Molu16 writes:
Dear Kfangurl,
You are my go-to source for K-dramas to watch. I’ve watched many dramas based on your reviews, and they never disappoint. There was one drama that I watched even though you dropped it, and it was all because V of BTS was in that drama. Being a middle-aged ARMY, I cannot pass up on anything related to BTS! 🙂
My question is, why do K-drama writers love to have either the male lead or the female lead disappear for a year or more at the end and come back unannounced? Some of the reasons for their disappearance kind of make sense, such as going abroad for medical treatment or some kind of business training.
However, the ridiculous thing is during the time the OTP is apart, there is no communication at all. While one is pining for the other, not knowing when the beloved will return, all of a sudden they show up to surprise them.
Another ridiculous plot is, the lead disappears without a trace and is presumed dead, but a few years pass, they show up alive and healthy, to be reunited with their loved one.
I don’t understand why the writers make viewer suffer for the majority of the series wondering if the two leads will be together, and when they finally are, one has to go away or seemingly is killed, only to show up out of the blue later.
Thank you for all the reviews and the commentaries you’ve posted. You’re a great writer. Keep up the good work!
Yes, why all this unnecessary pain..? 💔
Dear Molu16,
I’m glad you find the reviews as useful as you do! ❤️
I do feel your frustration at the forced separation trope, which tends to be employed with relative regularity in Dramaland. There’ve been many times when I’ve rolled my eyes, or wanted to throw something at my screen, because a show broke out the forced separation trope.
While I can’t make it go away (I wish!), I’m going to attempt to at least answer your question on why writers fall back on it as often as they do. Hopefully understanding more of why writers use it, might help to lessen the sting? 😅
As always, everyone, if you have other thoughts, insights or stories to add, please share them in the comments!
PS: For those of you wondering, the extra screenshots I’m using in this post, are from 2015’s Falling For Innocence.
WHY THE FRUSTRATING FORCED SEPARATION TROPE?
Grrr..
Essentially, to keep audiences engaged, most stories introduce a Final Conflict towards the end, so that we are kept on the edge of our seats, all the way to the end.
Without an effective Final Conflict, there’s a very real danger of the story just.. fizzling out and limping to its finish line. That’s not a great way to end a story, for sure, and that’s why many writers want a Final Conflict.
Now, because most kdramas center around a main loveline, the Final Conflict often has something to do with the main loveline. While it’s possible to make that Final Conflict something that the main OTP (One True Pairing) faces together, hand in hand, that typically requires more planning ahead.
From my recent-ish post that breaks down most of the challenges faced by a kdrama production, we can see that it’s not as easy as it sounds, because there are often many factors at play, particularly in the live-shoot system, when the script is being written while the drama airs.
This leaves most writers reaching for quick-fix last minute conflicts between the OTP, ie, it’s a conflict that involves the OTP relationship, and it’s something that can be fixed reasonably within the remaining screen time.
Because an actual deep-seated relationship issue can’t be fixed satisfactorily in a short period of time (*cough*Something in the Rain*cough*), most writers reach for the forced separation trope, which is a close cousin to the noble idiocy trope, which I talked about here.
With the OTP being together at the end as our collective endgame, a Final Conflict where they are separated, while there’s nothing essentially wrong with their relationship, is the quick fix.
We get a Final Conflict, and the Final Conflict is fixable within 1-2 episodes of screen time, and the reunion of the OTP is rewarding enough (due to them mostly not having deep-seated issues), that as viewers, we find the eventual happy ending satisfying enough to leave a sweet aftertaste.
A SAMPLING OF SHOWS THAT SUFFERED FROM THE FORCED SEPARATION TROPE
Here’s a sampling of shows that use the forced separation trope. I’m sure there are more, but.. I may have blocked them from my memory. 😂 If you guys have more titles to add, please share them in the comments!
And, like in my noble idiocy post, I’ve included quick takes, on whether I think the show in question is still worth checking out, despite its use of the forced separation trope.
Are You Human Too?
Separation alert: episode 20 of 20.
Still worth the watch?
Yes, with an absurdist lens on, this show is delightfully entertaining, and I loved it, flaws and all. Seo Kang Joon is fantastic toggling his roles as both human and robot, and I’m unashamed to admit that I rooted for the robot, all the way through, heh.
Review is here.
Because This Is My First Life
Separation alert: episode 15 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Yes, I would say that this one’s still worth the watch.
I personally didn’t care for episodes 15 & 16, but found everything else before that delightfully nuanced, in terms of both writing and delivery. I also wanted to say, not everyone hates the last 2 episodes; some fans actually feel that writer-nim’s narrative decisions make sense.
Also, for the record, since some of you mentioned this show in my noble idiot post, I don’t think Ji Ho is a noble idiot, because she leaves, but not because she thinks it would be good for Se Hee.
Flash Review is here.
