Secret Garden - on rewatching episode 1 (no spoilers for the latest eps)
So, because I am on obsessed, obsessed person, I spent the part of the afternoon, when Baby Mousie was napping, rewatching the first episode of Secret Garden to see how it would look now, after 18 episodes of this awesomeness under my belt.
It was a really really fun experience - of course, it was just as funny this time around and as gorgeous, but I was looking at so much with new eyes. Some things that completely went past my ears the first time around (like when Seul tells her friend after her match meeting with Joo Won that she finally found a "connection" - she means a connection to Oska, but the first time around I assumed she meant she felt a connection to JW, improbable as it was, and let it go). Some of it I always realized - that Joo Won is going to fall in love with Ra Im, but knowing exactly how it happens and how much he falls, makes the past even more delicious. And some of my guesses in that first episode were totally off - I had no idea Oska/Seul would join the ranks of my favorite secondary OTPs - in fact I was pretty sure Seul would become a secondary girl you love to hate - someone who’d try to hold on to Joo Won no matter what out of possessiveness and pride, instead of becoming a big JW/RI cheerleader. I had no idea what the relationship between Joo Won and Oska really was - not this goofy antagonistic funhouse, not really.
The best part is watching the interactions knowing what is to come - knowing how profoundly the characters change. Watching Joo Won at his match meeting with Seul calmly declaim that what's important are class and education matching as if he has ice water in his veins, when you know how profoundly he becomes transformed by love and of what impossible sacrifice he becomes capable. Watching Ra Im calmly look at Joo Won as a total freak, when you know that she will kneel and weep and beg for him, later. Seeing Oska dump a casual girlfriend the way one throws out an old pair of (Oska) socks and act as if he has no care in the world, when you know how he will fight with and for Seul in their dysfunctional relationship like a man possessed, not casual at all. Seul being such an utter bitch to Ra Im when you know they will become oddly comfortable together.
The thing is, everything we learn about the characters is true, but it ends up not being the sum total of their parts - yes, Joo Won is a perfectionist neurotic. He's also a wounded soul capable of incredible intensity of feeling. Yes, Ra Im is tough as hell, physically intrepid. But she's also emotionally fragile and uncertain and afraid to come out of her shell. Yes, Oska is a slutty diva, but he's also a wonderful big brother and a man capable of true caring. Yes, Seul is classist and brittle and bitchy but she is also damaged and loving and strong. And yet there are hints for all of this - Joo Won wanders like a lost alien in his surroundings, looking surprisingly vulnerable and childlike. Ra Im withdraws into herself when insulted by an actress for whom she stunts and won’t let even her friend action director into her house. Seul puts on and removes personas, hinting that her bitchy avatar may be yet another protective mask.
Ah, this drama is so well-written. I am sort of fearing a void when it ends next week. I'll still have Gloria but that goes on for only two weeks after SG is over and then what - I like My Princess and think Dream High is cute but I am not obsessed with either of them.
(Btw, yes, I realize, I used caps from ep 2, but I like them, so there).
It was a really really fun experience - of course, it was just as funny this time around and as gorgeous, but I was looking at so much with new eyes. Some things that completely went past my ears the first time around (like when Seul tells her friend after her match meeting with Joo Won that she finally found a "connection" - she means a connection to Oska, but the first time around I assumed she meant she felt a connection to JW, improbable as it was, and let it go). Some of it I always realized - that Joo Won is going to fall in love with Ra Im, but knowing exactly how it happens and how much he falls, makes the past even more delicious. And some of my guesses in that first episode were totally off - I had no idea Oska/Seul would join the ranks of my favorite secondary OTPs - in fact I was pretty sure Seul would become a secondary girl you love to hate - someone who’d try to hold on to Joo Won no matter what out of possessiveness and pride, instead of becoming a big JW/RI cheerleader. I had no idea what the relationship between Joo Won and Oska really was - not this goofy antagonistic funhouse, not really.
The best part is watching the interactions knowing what is to come - knowing how profoundly the characters change. Watching Joo Won at his match meeting with Seul calmly declaim that what's important are class and education matching as if he has ice water in his veins, when you know how profoundly he becomes transformed by love and of what impossible sacrifice he becomes capable. Watching Ra Im calmly look at Joo Won as a total freak, when you know that she will kneel and weep and beg for him, later. Seeing Oska dump a casual girlfriend the way one throws out an old pair of (Oska) socks and act as if he has no care in the world, when you know how he will fight with and for Seul in their dysfunctional relationship like a man possessed, not casual at all. Seul being such an utter bitch to Ra Im when you know they will become oddly comfortable together.
The thing is, everything we learn about the characters is true, but it ends up not being the sum total of their parts - yes, Joo Won is a perfectionist neurotic. He's also a wounded soul capable of incredible intensity of feeling. Yes, Ra Im is tough as hell, physically intrepid. But she's also emotionally fragile and uncertain and afraid to come out of her shell. Yes, Oska is a slutty diva, but he's also a wonderful big brother and a man capable of true caring. Yes, Seul is classist and brittle and bitchy but she is also damaged and loving and strong. And yet there are hints for all of this - Joo Won wanders like a lost alien in his surroundings, looking surprisingly vulnerable and childlike. Ra Im withdraws into herself when insulted by an actress for whom she stunts and won’t let even her friend action director into her house. Seul puts on and removes personas, hinting that her bitchy avatar may be yet another protective mask.
Ah, this drama is so well-written. I am sort of fearing a void when it ends next week. I'll still have Gloria but that goes on for only two weeks after SG is over and then what - I like My Princess and think Dream High is cute but I am not obsessed with either of them.
(Btw, yes, I realize, I used caps from ep 2, but I like them, so there).