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twenty five twenty one: my favourite lines from ep.13

while we leave baekdo to make out in the snow, i’m coming to you with an attempt to analyze all the lines that made me fangirl in this episode. is my brain as melted as the snowflakes between hee do and yi jin’s lips? absolutely; so this post should be extremely fun.

“is this kind of love unacceptable?”: right from the start, hee do delivers this gut-puncher with her signature honestly and emotional intelligence. i love how this line continues the earlier discussion of what baekdo’s relationship means to both of them, and encapsulates hee do’s current feeling of having done something to overstep, of being too much or not enough.

min chae’s physical presence in the past narrative is breathtaking enough to deserve a place in this post about words. the level of theatrical staging, dramatic irony of the future towards the past, brain-tingling uncanniness, and simple comedy raised the bar for art in any form.

“kiss”: this tiny word-playing scene does a brilliant job of showing hee do’s state of mind, and parallels yi jin’s visually shown reliving of the kiss. while the translations of their feelings are seemingly opposite (words vs image; external expression vs internal disguise), they are of one mind throughout the episode.

“this is my love”: weaving this line as a narrative thread throughout the episode, the show lets hee do process all her complex feelings and still choose to fight for the relationship. while yi jin buries his feelings with the notion that they would lead to disaster, hee do’s open expression of her suffering is her signal that disaster is already happening, and yi jin is the only one who can stop it.

“damn you, alcohol!”: it’s only right that yi jin’s drunken confession reaches jiwoong first, allowing the narrative to bring him to the same level of suffering that he’s causing hee do. his level of dramatics during the drunken confession, down to his phrasing (“and yet, i waver” okay sir may i direct you to a jane austen adaptation casting), is a perfect expression of his character. as we’ve seen from episode four, alcohol makes yi jin honest, and that’s something he knows well enough to try to avoid hee do even more urgently in the second scene where she waits in front of his house.

“liking someone means i can learn about myself”: i want this line framed and exhibited in the louvre because it’s so accurate and still somehow felt like it’s never been acknowledged before. hee do continues to blow me away with how well she understands and represents real aspects of being in love, and the line can be interpreted in both a psychological and physical way, which makes it all the stronger.

“is it because you understand me that you love me?” vs “i don’t understand you. i simply accept you.”: hee do is again hitting the nail on the head with her questions, and you can tell how much courage it takes for her to state the fact of him loving her. there is uncertainty there, informed by yi jin’s current behaviour towards her, but there is also the power to return yi jin’s hidden emotion to the surface by calling it by its name. yi jin’s response is both beautiful, with its meaning that he doesn’t have to get or relate to every facet of hee do’s self to appreciate it, and a reflection of the present situation, where he doesn’t understand why she keeps turning up at his door but accepts her presence as the strange wonder it is.

“i’ll either get it all or lose it all”: once again a brilliant summary of how it feels to take the next step towards the other without knowing if they’re there to catch you. all through this episode, hee do is in free fall, but she keeps her eyes open the entire time, and trusts that she knows who she is falling towards. it’s yi jin who thinks he’s strong enough to stop gravity, and it’s her who proves him wrong.

“you wrote this, didn’t you?”: the fact that hee do knows him well enough to immediately recognize his hand at work speaks volumes, just like his expression when he was looking at her respond to a bully, freak out over stickers, and replay the fencing match to spot her mistakes. there’s something so intimate about this scene, because he sees her as she is when there is no one to be for but herself, and loves her in her wisdom, her joy, and her tenacity.

“we were capable of anything”: including making me cry because it’s such an apt summary of how much their relationship has endured and how far it has come

“i can’t lose it”: what a beautiful way to weave the recurring question of what kind of love they both feel together with hee do’s gambling metaphor before wrapping up both. hee do spends the entire episode losing, but each loss comes after the gamble of a kiss, a confession, a question, a confrontation, an action; and each loss becomes a step towards the tower of self-doubt where yi jin tried to imprison his feelings. like a hero from a fairy tale, hee do had to try to win her true love’s heart three times, each time turning up at the foot of the tower where he lives, and being stopped by a blue wall of thorns. using her words as a weapon of honesty and persuasion, on the third time, she wins.

The Female Gaze in 2521: On Empowered Female Characters and Healthy Masculinity

Y’all I’m so excited to dive into this!

If you’re a kdrama fan, then by now you’ve probably caught on that kdramas often incorporate “the female gaze”. While it’s debated what’s considered the female gaze, we can all conclude that it is different from the omnipresent male gaze in media.

The male gaze describes the visual or aesthetic presentation of women in a way that depicts them as sexual objects, with personalities that tend to center towards men or their fantasies of how women "should" behave. That’s a bit of an oversimplification, but if you watch literally any popular show or movie, you’ll quickly notice the male gaze because it’s woven into the camerawork, the characterization, or body language of the characters on screen. See if you can catch it here.

Not so subtle, right? Kdramas are not free from it, either, but it is worth noting that kdramas do tend to pull an opposing card, namely the female gaze.

This tends to center female characters as being a spectator rather than an object, and typically holding more agency, meaning they lead their lives and choices. The male characters are often characterized as charming, sweet, polite, and romantic.

I see two forms of the female gaze in 2521: first, the empowered female characters and their depiction on screen; second, the portrayal of healthy masculinity in the leading male characters.

Since this would actually become a literal essay if I tried to encompass every instance or relevant detail, I’m limiting it to just a few observations. But trust me, this show is abundant with many more. If you want to discuss it more, feel free to message me - I’m a nerd for this shit haha

Anyway, leggo~

Let’s start with our empowered protagonists (abbreviated to FC for Female Character from here on)!

