The most makjang makjang that ever makjanged

[dangermousie]

Is that enough makjangs in there? Nope, not nearly enough.

Behold best lit suicide attempt ever:



I have watched the first ten minutes of Flames of Desire and oh my...it was a cross between a really emo kpop music video, a kdrama parody from MadTV, and a new drama from the writer of Temptation of Wife if she was on crack.

I am afraid I giggled throughout, whether at Evil Stepmom going all Jocasta on her Winsome Stepson or the confrontation between Evil Stepmom and Messed-Up Actress who wants to marry Winsome Stepson not for love but to piss off Evil Stepmom complete with overdramatic music, exclamations of "I want you to die" and "he is an angel" plus color-coordinated candles.

Within the first ten minutes we already had birth secrets - Messed-Up Actress is Evil Stepmom's biological daughter (yes, that makes the OTP stepsiblings) but that doesn't seem to stop Evil Stepmom for rooting for Winsome Stepson instead of her own kid. Yes, there is a dramatic suicide. No, make it DRAMATIC SUICIDE - with Messed-Up Actress swallowing a whole bunch of pills, wearing a bright red dress, color-coordinating and lighting about a million candles, and having a conversation with Evil Stepmom only to keel over in the middle.

This drama already begs numerous questions - if Messed-Up Actress thinks Winsome Stepson is such an angel, why is she potentially leaving her body for him to find? Why is Evil Stepmom clutching her and crying instead of trying to call the ambulance? Would I ever be able to believe that Yoo Seung Ho, who looks all of 12, is man enough to set these two ladies fighting this way? (Seriously, every time I saw YSH I just wanted to groan - couldn't they cast someone more age-appropriate? He looks like he needs a pb&j sandwich and crayons, instead of sex goddess Seo Woo). Does anyone really dramatically smash violins on the floor? Why is everyone overacting in a way that puts pantomime to shame and why should I care about the bizarre sturm and drang when I am yet to know who any of these people are? And why am I still watching this horrific trainwreck?

But, as with a true trainwreck, I cannot look away and will keep up at least for a bit. This one is full-throttle insane and so how could I ever resist?

This HAS to be the writer's parody on makjang. It has to be. Because the alternative - that someone wrote this with a straight face - is too terrifying to contemplate.

Comments

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

This HAS to be the writer's parody on makjang. It has to be.

Hallelujah, I wasn't dreaming, it FELT like a parody.

I'm afraid to download and watch the 2nd ep. Apparently it gets worse, as in, 'what has she done to her own sister?!'.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, isn't she supposed to steal her fiance or something?

I don't know if you've ever seen MadTV kdrama parody, but this was totally a dead ringer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8WF1RLUsN4

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

Why's my connection so slow the one time I'm actually trying to discuss a k-drama...

Yeah, isn't she supposed to steal her fiance or something?

Worse. When she realizes an engagement is imminent, she pushes her sister's unsuitable suitor to go after her, which gets violent and ends in her sister getting raped, which she witnesses but does nothing to stop despite her shock. And that's not the end of her ruthlessness.

I don't know if you've ever seen MadTV kdrama parody, but this was totally a dead ringer

LOLOL reminds me of the k-drama parodies on the Korean variety shows. In the case of FoD though, they could play those first 5-10 min. as they are and I'm pretty sure it'd draw laughter.

There has to be some tongue-in-cheek. Jung Ha-Yeon is too smart and experienced not to realize how broad that was.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Wow, she sounds like such a charmer. Yikes.

This drama is crazy.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

Because the alternative - that someone wrote this with a straight face - is too terrifying to contemplate. I agree. And this is so much worse than Summer's Desire and I thought THAT was melo!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

This makes SD seem understated. Did you check FoD out - I have NEVER seen anything like that.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

not yet. I'm kinda sorta tempted but isn't it 30 episodes? at that length I don't want to get hooked in even the trainwreck kind of way.

Have you tried Dr. Champ yet? It's adorable! I don't know how Kim So Yeon does it but somehow she manages to always choose dramas with a low-key premise that turn out to be charming and sharp and funny-not to mention her excellent, excellent taste in leading men - it's my first UTW drama and OMG. There's a lot of exposition/set-up-ey type stuff for the first 2 eps but she and UTW have a great first meeting and there's sparks already.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's 50 eps.

