To the readers that are surprised about Guwon actually being the one that killed Jinwoo's father, WHAT were y'all expecting???? Like, genuinely.
We saw him do it (yes, even bfre chp45. I'm more than sure there is a panel where we see him do it), he said he did it, and specifically to those who were theorising that Jinwoo somehow did it, how tf could he have done it while suffering from a head injury bad enough that he couldn't move, could barely speak, and didn't even realise that his dad had died in the first place?? Also, why?? What would've been his motivation to do that??
I like how so many of us agree that Guwon's gonna like Jinwoo anyway. He that much of a freak.
Righttt, so I'd just made a new theory about this stuff yesterday and I'm willing to argue that this new chapter affirms at least some of it.
Not going to put the full thing here but, in summary, my theory is that Guwon is some sort of divine being or spirit of (or from) the Moon and that his coming to Earth directly or indirectly caused the whole apocalypse and created the time loop.
Why I think this chapter affirms my theory is because of what Jinwoo did.
He'd stabbed himself in the finger that he wore Guwon's ring on and, obviously, blood got on the ring. He'd proceeded to essentially make a wish to 'whatever God is out there' and then rushed off to go 'sky diving' and the time loop reset.
Basically, what I'm saying is that Jinwoo more or less accidentally(??) pulled off some blood magic shit and it actually worked possibly because of Guwon's ring.
This does, however, contradict another part of the theory, which is that Guwon had made the loop since he'd seemed to understand it sm in chapter 43 but this points more to Jinwoo being the one to have made it. But I would still argue that Guwon technically made it indirectly since I'm opting to believe that ring 'facilitated' Jinwoo's wish (and the ring being the facilitator could also explain how Guwon could remember/understand the loop).
Anywho, general thoughts on this chapter:
Damn, she killed them kids. The only ones that I truly feel bad for in this situation. Out of everyone, Woojun, Soo-Ah, and Soo-Ha deserved that the least. Heck, they didn't deserve it at all =(
I had half expected Jinwoo to try and follow along the original 'script' and maybe just try to alter events from the inside, but it does make a lot more sense for his character to want to prevent himself from influencing anything in the first place.
Guwon's reaction, to me, also sort of enforces another part of my above theory, which was that Guwon was consistently drawn to Jinwoo (even w/o remembering) & took him in (when he otherwise wouldn't have) because of the time loop and the fact that he created it. Also, it's just kind of funny to me. He just slapped you, bro; why you smiling?? You still down bad & you don't even remember??? Fucking dog. Neuter him.
Anddd, we all agree that Guwon's going to take him anyway, right? Jinwoo might try (and albeit fail in his current condition) to resist or fight him off, but smth tells me Guwon's just finna laugh it off and snatch him up anyway.
I know that the author said it was supposed to be a short story but omgs, this was so good. I'd love 20+ more chapters, even if it was just them going about their normal lives. As long as I got to see more of these cutie pies, I'd be happy
I've celebrated my wife's screentime; lemme lock in.
Holy crap, first of all.
I was honestly expecting the time to reset in some sort of way in this chapter. Like, yeah, Jinwoo lived, but I'd assumed that it would reset anyway and that the loop would just run differently or be disrupted since he survived. But based off this outcome it's probably safe to assume that what we saw in Chapter 43 wasn't actually how the loop was supposed to end.
In fact, with what we're seeing now, maybe everyone in the town has to die before the loop can be reset. Which generally makes a lot more sense, aligns with my previous theories, AND Jinwoo's dream that he'd mentioned in the beginning of this chapter. So it all ties together now.
I'm also unsurprised that The Hounds (or, more precisely, one of the Hounds) came back to the Town and started dropping bodies.
I knew it was going to happen; I'd just expected it to happen sooner. Regardless, I'm not disappointed. I knew these people were getting slimed and the prophecy has been fulfilled.
