Long Family dramas- A complicated love

We’re watching It’s okay, Daddy’s girl and although we’re enjoying it, we can’t help but wish this was a long family drama instead because we have a feeling that by the time we reach the finale the drama isn’t going to be able to successfully flesh out all the issues addressed.  We would have loved it if there were more episodes to truly give this drama justice for what it could be. It’s got all the components of a really good long family drama and it just kills us to think of all the potential wasted.

 

It’s got psychos, birth secrets, a murder mystery, multiple OTPs that we can’t wait to see get together (so excited), marriages and lots of tears.
Hello- there is so much to work with and you’re telling us this drama only has 17 episodes? Gutted.
 

Long Family dramas (LFD) – a quick rundown:

-The script has a nice combination of the mundane and outrageous all in one scene. You will probably watch a scene where war has been declared because someone finished all the rice or someone forgot to flush the toilet and then out of nowhere- a vital character will get a headache or a stomach bug and wham bam- its Cancer! Only in a LFD will you get such extremes and despite how insanely unbelievable it is- it’s all so damn addictive that you will leave all common sense at the door and go with the madness.

-The acting varies from good (Loving you a thousand times) to outrageously over the top or damn right bad – see Dae Pong in Sons of Sol Pharmacy House and pretty much every character in Gloria (sorry fans of this drama but it’s true).

 

-Having never been to Korea we don’t really know the reality of life for the average Korean family but strangely enough in LFD pretty much every household will not own a washing machine or have a real bathroom but they will all have half decent jobs and wear well assembled clothes, with nice high heels and yes, the main characters will be dirt poor but will all have the latest mobile phone model.  What is with that? Main characters getting nose bleeds from working so hard to keep loan sharks at bay but by some strange miracle they always have credit on their phones and it’s always a touch phone??? Ummm interesting. Daddy’s girl makes us laugh- the leading lady has a giant arse IPad but no money to get on a bus!

-Speaking of clothes- pretty much every LFD we’ve watched- the families manage to buy bulk loads of matching tracksuits.- So tacky but so cute.

-There is only one type of mother in a LFD- violent, crazy screaming types that love their sons far too much and as a result you will surely go insane from the annoyingness of it all. You will hear the following statements in pretty much every LFD:

‘You are not good enough for my son!’ or ‘how can you marry a girl like her?’ or our favourite – ‘You will marry her over my dead body!’  If you can get past this reality, you and LFD are a perfect match and will spend far too many hours together in the future.  

 

-In our opinion- LFD tend to have lots more laughs than your average 16 ep drama. Aside from the odd except we’re never laughed as much as have when watching a LFD. There is a lovely mix of silly visual comedy and a sharp script that makes this type of drama irresistible. Seriously, the first 20 episodes of Sons of Sol Pharmacy are comedy gold- so funny! Also early Assorted Gems was hilarious at times.

-LFD’s characters are redeemed the best. Every LFD we’ve watched there have been multiple characters that we utterly hated with a passion and spent many hours scowling at the screen whenever they were on it. However by some miracle the writers manage to effectively manipulate our fickle feelings and before we know it we’ve actually grown to like them.

-You are guaranteed the following in every LFD: A death, a marriage, a baby and a happily ever after! The best thing about a LFD is that you quickly become invested the lives of the family and by the time you’ve come to the end you’ll be rather sad to see it end.

Now if only there were more hours in a day…Yes, we’re aware we need help for our obsession- don’t judge us too much!

Creating Destiny: 10-20

We’ve decided to do just general comments for this drama simply because we don’t care enough about the drama to be bothered. The cuteness of the OTP is also not enough for us to completely fall for this drama either. Don’t get us wrong we intend to finish it and have enjoyed the drama so far to a certain degree BUT the drama is far from perfect and definitely could have been completed in 20 episodes or less.

 

The thing that ruins the drama is the fact that it’s full of repetition, urgh! It’s too much to bare at times, they will have one set of characters have a conversation and then a different set of characters will repeat the same discussion all over again practically in the next scene, it’s ridiculously tiresome to take.

