Are You Human Too: Episodes 35-36 (Final)
by LollyPip
It’s time to say goodbye to our Shinnamon Roll robot, one way or another, as he’s got multiple people out to destroy him and a critical choice to make. His choice will determine exactly how human he is, as he learns that being human isn’t what you are, but who you choose to be. It’s possible that being human has been in Nam Shin-III’s power to make all along, and that the question of what it means to be human was never for him in the first place.
EPISODE 35 RECAP
Over a montage of scenes depicting Ro-ra’s relationships with Shin and Nam Shin-III, her voice tells us, “The child I gave birth to and the child I created. I thought I had no choice but to destroy you. Don’t be hurt. I was wrong.” She had seen Nam Shin-III offer to walk off a building rather than hurt humans again, through his manual mode video feed, and realized that she had to make sure they both survived.
She creates a program to stop the kill switch from working if it’s activated, but it isn’t finished when she learns from Ye-na that Shin stole the kill switch. She takes it to Nam Shin-III anyway and installs it when Shin activates the switch, then loses her life saving Nam Shin-III from falling construction equipment.
As she dies in Nam Shin-III’s arms, she sees a vision of her sons, happy together and smiling at her, and her last thought is, “Goodbye, my sons.” Confused, Nam Shin-III begs her not to die, but she’s already gone.
Ro-ra had thought to text So-bong the location of the warehouse she followed Nam Shin-III to, but as So-bong arrives, she sees a news article that Nam Shin-III is wanted for murder. David is also there, and they go inside to find Nam Shin-III still cradling Ro-ra’s body. He tells them that she stopped the kill switch but she won’t breathe, and that it’s his fault.
They hear police sirens approaching, so David makes Nam Shin-III leave with So-bong. After they’re gone, he lets himself cry for Ro-ra as he holds her and asks sorrowfully if this is why she thanked him the last time he saw her. He sobs that she didn’t have to love him back, he only wanted to stay with her.
Back at the hideout, Shin finds the meal that Ro-ra left out for him. Jong-gil calls Shin to express his “condolences” on Ro-ra’s accident at Nam Shin-III’s hands (he’s the one who dropped the equipment on them, then called the cops on Nam Shin-III for killing her). Shin is confused, and when Young-hoon walks into the room, he notes his expression and asks what’s wrong. Young-hoon has to be the one who tells him that Ro-ra has died.
As news spreads about Nam Shin-III’s supposed murderous tendencies, Jong-gil leaks the video of him attacking So-bong in the elevator, which just makes everything look that much worse.
Young-hoon takes Shin to identify Ro-ra’s body, but he balks and asks for a moment alone. He thinks about how caring she was of him, and how he rejected all of her attempts to become closer. He looks at her last text asking him to come eat some food she made for him, which he’d ignored in favor of confronting Nam Shin-III. That decision had led to her death, and Shin cries like a lost little boy.
Young-hoon goes in to see David, who sighs that he wishes they would just arrest him for Ro-ra’s death instead, but there’s a witness who insists it was Nam Shin-III. Young-hoon muses that to most people, Nam Shin-III wasn’t a son to Ro-ra but just a machine.
David tells Young-hoon that Ro-ra died saving Nam Shin-III, when the kill switch was being reversed and he couldn’t move. Young-hoon reveals that Jong-gil was the one who told Shin of his mother’s death, which makes him their main suspect for her real killer. David thanks Young-hoon for not thinking Nam Shin-III did it, and Young-hoon says, “It’s because he showed me things.”
Ye-na is still locked up on Jong-gil’s orders, but she still has her phone and she sees the articles about Ro-ra’s death. She knows instinctively that her father is the true killer, and when he gives her plane tickets and tells her to stay out of the country as long as possible, she asks him if Nam Shin-III really killed Ro-ra.
She denies thinking that he did it, and he claims that he only wants her to leave to get over Shin. Ye-na agrees to leave, then pretends to stumble on her way out and slides her phone under the couch.
So-bong calls Dad, Joint, and Robocop to tell them what’s happening, and they unanimously support Nam Shin-III. Dad tells her not to just run, but to stay alert and make a plan, and to be sure to comfort Nam Shin-III.
He’s not doing very well, just sitting and staring into space. So-bong tries to cajole him into looking at her, but he says that he keeps seeing Ro-ra’s face as she dies, over and over again. Crying, So-bong tells him that it wasn’t his fault and to stop watching his mother’s death, because it would make her sad.
Her tears get Nam Shin-III’s attention, but she tells him that she’s only crying because he can’t. They go outside, where it’s snowing, and Nam Shin-III says bleakly, “I want to cry, like a person.” So-bong gives him a backhug and says that she’s hugging him because his heart is crying.
Jong-gil and Toady share a glass of wine to celebrate getting rid of the robot. Jong-gil talks about killing Ro-ra, and adds that only Young-hoon is blocking him now. Toady asks how he’ll get Young-hoon to hand over his company shares, and Jong-gil says that all he has to to is take Shin hostage. They laugh evilly, unaware that Ye-na’s phone conveniently recorded their whole plan.
Meanwhile, Young-hoon tells Shin that Nam Shin-III isn’t the one who killed his mother, and that in his opinion, Jong-gil is the one behind her death. Young-hoon leaves, and Shin gets a text message from Nam Shin-III on So-bong’s phone, saying that he needs to tell him something about Ro-ra. Shin replies, telling Nam Shin-III to come to him if he wants to talk.
David is glad to hear Nam Shin-III’s voice when he answers So-bong’s phone. He asks for confirmation that the kill switch was taken care of, but Nam Shin-III’s silence is worrisome. Finally Nam Shin-III says, “Eleven hours and twelve minutes. The kill switch was reactivated.” Oh, no — the unfinished chip couldn’t stop it, only delay it.
David orders him to come to see him, now, but Nam Shin-III says he needs to talk to Shin, and that he’ll tell So-bong himself. He hangs up when she turns out to be right behind him, and she argues with him about seeing Shin, scared that he’ll get caught if he does. Nam Shin-III just says that Shin needs to know about Ro-ra’s death, and promises to return.
At the PK Group office, the shareholders demand to know what Young-hoon plans to do about the plummeting stock prices since the announcement about Nam Shin-III running the company. They ask if it’s true the chairman wanted him as CEO and whether he really killed Ro-ra, and Jong-gil shows up looking smug.
He tells the shareholders that he’s been fired, but that he’s here out of concern for the company. He gives Young-hoon an “I told you so” speech about how dangerous Nam Shin-III is, but Young-hoon addresses the shareholders when he says that he doesn’t believe Nam Shin-III murdered anyone.
He says that if he’s right, then the killer is the person who would most stand to benefit from Ro-ra’s death, giving Jong-gil a very pointed glare. The shareholders see it and shuffle awkwardly, but Jong-gil pretends innocence. Young-hoon says that he’ll accept their blame and transfer his shares to Shin, but that it will never go to a scumbag, staring at Jong-gil again from inches away.
At the same time, Toady follows Shin when he leaves the hideout. David slips into the hideout and checks the computer, which is counting down Nam Shin-III’s remaining time. His battery watch is also counting down, he pulls his cuff over it to hide from So-bong that he has just over eight hours left before the kill switch activates again.
David calls Nam Shin-III to tell him that the chip Ro-ra made could only delay the kill switch, and that during the next eight hours, he’ll slowly lose power. Nam Shin-III agrees to go see David after talking to Shin, fibbing to So-bong that David just misses him.
Ye-na retrieves her phone and listens to the recording of her father discussing his plans to take Shin hostage and force Young-hoon to hand over his company shares. She texts Young-hoon that something may be about to happen to Shin, then when she can, she calls him to tell him that she’s sure her father killed Ro-ra.
Jong-gil makes his way to Chairman Nam’s office and summons Young-hoon, who asks flat-out if he killed Ro-ra. Jong-gil refuses to answer, but when Young-hoon asks where Shin is, he’s more than happy to show him a video of Shin tied and gagged, being beaten by a pair of his goons.
EPISODE 36 RECAP
Jong-gil threatens to kill Shin unless Young-hoon hands over all of the chairman’s company shares. Young-hoon calls him an animal, but Jong-gil growls, “I’m not an animal! I’m a demon.” He gives Young-hoon the papers to sign, warning him not to try anything or Shin is dead.
A few minutes later, Young-hoon is stopped by the police. They want to question him about Nam Shin-III and Ro-ra’s death, and as they lead him away, he sees Jong-gil smirking at him triumphantly. Toady calls to ask Jong-gil what he should do with Shin. Jong-gil tells him to wait, because he wants to kill Shin himself.
When Nam Shin-III gets another call from David, So-bong snatches the phone away to hear him say that he’s reviewed Ro-ra’s data, and he may be able to save Nam Shin-III if he can see the chip. He says that Nam Shin-III only has four hours left, and So-bong pulls up his sleeve to see his watch battery counting down the time.
She yells at Nam Shin-III for not telling her he’s running out of time and wants to take him to David now. But he insists that he has to tell Shin something, so she admonishes him to make it fast.
Ye-na gets to the police station just as Young-hoon is being led inside. She plays her recording of her father admitting to one murder and planning another for the cops, getting Young-hoon freed, and he says he’ll thank her once Shin is safe.
When Shin doesn’t show up at the church where he told Nam Shin-III to meet him, So-bong wants to go to David, but Nam Shin-III gets a call from Young-hoon saying that Shin was abducted by Jong-gil. He tracks Shin and Jong-gil and sends Young-hoon their location.
So-bong tries to convince him to let Young-hoon handle this and go to David, but Nam Shin-III gently says that she understands why he has to go. She sobs that his time is running out and she doesn’t care if Shin dies, but he promises to bring Shin back very soon.
She asks what he expects her to do if his time runs out and she never sees him again. Nam Shin-III hugs her as she sobs that she can’t live without him, then tells her softly, “Kang So-bong, when my mom died in front of my eyes, I couldn’t do anything. If the human Nam Shin dies now, I’ll keep remembering her dying. It’s my rule to help humans. Help me stick to that rule.”
So-bong refuses, but Nam Shin-III promises again to come back to her, “Because I’m your robot.” He turns to leave, but she stops him again, saying that she’ll go with him wherever this leads.
Nam Shin-III and So-bong arrive at the warehouse where they tracked him, only to find the goons there, but no Shin. Nam Shin-III casually tosses the men aside, then turns to nod at So-bong.
Shin is barely conscious by the time Jong-gil shows up and tells him that he should be with his parents. Telling Shin to say hello to his father, Jong-gil levels a gun at his head, but just as he’s about to pull the trigger, something slams into his arm and knocks the gun out of his hand. Nam Shin-III grabs him and throws him, as So-bong hurries to free Shin.
When he can talk, Shin asks if Nam Shin-III came here out of guilt for killing Ro-ra. So-bong says Nam Shin-III didn’t do it, and Nam Shin-III says that he came to bring Ro-ra’s message: “She said she was sorry for leaving you alone again.”
Shin looks So-bong leads Shin out, begging Nam Shin-III to hurry, but Shin stops to tell Nam Shin-III that it’s his own fault Ro-ra died, “So don’t blame yourself.” Nam Shin-III gives him a tiny smile and says, “Thank you, Shin-ah.”
So-bong leaves with Shin, and Nam Shin-III turns to Jong-gil. He points Jong-gil’s gun at him and shoots several times, deliberately missing. Jong-gil yells that he can’t kill people, but Nam Shin-III says he has one last bullet, pointing the gun at Jong-gil’s head. Jong-gil screams and Nam Shin-III pulls the trigger… but there’s no bullet after all.
Nam Shin-III tells Jong-gil never to play with people’s lives again, then leaves. On his way out, he slumps a bit, losing power as David predicted. He’s got less than half an hour left, and he quickly tracks So-bong, determined to get to her.
She finds Shin a safe spot then leaves to find Nam Shin-III. Shin tries to stop her, but she says he doesn’t know what Nam Shin-III gave up to come here and save him: “His life. The kill switch was reactivated.”
David arrives to try to help Nam Shin-III, and he finds So-bong first. He says he’s found a way to stop the kill switch, but they only have a few minutes, so they need to find Nam Shin-III fast.
He’s being chased by Toady and the goons, having run into them on his way to So-bong. He ends up on a ledge over the ocean with two minutes left, and he seems to realize that he won’t see So-bong again. Toady and his gang catch up just as Nam Shin-III spots Shin watching them nearby.
Toady isn’t sure if he’s Shin or Nam Shin-III, but he says he’s dead if he’s Shin. The real Shin moves as if to show himself, but Nam Shin-III stops him with a shake of the head. He takes off his battery watch and tosses it into the water, which only Shin sees.
Nam Shin-III shows his wrist to Toady, carefully showing only the part without the port, convincing Toady that he’s Shin. He points a gun at NS, but Jong-gil runs over and grabs it, eager to do the deed himself. He screams, “DIE!!” and shoots, hitting Nam Shin-III right where his heart would be, if he had one.
So-bong finds them in time to see Nam Shin-III shot, and she screams. Nam Shin-III sees her, and he never looks away from her face as he takes bullet after bullet. Each bullet pushes him backwards until he falls into the water, and Young-hoon joins So-bong and David as So-bong falls to her knees, sobbing. Nam Shin-III sinks and his eyes close, and at the PK Group building, his servers shut down, one by one.
One year later.
Toady visits Jong-gil in prison and tells him that the new PK chairman’s inauguration was today. He sighs that this is all because of that robot, and Jong-gil says that he truly thought Nam Shin-III was Shin that night, which he describes as the most thrilling of his life. Even Toady looks uncomfortable at the madness in Jong-gil’s eyes.
He tells Jong-gil that Ye-na, who lives with her mother in Boston, almost never leaves the house these days. He asks if he should contact her, but Jong-gil shakes his head.
At PK Group, Young-hoon greets the shareholders then takes his place in the old chairman’s office. Shin greets him warmly, looking relaxed and happy. Young-hoon asks if he’s ready to take his rightful place soon, but Shin just says that Young-hoon looks like he belongs in the chairman’s seat.
He tells Young-hoon to keep it, because when he takes over he’ll probably just sell, though it doesn’t sound like a threat anymore. He haltingly asks about So-bong, but Young-hoon admits that he hasn’t spoken to her for fear of opening old wounds.
So-bong sits with Maibo that night, and she plays his recordings of Nam Shin-III’s voice talking to her and answers them as if he’s there. She asks Maibo/Nam Shin-III why he isn’t with her yet when he said he’d come soon, and she hugs Maibo while she cries. She tells him, “I miss you, my robot.”
One day she takes Maibo to the sea shore, and she stands take a walk on the beach. She accidentally knocks him to the sand and runs to pick him up, scared she broke him. In Nam Shin-III’s voice, he says, “I’m sorry I don’t understand you. I’m sorry I’m a robot,” but So-bong tells Maibo not to be sorry.
A voice behind her says, “I’m sorry I’m a robot, Kang So-bong.” She turns around expectantly, but it’s just Shin, pretending to be Nam Shin-III. So-bong snaps at him for messing with her, and he says he was being nice by letting her think he’s Nam Shin-III.
Calling Shin names under her breath, So-bong turns and walks away angrily. She hears his voice ask, “Are you very angry?” But when she wheels to yell at him some more, it’s Nam Shin-III standing there. He’s alive!
