I know that there are those of you out there who have decided this drama just got too complicated for its own britches.  This fangirl is not one of those viewers.  With only four more episodes to go, I am completely enthralled with how the writer is continuing to create new and interesting plots.  So come join me as I wax poetic about our new and improved Kang Chul and his brilliant plan to get his cake and eat it too.

Once again Kang Chul is faced with his webtoon reality and comes to the realization that the comic he had been reading was all true.  Not only is Kang Chul the lead of a webtoon but is married to the stranger in front of him.  The second Kang Chul questions if he himself is Yeon Joo’s husband the toon world stopped moving.

We are faced with a sense of deja vu as a large doorway between the worlds opens up behind our OTP (One True Pairing).  Although we are seeing a very similar scene to Kang Chul initial awareness awakening, there are subtle differences.

For one, Kang Chul is not at all upset or scared.  Gone is the angry and tearful boy who had gone through the rabbit hole because he had nothing left.  This time, Kang Chul goes through like a man.  Calm and calculated.  Almost as if he has a plan.  Please tell me you have a plan Kang Chul.  The Happy Ever After train needs to get back on track.

While we are on the subject of Kang Chul’s new calm outlook on life …  I find it fascinating how he truly does seem like a different person than the pre-memory loss Kang Chul.  He has all the same information regarding the situation he finds himself in thanks to the webtoons.  But this time, he is not emotionally drained and frantic like his previous self.

There are many times he refers to pre-memory loss Kang Chul as the webtoon Kang Chul, or her other husband Kang Chul.  He always distances himself from that Kang Chul’s decisions.  Thankfully, despite not being emotionally charged with the webtoon memories, Kang Chul acknowledges all the previous events.  And by doing this he also realizes that he will also end up in love with Yeon Joo.  Phew.  It’s enough to make a fangirl’s head spin.

I personally am not sure if that is how things work in reality.  But for the sake of my OTP romance, I will buy his explanation of things.  Especially when we get wonderful kiss scenes where he is “rediscovering his love for his wife.”

I can’t be the only one that felt a sense of romantic completeness when Kang Chul declared that he wanted to experience everything for himself since he only has comic book memories.  That includes wanting to have another flasher show (joking) and at least five kisses (not joking) since he is behind in the kissing count compared to webtoon Kang Chul.  Kang Chul 2.0 might be less flashy, but he knows all the right things say and do to make Yeon Joo’s (and my) heart flutter.

But things can’t all be flowers and sausages.  There is a killer on the lose after all.  A killer who is stuck in a world where time has stopped.  I loved that while Yeon Joo was recuperating (dimension travel can be a bitch on the body) he took apart the drawing tablet to disable the killers link to the real world.

Can we pause a second from all the action and give a huge thumbs up to Su Bong who fanboyed his little heart out like a boss?  I thought it was so cute that he asked to shake Kang Chul’s hand.  He was so adorkable.

After reading all the past webtoons and searching the plot outline  for what should have happened in the story if things had gone according to plan, Kang Chul reassembles the computer and stands ready, gun in hand, to talk to The Killer.

Kang Chul mocks his nemesis over being stuck in a world where there is no one to kill or terrorize. “How does it feel to be in a world with no one?”  He doesn’t get quite the reaction he was expecting when The Killer just laughs and informs Kang Chul that he just has to wait.  He knows that Kang Chul is ceasing to exist now that he is “the bad guy”.  All he has to do is wait him out and then he will be the new lead character of this world.  This statement is founded in truth since we see Kang Chul’s arm again flicker in and out.

But these are problems for another day.  First Kang Chul is determined to go on a date with his kinda sorta wife.  It was so sweet how he tried to be normal and keep their dire situation out of their happy times.  Sadly, it didn’t work since Yeon Joo was aware the whole time that Kang Chul’s arm was flickering in and out of existence.  But you have to give him props for trying.

So instead of a romantic date, he explains his plan on regaining his life back.  Turns out that the memory loss/dream plan didn’t work the first time because it was actually The Killer who became self aware first.

Remember that Webtoon Dad had gone into the comic and tried to kill Kang Cheul?  At that time he was accosted by The Killer and forced to explain the whole webtoon concept to him.  In order to live, Webtoon Dad promised the killer a face and to be made the lead character of the webtoon.  Of course Webtoon Dad broke that promise and here we are.  But since they did not erase the memories from before The Killer’s self awareness, he alone kept all the knowledge and an unsuspecting Kang Chul was sideswiped.

It is at this point that Yeon Joo gets upset, thinking Kang Chul wants her to write the memory loss dream sequence again, just farther back.  She yells that it is not fair for him to go on his way happy and unaware while she is left in misery, not once, but twice.  Once again, Kang Chul distances himself from his past version by saying that was what Webtoon Kang Chul did because he was frightened and overwhelmed.  This time, he plans to proactively fight The Killer and get his happy ever after ending with Yeon Joo.  SQUEEE!  The warm happy feelz are working overtime this episode.  Kang Chul 2.0 is the best.

Figuring out all the hows and whys of multi-dimension travel, Kang Chul figures out how he can go back and forth through his sheer will (don’t ask me how…. I am just accepting what the writers say is so at this point.).  He positions himself at the Killer’s apartment in the real world and shifts to the webtoon world, taking down The Killer in a surprise attack.  He calls an anonymous tip to the police to come pick The Killer up.

Now that The Killer has been neutralized, Yeon Joo turns the drawing tablet back on and draws Kang Chul a getaway car.  She also draws him a decomposed corpse (ew) that contains Kang Chul’s DNA.  Lying the corpse in his childhood home, Kang Chul places a written last statement claiming his innocence.  To the webtoon world, it looks like Kang Chul died from the bullet wound he took during his escape from the hospital months earlier.

Kang Chul says that through this he will release his friends from their set character patterns.  This will provide them the variable they need to exist without him.  Which will protect them from disappearing once he is with Yeon Joo.

Kang Chul then goes back to The Killer’s apartment and shifts into the real world and back to Yeon Joo, free (for now) from any immediate threat.

Thoughts:

I love Kang Chul 2.0.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the original Kang Chul, but it is so refreshing to see our OTP fall in love all over again and have it seem deeper and more grounded.  Also, Kang Chul is finally feeling like a real person and not just a comic character come to life.  With 4 episodes to go, I am sure there is still a lot of work to get to the final happy ending, but for now, I will close with this wonderful shot of Kang Chul coming home to his beloved Yeon Joo.  There is something so relaxing about having this happy moment before the next storm hits.

To Be Continued…..