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dangermousieSo, Green Rose. Korean drama about revenge, impossible love, and color-challenged flowers. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
meganbmoore wanted meta.
An episode and a half in I am getting a Count of Monte Cristo vibe. Or a A Love to Kill one. Starring the very hot Go Soo as the protagonist Lee Jung-Hyun and Lee Da Hae (who was awesome as the very different Yu-Rin in My Girl) as Oh Soo-Ah, his impossible, 'cannot be' love.
I knew I was going to love it from the chaotic, awesome opening, one of the best drama openings I've seen. As the drama opens, we are thrown in the middle of action: a young, desperate man (who we later will learn is Lee Jung-Hyun), chased by the police, dashes into a car decorated for a wedding and a crazy, high-speed, grim chase ensues, with the man getting more and more desperate, more and more cut off at every road. Finally, he is trapped on a bridge, police cars one way, snipers with guns another. As the policeman tries to negotiate, the man yells for no one to come closer, and climbs on the railing of the very tall bridge, as the policean continues to futily reason with him not to kill himself. With one last glance around him, the man jumps in, rather than be captured. And as he falls into the water, we hear his quiet voice over: "And so at 26 years and 8 months, I drowned in the cold Han River. Some will be sad and some won't, and I wonder who will be which" and it flashes to various people, prominent among them lovely, smiling Soo-Ah.
And then we go into a flashback of a year ago. Jung-Hyun and his friend, whose name escapes me, just got hired by the industrial giant AS Electronics, and are celebrating. At the same bar, there is a lovely, but very drunk girl (Soo-Ah) who is insulting about AS Electronics ('they eat nice people like you alive') but who borrows money from Jung-Hyun to pay her tab. That is the end of it, until the start date at AS where all the new hires are at some morality building training in the mountains, and who does Jung-Hyun see as a fellow new hire? Soo-Ah. Who is abrasive to him but ends up being paired with him and his friend in some sort of mountain survival exercise (presumably for team-building, but all I know, I don't want to be hired by a Korean corporation. I prefer nice training seminars in a warm room). During it, Soo-Ah falls down a snowy hill in the dark and because his friend is clearly panicking and they need help for Soo-Ah, Jung-Hyun sends his friend for help and stays with Soo-Ah. And here is where both she and I fall for him. Because he tells her they need to find shelter, they cannot stay here on slim hope friend will get somewhere there on time. She cannot walk, so he insists on carrying her on his back and they wander for ages. They eventually find a cabin, and he determines she has a dislocation. He tells her to count to three and twists it right on two, and he binds it and puts ice on it and gives her his coat, and touches her feet and is gentle and capable and manly and awesome. And did I mention, hot? No wonder, when Soo-Ah wakes up, she totally checks him out sleeping.
Then it cuts to some time around a year later, where he is running, late for work. And wait, so is Soo-Ah. And both are giddy and breathless. Yes, folks, they are dating. And shock of shocks, his beloved mother likes her and even proposes for him. But it's kdrama, so you know horrible stuff is coming soon. I feel dread as he mentions that he wants to meet her father (she has no mother) and being upset that he's been dating her for almost a year but he's yet to meet her family. It's not an unreasomable request but Soo-Ah is strangely reluctant when she invites him for her father's birthday party. And he shows up, adorable in his best suit, and tie she bought for him, and a really elaborate present his Mom cooked for Soo-Ah's Dad. Only to realize he is in front of a giant mansion *bells of doom strike* And OMG, Soo-Ah's Dad is the Chairman of AS Electronics. Jung-Hyun is clearly out of place, ignored, his Mom's present neglected in a heap. The Chairman comes as close as it can be possible to cutting him entirely. So he picks up his present and leaves and there is this great scene of him just sitting quietly somewhere, methodically eating it all, so his Mom's love and effort won't be wasted. After that, he tells Soo-Ah that he wants to break up, because he is proud and this is impossible, but of course, they love each other, so no break up ensues (in fact, it's implied, they spend the night together), as we find out that Soo-Ah had to give up a lot of dreams in order to take over from her father in the future, and Jung-Hyun is the one dream she won't give up. She and Jung-Hyun will do their best to convince her father of the worthiness of their love.
Meanwhile, her father (who is surprisingly not awful) has been planning to marry her to one of his VPs, who he finds out is a cheating slimeball. So he calls the VP to his house to tell him everything is off. It's easy to figure out what happens next. Easy if you've seen kdrama, that is. The VP gets an accomplice to call Jung-Hyun to the house at the same time, and there Jung-Hyun finds a dying Chairman, and a villa that's on fire. He rescues the old man at the risk of his own life (and ends up in a hospital) but the Chairman dies anyway. And guess who is framed for his murder?