Without hesitating, he walks to So-bong and takes her in his arms. He says the rule is to hug her when she cries, but she backs up to look at him again, and even checks for his battery watch. She cries even harder as she asks if it’s really him, scared to believe it, but he gives her that sweet cinnamon roll smile and removes all doubt.
Up the beach, Shin watches their reunion with David and Young-hoon. Young-hoon gives Shin the credit for using his money and power to find Nam Shin-III, and Shin admits that this was the first time he enjoyed using them. David sighs that Ro-ra would have been happy to hear him say that, and adds, “It was worth the long effort in fixing you, my son.” Somehow, I don’t think he’s talking about Nam Shin-III.
So-bong touches Nam Shin-III’s face, and he takes her hand. He says that most of his special abilities are gone, making him more like a regular human. So-bong says that’s okay, because it just means he’s closer to her.
She tells him that she’s become closer to him, too, and that her heart won’t change anymore, like a robot. Nam Shin-III looks at her wonderingly, then leans down to kiss her. So-bong hugs him happily, and behind her back, Nam Shin-III smiles as a single tear slides down his face.
COMMENTS
Awww, I loved that ending. I loved that Nam Shin-III became more like So-bong, and she more like him, meeting in the middle yet still remaining uniquely human and robot. I love that the moral of the story is that you don’t have to change to be a good person, that being who and what you are is enough, and that anyone can be a good person who’s worthy of love if that’s what they want to be. This show didn’t have a lot of issues, though the problems it had were pretty glaring, but it handled the question of what makes someone human in a really touching way. And I’m willing to forgive a lot since we got a happy ending for Nam Shin-III and So-bong.
My only major complaint about the show is how the primary female characters started out so interesting, but ended up sidelined when it became more convenient for them to be damsels in distress. So-bong was a physically and mentally strong fighter, and Ro-ra was an actual genius, yet by the end, Ro-ra did nothing but cry and So-bong just hung on Nam Shin-III and stopped being fiercely independent. It bothers me that So-bong started out so badass and aggressive that I didn’t even like her much, but in the last few weeks she was relegated to a romantic object only, and pretty much did nothing but make eyes at Nam Shin-III while the men did all the heroic stuff. I wanted to see So-bong get in on the rescue mission (beyond watch Nam Shin-III and run in circles), and I felt it very out of character for her to do nothing while Nam Shin-III did all the fighting. The So-bong we were introduced to wouldn’t have stood for that — she would have been right in the thick of the action, using her fighting skills. In the end, Ye-na did more to save Shin than So-bong did, and So-bong did literally nothing to save Nam Shin-III other than tell him to get to David.
While it’s annoying that Ro-ra was “fridged” in order to bring Shin to his senses, I honestly think that her death is the only thing that could have done it. Maybe Young-hoon dying might have had a similar effect, but considering the rage we saw from Shin every time he thought his mother loved Nam Shin-III more, I really believe that nothing less than forever losing the chance to reconcile with his mother is the only thing that could bring Shin back from the brink. I don’t think that Shin’s change of heart and saving Nam Shin-III makes all of his previous murder attempts okay, but I guess that it’s a start. All he’s ever wanted was for someone to show that they loved him, and he got that from an unexpected source — Nam Shin-III, who gave up his life just to tell Shin that Ro-ra was sorry. Shin’s redemption felt rushed, but I can see how the events leading up to Nam Shin-III’s destruction (and knowing that Ro-ra’s and Nam Shin-III’s death were both his fault) made him re-evaluate the way he treats people. I just wish we’d seen it, instead of being told after a time skip that he’s completely changed.
I actually think that the whole finale was a bit rushed, with so much happening and so little time to adequately portray it all. I wish Ro-ra’s death had happened a week earlier and that we’d explored the fallout and Nam Shin-III’s vindication a bit more thoroughly, but all in all I felt that Are You Human Too was well-paced and well told, the casting and directing were spot-on, and the acting was top-notch. The themes it explored were unexpected and quite interesting as well. For example, I thought the show would be about what it means to be human, and it was, but not in the sense of whether Nam Shin-III was human. He absolutely was, in all the best ways a person can be human, but not everyone around him was as human as he was. I feel like the title, while it sounded like it was asking Nam Shin-III the question, “Are you human?” was actually asking of the people around Nam Shin-III, “This robot is a shining example of what it means to be human — are you human, too?”
I started this drama expecting Nam Shin-III to develop human emotions, but I liked his actual character development much better than if I’d gotten what I expected. Nobody ever asked Nam Shin-III to be human, and in fact, So-bong and Young-hoon spent half of the show telling Nam Shin-III that he was already exactly as he should be — a robot with a good heart. I love that the lesson Nam Shin-III needed to learn wasn’t that he should try to be human, but that being a robot is perfectly wonderful, and he shouldn’t be ashamed or hide it. The way he acts isn’t human, and the feelings he feels aren’t human, but that’s okay – he’s perfect just the way he is.
Far and away, the best thing about this entire drama was Kang Seo-joon’s performance. I’m amazed at how much emotion he conveyed just through his eyes, as Nam Shin-III never really did show much facial expression, yet he was always so easy to read. Kang Seo-joon’s acting and characterization was consistent from start to finish, with a clear vision of who both Shin and Nam Shin-III were, and he played them both so perfectly and distinctly that at times, I even forgot it was the same actor portraying both of them. That final scene was a great example — I knew that it was only Shin speaking to So-bong at first, and I also knew the moment we heard Nam Shin-III’s voice that it wasn’t Shin standing behind So-bong anymore, just by his subtle softening of words. The differences between Shin and Nam Shin-III were never dramatic, just a relaxing around the eyes and an opening of the expression… very subtle, but unmistakable. I never would have expected Kang Seo-joon to be capable of such a wonderfully detailed performance before this show, but now that I know what he can do, I’ll be looking forward to his future roles.
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Tags: Are You Human Too, Gong Seung-yeon, Lee Jun-hyuk, Seo Kang-joon
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1 Meep
August 10, 2018 at 9:47 AM
;-; a satisfying if rushed conclusion to this little gem of a show. It's definitely not perfect and I agree that So-Bong and Ro-Ra got shafted plotwise, but I appreciate that for once the second female lead started out as pretty harpy-ish but developed her independence along the way and stood up for what's right and against her father.
Seo KangJoon was so good in this and I hope now that he's shown his acting prowess he'll continue choosing roles that challenge him.
I do wish we had had more time to mourn RoRa and would be foven more time to see Nam Shin actually change his ways, because losing his Mom is a terrible thing, but I can't quite forget all the shitty things he did.
All in all though I loved the message this drama delivered I loved almost all of the characters and I'm very happy we got to see a different kind of AI romance this year xD.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 3:57 PM
"I do wish we had had more time to mourn RoRa and would be foven more time to see Nam Shin actually change his ways, because losing his Mom is a terrible thing, but I can't quite forget all the shitty things he did."
I love that in the end, Human Nam Shin is getting better but is still visibly a bit insecure and jerkish. Show did that very well (as opposed to Lee Tae Hwan's reformed hyung character in What's Wrong with Secretary Kim.
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Onyx
August 11, 2018 at 9:28 AM
Erm, Lollypip must mean - Seo Kang Joon and not Kang Seo-joon. I thought it was a typo but it was mentioned twice so... anyways, well, people get confused, no biggie, but hey, this is our boy Seo Kang-joon who just did a great job as both human and android, so a little proper credit to his fine name. Hit the edit button.
The super handsome Young-hoon must be so busy to even have time for girls but Shin is quite care-free but also not much into girls but only for show. I wonder about their relationship and as to what they really mean to each other. Just a lil something something there, haha. Don't you even wonder?
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lizette
August 10, 2018 at 6:06 PM
When Human Nam Sin asked YH if So Bong is doing okay (after Nam Shin III's "death") coupled with that pained expression he had, I ALMOST THOUGHT THE SHOW WILL MAKE HIM AND SO BONG END UP TOGETHER! Is it just me who assumed that??
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therevels
August 10, 2018 at 7:34 PM
No, you are not alone
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suk
August 10, 2018 at 10:55 PM
That would have been SCANDALOUS
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 8:34 AM
Noooppppeee I thought of the same thing! Like he was really concerned! And he even teased her.
Lol my delusional mind but I am happy that our tin can couple had their good ending
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panyingg
August 11, 2018 at 9:34 AM
Same sentiment!😂 But that would have ruined the show for me, So Bong's love for Nam Shin III couldn't be replaced with human Nam Sin no matter what..
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C
August 12, 2018 at 3:55 PM
I'm not convinced that it was not the real Shin with her at the end. The robot couldn't cry. I'm not sure that end the end they didn't such places
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renalena
August 13, 2018 at 7:56 PM
I mean, we did literally see human shin watching the two of them reunite from up the beach... i put the crying down to David making some upgrades (along the lines of “I’ve lost most of my superhuman abilities” since he clearly had a redesign).
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pickledplumtree
August 15, 2018 at 10:51 AM
Same girl!!!
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Princess
January 20, 2019 at 1:13 PM
I also thought the same
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Critical Critics Truth
July 11, 2019 at 7:18 AM
I'm shipping to the Human Shin and So Bong. And the tears are the evidence....
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2 Kurama
August 10, 2018 at 10:02 AM
I was disapointed by the 4 last episodes. All the characters were pretty disapointing.
There was a robot that can do everything, 2 genius scientifics, one assistant who knows very well the society, a fighter and the true heir and they can't work together to take down the villain...
Nam Shin III : he is the same very cute but they don't use his true potentiel. To act Nam Shin was so weak for his capacities.
Nam Shin : They just made him as a banal jerk. At the end of the drama, we don't know really who he is. It sucks because for me he should have more importance in the story.
Young Hoon : he was the first friend of Nam Shin but honestly for me he just showed interest to save the society from the villain.
The mom : She died for a robot. I can't understand the logic behind it.
David : he's just the scientific who doesn't really think about the consequences of his work...
Bong So : She was far from perfect at the beginning but I was happy to see her evolving. But I was very disapointed that she was so focus on Nam Shin III and stopped to think about other things. She could have more empathy for Nam Shin.
The grandpa : He is a big jerk but he got away with the dementia.
The romance : I'm honesty not for a romance between a robot and human even if the robot is Nam Shin III. She will become old and him?
I'm disapointed they just show a human robot as perfect and didn't show the issues...
The good point was cleary Seo Kang Joon. He was really great ! The postproduction was very good too. But the story could have been better for me.
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larelle79
August 10, 2018 at 10:06 AM
Ro-ra died saving her kid, not a robot. She saw NSIII as something more than a creation in her lab.
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Linda Palapala
August 10, 2018 at 11:03 AM
I so agree with all your points. Now I don't have to post. I'm with you about the human/robot love story. She'll become old...I thought of that too! Apparently we take things to their logical conclusion. Ultimately this show disappointed because they took a clever premise with lots of possibilities and then made the last half been there, done that, same old same old. I do give kudos as you said to Seo Kang Joon.
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:29 PM
I think So Bong behaved very kindly toward Nam Shin: she participated in plans to save his life several times, and admitted to feeling bad for him until he epically wronged her again. While he strangled her twice. I was glad he showed concern for her well-being in this episode, but I definitely think he owed her a ton, and she didn't owe him a thing.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 4:00 PM
I've said my piece on my fan wall so all I'll say is that I agree completely and leave it at that.
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yaya
August 10, 2018 at 5:25 PM
I agree with you. He is a robot-robot-robot and the lead character was just ugh. She is so pathetic that she ended up with a mechanical device in the end. Emotional attachments do not change reality
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Wise Dude
August 10, 2018 at 8:01 PM
So Bong can be with whoever she wants. She can pick a robot or human. It is her life, she can do whatever she wants. You don't need to understand it, you just need to respect it.
There was no competition between the human and the robot. So Bong is in love with the robot. So the human was never in the picture to be with her. Whether she becomes old and he becomes immortal is not for you to decide. There is nothing wrong with that. It is only wrong in your mind.
The mother died for nothing because she can always build the robot if it ever gets destroyed. The robot is a lot tougher and would have survived those items like what happened in the fire at the beginning. The ending was not that good because the writers clearly wanted to be ambiguous or vague to whether So Bong ended up with the Robot or Human. However, she will clearly end up with the robot no matter what because she has feelings for the robot and not the human.
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Yaya
August 11, 2018 at 7:51 PM
Let me help you out as a mother of two teenage children that is still in her thirties. I don't have to respect nothing about a fictional show and it appears that you're having a problem with reality 2. And at the end of the day, she is an emotional dysfunctional character that it's so dysfunctional that her emotional attachment made her fall in love with a mechanical robot. Emotional attachments does not all the time line up with reality like it doesn't this case. It is not always about feeling. He is a robot no matter how people try to slice it based on their emotional attachment to this freaking character, he is still a robot and he will always be a robot that can be reprogrammed at any time. Having feelings for something does not make it right in this Society is so emotionally reactive and dysfunctional it does not make any sense. I wish my teenage children would tell me that they're in love with a dogon robot with fake tears and nice sensibilities. They'll be locked up in a mental ward before you can say achew.
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NiZ312
August 11, 2018 at 10:56 PM
agreed.. Seo Kang Jun acting is top notch.. but the fault remains in the plots, story lines, rush ending, unexplained role and trying to understand humans love towards a piece of metal junk (robot).. it would be much better for me if the robot died in the mid of the drama and Nam Shin (human) act as robot to heal Soo Bong and they finally in love with each other.. with mom making another NamShin in the end.. a robot is a robot and can never replace human.. no matter what.. even if robot got feeling, they lack the soul of humans.. and love story towards robot should remain as liking towards things rather than liking as a human.. I don't buy the story..
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renalena
August 13, 2018 at 8:14 PM
So you would rather the manipulative jerk who has done nothing but abuse Sobong should betray her trust in NSIII and make her fall in love with someone she hates, just because he’s made of carbon compounds instead of metal ones? As opposed to Sobong being in a loving, trusting relationship with no deceit or history of violence involved? Maybe this is a philosophical difference that we just can’t get past, but I really don’t understand people’s arguments against robot shin purely on the basis of “he’s a robot therefore he is inferior to humans”. The whole idea of the show is that in this universe, where AI has progressed to this point, he is NOT inferior. It might be better for comparison’s sake to think of him as an alien... different, but equal. NSIII is clearly demonstrated to show emotions, whether he labels them that way or not. One of the things this show made me think about was, if a machine can replicate emotional output in a way that seems “natural” to humans (aka if it passes the Turing Test), then does it really matter whether he does it with computer programs or with hormones? After all, humans too respond to stimuli based on complex chains of signals, they’re just chemical instead of digital. Whether you believe in the immortal soul is up to you, but if after watching a show literally called “Are You Human, Too?” you’re calling the main character an inferior hunk of metal, you’ve rather missed the point.
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Yaya
August 16, 2018 at 9:49 PM
It a robot at the end of the day, he gets it; it seems that it is you that do not by trying to take a naturalistic biological approach to scrap metal with an nice AI (artificial in every sense) personality. I am glad that the real Shin and Sobong did not get together, Shin did not deserve that life long sentence of crazy emotionally disturbed pants.
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Yaya
August 16, 2018 at 9:50 PM
*It's
pickledplumtree
August 15, 2018 at 11:12 AM
You said it! Yes! I agree.