I am sorry for the kids though because this situation has to be terrifying for them =(
And, I'll admit, as much as I very well do still believe that the plan was rushed, stupid, and just in no way sound, I can sympathise with the Townspeople for trying to rebel. I'll call them stupid to the ends of the Earth but they were justified. Part of me feels that the rebellion, and particularly getting revenge against Guwon, was partially away for them to ease their own guilt for 'abandoning' their loved ones and 'letting them' die. But, even if it was efficient for the scenario and what kept things running more or less smoothly, Guwon's and the Hound's way of running things was oppressive as hell and of course, as humans do, they would've wanted to break free from that.
I honestly may have been more on their side if their plan had been better. But at the end of the day, this is a post-apocalypse, both 'sides' are wrong to their respective extents, and this shit is fictional so it is what it is.
I honestly hadn't expected Guwon to like- die die either, but as I said before, it makes sense that the loop didn't just restart from there. Besides that, I feel nothing towards his death (I can, however, hear his fans screaming and sobbing). Guwon intrigues me as a complex & confusing character in a way that I'd want to put him in a lab simulation and study him but I feel not for him otherwise. Get wrecked ig, broski =^ We seein' him whent the loop resets again anyway.
YES YES YES YES YES
I'VE BEEN *WAITING* FOR THIS SHIT
FINALLYYYY!! HEEWON SCREEN TIME.
THANK YOU, 945
THANK YOU, 945
THANK YOU, 945
THANK YOU, 945
YIPPEEEE
Ehem, to be clear, I'm mostly just happy that Heewon's getting more screentime. The Hounds are my favourite characters. So, Yippee Yay. More serious comment coming later, trust.
I WAS SO EXCITED FOR NOTHING AHHHH. COME BACK AND GIMME MY YURI, DAMMNIT
In all seriousness though, I hope that everything's alr with the creators and that the series continues soon. I need my Yuri.
THEY'RE SO CUTESY AND ADORABLE OH MY GODS
IF THEY EVER BREAK UP, THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL CEASE TO EXIST. I LOVE THEM, OH MY GODS
WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN, BRO???
"It felt as though the moon itself was falling with me" WRAP IT UP.
I'd been doubting myself bfre but atp, I'm betting ALL my money on Guwon being some kind of divine being or smth, bro. It's always this man and the fuckass moon, it has to mean smth.
Everybody say "Sorry, 954, for ever doubting you and your peak your writing skills."
This is genuinely so peak, we are TRANSCENDING the game right now.
sisyphus was punished for cheating death (and for being a poor ruler/betraying zeus) by being made to push a boulder up a mountain for all eternity, only for it to roll back down over and over again. it's representative of an exhausting and ultimately pointless task.
it's clear that gyuwon is meant to parallel sisyphus, given he is the "ruler" of the town and the hounds are his. his "boulder," his futile "task" is to maintain his power over/protect the town and keep ahold of jinwoo. im assuming his "boulder" rolls down the hill everytime he is betrayed and loses both the town and jinwoo, restarting the cycle (rolling back time) with his and jinwoo's deaths. I think they must specifically die falling off the mountain in order to be "reset." so i believe gyuwon makes the same request to die watching the town, and i think jinwoo chooses to grant his dying wish in every cycle, hence why they die the same way every time.
i think jinwoo parallels sisyphus as well. in his case, i think his "task" is freeing the town and freeing himself of gyuwon, which ultimately proves meaningless everytime gyuwon kills him. perhaps gyuwon himself is a representation of jinwoo's "boulder," as the framing of him "pushing" gyuwon up the mountain seems pretty intentional, and every time gyuwon dies + takes jinwoo with him, they're falling off the mountain and "rolling back" time, making everything they both did before that ultimately pointless/futile. i say they must be rolling back time because the town would definitely know something was up if jinwoo and gyuwon kept coming back to life without a time reset for all of them.
ultimately, they are the cause of each other's "boulders" rolling back down the hill.
assuming their deaths do result in them going back to the beginning, the entire story we've seen has likely just been another push of the boulder up the hill before it falls back down (when gyuwon and jinwoo die) and they start pushing it (their respective boulders) up again. however, the fact jinwoo has survived this time probably means the cycle has been disrupted/changed.
my own prediction is that gyuwon still "reset" upon his death, but because jinwoo didnt die too, they will have never met on gyuwon's end. i think jinwoo will make his way back to the town, find that no one remembers him, and end up getting into some kind of trouble with this new gyuwon who doesn't technically know him. gyuwon might try to kill him, as sisyphus was known for killing travelers who passed by/through his kingdom and we've already seen how gyuwon treats outsiders. but i think that gyuwon will have some lingering feelings (maybe a sense of deja vu/recognition) that will cause him to keep jinwoo prisoner instead of killing him right away. shenanigans ensue from there. i think a sense of deja vu could also explain why jinwoo kept trying to kill gyuwon, like his subconscious knows what's going to happen and tries to prevent it, even if his conscious remains unaware.
but that's just my own interpretation and prediction.
