Camelot
New York
By making the ghost, Shin Sun Ae, the second female lead instead of the female lead the show immediately opened itself up to a storm of problems. Our main male lead, Kang Seon Woo, falls in love with the ghost-possessed version of the female lead first and because of that fact the viewer is left wondering throughout every subsequent interaction between the two leads whether he actually loves Na Bong Sun for her own qualities or loves the version of her that is actually Sun Ae. This confusion both on the part of Seon Woo and the audience completely destroys the validity of the romance between the two leads. What's more the writer did little to engender Bong Sun to either Seon Woo or the audience based on her own merits. Sun Ae is clearly the more fun, kind, and lively of the two women and Bong Sun is so painfully shy for the first half of the show that she is almost entirely devoid of personality. The show's choice to stop clearly showing the audience when Bong Sun is being possessed versus when she isn't was also executed poorly. Bong Sun's personality, as she becomes less shy, starts to resemble Sun Ae's too much. There were times when I could not tell which version of Bong Sun I was watching in a scene. Was she possessed? Not possessed? Is Seon Woo in love with Bong Sun? With Sun Ae? I certainly didn't know and still don't.
Another issue was with the virgin ghost character in general. Shin Sun Ae's motivations at the beginning of the show boil down to just one thing: sleep with someone. When she attempts to seduce Seon Woo he rejects her advances and yet she just keeps going. It made me so uncomfortable to watch as she pretty much sexually harassed him after he very clearly told her no. It was creepy and should not have been included in the drama. If the tables were turned and he was harassing her no one would have found this plot point funny. It would have been seen as downright villainous.
The acting wasn't terrible but it also wasn't Park Bo Young or Jo Jong Suk's best work. Overall this drama was a failure. It made me uncomfortable and I regret watching it.
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First, the acting. It was simply bad. Gong Seung Yeon in particular genuinely annoyed me with her performance. Was there really a need for this much yelling? She was not believable as a character or as a real person. Her acting felt forced and awkward at times. Lee Jonghyun also was simply awful in this drama. I feel like seeing his name on the cast list should have been a red flag for me for so many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that he was in my least favorite drama, and the only one rated lower than this one, Orange Marmalade. To put it nicely his character was dumb. He made stupid decisions, jumped to conclusions, and had no deeper thoughts throughout the entirety of the drama. (Just as an aside, I won't talk about his personal issues in this review because I know it might be upsetting to some and is, in the end, insignificant l to this drama's quality).
The plot had nothing of significance to offer. It was contrived, dumb, and foolish. A comedy that was wholly unfunny. The ending too made no sense when one considers the rules of time travel within the show and how the end was subsequently explained.
The show's budget also seemed to be nonexistent. The sets, costumes, hair, and makeup were all embarrassingly amateur-looking. I was shocked at how low quality the production was. This seems to be a common theme amongst webcomic adaptations but My Only Love Song was still glaringly bad even when held to a lower standard to account for webcomic adaptation budgets.
This drama was a waste of my time. Perhaps I should have been wearier of this drama given who the male lead is but as this drama had a relatively good rating I wanted to give it a fair shake despite my misgivings. I regret doing so.
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A Fada do Levantamento de Peso, Kim Bok Joo
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Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo is the single most annoying drama I have ever watched. My biggest problem with the drama was with Bok Joo and her story arch. First I will address my earlier claim of pandering. Bok Joo, in my opinion, is nothing more than a compilation of most girls' deepest insecurities. Portraying insecurity is not in itself a bad thing, in fact it is usually fantastic, but by giving Bok Joo so many, and so many overly common, insecurities it becomes less an uplifting message of self love and more a marketing gimmick to play to your intended audience. Bok Joo is self conscious about her appearance, weight, family, aspirations, career, personality, body type, height, strength, skill, shortcomings, etc. The list inevitably goes on. And it is the fact that the list goes on that I take issue with. Everyone, including myself, is insecure about something, maybe even a few things. But to be insecure about nearly everything about yourself...really??? No one with that much self loathing can be as happy go lucky and set on their goals as Bok Joo is. That much insecurity amounts to depression in most real people, and while Bok Joo does display sadness over her various insecurities she always overcomes them with relative ease. Her indecision, a major character trait that I find infuriating, stems from these insecurities. She has no idea who she is or what she wants but is fine with dragging others down with her regardless. Her relationship with Joon Hyeong is, in my opinion, nothing short of toxic on her end. How can she enter into a relationship built on mutual love and respect when she doesn't even like herself or believe he likes her for the first half of the show? To me that is not healthy romance. It is an insecure girl's fantasy of a white knight who will ignore all the things she hates about herself, ask for nothing in return for his love, and require no effort to grow on her part all while loving her unconditionally. This is simply too much like a children's story for me. I understand that part of what makes successful TV is knowing your audience but the romance in this show makes me seriously question whether or not it was lifted from the diary of a lonely teenager. Joon Hyeong himself was one dimensional and lacked any real depth outside of his love for Bok Joo. Though it was refreshing to see the female lead be the more developed character for once I think they sacrificed too much of Joon Hyeong to compensate. The side characters too were boring and forgettable. I honestly could not even tell you their names and it has not been that long since I finished this drama.
