Ghost 2012 review/meta 2
Doing part 2 since it doesn't fit the other post.
Character meta/Cast review
The first time I heard Ghost being mentioned was from random Gu posts where some people comment on Lee Yeon Hee inability to act. But like my comment about her acting in Gu, my opinion about her acting in Ghost was the same. She did fine for her character as Yoo Kang Mi. If her acting haven't improved I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference in her portrayal as Yoon Seo Hwa to Yoo Kang Mi. And it's not even touching the different setting (sageuk<->modern). Her portrayal as Seo Hwa was different than Kang Mi and not interchangeable. Well... some parts may be similar (but of course, same actress!) but there was never a point where I see Kang Mi as Seo Hwa. Or as herself. She played the role of a policewoman well enough that I believed her character. That should be enough. To say that her character was bland is kinda unfair... since that could be better said to the actress playing Lee Hye Ram, the video analyst. Her character barely appear and it's mostly about cyber evidence processing. Hye Ram's character was much more emotionless compared to Kang Mi. And Kang Mi did show many emotions in the show.
Then again, perhaps because I haven't yet seen the drama where it's said that her acting was poor, but frankly I find it harsh to judge her acting (past or future) based on one or two dramas that did poorly. That in a way is typecasting. As long as you can see the character as the character and not the cast playing them it should be enough. Yeon Hee made me believe Kang Mi is a person and not just a face so I'm sold. It's sad when people singled her out like this and quickly deem the series as bad. Without even watching it.
That aside, So Ji Seob really did his best playing the dual character of Kim Woo Hyun and Park Ki Young. You can really tell when he's Woo Hyun or Ki Young (he really did well acting as Choi Daniel) or Ki Young pretending as Woo Hyun. Or should I say he was playing three characters? Anyway, I liked how Ki Young's character evolved. Like how his faith on Woo Hyun had been tested as he wondered if Woo Hyun still being the friend he knew well and not this corrupt cop and him trying to find proof that Woo Hyun never changed. And how at the beginning he resolved to allow himself be arrested after everything's over (revealing his true identity) and at the end decided to remain as Woo Hyun and continued living as a policeman in Woo Hyun's place. As well as taking Woo Hyun's place as Seon Woo's father.
And Woo Hyun himself also had his own character development as he did remain faithful to what his belief what a policeman should be. And having the courage to try going undercover to investigate Hyeon Min once he found out the case wasn't as it seem. Woo Hyun's only mistake was to trust Director Shin which was his undoing. Well... since he wasn't on good term with Director Jeon, that's unavoidable. And perhaps it's also a regret that Ki Young didn't manage to be a cop alongside Woo Hyun. As with that flashback when they've been practising Judo, it really proved a point that Woo Hyun can be reckless when he was attacking. And his statement that he trusted Ki Young to watch his back gave a lot of meaning. Because when Ki Young wasn't around, Woo Hyun ended up investigating Hyeon Min alone... and later he died. Despite this wasn't clearly pointed out in the show, occasionally you can see that at times Ki Young showed a guilty expression whenever people treated him as Woo Hyun. And it should be since Ki Young must've also felt guilty for his inability to save Woo Hyun. Not just during the explosion, but also during the time Woo Hyun was working undercover. Since when Ki Young was going about as Hades, Ki Young had been trying to find evidence that would end up leading to Hyeon Min. Had he been there helping Woo Hyun as well; whether as a fellow cop or as a hacker, things would have ended up differently and Woo Hyun might still be alive. There should also be regrets of Ki Young not being able to know how Woo Hyun had lived his life since their academy days, seeing how close they were. And living as Woo Hyun could feel like him stealing Woo Hyun's life.
Kwak Do Won acting as Kwon Hyuk Joo really made my day. Because so far I only knew him playing as Assistant Director Kang in Good Doctor, it was eye opening to see him acting as this grumpy, lively and slightly crazy in the head police officer who have trust issues. Officer Kwon really end up being an endearing character. Initially mistrusting of Woo Hyun and suspicious of Ki Young, I think his thoughts on Woo Hyun changes a lot after the explosion. Because as much as he mistrust Woo Hyun he wouldn't have wished Woo Hyun to die like that. And it was saying something when Ki Young finally tell him that his suspicion was right about his true identity. Because it would have devastated him to know that the Woo Kyun that he sorta could get along (after being made to believe he really was Woo Hyun) ended up not really him as suspected and the person he thought as Woo Hyun was trully dead. Kwon would not have be that unfeeling. And he had been devastated when he thought that Woo Hyun could be dead. And somehow through Ki Young, Kwon manage to regain his ability to trust on other people again, that's saying something.
