Musings of the Obsessive Kind

Am marathonning it properly with subs and yes, this is the kind of drama that works so much better in one gulp - it really reminds me of one of these 19th-century French novels, maybe by Zola.



It all ends tomorrow and let me take this chance to say that regardless of how it ends (and I honestly have no idea), this is going on the 'favorites of 2011' list - it's smart and dark and complicated, with an antiheroine who could be horrible but who I could not help but root for and a fascinating cast of characters from saints to monsters. And it has also given me a love story that is rather unusual in kdramas - a fragmented, bitterly desperate, almost amoral woman finding hope and salvation in the love of a very good man. How often do kdramas go for that? Pretty much never. I ship that dysfunctional romance like crazy.

When it started, I made a wish that it would be another Something Happened in Bali. It wasn't - Bali still pretty much stands alone with its darkness and complex destructive hothouse of emotion. But even though it wasn't as good as Bali, it still more than satisfied any expectations and cravings I had. Here's to you, Miss Ripley - you were a damn good ride!

( So, some caps and thoughts )


Note: I've seen complaints about Hee Joo and Myung Hoon's roles being reduced as the drama went on, but that did not bother me - for one thing, I was always in this for Miri and Yuhyun. For another, Hirayama and Lee Hwa made much more interesting foils and antagonists being the true monsters of the story (any scene with Hirayama and Miri made me viscerally uncomfortable to watch - I dare you to watch their interactions and still blame Miri for doing anything to get out of his power).

So farewell, Miss Ripley. You have been amazingly intense and good.

Am marathonning it properly with subs and yes, this is the kind of drama that works so much better in one gulp - it really reminds me of one of these 19th-century French novels, maybe by Zola.



It all ends tomorrow and let me take this chance to say that regardless of how it ends (and I honestly have no idea), this is going on the 'favorites of 2011' list - it's smart and dark and complicated, with an antiheroine who could be horrible but who I could not help but root for and a fascinating cast of characters from saints to monsters. And it has also given me a love story that is rather unusual in kdramas - a fragmented, bitterly desperate, almost amoral woman finding hope and salvation in the love of a very good man. How often do kdramas go for that? Pretty much never. I ship that dysfunctional romance like crazy.

When it started, I made a wish that it would be another Something Happened in Bali. It wasn't - Bali still pretty much stands alone with its darkness and complex destructive hothouse of emotion. But even though it wasn't as good as Bali, it still more than satisfied any expectations and cravings I had. Here's to you, Miss Ripley - you were a damn good ride!

( So, some caps and thoughts )


Note: I've seen complaints about Hee Joo and Myung Hoon's roles being reduced as the drama went on, but that did not bother me - for one thing, I was always in this for Miri and Yuhyun. For another, Hirayama and Lee Hwa made much more interesting foils and antagonists being the true monsters of the story (any scene with Hirayama and Miri made me viscerally uncomfortable to watch - I dare you to watch their interactions and still blame Miri for doing anything to get out of his power).

So farewell, Miss Ripley. You have been amazingly intense and good.

So, I've been spending the evening of working through my Miss Ripley backlog.



You know, a lot of people have said that even though they like MR, they can't really root for anyone, but I root for Miri to the inevitable dead end - sure she is broken, manipulative, scary but she has been so abused by the world and is so desperate to escape her true self, I cannot help but want her to get what she wants. And I genuinely ship Miri/Yuhyun, though chances of them ending up happily together is approximately 2%.

( Also, I am at a loss how Miri/Yuhyun scenes can look so romantic on the surface and be so terrifying under it )

And a MV:

1. OMG preview of ep 12 of Miss Ripley.



It looks like Yoo Hyun finally found out the truth and he is scaring the crap out of me - you could sense the hidden steel and coldness underneath his 'nice boy' manner before, but now Miri's lies have brought it to the surface and I am honestly terrified. It's interesting, because the initial feel was "Myung Hoon = stern businessman, Yoo Hyun = unworldly idealist" but by now you realize that MH would forgive Miri anything and would be like putty in her hands and Yoo Hyun is scary dangerous. Also, am I hallucinating or is YH's stepmom Miri's birth mom? Eeeek, ILY drama.

2. I know it is tragic, but City Hunter is bound to end, and the drama that replaces it is Protect the Boss with Ji Sung and Jaejoong.

( A few promo stills look wacky and cute )

3. Of more interest to me is my discovery of a TON of Myung Wol the Spy stills, the upcoming drama in which a North Korean agent, Han Ye Seul, is ordered to kidnap a Hallyu star, Eric, with the help of the sexy sexy agent Lee Jin Wook. The stills make me salivate like there is no tomorrow - they look funny, sharp, and hella sexy.



