The K-Drama Meta.
I HAVE EXAMS ON IN A FEW, WOULD YOU BELIEVE. PRAYER CIRCLE FOR MY CONTINUED ACADEMIC EXISTENCE. And in the meanwhile, I don't even believe this myself.
Female (Second) Leads: Narratives vs. Tropes:
[In Defence Of] Coffee House.
When do I suggest reading this:
- If you're not planning on watching Coffee House , because you should. I think it's ( Read more... )
Female (Second) Leads: Narratives vs. Tropes:
[In Defence Of] Coffee House.
When do I suggest reading this:
- If you're not planning on watching Coffee House , because you should. I think it's ( Read more... )
WHAT. THE. HELL. Like I can't even. None of that was in any of the other versions I've seen. What did the writers even think they were doing with all of that?
JD: Whenever my heart sounds the emergency alarm, you always appear.
And then later:
JH shows up when she's sad: I heard the alarm
What is that even? How are they not happily married and teaching their two children how to play piano by now? I'm only at episode 16, but I kind of don't want to finish it because I know I'll be inconsolable once I do. But I'm addicted to watching them interact, so I can't help wanting to see more. Meh. I just need to figure out the perfect place to stop, so I can fanwank my own ending.
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Also, everything you've said just aligns with what I've heard of the other versions; I've never seen Hana Yori Dango or Meteor Garden etc., but from what I know, the Rui/Tsukushi ship is good, but it's definitely second lead. Or, at least, that the Tsukasa/Tsukushi ship gets the best narrative and it actually feels like they fight to be together and that their being together is worth fighting for.
In Boys Over Flowers? NOT SO MUCH.
The thing is, as I mentioned in this post, I was really, really new to drama viewing when I started BOF so I didn't really have a conception of the tropes. But EVEN NOW, after I've seen some twenty odd dramas and get most of the tropes that typically occur, Ji Hoo/Jan Di is STILL pretty much OTP narrative according to those tropes? LIKE, HOW CAN ANYONE ARGUE WITH THAT WITH THE WAY THEY'RE CONSTRUCTED? THEY DO ALL THE THINGS TYPICAL KDRAMA OTPs DO. Even at the start of the series, when you have Jan Di crushing on Ji Hoo, they tend to spend time together, and while Jun Pyo/Jan Di still takes some strides in the first half, by the second half it is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY GONE. They barely spend any time together (except maybe three or four episodes in the middle). Besides what is even more frustrating is that you never really get the impression these two even want to be together, since their entire relationship, almost beginning to end, is dictated by other people telling them to "not give up". That is so un-OTP-like, I can't.
But it's also stuff like Jan Di and Jun Pyo having nothing in common except their grand love. They literally spend no time together to actually understand each other or have common interests etc., which usually is a huge deal in kdramas where the OTP is literally forced to spend time together some or the other way. Instead, here, you have moments like Jan Di hurts her arm saving Jun Pyo, who then disappears, and it's Ji Hoo who kneels beside her when she's miserable at the swimming pool, having lost her one dream and tells her that starting now, she's going to get a new one. They share so many subtle, quiet moments even apart from their clearly romanticized one, moments where they talk about their dreams or future or visit places and see things (and make stick drawings on the wall, bcz how adorable is that), and they actually understand each other better than anyone else (and don't even get me started on the whole soulmate/husband thing).
But I'm addicted to watching them interact, so I can't help wanting to see more. Meh. I just need to figure out the perfect place to stop, so I can fanwank my own ending.
Y'know the greatest thing about this ship is that it is totally an OTP ship, like, I always say that the only way I'd have been even madder at BOF than I was was if I'd actually OTP-shipped because they definitely got the shorter end of the stick. I kept thinking they'd ease up on the secondary romance as we got deeper into the show, but yeah, no. So, I can legitimately tell you that the best point to stop so you can fanwank your own ending is TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE SHOW ENDS. Like, I'm not even kidding, they're legitimately a strong ship ten minutes before the show ends. I don't even know what the PD was thinking with this one.
