My relationship with this show is ending on a note of “too little, too late,” my friends.
I’d really wanted to like this one, especially since I like both leads, and I did feel like Show had started well. To be honest, though, it’s been a slippery experience, trying to find something solid to hold onto, but still progressively losing what little grip I had, as I progressed through the episodes.
I kept trying to find a lens that would make this one work for me, but to be honest, even though some lenses did help somewhat, nothing actually worked all that well.
And so it is, that I’m choosing to say goodbye to Show, 10 episodes into Show’s 16.
Navillera works out to be so many things; it’s so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s a story of personal journey; of unlikely friendship; of family; of healing; of growth; of daring to dream your dreams, and it’s altogether uplifting and wholesome.
Our entire cast is excellent but the dual stand-outs for me, are Park In Hwan and Song Kang, who, individually and together, steal this show – and my heart – in deep and profound ways.
On top of this, Show is confidently written, and wonderfully executed, plus, a wonderfully immersive OST works to lift the watch experience to a whole other level.
Affecting, inspiring and completely moving. A must-see.
(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.
You guys, this is possibly the one show that I ended up watching quite literally by accident.
See, even though quite a few of you had suggested this show to me, I’d put it vaguely on my list for “later,” and my track record shows that “later” often stretches into a black hole void of “maybe never,” mostly because there are just too many newer shows vying for my attention and I can’t keep up with it all.
The thing is, when I saw this available on Viu, I thought I’d click on episode 1, “just to see.” Well, whaddya know. I got sucked in within mere minutes.
This one struck me as immediately engaging the way a classic melo like Winter Sonata is immediately engaging, and by the 30-minute mark, I knew I’d be following this one through to the end. In a drama landscape where a good number of dramas take about 4 episodes to get going in earnest, that’s skillz.
The question is, did Show manage to keep it up all the way through to the end?
Despite its flaws and indulgent streaks, Answer Me 1994 is a lovely little show that’s peopled by likable, bubbly characters that not only feel real, but also feel like they’re real friends with one another.
The characters and their relationships are the shining jewels crowning this show, and together, they shine so brightly that it’s not hard to overlook the occasional uneven writing, the consistently bloated episodes and the dreaded Who’s The Hubs game that Show inherited from its predecessor Answer Me 1997.
If there’s one thing that everyone seems to be able to agree on, it’s that time is flying. Like, seriously. Where has 2014 gone?
I can hardly believe that 2015 is almost here, promising/threatening gifts of dramas chock-full of vampires, multiple personalities, and other psychological disorders goodies.
Before 2014 makes her exit, though, I wanted to come out and give credit where it’s due. Coz as much as so many of my friends in dramaland have been talking about a meh drama year, I feel like I had a pretty good drama year, actually.
High School King is definitely a drama that is better in concept than in execution.
While the idea of a high schooler going successfully undercover as a sharp-suited corporate warrior is intriguing, the hijinks unfortunately come off as more try-hard than amusing.
Characters are treated in broad strokes for the most part, and we get a lot more campy and theatrical than layered and nuanced.
There are definitely some moments of heart, but you’d need to be patient to find them in the midst of the comedic intent, which sometimes feels like it’s on steroids.
On the upside, Seo In Guk looks great in a sharp suit.
Today’s question is brought to us by Bakazen, who asks:
Dear kfangurl,
What is it about bromances that make a kdrama great? I just recently finished watching Doctor Stranger and realized 2 things: LJS is a good actor and I really didn’t like this drama. So why did I finish it? Because I was hooked by the bromance tease between LJS and PHJ.
My personal theory is they work well as substitutes for the sometimes overwhelming lack of affection we see between couples. Guys in bromances show affection, love, solidarity, joy, connection & (dare I say it) skinship!
Nothing warms my heart like one of the F4s coming to a bros rescue, the F44s teasing each other or the leads in School 2013 (LJS & Woobie) saying how much they missed each other’s friendship.
Besides, I rarely get that hooked into the female friendships (major exception, Noh Eun-seol & Lee Myung Ran from Protect the Boss). What do you think?
So many of you predicted that once I started watching Witch’s Romance, that I would start swooning over Park Seo Joon just like everyone else. Heh. Y’all are so right.
To be honest, before I started watching the show, when I saw all the photo spreads and stills of Park Seo Joon that came out along with Witch’s Romance, I had my doubts.
In the stills, he looked rather.. well, ordinary to me. Nothing about those photos made me sit up and take serious notice, really.
Ha. Watch me eat my words now. Coz I’ve been lapping up Witch’s Romance, while happily nursing a brand new fangirl crush on Park Seo Joon (melt~).
With all the reviews and Pure Pretty that’s been flooding the blog lately, I realize it’s been a while (gasp! More than 3 months!) since my last k-love confession post (Mmmm..Kim Soo Hyun!).
And since I did promise that this year I’d be introducing y’all to more of my, uh.. smaller? lesser? medium-sized? milder? (argh. I can’t decide which word works best. You guys know what I mean, right?) k-loves, I thought it fitting that I introduce you guys to Lee Jong Suk, whom I’ve got a big soft spot for.
My affection for Lee Jong Suk is slightly more dongsaeng-esque than all of my other featured k-loves so far, but I do sincerely think he’s pretty special, and special deserves a little bit of the loving spotlight, dontcha think?