Overall I hated Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo. The plot, characters, music, costumes, sets. All of it was awful and mundane. The obvious pandering to teenage girls' insecurities was off putting and Lee Sung Kyung fails as an actress. To this day I do not understand the hype surrounding this drama and I wish I could erase it from my mind.
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The idea of a South Korean woman being blown into North Korea by a freak tornado is in itself slightly out there, but no more so than some of the more unique premises found in other kdramas. Where the premise veers into the absurd is how our North Korean lead and his subordinates reacted to her arrival. And even more absurd is how our second female lead, Seo Dan, who dislikes SeRi from the moment she meets her also seems to willingly risk it all to keep her true identity as a South Korean secret. It was simply asking too far a stretch of my imagination to think that North Korean soldiers would welcome a South Korean with open arms and relatively easy acceptance. All of the plans and attempts to return SeRi to South Korea were also simply preposterous. I found myself laughing at times because of just how silly everything was which greatly cheapened the more serious moments in the show.
All that said, the cast was the absolute highlight of the show. Hyun Bin was amazing as Ri JungHyuk. He captured a more subdued quiet man's character without coming off as brooding. This alone is a feat as there is already an overabundance of brooding males in dramaland. The subtle variety to the strong silent type Hyun Bin offered through his acting was refreshing yet simple. Son YeJin as Yoon SeRi provided much-needed balance to JungHyuk's calm by being quite over the top with many of her emotions. She was funny and strong-headed while also having moments of sadness and anger. It was amazing how she got on so well in North Kore but as her strength of character was well developed beforehand it made it all very easy to believe. She too was a delight that made even the more ridiculous moments of the show enjoyable.
Overall this drama was like a light little snack: easy to digest but satisfyingly filling all the same.
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First for our crown prince Lee Young. I'd like to start by saying that I thought Park Bo Gum did a fairly good job with the material and character he had been given. His performance was solid and he breathed much-needed life into the show. However, not even Bo Gum could save this snoozefest of a character. Lee Young is above all else boring. He has fun with his friends and chases after girls and behaves just like a Disney prince. But that's the problem. Disney princes, at least the more classic ones, are dull. They lack personality or depth of character. This is fine for Disney for many reasons, not the least of which that the characters are cartoons and the movies made for children, but I don't think Love in the Moonlight had the same target demographic as the average Disney movie. Lee Young is not a fleshed-out real person. He is a caricature of a prince meant to appeal widely but shallowly to as many women as possible. Another trait that Lee Young shares with many a Disney prince is, shall we say nicely, his less than impressive intelligence. The boy is dumb as a rock and if you think I'm being harsh why don't you try to defend how this man could possibly think Ra On was a man for as long as he did if he was even slightly smarter than a rock.
That point brings me to Ra On. Unfortunately, I have even fewer positive things to say about her than I did about Lee Young. Ra On is incredibly immature. She speaks, acts, and thinks like a child. She too was not particularly well fleshed out and felt like a child's idea of a fairytale girl. Every time she was given the opportunity to think things through, to grow, and make a wise decision she instead chose to simply not think. It's not so much that she was impulsive but that her actions mimicked those of a child. After all, we do not say a 6-year-old is impulsive. They simply lack reasoning skills and intelligence. She also had almost no chemistry with our male lead. They were stiff as boards every time they interacted. And I really thought we left statue kisses back in 2012 but I guess I was mistaken. Where I felt much of Lee Young's character defects came from bad writing I must say that I felt much of Ra On's faults stemmed from bad acting. Kim Yoo Jung failed in every way as an actress and was simply poorly cast. This drama is first and foremost a gender bender. Yoo Jung looks about as manly as a nine-year-old girl in pigtails. Her soft feminine features and high girlish voice made the entire premise unbelievable from the very start. Admittedly this is not Yoo Jung's fault and instead, the blame lays with the casting director on this count, but still. How was anyone supposed to believe this girl was a man? And again it made the other characters, particularly Lee Young, seem stupid for not seeing what was so clearly in front of their faces. Yoo Jung also just did a poor job of acting like a man. She had no manly mannerisms or gestures. Nothing to say to her fellow male characters that she was one of them. She stuck out like a sore thumb the whole time.
