operation proposal: the tale of the torpe
Torpe: Filipino slang for someone (especially a young man) who doesn't know how to approach the person he likes. i.e. Kang Baek-ho.
I won't go into the nitty-gritty of the plot of Operation Proposal. It's about a guy who's just watched his best friend/true love get married to another guy, and is somehow given the chance to travel back in time to win her heart. It's the Korean adaptation of some j-drama I will never watch, which works in OP's favor (my not watching part) because I will be able to enjoy it on its own merits. I usually view Korean remakes as pale imitations of earlier, better works (Boys over Flowers vs. Meteor Garden being the classic example), but it's more because these remakes are usually subpar dramas on their own.
Thank God Operation Proposal is good.
I like this drama A LOT. I admit at first I found Kang Baek-ho a sniveling loser who can't get over the fact that he lost his love to some guy who has probably thrown all caution to the winds to win her heart. However, Baek-ho's earnestness won me over before the end of the first episode. What matters to him isn't really winning Yi-seul's heart; what's really important is that she's happy. He did a lot of things that made her unhappy in the past, and the whole time travel thing ended up being more about correcting those things than winning her heart. Or at least I hope it turns out that way.
Normally, I can't stand a prolonged case of Cannot Spit It Out, but Baek-ho's (and Yi-seul's) fear that initiating romance might ruin their friendship feels so real, it serves as a reasonable justification for his crippling inability to confess his feelings. I love that the friendship between them is so important to him, he's afraid to take a gamble that might ruin it. So he hems and haws until all too soon, someone else captures her affections.
Like every other procrastinator out there who suddenly finds himself out of time (*cough*), Baek-ho wishes he can go back in time so he can confess his feelings properly. He says so out loud, while sobbing like some Cinderella who missed the carriage to the ball. Enter the friendly neighborhood Fairy Godfather Time Lord Conductor, who gives Baek-ho exactly what he wishes for: a chance to go back in time and do things right.
Baek-ho, like any sane human being, believes this time travel thing to be either a dream or too good to be true. It's not until he sees a high school picture of Yi-seul frowning (presumably because of something he did or didn't do) that he decides to take this particular gamble.
I expected the whole time travel thing to be a straight-up relive-your-high-school affair, so admit I was disoriented when Baek-ho suddenly time travels forward into an alternate present, where Yi-seul and Jin-won are marrying in a week instead of today, but nothing's really changed. It looks like Baek-ho will be jumping back and forth in time until he gets the girl/accepts that she's not for him. Thank God Baek-ho shares my confusion. I think the whole timey-wimey thing is a nice touch
As of two episodes, it's still too early to tell if Baek-ho gets the girl or simply learns to let her go, having done his best to make her happy himself. I ship Baek-ho/Yi-seul (Yoo Seung-ho and Park Eun-bi have amazing chemistry) so I hope they get past the UST phase and get together in the end. On the other hand, I also want Baek-ho to accept his loss and be happy for her. I love a romantic victor, but I do find graceful losers refreshing - especially if the graceful loser in question is the hero.
The Verdict: Strong like. Very watchable and can be enjoyed in huge gulps.
I won't go into the nitty-gritty of the plot of Operation Proposal. It's about a guy who's just watched his best friend/true love get married to another guy, and is somehow given the chance to travel back in time to win her heart. It's the Korean adaptation of some j-drama I will never watch, which works in OP's favor (my not watching part) because I will be able to enjoy it on its own merits. I usually view Korean remakes as pale imitations of earlier, better works (Boys over Flowers vs. Meteor Garden being the classic example), but it's more because these remakes are usually subpar dramas on their own.
Thank God Operation Proposal is good.
I like this drama A LOT. I admit at first I found Kang Baek-ho a sniveling loser who can't get over the fact that he lost his love to some guy who has probably thrown all caution to the winds to win her heart. However, Baek-ho's earnestness won me over before the end of the first episode. What matters to him isn't really winning Yi-seul's heart; what's really important is that she's happy. He did a lot of things that made her unhappy in the past, and the whole time travel thing ended up being more about correcting those things than winning her heart. Or at least I hope it turns out that way.
Normally, I can't stand a prolonged case of Cannot Spit It Out, but Baek-ho's (and Yi-seul's) fear that initiating romance might ruin their friendship feels so real, it serves as a reasonable justification for his crippling inability to confess his feelings. I love that the friendship between them is so important to him, he's afraid to take a gamble that might ruin it. So he hems and haws until all too soon, someone else captures her affections.
Like every other procrastinator out there who suddenly finds himself out of time (*cough*), Baek-ho wishes he can go back in time so he can confess his feelings properly. He says so out loud, while sobbing like some Cinderella who missed the carriage to the ball. Enter the friendly neighborhood Fairy Godfather Time Lord Conductor, who gives Baek-ho exactly what he wishes for: a chance to go back in time and do things right.
Baek-ho, like any sane human being, believes this time travel thing to be either a dream or too good to be true. It's not until he sees a high school picture of Yi-seul frowning (presumably because of something he did or didn't do) that he decides to take this particular gamble.
I expected the whole time travel thing to be a straight-up relive-your-high-school affair, so admit I was disoriented when Baek-ho suddenly time travels forward into an alternate present, where Yi-seul and Jin-won are marrying in a week instead of today, but nothing's really changed. It looks like Baek-ho will be jumping back and forth in time until he gets the girl/accepts that she's not for him. Thank God Baek-ho shares my confusion. I think the whole timey-wimey thing is a nice touch
As of two episodes, it's still too early to tell if Baek-ho gets the girl or simply learns to let her go, having done his best to make her happy himself. I ship Baek-ho/Yi-seul (Yoo Seung-ho and Park Eun-bi have amazing chemistry) so I hope they get past the UST phase and get together in the end. On the other hand, I also want Baek-ho to accept his loss and be happy for her. I love a romantic victor, but I do find graceful losers refreshing - especially if the graceful loser in question is the hero.
The Verdict: Strong like. Very watchable and can be enjoyed in huge gulps.