Let’s end this batch of episodes with a bang. I’m not sure if you’ve uploaded these 4 episodes as a whole because they form something of an arc or a major unit, but the cliffhanger to Episode 32 made the wait for Episodes 33-36 worth it.

Let’s see if this episode will do the same.

Episode 36 Commentary

#2 Why is YJ crying? Is it because KC admitted his feelings for Mira in-between episodes? Or is it that she has a hunch of his infidelity?

#5 hmmm, so they had sex? It looks like biology (or perhaps the power of the Correspondent) is stronger than even KC’s steel-like will.

#8 now we see YJ confessing to SB the root of the infidelity. Both YJ and KC misunderstand each other. Or, to put it uncharitably, KC does things his way without regard for YJ’s feelings.

Unstated here is this implication that since KC is all so rational and can logically deduct the most optimal path to an outcome, whether YJ agrees or not, it is in his best interest to follow that course of action.

#10 …. KC talks about a family discussion, either to make it official that he prefers Mira over YJ; or, perhaps tell matter-of-factly that this is just a scheme, something that’s becoming more implausible at this point but perhaps would be consistent to his rational nature.

#17 In the previous episode, I had expected that YJ would tell publisher Park what’s going on. But KC interrupts her again. I don’t know if publisher Park will ever know, but it may be for the best that he should not know.

#18

C#8….’ ... Using any means, even... SEDUCTION?!!’

Wohoo! This is something I like. At least, I can rest easy that it’s part of KC’s plan.

Furthermore, as viewers, we feel this cheating v remaining faithful dilemma because we tend to view it in terms of morality, whether it’s Christian morality, ethical systems that condemn cheating and/or promote monogamy, or God forbid secular morality disguised as woke who might view KC’s actions as ‘male privilege.’

If this is indeed KC’s plan right from the start, I view his actions as amoral. The only consideration for rightness or not would be the end, namely, Mira to voluntarily decide to end her manhwa.

Anyway, I’m surprised that one of the duo appears at the end of this frame. It’s so random. I can see that he is in his apartment in #19. Must be an error.

#19….for one moment, I had this impression that YS knows that the tablet has the power to materialize stuff.

Anyway, what is this tablet doing here? Is this the tablet used to draw W? I surmised it as the W tablet because KC et al are in possession of the tablets for Queen of Darkness as well as Butterfly Girl.

#20…so this must be why you marked the end of last episode as flashforward. It’s in frame #20!

(Speaking of flashforwards, I think we still don’t know what actually happened with the flashforward way back….KC stealing something and then a nuclear explosion all over Seoul….WTF was that?)

 #21…..The Narrator…..he might not be the faceless killer, but he is faceless nonetheless. In effect, the Narrator is God in the universe of the manhwa.

#24

C#17 ‘The Narrator is neither a character nor a being in the classical sense. He is an abstract entity, living between worlds, BEYOND IMAGINATION.’

This is getting weirder and weirder beyond what SJJ-nim even wrote.

C#22 ‘(terrible) Omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent... LIKE A GOD?!’

Which is what I wrote, but then, what are his limitations? Could it be that all tablets have to be turned off? There’s a hint earlier of shutting down all servers in the world. Stuff like that.

Bummer…the answer is in C#23!

C#24…come to think of it, it’s another one of your retcon to the original series. The Narrator and what’s mentioned earlier as ‘narrative laws.’

I’m at #27 at this point…..but WOW! This episode is daebak!

I’m too absorbed to write any further comment frame by frame at this point.

Conclusion 

From a slow, boring episode last time, the change in intensity is so abrupt. It’s great!

However, for some reason, the end seemed to dwindle the overall impact of the entire episode by drowning you with too many details.

I think frames #30 up until the end should’ve been left to the next episode. Renbo becoming translucent is already shocking, but I feel that the following frames, whilst shocking, diminished the impact of the cliffhanger. At that point, I couldn’t care less of the zombies.

An analogy would be a cup overflowing. Vintage wine is so valuable, but if you pour so much, you will end up wasting some wine.

I believe your purpose would be to show the extent of the Narrator’s power, and that’s great. I just don’t know how I would fix this myself. Perhaps a single image, but with different sub-images embedded on it without the full elaboration or explanation. (This can be explained in the next episode.)

• • Enchanteur

    Tuesday 25th July 2023 at 06:59
    

    Introduction.

    Not really an arc. But connected in the way I had to rework them, "all at once". I'll say more about that next. The story arc starts at episode 30 and goes through to 36. I called it on the synopsis "dark romance".

     

    #2.

    We know why next. She feels something's wrong. And it's been two nights since Kang Chul left. 

     

    #5.

    And yes. Kang Chul managed to "defeat" Mi-Ra in the limo scene. But this time, she got what she wanted. However, the previous episode, we suspect that Kang Chul is ready as he leaves rather than confess to Yeon-Joo. But it's clear he's made up his mind.

    As there are never any sex scenes in kdramas, this one is short and not explicit. Mainly based on their eyes while having pleasure.