This drama was more like a children's movie than a kdrama. I am its target audience and yet I felt the whole time that I should go find a child to justify watching something so silly and immature. I wouldn't recommend this drama and am sad it blighted 2016.
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Shin Chae Kyung: As with many many other female leads in dramaland Chae Kyung has the unfortunate trait of being too pure and good for this world. She has literally never done a single thing wrong in her entire life. When she messes up or makes mistakes it's always a result of other people's manipulation, a lack of information, or just bad luck. Whether a child or adult she has that ever-present innocence about her that draws every man within a hundred miles to her side. She is in short a Mary-Sue and a particularly boring one at that. Aside from her kindness and good-hearted nature she has very little to recommend her to the audience. She is stagnant as a character from childhood to adulthood. The fact that both male leads fall for her when she was little more than a child only further emphasizes her lack of personal growth because they find her largely unchanged as an adult. Many may claim she undergoes character growth towards the end of the drama following the prince's ascension to the throne but even then she is simply acting selflessly and with kindness as she always has. The only real difference is that she has narrowed the scope of her kindness to her husband alone instead of the much wider range of people she cared about previously. Chae Kyung is above all a boring character. She does not offer any relatability to the viewer and because of that, the audience is left feeling little connection to her or her emotions and struggles.
Yi Yoong (King Yeon Sang Un): The famous crazy deposed king of Joseon. Of the three main characters, I feel that Yoong was the best written and most fleshed-out of the three. His mental decline was convincing and slow-building. His motivations mostly clear and though illogical from the viewer's perspective were clearly explained from his point of view so that one could see how he came to such conclusions and decisions. His inner turmoil surrounding his brother and father was also, I felt, the most historically accurate part of the show. His obsession with Chae Kyung, however, made little sense. He clearly did not want to marry her, as he could have easily done so multiple times throughout the drama and chose not to, but he also did not want her to marry his brother. His feelings for her seemed oddly sexual at times while also being fairly paternalistic or brotherly. It was very creepy and off-putting at times especially when she is younger. His relationship with her also makes no sense from a historical standpoint as it would have been seen as risky and highly improper by all involved which directly conflicts with Chae Kyung's sense of propriety and Yoong's obsession with his self-image. In the latter half of the drama as Yoong's mental state deteriorates his obsession with her reaches a fever pitch that defies all logic or sense. Unlike some of his other illogical actions, such as those surrounding how he deals with his ministers or brother, the show does not even give this obsession the benefit of making sense to Yoong. It almost seemed like a hole within the character's personality and though he was crazy, it was still too outlandish to make sense to anyone including him.
Yi Yeok (Prince JinSeong): I had the most problems with Yeok. His main character trait seemed to be inconsistency and undecidedness. This man could not make a decision to save his life, at times literally. He vacillates between his feelings for his brother, Chae Kyung, his friends, his organization, his secret identity, his mother, etc. Each time he changes his opinion or makes a choice he inevitably goes back on it. It was exhausting and completely unnecessary most of the time. For example, why spend so much time wondering if he can trust his clearly untrustworthy brother? Why decide to marry Chae Kyung and then spend upwards of two full episodes bemoaning that same decision which no one forced him into? Why form a secret organization and identity only to mostly ignore it in favor of court intrigue and then ignore the court intrigue in favor of the organization? None of it made sense. 90% of the conflict in this drama could have been solved had Yeok been able to stick with a decision. His secret organization was also a sticking point for me. It is historically nonexistent. The plotline surrounding it was superfluous. It added nothing to the plot and was a waste of time. Why was this created for this drama? I understand that the writers wanted Yeok to seem more manly and strong than his real-life counterpart but creating a vigilante group was not the way to achieve this goal. Chae Kyung deserved better than this man and 100% of her suffering can be placed at his feet.
