Kimsamsoom
Seeds of Plot that Never Sprouted
As a personal creed, I never drop any drama as soon as I start to watch it. And so with at that in mind, I was not ready for what awaited me as I started watching Snowdrop. With each passing episode, it became clear to me that the writer had watched every hostage and spy movie produced in the 90's as her source of "Inspiration", only weakly tagging Romeo and Juliet later as her literary source. If Shakespeare had seen what is being considered adaptations of his best work, he would sooner rise from the grave and pelt us with Wilt's and Thou's. In fact, until now, many literary scholars and professors would debate the merits, messages and hidden meaning of Shakespeare's best work. These days, the only scholars and professors who pay attention to Yoo Hyun Mi's Snowdrop, are the ones looking to cancel it.First off, before we can discuss Snowdrop the drama, we need to quickly touch on the OST. Initially, when I first watched the drama, I found the OST/Music quite distracting as there are so many jarring tonal and musical shifts in the first few episodes that essentially ushers you from one emotion to another, without a second thought to the emotional whiplash you may feel from such jarring tonal shift. From suspense, satire, romance, and slice of life, the music of the first few episodes felt so intrusive, that there was a fierce disconnect between the scenes being portrayed and the music being played. Thankfully the music/OST eventually finds the sweet spot in the back half of the episodes, where the beautiful music intensified what would normally be dull scenes of poor plotting and acting. In the back half, the music/OST are almost powerful enough to save the production. The beautiful tone of the music has a choir like quality which has an uplifting effect, much needed in the drama. But what I found weird was that, although there were a few scenes which seemed to have Christian undertones, the plot did nothing with it, other than to use it as a symbolism of blind faith. A symbolism that isn't presented often enough or given enough credence that the scenes of praying, feel very out of place. This is one of those scenes though, which needs further research to understand. You see, the original name of Snowdrop was supposed to be Ehwa University, a South Korean university that was started by a Boston Missionary Sister. And you know what? The plot does nothing with this information, it becomes just another unnecessary plot that does nothing for the story, but provide them a place to sit down and kneel.
Given the backdrop of 1988, I was half-expecting some amount of nostalgia to permeate its script to allow viewers to allow a reprieve on the dark tone the script intended to take, and appreciate some of the beauty and simplicity the historical refences would have. But instead, the whole drama is so stuck on the message it wanted to force, that there was nary a time to enjoy anything beautiful in the drama, which ironically included the romance between Young Ro and Soo Ho. And with little time given to enjoy anything in the dire situation they are in, the viewership started drowning in the watery plot, started getting lost in the labyrinth of plot holes, as the badly colorized plot started to mesh together, and started blurring lines, that were timid to begin with. In fact, without the buoyant properties of the stellar acting cast, the drama could easily have drowned in all the ludicrousness the plot was touting as realism.
Seeing as each episode boasted a staggering 90 minutes of drama, I patiently waited to see how the plot would grow as each episode passed. After the last minute of the 1,400 minute run time ticked, I was left with an empty feeling. The potentially beautiful garden that the writer had started was left in disarray as seeds of plot were left unwatered, many of the seeds the writer had sowed in the earlier episodes where neglected the necessary sustenance needed for development and thus withered away. Each episode, I waited to see the seedlings grow into the titular Snowdrop, and every episode, I am left disappointed to see the seedlings bereft of even the simplest of courtesies. The garden was riddled with potholes, partially created by the aggressively shouting dinosaurs that decried their existence with wails or shouts.
As the episodes rolled by, I wondered why the writer kept needlessly adding new plot points which she will have to cover up later. The quick answer is, that she didn't bother covering up the plot holes, or she hastily glossed them over in lieu of more new tragic plot points. In fact, after a certain point, it doesn't become a question of HOW the writer will make the FL/ML for tragic, but rather WHEN. As I kept writing theories, and kept predicting how the writer could write herself out of her predicament, the writer would surprise me, by denying these lifelines, and opting instead to martyr her plots over and over again, until there is nothing left but chaos and discontentment. Whenever I feel the writer had an opportunity to add complexity and creativity to her writing, she instead re-iterated some of the same old tired jokes she used earlier. She overused some plot lines and jokes so much, that seeing them rear their repetitive head over and over again worked against the writer as these jokes, which were not funny to begin with, became distractions. Much like the boy who cried wolf, after the 2nd or 3rd time, people will stop caring about these plot devices.
It's not like I don't believe in love at first sight. But you see that isn't the direction the plot took. Young Ro, you see, is just a poorly disguised Deus Ex Machina, that existed solely to keep the Male Lead company during his eventual redemption arc. The writer was so focused on making sure that the Male Lead had a coherent characterization that she neglected to focus any effort on making the female lead's character relevant or real enough on her own merit. And even though the FL is seen as the sole reason for the ML's existence, we are given to many HOWs and never really any WHYs. In fact, it is not just the FL, a lot of the female characters in Snowdrop do not past the Bechdel test as most if not all of them let their lives revolve around the men in their lives. One of the characters in particular literally throws caution in the wind for her "Man", while obviously that man is shown to be cool as a cucumber throughout the show. In fact, ironically, the only women in the plot who has shown a certain duality in her character is also the most reviled one in the drama.
