Musings of the Obsessive Kind

I gave up on Bl after 6+ eps because it just wasn't clicking for me - it was well-written and acted but I had zip emotional involvement in the characters. However, I kept with recaps and it seems to have gotten good, somehow. Hence, my dilemma.

[Poll #1750888]

I gave up on Bl after 6+ eps because it just wasn't clicking for me - it was well-written and acted but I had zip emotional involvement in the characters. However, I kept with recaps and it seems to have gotten good, somehow. Hence, my dilemma.

[Poll #1750888]

Hong Sisters, are you telling me that a 40-yr-old man who is not developmentally disabled needs a heart monitor to inform him whether he is in love or not???? He is not five, for God's sake!!! The whole "my heart monitor is going fast, I must be in love. Oh wait, it's not going fast, so I am not, even though my emotions are the same as when monitor was going into overdrive" are not cute or interesting. They are insane!

If we are supposed to feel bad that he may lose AJ over this, the writers are insane - if he had IQ above fridge temperature or a modicum of emotional sensitivity, this wouldn't have happened - his rote stupidity and self-absorbtion makes it hard for me to care.

I think this is why romcom is my least favorite kdrama genre - there are usually little plot or genuine obstacles so the writers are often tempted to create heroes with the emotional maturity of a cucumber as a source of conflict. In a period drama, they'd last about two minutes flat.

I am about halfway into the first episode of Miss Ripley and to say I am blown away would be an understatement. The dark, seedy, desperate world and characters draw me in irresistibly. I cannot say whether this will be my favorite drama of the season but if it keeps up, it will certainly be the best in quality. What is it like? It's as if Bad Guy and Something Happened in Bali mated and had a baby and that baby was a wunderkind.



There is so much to talk about even in the first episode, but I want to concentrate on our protagonist, Jang Miri. It is really a role of a lifetime and Lee Da Hae bites into it with all the fierceness she possesses. Gone is the benevolent schemer of My Girl or the calm, dignified upperclass lady of Chuno. Miri is a hunted, haunted, hardened thing - I both feel great pity for her and am terrified of what she will do to survive in her "me against the world" mode. On the surface this can be viewed as another noirish drama with a dark protagonist, but while those occasionally exist in kdrama (though not too much) they never put a woman in this position. Kdrama heroes may be screwed up but kdrama heroines are almost always angels - damaged angels, childish angels, or womanly angels - but they are almost always the pure and sane ones. Yet here Miri is the heart of darkness of the story - the damaged scheming one, who brings about a downfall of other characters who love her too much. Maybe that is why it reminds me of Bali so.



In another reversal, it is the man he eventually will find love with who is the pure-hearted one, the naive one, the 'do-gooder.' I loved what I have seen of Yoochun so far - the role is miles different from his stern Lee Sun Joon in SKKS but somehow he manages portray shining goodness yet again. I know very little of Yutaka yet, but I am dying to know more.



Ah yes, if we are talking about the men who will love Miri, we cannot forget KSW's character. I find it interesting - the concept of masks the drama is going with. Because yes, this is most directly attributable to Miri, with her chameleon faces, but both our leading men are not really who they seem either - KSW's calmness and dispassionate demeanor is a mask but it's clear that Yutaka's kindness also masks some inner damage. I cannot wait to find out all their secrets!

Oh, and since there is no way in hell I am not watching Miss Ripley live, this means something gotta give. I am obsessed with City Hunter, CYHMH and Gisaeng, so I am very sorry but buh-bye Best Love. You were mildly amusing, but my emotional involvement was nil - AJ is not very interesting and Dokko Jin is actively annoying - in RL, any person like that should be on medication, and I am not making a snide comment but a statement of fact. It's like a drama starring Bugs Bunny - funny for five minutes, not sustainable for 20 hours, and I'd be damned if I believe Bugs Bunny is real. Plus, he has the maturity of a tissue (is it me or are Hong Sisters' protagonists actually aging backwards? Each one is less mature than the last. DJ makes Tae Kyung from YAB seem mature and he is almost 20 years older than TK). I cannot imagine these characters outside the confines of the drama - I cannot imagine their lives or inner workings or anything. I think it's time to accept that either I grew out of Hong Sisters' dramas or (more likely as I still love rewatching their old ones) their newer direction is just not for me.

Oh, and this was such a gorgeous scene. He's smitten with her at first sight. And seeing that the woman in question is Lee Da Hae, who can blame him?