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J.Hae
September 8, 2018 at 2:12 AM
You missed the whole point of the show. It's already in the title: "Are you human too?". The show's point of view is are you human enough to act as a "human" in front others will it be superior or inferior? Based on what I saw in the reaction or the comments here, I found it disgusting how you watched the whole show without realizing its point or learning from its message. You show how pitiful your thinking are. I am ashamed that the robot's thinking are better than you, he does know how to respect every individual. I can almost sense that even human, these people who commented thinking of themselves too high that their subordinates, or even staffs are getting their asses kicked if they made a mistake. Are you really human? or that robot acts more human than you?
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3 Yuki
August 10, 2018 at 10:34 AM
"I love that the lesson Nam Shin-III needed to learn wasn’t that he should try to be human, but that being a robot is perfectly wonderful" I agree! That's a beautiful message that the show is sending and one of the reasons I love the Tin Can couple so much. Pure love and full acceptance and support. That's how healthy relationships should be. ❤️
Overall it feels that they cut a couple of episodes and the ending was rushed. Nam Shin should have gotten more screen time so we could see him mourning Mom and taking steps to be a better person. We should have seen as well Nam Shin and Nam Shin 3 together again, I feel that what they had to say to each other was important too for the closure of the story. There is also grandpa, Ye Na, the story of Nam Shin dad's...there were many things missing. But I will not complain because the ending was just perfect. Nam Shin 3 and So Bong back together and Young Hoon, Nam Shin and David being part of the family too. I also agree that David was talking about Nam Shin and not the robot in the end.
Anyway, Kang Joon was absolutely amazing ❤️❤️❤️ here, and the rest of the cast was also great. I'm so glad that Gong Seung Yeon took the role too, she was perfect as So Bong.
In the end, the only problem here is that I'm not over Nam Shin 3 yet and I'm going to miss our Shinammon roll a lot. 😢 Ahhh, if we could hope for a season 2...
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4 dany
August 10, 2018 at 10:39 AM
Thank you, LollyPip for recapping this show. It was a good show, it had its flaws but I still liked it a lot. What really kept me glued to the screen was Seo kang joon and his amazing interpretation of the two Shins. Congratulations to him for his talent and hard work!
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5 Andrea
August 10, 2018 at 10:58 AM
The last few episodes felt messy and rushed to me, especially after such a solid start and middle to the show. There are a lot of things in the final episodes that frustrated me and that could have been done better, you touched on a few of them (the female characters for example), but even though the show faltered for me by the end, I'm glad it was a happy ending. And the rest of the show plus the performances were strong enough that I'm not too disappointed all in all. I loved SKJ and GSY, they were certainly what kept me watching even through the last episodes, after the plot didn't really do it for me anymore.
All in all I think it was a solid show, and I'd probably watch it again, even if just to stare into Seo Kang-Joon's beautiful brown eyes for as long as I want. I can always fast forward through the bits at the end that I didn't care for and just watch the robomance-bits, right?
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namedx
August 10, 2018 at 5:06 PM
“I can always fast forward through the bits at the end that I didn't care for and just watch the robomance-bits, right?”
I’m with you on this!
Final ep for me was not only rushed but also showed the most lazy writing. Annoyingly, Evil dude overstayed his welcome since ep14 (if not earlier) - seriously, had they dealt with him sooner, the final hour would have been more than sufficient to wrap things up smoothly.
Having said that, there were a lot of perks to the show, like the performances by the lead actors, as you mentioned, and the themes it chose to explore re artificial intelligence and human behaviour in general. Despite the weak writing in the latter half of the show, the premise was engaging enough to keep me watching right till the very end. Plus, Roboshin’s character makes it a worthy re-watch - with good use of the FF button of course!
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6 Zarzamora
August 10, 2018 at 11:17 AM
I haven't read this entire thread, so perhaps this has been discussed elsewhere, but...am I the only one who wondered if our happy couple will need to be contented with a lifetime of snuggling? Really? Just me, then?
I mean, obviously there won't be the pitter-patter of tiny (human) feet in their house, but will they be able to get beyond kissing and hugging, at least? And am I a perv that this is where my mind goes to every.single. time? Don't tell me that sex doesn't matter. And, yes, I realize this is just a story!
I actually envisioned quite a different ending because of this thorny problem, by the way. Overthinking things again, I know.
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Cori
August 10, 2018 at 12:00 PM
But asexuality is a thing and since it's my thing I gotta say that sex doesn't always matter lol. But if they did want to do anything, word on the street is that The D is not a necessity 😉
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:24 PM
The sex question does come up a lot! I wasn't around for You Who Came From The Star recaps, was there a lot of discussion of the alien's downstairs situation and wanting her to get with a human whose downstairs situation was unquestioned?
Um… anyway, though I totally respect other people's differing views on this debatable topic, I personally assumed that they were going to have sex and it would be great! Kdramas seldom make that clear even with 100% human couples, of course. ;) But he was made in Nam Shin's image so I figured he probably had all Nam Shin's appendages (I also thought that was what the Reporter Jo with questions scene was hinting at). And if he didn't, oh well, we see David adding features, and also many couples don't need that appendage to have fabulous sex lives. Certainly, there's the question of desires, and we don't know what either character's were, but what with the kissing and So Bong's pounding heart and Nam Shin III's obvious delight in closeness and pleasing others… well. From my PoV it looked like everything was going to go fabulously and er, I wish the happy couple every happiness.
Plus when it comes to the pitter-patter of tiny human feet, again as many real life couples do… if they wanted to, Nam Shin III would be a great dad, and adoption or sperm donation (Nam Shin's, if he was up for it, and they wanted the baby to resemble his dad) are great options. So… no problems. Aside from the vexed question of roomba custody. Where was that roomba at?
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RLD
August 11, 2018 at 2:42 PM
I agree...even if Mom, genius scientist, couldn't bring herself to enable him w/a penis, I'm sure David would have done that, especially since he had in mind SIII renewing his relationship w/SB. Also, yes, artificial insemination would be the way to go, he has a jealous streak and she would only do it that way I'm sure. I can't see his robot character denying her children if she wanted them. The have two, actually 3 choices in known donors, ShinO, JYH and even David. That would be a gift to David for sure, to have a child and SIII be the "father". Lord knows how the government would record a robot as a father; that's for Season 2.
I wish they had made one more episode before the Finale showing them recovering him from the water, rebuilding him, deciding what changes to make and what to replicate. It would have been nice to see more of the transformation of ShinO fro A-hole to decent human being. Also, once the job was complete, the opening of Shin4's eyes and the expressions as he re-loads all the data from before, the look of recognition to the 3 who were responsible for re-building him, that would have been a cool scene.
I enjoyed it the series, flaws and all.
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Yuki
August 10, 2018 at 2:49 PM
LOL, I think that they will have no problem with that. I bet Namshin 3 was anatomically correct from the beginning (they hinted at it with the scene with Reporter Jo). But even if he wasn't, David already expressed his desire for Nam Shin 3 to have a girlfriend...knowing that Nam Shin 3 already has a girlfriend, how could he fix him and not take care of that aspect? David wants the best for Nam Shin 3 XD
As for So Bong, she is a lucky one to have a boyfriend that will likely be so generous in bed and cannot get tired, like, ever. 🤭
Regarding children...they can adopt or maybe Nam Shin can donate. As @marybee said, Nam Shin 3 would be an awesome father.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:03 PM
I dunno but I assumed that sex or anything physical was possible from the very last scene. NS3 says he's closer to an average human. I took it as he no longer have his cool abilities to track others GPS, access IoT, lie detector and so forth (which was a little sad)... It also stuck out to me that when SB caressed his face, he actually responded. NS3 put his hand up to her hand and caressed it a bit. To me, this implied that David improved his tactile abilities. There are clues in the series that point to this, that his skin doesn't feel quite right, which meant his tactile input may have not been as advanced. Plus I don't remember a scene where she touches his face and see him respond to her touching his face. Normally, he just stares back at her or grabs her hand afterwards. I'll have to rewatch the series again tho concerning these interactions.
And then those tears...like if he can produce tears, surely it means he can produce sweat and maybe blood too? I'm going to say that he'll probably produce sweat, as there are many reference to him being unable to sweat, so surely David will have fixed that problem to make him closer to humans, right?
From these observations, I inferred that the physical part of their relationship was quite possible. :)
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Wise Dude
August 10, 2018 at 8:04 PM
They can just adopt a child if that is your concern. Nam Shin III would most likely become a great father.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 8:19 PM
No, that wasn't my concern. In fact the physical part of the relationship didn't concern me at all. I was actually the ones that didn't care for sex in the SB-NS3 relationship. I know it did concern others tho and I was saying given what I saw of the ending, physical intimacy is possible.
Plus marybee's idea of using NS's sperm as donation totally works if they want to have a kid! hahaha
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 10:21 PM
That would make an interesting weekend makjang:
“Are You My Father Too?”
“No, Luke...I am your father!”
Critical Critics Truth
July 11, 2019 at 7:21 AM
Yeah.... If the number 6 in verb form is the topic. The human Nam Shin will do. Hahaha!
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7 Kaleidoscopic
August 10, 2018 at 11:28 AM
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8 Cori
August 10, 2018 at 11:40 AM
Thanks for the recap LollyPip! I jumped in the show pretty late but I loved almost everything about it 💖 I think it really would've benefited from 1 or 2 more eps, but I'm ok with what we got.
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9 Fatcat007 (Kitty 💜)
August 10, 2018 at 11:56 AM
Shinnamon was alright in the end so yay! And he was just so awesome as always. That was his best part, as he was, regardless of being a robot.
The ending scene was nice. Our OTP was happy, we were happy ^^
And I could've done some more of human Shin's "coming back to his senses". I can't believe it took his mum's death to realize what he's done, I felt....sorry for him at that point. *Sigh*
Thank you for all the recaps :-)
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10 luzitania
August 10, 2018 at 11:58 AM
I fully agree with you LollyPip about So-Bong. When they bursted into that warehouse, I expected her to fight alongside Nam-Shin III but then she just stood there which really seemed out of character for So-Bong. I mean, we saw her do a high-fly kick at reporter Jo in ep 1 or 2 so she certainly has the skills and she has spent the entire drama trying to protect him and saying she was his bodyguard. What kind of bodyguard sits back? Granted, Nam-Shin has super-human (or robot) strength.
Unfortunately, it happened often enough in dramas when the female lead goes from badass to damsel in distress. Which is why Secretary Kim surprised me (in a very good way). "Wait, she keeps working and stays a badass until the end? WTH?"
The ending did feel a little rushed, but it was a great ride and was even better for the live-watch with fellow Beanies with all the awww and Noooo and squeals.
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11 MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:01 PM
Thank you so much for all your great recaps, LollyPip!
I completely agree that So Bong was done wrong. They put her abilities on the mantelpiece, and the only person we saw her kick in the face was Reporter Jo? Come on now! I understand our Shinnamony Happy People was an indestructible robot, but when she went away with Human NS, I was like 'Aha! This is it! She'll get to kick an evil minion in the face!' Not that I longed for her to defend NS--she was already being unbelievably kind in helping to rescue him, considering he strangled her twice. I just wanted her to have some guarding of a body to do! Any body! The chance was right there, and we definitely didn't need to see Nam Shin III trying to intimidate Seo, which didn't even work as Seo was back up and murdering two seconds later. I was praying for some stuff for So Bong. But… disappointingly, no.
There was a lot of plot stuff that needed extreme smoothing. I can see why public opinion would turn against Nam Shin III fast, but people aren't 100% in for anonymous mystery accusers, either. And nobody thought about the fact NS III can reproduce his memories on TV for the world to see, even if only to dismiss that with 'people would say he could doctor them'? Why was Seo's minion not in jail too? Young Hoon publicly betrayed NS, shocking Seo, but somehow Seo still knew that YH loved NS enough to trade everything for his life? An actual plan to plausibly pass off NS as NS III would've been nice--NS III trying to head goons off to give NS and SB a chance to reach a getaway car, for instance, rather than the pointless-intimidation, clearly bloodied NS, and no SB-fighting that we got. I see the shape of what they were going for, and they could've made it all work, but as it was… not really.
I see why Ro Ra going down showed Nam Shin how awfully wrong he'd been, as Nam Shin from the start was living his lie of a life in order to protect his mother. Unwittingly, he caused her death. I can see why his worst nightmare would be a huge wake-up call for him about how he was going down entirely the wrong path, and it did good character work for both her sons--we saw the different way they both mourned, in which Nam Shin could cry but couldn't do it with someone else, and Nam Shin III couldn't cry but had So Bong's supportive love. And we see Nam Shin III wishing he could cry, when he started off the show wishing he could smile: rounding off the show's depiction of his longing for a human experience. Speaking for her character alone, though, I was still sad she went.
I was also sad for Ye Na never leaving her mom's house! There's filial stuff involved there that I'm clearly not fully understanding, but anyone can see she did a hard thing--and she also did a smart thing, slyly leaving her phone there, at a time when the characters (much though I loved them) were not doing a lot of smart things.
However, I was glad Ye Na was given that business, rare for a second lead lady to...
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:02 PM
… to do smart and heroic stuff! And I was glad she went to her mom's, which seemed the best place for her--a fresh start with a definitely-better-parent. Hope you find people who really love you in Boston, girl, and I hope NS as well as YH thanked you. Another grace note I was really thankful for was that Ro Ra got the final voiceover: it eased the sting of her death a little that she wasn't entirely silenced, that the creator of both Nam Shins got the last word.
Indeed, though I've complained at length, the grace of Are You Human Too endeared it to me thoroughly. At different stages of the show, I was ready to write off David and Ye Na, and I would've been wrong: David truly loved Nam Shin III and Ye Na truly loved Nam Shin. The show wasn't afraid for people to be really flawed and care for them anyway. I know various people felt variously ready to write off Nam Shin, Nam Shin III, and Ro Ra as well. But no--we were asked to accept they were all human.
We were, I think, often shown the essence of who people truly were, and who they really wanted to be, and how they might have strayed away from that, and betrayed their true essence--but ultimately didn't. Often Nam Shin III was the one who saw someone's true essence and helped them embrace it--which is the best way to have a true and deep connection. So Bong at her core was someone who shepherded people out of a fire very early on, but by the end she didn't think that was a stupid thing to do, or that the world was cruel and nobody in it would help her: she learned to be who she really was, was in for saving even someone who'd been awful to her and to be happy being herself. Young Hoon from the start was someone faithful and true, but he doubted whether he really was loyal, whether he really did care. Nam Shin III was there to tell him he did. So Bong and Young Hoon proved their loving hearts through a barrage of tests: unlike Seo and Grandpa, they didn't trade in their souls to get what they wanted, and so they deserved to get what they wanted. Even Nam Shin, who did many awful things, started out trying to save a loved one, and ended up helping to save Nam Shin III. There's symmetry in that, even while he stayed a jerk (pretending to be NS III one last time, oh Sinnamon, why are you so uncool). And once again, connections between people saved those people.
One small note I liked was that Seo called Nam Shin with his false accusation, obviously trying to stir up trouble and turn Shin against Shinnamon, which might have worked--except Young Hoon came to Shin to tell him, and Shin didn't wait to hear Seo answer the question he'd asked him. Shin turned to Young Hoon instead, even before he knew Ro Ra was dead, and even though he figured Young Hoon had turned against him. Seo and Grandpa were the only ones who didn't know a company was less important than people's lives: that hearts were worth more than a chair.