No review of Snowdrop is complete without at least quickly touching on the controversy that mired Snowdrop in lower than expected domestic ratings. After seeing Snowdrop to fruition, I can't help but ask myself the question of WHY? Why did the writer feel she needed to tell this story using this particular historical backdrop, especially if she is picking and choosing what she wanted to be a fiction and non-fiction anyway. When I first read the synopsis of the drama, I had assumed that the writer intended to tell a love story that grew in the tall weeds of political chaos. But instead, what we get is a drama that ironically felt more like a subliminal left wing propaganda ad that reared its ugly head at several times in the drama in obvious and distracting way. The only clear message that the Drama made sure not to miscommunicate to the audiences is how evil and corrupt the ANSP was. But unfortunately the writer wasn't nuanced enough, and instead of allowing the ANSP atrocities to exist as a backdrop for the story, it allowed the backdrop to become a distracting flower bush that continually blocked the intended story from being seen. In fact, as soon as you felt, you would catch a glimpse of the story, the drama would feel the need to remind you of the ineptness and corruption of the ANSP.
Very early on in the drama, it becomes painfully clear to me that the idea of cause and effect were being thrown out the window. The plot doesn't pay much attention to consequences and ramifications, and instead focused on shock tactics that loses its novelty the less tense the situation becomes. As the characters pointed phallic symbols at each other over and over again, the lack of anyone getting shot, made me wonder whether these weapons of non-destruction were nothing more than military grade paperweight. In fact, I should put the word thriller in air quotes, because I was severely bothered by the lack of it. By episode 5, after a lackluster first 4 episodes, it appeared that finally, the plot remembered it's base genre. But after an interesting Ep. 5 though, the plot decides to languish back in it staid writing as if by clockwork. Every supposedly tense situation is diffused by illogical reasoning, and nobody really is punished. The writing, and the plotting had so neutered the spy scenes, that the whole hostage situation felt more like breakfast club, rather than a hostage crisis. People inside the dorm are wondering more whether they would still be able to voted prom queen and king rather than walk the line between life and death.
Of course, if you dig deep enough you will eventually find the depth and complexity of what Yoon Hyun MI is trying to portray, but depending on where you live, you are more likely to hit water and drown in the innate stupidity than find any complex meaning in the writing. When reading Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, finding the depth and complexity isn't too difficult, and the emotions, although shrouded in Shakespeare own unique language, is relatable to us; the characters, minus all the killings, feel real. To fully enjoy Snowdrop, you really need to turn off certain parts of your mind as it is a struggle to find the realism in such cartoonish characters, whose portrayed more closely belong to a museum of stereotypical acting, than a supposedly complex plot.
With such a long run time, it would have made more sense for the writer to flesh out backgrounds of the main characters, or flesh out the characterization of the different characters. But as if she has an obsession's with huge ensemble cast, Snowdrop instead contained a huge cast of characters, who in the end didn't amount to much, except as weak plot devices to keep the plot plodding along. That is not to say there are no good moments in Snowdrop, there are a few moments that are worth watching, but you would need to slog through at least 10 episodes before you reach them, and by that time, if you are binge watching, your mind might already be turned to mush, and your emotions already numbed enough that when the impactful scenes may not be good enough to shake yo from your reverie. The truth of the matter is that proper world building would have made many things in the drama, including the tragic experience and romance shine much more.
Now for the good things. I already mentioned that I felt the OST/Music was vital in making the drama watchable, but the writer/director also lucked out with the casting. Quite a few of the actors I believe put in the performance of their lives, and their acting prowess acted as buoys to keep the drama floating. The power of emotion of Jung Hae In in particular was strong enough to uplift Jisoo's acting as well. And although, I don't think Jisoo's acting was that great, as a rookie actress, I cut her some slack, and she did what I expected a rookie to do; a lot of this also maybe because her character wasn't written that well. Kim Hye Yoon as well deserves a shout out, because at only 25 years old, she is proving to be one of the best actress in the Kdrama industry.
What may be the ultimately infuriating thing about the drama is that although most of the episodes were dull and lifeless, the last 4 episodes were actually written quite well. The writer's vision finally came to fruition in those last few episodes, in those episodes we finally see what the writer was intending in her drama. But unfortunately for me, it was too late, there was too many flaws in the first 10 episodes that became hard to overcome by a few good episodes. If the writer had kept the same tone, style, and plotting in the first 10 episodes, I may give Snowdrop a substantially higher rating. It seemed to be that the writer did not have many ideas to put on paper, and she kept her best plot points for the last 4 episodes, whilst keeping the first 10 episodes for repetitive filler scenes.