    Kang Chul has an iron will, but Mi-Ra's talent for bewitchment is as strong. He can't win this fight every time. ;-) 

    What matters most is the conclusion, and the twisted way Mi-Ra sees things. Making him commit something immoral is a proof of love for her. 

     

    #8.

    Kang Chul also had memories of this in a previous episode (32). 

    Some viewers see the Kang Chul / Yeon-Joo couple idyllically. But having rewatched a lot W, this is not. Kang Chul does many dirty things to Yeon-Joo. I've highlighted some of them here (flashback). But of course he shot her father, he shot her in the heart. Many more. 

    Kang Chul doesn't care about women's feeling so much in W. We see it when he gets annoyed listening to Soo-Hee (episode 8). He only becomes interested when her hand disappears. Even when listening to Yeon-Joo (episode 10), he's still annoyed. 

    So, for some audience, because Kang Chul isn't "noble idiotic" or invested in a love triangle, he looks like the perfect male lead. Nevertheless, I think he has flaws. Which fans in love with the actor choose not to see. 

     

    #17.

    Previous episode. The phone conversation was a mystery. And here we see it, because just before we saw the scenes where Publisher Park has proof that something supernatural is happening. But he doesn't have time to get the answer... to be continued... 

     

    #18.

    Religious and political consideration. I don't want to write anything political. Religious, perhaps unintentionally? Or connected to spirituality or philosophy? I don't put ideology because it's painful. Ready made speechs, giving lessons, often wrong ones. And of course disrupting the story. What is bad screenwriting. Tons of bad examples of that in many movies/series.

    I just focus on a story, everyone make their own feeling or opinion. Human nature, emotions and relationship problems. A situation as old as time, a man conquered by another woman when he's already in a relationship.

    I can't answer your hypotheses. I feel Kang Chul has a bit of amorality. Not immoral, but amoral. I struggle a lot to portray him. I have many lines or reactions, I'm still in doubt after the choices made. Just an example. Previous episode when he quits Mi-Ra, in the elevator. He feels he said something dishonest to her. It's an intermediate choice, in-between. I need to know first if it's true. I think it is because he played on her feeling when they were having a argument based on code "Hammer". However, Kang Chul could react much more, having trouble, feeling dirty. Or he could react the other way: feeling he did what he needed to do. No emotions about that, more cold and hard. What to choose here? And I'm having these questions tons of time.

     

    #19.

    Yes, a scene from an episode long before, you had a scene in Young-Sik's apartment, a bit random. But here much less... to be continued...

    A manhwa fan, lots of manhwas and goodies at home. Could have been an artist but doesn't have the talent. But as a hobby, he draws on a tablet.

     

    #24.

    The faceless killer was so impressive. I needed a villain who could match up to the challenge, and surprise screenwriter Song Jae-Jung herself. I used a lot of red herrings, before the revelation.

     

    C#22.

    Ah ah! Yes, it's the big unpacking. Answer soon after. ^^

     

    #27.

    I had a feeling you'd like this episode.

    There's tons and tons of content and previous scenes coming together. Like a gigantic puzzle. And suddenly, every little detail that was mysterious makes sense. 

    Just read the whole thing, then comment on it afterwards. So you're not distracted by taking notes. ;-) 

     

    Conclusion.

    I couldn't really do that. Several reasons. No room left next episode. It needed something bigger than just Ren-Bo disappearing to take the Narrator seriously. And another reason we'll see next.

    I'll now explain how and why the revelation was postponed in ep36:

    Originally, the revelation took place in episode 34. So, instead of seeing Kang Chul from the garden, we had the explanation then. But this caused two problems:

    - It's exposition based on revelations, flashbacks and so on. But there had been a scene like that recently. (when Kang Chul was mistaken and thought he was the faceless killer).

    - We know the truth, so what? Nothing! The Narrator doesn't act, and that makes for a disappointing effect.

    I thought back to episode 8 of W. When Kang Chul is in his car and realizes that the faceless killer is in the real world. And this is immediately followed by the scene where he tries to kill Yeon-Joo. That's the way to do it. There's no point in explaining a threat if that threat isn't immediate and suspenseful.

    That's why I took all that and put it in episode 36 instead. But since that's a lot of content, it destructured all the other episodes from 34 to 36. Hence the reason I had to rework it all together.

    In doing so, one of the cliffhangers was out of sync. Instead, I put the Narrator's threat in the cliffhanger of 35. But I had to move time forward (flashforward) and put in scenes from subsequent episodes.

    I had several reasons for this: not to put two scenes with Publisher Park investigating the mysterious manhwa in the same episode. To keep up the suspense that Kang Chul was about to get serious with Mi-Ra. So much for the broad strokes. Of course, any other scene is impacted. It's like putting together a big puzzle of scenes. While eliminating some, adding new ones, changing many. 

    As I wasn't sure about the screentime, I had a few other possible scenes in my draft files to complete. But I didn't need to use them. And so much the better, because that would have felt like fillers, even if the content is interesting in itself. As I was watching how the text goes, counting lines and numbers of chars, I was rather afraid that it would be too long, and not match a good screentime per episode. In the past, I put sometimes 3 episodes in 2 instead. Here it was 5 reduced to 4.