And so here is our set-up. Our formerly forthright, gentle hero, falsely accused of the murder of the father of the girl he loves. He will escape the watery grave we saw at the beginning, of course, and return to wreak revenge on all those who wrecked his life (his mother died, he lost his place in society, his beloved Soo-Ah hates him). But Soo-Ah and he cannot help but love each other even though they shouldn't....can you feel the awesomeness?
I like both Lee Da Hae (radiant, but very different in her steely, reserved persona from the irrepresible joy of Yu-Rin) and Go Soo who portrays a kind, uncomplicated man who is forced to see his whole life die in front of his eyes and thus has to remake himself, but can't kill his feelings entirely. Interestingly, so far, a lot of this has been shot at night (outdoors or indoors). I am not sure if it's an artistic choice, but if it is, kudos, it really adds to the atmosphere.
Hello My Teacher:
Spring Waltz:
Attic Cat:
Magic:
meganbmoore wanted meta.An episode and a half in I am getting a Count of Monte Cristo vibe. Or a A Love to Kill one. Starring the very hot Go Soo as the protagonist Lee Jung-Hyun and Lee Da Hae (who was awesome as the very different Yu-Rin in My Girl) as Oh Soo-Ah, his impossible, 'cannot be' love.
I knew I was going to love it from the chaotic, awesome opening, one of the best drama openings I've seen. As the drama opens, we are thrown in the middle of action: a young, desperate man (who we later will learn is Lee Jung-Hyun), chased by the police, dashes into a car decorated for a wedding and a crazy, high-speed, grim chase ensues, with the man getting more and more desperate, more and more cut off at every road. Finally, he is trapped on a bridge, police cars one way, snipers with guns another. As the policeman tries to negotiate, the man yells for no one to come closer, and climbs on the railing of the very tall bridge, as the policean continues to futily reason with him not to kill himself. With one last glance around him, the man jumps in, rather than be captured. And as he falls into the water, we hear his quiet voice over: "And so at 26 years and 8 months, I drowned in the cold Han River. Some will be sad and some won't, and I wonder who will be which" and it flashes to various people, prominent among them lovely, smiling Soo-Ah.
And then we go into a flashback of a year ago. Jung-Hyun and his friend, whose name escapes me, just got hired by the industrial giant AS Electronics, and are celebrating. At the same bar, there is a lovely, but very drunk girl (Soo-Ah) who is insulting about AS Electronics ('they eat nice people like you alive') but who borrows money from Jung-Hyun to pay her tab. That is the end of it, until the start date at AS where all the new hires are at some morality building training in the mountains, and who does Jung-Hyun see as a fellow new hire? Soo-Ah. Who is abrasive to him but ends up being paired with him and his friend in some sort of mountain survival exercise (presumably for team-building, but all I know, I don't want to be hired by a Korean corporation. I prefer nice training seminars in a warm room). During it, Soo-Ah falls down a snowy hill in the dark and because his friend is clearly panicking and they need help for Soo-Ah, Jung-Hyun sends his friend for help and stays with Soo-Ah. And here is where both she and I fall for him. Because he tells her they need to find shelter, they cannot stay here on slim hope friend will get somewhere there on time. She cannot walk, so he insists on carrying her on his back and they wander for ages. They eventually find a cabin, and he determines she has a dislocation. He tells her to count to three and twists it right on two, and he binds it and puts ice on it and gives her his coat, and touches her feet and is gentle and capable and manly and awesome. And did I mention, hot? No wonder, when Soo-Ah wakes up, she totally checks him out sleeping.
Then it cuts to some time around a year later, where he is running, late for work. And wait, so is Soo-Ah. And both are giddy and breathless. Yes, folks, they are dating. And shock of shocks, his beloved mother likes her and even proposes for him. But it's kdrama, so you know horrible stuff is coming soon. I feel dread as he mentions that he wants to meet her father (she has no mother) and being upset that he's been dating her for almost a year but he's yet to meet her family. It's not an unreasomable request but Soo-Ah is strangely reluctant when she invites him for her father's birthday party. And he shows up, adorable in his best suit, and tie she bought for him, and a really elaborate present his Mom cooked for Soo-Ah's Dad. Only to realize he is in front of a giant mansion *bells of doom strike* And OMG, Soo-Ah's Dad is the Chairman of AS Electronics. Jung-Hyun is clearly out of place, ignored, his Mom's present neglected in a heap. The Chairman comes as close as it can be possible to cutting him entirely. So he picks up his present and leaves and there is this great scene of him just sitting quietly somewhere, methodically eating it all, so his Mom's love and effort won't be wasted. After that, he tells Soo-Ah that he wants to break up, because he is proud and this is impossible, but of course, they love each other, so no break up ensues (in fact, it's implied, they spend the night together), as we find out that Soo-Ah had to give up a lot of dreams in order to take over from her father in the future, and Jung-Hyun is the one dream she won't give up. She and Jung-Hyun will do their best to convince her father of the worthiness of their love.