P.S.
Below is an excerpt from a deep dive analysis I made on Boon Ok's character, I hope for people to give the character a chance, and sympathize with her the way I did. The whole analysis can be found in the discussion portion of Snowdrop entitled "The Tragedy of Boon Ok".
"To further talk about Boon Ok, we need to quickly touch on the characterization of Young Ro. Are we surprised Disney is behind Snowdrop? Young Ro’s characterization literally screams Disney Princess. The romanticized fantasies, the prince charming, the evil stepmother, the heroic tendencies and the overly optimistic persona are all qualities most modern Disney princess encapsulates. But you know what? Disney princess are called that for a reason, most of the time, they are gilded in fantasy, they don’t often represent realistic portrayal of life. In many ways Young Ro represents the best side of humanity, the side is always optimistic, the hero in all of us. It’s the goodness in humanity we don’t see often. She’s the perfect Kdrama Mary Sue, the heroine, she allows us to stay entrenched in the escapism Kdrama offers."
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The Hand that Sunk a Thousand Ships
First off, I would like to thank the community that formed over the weeks of the live airing. The resiliency and maturity that these men and women showed in the face of such great adversity is enough to make one ignore the stifling heat of burning ships, the blaring horns of hypocrisy, and the sharp needles of mediocrity.Sorry in advance this is a long read...
When a show leaves itself vulnerable to multiple strong fan made theories and analysis. This means only one of two things: Either the show was written really smartly, and the writer in effect, created a world filled with multiple exciting possibilities. OR, lazy, lukewarm, and predictable writing has left so many large plot holes filled with nonsensical plot points, and poor characterization, that fans are forced to shore up the shows many weakness with well constructed fan theories and analysis to plug up the holes. After episode 6, it is clear that the latter happened.
The show does a great job of producing and writing the first few episodes, to the point where a majority of the audience set their emotional expectation high for what is to come. Unfortunately, all these first few episodes manages to accomplish is to set the bar so high, that the remaining episodes look so poor in comparison, and make the fall much farther and more painful for the audience. As viewers continue to watch the show, they journey through a harsh and arid desert, where they will continuously see mirages of depth and complexity that never materializes as anything more than repetitive clichés and negative stereotypes devoid of any creativity.
Prior to watching this show, I have never heard of these actors or actresses, nor have I seen any shows made by this particular writer. At the beginning, a lot of hype followed the drama, with two A-Listers, an apparently popular writer, and an interesting synopsis. With these things in mind, I sailed my tiny vessel past the gilded French doors into what I hope would be a smooth maiden voyage for my first foray into watching a Park Hye Run drama. Little did I know that what awaited me past these gilded doors, would be a tiring journey full of infinite frustrations. As my boat continually capsized in the weak waters of Park Hye Run's writing, what kept me going was the shining light of Han Ji Pyeong's character, which the writer gifted to us in the first episode.
What kept me going was HJP's shining white light, illuminating a drab, boring, and colorless plot. Wherever he shone his light, the plot sparkled, whichever character he shared the light with gained color and depth. But the minute his light left, we are reminded of how dull and boring the world Park Hye Run created really was. Under HJP's warm light, metaphors started to grow, towers of theories began to rise, and the flowers of hope started to bloom. The writer may have known this, and used HJP's light selfishly to extend a love triangle way past its expiry date, in hopes of reeling in hopeless romantics who believe being a "Good Boy" deserves a happy ending. With each passing episode though, the metaphors started to lose meaning, the towers of theories began to crumble, and the flowers of hope began to wither.
In Kdrama, the characterization of second leads tends to be selfless, self sacrificing, and overall a good guy. So to prevent strong SLS in the Kdrama, they normally present a slightly weaker ML (or sometimes someone equally strong) who may start at a lower position initially compared to the second lead, but through PROPER character growth, is able to eventually take residence in the FL's heart. PHR did not get this memo. What we get instead is a severely weak characterization of the ML who takes almost the entire 16 episodes run to exhibit any character growth, that by the time the audience realizes he has grown, it is already too late, and no amount of force feeding by the plot is enough for the audience to accept the ML for anything more than a privileged and spoiled person.
The writer falls into the trap of making the ML too powerful, too quick, robbing audience of the satisfaction of the journey. When the ML first encounters an issue, we feel the suspense and nervousness of what may lie ahead. But after he effortlessly navigates each and every one of these hurdles, the excited and nervous emotions start fading away. So when the next hurdle comes, and we see the SST boys panic like headless chickens, all the audience can do is roll their eyes as the ML comes to save the day, and effortlessly surpass another hurdle. I feel disappointed that Kdrama writers continually makes their ML's too perfect. The flaws that the ML is suppose to have, is noticed by none of the cast, as his flaws are either ignored, or only show up when no one is around.
