dangermousie | The Devil: eps 8-10 picspam and meta

I am up through episode 10 of The Devil and it is breath-taking, not like any other drama I've seen before. It just might edge out The Legend as my favorite, or just tie with it. There is not a single thing I'd change in it, from acting, to script, to cinematography.

If the beginning of ep 8 is about showing Oh Soo's vulnerabilities, his humanity, and his beginning to climb out of the pit of despair (he is a good person and thus his co-workers back him etc etc) in a lot of ways the rest of the eps are about showing the humanity in Seung Ha. I am not just talking about his tenderness with Hae In (they are one of the most fitting OTPs ever, all without any touch or even overt words), even though it does say a lot that there is such a potential for caring in him, going to such waste. And it's not even about realizing how awful his life has been: mother's death, wandering around as a vagrant, having his friend die etc etc etc, not to mention of course that he believes his brother was murdered, it wasn't an accident. No, what I am talking about is that he is beginning to realize that the people he involved in his plans are people, not pawns. The scene where he is the Lawyer for the single mom and she breaks down, saying she hates whoever sent her the pepper spray, he made her a murderer, and he has to sit there, without cracking his facade, but you see that is the moment it sinks in and begins to break him, wide open. Because he is not a monster, he is someone who was so driven for revenge he couldn't see anything else. And then of course, when he comes to find Hae In at the library and watches her, as if he is too damned to go near her (such a parallel with his going to church afterwards, but walking out of the confessional without saying anything, as well). In a way, Hae In, with her open heart and her purity is a saint-type person for both Cop and Lawyer: they both love her (and they do) for the goodness they see in her, but even more, for the way they look untarnished, worthy, in her eyes.

But anyway, here are caps. This is from the beginning of ep 8. That scene broke me. Yeah, I was crying. That is Oh Soo, coming to tell Hae In about himself: Don't come here. Please just stay there. I have something to tell you. 12 years ago…I envied my friends whose parents were there for them during the toughest times. I was a bad son. My father never even once supported me. It's a pathetic excuse, but that made me more rebellious. I harassed kids weaker than me. I beat them up and insulted them. Then…I did something I could never take back. There was a brave kid that told me how cowardly I was. He was so brave, and I hated him. But I wanted to be like him. That's why I killed Tae Hyeon. The guy I envied so much. I killed his future. And I, the cowardly one, survived. I told myself that things would change if I tried hard. If I tried my hardest to make the best of my life, I thought God might forgive me. He might be…But now, I don't know…I don't know if I deserve to live like this. I don't know what to do. I really don't know. What makes me really messed up is that…My desire…My desire to catch the bastard who killed Dae Sik…Won't go away.

(It is even shaped as a confessional):

And he blames himself for the death, even if it was an accident, and that is why he is a good person. Of course, the question is, who is worthy and what is atonement. I love that the drama has him not a pure person. He was horrible in high school, it's just he made himself change, in regret and determination.

And oh, I love love LOVE her coming over anyway, of course. And saying the right thing, and still caring, no matter what.

Uhm Tae Woong, you are amazing!

That is kinda terrifying:

He brings Sora to her, asking her to take care of the kid:

He tells her Mom their house looks homey. Well, seeing his stark, lifeless house, yeah.

He is rather human and rather young with them, isn't he?

Heee. I was sort of amused at the both of them offering to protect Hye In and she is all 'thanks but I don't need it.' LOL. Interestingly, it's not primarily motivated by his desire to make Cop miserable. It's because he likes her, heee. But here, he brings up the past.

Oh Soo has a very expressive, open face, such a contrast.

She can get even these two to grin in each other's presence. She is a miracle worker.

And this scene was the other scene that made the episode for me, mainly because of it revealing so much about Seung Ha. I love how he reacts when she starts taking. It's as if he is even having trouble swallowing. All the shields are down, so briefly but so utterly. Because, somehow, she is so right, even if he himself doesn't know it.

Seung Ha: Aren't you scared? Aren't you scared to be involved in a murder?
Hae In: I am, but I want to stop him. The reason why he left my tarot cards at the crime scene and sent me one too…doesn't feel like he's just using me.
Seung Ha: Then what?
Hae In: He must be in pain. It feels like he's asking me to stop him from making more victims.
Seung Ha: What makes you think that way?
Hae In: He's trapped in a dark tunnel. It's like the story of the brother waiting for his sister in the dark tunnel. The person behind all this is waiting for someone to come and release him. I don't know what I can do, but I want to stop him.

She just shines, doesn't she?

But it's only momentary, of course. Off he walks, and notices someone spying.