Literally certain issues are repeated on loop throughout an episode. For example take Yoon Hee with her Baby Daddy- she must have had the same discussion about how much she hates him and doesn’t love him blah, blah over a dozen times in the course of six episodes. It doesn’t help that the discussion consists of her yelling at him like a fishwife.

 

The love rivals are literally driving us mad- we know that K dramas have their fair share of crazy obsessive LRs but this drama takes it to another level.

 

Conversation on loop between leading man/ woman and their obsessive secondary love interests:

 

Leading lady/ man- ‘I don’t like you like that, you need to move on and leave me alone.’

 

Love rivals delusional response: ‘But I love you, I will have you no matter what’

 

We don’t know what it’s going to take for Hye Rim to get the hint, Yeo Jun has told quite firmly and bluntly that he is not interested but the crazy nut job just doesn’t understand; it’s so annoying to watch, plus Se Won’s pathetic loving from a distance of Eugene’s character Sung Eun is so boring and stereotypical that its yawn inducingly blah.

 

Pulling out the good stuff from the general mess that is Creating Destiny:

 

Errrr, give us a second while we think about that… okay it’s not that bad- seriously or else we would have dropped it sharpish.

 

We like the OTP- together and as individuals. Naturally, liking the OTP plays a big part and this couple are really good together. Their love kind of sprung up on them as they hated each other so much at the start of the drama, plus more importantly they both had perspective others that they were waiting for.

The issue of half love is actually really refreshing to see in a K-drama. What we mean by that term is when they are not quite madly in love with each other but feel that over time it will develop into the real thing. Far too often in K-dramas you have the OTP get thrown together in outrageous situations and literally by a couple episodes they are head over heels in love that they are willing to do whatever it takes- take How to meet the perfect neighbour– Yoon Hee was willing to be her OTP mistress pretty much as soon as he revealed any type of feelings for her= insane! However in Creating Destiny, the OTP are quite open and honest about their feelings and opinions about life and marriage, which is great to see for a change and in a way it adds another interesting layer of complications within the drama as they are both aware of each other’s feelings, so when they screw up its far worse. 

 

We also have a real soft spot for both of the OTP’s families. Jeo Jun’s family is the straight-laced Korean family with a matriarch that dictates the final say in almost every decision made by the family. The younger members of the family are very filial and ensure that they do not disrespect their elders in anyway, however the writers have managed to convey real warmth to a rather strict environment, you can believe that they care and love each other dearly, even if it’s not quite hugs and kisses in the Kim household.

On the contrary Sung Eun’s family is a lot more liberal and understanding, come on Sung Eun’s grandfather was willing to allow her to marry a white American simply because he wanted what ever made his granddaughter happiest. As a family they bicker and occasional make inappropriate comments but they are so sweet together. As Sung Eun’s family is completely differently from Yeo Jun’s family, when both families clash its great viewing and the insults exchanged are hilarious.

 

Aswell as the romance between the OTP, we really like both characters as people. Sung Eun is intelligent, kind and strong. She doesn’t need anyone to rescue her, or hold her hand. Plus 20 episodes in, we haven’t witnessed a single crying scene where our leading lady is crying her eyes out over her OTP in a dark corner… ahem Cinderella Unni.  That said, she does take the role of a considerate girlfriend to another level, honestly if our fiancé was 2+ hours late for our engagement, we wouldn’t have been so understanding, would a text message/call been too much to ask for? Don’t get us started on all the crazy love rivals floating around causing trouble.

 

Yeo Jun has quickly become a firm favourite as well, originally he was rather frustrating and annoying to watch but over the course of 20 episodes he has been presented as a great character. He clearly loves his family which is especially shown in his relationship with his sister. He is also very human; he gets jealous, angry and occasionally acts like an idiot, usually around Sung Eun. We love his approach to his relationship with Sung Eun- very honest, he has taken tentative steps towards a love that he didn’t quite expect but is willing to embrace wholeheartedly, which makes him all the more enduring to watch on screen.

  

Anyway rattled on long enough, we have around 10 episodes to go till we finish this drama and we’re hoping that it stops being so repetitive and moves along more in terms of its storyline, especially now that Sung Eun and Jeo Jun are officially back on. The guy went all the way to freaking Australia to get her back!

