Lazy Goose's 2011 K-Drama Review

This is my first year of K-drama so even though I am a lazy writer, I forced myself to write a year-end review. I am not a critic, and will probably never become one, so my review can be very biased. Here are solely my opinions without any attempt at being objectively correct. This review includes some 2010 and later shows as I watched those this year.

My history with K-drama dates back when I was in elementary school around 2002-2003. They were widely popular back in those days. I remember a few titles I watched fully were Winter Sonata, Stairway to Heaven, Autumn in My Heart, and Full House. Back in those days, I was more of a passerby. I watch what's readily available. No matter how cliche the drama was, it was still addicting. I don't follow actors, either, even when their acting deeply touched me. I remember what I miss the most after a drama ended was the background music. I never knew there's a soundtrack released for every drama and I can actually save them! It was a blessing and an amazing surprise when I found the soundtracks for Autumn in My Heart, Winter Sonata, and Stairway to Heaven. It was like I rediscovered pieces of my childhood self. You've got admit; even though those dramas are not good based on today's standard, their OSTs are evocative.

The story changed this year. What shunned me from dramas in recent years were that I don't know which ones are good and which ones are bad and because I am lazy. Even though I watched only a handful of K dramas, they were enough to make me notice the cliches and tropes often use in dramas. I've became a picky consumer so when the synopsis and/or first few minutes of a drama don't grab me, I would desert it and on my way to look for a new one. In recent years, I only watched My Girl, Boys Over Flowers, Last Scandal of My Life, and You're Beautiful. It's just the end of last year/beginning of this year that I've found K-drama blogs that deliver both the verdict (good or bad) and recaps. Yay! The first recaps I read were You're Beautiful's. I actually watched the first episodes without reading the recaps but because the subs were bad, cultural significances I didn't get, and laziness, I started to just read the recaps and only watch the exciting scenes. The bad habit gradually grew on me and it took me until the end of the year to realize what a terrible habit I made. For one, knowing what is going to happen ruined all the fun. Two, it made me more lazy and, seriously, over these past few months, I never worked my brain when watching dramas. I identified my problem now, but it ruined some dramas for me. Better late than never?

New Year Resolution: Be more conscientious and do my own watching!


Dramas I finished watching:

My Girlfriend is a Gumiho

A 2010 show but I only watched it this year.
Gumiho is a supercute drama with adorable leads. I never thought the -ah is so hot until this drama. When Miho calls out Woong-ah with aegyo, I went "awww" and I am not a lesbian by any mean. I would totally say that now to my future lover...and the hand-gun love declaration (maybe).
The premise is very interesting. A gumiho (nine-tailed fox) who wants to become a human and gets help from a gumiho-hunter, whose ancient love is Miho's doppelganger. To become a human, she has to recruit a human who would shelter and provide human ki for her fox pearl for 100 days. This set-up is never new to me because it is so common in C-drama, but I like its modern version. In C-drama, it's a ghost, a fairy, or a spirit that wants to become a human; sometimes it's the other way around: a demon/human wants to become a god-spirit/fairy. The various methods were collecting goodwills, recite sacrificial texts, and of course, consume human energy. In every single drama like this though, there's always some kind of "test" that makes our heroine to choose between love and humanity.
Even though the story is not new to me, I really like this drama because the leads's chemistry is cute and there were enough new twists that make the old set-up interesting.

Best Love

Super funny and cute. The thing I like the most about the Hong sisters is their use of metaphors. I love metaphors.
My favorite scenes:
When Dokko Jin executed the potatoes Ae Jung brought to his house after she signed the contract, he didn't "kill" one and said to the potato "Consider yourself in prison." It's so cute.
Then some episodes later, he said "We don't kill potatoes in this house." OMG. So cute.
I also like the noraebang scene where Dokko Jin sings Heartbreaker.

A lot of people were dissatisfied with the ending but I was extremely satisfied. One of the main themes of this drama is the union of a superstar and a down-the-drain celebrity, and the disaster that follows the announcement of such love. He lost his pristine public image and she was bashed as a slut/hooker. The aftermath of such event is even more crucial than their falling in love. To completely tell the story of this love, it is important to tell how they coped with the aftermath and their recovery back to the public limelight.

God of Study

Cute but you'll need to use the fast-forward button a lot.

Queen Seon Deok

Bidam! I, like a lot of others, became a fan of Kim Nam Gil through Queen Seon Deok. Even though he overacted, his sincerity and understanding of the character was deeply felt. His expressive eyes are one of a kind and hard to find. For me, his eyes are very breath-takingly attractive, expressively soul-seeking and they just blow me away. Plus, I am a sucker for long-hair ancient guys. Or what some of you call a mane of glory. I actually saw the clip of the ending (sob!) first before decided to see the drama. Its beginning was smart and brain-stimulating, but the latter half was not as suspenseful. I can't find any recaps for it so I actually watched the whole 62 episodes! Albeit with some forwarding in the latter half. Mishil donimated the 1st half and Bidam the 2nd half. Our titular Queen Seon Deok did not get much of the limelight and the drama's message seems to be you'll die a lonely woman if you went out of your way to do a man's job. Heh. LOVE the OST though.