The FL, who is initially shown to have such depth and complexity through the letters that she writes, eventually succumbs to the "Damsel in Distress" disease of which has plagued Kdrama for years. The cure for weak FL's (Independence) have been available to Kdrama writers for years now, and yet some archaic writers refuses to give their FL this medicine. So it's no surprise, after such a strong start for the FL, she eventually succumbs to this disease. Her new persona, which is as shallow as a puddle, fastidiously focuses on "Big Hands" as the source of her emotional growth. Although "Big Hands" is meant to have some deeper meaning (which the show does a poor job showing!), the ridiculousness of how something intangible like love and emotions, can be measured so easily by comparing hand sizes, makes one laugh out of pity.
The other female characters which started out as interesting, complex, and powerful in the beginning never reach their potential. Instead they are treated as fashion accessories to make the dull Male lead's lackluster characterization pop out more. In fact the whole show felt much like the Male leads personal cheering squad. And yet, with the tsunami of support from both the other characters and the writer, the Male lead fails to take advantage of any of it, instead wallowing in the insecurities that has seeped from the writer's pen.
It was hard to feel the chemistry from both FL and ML, as the FL shared the same doe-eyed Bambi look whenever she saw the ML or the SL. The ML on the other hand felt like he was trying too hard to nail the look of an angsty, cool, and tough teenage who can cry at the drop of the hat. In most Kdrama I always place an emphasis on micro-expressions as the high production values, and numerous close up shots gives the actors/actresses the perfect platform to convey so much emotions with simple subtle twitches of their faces. Thus I was quite disappointed to see the main couple not take advantage of this, and instead produce misplaced or invisible micro-expressions that failed to convey the gravity of the situation, and missed the harmonic emotions the amazing OST produced.
The gap of acting between the "adults" in the show versus the "kids" was huge, to the point where the reduced screen time of the better actors and actress are felt strongly and visibly dropped the quality of certain episodes. And in the acting, the insecurity of the writing once again rears its ugly head, as the show tried it's best to throw in every single Kdrama romantic trope in the book to justify the non-existent chemistry of Suzy and NJH. The show was so insecure of the growing SLS among viewers, that they limited HJP any happiness, as if they felt that any ounce of happiness on HJP's side would overshadow the weak main couple. As if every HJP smile, would make an already lackluster main couple, even more dull in comparison. Such was the insecurity of the showrunners.
The writer ATTEMPTS to craft a story about a young group of underdogs who start from the bottom and work their way to the top thru hard work and determination. What we get instead are people, who have the deck stacked FOR them, who bemoan how tough life is. Not only does this not illicit the intended reaction from the mature and smart audiences, but the preposterousness of seeing people who have it all, complain about not having it all, induced many doctors visit among audiences who could not stop rolling their eyes. Nay, instead of getting a story about loveable underdogs like "Dodgeball", what we get instead is the Korean version of the Breakfast Club, where YOU WANT the kids to stay in detention for the rest of the show. These characters, once they achieve their success never exhibit the humility that comes from self-directed success, but rather the arrogance and superiority complex that come from people who did not properly earn their prestige.
The show missed the great opportunity to show a true or semi-true depiction of startups in the tech world. In fact, what could have potentially been a great medium to showcase Korea's burgeoning position in the tech world, instead decided to focus 70% of the plot on a love triangle that went longer than it needed to. And the foundation of the love triangle is a dangerous moral lesson. The lesson being that dreaming without a plan is the way to achieve success, and only when you throw caution to the wind, and don't bother with the technicalities of reaching your dream will you achieve success. It's a very naïve and narrow view of a world where the sharks outweigh the sheep. The little bit of business aspect that the show provides, can be replicated by reading the first paragraph of what a start up is on Wikipedia. The shows attempt to sound smart about it's poorly researched show, just gets a incredulous reactions from people who are actually in the industry.
If you start watching the show expecting a mature story showing realistic situations, this is not that show. Instead we are "treated" to a show about kids vs adults, and the cool kids versus the squares. Where we, mature audiences, are expected to root for the clueless kids who are basically attacking principles that we adults hold dear. In fact the central theme of the show is about how experience and wisdom is no match for the power of hopes and dreams. How being a dreamer is always better than being a pragmatist. How being safe, having a back plan, and being patient are for failures. All dangerous imagery for anyone knowledgeable about business. In fact the show is so in love with their own hubris, that they make this message a one sided one, where the adults are not only humbled by the children, but humiliated. There is too much romanticization for an industry and process that at times cause people to hurt themselves.
Some of the characters who started as adults in the show, quickly lose their maturity card, as they begin to exhibit symptoms of early childhood. The short attention span, the incessant crying, and terrible tantrums. In fact a good portion of the episodes felt like adults babysitting the children until they can learn to walk. And once the children learn to walk, they ignore the adults who helped them.
