Musings of the Obsessive Kind

Oh, Good God.

According to Koala, the latest contenders for the leading lady role in Yoochun's melo 'I Miss You' are Gu Hye Sun and Lee Min Jung.

TPTB must really hate me!

Those are the only two kdrama actresses I cannot stand. I might even be prepared to tolerate Jang Nara more than those two. GHS is the worst kdrama actress I've ever seen - I can deal with wooden but it's hard to ignore when someone on your screen constantly emotes like a chipmunk on speed - I've seen her in Boys Over Flowers, Absolute Boyfriend, The King and I, that ridiculous Eric fusion thing, and she was uniformly unbearable in every single one. To add insult to injury, she has little chemistry with her costars and I don't find her in the least good-looking. UGH. BARF.

Lee Min Jung is objectively pretty (though she makes me think of a borzoi for some reason), and isn't as teeth-grindingly bad as GHS but I just cannot stand her. That started with BOF, where her appearance (and utterly ridiculous amounts of screentime) signified the turning point of when this drama went from awesome to flaming trainwreck. The disaster that was BIG did not help. In general, she just irritates me for some reason. I mean, I even skipped MIDAS with my obsession Jang Hyuk because she was in it.

Basically, either one of them in, I am out. The end.

So, apparently Yoochun is going to be back on my screen! As a leading man in a romantic melodrama, one of my favorite things.

Yesss, life is good.

I realize that I am probably the only Yoochun fangirl who fangirls him solely for his dramas (that's what being utterly uninterested in kpop will do) but whatever! I've adored him since Sungkyunkwan Scandal (which is pretty much a perfect thing all around) and loved him in both Miss Ripley and Rooftop Prince despite both those dramas being pretty flawed.

So excited! Now please cast a halfway decent leading lady, please!

So, apparently Yoochun is going to be back on my screen! As a leading man in a romantic melodrama, one of my favorite things.

Yesss, life is good.

I realize that I am probably the only Yoochun fangirl who fangirls him solely for his dramas (that's what being utterly uninterested in kpop will do) but whatever! I've adored him since Sungkyunkwan Scandal (which is pretty much a perfect thing all around) and loved him in both Miss Ripley and Rooftop Prince despite both those dramas being pretty flawed.

So excited! Now please cast a halfway decent leading lady, please!

Seeing all those idealistic scholars in Tree with Deep Roots makes me nostalgic for SKKS. So have this random shippy picspam of some of my favorite scenes from ep 17.

For what it's worth, Sun Joon is still pretty much my idea drama boyfriend.

( Here it is. Prepare to swoon )

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 )