Still around…

As most of you know, I normally just post recaps and not write about anything else, but since this is my blog, I decided to make an exception and catch up with all of you and let you know what’s going on.

Updated on 11/7 -I put asterisks where I added stuff.

It feels like ages since I’ve posted, but technically it’s only been two weeks since Master’s Sun ended. Thanks for coming over to Soompi and joining me there. It was so good to see familiar names dropping by to say hi and following the drama with me. The first few episodes started out rocky with my one million mini heart attacks during all those ghost scenes, but like I proudly said to Joonni – by the end of episode one, I managed to get a grip on my fear for the most part. I jumped out of my skin a lot less after repeatedly reminding myself this is just normal actors with tons of makeup on. Most nights I was able to trick myself into believing that, but to this day, I still can’t watch some of those ghost scenes at night. Truth be told, just reading about that new drama about a ghost seeing detective scared the crap out of me. No way am I watching that one. Just the other day, I had to watch “The Walking Dead” with a browser partially covering the video box. For some reason, Master’s Sun made me more vulnerable to scary scenes. I was so surprised at myself for being extra jumpy and more scaredy cat than usual. Hope it’s temporary.

My original title for this post was “The year of wind chimes, panda hats, bunkers, and dream catchers,” but it was too long and didn’t fit. Plus everything I wanted to say about the past dramas that I loved so far this year was starting to sound like a year end review and it’s too early for that. I want Heirs to be on that list so I’m going to save what I was going to say for That Winter The Wind Blows, Flower Boy Next Door, Master’s Sun, I Hear Your Voice, Monstar, Heirs, etc for the year end drama wrap up.

Here is a quick run down of the dramas currently airing and those coming up and my take on them:

Mi Rae’s Choice:  Joonni will verify this, but I totally got bummed when I realized I mixed up the male leads for this drama with Golden Rainbow. I kept picturing YEH with Jung Il Woo and fully intended to recap this show, but then Joonni burst my bubble and informed me I had them switched.  Despite all that, believe it or not, I was thinking of recapping this, but time got away from me and I didn’t realize till the day after that I missed the first episode. So I caught up and watched E1 Tuesday evening. I’m sort of reluctant to be so brutally honest since I don’t want to affect anyone’s enjoyment, but I came this close to turning off the video within the first few minutes. OMG that permed hair and those clothes – it’s even worse than in photo stills now that she is actually moving around. YEH was so fashionable in her last drama so is there some kind of warped karma that says she has to suffer hair and wardrobe wise on this one? As if that wasn’t enough, the nail on the coffin was how future Mi Rae traveled back in time. Talk about a letdown. Shows like QIHM, Faith, and Nine spoiled me so I expected more. I didn’t watch Dr. Jin, but at least he fell off a rooftop and traveled through time according to screencaps. That’s way cooler. This one was like watching a really bad B movie -cheesy and low tech doesn’t even begin to describe that scene. Pretty much after that, it was quite a struggle not to throw in the towel and just give up. I hung in there and finished E1, but not that many positive thoughts came to mind. I just don’t like any of these characters. Future Mi Rae is like a bully to her younger self and what she said near the end was not tough love – it was just brutal. Lee Dong Gun looks different from the last time I saw him on Lovers in Paris. Somehow that appeal and charm is gone and all I see is stiff acting. I did notice right away that the actor who was Micky’s cop friend from YEH’s last drama is now playing her older brother. Something like that shouldn’t even be noteworthy, but trying to keep my comments neutral has me grasping at straws right now. Like I keep saying, I must be missing some kind of gene cuz I just don’t like dramas that everyone else loves. With every single drama I loved and wanted to recap, I knew just from the first few minutes if I was in for the long haul or if I was going to bail. For this one, I watched E1 with one foot out the door. Will attempt to watch E2, but all signs point to me not following this drama. *I never did watch E2 so after all these weeks, I’m pretty sure I’m letting this drama go by the wayside.

Your Neighbor’s Wife (Cable drama -JTC): Didn’t last even a minute.

Basketball: Too much intro about the history of basketball in black and white film footage bored me to tears. Even if it was in color, it wouldn’t help cuz I’m not into this sport anyway. *When it finally aired, I was going to read recaps for it at least, but even that proved too much of a chore and I forgot all about it.

Potato Star: downloaded up to E7, but still haven’t started yet. Will update once I’ve seen it. * despite glowing praise and my promise to start, I’m afraid I still haven’t seen a single episode.

Medical Top Team: If I stopped watching The Good Doctor cuz the medical terms were too hard despite the fact the fact that Joowon was on it, then no way will I be disloyal and watch this especially since I happen to hate the lead actor. I have an allergy towards him – he makes my skin crawl. No idea why since I never saw him in any dramas or movies.

Golden Rainbow: Uee and Jung Il Woo are in this so I am definitely watching, but it’s too long of a series to recap. Plus it’s a weekend drama and those are the toughest to keep up with and not miss. When the sun shines and the day beckons, I need to be outside enjoying the sights and sounds of Seoul on the weekends. That means I won’t make it home in time to recap live.  *I checked out E1 and it has every element of kdramas that I despise – it’s too makjang for me to tolerate, but I held on and gritted my teeth to watch E2. Decided to throw in the towel for now and wait for the children’s parts to end and pick it back up around E10 when Uee and JIW come on. Dying to see their onscreen chemistry so makjang overkill or not, I will check it out again then.

A solid promise: For the past few months, I’ve been head over heels in love with one particular show that’s coming up. The drama I will recap for certain without a doubt is My Man From Another Star (new name: You from another star). It starts after Heirs. Even with the crazy premise, something about this drama just screamed “winner” to me. The fact that it stars Kim Soo Hyun is just icing on the cake. One drawback is the second male lead – I never saw him in anything before, but I really hope that idol singer Yunho doesn’t take the role. No offense, but fingers crossed that he bails. * Thank goodness he bailed. Now the potential for this show being great just escalated.