Big
Separation alert: episode 16 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Ahh.. erm.. I’d say this one’s only worth the watch if you’re just keen to have Gong Yoo on your screen. And then, I’d say, stop at episode 12 and pretend that that’s all the story there is.
The last few episodes make very little sense, and the forced separation trope is just one of many issues, unfortunately. But Show’s got Gong Yoo, and he’s gloriously shirtless in Show’s early episodes, so there’s that..?
Review is here.
Cheese in the Trap
Separation alert: episode 16 of 16
Still worth the watch?
I’d say.. no, not really. I watched this in the spirit of being experimental, ie, I was curious to know why everyone was so mad at Show, and because of that, I was able to take Show’s very unusual narrative decisions more or less in stride.
However, it’s true that the handling of characters makes little sense. And to be honest, the forced separation is one of Show’s smaller problems, the bigger one being, that Show literally pushes our male lead out of the picture a great deal in its second half, in favor of showcasing our second male lead’s story.
To be clear, our second lead doesn’t actually get promoted to male lead; he just gets more screen time. It’s all very bizarre, and in the end, all of our male lead’s growth takes place off-screen
Flash Review is here.
Falling For Innocence / Beating Again
Separation alert: episode 16 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Yes, if you’re in the mood for some Jung Kyung Ho &/or Kim So Yeon, because, for the most part, Show works out to be a sweet romance. The ending is basically one of those that is happy, but makes no sense. But if you can look past that, Show works out to be reasonably enjoyable.
Review is here.
Goong / Princess Hours
Separation alert: episode 24 of 24.
Still worth the watch?
Well.. my opinion is completely biased because this was my gateway drama, but I would say yes. The Goong experience is pretty great, at least for the first half.
The music is wonderfully immersive, and the contract marriage is as cute as the burgeoning feelings on both sides is thrilling.
Show slumps in its second half due to its extension, and the forced separation is a bummer, but I’ve still watched this one 6 times. What can I say, it’s a sentimental favorite. 🥰
Review is here.
Mirror of the Witch
Separation alert: episode 20 of 20
Still worth the watch?
I personally didn’t love this drama all that much, so I wouldn’t call this a must-see. If you like fantasy stories and aren’t too fussed about details not adding up, you might enjoy this one.
Flash Review is here.
Something in the Rain
Separation alert: episode 15 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Hm. This is a tricky one, because there are two distinct camps of viewers, when it comes to this show: those who hate the ending, and in general, the whole second half of the show, and those who love this show from beginning to end.
I fall into the first camp, and so, if your drama taste is like mine, you might want to skip this one. For the record, I didn’t feel that this was an effective use of the forced separation trope, because in my opinion, our OTP has deep-seated issues that don’t actually ever get addressed, during our story.
Another good test, which is completely anecdotal, but which I find pretty accurate, is, if you liked One Spring Night, you’d probably dislike this one, and if you hated One Spring Night, you’re quite likely to enjoy this one.
Review is here.
The Crowned Clown
Separation alert: episode 16 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Yes. I personally thought this was a very good show that did a lot of things right – as long as you think of the story as being divided into two acts.
The forced separation at the end was a low point, in that, the ending is again, one of those that is happy, but where a lot of things are left unexplained, but we are supposed to be so relieved that we don’t care.
For me, it’s more like I’m willing to look past this, because of all the other things that Show does right.
Review is here.
Who Are You: School 2015
Separation alert: episode 16 of 16.
Still worth the watch?
Maybe? I personally found this reasonably enjoyable, and even rather cracky in parts, but I definitely thought the ending was underwhelming.
Also, whether you even enjoy the show to the degree that I did, depends on how on board you are, with our male lead character, versus our second male lead.
Those who preferred our second male lead have a lot of angst over this show, and I don’t think they’d recommend it, as a result. I personally managed to like our male lead quite well, and found his behavior understandable.
I suppose you could say that if you have a soft spot for Nam Joo Hyuk, it’s worth a try?
Review is here.
IN CLOSING
I do hope that this post helps to add some clarity around the whats, whys and wheres of the forced separation trope!
Like with the noble idiocy trope, I tend to regard the forced separation trope as a bit of necessary evil in Dramaland.
Do I wish that more writers would work a more organic Final Conflict into their stories? Certainly. Are there dramas that manage to do this, without resorting to noble idiocy or other types of forced separation? Definitely.
However, as long as dramas are produced under the live-shoot system, I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be seeing the end of the forced separation trope. Sorry. 😅
Like I said earlier, if you guys have other titles, thoughts or insights to add, please share them in the comments!
Thanks, everyone.
Smooches. ❤️
~kfangurl
Have some flowers. I hope that makes everything better? 🌻😅
POST-SCRIPT:
1. If you feel that I missed anything, or if you have your own insights that you’d like to share with the rest of us, do tell us about it in the comments!
2. Do you have a question of your own? Drop me a comment here or on the Dear kfangurl page, or send me an email!