Bad Guy

I watched this for my Bidam. It was so good the first 13 episodes but because of Kim Nam Gil's army service, the last 3 episodes were a joke. I'd like to pretend those don't exist.

Gun Wook (Kim Nam Gil's character) has a few similarities to Bidam from Queen Seon Deok so I was half-expecting I would see Bidam in Gun Wook. But KNG handled Gun Wook with care. A lot of actors have a "recipe" style in acting a certain type of character, but KNG's acting clearly demonstrates his range and breadth. It's like there are many shades of blue; his acting colored Bidam & Gun Wook a lonely blue but each has a distinct tint and nuance. Kim Nam Gil's crying is just heart-wrenchingly beautiful and raw. He is one of the few actors who could actually cry - and a male one at that.

Kim Nam Gil aside, the things I like the most about this series are: the music, the cinematography, and its what-could've-been plot. The OST is not one of my top ones but I found two or three pieces that are really beautiful and eloquent. Listen to Prologue here.

The cinematography is really beautiful and incorporates the drama's theme and enhances the viewing experience. I was really impressed the first episodes. It was filmed in a dark blue palette that emphasizes Gun Wook's loneliness and burden. After meeting Jae In, the later episodes became "brighter" and more white; for example: the episodes in Japan. As the series progress to the finale, it becomes more red and dark again, possibly signaling the fall of Gun Wook. I would not give too much credit on the latter though as the plot clearly fell after episode 13.

Here's my favorite quote in the drama:

at night, at night
in the thick of darkness
where is the sky?
and where is the ground?
is the light i see a firelight?
or is it a starlight?
i cannot tell.
where am i going to?
is it to heaven?
or to hell?

SPOILER: That's why I feel that the concept of the ending was fitting of the intended theme of the drama even though the execution was so bad. Gun Wook did not know whether the path he was taking will lead him to hell or to heaven. Like a light in the darkness, he could be heading to hell just as the light could be a firelight. The scene in the first episode where he lost his balance from the parachute and fell fittingly demonstrates this plot point. I would argue that from the beginning, the script dictates Gun Wook's death. There's just no other way out.

I hated the execution of the ending though. Mo Ne was the shooter? What? It makes no sense; it's out of her character and she's not supposed to be there. Nobody found out he died! What? You tore my heart out right there and then. It's awful.

Here's my ending: Gun Wook would still die but it's not because of someone shot him but because he chose so to save someone/something. It could be anything, just something of epic greatness. Madam Shin would still be out of jail. (There's just no way she wouldn't if we're being realistic. She's rich and powerful.) She would have to face a greater defeat. That defeat has to tie in with the heroic act that led to Gun Wook's death. That defeat has to make her bitter and/or regretful for the rest of her life. She still has to retain her cold and bitch personality, though, to make her ending so satisfying after all that she did.

Heck, if all that were to happen, I wouldn't mind nobody knew Gun Wook's dead. It would be a silent and sad death of silent and tragic hero, who's supposed to be the bad guy, but things turn out that he's a better guy than a lot of others.

Here's my take on the title: It's like a reversal. Gun Wook was supposed to be an anti-hero, a bad guy. In actuality, though, he's a better guy than people like Madam Shin. It's an irony. The person who we assumed is the bad guy, Gun Wook, is not such a bad guy after all. It's "the other side" that are bad guys. (Korean nouns do not specify quantity so the "guy" can be singular or plural.)

The Princess's Man

It's my crack drama of the year! Made me a huge and fervent fan of Park Shi Hoo. He has become my number one favorite actor. I fell in love with his heart-melting smile and reassuring deep voice. Park Shi Hoo's smile is just sooooo beautiful. I think it's something to do with the corners of his lips. I love his big hearted laugh too: "Ha! Ha! Ha!" That's what his laugh would look like on paper. And man, he's extremely young. He does not look 33. Please share your beauty secret!

Park Shi Hoo's character in The Princess's Man is the archetype of my hero bias. I am a sucker for this kind trajectory: bubbling noble boy/man who enjoys his privilege --> sexy avenging assassin. Another trope I'm a sucker for: I love you so much but I have to resist you because you're my enemy. OMG. It's a hot and dangerous love.
Watch: Warehouse scene, Shadow scene.

