O Imortal (2021)

Love-Hate/Hate-Love Relationships; a Really Cunning(&Hot) Villain; Reincarnation; and Found Family

Summary:
- ANGST AND PAIN ㅠ_ㅠ
- Resentments and desire for revenge spanning a VERY LONG time.
- Hateful grievances and many misunderstandings
- Really amazing cinematography and backgrounds
- Phenomenal acting
- Really good chemistry. Also, NO KISS SCENES but there exist an overwhelming TENSION between them ♡
- Music filled with deep desire, yearning, and sad feels
- A truly beautiful found family trope story
- Highly recommended for supernatural and mystery lovers
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OVERALL: A must watch.
Bulgasal pull on your heart strings, its heart-wrenching from start to finish yet also beautiful and heartwarming at the same time. If you’re still contemplating to watch because of the mix reviews, you’ll miss a chance to watch this compelling and unique storyline. This may inevitably become one of my most favorite Kdrama, this really kept me on my toes every week. The Mystery propels the storyline onwards and it’s done well- atleast for me. Racked my brains for theories but 'the truth' still surpassed my expectations very well. If you can withstand crying and if you also don’t mind being a mad theorist while watching this drama, you’re in the right place. ♡

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The drama FOR REAL gives more questions than answers in its episodes yet strangely, I find myself enjoying every minute of this. It was slow-paced but all in all, I was never bothered by how the story moved forward towards the climax. Maybe you’ll also see romance in the scenes if you’ll expect it like me. This drama is also certainly not for the weak heart. There are a lot of painful moments, blood, murders, triggers and trauma too so be warned. Yet, many also have loved and investigated every details within each scenes in the drama- find them in discussions and on twitter and maybe you’ll be pulled in too. I love you all my fellow Bulgasal theorists! :**. The drama also centres around cherishing Bonds, a strong feeling of shared beliefs and experiences that unites the characters instead of pure romance only. Base on the interactions between the leads, there is definitely GREAT chemistry and romance blooming each episode. It is to my great relief that I found this drama on Netflix. I was searching for something to watch next after “The Silent Sea” due to the emptiness I felt and I never thought I would be pulled in for another lot of sadness.
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STORY: ♡
With the "Legend of Bulgasari" background alone, It is clear this drama might have a chance to be either definitely unique, thought-provoking and interesting or just end up being tagged as a wasted potential. And for me, this drama ends up within the former choice. First, the cinematography is astounding and second, the story- irresistible (yes irresistible, like the coffee you crave every morning).
There are misunderstandings, there’s a genius manipulator and also, hard to break grudges from the past. Be prepared for the 'racking your brain for answers part' while watching though lol. A lot have said this is only a romance with an enemies to lovers trope. But. It’s much more than that. There is familial love, friendship, and a valuable bond that connects each and every characters. I love every part of this drama. But the most memorable was that one scene where Hwal and Bulgalady met again as adults on EP1 on a hilltop and that other scene on EP11 where everyone started to feel like they lost a valuable treasure as they leave the house when in fact they only stayed there for less than a month.
As for the main lead’s relationship in the present lifetime, “… two deeply wounded people finding solace and warmth in each other”. I definitely agree with this beautiful comment of “Swan Song1” that Hwal and Sang Un’s relationship is NOT forced. Their relationship may have started with full of hate for each other but that didn't stop them from realizing the truth that their hate was only a misunderstanding- a result of the lies and manipulation fed to them by someone evil. After their reconciliation, they didn’t even notice that they became closer immediately. There’s already care and love for each other even from the start. So in my eyes, there’s sizzling chemistry between the leads. It all starts from a past-life revenge type and is slowly leading towards the healthy shared purpose type of relationship. All the relationships and characters in the drama were built upon solid storylines and past. Even the revelations are revealed to us slowly, PLAIN AS DAY and everything will MAKE SENSE in the end.

