Look I was mad and all last night because this 939-year-old dokkaebi thought he gets to make a decision regarding two peoples' lives just because he is older and he thinks he knows better. Well, hello there sir, yeah you - no, you can't do that. I believe that if you're gonna ask someone to do something horrible TO you and FOR you, that person deserves to know what she's getting herself into, she's an adult and she should have a say in this stupidly selfish plan of yours. It's not just about you anymore. So yes I was mad, and I couldn't sleep because WHO THE HELL GREENLIT THIS CRAZY DEPRESSING ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF EMOTIONS!!?
Right. IN HIS DEFENSE - hold on let me take a deep breath, wow. OK in his defense however, I think he panicked. Our General Kim Shin of Goryeo panicked. Big time. Not your common "tomorrow is the first day of SPM and I have not studied anything" kind of panic, it's the "I've been wanting to die for centuries and now I can but the person who will grant me death keeps making me want to live (what!?) so I'm now greedy and if she dies before I do, I'll be alone for eternity (shit!) and I've had enough of eternity so WTF am I gonna do" kind of panic. He panicked because his 900 years of being a god did not prepare him for the chaos that is Ji Euntak. Our dokkaebi has been in control of his entire life for centuries - everything goes his way - he's a god (albeit of a lower rank), he has all the time in the world to read and re-read books and appreciate art, he carries around a badass sword on fierce blue fire, he saves lives, he punishes bad people, he is freaking rich; has an incredible house and can summon gold whenever he wishes, basically his whole life is made up of ALL my life goals. So yes, it has been almost a thousand years of being in complete control and suddenly there was Ji Euntak - one brave girl who pointed at the sword in his chest and his whole world is now upside down. Resolution? Out the window. Plus, he had just realized that he had spent the 900 years existing, not living. What he wants now, is to live. Because there was her. And that, people, is how our beloved dokkaebi lost his mind. For hundreds of years, he had been preparing himself for her arrival - I'm gonna meet a girl who's gonna be my bride and she's gonna draw the sword, I'll be dust and everything will be over. My painful eternity will end and I'll finally be at peace - but now, not only would the current puzzle pieces not fit anywhere anymore, his bride even brought along with her more insanely bizarre pieces. He, our general Kim Shin of Goryeo, was definitely not ready for any of those. Which is why his thoughts are all over the place and he didn't even realize it.
His math was simple; marrying the bride + sword removal = happy death. That's all it has been to it for hundreds of years and he was ready. Or at least he thought he was. What messed it up was everything that he did not at all expect to come with the bride - happiness, crazy heartbeats, companionship, warmth, envy, longing, greed, selfishness, power balance (Ji Euntak, is a very dominant character because Kim Go Eun slays) - all these unforeseen factors and many more affect him in ways he never thought he should prepare himself for and they got him so confused and depressed that it pours heavily even when he is with her, when he knew for a fact that there should be flowers blooming everywhere in the region (I think half of Korea freaked out because of that incident, LOL). And as if that wasn't enough of a headache, reality stabbed him like another cursed blade in the heart when he realized that he has absolutely no idea where in the equation is he to place these new factors to get the result he had always wanted - his long-awaited death. His ancient mind was pandemonium, because there was no way all those wonderful things are going to add up and give him a peaceful departure. He was going to get hurt, she was going to get really hurt and his 900 years' worth of life experience is rendered useless as of now. And I don't think gods react well to being helpless. The ones in the Dokkaebi 2016 perimeter seem to be really powerful but selfish and so unrelatable. *shrugs*
So I guess somewhere in all that confusion and progressive mental impairment, he decided that he just wanted to get it over with and depart anyway. Maybe it's for the best, he must have thought. I have been around long enough, haven't I? Because it had been centuries already - why should I be greedy now? Why should I be happy? I don't even deserve all this, right? Because if happiness is one of the choices, why is she destined to be the one who will send me away? And if happiness is not even a choice, why was I given the chance to meet her and fall in love? Do I even want the answers for all these questions? And what do I do with them if they ever get answered?
So yes, I get him. I get that he is lost and WHY he is being selfish. I'm mad because this is one of super rare times that I could feel a drama character as vividly as a book character (Lee Bang-won from Six Flying Dragons was the latest, though - he was beyond spectacular), and that's saying something because it's not an easy thing to do (just look at any film adaptation of any book you have read and loved, you'll understand) - I didn't think it's even possible but yes the production team of Dokkaebi 2016 made it happen so congrats (grudgingly) and WTH is this series, really. And I'll complete the 16 episodes I've committed myself to and I hope to untangle all these crazy thoughts and feels when it ends. There really is no turning back. Not anymore.
