![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieThis is my OTP for Take Care of the Lady:
Cheeky hardworking butler (r) and a human rights lawyer who's given up his rich family to pursue his cause (l).
OK, I am kidding. Sort of.
The thing is, I am not big on our heroine, Hae Na, at all. I have no patience for poor little rich girl or boy who treats people like dirt while thinking that they are owed everything because of their unearned money and wallowing in undeserved emo while being waited on hand and foot. I start thinking longingly of French Revolution and guillotines.
Now, a hardworking rich person, like Lee Byung Hun's character in Beautiful Days, I am fine with. Otherwise, the spoiled rich brat better have some genuine cause for lashing out like Jae Min from Bali - I would not want to be a member of his horrific family for any money and Bali never shies away from the fact that despite being angsty and magnetic, Jae-Min is not a loveable cuddly thing only needing a love of a good woman to fix him, but a total mess.
Hae Na reminds me of Domyouji in all his incarnations and I loathed early Domyouji with every fibre of my being. To be honest, she is even worse - Domyouji was younger and was around one of the worst mother figures ever. Hae Na is close to a decade older than Domyouji and seems to be a product of a nice enough family. She has no excuse! Her grandfather is warm and loving and treats her well, her staff jumps to her every whim, she is healthy - wtf is her problem! Boo-hoo, some relationship 6 years ago did not work out. Since when is that a legitimate excuse to treat people like dirt? (There is no hint that her ex was abusive or similar and she has some sort of PTSD).
I adored Sung Yuri's heroine in Snow Queen even when she was a horrifying bitch because there was good reason for her behavior - a deeply dysfunctional family, suicide of a loved older brother, and knowledge that she is bound to die in her 20s due to a health condition. Yeah, that makes for some lashing out. Someone like Shin from Goong might have been no picnic as a significant other but he performed all his myriad duties in a proper manner while Hae Na does absolutely nothing, spounging off her grandfather, refusing to work. Charming! Contrast her her with Anna from Fantasy Couple - Anna was a nightmare but competent and at least her being awful to the hero had some rational basis at the start.
She is not utterly self-absorbed and is capable of gratitude (the way she behaved with Dong Chan when she countermanded his dismissal after he covered for her as she asked) - she is capable of improvement. But she has a long way to go before she becomes worthy of being anyone's girlfriend.
I think her being in tears after realizing Tae Yoon wasn't her first love but someone who looked a bit like him was supposed to humanize her but I was left rolling my eyes at the fact that her wealth insulated her from anything - she caused such a scene chasing after him and then was free to sit and emote while someone else, in this case Dong Chan, was left cleaning up her mess - pacifying the owner of the horse she took, getting her car etc etc. What a contrast with something like Worlds Within where heartbreak or not, Song Hye Kyo's character still had to go to work and do her best, without even time to finish her conversation with the man who was dumping her. Or something like Thank You where, whatever else went on in her life, Gong Hyo Jin had to work in the fields, take care of her daughter and her senile grandfather, and deal with it all. Awww, Hae Na, poor little rich girl, see me weep! Whatever other flaws I am easy on in my characters (iciness, jerkiness, dysfunction, whatever), I cannot stand people who are simply spoiled.
The reason I am enjoying this drama and do not hate Hae Na is, in part, because she does have potential as a character to develop, and in part because Yoon Eun Hye is, as always, gorgeous, charismatic and a good actress, making Hae Na a real person with hidden little-girl warmth, as opposed to a nasty rich witch she could easily come across in someone else's hands.
In other news, I am very very eager about upcoming Angel's Temptation. The plot? The heroine's family is killed and her family is ruined so she decides to punish those responsible. (Now, see, Hae Na? That's a woman with a legitimate reason to be pissed!) However, instead of doing the sensible thing and hiring a hitman or maybe using a pipe bomb on their house, she...that's right...seduces and marries the son of her enemy. The logic? Is brilliant.
I adore revenge plots and this sounds so deliciously OTT ridiculous, I cannot wait. All the more so as the male lead is the scrumptious Bae Soo Bin, who you all might remember as the gorgeous Jun Se oppa from Brilliant Legacy. Mmmmmmmm. MMMMMM.
Cheeky hardworking butler (r) and a human rights lawyer who's given up his rich family to pursue his cause (l).
OK, I am kidding. Sort of.
The thing is, I am not big on our heroine, Hae Na, at all. I have no patience for poor little rich girl or boy who treats people like dirt while thinking that they are owed everything because of their unearned money and wallowing in undeserved emo while being waited on hand and foot. I start thinking longingly of French Revolution and guillotines.
Now, a hardworking rich person, like Lee Byung Hun's character in Beautiful Days, I am fine with. Otherwise, the spoiled rich brat better have some genuine cause for lashing out like Jae Min from Bali - I would not want to be a member of his horrific family for any money and Bali never shies away from the fact that despite being angsty and magnetic, Jae-Min is not a loveable cuddly thing only needing a love of a good woman to fix him, but a total mess.
