K DRAMA REVIEW | City Hunter (2011)

SYNOPSIS:  When he is just one month old, Lee Yung Soon's (Lee Min Ho) father is killed and his father's best friend (Lee Jin Pyo played by Kim Sang Joong) abducts him. Lee Jin Pyo raises Yung Soon with the sole purpose of training him to get revenge against the people who killed his "real" father.  At the age of 28, Yung Soon arrives in Seoul to begin his revenge. The only complications are that he has different ideas from his foster father on how to exact that revenge and in his cover life, despite his efforts to remain aloof, he starts to make friends and pretty quickly falls in love with a girl (Kim Na Na played by Park Min Young) who has mysteriously been a part of his dreams for 10 years.

First of all, I have to say that SO MUCH HAPPENS in this series.  It is 25 hours of action-filled, emotionally charged, complex plot so I found writing a good comprehensive review of it quite challenging.  I don't even mention any of the awesome secondary characters or really do justice to the crazy emotional roller coaster of Yung Soon and Jin Pyo's relationship. So,please excuse my inadequacies and trust me that this is an exciting and gripping drama with all the plot twists and complicated and emotional relationships you could ever hope for!

City Hunter is a pretty typical need-for-revenge-made-me-a-vigilante type of thriller.  Complete with the conceit that all it takes is a little strip of cloth over his mouth to make Yung Soon completely unrecognizable.  If you've seen Arrow or Batman, this plot will mostly be nothing new to you. It's even based on a manga and has an awesome black and white manga style opening. (Random Question: Why are vigilantes always so wealthy?)

The twist in the story is an interesting one from a character stand point.  While Lee Yung Soon wants to avenge his father, he is driven to it mostly by honor and the relentless pressure from his foster father rather than from any sense of real emotional betrayal by the perpetrators. The emotional drive behind the quest is Lee Jin Pyo and Yung Soon's desire to please him and earn his love.  Jin Pyo is also still holding a lot of cards close to his chest and is blatantly manipulating Yung Soon. It is impossible to tell what his feelings for the boy are. He is an enigmatic figure and he and Yung Soon's relationship is deliciously complex. Their relationship takes what is a pretty generic revenge-vigilante plot line and bumps it up a notch.  The pacing for the plot is really excellent for most of the show's run and even when that fails it still manages to have exciting cliffhangers in key places. The action/fight scenes are creative, well choreographed, well-shot and well- performed and are always exciting.  In short, this drama overall is a ton of fun.

It makes sense that a complicated character and relationship are what make this drama stand out.  What I've found in my limited experience with K Dramas is that developing characters and complicated relationships  - and making the viewer 100% invested in them - is their major strength. They are certainly not above doing a little emotional manipulating but I'm down with that.  I love characters that are conflicted in themselves and a vigilante plotline lends itself to that so well.  Yung Soon's big conflict is that he just desperately wants a normal life and everything that comes with that.  However, his upbringing has insured that he doesn't even know exactly what that looks and feels like.
 
My first impression upon being introduced to Lee Min Ho in his role as Lee Yung Soon, was that this kid was far too pretty to play a character that is meant to be a super duper bad ass vigilante. I mean look at him. He's really really ridiculously good looking (Zoolander reference intentional) not to mention slim and kind of willowy.

Apparently, Lee Min Ho is kind of a big deal in Korea.  His career started as the ('a'?) lead in a hugely popular drama that I have not seen but I have certainly heard of, Boys over Flowers.  That role and his good looks have pretty much guaranteed him a spot on every "hottest Korean actors" list you can find on the internet.  What I didn't bargain for was that he is not only popular because of his pretty pretty face but because he is also a good actor.  Probably the best I've encountered in the handful of K Dramas I've watched.

So it didn't take many episodes for me to realize that he is actually perfect for this role which has a serious bad ass side but also a sad and lonely little boy side (as so many vigilantes do) and he carries off the dichotomy really well.  His look really works for this.  He can pull off being an arrogant player prick one minute and a damaged little boy the next.  Plus I don't know many dudes who could pull off looking and being bad-ass while wearing a pair of salmon colored skinny jeans.

The female protagonist, Kim Na Na (Park Min Young) also has her share of troubles.  Ten year's previously, when she was just a school girl, her mother was killed and her father put in a coma by a car accident.  She lives very stressfully, trying to pay her father's exorbitant health care bills by working multiple odd jobs like being a designated driver and selling sketchy health tonics.  Despite these troubles, her personality is fairly cheerful and things take a turn for the better when she gets accepted to work as a secret service agent/bodyguard at the Blue House (the equivalent of the White House in the U.S.).  Also working at the Blue House?  Lee Yung Soon as an IT professional and unbeknownst to Kim Na Na, along with his revenge mission, Yung Soon has been asked, for some complicated unknown reasons, to keep an eye on Na Na. Mysteries everywhere! While he hides it well, he is pretty much smitten with her before he even meets her.  And it's no wonder because Na Na is really lovely in a stunning but very girl-next-door sort of way.