Re: Dr Champ. It's one of those things where even if I like the actors the premise is so very not my thing - doctors to athletes? Blah. This said, if it gets fascinating later on, I might check it out

[(Anonymous)]

Gosh I watched the first episode again only for YSH and SW. I mean guys did you see that ? This is the first time I feel like that,like they have no scene together but you can feel their love...I start to understand why the director chose YSH because he impersonates purity, innocence, kindness- an actor like Kim So Hyun might have been good but he has this "twisted" vibe. This kind of husband even though you learn he is your brother you'd rather do anything else than divorce. The scene when he cried I thought he looked like SJS. Usually I don't think like that. SW has raw talent. I can complain that her eyes are too big but she can expresses a high range of emotions.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I just keep finding YSH too young for the role - give him a couple of years and yes he'd be perfect, but for now I keep getting distracted by his baby face. I have no objection to younger man/older woman romance (I adore jdrama Forbidden Love and the leading man there is a 17yr old hooking up with 26yr old) but when it's acknowledged by the story.

But I suppose I don't exactly know yet where they are going with that role - maybe they want him to be really really innocent in which case I can deal with it (someone like Jung Il Woo would be wonderful at portraying being a good person but I don't think he could portray innocence without at least a hint of steel).

[clairiere.livejournal.com]

I don't know the entire story or rationale behind this casting decision, but YSH said something to the effect he wanted to show he/a 17yo could play such a role. And I just want to ask why. I get that he may be eager to shed his image as the nation's baby brother, but it's not like he's going to stop acting any time soon or that he doesn't have the talent to pursue a long career. I don't see why he's in such a rush to jump-start his career as an adult, mature actor, when he may regret missing out or pursuing more age-appropriate roles when the window of opportunity was still there.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The thing is, talented or not (and I freely admit he is), there are some roles one is wrong for due to appearance/age/gender/whichever. I mean, I think Jang Dong Gun is amazing but he'd be utterly miscast playing a college student. And the reverse is true for YSH here. Good actor or not, he simply looks too young for the role.

[(Anonymous)]

Actually YSH the issue is : we know his age. Because there are full of Kactors with baby face but we know their age therefore this is not a problem (Kim So Hyun, Song Jong Ki ect...). YSH is tall and he has not cheeky face- "sigh" thank God- plus SW tends to look younger than her real age ! But we know he is 17 ! And when I see through your eyes Dangermousie I can understand because I guess you are older than me, so YSH is much more younger than you... but Yoo is really to portray the character purity, innocence who just enters in adult world...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I am 32 so YSH is almost half my age :)

But I do think it's not just my knowing how old he is. E.g. Joo Won who played Ma Jun in Baker King is 22-23 but I had no problem watching him play a grown-up and romancing 29yr old Eugene. Or Kim Bum, who was 19 when he did BOF but was convincing in his role. Or Jung Il Woo, who was 22 when he starred in RoI where by the end he had to portray a husband and father.

I was fine with all of these however in part because at that age, a couple of years really do make a difference in maturity level, appearance, and ability to come across as a grown-up. But in part because all those actors looked like adults, even 19yr old Kim Bum, but YSH is baby-faced even for 17.

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry offtopic but I thought KimBum is the worst Sojiro of the material mainly because he acted very very very bad- the roof scene or the deck scene with Won Bin or all this emowreck acting were dreadful. KimBum has an immature vibe about him which made him unconvincing as an experienced playboy and made me laugh when he tried to act- who can forget this line "I like you delicious hands". That's why he stuck with Ga Eul most of time. He was more convincing as a young boy with his girlfriend.
In YSH case he acts a character who is pur thus close to him in real life. Yet if YSH was 20 it wouldn't appeat awkward...

[(Anonymous)]

Too bad you did not like it but I am not too suprised. I felt it was not your type of show.

[(Anonymous)]

This is insane and you can't resist ? GOSH ! Good luck. Sorry but Summer Desire I couldn't stand the heroine who did not aged very well. And frankly FOD storyline is simpler than SD (I couldn't stand five minutes of this show)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I like Barbie Hsu but to each her own - I can see how a drama would not work if you don't like the leading lady (or man).