Since most of the people watching this show are over the age of 20, seeing a group of "struggling" characters succeed beyond a doubt without any regards for both an exit plan or a plan B, and throw tantrums and cry when they reach artificial, invisible impasses, felt very contrived and laughable. In fact, just like children, they expect the adults to take care of the invisible impasses for them, and to make the scary monsters go away. Because of all these immature themes within the main group of characters in SST it becomes hard to relate to any of these character who are not experiencing any real difficulties. And it becomes increasingly frustrating that none of these mistakes are properly punished but instead weirdly rewarded. As mature audience, we find it difficult to mirror anything happening in the show. What is supposed to be thematically realistic, often comes out as fantasy instead. Although Kdrama is meant as escapism, there is a limit to how much fantasy the audience can tolerate; Start Up's motto of "Sailing Without A Map", went so far pass the audiences' limit of fantasy, that it became hard for audience to relate, revel, and enjoy SST's many successes.
The writer, in her hubris, has taken the audience for granted. She continually mocks and ridicules the tenets that a mature audience holds dear. In her imaginations, the audience are but sheep who will accept whatever swill she decides to feed us. But due to the many negative feedback, I am happy to see that the Kdrama audience have matured pass the cages that these arrogant writers choose to impose on us. And as the criticism mount, so does the insecurity of the show.
There is a disconnect between the show and the audiences. Because just like the audience in a theatrical play, only we are privy to the actual good and bad acts the various characters do. And just like in a play the other character are oblivious to the manipulations and ulterior motives of the supposedly pure white characters. The frustrations mount when the showboating, privileged main characters expect a parade for every good deed he does, while the silently helpful supporting characters are unsung heroes. If fact the endless praise seeking of the main characters can be distilled into the narcissistic line "What do you like about me?".
During the latter half of the show, you might as well have started a new Kdrama, as the characterizations of the different characters are destroyed, then reconstructed without proper instructions; and the show basically erases all the plot points of the previous episodes. As the show trudges along a predictable and boring road, the audience keeps hoping that somehow the writing will get smarter, but instead the audience are indurated by stupidity after stupidity. And in the world of Start Up, stupidity is equated to intelligence.
Lastly, one of my biggest gripe with the show, has been it's portrayal of parents as ATM machines, and as disposable diapers. The unhealthy relationship of the ML and his parents is very conflicting towards Asian societies and the parenting that comes from it. In fact, what is normally seen as normal in current society is vilified in the show. But instead of addressing any of the inconsistencies in the family dynamic, the show instead decides to sweep all the issues under the rug, almost like slapping a tiny band-aid on a festering wound. The show chooses to focus on what mistake the parents to do the children, but never on the mistakes the children did to their parents. As someone who values family, I was a little disappointed that Start Up chose to romanticize and normalize this type of family relationship. The closest thing to a healthy family relationship on the show actually comes from the two people who are not related by blood, HJP and Halmoni. A lovely relationship that took it's bruises and scars from the writers incessant insecurities over her ML cloying need to be loved by everyone.
I would say, one of the best thing to come out from this show has been the amazing OST. I absolutely loved the music of the show, and already have them on repeat on my playlist. Also, the saving glory of this has been the presence of KSH. I won't talk too much about this, as others have written a lot about him already :)
All in all, a below average Kdrama that isn't worth watching. But I implore you to find a supercut or montage of all of HJP and Grandma's scene if you want to experience a good cry!
Hopefully everyone enjoyed reading this as I did writing it! >.<
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A Simple Story with Depth
When you first read the anemic synopsis , you can't help feeling like you've seen this exact plot summary play out multiple times in a plethora of different languages, timelines, and nameless faces . It then becomes difficult to stifle the incoming yawn once you realize that this drama is going to be set in a slow and meandering sea side village, and that the drama is going to attempt to use a character driven plot to keep audiences glued to the screen.You find yourself tempted to skip Hometown Cha Cha Cha for the next generic Kdrama on your Recommended List. But then you decide to watch one episode. That felt great, light and breezy you think, and so you play the next episode. That felt even better you thought to yourself! Then you realize there are no more episodes... you are in trouble... this simple drama set in the tiniest of fishing villages has entangled you and a million of other fans in an endless loop of hungrily waiting each week for the next episode of a drama that has very little plot twists, dark mysteries and shock factor; and yet somehow has inexorably entranced a legion of Kdrama fans in it's simple story.
Don't let the simplicity of the story fool you though, as there is plenty of depth to be found in this drama. Hometown Cha Cha Cha aims to keep the audience hungry with it's strong character driven plot, and succeeds heavily in this regard. The time the drama takes to develop it's supporting characters with ample screen time and character depth are rewarded in the latter half of the drama as these characters, that would be nothing but fillers in any other drama are given life, their names carrying more weight, and their presence offering soothing support for the Main Couple of the story. No longer are these supporting character left to be skipped and forgotten but rather they serve as a blend of different characteristic that serve to enrichen, and color our black and white sensibilities in warming palettes that we can see and feel.
