Sixteen Minutes or So

Denver was, once again, the show's major highlight to me. Found him a little more silly and less impulsive than original Denver (his wide spectrum of emotions was what made the character more charismatic and allowed Jaime Lorente to display his enormous acting range), but Kim Ji-hoon made him so enjoyable to watch and easy to root for, I was very impressed. 🥰🥰 Didn't get attached to their version of Moscow as much as the original, probably due to the lack of ties to other characters that weren't his son, but their scenes together were a pleasure to (re)watch.

Yoon Mi-sun was a bit more discreet through these six episodes, but then I remembered that Mónica herself didn't fully shine until part 2, so I hope to see and learn more from her in the second half. There were some minor big changes made to her story - Cho Young-min is much more abusive than Arturito and in this version her pregnancy turned out to be a lie - that I'm still not sure how to feel about, but I'm definitely curious to see where they'll lead her. Right now, I think her arc might be related to the political aspect of this version, her being from the North and trying to bring her family to the South... I don't know a thing about korean politics, but I'm willing to learn.

Can't say I'm one hundred percent confident Denver and Mi-sun will have the same happy ending as Denver and Mónica, but I certainly hope so. Thought they were at least showered with the same amount of softness and careness as the latter; even their sex scene, despite not as intimate, was filled with sentiment so, good sign, maybe...?

I don't have many other things to add outside of their characters and relationship. The concept of 'found family' played a major role in the reason why we fell in love with La Casa de Papel, both characters and actors, and I don't think the team from Money Heist: Korea is there yet. I highly appreciated Rio's backstory as a former medical student, which gave more sense to the healthcare scares they went through, and Berlin has been called out on his cold erratic behaviour, which is a win to me. Couldn't really identify with their Professor, though, and the switch of Tokyo and Nairobi's personalities didn't please me either.

So, yes: mixed feelings is the perfect way to put it. Will I come back when they release the last six episodes? You can bet I will. If not for the show, I definitely will for the ship. Jaime and Esther gave me a lovestory for the ages, but Kim Ji-hoon and Lee Joo-bin are doing a great revival of it.