with penicillin instead of a decoy baby to scare the evil spirits.
Where does one get a master's degree in Korean dramas? Please tell me so I can mail in my tuition.
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Post by poodlepal on Oct 31, 2013 21:00:48 GMT -5
Excellent end. Still, a couple of odd points. I'm not certain if Sammy and Dongwoo love each other or if it's some sort of a marriage of convenience to her. They must have hugged or held hands at some point, because they have a baby.
Also, why did crazy mom go back to wearing a hanbok after her successful transition to Western clothing a few years back? I guess because she's a farmer.
Anyway, a sweet ending to a show that was very good overall. Hope Eun hee is as good.
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Post by dodgerman on Oct 31, 2013 21:04:04 GMT -5
Its over!!! I am not one for all this forgiveness. I wanted to see retribution for all the evil things Sa did not that everyone remembered him so fondly. In all the Kdramas we have seen, the cute "bad girl "is always rehabilitated in the end but no one has ever committed murder, embezzelment, bribery, assault, kidnapping, stealing land before.
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tomw
Midori
Posts: 76
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Post by tomw on Oct 31, 2013 21:58:46 GMT -5
It's over and I am sad, I will miss my friends. But I am happy for the ending. I am a Christian and I believe in forgiveness. Mr. Sa is dead, must we see him in hell fire? He is dead and gone. At one point I worried that the writers would have Geumok commit suicide to punish Mr. Sa. But is that fair? To destroy her to punish him. He is gone, by his own hand. Geumok found redemption and I am pleased.
Samsaeng, Samsaeng, a great inspiration. In one episode a woman asked "why does everyone like Samsaeng"? The man answered "because she does likable things"! Enough said.
Remembering the day Samsaeng missed out on school because she stopped to help a friend and then got sick herself, I could not be more joyful to see her triumph with a good heart and true courage. Married to Dongwu, a daughter, reconciled with Geumok, friends with Jiseong, running the Bong Clinic, a great finale.
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Post by sara79 on Nov 1, 2013 7:52:20 GMT -5
That was another K-drama under our belt. All is well that ends well. Some time back some one suggested (it could be poodlepal) that Sammy could apply for the Oriental Doctor position in New Jersey. Well. I doubt a 60 plus successful doctor married to a successful entrepreneur and owning prime real estate in Seoul worth millions would have any inclination to take up the position.
For all we know all the three ladies in their 60s- Bokhi,Seunghi and Samsaengi- successful in their own right meet up once in a while to trade their stories and muse about 1970s Korea and how far Korea has come since those dark days.
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Post by dodgerman on Nov 1, 2013 17:30:08 GMT -5
Tom, You are a much better person than I am. When Sammy missed her test to help her friend , I almost threw the remote at the TV. I didnt want to see Sa burn in Hell but I wanted to see some punishment like jail time. To see him at the end, hovering like a angel with the 2 doctors and the Hrebal Dad was way too much for me.
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Post by leeanable on Nov 1, 2013 18:45:12 GMT -5
They couldn't even throw the Dongwu/Samsaeng shippers a bone in the end, huh? That part I did not like because Dongwu is young, handsome, ambitious and should by all rights have half of Seoul's under 35 population beating down his door! But he was happy with how things turned out. What can you do?
I am really going to miss this show and all the characters, even the evil Mr. Sa, who turned out to be as sympathetic as he was awful. Can't wait for the box set!
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Post by poodlepal on Nov 1, 2013 19:30:00 GMT -5
What I would have done differently. 1. Mr. Sa would go to jail. Any forgiveness would come in the "5 years later" scene. I would not kill of Doc, but I might show a scene of him and Geumok visiting Mr. Sa, acknowledging his role in the decoy baby debacle that started this whole thing, and showing that Geumok still loved him, sort of. Maybe they could have worked on a bill to ban decoy babies, with Mr. Sa and Geumok telling their tale and pointing out that 1000 decoy babies were killed by evil spirits each year and it had to stop. (Note: I made that statistic up. It's probably a lot higher!)
2. I would have Samsaeng truly fall in love with Dongwoo. I would have them kiss and show their wedding. Why did they hint it was some sort of arrangement, instead of a true marriage of love? To make the ending more depressing?
3. I would have shown that it would never work between Jiseong and Samsaeng, based on some different interests or habits of theirs. Maybe he wanted to read all day and she wanted to socialize, or something like that. Instead, she just looked miserable when he touched her, then miserable when they broke up. I'd make it clear that Dongwoo and Sammy were more compatible.
4. I'd have a scene between Doc and Geumok where he hugged her and told her he loved her and would legally adopt her or put her on the family tree or whatever.
5. I'd buy their baby a crib. They're fabulously wealthy and the baby just lays on a floor?
6. I'd marry off Ms. Hae and hire a new nanny. That woman has no life of her own!
That's about it. With those changes, it would have been the perfect show. On to Eun Hee.