Meanwhile, her father (who is surprisingly not awful) has been planning to marry her to one of his VPs, who he finds out is a cheating slimeball. So he calls the VP to his house to tell him everything is off. It's easy to figure out what happens next. Easy if you've seen kdrama, that is. The VP gets an accomplice to call Jung-Hyun to the house at the same time, and there Jung-Hyun finds a dying Chairman, and a villa that's on fire. He rescues the old man at the risk of his own life (and ends up in a hospital) but the Chairman dies anyway. And guess who is framed for his murder?
And so here is our set-up. Our formerly forthright, gentle hero, falsely accused of the murder of the father of the girl he loves. He will escape the watery grave we saw at the beginning, of course, and return to wreak revenge on all those who wrecked his life (his mother died, he lost his place in society, his beloved Soo-Ah hates him). But Soo-Ah and he cannot help but love each other even though they shouldn't....can you feel the awesomeness?
I like both Lee Da Hae (radiant, but very different in her steely, reserved persona from the irrepresible joy of Yu-Rin) and Go Soo who portrays a kind, uncomplicated man who is forced to see his whole life die in front of his eyes and thus has to remake himself, but can't kill his feelings entirely. Interestingly, so far, a lot of this has been shot at night (outdoors or indoors). I am not sure if it's an artistic choice, but if it is, kudos, it really adds to the atmosphere.
Hello My Teacher:
Spring Waltz:
Attic Cat:
Magic:
Tags:
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 03:40 pm (UTC)The forum made me realize the monsterous amount of doramas that are out there. Just clicking on some Kdrama recommendation post was mind-boggling - some people have seen like hundreds of these dramas! Also, people *love* My Girl over there. That is SO the dorama I'm checking out after I finish ISWAK.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 03:49 pm (UTC)My Girl is awesome, awesome, awesome. It's my favorite Korean drama. (I prefer Korean and Taiwanese dramas to Japanese).
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 03:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 04:08 pm (UTC)Btw, speaking of Monte Cristo. I finally got a copy of Gunkutsuou and it looks beyond gorgeous. Now I am really impatient to watch it.
Btw, thanks for telling me about the Beauty is the Beast ending. I almost gave up on the manga because I thought the mangaka was going to go for platonic between E and W and that would have been really odd, but it seems not, so I must read now :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 04:47 pm (UTC)Gankutsuou really takes the story from a different angle and is interesting because of that. It focuses on Albert more than the Count and really makes the Count into more of a villain, simply because from Alberts perspective he WOULD be. Some guy has just waltzed into your life and destroyed it and your family, it's understandable that the Count isn't as sympathetic. The series is also influenced by "The Stars My Destination", which is also why it has a bit of a different spin.
BitB had such a sweet ending. It was worth it just to see Eimi and Wanibuchi as a married couple, with him still scolding her for being a scatterbrain and she still totally missing the point and thinking Wanibuchi's just cranky because he hasn't eaten lunch (which gets him distracted right in the middle of his scolding and starts him talking about making dinner). The two of them are just SO suited to each other. And Wanibuchi is shown to be a great dad and husband.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 05:23 pm (UTC)Re: Gankutsou. I confess Albert and Maximillian were my favorite characters in CoMC, so this is good news.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 04:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 05:22 pm (UTC)I really like GR which was apparently quite popular (later eps have around 30% rating!) But yes, angsty and romantic and with suits. How can it go wrong?
I need to keep a list because I have this huge amount of dramas I sort of forgot I have.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:00 pm (UTC)I need to keep a list of my doramas, because I'm already forgetting which dramas I have but haven't watched or how many episodes I have watched of which drama even though I don't yet have that many of them.
But I'm currently in the middle of *checks it* five different doramas and have 8 more waiting on DVD and also have a couple more available at Youtube. Not to even talk about the ones I'm still considering watching and am keeping a list so that I'll remember which ones sounded interesting :).
I'm actually thinking I might add something angsty to the list of "watching-now", since both ISWAK and Full House are such fluff. Maybe ALTK, since Rain is my current dorama crush thanks to FH (not that I'm forgetting my previous loves, Vic & Yamapi *g*).
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:58 pm (UTC)But yes, ALtK is tied with My Girl as my favorite kdrama and it's amazing. It really is. Reminds me a little bit of SQ only of course it came first.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 06:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 08:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-02 08:46 pm (UTC)I am going to stay away from Goong S, most likely, unless it gets rave reviews. It feels like another Meteor Garden 2 in the making.
And YES on HYD2 which starts...this Friday, right?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-05 12:37 am (UTC)And yes, omg, HYD2. It's probably on right now in Japan. Eeeee!