Overall the characters of this show were underdeveloped and the plot possessed a lot of time-wasting fluff. It was still an entertaining show but I wish they had simply given us a more historically accurate retelling of the events surrounding the deposition.
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I thought the best part of this drama was Lee Joon Gi and his portrayal of Wang So. Wang So is my ideal drama lead. He's incredibly sad, has a laundry list of deep personal issues, and underneath it all a heart of gold. He is desperately lonely throughout the majority of the show and any time he seems to clutch happiness it's ripped away from him. I love anything sad so this is perfect for me. Lee Joon Gi captured my heart in this drama. I cried even when he smiled. I cried for three straight days and still cry when I listen to Will Be Back. I watched this drama over a year ago and yet I still think about it constantly. Most of those thoughts revolve around Wang So; that is truly how compelling I found him. Watching the character development So goes through was amazing. He is almost unrecognizable in the 16th episode compared to the 1st. The adorable moments with IU's Hae Soo brought the character fully to life. I truly believed in their love by the drama's conclusion. They made me want that love for myself.
On the note of Hae Soo her character is also worth discussing. I am a huge IU fan. I say that outright because my analysis of her acting will undoubtedly be influenced by my opinions of her as a singer. I personally thought Hae Soo was adorable. Her interactions with all the princes was very sweet and she had a very kind disposition. That being said I know IU is not the world's best actress. Hae Soo as a character was also very stagnant and had the misfortune of being the 'positive thinking female in the face of adversity' trope come to life; literally nothing that happened could break her spirit and it eventually came off as rather ridiculous. She was also unfortunately caught in a reverse harem that I wanted no part of. I chose to ignore this and focus on the main romance but I can see this being a major annoyance for some. Overall I felt she served her function well and highlighted So, the princes, and the plot perfectly.
Overall I loved this drama for the little moments. The brotherly interactions with the princes, the private scenes of love, the small gestures of kindness and warmth between all of the characters. The plot as a whole was nothing spectacular and the ending leaves a sour unfinished taste in one's mouth. Even with all of that I loved this show. The princes were funny, cute, melancholy, sweet, loving, caring, devious, and everything in between and Hae Soo (mostly) lived my dream. If you're looking for a fun light hearted drama that is 30% sad, 20% funny, 20% heart warming, and 30% meme this is the right one for you.
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First the romance, my favorite part of the drama and the aspect of it that saves Faith for me. The relationship between Eun Soo and Choi Young was breathtaking to witness. The subtlety with which Lee Minho portrayed Young's emotions made me truly respect him as an actor. He conveyed so much feeling through the tiniest of gestures, and Kim Hee Sun replied in kind to Minho's every glance, sigh, and emotional flicker. It was like watching a dance. Never once throughout the entire drama did i question Young and Eun Soo's love for one another. There were none of the tried and true tropes found in the more adolescent love stories that rule dramaland. In this way the romance in Faith reminded me a lot of Emergency Couple: mature, mutual, dedicated, and responsible. If the drama was nothing but this romance it would receive a 9 from me in a heartbeat.
The plot is where I lay many of my criticisms. While Faith lacked many of the romance tropes that plague dramaland it was rife with them in the main plot. I found myself frequently bored by the side characters (not the king and queen who were both lovely but some of the lesser characters) and constantly questioning the villain's motivation. I did not understand the need for the fantasy/supernatural aspects of the main plot (barring the time travel); this aspect of the drama was in my opinion its weakest point. It undermined an otherwise very serious portrayal of life's difficult choices and great triumphs. The plot could simply have been better constructed and the drama cut down by at least 4 episodes. So much time I would rather have spent on the beautifully constructed romance was spent instead on bad plot. This is the main reason for my rating.
I hope this was helpful. Faith was a beautiful drama but not one I would recommend to those that require constant stimulation. It is slow and subdued. I do, however, recommend this highly to anyone who loves Lee Minho; this is, in my opinion, his best role.
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Hong Seol: As far as female kdrama leads go Seol isn't so bad. She's smart and eventually grows quite the backbone. My problem with this character was the way she acted with our male lead, Yoo Jung. She bent over backwards to accommodate him. Maybe I'm being harsh on her, as this is fairly typical kdrama female lead behavior, but it honestly bothered me that she seemed so blinded by his very consistent and predictable bad behavior. Also a point on Kim Go Eun; she plays all of her characters with too much of her own personality in them in my opinion. It's not that she plays every character the same, since Eun Tak from Goblin is nothing like Seol, but they all feel too much like Go Eun. I want to feel immersed in her acting and her real life personality is very distracting.
Yoo Jung: At the beginning of the show I adored Yoo Jung. I am a huge sucker for male leads with dark pasts and personal issues. He seemed perfect. Then came the stagnant to nonexistent character development. I am all about character's changing and growing with their experiences. Despite having innumerable opportunities to grow and change Jung remains stagnant. He never learns from his mistakes or changes his behavior. He never accommodates or changes for Seol even when she makes a huge effort to do so for him. He is the same problematic person in episode 16 as he was in episode 1. His chemistry with Seol is also nonexistent. They have nothing in common and the emphasis placed on how similar they are confused me throughout the entire show. His lack of growth was very disappointing to me. Despite being my male lead perfect type in the end Jung fell flat.
Baek In Ho: He is my favorite character in this entire show. He shows an immense amount of growth and development going from a bratty thug to a respectable mature and caring adult, friend, and brother. Baek In Ho is what i wish the other characters were.
Baek In Ha: My least favorite character. I can write an entire essay with what I dislike about In Ha. She is shrill, immature, selfish, one dimensional, vapid, greedy, violent, arrogant, rude, untrustworthy, envious, and self serving. I could go on. Her character is just so unlikable in every way. She shows no remorse for any of her actions, at least no genuine remorse, and makes those around her miserable. Every moment she was on screen was torture to me. She too lacked character development and any moments where I was meant to feel sorry for her only made me hate her more. I see no redeemable features in her. A note on Lee Sung Kyung as an actress: I also saw her in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo and hated her in that too. Maybe some of that carried over into my assessment and feelings for In Ha but nonetheless it happened. I do not like Sung Kyung as an actress. She consistently annoys me and her characters, whether sweet of bitchy, are not to my taste.
Eun Taek and Bora: I paired these two because they are a package deal. I wish more of the show focused on them. They were bright cheerful and showed a lot of growth for their comparatively small amount of screen time. I have no complaints about them and once again wish some of the main characters were treated with this level of character development.
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Though I was tempted to include spoilers in this review because of how much i disliked certain plot points towards the end of the drama, I have decided to keep it spoiler free. The Smile Has Left Your Eyes is at its core a murder mystery. The drama opens with this murder and it is the lens through which all of the characters are introduced to the audience. From this murder the rest of the plot builds. For the first 5 episodes or so this plot device works wonderfully. The audience is left guessing as to who did it and everyone is looked at with an air of suspicion. However, by around episode 8 I felt this plotline had already been dragging for at least three episodes. New plotlines and elements which the show clearly wanted the audience to focus on more than the original murder were being introduced and yet were not being developed because the original murder was still hanging over the characters. This is the first instance of bad pacing in the show and I felt from here it only got worse. The most glaring issue with the second half of the drama is the fact that many of the plot twists or reveals have been figured out by the audience well before the show confirms them. I was left saying to myself 'Come on already. We KNOW! Just get to the point' frequently. I feel that a well paced show should not leave a viewer feeling this way. But the thing that I disliked most about The Smile Has Left Your Eyes is the general plotline/reveal of episode 14. It greatly impacts the show's finale, predictably as it is only two episodes later, and was so frustrating and disturbing. It truly tainted the drama for me and I wish the writers had just excluded it altogether.
This drama of course had many good elements. The acting for one was excellent and I felt that Park Sung Woong in particular was amazing. The general overarching plot was interesting and the cast of characters were very well developed. However, for me, these good aspects of the drama could not overcome the pacing issues that ran throughout the plot.
Overall The Smile Has Left Your Eyes was decent. A drama that could have been so much better but that fell prey to an all too common pacing issue many other dramas have faced before. I'm glad I watched it but would not do so again.
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First what I loved...Hwarang's stand-out point for me was the second lead couple. Ban Ryu and Soo Yeon were insanely adorable. The way they built off of the natural sibling antics between Soo Yeon and Soo Ho plus the rivalry between Soo Ho and Ban Ryu was hilarious. This couple had so much chemistry and awkwardly sweet flirting that I found myself blushing every scene they shared. Soo Yeon made Ban Ryu a better man simply because he loved her enough to be better. They totally eclipsed the main couple for me to the point that I was disappointed that I had to watch scenes with the main couple instead of these two.
