Lovers (2023)

Elegant and Graceful

My Dearest (2023)

With some Korean actors, you just learn to trust their judgement in picking great Korean Dramas in which to act. I took on this drama ‘My Dearest’, because of the actor Namkoong Min. Within minutes of viewing, I knew that I made the right decision for me.

The period covered in the story, pasted around actual factual history, is 1636-1659 CE. ‘My Dearest’ starts out in 1659 and goes back to 1636 for the backstory. Lots of period Korean culture is on display in this drama, including historic instrumental music. The historian for this drama did a great research job.

Joseon gets embroiled between the Chinese Jin and Ming Dynasties, plus the Japanese. The Chinese barbarians, with a huge military force, declares war on Joseon. The Chinese are a skilled fighting force. They come up against the drafted Joseon intellectual and political elite who seem as rag-tag against this dominating military presence. Based on this backdrop is a beautifully emerging story of forever love.

Quote: “Have you ever heard the sound of flowers in bloom? I heard that rare sound today (when he first met her).” Male Lead gazing into the eyes of the Female Lead.

The Male Lead character Lee Jang-hyu is arrogant and worldly-wise. The Female Lead character Yoo Gil-chae is very conceited and forceful. This is a playful match. ‘My Dearest’ is such a realistic Korean Drama, with realistic people who have huge faults. In addition, much attention is paid to building these characters, each with unusual personalities. ‘My Dearest’ is rich storytelling, unique dramatization blended into historical facts. Many are going to find this drama intriguing. There is sword fighting in this drama.

I think that ‘My Dearest’ could be an Insta-Classic at its present meteoric ratings pace.

Two really good actors stack the cast. Watch for their facial expressions, those little nuances which raises an actor above the crowd.

Namkoong Min (Hot Stove League, Remember: War of the Sun) playing Lee Jang-hyu is a dubious and mysterious nobleman. Ahn Eun-jin (More Than Friends) playing Yoo Gil-chae is an erasable spoiled Aristocrat. They are a hot couple who will draw you right in. This Korean Drama is a go for me.

Chinese comparison Drama is Love Like the Galaxy.

Leia Mais

If you don’t mind sad content and are fond of the separation trope…

7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2023 South Korean Historical romance drama with 21, 60-90 minute episodes. It was originally divided into two parts: Part 1 with ten episodes and Part 2 with eleven episodes. So some say there are two seasons but there is only one season sometimes divided in two parts..

First I provide a Unique Synopsis then review.

Synopsis

Lee Jang hyun (Namkoong Min) is not the type of serious, respectful and honorable noble Yoo Gil chae (Ahn Eun jin) is used to encountering. He is a bit of what we would call these days, a lady’s man but also a “player.” He falls hard for the spirited Gil chae who, as the prettiest girl in her small community, has her pick of suitors. Of course the only guy she is interested in, Nam Yeon joon (Lee hak joo), is in love with her best friend. Kyung Eun ae (Lee da in), Gil chae’s best friend would do about anything for her friend except give up the guy they both love. Eun ae knows Gil chae really just wants Yeon joon because he is not interested and that the roguish Jang hyun is actually a better match for her friend. Eun ae both kind and wise and knows that Jang hyun is actually a very kind and capable man who deeply cares for Gil chae. But Gil chae is slow to recognize her own feelings and does not believe Jang hyun’s feelings are sincere. He has also clearly stated he is against marriage something any noble lady would scorn. Through war and the aftermath the two suffer many missed opportunities and Gil chae weds another man. Despite this, they both have each other firmly in their heart. Korea is suffering as the defeated party under a faction of China and the people are suffering by being impoverished, persecuted, killed and enslaved. Is there any hope for these two who seemed destined to be together?

Review

I do not like sad shows. If you like sad then you would definitely like this more than I did. I actually looked up the ending and it said it ended happy enough so I went with that. But what I didn’t understand is, it may end fairly happy, but it is sad all over the place throughout. Why? Well it is loosely based on true events where there was this Josean king who became paranoid and did a lot of horrible things as a result. And the royals were always trying to poison each other. That is why food tasters were common in many countries among the royalty. It was good for what it was. Wonderfully acted, the filming was amazing, and it was interesting throughout. So, understand that my ranking is based mostly on the fact that it had sad threaded all through it. I would not watch it again because it made me too down. I would recommend it to people that like historical and do not at all mind sad content.

