The first time I read this webtoon I absolutely loved it. The story felt unique and I enjoyed the MC’s rational personality. But I reread this today and realized quite a few things.
Brainwashing tropes are always tricky. A character has been mind controlled to do things and act in a way that they CANNOT control. They are, essentially, not conscious and have had their autonomy ripped away from them without their consent. Isn’t this just rape??? You have these male characters who are preyed upon by this woman (Grace) who lusts after time and wants to collect them like dolls. Why are they being punished for being used and abused??? After breaking free of the mind control, they CLEARLY reflected feelings of distaste towards Grace.
The female lead , Selonia, is justified in her anger towards them before she found out they were being controlled. She STILL reserves the right to feel upset that about the situation as a whole. But as rationally as she was portrayed, she is incredibly self-centered in that she only cares about how HER men were taken away from HER. She was NOT upset on behalf of her friends. She was NOT angry or vengeful for her friends who were used by some horrendously selfish people. I wish the author depicted her as a bit more emotionally intelligent in this regard. If the roles were reversed, and SHE was brainwashed by a man who FORCED her to get engaged to him and fawn over him, how disgusting would that feel?
Additionally, how are none of the male leads traumatized from being brainwashed??? The webtoon showed that they remembered everything they said to Selenia, so they have all their memories from their time being brainwashed. Why is their first thought “OMG how could I be mean to Selonia??” Shouldn’t it be something like “Oh dear god I was made touch and obsess over a person against my will, I feel sick to my stomache - I had no control over my actions and now my life has been ruined help I need therapy.”
I also think the ML is super dry and boring sorry not sorry. I just can’t justify liking this webtoon
The first time I read this webtoon I absolutely loved it. The story felt unique and I enjoyed the MC’s rational personality. But I reread this today and realized quite a few things.
Brainwashing tropes are always tricky. A character has been mind controlled to do things and act in a way that they CANNOT control. They are, essentially, not conscious and have had their autonomy ripped away from them without their consent. Isn’t this just rape??? You have these male characters who are preyed upon by this woman (Grace) who lusts after time and wants to collect them like dolls. Why are they being punished for being used and abused??? After breaking free of the mind control, they CLEARLY reflected feelings of distaste towards Grace.
The female lead , Selonia, is justified in her anger towards them before she found out they were being controlled. She STILL reserves the right to feel upset that about the situation as a whole. But as rationally as she was portrayed, she is incredibly self-centered in that she only cares about how HER men were taken away from HER. She was NOT upset on behalf of her friends. She was NOT angry or vengeful for her friends who were used by some horrendously selfish people. I wish the author depicted her as a bit more emotionally intelligent in this regard. If the roles were reversed, and SHE was brainwashed by a man who FORCED her to get engaged to him and fawn over him, how disgusting would that feel?
Additionally, how are none of the male leads traumatized from being brainwashed??? The webtoon showed that they remembered everything they said to Selenia, so they have all their memories from their time being brainwashed. Why is their first thought “OMG how could I be mean to Selonia??” Shouldn’t it be something like “Oh dear god I was made touch and obsess over a person against my will, I feel sick to my stomache - I had no control over my actions and now my life has been ruined help I need therapy.”
I also think the ML is super dry and boring sorry not sorry. I just can’t justify liking this webtoon