The writing of the plot, the direction, even the light and melodic OST all serve as the backdrop for these top rated thespians to showcase their crafts. Whether it's the has been singer, the nosy neighbor, or the tireless mother, these talented actors and actresses break out of the mold of the stereotypical kdrama side characters to breathe life into these tired and comfortable cliched characters that would be caricaturized with a lesser plot or thespian. The has been singer becomes multi-faceted, the nosy neighbor gains depth, and that one tireless mother makes our eyes swell with tears, as her quivering voice mask the inner cracks forming within.
The ultimate purpose of the development of the characters of Gongjin became apparent in the midway point as the supporting character's stories start to intertwine and intersect with the story arc of the main couple. Similar to theatrical plays like Hamilton, the audience is almost subject to an invisible fourth wall of which none of the Gongjin inhabitants are privy to. We see ourselves jumping from the life experience of one character after another, almost as if we are all encapsulated within the show, bearing witness to this beautiful romance blooming in this tiny seaside village.
The chemistry of the two leads is electric. From the first episode till the last episode, you can't help but root for the main couple as they both try to fight feelings that clearly has bubbled over since they first set eyes on each other. Although there is a love triangle inserted briefly in the show, it's actually the main couples personal trauma that initially keep them apart at differing times of their relationship. Maturity is as the forefront of this drama, as most situations are dealt with the way that you would expect mature adults to act. Although there are scenes of skin ships in the show, it's actually the scenes where you see silent understanding between the two main leads that sets hearts fluttering. And with Kim Seon Ho's masterful use of micro expressions, a silent three second gaze speaks more volumes than the boisterous and often used "Sarang Haeyo". One of the most powerful scenes in the show is Hye Jin, slowly walking, slowly realizing her feelings for Dusik.
We are mesmerized by the beauty of both the ML and FL. Their laughing eyes, their toothed smiles, and their dominant dimples; all these things play a role in making us gently take a seat and enjoy the sea side ride. But as each episode further shows cracks in the main couple, we start feeling guilty in our comfortably relaxed position, as we start seeing tears behind those laughing eyes, cracks showing between those toothed smiles, and dark depths in those dominant dimples. We start realizing that all that happiness, all that selflessness may be hiding a tale deeper than we had anticipated when we first start to step into Gongjin. Just like Hye Jin's shoes, we feel we are safely in the white sandy beaches, unknowingly to us, when we look down, the tide has come in, and with it a tale of sadness, and a short snapshot of the importance of mental health and a proper support system.
Where I feel the drama may have stumbled is in the unnecessary tonal shifts in the last few episodes. But the drama ends on a high note, and the last few mediocre episodes is not enough to sabotage more than 14 episodes of good will. In reality, this is a drama caught in between. It should have either ended after 12 episodes, or it needed 20 episodes to properly flesh out the emotions and character development to properly close Dusik and Hye Jin's arc. But since the last few episodes was rushed to close as much plot holes as possible, the tonal shift felt out of place and disjointed, almost felt like watching two different dramas. The maturity and depth of the first 10 episodes start to dip in the remaining episodes, and it suffered from slightly inconsistent characterization. Of course, all these tonal shifts can be defended and explained in ones mind, but I actually much preferred the easily digestible characterizations the Main Couple had in the first 10 episodes, that the back 6 paled in comparison.
Is this drama a perfect drama? It is not. But if watching Hometown Cha Cha Cha has taught me, is that just because something is not perfect does not mean it isn't good. Just like a Mcdonalds cheeseburger can seem like a gourmet meal to a starving man, in a time when many people are healing from the mental and physical strain of the Pandemic, Hometown Cha Cha Cha is that perfect drama that captures so many different emotions and situations that we can all find something to relate and heal from.
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De Koning: Eeuwige Monarch
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A lengthy review...
An over ambitious project from star scriptwriter KES, that buckles under the weight of it's own arrogance. This drama fails to respect the intelligence of it's viewers, by littering it with a minefield of plot holes, cliches, overwrought acting, and ineffective filler characters. In fact, one can't help but think that out of the hundreds of plot lines this drama attempts, if it had just focused on one, it would not have been as bad.For a supposed modern drama, you would think that the writer would move away from emulating 1960's Disney shows, where characters were either morally black or white. But no, she chooses to portray the the Villain and Heroes in KTEM as either Extremely black, or Extremely White; there was nary a grey character to be spotted. And the few that were grey were rendered useless, as their characters morality are swiftly demolished in the latter episodes. The character in KTEM end up being very boring one dimensional character, lacking any depth, character, and complexity.
