Script Book vs Final Cut: The Dream Scene That Made Us All Cry

📍 Episode 8 is where adrenaline and tears collide in the most devastating way possible. From the moment Si-eun walks out of that hospital corridor like “pure murder catwalking down a runway” (yes, a subscriber actually wrote that and it broke my brain 🧠) to that yellow-lit dream sequence that destroys us all – this episode is an emotional masterpiece that critics calling “implausible” completely fail to understand.

⚠️ Please ignore any Korean text that appears – I’ve noticed Korean fans also visit my blog, so I include Korean translations below paragraphs to help their understanding 🙏

📢 Fair Use Notice

This post contains copyrighted material from “Weak Hero” (© Wavve/Netflix) used for educational analysis, criticism, and commentary purposes under fair use doctrine. All rights belong to original creators.

The Comment That Completely Blew Me Away

Recently, one of my subscribers left a comment that just hooked me completely. They were talking about episode 8, you know that scene where Si-eun spends the night watching over Su-ho’s hospital bed with Yeong-i, and then he walks out through that hospital corridor? Well, they described it like this:

Something has snapped in his mind. It’s like pure murder catwalking down a runway.

🔥 Pure murder catwalking? I was totally blown away by that phrase. That comment made me go back and rewatch episode 8, and honestly? It’s my favorite episode of the entire series. Everything just comes to a head – all those pent-up emotions finally burst out like a dam breaking.

But there’s this criticism floating around that Si-eun’s revenge lacks credibility. The “Why would he go that far for someone he only knew for 41 days?” question. This critique is as hard for me to swallow as the one-dimensional reviews that dismiss Beom-seok as merely some Instagram-obsessed attention-seeker blinded by jealousy. Both interpretations completely miss the sophisticated emotional architecture that the series builds over eight carefully crafted episodes.

최근에 한 구독자가 완전히 저를 사로잡은 댓글을 남겼습니다. 8화에 대해 얘기하면서, 시은이가 영이와 함께 수호 병상을 밤새 지키고 나서 병원 복도를 걸어 나가는 그 장면을 이렇게 묘사했어요: “그의 정신에 뭔가 끊어진 것 같다. 마치 순수한 살인이 런웨이를 걷는 것 같다” 이 표현에 완전히 놀랐고, 덕분에 8화를 다시 보게 됐습니다. 정말 전체 시리즈에서 가장 좋아하는 에피소드이고요.

한편, 시은이의 복수가 현실성이 없다는 비판이 있는데, “고작 41일 알았던 친구를 위해 왜 그렇게까지?” 라는 식의 의문이죠. 이런 비판은 8화에 걸쳐 치밀하게 쌓아올린 감정적 구조를 완전히 놓치고 있고, 이 아름다운 수작을 1차원 적으로 보고 관두는 것과 마찬가지의 시각이라 생각합니다.

Si-eun’s bloodstained white uniform after his revenge at Jisung High – the aftermath of a psychological breakdown that was years in the making. (Source: Weak Hero Class 1, Wavve/Netflix)

The Shallow Take That Misses Everything

When viewers question the plausibility of Si-eun’s actions in episode 8, they’re essentially asking why a 16-year-old boy would risk everything to avenge someone who fundamentally changed his world. The answer doesn’t lie in how long they knew each other, but in the depth of transformation that Su-ho brought to Si-eun’s previously barren emotional landscape.

Critics who wonder “why he’d go that far for a 41-day friend” are missing something fundamental about how teenagers experience connection. When I watch those scenes, I don’t see 41 days – I see a lifetime of isolation finally ending, and then that lifeline being cut.

8화에서 시은이의 행동에 대해 현실성을 의심하는 시청자들은 본질적으로 16세 소년이 왜 자신의 세상을 근본적으로 바꿔놓은 사람을 위해 모든 걸 걸고 복수하려 하는지 묻고 있는 거예요. 답은 얼마나 오래 알았느냐가 아니라 수호가 시은이의 메마른 감정적 고립에 가져다준 변화의 깊이에 있습니다.

