A gutsy Cinderella finds a not-so-charming Prince: a Brilliant Legacy glee post

[dangermousie]

I have started watching Brilliant Legacy and I agree with everyone: it's totally addictively fun. It's not groundbreaking in any way, but what is it is a traditional funny kdrama done very competently. And I love that.



*this BTS pic of the two leads cracks me the heck up*

The set-up is somewhat Boys Over Flowers (before BOF got derailed) in that it has a cast of off-kilter secondary characters, some adorable and funny and some horribly evil (there is a requisite bad parent, only in this case it's the stepmother of the heroine), a strong and spunky heroine who rises above adversity through sheer determination, and a spoiled rich jerk of a hero who the heroine, finally fed up, punches in the face (somewhat realistically, that does NOT lead to instant love on his part, this time).

I also agree with everybody on another point, btw - the hero, so far, is an unmitigated bastard. He is not icy and reserved but at base decent person a la Lee Byung Hun in Beautiful Days or Suh Do Young in Spring Waltz - those gentlemen wen't particularly friendly and could be quite snappish, but they would give a handkerchief to a weeping stranger or help her get her suitcase down. Nor is he a spoiled man-child who has a huge temper but is startlingly kind when push comes to shove - someone like Rain's character in Full House comes to mind.

Nah, he is an elitist jerk who punches people out when they annoy him, looks down on those less fortunate than himself, doesn't bother to control his temper and hates being thwarted, oh, and hasn't done a day of work in his life. He doesn't have any interest in doing so, either - he plans to sell the business once his Grandmother, the one who owns everything, shuffles this mortal coil.



*cry more, jerk!*

The closest I have seen to his character before would be Domyouji (the Japanese or Taiwanese version of the character, not the "typical chaebol with indecisiveness thrown in" version of the Korean one) but unlike Domyouji, he doesn't have either the background which would make one sympathetic (unlike Domyouji's horrible mother, the hero is the way he is for a more everyday but less sympathetic reason - his family spoiled him so now he is spoiled) or the pigheaded dimness which is rather comic-reliefy (heroines are often both leads and comic relief. Domyouji is one of the rare times I've seen hero become both).

Of course, I remember loathing Domyouji as well when I first embarked on my oddyssey with Hana Yori Dango in all its incarnations. And ultimately, what differentiates Domyouji the most from the hero of BL so far is Domyouji's unswerving devotion to Makino. I can forgive a lot for that. Hwan, the hero of BL, has not yet fallen in love with her heroine - when he will, I will see how well he does in that role. There has to be a lot of grovelling and redemption but I am hopeful on that score - the drama doesn't shy from viewing him as a jerk. I am looking forward to him being forced to work for a living for once, not to mention to see him (hopefully) transformed by love.

But ultimately, my liking for BL comes down to three words: Han Hyo Joo. I adore her to bits!



*can she be more adorable?*

This is the third drama I've seen her in and I am on my way to a full-fledged crush. I first saw her as the kind, level-headed noblewoman in Lee Jun Ki's Iljimae. One could easily see why she was the object of affections of both the titular rebel and her sexy angsty quasi-half-brother. And then I saw Spring Waltz and fell ridiculously for her. My feeling hasn't changed here - I adore her. Basically, I will ship her with the hero if she wants him - she deserves to be rich and have a cute husband other women might be envious about, even if it comes with a side of jerk (if that is what she wants, that is). If she wanted to be a train conductor or marry the secondary guy or run for president, I'd root for that too - as long as she gets what she wants, I am happy.

Comments

[your-insomnia.livejournal.com]

I love the gif image! Is it from the drama or something else?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's a behind the scenes from some future scene apparently

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I'm such a sucker for this kind of story it's ridiculous. One of my guilty pleasures, tough spunky heroine who (literally) knocks sense into the asshole hero? YES PLEASE. I much much prefer it to the angsty cold hero who needs the sweet heroine to heal his soul. fuck that, what he NEEDS is a punch to the face! although in some cases like for example spring waltz hero, that would probably not be effective XD. I like that bitch boy here DOESNT have an angsty past (yet?) and is so far just spoiled for being spoiled since that is what makes most people assholes in reality. the inability to empathize with others can easily come from living a sheltered easy indulgent existence. and only by suffering, struggling and failing repeatedly does a person truly gain strength of character AND the ability to empathize with the hardships of other people. I'd love to see the hero undergo something like that. Nothing fills me with glee like a good transformative character arc. That being said I will wait to dl this just yet, until i hear more of how it goes, since I wanna be sure I'm not getting another trainwreck before I commit to watching. btw do you know where I can dl this? Not just viikii right? Their subs upset me :(

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am such a sucker for this too. The hero needs a LOT of suffering to build his character as he is starting from negative 10 on character scale.

[att123.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you! The lead is just plain spoiled. It should be interesting to see how he behaves when he falls for her, because we all know that eventually he will... :) I also like that when she punches him out he doesn't instantly fall for her. It kind of fights the cliche there.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see him grovel to her at some point...

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

he plans to sell the business once his Grandmother, the one who owns everything, shuffles this mortal coil.
That's what really really made me despise him. But I have a feeling that in kdrama tradition we will learn of his angst soon and it will have something to do with his father dying.

Han Hyo Joo is so adorable and definitely the best part about the drama for me.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am sure his father dying is partially responsible but I think his being spoiled is even more so - I love that. No "they used to abuse me daily" kind of excuse

[bae-mac.livejournal.com]

Is there a site where I can watch this online? I checked mysoju already and it's not yet there...

Yet again, you convinced me to watch another kdrama! :D

[moth5dream.livejournal.com]

It's there:

http://www.mysoju.com/shining-inheritance/

:) I have some catching up to do. Want to see this!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's also on viikii

[village.livejournal.com]

Is it strange that your description actually makes me want to watch this show? I am a strange duck.

[village.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh and did I tell you that some awesome person started to upload Be Strong Geum Soon? 163 eps but! Kang Ji Hwan!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

163? OMG. He'd have to be repeatedly naked in it for me to watch something that long :)

[village.livejournal.com]

Who says he isn't? :P

It's a pretty uh, impressive number of eps but I might give it a shot. It might take me a year or two but who's counting? ;)

[joonni.livejournal.com]

I realized after watching BL that I adore Han Hyo Joo too. For the all the dramas you listed plus her role in the korean daily family drama "As wide the sky and earth." She plays seemingly the same character is a lot of her dramas but there is an individuality to each one that makes the characters seem real.

And yey! You like BL!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's very very entertaining

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

That bts pic cracks me up, too! After the first 4 episodes, I just can't see them acting that way together - lol! Watching this relationship develop is going to be so much fun.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - the drama is so cute!

[mishane.livejournal.com]

YAY!

I'm going to catch up on episode 5 & 6 tonight, hopefully. Unpacking be DAMNED!

And I agree. If the heroine were anyone other than HHJ, I probably wouldn't like her as much. I've actually never seen her in anything else before, but she is completely adorable (love the hair!) and this drama makes you just wanna squeeze her!

[mishane.livejournal.com]

Also, re: your comments on typical heros in dramas. I think that's why this simple set-up appeals to me most. Because the hero is just an ass. In all the other dramas, the hero is an ass with a nice side that shows sometimes. Here? Not so much. He's just plain spoiled. Ugh, I got so mad in the episode 4 (?) when the grandma disappears and he assumes it's because she's too embarassed to face him after she slapped him. The nerve!

Can't wait for his transformation (and I hate that I'm saying that!)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I like how that is more "realistic", you know - he got spoiled so he is a jerk. The end.