City Hunter: Fun and Annoying
For the past week or so I've been watching my latest kdrama, City Hunter, and it's been quite addictive. Right from the beginning, though, it's been a balance of just right and just wrong for me, and unfortunately, having finished episode 10, annoyance is starting to beat out enjoyment. Here come the spoilers...
It's such a shame, because there's so much to like about CH. Lee Min Ho is charisma on wheels and it's wonderful to see him in a good leading role. Park Min Young is totally awesome as Na Na, and I love the chemistry between the two of them so much. The drama is shot so, so beautifully -- just gorgeous, all the time, particularly in the early Thailand scenes. I love the ensemble of actors, all strong and enjoyable, particularly the guy play Ahjussi.
But sadly, it's our main man, the City Hunter himself, who is the reason why I'm not loving the drama. Lee Min Ho rocks, but this character is just singularly unsympathetic to me. He's got the whole sad set-up, but when you're stronger, taller, faster, smarter, richer, etc. etc. ad infinitum and live in the equivalent of the Bat cave whilst plotting the elaborate revenge, I dunno, the sympathy factor is lost. Plus, he's kind of a dick to most people, and then he always wins, and I'm at the point where I dearly want someone, anyone, to legitimately beat him and be better at something than he is (or maybe just beat him up, because I'm sick of his smugness). But of course, that will never happen, because the writers have made sure that any possible opposition, like, you know, gravity, just goes away. I saw him leaping from window to window, pushing windows open with one finger, and rolled my eyes. But then he was just hanging by his fingertips -- the camera cuts away and next we see him, he's calmly walking out of the building. COME ON, show, that's just cheating! You can't expect me to ooh and aah at how cool Yoon Sung is, when you can't even figure how to get him out of something! Lame. And you can't expect me to buy that he's really just a wounded little boy when for the most part he acts like a jerk to anyone not in on his secret idenity.
That's the problem -- the show wants us to find Yoon Sung So Cool, but he wins not because he's awesome but because the show just tilts everything in his favo. Like the cops being too dumb to find their target, the City Hunter, when he calls them on the phone and tells him he's dropping something off at the police station! I mean, really show? How many times now has he driven away in one of his fast cars while the police just sort of look hopelessly at him and don't even try to stop him? And that poor prosecutor, saddled with apparently the dumbest assistant in the world as his only resource for trailing suspects and other such activities. No wonder he can't accomplish anything -- he's not even allowed to call on the police to investigate crimes! But I'm loving Lee Joon Hyuk in this somewhat thankless role -- he manages to convince me that Kim Young Joo is actually smart, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
But the real reason the show has gone from mildly vexing to nails on a chalkboard is Na Na. Oh, Na Na. I love Na Na, with little hearts and sparkles. I love her because she's strong, spirited, funny, good-humored, and hopeful. She struggles but she doesn't give up, she faces loneliness, doubt, poverty, a dead mother, a father in a coma for 10 years, and keeps going and pursuing her dreams. I love love love her! See, show, this is a good lead character -- she's a great mix of advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. But now she's just all about Yoon Sung. All her own stuff, her own issues, her own pursuits, like investigating the guy who killed her mom, have gone away in favor of trailing after Yoon Sung somewhat pathetically and saving his ass whenever the show hasn't done enough ass-covering for him otherwise. And the saddest part is that I want to like these two together -- the actors are so good and have great chemistry and it's so nicely set up. But, he's treating her like dirt to "save" her, and she's sucking it up because she "understands," and just...ugh. It's so unattractive! It doesn't make me want them together, it makes me want her to get away from him as fast as possible. Whatever his motivation, he's making out with other chicks in front of her, deliberately to hurt her. Na Na might be able to see beyond that but I sure don't! Yoon Sung is not good enough for my Na Na, and he is On My List.
It's too over-the-top for real angst, but it's been mostly a fun ride until Yoon Sung's treat Nana like dirt plan went into effect. You know, one of these days I'd like to see the guy try this, then finally give up, only for the girl to turn around and inform him that hey, she doesn't want to be with anyone who treats her like that no matter what the reason, cause she's got a little thing called self-respect! But I'm guessing that won't be this show ;-).
