Cheese In The Trap

Dear kfangurl: What is up with the forced separation trope near the end of a drama?

| kfangurl

Molu16 writes:

Dear Kfangurl,

You are my go-to source for K-dramas to watch. I’ve watched many dramas based on your reviews, and they never disappoint. There was one drama that I watched even though you dropped it, and it was all because V of BTS was in that drama. Being a middle-aged ARMY, I cannot pass up on anything related to BTS! 🙂

My question is, why do K-drama writers love to have either the male lead or the female lead disappear for a year or more at the end and come back unannounced? Some of the reasons for their disappearance kind of make sense, such as going abroad for medical treatment or some kind of business training.

However, the ridiculous thing is during the time the OTP is apart, there is no communication at all. While one is pining for the other, not knowing when the beloved will return, all of a sudden they show up to surprise them.

Another ridiculous plot is, the lead disappears without a trace and is presumed dead, but a few years pass, they show up alive and healthy, to be reunited with their loved one.

I don’t understand why the writers make viewer suffer for the majority of the series wondering if the two leads will be together, and when they finally are, one has to go away or seemingly is killed, only to show up out of the blue later.

Thank you for all the reviews and the commentaries you’ve posted. You’re a great writer. Keep up the good work!

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Dear kfangurl: What’s an anti-hero and why do we like them?

| kfangurl
Hmm.. This is a great question.

Snow Flower writes:

Dear Kfangurl,

I like reading your witty and thoughtful musings on dramas and their fans. I would like to read your take on one of the most popular drama tropes, the anti-hero (or heroine).

I admit that I am fascinated with conflicted characters because I think that inside each of them is hidden the possibility for redemption. And redemption and character growth are the bread and butter of good storytelling.

So if and when you are able, please share your insights about what makes a good anti-hero and why do the drama fans like them.

Sincerely,

Snow Flower

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Review: Are You Human Too?

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show is tightly paced, pretty well-written, and manages solid cliffhangers and some good plot twists, through its run. Just be prepared for a fantastical set-up (robots, after all), with melo lashings in somewhat substantial measure.

With the right lens, though, this show is highly enjoyable. I found myself looking forward to new episodes of this one, more than I did with most other shows on my drama plate at the time.

Seo Kang Joon is absolutely fantastic in this, demonstrating acting chops that I never knew he had. Show is worth the watch just to see him in action.

A ride more rollicking than I first expected or imagined.

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Year In Review: 2016

| kfangurl

If there’s one conclusion I’m drawing this year, it’s that dramaland is literally exploding with new dramas on a regular basis, and it’s just not humanly possible to watch every drama that’s out there.

My drama instinct has always been to try to balance the urge to follow drama buzz (the niggling question of, “Omo! Am I missing out on something?”), and the desire to follow my heart (the “I don’t care that nobody cares about this show, I just feel like checking it out”).

These days, with more drama offerings floating around the dramaverse than ever before, I think it’s even more important that I remember to stay true to my drama instincts.

From here on out, no more hanging on pointlessly to a show that just isn’t quite working for me. It’s just not efficient spendage of drama hours – or time in general.

Next year, I will be more efficient with my use of drama time – and time in general. Ahem. *pinky swears* *resolves*

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Flash Review: Cheese In The Trap

| kfangurl

You know how, when you drive past an accident on a highway, and your brain says not to waste time staring, since that’ll just slow down traffic even more, but as you crawl past in your car, the curious cat in you can’t help but stare in morbid fascination anyway?

Yep. That’s sorta what happened with me and Cheese In The Trap.

Because I wasn’t able to keep current with the episodes as they aired, I was only at episode 8 (ish?) when all the behind-the-scenes drama erupted and everyone got really upset with Park Hae Jin’s heavily reduced screen time in the last third of the drama.

A big part of my brain said then, that I ought to just drop the drama and look away while the going was good, but the curious cat in me was morbidly fascinated by it all. Was it as bad as everyone said, I wondered.

I guess there’s something to be said for spoilers, since I went into the finale stretch having had the ending quite thoroughly spoiled (I couldn’t help reading ending spoilers, even though I’m usually much more spoiler-phobic; not only was I morbidly fascinated, I was also – at times, anyway – trying to decide whether or not to keep watching).

That prepped me for the ending really well, and in the end, I didn’t actually hate it. Gasp!

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Flash Review: My Daughter Seo Young

| kfangurl

Y’know, there was a time when I literally wouldn’t have touched this show with a ten-foot pole. Seriously.

Partly, it was because the premise didn’t interest me all that much. Partly, it was also because at 50 episodes, My Daughter Seo Young was a big commitment, and I could think of many much more interesting places to spend those drama hours.

Especially since I wasn’t all that interested in the premise. Mostly, though, it was because I didn’t care too much for Lee Bo Young as an actress (note the use of past tense!), and couldn’t see myself sitting through a long drama where she played the protagonist.

To think that I now have not only finished the entire show (50 whole episodes!), but would recommend it to other drama fans too. Wow, right?

So what made me pick this up again in recent months? Well, I’m gonna hafta say, it’s mostly coz Lee Sang Yoon looks roguishly delish with a shadow of a goatee. 😉

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Are kdramas getting worse / “dumbed down”?

| kfangurl

So recently, a couple of comments on the blog have combined to give me pause for thought.

And instead of just answering the latest question in the comments section, I thought it was interesting enough, and thought-provoking enough, to put it all in a new post, and see what you guys think.

Well ok, that, and the fact that as I chewed on my answer to the latest comment, I realized that there were just too many facets to the answer than I felt could fit reasonably into a simple comment.

Basically, the question is, have kdramas gotten worse / more “dumbed down” in recent years?

Let’s dive in together to take a look, shall we?

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