Someone else will have to take care of this Lady...

[dangermousie]

I have finished 4 episodes of Take Care of the Lady and it's official - Hae Na is my LEAST favorite kdrama heroine in history. Seeing that one of the reasons kdramas are my favorite is because I love their heroines - yikes!

I think I am going to give up Lady, sorry. I don't really need any ulcers. I can feel Boys Over Flowers symptoms kicking in - sheer rage at seeing one of the characters and rage at other characters for loving that character instead of seeing them for what they really are. Most of all, rage at the insane writer. It has that same glitz, the same good actors horribly mistreated, the same wistful feeling of 'this could have been a great drama only' and, worst of all, that same pull - I am so so so tempted to watch just so that I could rage about it. But at least BOF had a stellar first half and degenerated into insanity only later on.

I hasten to add my problem is not with Yoon Eun Hye - she is as always gorgeous and despite criticisms of her acting in this role that I have seen all over, I think she is fine enough - I have seen plenty of worse acting around. My problem with with her character, Hae Na.

As I said, I do not mind a horrible, even dysfunctional, character as the lead. They can even be a bratty useless horrible rich person - but the drama and I have to be on the same person that the lead is, in fact, a useless horrible rich person, not a sweet girl to be loved.

Any hope I have had of meaningful character growth for Hae Na is gone after 4 eps - it's the Gu Jun Pyo syndrome - the writers will not address her horrendous flaws because they do not think they exist. They are too busy insisting Hae Na is loveable because she is cute. I am not making it up! Even with Gu Jun Pyo, where they did not develop his character and did not make him grow up (the way they did in other BOF versions), I could see why Jandi would eventually fall for him - the guy wooed her assiduously, and rescued her from horrible situations, risking life and limb in the process. While I wished she, like the manga original she was based on, held off until he became human enough, and I certainly was irritated with her loving her long after she should have moved on, her falling for him was not inconceivable.

But not here - why is Dong Chan in love with her? She is certainly not wooing him or doing anything to win him over - she has no interest in him that way. She is not clever or funny or kind or good-natured. She is not considerate, she is self-absorbed, violent, and lazy. (My last hope for liking her died when grandpa bargained with her to go to work in exchange for allowing her to date Tae Yoon, and she showed up at the office and spent the day doing nothing, commenting she promised to come to work, not to work. Ohhh, how I longed for her to be the granddaughter of Hwan's Grandma from Brilliant Legacy then - but that is the difference, in BL that attitude of Hwan was addressed and dealt with - it was shown as a big issue. Here it's a side comment to show how funny and adorable she is. UGHUGHUGH).

So yes, we are left with the fact that Dong Chan is falling for her because she is hot. That's it. WTF? How can I ship that? And I do adore Dong Chan and am left wondering if he's gotten hit on the head and lost his mind, especially since we are supposed to view it as sweet and not problematic.

And don't even get me started on Tae Yoon. She is presenting a false front to him (a commoner-loving, bus riding, charity and protest attending woman) to hook him and he is beginning to fall for that woman - someone who, like him, is caring and socially-conscious individual - when she is nothing of the sort. She is going to make him fall for her and then he is going to have his heart broken for and by a woman who doesn't really exist, who only won his heart by pretending to be someone she is not (do you really think he'd like her if he saw how she is with her servants or the way she was in ep 1?)

Also, yes, she is being interested (well, fake-interested, she is only there to hunt Tae Yoon) in Tae Yoon's causes and is OK with riding a bus etc but that's the thing - why would anyone want to be with her - if they get married, once the infatuation wears off, she will revert back to her selfish, shallow self. She has zero in common with either Dong Chan or Tae Yoon. Either couple is a nightmare in the making (side note, boys: the way to see what that person is like is to see not how they treat someone they are obsessed over, but how they treat people in general. If they do not notice them and ride roughshod over them then, guess what, one of these days they will do it to you).

All TCotL is making me do is want to appreciate anew the writers of Brilliant Legacy - TCotL proves what a hard feat they pulled off in creating Hwan.

Buh-bye, biggest drama disappointment of the year!

