City Hunter- First Impressions/ episode 1-4

Strangely enough we avoided this drama for ages before we gave in and found that it’s not too bad and…yes, we confess we’re really enjoying it! We blame rubbish promo material and a confused genre for the delay, however when one musthavesubs sister is possibly Lee Min Ho’s biggest fangirl (ahem Shams) – there is no escaping this drama. Add some real fan love for something other than HOT LMH and well it seems like a given that we’re going to check out this unexpected surprise.

If there was one word to sum up this drama we would have to choose- slick.

The drama is incredibly well executed from all angles. It not only looks amazing and at times very pretty to watch but it’s got a rock solid script and standout performances from pretty much the whole cast.

How is it that this drama manages to effortlessly fit in as much as it does in an hour slot? It’s amazing. From the promo material, we worried that the drama would go down the same route as Plan B and Crime Squad, where it completely failed to maintain a balance between the genres explored. However, so far sooooo good! Not only do have a very compelling revenge scenario at the heart of the drama, we’ve also got a very sweet romance blossoming between the dramas OTP- add a dash of humour and family related issues and it’s all looking very promising.

Thank you drama for giving us a decent excuse for revenge and crazy daddy figures. Seriously, it’s been a while since we’ve seen a drama where the plot is driven by a valid reason other than cheating husbands who have scorned illegitimate children looking for revenge or past psychos with random grudges. Killing 20 men right before your eyes and a big fat lot of betrayal is a good enough excuse for us to continue to stay tuned in.

We confess that despite episode 1 and 2 being extremely well produced and interesting to watch- we just couldn’t connect on an emotional level…just yet anyway. However the more we watched, the more we liked it.

We love LMH’s depiction of Yoon Sung. The character could have easily been a very stereotypical Kdrama leading man- damaged, cold and ruthless. Which he is to some extent but at the same time Yoon Sung has heart, he’s got a moral compass which his crazy daddy is lacking and despite the way he’s been brought up- he wants to eventually get his HEA. The guy was raised for the sole purpose to get revenge and kill five people responsible for his real father’s death- however at the same time he’s idealistic and hopeful that he can get justice within the framework of the law. We love that- he is definitely rare breed for a Kdrama. He’s not scared to challenge his father or stand up for himself and others when needed. Honestly, it can’t be just us that are tired of watching the same parental issues play out in dramas? So this is definitely a refreshing change and we love the crazy/ dangerous standoffs between father and son. So exciting to watch!

The leading lady of the drama Na Na played by Park Min Young is our favourite type- hardworking, strong and fearless. We approve. Na Na is an interesting character in the fact that she’s probably shrouded in the most mystery out of all of the characters in the drama. Who is her Daddy Long legs, how is Yoon Sung’s Ahjussi related to her and what’s the mystery behind her parent’s accident 10 years earlier??? The fact that she’s so strong and independent despite being possibly the most pitiful character in the drama makes us automatically like this character. Her life is pretty grim but still she just gets on with it and does the best she can.

We love the relationship between Na Na and Yoon Sung- it’s a bit slow but we’re not complaining. Their moments together are refreshingly frank despite their differences in status. We like how they are already friends and how the writer has slowly snuck in a little jealousy and romantic tension between our OTP. It’s just the right amount to balance out the action in the drama, it also feels more natural and realistic than if the drama went full throttle and shoved it in our face. Yoon Sung is from a different world from Na Na and so it’s nice to see him slowly understand her world and how she lives in it. We can’t wait to see further developments in their relationship but at the same time we fear the fallout when she finds out that their relationship has been based on a lie. Shudder*

Everything is looking very promising so we’ve got our fingers crossed that it stays like that way for its whole run. If not, at least we’ve got LMH to look at. Hehehehe- he’s so puuurrrty.

Baby Faced Beauty: 11-12

Episode 11 was the episode where So Young felt the fallout of her lie being exposed and all we have to say is finally! Episode 11 was so good and we’re so glad that she can at last get her true identity back and she can build a real relationship with the people around her without freaking out that someone is going to find out that she’s an old ahjumma!  
   

The scene that did it for us was the confrontation between her and Jin Wook. The poor guy, we felt so sorry for him. His love for her was so earnest and sincere and for him to find out that it was based on a lie was too cruel. The biggest shock was actually So Young’s admission of love. For a character that is so reserved, we were surprised to say the least but so pleased as well.  His rejection of her was really sad to watch- So Young always comes across as so pitiful and for her to not only admit but also put herself out there was brave. It was nice to see a little angst between the two characters as they are usually surrounded by lots of fluffy cuteness. At least any progress made in the future will be based on an even playing field rather than the idea of a one sided love.

We think that the foreboding of everyone finding out her lie was scarier than the actual results. We literally spent 10 whole episodes squirming in our seats and now that it’s been revealed we can’t tell you how happy we are. Although the confrontations were horrible to watch, we’re glad that it wasn’t as evil as it played out in our minds- shudder* If anything So Young took it with dignity and grace and her return to the company just made her appear more fearless and determined to fulfil her dream to be a designer. Also we loved the impact it had on revealing her true feelings to her mother and sister about how she felt about her upbringing and her general treatment. The scene where they’re fighting over the sewing machine was so intense and angry. It was a great way to enforce a change in dynamics and allow for progress to happen both in their relationships but also as individuals.

We’re glad that the writer didn’t allow the characters to wallow too long from the aftermath of the confession and the storyline moved along quickly to the next phase. We love the idea of the competition between good and bad / sensible vs fashionable- so excited.

Quick thoughts:

-We’re glad that Jin Wook couldn’t stay mad at So Young for too long. We can’t wait to see their relationship properly develop in the upcoming episodes.

-We can’t wait for everyone to find out how manipulative Yoon Seo is- seriously for a split second we actually thought she was going to be a love rival with some creditability. How wrong were we!?

 -The drama has been extended by two episodes- groan* -We hate drama extensions with a passion but we’re hoping that it was extended earlier enough that the writers can actually do something worthwhile with it. Fingers crossed.