Hae Na reminds me of Domyouji in all his incarnations and I loathed early Domyouji with every fibre of my being. To be honest, she is even worse - Domyouji was younger and was around one of the worst mother figures ever. Hae Na is close to a decade older than Domyouji and seems to be a product of a nice enough family. She has no excuse! Her grandfather is warm and loving and treats her well, her staff jumps to her every whim, she is healthy - wtf is her problem! Boo-hoo, some relationship 6 years ago did not work out. Since when is that a legitimate excuse to treat people like dirt? (There is no hint that her ex was abusive or similar and she has some sort of PTSD).
I adored Sung Yuri's heroine in Snow Queen even when she was a horrifying bitch because there was good reason for her behavior - a deeply dysfunctional family, suicide of a loved older brother, and knowledge that she is bound to die in her 20s due to a health condition. Yeah, that makes for some lashing out. Someone like Shin from Goong might have been no picnic as a significant other but he performed all his myriad duties in a proper manner while Hae Na does absolutely nothing, spounging off her grandfather, refusing to work. Charming! Contrast her her with Anna from Fantasy Couple - Anna was a nightmare but competent and at least her being awful to the hero had some rational basis at the start.
She is not utterly self-absorbed and is capable of gratitude (the way she behaved with Dong Chan when she countermanded his dismissal after he covered for her as she asked) - she is capable of improvement. But she has a long way to go before she becomes worthy of being anyone's girlfriend.
I think her being in tears after realizing Tae Yoon wasn't her first love but someone who looked a bit like him was supposed to humanize her but I was left rolling my eyes at the fact that her wealth insulated her from anything - she caused such a scene chasing after him and then was free to sit and emote while someone else, in this case Dong Chan, was left cleaning up her mess - pacifying the owner of the horse she took, getting her car etc etc. What a contrast with something like Worlds Within where heartbreak or not, Song Hye Kyo's character still had to go to work and do her best, without even time to finish her conversation with the man who was dumping her. Or something like Thank You where, whatever else went on in her life, Gong Hyo Jin had to work in the fields, take care of her daughter and her senile grandfather, and deal with it all. Awww, Hae Na, poor little rich girl, see me weep! Whatever other flaws I am easy on in my characters (iciness, jerkiness, dysfunction, whatever), I cannot stand people who are simply spoiled.
The reason I am enjoying this drama and do not hate Hae Na is, in part, because she does have potential as a character to develop, and in part because Yoon Eun Hye is, as always, gorgeous, charismatic and a good actress, making Hae Na a real person with hidden little-girl warmth, as opposed to a nasty rich witch she could easily come across in someone else's hands.
In other news, I am very very eager about upcoming Angel's Temptation. The plot? The heroine's family is killed and her family is ruined so she decides to punish those responsible. (Now, see, Hae Na? That's a woman with a legitimate reason to be pissed!) However, instead of doing the sensible thing and hiring a hitman or maybe using a pipe bomb on their house, she...that's right...seduces and marries the son of her enemy. The logic? Is brilliant.
I adore revenge plots and this sounds so deliciously OTT ridiculous, I cannot wait. All the more so as the male lead is the scrumptious Bae Soo Bin, who you all might remember as the gorgeous Jun Se oppa from Brilliant Legacy. Mmmmmmmm. MMMMMM.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 04:10 pm (UTC)OOOH, BSB is playing the lead in Angel's Temptation? YES. My request for a BSB lead drama came true. DEFINITELY WATCHING.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 04:15 pm (UTC)She is, however, a much better family member - she seems to get along well with her grandfather (but otoh he is not pushing her into anything). Hwan was a bastard ten times over, compared to her.
I think it all feels more cushioned because that world is much less real.
Re: Angel's Temptation. I am so excited!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:50 pm (UTC)(she rams the hero's car, gets him arrested for kidnapping, almost has his house bulldozed)
UGH.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:55 pm (UTC)Basically, he is doing some flower deliveries in a van, her reckless driving gets them almost into an accident and instead of apologizing, she throws $$$ at him. When he chases her she decides the best thing to do would be to ram his car. With him still in it!
Cue a police station and her lawyer trying to negotiate a settlement when she comes over, insults him all over again, says he is just doing it for the money etc. So he gets pissed and doesn't settle, she has to do community service, and as soon as she gets out, she hires him (through a company) as a substitute driver, then tears her clothes, hair, smears lipstick on him, and starts yelling she's been kidnapped. Cue cops and his being dragged to police station - he almost gets locked up only her grandfather finds out and intervenes.
She also decides to buy the place in which he is living with an old family friend and friend's mother to bulldoze it (did I mention that she doesn't even know he got out of jail, so basically she is getting him locked up AND making him homeless).
