Short Reviews of Dramas I'm halfway through
This was written nearly a week ago, but I never got around to looking for pictures to accompany the (vv long) post till now.
Quick round-up of dramas I'm following, from best to worst (in terms of craft, not story).
1st picture L to R: Princess Cheon-Myung, Deok-Man (future Queen Seon-Dok), Mi-Shil, General Kim Yu-Shin
2nd picture L to R: Deok-Man, Mi-Shil
I'm SO PSYCHED for the next episode of Queen Seon-Dok! Yu-Shin KNEW Deok-Man was a girl! Gasp! Now they've found out there was ANOTHER PRINCESS hidden from the palace shortly after birth (because there exists a prophecy that if a king has twin daughters, he will have no male heirs) and that Deok-Man is the princess... Will the king find out that his daughter is actually back in the palace? And Mi-Shil is so delightfully, gloriously evil. And smart. So scheming, them all. But Mi-Shil always one-ups them :)
1st picture: Park Ye-Jin as Princess Cheon-Myung, Deok-Man's twin (older) sister.
2nd picture: Uhm Tae-Woong as General Kim Yu-Shin. He's someone who should've been born 500 years ago, since he looks MUCH hotter in period drama outfits than in modern outfits ha.
Mi-Shil's secret weapon, the foundation upon which her power stands, is something the good side have been trying to find so that they can defeat her. They've codenamed it the Sadaham Plum Blossom. It's actually... well, a weather forecasting plan. See, the Kyerim (a fractious little country that eventually formed part of modern Korea) people worship Mi-Shil as a goddess. When Kyerim faces a drought, the king conducts ceremonies to pray for rain, but to no avail. After some time, Mi-Shil intercedes by holding a ceremony of her own, and guess what, rain comes! To the people of Kyerim, it seems as though the heavens have opened for Mi-Shil... but nah, she's much smarter than that, and points out to Deok-Man in a spine-chilling scene that 'There is no Heaven's Will, only Mi-Shil's.' Whooo spooooky
1st picture: Mi-Shil, who expresses her displeasure through an extremely discomfitting smile.
2nd picture: Mi-Shil's evil (but hilarious) younger brother, Lord Mi-Saeng.
Go Hyun-Jung's portrayal of Mi-Shil is just stellar. Of course you still want the good side to win, but now you know what kind of villain they're up against... you know that the fight in store is going to be pretty damn intense. Who knew sageuks (period dramas)could be this exciting... This, from someone who's last period drama was Huanzhugege (and I didn't even like it), is credible la trust me. Though the story's dramatic, I guess period dramas have the benefit of suspended disbelief, since there's nothing like SMSes and DNA tests and phone records to disprove what people say. Audience will switch off common sense (not, however, wrt loopholes in plot) while watching.
Look at how scenic/elaborate the sets are... the amount of attention paid to the intricacy of details is evident even in the LQ videos I watch.
Netizens have complained about Lee Yo-Won's (she plays the titular role) acting as being limited in terms of range, but I think it's because she's up against someone so powerfully emotive. So it's not that she's bad... she just pales in comparison with Go Hyun-Jung? Then again so do the rest of the younger cast.
L-R: Eun-Sung (played by Han Hyo-Joo), Hwan (Lee Seung-Gi), Seung-Mi (Moon Chae-Won), Joon-Sae (Bae Soo-Bin). You can gauge from their facial expressions how dramatic this show is.
Inheritance is ending its run this Sunday. As crazily dramatic as it's been at points (and awkwardly acted at a few others), I'll give it props for how intriguing it has been - hello 40% viewership?! It's incredible how they've been holding back ALL FORMS OF VINDICATION (save for Halmoni's and Hwan's trust) from Eun-Sung and then now that there're two episodes left, I foresee a cathartic landslide ahead as all of Seung-Mi's mom's tales unravel at the same time. Viewers like me who've been left indignant and frustrated (How is it humanly possible for ANYONE to lie this well?!) week after chest-thumping week will finally have reason to breathe hehe. I hope they wrap up Joon-Sae's side of the story well, though, since many fangirls are going to want their ever-righteous (and handsome. Of course.) Joon-Sae to have a happy ending. Well as happy an ending as any supporting character can get.
More pictures of Eun-Sung because she's so bleedin' cute T.T
(Update on 31st July, 235am: I watched the ending a few days ago, and let's just say the two-episode extension worked wonders in tying up all the loose ends. Because so many cans of worms were created by Seung-Mi's mom, I was afraid the ending would leave some parts unresolved. Well er the resolution was surprisingly snappy, and they even took care of what would happen to the more minor characters. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that this show is far too overwrought with theatrics for my tastes. It is not possible for Eun-Sung's life to be so tragic and so wronged. I find that I can empathise with Seung-Mi's selfish actions though... I would probably have told the same lies if I were in her shoes. Hehe I am obviously not lead-character - i.e. selfless and giving without qualms - material. Despite my gripes, ratings for the last episode were 47.1% nationwide, which is just... insane.)
L-R: Attorney Kang Eun-Ho (played by Kim Hyun-Joo), Attorney Lee Tae-Jo (Lee Dong-Wook).
On to Wednesday-Thursday dramas. To be honest, the first 5 episodes of Partner were wayyyy tooo draggyyy for their own good. Story revolves around a bunch of lawyers, and I thought they were working with a one-case-per-episode format, but the first case alone took up 4 or 5 episodes?! Nevertheless I stuck doggedly to it because the leads are well, Lee Dong-Wook (My Girl) and Kim Hyun-Joo (Glass Slippers), and nearing episode 7 the drama finally began to pick up pace. It's pretty exciting now - though nowhere comparable to the first two dramas - and the other office characters comprising of some veteran actors and Kim Dong-Wook (the very cute Ha-Rim from Coffee Prince - 'My Chan!') provide comic relief at points.
L-R: Attorney Han Jung-Won (Honey Lee), Attorney Lee Young-Woo (a smouldering Choi Chul-Ho).
Honey Lee (A Miss Universe 2nd runner-up, kid you not) pulls off her debut TV role with surprising gusto, and wow I do not exaggerate when I say HOLY MACKEREL, THIS WOMAN IS GORGEOUS. And incredibly sexy. Gosh that sounds so wrong coming from a girl, but if you watch her I think you'll more than understand. Helps that her voice is low and calming, as opposed to some bimbotic squeak. Voice is... important.
I didn't watch Choi Chul-Ho's previous drama, Queen of Housewives (couldn't look straight at Kim Nam-Joo's over-fixed face), so I don't know if his role was any different there. Here he's the cold, cool type (he's Tae-Jo's older brother) and married to some influential heiress, but he continues to have an affair with Honey Lee. I've never approved of extra-marital affairs (if you don't love the woman, just freakin' don't get married to her la!) but this one... you can sense that they really love each other. They're so cold to everyone else but when they're around each other... the stoic fronts they put up crumble away. I don't know how they're going to resolve it though, since he already has a daughter with his wife :/
Lee Dong-Wook showcasing his inner dork.
If I were to summarise what draws me to follow Partner, I guess it would have to be Lee Dong-Wook's ebullient charm (and my irrational liking for Kim Hyun-Joo, who's so pretty but looks so approachable). The guy is ADORABLE, and holds the show afloat even where the script sags. He has so much screen presence and his actions come across as really unpretentious. Is rare talent, him. I'm glad to see it growing from a must...force...self...to...press...on... drama into a fairly watchable one, though. The sad thing about Partners is that it picked up pace a little too late, so its ratings are understandably low. Not as immeasurably low as Triple, though, which is SUCH A HUGE LETDOWN (but more on that later)
That leaves Swallow The Sun, which I kinda cringed when I read it being called 'All-In 2'. For those of you who didn't watch it, All-In was a gangsta big-budget drama about casinoes, which aired in 2003 and catapulted Song Hye-Gyo to the status of an A-list celeb. It also happens to fall into a genre of dramas which are er... dark and dirty. I don't like my dramas dark and dirty, I like them bright and clean. I.e. I don't like dingy alleyways, I like paved streets. I don't like watching unshaven men stumble around dimly-lit warehouses with guns and dealing with drugs and murder, I like them in offices stabbing (only metaphorically) each other's backs.
