Between Desire and Conscience: Dong Hoon’s Deliverance

@actionscript gives his perspective on Dong Hoon’s narrative arc and why it matters.

“When he is caught between desire and conscience, he always leans towards the latter.” Thus speaks Ki Hoon of his brother Dong Hoon in episode 1, and these words introduce us to the kind of man our protagonist is. I’d say it’s quite consistent with the image that Dong Hoon had exhibited in the first few scenes – in how gentle he was with the ladybug, and in how dutiful he was as a brother to both Sang Hoon and Ki Hoon. But Ki Hoon follows up those words with a seemingly ominous declaration: “I pity him the most.”

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Do Joon Young: Captain of the Ship

As mentioned in Part 1, Do Joon Young and Ji An spend a lot of time together. For someone who says, “What man would eat and drink with a woman he doesn’t like?” he meets up with her quite often. He even has her over to his house a couple of times. If only the Managing Directors knew about that!

Tracing the progression of Do Joon Young’s relationship with Ji An, we see how and when things start to turn against him. At first he believes (understandably) that Ji An is working with him to fire Park Dong Hoon. Then as he attempts to use her to trap Dong Hoon further, he starts observing troubling things about her — she seems to have feelings for the loser engineer! Suspicion turns to confirmation, confirmation turns to fear as Ji An starts working against him, and finally what he thought was a win-win situation crumbles.

By the end, Do Joon Young is our disgusted shipper in the show, the one that drives Ji An more into Dong Hoon’s orbit and then names the love between them. He had tried to pair them off to create a scandal….but his plan comes back to bite him.

All the Ending Scenes: A Deeper Look

by @actionscript from the Soompi Forum

It’s a K drama trope to end episodes with cliffhangers, and My Mister used it with great effectiveness. For My Mister, not only were these ending scenes cliffhangers, but most of them were the highlights of those episodes as well. Looking at these final scenes per episode, we get a glimpse of how the show moved the narrative forward.

The first 4 episodes established how the fates of Dong Hoon and Ji An have become intertwined:

Yu Ra: Spokesperson for Ji An

Throughout the show we see close-ups of the other characters’ hands. But I noticed the show hardly ever shows Yu Ra and Ki Hoon’s hands — and I do think this is because the show wants us to listen carefully to what they’re actually saying.

The Beautifully Undefined Relationship

by deantrblss from tumblr

I think some people were right when they said there wouldn’t be any romance; there’s nothing romantic about Ji An and Dong Hoon’s story.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t love and heartbreak.

The degree and types of love fluctuates as the story progresses, but it’s clear that Ji An struck a chord Dong Hoon never even knew he had with that confession.

My Mister Locations: The Countryside (part 5/5)

by @oldschooler

“In the mountains there you feel free” ~ T. S. Eliot, The Wasteland

@rellea translated a post in DC Inside, which pointed out that Park Dong Hoon’s bag symbolises the weight of life that he carries. One place where he consistently does not hold on to his bag is in the countryside.

The countryside in My Mister is a place to which our characters escape to find peace and rest, and the insights they glean during their excursions often constitute a turning point in the characters’ development. In contrast to the city wasteland, with its crammed alleys and the neutral tones of office cubicles and subway stations, the countryside is replete with life and lush colours and wide open spaces. These qualities allow our characters to see clearly the most important facts of their lives for the first time, and to gather strength to act on these insights.

Buy Me Slippers = I Love You

This scene from episode 11 is the turning point for many viewers, the moment in the show where all doubts about Dong Hoon’s feelings disappear and in their place awe and marvel at this very nuanced, yet very deep love story.  In @justamom’s very own words: “I came into My Ahjussi totally not expecting a love story. I thought it was some kind of thriller, something similar to Misaeng or Signal. And then BAM! it hit me out of nowhere around the time Dong Hoon said, “buy me another pair of slippers.”

Pictures: Episodes 11-12