Kiara
Reading the reviews I see that the majority actually thought that the main relationship was the biggest draw for this show, but I whole-heartedly disagree. I'm not new to dramas so I know that there are bound to be cliches and tropes in any drama that I watch, doesn't matter if it's an international drama or an American one. I can get past some cliches and general tropes, but if there is one thing that I hate in any drama it's when a situation/couple becomes so contrived that they become an annoyance. Almost everything about Pi Ya Nou and Du Zi Feng was contrived, from their ridiculous sworn brothers ceremony after hours of knowing each other to the reasons that had to look at each other or touch each other. Nothing about these two felt natural to me. It got so bad that I eventually was begging for them to get together not because I cared, but because I figured if they did the writers wouldn't have to think up such contrived ways for them to physically interact. Thankfully when they did get together it did feel a bit more natural, but by that time I didn't give a shit anymore. Couple aside, the individual characters of Du Zi Feng and Pi Ya Nou did nothing for me as well. There was no discerning quality about either of the characters that made me like them or not like them, they were just there for me.
Now the secondary characters (My Loves)
Fan Xiao Bing probably had to be my favorite female character which is a shame because she didn't get nearly enough screen time. She was just such a breath of fresh air. I instantly felt happy when she came on screen. She was so peppy and happy and just a delight to watch. When she was interacting with Pi Ya Nou my general urge to fast-forward ceased because Ya Nou actually managed to have a bit of a personality when with Xiao Bing. I would've loved more interactions between them. Xiao,Bing's interactions with Du Zi Han were also full of win.
Du Zi Han was also another female character that I liked even if she was over the top at times. She was so freaking funny to watch, especially when interacting with Liao Guang Chao. I don't think this show had a character they were trying to make out to be a "bitch" which was just so refreshing. Although if you had to pick out a character that fit that stereotype it would be her. Even when she had her bitchy moments she didn't feel like a bitch to me. I'm not sure if the credit goes to the writers, director or the actress so it's probably a combination.
Yang Na Na was so cute and optimistic despite her circumstances that I just felt drawn to her. She was incredibly strong and extremely charismatic. Her storyline with Wei Qing Yang was my absolute favorite storyline because it felt so real and so natural. It actually stirred emotions in me much better than any of the "emotional" scenes Ya Nou and Zi Feng had. The scenes with them sending messages to God were some of the sweetest and most beautifully shot scenes throughout this entire show. The plane scene was hands down the best scene of the entire show for me. When watching a show a sense of realism is what I tend to be drawn to. I wanna feel like this could actually happen to me. Not a kiss was shared between Na Na and Qing Yang and I still enjoyed their relationship the most.
Wei Qing Yang is a hard character to really describe because I wasn't able to really undestand if his character was supposed to be emotionally detached because of the situation with his parents or if that was just Bii's acting. I'm not familiar with Bii or his acting so it's hard to judge. I feel like perhaps it's how his character was supposed to be because Zi Feng made some comment about Qing Yang never complimenting anyone when he said a slightly nice thing about Na Na. Plus at first he didn't seem to be comfortable with any touching from Na Na's end, which made me believe he's never been in an actual relationship or has opened himself up to anyone before outside of Zi Feng and Uncle Tian. Either way I thought his character was very sweet when it came to Na Na. He just seemed to be very thoughtful when it came to her.
Liao Guang Chao was my favorite male character. Him and his "golden hands" cracked me up. I don't know what Miss Zi Han was talking about when she said he wasn't that good looking...I thought he was pretty cute. Plus he was so sweet and dedicated lol.
Overall the acting was solid. The actress that played Yang Na Na really stood out to me. The scene where she was learning how to make her mom's coffee was so good OMGosh.
The show didn't really have much music at all except for one song that while beautiful, was played so much that I wasn't sure if I liked the song because of the song or because it was played so often.
Rematch value is low for me because while this show does have worthwhile secondary characters the main focus is on Zi Feng and Ya Nou and I couldn't, nor would I, sit through them again. Even if they had some hot kissing scenes (which they did).
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Also let me get this out of the way at the top: never have I ever suffered so much from second male lead syndrome. Honestly if I could find me a Jun se I'd be one happy girl. It was so refreshing to see a male character that did not have to change to be acceptable for the girl. You knew he wasn't gonna win out, but as he said in one scene, it wasn't because Eun Sung didn't like him, she just allowed someone else into her heart. So classy all through out to be honest. Even when he was hurt by Eun Sung he didn't cling to her or try to persuade her, he didn't bad mouth Hwan, he didn't say some ridiculous line about it being OK that she didn't return his affections because he can love her enough for the both of them (makes my blood boil). He expressed his disappoint in a non malicious way (and he definitely had a right to because Eun Sung definitely lead him on even after her feelings for Hwan started. She knew how he felt and waited so long to shut down any expectations he had about their relationship) and still stayed by her side even after it, with no intention of winning her affections.