Spoilers

I read that it ends with him losing his memory but that he remembers events around her. But they are together. That is true and that is the way it is nearly to the very end. But, in the last few minutes, he fully remembers her it shows his gaze becoming more steady and he says her name and looks her right in the eyes. So he does fully remember her. But two things about that. I personally hate the amnesia trope in general. And he has not one but two separate periods of amnesia. And, since it ended that way, we don’t know if he remembered any of the other people in his life.

Yeon joon was just an annoying character to me. I guess that wanted you to think Gil chae’s love for him in the beginning was completely juvenile and ridiculous. He was never a character I admired as he was so sanctimonious and it shadowed and influenced everything he did. He was never as thankful to Jang hyun for protecting him during the war as he should have been. If he told Gil chae about that in a “he is my life safer” type way she might have admitted her feelings for Jang hyum sooner. But I think there was a part of Yeon joon that liked having Gil chae romantically interested in him.

Gil chae was really annoying in the beginning. It had a real “Gone with the Wind” sort of vibe as she started as a noble that was very princess like as she was the beauty of the community. Then war breaks out and she goes through serious hardship and has to suffer horribly at the hands of the Barbarians. And it did humble and change her. But then she scorns Jang Hyun and marries the man who lied on the path on the island to basically use her as Barbarian bait. I get that it was Jang hyun’s fault a bit because, even at that point, he did not offer marriage but still you don’t turn your back on someone that has done so much for you and you obviously have feelings for.

Eun au, on the other hand, was such a sweet, humble and loyal person from the beginning, I did not feel like Yeon joon deserved her. The way he treated her when she was asking about being “defiled” by Barbarians made me like him even less. And then when he was a traitor to Jang hyun by leading the soldiers that nearly killed him, I liked him even less. There were just a few moments in the end when he asked Eun au to go with her and if he was still her husband where I think they were trying to show he had come around, but it wasn’t enough. So that wasn’t a sweet side romance.

I thought the Crown Prince and Princess dying was just tragic and unnecessary. Yes that may have been what happened, or close to it, historically but they could have departed and had him live. And then to make the Princess a traitor and even kill the royal heir, just made it Greek tragedy level.

The royal concubine was the evil doer behind most of the tragic events and we did not get the benefit of seeing her taken down. Evil essentially won. And that may have been what happened in the historical event it was drawn from but stories have the opportunity to improve and depart from such things. I suspect the king in the end was the concubines’ son. That was her goal to have her son put on the throne, but that was not very clear.

A large portion of the show was told with the main characters parted by war and other circumstance. I really dislike the separation trope so that being so prevalent and repetitive throughout the series was a serious negative to me. They were apart way more than they were together. Then, they would just get together briefly and either they would have a misunderstanding and go their separate ways, or a tragedy would strike and drive them apart. It was so frequent that the majority of the live commenters were complaining about them mostly being apart.

I guess the ending was supposed to be happy in the house he created to her specifications. But they were always surrounded by so many others throughout that them two alone just seemed very lonely. And it seemed they just planned to live as if dead so that he would not be hunted. But that was sad too. If it weren’t for the mad king and the evil concubine he should have lived out a heroes’ life.

#NamkoongMin #AhnEunJin #MyDearest#LeeDaIn #LeeHakJoo

Leia Mais

A mature story not those boring childish time wasting kdrama

I have never took my time to register and comment on this forum before but this my dearest movie forced me to comment. Infact I watched 10 episodes in 2days despite my busy work schedule. But this story must not end on season 1 because the loves and little borns never get meaning in the story and the male lead is still going to war at the end of the episode 10 . The heart breaking part that makes me not like the full story is how the male and female lead didn't end up marrying each other while the other girl and
her loyal husbandd married happily. If there is season 2 please let it air immediately unlike arthal chronicle that took months to watch season 2

Leia Mais

An intense ride

I binge-watched this drama in one day and was clenching my chair by the last episode. The acting is absolutely flawless, and for ten episodes, I felt like the story not only flowed at a perfect pace, but the intensity of the characters and their stories held me for the entire drama. Also, kudos to the writers because they unfolded the story of war and the repercussions endured by those who are helpless to fight or run.

