Swallow the Sun - episodes 1-2 (these people brought you All In, Lobbyist and IRIS - OMGYESPLS)
(Yes, I know, I owe replies. I promise to get to them asap).
I have watched the first two episodes of Swallow the Sun and the verdict is in: I adore it. I plan to marathon more tomorrow every free moment I get.
We have spectacular production values, complex characters (I am especially in love with the very grey protagonist - he is not above making money through hoodlum activities and he is so desperate to succeed. And then there is the mobster boss to whom he sold his soul), complex love triangle, and a twisty plot.
The first episode is basically a backstory. Well, the opening scene throws us in the middle of action - one of our three main characters is being a mercenary somewhere in Africa. Our heroine has just put on a successful show (she is an art director for it) and is smiling fondly at the third. But then we flashback...
So as I said, the first episode is the backstory of Ji Sung's parents. His mother was a diver on Jeju island. His father was one of the prisoners herded there and abused by the sadistic police officer in charge. He escaped and the girl hid him. They fell in love:
But he got recaptured and dragged off. It was not be and she gave birth in secret, leaving the baby in the orphanage due to the stigma.
So yes, our hero is morally ambiguous, angry at the world, scrappy hero. Who looks good sans shirt.
Who worships and has on the pedestal the heroine - the well-bred, sweet girl 'Lady Bountiful' of his childhood who he hasn't seen in years.
His orphanage friend and he are interested in the ginormous mansion in place of a former orange grove. They look around. Too bad the new owner, a super-powerful mob boss/businessman is pretty psycho.
But Ji Sung is not cowed:
In fact, this is our first glimpse of the fact that he's a little crazy and more than a littl broken. When Mob Boss threatens to shoot, he snarls at him that since he (Ji Sung) is worth little, to go ahead.
He has a childhood friend who is a female and like most of his acquaintances, is a crook - she steals. It is clear he feels responsible for her too but she feels a little more than that for him...
He and his friends volunteer for a thug job - Mob Boss plans a development and people protest. Their job is to intimidate the protesters. They do so by getting on their boat, dousing them in oil and threatening to set them on fire. His eyes are scary in this scene. You realize that he is beyond messed up - because you have no idea if he'd do it if they stood firm.
They celebrate their success in a time-honored thug fashion - with booze, whores, and karaoke :) (Oh, and the money, most of it, goes to pay for the lawyer for Childhood Friend who was arrested for larceny - there is that duality about Ji Sung's character again).
At some point, Ji Sung accidentally ends up rescuing Mob Boss from rivals and I realize something - by kdrama law the man must be his unknowing and unknown father. Yes yes yes, he must! And not just because they have the same craziness in the eyes (especially evident in the scene where Ji Sung was basically getting the crap beat out of him by Mob Boss' rivals and almost revelling in it - it reminded me of Daddy and you could tell by Mob Boss' eyes he recognized a kinship of sorts too).
This is our first glimpse of Heroine, knowing the makers of this drama, I know she will be pure awesome. She is also checking out what became of orange grove (she had a house there when she was a kid) but luckily does not get shotgun treatment. She and Hero don't meet or near-meet or anything at this point yet. I cannot wait to see how he finds his lost soul because of her - I totally love tough messed-up guys worshipping the ground their goddess walks on trope.
Mob Boss, as payback, offers Ji Sung a chance - he can go to Seoul and be bodyguard to his only son and heir (played by Lee Wan). Actually, he is supposed to be more than that - as Mob Boss' secretary explains, Ji Sung is hired to be Lee Wan's dog and if Lee Wan says to bark he barks etc.
So Ji Sung departs for Seoul (his excitement about being on a plane is both adorable and a little sad).
His first glimpse of his future owner is at some club at a gig. Lee Wan is playing in a band and can you sense the slash vibes already? :)
Lee Wan makes out with the singer and they do everything but **** against the wall and guess who is watching -
They don't really take to each other - the spoiled rich boy and the tough-as-nails poor thug:
Ji Sung does adore the place he will be staying at with Rich Boy though:
Little does he know that his 'golden chance' is going to turn into a nightmare and that it will make him sell his soul.
Coming up in ep 3 - true love, murder, and revenge.
Oh yes and Lee Wan telling Ji Sung to win the heart of a girl for him whichever way he feels like it and bring her to him. The girl? Guess who she will turn out to be? Guess. Guess. Guees.
