Pretty much a ton of caps from ep 11 of Heartstrings

[dangermousie]

Whenever Heartstrings tries to do traditional plot, it falters - I have zero interest in performance shenanigans - it's a school production, not Broadway, and in any event, Gyu Won is a gageum player, not an actress so whether she gets to perform or stay an understudy seems supremely not to matter for her future (that is why Hee Joo and her mother's plotting strikes me as kinda insane). And Shin has a band and will continue to have it and perform and write music whatever goes on with the anniversary show (yeah, it's a fun exercise for him to write a fusion classical/rock piece but that is all that is) so to ask me to be invested seems weird. And I continue to have zero interest in the various-rival-professors storyline. I don't hate the plotty bits or anything but in comparison with organic, realistic, freestyle 'Shin and Gyuwon fall in love' aspect which feels like you are peeking on real people, it falls flat. Most of this ep, however, was not plot but Shin and Gyuwon together, and so I was a happy happy camper.

Also? How much do I love that there is no stupid misunderstanding on Shin's part that Gyuwon likes the Director. For once, a male lead who uses his brains!



Sidenote - the thing with angel/devil pics made me LOL so hard because it's such a parody of shoujo trope.

























































































































































This drama reminds me a lot of Mary Stayed Out All Night and not just because of rocker-falls-for-girl storyline. The script of HS makes about a million times more sense than MSOAN's, but they share the same thing - whenever the plot happens it just gets in the way of what really makes the drama tick - the insane chemistry between the leads and the quirkiness and appeal of the main twosome.

Comments

[spunspider.livejournal.com]

they're so cute and prettyyyyyy *_* yonghwa should always have black hair. always. i'm not watching this but i might do at some point just because /so. pretty./ and i'll probably want to ff everything that is boring grownups.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

You totally should :)

[seven-trees.livejournal.com]

I feel the same. Love the leads, but I'm indifferent about everyone else. But wow, do I love the OTP. I started this drama being kind of bored and then annoyed because why the hell was Shin still into that dancing teacher in ep 6? But when he started falling for PSH's character, it really came alive for me. Those two have insane chemistry together.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know - they are one of my OTPs of the year.

[smothered-pith.livejournal.com]

I started watching from episode 8 and I agree; the chemistry and cute from the leads is the only thing that interests me. Hee Joo and her little drummer boy might have been too if she wasn't such an eyesore. Her part in the stupid plotty bits just kills her pairing with anyone for me. And drummer boy needs to grow a pair.
I'm glad I jumped in at Episode 8 since since it seems I completely avoided the dancer-Shin drama too.
I swear if they try the Director likes Kyu-won angle I'm either dropping this show or only watching OTP moments.
Plus I think Director's an idiot. Who realizes they're being set up for a scandal with a college girl and then proceeds to walk out of the hotel with said girl? Grown men need to think and apparently this man doesn't despite having been in a scandal before.
Hence my utter dislike in the stupidity of this exhausted plot. Give me my OTP moments and we'll be cool. :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I normally love bitch/nice guy but there the guy has to have some balls and this clearly is not the case here.

Director annoys me, and honestly, he IS being inappropriate with GW - wtf is with hair ruffling?

[o-galen-o.livejournal.com]

I know! The Director is being way too touchy feely. Especially in an Asian context because there's such a gap between statuses. Although then again, they have to set him up to be super touchy-feely with Kyu Won otherwise the body language at the hotel would have made no sense. Gahhhh! I'm spending way too much time thinking/reading/commenting about Heartstrings!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am touchy-feely even by Western standards but I am totally appalled at him - it's one thing between friends/equals but he's her director and teacher and that is so creepy and potentially harassing.

[smothered-pith.livejournal.com]

Stupid lj ate my 1st comment.

If it was Ki Young (that's the really good singer?) the balls would be in his court but I don't wish Hee Joo on him anymore no matter how cute they looked before. She's poison.

And yea, I can't look past the hair ruffling cheek pinching anymore because there's too small of an age gap between them (probably what? 10 years?) for him to be singling her out like that. Plus any stranger would misunderstand easily. She doesn't look or dress like a kid either to give anyone the impression.
Plus now with the matyrdom? Yea hope his gf is kicking him out soon because that's not noble idiocy that's wishing you could be hero all the while making your own situation to be the hero in.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the age and power differential is what makes it so creepy. Ugh.

Re: Hee Joo. I want her to lose her voice for good!

[timescout.livejournal.com]

Yah, the plot... I already commented about my irritation upon it in another post. IDK but I think it's really just the OTP that keeps this becoming a total bore. Take them out and you have.... zilch.

Dramas without proper plot and interesting secondary characters usually make me loose interest pretty darned fast but for some reason Kyu Won/Shin keeps me tuning in each week. I've been trying to understand why when I had zero interest in e.g. 'Lie to Me' (similar situation) but no dice, still haven't figured out the draw. Maybe it's the realness of the romance of these two young loverbirds.

I was hoping they'd 'mature' the director along the way but nah, not happening. Couldn't he just have called his gf to the rescue and asked her to pick up Kyu Won from the hotel? The way he's handled the whole 'scandal' is beyond stupid. I mean, even Shin is acting more like an adult.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah - I have the same feeling for Myung Wol (though I prefer Heartstrings) - neither has any plot but I adore the main characters and so watch it even though normally plotless/driveless is not my thing - I usually get one drama a year like that - last year was my total obsession with Marry Me Mary.

Lie to Me didn't grab me despite the chemistry because they never felt like real people, not like Shin and Gyuwon or Mary and Mugyul (Myung Wol and Kang Woo aren't real either but they are insane/cooky enough to entertain me).

[tina bell (from livejournal.com)]

<3