I Love Yoo Episode 209 Analysis - Psychological Warfare & Control

[@velaflor1228]

8:30 I'm so sorry but I laughed so hard when Shin-Ae was like "You're brothers 🥺 don't be like this! 😧 that's too much!🧐" etc. Meantime Shin-Ae: beats the crap out of her sister with a frying pan And I understand that situations are different, but still :D Thank you for your hard work 💜 🌻

[@himetsuki]

YES hahaha I was like, "Shin-Ae, girl. This is not the time for that." I know she means well, but oof. What she said was more harmful than she realizes.

[@yesmeaneh]

What shocks me the most is that they're spilling the beans in front of a stranger (Min-hyuk) and two other people they're not super duper close to, I just find it weird that they're so vocal abour how they feel when their traumas have been a secret from the audience even for so long. It makes sense with Nolan because he's started to care less and less about what people think of his actions, which might be influenced by the fact that he's living his last night as a free man for a while, but Kouske who's been so far even lying to himself slowly breaking is the creaziest thing, especially in front of strangers.

[@himetsuki]

Yeah! It's quite a scene considering the setting, but I honestly think they've forgotten about social graces at this point. They're both so deep in their emotions that they aren't even aware of their surroundings. It really is a whole experience for us watching it all unfold, though. I'm excited for the upcoming chapters :3

[@fatimamohammed9610]

I'm always so excited about your analysis on ily, cuz they are always spot on. Great job with this one, the series is getting better and better every week. Idk if you noticed it, but in the last panel on when Kousuke punches Nol, the railing breaks. So possibly another Shin ae and Nol parallel, where Nol falls and gets his own head injury. ( which I'm honestly not looking forward to it, I'm already in so much pain with Shin ae, I dont want to see my cinnamon Nol get sent to the hospital) As much as I dislike Kousuke, I really sympathise him in this episode, showing how corrupted his mind set and how much Yui took a toll on him. But at the same time I couldn't take him seriously with that dress he was wearing 😅😅

[@himetsuki]

I did see that! Ahhhhhhhh. I hope he's okay, but given how closely Shin-Ae and Nol's lives mirror each other, I suspect that this will be another parallel. I also sympathize with Kousuke. I genuinely feel terrible for him, but he also needs to start owning up to his behavior and acknowledging his own traumas. At the end of the day, his trauma is still his responsibility. Also, it's a tunic, Fatima! A TUNIC! He swears it hahaha 😂

[@coriolis4761]

I too LOVED that particular panel. I find it really interesting that Kimchee decided to keep them in their current outfits (in the panel) rather than make the panel, I guess more separate to the story, simply bc I think the clothes each of them is wearing tells us so much. Nol is looking at K, and he sees, what many of us saw as humorous or a bit sad (the tunic) but even then, he would be willing to tell K that he loves him, Nol loves K regardless of his faults and flaws. K is looking at Nol in formal attire, the kind of clothing that Nol only wears when forced to enter K's world. To me this suggests that K would only consider saying "I love you" to Nol if he A) changed - K does not, perhaps even cannot accept Nol as himself and B) if it benefits his father's company - the shirt also echoes the idea of business. I could go on about the gradient and the transition itself, but I need to get ready 😅

[@himetsuki]

Yes! That's a good point about the outfits, although I can't picture Kousuke saying "I love you" to anyone haha 🤣 I don't honestly think he fully grasps the concept of love. He grew up without it and has none for himself, but I do think the outfits are interesting nonetheless and reflective of the power dynamic with Nol winding up in control at the end of this chapter. Nol, especially in that outfit, truly embodies everything Kousuke both fears and resents in him. He fears that Nol will surpass him and resents that Nol is similar to Rand. It's super interesting! Quimchee is great when it comes to little, meaningful details like that.

[@WackyJackArt1976]

Nicely done as always. 😊 Some of my comments in fp were: What an amazing episode!!! You really do have to pity Kousuke. Nol tried. He honestly tried, and gave a flood of genuine, sincere compliments. And Kousuke.exe crashed. Kousuke couldn't even compute his brother wanted to like him, just wanted a brother for all of these years. And Nol is right. How could Kousuke possibly be strong enough to run a company without a spine? Kousuke's repressed himself so much. But Nol isn't the real target. Rand is. And Yui, but one realization at a time. Hansuke tried to tell him. YuJing tried, and gave up, content to watch him crash and burn. Even Shin-Ae asked, "Do you even have friends?" Kousuke's ignored how empty his life is. We all saw that calendar. I hope he realizes, that not only what he's working for is meaningless without living life, it's that he's been nothing more than a vessel for Yui to live through vicariously for his entire existence. How Kousuke must hate to look at Nol and see him echoing his father's facial features. Even worse, he's likely also hearing Rand's intonations in Nol's voice, along with everything Kousuke should have been told for all of these years. It was the "I almost feel sorry for you," that finally broke him. Or broke through that thick shell, anyway. I wonder...what if, when Kousuke finally gets home, even after getting his thumb bandaged, he dusts off his piano, or keyboard if he has one? He might just sit there, but...I really hope he keeps that little bit with him. Nol liked his playing piano. 🥺 🎹 Gadzooks, I just had a thought! If the cops are called, and someone notices YuJing, aka the Press? Hoo boy...and she's right there with a scoop, with witnesses to spare! This could get a lot uglier than we think!!! (Knowing what I know now...uh, yeah.) 😉😂

[@himetsuki]