L-R: Kim Jung-Woo (played by Ji Sung), Lee Soo-Hyun (Sung Yu-Ri).
So while a couple of aforementioned 'dark and dirty' scenes in a drama are okay, I can't stand it when the WHOLE drama is like that, especially not when executed together with theatrics like cheesy music. Whenever Ji Sung is told something dramatic by the boss (who lives in a villa, of course), e.g. 'I need you to kill someone for me.', his face falls in time to the opening notes of a bugel score... which by the way rings in my head even though I'm only at the start of episode 4.
You're asking why I watch it then? Why, Sung Yu-Ri, of course. I know I've said this countless times, but she's SOOO SOOOO PRETTY gosh she's just so good to look at! And for Ji Sung, who played an adorable (rascally-type) doctor in New Heartbefore he got shipped off to the Korean army for NS. So this is his first drama in two years. Lee Wan (starred in Let's Go To The Beach, such a meaningful title for a drama.He was likeable enough in there but is perhaps more remembered for being Kim Tae-Hee's younger bro) plays the supporting role, but his acting is... well. Punky. He's like all 'Watcha starin' at, huh?!?!' and overcharged hormones, so... nope, not feelin' him.
L-R: punky Jang Tae-Hyuk (Lee Wan), Tae-Hyuk's butler who also played Goo Jun-Pyo's butler in Boys over Flowers. Poor man kena typecast already. He's got a very unsettling, somewhat slimy vibe to him :/
My patience is getting worn thin, though. The story's kind of disjointed, so it jumps from zzz boring scenes of old gangsters threatening each other with brute violence (Srsly, who cares.), to super emo scenes like Ji Sung recalling the only girl he's ever liked (Sung Yuri), who was from his orphanage but later moved out. Lee Wan (whose dad has assigned Ji Sung to him) gets him to check up on this girl he's interested in, and lo and behold it turns out to be Sung Yuri. (Out of the, what, 12 million people who live in Seoul. If this is not serendipity then NOTHING ELSE IS.) But oh nos boss's son likes my girl, how?! Boss asks me to kill someone, how?! -Cue depressing bugel score-
I must admit though that it does have a great-looking cast and extremely high-budget shooting locations. Coughcough Ultimatum Macau. Somemore is Macau backalleys not even the casino the inside.
I don't know why they feel the need for such grandeur though, it reminds me too much of East of Eden :/ Which is not a compliment, in case you were wondering. So you see, not easy to watch at all. If the story doesn't pick up soon I'll drop it and simply stick with Seon-Deok and Partner after Inheritance wraps up. No, I do not plan to start on Dream even for Kim Bum. Plot doesn't appeal to me at all, and neither does Son Dam-Bi.
Dropped Triple because... nothing happens in the show. There's no buildup to any climax, nothing. AND THEY MISCASTED MY BELOVED LEE HANA wow she looks like there's a rain cloud hanging perpetually over her. Also I may be a prude, but I find Hwal and Haru's romance really disturbing. Elly's nearly done with the drama though... and from what I'm hearing, she doesn't like it either.
NB: Must add that the dislike for the dark and dirty extends only to Korean dramas, and not movies. HK dramas and movies, American dramas and movies, all okay. Problem with Korean dramas is that they tend to focus on too few characters (and too much on the romantic) to appropriately play out the dynamics between triads and members within a triad, which should be the case in such dramas? As for Singapore... Wow. No such thing la so don't even have to consider.
The bad thing with watching so many dramas, though, is that I don't get how people work in real life. When you return to reality you tend to lump a person with a particular trait... and then when he deviates from it, you get confused. Do I re-categorise him? Is this a one-off thing? Why do irritating people do something to redeem themselves just when you've decided to be all-out mean to them, and make you feel like an ass?
