Let’s continue with Episode 29 and find out if the confusing parts of Episode 28 become clear in this episode.

Episode 29 Commentary

#1 ah..sad. Too bad, they’re not in the same world after all.

#2….the caption aptly puts ‘real world’ in quotes.

Princess Dong is here. She claims that she died as Yonhee in the real world. Why is she then in the ‘real world?’

#11 there’s something about the piece of information – the tablet is not affected by it – that I can’t lay my finger on. Is it that the tablets are not affected by time freezes?

#12 right! Up to this point, Yonhee is unaware that Butterfly Girl is also alive.

If I remember correctly, Yonjoo is the true author of W while Yonhee is the true author of Queen of Darkness. That’s how I understand these lines. Yes, Sung-moo and Mira could control the respective manhwas to a certain extent, but the true authors can control it more.

#14 we see Yonjoo and Yonhee restarting time. It’s not clear what they did or there’s no indication of what they drew, but it has restarted time in ‘the real world.’

Their objective in this frame is met, but honestly, I am still at a lost as to how different phenomena made it so that it affected the perception of time in the real world. I apologise if you’ve provided clues but I’m unable to grasp it.

#15 At this point, KC and DY by luck got into Queen of Darkness. I don’t recall Renbo et al trying to go to Queen of Darkness, but here they are.

Okay, #16 flashback, the missing detail in #14 is fleshed out.

#17 now that we know there’s a crossover, was I mistaken to believe that KC and DY got back to Queen of Darkness? Instead, they’ve arrived at Butterfly Girl?

Or is ‘crossover’ some place created that’s separate from the original manhwa?

….the rest of the frame belied this possibility, and in #18, they’re back in the real world.

#20 seems to answer some of my questions, but nope. It just says that Yonhee didn’t die. It’s a wall of text but some fanservice here and there.

#22 I don’t remember Renbo signing anything back when she was held by the bad guy which would lead to her house being demolished. There must be a detail somewhere that I’m hazy about because this appeared out of nowhere.

#24 I wonder how YJ’s operating chops have improved since the end of W. She was clumsy in W, but she seems to be competent here.

By #25 and #26, they’re talking about the recent phenomena. Now, they’re trying to recalibrate their theories with KC proposing his earlier thought that it’s all about narrative laws.

I think you intended #28 as this episode’s bombshell. Prior to this, it’s a fairly slow episode. Confusing but still slow.

With this revelation, we’re on our edge again on what it may imply on the following episodes.

The succeeding frames seem to be filler and also functions as down time and some comedy.

#43 another bombshell, seemingly bigger than the one in #28, seems to be dropped

They’re not aware of the Correspondent’s existence.

#44 boy oh boy

She’s in the form of Mira but apparently, she has supernatural powers. It’s as if Mira, Cha Yooson, and the Queen of Darkness have all become one person, only changing the outward appearance.

Conclusion

To be honest, had you ended this episode in #43, it would have been just as good. #44 is just cherry on top.

Most of this episode felt really slow as I try to make sense of the confusing parts, but it got interesting in #28 and #43.

• • Enchanteur

    Wednesday 24th May 2023 at 12:36
    

    #1 #2

    The cliffhanger of episode 28 did not say who Yeon-Joo was seeing. But probably, we could predict that it was not Kang Chul.

     

    #11

    Yes, in episode 28, Yeon-Joo finds that the clock on the tablet continued to work.

     

    #12

    Yeon-Joo was real author of W. But she is also real author of "Butterfly Girl" (with Soo-Bong). Since she changed the manhwa often, episode 13 for example.

    Yoon-Hee doesn't know yet that Butterfly Girl is a living manhwa, like Queen of Darkness. This is the kind of detail easy to forget and conducive to produce a plot-hole by omission, the ones that happen most often and are the least detectable. There are so many events and fantastic rules that maintaining a constant logic is a real puzzle of great difficulty. But to the audience, it certainly seems easy and obvious.

     

    #14

    I don't think you missed any clues. Just that there is a (difficult) way to guess. But you didn't miss anything. This scene is made like Song Jae-Jung's, we witness an event, but without knowing the truth yet. It's a hook. But it is seen quickly after.

     

    #15

    There are multiple details showing that it's too weird to be Queen of Darkness or Butterfly Girl. But of course, this is not explained yet, producing surprise and confusion.

     

    #16

    The drawing used by Yeon-Joo shows some details of the previous scene, like the car driven by Joseon's gentleman. We can guess now where they arrived.

     

    #17

    The answer is neither one nor the other, but rather both together... They arrived in the crossover. And Ren-Bo and Wang Shin look around without understanding. The reality of Butterfly Girl's world has just changed. I didn't know the term you used in your comment of episode 28, but I looked it up: retcon.

     

    #22

    Ren-Bo didn't sign anything, actually. She is not affected by the retcon. But in the redefined reality of the crossover, the workers have received permission for expropriation. And a road has been built next to the house as well. 

    As Yoon-Hee observes in episode 20, the manhwa can redefine temporal anteriority. This happened on a small scale at that time (with the King having a secret relationship with Cha Yu-Sun). But here it happens on a large scale and over a longer period. 