And through Kwon, we could also see how at times Ki Young really do act/think in the same way as Woo Hyun. Especially on the part about going out rashly to do things alone. You can totally see that Kwon often ended up trying to restrain Ki Young from doing anything alone whenever possible. Because he hadn't been able to be there to watch Woo Hyun's back, he didn't want the same thing to happen to Ki Young. And whether or not he's doing it for Woo Hyun's sakes or his own, he really takes care of the team. And at the end, he did ended up being happy to be in the Cyber Team. I love this Scooby Doo team~
Hyeon Min's character was just like any other revenge-type character in any revenge drama. He really had all the criteria; a good person until something bad happening that led to him seeking revenge, cunning and ruthless... as well as charismatic and manipulative. He also had the twist of having been made to realise how revenge had been a bad choice for him to take. Because by only having killed the people he hated he ended up losing the conscience that killing is bad and felt that it wouldn't have mattered if he killed even more people. Being made to realise he killed his own lover and child too rashly after having lost his own father would have made him realise the atrocity that he'd done. But by then it was too much and he chose to kill himself. Despite that, the only regret I have of Hyeon Min's character was not knowing what was supposed to be Hyeon Min's great master plan AFTER he's done with his vaccine/hacking program. Would he just want to control the business world through Sekang or did he want to take over the whole nation? How much power he would have wanted to get? Even greater than his uncle? /shrugs. Love the final confrontation when Ki Young literally just smack him silly to tell him that his 'victory' of being acquitted was meaningless.
Ki Young's monolog about how 'Park Ki Young' truly died on that night was also significant. Since after that Ki Young decided to remain taking on Woo Hyun's identity--no, to have merged the two persona together. Abandoning any thoughts of ever wanting to return to his original appearance. He's Park Ki Young but he's also Kim Hyun Woo. He's a policeman as well as a hacker. Ki Young continued living while carrying both of his and Woo Hyun's life inside him.
Whatever that meant in future, it's up to one's imaginations.
This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.
Character meta/Cast review
The first time I heard Ghost being mentioned was from random Gu posts where some people comment on Lee Yeon Hee inability to act. But like my comment about her acting in Gu, my opinion about her acting in Ghost was the same. She did fine for her character as Yoo Kang Mi. If her acting haven't improved I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference in her portrayal as Yoon Seo Hwa to Yoo Kang Mi. And it's not even touching the different setting (sageuk<->modern). Her portrayal as Seo Hwa was different than Kang Mi and not interchangeable. Well... some parts may be similar (but of course, same actress!) but there was never a point where I see Kang Mi as Seo Hwa. Or as herself. She played the role of a policewoman well enough that I believed her character. That should be enough. To say that her character was bland is kinda unfair... since that could be better said to the actress playing Lee Hye Ram, the video analyst. Her character barely appear and it's mostly about cyber evidence processing. Hye Ram's character was much more emotionless compared to Kang Mi. And Kang Mi did show many emotions in the show.
Then again, perhaps because I haven't yet seen the drama where it's said that her acting was poor, but frankly I find it harsh to judge her acting (past or future) based on one or two dramas that did poorly. That in a way is typecasting. As long as you can see the character as the character and not the cast playing them it should be enough. Yeon Hee made me believe Kang Mi is a person and not just a face so I'm sold. It's sad when people singled her out like this and quickly deem the series as bad. Without even watching it.
That aside, So Ji Seob really did his best playing the dual character of Kim Woo Hyun and Park Ki Young. You can really tell when he's Woo Hyun or Ki Young (he really did well acting as Choi Daniel) or Ki Young pretending as Woo Hyun. Or should I say he was playing three characters? Anyway, I liked how Ki Young's character evolved. Like how his faith on Woo Hyun had been tested as he wondered if Woo Hyun still being the friend he knew well and not this corrupt cop and him trying to find proof that Woo Hyun never changed. And how at the beginning he resolved to allow himself be arrested after everything's over (revealing his true identity) and at the end decided to remain as Woo Hyun and continued living as a policeman in Woo Hyun's place. As well as taking Woo Hyun's place as Seon Woo's father.
