Hwang Jung Eum

Open Thread: Kill Me, Heal Me Episodes 1 & 2

| kfangurl

Welcome to the Open Thread, everyone! I hope you guys are ready to dig into our new group watch, because Show is shaping up to be quite the rollercoaster, right away!

Here are our usual ground rules, before we begin:

1. Please don’t post spoilers in the Open Thread, except for events that have happened in the show, up to this point. If you really need to talk about a spoiler, it is possible to use the new spoiler tags, but please know that spoilers are still visible (ie, not hidden) in the email notification that you receive, of the comment in question.

We have quite a few first-time viewers among us, and we don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

2. Discussions on this thread don’t have to close when newer threads open, just so you know! But as we progress through our group watch, please keep the discussions clear of spoilers from future episodes, so that future readers coming to this thread won’t be accidentally spoiled. Does that make sense?

Without further ado, here are my reactions to this set of episodes; have fun in the Open Thread, everyone! ❤️

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Dear kfangurl: What do you think of idol actors?

| kfangurl

Bubblebathdaisies writes:

Dear kfangurl,

(This is a long intro, so skip it if you wish) Hello! I’ve been a silent reader of your blog for a really long time, since I was thirteen and I just made this account to comment!

I’m sixteen now, and I feel like I’ve grown up with your blog- you introduced me to dramas and k-pop, and I still read your older articles when I feel down, it’s like comfort food for me. So thank you for that!

The question I have is: What do you think of idol actors? I don’t know if it’s just me, but it feels like a lot more idols are starring in dramas nowadays, and they may not always be good at acting. The general consensus among some of my other drama-watching friends is that idol actors take away jobs from better-trained rookie actors, and some think it’s unfair that they get to use a drama as an acting class.

Personally, I think it’s a bit of a gray area, since there’s plenty of perfectly well-trained and decently popular actors who can’t reeeallly act that well, but also it kind of ruins the drama for me if the lead cannot act well (fourteen year old me wasn’t that bothered about acting skills so much as ~swoon~ factor and watched The Great Seducer on repeat, but I watched it last week and had to skip a big big chunk of the scenes because the acting was…not the greatest) What do you think?

(But I think we all know idols are going to keep getting casted anyways, lol. They’re far too popular to miss out on for profit-related purposes, and some of them are really really good!)

Annie writes:

Would be interesting to read your thoughts on idols turned actors/actresses.

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Review: Mystic Pop-up Bar

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A warm, heartfelt little show, Mystic is sometimes a little (or a lot) sillier than I usually like, but is, on the whole, so sincere and full of heart, that I can’t quibble with it too much.

Hwang Jung Eum is quite wonderful as our protagonist Wol Joo, and importantly, displays zero screechy tendencies in this role.

Choi Won Young and Yook Sung Jae round out the little Mystic team really nicely, and these three make a surprisingly endearing trio, as they strive to help their customers resolve their grudges – for heavenly credit, of course.

The overarching backstory is bittersweet and poignant, and Show does a nice job tying it in with our grudges of the day, with an impressive degree of consistency.

Importantly, Show starts strong and manages to end strong as well, making for a solid and satisfying watch, overall.

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Flash Review: Lucky Romance

| kfangurl

You know that thing that kdrama heroines often do, where they choose to walk right into a bad situation, knowing that they will end up hurt or disadvantaged in some way, but they do it anyway, all for love?

Well. Applying that logic, it seems that I must have a lot of love for Ryu Joon Yeol, heh.

Coz I knew going into this show, that it was probably not going to be a drama that would be particularly amazing or satisfying (I was late to the party and had already heard that this show was a pretty typical rom-com that wasn’t very remarkable) but I still dived in, and even stayed through to the end – all for Ryu Joon Yeol.

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Review: She Was Pretty

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A fun rom-com that, in-between the comedy and the laughs, manages to get under your skin in the best way, with its warmth.

Some of my favorite things about She Was Pretty are the heartfelt performances, the lovingly-drawn characters, and the relationships brimming with organic, sparky chemistry.

On top of these, the breezy pace and the ear-wormy OST – not to mention the uplifting themes of self-worth and self-love – make this a satisfying, enjoyable watch indeed.

Not perfect by a long shot, but Show gets the important things so right, that it’s hard to be nit-picky.

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