Right. IN HIS DEFENSE - hold on let me take a deep breath, wow. OK in his defense however, I think he panicked. Our General Kim Shin of Goryeo panicked. Big time. Not your common "tomorrow is the first day of SPM and I have not studied anything" kind of panic, it's the "I've been wanting to die for centuries and now I can but the person who will grant me death keeps making me want to live (what!?) so I'm now greedy and if she dies before I do, I'll be alone for eternity (shit!) and I've had enough of eternity so WTF am I gonna do" kind of panic. He panicked because his 900 years of being a god did not prepare him for the chaos that is Ji Euntak. Our dokkaebi has been in control of his entire life for centuries - everything goes his way - he's a god (albeit of a lower rank), he has all the time in the world to read and re-read books and appreciate art, he carries around a badass sword on fierce blue fire, he saves lives, he punishes bad people, he is freaking rich; has an incredible house and can summon gold whenever he wishes, basically his whole life is made up of ALL my life goals. So yes, it has been almost a thousand years of being in complete control and suddenly there was Ji Euntak - one brave girl who pointed at the sword in his chest and his whole world is now upside down. Resolution? Out the window. Plus, he had just realized that he had spent the 900 years existing, not living. What he wants now, is to live. Because there was her. And that, people, is how our beloved dokkaebi lost his mind. For hundreds of years, he had been preparing himself for her arrival - I'm gonna meet a girl who's gonna be my bride and she's gonna draw the sword, I'll be dust and everything will be over. My painful eternity will end and I'll finally be at peace - but now, not only would the current puzzle pieces not fit anywhere anymore, his bride even brought along with her more insanely bizarre pieces. He, our general Kim Shin of Goryeo, was definitely not ready for any of those. Which is why his thoughts are all over the place and he didn't even realize it.
His math was simple; marrying the bride + sword removal = happy death. That's all it has been to it for hundreds of years and he was ready. Or at least he thought he was. What messed it up was everything that he did not at all expect to come with the bride - happiness, crazy heartbeats, companionship, warmth, envy, longing, greed, selfishness, power balance (Ji Euntak, is a very dominant character because Kim Go Eun slays) - all these unforeseen factors and many more affect him in ways he never thought he should prepare himself for and they got him so confused and depressed that it pours heavily even when he is with her, when he knew for a fact that there should be flowers blooming everywhere in the region (I think half of Korea freaked out because of that incident, LOL). And as if that wasn't enough of a headache, reality stabbed him like another cursed blade in the heart when he realized that he has absolutely no idea where in the equation is he to place these new factors to get the result he had always wanted - his long-awaited death. His ancient mind was pandemonium, because there was no way all those wonderful things are going to add up and give him a peaceful departure. He was going to get hurt, she was going to get really hurt and his 900 years' worth of life experience is rendered useless as of now. And I don't think gods react well to being helpless. The ones in the Dokkaebi 2016 perimeter seem to be really powerful but selfish and so unrelatable. *shrugs*
So I guess somewhere in all that confusion and progressive mental impairment, he decided that he just wanted to get it over with and depart anyway. Maybe it's for the best, he must have thought. I have been around long enough, haven't I? Because it had been centuries already - why should I be greedy now? Why should I be happy? I don't even deserve all this, right? Because if happiness is one of the choices, why is she destined to be the one who will send me away? And if happiness is not even a choice, why was I given the chance to meet her and fall in love? Do I even want the answers for all these questions? And what do I do with them if they ever get answered?
So yes, I get him. I get that he is lost and WHY he is being selfish. I'm mad because this is one of super rare times that I could feel a drama character as vividly as a book character (Lee Bang-won from Six Flying Dragons was the latest, though - he was beyond spectacular), and that's saying something because it's not an easy thing to do (just look at any film adaptation of any book you have read and loved, you'll understand) - I didn't think it's even possible but yes the production team of Dokkaebi 2016 made it happen so congrats (grudgingly) and WTH is this series, really. And I'll complete the 16 episodes I've committed myself to and I hope to untangle all these crazy thoughts and feels when it ends. There really is no turning back. Not anymore.
Kim Eun Sook-sshi, you've really outdone yourself this time. I just hope this one has a happy ending. I really do. Because our dokkaebi deserves it, and his bride, too. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.