“41일 친구를 위해 왜 그렇게까지” 하는지 의아해하는 비평가들은 10대들이 어떻게 관계를 경험하는지에 대한 근본적인 감정을 따라가는 것을 놓치고 있습니다. 그 장면들을 볼 때 저는 41일이 아니라 평생의 고립이 마침내 끝나자마자 자신의 생명줄이 끊어지는 걸 볼 수 있는데요.

The Parallel Structure of Si-eun’s Breaking Points

To fully appreciate the emotional narrative of Episode 8, we need to examine the parallel structure between Si-eun’s first explosion and his final one. Initially, when the bullies threatened his academic performance – the only thing that mattered to him at the time – Si-eun completely lost control. We witnessed how terrifyingly this boy could transform when something precious to him was attacked.

But there’s a crucial change: by Episode 8, Si-eun’s priorities had fundamentally shifted. The boy who had only gotten one question wrong even with a fentanyl patch on his neck ended up missing multiple questions on his final exam due to Su-ho’s mysterious absence. This represents the fundamental transformation that occurred within Si-eun. From academics to relationships, from grades to emotions, from isolation to love. And Su-ho was at the center of all these changes.

8화를 모든 감정적 서사를 온전히 느끼려면, 시은이의 첫 번째 폭발과 마지막 폭발 사이의 대칭 구조를 살펴봐야 합니다. 처음에는 일진들이 그의 학업 성과 – 당시 그에게 유일하게 중요했던 것 – 를 위협했을 때 시은이는 완전히 통제력을 잃었습니다. 그가 소중하게 여기는 걸 공격받을 때 이 소년이 얼마나 무섭게 돌변하는지 목격했습니다.

하지만 중요한 변화가 있습니다: 8화에 이르러서는 시은이의 우선순위가 근본적으로 바뀌었습니다. 목에 펜타닐 패치를 붙이고도 한 문제만 틀렸던 소년이 수호의 의문스러운 부재로 인하여, 기말고사에서 여러 문제를 틀리게 되었습니다. 이것이 시은이에게 일어난 근본적인 변화입니다. 학업에서 관계로, 성적에서 감정으로, 고립에서 사랑으로. 그리고 수호가 그 모든 변화의 중심에 있었습니다.

The Directing Choice That Knocked My Socks Off

You know that moment when Si-eun walks out of Jisung High after completely wrecking Yeong-bin and Woo-young – especially after he messed up Woo-young’s ankle? He’s stumbling out in his white summer uniform with blood splattered all over it, looking like his soul just left his body. But here’s the thing – instead of doing a close-up shot, they filmed it as an aerial shot from way up high.

This directing choice just hit different for me. See, the whole setting around Jisung High – with those high-rise apartment complexes surrounding the school – that’s such a typical sight in pretty much any Korean city. Schools tucked between apartment buildings are way more common than the hillside ones. Actually, my own high school looked pretty much just like Jisung High.

When I watched this scene, it struck me how the show deals with these very fantastical characters like Su-ho and Si-eun, but somehow makes them feel like they could actually exist in our everyday reality. Si-eun walking out of that school gate with birds chirping and crickets making noise in the background – that’s exactly what you’d hear on any regular Korean summer morning in July at a high school. And Si-eun standing there didn’t feel out of place at all.

If they had only used close-up shots of Si-eun walking out after destroying Woo-young’s ankle, sure, it would’ve been dramatic. But it wouldn’t have given us that feeling that maybe, just maybe, someone like this could be breathing somewhere in our ordinary world. He looks like this fantasy character, but that aerial shot made him seem like just another ordinary high school kid hiding somewhere in plain sight.

Then when he heads back to Byeoksan High, they show this back shot of Si-eun climbing up the hill toward the school. The music that plays during that scene was perfect too. One of the best things about Weak Hero has to be the OST – I think that music probably played a huge part in why my subscriber described it as “pure murder catwalking.”