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:04 PM
… the show it was without several A-plus performances by Seo Kang Joon. I thought most of the actors brought their A game, but he brought it like four times. I was so impressed, not only by the different portrayals of mourning this episode, but by the beginning, in Ro Ra's vision: so often the Shins displayed diametrically different emotions, but in that scene they were both showing the same emotion--smiling with happiness. But despite the same emotion on the same face, they were such different people they still looked entirely different. (I felt I knew, in my soul, from the smiles alone that Nam Shin was cheating at that game they were playing, and Nam Shin III was still going to win, and felt enormous affection for them both.) SKJ hit the kill switch with his performance every episode. 'Goodbye, my sons' said Ro Ra, and I felt that.
I spent most of the show in a state of extreme anxiety about the characters' fates and the last episode was no exception. Shinnamon Tres Leches Cake being backlit to haunting music, with A Cross behind him (subtle this show was not) put the fear of narrative in me. Had Shinnamon Rim Pumpkin Beer been finally disposed of, I would have felt that was the show saying--he was a good machine, but that's all he was: he was there to facilitate human growth, and not a person in his own right. That would have been a narrative betrayal, after we saw him longing for his mother and So Bong, learning and changing, wishing to smile and cry, after we were encouraged to smile and cry with him. It would have felt like a betrayal of the other characters too--So Bong and how deeply she came to love him, Young Hoon and the independent friendship between them, and Nam Shin--who came later to the game, and had (understandably) the most drastic response of 'this isn't human and doesn't count as real' of all. Nam Shin wasn't just shown grace by Nam Shin III's willingness to sacrifice himself for him, as Ro Ra was by seeing Nam Shin III's willingness to sacrifice himself for humanity. Nam Shin had to see Nam Shin III as a valid person, in order to tell Nam Shin III not to blame himself (and thus not only admit Nam Shin's responsibility for his own actions--though ultimately Seo was the one at fault in Ro Ra's murder--but admit Nam Shin III had feelings and might blame himself). Nam Shin would've given himself up for Nam Shin III (if not for NS III's clear wish otherwise) and did--together with Nam Shin III's friend and father figure--search for him and save him. Nam Shin finally showing empathy and respect for Nam Shin III's personhood was saving Nam Shin, too: reciprocity is what works. Nam Shin III reached out for connections, and people reached back. They all had to learn to come close to each other.
I was so glad that Nam Shin III and So Bong got their romantic happy ending, that he was a robot and remained a robot and yet he got to have wishes and have those wishes be granted. I loved that we didn't lose sight...
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:07 PM
… of his struggles--that we saw him deal with trauma as well as negotiate romance, that his sacrifice really was a sacrifice. He clearly wanted to be with So Bong, as he clearly wanted to join the warmth of last episode's birthday celebrations--as he once looked at and longed for the warmth of Ro Ra embracing Original Sin in the pool. Except the party was warmth meant for him, the individual Nam Shin III--he'd earned love for himself, and yet he still made the sacrifice, falling in the water with the light in his eyes, as he fell into the pool and had So Bong try to save him, forming their initial mutual connection. Nam Shin III took off his battery watch to save Nam Shin, and in turn saved himself--because he turned off himself off, he wasn't irretrievably destroyed by the kill switch, and thus was able to be brought back from the water into the warmth. I never really had any quibbles about the romance, as I've been in for vampires and aliens before: I think David could certainly cosmetically change Nam Shin III to age if he wanted, that a guy literally made in a human guy's image is much less likely to have untraditional junk than an alien, and that anyway there are a million couples in the real world who can't have biological children or have untraditional sex lives and whose love is amazing and to be celebrated anyway. The show asked us to love characters with many flaws and strangenesses, including a kind, happy robot. The show asked you to believe a person could create a machine able to be a person, too, and then showed us a story of many people, learning how to be the people they wanted to be--Nam Shin III among them. Yes, it was an untraditional love story, but I loved how it embraced that, and asked viewers to embrace it too, with the empathy the story prized in its characters.
It was a show that didn't get everything right, but it had a lot of heart. The hearts symbol of the necklaces was really justified. We saw Young Hoon get to be chairman, and knew he truly deserved it both because he wanted it and he'd rejected it twice for Shin's sake, and we saw Shin be free of his painful legacy. We saw So Bong, someone who struggled with faith in others, able to hold someone and cry for them and believe in them. The show believed she wanted what she said she wanted, and had the other characters believe that too: they recognised her love as valid, and they brought her love back to her. After all the struggles of the show, we saw David perform a great scientific feat (saving Nam Shin III and giving him the ability to cry), Young Hoon as chairman, Shin able to enjoy the once-poisoned chalice of his grandfather's privilege, and So Bong and Shinnamon kissing by the water's edge outlined against the light. Ro Ra's dream came true: her sons were together and smiling. Nam Shin III was wearing So Bong's necklace, and she his, and also possibly Nam Shin III was wearing one of Young Hoon's cardigans that he wore when he was able to...
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:08 PM
relax and be himself with Nam Shin III. They were all safe and on a beach in the sunshine! It was a happier and kinder ending than I thought we were getting, as Shinnamon Dream was kinder than people expected, and I'm grateful for it.
I joined the community because I cared about this show and wanted to talk about it, and everyone has been most sweet in putting up with my long comments for it. In the end, it's all about caring. Are You Human Too kept asking for, and giving, empathy and understanding and kindness. I love this flawed show for that grace.
Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 4:10 PM
Thank you for your comments, MaryBee! It has been such a pleasure reading them.
DoubleFault
August 11, 2018 at 1:09 AM
I agree with everything, @marybee. SKJ really carried this drama for me. I fell in love with him as RoboShin and detested him as HumanShin. While the drama was well-acted all through out, the real beating heart was SKJ, who delivered one heck of a performance. It's my first time watching him in a drama and I'm very much impressed. There are actors who are technically great but can't get into your feelings. (Sorry for the Drake reference!) Then there are those like SKJ who can make you care and relate so much for their characters, that you cry, laugh, and get your hearts broken along with them.
GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 10:33 PM
I will miss reading your comments! I love how you point out each characters in a non biased way! And you cleared up some things that messed up my mind ^-^ you really are a wonderful reviewer !
Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 4:08 PM
"I truly agree that the show wouldn't have been the show it was without several A-plus performances by Seo Kang Joon. I thought most of the actors brought their A game, but he brought it like four times. I was so impressed..."
I agree! I am probably going to get roasted for this, but SKJ was an excellent choice for this role not only because he knocked it out of the park as an actor playing this dual role, but because (here I duck and cover) I have always found his looks - specifically his face - disturbing in an Uncanny Valley way. (I realize I may be the only person on earth who thinks that.)
In fact, the first time I ever noticed him was on Roommates, and I was so turned off by his expression (which seemed as bland and placid a mask as NSIII's, and maybe a touch self-satisfied) that I just could not understand how everyone went on about how handsome he was.
So I avoided watching him in any dramas. I only ended up watching this one because of the enthusiasm of Beanies, and because I am a sci fi fan. In this one, not only was I very pleasantly surprised to see him turn in a fine acting performance, I was pleased to see his android-like looks fit the character of NSIII well, and I was *delighted* to see all the very human expressions that animated his Human Nam Shin face. So good job, SKJ! *applauds enthusiastically* Hope to see you grow even more as an actor in the future!
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 4:05 PM
"Another grace note I was really thankful for was that Ro Ra got the final voiceover: it eased the sting of her death a little that she wasn't entirely silenced, that the creator of both Nam Shins got the last word."
Yes, absolutely this! I was so pleased by that choice. :)
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 4:21 PM
Thanks for all your sweetness. ;) And I agree, Human Nam Shin was super animated, in a heart-winning and clearly conscious acting choice, like the Ro Ra voiceover story choice.
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12 korfan
August 10, 2018 at 12:02 PM
Even though the show had us occasionally grumbling about some of its issues, I have to say I enjoyed it anyway! Going into this show, I have to confess I didn't expect it would be this engaging, but what do you know! It was!
Credit is certainly due to Seo Kang-joon for his portrayal. I could certainly tell when he was our beloved robot and when he was the human. I also have to add that I absolutely liked actor Lee Jun-hyuk in his role of Young-hoon as well. I wish his "complicated feelings" had been explored a little more, but I understand that would probably turn this into a whole other drama. Heh!
Finally, thanks to LollyPip for all the great recaps!
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namedx
August 10, 2018 at 5:15 PM
Dr Ye will forever be ❤️
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13 fira
August 10, 2018 at 12:17 PM
The ending is a bit rush-Couldnt agree more!! Buat anw have you seen that the company of this drama has opened a preorder of CD-like (if im not wrong) which contains the BTS clip and I think the cut scenes too (if you ever watched the bts of this drama, you would realize there are a lot of cut scenes). So maybe there's another truth there, the answers of all our questions
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:17 PM
hope so!
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14 YYAA
August 10, 2018 at 12:33 PM
Pre-Order Is Ongoing For "Are You Human?" Special Making DVD (Consist Of 3 Discs). 500 Set Of Pre-Order Payment Until August 20 Must Be Made For Successful Fabrication
If Pre-Order quantity is small, production can be cancelled. We would appreciate it very much if you could share and participate!
International fans can order via Innolifeshop. Follow the link to order: shop3.innolifeshop.com/product/dvddr1120-kbs2are-you-human-special-making-dvdepre-order/281283/?cate_no=88&display_group=2#prdQnA
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:22 PM
Will we get a refund if there is cancellation? I hope that there isn't!
Plus what does this mean?
"Production schedule：2018.12.30～2019.01.30"
Does that mean, they'll be making the DVD in that time? When does it ship out?
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YYAA
August 11, 2018 at 4:38 AM
Yes, you won't be charged if it gets canceled.
yes, that's when the DVD will be made. There isn't much information online but it should ship out soon after.
I found some pictures here: https://twitter.com/kangjoonupdate/status/1028128119448727552
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15 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
August 10, 2018 at 12:41 PM
(flame suit on) The plot of this show was just a slapdash mix of unrealistic things shoved in for dramatic purposes, starting with the tiny little wristwatch batteries so people could turn him off and later try to see if he was the robot by looking at his wrist. Then on to the kill switch which (IMHO) didn't even need to exist, but which couldn't be stopped, then could be stopped, then could only be delayed (with TWO convenient/dramatic timers) then turned out to not permanently kill him anyway.
I can't remember any kdrama where so many plot points bothered me so much, although that might be just selective amnesia :)
Seems like most Beanies loved the chemistry and the male lead's subtle smile, but I'm not the type to squee over those. (OK, not the type to squee over much of anything). All in all, not even close to the level of I'm Not a Robot.
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MaryBee
August 10, 2018 at 12:50 PM
The plot was indeed flawed, but they did make clear that the kill switch wouldn't explode him if he wasn't wearing his battery (because then he'd be turned off) so the kill switch didn't get a chance to permanently kill him.
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TJ
August 10, 2018 at 1:46 PM
I agree plus it was poorly acted and directed.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 4:04 PM
Ah, yes, the kill switch we heard so much about and that was the single driving plot point of the final two episodes? Yeah, that? That doesn't matter. Ignore that. Never mind it negates half the drama. Happy ending!
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 4:14 PM
This is funny to me because I vastly preferred Are You Human Too (flaws and all) to I'm Not a Robot! And I thought both were unrealistic, but fun watches.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:32 PM
Agreed. I, too, prefer AYHT to I'm Not a Robot. This theme of being human was what I wanted to see in I'm Not a Robot, but sadly that did not get explore in depth and at length. Whereas I feel like AYHT explored that aspect better. Plus Yoo Seung Hoo's acting felt overly exaggerated and superficial at times in I'm Not a Robot. Chae Soo Bin was great tho and I think I continued watching it because of her acting. To me, I'm Not a Robot ended being a fun and cute series that I enjoyed. However, I enjoyed AYHT so much more because I think the series filled in areas where I thought I'm Not a Robot lacked. Again, this is just my opinion...
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namedx
August 10, 2018 at 5:33 PM
Thematically, I much prefer AYHT, too - but the writing was still a hot mess in places. It’s the acting which saved it for me to be honest. Having said that, the plot did have a lot of potential, but was let down by many loopholes and coincidental occurances. By the end, it seemed many of the characters served very little purpose except to react to the main villain, and by the time they dealt with him, it was too late for characters to continue with their meaningful trajectory. The final minutes with a “1 year later” (a cliche I hate with a vengeance) caption was nowhere near enough to prove to me that Shin had changed for the better. His resentment towards his Mum lasted till the very end, so even his tears, though well acted, didn’t allow me to sympathise with his character. Lol that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the show, I absolutely did, flaws and all, but the fact that it could have been so much better will always niggle always at me.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 6:20 PM
"It’s the acting which saved it for me to be honest."
That's actually my main reason for watching kdramas now. I have found that faulty writing and plotholes happen across all culture in their media and the only way to avoid that is to watch the actors act. lol
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Regina
August 10, 2018 at 8:06 PM
Me too. The 10 million bucks did help. Production quality was top notch from start to end. Chemistry between leads are a funny thing. I loved YSH in Ruler and it was through that drama that I became a fan. Enjoyed Chae Soo Bin so much in Strongest Delivery Man that I was very excited about the pairing. But I dropped INAR by the 4th episode (8 in halves), the chemistry just didn't work for me. For AYHT, I wanted to catch it for SKJ cos I had my eye on him since Suspicious Housekeeper but for GSY - I'm 50/50 on her as her dramas previously were ok but not impressive. The first few eps of her characterization almost made me drop the drama. I'm like she's so damn irritating. As the story progressed, I liked her more and more -She kinda lights up the screen every time she smiles. I knew their love story (though often distracted by other plots going around) has made an indelible mark when I bawled so hard at the scene that she was completely devastated when NS3 was shot and fell into the water. So glad they got their happy ending. As military life looms for 92-93 liners - here's hoping Seo Kang Joon will continue to put out great production beforehand and hopefully reunite with GSY at some point in the future again in another drama (likewise Kim So Hyun).
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 10:27 PM
I prefer are you human too as well. I tried watching I am not a robot but it did not work for me.
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RLD
August 11, 2018 at 2:51 PM
Why did you watch it? I'M NOT A ROBOT was very good too. It twern't perfect either. I don't think they are "apples and apples" just because they each had a robot as a main character. Actually, the robot in INAR didn't do anything, it was a human acting as a robot, AYH2 was about an actual robot interacting w/humans.
It's OK you didn't like this show, but, the comparison isn't a good one.
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16 Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
August 10, 2018 at 12:50 PM
Remember, the important part of NS3 was in the server room, not the body.
So:
1: Ro-ra didn't need to sacrifice herself to save the body. She could have just rebuilt it later.
2: They didn't really need to fish NS3's "corpse" out of the ocean. Just grab any object that can be outfitted with sensors, a voice synthesizer, and a really good data-comm link to those servers. Like a Roomba. Or Maibo. I vote Maibo.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 4:05 PM
The point of the kill switch was that it killed those servers. Otherwise it wouldn't be a 'kill switch'. NSIII wasn't just an avatar for Shin, he was an avatar for himself. That's why the tacked-on ending was so completely dumb.