The writer does a poor job of showing neutrality in her writing as her bias for the hero character of LG is shown again and again versus the incompetent villain in LR. From episode 1, all the way to episode 16, we are bombarded with repetitive propaganda on the merits and accomplishments of the main lead LG. In fact almost all the scenes with LG and another character, whether hero or villain, exist to show us the viewers, how amazing LG is. This pervasive themes of omnipotency in the drama is a real turn off for me, as I cannot relate nor feel any sort of emotional attachment to such a privileged character, fiction or otherwise.
To be fair, the concept on paper sounds good. In fact many viewers may have already seen time travel, parallel worlds done properly in other shows, and thus were excited to see KTEM. KES
could have just used existing time travel/parallel world theories and put her own mark on it. But that isn't what happened. What we ended up with instead, is the case where a writer is trying to be too clever and failing miserably. What happens when you create and misuse so many plot devices? They slowly morph into glaring plot holes. The story employed ineffective plot twist, reset buttons, and retrograded many of it's time travel/parallel world theories as the foundation of the show. A foundation that was built shakily, and was easily decimated by the intelligent viewing population.
In fact, one can argue that the writer, in her hubris, made a drama so inexplicable, that she believes viewers who do not understand what is happening, will just immediately assume that the drama is too smart for them, and proclaim it a masterpiece. The problem here is that, even though KES did not bother doing any actual research on such a technical genre as science fiction, the smarter local/international audience, did. So the improper logic, false theories, and faulty scientific explanations, all just serve to further instigate a viewing audience, that is already reeling and cringing from a hyper unrealistic and bland romance.
Based on KES previous works, like DOTS, Goblin, and etc... Most fans know that in her dramas, romance is at it's core. Somehow, KTEM did not get the memo. Although the romantic scenes are plentiful, albeit forced, the show's insistence on inserting poorly researched time travel theories, for the sake of increasing the show's IQ, is very distracting from the already weak romance it is trying to build. So instead of attempting to build a proper romantic connection between the two main leads, the show instead waste a lot of time building a pantheon of side characters, who in the end serve no purpose to the plot, other than to make us laugh at the absurdity of it all. The moments between the ML and FL are suppose to be punctuated by a beautiful set design, production value, and mellow OST. But because of the ineffective buildup, much of the emotions you are suppose to feel, do not line up.
Themes, metaphors, and symbolism, all serve important roles in many literary works. But, instead of focusing on one central theme or motif for the entire shows, it appears KES has pulled in symbolism and metaphors from various literary works (Alice in Wonderland and Greek Mythology for example) and tried to forcefully insert it into the plot to give the show the appearance of depth. But just like with most of her writing in KTEM, these insertions serve no real purpose. They do not add a deeper understanding of the story, but rather exist to continually clash with each other, and further confuse it's audience.
Compared to most reviewers, I actually don't mind PPL, I understand it's importance in a show, and I often can easily ignore it. But the PPL in KTEM is a whole different beast. The PPL's in KTEM are so poorly timed, that they distract you, and forces you to shift your mindset away from the plot, and onto their sales pitch. There are even a few occasion where a PPL takes front row seats over a supposedly important scene. In fact BBQ Olive Chicken PPL may be the least obtuse of the all the PPL's on the show, and that is saying a lot.
The show attempts to emulate a "Memento" (US movie) type of editing, where the past is being shown in clips in future episodes. But what was so effective in "Memento", absolutely fails in KTEM as the editor/director spliced, and restructured the scenes in a very pointless way, that in the end you ask yourself, "What was the point of that scene?". The poor editing also made sure that any emotional impact of the show is never felt, because just as you are about to process an emotion, whether it is love, sadness, or anger, you are already being dragged to the next contrasting emotion. The drama would have benefited from less episodes, in fact it boggles my mind how they were able to stretch it out for so long. Oh wait, I remember now, they had so many slow mo romantic scenes that lasted at times 10-15 minutes in one take. And Since there is no emotional attachment early on, all these scenes really accomplishes is to make you feel as awkward as seeing two siblings making out.
The boring pace of the drama isn't helped by both Main Leads. As if LMH could not get blander, he somehow finds another lower notch in his acting belt. I don't even think LMH knows how he should be acting, and it shows. What we get is an incredibly haughty, emotionless, monotone speaking, narcissistic ML, who KES decide to make omnipotent. Compared to other more traditional actors, who don't rely on looks, LMH's stiff acting, emotionless voice, and lack of any facial muscles, makes his acting as tiring as watching paint dry. The only emotion that you feel watching him is emptiness.
KGE on the other hand, tries her best to illicit some chemistry from LMH, but you can only get so much water from a stone. I am biased against KGE, because I hated her in Goblin, and still remember her character from there as incredibly annoying. But I will take her nubile Goblin Bride over this hardened female police office, who WILL NOT stop crying about everything. But STILL, she does better in her role than LMH.