Soon, as you continue to watch, you’ll also realise that their future fate may inevitably have a painful end. Despite that, you may still end up loving everything.
I LOVE:: ♡ ♡ ♡
* EVERYTHING most especially EPISODE 11&12&14
* How Aunt Hye Sook went from an annoying shaman to a caring mother figure for the four orphans and how she’s always smiling and stays bright faced infront of Hwal because she thinks of him as a son. ㅠ_ㅠ
* How Hwal struggles with himself while being with Sang Woon-someone completely different from his expectations. Most importantly, I love how his heart greatly softened due to Sang Woon’s honest & compassionate personality, and love for him. :))
*How Sang Woon and Si Ho cares deeply about each other and how they act as a mother figure for each other.
*How Do Yoon loves his brothers in the orphanage and can do anything for them ;and also how he slowly but effectively warmed up and cared for the others in their Home.
* And how Sang Woon definitely isn’t perfect and doesn’t let her fear stop her from finding answers. She is dauntless but also jittery, she is constantly kind to those who help her even when she doesn’t have much. But it is her imperfections that make her amazing as a person. Kwon Nara (Uri Sang Woon) will make you cry a lot in here but you’d also see her smile a lot especially when she’s with her sister, Si Ho. Oh and she's GORGEOUS when she smiles.
* I also love how Dark Hole is always suffering -from his own inflicted actions. The writer did his character with much thought. The actor too, is for real prefect for a villain.

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ACTING/CAST: ♡
First, I want to compliment all the child actors/actress’. They deserve a lot of hugs and awards! They were really astounding in their acting!
*Actor Lee Jin Wook’s portrayal of Hwal - The mix of hate and doubt is visible in his actions, words and eyes. And when he’s with Sang Un, he will make you speechless. It’s not new to find a cold character in a drama but he is undoubtedly amazing as Hwal. I can’t imagine another Hwal other than him.
*Actress Kwon Nara(Sang Woon) is amazing. I only saw her on “Suspicious partner” but She portrayed Bulgasal and bubbly Sang Woon so well! I can clearly see the difference in the two characters she portrayed. Her eyes and facial expressions as BulgasaLady full of hate & hurt, as Hwa Yeon filled with anxiety and the bubbly Sang Yeon were spectacular for me. Most importantly, she looks REALLY stunning!
*Actor Lee Joon(Ok Eul Tae/Dark Hole). Just Wow. I didn’t even notice he was the Lieutenant in “The Silent Sea”! His acting will give you goosebumps. For real.
*Actor Kim Woo Seok (Do Yoon/A’Chan) He did REALLY well. I did not even know that this was his first role despite being an idol! You’ll really love and care for Do Yoon a lot with his amazing portrayal of the character. <3
*And our Gong Seung Yeon(Si Ho)! I was shocked to see her as a mother! She portrayed it very well, I rooted for her happiness, I cried when she cried and I even started shipping her with Hwal too. *ahem*
When all of them gather in their house ( except Dark Hole HAHA) , I promise that you won’t be able to avoid the feeling of warmth and comfort in you heart.

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If I were to describe the main character's lives in one quote, I'd choose Gena Showalker's: “They gave each other what no one else had ever been able to give. A past to cherish. A present to enjoy. A future to anticipate.”

I will really miss this drama and everyone who discussed with me here AND ON TWITTER. I love you all and I hope we’ll meet again in another drama.


EDIT (6/29/2023):
I remember I was very emotional when I made this review while watching the drama. It was a fun ride discussing about the theories with fellow MDLers and the people on Twitter. I now reread my review after almost two years, and I realized giving this that kind of rating was indeed too subjective of me. However, I did ponder a lot for days before I did this review and I still think this deserves a 10. I really enjoyed the drama a lot (especially the phenomenal acting from Ok Eul Tae) first time. It's fine if you do not agree with me and my bad if this was not a satisfying review for you. But if you made it to the end of this review, thank you and have a great day. ♡

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P. S. After seeing this review got more attention than expected, I knew I should take responsibility and make my rating more accurate. I didn't want to put a big expectation to this drama from new watchers. So I ended up rewatching and finally edited my ratings. I only hope old readers won't get dissapointed in me after this fickle move. Much love to those who liked/still like this review!

Leia Mais

Could have used a change in direction

Newtonian physics may not bind the Laws of Drama Writing, but it is a helpful starting point for examining “Bulgasal: Immortal Souls”. Newton’s first law states that a body that is at rest or is in motion at a constant speed in a straight line will remain at rest or continue at the constant speed in a straight line unless it is acted upon by a force. In other words, for something to change, we need some sort of object or mechanism to trigger a chance in action.