Comments

[miss-magrat.livejournal.com]

Ugh, it's really that bad? I haven't check this one out yet but looking at your reaction I think I might pass. (And when I finally get to it - maybe watch Brilliant Legacy instead.) Four episodes should be enough to show at least glimpses of humanity and even if not - signal that there are problems with the heroine. Because not being on the same page with the writers of the show only leads to banging your head against the wall in frustration - and I don't think I'm in a mood for that.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The problem isn't glimpses of humanity - she has those. It's that overall she is a hugely problematic person but the drama doesn't seem to see it this way. Ugh.

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

It's Ying/Yang.

You found a heroine you love thoroughly, so it's only fitting you find one you thoroughly dislike.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOLOL. True. I don't mind the existence of ten Hae Nas just so I could get Joon Young (I do have a really fun time picturing Joon Young and Ji Oh interacting with Hae Na and being utterly amused and a little puzzled).

[mishane.livejournal.com]

From what I remember reading, isn't the male lead (the butler?) supposed to be into her for his own schemes? So maybe he isn't falling for her, but it's an act?

I don't know, I haven't watched it at all, but I thought I remember that being a plot point.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The scheme thing is kind of a mcguffin - he has debts and he thinks he can get YEH to like him so she'd pay them off. But except for providing some comic moments (he is so very very bad at it) I bet the main reason that bit is there, other than providing motivation for him to take on the job, is to create some kdrama angst later on when she falls for him and it will inevitably come out creating trouble.

The thing is, it's pretty clear that he is lousy in his attempts to win her over (not that he tries much tbh) and is actually falling in love with her for real - he's pretty far gone by now. Which...whyyyyyyyy?

[stillingfleet.livejournal.com]

NOOOOOO =( although i can understand your reasons and if i were anyone else other than YEH and the male characters weren't as awesome, I would do the same. but it was great to have someone on the flist also watching it. =( =(

if it really does get better though, and the scriptwriters get medication and really does get Haena a head transplant, would you like a heads up?

[stillingfleet.livejournal.com]

and please excuse the bad grammar. i just came back from a really long dance class. =.=

[gossymer.livejournal.com]

and really does get Haena a head transplant, would you like a heads up?</i. Was wondering if there are any drama blogs for the show 'cause am waiting for that moment before picking it up ^^

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

dramabeans (http://www.dramabeans.com) is doing recaps.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, please!

I have a fear I will watch anyway, the same way I did with BOF - I ranted and raved but finished it.

[stillingfleet.livejournal.com]

hai, wakarimashita! =)

yeah, I'm kind of lazily watching BOF on TV right now (they brought it over to Singapore) and I curse someone (the scriptwriter) everytime Junpyo turns up.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - Junpyo. ARGH.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I was never quite as excited over this as other people - the plot didn't really appeal to me - but I was still really looking forward to it because of YEH and of course both main leads are attractive. But given how 100% similar our reactions to BOF/Junpyo were, I'm betting I'd be just as repulsed by Hae Na. I'll probably give it a shot soon, but I don't have high hopes.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you never know, you might like it - but be warned she is very Gu Jun Pyoish. Not a wimp so far at least though.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Are we watching the same show again? I find the herouine one of the most likeable and easier to understand among the usual bunch of bad rich people (Hwan, Domyoji, DMS who was beating girls in the episode 17+ etc. etc.).

Why? Because she very quickly progresses from bad rich-spoiled to quite naive and very shape-able young girl. She is already very different in the ep.6-7. (It took Hwan 16+ eps, I think for me to start even liking him and DMS - he was still beating girls in ~ ep.17. Domyoji - it took him also a while, not just 6 episodes). She is an orphan which also has to count, and the story of the first love is very suspicions too.

I am officially puzzled. I can see where you are coming from in your dislike of BOF , it is quite a different adaptation from the original. But here - I am puzzled. Everyone's POV is different indeed. ** sigh **

One of the BEST things I like in this show that the secondary girl is so good, and I don't think they are going to make her into a monster. If she stays as good a character as she is - this will be the first time in my watching of Kdrama and must signify some feminist shifting.

On the whole, "My Fair Lady" is not at all ground-breaking, but A NICE SECONDARY GIRL - this has to count. And all the lovely boys too.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I really really disliked the first four eps. It could have gotten brilliant after that, for all I know, but I have no desire to check it out.

I loathe the character of a spoiled rich brat in any fictional medium, whatever the gender. It's a pet hate of mine - I keep thinking longingly of guillotines (which is why, e.g. I can never watch Gossip Girl. I tried and felt RAGE).