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Oh, and I'd once come across this comment somewhere and I think it encapsulates what I feel must be the difference perfectly:
You know, in HYD, Makino told Rui that she felt more herself with Domyouji, that with him (Rui) she always felt reserved. That isn’t true in this drama at all, in fact even before I switched over to the Ji-Hoo/Jandi pairing, after Junpyo got beat up for her sake and they were supposed to be together, even then I was discontent with their relationship, because I never got the sparks of joy/delighted sparring that I got in both HYD and Meteor Garden. The couple fights almost equally in all the adaptations - it’s Makino/Domyouji’s way of communicating - but in the Taiwanese and Japanese dramas I was always really convinced that they actually greatly enjoyed their sparring, that it was their way of flirting. Whereas in this one, when they fought, even after they were together, I had more of an impression of Jandi being actually unhappy - I couldn’t detect that deep satisfaction underneath that she was with Junpyo, it more seemed like she actually did get annoyed with him (I’m remembering in particular when she turned down their date with no signs of regret at all because she had to work).
Anyway, my point is, in this adaptation Jandi all too clearly does feel herself with Ji-Hoo - I mean, she’s done practically every girlfriend-y thing possible with him except dance, from travel with him, live with him, wash cars with him, kiss him, nurse him - and scratch that she HAS danced with him, at that party near the beginning of the series. She manages to fit him easily into her life and he integrates easily, from helping her clean the concert hall to decorating her apartment for her, and vice versa as she laughs with him, she teases him, she confides in him. No, there’s clearly no case here of not feeling comfortable/like yourself around him. Which is why the original dynamics don't stand ground here.
SO, YEAH, THAT.
I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE WATCHING THIS AND FEELING ME ON THIS BECAUSE I SAW IT SO LATE AND EVERYONE WAS EITHER OVER IT (OR OTP SHIPPED) AND I'VE HAD SO MUCH TO SAY SO YOU GET THIS RANDOM WALL OF TEXT, SORRY NOT SORRY.
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I think that comment hits it dead on. Just...the entire feel of the dynamics in HYD is different than that of BOF. Sure, in HYD, Rui is still sweet and supportive, but it always sort of feels like he's teasing her, that she's still flustered by how swoon-worthy he is, the same way she was in the very beginning when he was the only one who was remotely nice to her. They never quite reach that tender, intimate place in which Ji Hoo and Jan Di seem to reside.
Honestly, I don't think that anyone knows Jan Di as well as Ji Hoo now does. Because he's the only one she fully lets in. No one else sees her so vulnerable. And in the midst of going through a broken heart, he seems to be the only one who can comfort her and make her smile. What is that if it's not love? I would be able to accept that she'd just friend-zoned him if it weren't for, like, every scene he plays an instrument ever. There's this quiet intensity that happens every time she watches him play. Just, the way she looks at him. OKAY NOW I'M GUSHING I SHOULD PROBABLY JUST STOP. BUT.
SPEAKING OF THAT HUSBAND/SOULMATE THING, I DON'T KNOW HOW NOT TO GET YOU STARTED ON THAT BECAUSE WHAT IS THAT EVEN.
It just...it makes me so sad. In this version, it seems so obvious that Ji Hoo is who Jan Di fits best with. She literally spends all her free time with him, doing every day, domestic things. He's the keeper of all her secrets, hopes, and fears. And he's really pretty, so we know she's physically attracted to him. So, yeah, he's the soulmate. BUT LAST TIME I CHECKED THOSE WERE ALSO REALLY GOOD THINGS TO HAVE IN A HUSBAND.
SOOOO. I keep blabbing at you, but I have one last thing to say (for now...I make no promises about later). I was stupid and watched the ending, and now I'm even MORE sad. Because even after all of the pain at being apart, Jan Di and Jun Pyo are going to be apart even longer. So during the time Jun Pyo is off studying, Jan Di and Ji Hoo...go about their normal routine? Except now with added med school and late night study sessions where he covers her up with a blanket after she falls asleep over her textbook, and when she wakes, he plays piano while she eats the pancakes he made her, AND BASICALLY HE'S GOING TO CONTINUE ON BEING HER BOYFRIEND IN EVERYTHING BUT NAME UNTIL JUN PYO FINALLY COMES BACK AND MARRIES HER, SOMEONE WRITE A NEW ENDING TO THIS STORY PLEASE.
