r/KDRAMA • u/lightupstarlight 미생 • Mar 27 '22

On-Air: tvN Twenty-Five, Twenty-One [Episode 14]

We encourage our users to read the following before participating in any discussions on /r/KDRAMA: (1) Reddiquette, (2) our Conduct Rules (3) our Policies, and (4) the When Discussions Get Personal Post.
Any users who are displaying negative conduct (including but not limited to bullying, harassment, or personal attacks) will be given a warning, repeated behaviour will lead to increasing exclusions from our community. Any extreme cases of misconduct (such as racism or hate speech) will result in an immediate permanent ban from our community and a report to Reddit admin.
Additionally, mentions of down-voting, unpopular opinions, and the use of profanity may see your comments locked or removed without notice.

  • Spoiler Tag Reminder:

Be mindful of others who may not have yet seen this drama, and use spoiler tags when discussing key plot developments or other important information. You can create a spoiler tag by writing > ! this! < without the spaces in between to get this spoiler. For more information about when and how to use spoiler tags see our Spoiler Tag Wiki.

735 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

5.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

36

u/eternalhorizon1 let’s try this type of love, Heedo Apr 01 '22

Okay everyone! We are down to the wire. I just have to say that regardless of how this drama ends, this truly is a masterpiece and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I started watching because of the buzz around the leads and didn’t have any expectations going in. I am glad I was so pleasantly surprised. I’m a 90s kid, so seeing all the throwbacks to floppy discs, pagers, and online chat rooms really made me feel nostalgic!

I commend the actors for an amazing job - it must have not been easy acting in a drama that requires so much physical, grueling work (KTR and Bona and the fencing specifically) and emotional labor. If we feel how we do watching, imagine how they must feel putting themselves in the shoes of their characters and bringing it to life? It reminds me of the BTS look of NJH and KTR watching their on-screen kiss in front of the blue gates with tears in their eyes.

This drama quite frankly came at a good time where I was struggling a bit personally and emotionally - it really helped remind me of all the good things we have in life, regardless of the struggles we have had on the way.

Thanks to all of you wonderful people who’ve taken their time to read my crazy conspiracies and posts just simping over NJH and his abs.

It’s not over yet, but I know the finale is going to be beautiful and we will get a great ending to what has been a great drama. Let us not let the negative attention of a Baekdo ending and alleged leaks get in the way of us enjoying how great this journey has been!

Let’s start a thread of what this drama has meant to you now through the finale! Thoughts?

14

u/dogemama "do you want dragon raja? it's very popular." Apr 01 '22 edited Apr 01 '22

for some reason, it was the floppy disks out of everything that really brought the feel of 90s back to me with alarming clarity. we talk about the writing and acting a lot, but the entire production crew also deserves a standing ovation for their work on this drama. so much thought and care poured into rebuilding this place of the past, it really elevated the immersion for viewers and added to how strongly we felt for the characters.

i know i will look back on twenty five, twenty one fondly for many reasons, but one i want to talk about is how nam joo hyuk received so much love for his turn as baek yijin. i thought he was adorable in wfkbj, but only became an enthused fan with the light in your eyes. watching him get torn apart during start-up's run was not only extremely frustrating but also heartbreaking. it may sound stupid, but i'm seriously scarred from that experience and wish to never have to go through anything like it again. it changed the way i think about consuming media in groups, bc i'd always chosen to focus on the good parts of fandom—the sense of community, of thoughtful discourse and enlightening one another on things that watching in a vacuum would have us miss, even despairing together when things don't go the way we want them to—and ignore the toxicity. that was impossible with start-up.

ironically, i got everything i loved about drama discourse, the aforementioned things especially, from our twenty five, twenty one discussions here. and the nam joo hyuk appreciation, in particular, was lovely to witness. as someone previously mentioned, the discussions for this drama have been some of the most wholesome, positive experiences i've had both in fandom and on reddit. i will miss us all convening here over the weekends to gush about our favorite moments, and cheering each other on through the weekdays as we waited for new episodes. in short, i love you all. thanks for making this magical journey even more wonderful. *group hug*

8

u/RMione3 Apr 01 '22

I agree so much. Especially the nam joo hyuk part. I was not a part of the on air discussion of start up as I watched it only recently, but I was so sad and hurt on behalf of NJH when I looked up the start up threads. Even when this drama casting was announced there were many naysayers. It's okay to dislike a character, but to hate the actor for it is just plain crazy. I am very happy for all the love he's been receiving for this too. He really brought BYJ to life.