시은이가 영빈이와 우영이를 완전히 박살내고 – 특히 우영이 발목을 망가뜨린 후 – 지성고등학교에서 나오는 그 순간에 대해 할 말이 많은데요. 온통 피가 튄 하복 셔츠를 입고 비틀거리며 나오는데 마치 영혼이 몸을 떠난 것 같았습니다.

그런데 클로즈업 샷 대신 높은 곳에서 찍은 항공샷으로 촬영했다는 점이 정말 인상적이었습니다. 지성고 주변 환경 – 학교를 둘러싼 고층 아파트 단지들 – 이건 한국 어느 도시에서나 볼 수 있는 전형적인 풍경입니다. 산기슭에 있는 학교보다 아파트 사이에 끼여있는 학교가 훨씬 흔하죠. 실제로 제 고등학교도 지성고와 거의 똑같이 생겼어요.

이 장면을 보면서 수호나 시은 같은 판타지적인 캐릭터들을 다루면서도 마치 우리 일상 현실에 존재할 수 있을 것 같다는 느낌을 주는 게 놀라웠습니다. 새가 지저귀고 매미 우는 소리가 배경으로 깔린 채 교문을 나서는 시은이… – 이건 7월 어느 평범한 한국 고등학교 여름의 오전에 들을 수 있는 그대로의 소리였습니다. 그리고 그 속에 서 있는 시은이가 전혀 어색하지 않았습니다. 항공샷이 시은이를…. 어디선가 숨어있는 평범한 고등학생처럼 보이게 만들었죠.

Script vs. Final Cut: The Dream Conversation

After Si-eun lets out all that rage, he comes back to Su-ho’s hospital room. Fans always joke that when those yellow lights come on, we all lose our minds, and well… same here.

In the original script, this part is pretty well-known among fans. Su-ho was supposed to tease Si-eun in that playful tone saying “Si-eun-ssi, are you sleepy?” But in the actual drama, instead of “Si-eun-ssi,” he just says “Si-eun-ah, are you sleepy?” – dropping the formal speech.

I’ve talked about Su-ho’s wordplay before, how he calls his same-age friend Si-eun “Si-eun-ssi” like he’s saying “Mister John” or something. So in the script, he was supposed to playfully say “Si-eun-ssi, are you sleepy?” in that teasing formal tone. And in Si-eun’s dream, Su-ho is sitting on the bed with this chuckle, and the direction says “that signature smile that makes everyone who sees it feel good.”

Then he looks at Si-eun while smiling – you know the scene I’m talking about, right? – and says “You’re a total lunatic” and then casually drinks water that was sitting nearby, gulping it down. That’s how the direction was written.

In the actual drama, Su-ho is lying in the hospital bed bantering with Si-eun, and then they exchange apologies and make all of us viewers cry. Right?

I think the reason the script had Su-ho drinking water like that was because the director wanted to create this parallel structure, like bookends connecting back to episode 1. You know, that scene where Su-ho mistakenly delivered to Si-eun’s house and asked for water? The director probably wanted those scenes to overlap in our minds.

I think it would’ve worked great if they had followed the script, but I also love how the final cut turned out in the drama. Honestly, I think this is the absolute best scene in all of Weak Hero Season 1.

시은이가 분노를 다 터뜨리고 나서 수호 병실로 돌아오는 부분말입니다. 팬들이 항상 농담하길 노란 조명이 켜지면 우리 모두 정신을 잃는다고 하는데… 저도 마찬가지예요 😂 원래 대본이 디렉션 부분은… 팬들 사이에 꽤 알려진 부분인데, 수호가 장난스러운 톤으로 “시은씨, 잠이 옵니까?” 라고 놀리듯이 장난을 거는 투였었죠.