I have watched the first two episodes of Swallow the Sun and the verdict is in: I adore it. I plan to marathon more tomorrow every free moment I get.
We have spectacular production values, complex characters (I am especially in love with the very grey protagonist - he is not above making money through hoodlum activities and he is so desperate to succeed. And then there is the mobster boss to whom he sold his soul), complex love triangle, and a twisty plot.
The first episode is basically a backstory. Well, the opening scene throws us in the middle of action - one of our three main characters is being a mercenary somewhere in Africa. Our heroine has just put on a successful show (she is an art director for it) and is smiling fondly at the third. But then we flashback...
So as I said, the first episode is the backstory of Ji Sung's parents. His mother was a diver on Jeju island. His father was one of the prisoners herded there and abused by the sadistic police officer in charge. He escaped and the girl hid him. They fell in love:
But he got recaptured and dragged off. It was not be and she gave birth in secret, leaving the baby in the orphanage due to the stigma.
So yes, our hero is morally ambiguous, angry at the world, scrappy hero. Who looks good sans shirt.
Who worships and has on the pedestal the heroine - the well-bred, sweet girl 'Lady Bountiful' of his childhood who he hasn't seen in years.
His orphanage friend and he are interested in the ginormous mansion in place of a former orange grove. They look around. Too bad the new owner, a super-powerful mob boss/businessman is pretty psycho.
But Ji Sung is not cowed:
In fact, this is our first glimpse of the fact that he's a little crazy and more than a littl broken. When Mob Boss threatens to shoot, he snarls at him that since he (Ji Sung) is worth little, to go ahead.
He has a childhood friend who is a female and like most of his acquaintances, is a crook - she steals. It is clear he feels responsible for her too but she feels a little more than that for him...
He and his friends volunteer for a thug job - Mob Boss plans a development and people protest. Their job is to intimidate the protesters. They do so by getting on their boat, dousing them in oil and threatening to set them on fire. His eyes are scary in this scene. You realize that he is beyond messed up - because you have no idea if he'd do it if they stood firm.
They celebrate their success in a time-honored thug fashion - with booze, whores, and karaoke :) (Oh, and the money, most of it, goes to pay for the lawyer for Childhood Friend who was arrested for larceny - there is that duality about Ji Sung's character again).
At some point, Ji Sung accidentally ends up rescuing Mob Boss from rivals and I realize something - by kdrama law the man must be his unknowing and unknown father. Yes yes yes, he must! And not just because they have the same craziness in the eyes (especially evident in the scene where Ji Sung was basically getting the crap beat out of him by Mob Boss' rivals and almost revelling in it - it reminded me of Daddy and you could tell by Mob Boss' eyes he recognized a kinship of sorts too).
This is our first glimpse of Heroine, knowing the makers of this drama, I know she will be pure awesome. She is also checking out what became of orange grove (she had a house there when she was a kid) but luckily does not get shotgun treatment. She and Hero don't meet or near-meet or anything at this point yet. I cannot wait to see how he finds his lost soul because of her - I totally love tough messed-up guys worshipping the ground their goddess walks on trope.
Mob Boss, as payback, offers Ji Sung a chance - he can go to Seoul and be bodyguard to his only son and heir (played by Lee Wan). Actually, he is supposed to be more than that - as Mob Boss' secretary explains, Ji Sung is hired to be Lee Wan's dog and if Lee Wan says to bark he barks etc.
So Ji Sung departs for Seoul (his excitement about being on a plane is both adorable and a little sad).
His first glimpse of his future owner is at some club at a gig. Lee Wan is playing in a band and can you sense the slash vibes already? :)
Lee Wan makes out with the singer and they do everything but **** against the wall and guess who is watching -
They don't really take to each other - the spoiled rich boy and the tough-as-nails poor thug:
Ji Sung does adore the place he will be staying at with Rich Boy though:
Little does he know that his 'golden chance' is going to turn into a nightmare and that it will make him sell his soul.
Coming up in ep 3 - true love, murder, and revenge.
Oh yes and Lee Wan telling Ji Sung to win the heart of a girl for him whichever way he feels like it and bring her to him. The girl? Guess who she will turn out to be? Guess. Guess. Guees.