The Five Fingers of May Queen
Aug. 19th, 2012 10:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousie
I finally had time (and subs) to check out the last two of the new drama offerings - the weekend dramas May Queen and Five Fingers. Both feature convoluted family trees, abandoned children, evil parental figures, revenge, and appallingly spoiled children who grow up to be obnoxious secondaries - I think the secondary girl from MQ and secondary boy from FF are a match made in heaven. Or, more likely, the other place.
MQ reminds me of a lighter Giant or East of Eden (way way lighter EoE whose childhood portions, the best of the drama, were harrowing). Or possibly Can You Hear My Heart. The interesting point about it is that this time the protagonist of the business/revenge drama is a woman. I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying the first episode even though it was only child actors (OTOH, I've heard the first 8 eps are child actors and no, thank you. I know it's a long drama, but it's way too long for my tastes - a couple of eps, or even 4-5). I love our protagonist and I really like the kid who is going to grow up to be Kim Jae Won. I like the kid who is going to grow up to be Jae Hee, and feel sorry for him, but the future-KJW character is just adorable. I found out by reading character description that it's KJW who gets the heroine, and I am quite happy, especially since from the description it seems he is a nicer person and yay, for once, the heroine doesn't end up with issue-laden icicle.
Five Fingers makes me think of Baker King, only with pianos instead of pastries. I liked it less than MQ because it was much gloomier - I hated pretty much everyone in it (they are all awful except for Choi Sira who is just put upon and is going to change into a monster and we know it) except for the kid who was going to grow up to be Joo Ji Hoon and the girl who was going to be Eunjung (and the latter character had only a short appearance). If I am going to watch depressing stuff, at least give me shirtless JJH to compensate! Yeah - it's very Baker King-ish, where I liked the set-up and adored the adult parts but largely ffed through the kid parts.
Not related to either of the above, but have this amazing Shi Won/Yoon Jae MV:
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Date: 2012-08-20 04:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 07:34 pm (UTC)MQ is pretty much female Giant. I am fine with it, as long as it drags less than Giant eventually did.
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Date: 2012-08-20 06:14 am (UTC)HJE was also sporting a short hair in CYHMH but HJH's hair is much longer. I have yet to watch these dramas, I'll be waiting for them to air more episodes or finish airing before I marathon them.
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Date: 2012-08-20 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 02:38 pm (UTC)I need to remind myself to read drama descriptions more carefully to save myself the trouble of second-lead shipping. I rather liked Jaewon's character as well so I think with some cute scenes between the two I should be good (aka cured of this terrible condition).
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Date: 2012-08-20 07:35 pm (UTC)I feel awful for JH's character though.
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Date: 2012-08-21 01:35 pm (UTC)MQ reminds me of a lighter Giant
Giant was so good... and then it spiraled into... well, absurdity. If MQ turns out to be half as good as Giant, I'll be amazed, to be honest. Giant started out with a conventional revenge drama set-up, but it distinguished itself later on to a well-written and -acted historical fiction revenge story with complicated characters who didn't reside in one extreme or the other on a black-and-white morality scale... or jump from one end to the other without any rational period in between. So far, it seems like EoE would be a better point of comparison for MQ, but we'll see...
The interesting point about it is that this time the protagonist of the business/revenge drama is a woman.
About f'ing time, and I loved Han Ji-hye's acting from EoE. Ji-hyeon was unpopular as a character among EoE fans, but I found her refreshing – and Han Ji-hye very capably conveyed all the nuances of Ji-hyeon's complexity, so I'm happy to find her in another revenge drama as the protagonist this time. And thankfully, Hae-joo is a less obnoxious version of the Candy trope, with more fire and temper. Hurrah!
the future-KJW character is just adorable. I found out by reading character description that it's KJW who gets the heroine, and I am quite happy, especially since from the description it seems he is a nicer person and yay, for once, the heroine doesn't end up with issue-laden icicle.
YESSSSSS. This is such a pleasant rarity in dramaland that I might actually stick to watching MQ, as it will be significantly easier to follow 32-episode dramas as they air. The last Asian fandom I was into that had the nicer guy end up with the heroine was... Kimi ni Todoke, or Reaching You.
I adored Kang-san/future KJW, too! I have a soft spot for characters with cheeky humor and a kind of secure-in-his/herself confidence (which, in Kang-san's case, borders on cockiness when trying to show off) – they're so hard to find in major roles! It makes sense for Kang-san to be so bright and emotionally healthy, considering his privileged background and loving (albeit, tough love) parenting environment via grandfather... and it also makes sense that his decency does not automatically enlighten him of his privilege ("Why, they're only potatoes!" he blurts out thoughtlessly when Hae-joo's family dinner drops to the ground because of him). And for once, a chaebol's heir is not always a issue-laden icicle!
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Date: 2012-08-22 02:49 am (UTC)I enjoyed EoE immensely - it wasn't good but it was entertaining. This looks much cheerier though.
I like KS better because he doesn't need fixing.