Discussion about this post

User's avatar
AABattery's avatar

LOVE, LOVE this post! I cannot agree more!

I believe ShinLee deliberately created the role of GU to challenge the stereotypes people have about female medical staff and love interest for an almost perfect male lead, both on personalities and outward appearance. My thought was confirmed during the casting video of Shin Hyunbeen, when they talked about how the character might come across cold / blunt (although a male character with the same personalities may be forgiven); they even titled the video as “not a bad person”.

They also did not try to show her in a good light until the maggot scene either in S1 Ep1 and Ep2 – she was straight forward to the point of being senseless with the guardians. Of course, we saw how upset JW was during their first behind-the-curtain talk; a red herring was even thrown in, I felt, to have JW look at the very pretty Dr. Bae with fondness seeing how well she soothed a mom.

So, naturally, I (and I believe ShinLee as well) expected that some people would not like GU and would not approve of her relationship with JW, especially when they did not straightforwardly talk much about JW's perspectives in S1. What I did not expect was the lack of civility (borrowing your word again, since that sounds much kinder than what I had in mind) in many of the comments I see. It is just unfortunate.

But I totally applaud what ShinLee has done and still doing. I have never gotten so attached to a drama character in my not-so-young life until I found GU in HP, and I definitely fell for her before I fell for the WG ship. And just as I thought knowing and loving about her personalities is enough from S1, ShinLee are now going even deeper with a potentially very complicated and painful background.

As sad and uneasy I have been feeling starting Ep5 knowing that another arc is being developed on GU and WG, this development also shows me how much ShinLee value JW + GU as characters and as a couple (and the same goes for the other couples). Fluffy scenes are sweet, but they are superficial and do not portray a deep / supportive relationship. ShinLee appear to be building up tensions surrounding the “truth” about GU’s family and when it finally boils over and they can finally overcome it, the depth and closeness of their relationship would make their union so much stronger and intimate, much much more than most of the couples in your typical K dramas.

And as the time goes by, I am more and more convinced that whatever GU’s backstory is, it will not be just one-dimensioned; even the most popular suspicion of DV would not be just it. I have heard comments from potential foreshadowing of psychiatry being a featured specialization, GU’s hometown being GZ not being a coincidence, upcoming month of May, etc. There are multiple scenarios that I have come up with in my mind, but of course, they are all just my imagination as a viewer, and I believe the final version from ShinLee would be much more surprising / impactful than my ideas. So, like a broken record, I am super excited to see what is to come, including who would be playing the characters of GU’s parents (I hope we get to see them)!

And to close with a response to the title of your post, I would like to share my interpretation of their handshakes in Ep7: Saying that one has to deserve the other’s love (and vice versa) seems to be viewing relationships as business transactions, where you will only pay the price that matches what you perceive to be of equal value from the other side, and you are assuming that once the purchase is done, the goods / money would not change, or otherwise the deal may need to be called off. And how do you usually close a business transaction meeting? - A handshake just like the first one JW got from GU in his office. But we all know JW is not superficial and he desires a deeper, more intimate partnership – just like how he finally got what he wanted when GU returned the second handshake offer by pressing her palm on his and interlocking their fingers, leaving no room between their hands. While some people may be satisfied with the first handshake when it comes to relationships, I think ShinLee just love GW too much to have them stop there. LOL, I am definitely partial, but I think GW may be ShinLee’s favorite couple😘😁.

Expand full comment
Anne's avatar

*sigh* Thank you for writing this. So good.

When people insist that other people should like only certain people, suitable, safe and deserving, that's a bit like playing with dolls, don't you think? Feelings should be predictable, and relationships smooth, and no-one ever should struggle or make mistakes. That's a bit childish attitude, and life is never going to give you that. Real relationship are always uncomfortable to a certain extent, and as you mentioned previously, negotiation is the key. Can this irrational wish to pair the pairings as a matchmaker would is a reflection that we don't trust love anymore? This makes me sad. And your post made me hopeful ❤️

Expand full comment
27 more comments...

No posts