I like that the show uses childhood flashbacks like Hide N Seek to show the lasting impressions on Jinwoo’s personality. Emotionally, he liked being alone but at the same time he wanted to be found. Now, JW was living a quiet, shy life until ME approached him, learned to communicate with him, and accepted him as a normal man. It is rare in k-dramas that the FL takes an active role in confessing and starting a dating relationship but here it makes sense based upon JW’s insecurities and presumptions of how normal people act around him. JW only trusted those close friends who were around him for a long time. I don’t think SK is back to cause him trouble. I hope it may be more about closure of their past relationship. It is like Jo-Han being gut punched by the fact that ME and JW are dating; the fact that he had been friend-zoned for a long time and did nothing to change their dynamic does not make it any less painful. Likewise, Mo Dam’s change in feelings for Ji-Yu is in a similar vain: awkwardness to change the past relationship to something different and potentially dangerous. It will all depend upon mature acceptance by the parties. This show has great character maturity and communication skills.

The first seven minutes of Episode 8 were more masterful “showing and not telling” the story. JW and SK were a very cute campus couple. You could tell the trust and communication (even the silent moments) was real. SK may have returned to Korea for a second chance with JW but it appears that is not her overriding objective. She wants the world to “discover” JW, the painter. It may be a way of drawing him closer to her, but she can tell he has the same sentimental and introversion barriers from their past. I can understand JW making his art mainly for himself to avoid the criticism, judgment and rejection he has lived with because of his disability. It was evident when Modam meets him at dinner, and later when ME parents come to visit. Even ME seems a little embarrassed by him and her parents reaction. Stereotypical prejudices are hard to overcome. But the show continues to hit the mark that communication takes many forms: language, signs, body language, written words and silence. There is also a shadow theme that one has to confront their problems: the high school bully victim standing up to fight his abuser is another rarity in k-dramas but when I was growing up, it was the only way to earn respect and stop bully behavior.

There were so many good couple moments: SK and JW in college; Modam and Ji-Yu trying to communicate their feelings; Ki-Hyun and So-Hee’s lovely marital life; and the end ME and JW reaffirming their connection.

Hum... My first issue with this drama is Shin Hyun-Bin, she makes me feel nothing. My second issue is that 80% of the couple conversations are about his deafness, sign language. I wish to see them sharing more things and not just seeing their dates when they do something else.

I'm more interested in Seo-kyung! I think both characters need closure for the past to be completely happy, clearly what happened was traumatic for both of them. I like her character and their love story was cute.

The reactions of people like her brother or parents are so weird. If they don't agree, can't they hide it at least? Just to be polite and not make him feel small like they did.

"Misunderstandings happen because I can't hear."
"They happen because people think everyone can hear"

I actually liked Ji Yoo's attitude when the four of them were having drinks. She acted like that because she doesn't know anything about how to communicate with a deaf person, but also, she acted like that because she was trying to communicate with him.

She could've avoid the interaction completely or she could've asked Mo Eun to interprete and go with "tell him that I say...", but no, she actually wanted to interact directly with her best friend's boyfriend. She wanted to include him and show him (and her friend) that she supports this relationship and that she will accept him in her life. I liked that a lot. All the effective ways to communicate she can just learn them. For me what's more important is that she's willing to learn them. That's how I see it.

I didn't think she offended him that night, he was hurt, but not because of her.

Mo Dam was throwing lasers at him. Mo Dam's look was so cold and strong, I had a really hard time watching that scene.
But again, I loved how silence is also part of the conversation.

I think Mo Damn said only two sentences during the whole scene, but his eyes were having their own dialogue. The same happened with the dad. He probably only said a greeting and that was it. He didn't say anything else for the rest of the scene, but the expression on his face kept talking and talking non stop.

And Jin Woo, as someone that communicates with his body, with his eyes, he probably heard all that. He probably heard everything the body language of those two man said, every single word in their facial expressions, in their eyes...
So their silence made me feel more uncomfortable than wtv Ji Yoo did.

And when I saw the contrast with Jin Woo's friends, I just can't stop thinking "I hope someday we get to see something like this we her friends". Both group of friends have completely different life experience and knowledge. So we can see the chaos of their interactions with Jin Woo right now, but also, we have seen that their all good people and love Mo Eun very much. So I believe they'll get better with time when they truly understand "that not everyone can hear" and start learning how to communicate with him.

About Seo Kyung... Seo-kyung comes to Jin-woo’s door and his face is heavy with heartache. Jin Woo facial expression every time he sees Seo Kyung, breaks my heart. And I wonder how it feels like to have someone you loved looking at you like that.

The flashbacks are so powerful and they make me hope, there's an alternative world, were they both end together.
I just want them to heal and be happy.

I wanted you to know in case you didn't catch on. No. Scratch that. I wanted you to know incase you were pretending not to know.
This was very introspective. He was indeed pretending not to know for his own heart's safety. Add in the flashback about loving the silence but also wanting to be found. It made sense that he pretends not to know. It 1.) protects him from hurt and 2.) be sure that whoever decides to find him did it with intention. He always wanted to be found, but he had to be sure you wanted to find him. Just like Ki-hyun always wanted to find him. And Mo-eun saying incase he pretends to not know she likes him was a semblance to the hide and seek - like Ki-hyun, she wants to find him so all he needs to do is want to be found.

And then Seo-kyung. I like how she's not your titular textbook SFL. The maturity in TMTYLM is just excellent.
If we break up, I'll never see you again. And then he goes on to clarify : "To see you again after breaking up as if nothing happened, I like you too much.
This was excellent, well constructed and beautifully thought out words.
This particular dialogue was sweet. And it only sold the university romance a top further : it was memorable, for both of them. And thier break-up? It shaked their worlds in ways beyond imagining. Seo-kyung might tell us she's okay, but Jin-woo is clearly still affected. I look forward to when they both can hold a conversation without the sad hurt look on Jin-woo's face.

Mo-eun's father didn't even try to mask his disapproval/disappointment/____, that was very impolite to someone you're meeting for the first time. Mo-dam no less than his father. Their relationship isn't normal. And it has challenges. I hope everyone gets it in their heads first.
Mo-eun's mom on the other hand was cordial in her conversation, manner of speech and body language. Even if she'll raise her concerns to Mo-eun, the question she asked Ji-yu gave me some kind of insight to what thier chat with Mo-eun will be about, and that she does not hold the same disapproval mindset her husband has. She was shocked, yes. It's normal. Not everyone gets introduced to her child's man on first meeting and a random one at that.

Mo-eun has one strike for pursuing to be an actress. And now there is this strike which makes two. I'm guessing her dad is now doubly disappointed.

Watching the quad interact was so much fun. A whole lot of talk goes down whenever Ki-hyun, So-hee, Jin-woo and Mo-eun gather at the table. One of the highlights this week? 1.)Mo-eun bringing no gifts for Ki-hyun and 2.) So-hee coming to her husband's rescue from all the roasting. Can the people from Mo-eun's side try to graduate to this? I look forward to how TMTYLM goes about this.

1. The Mo-siblings are always the first to confess their feelings, I love how proactive they are. Anyways, their dating era was adorable. Mo-eun was glowing the past 2 episodes, that Jinwoo effect…
2. But no wonder Jinwoo wasn’t willing to commit fully to their relationship. Even leaving aside the gulf between a hearing and non-hearing person, the way her family reacted to him… the look on Mo-dam and her parents’ faces. Moeun herself seemed like she was ashamed of dating Jinwoo? anyways, Mo-eun already seems unsure if the relationship is viable at all. Oh, the next 8 episodes are going to be angsty for sure… Healing era is gone.
3. Sekyoung. My heart really breaks for her. She seems very lonely and lost imo, at least in her personal life. Post-breakup, she can’t even visit her friends and her places, bc they’re all linked to Jin-woo. Prior to the breakup, during their college days… "If we breakup, I can't meet you again like nothing happened bc I like you too much” I really wish Sekyoung and Jin-woo got their happy ending, no matter how much of a Moeun x Jinwoo shipper I am. In the present, I’m relieved that JW and SK kept it professional and didn’t cross any lines… JW is dating someone rn.
4. not only did they cast Sekyoung really well (she looks a lot like her young version's actress), her outfits and makeup are always amazing.
5. Can we have one kdrama without horrific bullying? I understand why the victim feels so incensed with Jin-woo, but it’s such a tragic misunderstanding. I wonder if JW will take the kid under his wing?
6. I didn't feel bad for Johan at all. Moeun is glowing with happiness - even her brother noticed - and he's bringing down her mood bc he's jealous his friend is dating someone else. Then, I just found him hilarious; the man fled his own condo just so he wouldn’t have to face the awkwardness of meeting Mo-eun again. And hey, at least he apologized & congratulated her later.
7. Shoutout to the watermelon scene. Poor man just wants to eat his watermelon and she made him teach an entire sign language course 😭😭 I loved how he pretends not to see her questions, like a mischievous puppy.