Quick round-up of dramas I'm following, from best to worst (in terms of craft, not story).
1st picture L to R: Princess Cheon-Myung, Deok-Man (future Queen Seon-Dok), Mi-Shil, General Kim Yu-Shin
2nd picture L to R: Deok-Man, Mi-Shil
I'm SO PSYCHED for the next episode of Queen Seon-Dok! Yu-Shin KNEW Deok-Man was a girl! Gasp! Now they've found out there was ANOTHER PRINCESS hidden from the palace shortly after birth (because there exists a prophecy that if a king has twin daughters, he will have no male heirs) and that Deok-Man is the princess... Will the king find out that his daughter is actually back in the palace? And Mi-Shil is so delightfully, gloriously evil. And smart. So scheming, them all. But Mi-Shil always one-ups them :)
1st picture: Park Ye-Jin as Princess Cheon-Myung, Deok-Man's twin (older) sister.
2nd picture: Uhm Tae-Woong as General Kim Yu-Shin. He's someone who should've been born 500 years ago, since he looks MUCH hotter in period drama outfits than in modern outfits ha.
Mi-Shil's secret weapon, the foundation upon which her power stands, is something the good side have been trying to find so that they can defeat her. They've codenamed it the Sadaham Plum Blossom. It's actually... well, a weather forecasting plan. See, the Kyerim (a fractious little country that eventually formed part of modern Korea) people worship Mi-Shil as a goddess. When Kyerim faces a drought, the king conducts ceremonies to pray for rain, but to no avail. After some time, Mi-Shil intercedes by holding a ceremony of her own, and guess what, rain comes! To the people of Kyerim, it seems as though the heavens have opened for Mi-Shil... but nah, she's much smarter than that, and points out to Deok-Man in a spine-chilling scene that 'There is no Heaven's Will, only Mi-Shil's.' Whooo spooooky
1st picture: Mi-Shil, who expresses her displeasure through an extremely discomfitting smile.
2nd picture: Mi-Shil's evil (but hilarious) younger brother, Lord Mi-Saeng.
Go Hyun-Jung's portrayal of Mi-Shil is just stellar. Of course you still want the good side to win, but now you know what kind of villain they're up against... you know that the fight in store is going to be pretty damn intense. Who knew sageuks (period dramas)could be this exciting... This, from someone who's last period drama was Huanzhugege (and I didn't even like it), is credible la trust me. Though the story's dramatic, I guess period dramas have the benefit of suspended disbelief, since there's nothing like SMSes and DNA tests and phone records to disprove what people say. Audience will switch off common sense (not, however, wrt loopholes in plot) while watching.
Look at how scenic/elaborate the sets are... the amount of attention paid to the intricacy of details is evident even in the LQ videos I watch.
Netizens have complained about Lee Yo-Won's (she plays the titular role) acting as being limited in terms of range, but I think it's because she's up against someone so powerfully emotive. So it's not that she's bad... she just pales in comparison with Go Hyun-Jung? Then again so do the rest of the younger cast.
L-R: Eun-Sung (played by Han Hyo-Joo), Hwan (Lee Seung-Gi), Seung-Mi (Moon Chae-Won), Joon-Sae (Bae Soo-Bin). You can gauge from their facial expressions how dramatic this show is.
Inheritance is ending its run this Sunday. As crazily dramatic as it's been at points (and awkwardly acted at a few others), I'll give it props for how intriguing it has been - hello 40% viewership?! It's incredible how they've been holding back ALL FORMS OF VINDICATION (save for Halmoni's and Hwan's trust) from Eun-Sung and then now that there're two episodes left, I foresee a cathartic landslide ahead as all of Seung-Mi's mom's tales unravel at the same time. Viewers like me who've been left indignant and frustrated (How is it humanly possible for ANYONE to lie this well?!) week after chest-thumping week will finally have reason to breathe hehe. I hope they wrap up Joon-Sae's side of the story well, though, since many fangirls are going to want their ever-righteous (and handsome. Of course.) Joon-Sae to have a happy ending. Well as happy an ending as any supporting character can get.