The servers went dark. NSIII was dead. If he wasn't, then half the show's conflict was utterly pointless.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 4:16 PM
Why do you think NSIII comes back lacking the powers he had before? Is it because David is nowhere near as good a robotics scientist as Ro Ra was? Or just to make NSIII more "human"?
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 4:23 PM
I really don't have any further opinions on what was a nonsensical happy ending slapped on in defiance of everything that had happened before it.
I think it's because the writers, in their better moments, were trying to explore where the line between humanity and an AI ended. But since they completely dropped the ball on that, I don't know.
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Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
August 10, 2018 at 5:22 PM
I *think* it was mostly to make him more human. I *guess* that the missing powers were things like the medical sensors in his hands. I really, really hope they didn't make him "more human" by making him less smart.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 8:16 PM
I definitely got a Pinocchio vibe from this: NSIII came back as a "real boy," capable of shedding a tear and all. That puts it squarely in the realm of fantasy for me. (Because why would David programmed him with that ability?)
How would he be made less smart? A smaller room with less memory and processing speed to house his "brain"?
JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:41 PM
To me, I thought it was a bit of both.
David has always referred to NS3 as his son and I think it was David's dream to see his robot son appear as close to human as he can possibly be in all aspect. So I believed he gave him more human qualities which took awhile for David to figure out.
I also saw that David wasn't as good as Ro Ra because it took David a year to repair and "upgrade" him, whereas Ro Ra has repaired him within a day. Plus when she learned NS had the kill switch, she started coding to stop it and completed like 75% of it within a couple of hours. I believe if she was alive and NS3 had fallen into the water, she would've had him up in running within a couple of months. I don't think her upgrades would've taken long either.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 8:18 PM
"I think it was David's dream to see his robot son appear as close to human as he can possibly be in all aspect." Hmm, that's pretty cool. I missed all that, I think, except the part where David encourage him to go check out the market on his own.
JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 8:32 PM
@jamieopso
Rewatching helps. lol
Highly recommend with this series...I noticed things are never quite as they appear the first time...
purebristles
August 10, 2018 at 11:43 PM
On why David couldn't fix NSIII as fast: As a computer programmer, I can speak from experience that it is very hard to work on someone else's code, esp if it's as complex as AI. It's like someone giving you a half-finished novel from Isaac Asimov, and saying, "please rewrite and finish it like the earlier manuscript you read; we accidentally lost the rest of the pages." You have to actually start thinking logically like the person, and coding the logic like the person. And this is hard stuff even if you are of the same skill! So if David was not up to Ro-ra's standard, it would take really, really long to put it together, AND would take a lot of grit, and trust me, you'll want to give up.
On why NSIII had lost his abilities: If I had to rebuild him for someone like So Bong, I would take away unnecessary dependencies - (1) remove reliance on huge server room and have him rely on ONLY his computing power, (2) remove any extra/unnecessary use of power e.g. super strength, except perhaps in an emergency. And I assume that So Bong had cried with David as they mourned NSIII together, sharing that he wanted to cry like humans, so (3) add tear ducts.
I love this show; wish they had done 1 or 2 more episodes to properly round everything up; it's not like it wasn't pre-produced!
Jamie Opso
August 11, 2018 at 5:21 AM
@purebristles: "As a computer programmer, I can speak from experience that it is very hard to work on someone else's code, esp if it's as complex as AI."
Oh, that makes sense. Thanks for this insight from a computer programmer!
And I really like your reasons why NSIII might have been rebuilt with fewer powers, too. They have a logic I can follow. :)
Lord Cobol (Kdramas, like water, flow downhill)
August 10, 2018 at 5:38 PM
I think the servers were only powered down, not destroyed. (Perhaps they just went into sleep mode when they had no body to talk to). It's practially a drama law (not just in kdramas) that when big computers are destroyed there are lots of sparks and explosions.
They talked about finding NS3, not about fixing servers (at least in subs for the version I watched).
If the kill switch was killing the servers, why would putting a chip in NS3's neck stop it? Any why was Ro-ra not in the server room doing something clever there? (Just kidding, that wouldn't have been dramatic enough for a drama).
Servers should have had backups so destroying them would just mean buying new servers and reloading the programs.
Ro-ra didn't even know where the servers were till half-way thru the show, so she couldn't have done anything directly to the server hardware back when the kill-switch was set up.
Yes, I'm thinking too much. And the more I think the less sense it makes. And I thought it would have been really cool if So-bong's new soulmate was in Maibo's body and the scene of them near the end was the new OTP.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 5:49 PM
I agree in that I thought the server only powered down.
I had similar thoughts to you as well. I commented about it in previous recaps but I think those technical aspect of NS3 were never explored because robotics isn't necessarily the central theme of the show. I believe the things you pointed out would have undermine what writers were trying to convey instead.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 6:05 PM
Which is why I've moved on. Despite the moments where this drama unexpectedly surprised and intrigued me, it pretty much sucked. For me. But I know it didn't for others so I'm officially shutting up now.
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Wise Dude
August 10, 2018 at 8:10 PM
I don't think Ro ra or the Mom has access to those servers. When she invented the kill switch, she did not know of those servers. The scene with the servers did not make sense to me. It is like a plot hole.
I agree that she did not need to die. She died because things fell on her. The robot NamShin could survive those. He was very tough in the fire in the beginning and in the other episodes. So it makes no sense that he became fragile in the end.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 8:42 PM
Huh, that's right, NSIII would definitely have easily survived those barrels falling on him.
I guess that was just to show Ro Ra's protective maternal instinct kicking in?
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:21 PM
Yes, I took it as she finally acted like a mother towards Nam Shin 3, after spending nearly all the show pushing him away or trying to destroy him. She didn’ think about it. To me it was just a case of a mother going into Disaster Mode to protect her child.
PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 1:54 AM
@jamieopso,
Yes, I interpreted Ro-ra's getting herself killed by falling oil drums as her latent maternal instinct kicking in to save her titanium boy -- who would not have even been dented.
17 liar song #PuppyNotPuppyLeeJaeWookIsBack
August 10, 2018 at 1:39 PM
I imagined a much worse ending than this one, so I'm really glad that our Tin Can OTP and the Hyung BrOTP is alive and sailing.
My only complain is that show could've done much more with the final episode rather than make the villains do whatever they want for the first few mins, but I got the ending that I wanted for our main OTP and our BrOTP, so I guess I'm fine with that.
I did love how the show had strong female characters in So-bong, Ro-ra, and Ye-na, so it is kinda sad that they got kind of sidelined in the last few episodes.
I am now looking forward towards Seo Kang-joon, Gong Seung-yeon, and Lee Joon-hyuk's future projects! They proved their acting skills can do so much more in this drama so I am really excited to see what we're going to get to watch with these people headlining! These three had my heart.
Thank you for the episodic plot twists, the message that you don't need to be literally a human to act like one, the strong bromance, and the fluff from the Tin Can Couple, AYHT! I am going to miss this one-of-a-kind show!
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18 apples
August 10, 2018 at 1:42 PM
Why isn't Toady in jail with Jong Gil?? I wished we saw more of Grandpa in the last episode and maybe a redemption from him. After all he was the one that caused Shin to act out the way he did.
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Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 8:47 PM
"Why isn't Toady in jail with Jong Gil??" I wondered that, too! He aided and abetted Seo Jong Il. He was a co-conspirator in serious crimes. He supervised the kidnapping and beating of NS. Human Nam Shin was a witness (victim) to that, so he surely could have testified against him?
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:25 PM
And Toady is still working at the company it seems. *facepalm*
Young Hoon, can I give you some advice?
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19 nerdy
August 10, 2018 at 1:42 PM
The ending was okay...I guess.
The only ending that seemed absolutely logical and in no way rushed was Young Hoon's. Honestly speaking, he was the only one who had some healthy interest in company and actually had the needed skills.
I think main reason why I had a problem with this ending is because it seemed like it was the story of Nam Shin and So Bong's loveline and I never considered it as that. It would have been a lot better if there was a final scene similiar to the one in Ro ra's dream, two Shin's bonding over the mother they both lost or at least having some communication.
I am also a bit mad that we spent good 10 minutes on the conversation in church. I wanted to scream at So-Bong, she obviously could not stop Roboshin from going, so why make him spend that much time on useless conversation? If she used a bit of brains there would have been less drama at the end.
I would have also appreciated it if we got a bit information about why Ye Na liked OriShin that much, what actually he thought of her and wtf is with this ending? As it was noted above, she did more good than So Bong so why did she became a doormat? I feel terrible for her.
There was no Grandpa in the end and I don't mind, the only saving grace of him was that he was old and ill, I didn't want him to be forgiven because of that, he made Jong Gil into a monster, sacrificed his son and was trying to do the same thing about his grandson. If he dies alone I would call it karma
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riari
August 10, 2018 at 4:32 PM
yea wtf was with ye na's love for shin? i feel like there's some special reasons behind why her love grew into something so obsessive that she was willing to marry someone who she knew might never love her just so he could be hers. i criticized ye na a lot in the beginning, but i was hoping we would get some context to help explain her behavior. kind of annoyed they didn't delve into her character, but i guess i shouldn't expect second female leads to get that much attention.
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PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 2:08 AM
Ye-na creeped me out with her stalkerish attempt to get married to human Shin while he was comatose. (Or was he?) I never understood her, and can only surmise that growing up with a psycho for a father did a number on her. Perhaps her mom had been a positive influence on her -- but we'll never know. Ye-na basically ended up as a plot device masquerading as a bratty chaebol girlfriend. To her credit, she did the right thing by ratting out her father.
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:33 PM
So-Bong wasting time at the church reminded me of the annoying So-Bong from the first episodes LOL. I wished, after all that, that she would beat up at least one thug, but nope. She just watched while NS3 did all the fighting. (On usual days I am a peace-loving person, but if the character is a fighter with a temper, make her fight, humbug).
Ye-Na is an interesting character because she had nursed a crush for a long time and seemed to be blind or ignorant of his ugly side, but her eyes were slowly opened and in the end she did the right thing, leaving the abusive and reluctant fiancé as well as her murderous father. There is courage in retreating. I wish she had apologised to So Bong and NM3 for her crass comments, but “people won’t ever be perfect” may be another message of this drama.
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nerdy
August 11, 2018 at 12:02 AM
I still have no idea how So Bong became a bodyguard. Did she actually use her skills in this drama? Hitting OriShin once when he wasn't even expecting it, doesn't require any boxing skills.
It would have been a lot better if she was Shin's driver or something like that. At least then, we wouldn't have any hope that she would be useful
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DoubleFault
August 11, 2018 at 1:16 AM
It's my main gripe with the show. That we never got to see Sobong use her MMA skills as RoboShin/HumanShin's bodyguard. I even remember reading an interview of GSY's stating that she trained hard for her role as a guard who used to be a fighter. Too bad we didn't see a lot of action scenes with GSY in it.
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Jamie Opso
August 11, 2018 at 5:28 AM
In the end Ye Na left "the abusive and reluctant fiancé as well as her murderous father.“ This hadn't occurred to me, amidst everything else going on, but you're right, that is a positive step for her!
"...people won’t ever be perfect” may be another message of this drama." Amen to that bit of realism! Better than the inexplicable personality transplants we sometimes get in shows.
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PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 2:04 AM
Re: the time-wasting argument at the church just about drove me around the bend, too. It was so obvious that So-bong should just go with him, and stay out of the way and avoid being taken hostage by the inevitable baddies. By that point, I'd forgotten that she had started out as a badass bodyguard because she'd been reduced to a doormat by that point. Talk about clipping a character's wings. Sheesh. I realize that NS3 wanted to leave her behind to keep her safe. I do not believe he has a Noble Idiot subroutine...
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20 TJ
August 10, 2018 at 1:44 PM
This drama was so lackluster, and Seo Kang joon has improved a bit but he's far from a good or even charismatic actor. I was about to stop watching when I saw a video that claimed this drama one of the most expensively produced dramas ever. I was watching to figure out where. Oh well, I will have forgotten this one pretty soon.
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CHARLIE
August 10, 2018 at 3:22 PM
SKJ better have gotten a large chunk of that extra large budget (about $9mil, I think). After all he did have to play 5 freaking characters (chronologically): 1) analog Shin, 2) digital Shin, 3) d-Shin pretending to be a-Shin, 4) a-Shin pretending to be d-Shin and 5) d-Shin in manual mode. It's not only that I could visually tell all these apart, but sometimes I could distinguish a- from d- by voice alone. In my books that's pretty good acting. Charisma is a personal thing - so more than happy to give you that one.
But I am generally puzzled about thing: if a drama is such a bad experience for you, why stick with it to the end and bother to write comments about it? Wouldn't be more efficient and happiness enhancing to just drop it?
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riari
August 11, 2018 at 9:36 PM
there's a shockingly large amount of people who "hate-watch" dramas to the end. i don't really get it myself since i think most people would just drop the drama if it gets annoying/uninteresting, but they exist and are often very vocal.
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Keller
August 10, 2018 at 5:44 PM
Are you even watching the drama? I find your comments really belittling and a very strong slant towards hating SKJ. "I was about to stop watching ..... figure out where". So performances were horrid to you from day 1 but you stayed 18 eps burnt 18 hours of your life to satisfy your curiosity to 10 millions bucks and where the money went, post on this topic more than once to continue your salty assessment of it? You surely lost the average reader if your comments here. Very dodgy intentions imo. If i have to make an assumption I would think you are either a fan of INAR who is just salty that the two shows are compared due to similar nature and this one got SKJ a lot more fans than before. Or a closet CITT/PHJ fan who hated intensely on him and now trying to assassinate the good will he got from this show. I with the majority and the recapper stand on the same line. He did phenomenally well. Btw - here in Korea, hes got a lot of glowing reviews from fans and critics alike for his acting. No stopping him now. Once he gets a powerful agency after fantagio, the boy is unstoppable. Third Charm coming up... cant waut!
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 10:13 PM
I want to hug you for saying what is on my mind. I am glad that kangjoon is having a lot of fans from korea ^-^ this is the first time I've seen him act since I am a gong seung yeon fan but hey he is good. He is actually good for his age , considering a 24 year old turning 25 in October could act that well? Can anyone else do it better than him? Those casting team would not have chosen him if he won't improve or any good in their eyes.
Lastly I don't mean to be mean but why would people watch a kdrama they hate? Drop it if they hate it so much lol
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:)
August 7, 2022 at 10:54 AM
Filming took place from June-November 2017. His birthdate is October 12 1993.
So he was 23- 24 when he played this role.
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H.Jae
September 8, 2018 at 5:29 AM
He did superb in acting both Shins. His eyes damn so expressing that you can tell who is human Shin and NS3. I watched a lot of movies and dramas with dual/multiple personalities, doppelganger, clones or even twins and none of them has ski's amazing eyes. No need on facial reaction, just his eyes beatwheat them all.
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21 missy
August 10, 2018 at 2:14 PM
Kang so bong's character very easily surpasses all the female romanctic leads i've seen in 2018. She is very modern and she's exactly what we need in this day and age. She showed that sometimes love isn't just superficial or even "natural". Some people have said that they could never fall in love with a robot. While waiting for the final episodes, I watched a lot of the previous episodes and I saw why it was possible for so bong to love Nam Shin 3. There is something almost exquisite and intangible about their love story. It is so precious and beautiful to watch. Now I'm not proposing that we all fall in love with robots. BUT sometimes, love comes in different shape, form, and size. Different beings too. And there was nothing impossible about this one. I usually watch korean dramas in the summer mostly. Last year, I was swept off my feet by Ji Chang Wook and Suspicious partner. This year, I had AYHT. I'm thankful to the cast for creating such a masterpiece. No korean drama has made me feel this way or think so much in a long time. I'm also glad this show was a hit internationally. The director, cast, and crew deserve all the praise they've received.
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JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 6:33 PM
YES!!!
I am so glad that another person saw what I saw! I'm also glad you commented to share your positive experience. Lets just share the love :)
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DoubleFault
August 11, 2018 at 1:34 AM
Unlike some, I actually liked Sobong from the get go. I like that she's not your usual k-drama female lead. I like that she's all bluster at first, that she wasn't really a goody two shoes in the beginning and even betrayed others for money, has trouble putting her faith in people, and "escaped" when things get difficult. That's why it's great to see her character grow as the episodes went on. That underneath all that seeming toughness was a kind-hearted, sincere and generous gal who had a lot of love to give. I think GSY was spot on in her portrayal as Sobong and was one of the reasons why I cared so much for the character. Speaking of GSY, I do wish for more projects for her in the future. That face should continuosly be on screen and magazine covers.
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 10:04 PM
Before I learn about Are you human too. I was watching hwayugi (it is good but the ending.... was... well, I need a season 2)
Then I watched my only love song in Netflix and loved Gong seung yeon then I finally saw this wonderful masterpiece.
She really is one of those actresses that is so dedicated to her character that I am convinced that she acted that way in real life. She is so good in portraying sobong that many hated her then eventually loved her.
Her character is indeed what we all need and how some of us would act in real life if we happen to experience the same thing. Sobong is so realistic that made me love her so much. She is my no 1 favourite heroine in all kdrama land
I hope she would be casted in something about us with kangjoon (because of AYHT I became an instant fan of him) they match so well! I am hoping for more projects from seung yeon. She is so underrated
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22 bmore
August 10, 2018 at 2:24 PM
As a sci-fi fan, the ending was disappointing, but as a kdrama fan, sorta have to grit my teeth and say...what else should I have expected. Frankly, I would love to have seen III disappear at the end, into the water. THEN I would love to have seen a sequel set several years down the road where he shows up again and is even more AI centric than he is now. All Machine, his humanity buried. Where has he been? That would be the fun part. Getting him to remember his "humanity", even more fun. And...say it's been 10 years. Now they can make anatomically correct robots, so he's due for an upgrade! (yeah...I can see THAT being in a kdrama!) A step too far. But maybe SoBong and NamShin are together...or still butting heads? Anyway. It didn't lesson my enjoyment of 90% of the drama. I watched every episode, but the last 2, twice. And I hope some of the netizen hate for Seo Kang-Joon will settle down. I want to see him in another role where he gets in touch with his darker side....but of course come back to the light in the end! ;) Hopefully on cable.
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LT is Irresistibly Indifferent and reminded of the slow march of death
August 10, 2018 at 4:06 PM
This kdrama was so disappointing precisely because it was too busy trying to be a kdrama.
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23 CHARLIE
August 10, 2018 at 2:58 PM
Thanks for the recaps @lollypip!
I am kind of talked out by this point, so I'll keep it short:
- Was it perfect? No
- Can I think of ways I would make it better? Lots
- Did it keep me entertained? Yes
- Did it make me think about interesting stuff? Absolutely
- Overall, was it a good use of my time? I think so.
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:36 PM
-Will I recommend it to friends and family? Yes, already have!
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DoubleFault
August 11, 2018 at 1:37 AM
It's my first time watching SKJ and GSY in a drama and I think my life became better for it. 😅
I also liked seeing you again in the comments section. Always a pleasure reading your take on the drama.
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24 Kim
August 10, 2018 at 4:26 PM
What if the real twist was So Bong ending up with the human Nam Shin....
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:44 PM
I think the show teased us with that when Nam Shin asked Young-Hoon about her after the time skip... he hesitated and sounded more gentle than usual.
To be honest I would have liked that pairing IF Original Shin Gad shown some glimpses of character redemption earlier on. But the way he descended into murdering madness, no. Definitely no. He needed therapy and reconciling with RoRa, not romance. I would have flipped a kill switch if he ended up with So Bong after that time skip, where we saw very little of his improved character besides sporting a fluffy coat.
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WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 10:02 PM
(Thinking while typing disclaimer):
Actually, I would have been ok with NS3’s kill switch doing its job (or not, open ending?) ... and a year later Nam Shin shows up and properly apologises to So-Bong, and they part or walk off on friendly terms.
Yeah, I like my dramas to end dramatically and tragically...I’m ok with this happy ending now, but when I first watched it I felt like the writer had toyed with my crying abilities and made me cry over nothing. 😂
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25 missjb
August 10, 2018 at 5:40 PM
Seo Kang Joon acting might be not perfect. I think he is neglecting NS3 character once Human NS enter the frame. He is not fully commit like in the first half of drama. Understably, since Human NS need full attention to potray well. I think I will looking forward of him to act another similar character like NS with less villain act but more depth and dark. That angsty eyes really draw you in!
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26 Zanna
August 10, 2018 at 5:51 PM
The ending was lackluster. Eventho i love the otp, i’d prefer a sad ending for them. But overall i love the whole drama. And SKJ made me a fan. Looking forward for his upcoming dramas.
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27 JanJan
August 10, 2018 at 6:08 PM
Lollypip's comments were so spot on. I agreed with everything she said. Thank you for all your recaps and comments. I enjoyed reading them.
I want to add to the conversation in that, by the end of this series, we no longer see the robot NS3 but instead, we see the toy that he is/the purpose for his being and like Pinnochio, I saw that he becomes "real" at the end. That made me super happy. Lollypip is right in that even NS3 get his wishes granted. :)
I enjoyed and love this series for the reasons @marybee has mentioned in her comments. She explains brilliantly why I fell in love with series.
Therefore I enjoyed seeing the journey of all the characters and fell in love with so many of them because they were so complex and so complicated...so real. Not only that, I applaud the writers for toying not only with their own characters’ feelings and thoughts but with mine as well. In doing so, I feel like I was also a part of their journey towards self discovery, ownership and healing. This drama is definitely an amazing piece in that I think I will not forget it for years (unless a new drama takes its place lol).
I am happy with the ending and in my head, there is a happily ever after for everyone. Again, I thank everyone for the experience. :)
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 10:07 PM
I love how they mess up our minds and made us think over those cliff hangers! Ahhh i would miss these casts , crews, writers, director allllll people who are part of Are you human too team! This is indeed a worthy watch and would never wasted our time. From ep 1 to 36! Was all worth it!
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28 Jamie Opso
August 10, 2018 at 8:55 PM
Random thoughts that occurred to me while watching the series, in no particular order:
1) Seo Jong Il was such a smarmy villain. In earlier episodes, Seo Jong Il reminded me of Pierce Brosnan. Later, his facial expressions reminded me more of Hugo Weaving playing Agent Smith in the Matrix movies.
2) Also, has no one noticed how awesome Oh Laura's houses are in both the Czech Republic and Seoul? She has seriously fantastical taste in real estate. (Also money. Lots and lots of money.) It is interesting that she chooses houses that are so quirky, and that look like they are partly organic, and maybe either growing out of nature or in the process of returning to nature. Boulders! Moss! Vines! Curves! Clay, rock, wood: all-natural building materials. No super-modern shiny-clean straight-edged dwellings for her. This aligns with her building androids rather than straight-up computers.
3) I don't think anyone has mentioned this until now: "Tin Can" NSIII is a callback to the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz. The Tin Man's quest was to earn a heart, but of course he had one all along in the most meaningful sense, as he was the most caring and empathetic character in the story/movie.
Likewise, NSIII was consistently the most kind character of Are You Human, Too. He was given a cherished heart necklace by So Bong, which represented that he won her heart (and he gave her one to match) - but he already had his own, "Tin Can" or not.
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JanJan
August 11, 2018 at 10:25 AM
1) Agree. I wanted to understand his character but just couldn't...
2) Yes I noticed that too! In fact, that was the first thing I noticed during the first watch. I didn't say anything because I assumed most people made that connection and thus didn't say anything. Glad you pointed it out!
3) Oh that's a very nice link! I did see the Tin Man but I didn't make the link to the heart because I ended up distracted by other elements in the story that I had forgotten about it. I'm glad you made the connection. It is a very good point!
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29 WishfulToki
August 10, 2018 at 9:14 PM
@namedx “One year later” was cruel. I was in the middle of wiping my hard-earned tears over Roboshin’s plunge into a watery “grave” (it felt stupid to cry over a robot being hit by bullets, so I like to think I cried because his time was running out...). But then my most hated cliche came up, followed by (a very free!) Toady visiting a sunny prison to chat with Jong Gil. I think my tears dried up immediately or turned into tears of confusion and Shin-like rage. I wanted to see Nam Shin accept Roboshin, not a time jump! Did I ask for two much?
Overall, It was a finale of what could have been. Like Ro-Ra, I was left mourning that we couldn’t see the two guys smiling together. I realised all too late that this was Robo Shin’s story from start to finish: to accept who he is (ie: a robot with “heart” ala Tin Man in Wizard of Oz). It wasn’t Original Shin’s story, who became a villain and his repentance was rushed. Young Hoon got better development and was the only character whose happy ending made ME happy... Oh well. I will be fuming for a while at the disservice to Original Shin - pardon my human bias! Great acting by SKJ, goes without saying.
Anyone care to hazard a guess about David’s last name? I would propose “Gepetto” 😄. Somehow he rebuilt a “dead” robot who had sacrificed himself to save others, and turned into as near a real boy as fantasy allows, with tears included. The Fellowship of the Robot has fulfilled its quest.
Thank you @lollypip for the recaps! I enjoyed the ride more than the ending, but that’s pretty standard for dramas. I never got bored, even if my head hurts from all the whiplash of those plot twists... I’m definitely human! 😂
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ahjummadd
August 10, 2018 at 9:42 PM
I agree with your comment about disservice to original Shin. I too am biased towards the human Shin. I thought I was the only one who thought that way. SKJ was just simply awesome.
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missjb
August 10, 2018 at 9:54 PM
Well, a great writers love all her/his character. There is no definite hero or the villain tag and biased towards others.
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JanJan
August 11, 2018 at 10:50 AM
Well in some ways, I kind of saw it as both NS and NS3's story. It just depends on the perspective you take - just like what the director has been doing from the start by shifting the perspective of the characters. It's all a matter of perspective.
If I look at it from NS's perspective, it is his story. It starts with us seeing him at his mother's lecture. Then we see him with mom and then he gets separated. Then he searches her out only to end up in a coma. We then see a robot pretending to be him. "Shin" as portrayed by NS3 is still Shin. YH even gets confused at times. When NS3 is pretending to be "Shin", that is still Shin because the people around him respond to him as if he is Shin. Thus we still see Shin but thru the eyes of others. It's not on the surface level, but underneath it, Shin exists in the minds of others. Then when NS3 starts to disassociate himself with the Shin persona, real Shin wakes up. Then he takes center stage where, we as the viewer, can now witness first hand what he is like. This contrasts, aligns and/or changes with the perceptions of Shin as seen by other characters (Yena, Jong Gil, Chairman Nam, M team, Ro Ra, etc) at the beginning of the series when NS3 is pretending to be Shin. NS continues to stay central as the story progresses to the end, trying to kill NS3 and eventually accepting himself (flaws and all). In the end, NS returns the favor and saves NS3 from disappearing forever. From that perspective, who is the hero of the show? NS.
Again, I believe it is just a matter of perspective and depending on the perspetive you take (NS3, NS, So Bong, YH, Chairman Nam, Jong Gil, Ro Ra), each and everyone of them was the hero of their own story in this series.
Also if you look at the title, it says, "Are You Human Too?" It never really said anything about being a robot but rather, what it meant to be human and all those characters, NS3 included, were human, so to me, they were all the protagonist in the show in their own ways. :)
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Jojo
August 13, 2018 at 12:32 AM
100% agree with u.. it is both human NS n RoboShin story. I think they could have spend a lil more time on human shin back story. Those flash back isnt enough. In those flash back, we got to see he is actually a softie on the inside, arrogant n playboy on the outside. I would like to see him become good n redeem himself after ns3 plunge into the water. N i actually prefer human ns end up with so bong few years later after she has moved on from ns3. The story spend a lil time on human NS i think.
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WishfulToki
August 13, 2018 at 6:53 AM
Those are good points, both of you. I think I wanted to see more of the “real” Human Shin rather than what others thought of him, and definitely more of how he finally accepted RoboShin. I wonder if the show was supposed to be longer but production costs forced them to end at 18? We will never know. Also, I can understand that filming a lot of doubles scenes with Seo Kang Joon might have been complicated. The drama did an excellent job though in the scenes where both Shins were together. Call me greedy, I just wanted more! 😆
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Jojo
August 14, 2018 at 1:09 AM
True... i can never get enough of SKJ..he did an excellent job n nobody could potray roboshin better than him..those brown eyes are to die for..is his grandparents or great grandparent caucasian?
JanJan
August 17, 2018 at 6:59 PM
Oh yeah, I'm greedy too! lol I definitely wanted more! I agree in that there were lots of room where they could've done more...like it had so much potential, but it didn't really go there. However, I feel like most kdramas are like that. They have a lot of good potential but never gets fully explored and that limitation could be due to their audience. It might've been different if international fans were the target viewing group.
Personally, I thought the drama turned out better than I had expected. lol
JanJan
August 17, 2018 at 7:20 PM
@jovie302
Hm...I don't think SKJ has any caucasian blood in his ancestry. I think it's mostly genetic, like a genetic mutation of some kind. I've seen and know several asians (Japanese, Korean, and my own ethnicity) who had SKJ's eye color and they were 100% asian. One was albino, so he had dirty blond hair, hazel eyes and pinkish white skin.
It could be that albinism existed along SKJ's bloodline...It also explains his extremely pale skin. lol I remember he said that his sister also has hazel eyes. It could also explain why GSY's hair is pretty light too. She, too, has hazel eyes.
In case you were interested:
https://nonsensecollection.com/can-asians-blue-eyes/191
H.Jae
September 8, 2018 at 5:41 AM
wish there will be s2 wherein the story will show how human shin is after the incidents and how he redeem himself infront of others and ns3 as well.
30 ahjummadd
August 10, 2018 at 9:39 PM
I'm having Shin III withdrawals right now. :( I want to watch more of him. *sigh*
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31 anonymous
August 10, 2018 at 10:17 PM
Some thoughts on this show:
-So many plotholes. There were already a lot during the first half, but I turned my brain off to enjoy the show. It's just insulting to have them in the final episodes. Why were there news articles on Shin III's arrest when the police hasn't reached the crime scene yet? Why can't they just provide video evidence from the robot's built-in camera to show that he had nothing to do with Mom's death? Shin III visibly didn't have injuries and was wearing different clothes, but the villains still mistook him for Shin. Why didn't he shut down immediately after removing the batteries?
-Ahhh I hate that kill switch plot so much. They made such a big deal of it throughout the show, but it seemed like nothing in the end. Rora died a pointless death to save Shin III only for the switch to activate again. Her injuries didn't look bad but she still died while Shin survived from a speeding truck. If the purpose was to redeem Shin, having Shin III save him while he's taken hostage would have been enough
-Gong Seungyeon looked so pretty in the beach
-oh Nam Shin. I hate what the writer did to him. He should have woken up earlier, and his conflict should have ended maybe 4 episodes ago. What happened to the character who escaped to look for his mother and to uncover the truth about his father's death? I thought finding his father's killer and bringing down Jonggil and Grandpa were going to be his purpose in this story, but the writer somehow thought it's better to make him a villain. Also, why did no one try to solve the case on the attempted murder of Shin?
-this episode is as bad as the first one. I remember taking time to get invested in this drama because everything felt heavy-handed at the start, and the pacing and plotting felt poor. It came full circle in this episode where everything felt rushed and unearned. I felt nothing except for-
-Mom's vision. I cried. She should have been given the chance to be a happy mother to two sons who love each other. I'll pretend her death didn't happen; this is the true ending to me. Also, Seo Kangjoon looked so attractive in that scene. My heart couldn't handle the visual of Nam Shin smiling genuinely. And isn't it adorable how different Nam Shin and Nam Shin III's smiles are? I'm sorry for being shallow, but it's the only thing keeping me sane while watching this show
-I didn't like the romance. I admit I don't like robot romance stories in the first place, but I was at least expecting the show to ask the hard questions: how this would have worked in the long term, how people around them (not just the main characters) would have reacted to Sobong dating a robot (and a robot with an infamous chaebol's face too), how Sobong would react to being ostracized for it (my assumption since advanced AI isn't widespread in this drama's world and and a romantic relationship with a robot would have been considered weird), how Nam Shin III would have gone...
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anonymous
August 10, 2018 at 10:23 PM
how Nam Shin III would have gone about in society without human documentation and stuff, etc. Instead, it's just the typical kdrama romance with one long honeymoon, a conflict outside the romance that brought them apart until the last few minutes, and a fairytale ending. Noona romances and even Cinderella-chaebol romances in other dramas faced more problems and resistance than this
-The last episode should have been one long epilogue. I know I said before that the company politics were interesting to me, but it didn't need to drag for too long. I dislike last minute redemptions too. I'm the biggest Nam Shin fan, but that redemption wasn't satisfying because it was rushed.
All in all, a disappointing show. It frustrates me because I got invested in it and the characters and conflict were compelling. I'm glad to have discovered Seo Kangjoon though, and I'm looking forward to his upcoming shows. I hope Gong Seungyeon gets to be in a drama as good as Circle again.
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missjb
August 10, 2018 at 10:42 PM
Haha.. I'm one of the biggest NS fans too.. Dissapoint at writers for writing him uncompleted. His angsty is very compelling indeed and what a waste at the writers not enough developing a little more human in NS to prove her point?
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missjb
August 11, 2018 at 4:37 AM
Also, DIsagree with Rora's death is pointless... Though They can make her death make more sense.
It's to serve NS3's aim to risking his life to go to (save) Nam Sin. After what Nam Sin did to him, Nam Shin 3 saving NS while NS is the one who trigger the kill switch will less make any sense . It means, Their mother is the one who once again connect them, after she is one of the reason have make them fight, through her death.
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Jojo
August 13, 2018 at 12:42 AM
Omg i agree with u now that u pointed it out.
The kill switch in the end is like not a big deal.
Yes, real Shin should hve woken up earlier so the show could give him time to uncover his father’s death, reconcile with his mother n NS3, fall in love with Sobong ( hehehe did i ask too much? I like the plot where they like the same girl) , bring seo jong il n grandpa to justice. The grandpa just die becaise of dementia n old age( he should be punished for making real shin the arrogant jerk, right?)
They should add 1 or 2 more epi. N i prefer human NS be witj SB .. coz human n robo love story? Its weird u knw...
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32 PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 1:06 AM
Part 1 of 2
Thank you so much for your recap and final summation of ARE YOU HUMAN TOO, LollyPip. Overall it has been an engrossing show, with an exquisitely-nuanced dual performance by Seo Kang-joon. It has been a treat to watch him portray an honorable android, his troubled human namesake, and the two of them impersonating each other. He joins Yang Se-jong in my short list of actors whose ability to deftly pull off such a nuanced feat is nothing short of phenomenal. I can't wait to see what kind of role he'll take next -- after a well-deserved rest. He ain't the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. ;-)
The solid supporting cast has been wonderful. Kudos to ahjussi fatale Yu Oh-seong for his turn as Evil Grandpa's own demonic creation. Speaking of the devil, Park Young-gyu was perfect as the megalomanic who blighted the lives of everyone with whom he came in contact. Hats off to child actors Oh Han-kyul and Lee Joo-chan as Nam Shin-III's earlier iterations, and Seo Eun-yool as sickly moppet grandson Hee-dong. Kim Won-hae was dandy as So-bong's skeptical dad who gradually warmed up to his SonBot-In-Law. Gong Seung-yeon brought impressive badassery to her role as bodyguard Kang So-bong, although her character regrettably succumbed to Heroine Doormatitis, as did Dr. Oh. Park Hwan-hee did a convincing job as bratty, scheming Seo Ye-na, who to my surprise redeemed herself by ratting out dear old Dad and saving human and robot Shins' bacon before fading into the sunrise. Lee Jun-hyuk as Young-hoon exuded a calm, principled vibe that came as a relief from the endless machinations of those around him. Choi Duk-moon as AI engineer David provided a warm complement to Kim Sung-ryoung's frosty RoboMom genius, Dr. Oh Ro-ra. His upgrade to standalone “my son” NS3 was utterly in character for both of them.
Speaking of RoboMom, her sudden eleventh-hour attempt to thwart the kill switch struck me as ridiculous. When she had to rush off before the new chip for NS3 was finished “baking,” it bothered me that such an intelligent character had been reduced to impotent hand-wringing. If it was really such a simple process, why hadn't she done it sooner? I realize the audience was supposed to see her agonize over saving both Shins... and that her demise was the only factor that could rein human Shin back from the Dark Side, but both scenarios left a bad taste in my mouth.
After seeing how quickly NS3 had conked out on earlier occasions when his wristwatch battery had been removed, I had a hard time buying his “death” scene at the waterfront. He remained conscious far too long. I realize that Show was trying to wring maximum pathos out of the interlude, and prolonged it until Jong-gil could arrive to unload his pistol into him... but it contradicted what we know of NS3. Perhaps if I try to convince myself that Ro-ra also programmed in a Power Saver Mode on that new chip? Nope. Not going to buy it.
- Continued -
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PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 1:07 AM
Part 2 of 2
The ending, alas, felt rushed, especially in relation to Shin. After all the rotten things he's done, I needed to see him serve time in jail for attempted murder via robot. As it is, he seems to have gotten a free pass and been globetrotting while David repaired and upgraded NS3. (Not) sorry, bud. Forking out beaucoup bucks doesn't cut it. Go directly to jail, do not pass Go, and repent for at least a couple of years. I also didn't understand why it would take a year for Young-hoon to be installed as the new chairman. Who has been running the corporation in the interim?
Another villain who got off entirely too easily was Evil Grandpa. He ended up laughing all the way to the dementia ward after doing horrendous things to kin and employees. Loss of memory is not the retribution he deserved. If there were any justice, he would be tortured by unforgettable memories of his inhuman treatment of others and the crimes they committed as a result of his sadism. Alas, that only works if one's conscience has not been surgically removed. Hrmph.
As LollyPip mentioned, the title of the drama truly is a question directed at the non-android characters. I very much liked the twist that Nam Shin-III is perfectly fine as a non-human entity, and that having to pass as human is actually a burdensome demotion for him. Considering how morally superior he is in comparison to many of the humans in the show, I'd like to hug him and play “Just the Way You Are” for him. (It's cued up on my fan wall.)
Despite its stumbles in the home stretch, ARE YOU HUMAN TOO has been an enjoyable and philosophical drama populated with memorable characters. Nam Shin-III reminds me strongly of Jang Hyuk's character, “psychopathic” neurosurgeon Lee Young-o in BEAUTIFUL MIND. Through a tragic set of circumstances, Young-o has been raised to believe that he is incapable of feeling emotions owing to a surgical brain injury. In a similar fashion, NS3 has been told that he cannot feel emotions, either. More correctly, he does not feel human emotions, but that doesn't make him any less sentient. In fact, his android awareness in various ways is far preferable to that of certain “natural” persons. I had not previously considered what non-human emotions might look like.
I appreciate that ARE YOU HUMAN TOO has raised numerous provocative questions, and that I have been able to discuss them with such a thoughtful group of Beanies. As always, it has been a treat to read LollyPip's insightful recaps and commentaries. Live-watching ARE YOU HUMAN TOO has been an enjoyable experience. Thank you, my friends, until we meet again on another DramaBeans recap forum. ;-)
-30-
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PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 1:08 AM
PS:
In all fairness, I have to add that an external factor undercut my enjoyment of the final week's episodes. I have also been watching LIFE ON MARS, whose finale was two days prior to that of ARE YOU HUMAN TOO. I was startled by how LOM ambushed my emotions. It has taken several days to regain my equilibrium. There was not a single misstep in the plotting and execution of LIFE ON MARS. It was a thoroughly magnificent tour de force. I'm sorry to say that ARE YOU HUMAN TOO suffers a bit in comparison. I wish I could be more objective and able to hermetically pigeonhole the two shows, but I cannot. Maybe if I were an android? I realize that they are in two very different genres. Each show has its own charms. Both feature incredible performances by the male leads. All I can say is, this is an unfortunate case of bad timing.
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WishfulToki
August 11, 2018 at 6:37 AM
The waterfront scene was hard to buy, but I sort of appreciated the faint references to “The Classic”. I may be reading too much into that comparison, but in that film the guy leaves the necklace hanging, then goes off to war (as NS3 goes to save OriShin), gets seriously wounded sacrificing himself... and at the end of his life his ashes are spread in the river. It therefore made sense for the ocean to be NS3’s final resting place and SoBong visited him later. So, that’s how I interpreted the waterfront death scene, and was fully convinced we had a sad ending on our hands.
The scene also showed us how Jong-Gil had finally slipped into full-blown murder spree. It wasn’t clear to me if he had strangled Jung Woo, and he ordered other people to do the killing early in the show. His face when about to shoot a gagged-up Original Shin seemed like a mix of determination and disgust at himself, but after NS3 gave him the cowboy dance lesson, JongGil totally lost it and shot several times without any hesitation. He was always a bad guy, a dog that Chairman kicked around (ugh), but I think he himself only embraced his demon persona in the finale.
Chairman laughing his way to the dementia ward is a light punishment indeed for the one who caused all this mess. Sadly, in real life people do get away unpunished, and since he is no longer aware of his surroundings it would be the same to send him to prison or the nursing home.
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JanJan
August 11, 2018 at 10:59 AM
Very well said!!! Totally agree. :)
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PakalanaPikake
August 11, 2018 at 12:04 PM
@wishfultoki,
Good catch with the references to THE CLASSIC. I didn't catch it, but now that you point it out, I can see it. ;-)
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WishfulToki
August 11, 2018 at 9:46 PM
Actually, if we think back to the infamous cinema swap, Original Shin cried near the ending of “The Classic”, when the character said “I had so much to tell you but now I
can’t tell youseem to have forgotten it.” This foreshadows the tragedy that Nam Shin never got to speak to his mother, Ro-Ra, and tell her how he had lived and how he had missed her. And he knew it was his fault, that he had been an idiot, maybe initially a noble one but afterwards a meanie idiot. *tears*I think the drama did a good job of including references to “The Classic”, sometimes leading me down correct interpretations and other times doing something different and unexpected.
Another thing that struck me about the finale: I could really sense the hand of the writer of The Princess’ Man in that dramatic whirlwind of events with an unexpected happy ending. It sort of looks like a rough attempt at Tolkien’s use of “catastrophe” and “eucatastrophe”. As Tolkien explained, eucatastrophe is the sudden reversal of a catastrophe; out of a complete disaster comes the resolution of the story and the salvation of characters (see his essay On Fairy Stories).
Example: Frodo failed at the very end. He would never have tossed the Ring into the fire unless Gollum had been there to um, lend a tooth.
Similarly, Nam Shin 3’s kill switch would have been completely activated had he not taken off the watch to pretend he was Original Shin. That saved him, somehow. (The science is iffy here, so I’d better not probe into the details.)
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33 missjb
August 11, 2018 at 4:59 AM
I really love the actress playing Ye Na...
She is so good here, emoting adding vitality to the character, with little screen time she has. She is never dissapoint me. And so glad finally she is given a chance to shine.
I would really like both Ye Na and Shin will make their relationship work someday. Even I know the reason writer-nim make their story end there. I will looking forward to see more of her...
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BdxPelik
September 17, 2018 at 12:58 AM
That would be... so great! Dude, I'm already building on a fnfiction (that I'm never gonna write)
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34 GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 8:48 AM
If are you human too won't get any awards on KBS I will use the kill switch.
Okay I am happy with the ending but it is not that wonderful ending.
Sure I am happy with the ending for our tin can couple but they left out so many characters.
Younghoon did became the chairman but how did he redeemed himself after the false incident of nam shin 3 attacking people? Was he ever able to thank Yena for what she did?
What happened to Yena? They just threw her out of the scene. She is the 2nd female lead though. She betrayed her father yet we were not able to see her in the final min. And the secretary of her dad roams around? He helped Mr Seo..
For grandpa yes he has dementia and all but why were we not able to see him? Did he and human shin finally fixed the damage between them?
Regarding the kill switch. I don't think that removing his watch would negate everything. His mind in the company shut off after he fell into the water and that is when the clocked ticked it's last second.
How did nam shin was able to redeem himself? Yes he changed because of the death of his mom and everyone would accept him but for me there is something missing. He should thank yena for what she did.
Yes I am asking for too much but this is the shortest ending I watched. Usually those "aftermath" of what happened usually runs for an hour or 30 min. But they just gave us 10 or 5 min? It feels like they rushed the ending
Regarding those uhm needs between couple and having children.. hey our technology has somehow evolved. They can take some sperm from human shin (since he looked alike ns3) implant it on sobong and whoala they will have a child looking similar to roboshin. ( I am not too much in this topic. I am just happy that tin can couple got their ending)
But still this goes to my top drama of the year. The Question of Are you human too mostly goes to Human Shin. Corrupted by what happened to him but after being lighted, he became humane.
And I hoped that Laura had more err funeral scene? After the ending? Just atleast give goodbye to the main player of what happened.
I love how all characters played a huge part. Each and everyone is wonderfully remembered.
Lastly this romance between sobong and namshin 3 showed us that love is not all about looks and money and fame. It is all about what is inside, about being humane and being beautiful because of what you show to others.
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JanJan
August 11, 2018 at 11:20 AM
I assumed, writers wanted you to come up with the answers to your questions based on what you've seen of each character and their reaction to their situation.
That's why I said, it was happily ever after in my head. In my head, everything ends nicely. lol
But here is what I assumed:
"how did he [YH] redeemed himself after the false incident of nam shin 3 attacking people? " I assumed that Jong Gil murder news [ie Jong Gil kills AI Genius Ro Ra] trumped robots attacking people. Plus YH could've said that they disposed of the robot to lessen public anxiety.