하지만 실제 드라마에서는 “시은씨” 대신 그냥 “시은아, 잠이오냐?”라고 해서 수호 그 특유의 장난스러운 존댓말을 빼버렸습니다. 수호의 말장난에 대해 전에도 얘기했지만, 동갑내기 친구 시은이를 “시은씨”라고 부르는 게 마치 “존 씨” 같은 느낌이거든요. 대본에서는 시은이의 꿈에서 수호가 침대에 앉아서 웃으며 “보는 사람마다 기분 좋게 만드는 그 특유의 미소”로 시은이를 바라보며 ‘실실 웃으며’ “넌 진짜 또라이야”라고 하면서 옆에 있던 물을 벌컥벌컥 마시도록 연출 디렉션이 되어 있었어요.

제 생각엔… 감독님께서 1화에서 수호가 잘못 배달을 와, 시은이 집에서 물을 달라고 했던 장면과 대칭 구조를 만들고 싶으셨던 게 아닐까 싶습니다. 대본대로 했어도 좋았을 것 같지만, 실제 드라마에서 나온 버전도 사랑합니다. 약한영웅 시즌1 전체에서 최고의 장면이라고 생각합니다.

Deep Conversations with Subscribers: Si-eun’s Violence

I’ve been having some really deep conversations with subscribers about Si-eun’s violent tendencies. One subscriber presented the viewpoint that Si-eun might be psychopathic, and honestly? Like Su-ho, I was drawn to that “total lunatic” quality in Si-eun too.

I don’t think Si-eun actually enjoys violence, but I know the webtoon has depictions of him getting a taste for fighting. The drama did a really good job calibrating that aspect though.


In Season 1, Si-eun seemed to be constantly scoping out targets to stab with his pen, totally giving off those “just come at me” vibes. In Season 2, I sensed he was actually longing for violence, and that’s when Seong-je popped up and went boom!

I think Seong-je was necessary for Si-eun – to help him break away from the guilt over Su-ho and Beom-seok that was eating him up all day, giving him at least a moment to shake off those feelings.

But one subscriber offered such a thoughtful, balanced perspective on this topic. They acknowledged that Si-eun definitely shows psychological problems throughout seasons 1 and 2, and that built-up anger bursts out in extremely stressful situations, but pointed out something crucial we shouldn’t miss.

Si-eun is potentially scary, but he’s also, usually, a lot of good things as well. He’s kind and he has a lot of empathy. When he’s been attacked with a narcotic – an opioid 100x more powerful than morphine that could have killed a small kid with no tolerance – and it’s still in his system, he fights back for the first time, goes totally berserk and doesn’t know where to stop. But he’s smart, so he thinks quickly, scans the room and uses what’s on hand, even though the odds of severe harm and punishment rise exponentially with those found weapons.

구독자들과 시은이의 내재된 폭력성에 대해 정말 깊은 대화를 나누고 있어요. 한 구독자는 시은이가 사이코패스일 수도 있다는 관점을 제시했는데, 솔직히 수호처럼 저도 시은이의 그 “완전 미친놈” 같은 면에 끌렸습니다. 시은이가 실제로 폭력을 즐긴다고는 생각하지 않지만, 웹툰에서는 싸움의 맛을 알아가는 묘사가 있다는 걸 알아요. 드라마는 그 부분을 정말 잘 조절했다고 생각합니다.

시즌1에서 시은이는 계속 펜으로 찌를 타겟을 물색하는 것 같았고 완전 “덤벼볼테면 덤벼봐라” 분위기였죠. 시즌2에서는 실제로 폭력을 갈망하는 것 같았어요. (자기는 모르지만, 그리워한단 느낌을 받았습니다..) 그때 성제가 나타나주어서 제대로 터져버린 거고요. (성제와 시은이 둘다 서로의 필요에 의해 대치되었다고 생각해요)

하지만 한 구독자가 정말 사려깊고 균형잡힌 관점을 제시해줬어요. 시은이의 심리적 문제가 암시되는 건 이 드라마의 팬이라면 누구나 알 수 있지만, 놓치면 안 되는 중요한 것이 있다고 했죠. “시은이는 잠재적으로 폭력성이 있지만, 평소에는 좋은 면들도 많아요. 친절하고 공감능력이 있습니다. 모르핀보다 100배 강한 마약으로 공격받았으나 – 내성이 없는 작은 아이는 죽을 수도 있는 – 그게 아직 체내에 있는 상태에서 처음으로 반격했고, 완전히 광폭해져서 어디서 멈춰야 할지 모르는 상태가 된 거예요.”