Noona Love

(n) When a man is romantically interested in an older woman.

Usually we’re not fans of Noona Love as it is generally really boring and repetitive to watch.

Typical Scenario:

Young Lovesick Sap (YLS) – ‘Noona, I Love you.’

Older woman- ‘We can never be together our families will never accept it.’

Or ‘I’m scarred for life by my ex love and fear that I can never love again, little lone with a child like you.’

Young Lovesick Sap– ‘NOooooo Noona, don’t say that! I’ve loved you from a distance for so long, give me a chance.’

Yawn- Oh! My Lady and The woman who still wants to Marry are key examples of Noona Romance and also examples of boredom personified! Watching the same issues addressed over and over again across 16 episodes… er no thanks! It’s the equivalent of taking a sedative.  

However that said, we think we may have found our first example of Noona Love that actually works for us in the form of the secondary couple in Creating Destiny.

Kyu Han and Yoon Hee are the couple that will probably never be but it’s oh so sweet to watch as the drama progresses.

Yoon Hee is a thirty something unmarried woman with a child out of wedlock- yep for a Korean drama she has her plate full, so she definitely doesn’t have the time to acknowledge possibly the nicest young Lovesick Sap we’ve seen in ages. Kyu Han is kind, handsome and young- you’d think that Yoon Hee would be counting her lucky stars but nope not in a K-drama, love can never prevail so easily. Insert Yoon Hee past love/ Baby daddy- he has returned to Korea and wants his woman (his words) and his daughter back. Although we’re already seeing shades of redemption and forgiveness with Yoon Hee’s Baby daddy, it’s hard not to hope for Kyu Han to get the girl. He has patiently waiting for Yoon Hee and her daughter Jin Ju for many years  and practically every time he’s on screen with them he says or does something outrageously sweet and you think- damn you writers, why do you have to make us fall for a YLS, who has no chance of getting the girl/ older woman.

The moment that made us fall for this particular YLS:

We always love an ‘in your face’ moment and Kyu Han definitely delivered that when he passionately told Yoon Hee’s Baby Daddy- Hae Sung that he wasn’t the outsider in this situation as he was the one that had been there for both mother and daughter for the past seven years. He was the one that had held Jin Ju as a baby, seen her walk and talk and had stuck around instead of discarding Yoon Hee to marry someone else, all for the sake of his family business; so ultimately  he had absolutely no right to say anything about him being an outsider.
Sigh* so well said.

Creating Destiny: 2-9

Yep we’re still watching and enjoying this drama, so far no real shockers unless you count the leading man’s bad acting! Family dramas tend to be towards the over the top side in regards to its acting, which we’ve learnt to accept but this guy is in a league of his own- yikes it’s bad. In spite of that we’re still tuned in and we actually look forward to the next lot of episodes- which we think is a good sign.

Although we’re nine episodes in there has been very little progress in the romance department for the OTP- they still absolutely hate each other and spend the majority of the time sniping at one another. Even though Sang Eun is in a foreign country with no support and is stuck with a nasty guy who really doesn’t care about her welfare; the leading lady acts strong, is completely resilient and is someone worth rooting for. We can’t stand weak female leads that need protecting or rescuing every two minutes, it’s so boring and cliché and thankfully there is nothing weak about Sang Eun. She more than makes up for Ki Tae Young’s BAD acting! This OTP also happen to share great chemistry which is clearly presented in her numerous sniping sessions and quick witted banter, we can easily see this couple turn from hating each other to falling head over heels in love. 

No real romance just yet, but we do have possibly the funniest and sweetest bromance we’ve seen in ages. As you may know from previous posts we can’t resist a bit of bromance and this drama delivers in spades. The OTP’s fathers’ share just the cutest relationship on this show- come on they even shared a bed together, where they reminisced about the good old days while holding hands! Yes that’s right while holding hands- how very un-Korean indeed. The best thing about it is how very jealous Yeo Jun’s mother is of their special ‘relationship’, we really didn’t see the bromance coming, which makes it all the more hilarious to watch. 