( A ton of stills )

1. OMG preview of ep 12 of Miss Ripley.



It looks like Yoo Hyun finally found out the truth and he is scaring the crap out of me - you could sense the hidden steel and coldness underneath his 'nice boy' manner before, but now Miri's lies have brought it to the surface and I am honestly terrified. It's interesting, because the initial feel was "Myung Hoon = stern businessman, Yoo Hyun = unworldly idealist" but by now you realize that MH would forgive Miri anything and would be like putty in her hands and Yoo Hyun is scary dangerous. Also, am I hallucinating or is YH's stepmom Miri's birth mom? Eeeek, ILY drama.

2. I know it is tragic, but City Hunter is bound to end, and the drama that replaces it is Protect the Boss with Ji Sung and Jaejoong.

( A few promo stills look wacky and cute )

3. Of more interest to me is my discovery of a TON of Myung Wol the Spy stills, the upcoming drama in which a North Korean agent, Han Ye Seul, is ordered to kidnap a Hallyu star, Eric, with the help of the sexy sexy agent Lee Jin Wook. The stills make me salivate like there is no tomorrow - they look funny, sharp, and hella sexy.



( A ton of stills )

Miss Ripley is a total mindfrell because I see caps from upcoming shippy scenes (with my OTP for this drama, no less!!!) that are very traditionally romantic and it freaks me out like hell because you just know Miri is acting and planning to use him for all he's worth, just the way she did with Myung Hoon, and Yoohyun is just victim n2.



I love it, but it screws with my head!

( Some more here )

Some verrrrrry creative fans intercut clips of Chuno (which starred Lee Da Hae) and Sungkyunkwan Scandal (which starred Yoochun) to make a trailer for a sort of Joseon take on Ms. Ripley. Loooove:



My love is probably the greater because Chuno was my n1 drama of last year and SKKS was n2 (I love my fusion sageuks) so it's fun to see them so cleverly spliced together.

I would totally watch the heck out of that drama if it existed, btw.

Some verrrrrry creative fans intercut clips of Chuno (which starred Lee Da Hae) and Sungkyunkwan Scandal (which starred Yoochun) to make a trailer for a sort of Joseon take on Ms. Ripley. Loooove:



My love is probably the greater because Chuno was my n1 drama of last year and SKKS was n2 (I love my fusion sageuks) so it's fun to see them so cleverly spliced together.

I would totally watch the heck out of that drama if it existed, btw.

( Here is the scene )

( On the Myung Hoon/Miri front )

And because Miss Ripley is reminding me (and everyone else) a lot of Carmen (they even use some of Carmen's musical cues), I have been rewatching the 1980s movie version of the opera. Have the final scene from that amazing opera. I suppose, Miri = Carmen, Myung Hoon = Don Jose, Toreador = Yoohyun. I would not be surprised if it ended thus:

Oh, Yutaka/Yuhyun never had a chance, poor guy.




I loved ep 3. Miri is, by turns, immensely sympathetic and utterly terrifying - the trauma of her upbringing has permanently broken something in her - and I am not just referring to her sense of right and wrong but something more basic - her sense of self seems severely damaged - that is why she finds it so easy to put on all these masks and lie easier than breathing. She reminds me of a child in some ways - maybe because she's trapped by her childhood. I end up rooting for her fiercely in every scene, whether she is right or wrong (see the scene in Heejoo's apartment - the subtle anger and envy because she and Heejoo did end up switching lives due to Miri's unselfish deed back then, and Miri ended up living in hell while Heejoo had a decent life. But even before their attitudes were different - see how differently they remember the ice-cream factory trip. Heejoo remembers the treat and Miri that they were treated like beggars. Her sense of pride in self was damaged even before her adoption - she reads her own insecurities into others). She lies not just to get ahead but to preserve her true self from exposure and thus hurt.

Ironically, Yoohyun (I am using his Korean name from now on, for consistency's sake), is the only one she hasn't put a mask on with - because he's the only one she is not scared of/wants something from. It's his unthreatening nonenity status in her eyes that grants him the glimpse of real Miri. The moment she finds out he did not lie about being chaebol heir, all bets are off though. Though I don't think she will ever view him the say way she does Moo Hyun (who was such an unfeeling bastard to her in ep 3 - any possible concern for him is gone now and she only sees him as a mark because she knows she can never rely on him). Yoohyun has never lied to her or belittled her or hurt her in some way, the way everyone else in her life has done (or she feels has done). He even told her upfront "I am interested in you" and tried to tell the truth about himself, only she didn't believe it.

Guuuuuh, I love this drama!