Sorry if this gets lengthy, but I got some feelings to express.
So, I gave myself a few days to process my thoughts and emotions on the conclusion of Weak Hero. To try and make sense of the direction the author decided to take his story on. And honestly, I'm still left feeling let down and disappointed.
In my opinion, one of the greatest slights an author can do to their fanbase and to their work, especially if it's a lengthy story, is to end the story abruptly. To me that is the equivalent to a slap in the face. A big slap to all the fans who have invested their time, energy, and possibly even money to the story the author has been creating. Years of tuning in and refreshing pages, only for the ending to feel so damn rushed.
I was really holding out for a small sliver of hope, I wanted to "trust the process." Maybe there would be an introduction to an amazing plot twist, or a great revelation to understand and explain why the storyline turned into what it did. But at this point, with only the epilogue left, none of that is gonna probably happen, and I'm left wondering why?
I've even wondered if the kdrama had any influence on how Weak Hero ended. Would it have been different if the kdrama never existed? Did Seopass just get tired of his story and the characters, maybe he wanted to move on to something else already? Cuz any which way that I try to look at it, I just can't comprehend why he chose that ending. Especially for Donald. One of the most charismatic characters in the series. The final boss, who possessed both brains and unmatched brute strength. A master strategist who managed to unite a whole district. A literal unbeatable character.... who he gets done in by a wayward truck!?! Right after the biggest fight in the series!?! Like, are you for fucking real? That's how his demise happens?!!?
I'm not even a Donald fan! He was never my fave (that honor always went to Jimmy ❤️), but even I expected more for him. Donald didn't even go down swinging, kicking, barely hanging on by the skin of his teeth. His death happening in the same way he lived his life, like some sort of poetic justice. No. We got none of that. Instead, we get a self defeated Donald, who was reaching out to the universe for someone to stop him, and who purposefully? didn't avoid the truck???
I'm sorry but no, DONALD DESERVED BETTER!!! HE, AS A CHARACTER, DESERVED BETTER!!!!
AND THEN, we get thrown some pity crumbs at the end with Stephen. Which to me was just another rushed ending. We get some half assed reunion. No backstory on what Stephen had to go through. No idea what his thoughts were while recovering from his near fatal drop. Did he ever think of Gray? Did he ever try looking for him?
Was I the only one that expected more from Stephen and Gray's reunion??? I can't be the only one completely disappointed, or am I?
I am however grateful we got to see Stephen again, I really am, and that we got a conclusion for him. Since it didn't happen with some of the other plotlines.
For instance, what happened to the Mapo guys, and Changhui saying they were going to wait for an opportunity to strike back? Am I the only one that remembers this?
And where the capital F was Wolf's backstory? He's a fan favorites and we get nothing? No idea on why he's a such a psycho or the reasoning behind his 3 second rule? Or even why he has it out for Grape so much?
And let's not forget about this guy! He never even got a name!
There's more, but I'm not gonna go into all of that right now since I don't want to just trash this series. I fell in love with it for a reason, and now I want to talk about the parts that I enjoyed, and that made me remember why I loved this series so much in the first place.
Like...
The fact that Jimmy wanted Donald's recognition. Even after talking crap about him every chance he got~ lol. He still valued him as a capable leader and cared about how Donald perceived him.
And how Jimmy's signature wrist swish was influenced by Donald!!! I would have never in a million years thought that Donald was the reason and inspiration for it.
And I absolutely loved how Jimmy and Wolf were bickering at the end. It completely reminded me of siblings arguing with each other at any and every opportunity! I know there's gotta be some underlying respect and friendship for each other there, waaay deep inside, somewhere in a dark crevice of their little crazy hearts. 😆
And cuz I want to gloat too, I'm gonna add Jimmy whooping Gerard's butt. Take that shuttle patch!
I was also pretty surprised by how distraught Phillip became after Donald's death. Especially considering that the last time Phillip had any real interaction with him, Donald pretty much blew him off. Phillip not being important enough for even a backwards glance. For Phillip to still remember what it was like standing next to someone like Donald, and to have all those emotions come out of him just broke my heart.
And I am not about to forget my lovely Colton! Our very first villain. Pervy villain at that! And how much growth he's had, even as a secondary character. I went from feeling disgusted at him to wanting to give him all the hugs and support in the world.
I love you Colton you big doof! 🫶
And with that last thought I end this. Because as much as I hate the ending, I can go on and on about the things that I did like.
some of my favorite letterboxd reviews for strangers from hell
seopass made this chapter specifically for me.
This episode is a ten outta ten for me because, not only does it ooze the usual CS charm, it also has so much fun and emotion in it!!
Player shooting baskets in his room and Carmen kicking up her pants and picking the dollar out. i love it
Carmen bought a famous car from a movie, not only because she could, but because she knew Zack would be crazy for it. and when Player expressed interest in the stamp, she instantly wanted to drop over ten million dollars to get it for him. like...COME ON GIRL
The shopkeeper yelling "WE HAVE OTHERS, YOU KNOW!" PLEASE.
ZACK IS HAVING SO MUCH FUN WITH THE CAR. HES SO MUCH FUN I LOVE HIM Chase on the other hand is not. pathetic. love him too
Sheena had to climb up the bridge while Carmen just grappled up. Sheena L
CARMENS CONFRONTATION WITH HER PAST AT THE END. YESSSSSS SO GOOD
helloo a friend of a friend escaped from gaza into egypt and is low on cash. his venmo is @mohammed-usruf if you have anything to spare
reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something
It was evening time, roughly around 6' o clock.
Classes had ended about an hour ago, and the hallways had started to empty out, students heading home after a long day of school. Bambi wasn't one of them.
Instead, she did what she always did after school; receive her long list of tasks from Donald Na before he went off to do business, and then work endlessly to complete said tasks before midnight.
Manage the kids on the student council, make sure that the faculty are on the Union's side, make sure that everybody in the Union was aware of the work that they had to do (easy), and that they actually did it (not so easy).
Pay off their commissions, collect files and money, sort through paperwork, while making sure that none of the Union members were running some sort of grand scheme behind her and Donald's back.
And if they were, she had to investigate it. She could only pray that the boys in the Union would be satisfied with their roles, or else she guessed she'd have a lot more work to do. All of that, and more. Exhausting, but it was her job.
The steady stream of her schoolmate’s chattering was silenced by her making her way down the hallway, as if they’d get beaten if they merely breathed in her presence. She ignored the sudden quiet, pulling out her buzzing phone. Union members, asking for their money. Greedy little bastards.
It wouldn't kill them to wait a little while, would it?
The last few days had been hectic, to put it lightly. Asides from the trouble that the new change in management had been causing with the boys, she also had to deal with her two newfound walking headaches, Wolf Keum and Jake Ji.
The two boys were assholes, as per usual, but she was used to it being Kingsley’s problem, not hers.
She was used to working with the much more docile (or at least, as docile a Union executive could be) and competent Forrest Lee (bless his heart), and Jimmy Bae, who although wasn’t known to be the most cooperative guy, was definitely more bearable than the other two executives.
Especially after his ego got knocked down a peg after his fight with Ben Park, one of the few positive outcomes from his loss to Eunjang. She sighed, having reached the end of the hallway, making a sharp turn before heading down a staircase.
If she didn’t have to bother with the Union’s reputation and all that crap, she wouldn’t mind watching Jimmy get beat up a little more if it meant that he would finally shut his mouth.
She tucked her phone back into her skirt pocket, heading down another hallway. While infuriating and intolerable, Wolf Keum actually did his work. Jake Ji on the other hand…
She remembered she had gone down to Daehyeon at the end of the week, expecting to see a detailed mandatory weekly report on Yoosun from Jake, but was instead met with the news that he had actually ignored Donald’s order and continued with the previous method of doing things.
“Oh, I actually let Jimmy Bae handle everything on his own.”
“You did what?”
She reported the issue to Donald, though she didn’t know why she even bothered, considering how he had just laughed when she told him. She rolled her eyes as she walked out of the main door, the school gate coming into view.
Of course he did. Donald wasn’t subtle when he played favourites.
The sky above her was starting to darken, but she knew she still had a long wait till she could call it a day. Her phone buzzed; it was a message from Forrest Lee. A reply to her previous text.
i’m omw, be ready.
Okay.
Well, no point complaining.
She turned on her heel, and left for Hyeongshin High.
~~
notes: this was supposed to be posted yesterday but i forgot.
if anyone is wondering why her name is bambi, it's actually just because i created her as an OC in 2020 so i could insert her into stories without having to write in second or first person. she was just created for that purpose alone but i've grown attached to her over the past two years and her character has developed and formed a personality☺️. she does have a backstory but honestly i've inserted her in so many stories belonging to so many different fandoms (not that i posted any of them) i've decided that it doesn't really matter anymore.
she's been through so many different worlds the only thing that's consistent is her personality (at least in 2022, because her personality was really different back in 2020)
she does have a real name, but i completely forgot that putting that into the story was an option because i'm so used to just calling her by her nickname.
the idea that it’s ‘creepy’ to interact with things posted a long time ago is so terrible for artists and contributes to the pressure to be constantly creating new work, at an unhealthy and unsustainable rate. I hate it so much.
You know why I love Kwak Dongyeon so much? ‘Cause he just seems like a dude who wandered into acting and is vibing. Therefore he is my new actor husband
The Goncharov meme is such a fun little spotlight on how people view media. Like, fake academic analysis about a movie that doesn't exist. Cool. But that's only the first level.
Next you have posts recreating a modern tumblr audience "discovering" an older piece of media and engaging with it through the lens of fan culture. Particularly tumblr-specific fan culture. Particularly in a way that feels like it got its blueprint from Dracula Daily. (Shitposts and memes, intense love for the most prominent female character, reads of complex romantic dynamics between characters, etc.)
Then you get fake discourse about the fake fan response to a fake movie that are quietly complaining about real ways real people respond to real media. I.e., America-centric readings, shallow, shipping-based readings, fans lionizing a protagonist not meant to be admired, etc.
(My personal favorite are posts that recreate the experience of being told a piece of media is so gay, you guys, only to watch it and find it isn't even remotely, that fans who wanted queer subtext wrung blood from a stone and thoroughly misled you.)
I also like the extra-meta ones about "this obscure movie being recently re-discovered," fake film history about copyright battles or the original cut being suppressed, etc. And of course, Johnny fucking Truant is here to give his editorial take on it, as he should be.
Pale Fire, House of Leaves, Goncharov. Humanity is such that every now and then we need to get really invested in fake arguments about a piece of media that doesn't exist.