Capital Scandal, ep. 01-03
I know I say this about pretty much everything ever, but this is really the BEST THING EVAR OMG! At least so far!
It's the 1930s, and Korea has been under Japanese occupation for about twenty years. Sun Woo Wan is a playboy and all-around wastrel who doesn't care at all about liberating Korea, but unfortunately, he's briefly mistaken for a resistance member by Na Yeo Kyung, an old-fashioned young woman who is extremely idealistic but occasionally naive. Then there's the gisaeng Cha Song Joo, who seems to be platonic friends with Woo Wan, and Security Force member Lee Su Hyun, who seems nice but has secret backstories and works for the Japanese.
Together, they... overthrow Japanese imperialist rule?
At least, that's what I'm assuming will happen!
Even though this is a historical drama, the draw for me is how different it feels from the few sageuk I've seen (Damo, some of Hwang Jin Yi, some of Dae Jang Geum, one episode of Painter in the Wind, and... does Legend count?). First, there's the fact that it's not set in the Joseon Dynasty! Also, as opposed to what I hear about most sageuk, historical accuracy is... really not the strong point of Capital Scandal. I can see this as being very annoying to some people, but I am mostly enjoying the ridiculous outfits that are supposed to pass as 1930s clothes, the bad swing dancing, and the slapstick.
My favorite outfits so far are the bright red fedora paired with a turquoise suit jacket, the pink fedora paired with an all-pink suit, the fedora made out of what I assume is Korean or Japanese patterned silk, Song Joo's awesomesauce red dress (sadly paired with a pink hat instead of a frothy little red number with a veil), and of course, Yeo Kyung's schoolgirl (?) hanbok and Song Joo's gisaeng hanbok. And Yeo Kyung cross-dressing in suspenders and... formal shorts. And maybe Song Joo's patterned black dress with a slit up to her hip. And maybe Woo Wan's lavender shirt when he is boxing. And maybe Su Hyun's tidy three-piece suits with pastel ties.
shewhohashope has picspam of episode 1!
So far, Woo Wan and Yeo Kyung are the antagonistic slapstick couple. She mistakes him for a resistance fighter! He loses his stash of porn to her! She punches him in the face! She pulls a gun on him! She steals his shirt! He stops her from punching him again! She headbutts him! Also, he takes on a bet to woo Jo Ma Ja (her nickname meaning "Joseon's last woman") not knowing it's the woman who's tried to shoot him twice! And if he loses, he has to become an independence fighter. We all know how this will end...
Cha Song Joo and Woo Wan seem to have a platonic relationship right now, though I have no doubt that they will either pretend to be in love or be mistaken as a couple in order to further the plot. I actually very much enjoy their scenes together, particularly when Song Joo orders Woo Wan to walk Yeo Kyung home or help her out because she's staked several bags of rice on his bet.
Yeo Kyung and Su Hyun so far have one of those "nice guy meets nice girl" relationships, although I think that will change once she discovers he's working for the Japanese!
And Su Hyun probably has the best role so far, since he has angsty backstory not only with Woo Wan (it involves a sepia-toned photograph of DOOM!) but also with Song Joo!
I was a little surprised by what I assume with be the secondary couple (Su Hyun and Song Joo), but once I learned the drama was based on a novel written by the same person who wrote the novel Coffee Prince was based on, I was surprised no longer. As such, I'm guessing there will be a similar dynamic with the ingenue-ish character and the womanizer as the main couple, and the slightly older couple with history having a little more angst. I'm very much hoping that both of them are handled well and am now more confident of this after knowing the Coffee Prince writer is involved.
The bonus I hadn't been expecting was Song Joo helping Yeo Kyung out at times, and I really hope the two of them will get more scenes together. The world-weary courtesan keeping secrets for the idealistic young independence fighter! Awesome.
And I am sure it surprises no one that my favorite character so far is Cha Song Joo.
Spoilers have angsty backstory
OMG! The angsty backstory is so far excellent! First, it involves a trio of people who sit for a sepia-toned photograph. We all know how this ends! Although the twist is that it's three guys (two of them related), as opposed to the usual two guys and a to-be-dead girl. I am dying to know how Su Hyun goes from being an idealistic schoolboy opposed to the Japanese to an investigator working for the Japanese occupation. My guess is that he's of course a secret agent. And! Because Su Hyun's revolutionary activities got Woo Wan's older brother Min killed, Woo Wan becomes a wastrel, although I am sure he secretly harbors pro-independence sentiments underneath his lavender shirt and bow-tie. And Woo Wan's father of course loves Su Hyun more, even though Woo Wan is his actual son and Su Hyun is the son of a laborer on his land, and he makes Woo Wan ask Su Hyun why he's working for the Japanese!
Right now, Woo Wan's father is supposedly pro-Japanese, but I am sure that's a front or something.
And! There were some longing glances in episode 2 between Su Hyun and Song Joo, but the backstory is EVEN BETTER! He is the idealistic young schoolboy who wants to help her when her father sells her to prostitution! She asks him to kill her father and the Japanese loan sharks who bankrupted her family! He says he doesn't have the power to do that but tells her to keep living so she can avenge herself! She GOES INTO THE COURTYARD TO HANG HERSELF and then doesn't because she remembers him telling her to live! And then she presumably KILLS HER FIRST PATRON WHO HAS RAPED HER!
And then! He refuses to acknowledge that he knows her when he brings her in for questioning, and she can't tell if she's disappointed in him or if he's disappointed in her, or both.
Woo Wan and Yeo Kyung are funny and I like them, and I adore Yeo Kyung, and I love that she and her mother kind of collaborate on the whole independence fighter thing, but OMG SU HYUN/SONG JOO OTP4EVA!
I just hope the rest of the drama stays this awesome!