I love this intercut, with Hae In reading the story to Sora and Seung Ha. Because in her version (even if she doesn't know she is talking about Seung Ha), Seung Ha is the older brother in the story...someone who just needs to be found.

I just love these shots:

His mother's ring is in this box:

Seriously, scary as hell:

Jeez, if I lived in a place like this, I might get homicidal myself:

So awesome:

His office manager mentions the dead kid's younger brother:

Awww.

Some more awesome shots:

EPISODE 9

I love how the Cop is confronted with the evidence of his past. How he bullied this guy in high school. He has all these regrets...

I like the muckraking journo and hope he isn't killed.

Seung Ha warns him off Hae In. Dude with a face this creepy warn me off? I'd listen.

Adorableness:

It's so interesting because it's so easy to tell Cop is a good person but Seung Ha is too blinded by revenge to notice (side note, Oh Soo tried to see younger brother of kid he accidentally killed. How awesome).

Yet another shot of Lawyer as trapped:

He is trapping himself as much as he is trying to trap the Cop.

The fateful knife:

I like the superimposition:

I think even the old cop recognized Oh Soo as a good person:

I really like him.

OK, creepy as hell! It's amazing he can look as vulnerable as he does with Hae In and as downright scary as here.

This drama is amazingly shot.

I think he is noticing how good and sweet the Cop is being with the kid.

I loved that scene with Cop's partner and Hae In. Cop and his partner should totally hook up.

Seriously, he's a little too intense for comfort, it's a slight off-ness the character exudes when he is trying to appear unmoved and unworried and uncaring.

UGH.

Looking at the Gates of Hell.

A clue, left there on purpose.

With his Noona! I was 'who is she!' But she is the blind older sister of his friend who died and whose identity he assumed. OMG, he spent all this time pretending to be her brother to her, for her sake, and as a payment of a debt of sorts to his dead friend. Bringing her the flowers his friend told him she liked the smell of. He is forever trapped by the past.

And that is why the writing is so tight here. Every time you teeter on the edge of hating him for what he is doing, he shows vulnerability, or the story reminds you of how much he lost. His revenge isn't baseless, after all. Even if misguided.

EPISODE 10

I just love this shot:

This is the scene, the amazing scene, where you see, without him saying a word, or even being able to change his expression too much, that it is the first time he's realized it, that it's sinking in, it is his personal revelation, that the people he used are people, and people whose lives he has wrecked, that he is confronted with guilt. He was so certain of his moral rightness before, so driven by revenge he never thought of collateral damage. But he has to, now, seeing that single Mom fall apart in front of him. He is seeing the fruit of his actions with his own eyes and I think he can't bear it. Something tells me this will be what will break him, at the end.

I love how he is having trouble looking her in the eyes.

Oh, how I swooned for this scene, his going to look for Hae In, but not even feeling like he is daring to come close.

And the same is with the confessional (and I love how the library is more of a confessional for him).

Seriously, they are so awesome together.

He lost his temper and so he is horrified because he feels as if he hasn't escaped the past.

She is always peace.

Guy needs peace. A hell of a lot of it.

I love this scene. She is trying to do her thing but it's too much and she faints:

Guess who sees:

I sort of died at this scene. Died.

And for the second time in the drama, the camera becomes his gaze. You have no idea how swoony I find it when they do this.

*thud*

I love how he has to force himself not to touch her.

AWWWW.

Adorableness:

Basically, I am in awe of this drama and anyone involved in it.

Current Mood: cheerful

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lain7.livejournal.com

I would blabber more, but your caps of Seung Ha losing his poise in front of the Hae In... His damn perfect nose! Allow me a moment to collect myself.

From:

dangermousie.livejournal.com

I just love how all his hard-worked-for shields came absolutely down for that scene.

From:

timescout.livejournal.com

Basically, I am in awe of this drama and anyone involved in it.
Basically, pretty darned hard not to be. :)

I haven't been able to stop thinking about Mawang after I finished. I keep going over different episodes and scenes. And I alwys start tearing up whenever I get to the last episode.

I love the main threesome so much it's not even funny. Such and awesome set of actors.

Yes, it is ep 10 when Seung Ha truly starts to wake up to the ralisation about the effects of his actions. OMG, there's going to be so wonderful but heartbreaking scenes in later episodes when he rally begins to loose it.

I could never hate Seung Ha, not even in the beginning. The most loathsome character to me is his 'little helper' - the spectacled avenger (can't recall his name). I know he was badly bullied by Oh Soo and his cronies but still... he's so full of venom, no compassion what so ever. And has more than a few bats in the bellfry. One of the mistakes of Seung Ha was taking everything this guy told him about the past happenings at face value.