SD had a pretty straightforward storyline, even if it was insane. I only finished SD by gritting my teeth - it got more and more insane as it went on and finally I had enough.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes I like Barbie in some project like mars- even though I couldn't finish be Tdrama tend to draaaaaaaaaaaaaag and become ridiculous no matter the genre- and her movie with Louis Koo but in SD...I mean I felt she had hard time to talk. About this show : SD, I was so confused ! Girl who do you love ? That's why I don't think FOD- which is too makjang- is worst than SD because the latter was ridiculously confusing ! Frankly sometimes I wondered what is the point of this show ? What is the true image of this girl ?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hey, I liked it to bits and plan to follow it - I was tremendously entertained. I just don't think it's good quality, if this makes sense. I have really high tolerance for makjang but this is the first kdrama I've ever come across which maxed it out.

I hope it settles down and becomes less overwrought (or make me care more for the characters so I will like the overwroughtness). A lot of longer revenge/family dramas tend to start more insane than they end up being (Giant is a good example and so is Ja Myung Go) so I hope this will do so as well.

[ockoala.livejournal.com]

The first 12 min were INSANE, and then it pulls back so completely you're like watching the childhood portion of Fashion 70s except without the war.

I can say the FoD is the first drama where the leading character is bad, as in she's about as innocent and kind as a rattlesnake. But you completely understand why she is like that. SEK's Na Young is like 3 marbles shy from becoming a sociopath, and it's frightening to watch her intensity.

But not one appears to be good or bad in the drama, even SEK the evil sister and her kind older sister (who doesn't seen all that free of wrongdoing in my eyes).

It's absolutely like Jung Ha Yeon is saying, you want makjang, I'll give you makjang, but I won't give you no one-note evil villain or kindhearted gentle country girl to root for. Imma going to give you muck and you're going to have to rake through it to see if everyone comes out alive in the very end.

It's hard to watch actually, I find no moral compass in the show, and feel slightly like I'm standing on quicksand.

It's both a parody of majkang, and a challenge to the genre. I think if you keep watching the rest of ep. 1 you'll see.

I both love and loathe FoD, wishing it were simpler to be honest. Like, gimme a nice cinderalla to root for. :-D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am rooting for Miss Pout - i.e. Seo Woo. Just because she is pretty :)

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely. The laughing was required. I saw this young lady lounging with 100 lit candles around her in her gorgeous red dress, and this was minute 5 of the first episode? One has to laugh. It is so overdone and shouty and the facial expressions! OTT at full throttle.

I'll be back next week.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[shinystory.livejournal.com]

Although I have never experienced makjang, I have seen a lot of melodrama in my life.

I love them over-the-top: it's one of my guilty pleasures. I love the bugged eyes and the screaming and the plot-twisties and the memorable lines (I'm still a fan of "Sunset Beach," even if I've stopped watching.)

This is yummy. I hope I'll get to dig in, soon. My first makjang.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Enjoy!

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

Wow...interesting. So, did you like it or is to messed up to like it, or is it like messed up but you can't turn away from it?

I'm actually gonna wait for the subs, there are so many drama that are out right now that I am watching not to mention all the drama that are coming out that I want to see. Each day is dedicated to another drama. Today for instance it was 'Gloria' day, I am so anxious to see how everything will end!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The very last. tIt's like an entertaining trainwreck.

[lightsjustright.livejournal.com]

It... it kinda had be at "I want you to die."

Never mind it makes no sense - wtf she decided to light ALL THOSE CANDLES, PRETTY PRETTY CANDLES, don a ball gown and then artfully recline? I mean, you look hot but gurl lol. If you're gonna die, though, and are as self-absorbed as these characters seem why not go out with a bang haha.

(Candles AND lamps? LOL)

I doubt I will ever make it through the full fifty of this kinda crazy ass melodrama though. Drama, feel free to prove me wrong.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know - 50 epsof this. No way. It's fun for a point-and-laugh but that is about it.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

This sounds HILARIOUS. It seems like it'd be just the sort of thing to watch with a bunch of friends who also appreciate kdramas, so you can all sit there and laugh your asses off. Unfortunately, I don't think I can brave this alone.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It is perfect for MST3K Korean style.