Mmmmm. Of course, she's all sharp corners and he's such an adorable puppy who is puzzled by her bristling. (Side note - the daddy in Gisaeng, who objects his son's intended was a gisaeng should watch this drama - forget fancy-shmancy gisaeng who stayed a virgin. Miri's past involves being a hooker to pay off a mob debt! No wonder she's allergic to men.) I have to say, Yoochun and LDH have a gorgeous gorgeous chemistry together. When I first thought of that casting I found it a bit odd, but it 100% works. (But then I have yet to see Da Hae lack chemistry with any of her leading men and Yoochun had excellent chemistry with PMY in Sungkyunkwan Scandal).

I am about halfway into the first episode of Miss Ripley and to say I am blown away would be an understatement. The dark, seedy, desperate world and characters draw me in irresistibly. I cannot say whether this will be my favorite drama of the season but if it keeps up, it will certainly be the best in quality. What is it like? It's as if Bad Guy and Something Happened in Bali mated and had a baby and that baby was a wunderkind.



There is so much to talk about even in the first episode, but I want to concentrate on our protagonist, Jang Miri. It is really a role of a lifetime and Lee Da Hae bites into it with all the fierceness she possesses. Gone is the benevolent schemer of My Girl or the calm, dignified upperclass lady of Chuno. Miri is a hunted, haunted, hardened thing - I both feel great pity for her and am terrified of what she will do to survive in her "me against the world" mode. On the surface this can be viewed as another noirish drama with a dark protagonist, but while those occasionally exist in kdrama (though not too much) they never put a woman in this position. Kdrama heroes may be screwed up but kdrama heroines are almost always angels - damaged angels, childish angels, or womanly angels - but they are almost always the pure and sane ones. Yet here Miri is the heart of darkness of the story - the damaged scheming one, who brings about a downfall of other characters who love her too much. Maybe that is why it reminds me of Bali so.



In another reversal, it is the man he eventually will find love with who is the pure-hearted one, the naive one, the 'do-gooder.' I loved what I have seen of Yoochun so far - the role is miles different from his stern Lee Sun Joon in SKKS but somehow he manages portray shining goodness yet again. I know very little of Yutaka yet, but I am dying to know more.



Ah yes, if we are talking about the men who will love Miri, we cannot forget KSW's character. I find it interesting - the concept of masks the drama is going with. Because yes, this is most directly attributable to Miri, with her chameleon faces, but both our leading men are not really who they seem either - KSW's calmness and dispassionate demeanor is a mask but it's clear that Yutaka's kindness also masks some inner damage. I cannot wait to find out all their secrets!

Oh, and since there is no way in hell I am not watching Miss Ripley live, this means something gotta give. I am obsessed with City Hunter, CYHMH and Gisaeng, so I am very sorry but buh-bye Best Love. You were mildly amusing, but my emotional involvement was nil - AJ is not very interesting and Dokko Jin is actively annoying - in RL, any person like that should be on medication, and I am not making a snide comment but a statement of fact. It's like a drama starring Bugs Bunny - funny for five minutes, not sustainable for 20 hours, and I'd be damned if I believe Bugs Bunny is real. Plus, he has the maturity of a tissue (is it me or are Hong Sisters' protagonists actually aging backwards? Each one is less mature than the last. DJ makes Tae Kyung from YAB seem mature and he is almost 20 years older than TK). I cannot imagine these characters outside the confines of the drama - I cannot imagine their lives or inner workings or anything. I think it's time to accept that either I grew out of Hong Sisters' dramas or (more likely as I still love rewatching their old ones) their newer direction is just not for me.

Oh, and this was such a gorgeous scene. He's smitten with her at first sight. And seeing that the woman in question is Lee Da Hae, who can blame him?




Mmmmm. Of course, she's all sharp corners and he's such an adorable puppy who is puzzled by her bristling. (Side note - the daddy in Gisaeng, who objects his son's intended was a gisaeng should watch this drama - forget fancy-shmancy gisaeng who stayed a virgin. Miri's past involves being a hooker to pay off a mob debt! No wonder she's allergic to men.) I have to say, Yoochun and LDH have a gorgeous gorgeous chemistry together. When I first thought of that casting I found it a bit odd, but it 100% works. (But then I have yet to see Da Hae lack chemistry with any of her leading men and Yoochun had excellent chemistry with PMY in Sungkyunkwan Scandal).