BACK AGAIN BECAUSE I REALISED THAT (WITH THE NEWEST CHAPTER'S REVEAL) THIS IS LIKE EMESIS BLUE.
Okay, for context: 'Emesis Blue' is a Team Fortress 2 horror film by Fortress Films (It's on YouTube; you can watch for free. I very much recommend).
Now, why the reveal in Chapter 43 reminds me of Emesis Blue? Because E.B. is a movie based on the concept of characters constantly coming back from the dead. But their continuous revivals have severe impacts on the timeline, essentially trapping them in what looks like a time loop (this is hard to explain but E.B. in general is hard to explain).
Basically, it carries the same element. Because there is a part in Emesis Blue where one of the characters discovers a ginormous pit just FULL of corpses, like, I'm talking THOUSANDS and seeing the pile of bodies at the end reminded me of that exactly.
So learning that Jinwoo and Guwon are seemingly dying and coming back in an never-ending loop is, to me, reminiscent of how the Emesis Blue characters are constantly 'resetting' in their story, dying multiple times throughout and just coming back to start all over again.
Now, here's the thing I want to see set these two apart. Emesis Blue had an incredibly vague, bone chilling ending that basically gave no answers as to what was really happening (it's really just theories and implications the viewer has to discern themselves). Is this going to be the same??? Are we going to get explanations or backstories to what exactly is happening and why? I sure as fuck hope we do.
I WAS WORRIED THAT THE PLOT WAS GOING TO SHIT.
NEVER MIND, I'M BACK NOW. THEY GOT ME WITH THIS ONE.
I WAS GENUINELY TELLING MYSELF I'D DROP THIS IF IT DIDN'T GET GOOD AGAIN.
So, it appears that some of the theories I saw in the comments here after Chapters 41 and 42 were right.
Although I can't rmbr who proposed them exactly, I saw users here predicting something like this so congrats to those guys for their theory being right =)
Anyway, HOLY SHIT. THAT IS. DOZENS. OF BODIES. So, clearly Guwon & Jinwoo have been 'reviving' or 'reincarnating' in some sense. But, now I'm wondering what's happened in the 'previous' life times. Obviously the conclusion has been more or less the same, but what lead up to it before? Were all of the previous lives the same as the storyline we've just seen? Were there major differences in some and/or only minor differences in others? I GOTTA KNOW NOW
I'd said before that I wasn't disappointed by how Chapter 41 went but now... Bro..
I'm actually kind of pissed off
First of all, no more screentime of the Hounds? The fuck? This may be insignificant to most other readers but, like, they're my favourites and I was excited to see them in action. And, then, you tell me that there's just... none of that?
Two, AIN'T NO DAMN WAY JINWOO IS STILL WEARING THE RING FUCK ALLLL THE WAY OFF, BRO. MAN-DEM CAN' PICK A STRUGGLE.
Three, this is so antic-climatic and dissatisfying, I was expecting (and was honestly excited) to see some good ol' action, an old fashioned beat down, some classic bloodshed. But, instead, I'm getting this. And I don't think that it's terrible.
However, it feels as though this isn't living up to what it should be. Like, with how things were going before, I'd been expecting so. Much. More. And while this course of action doesn't seem entirely uncharacteristic, it's... off. It feels like it's missing the complex, uncanny, jaw-dropping, unpredictable, and disturbing themes & vibes that I'd gotten used to and admired.
And seeing how this chapter uploaded so quickly after the last one,, I honestly feel like that the creator(s) should've stayed on hiatus longer or should've waited longer to finish & upload again because now it all just feels rushed.