TWID: Protect the Boss
I just finished the 4th episode of Protect the Boss, and I’m not disappointed. It has this quirky kind of sass that I hope stays with the drama at least into the 10th episode (if not longer). While the characters seem obviously formulaic, they’re still fun to watch. I love when I’m in the drama not just for the story and actors but the characters for the most part. Here’s a run down of our four leads and how I want them to play out.
No Eun Seol: The main character, I love her kick butt attitude, but I also enjoy the fact that she doesn’t try and fight her way out of everything. It’s nice that she has a hard time holding her anger in. She’s pretty much your standard Asian drama spunky manic pixie (the drama version of the manic pixie dream girl) who does everything she can to help the main male lead while falling in love with both men until she’s forced to choose one. My hope for her is that she doesn’t go the way of her predecessors. That she doesn’t become Miss Mopey Mop (Boys Over Flowers) or lacks in her own personal growth like in Secret Garden. While I feel the drama will be mostly about Cha Ji Heon’s struggles of dealing with the company take over and his brother’s death, I hope she gets to be a protagonist in every sense of the word.
Which leads me to…
Cha Ji Heon: I kind of love him like a sister loves a brother, which I think is part of the reason why No Eun Seol tries so hard to help him in the first place. He’s just so loveably inept at certain things while trying hard to pretend like he doesn’t care or know anything. I also love the fact that by the third episode he’s pretty much in love (having daydreams about her) and by the fourth he’s well aware of it. No Mr. Darcyisms for this lead. He gets jealous easily and just tries to hide it by saying he’s the boss, I love it. I really hope he doesn’t change, I mean I hope he can over come his struggles and become a person who works well in his company, but I’d be crazy if I didn’t admit that I kind of hope he’s still a tiny bit immature when the drama ends.
Now the reason why I’m writing this post…
Cha Moo Won: Now we know how much I love a second banana. I could talk about them all day, and actually in all honesty I feel like they’re half the reason I show up to some dramas. I love Moo Won, he’s the perfect second banana with that little extra dark twist. We saw it in Goong with Lee Yul, and I hope it’s played out just as well here (albeit with some relief that it’s 16 as opposed to 24 episodes). I was worried this week that I had been jibed of my dark secretly jealous character who is the most charismatic person in the room, but when Ji Heon manages to pull it out at the last minute with a web conference, Moo Won’s face just tells you shit is going down and that secretary isn’t just a cute distraction that can’t do her job. It also doesn’t hurt that they found an actor in JaeJoong who, while not strong technically, oozes enough charismatic charm to numb a cranky me before a root canal. But he is a god of course I wouldn’t expect much less.
And the reason I’m watching this drama…
Seo Na Yoon: Before actually watching this drama the reason I was excited in the first place was because it meant the return of Wang Ji Hye as a Bitch in Designer Duds. Different from the cold character she played in Personal Taste, Na Yoon’s slightly ditzy, self centered character is so much fun to watch. I loved the scene where she fantasizes about beating up Eun Seol with her catfighting moves, and decides better of it. She only adds to the quirky tone of the drama. And while I love all this I want her to take on the difficult task of stepping up her A game in her quest to defeat Eun Seol. While the 4th episode hints that her mother is one of those take care of it type, I DO NOT WANT THIS! If she wants either guy, it’ll be nice to see her do it for herself and get growth out of it as well.
Am I recommending this? Well if you like quirky, or you just happen to be a fan of cute behavior, you might like this one. Honestly the parents are the ones driving the actually drama and conflict at this point, making ultimatums and deals and generally leave our quadrangle to react in different ways. I'm not opposed to it, but I hope it changes as the drama goes on or this is going to just be Goong in a business suit.