Shree writes:
Hi kfangurl,
I’ll start by saying, I LOVE your blog! I tend to agree with your unpopular opinions, and I take OST recommendations from your posts all the time, even when I haven’t seen the drama itself. Thanks for putting in the effort to create such an informative, fun space – it pays off.
With the 57th Baeksang Awards coming up, I was curious about your thoughts on award shows. Do you follow them and take them seriously? Do you think the credit is given where it’s due?
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
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Hi Bye, Mama! is the kind of show that makes you face difficult emotions and feel all the difficult feelings – and then make you grateful for having felt it all. Show has a bittersweet premise, and treats it with sensitivity and poignance, with a side of levity.
For the most part, Show manages this delicate balance well, and makes me laugh and cry, often within the same episode.
The performances from our cast are strong, and I am particularly impressed with Kim Tae Hee and Lee Kyu Hyung; this is literally the best I’ve seen from both of them. And Kim Mi Kyung, is, as always, a treasure to have onscreen.
On the downside, I felt we spent too much time on stuff to do with the ghost community, and that ended up feeling like filler. I also feel like Show suffers from some pacing issues, causing the last third of our narrative to feel somewhat stalled.
Overall, though, in spite of what I feel are its downsides, Show still manages to feel like a solid, worthwhile watch, with a lot of good ol’ heartachey feels.
After the epic awesomeness of Healer, and the oodles and oodles of Ji Chang Wook melty in it, I had high hopes for his next project, especially if said next project had any kind of action slant.
I mean, literally Every. Single. Time. Healer parkoured off a building, I swooned. (I guess I kinda have a thing for a hero who also happens to be an action superhero, heh.)
Sadly, even though The K2 diligently delivered on the action front (perhaps too diligently, even), this show just didn’t work out for me.
I couldn’t make it to the end of this one, even if Ji Chang Wook got to kick butt quite regularly, and looked pretty sharp in his suit – or out of his suit. Ahem.
I can hardly believe that 2015 is coming to a close and 2016’s almost upon us. I know I said this last year too, but seriously guys, time is flying.
Even more so when you count the year in drama milestones, or so it seems, since there are more dramas in dramaland than ever before, vying for our limited drama hours.
Everything feels like it’s flying by in a blur, and even though I’m dedicated to my dramas, it’s just not humanly possible to stay on top of everything – and that’s before taking Real Life responsibilities into account! XD
Still, I’m pleased to report that I managed to watch at least as much drama as I did last year, if not a little bit more. I’m sorta behind on the reviewing front, but I promise to catch up on that, pinky swear!
This is absolutely, positively adorable. <3
Given that our drama reality (what an oxymoron, eh? XD ) is such that the final product often doesn’t live up to its awesome teaser (I’m looking at you, Yong Pal), I’m extra blown away that Splash Splash Love doesn’t just live up to its very cute teaser, it actually surpasses it.
What are we doing right to deserve this, Dramaland? Coz I’d like to do it again. And then again. *hearts in eyes*
In more ways than one, I was drawn to Yong Pal like a moth to a flame.
The teaser of Joo Won being all edgy-superhero-badass, leaping off tall buildings in a single bound while saving people with his scalpel, had me practically jumping out of my skin with excitement (squee!). It all just looked so good. I needed to see this show.
And Show – just like that flame – was beautiful to look at up close too. Y’know, at least for a little while, before it proceeded to burn me on my way out.
So I’ve been meaning to do a k-love post for Joo Won for more than a year, ever since blog reader sarahlantz made a request (or several 😉 ) last year, for some Joo Won lovin’ on the site.
Honestly, I did a bunch of preliminary, er, research for this post as early as May 2014. Heh.
And by research I mean spending hours and hours trawling the interwebs for Joo Won pretty. Oh, the hardship – not! XD It’s just only now that inspiration has struck in full force, for me to actually top off that research with one last burst of goodies, and put the post together.
Coz yes, k-love posts need inspiration too – you guys are looking at an inspired piece of research, I swears!
Come admire, melt & swoon with me, y’all. 😉