Namkoong Min and Ahn Eun Jin are flawless in their roles, and their chemistry, especially in the last episodes, was off the chart. The dynamic of unsurity between the two characters is methodically played out to the very end, and the next season cannot come fast enough. Good, bad, happy or tragic, I'm all in for the ride.

Leia Mais

A character driven story that was overpowered by the plot

I haven’t written a review in a while so bear with me
As a kid I played this Pride & Prejudice game, a multi choice story board with different endings
For example if Lizzy chose to dance with Mr Darcy the first time they met, or if she accept his first proposal, things would be different
How so? In the second scenario he never went back to their mansion, he thought she was a simple win, maybe even after his money so he didn’t love her as dearly

And well getting back to the review, this is what happened here, the setting was simple, a flirtatious girl meets the heartbreaker
And then we started getting constant sidetracking plotlines

For me eps4&5 then 8&9 were the best simply because it was about gilchae, our sweet naive girl’s journey and growth
For her, shoes and boys were her pastime activities , she had no worries, no threats
Her love was a product of that fantasy and “only” future plan for girls, to get married
Anyway as janghyun shook her world and the war broke her world, we get a simultaneous narrative of two different prospectives

To me all men looked at gilchae like she was gullible. They never accepted her feelings and never thought it was anything more than a youthful vigor. And that is the curse of age gaps, men think they’re more mature and have a deeper acknowledgment of the world

The fantasy dream of janghyun shows how he never understood or got to see the gilchae that had to mature, from the island but more so when all the male figures in her life weren’t there to “save and protect” them, the women who were raised to stay home and take cover while the men did everything.
So she had to get up, work, make men listen and try hard to show results to gain money to survive while also getting respect as a figure able to plan and plot

I am glad, eventho it was messy, I’m glad they had finally both talked it all out, that was three or more years of two incredibly frustrating people that didn’t show their vulnerability
Every time they had to actually admit their feelings they would switch it up with bickering and teasing that did become burdensome and increased misunderstandings

But anyway if she had gone with him, she’d always feel guilty about her family and he’d think she hated him for it so the best choice was to stay
Just like how janghyun said if he had “went to her faster” he worried she’d get over him and that was basically why he played hard to get, which also led to frustration and made gilchae trust him less

Now they also need ten more eps, so they had to end on heartache but either the husband lets her go, idk how their separation works. Or he dies and she can be free
By then I hope janghyun sees her as a mature person rather than a fancy object in forms of a love interest

Leia Mais

EPIC DRAMA

The most beautiful roma;nce and action drama. The plot was stormy and original enough, not to get bored, but made you can not stop watch it. For me it is difficult to watch fast or focused, but this one was the only drama that I loved so much. Charactes and cast was amazing, especially the protagonists. Everyone could feel the love of main lead, because was infinite. I was disappointed about the music. The only thing that I didn;t like was music and the artists of music. Of course, I will watch it again. Now I cannot watch other drama because I can't overcome this plot and this excellent acting.
I recommend it safely, it was the most unexpected excellent historical drama, that I have ever seen.

Leia Mais

Better than Gone With The Wind

Tumultuous story that is strung together by the once in a lifetime chemistry of the leading couple. The entire cast is more mature than you would usually see and it pays off. The gravitas brought to each role is a feast for the audience. Every squint of the eye, flip of a ribbon, or glance to the side carries intention and depth of character. I found myself loving and hating each character in turn, including our main couple. The ships passed in the night one too many times, and I found myself frustrated constantly; but this made the moments of true connection so blissful that all was soon forgiven.

I’ve been a fan of Gone With The Wind since I was young, for its grand scale, frustratingly unresolved love story, and cinematic impact. I found myself carried along with the plot, adoring the homage to my beloved story, but worried it would ultimately end without our leads’ redemption. I feared I’d have to watch Rhett tell Scarlett he doesn’t give a damn and storm out. I was so relieved to find the story developed into a much richer and more meaningful tale of true love, sacrifice, fate, and forgiveness.

This film used color so well. The early scenes before war breaks out are presented in almost glowing hues, as if the saturation was turned up a bit past believable and really drives home the fact the our FL is living in a rosy version of reality that doesn’t quite exist, yet she is desperate to hold onto. Seeing the beauty of her transformation into muted colors as she truly matures, and we suddenly realize that glow is now coming from within her.