What really struck a chord with me was their observation about what happens next. Just a few days later, Si-eun agrees to help the bully who tormented him avoid punishment because the guy claims his mother can’t take the pain. Then he goes to great lengths to help runaway kids escape their oppressor.

As his world gets a bit bigger, he has obvious empathy for the bullied, adopted boy, the poor boy with three jobs, the homeless girl with nowhere to sleep, the boy with an alcoholic father and even the gangster boy who dies young.

Their conclusion really hit home: “Si-eun isn’t ‘psychopathic.’ He’s massively troubled but he’s not deceptive or manipulative or uncaring. I don’t think he actually enjoys violence. And he’s not proud of what he’s done. He knows he shouldn’t fight and hurt other people.”

Another subscriber analyzed how Si-eun’s parents essentially neglected and abandoned him, expecting him to be self-parenting and almost perfect. His father, an Olympic silver medalist in judo, was clearly disappointed that his son turned out frail and easily hurt. So Si-eun adapted accordingly – becoming an isolated, stoic, scholastic automaton living in an extremely rigid world where he denies his basic needs for food, sleep, and relationships.

When little Si-eun overheard his parents fighting about regretting having him, that child would have been convinced he was unwanted, a disappointing, inconvenient problem. So he goes to his room, locks the door, and does math. That became his way of dealing with the fact that his parents didn’t want him.

But the most important insight, as one subscriber pointed out, is the social commentary running through Weak Hero: “What happens to kids when they’re put in highly pressured, unsafe environments with no friends, family or teachers they can count on to keep them safe or give them guidance?”

Si-eun isn’t naturally aggressive or violent, and he wouldn’t have done any of the over-the-top things he does if there hadn’t been such incredibly triggering events going off all around him. That insight really gets to the heart of it.

정말 인상깊었던 건 그 다음에 일어나는 일에 대한 관찰이었습니다. 불과 며칠 후 시은이는 자신을 괴롭혔던 영빈이 찾아와 애원하며 엄마가 자기만 보고 산다며, 처벌을 피하게 해달라고 하자 도와주기로 합니다. (물론, 트리오를 유인하기 위한 쇼였지만…) 그리고 가출 패밀리의 청소년들이 길수로부터 벗어나도록 해줍니다.

“그의 세계가 조금씩 커지면서 왕따당하는 입양아, 아르바이트 세 개를 하는 소년 가장, 잠잘 곳 없는 노숙 소녀, 알코올중독 아버지를 둔 소년, 심지어 석대에게까지 명백한 공감을 보여줍니다.”

시은이는 ‘사이코패스’가 아니에요. 심리적 문제를 안고 있지만 기만적이거나 조작적이거나 무관심하지는 않습니다. 실제로 폭력을 즐긴다고 생각하지 않고, 자신이 한 일을 자랑스러워하지도 않아요. 싸우고 다른 사람을 다치게 해서는 안 된다는 걸 알고 있거든요.

Why Si-eun’s Breakdown Makes Perfect Sense

For me, the genius of Weak Hero Class 1 is how it made me completely invest in Su-ho and Si-eun’s relationship. By episode 8, I felt like I’d experienced that friendship through Si-eun’s eyes – I’d seen how it transformed him, gave him hope, showed him what love could feel like. So when that gets ripped away, Si-eun’s breakdown doesn’t feel excessive to me – it feels heartbreakingly human.