This entry was originally posted at http://oyceter.dreamwidth.org/849676.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
It's the 1930s, and Korea has been under Japanese occupation for about twenty years. Sun Woo Wan is a playboy and all-around wastrel who doesn't care at all about liberating Korea, but unfortunately, he's briefly mistaken for a resistance member by Na Yeo Kyung, an old-fashioned young woman who is extremely idealistic but occasionally naive. Then there's the gisaeng Cha Song Joo, who seems to be platonic friends with Woo Wan, and Security Force member Lee Su Hyun, who seems nice but has secret backstories and works for the Japanese.
Together, they... overthrow Japanese imperialist rule?
At least, that's what I'm assuming will happen!
Even though this is a historical drama, the draw for me is how different it feels from the few sageuk I've seen (Damo, some of Hwang Jin Yi, some of Dae Jang Geum, one episode of Painter in the Wind, and... does Legend count?). First, there's the fact that it's not set in the Joseon Dynasty! Also, as opposed to what I hear about most sageuk, historical accuracy is... really not the strong point of Capital Scandal. I can see this as being very annoying to some people, but I am mostly enjoying the ridiculous outfits that are supposed to pass as 1930s clothes, the bad swing dancing, and the slapstick.
My favorite outfits so far are the bright red fedora paired with a turquoise suit jacket, the pink fedora paired with an all-pink suit, the fedora made out of what I assume is Korean or Japanese patterned silk, Song Joo's awesomesauce red dress (sadly paired with a pink hat instead of a frothy little red number with a veil), and of course, Yeo Kyung's schoolgirl (?) hanbok and Song Joo's gisaeng hanbok. And Yeo Kyung cross-dressing in suspenders and... formal shorts. And maybe Song Joo's patterned black dress with a slit up to her hip. And maybe Woo Wan's lavender shirt when he is boxing. And maybe Su Hyun's tidy three-piece suits with pastel ties.
shewhohashope has picspam of episode 1!
So far, Woo Wan and Yeo Kyung are the antagonistic slapstick couple. She mistakes him for a resistance fighter! He loses his stash of porn to her! She punches him in the face! She pulls a gun on him! She steals his shirt! He stops her from punching him again! She headbutts him! Also, he takes on a bet to woo Jo Ma Ja (her nickname meaning "Joseon's last woman") not knowing it's the woman who's tried to shoot him twice! And if he loses, he has to become an independence fighter. We all know how this will end...
Cha Song Joo and Woo Wan seem to have a platonic relationship right now, though I have no doubt that they will either pretend to be in love or be mistaken as a couple in order to further the plot. I actually very much enjoy their scenes together, particularly when Song Joo orders Woo Wan to walk Yeo Kyung home or help her out because she's staked several bags of rice on his bet.
Yeo Kyung and Su Hyun so far have one of those "nice guy meets nice girl" relationships, although I think that will change once she discovers he's working for the Japanese!
And Su Hyun probably has the best role so far, since he has angsty backstory not only with Woo Wan (it involves a sepia-toned photograph of DOOM!) but also with Song Joo!
I was a little surprised by what I assume with be the secondary couple (Su Hyun and Song Joo), but once I learned the drama was based on a novel written by the same person who wrote the novel Coffee Prince was based on, I was surprised no longer. As such, I'm guessing there will be a similar dynamic with the ingenue-ish character and the womanizer as the main couple, and the slightly older couple with history having a little more angst. I'm very much hoping that both of them are handled well and am now more confident of this after knowing the Coffee Prince writer is involved.
The bonus I hadn't been expecting was Song Joo helping Yeo Kyung out at times, and I really hope the two of them will get more scenes together. The world-weary courtesan keeping secrets for the idealistic young independence fighter! Awesome.
And I am sure it surprises no one that my favorite character so far is Cha Song Joo.
Spoilers have angsty backstory
OMG! The angsty backstory is so far excellent! First, it involves a trio of people who sit for a sepia-toned photograph. We all know how this ends! Although the twist is that it's three guys (two of them related), as opposed to the usual two guys and a to-be-dead girl. I am dying to know how Su Hyun goes from being an idealistic schoolboy opposed to the Japanese to an investigator working for the Japanese occupation. My guess is that he's of course a secret agent. And! Because Su Hyun's revolutionary activities got Woo Wan's older brother Min killed, Woo Wan becomes a wastrel, although I am sure he secretly harbors pro-independence sentiments underneath his lavender shirt and bow-tie. And Woo Wan's father of course loves Su Hyun more, even though Woo Wan is his actual son and Su Hyun is the son of a laborer on his land, and he makes Woo Wan ask Su Hyun why he's working for the Japanese!
Right now, Woo Wan's father is supposedly pro-Japanese, but I am sure that's a front or something.
And! There were some longing glances in episode 2 between Su Hyun and Song Joo, but the backstory is EVEN BETTER! He is the idealistic young schoolboy who wants to help her when her father sells her to prostitution! She asks him to kill her father and the Japanese loan sharks who bankrupted her family! He says he doesn't have the power to do that but tells her to keep living so she can avenge herself! She GOES INTO THE COURTYARD TO HANG HERSELF and then doesn't because she remembers him telling her to live! And then she presumably KILLS HER FIRST PATRON WHO HAS RAPED HER!
And then! He refuses to acknowledge that he knows her when he brings her in for questioning, and she can't tell if she's disappointed in him or if he's disappointed in her, or both.
Woo Wan and Yeo Kyung are funny and I like them, and I adore Yeo Kyung, and I love that she and her mother kind of collaborate on the whole independence fighter thing, but OMG SU HYUN/SONG JOO OTP4EVA!
I just hope the rest of the drama stays this awesome!
This entry was originally posted at http://oyceter.dreamwidth.org/849676.html. Please comment there using OpenID.