Now when it comes to Hwan I have to say that I wasn't charmed by him or really all that impressed. That's not to say that he was a horrible guy or anything, but this drama did such a disservice to his character by having him act like a petulant child for 9 straight episodes. I was incredibly bored and over his attitude that by the time he started to "change" it was a little too late for me to actually start investing in his character. Now had this show been a seasonal show and they could actually take time to flesh his character out more, then maybe I could've rooted for his character more (individually, not as a subset of his relationship with Eun Sung). But 9 of 28 episodes with absolutely no change (and actually getting progressively worse)? Wasn't here for it. It also didn't help that his change was so superficial in that all that happened was him doing what he should've been doing in the first place. You're 27 and you don't wanna work? You're 27 and you treat people like crap? You're 27 and you throw tantrums worse than a child? There was nothing hard about his grandmothers' conditions and yet you would've believed she was asking for the world. And yet I'm supposed to be impressed that he became a decent human being? No, everybody should have a level of decency in them unless they're a sociopath. Now having said that, I didn't hate him. He didn't really illicit any reaction from me save for a few eye-rolls and some rare smiles (yes I smiled a couple of times because as I said he wasn't horrible).
Now 2 characters who did illicit reactions from me where Seung Mi and Seung Hee! OMGosh did they ever. I started out absolutely loathing Seung Hee because never had I ever come across such a vile character before who wasn't a sociopath. However that loathing quickly turned into respect because as much as a snake as she was, she knew she was a snake and didn't mind slithering. Her daughter on the other hand drove me up an effing wall with all her self-righteousness. She wanted to pretend she wasn't in the grass slithering right along with her mother. Truthfully Seung Mi needed psychological help because no one should be as dependent on another human being as much as she was with Hwan. Shit is unhealthy as hell.
Eun Woo was adorable as ever and the actor that portrayed him was fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every time he was on the screen.
Eun Sung was OK. She was like a strong weak girl. I could tell how much she wanted to be strong and how determined she was, but there were far too many times where she was so naive and gullible that I found myself yelling at my computer screen. Her ability to smile through most situations though was really admirable.
As far as the relationship between Eun Sung and Hwan, it wasn't my cup of tea. There was banter, but very weak imo. I like playful relationships and theirs was more childish. It was a whole lot of meh to me tbh.
I definitely could've gotten behind a Hyeri/Jun Se pairing though. That girl was such a Jun Se fangirl. May I join the club Hyeri?
As far as recommendations go it's definitely not something that hasn't been done before and probably better and at 28 episodes it is a bit long and quite frankly could've been shorter, but if you don't mind getting frustrated and a few non-sensical things here and there, you could definitely do worse.
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When it comes to TV/Movies I know there has to be a certain level of suspension of disbelief from the audience. I am well aware of it and capable of it to a certain extent. That extent ends where sexual assault begins. And also I am so over the I'm an asshole because I have mommy and daddy issues and I'm lonely, but because I'm handsome and random ass side characters who eventually disappear, tell you not to give up on me you'll let it slide bs.
This show actually fairs well until about the 5th episode when the main female protagonist begins to decline from this kick ass girl who actually stands up for herself and eventually turns into the biggest Mary Sue and damsel in distress in my K-Drama journey. Hell I'd venture to say in any drama I've seen. The show throws her into ridiculous situations that cause her to need to be protected and saved at any given moment. I mean practically every character that comes in contact with her turns into a knight in shining armor for her. Eventually I could care less about any of her situations because you knew someone was right around the corner to save her. Jan Di has a problem? No worries it'll be solved in .02 seconds. Jan Di has a wish or desire? No worries it'll be granted faster than you can say Mary Sue.
The show also asked so much from the audience emotionally when it came to Jan Di. It's like they wanted you to feel sorry for her EVERY episode. The girl cried so much that I actually started believing that her tears were like a source of oxygen for her, she needed it to survive. This show is too damn long to spend it feeling sorry for the main female every episode. I'm not emotionally capable of that. I'd rather spend my time rooting for a character than feeling sorry for one. The opportunities to actually root for her were few and far between. She couldn't solve her own problems, but somehow she's the solution to everyone else's.
