Take Care of the Lady is fun fun fun

Did I mention they swordfight against each other?

Also, heee:



I really dislike spoiled brats of whichever gender (icy is fine, jerk but very competent is fine, well-adjusted is of course always fine, so is majorly disfunctional due to angst. Spoiled brat coasting through life on someone else's money is very irritating - see Gu Jun Pyo) so Yoon Eun Hye's character in Take Care of the Lady (she is a spoiled rich heiress, he is hired to be her butler as nobody else will take the job and hopefully he will be able to reign her in. Meanwhile he is scheming to lay his hands on some $$$ to pay off his debts) is coasting really close to the line.

Not to mention that the drama itself is very close to being too unrealistic by being set in an unrecognizable universe of precious twee cuteness out of 12-year-old's dream. I have very low tolerance for wacky or ott. What saves it (so far) from being an also-ran in the dangermousie drama files and from being dumped like something like Mei-chan for any lack of realistic emotion or connection to the world is the fact that Yoon Eun Hye and Yoon Sang-hyun are individually better actors than all the actors in Mei-chan combined and that while the world of TCotL is rather mangaish, the characters' motivations are not insane - YEH is a spoiled brat but a realistic enough one, under all the ott drama trappings of crazy wealth - nobody has ever said no to her, she's never had to work for anything and has been doted on for no reason. And unlike the creepily servile quasi-slaves of Mei-chan (if there is a romantic lead more unappealing to me than a servile man I have yet to come across it), YSH is hardly cringing - it really is all about battle of the wills between them (he's been hired specifically to reign her in so she won't at least create a public scandal) and he only plans to stick it out because he is scheming to scam some money out of her to pay his debts. He is not a human doormat.



Oh, did I mention the viikii commenters are priceless? Apparently, at 35, Yoon Sang Hyun is ancient ancient ancient. LOL. Being only 5 years younger, I suppose they believe people like me have false teeth, no hair, and great-grandkids :P

P.S. Did I mention the sheer prettiness of Jung Il Woo? I loved him so much in Return of Iljimae.

Take Care of the Lady is fun fun fun

Did I mention they swordfight against each other?

Also, heee:



I really dislike spoiled brats of whichever gender (icy is fine, jerk but very competent is fine, well-adjusted is of course always fine, so is majorly disfunctional due to angst. Spoiled brat coasting through life on someone else's money is very irritating - see Gu Jun Pyo) so Yoon Eun Hye's character in Take Care of the Lady (she is a spoiled rich heiress, he is hired to be her butler as nobody else will take the job and hopefully he will be able to reign her in. Meanwhile he is scheming to lay his hands on some $$$ to pay off his debts) is coasting really close to the line.

Not to mention that the drama itself is very close to being too unrealistic by being set in an unrecognizable universe of precious twee cuteness out of 12-year-old's dream. I have very low tolerance for wacky or ott. What saves it (so far) from being an also-ran in the dangermousie drama files and from being dumped like something like Mei-chan for any lack of realistic emotion or connection to the world is the fact that Yoon Eun Hye and Yoon Sang-hyun are individually better actors than all the actors in Mei-chan combined and that while the world of TCotL is rather mangaish, the characters' motivations are not insane - YEH is a spoiled brat but a realistic enough one, under all the ott drama trappings of crazy wealth - nobody has ever said no to her, she's never had to work for anything and has been doted on for no reason. And unlike the creepily servile quasi-slaves of Mei-chan (if there is a romantic lead more unappealing to me than a servile man I have yet to come across it), YSH is hardly cringing - it really is all about battle of the wills between them (he's been hired specifically to reign her in so she won't at least create a public scandal) and he only plans to stick it out because he is scheming to scam some money out of her to pay his debts. He is not a human doormat.



Oh, did I mention the viikii commenters are priceless? Apparently, at 35, Yoon Sang Hyun is ancient ancient ancient. LOL. Being only 5 years younger, I suppose they believe people like me have false teeth, no hair, and great-grandkids :P

P.S. Did I mention the sheer prettiness of Jung Il Woo? I loved him so much in Return of Iljimae.

Take Care of the Lady is fun fun fun

Did I mention they swordfight against each other?

