Sporadic Reviews
Many of you will know that SitR ties closely with One Spring Night, whether it be the casting, music or directing styles. This doesn't mean that OSN is simply a carbon copy. No, it's much more than that. This show is a picturesque amalgamation of modern romance, societal pressures and conservative values without the unnecessary plot devices employed by other Korean dramas. But that's just Ahn Pan-seok's (director) style, and it's why I am a huge fan.
Lets go through this methodically so I don't lose track of my objective here. OSN is a story of two people with their own complicated situations, falling madly in love despite the inevitable backlash that will result from the stigma imposed by their cultural values. This is also something that should be kept in mind. This is a story based within Korean culture and society so there may be huge differences in values to what you are used to. Nonetheless, there may be decisions and moments where the character's rationale is incomprehensible. I understand that, but try not to let it detract from your experience. All that aside, this is a drama that provides an important social commentary on modern day Korea's outdated values, something that Ahn Pan-seok (director) and Kim Eun (writer) have successfully conveyed in their earlier work, SitR. Akin to SitR, OSN provides a realistic take on the romance in question. While it is a gradual progression burdened by eventual complications, it is an authentic romance between two people that can't help but tug at your heartstrings and make you feel all giddy inside. There are one or two unresolved story points, but I feel that is largely appropriate and shouldn't be taken as a gripe. This is a realistic story and not everything can be resolved at once. The essence is that things have fallen in place and the rest will be resolved in due course.
Acting/Cast? Perfect. Jung Hae-In and Han Ji Min were both superb in their roles as the couple deeply in love despite their 'flaws'. Their chemistry was electrifying, similar to Jung Hae-In's performance with Son Ye-Jin in SitR. I truly do not believe that anyone else could pull of Han Ji Min's role as well as she could. That's not to say that the side characters weren't also quintessential to the story. Unlike many of the other dramas, the side characters in OSN are seamlessly natural in their performance and appropriately impactful on the main characters. They aren't caricatures or plot devices used to fuel the story, but rather, they have their own lives and accompanying struggles. Side note, it's a bit jarring seeing Kil Hae Yeon as an endearing and accepting mother in OSN, given that her character in SitR is quite the antithesis (and one of my most hated characters).
I feel like it's also appropriate now to talk about directing styles. As you can probably tell, I revere Ahn Pan-seok's modern-romance directing style. He has a way with capturing a scene that encompasses all the quiet nuances and raw emotional value in a colourful, minimalist fashion without any unnecessary distractions. These scenes convey a beautiful and somber melody that truly captivate viewers like myself. It's a style hard to perfect, and something that a lot of directors and producers should aim to achieve nowadays especially when grappling with romance.
The music in OSN was also flawless and appropriate to the story. It boasts the ensemble of Rachael Yamagata, who produced many of the OSTs in SitR, as well as a song from Oscar Dunbar and Carla Bruni. These songs aren't just great for their addictive repetitions on your phone, but they seamlessly blend into the settings of OSN. One song in particular, Spring Waltz by Carla Bruni. My lord, that song was perfect for OSN and an absolute delight to listen to. Even if you don't watch this drama, which I highly doubt by now given how much you must've read of this review by now, you should google that song and play it on repeat. These songs are limited, just like in SitR, but it shouldn't really be an issue.
Rewatch value is ambiguous. Personally, I'll be going through this again very soon (maybe in 2 or so days), but for others, it depends on your enjoyment for romance. I highly believe that this is a drama worth at least one rewatch. For the sceptics, give it a couple of weeks after you've finished the last episode to play it all again. I do concede, however, that I have seen SitR about 4 times by now, so there may be some slight bias but I know OSN will give it a run for its money.
Overall, OSN has ranked definitively in my favourite Korean dramas of all time. It's needless to say at this point in the review, but the casting choices, music and directing styles were all impeccable. OSN showcases a captivating love from one to another with endearing characters from varying social backgrounds. It's truly a romance that will keep you engaged in the show from all their ups and down. I will definitely miss seeing this on my 'Continue watching' list on Netflix, but all good things must come to an end. There is this faith between the main characters that persists throughout the show, and it's a faith I have for the romantic dramas to come from director Ahn Pan-seok and writer Kim Eun.