I am not into violence against women, but at this point I just wanted him to punch her out senseless. Or for anyone to do so, really. HATE.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:49 pm (UTC)I wonder how they'll redeem her. Probably not as well as Brilliant Legacy, since you said it was manga-ish. I predict situational growth, instead of character growth.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 07:47 pm (UTC)Oh well, it doesn't need to be great to keep me watching, moderately entertaining and zany will do. It's all just killing time until IRIS anyway :)
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:08 pm (UTC)This drama, though, is something I'm curious about because it strikes me as having a high level of entertainment value for me.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:48 pm (UTC)Re: My Girl and Spring Waltz. I wouldn't count them in the category. My Girl's hero is hard-working, filial and well-adjusted who also happens to be rich. He's basically your typical good guy. And SW's hero also seems to be driven, a good son to his insane adopted parents, trying to cope with his awful background, and while not exactly cuddly to strangers, he doesn't have the sense of wronged entitlement rich brats of these dramas seem to sport.
Logan: yeah, he's a rich brat. But to me, it's sort of like Domyouji - I find it a lot more forgivable in a teen from a dysfunctional background than with someone like Hae Na (or to be equal opportunity, the guy from Only You) - a grown-up from an OK enough background who should know better. I just get impatient. Sometimes they do a very good job with this scenario - see Brilliant Legacy, where I literally felt my blood pressure go up from hatred every time I even saw the hero in the beginning but a lot of the drama was precisely about his road of hard knocks and steep learnining curve to be a human being (and thankfully, it wasn't because of romantic love, though romantic love sort of happened as a side effect). TCotL seems too mangaish to really do that well though. OTOH, while hardly character realistic, it is FUN.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:45 pm (UTC)Loves it!
Plus lead male is a hottie? SOLD!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:51 pm (UTC)Here he is:
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 05:57 pm (UTC)Plus, he's older (i.e. not 22). It's a plus!
On a scale of 1-10, just how enjoyable was brilliant legacy? I've been uninterested because of the lead male.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:02 pm (UTC)LOLOL.
I did not expect to enjoy BL at all and checked it out because of sheer boredom. Then I think I watched 17 eps in 3 days :P
The leading guy is not good-looking, I won't kid you. He is however quite charismatic and his character undergoes such a convincing slow transformation from someone I wanted to murder to someone I'd want my daughter to date, that I fell in love with Hwan the character and LSG the actor who played him.
Plus, Han Hyo Joo is gorgeous and it features one of the most beautiful first kisses ever.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:13 pm (UTC)I'm on the last episode of Green Rose right now and it's a very frustrating show to watch. I can't say I'll be re-watching plus Lee Da Hae's character was so flat. It left a sour taste in my mouth buuuuut Go Soo was very edible and the mystery was for the most part compelling.
The show itself might have been better with say 16 episodes or maybe even just 20. It dragged and went in circles for a good number of episodes.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:15 pm (UTC)I liked LDH ok in this drama - she was there as love interest/reward - her role was pretty secondary as in a lot of revenge dramas.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:15 pm (UTC)Jun Se oppa! It sounds like a drama that could be really good! Thanks for mentioning it.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 06:18 pm (UTC)Re: Lady. I am watching it for the two spectacular (and awesome) male leads and Yoon Eun Hye's legs :P
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 07:34 pm (UTC)lol Yoon Eun Hye does show off her legs a lot in this show! Her character's style is kind of out there sometime like YEH's is.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 09:39 pm (UTC)I'm just kidding, though I'm sure she has enough fans who'd really think that!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 09:04 pm (UTC)I've really liked YEH in the past but the whole set-up is so repetitive of other dramas and right now I have no interest in an spoiled angsting for no real reason princess getting a great guy and living happily ever after.
Why oh why didn't that faux gay roommate drama ever come to light.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 09:09 pm (UTC)Argh. Don't remind me! It never would have happened though because of the whole JJH thing *tears out hair*
I am not big on fairy-tale lightness in dramas (or most anywhere) - I sort of check out. I like angsty epicy things instead, even if they are just as unrealistic. If a drama has mobsters, angsty swordfighters, slaves, revolutionaries, or maybe someone setting out for revenge and falling for a relative of the target instead, I am all sold. Spoiled rich people don't really figure in my list of 'automatically adored tropes.'
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 10:11 pm (UTC)I'm glad Bae SuBin has now moved to lead category after JuMong, Painter of the Wind and Brilliant Legacy, but a makjang? Eek. But he seems like a smart actor, so who knows, maybe it'll turn out to be a good career move.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 10:30 pm (UTC)I love makjang dramas occasionally - they sound so ridiculously insane. I hope BSB is going to play that man who the heroine marries for revenge and then she falls in love with him for real - that will certainly provide plenty of drama. I've read he is in it on daheefanel's blog, so hopefully it will be confirmed elsewhere and I can rejoice in being sure of a leading role for him - loved him in Jumong and BL (haven't seen Painter because mention a drama about painting and my eyes glaze over).
no subject
Date: 2009-08-27 10:56 pm (UTC)Re: IRIS: it's going to be showcased at a film festival in Seoul at the end of the month (it's either this Sun or next Mon), with what's being promised as new footage from their location shoots in Japan, Hungary, etc. I'd rather have more information on the scripts/writers, but for now, this will have to do.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-28 02:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-28 05:44 pm (UTC)Soul 혼 is def. my drama of the season :D very amazing
no subject
Date: 2009-08-28 08:34 pm (UTC)