There’s so much I could say about this drama. I don’t rate 10’s often, and never across the board. But this one deserves it. I rarely write reviews, but here I am, still with tears in my eyes after episode 21, typing a review I can only hope will be coherent.

Don’t pass on this drama. It is a feast for the viewer and you won’t soon forget it.

Leia Mais

Tense fight or flight scenes to yearning romance

This brought me back to those historical kdramas I used to watch around 2016. Those ones that you get invested in the characters and story and it flows so well.
I think it has an interesting angle on war during this era from perspectives of royalty, invaders, civilians, women, scholars, soldiers. It can get so tense on some episodes and I love it lol. The fight and flight scenes are gripping to watch in themselves (forget the romance for a second).
The ML is such a cool guy and he knows many things with an unclear backstory (I guess we will see in season 2). FL comes off a bit arrogant to begin with but when the war comes she really proves herself, I guess she just needs to mature in terms of love and romance. Either way they have great chemistry. I would definitely recommend this drama for the action and the romance and everything in between.

Leia Mais

It will suck you in instantaneously

I mostly binged this part and it was probably the best decision since it's an easy watch. By that I mean, it is very easy to sink into the story. It captivates you. There is a lot happening constantly so you certainly won't be bored. It also has some very emotional moments. At least they were for me. I was on the verge of tears at least a couple of times so expect angst as it delivers it well.

The war scenes were brutal without being too gorey. They left it to the audience's understanding of what might have happened/is happening and I am thankful to not have to seen some of those scenes. Else it would have required me to take a lot of breaks. It's nothing close to Game Of Thrones if you need an idea. There are some action scenes but not that much and nothing that blew me away. It's less skill and more about war tactics.

I enjoyed the character development of the female lead. How she changed from being self-obsessed and somewhat immature to having great strength, wonderful leadership qualities, being a quick learner and strong-willed. The male lead on the other hand gives off red flag vibes initially but falls hard for the female lead so there were several points where he won my heart. There's a lot of push and pull happening.

If you prefer quick resolutions, don't bother. It's a bit of a rollercoaster. The final episode may leave you feeling a tad annoyed. But nothing we didn't expect I suppose.

All actors were brilliant. The OST is beautiful. Hopefully part 2 will be satisfying.

Leia Mais

A thrilling, epic historical romance. Well worth a watch . . .

Some caveats on the portrayal of the 'barbarians' at the end:

Lee Jang Hyun is a familiar character, a world-weary ex spy or military man who hides his skills and history behind a joking, frivolous womanizing mask. What is unique, is that he meets Yoo Gil Chae an entitled, determined and crafty 'fox' of her village and falls head over heels for her because of these qualities, not in spite of them. Here, though young and immature, is a woman who has the resilience to survive. As these characters get tossed to and fro, partially due to being in the middle of a tragic and gory war, and partially due to their own inability to be vulnerable, you very much cheer on their survival and happiness.

Towards the end, the miscommunications and missed connections stretch into the absurd. It is understandable that both characters would prioritize their country, community or family over their romantic love - laudable even. It's also understandable that both misunderstand each other - assuming that their love was weak instead of that their duty called on them to act differently. This does not forgive the lack of letter writing and direct communication of the last episode. The lack of communication during war is forgivable - during peacetime less so, and so some points were knocked off for that.

The acting here is believable and top notch, not for one moment from the main characters to the supporting characters, was I ever taken out of the story. Namkoong Min does an excellent job in the early episodes of hinting at the cold competent nature that hides behind the mask. Ahn Eun Jin has the difficult job of portraying a character with many unlikeable flaws and making her come alive and be endearing and she does just that.

The music was sweeping and epic, and some scenes will definitely linger, even if the show isn't really set up for rewatching. I grade on other criteria as well:

Themes: 10
In difficult times, the clear headed, determined will to survive at any cost will triumph over ideological purity. You can find someone that loves you for your difficult qualities not in spite of them. Beware parting with angry words or things left unsaid, you could end up living a life of regret. Be skeptical of titles and power. Look to people's actions not their words in determining where there values and priorities are. Romantic love is not always what to prioritize there is our responsibility to our country, community and family to consider.

Complex characters/Character development: 8.5
All the characters even the secondary ones, have different sides to them and I appreciated this. I was mildly annoyed that instead of having a bigger time skip and allowing Yoo Gil Chae to fully mature, the plot kept them reuniting piecemeal and didn't let the mark of war and trauma full settle on to her.