With the drama in question, we begin with events that occurred 600 years ago which is where we find our object moving forward. To summarize, Goryeo era monster hunting ace Dan Hwal became a bulgasal (an immortal monster which feeds on human blood) and he loses his family. He sets out to wreak revenge against those who put him in his predicament. We flash forward to present with Hwal seeking Sang Un, once a bulgasal, now a human, reincarnated. Every other character of any note is a reincarnation of someone or something other creature from hundreds of years ago. As the storyline progresses, Hwal and Sang Un encounter Ok Eul Tae, an antagonist from the origins of the story.

Let’s set the storyline aside for other matters…

The production is outstanding. Whether it was set design, photography, soundtrack or the physical monsters themselves, this crew was tops. The monsters are exceptional. Whether the settings are the Goryeo era forests or present day mountains, the settings are gorgeous. The special effects are above average. There is not a copious amount of OST but the few entries are solid. And there’s more than one underwater sequence that are some of the highlight scenes.

There’s some fine acting too. Park Myung Shin is the standout as a Goryeo era shaman and present day aunt/butcher for Hwal. Lee Joon creates a compelling and vibrant character for the twisted and scheming Eul Tae. Han Seo Jin plays a young Sang Un and continues to create one of the most impressive filmographies of any young actor anywhere.

It’s a mixed bag for the leads. Lee Jin Wook as Dan Hwal has the imposing stature and gravelly voice to pull off a character that is part dark monster and part former human bent on retaining some of his humanity. But the character has shortcomings that no actor could really work around. He’s smart enough to clandestinely coordinate a complex manhunt and amass a significant collection of assets but has lived hundreds of years learning almost nothing. He follows a predictable cycle where he is introduced to a new side to his backstory, he refuses to believe it then just decides that it must be true. And despite the fact that he wants to end his troubles, he’s got the worst sense of self-awareness on the planet. He’s supposed to be the hero, albeit a non-traditional type of one, but he’s so determined to derail any effort to make progress that he’s nearly impossible to sympathize with.

As for Kwon Na Ra’s Sang Un, she’s got enough sense to diagnose Hwal’s issues, can formulate a basic plan and know that she needs to invest in and maintain relationships. That’s all good but the direction for the character was to overwhelm everything else about the character with a damsel-in-distress aesthetic. Even when her actions should signal strength and determination, the visuals instead emphasize her weakness and impending panic. That’s the present day visuals. Have to recognize that her appearance in the historical eras is simply stunning.

Without spoiling too much, there’s no end to this saga unless there’s an end to Eul Tae or Hwal or Sang Un. But two aren’t easy to kill and the other one will just reincarnate so something out of the ordinary has to happen to end this.

Here’s where Newton comes in. We have this trio that has been on the same path for six hundred years with this seemingly unsolvable problem. What would have made for an outstanding drama is that at some point of the storyline, the viewers are given some somewhat comprehensive understanding of how our object in motion at a constant rate of speed in a straight line was put in said motion at said constant rate of speed in said straight line. Then the production could have adequately built up over multiple episodes to a climax where new big force is brought forward to bring about the cataclysmic change in motion and to put an end (or new beginning) to our heroes and villains story.

Instead, a full reveal of the real origin story only happens far, far, FAR! too late leaving little time to build any appropriate amount of tension for the climactic showdown. Pending the full reveal, Eul Tae is left as a likely evildoer but possibly ambiguous character which fatally hamstrings his actions. Instead of going full dark and crazy, there’s only glimpses of his true nature. To keep a semblance of mystery about him going, he winds up a disappointing antagonist who spends too much time politicking with Hwal and plotting in the background than being, y’know, a bloodthirsty and invincible monster. And instead of Hwal and Sang Un spending far too much time wondering how they ended up this way, they could have been doing something much more interesting like, y’know, fighting monsters.

It’s a tremendous shame because the scenario was promising. There’s lots of interesting monsters and the show was terrifically entertaining when there was action. But it is invested so heavily in a painfully slow reveal of backstory and keeping the main characters and viewers in the dark that the characters are unable to develop. And, y’know, move forward in a new direction.

Leia Mais