This post is basically a giant cap dump with some thoughts thrown in. Spoilers for New Tales of the Gisaeng through ep 36, Can You Hear My Heart ep 14, and Best Love through ep 6.



( Saran, you are everything to me. Me too. )



( Midnight dates, piano sonatas and stolen kisses )



( Best Love - best in giggles )

Only at the beginning of ep 5 and we get a confession already? Never thought it would be so quick! Though, ROFL, worst confession ever. Who have you been taking pointers from Dokko Jin, Mr. Darcy? Telling a woman you are ashamed you are in love with her isn't really going to win her heart.

LOLOLOL!

But seriously, how much do I love that he fell for her first. I get tired of the 'girl pines and pines and guy only eventually reciprocates' stuff.

Only at the beginning of ep 5 and we get a confession already? Never thought it would be so quick! Though, ROFL, worst confession ever. Who have you been taking pointers from Dokko Jin, Mr. Darcy? Telling a woman you are ashamed you are in love with her isn't really going to win her heart.

LOLOLOL!

But seriously, how much do I love that he fell for her first. I get tired of the 'girl pines and pines and guy only eventually reciprocates' stuff.

First off, I apologize for being so slow with replies. I promise to get to them today.

( City Hunter has released its official posters - pics and thoughts )

( 49 Days - spoilers through ep 11 )

( Best Love - spoilers through eps 3 and 4 )

[Poll #1742096]

A little disclaimer - romcom is my least favorite kdrama genre. It doesn't mean there are no romcoms I adore (there are some wonderful ones out there), but it does mean that the chances of my loving a romcom are smaller than loving a drama in any other genre. It's been years since I've loved a romcom proper from beginning to end (let's face it, Secret Garden was really a romantic fantasy melodrama with some funny bits and not a comedy).

And yet, despite it all, I really really adored the first ep of BL. I am not emotionally attached, not yet - that invisible magic switch which gets me to see these people as real beings I root for, hasn't flipped yet.

But it's a funny clever drama with huge potential. And after Hong Sisters' recent outings, it is fun for this ahjumma to see leads who are definitely adults (whatever their mental state may be - does anyone really think Dokko Jin is mature? :P)

Like in a lot of their dramas, the heroine is pretty awesome from the start but the male lead is immature and spoiled and has a lot of growing to do. (I think My Girl is the only one of theirs which actually breaks that pattern). Dokko Jin may be a huge superstar and south of 40, but he has the childishness, self-absorption and capacity for reflection of a five-year-old. Cha Seung Won, who usually excels in playing dangerous, cold, thoroughly grown-up men, is a total hoot here going all-out playing a man who is the opposite of those three characteristics. I don't like Dokko Jin as a person but he's a hell of an amusing character.

But the heart of the drama, so far, is with Gong Hyo Jin (who is an actress that I loved in everything I've ever seen her in). Ae Jung is down on her luck, her celebrity is almost gone (due to long-ago rumors which are, I am pretty sure, untrue) but her optimism, cheer and strength are wonderful. Nor is she the usual clumsy, 'cutely' incompetent heroine which the bane of kdrama romcoms. Ae Jung is very much a grown-up, a woman who earns a living, and who may be funny/be in funny situations without coming across as a nincompoop. And she and CSW have very good chemistry.

I don't have much of an impression of the second leads so far, beyond the fact that Yoo Inna plays the usual Hong Sisters plastic, brittle secondary bitch and that Yoon Kye Sang is very adorable and funny but I wish that he was able to go back to leading man status (Crazy for You, Who Are You, and She's 19 were all so awesome). But then the Hong Sisters never spend much time on secondaries - the OTP is King in all their stuff. The drama is populated by the usual cast of funny supporting characters, Hong Sisters-style.

You know, the drama BL reminds me of the most is not one of Hong Sisters', but Choi Jin Shil and Jung Joon Ho's wonderful Last Scandal. You have the formerly popular woman who hasn't been treated well by time and people around her, you have a spoiled and childish superstar with a hidden heart, you have he fishbowl funny world of celebrity etc etc. If BL can manage to be one-fifth as amazing as LS turned out to be, we will indeed have a winner!

Oh, and even though a lot of the first ep is set in the wacky, bizarre world of Korean variety shows, the drama is still hilarious if you've never watched a second of those. I found it all very funny and my total exposure to Korean variety shows was a total of one ep of WGM.

Did you work your whole way through this opus? Have a reward: