The Person Who Tries to Stop Things Even When They Can't Fix Them: 'Everyone Struggles with Their Own Worthlessness' - Dong-man Interim Report

The person who tries to stop things even when they can't fix them

'Everyone struggles with their own worthlessness' - Dong-man interim report

Regarding Dong-man, I want to write a proper character analysis after watching until the final episode.

Since he is at the center of this drama, it is still too early to reach a conclusion halfway through. However, having reached episode 9, some things have become clearer.

Dong-man is not a strong person. But I think he is someone who tries to stop things even when he cannot fix them.

Dong-man has always been on the side of being told he is 'nothing'.

He cannot debut as a film director. He lacks confidence in his own work. He clings to works he wrote in the past. He overeats when he feels anxious. He tries to protect himself with words. He complicates his romantic relationships. His judgment regarding money is also precarious.

He is not a cool person. In fact, he is quite pathetic.

But there is something consistent about him.

When something is about to break right in front of him, he cannot just leave it alone.

When a cat was in a traffic accident, Dong-man borrowed surgery money from a loan shark. That was unplanned, dangerous, and ultimately an action that cornered him.

But what was there was a reaction of being unable to abandon a life that might be saved.

It is the same with Jin-man.

Dong-man has watched his brother, who had broken down, for a long time. He cannot completely save his brother, who stopped writing poetry and is drawing closer to death. He cannot erase his brother's pain.

But he stays by his side. He tries to stop him. He tries to call him back. He tries to keep him from going toward death.

Dong-man is also the person who has protected his brother.

And when Una said 'help me,' he went to her.

There is no guarantee he can save her. He doesn't even know what he can do. In the end, he didn't even make it all the way there.

Even so, when he is called, he goes.

Herein lies both Dong-man's weakness and his strength.

Dong-man is not the kind of person who can solve problems.

By saving a cat, he ends up chased by debt. He cannot fully save Jin-man. He cannot perfectly respond to Una's plea for help.

But he cannot just stand by and do nothing.

He might not be able to do anything about it. But he tries to stop it. He might not be able to save them. But he does not abandon them.

I think that is at the root of who Dong-man is.

That is why Una's words were so significant.

When Dong-man asks, 'Why are you always so good to me?', Una replies:

'Because you are a person worth treating that way.'

I think this was a very significant statement for Dong-man.

Una did not tell Dong-man that he was 'worth succeeding.' She did not guarantee that he had 'talent.' She did not encourage him by saying he 'could become a film director.'

She simply said that he was worth being treated that way.

Even if he is nobody. Even if he hasn't debuted. Even if he is pathetic. Even if he is twisted. Even then, you are a person worth being treated with care.

Perhaps what Dong-man wanted all along was that feeling, rather than a guarantee of his talent.

I am a person who doesn't have to be abandoned. I am a person who deserves to be treated well. I am a person worth fighting for.

I think that is what he touched upon.

In episode 9, it seemed as though Dong-man began to become a man who could choose to 'fight.'

Up until now, he had been hurt. He had been frustrated. He had even been angry. But that was not yet a fight.

Eating. Talking. Criticizing. Sulking. Running away. Clinging to the past.

Those were reactions, not choices.

But in episode 9, he found the 'strength' within himself and began to move in a direction to use it.

That strength is not the strength to win.
It is not the strength to overwhelm someone.
It is not the strength to prove oneself perfectly.

The strength to head toward a place that might be impossible to fix, even so.
The strength to be unable to stand by and do nothing in front of something that is about to break.
The strength not to run away, even when afraid of getting hurt.

I think that is Dong-man's strength.

I have also begun to see, a little, why he has been afraid of getting hurt.

Dong-man is looking at Jin-man.

The brother who broke.
The person who used to write poetry.
But the person who gave up poetry because he could not forgive himself for feeling 'happy that I wrote a good poem' when his own daughter disappeared.

For Dong-man, I think creation is a place where dreams come true, but also a place where a person might break.

He is afraid that if he releases his work, it won't be evaluated well.
He is afraid of finding out he has no talent.
He is afraid of himself for turning people's pain into work.
He is afraid of himself when he turns even his own pain into work, and it turns out to be good.

His brother has shown him that fear first.

Therefore, perhaps Dong-man's inability to go all the way wasn't just because he was being soft.
Somewhere, he knew that if he went all the way, he might break himself.

Even so, in episode 9, he changed a little.

He has worth in fighting.
He has worth in stepping out into a place where he might get hurt.
Perhaps he has started to think that way.

I feel like that will be reflected in Dong-man's screenplay as well.

He appears to be writing about evil right now.
But I think what he is truly trying to write is not evil itself, but the 'strength' that humans can possess against that evil.

Evil is that which robs people of their worth.
That which treats people as a disgrace.
That which consumes someone's pain as material.
That which decides you are nothing.
That which makes you give up before you reach the end.

Against that, the strength Dong-man should depict is not the strength to win.

He might not be able to fix it.
He might not be able to save them.
He might get hurt himself.

Even so, he tries to stop it.
Even so, he heads toward it.
Even so, he does not abandon them.

I think that is the strength.

In Dong-man's previous works, the characters were fighting in terms of the setting.
But the protagonists were not truly fighting.

If it were the current Dong-man, he might be able to write something a little different.

To fight is not about a strong person going out to win.
It is about believing that you are worth doing so, and stepping out into the place where you will get hurt.

In episode 9, it seemed like Dong-man touched upon that.

This is still an interim report.

It is still unknown if Dong-man can really go all the way to the end.
Can he debut as a film director?
Can he complete his work?
How will he accept his relationship with Eun-ha?
How will he face the pain of his brother, Jin-man?
How will he handle his relationship with Gyeong-se?

There is still much that is unknown.

But having reached episode 9, one thing has become clear.

Dong-man is not a person who can solve things.
But he is a person who tries to stop them.

He is not a person who can save others.
But he is a person who will not abandon them.

He is not a person who can win.
But he is a person who has started to choose to fight.

I think that clumsy strength will also find its way into his work.