Also, heee:



I really dislike spoiled brats of whichever gender (icy is fine, jerk but very competent is fine, well-adjusted is of course always fine, so is majorly disfunctional due to angst. Spoiled brat coasting through life on someone else's money is very irritating - see Gu Jun Pyo) so Yoon Eun Hye's character in Take Care of the Lady (she is a spoiled rich heiress, he is hired to be her butler as nobody else will take the job and hopefully he will be able to reign her in. Meanwhile he is scheming to lay his hands on some $$$ to pay off his debts) is coasting really close to the line.

Not to mention that the drama itself is very close to being too unrealistic by being set in an unrecognizable universe of precious twee cuteness out of 12-year-old's dream. I have very low tolerance for wacky or ott. What saves it (so far) from being an also-ran in the dangermousie drama files and from being dumped like something like Mei-chan for any lack of realistic emotion or connection to the world is the fact that Yoon Eun Hye and Yoon Sang-hyun are individually better actors than all the actors in Mei-chan combined and that while the world of TCotL is rather mangaish, the characters' motivations are not insane - YEH is a spoiled brat but a realistic enough one, under all the ott drama trappings of crazy wealth - nobody has ever said no to her, she's never had to work for anything and has been doted on for no reason. And unlike the creepily servile quasi-slaves of Mei-chan (if there is a romantic lead more unappealing to me than a servile man I have yet to come across it), YSH is hardly cringing - it really is all about battle of the wills between them (he's been hired specifically to reign her in so she won't at least create a public scandal) and he only plans to stick it out because he is scheming to scam some money out of her to pay his debts. He is not a human doormat.



Oh, did I mention the viikii commenters are priceless? Apparently, at 35, Yoon Sang Hyun is ancient ancient ancient. LOL. Being only 5 years younger, I suppose they believe people like me have false teeth, no hair, and great-grandkids :P

P.S. Did I mention the sheer prettiness of Jung Il Woo? I loved him so much in Return of Iljimae.

A bit of a rant on spoiled rich brats and a new drama I am excited about

This 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.

A bit of a rant on spoiled rich brats and a new drama I am excited about

This 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.

A bit of a rant on spoiled rich brats and a new drama I am excited about

This 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.

Blood-soaked political intrigue

Aaaand...we have a winner for my next drama: Eight Days: the Mystery of Jeong-Jo's Assassination.

See trailer:

How could I resist? It's a very short (only ten eps, thus easily managed), highly acclaimed 2007 drama centering around assassination attempts on Korean King Jeong-Jo, who was apparently a reformer inconvenient to many, during the eight days he travelled to visit his father's tomb.

This sounds so very very good. I love tense historical thrillers.

Also, since I have no knowledge of that period of Korean history, I have no idea how it turns out - do not spoil me.

Blood-soaked political intrigue

Aaaand...we have a winner for my next drama: Eight Days: the Mystery of Jeong-Jo's Assassination.

See trailer:

How could I resist? It's a very short (only ten eps, thus easily managed), highly acclaimed 2007 drama centering around assassination attempts on Korean King Jeong-Jo, who was apparently a reformer inconvenient to many, during the eight days he travelled to visit his father's tomb.

This sounds so very very good. I love tense historical thrillers.

Also, since I have no knowledge of that period of Korean history, I have no idea how it turns out - do not spoil me.

Blood-soaked political intrigue

Aaaand...we have a winner for my next drama: Eight Days: the Mystery of Jeong-Jo's Assassination.

See trailer:

How could I resist? It's a very short (only ten eps, thus easily managed), highly acclaimed 2007 drama centering around assassination attempts on Korean King Jeong-Jo, who was apparently a reformer inconvenient to many, during the eight days he travelled to visit his father's tomb.

This sounds so very very good. I love tense historical thrillers.

Also, since I have no knowledge of that period of Korean history, I have no idea how it turns out - do not spoil me.

Take Care of the Lady: worst kdrama heroine ever.

Is it possible to enjoyably watch a drama while heartily disliking the heroine?

I am about to find out.