She is also bad ass in her own right! She really annoyed me at first - there was a lot of over-the-top crying in the first few episodes and she is a little blatantly unfair to Yung Soon, though she of course does not know his secret.  However, she eventually turned into one of my favorite female leads - she's strong, fearless, and compassionate.  And way more emotionally intelligent than Yung Soon.  Unfortunately, the drama seriously drops the ball on her character at a particular point but more on that below because it is tied up with my criticisms of the drama.

And what about the romance?  It's development is fantastic.  Slow burn, in best K drama fashion.  Kim Na Na truly loathes Yung Soon, despite his good looks, until she starts to catch on to his secret and realize he is not quite the selfish a-hole she has thought him to be.  And once she falls, she is so forthright and brave about her feelings - it is so sweet and confident and awesome. Unfortunately, once again, the Drama - despite putting a TON of screen time and effort into developing the romance - drops the ball.

Here's the reason why this Drama does not get full marks from me.  It does a decent job of wrapping up the revenge plot line and resolving Yung Soon and Jin Pyo's relationship. Mostly. However, somewhere around episode 15ish it just completely goes off the rails regarding its characters and relationships which it has been meticulously developing. The romance and Lee Yung Soon's wanting to be part of a loving family are a huge theme of the drama but it mostly put those aside for the last 5 episodes or so and never really adequately picks theme back up and brings them to a closure.  Kim Na Na, practically disappears from the show and her character is boiled down to two minutes of reaction shots per episode.  The independence of her character completely disappears.  The pacing in the last 5 or so episodes is also out of whack, spending lots of time on unimportant details so then at the ultimate end, everything feels rushed.  It's a shame because up until that point the Drama was really hitting everything out of the park, so it was a shame to see it stumble in the end.

I'll end with some technical comments.  The production values of the show are seriously top-notch.  They are indistinguishable from a big-budget Hollywood action blockbuster and they sustain that for 25 hours of television.  It's beautiful and stylish from the opening credits to the last shot.

I've also learned that it is impossible to properly review a K Drama without reviewing the Original Soundtrack.  City Hunter's is AWESOME!  The music was addictive and used really well to enhance the action.  My favorite is the main "Heisty things are going down" theme music. Thence forth this shall be the music to accompany all my heroic ass-kicking. It has this driving jazzy drum beat, lush strings and then some bombastic and ominous horns come in mid way - Yum! The name of the song is Sad Run though as one Youtube commenter appropriately pointed out: " 'Sad Run'? More like Epic Strutting of Lee Freakin' Min Ho":0)


Finally, I watched the show on Viki.com which uses amateur teams of translators that are either volunteers or likely only paid a little to produce the subtitles.  This is a cool system and it definitely allows the site to offer lots of dramas translated into many languages.  However, my experience has been that you have to be prepared for a lot of meaning to be lost in translation.  The translations are usually literal rather than meaningful and it can lead to confusion.  (For example one translation I copied down: "You're sitting on top of your father's head now, aren't you?" Um, what?) Also because it is usually a team doing the translating, sometimes terms that are frequently used throughout the series can switch mid stream.  For example there are two characters that are initially in early episodes referred to as ex-boyfriend and girlfriend but later in the show (and more accurately) they are ex-husband and wife.  It doesn't effect my overall enjoyment and understanding of the show but I do feel like I maybe miss nuances.  Something to be aware of if you plan on watching the show in translation on Viki.

FINAL VERDICT:  If you like comic book revenge-vigilante plot lines you will love City Hunter which is well done and so much fun though it loses a little steam towards the conclusion and has a very frustrating ending. 7.5 out of 10

Other Opinions Are Available: K Drama Fighting | Drama Beans Recaps

MINI-REVIEWS | KDrama | Oh My Ghostess, Splash Splash Love, and Noble My Love

From Left to Right: Oh My Ghostess, Splash Splash Love and Noble,My Love

Oh My Ghostess (2015)

SYNOPSIS:  (16 episodes) Na Bong Seon is a very shy and timid woman working as the most junior assistant in a famous Chef's restaurant kitchen.  The thing is, she can see and talk to ghosts, which frightens her and which has always made her an outcast.  She is most comfortable when she is making heartfelt meals so she is pursuing her dream of being a chef by working under a man she much admires, Kang Seon Woo.  Kang Seon Woo is a tastemaker who was made famous by winning a cooking reality show on TV.  He's arrogant, authoritarian but fair AND a really extraordinary chef.  He is initially very frustrated by Na Bong Seon's extreme timidity, and is therefore taken by complete surprise when  her personality seems to make a complete 180 into a bubbly, playful and aggressive flirt.  The thing is, Na Bong Seon has been possessed by the ghost Shin Sun Ae, a young woman who died young and is stuck as a ghost, she thinks, because she died a virgin. She thinks that if she can get Kang Seon Woo to have sex with her (while she's possessing Na Bong Seon's body) she will be able to ascend to the afterlife.  Problem is her unrest may have nothing to do with her thwarted love life but may instead be because of how she died which she can't remember.  