I hated Hwan at first but there is a huge difference between BL and this - the focus of the story at first was not on Hwan but on the heroine and grandma, whom I adored. Not only that, but it was clear that the story would show, quite convincingly, Hwan grow up and change into a human being. So far, MFL isn't doing it with Hae Na at all - it's a different type of drama. I don't mind a spoiled rich brat as a character if either he/she will grow believably and organically (BL's strength was its character development, not something MFL excels at - there isn't any, not really).

Oh, and the heroine did not fall for Hwan until after he became a good guy and he had to work quite hard to win her over. It's not like here, where the butler likes her for no reason except her being pretty - in real life, any man who'd drool over a woman who beats on him, got him arrested etc etc just because she is hot is pretty pathetic.

Even with the lawyer, I get the icky feeling that he likes her because she is faking a personality - secondary girl in BL liked Hwan for real reasons - she knew his arrogance and laziness and she also knew his genuine caring for her.

In MFL, the two people who like the brat - one under false pretenses, and one while she is still being bitchy. Quite a difference.

Also, nothing Hwan did was as bad as Hae Na's actions. It's glossed over, because that is the kind of drama it is, but getting someone framed for kidnapping and having their house bulldozed (both stopped not for Hae Na's lack of trying) is a lot worse than anything Hwan had done - playing pranks with her bag, making her pay his bill which she could afford at the time, even dragging her by the arm and accidentally breaking her cellphone, throwing cash at manager. They resulted in some bad stuff for heroine because of bad timing but the actions themselves are nowhere near Hae Na's league.

I mean - the stuff she did. Who does that?

With Domyouji, it's once again different - we are not supposed to see his violence as charming. Nor does Makino go for him until he becomes human and he certainly wooes her assidiously so, as in BL, I can see heroine being swayed in part by the fact that the man loves her so much. Neither is the case here. Oh, and Domyouji is shown as coming from an awful family, with no patterns of human interaction and no warmth. What's Hae Na's excuse? She is older, and her family seems lovely.

Oh, and she doesn't want to work - she is fine with using money but not actually doing anything productive to earn it.

And I end on this note - the way she treats her staff! Firing people at random (and it's no joke to them), yelling, slapping. I would loathe to work for her.

MFL makes me think of a lollipop - sweet and bright and so tempting but achingly empty.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

You see, I can easily remember Domyoji and Hwan a) Hwan being very nasty to people below him, b) Domyoji bullying other, to point of SUICIDE . Ha Na seems to come exactly from a family of no warmth because a) she is an orphan b) grandfather is absent , c) I think they will give us her tragic backstory and some point. And I completely forgot Shin who had everything at his feet and really behaved bratty!

Ha Na really is shown to move very fast from all her antics , though, and genuinely caring for people. Much more than Domyoji ever did. For example, already in the episode 5 starts working and also confesses to the lawyer as to why she did the volunteering.

But I understand that something must have hit a wrong note with you and it is usually hard to get over it, especially iif it touched your pet peeve.

I agree with your lollipop comparison - "Lady Castle" is what I would call a light drama, without much depth. I think I like something like this from time to time.

One strong non-lollipop thing is for me the strong secondary girl character. Evil secondary girls of Korean dramas are really really getting on my nerves recently. This is my personal pet peeve - why can secondary men be presented as good and noble from time to time and girls - never? This smells fishy of some silly "women can never be genuinely noble in character" thing which is BAD in my opinion, bad in a big way.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

If we were introduced to Hae Na as Hae Na of ep 4, I might have liked her OK but by that point I was so irritated with her that whatever she did felt wrong :)

Re: suicide. That's only in the Korean version (with which I have many problems). In the other versions, he ended up in one of his fights ages before he met Makino and beat the other guy into crippledom. That's not really bullying - that's part of his violence problem which is another issue altogether (not better or worse, but different). And, because HYD is well-written, he ends up not only paying for it severely (he is hospitalized for a long time, if I remember correctly) but it's a punishment that fits the crime AND teaches him a lesson - about restraint, and selflessness, and being helpless.

It's never, for me, the character or actions themselves, that are problematic in dramas, it's how they are dealt with and the way MFL deals with this is not to my taste.

Shin: I like Shin because, even if he was no picnic as a husband, he performed each and every single duty of his (and he had thousands) diligently and perfectly. I would have forgiven Hae Na everything if she was shown as hard-driving or even interested in work.