More pictures of Eun-Sung because she's so bleedin' cute T.T
(Update on 31st July, 235am: I watched the ending a few days ago, and let's just say the two-episode extension worked wonders in tying up all the loose ends. Because so many cans of worms were created by Seung-Mi's mom, I was afraid the ending would leave some parts unresolved. Well er the resolution was surprisingly snappy, and they even took care of what would happen to the more minor characters. Nevertheless, I stand by my opinion that this show is far too overwrought with theatrics for my tastes. It is not possible for Eun-Sung's life to be so tragic and so wronged. I find that I can empathise with Seung-Mi's selfish actions though... I would probably have told the same lies if I were in her shoes. Hehe I am obviously not lead-character - i.e. selfless and giving without qualms - material. Despite my gripes, ratings for the last episode were 47.1% nationwide, which is just... insane.)
L-R: Attorney Kang Eun-Ho (played by Kim Hyun-Joo), Attorney Lee Tae-Jo (Lee Dong-Wook).
On to Wednesday-Thursday dramas. To be honest, the first 5 episodes of Partner were wayyyy tooo draggyyy for their own good. Story revolves around a bunch of lawyers, and I thought they were working with a one-case-per-episode format, but the first case alone took up 4 or 5 episodes?! Nevertheless I stuck doggedly to it because the leads are well, Lee Dong-Wook (My Girl) and Kim Hyun-Joo (Glass Slippers), and nearing episode 7 the drama finally began to pick up pace. It's pretty exciting now - though nowhere comparable to the first two dramas - and the other office characters comprising of some veteran actors and Kim Dong-Wook (the very cute Ha-Rim from Coffee Prince - 'My Chan!') provide comic relief at points.
L-R: Attorney Han Jung-Won (Honey Lee), Attorney Lee Young-Woo (a smouldering Choi Chul-Ho).
Honey Lee (A Miss Universe 2nd runner-up, kid you not) pulls off her debut TV role with surprising gusto, and wow I do not exaggerate when I say HOLY MACKEREL, THIS WOMAN IS GORGEOUS. And incredibly sexy. Gosh that sounds so wrong coming from a girl, but if you watch her I think you'll more than understand. Helps that her voice is low and calming, as opposed to some bimbotic squeak. Voice is... important.
I didn't watch Choi Chul-Ho's previous drama, Queen of Housewives (couldn't look straight at Kim Nam-Joo's over-fixed face), so I don't know if his role was any different there. Here he's the cold, cool type (he's Tae-Jo's older brother) and married to some influential heiress, but he continues to have an affair with Honey Lee. I've never approved of extra-marital affairs (if you don't love the woman, just freakin' don't get married to her la!) but this one... you can sense that they really love each other. They're so cold to everyone else but when they're around each other... the stoic fronts they put up crumble away. I don't know how they're going to resolve it though, since he already has a daughter with his wife :/
Lee Dong-Wook showcasing his inner dork.
If I were to summarise what draws me to follow Partner, I guess it would have to be Lee Dong-Wook's ebullient charm (and my irrational liking for Kim Hyun-Joo, who's so pretty but looks so approachable). The guy is ADORABLE, and holds the show afloat even where the script sags. He has so much screen presence and his actions come across as really unpretentious. Is rare talent, him. I'm glad to see it growing from a must...force...self...to...press...on... drama into a fairly watchable one, though. The sad thing about Partners is that it picked up pace a little too late, so its ratings are understandably low. Not as immeasurably low as Triple, though, which is SUCH A HUGE LETDOWN (but more on that later)
That leaves Swallow The Sun, which I kinda cringed when I read it being called 'All-In 2'. For those of you who didn't watch it, All-In was a gangsta big-budget drama about casinoes, which aired in 2003 and catapulted Song Hye-Gyo to the status of an A-list celeb. It also happens to fall into a genre of dramas which are er... dark and dirty. I don't like my dramas dark and dirty, I like them bright and clean. I.e. I don't like dingy alleyways, I like paved streets. I don't like watching unshaven men stumble around dimly-lit warehouses with guns and dealing with drugs and murder, I like them in offices stabbing (only metaphorically) each other's backs.