A lot of people were impressed with Princess's Man's use of history as keystones in its narrative. It then uses creativity to build up on the dramatics, thereby creating a drama where you can follow the history as an outline and also enjoy an addicting and dramatized romantic fiction at the same time. I was not as impressed, not because it's not impressive, but because I watched a drama that uses history like this before. It's Bu Bu Jing Xin! Bu Bu Jing Xin actually aired after The Princess's Man but I watched BBJX first. But still, kudos to you TPM!

The Princess's Man has other things going for it too: strong directing, strong acting, and strong characters. I love the music in TPM. It's evocative and eloquent: at times contemplative and romantic, at times intense and urgent. The cinematography was beautiful at the beginning, though it became normal after episode 8 or 9, probably due to the pressure of live shooting. Transitions were smooth and skillful; jerky transitions have a way of annoying the heck out of me and make abandon a drama.
Watch: TPM's opening sequence, Epic Trailer, Expanded Trailer
Listen: Vola, One Day of Love, Again, Today I Love You, Destino

Kim Young Chul portrayed Prince Suyang/King Sejo skillfully. At other actor's hands, the role could've been just a nefarious villain, but Kim lent layers to the character, making him not only a villain you'd love to hate on but also a perfect family man and father. Park Shi Hoo was also great as Kim Seung Yoo, portraying his transition from a simple nobleman who enjoys his privileges to a bitter killer artfully. He was not flawless but at crucial scenes, he was on fire and delivered perfectly. His chemistry with Moon Chae Won's character is very convincing. It wasn't intense in the way of sexual chemistry, but intense like a love powerful enough to transcend time and fiction would. Their love is one of the most compelling and romantic I've seen and read about. Whenever I reminisce their romance, it feels magical almost like a fairytale: the kind of love story you would read to your children or grandchildren. Their love has become classic in my book.

SPOILER: Now, I would argue that Park Shi Hoo's character is the most difficult to portray convincingly because Kim Seung Yoo experiences the most obvious change. He goes from blissful teacher nobleman with considerable position and background in the beginning to a suicidal  and depressed man who has lost everything - family, love, purpose in life - to a bitter and avenging assassin who is tore between his true love and his revenge to blinded man who was granted redemption and peace. That's some tough acting. It's almost like playing different characters in one show. That is not to say other characters did not grow. Heck, Moon Chae Won's Lee Se Ryung also grew drastically throughout the series. It's just that hers was mentally while his was so drastic that even his aura changed completely.

I know many people were skeptical about the ending but for me it was perfect. Though he lost revenge, he's gained his love, Se Ryung. Though he lost his sight, he's regained his heart. Though he lost a greater goal, he's gained a family. Family > heroic and lonely death.

Here are my other favorite scenes: Cutting the distance, Strangling her in jail (end of ep 10, start of ep 11), Smash ring (ep 13), Arrow: pt1, pt 2, Dream, Camping, 3-stops kiss, Urgent goodbye, Scar kiss & will you marry me?

Dream High

Fun in the most sincere way. Its plot is nothing to write home about but it's all heart.  Around this time, I became aware of my bad habit of reading spoilers/recaps first. So I had to make myself watch the episodes first then read the recaps for this one. I enjoyed it. The feeling of anticiption came back to me. Kim Soo Hyun was the only "actor" out of the bunch. Out of all the idol-actors, I think Eun Jung was best at acting. Suzy was wooden but her woodenness became an endearing trait of her character Go Hye Mi. The milky couple (IU & Wooyoung) was so cute that I wish they would date in real life. I also love the sing-offs and dance-offs. The biggest present to me was the song A Goose's Dream. It has become my personal anthem. Whenever I need to get motivated, I'd listen to it.

Prosecutor Princess

I should've watch this before Queen of Reversals. This is another crack drama for me. I started watching this series because of Park Shi Hoo but I was grabbed into its world and I finished it for more than just PSH.
I like the character Ma Hye Ri and Kim So Yeon's portrayal was perfect. Hye Ri is dim-witted but she has a good memory. I was a little dissappointed that her good memory did not get any limelight besides a mention here and there. In the beginning, the series focused on Hye Ri's dim-wittedness and unique commonsense instead. The beginning was so slow but it picked up pace around episode 7. One of the things I like about this drama is how it kept me holding my breath on one case for 6 episodes. You know which I'm talking about if you watched this drama.
Park Shi Hoo's character, Seo In Woo, is charming and cute and...a perfect stalker. LOL. I was giddy everytime In Woo and Hye Ri have one of those conversations. The most memorable scene for me was this one, which I dubbed "compelling alternation."
I like the two songs from OST: Give Me and Burning Heart.

Posted in: K-Drama Labels: Bad Guy, Best Love, Dream High, God of Study, K-Drama Reviews, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Prosecutor Princess, Queen Seon Deok, Reviews, The Princess's Man, Year-End Reviews