I'm confused as to why anyone would care that he is deaf. It makes it harder to communicate, but who cares in the long run. Modam and their dad were acting like he was some kind of malicious thug. It is a very weird prejudice to have, but I guess most prejudices are weird. I liked that she went to check on him and I appreciate Ji Yoo for trying because she sees her friend happy.

And yes to how much more warmer and wholesome Jin-woo's friend group is compared to Mo-eun's friends and family.

In the world of kdrama there are a few different qualities that would disqualify a potential suitor in the eyes of the 'in-laws' and even without taking his deafness into consideration, our poor male lead seems to tick all of the boxes!!
He's an orphan.
He a struggling artist / doesn't have a very stable job.
He doesn't own his own home.
He's much older than her.

So, we all know that the only way he will ever get her family to approve of them, would be to take the 2FL up on her offer of having a solo exhibition and s9mehow becoming really rich and famous. 😁

Can I just say THAT kiss wins the best kiss of the year hands down. That had to be the most tender, heartfelt, moving, loving, beautiful expression of emotions between two characters and at the same time moved the plot forward without saying a word.
I love this show so much.

Why is it so important for Jin-Woo to believe that Seo-Kyung "is OK"? The whistling may be a mental illness- Could Jin-woo not hear it in the past because it only occured in Seo-Kyungs mind? But he was unable t0 tell her/help her because he could not Not/Hear it? Did Seo-Kyung start the fire herself? Who broke up with who? Or was Seo-Kyung bullied in some way that Jin-Woo was unaware of, causing her to be hurt? I think Johan will step up and be a real support to Mo-eun. He is heart broken, but he gets it. Mo-Eun learned sign language after meeting a guy once- and not even knowing if she would meet the guy again. Johan knows he is out of the race

Korea Culture Watch- Jin-Woo's house appears to be right along the Seoul city wall. Probably unlikely for a struggling artist to rent! But houses along the walls seem to be common in K-drama land, I wonder if it is because they are more likely to have good access roads and less neighbours to disturb during filming? The place where Jin-Woo and Mo-Eun sits is along a new, rebuilt section of wall, so probably in the Inwangsun Mountain section

Somehow, I missed this thread and kept wondering why DB hadn’t uploaded it yet. 😅

I’ll always root for the ML and FL. Jo-Han is nice and has been a very good and close friend to ME, but he hasn’t done anything to change the dynamic of the relationship until he got dumped and she found herself a man. What is interesting here is that he is loved by ME’s family. I think he’ll play an important role in the next eps re the ML and FL’s relationship.

The dialogues about wanting to hide and wanting to be found is just so insightful. The ML wanted to hide from the world because the world treats him as an insignificant person, the person who has to try to “fit in” the community. But he also wanted real relationships with people, so he always wanted to be found by the right people who really wanted to find him. The suggestion given by Ki-hyun was right: He deserves happiness and it might be him himself who set the barrier between him and the others.

The flashback scenes at the beginning of ep8 made me cry. They were so beautiful and so beautifully shot. I read it from somewhere that it’s quite sure millennials will love this show and this sequence of scenes because in the past, relationships seemed to develop like that: Slow, steady, tender with so much consideration.

ME is indeed a strong soul. As Ji-yoo mentioned, she is admirable to have the gut to follow her dream. I’m sure she is suitable for our ML in every way. Even when their ages might have a big gap, it looks pretty clear to me that their maturity levels match, and that they are comfortable in each other’s company. If those aren’t something to look for in good and healthy relationships, I don’t know what is.

P.S. I love the fact that we got to see them dating at an aquarium when they could be in a “deep sea”. It’s so smart and thoughtful of the script to let them date in that place because the ML used to say that in the crowd he felt lonely like being in a deep sea because he could t hear people’s talking or anything. Now he had someone with him in a deep sea and he and she had a good time watching those fish. Instead of feeling bad, a deep sea becomes another place of good memories.