THOUGHTS: As you can probably tell from the synopsis, there is a LOT happening in this mostly light-hearted romantic comedy.  It also skims along the edge of being a little disturbing, and perhaps its most notable triumph is that it avoids making the the possible HUGE wrong moves regarding free will and consent and personal identity.  Back to that in a minute though!  

In the synopsis, I mention the 3 main characters but this actually has a pretty large cast.  There are the three other cooks in the kitchen, there mostly for comic relief; there's Seon Woo's sister who is in a wheel chair and her policeman husband (the 4th in the dark suit picture above) who has a mysterious connection to the dead girl Sun Ae; there's also his mother and a long time friend that he thinks he's in love with; there's Sun Ae's father and brother who run a much more humble restaurant not too far from Seon Woo's; and finally there's a psychic who is trying to keep Sun Ae from going bad.  So, a large cast and lots going on - it's part romance, part spiritual journey and personal growth, part mystery.  It does a respectable job keeping all the story lines straight and understandable and each of the 16 episodes feels necessary.

This drama gave me serious Coffee Prince flashbacks because there were many similar elements. It takes place in a restaurant, with the three young men who work in the restaurant providing comic relief.  They are similar even down to the fact that two of them are buffoons while one is a rather sensible and decent person.  Seon Woo initially fancies himself in love with his closest friend's beautiful widow and she is partially why he has stayed single into his early 30s.  He also has to make a pretty big leap of faith to embrace his love for Bong Seon - he has to believe in ghosts.  So while I would not say that it hits the emotional heights of Coffee Prince it would be a good one to watch if you were in the mood for something Coffee Prince-like.

The most important thing about a KDrama is its primary couple; so how was the chemistry?  Interesting. And mostly okay.  I like Chef (Seon Woo) but never really warmed up to him completely.  He's pretty stiff and serious and disapproving for a romantic hero and while he does go through an evolution, he is not very different at the end versus the beginning.  I really liked both Bong Seon and Sun Ae and did eventually really like where they went with their stories. However, I spent the first 6-7 episodes feeling very nervous about what was going to happen.  Sun Ae has possessed Bong Seon without her consent and is doing all these things with her body that just made me extremely jittery and made me dislike Sun Ae at times, especially when it is revealed that Bong Seon has no memory of anything that happens while she is possessed.  Later, they hatch a scheme to capture Chef's love by Sun Ae consensually possessing Bong Seon's body and using her more outgoing and aggressive personality to win him.  This also feels seriously icky.  Chef does fall in love but who exactly is he in love with?  For a while I was worried the show wouldn't address these issues but they do and in a way that was satisfactory for me.  I really enjoyed Bong Seon's journey that involves coming out of her shell and gaining more confidence.  I'd give the chemistry of the main couple a 7 out of 10. 

One last note: The subtitles on Viki aren't great  - I think they tend to be more literal translations that don't always make sense rather than translating the intent.  It was occasionally jarring but didn't detract too much from my enjoyment.  

FINAL VERDICT:  An enjoyable and complexly plotted romantic comedy with an interesting twist on a love triangle.  Worth watching!

P.S.  SO this wasn't much of a "mini" mini-review, ha ha, but the other two will be I promise!

Splash, Splash, Love (2015)

SYNOPSIS: (2 episodes) Jang Dan Bi is a senior in high school getting ready to take some extremely important placement tests that she in no way feels prepared for. She struggles a lot with math and these tests will play a huge role in how her future will go.  She is so scared and miserable that she wishes herself far far away and magically ends up 300 years in the past.  There she manages to pass herself off as a man and wows and terrifies the king's court with her vast knowledge of math and language and agriculture, etc....  The progressive king, Si Jong Yi Do, starts trying to learn all he can and also manages to fall in love with this strange person who finally comes clean and confesses that she's a she and that she has come from the future.

THOUGHTS:   This was pure delightful fun.  It's pretty much 100% comedy with a couple of tense moments scattered here and there.  I absolutely loved watching Dan Bi as she gained confidence by navigating her way through court politics and literally being the most knowledgeable person in the whole kingdom.  The romance between she and the king is super sweet and they have a lot of great romantic AND comedic chemistry.  They seem like they are having a lot of fun.