     

    #24

    Back to episode 2, Professor Park Min-Soo is angry that Yeon-Joo left the hospital right after graduation when she was becoming competent.

     

    #26 #27 #28

    Once you get here, everything that was confusing before, or told in a non-chronological order, becomes clear. As you notice, this produces weight. I delayed this moment for various reasons. Of course, the urgency of the situation before (the Queen of Darkness comes to the real world, then Mi-Ra is mortally wounded). 

    But even so... If you look at it, I could have just done things in order from scene #12. When Yeon-Joo has the idea on how to restart the real world Time. It's easy, she's in the car with Yoon-Hee. She could explain everything to her. Then we see everything they do and draw, and Yeon-Joo explains why she does everything. Everything in order. Only... The dramatic effect is sabotaged and it produces scenes of exposition. 

    So the episode is structured in a similar way to Song Jae-Jung's. It was mostly like that from the first draft, but it's not always the case. Sometimes I have episodes written chronologically and when I'm revising, I realize that it's heavy and boring, so I restructure the order of the scenes and their content.

     

    #34 to #38

    One thing I loved about W was that at one point in the drama, all the characters' conversations would seem absurd to anyone else. Speaking of crazy concepts about supernatural manhwa. In W episode 4, Soo-Bong has a funny line "We're good for the mental asylum and you're worried about a comic book character." Here, it's the same, and maybe even more so. 

    I would have to go through every scene in W2 to put a label on the few scenes where there are just normal people having normal conversations. Nothing these people do, experience or say has any connection to reality yet, and I use that in simple scenes of everyday life (comedy) to make it more absurd. Even the baby Chul-Moo is now living in a crazy world: he lived in a Time Stop, and wants to become friends with... a living garden gnome from a manhwa. ^^

    It's like slice-of-life, but totally crazy.

     

    #39

    Here, if we remove the gnomes putting away groceries, we have a normal scene with normal conversation and people doing normal things. Feeding a baby, giving kisses. LOL.

    Otherwise, for the end of episode 20 and these scenes: It's something I observe in Park Hye Ryun's dramas and that makes the viewer feel good: good feeling. Tender and comforting scenes. It gives optimism. I don't think I have the talent to create them as well as this screenwriter, but if a scene idea comes naturally to me, then there is a good chance that I can produce this kind of effect. But I don't try to produce them artificially, by forcing myself (and I hardly produce anything that way anyway). These scenes have to be connected as well with the situation: here Yoon-Hee needs clothes, Yeon-Joo to clean the house for the guests, Wang Shin to learn more about real world. There is still a goal related to the story.

     

    #43 #44

    I really like cliffhangers, and it's not easy to have one. But I really love it when there can be two cliffhangers instead of one. 

Additional Comments

Although you did not comment on it, I’ll have to correct a typo.

I wrote:

***** 

#43 another bombshell, seemingly bigger than the one in #28, seems to be dropped 

They’re not aware of the Correspondent’s existence. 

 *****

I should’ve typed: “They’re now aware of the Correspondent’s existence.

As for retcon, it’s a term I probably read before but only understood more recently along with the term ‘subversion of expectations.’ I came to know these two thanks to a local Filipino vlogger reviewing a Filipino adaptation of an old-school anime called Voltes V.

Voltes V, like Dragonball Z, is one of those anime that a local channel has repeatedly replayed ad nauseam, that I’m not keen on watching the remake. I reckon that it's better watched by young people new to it, or those who really loved it so much and can't get enough of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfQZ5wm2Je4

Too bad because it has better production values than usual. The local vlogger I mentioned, who is usually critical of the shows in the channel, is all praises for all the retcon being done and writing of the show that improves on the anime.

I can support that. It’s just that I have moved on, and there’s tons of interesting anime in Japan that I know won’t be shown in my country, or only those who watch them through streaming knows the joys of watching them.

It’s also too bad that I’m not keen on watching kdramas lately. South Korea remains the most creative in creating original plot and/or execution. I often read that Jung Somin was great in part 1 of Alchemy of Souls.

Anyway, going back to the terms ‘retcon’ and ‘subversion of expectations,’ I’m glad I’ve learned of these two terms because you often use these two in how you execute W 4 worlds.

Re: retcon/retroactive continuity

I mentioned that Ms Song deliberately omitted elaborate explanations on why certain things in her drama are. (I get the sense that this is related to postmodernism in that there’s no absolute truth, but don’t quote me. It’s just my superficial knowledge of postmodernism.) But I think Ms Song does this to leave open the possibility of fans making competing theories that make sense.

For one, you are creating this sequel and you’re writing theories that allows us to make sense of the events in season 1. But we can only speculate how another hypethetical writer would retcon W in his own version of a sequel and create a competing theory that also makes sense.

Re: subversion of expectation

Without reading on how tropes are formed, it seems to me that it’s like a process of induction. Event Y always follows X or at least probably does. Therefore, it’s only natural to expect Y following X. Thus, a trope is born.