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Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung
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RHGHR is a drama that had a lot of potential on the outset, but was squandered by its delivery and directorial decisions. The main and persistent gripe I have with it is in its comical and quirky portrayal, both with the story and characters. Don't get me wrong, this style does have its strengths, but it ended up watering down the social commentary and overarching conspiracy plot. If, on the other hand, this drama was presented in a serious and heavier tone akin to Mr Sunshine (watch this if you haven't already), this review would be completely different. Understandably, I'm probably in the minority with this observation, but it's unfortunately an issue that I personally couldn't overlook.The casting choices in RHGHR were either an unfortunate casualty of the aforementioned comical tones (looking at you main actor), or just purely wrong. I'm pretty much referring to a large proportion of the characters, except for the main actress, antagonist and other notable exceptions. For the sake of fairness and clarity however, I'll only nitpick on a few things. First and foremost, the Emperor/King. He was arguably one of the biggest weaknesses in RHGHR. The character/actor had no gravitas, no presence and was reduced to purely a moody kid. It's a stark contrast to the importance of the character in both the story and history in general. While you can argue that he was meant to be unsuited to the role (due to the conspiracy etc), that's really only a band-aid fix to the triviality of his portrayal. Secondly, the historian Min Woo (Lee Ji Hoon). While I can appreciate his past trauma and daddy issues, he ended up just being an unlikeable, angsty teenager 90% of the time. In the same vein, the historians in the Office of Royal Decrees were just basically caricatures, essentially undermining the importance of their role. I could write a lot more but I won't bother. All the other characters were just okay.
Now, onto what I enjoyed; the romance. It was cute, comical at times (yes I know), but overall it did feel natural. I did enjoy the chemistry between the two leads and I will commend them for making me actually care. Nonetheless, the writers glossed over talking about the inappropriateness of their relationship (a 3 year time-skip that just basically said everyone's okay with it), when really, that would've made for an interesting watch.
While we're on the topic of 'glossing over', does anyone remember the Catholicism plot line? No? Who cares right? Well, it's one of the many things that was simply abandoned and/or rushed.
Overall, RHGHR was a lot of wasted potential covered by some pretty sets and nice costumes. It can be an enjoyable watch to some audiences, but not for me.
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I will try my best to be reasonable with this review, but honestly, you should just ignore this drama and move on. I actually dusted off this account just to warn you all. Seriously, don't waste your time.
*For context, I watched this on Netflix and have not read the novel that this drama is apparently based off.
Episodes were rushed, incoherent and abrupt. There were instances in EVERY episode where something, like a transition or ending, was hurried without a second's thought. I was actually under the assumption that the episodes were edited to cut down on ambient screen time within scenes and transitions (which itself is a massive red flag). Correct me if I'm wrong. I really hope this wasn't the final product.
There is actually a scene in the last episode that is one of the most blatant green screen failures I've seen in a long while. It comes pretty close to the CGI deer in The Walking Dead.
Story-wise, the plot of the shy girl chasing her love was fine; I didn't really have any complaints about it for the most part. I actually enjoyed some plot aspects from the early stages of the drama and its execution, but otherwise, it just went down the drain, real quick. The side characters were insufferable, barring, in some instances, the female lead's roommate and the male lead's dorm mates. This was the first time in my drama history where I have actually skipped over side stories. The characters just aren't likeable, their stories' meandering and their acting leaves a lot to be desired, especially the actor for Ge Bi.
The only redeeming quality of this drama is the main actress, Zhu Yanmazi. She performed admirably with what she was given, and I do believe this was her first main role, so I would be interested to see how she performs in the future.
Nothing really stood out in terms of music, just the regurgitated, cliche background music you hear in most dramas. Still, it was appropriate given the context.
Anyways, if you've made it this far, I hope I have successfully convinced you to move on. If not, well, best of luck. There were so many others things I could complain about but it isn't worth my time and yours. You might ask why I suffered through to the ending given my evident distaste, but, I'm a sappy guy and need some closure okay
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