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Sure, in HYD, Rui is still sweet and supportive, but it always sort of feels like he's teasing her, that she's still flustered by how swoon-worthy he is.
That's almost exactly what I've heard about HYD Rui/Makino as well. The idea that his sincerity is always in doubt because he's so good at the teasing, so even if his feelings are real, they aren't unambiguous. They definitely toned that down in BOF, because Ji Hoo's sincerity is not only clearly real, but also so palpable.
Because he's the only one she fully lets in. No one else sees her so vulnerable. And in the midst of going through a broken heart, he seems to be the only one who can comfort her and make her smile.
guh, YES, this exactly. And I love how many different vulnerable sides of her he's privy to; whether it's about her home-life, or her dream for her future, or romantic dilemmas, or even actual physical weakness or illness, he's witness to all and he's comfort in all. And he's also privy to her strength, he knows how many jobs she's working, knows how much of a face she has to put on to pretend emotional stability with Jun Pyo, knows how hurt she was by his rejection etc. LIKE, I JUST DON'T GET IT. This is such an OTP thing, this is exactly the kind of relationships that so many dramas spend time establishing re: the OTP. So the BOF ending doesn't only seemed emotionally unearned, it's also narrativistically bizarre. It's like the show has no idea what the hell it's doing.
ALSO, ALL THE TIMES THEY PLAY INSTRUMENTS OR LOOK AT PAINTINGS OR DRAWN STICK FIGURES ON THE WALL OR CLEAN WINDOWS OR CARS ARE MY FAVORITES. LIKE, they do so many of these absolutely adorable things together, and do it having fun. Like, the piano scene when Jan Di is practically in tears after making Jun Pyo's video is one of my favorites ever. Their scenes are so subtle, and conveyed mostly through looks and music (KHJ's Because I'm Stupid was definitely an obsession with me post this show, lmao), that it just tends to make these scenes seem so gorgeous and meaningful as a marker of a relationship.
So, yeah, he's the soulmate. BUT LAST TIME I CHECKED THOSE WERE ALSO REALLY GOOD THINGS TO HAVE IN A HUSBAND.
THIS IS ONE ASPECT WHEREIN I'M LEGIT BAFFLED. I have watched a lot of kdramas now, and the thing is, they're so centrally focused on the soulmate aspect of the OTP, the idea that you're destined to be with someone, or that there is someone that you connect most with. And I don't always agree on the soulmate/destiny business, but it does exist in a lot of dramas. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THIS WAS MEANT TO BE A DECONSTRUCTION OR WHAT, BECAUSE IT TOTALLY FAILED AS THAT? ALL that they've shown us isn't that you may have a "soulmate" but actually working on relationships is what makes relationships (which would've been a deconstruction) but that Ji Hoo is legit Jan Di's soulmate in the way that they're the ones who most deeply understand each other and would probably be happiest together. BUT HER HUSBAND IS SOME OTHER GUY WHO SHE HAS AN ON/OFF RELATIONSHIP WITH?? JUST??? Like, how could they bring in an inherently romantic concept like soulmates and then not even try to oppose it or anything in their secondary ship?
AS FOR THE ENDING, I CANNOT EVEN WITH IT. I am pretty sure that JD/JP dated for about a month in total in BOF and were apart for some 5 years. The whole thing is too ridiculous for contemplation. And that is the time that JH/JD spent together being medical interns together. just /headdesk. LIKE, THEY HAVE SPENT ALMOST ALL THEIR TIME TOGETHER FROM THE BEGINNING TO END OF THE SERIES, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SHOW. It's a brilliant OTP narrative, but it's an awful secondary ship narrative, and it makes the whole thing a complete mess. (Also, you must watch further/before the end because the amount of OTP shenanigans yet to come re: them is outrageous and beautiful all at once.)
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