In the context of a remake, subversion of expectation can refer to events you naturally expect, but the writer of a remake rearranges events in unexpected way. This is what the Filipino vlogger likes about the Voltes V remake.

Going back to the original W, I remember Ms Song subverting our expectations in how she bent certain tropes. For example, it’s natural to expect love triangle. Either Kangchul and a male villain competing for Yeonjoo, or Soohee and Yeonjoo competing for Kangchul.

Instead of going that route, Ms Song made it a dilemma of whether to choose Kangchul or her father. Also, there’s was some sort of love triangle between Soohee and Yeonjoo, but the consequence of choosing Yeonjoo meant Soohee would disappear, as though she didn’t exist!

On the other hand, Ms Song’s execution of certain tropes by bending them can become tropes by themselves. I think this is why you’ve chosen to execute them differently, subverting my expectation based on what I know of W.

• • Enchanteur

    Saturday 27th May 2023 at 17:36
    

    Alas, I also lack time to watch kdramas.

    I took a look at this video of "Voltes". I'm too old for that! The technical quality is impressive, CGI, robots fighting in the city. And some pretty women. ^^

     

    Retcon.

    The concept of retroactive continuity applies well to the situation I mentioned (Cha Yu-Sun and the King). However, in episode 29, it goes further. The laws of manhwa subvert reality on a large scale. We can talk about temporal retroactivity (as Yoon-Hee said).

    Do-Yoon is incredulous, and I reuse a line from W in episode 15. In the car, Do-Yoon asks Yeon-Joo if she is from another dimension. To him, it's really unbelievable, yet she waits a bit and just answers "Yes". This produces a comical effect. I used the same gag, but made it different by the enormity of the phenomenon and by relating the absurdity that a simple manhwa causes this. Kang Chul is less surprised, he assumes that the manhwa is more of a trigger for interdimensional phenomena already ready to explode. 

    For the way W works. Song Jae-Jong talked about it in an interview. It all has to do mainly with Kang Chul's free will. She says it does not involve any transcendental principle. Here, big retcon... I didn't choose this way. Obviously in W2, what regulates the laws of living manhwa is a transcendental principle. I introduce this term that doesn't exist in season 1: "Living manhwa", since there is not only W anymore. That's why I put Kang Chul's line "I thought it depends on my will, but maybe it's empirical laws".

    Using such a principle allows more logic and seeing it as narrative laws. However, with philosophical analysis, I think that the two concepts are similar and compatible. For the laws of manhwa are not physical laws, and their nature is related to the psyche, to free will, to the meaning we give to a story. But strangely in a neutral way. 

     

    Explanations.

    I haven't found an interview with Song Jae-Jong where she explains why she writes like this. In a interview, she gave explanation about MOTA and the audience was furious because they wanted that explanation in the drama. Why she doesn't explain much, you'd have to ask her to find out. I guess it's mainly a technical choice. 

    First: The audience likes to guess on its own. This is a thing in screenwriting (I remember reading it in a book). This make the audience less passive and people like that.

    Second: every explanation scene is potentially boring, or breaks the pace. A scene should be dramatic first. Screenwriters have to find tricks to make it lively, and make the audience wanting the explanation. 

    In the end, Song Jae-Jong leaves a lot (too much?) for the audience to figure out on their own. I often wondered what was best, but couldn't find an answer. So I just decided to use the way I wanted, and in this respect W2 looks more like Japanese content than Korean. Japanese write complex stories but always give the explanation. They like to show all the complicated logic. I think of Liar Game, Death Note, Kaiji. 

    My conclusion on that: I think the problem is not really the lack of explanation. It's more to give to the audience the assurance that the story is without flaws. But for that, it still need to explain a bit, to gives a proof of concept. It builds confidence in the audience and promotes suspension of disbelief. Song Jae-Jong does this in the first half of W. 

     

    Subversion of expectation

    Screenwriters should think about this for every step. Story, plot, scene, line of dialogue. When a trope or cliché appears: find a way to make it unexpected. Ideally. Hardly. Almost everything is a trope. You can't write anything without it, or it would be incomprehensible. It would become an abstract work like David Lynch's EraserHead. However, it's not easy to constantly think about that, among all the other things to work. But some scenes could be revisited, thinking more and maybe find a new way. I call that "twisting" the scene. Could be endless revisions to study more each scene. When it comes to changing the story, very hard to do. The story has to be made unexpected in the design. 

    In the example you give: Love triangle Soo-Hee/Yeon-Joo. I can just imagine how the writer does it. First she has a major idea: characters disappear when they are not used in a story anymore. That will make a good plot twist. Then she wonders how to make this happen in the story? For that she uses Soo-Hee. This is a good reason to put a surprising love-triangle, because quickly, the hero fires her in episode 4.

    Trope or not, every time I re-use one of Song Jae-Jong's ideas, I have to figure out how to make it surprising. If someone gives me a story and says "ah, it's like W, it's the same", I just want to watch the original drama again. But on the other hand, if someone tells me "it's like W, but different, there's something new", I want to watch. That's the kind of sequel I dream of.