Selfies with the King in Ancient Korea:)

The magic that makes time travel possible is of the Wizard of Oz variety - just wish it hard enough and it will happen and then afterwards it is completely unclear whether it was real or not.  It works for this short drama.  It plays with the idea that a high school senior from modern times could have spurred Korea's period of enlightenment and instigated the creation of their own alphabet.  It's ridiculous and fun!

The subtitles on Viki were stupendous.  One of the main plot points/jokes of the show is based on a play on words - the word for High School Senior is the same or very similar to the word for Eunuch so everybody thinks Dan Bi is a eunuch which ends up working to her advantage!  The subtitles do a good job of explaining this and making it all clear.

FINAL VERDICT:  A completely delightful time-travel, romantic comedy.  Highly recommend if you are in the mood for something light and funny!

Noble, My Love (2015)

SYNOPSIS: (20 15-minute episodes) Cha Yoon Seo is a spunky, struggling, and hard-working veterinarian.  She's kind of a hot mess but good at her job.  One night by chance she saves a very handsome young man's life, Lee Kang Hoon.  Lee Kang Hoon happens to be the CEO of a very prominent Chaebol run company and he feels indebted to Cha Yoon Seo.  When she doesn't try to take advantage of the situation, he proceeds to bully her into accepting his money, help, and attention.  Of course they end up falling in love.

THOUGHTS:  This is another one that is almost pure fluff.  With its unique structure, made up of many super short episodes, it can't really delve too deeply into melodrama or complex character development so it stays pretty surface.  

Cha Yoon Seo is a pretty fun character, very compassionate, self-sufficient and independent as well as a bit of a spaz.  Lee Kang Hoon comes across as a cold arrogant bully and while he softens a touch by the end of the drama, I never really warmed up to him.  Both actors are extremely pretty to look at but don't necessarily light up the screen with their acting talents.  Or it could be the material which was goofy in the extreme and could've been hard to sell.  There is one scene where Cha Yoon Seo falls off a ladder into Lee Kang Hoon in such a way that there lips meet - this is their first kiss and it could be a scene out of a cartoon.  

With these problems I had, I still mostly enjoyed it and the short episode format was kind of interesting.  I watched it on Netflix and the subtitles were fine.  

FINAL VERDICT:  Fine if you're wanting something short and fluffy to watch.  The hero is an Alpha in the extreme and the shorter format doesn't allow any room for deeper development so in the end I didn't love it.  

*************

That's it for my thoughts!  Have you seen any of these Dramas?  If so, what did you think?

TV REVIEW | K Drama | Queen In-Hyun's Man (2012)

This show people. THIS. SHOW.  I don't think I can talk about it coherently  - all that may come out is gushy nonsense interspersed with squeals of delight.  So, to get the ball rolling a random stream of consciousness list:

1) This is definitely the best K drama I have ever seen - almost perfect.  Of course I have to admit, before you get too impressed, that it is only the fifth one I've watched, ha ha, so it's at the top of a very short list BUT I can't imagine anything surpassing it.  Honestly if there is a better drama of this type (I think I'd categorize as romantic comedy) point me to it now!

2) Kim. Boong. Do.  The best lead male character ever. Or...you know...of the 5 K Dramas I've watched.  But seriously he is pretty darn perfect. 

3) Ji Hyun Woo  - the actor who plays Kim Boong Do is seriously my type looks-wise (no idea about his personality, you'll be shocked to know we haven't met).  Not sure how much a role this plays in #2 but there is definitely some correlation.

4) The lead characters'/actors' chemistry is seriously off the chart.  

5) The Kissing.  OMG The Kissing.

6) The combo of historic and modern is brilliant and is used SO well to tell a lovely complete tale.

7) I was a little irritated after watching episode 12 which seemed to wrap everything up so nicely.  How on earth were they going to drag things out for another 4 episodes?  The answer?  Really damn awesomely.  I ended up really liking every episode of the entire run and felt none of them were wasted.

Despite the fact that I am now distracted by all the kissing GIFs, I will move on and try to write some coherent thoughts on the drama.  This drama is 16 episodes long. 

Synopsis:

First of all, what's the story?  Kim Boong Do is a noblemen in the late 1600s (Joseon era) of Korea.  The King has set aside his wife the Queen (yup, the one in the title) because of the machinations of some (well one in particular) corrupt minsters.  Through this kerfuffle all of Kim Boong Do's family is killed - Mother, Father, Wife, Child - despite the fact that the king refers to Boong Do as his best friend.  Not sure how one remains friends with someone who has caused the death of your family but ...whatever...Boong Do blames the minister and sets about for revenge and to reinstate the Queen back at court.  Alongside him are his humble servants (slaves) or ex-servants, a somewhat feckless guy but more importantly a beautiful gisaeng, Yoon Wol, who holds a serious torch for Boong Do.  Knowing what he is up against and worrying about him, she has the Buddhist monks make a talisman for him that is meant to protect his life.  And it does, by shooting him 300 years into the future whenever his life is threatened.  The first person he meets in the future and who eventually becomes his guide to the modern world is an actress named Choi Hee Jin.

Hee Jin is an up and coming new actress who has gotten her first break playing Queen In Hyun in a historic drama focused on all the events Kim Boong Do is living.  She is trying to navigate her new fame with the help of her friend and manager Jo Soo Kyung and also trying to avoid getting entangled with her ex boyfriend who is a famous actor and is playing the king in the drama.  She is initially confused but intrigued by her encounters with Kim Boong Do and quickly believes that he is a time traveler and also becomes quickly smitten with him.  Boong Do is a little slower to fall, probably because he has a lot going on what with all the time travel and avenging of his family, but he eventually does and drama, oh so deliciously, ensues.  

Thoughts: 

Of course I have to start with Kim Boong Do.  All of the dramas I have watched thus far have for the most part featured the same kind of male lead character.  They're rich and arrogant and self-absorbed though deep down we know they are honorable good men. The whole point of these dramas is that these men learn to care for someone more than they care about themselves and become supportive, respectful and awesome though perhaps still a little arrogant. If they were in a romance novel they'd be the classic Alpha males. The lead female characters are in a position of weakness and steadily gain power and independence.  

Queen In Hyun's Man doesn't follow this formula.  Kim Boong Do is rich and certainly very confident and he knows how to boss people about - he's a nobleman after all - but he's also very respectful and understanding of others from the very beginning.  The show further humbles him by its very nature - Kim Boong Do is thrust into a world he cannot begin to understand and in which he is basically a child and at least initially wholly dependent on Hee Jin.  He is not resentful of being reliant on her but is instead deeply grateful and curious about everything.  And he quickly begins to learn on his own because he is incredibly smart and clever.  His cleverness is the source of many of the dramas best moments as he puzzles things out and figures out fantastical ways to outwit his enemies.  The world of political scheming and treachery have also made him intuitive and able to read people - their motives and the emotions behind their words.  This helps him to survive in the dangerous world he lives in and it has the dreamy side effect of making him a very thoughtful lover and friend.  To top things off, he's good with words and completely genuine  - there is no bluster or artifice about him  and it's these character traits that draw Hee Jin in and lead to her teasing him that he is player.  

One of my favorite things about him also is that he has a cheeky and adorable sense of humor.  Probably my two most favorite scenes in the drama are when he whips out this humor to slyly tease Hee Jin (the car scene in episode 8 and when he admits that maybe he IS a player in episode 11).   And despite all the horrible things that have happened to him in his life, he is completely open to the wonder of the new world he finds himself in. He's got an adventurous and playful spirit which responds strongly to Hee Jin's impulsiveness and "passionate" nature.   He also never dis-respects her or is impatient with her even when she does some immature and annoying things.  He knows why she is acting that way and wouldn't dream of de-meaning or begrudging her feelings. Sigh...... As you can tell I am seriously in love with this character and we haven't even gotten to the fact that he's a martial arts bad ass melon farmer AND a big goofy nerd.  Or how quirkily and boyishly handsome he is or that he's got eyes that smile.  And a super dreamy voice. Yup, I've got it real bad, lol.

And I shouldn't forget Hee Jin.  While much of my love for this drama is concentrated on the character of Kim Boong Do, Hee Jin is also a well developed and interesting character and she is played to perfection by actress Yoo In Na.  Seriously, a really stunning performance.  I fully loved the character and she had all my loyalty even though on the surface she is not the type of character to earn my sympathy.  She's pretty, successful, impulsive and not all that interested in learning and books.  She has a wall-sized portrait of herself hanging in her apartment and she boasts that she is famous because she's so pretty.  Despite all that she's incredibly loveable.  She's kind-hearted and generous, transparent with her feelings, adventurous and has enough self-respect not to let herself get sucked in by her obnoxious, though very handsome and famous, ex-boyfriend.  As mentioned above she does occasionally act a little immature and annoying but it is always with good and understandable intent.  Her chemistry with Kim Boong Do is seriously intense.

That chemistry between the leads is what I think makes this drama truly awesome. The scenes between them sparkle and feel completely natural  - like you are really watching two people fall in love.  Which you may actually be since the two actors did date at some point for an indeterminate length of time after or during the filming (reports are confusing, at least to me).  They feel so right together that I didn't even once 'ship Boong Do with his servant Yoon Wol, who has had a hard life with few advantages and has loved him unrequited for years so much so that she is the reason he can travel in time.  She is the type of character I would usually root for in a romance but nope, it had to be Hee Jin. Never any doubt. Did I mention the kissing?  The chemistry is helped along by a really soaringly romantic original sound track.  The lovers have two theme songs:

1. Their theme song for their happier more romantic moments:  I'm coming to see (Or meet) you by Deok Hwan (non-spoilery link)  And for a video that does a great job showcasing the chemistry between these two ... (But has spoilers)
2. Their theme music for when they are separated and sad and longing: Same Sky, Different Time by Joo Hee (NOTE:  the video with this may be a little spoilery so if you haven't watched the drama I would just open in a different window and just listen and not watch.

So this is a romance, plain and simple, and it succeeds so so well in this department but it ain't no slouch in the overall plot department either.  The writing of the show is really great with plenty of suspense and nuances.  The overall tone of the drama is light though there are of course many emotional twists and turns and I will admit to tears in the last few episodes.  There's some lovely parallels between the historic and modern-day story that are fun to pick apart and serve to strengthen the characterizations.  

In the Joseon era, Boong Do is looking for revenge but is more trying to set things right by championing the Queen who has been bullied by one of the King's consorts and pushed into exile by corrupt political machinations in the court.  In the modern day story line, Hee Jin is trying to navigate her place in Korea's new "royalty" (it's drama stars) and she is being bullied by her co-stars.  The two "Queens" are in very similar positions so it's not surprising that Boong Do feels the need to champion Hee Jin even as he falls in love with her.  There are so many connected themes and plot points that occur early on and than pay off or re-appear in surprising and interesting ways later on.  It's thoughtfully and smartly plotted down to the last minute of episode 16.  Perfection, really.  

And then there's the time travel which can be tricky to pull off.  Boong Do's adaptation to the modern world is done really well and is a blast to watch while he at first must rely on the somewhat unreliable Hee Jin to orient him.  

“When I listen to you, it seems as though the reason for everything in this world is to enable kisses. What kind of lustful world is this?”  HEE!

Because he's so smart and curious, he starts to reason things out himself and this is equally fun to watch.  It's clear how he uses the skills he had to develop in his much more treacherous time of origin to help him adjust relatively quickly to modern times. 


The mechanism of travel is also dramatic and interesting and ends up playing a major part in the story on several different levels.  The talisman is powerful but also unpredictable and fragile.  The show does not shy away from investigating the ramifications of messing around with time but it is also not a slave to it.  It's the perfect mix.  There is some controversy about the resolution at the end but I for one thought it made perfect sense (as long as we're accepting the concept of magic to begin with:) and was a lovely and well-prepared ending.  

FINAL VERDICT:  Grade A, 9.5 out of 10 Stars, All the loves and hearts.

This is a well-written and plotted romantic-comedy-fantasy that is bound to give your heart some flutters with the chemistry of its lead couple and the well chosen actors that play them.  Watch it. Now.  You won't be sorry.  Unless you hate romance.  In which case, K Dramas probably aren't your thing so....

Don't just take my word for it!:

• A lovely series of recaps/reviews on DramaBeans.com (the link is to the episode 16 recap but there are links to the rest in the series at the bottom of the page.
• Silver Petticoat Review - a shorter and much more coherent review of the drama:)
• KDrama Fighting - This review is not quite as gushy or in love with the show so, some contrast.  I disagree with her complaints but they are ones that are frequently brought up.  

Saturday in the Garden | G and Ts and K-Dramas

OUTSIDE

An inspection of the garden this morning found things to be so-so.  A handful of green beans are getting close to harvesting which is exciting!  I think I will plant a few more bean seeds where the garlic and the lettuce were and see if I can't get a few more plants going for later in the summer.

The tomatoes are looking a little disappointing.  All the plants are small (I transplanted outside late) and only one has fledgling tomatoes.  The plants in pots are seeming particularly pathetic this year.  I think a jolt of fertilizer may be in order?  I don't know.  Fertilizer confuses me.  

 

This is why I let cat mint stay and bloom in my garden.  The bumbles get food which makes them happy and that makes me happy and it's just a regular old nature love fest in the garden.  

A first for me this week!  Along with the 3.5 lbs of blueberries I picked last week at a nearby berry farm I also bought some tart pie cherries and made cherry pie filling, which I will freeze and make into tarts or something - Yum!

GAK

Drink of the Week:

I wish I could write poetry about G&Ts I love them so.  

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 

I was bitching last week about how I kept stalling out on so many shows and that I had finally settled on Miss Fisher's Mysteries.  Well. I stalled out on that too!  Dang it all!  The second half of season two for that series was just a little hum drum and I heard that season three is even worse. Arghhhh... I need to stop reading reviews.

Anyhoo, thanks to Just Us Blog's awesome Top Ten Tuesday post which listed K Dramas (and boy bands), I got all jazzed up to check out some more K Dramas.  K Dramas for the uninitiated is short for Korean Dramas and the one I've watched (my rave about Coffee Prince) was totally addictive. I hadn't jumped into any more because I have the bad habit of multi-tasking while watching TV and that's not possible when watching something with subtitles.  I decided to commit however and have been watching Oh My Ghostess which is at its heart very similar to Coffee Prince though not quite as good.  At least not yet - I'm only halfway through.  I've been watching it on Viki.com which is a treasure trove of K Dramas and other Asian television and movies.  As far as I can tell, the subtitles on the site are done by volunteers or freelancers that sign up which is pretty awesome but the subtitles have been frequently problematic for this one.  They often don't make sense and I'm not sure if it's a wrong translation or a literal translation of a saying that is slang or just a flat out cultural difference that I don't get.  For example this was a recent line said by male protagonist to female protagonist: "You're like a little chesnut...looking like a puppy."  Ha, Ha!  What?  I gather that he is telling her she's adorable but that makes NO sense.


Reading

Finished Last Week:

• Just One Damned Thing After Another  (The Chronicles of St. Mary's #1) by Jodi Taylor: British time travel series.  I wasn't too thrilled with this one.
• Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine:  This is an alt history/steampunkish story in a world where a somewhat insidious library rules the world with violent automatons.
• City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare:  Shadowhunters vs. "down worlders".  I'm (very) slowly making my way through this YA series. And actually I'm done though there are inexplicably three more books in the series.

Currently Reading:

• One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space.  An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).  
• A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1)by Brittany Cavallaro: A YA novel that takes place at a modern day boarding school focused on a team up between the female descendant of Sherlock Holmes and the male dscendant of John Watson.  

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• The Cutting Season by Attica Locke:  This is sort of a mystery I think that centers on a  woman who is the manager in the modern day at a plantation where her ancestors were slaves.  I think I heard about this one on the podcast Get Booked (Book Riot).
• Huntress by Melinda Lo:  This is the prequel to Ash which I haven't read but I guess it sounds like I don't have to have to be able to pick this one up.  A dying earth and two girls have to save it all.  Not sure where I ran across this one...

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

TUESDAY:  Top Ten Tuesday | Some Favorite Genre Mash-ups

May you have a safe and relaxing weekend whether it involves fireworks, gin and tonics or the same old, same old (or all three)!

ON TV - The "Prince" of K Dramas? Coffee Prince

COFFEE PRINCE  

17 episodes aired in 2007

Synopsis:  A young man from a well-to-do family returns to his home in Seoul after several years working and living in America.  His family pressure him into making something of himself by getting married and/or joining the family business.  In order to prove himself he is challenged to make a success of a run down coffee house.  He re-styles it as Coffee Prince with the gimmick being an all male staff.  One of these staff is a poor boy who the young man has had several run ins with and of whom he's become reluctantly fond.  Unbeknownst to him this boy is actually a young woman with androgynous looks who is mostly focused on supporting her mother and sister, so she keeps her gender a secret in order to stay at her job.  Sparks fly between these two and the question is will they be able to find a happily ever after?

The Players

This show has a pretty big "ensemble" cast and it attempts to give everyone some little bit of storyline but Eun Chan and Han Kyul are the primary players.

Eun Chan:  An androgynous and rather naive young woman who works hard to support her poor family.  At one point she has a crush on both Choi cousins but her feelings for her boss Han Kyul quickly deepen.

Choi Han Kyul:  A 29 year old handsome playboy from a well-to-do business family.  He just wants to have fun and design "legos" in America but his family doesn't approve and they demand that he prove he is a responsible adult.  Starting out with a crush on his cousin's girlfriend, he is taken aback by his developing affection for his young male employee.

Choi Han Sung: Han Kyul's cousin who works in the music business.  He befriends Eun Chan when she delivers his milk and plays with his dog (Terry aka Sweeper - what kind of name is Terry!)  He is in an on again/off again relationship with the stunning Yoo Joo.

Yoo Joo:  An artist who is also just returning to Seoul after time in America.  She is in love with Han Sung but is confused and afraid of commitment.  She is also friends with and the object of affection for Han Kyul, at least initially.

Han Sung and Yoo Joo

The Other Princes - Ha Rim, Sun-Ki, Min Yeop:  These guys mostly add comic relief and additional side dramas.  Ha Rim is a "player" who learns to commit, Min Yeop is a door mat in love with Eun Chan's sister, and Sun Ki is possibly Japanese and is in Seoul searching for the woman he loves who ran away from him.

Sun Ki, Ha Rim and Min Yeop

 

 

 

Eun Chan's Family - Eun Sae and Her Mother:  Eun Sae is a teenager and still in school.  She's rather stuck up and bratty but she loves her sister and has a good heart.  Eun Chan's mother initially seems quite useless and selfish but as the show goes on she becomes more responsible.  She is being pursued by the neighborhood butcher who adores her.

Han Kyul's Family - Grandmother, Mother and Father:  Han Kyul's grandmother is the ruler of the roost  - she adores her charming grandson but also thinks he needs some direction.  She is strong willed and runs the family business and she is also suffering from cancer.  Han Kyul's mother is more conventional and sweet and Han Kyul adores her.  Han Kyul has a difficult relationship with his father which is explained during the show's run.

My Thoughts

This was my first experience with a "K Drama" and it was crazy addictive and great.  I learned about K Dramas from a great post by Elizabeth at So Long and Thanks for all the Fish called K Dramas 101.  Her number one recommendation was Coffee Prince and since I listen to everything she says I decided to see what all the K Drama FooFaRoo was about over Christmas break.  It's available to watch for free on Hulu but beware the subtitles are TERRIBLE.  Like really really terrible. 

So what's it all about?  Basically it's a 17 episode romantic comedy.  There is massive couple angst between Han Sung and Yoo Joo and slow developing feelings between Han Kyul and Eun Chan.  And then some more angst.  And then a whole huge barrel full of adorable.  It's a modern fairytale. It's also special with its own charm quite different than anything we get here in the states.  At the heart of this is I think how naturally the relationships are portrayed - the interactions feel almost unscripted at times.  Like the director just told the actors that they should just goof off with one another and then filmed it. 

There are some emotional set pieces and they really pack a wallop as well.  For some reason I can't put my finger on and despite a lot of fun ridiculousness, it all seems so very authentic.

Some other things I love.  The main character Eun Chan and actress who plays her.  You can tell during certain moments that the actress is likely a very attractive woman but most of the time you would not know it.  She 100% throws herself into the role of a girl who is easily mistaken for a boy and it completely works.  There are scenes of her scarfing down food that can't be described.  After the jig is up and she is revealed as a girl, she does nothing to feminize her appearance. She is who she is; exuberant, honest, friendly, in love with the world.  Even as Han Kyul pressures her to marry him before she is ready she stands firm because she wants to prove she can stand on her own two feet and she wants to learn and be her own person.  I also love that she wins Han Kyul's heart even though: 1) he thinks she's a guy (the show completely commits and its pretty awesome), 2)  he has seen her snarf down food in the most insanely disgusting manner possible, 3) he's seen her looking her absolute worst.  He falls in love with her spirit and character and the show never backs away from this. 

I also have to say a few things about the leading man Han Kyul.  His character makes a very believable redemptive arch from arrogant, selfish, playboy who is very impressed by appearances to a wiser, more responsible adult.  I don't know if it's just me, but the effectiveness of this arch for me was exemplified in how attractive I found him.  In the first several episodes, I thought he was good looking of course but not all that.  By episode 9 or 10 however, I was in full on crush mode and thought that he may be the hottest, most adorable actor of all time :0).  He is extremely expressive and in particular his slow smile is a knock out.  One of my favorite moments with him is when he is teasing Eun Chan on the phone by testing her affections for him.  He finally drives her to a point where she suddenly shouts out that she loves him.  His reaction is hilarious.

But he then recovers himself and yells back at her that the love she feels for him can't possible measure up to how he loves her and then hangs up immediately followed by one of those slow adorable smiles.

Any negatives?  Besides the subtitling awfulness there are a couple of missteps.  One involves the relationship between Han Sung and Eun Chan which to me mostly had a big brother-little sister vibe.  The last 2-3 episodes are a little slower and less exciting like they are dragging things out a bit more than was really warranted by the material but it's not awful

Conclusion

Hopefully this adequately conveys how much I really loved my first experience with K Dramas.  It was insanely addictive in a "It's one in the morning but I have to watch just one more episode" sort of way.  I had to get all strict with myself and spread it out over a few weekends or else I wouldn't have done anything else.  The show had many familiar fairy tale elements but it did manage to surprise me a few times and pulled off a number of extremely emotional moments as well as making me believe whole-heartedly in the rightness of Eun Chan and Han Kyul despite their many differences. 

I will definitely be watching some more K Dramas in the future and will likely watch Coffee Prince again some time.  Thanks Elizabeth!

GRADE: A-