L-R: Kim Jung-Woo (played by Ji Sung), Lee Soo-Hyun (Sung Yu-Ri).
So while a couple of aforementioned 'dark and dirty' scenes in a drama are okay, I can't stand it when the WHOLE drama is like that, especially not when executed together with theatrics like cheesy music. Whenever Ji Sung is told something dramatic by the boss (who lives in a villa, of course), e.g. 'I need you to kill someone for me.', his face falls in time to the opening notes of a bugel score... which by the way rings in my head even though I'm only at the start of episode 4.
You're asking why I watch it then? Why, Sung Yu-Ri, of course. I know I've said this countless times, but she's SOOO SOOOO PRETTY gosh she's just so good to look at! And for Ji Sung, who played an adorable (rascally-type) doctor in New Heartbefore he got shipped off to the Korean army for NS. So this is his first drama in two years. Lee Wan (starred in Let's Go To The Beach, such a meaningful title for a drama.He was likeable enough in there but is perhaps more remembered for being Kim Tae-Hee's younger bro) plays the supporting role, but his acting is... well. Punky. He's like all 'Watcha starin' at, huh?!?!' and overcharged hormones, so... nope, not feelin' him.
L-R: punky Jang Tae-Hyuk (Lee Wan), Tae-Hyuk's butler who also played Goo Jun-Pyo's butler in Boys over Flowers. Poor man kena typecast already. He's got a very unsettling, somewhat slimy vibe to him :/
My patience is getting worn thin, though. The story's kind of disjointed, so it jumps from zzz boring scenes of old gangsters threatening each other with brute violence (Srsly, who cares.), to super emo scenes like Ji Sung recalling the only girl he's ever liked (Sung Yuri), who was from his orphanage but later moved out. Lee Wan (whose dad has assigned Ji Sung to him) gets him to check up on this girl he's interested in, and lo and behold it turns out to be Sung Yuri. (Out of the, what, 12 million people who live in Seoul. If this is not serendipity then NOTHING ELSE IS.) But oh nos boss's son likes my girl, how?! Boss asks me to kill someone, how?! -Cue depressing bugel score-
I must admit though that it does have a great-looking cast and extremely high-budget shooting locations. Coughcough Ultimatum Macau. Somemore is Macau backalleys not even the casino the inside.
I don't know why they feel the need for such grandeur though, it reminds me too much of East of Eden :/ Which is not a compliment, in case you were wondering. So you see, not easy to watch at all. If the story doesn't pick up soon I'll drop it and simply stick with Seon-Deok and Partner after Inheritance wraps up. No, I do not plan to start on Dream even for Kim Bum. Plot doesn't appeal to me at all, and neither does Son Dam-Bi.
Dropped Triple because... nothing happens in the show. There's no buildup to any climax, nothing. AND THEY MISCASTED MY BELOVED LEE HANA wow she looks like there's a rain cloud hanging perpetually over her. Also I may be a prude, but I find Hwal and Haru's romance really disturbing. Elly's nearly done with the drama though... and from what I'm hearing, she doesn't like it either.
NB: Must add that the dislike for the dark and dirty extends only to Korean dramas, and not movies. HK dramas and movies, American dramas and movies, all okay. Problem with Korean dramas is that they tend to focus on too few characters (and too much on the romantic) to appropriately play out the dynamics between triads and members within a triad, which should be the case in such dramas? As for Singapore... Wow. No such thing la so don't even have to consider.
The bad thing with watching so many dramas, though, is that I don't get how people work in real life. When you return to reality you tend to lump a person with a particular trait... and then when he deviates from it, you get confused. Do I re-categorise him? Is this a one-off thing? Why do irritating people do something to redeem themselves just when you've decided to be all-out mean to them, and make you feel like an ass?