Heirs: Like I said before on Joonni’s recaps, on the nights she is too busy or tired, I will be stepping in to help out and recap. This drama is 20 eps long so we figured between the two of us, we can handle it. After watching it live last week, I didn’t see it again till last night. I found myself fast forwarding all of the scenes in LA except when it was just LMH and PSH. Whenever any Americans came on, I skipped ahead. It was painful enough hearing the bad dialogue once so I didn’t see the need to torment myself a second time. The thing about this drama is that I really love most of it, but I do have issues with the necessity to have so many characters. Couldn’t the story have worked with just half of this cast?  So many of these characters are carbon copies of each other so it gets confusing. Most of those rich girls just vary in their levels of “bit&%ness.” Also, once they go back to Korea, I’m wondering how they are going to explain how they all end up at the same school. If Eun Sang is so poor, how she is able to attend the same high school as Tan and his buddies? One more thing that has me stumped is why LMH chose another high school role.  He hit it big with BOF then moved on to City Hunter and played someone near his real age. He made that character so memorable with all the stunts and fight scenes so that role was a step up. No matter how much he downplays his performance on Faith, he did take his career up another notch by playing such a mature character. How does he justify going from playing a daejang to a high school kid again. So far, it’s so hard to fathom what made him think this role would be considered progress and not a decision that was made for commercial reasons. After Faith, I bet he was counting on Heirs to be a ratings winner. As long as we have this contemplative character who writes and watches sunsets, there are worse things in the world than playing a high school kid again.

Here is my take on the title “He who wears the crown, endure its weight” : It’s probably meant for all the rich kids on this show who are about to inherit their fortune and legacy in a few years and the burden and responsibility that comes with their titles, but it could apply to Eun Sang too. Since she strives to pull herself out of poverty, once she falls in love with one of these rich guys, she has to resign herself to this sort of privileged life and all that it entails. If she ends up with Tan, she will have to weigh all the negative aspects of marrying into this messed up family dynamics just to have the life of leisure she craves. In a way, she will end up a little bit like his mother – feeling isolated and alone at times like someone living in another’s home. Even though it’s Tan, kinda makes you wonder if she would be willing to give up so much of herself and who she was raised to be to put up with his family’s world. Wouldn’t it be like walking into the eye of the storm? Granted she would be holding his hand the whole time, but who is to say he won’t let go of it one day down the line?  Even his father did that three times. (Wow that was depressing – no idea where that came from. It’s like pointing out all the negativity Cinderella must have faced after she walked off into the sunset with her prince charming.) Forget what I said and let’s hope Eun Sang and Tan get their happily ever after. 🙂

As I was reading the soompi thread for this drama, there was a list of certain makeup brands that was used for the press conference. What gets me about all those product listing about which makeup brand was worn or what outfit was featured in a certain scene is the underlying deceit. What they fail to mention is that you need those actors’ faces and bodies to get that same look so if you don’t look anything remotely like them- why bother. During That winter the wind blows, SHK wore this pretty shade of lipstick so I tracked down the same exact color to try it on. Unless you have her luminescent complexion, that shade of orange would make most people look like they are wearing clown makeup. I didn’t even need to put on the lipstick to know that is one color I would never wear in a million years. Lesson learned.

While watching his scenes in GD, I kept thinking this writer is not utilizing Kim Woo Bin’s talent to his full potential so she better not squander this second chance. This is her “do-over” so I really hope this role has depth and substance – more than just as the bad guy and second lead. The best actors can make us love his character despite his despicable persona and if there was a bet going, I would put all my money down on this guy to make that happen.

Some fun news: Joonni and I were at Mango six at Cheongdamdong getting some frozen yogurt when I spotted a really cute guy walk in.  (I have this sixth sense when it comes to cute guys – if they are anywhere nearby, I notice them right away like I have some kind of radar.) He looked so familiar and it was bugging me cuz I knew his face from somewhere. Then it suddenly dawned on me where I had seen him since I must have screencapped his face as much as Joowon’s. Just to confirm, I made Joonni look at him, but she never saw Level 7 so she had no clue who he was. I still have no idea what his name is, but he is the guy who played the bad guy JJ. In real life, he was wearing designer jeans and looked really good like a model. He was with some girl and they got some yogurt to go and left after he went to the bathroom. I don’t really count him as a celebrity sighting of sorts, but it sure was interesting to see someone in real life that I screencapped so much.

Ever since a few months ago, the poster for “Ghost” has been on a certain billboard near Shinsa. Now the posters are on the sides of buses all over Seoul. I have to admit, each time I see one, I felt a pang of guilt. Truth be told, I haven’t watched The Good Doctor in ages. I want to blame my busy schedule recapping Master’s Sun, but honestly it was US shows like Newsroom that distracted me. After the Newsroom finale, then Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, Elementary, and all my other favorite shows started airing again. These days I hardly watch any Kdramas.

About 1N2D: Joonni broke the news to me about Joowon leaving before anyone else posted about it. I can’t say I didn’t see that coming since  his musical schedule requires him to perform so often. Some days I think I loved the first season of 1n2d so much that it carried over to this new one and somewhere along the way, my illusions about it faded. I smiled less with each passing week and then other variety shows like Grandpas over flowers and Dad where are we going took over. It’s still hard to reconcile with the fact that Joowon won’t be on the show anymore. I have been faithfully downloading each episode, but haven’t gotten around to watching any of them. Just for nostalgia’s sake, I think I will watch his last episode though and hope there are still some traces of emotion left for this show.