I am halfway through episode 4 of My Fair Lady and Yoon Eun Hye's character Hae Na evokes nothing but irritation. She is so useless. She does NOTHING good or productive or with a point to it. She does not work, she does not take care of her family or friends (does she even have any friends?) She does nothing but throw temper tantrums (if I do not find it acceptable for a guy to constantly hit a girl, I do not find it acceptable when the genders are reversed) and whines about how it is woeful she is rich. I kid you not, guys - there is this one scene she gets drunk and whines over and over that she has money troubles because she bought a ton of expensive gifts for the guy she likes - who has barely met her and has never indicated any liking back - and he, not inconceivably, asked her to take them back because they are too expensive and if she wants to thank him, she doesn't have to use a ton of money. She also referred to 'commoners' during that conversation as if incredulous a son of a wealthy family be like them as well as being repulsed by the idea he is a human rights lawyer. Yeah, that's really going to get the guy to love you. Leaving aside the classism and crassness, she clearly has no brain - that is about the worst way to woo a causehead ever. Also, hello - money troubles? Poor you, nobody forced you to buy him expensive gifts and be a self-absorbed twit about it.

So yes - she is a selfish, violent, self-absorbed twit. And that is the HEROINE? We are supposed to find it adorable that she is in such a good mood from falling in love that she doesn't fire a maid when said maid accidentally breaks a hand mirror. Wow - how did I live my whole life without seeing such a Mother Teresa? It is only notable for the fact that normally she is the kind of person who'd fire someone for this. Wow, keep it up, Hae Na, and one of these days you will almost reach 'barely human.' I might cut her some slack if she were 12, but she's got to be at least 25 and at that point any slack I had should have ended years ago.

The bad thing is I adore Tae Yoon, the human rights lawyer - he is basically my ideal man (reality check to Hae Na - you both got brought up by rich families. He actually studied hard, got a law degree, and is using it to help the disandvantaged. You? You shop and kick your servants. Charming). And I adore Dong Chan - he is so fun and resourceful and hard-working and ultimately nice.

And I know know KNOW kdramas - both Tae Yoon and Dong Chan will fall for her, leaving me tearing my hair out because she is so pointless. In fact, poor Dong Chan will have to be stuck with her, seeing that he is the lead, and it's a fate I'd wish on no character I even moderately like. And I bet Tae Yoon will angst over her. They both will. ARGH. She is an undisciplined idiotic waste of space. The only reason anyone would be interested in her is because she is good-looking and if that is one's sole reason for liking a woman, my opinion of the guy's intelligence can't really stay high and in order to convince me it's true love, I'd have to be a lot more drunk than a batallion of soldiers. Why can't either or both of them fall for Eui Sung's character instead (the secondary girl) - she seems to actually work for a living and be capable of human relationships.

My problem isn't her awfulness, per se. Hwan from Brilliant Legacy was the kind of man who in some ways made heroine of TCotL seem like a humanitarian (though he never did anything as bad or was as violent, BL was in a more real world and his acts of horribleness felt more real). It's the perception of her awfulness - or lack thereof. One of the major points of BL was that Hwan was a useless human being who wasted oxygen and had to go through a gradual, believable, painful process of changing and becoming a person (And did I mention the part where the heroine didn't even look at him long after he reformed himself and became a good man? And his transformation was done because of necessity, family issues, and hard knocks, not the silly cliche of doing it solely for love). But TCotL wants us to find Hae Na a little too much but largely adorable and fun and not really in need of much change - maybe a little romantic softening at most, not a major character overhaul (not that the latter would happen believably - it's a mangaish kind of drama and not in the business of character building - believable and complex character arcs aren't going to be the story here). I don't mind a truly awful character as the hero or heroine as long as the story realizes that they are awful and it is part of the point. The hatred for the drama and the character happens when we are meant to see them as lovely while all I see is a monster on screen.

The last time I have disliked a heroine so much was Hebe in Bull-Fighting, a drama I had to give up because of my loathing of the heroine. Hae Na is veering close. Verrrrry close. I don't want to give up because the story is cute in abstract, it's pretty, and I like everyone else, but it's hard to watch when the heroine gives you ulcers.

I'll watch a bit more for now but just like with Bull-Fighting before I gave up, I am shipping the guys together for the sole reason that this would prevent the trainwreck of heroine ending up with either of them. Ugh.



( Larger pic here )

Take Care of the Lady: worst kdrama heroine ever.

Is it possible to enjoyably watch a drama while heartily disliking the heroine?

I am about to find out.