The secondary characters are actually where this show had a little something something to work with. I spent the majority of the show wishing that Ga Eul was the main female character. She was a breath of fresh air although she was not without issues. Her and Yi Jung's relationship faired a lot better than the two main relationships of the show. Although that scene with Ga Eul, Yi Jung and his father did piss me off thoroughly.
Woo Bin deserved a better storyline. Or maybe just a storyline because he was pretty much an extra besides that super random storyline that he got. I won't spoil it for people who decide for whatever reason to watch this show, but it was so contrived.
Anyway I managed to finish this show because of Ji Hoo (he was sweet. Naive, but sweet) Ga Eul and Yi Jung.
The acting was definitely nothing to write home about. A lot of the actors struggled with emotional scenes so they weren't as hard hitting as the director probably wanted them to be.
I cannot recommend this show as a good show, but if you're drawn to damsels or assholes and/or want to live vicariously through Jan Di and have hot guys save you this show might be for you. If not, please save your sanity and your time and watch a different drama. If you want to watch a flower boy show, watch Flower Boy Next Door, it's better (not great, but better).
Last, but not least Kim Bum has a killer smile.
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Now coming in to this I knew it was a revenge story and that I would not find myself actually rooting for the villain (in general I hardly do) and that was fine by me. I don't have to like the villain, in fact I like not liking the villain. However, I do not enjoy watching a villain with absolutely no charm or charisma. To be frank, Sun Woo in general wasn't acted well. The actor felt completely one dimensional up until the very last scene of the show where finally I felt myself feeling something other than utter annoyance. It really frustrated me because Sun Woo is a multifaceted character who in another actor's hands might have come off brilliantly.
I was not expecting to think much of Cho In at all because of So Ji Sub. I specifically watched this show after watching So Ji Sub in Ghost and being completely unimpressed by him. His1000+ hearts on this site baffled me and I wanted to find out what so many people saw in him. He was my absolute favorite in this show. First of all he looked adorable and secondly his wounded portrayal of Cho In just murdered my heart. I swear this man conveyed so much with his eyes, I just wanted someone, anyone to hug him at all times.
As far as the female characters go, I actually really liked Seo Yeon. She was far from perfect and thank the TV gods for that, I like my characters to be as close to human as possible. What I liked most about her is despite dating two brothers she was upfront about her feelings. She stuck by her feelings and when the time came for her to prove it, she did. When Sun Woo asked her if she would stick by him even he did despicable things she meant it. A female who sticks by her guns and doesn't play with people's hearts? Yes please. Plus she was genuinely a sweet person.
Young Ji drove me up a wall majority of the time. She was adorable at times, but mostly she came off as obsessive and stalkerish. Such a shame as she and So Ji Sub had really nice chemistry.
Back Seung Hyun, who played Chi Soo, was so dedicated and he got my blood boiling, but it was such an awesome performance. In fact I found his relationship with Cho In much more interesting than Cho In and Sun Woo's because of his great performance.
The side "romance" felt random and just "there". Didn't add much to the show at all.
All in all the show was solid and if you need a reason to watch this show, So Ji Sub would be it.
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The show isn't flat out bad, just elements were. For every one thing this show had going for it, two things were dragging it down. For one, 24 episodes was far too long for this show. The last 8 episodes or so were so tedious for me. Two, the show seemed to lack direction. It felt like it didn't know where it was going or what it wanted to be. And when this show was going places none of the places where particularly good. That's not to say none of the episodes were good because there was definitely a few that actually made me want to continue to the next episode, but they were sporadic and few.
The worst part about this show was Jang Geun Suk. I'm sorry, I realize that he is a well liked actor on here and in general, but his performance was wooden and bland. Besides glaring me to death I didn't get much of anything from him. Counting sheep would've been more compelling. Truthfully though the only ones really bringing anything in terms of acting were Kang Ji Hwan (who I found to be incredibly adorable and actually makes me want to pick back up Capital Scandal), Jo Hee Bong (fantastic as the insane king who truly blessed my screen) and Kim Ri Na (I can't help it, good acting can make me like characters that I'm not necessarily supposed to like or root for). Having said that no one (outside of JGS) was particuarally bad, just not memorable or worth mentioning.
The show had some fairly likeable secondary characters in Gomi, Su Jeon (what can I say, I fell for his explosions of love) and Mal Nyeo. I had no complaints when they were on my screen.
Music wise there were only two songs that I even remember hearing and they were both nice (one by a man and the other by a woman). No idea who sings the songs or the titles, but they were nice and helped to set the mood.
Definitely would not watch it again seeing as I struggled the first time around. Can't say I'd recommend, but hey I could be the lone wolf when it comes to not liking this show. Much too campy for my personal taste, but if that's up your alley then this show might be for you.
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