Complex Women/Strong connections with Women. 9.0
The friendship between Gil Chae and Eun Ae was a complex and enjoyable one. Both having a deeper connection, than their reputations as the 'bad girl' and 'good girl' of the village would imply. Eun Ae, like Jang Hyun, respects Gil Chae for what would be considered 'bad qualities' in a woman.

Cinematography/Production Values: 9.0
Really beautiful, with plentiful use of outdoor sets, well-done costumes, and excellent fight scenes. Nothing new or innovative, but a pleasure to watch.

Note on the 'Barbarians':
The portrayal of the Mongolian and Jin/Qin people is primitive and dehumanizing. It was not 100% this way. I did like that even Jang Hyun underestimates them at times, assuming they will greedily go for the money or gold, only for them to catch him in his plots. I also liked how it shows how Jang Hyun can trade and live amongst them: he understands and respects their practical drive to survive and conquer over the scholars of his own country upholding ideological purity even if it led to defeat. But, I'd be curious for those more knowledgable or from those heritages how they found the portrayal.

Leia Mais

This drama made me cry a lot. Over the course of these ten episodes, I have grown to love Gil Chae and Jang Hyeon and ship them. That's why episode ten broke my heart. I'm afraid that in the second part, the creators will not strive for a happy ending for Gil Chae and Jang Hyeon. I don't want the second part to end like Moon Lovers for me, because I still can't forget the sadness.

But despite the tears shed, I love the first part. There were also some funny scenes. This drama is interconnected sadness, pain, fear and happiness. The characters develop and have difficult decisions to make. I wonder how the rest of this story will unfold. I have a feeling the ending might not be a happy one, but I hope I'm wrong.

Leia Mais

A Beautiful Ryang Um Who's Like a Flower: Layers of His Character

I feel like Ryang Eum's character is interesting. He's complicated. He's definitely a more reliable friend than Eun Ae. But at least Eun Ae could understand the fl better. She even admitted that she understood her better than herself.

Meanwhile Ryang Eum seemed to have unseparable bond with the ml. It looked like there's no one who could understand him better than Ryang Eum but there was a time that Ryang Eum failed to understand. It's his heart. It felt like they didn't share the bro codes only in that particular thing.

"I don't belong to anywhere. I'm just here and there." When the ml said that what he actually meant was that he's longing for a place of his own. A place called home. And his reply with "Right. You don't belong to anywhere. But wherever you're, I belong to your side." It creeped me out.

I don't know what's his real deal was. Was it because of too much loyalty or he saw him more than friends? But I understand why he did what he did. Personally, I can relate to his character. That's why I can say that he's being childish at that moment. I thought he also realized his mistake but he just decided to cross the line.

And he really meant it when he said he didn't regret it. Moreover when he witnessed what happened to the man he looked up to at the end. If I were him, I would be glad if turned out I was wrong. But the look in his eyes, he was so mad that in his mind he's true about her after all.

I understand her decision and it seemed like there's another reason that will unfold in the next part. The writers seemed to have an intention to make it as if she didn't really meant it when she said "I don't love you enough to leave everything behind." Maybe they will provide a good and brutal excuse for us and we will buy it later. Something like "I love you too much that's why I was letting you go." But what makes it clear for me right now is, he gave everything for her, even his life. But she couldn't do the same. That's why to me what she said was quite literal, that 'he loves her more than she loves him' and I think Ryang Eum would be agree with me.

Was he okay when he saw Gil Chae sending him off just like that after what he's been through for her tho? Ryang Eum is not just another supporting character. And his bond with Lee Jong Hyun is too strong for him to let him go like that. Ryang Eum is smart and tactical and sometimes manipulative. Our main lead would have been died several times if it's not because of him. He has the ability to change the direction of the wind. If you know what I mean...

Based on the teasers, it seemed like something happened to the female lead. I wouldn't be surprised if Ryang Eum had anything to do to pull the trigger. Maybe he didn't need to take much effort. He just needed to sing, and it would be like a butterfly effect. When a small flap of its wings might cause a tornado at the mainland and the peninsula.

Or there's a twist of a character development and it's the other way around of what I've said about him. It would be interesting if later turned out I'm wrong. And I'm really anticipating of what they have in store in the next part.

Leia Mais