And Woo Hyun himself also had his own character development as he did remain faithful to what his belief what a policeman should be. And having the courage to try going undercover to investigate Hyeon Min once he found out the case wasn't as it seem. Woo Hyun's only mistake was to trust Director Shin which was his undoing. Well... since he wasn't on good term with Director Jeon, that's unavoidable. And perhaps it's also a regret that Ki Young didn't manage to be a cop alongside Woo Hyun. As with that flashback when they've been practising Judo, it really proved a point that Woo Hyun can be reckless when he was attacking. And his statement that he trusted Ki Young to watch his back gave a lot of meaning. Because when Ki Young wasn't around, Woo Hyun ended up investigating Hyeon Min alone... and later he died. Despite this wasn't clearly pointed out in the show, occasionally you can see that at times Ki Young showed a guilty expression whenever people treated him as Woo Hyun. And it should be since Ki Young must've also felt guilty for his inability to save Woo Hyun. Not just during the explosion, but also during the time Woo Hyun was working undercover. Since when Ki Young was going about as Hades, Ki Young had been trying to find evidence that would end up leading to Hyeon Min. Had he been there helping Woo Hyun as well; whether as a fellow cop or as a hacker, things would have ended up differently and Woo Hyun might still be alive. There should also be regrets of Ki Young not being able to know how Woo Hyun had lived his life since their academy days, seeing how close they were. And living as Woo Hyun could feel like him stealing Woo Hyun's life.
Kwak Do Won acting as Kwon Hyuk Joo really made my day. Because so far I only knew him playing as Assistant Director Kang in Good Doctor, it was eye opening to see him acting as this grumpy, lively and slightly crazy in the head police officer who have trust issues. Officer Kwon really end up being an endearing character. Initially mistrusting of Woo Hyun and suspicious of Ki Young, I think his thoughts on Woo Hyun changes a lot after the explosion. Because as much as he mistrust Woo Hyun he wouldn't have wished Woo Hyun to die like that. And it was saying something when Ki Young finally tell him that his suspicion was right about his true identity. Because it would have devastated him to know that the Woo Kyun that he sorta could get along (after being made to believe he really was Woo Hyun) ended up not really him as suspected and the person he thought as Woo Hyun was trully dead. Kwon would not have be that unfeeling. And he had been devastated when he thought that Woo Hyun could be dead. And somehow through Ki Young, Kwon manage to regain his ability to trust on other people again, that's saying something.
And through Kwon, we could also see how at times Ki Young really do act/think in the same way as Woo Hyun. Especially on the part about going out rashly to do things alone. You can totally see that Kwon often ended up trying to restrain Ki Young from doing anything alone whenever possible. Because he hadn't been able to be there to watch Woo Hyun's back, he didn't want the same thing to happen to Ki Young. And whether or not he's doing it for Woo Hyun's sakes or his own, he really takes care of the team. And at the end, he did ended up being happy to be in the Cyber Team. I love this Scooby Doo team~
Hyeon Min's character was just like any other revenge-type character in any revenge drama. He really had all the criteria; a good person until something bad happening that led to him seeking revenge, cunning and ruthless... as well as charismatic and manipulative. He also had the twist of having been made to realise how revenge had been a bad choice for him to take. Because by only having killed the people he hated he ended up losing the conscience that killing is bad and felt that it wouldn't have mattered if he killed even more people. Being made to realise he killed his own lover and child too rashly after having lost his own father would have made him realise the atrocity that he'd done. But by then it was too much and he chose to kill himself. Despite that, the only regret I have of Hyeon Min's character was not knowing what was supposed to be Hyeon Min's great master plan AFTER he's done with his vaccine/hacking program. Would he just want to control the business world through Sekang or did he want to take over the whole nation? How much power he would have wanted to get? Even greater than his uncle? /shrugs. Love the final confrontation when Ki Young literally just smack him silly to tell him that his 'victory' of being acquitted was meaningless.
Ki Young's monolog about how 'Park Ki Young' truly died on that night was also significant. Since after that Ki Young decided to remain taking on Woo Hyun's identity--no, to have merged the two persona together. Abandoning any thoughts of ever wanting to return to his original appearance. He's Park Ki Young but he's also Kim Hyun Woo. He's a policeman as well as a hacker. Ki Young continued living while carrying both of his and Woo Hyun's life inside him.
Whatever that meant in future, it's up to one's imaginations.
This entry was originally posted on Kaleidoscope World.