I am halfway through episode 4 of My Fair Lady and Yoon Eun Hye's character Hae Na evokes nothing but irritation. She is so useless. She does NOTHING good or productive or with a point to it. She does not work, she does not take care of her family or friends (does she even have any friends?) She does nothing but throw temper tantrums (if I do not find it acceptable for a guy to constantly hit a girl, I do not find it acceptable when the genders are reversed) and whines about how it is woeful she is rich. I kid you not, guys - there is this one scene she gets drunk and whines over and over that she has money troubles because she bought a ton of expensive gifts for the guy she likes - who has barely met her and has never indicated any liking back - and he, not inconceivably, asked her to take them back because they are too expensive and if she wants to thank him, she doesn't have to use a ton of money. She also referred to 'commoners' during that conversation as if incredulous a son of a wealthy family be like them as well as being repulsed by the idea he is a human rights lawyer. Yeah, that's really going to get the guy to love you. Leaving aside the classism and crassness, she clearly has no brain - that is about the worst way to woo a causehead ever. Also, hello - money troubles? Poor you, nobody forced you to buy him expensive gifts and be a self-absorbed twit about it.

So yes - she is a selfish, violent, self-absorbed twit. And that is the HEROINE? We are supposed to find it adorable that she is in such a good mood from falling in love that she doesn't fire a maid when said maid accidentally breaks a hand mirror. Wow - how did I live my whole life without seeing such a Mother Teresa? It is only notable for the fact that normally she is the kind of person who'd fire someone for this. Wow, keep it up, Hae Na, and one of these days you will almost reach 'barely human.' I might cut her some slack if she were 12, but she's got to be at least 25 and at that point any slack I had should have ended years ago.

The bad thing is I adore Tae Yoon, the human rights lawyer - he is basically my ideal man (reality check to Hae Na - you both got brought up by rich families. He actually studied hard, got a law degree, and is using it to help the disandvantaged. You? You shop and kick your servants. Charming). And I adore Dong Chan - he is so fun and resourceful and hard-working and ultimately nice.

And I know know KNOW kdramas - both Tae Yoon and Dong Chan will fall for her, leaving me tearing my hair out because she is so pointless. In fact, poor Dong Chan will have to be stuck with her, seeing that he is the lead, and it's a fate I'd wish on no character I even moderately like. And I bet Tae Yoon will angst over her. They both will. ARGH. She is an undisciplined idiotic waste of space. The only reason anyone would be interested in her is because she is good-looking and if that is one's sole reason for liking a woman, my opinion of the guy's intelligence can't really stay high and in order to convince me it's true love, I'd have to be a lot more drunk than a batallion of soldiers. Why can't either or both of them fall for Eui Sung's character instead (the secondary girl) - she seems to actually work for a living and be capable of human relationships.

My problem isn't her awfulness, per se. Hwan from Brilliant Legacy was the kind of man who in some ways made heroine of TCotL seem like a humanitarian (though he never did anything as bad or was as violent, BL was in a more real world and his acts of horribleness felt more real). It's the perception of her awfulness - or lack thereof. One of the major points of BL was that Hwan was a useless human being who wasted oxygen and had to go through a gradual, believable, painful process of changing and becoming a person (And did I mention the part where the heroine didn't even look at him long after he reformed himself and became a good man? And his transformation was done because of necessity, family issues, and hard knocks, not the silly cliche of doing it solely for love). But TCotL wants us to find Hae Na a little too much but largely adorable and fun and not really in need of much change - maybe a little romantic softening at most, not a major character overhaul (not that the latter would happen believably - it's a mangaish kind of drama and not in the business of character building - believable and complex character arcs aren't going to be the story here). I don't mind a truly awful character as the hero or heroine as long as the story realizes that they are awful and it is part of the point. The hatred for the drama and the character happens when we are meant to see them as lovely while all I see is a monster on screen.

The last time I have disliked a heroine so much was Hebe in Bull-Fighting, a drama I had to give up because of my loathing of the heroine. Hae Na is veering close. Verrrrry close. I don't want to give up because the story is cute in abstract, it's pretty, and I like everyone else, but it's hard to watch when the heroine gives you ulcers.

I'll watch a bit more for now but just like with Bull-Fighting before I gave up, I am shipping the guys together for the sole reason that this would prevent the trainwreck of heroine ending up with either of them. Ugh.



( Larger pic here )

Take Care of the Lady: worst kdrama heroine ever.

Is it possible to enjoyably watch a drama while heartily disliking the heroine?

I am about to find out.