Hee Do’s character is a take on the classic “I’m not like other girls” trope but thankfully the writers have spun it into a refreshingly animated and enlivened perspective. She is loud, sometimes adorably obnoxious, a little childish, and passionate. Contrary to the typical loud kdrama FC, she is innocent but not naive. Also contrary to other FCs, she does not seek a love interest. Her main goal is to improve her fencing and transfer to the school where her idol trains.

I like how Yi Jin’s presence in Hee Do’s life lifts her up and helps her accomplish her goals, but he’s not an absolute necessity. This kdrama could very well have orbited around the high school friend group and Hee Do would still succeed. This is pretty poignant, since Yi Jin being there merely enriches her life. She still ultimately has agency over her choices and dreams.

Also, let’s highlight how none of these FC are sexualized, be it their school uniforms, fencing gear, or the beach scene. Yes, Korea is much more conservative with these things, and yes, I think the writers and directors were cognizant of the thin line they were treading with the age gap and Hee Do being a minor for a while. But still! I think it’s worth celebrating and pointing out that they often show her wearing her red tracksuit pants under her skirt while no one else does.

Seungwan is another FC who shines so well with the female gaze. She’s the one who makes an active effort to call out the abuse of the teachers at her school. She is an active participant in her life - she makes a clear stand that she will no longer tolerate witnessing abuse. Her agency is clear: she’s not backing down, and not stooping down to threats of being expelled.

Instead, she whips a reverse uno card and goes fuck this place, I’m leaving. That’s not to say empowerment comes without vulnerability and emotion. I think that’s what I enjoy so much about FCs done well in kdramas contrary to western media lately, because western media female empowerment these days seems to be “see, I’m a heartless bitch, watch me stand up for my beliefs and not even cry”. So when Seungwan explains the situation to her mom and says she’s sorry and starts crying in her mother’s embrace, it makes her moment of courage to leave and stand for her values that much stronger.

It’s brave because it has a toll. It’s brave because it’s an unfair situation to be put into. Crying about it makes that reality crash down on us much harder. Also, can we celebrate how this drama doesn’t attempt to give us beautiful crying scenes? A lot of male gaze centric media will make even women’s suffering an aesthetic viewing experience. But this? Not at all. We got runny noses, snot, creased eyebrows and sobbing breaths and shaking shoulders. Beauty isn’t the focus. It’s the feeling.

This feels like a good transition into part 2: healthy masculinity! Because! Let me tell you!! We have plenty of kdramas with men crying, sure. But I’ve never seen performances like this where 1) male crying is filmed in such an intimate way and 2) where the female lead is framed as the dominant comfort - but not an emotionless hero, either.

Let’s talk about Jiwoong’s crying scene on the rooftop when he found out Seungwan was leaving.

The camerawork doesn’t shy away from showing the growing hurt and welling tears in his eyes. She comes over to hug him, swooping her arms over his shoulders even though he’s the taller one. We see him cover his face but not shy away from letting it out. She pats him on the back. It’s refreshing to see a male character cry without him having to throw things or break shit lmao like men can just stand there and cry and allow women to see them like this.

Transition into Yi Jin’s crying scenes (oh man, Nam Joo Hyuk is my favorite actor for a reason: you can read his face so perfectly without him needing to speak). Yi Jin’s crying scenes are also devoid of being overly dramatic while still encompassing the intensity of his feelings and the weight of the moment. The scene that stands out the most to me is in episode 8 when he’s doing the live reporting via the hotel room but his computer crashes.

The deafening silence hits the audience hard. It’s meant to feel like a slap in the face because we’re meant to sit in his shock for a bit. The shock, denial, anger, and sadness washes over him as the camera centers a closeup of his face. He shakily puts down the phone, gets up, collapses next to the hotel bed, lifts up the sheets, and shouts - and I mean fucking shouts - into the duvet. This happens as the camera pans out so we all go from feeling caught up in his emotional turmoil to feeling the spaciousness of the room around him; how he’s so alone, how he has no one to rely on in this moment.

I fucking held my breath man. Because this felt so intimate. We don't normally see male characters on screen break down like this. And if so, it might be framed in an aesthetic or artistic way or even sexual way, like crying in the shower. This was just...plain hard truth. That shit was intense. Can I just say? Oscar worthy, my dude.

The second moment that stands out combines the two observations! We get an empowered FC and a representation of healthy masculinity all in one! That’s right peeps, I’m talking the tunnel crying scene.

God, what a performance. Note how the camerawork highlights that he is collapsed and lower than her.

Hee Do is the one holding his face. She’s the one who caresses his tears away. And mind you, even though we’re talking the Very Handsome Baek Yi Jin here, he is still a snotty crying mess. In traditional media, this visual is very much a male-dominant gaze: a helpless woman being saved by a heroic male protagonist in her moment of vulnerability, held in his arms, her tears being wiped away. This scene flipped the script, though. It’s beautiful to see a female character in this role. And again, just like with Seungwan, it’s not to say that she, being the hero in this moment, is devoid of emotion either. No, she cries too. She cries because she sees him, sees his pain. She doesn’t let it eat away at her and let her spiral. It isn’t an overly dramatic moment of hysteria and tears. It’s an acknowledgement: I see you. I understand you. Which is why their romance is all the more special. These are two people who have now seen each other at their worst. And they still choose to be gentle and soft and caring because the world around them is cruel enough.

What are your thoughts? Overall, I keep finding ways to celebrate this kdrama. Be it the writing, the visual directing and color theory, the character development and character arcs…….there’s just nothing quite like it. And I don’t think there will be something like it for a while. Hopefully this sets the new standard.

Love you fam :) Thanks for reading!

Peace out~