Like, does he get worse now…? I just really don’t understand the spoilers I’ve seen that were making it sound like he was deeply evil.
Tbh i had to agree on your take. Is he shitty? Yes, but is he an irredeemable ML? Not really. He had his few bursts of ego especially the initial stage of their marriage, guess mainly because of the imbalance of power dynamics between them and the prejudice towards omega. It became worse after the betrayal, but overall he treats MC better than what his “family” had throughout the years. Though he did raped MC , I actually thought it would be more than thrice. Like you said, in POTN and in Night Song, the Uke was raped countless of time but the audience still cheered after th ML show an ounce of romance or remorse.
Overall his redemption arc is okay, he should communicate more and at least he is trying. Does everything stem from regrets? Yes, but he loves MC more to even let him go. Id say, hes on the fence of red flag, mainly because there are genuine sweet times in their first life and he goes all out in the second one.
I agree with you. Yes Ido is a scumbag but they're both bosses of miscommunication and misunderstanding.
I'm not sure if I can say the sex is just dub but I can say he is less of a rapist than other ML of popular BLs that people are just quick to forgive. Somehow people are being more
More scrutinising of Ido probably because we get to see the depth of torment Sejin had to go through and he did not forgive Ido. Unlike other BLs where the bottom are quick to forgive the top when they just show slight change, not even full repentance
Reading the actual backstory now makes it obvious that 1. Ido DID NOT send his brother to rape Sejin—like, it’s obvious that he wasn’t a “gift” and that the brother just said that because he’s a liar (in the present we learn that Ido hates him and so does their sister who says he’d deserve what comes to him). 2. That Ido thought Sejin had sex with his brother willingly (Sejin saying “I slept with him” instead of “he raped me” and Sejin insisting he would do it again). 3. That Ido had started liking Sejin before the betrayal came out.
To be honest, I thought Ido would be a lot worse than he actually ended up being based on all the spoilers people kept posting. He only ever hit Sejin once after he found out Sejin traded his company secrets and he never explicitly raped Sejin either—the sex was dubious, sure, but Sejin didn’t say no…? Which is common in manhwa even when the sex is consensual in the “healthiest” “green flag” couples. And Ido mentions wanting him again immediately after their first time, too. Ido’s biggest fault is the forced bond, his assumptions about Sejin, and his temper that flares and causes him to completely forget about the concept of communication and questions.
The way Ido ignores Sejin for four months is cruel, but I think it makes sense if you pay attention to the fact that he liked Sejin, that he thought Sejin had willing sex with his brother (that he thought Ido would want him to do that, even), and that he forced a bond on Sejin that he would have felt guilty for (which can be assumed by the way Ido talks about their past and the look on past!Ido’s face).
I don’t know. Popular manhwas have much worse MLs that never repent and people love them—Payback, R&C, Codename, POTN, etc. Not a knock on those manhwas, just pointing out that there are actual rapists that everyone forgives, so the reaction to Ido having dubious sex with Sejin is off to me.