It's such a shame, because there's so much to like about CH. Lee Min Ho is charisma on wheels and it's wonderful to see him in a good leading role. Park Min Young is totally awesome as Na Na, and I love the chemistry between the two of them so much. The drama is shot so, so beautifully -- just gorgeous, all the time, particularly in the early Thailand scenes. I love the ensemble of actors, all strong and enjoyable, particularly the guy play Ahjussi.
But sadly, it's our main man, the City Hunter himself, who is the reason why I'm not loving the drama. Lee Min Ho rocks, but this character is just singularly unsympathetic to me. He's got the whole sad set-up, but when you're stronger, taller, faster, smarter, richer, etc. etc. ad infinitum and live in the equivalent of the Bat cave whilst plotting the elaborate revenge, I dunno, the sympathy factor is lost. Plus, he's kind of a dick to most people, and then he always wins, and I'm at the point where I dearly want someone, anyone, to legitimately beat him and be better at something than he is (or maybe just beat him up, because I'm sick of his smugness). But of course, that will never happen, because the writers have made sure that any possible opposition, like, you know, gravity, just goes away. I saw him leaping from window to window, pushing windows open with one finger, and rolled my eyes. But then he was just hanging by his fingertips -- the camera cuts away and next we see him, he's calmly walking out of the building. COME ON, show, that's just cheating! You can't expect me to ooh and aah at how cool Yoon Sung is, when you can't even figure how to get him out of something! Lame. And you can't expect me to buy that he's really just a wounded little boy when for the most part he acts like a jerk to anyone not in on his secret idenity.
That's the problem -- the show wants us to find Yoon Sung So Cool, but he wins not because he's awesome but because the show just tilts everything in his favo. Like the cops being too dumb to find their target, the City Hunter, when he calls them on the phone and tells him he's dropping something off at the police station! I mean, really show? How many times now has he driven away in one of his fast cars while the police just sort of look hopelessly at him and don't even try to stop him? And that poor prosecutor, saddled with apparently the dumbest assistant in the world as his only resource for trailing suspects and other such activities. No wonder he can't accomplish anything -- he's not even allowed to call on the police to investigate crimes! But I'm loving Lee Joon Hyuk in this somewhat thankless role -- he manages to convince me that Kim Young Joo is actually smart, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
But the real reason the show has gone from mildly vexing to nails on a chalkboard is Na Na. Oh, Na Na. I love Na Na, with little hearts and sparkles. I love her because she's strong, spirited, funny, good-humored, and hopeful. She struggles but she doesn't give up, she faces loneliness, doubt, poverty, a dead mother, a father in a coma for 10 years, and keeps going and pursuing her dreams. I love love love her! See, show, this is a good lead character -- she's a great mix of advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses. But now she's just all about Yoon Sung. All her own stuff, her own issues, her own pursuits, like investigating the guy who killed her mom, have gone away in favor of trailing after Yoon Sung somewhat pathetically and saving his ass whenever the show hasn't done enough ass-covering for him otherwise. And the saddest part is that I want to like these two together -- the actors are so good and have great chemistry and it's so nicely set up. But, he's treating her like dirt to "save" her, and she's sucking it up because she "understands," and just...ugh. It's so unattractive! It doesn't make me want them together, it makes me want her to get away from him as fast as possible. Whatever his motivation, he's making out with other chicks in front of her, deliberately to hurt her. Na Na might be able to see beyond that but I sure don't! Yoon Sung is not good enough for my Na Na, and he is On My List.
It's too over-the-top for real angst, but it's been mostly a fun ride until Yoon Sung's treat Nana like dirt plan went into effect. You know, one of these days I'd like to see the guy try this, then finally give up, only for the girl to turn around and inform him that hey, she doesn't want to be with anyone who treats her like that no matter what the reason, cause she's got a little thing called self-respect! But I'm guessing that won't be this show ;-).