East of Eden drama review
I originally posted this review on crunchyroll. I'm deleting my account on there so I thought I'd post here.
East of Eden is a very heavy, dramatic, emotionally draining drama. The synopsis appealed to me every single form when I came across it. Switched babies? Cruel fate? Suffering? There's no question that this is a melodrama through and through..and I am so there. It was also a perk knowing about 98% of the main cast from their other drama productions. I honestly do not know how the casting director was able to get so many big names to act in EOE, but props to them. The acting throughout the drama was high class because of the careful selection. At times though, the acting was too polished and it came off as overdramatic. It did take me about 6 months to finish East of Eden because I couldn’t handle watching a whole slew of episodes in one sitting. It was a little too depressing and too heavy on my feelings at times. However, I was able to get through all the tears and eventually finish it.
The writing did become a little awkward and draggy around the middle, but I think that had something to do with the new writer taking over from the one who became sick. If you paid attention close enough and knew the characters well enough, you could tell that there was a contrast between what the new writer had in mind opposed to the original one. I think because of those creative differences, it did affect the drama and did strip it of a few layers. Example, in the beginning half of the drama Dong Chul’s mom tried very hard to get him on the right track and away from the mobster life style. But in the 2nd half, after the time skip, she seemed to turn a blind eye and no longer cared. Those kinds of changes make me mad because I think it added more complexity to the storyline and gave Lee Min Sook a firmer role as a strong, bold mother who wants her child to life a righteous life. I thought it was more realistic and admirable.
However, I do not fully blame the new writer for the inconsistent writing of the drama. I think Lee Da Hae’s decision to leave in the middle of production also made a huge impact on the drama. I’m sure it was not easy for the new writer to deal with something like this in the middle of filming when they had the plot already laid out: Lee Da Hae’s character, Hye Rin, shakes up the Lee brother’s relationship. And you know what makes it even juicier...that are not even brothers! Perhaps if they continued to make love the center focus, it would have kept and drawn in more viewers. Who can honestly say why they stopped watching East of Eden except the viewer themselves. In my opinion, despite its flaws, it was definitely worth watching until the very end. The first writer got me hooked and once the second writer was comfortable she was able to reel me in.
East of Eden is a very heavy, dramatic, emotionally draining drama. The synopsis appealed to me every single form when I came across it. Switched babies? Cruel fate? Suffering? There's no question that this is a melodrama through and through..and I am so there. It was also a perk knowing about 98% of the main cast from their other drama productions. I honestly do not know how the casting director was able to get so many big names to act in EOE, but props to them. The acting throughout the drama was high class because of the careful selection. At times though, the acting was too polished and it came off as overdramatic. It did take me about 6 months to finish East of Eden because I couldn’t handle watching a whole slew of episodes in one sitting. It was a little too depressing and too heavy on my feelings at times. However, I was able to get through all the tears and eventually finish it.
The writing did become a little awkward and draggy around the middle, but I think that had something to do with the new writer taking over from the one who became sick. If you paid attention close enough and knew the characters well enough, you could tell that there was a contrast between what the new writer had in mind opposed to the original one. I think because of those creative differences, it did affect the drama and did strip it of a few layers. Example, in the beginning half of the drama Dong Chul’s mom tried very hard to get him on the right track and away from the mobster life style. But in the 2nd half, after the time skip, she seemed to turn a blind eye and no longer cared. Those kinds of changes make me mad because I think it added more complexity to the storyline and gave Lee Min Sook a firmer role as a strong, bold mother who wants her child to life a righteous life. I thought it was more realistic and admirable.
However, I do not fully blame the new writer for the inconsistent writing of the drama. I think Lee Da Hae’s decision to leave in the middle of production also made a huge impact on the drama. I’m sure it was not easy for the new writer to deal with something like this in the middle of filming when they had the plot already laid out: Lee Da Hae’s character, Hye Rin, shakes up the Lee brother’s relationship. And you know what makes it even juicier...that are not even brothers! Perhaps if they continued to make love the center focus, it would have kept and drawn in more viewers. Who can honestly say why they stopped watching East of Eden except the viewer themselves. In my opinion, despite its flaws, it was definitely worth watching until the very end. The first writer got me hooked and once the second writer was comfortable she was able to reel me in.