I keep thinking about that image of little Si-eun doing math problems while his parents fought about regretting having him. For someone whose entire childhood was built around academic hyperfocus just to survive emotional neglect, Su-ho represented something revolutionary – proof that he was worthy of love, that he wasn’t the unwanted burden his parents made him feel like.

Honestly, when I consider Si-eun’s background and possible neurodivergence, his extreme response makes complete psychological sense to me.

약한영웅 클래스1의 연출적 천재성이 수호와 시은이의 관계에 완전히 몰입하게 만든 점이라고 생각합니다. 8화까지 보면서 시은이의 눈으로 그 우정을 경험한 것 같았습니다. 수호와의 우정이 이 고립된 소년을 어떻게 변화시켰는지, 희망을 줬는지, 사랑이 어떤 느낌인지 보여줬는지를 다 봤으니까요. 그래서 수호가 코마에 빠졌을 때 시은이의 붕괴가 전혀 과하다고 느껴지지 않았어요 – 가슴 아프도록 인간적이라고 느꼈죠.

부모가 자신을 낳은 걸 후회한다는 식으로 다투는 걸 들으며, 수학 문제를 푸는 어린 시은이의 모습을 계속 생각하게 되었습니다. 부모의 (물론 그게 의도적인 건 아니었다고 할지라도) 감정적 방치에서 살아남기 위해 학업에 매달리면서, 스스로 고립을 만들었던 한 소년에게 수호의 존재는 너무나 큰 우정 이상의 의미였다고 봅니다. – 자신도 사랑받을 가치가 있다는 증명이었고, 부모가 느끼게 만든 ‘원치 않는 짐’이 아니라는 증거였죠. 솔직히 시은이의 배경과 연출적으로 암시되었다고 느꼈던 심리적인 문제들을 모두 고려하면, 그의 극단적 반응은 자연스럽기만 합니다.

Back to “Pure Murder Catwalking”

In the end, I come back to that subscriber’s phrase: “pure murder catwalking down a runway.” Si-eun’s episode 8 revenge lacking credibility? Not a chance. It’s the inevitable result of an emotional journey carefully built over eight episodes.

The despair of a boy losing his first love, losing the first relationship where he felt truly loved, watching all that hope shatter into pieces – how can anyone call that implausible?

Si-eun wasn’t just avenging a friend he’d known for 41 days. He was avenging the person who made him feel complete for the first time, who fundamentally changed his world, who taught him what love could be. And that’s exactly why Weak Hero moves so many people’s hearts. We’ve all experienced or dreamed of that kind of first love, that moment of salvation, somewhere along the way.

결국 그 구독자의 표현으로 돌아가게 돼요: “런웨이를 걷는 순수한 살인마” 시은이의 8화 복수가 현실성이 없다고요? 절대 아니에요. 8화에 걸쳐 치밀하게 쌓아올린 감정적 여정의 필연적 결과거든요. (잃을 준비가 되어 있지 않을 때) 첫사랑을 잃은 소년의 절망, 진정으로 사랑받는다고 느끼게 해준 존재를 갑작스럽게 잃는다는 것… 모든 희망이 산산조각 나는 걸 지켜보는 것…

시은이는 41일 알던 친구를 위해 복수한 게 아니었어요. 처음으로 자신을 완전하게 만들어준 사람, 근본적으로 자신의 세상을 바꿔놓은 사람, 사랑이 무엇인지 가르쳐준 사람을 위해 복수한 거였겠죠. 그리고 바로 이것이 약한영웅이 그렇게 많은 사람들의 마음을 움직이는 이유라고 봅니다. 우리 모두는 어디선가 그런 종류의 첫사랑, 그런 구원의 순간을 경험했거나 꿈꿔본 적이 있지 않을까요.

💭 What do you think about the “41 days” criticism? Have you ever experienced a connection that felt life-changing in a short period of time? Do you think Si-eun’s response was emotionally authentic, even if it wasn’t morally right? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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