From:

dangermousie.livejournal.com

I've seen all three in other dramas and I thought they were good in them, but didn't know UTW and JJH could be like this. (Shin Min Ah was the lead in the amazing Love to Kill, which I highly rec).

there's going to be so wonderful but heartbreaking scenes in later episodes when he rally begins to loose it.

Can't wait! Because you see it begin to eat at him already. He is not evil, just misguided, and ironically, that fact, that he is not a psycho is his downfall. He is smart enough to win at these mind games, but ultimately too human not to be damaged by them.

Re: little helper. Oh yes. UGH. I didn't hate Seoung Ha even in the beginning either. He just came across as desperately sad despite it all, and every time I'd feel close to disliking him, the show would show how human he is. But not the little helper.

I started ep 11, and that scene, intercut with the Cop remembering trying to kill himself, and Seung Ha weeping in that junk yard? I was tearing up within ten minutes of the ep. Crazy.

From:

timescout.livejournal.com

This is my introduction to all three - what a way to start eh? As far as I can tell both UTW's and JJH's acting carrers are still quite young so there really hasn't been all that many chances for them to shine. The chemistry between them, in fact between all three is incredible. Probably a big part why they are so good in Mawang.

I started ep 11, and that scene, intercut with the Cop remembering trying to kill himself, and Seung Ha weeping in that junk yard? I was tearing up within ten minutes of the ep. Crazy.

It's more or less hanky time from this point onwards. The nearer the end you get the more you'll find your heart breaking. It's all such a bloody waste. If things had gone just a little bit differently from the start Oh Soo and Seung Ha could have been friends. Basically they are very much alike. There were just too many misguided desicions, lack of communication and sheer bad luck. So many of the people concerned made wrong choises as well.

From:

dangermousie.livejournal.com

This is my introduction to all three - what a way to start eh?

Yeah, quite impressive.

This is only JJH's second drama. I loved him in Goong (I always think that I came for the heroine but stayed for him) but Goong, much as I adore it and muchy as it is my comfort drama in a lot of ways, is a manhwa-based bubble gum delight, so no room for anywhere near as much subtlety and scope. I remember thinking he was crazy to pick a killer as his next role...little did I know. I have to say he (or his agent) is really good at picking roles.

UTW has been in more dramas, but I've only seen him in DGCH so far, which, once again, wasn't anywhere near as complex scope-wise (plus, evil character!) I do want to watch Resurrection now, because it's by Mawang TBTB, he stars in it, and it's supposed to be amazing.

Shin Min Ah was the lead in A Love to Kill, which I can't recommend highly enough. At one point, it was my fave kdrama, and is still in Top 5. She played a broken woman, very different from her character here. Oh, and I saw her as bratty but slwoly maturing sister of the hero in Beautiful Days (if you want the ur-kdrama, this is probably a good choice :P)

It's all such a bloody waste. If things had gone just a little bit differently from the start Oh Soo and Seung Ha could have been friends.

Oh yes. I find it so interesting that by the end, in a way, Seung Ha ends up in the same situation that Oh Soo was 12 years ago: you did something and got carried away, and whatever your justification (getting Dad to pay attention to you, revenge for ruined family), that is not sufficient to atone or excuse because you did something which you can never take back. Obviously, in one way it's better for Seung Ha because he is an adult, but overall, it is of course, much worse. Because Oh Soo's 'crime' was an accident. Result of stupidity and bullying, but still a complete accident. But Seung Ha planned his acts, meticulously, he has no such mental shield. We saw young!Oh Soo trying to kill himself, and falling apart and etc etc, and that was after an accident, so I think for Seung Ha it will be much worse.

There were just too many misguided desicions, lack of communication and sheer bad luck.

I think this is where little helper guy comes in. In a way, all the characters in this are a product of trauma: Oh Soo, Hae In, Seung Ha. But they found strength to go on (however disfunctionally) and keep at least some of their soul (though in SH's case that is obviously a huge handicap for him). But that guy...just got broken.

From:

timescout.livejournal.com

I do want to watch Resurrection now, because it's by Mawang TBTB, he stars in it, and it's supposed to be amazing.

I, um... sorta started with it already (so much for 'not starting anything new while I've still got others to finish'). But I just had to watch something else of UTW's. I think I've developed a crush on him, ha. I've now watched 2 episodes and it's looking good, very good.

I think this is where little helper guy comes in. In a way, all the characters in this are a product of trauma: Oh Soo, Hae In, Seung Ha. But they found strength to go on (however disfunctionally) and keep at least some of their soul (though in SH's case that is obviously a huge handicap for him). But that guy...just got broken.

Yeah, I do agree.

Edited Date: 2008-05-20 05:08 am (UTC)