Next what I found okay...The main couple while not my favorite weren't bad. They were of typical kdrama fare and were cute enough. Ah Ra is not a fav of mine and Seo Joon has definitely had more chemistry with other actresses. The love triangle was a little much, as it always inevitably is, but wasn't overbearing or drawn out. The plot too was a little lackluster. Very formulaic and predictable. Still a fun show though with a satisfying ending and a believable pairing for our female lead.
Finally what I did not like...The only thing in Hwarang that I really disliked was the dancing scene. I'm sure everyone reading this knows the one. All the boys get up and do a sword dance for the king. To say that I found the scene cringe-worthy would be an understatement. I was so embarrassed watching it. It was so out of character. So historically anachronistic. The song was overly bubbly. Their facial expressions were all so painfully happy. Everything about the scene gave me second-hand embarrassment of the worst kind. I could barely get through it without having to turn the tv off to give myself a break.
Overall Hwarang was fun, silly, light on the plot, straightforward, predictable, and an easy viewing experience. I loved it for what it was. Was it the best drama of 2016? No. Was it still good clean fun? Absolutely.
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I was wholly unconvinced of the romance between Joon Jae and Shim Chung. Shim Chung was the main reason for my feeling this way. She was very naive, inexperienced, and a little dumb. Her childlike wonder with the world fit well for a literal fish out of water but was a bad match for the cynicism of Joon Jae. Joon Jae probably needed to be paired with someone less jaded than himself but the gap between his understanding of the world, his experiences, and his past and Chung's respectively were too great a distance to overcome through love. They had nothing in common. Even as she learned more about the human world she stayed very innocent and naive and their energy or way of thinking never seemed to match. I would have liked to see them each with someone more able to understand them and what they see in others and the world around them.
I will say I loved the version of this couple from the past. Dam Ryung and Seo Hwa had everything I felt Joon Jae and Shim Chung were lacking. They had a better understanding of each other and were both more alike than not. Because Dam Ryung lacked Joon Jae's cynicism and Seo Hwa lacked Shim Chung's naivety they were able to meet in the middle. They made a great couple and I wish their modern counterparts were more like them.
I also adored Tae Oh and Cha Shi Ah as a secondary couple. They outshone the main couple for me and I loved every minute they were on screen together.
Overall this was a fun lighthearted drama and was hilarious at the best of times, but the main couple simply did not do it for me. Had they been a better match I would have undoubtedly scored this drama higher.
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Though each character is pitiable in their turn they all have human faults and strengths. Each is relatable not because you can see yourself in them but because you can recognize their humanity. It was incredibly slow at first and difficult to commit to for that reason. It is also not a drama to be binge watched. Instead My Mister should be taken slowly so that it can seep into your skin and down to your heart. But if you can get passed that it is worth every minute of your time. You may ask what is so captivating about two brothers running a cleaning business, a poor girl harassed by debtors, a cheating wife, or a middle aged salaryman and I would answer that it is their humanity. This drama so perfectly captures the human condition that it at times frightened me with its understanding. I cried so many times over this drama. It moved me in a way only the best novels have ever done before.
Don't let your misconceptions about the age gap blind you. This is not a romance. It is simply about people. People struggling to live and being forced to keep going no matter how much it hurts. And it was beautiful.
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The drama makes its premise known early and clearly in the first episode, revealing backstory, current situations, and character personalities in a concise and easy to follow manner. That alone sets this drama above many others I've seen. In particular knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the character's personalities in such a complete way was shocking to me. Kdrama notoriously loves to play with personality traits throughout a show, throwing what the audience may have thought to be an intrinsic characteristic away as soon as its no longer useful. Though the clarity of certain premises and traits was welcome I also enjoyed the ambiguity about which character was the one with the most serious 'problems'. Toying with this question was a major source of intrigue and stimulation for me as I watched the show; a nice mystery to solve. Usually either our male or female lead will be clearly at a disadvantage in comparison to each other by the first episode, but this drama instead presents two equally successful and capable adults with heretofore unexplored mental illnesses. The audience is thus forced to take both equally seriously and this prevents one side of our fated couple from being discredited too early on into the show.