"What happened to Yena?" Show said she was with Mom in US. Towards the end, Yena kept telling NS that he wasn't acting like himself at all. So he wasn't the man she initially liked. Plus I think she felt too guilty knowing her Dad was the killer of the man she loved and too guilty turning her Dad in, so she probably distanced herself and stayed away.
"How did nam shin was able to redeem himself?" Again, a lot of it is inferential. I think Lollypip's insights on NS is spot on at the end of her recap. I'm going to assume that NS is smart and if he witnessed the corpse of Ro Ra and the killing of NS3, then I think he'd make the connection that they both sacrificed themselves to save someone who believed he didn't deserve to be saved. They both believed his life was worth it. It was worth more than their own, and thus NS has to own it to them to live. Plus I knew he had a softness inside of him, so I knew he would owe it to them and live, which explains why he ended up travelling. That's how I saw it.
"Yes I am asking for too much but this is the shortest ending I watched. " Agreed! hahaha
"I hoped that Laura had more err funeral scene" That scene already happened in my head. hahaha To me, NS attends the funeral and he makes peace with himself. He promises Mom to save NS3, the robot son she loved, and promises her that he'll live for himself and then travels.
"this goes to my top drama of the year." Mine too!!! Hope they win an award this year!!!
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GSY_SKJ
August 11, 2018 at 9:54 PM
You had a point. ^-^ I just want to have another episode. But yes everything ended nicely. Especially for sobong and nam shin 3. I know this is impossible for them to have a season 2 since it is not well viewed in korea but they should acknowledge how well it was received overseas.
But for me , nam shin redeemed himself with just saving nam shin 3. I just want to see how lol. I just want more 😭😭
I feel bad for yena though, she is a victim and the hard part for her was she was the one who sent her dad to jail. Righteous but still.. I applaud her bravery.
And oh Younghoon did kept his promise in protecting Sobong. He once promised her or she made him promise. Younghoon is really the most loyal and trustworthy friend in all kdramas that I have watched.
If they won't win any award I will search for KBS's kill switch ahhahaha
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35 tvfae
August 11, 2018 at 12:04 PM
Are You Human Too? is my first foray into K-drama's and I must say, I'm impressed. While I kind of wish I hadn't read this recap because I haven't watched episodes 35 and 36 yet but the story and acting are so good that reading the spoiler isn't detracting my interest in the least. As a matter of fact, I'm even more excited to see it.
But from the sounds of it, I am going to be just as disappointed at the speed at which it all comes to an end just like everyone else.
I can't wait to find other shows that Seo Kang-joon is in. The range of abilities he displayed while playing this part was astounding. To keep the two personalities facial expressions and characters quirks separate and remembering to apply them to the proper character, without mixing them up must have been a feat in itself.
LollyPip is spot on about everything else. I also wish the main female characters had been better utilized instead of marginalized in the end. Their characters came on strong like dynamite but ended up fizzling out like a bad fuse.
Great show and I am looking forward to finding more great quality shows like this one.
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36 panshel
August 11, 2018 at 6:07 PM
Wait, when Nam Shin III took off his battery watch, shouldn't that have paused the kill switch? Like when you put your computer to sleep, your downloading pauses. So once they fish out his body, as long as they don't put on his battery watch, David ought to have two minutes to save him. The one year of rebuilding him was well worth it if it meant giving his son tear ducts. I cried when Maibo waved goodbye to his hyung at the beach.
I really couldn't see Shinnamon having a happy ending. When human Shin enabled manual mode, I thought, "This is why robots are dangerous. Nam Shin III is going to ask Mom to kill him so he can't hurt So Bong, isn't he?" I'm sorry for underestimating you, Shinnamon roll! I admit I question if Shinnamon really loves So Bong even as he says, "I love you." I know he knows love since he loves his mom, and I know he is programmed to say "I have no emotions," so even if he feels emotions, he doesn't know that he's feeling them. So Bong unabashedly confessing her love for her robot is goals. "I can't live without you."
Sigh of relief So Bong did not end up with human Shin. That would have been such a cop-out. I couldn't care less about Shin. Why do people like him again? I still can't understand after 8 episodes. Every time Shin pretends to be Nam Shin III, I freak out because I can't tell like So Bong thinks she can. She still never found out she was talking to human Shin on the phone after their movie date. At the very least, I hope he stopped being an asshole to his nephew Hee Dong.
I watched this show for Shinnamon only. People being mean to Shinnamon made me want to punch them. I felt a pang in my heart when he could not call Young Hoon "hyung." I wondered why he did not try to save Mom when his hands can read blood pressure and pulse. I am extremely proud that Seo Kang Joon is no longer only known for his face. He deserves an award for his amazing acting here. Seo Kang Joon and Gong Seung Yeon made the most gorgeous couple. Forever thanks for recapping, @LollyPip! I loved Are You Human Too.
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BdxPelik
September 17, 2018 at 12:56 AM
Well, I do care about human Shin and I do hate him, that selfish, childish jerk. I never technically forgave him for all his sins, but I'm glad he's found redemption (even if it was rushed.) Who dares to hate on our Shinnamon roll?! Tell me!
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37 k-soup
August 12, 2018 at 5:56 AM
I’m sorry but I am disappointed with the ending. It was too unrealistic. I could accept if the genre was fantasy but this is sci-fi. How can a robot be in love with a human?
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38 dany
August 12, 2018 at 11:21 AM
So sad that this is over. Monday is coming but our cute robot is no longer on our screens. :(
This show has made my summer a more joyful one. Thanks, Seo kang joon!
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39 Chesca
August 12, 2018 at 3:57 PM
I think they switched at the end. That's why he was able to shed a tear.
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WishfulToki
August 13, 2018 at 6:33 AM
o.O
If this were Life on Mars I might suspect So Bong dreamed it was Roboshin, but it’s pretty clear that we are not in a dream (such a final plot twist would kill me): Original Shin, Young-Hoon and David are watching and congratulating themselves on restoring RoboShin. The one crying is definitely the robot.
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40 pickledplumtree
August 15, 2018 at 11:10 AM
I loved that robot. I loved this story. But in the end, even though it ended sweetly, it felt like something was missing to me. Particularly the last week’s episodes.
I agree with many of LollyPip’s suggestions. The end was a *WHOOSH!* What happened to Nam Shim’s character? His story line was a little too messy and even if they left his story of redemption open, they didn’t do enough. What happened to So Bong and Ro Ra? Even Young Hoon fell a little flat toward the end.
I also think it was a little too simple how So Bong fell for Nam Shim III without delving a little further into what having a robot as a romantic partner means. Of course he’s extremely good lookin’, capable, loyal, and flawless. That could be anyone’s dream partner. But there’s something to be said for humanity, flaws and all. I feel absurd even typing this out because it tends to be the theme of many other robot stories, and because it’s so dang obvious…but they didn’t even touch on it. How there’s something valuable even in our emotions, opinions, even flaws. And then the whole thing about them being a couple…like the technical issues, aging, etc. I don’t think it said a lot for So Bong that she fell for Nam Shim III. Yeah, she fell for him when he was being swoony. Yeah, we all fell for him, too! But I wish there was some deeper reason for it. Like she finally likes a guy…bc he’s programmed perfect. Okay…I could never really applaud or sympathize too much with her for that. I don’t mean to sound too harsh, I liked her and all, and loved our Nam Shim III as well. But some things felt like they should have delved deeper to me!
I wanted there to be a little more of an aha moment when the show full out admitted that Nam Shim III has feelings. He was so obviously missing others, possessing preferences and morals(though the morals could have been programmed)…but then other times he was just stone faced. So that was a bit of a mix up. Like was he depressed when his mom died because he was sad or because that’s how a robot is programmed to feel after something happens to their creator? Dunno!
Lastly, if Ro Ra gave him eating capabilities why didn’t she give him crying capabilities all along? But the tear at the end was sweet. Thanks for that upgrade, David!
xo
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BdxPelik
September 17, 2018 at 12:53 AM
Shin: "Wait, you're gonna give the robot a crying function?"
David: "Yes. It's about time. He deserves it."
Shin: "Uhh... ok then."
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41 pickledplumtree
August 15, 2018 at 11:24 AM
I know I'm being shallow with this one but imagine if Nam Shim hadn't been completely villainous (though it was an interesting and unexpected, at least by me, choice of the drama makers) and it had been a love triangle between So Bong, the Nam Shim, and Nam Shim III?! I imagined a very different story haha.
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BdxPelik
September 17, 2018 at 12:50 AM
I agree with not wanting Shin to be completely villainous, but not the love triangle thing. XD
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42 Palaa
August 16, 2018 at 5:32 AM
Am I the only one who figured out that mom could have been richer than grandpa overnight by simply selling nam shin111's battery? I mean, that thing would probably power a simple phone for a lifetime.
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43 Linda
August 16, 2018 at 10:11 PM
What is the name of actor who played Jong Gil? A really really good actor too.
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44 Yssaaaaaa
August 27, 2018 at 1:25 AM
This is a masterpiece. Seo Kang Joon desrves more project, he shows he has so much potential. I'm still amazed how he shows very well when he's portraying the jerk and the kind one. Gong Seung Yeon proves alot as well, everytime she's staring at NamShinIII I'm falling for her as well (can we just take a moment of silence how SKJ and GSY's eyes is so fascinating?), heared Go Ara was offered the role and heard she's regretting too. Kidding. Other characters is so good as well, esp the villain! Kuddos! I was so mad at you lol! The mom is a round character, sometimes I hate her but most of the time and up until the end I just love and damn she shows so mush maternity love in the drama. The secretary too! I love him! How come I didn't see you so much in dramas? If SKJ didn't stole my heart I would love to give it to you. The chairman, in every dramas he's in, I noticed that he's always a psycho chairman hahaha. David! It just saddens me that he's with mom from the start but mom didn't notice him and his efforts. Aside from NamShinIII and SoBong's characters, he's the only one I trust. Ye Na's character is also LT, very round character, most of the time hating her but sometimes loving her for courage. Let's talk about the story. Alot of people keeps on saying the drama is a trash, but for me who appreciates it and understands it it is awesome! There are humans that act like trash and so embarrassing in our society, it's alot better if some robots act like human. I don't have any words, the plot is just amazing.
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45 BdxPelik
September 17, 2018 at 12:48 AM
His name is SEO Kang-joon. Kang-joon, family name Seo. And he was seriously the best thing about this drama. He never struck me as a noticeable actor, but in this drama... he really shone from start to finish.
I cannot begin to tell you how much Kang So Bong annoyed me in these last 2 eps. She has almost no purpose and she was willing to let Shin die! I know he's a jerk, but where's your humanity, Kang So Bong?! I agree with everything you said about her.
I wish drama producers would STOP PUTTING TIME LEAPS AT THE END!!! Instead, show us a montage LEADING to 1 year later. How Shin gradually changed, for example. It's freaking annoying.
But I actually loved how David never arrived to save NS3 in time. Not the typical last minute Hollywood rescue; which is great. And now I truly believe that human and robot Shin can live side by side in harmony. Cuz we know that Shin never actually desired the company and has calmed down an awful lot and NS3... well, we know NS3.
Overall... it was an extremely sweet ending. I enjoyed it. And I'm waiting for a sci-fi movie in the future on M-City: AI Gone Rogue. HAHAHA.
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46 Kdrama fanatic
October 2, 2018 at 2:26 PM
Am. Just amazed by this drama. I am just gld we had a happy ending. Although its not very practical but damn. That acting is good for entertainment
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47 Henrietta Nwosu
October 8, 2018 at 3:35 PM
Exactly. I agree with this analysis. KangSoon joon really deserve an award. Gosh the guy murdered the two personalities.The difference were so clear and also Kudos to the Producers and Directors they Did a wonderful work in the movie.
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48 MaxN
October 15, 2018 at 12:03 AM
Even though it's technically a happy ending, I don't like it. I haven't even watched the whole thing. I hoped his mom loved him from the beginning and thought of him as a second son, not an appliance and replacement, so when she mentioned the kill switch, I skipped to the end recap, and I can pretty much guess everything in between.
I would have loved it more if she's treated him as her son, since his inception came from her and she created him in a different way than she did her human son, but he lived with her for twenty years. TV does this a lot, making a genius with an android keep emotional distance, even if it's only in the beginning, and I can't relate to that, so simply because of that, and because Shin turns out to be as much of a jerk as they were making him out to be while training NS3 and way worse, I'll just keep the scenes I love and ignore the rest of this drama or I'll cry and my chest will ache. Also, I don't like the female lead in the first 6 episodes, and I don't think I'll like her for the rest of it, so I feel nothing at their 'happy ending' I would have rather seen Shin and robo-Shin talking things out than that.
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The more I read or think about this drama, the better image I have of it
August 7, 2022 at 10:45 AM
Because you are judging without watching and your taste and expectations for the drama were actually met, I’d just like to point out some things so you can give it a second try.
“I would have loved it more if she's treated him as her son, since his inception came from her and she created him in a different way than she did her human son, but he lived with her for twenty years”
The mother does portray her love for the Android son she created and it becomes very obvious by the end of her storyline. She gets a lot of hate throughout the drama, understandably as she seems to fail as a mother to both her sons. But her love is apparent by the end.
She was a complex character. Ofcourse her first priority is going to be the human she gave birth to and then was forced to abandon. He grew up suffering without her and that guilt is always going to weigh heavily on her and cause her to sometimes overcompensate with how she reacts to her kids now that she’s reunited with her human son.
She missed her child so much, that she took an insane step and made a robot replica to overcome her loneliness. As a scientist, the kill switch was a necessary precaution for at the end of the day the machine could malfunction and cause harm and become unstoppably dangerous. And then she felt guilty of pouring all her love that was meant to go to the human onto the robot replacement.
But despite that she had come to truly care for and love the Android she’d raised and had accompanied her in her hard times for the past two decades. The minute human shin wakes up, he realises this and resents his mother for it and feels jealous of the robot that he perceives to have stolen his mother.
For as much as they talk about the kill switch while the human is still in the coma, she does not have the will to actually go through with it.
(I can’t say more on how she deals with the kill switch or how her character arc ends- which gives us some iconic acting moments for SKJ- because it would be too big a spoiler).
“Also, I don't like the female lead in the first 6 episodes and I don't think I'll like her for the rest of it”
FL gets a lot of hate in the earlier arc by most viewers but she has one of the most character developments in the drama. Most humans in this drama are imperfect and selfish to some extent and FL is one of those cynical characters that has only turned to making quick money after she lost her dream and any positive outlook on the world and humans. But it is this quality that makes her a good candidate as a human to fall for a (sweet) robot- because otherwise she would have stuck out to search for romance with a real human.
She is a grumpy person and doesn’t take an immediate liking to the existence of an Android (partly because she already started developing the beginnings of a feeling for the man’s face while she still thought he was human and just had a nicer personality than she expected and then some part of her is in denial that...
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49 Namsin3
June 23, 2019 at 9:55 PM
I just got confused about the ending scene, why would a robot shred a single tear? Is it because he was created again to be more human-like? Reply anyone?
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50 Aaheli Sanyal
July 8, 2019 at 2:37 PM
Will there be a second season????
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