The only advantage I can see about the parallel world concept is that it allows the better actors in the drama to show their acting range. Best example of this being WDH. His portrayal of ES and JY is superb, you feel more chemistry between these two than the Main Couple. SJ, is another standout from the show, as you could not help but root for him to have a satisfactory ending given his hardship. KES does a satisfactory job of creating supporting characters that we can care about. But unfortunately, after these characters are created, the plot then proceeds to either place them in the meat grinder, or remove their screen presence completely. This is tragic, because if you get as far as episode ten, you will start to appreciate the backstory, life, and character development of the supporting actors more than the Main Lead, only to see all that emotional investment go to waste. I myself have been absolutely devastated with the way the writing has treated the PM, a strong, independent woman.
One last thing I would like to touch on. Almost every cliffhanger in the show, has been anti-climatic, the cliffhanger happens at the end of the show, or is a minor/major plot twist in the middle. As viewers, we are often fooled by these plot devices because we think that they are important pieces of the KTEM puzzle; more often than not though, the logic, and reasoning of these plot device fall short of our expectation, and viewers often end up feeling disappointed to see such buildup, explained away in one to two sentences. The show really does a great job of pushing you away from the edge of your seat.
Long story short, KTEM is essentially a below average drama that was dressed nicely with a high production budget and big stars. The only thing KTEM manages to accomplishes in it's 16 episode run is to constantly disappoint it's viewers each week.
Would not recommend this drama even if you are a fan of the LMH and KGE.
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Amazing combination of horror, comedy and romance
Watched this in 2020, after falling in love with Gong Hyo Jin in It's Okay Thats Love, and proceeded to watch all the drama she has been in.As a disclaimer, I am not someone who loves the horror genre, as I am a scaredy cat. So it took a lot ouf of me to start watching the Master's Sun, especially after I saw the trailer for it. I'm glad I did, this show stands firm as one of my favorite shows, and has made me proclaim the Hong Sisters as one of the top writers in SK right now.
The Hong Sister's mastery of the fantasy elements has resonated across the different dramas they have written. Although not all their dramas have been great, like Big for example, they have hit enough home runs that they are given a pass for some of their poorer dramas. They Hong Sisters, formulaic style revolves around the heavy usages of metaphors, symbolism, and a slow burning romances. And for Master Sun, I would not have it any other way. This kind of slow burning romance, unconciously makes us more attentive to every micro emotions showed, every tear shed, and every loving embrace, intensifying the love of the couple in the latter episodes. Now on to the review.
The ghost genre has been done multiple times before in the past, but in this reviewers honest opinion, this may be the best and funniest portrayal of it. The basic premise of the show portrays GHJ character as a women who can see ghost and is deathly afraid of them, and SJS's character as a man who can make the ghost disappear. What then follows is a Ghost of the Day type of storytelling that chronicles the adventure of our two leads. Each episode not only comes with a beautiful ministory within the plot, but serves to move the plot along. These mini stories also does a great job of building up each character, complete with flaws and strengths.
It is very satisfying to see the growth of both characters as we accompany them on their many "Ghostbuster" like escapades. By ep 17, you will rejoice, and cry tears of joy when you see how far both of these character travels. And like with most Kdrama there will be many hindrances in the way; but the way the couple deals with them, and the micro emotions that they allow to momentarily seep out is so endearing and romantic. In a lot of ways, I would comment that the journey is almost as good as the destination itself.
I also especially liked the use of symbolism and metaphors by the Hong Sisters here, who used parellel stories of Candy and The Goat and the Wolf. In fact these stories will serve as the central theme for the show. The stories of candy and the goat and wolf serve as a backdrop the main couples emotional struggle. And your vieweing experience is actually increased dramatically if you just took a quick look at the synopsis of both of these books to help you understand the hidden emotions that the character are feeling, although GHJ and SJS does an excellent job of pushing those emotions thru carefully guarded words and facade.
The acting of both leads are amazing, and the chemistry is electrifying. In fact as some commenters have suggested, a quick watch on youtube of the behind the scenes antics of the two main leads will have you shipping them in real life. GHJ is at one of her best here, she is absolutely, adorable here, even more adorable than in Pasta, and her acting is on another level here, I won't spoil much, you will just have to see.
SJS, one of the king of melo, shows his comedic chops here, and it is fantastic. SJS really portrays these brooding, rich type very well. And since we are so used seeing him in these type of roles, it becomes very refreshing to see him in a role where he doesn't take himself seriously. The scenes where he tells GHJ to get lost are comedy gold, because even us as viewers can't take him seriously, so we know GHJ probably doesn't either. The supporting cast in this are great, they really elevate and compliment the main leads. The writers do a great job of giving them their own backstory, and even their own romance.
The music... I have it on my playlist and hear it probably 3-4 times a day, it's that good!
Anyway, I would definitely recommend at least 1 rewatch of this, as the heavy usage of metaphor in the earlier scenes become more clear when you've watched the whole episode. Watch this show, you will not regret!
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