I am halfway through episode 4 of My Fair Lady and Yoon Eun Hye's character Hae Na evokes nothing but irritation. She is so useless. She does NOTHING good or productive or with a point to it. She does not work, she does not take care of her family or friends (does she even have any friends?) She does nothing but throw temper tantrums (if I do not find it acceptable for a guy to constantly hit a girl, I do not find it acceptable when the genders are reversed) and whines about how it is woeful she is rich. I kid you not, guys - there is this one scene she gets drunk and whines over and over that she has money troubles because she bought a ton of expensive gifts for the guy she likes - who has barely met her and has never indicated any liking back - and he, not inconceivably, asked her to take them back because they are too expensive and if she wants to thank him, she doesn't have to use a ton of money. She also referred to 'commoners' during that conversation as if incredulous a son of a wealthy family be like them as well as being repulsed by the idea he is a human rights lawyer. Yeah, that's really going to get the guy to love you. Leaving aside the classism and crassness, she clearly has no brain - that is about the worst way to woo a causehead ever. Also, hello - money troubles? Poor you, nobody forced you to buy him expensive gifts and be a self-absorbed twit about it.

So yes - she is a selfish, violent, self-absorbed twit. And that is the HEROINE? We are supposed to find it adorable that she is in such a good mood from falling in love that she doesn't fire a maid when said maid accidentally breaks a hand mirror. Wow - how did I live my whole life without seeing such a Mother Teresa? It is only notable for the fact that normally she is the kind of person who'd fire someone for this. Wow, keep it up, Hae Na, and one of these days you will almost reach 'barely human.' I might cut her some slack if she were 12, but she's got to be at least 25 and at that point any slack I had should have ended years ago.

The bad thing is I adore Tae Yoon, the human rights lawyer - he is basically my ideal man (reality check to Hae Na - you both got brought up by rich families. He actually studied hard, got a law degree, and is using it to help the disandvantaged. You? You shop and kick your servants. Charming). And I adore Dong Chan - he is so fun and resourceful and hard-working and ultimately nice.

And I know know KNOW kdramas - both Tae Yoon and Dong Chan will fall for her, leaving me tearing my hair out because she is so pointless. In fact, poor Dong Chan will have to be stuck with her, seeing that he is the lead, and it's a fate I'd wish on no character I even moderately like. And I bet Tae Yoon will angst over her. They both will. ARGH. She is an undisciplined idiotic waste of space. The only reason anyone would be interested in her is because she is good-looking and if that is one's sole reason for liking a woman, my opinion of the guy's intelligence can't really stay high and in order to convince me it's true love, I'd have to be a lot more drunk than a batallion of soldiers. Why can't either or both of them fall for Eui Sung's character instead (the secondary girl) - she seems to actually work for a living and be capable of human relationships.

My problem isn't her awfulness, per se. Hwan from Brilliant Legacy was the kind of man who in some ways made heroine of TCotL seem like a humanitarian (though he never did anything as bad or was as violent, BL was in a more real world and his acts of horribleness felt more real). It's the perception of her awfulness - or lack thereof. One of the major points of BL was that Hwan was a useless human being who wasted oxygen and had to go through a gradual, believable, painful process of changing and becoming a person (And did I mention the part where the heroine didn't even look at him long after he reformed himself and became a good man? And his transformation was done because of necessity, family issues, and hard knocks, not the silly cliche of doing it solely for love). But TCotL wants us to find Hae Na a little too much but largely adorable and fun and not really in need of much change - maybe a little romantic softening at most, not a major character overhaul (not that the latter would happen believably - it's a mangaish kind of drama and not in the business of character building - believable and complex character arcs aren't going to be the story here). I don't mind a truly awful character as the hero or heroine as long as the story realizes that they are awful and it is part of the point. The hatred for the drama and the character happens when we are meant to see them as lovely while all I see is a monster on screen.

The last time I have disliked a heroine so much was Hebe in Bull-Fighting, a drama I had to give up because of my loathing of the heroine. Hae Na is veering close. Verrrrry close. I don't want to give up because the story is cute in abstract, it's pretty, and I like everyone else, but it's hard to watch when the heroine gives you ulcers.

I'll watch a bit more for now but just like with Bull-Fighting before I gave up, I am shipping the guys together for the sole reason that this would prevent the trainwreck of heroine ending up with either of them. Ugh.



( Larger pic here )