I agree. I also pity Kousuke. He genuinely has no concept of self. Every decision he makes is based in Rand's approval or disapproval, but he convinces himself that these are things HE wants because he doesn't want to face his demons... and at the end of the day, this all leave him feeling so, so empty because the one thing he craves is something he never winds up obtaining: Rand's love. It's almost like the Myth of Sisyphus - he keeps pushing the boulder up the mountain, but can never get to the top. I would LOVE it if Kousuke played piano. That would be such a nice first step for him towards building his own identity... this episode really highlights just how much baby Nol adored Kousuke. He tried to give him a piano book once for his birthday. He also tried cake, tried books... it just goes to show how much Nol was genuinely paying attention to Kousuke's likes and dislikes. Again, the one person who gave him unconditional love... but Kousuke couldn't accept it because, as you said, this has always been about Rand and wanting Rand to show him the love he so craves.

[@alliandra5011]

I’d just finished reading this episode and I couldn’t agree more. The dynamic between Kousuke and Yeong-gi reminds me of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard. Cal was first born and had a younger half brother, Mavis. His mother manipulated him so much that when they usurp the throne from their dad and Cal escaping with his life, Mavis’ mind broke, too mangled for his mother to fix. But Cal had hope. He searched and searched for someone just as powerful as Mavis’ mother( in terms of super powers) to help him but couldn’t find anyone. Out of all the characters of that series, the only person that was the most forgiving and adamant for Mavis was the man he hated, his older brother Cal. It’s sad.

[@himetsuki]

Yeah, it really is tragic for them because everything that Kousuke craves is something that Nol had to offer. Nol wanted to be his brother, wanted to be in his corner, wanted them to understand each other... it's just unfortunate for everyone involved. They really could have made a great team.

[@alliandra5011]

@@himetsuki Yeah! I mean, some things they argue about hits close to home with the brothers in Red Queen. I’m the end, when Mavis finally stretched out his hand for help, it was too late. Then he accepted his deadly fate for ruling the country in a tyrannical dictatorship because had no one in his corner who genuinely cared for him. Everybody wanted him dead and the monarchy demolished. I just finished episode 212. I’m gonna watch your video for it.

[@himetsuki]

@@alliandra5011 I'm hoping it won't end that way for Nol and Kousuke. I like to think that some day they might be able to have a relationship with each other, but I guess only time will tell. I hope you enjoy the 212 video

[@iliciart]

Seeing a new video from you makes me so happy every time! I agree with you completely. Nol’s always done the best he could but Kousuke’s misguided paranoia goes too deep :(

[@himetsuki]

Thank you so much! That makes me happy to hear 🥰 Nol is honestly so emotionally intelligent. He understands that Kousuke is a victim too, and genuinely wanted to reach out and have a bond with him, but Kousuke projects all his negative emotions onto Nol, turning Nol into the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong in his life. It's really sad for everyone involved.

[@josephinecorichi5219]

This series is so heavy right now! It’s incredible! ❤

[@himetsuki]

YES! I've been loving the most recent chapters! Everything has been written so well 🤩

[@KaylaA725]

Was waiting for this one! Thank you for your work!💜

[@himetsuki]

You're very welcome! I hope you enjoyed 💜

[@Some_sort_of_trash]

I’ve been working my way backward through this series and I’m really enjoying it! Last episode Nol said that Kousuke did “nothing” to him, meaning he made him feel like nothing. I didn’t notice until now that Nol is using the same language to describe Rand’s treatment of Kousuke! There’s so many layers to that. Rand made Kousuke feel like nothing, and Kousuke took that out on Rand’s reflection, what Rand was supposed to be, without consideration for Nol as his own person. As much as Nol embodies every ideal that Rand could be, he’s also the evidence that Rand always had one foot out the door, ready to make a new family and leave Kou behind. Perception and the warping of it are also huge themes in ILY: Kousuke is nothing without external validation but Rand has been validating him in most of their exchanges. He says he loves him and is proud of him and what he’s accomplishing, he’s just… distant and dismissive, which is it’s own form of cruelty. Kousuke is past the point of no return, at least for the present; even if Rand were to show him love and attention at this point I don’t think he’d be able to process it. It’s also sad how warped Kousuke’s view of Nol and Rand’s dynamic is. That first meeting REALLY left an indent if he’s fostered the thought that Rand cared so openly about Nol behind his back, given that Rand is awful to Nol in front of Kousuke on multiple occasions- to the point that Kousuke uses this to snark at Nol early in the series.

[@himetsuki]

Yes! It reminds me of that phrase "hurt people hurt people." Kousuke was hurt and didn't know how to process that, so he took that out on Nol. Misery loves company. He felt like nothing, so he made Nol feel like nothing. It's sad for everyone involved. I agree that the damage has been done. Kousuke looks utterly shocked after that phone call with Rand right before Min-Hyuk's party. He can't believe that was Rand speaking because it's such a stark contrast to what Kousuke knows - to his lived experience. It really is sad. All this time, Kousuke thought that Nol was receiving a love and kindness and paternal caring that he wasn't, and couldn't understand why Rand didn't love him in the way he believed Rand loved Nol. I feel awful for both of them.

[@jaimecampos9108]

Excellent video as always sometimes that sweet voice changer that you use or that I think you use makes me want to sleep it’s so soft and sweet that I just zzz

[@himetsuki]

Thank you! It's actually just me using my more informal, vtuber voice hehe :3 I'm glad you like the tone of it! 😊