This brings me to our characters. Some truly grated on me in the beginning, some I felt were too one dimensional, and some were just great right off the bat. First for the characters I had some issues with...Soo Kwang was simply too childish for my liking. I understand that his disability left him feeling socially awkward and frequently impeded his social interactions but I did not see any valid reason for him to be perverted all the time. He showed marginal growth towards the end of the series but his character still left me feeling uncomfortable. Jae Bum's character also frustrated me. I feel that the show really failed with him. Where there could have been a rational and introspective exploration into Jae Bum's journey to come to terms with his past and present there was only stagnation and irrationality. So Nyeo is another problem for me. As I've said before I do not like Lee Sung Kyung, but in every drama I try to stay objective and judge her only on the role she is currently playing. Once again she has let me down. Her constant use of annoying female character stereotypes in place of realistic personalities and decisions is disappointing at best and infuriating at worst. She was simply rude at times and her personality deficiencies could not be explained away by her mental illness.
Allow me to now speak about our leads as well as some of the more palatable supporting characters. First Hae Soo...she is an imperfect female lead. She has personal issues in droves, is sometimes too self involved, and can be stubborn like no one else. But all of these issues just serve to make her more real, more relatable. While the hard working, always cheery female lead trope is nice sometimes it's not exactly something most of us can see within ourselves. Hae Soo on the other hand is more than her good or bad qualities. I feel this is best seen in her relationship with her mother. She is an imperfect human, just like the rest of us. Her character's flaws are what allow her to be a better person at the end of the series than she was at the beginning. My favorite aspect of her, though, is her commitment to herself. She loves Jae Yeol, no doubt about it, but she is also not willing to sacrifice her own well-being and happiness for him. That is called a healthy relationship. Speaking of Jae Yeol he too is perfectly imperfect. He of course has a score of personal and interpersonal issues from his past to his present and beyond. He goes on a heartbreaking and difficult journey to becoming a better, healthier version of himself. He is charming and fun and completely devoted to Hae Soo, but just like his other half, he is committed to himself and his family above all. By the end of the drama he is still recognizable in his good qualities, his intrinsic personality, but his flaws have been transformed into sources of strength. I'll end this character analysis with Kang Woo. First, I would like to take this moment to praise Kyungsoo's acting. I thought the hype I had heard about his acting ability may have been over played by EXO fans but he stands on his own merit. His character made this drama for me. The raw emotions he portrayed, the way he always left you guessing, the way he could make anyone empathize with him was amazing. He mirrored the veteran actor's emotions and performances so well and was able to embody everything Kang Woo was meant to be. Kang Woo himself, though a problem for our male lead, was pitiable but also funny and lighthearted and sweet. He perfectly balanced the harsh scenes with the light.
Overall this drama was a whirlwind of emotion and plot. It tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you reeling. It was a beautiful exploration into the human condition and is a drama that everyone should watch at least once. This is the kind of television that makes its watcher grow as a person.
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The show's strength lies in the romance between our leads. Park Bo Young and Seo In Guk have amazing chemistry as Tak DongKyung and Doom. The romance is slow to develop and serious in the beginning. Almost contractual. Over time it develops organically on both sides to become something special, magical, worthy of throwing away the world (or saving it). There are ups and downs and more than once DongKyung and Kim SaRam are made to start over from the beginning. I smiled the entire time their love story played out on screen and was so happy with the resolution to their love. However, the romance was also this show's biggest pitfall. The screenwriter simply spent too much time on the romance to the detriment to every other aspect of the plot. The main conflict, how DongKyung will fulfill her end of the contract without losing any of her loved ones, so present and important in the first 3 episodes or so is quickly abandoned in all but the most skeletal of framing in favor of spending more time on the romance. Even more minor conflicts, like those surrounding DongKyung's family or job, are left with barebones storytelling because the romance takes over so much screentime. The second leads' love triangle also feels tacked on to the main story; completely unintegrated into the main plot and left with a minimal amount of development despite a fair amount of screentime. Though I will say, the second lead love triangle was a unique touch to the drama and I was happy with its resolution though I wished it was more fleshed out.
Overall, this drama lacked balance between its overarching plot and its romance subplot. The romance became the plot, and not successfully as the main plot was never fully abandoned. Instead, it was left dangling to the side until it became completely insignificant to the resolution of the story. The ending, while happy and neat, left me with a feeling of incompleteness that comes with the use of arbitrary plot armor. Doom at Your Service was romantic and cute but not as well developed as it could have been.
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