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tomw
Midori
Posts: 76
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Post by tomw on Nov 1, 2013 20:50:30 GMT -5
Re: poodlepal (with respect from a newcomer)What I would have done differently. 1. Mr. Sa would go to jail. Any forgiveness would come in the "5 years later" scene. - Suicide is awesome punishment. Someone self-destructs. - I would not kill of Doc, but I might show a scene of him and Geumok visiting Mr. Sa, acknowledging his role in the decoy baby debacle that started this whole thing, and showing that Geumok still loved him, sort of. Maybe they could have worked on a bill to ban decoy babies, with Mr. Sa and Geumok telling their tale and pointing out that 1000 decoy babies were killed by evil spirits each year and it had to stop. (Note: I made that statistic up. It's probably a lot higher!) 2. I would have Samsaeng truly fall in love with Dongwoo. - - I would have them kiss and show their wedding. Why did they hint it was some sort of arrangement, instead of a true marriage of love? - For a woman to tell a man that she married him because every time she was in need he rescued her. Wow. There are men today who would give years off their life to hear that from the woman in their life. Would you prefer that she liked his smile? - To make the ending more depressing? - I found the ending upliftiing, vindicating my investment of 70 or so hours in my 1st Korean TV Novel. I don't always need melodrama. Sometimes joy will do. Samsaeng deserved a loving husband. She deserved a smiling baby. She deserved a thriving medical practice. She deserved a happy ending. I repeat something I said before. When SamSaeng missed the exam because she helped a sick friend, became sick herself, fell down the hill. I felt like crying. But that was the beginning of her transcendent recovery in many ways. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger! She deserves a happy ending and I am most joyful. (call me a TV Novel novice)3. I would have shown that it would never work between Jiseong and Samsaeng, based on some different interests or habits of theirs. Maybe he wanted to read all day and she wanted to socialize, or something like that. Instead, she just looked miserable when he touched her, then miserable when they broke up. I'd make it clear that Dongwoo and Sammy were more compatible. - Once JiSeong betrayed SamSaeng he could no longer be with her. Her choices were a man who 'always' rescued her, and a man who betrayed her (granted under duress).4. I'd have a scene between Doc and Geumok where he hugged her and told her he loved her and would legally adopt her or put her on the family tree or whatever. - Dr. Bong was not an affectionate man. Maybe being older. Losing his wife. There was a sadness about him. But his problem with Geumok was her animosity to SamSaeng. He was not 'tossing her aside'' except for her treatment of Samsaeng.5. I'd buy their baby a crib. They're fabulously wealthy and the baby just lays on a floor? - Don't be so 'Western' says Tom from the Bronx!6. I'd marry off Ms. Hae and hire a new nanny. That woman has no life of her own! - Agreed. I wish they gave Ms. Hae more of a life. But she is now family. They should encourage her to go out more. But this is her life. Don't toss her aside. That's about it. With those changes, it would have been the perfect show. - My main take away - The reconciliation of Dr. Bong's true daughter and the decoy baby. - On to Eun Hee. Read more: eastnewyorker.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=samsaengi&action=display&thread=82&page=37#ixzz2jRhgyoY0
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Post by poodlepal on Nov 1, 2013 21:59:17 GMT -5
Dongwoo seemed mad when Samsaeng told him why she said yes to him. Were they just kidding around? I honestly couldn't tell. She kept staring at Jiseong like he was the one that got away, so I couldn't tell if this was a completely happy ending or not. I agree with your analysis about why Jiseong couldn't reconcile with her, and I'm glad he finally forgave Geumok for breaking his record after 4 years, which is only 3 years and 364 days longer than it took everyone to forgive Mr. Sa for assault with a deadly weapon.
As for the baby on the floor, they had Western bedrooms for Geumok and even Sammy as a maid. It wasn't unheard of in that family. Either they were going back to their roots, or they just didn't feel like borrowing a crib from the set department for only one day!
Anyway, Tom, your joy and enthusiasm is refreshing. You see enough of these shows, you start to make fun of them a little, even as you still enjoy them. The same themes come up again and again. Look for the following in all dramas.
1. One nice girl or boy will not be living with their biological family, and they don't know it at first. 2. They will have a "sibling" who is a brat. 3. The reason for the baby mix up will be: a) mother was in a coma and told the baby dies b) amnesia c) just regular social or economic problems, but this is not as common 4. The nice person will have rare talent in a traditional Korean art and win a contest (usually). The other one will have no talent but will be delusional. 5. In a television novel, something will happen right as the war starts, and the chaos will contribute to the mix-up of kids or babies. 6. If there is a mother-in-law, watch out! See also angry grannies. 7. Someone majors in home-ec, another wants to be a designer in Paris, another is a singer. These are the only three "Western" careers you see very often. 8. Someone goes to night school in a horrible building or outdoors. 9. Someone will fall into a coma and get carried to the hospital, but they usually recover. 10. There will be an evil villainness in most, although she may be replaced by the talentless delusional sister.
There was never a murder before these latest two dramas. They seem to be picking up some different plot twists of late.
Anyway, enjoy!
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