Aside from the OTP, the other characters are also already well developed with a couple surprising characters thrown in the mix. For example the love rival is very interesting- as soon as she heard that she may lose her man, she went to the family and confessed her feelings, asking for the opportunity to be considered as a future daughter in law. She is both direct and manipulative; she has clearly laid her cards out on the table with Sang Eun and is not afraid to do what it takes to get Yeo Jun. It’s a refreshing change to see such a ruthless love rival as they usually secretly love from a distance (boring) or act outrageously sly without anyone realising, which is frustrating to watch.   

The grandmother is still hilarious to watch on screen- she has perfected the role of being comically morbid; practically every other sentence is about her dying. Watching her on screen is even better when she’s acting opposite Eun Sang’s grandfather. They absolutely hate each other and as a result their banter is great to watch.

A quick rundown of what’s happened so far:

Sung Eun’s family have returned to Korea- yay, we adore her family, they have such a lovely relationship and are so sweet together. This means plenty of uninterrupted bromance, funny showdowns between the grandparents and lots of Eun Sang’s father with everyone- we love him!

To avoid the constant harassment from the OTP’s families regarding Sung Eun and Yeo Yun getting married- the pair have decided to pretend to date, right at the moment the families planned to drop the issue and let them marry whoever they wanted. Unfortunately for the OTP they spoke too soon and now they are stuck with one another- whether they like it or not. Yes we know where this is heading but we don’t care!

Yoon Hee’s Baby Daddy Hae Sung has returned after 6 years and has found out that he has a daughter- insert multiple arguments, grandma’s collapsing and Yoon Hee’s father begging Hae Sun to stay away from his daughter by dropping down to his knees. Not the dreaded begging scene; they are always so dramatically OTT to watch!

Love Rival Hye Rim is a nasty piece of work who really needs a reality check- we love how Yeo Jun bluntly rejected her- he might as well as have said- no way, never little girl.  As she isn’t the real love rival, we’re quite interested in the person Yeo Jun really loves and has waited two years for.

Ki Tae Young’s acting has much improved from the start of the drama, where we were distracted from the actual storyline because he was that over the top. His character Yeo Jun has also rapidly improved from being just a nasty git to actually being a character worthy of the leading lady- we’re glad that the writers didn’t drag out the nasty/ inconsiderate leading man role too much and moved forward with a more considerate and earnest character.

So nine episodes in and we’re pleasantly surprised by how much we’re enjoying this drama; heres hoping it maintains its charm, refreshing approach to a typical k-drama scenario and of course builds on what we anticipate to be a lovely OTP to watch.

Creating Destiny- 1-2

We always like to have a family drama added in the mix of our list of currently watching; simply because we’re from a large, eccentric and at times dramatic family, so as you can imagine we relate really well! The thing about family dramas we like so much is the fact that although they are rather predicable, over the top and at times silly, they have a lovely charm about them that makes you forget all the negatives and simply sweeps you up in their world of family bickering, falling in love and eventually marriage.

Anyway as we’ve practically finished all of our current dramas we thought it was the perfect opportunity to add a new drama to the mix in the form of Creating Destiny.

Although it’s not quite as long as most family dramas, 31 episodes is more than enough for us to sink our teeth into and we’ve got to say so far, not bad. We were actually really surprised; we had a feeling that we would either like it or not but we’re pleased to report that we like it!

The story consists of Eugene’s character Sang Eun wanting to marry her American boyfriend, which of course doesn’t go down well with her family, so to try and delay and possible change her mind, her father sends under false pretences to meet her ‘betrothed’ in Korea. Her ‘betrothed’ happens to have no interest what so ever in an arranged marriage, so they decide to work together to ensure that their arranged marriage never happens. Yes, yes, we know exactly what’s going to happen ect, ect but we don’t care.

The reasons why we’re sticking with the drama (for now) is because we love pretty much the whole cast. It’s got half the cast of Bad Family- who are hilarious in this drama and we hope will provide endless belly laughs throughout the drama. The mother is played by Yang Hee Kyung, most recently Hye Ri’s mother in Prosecutor Princess– we adore her, so sweet. It’s also got the grandmother from Shining Inheritance as the head of the Kim family- she is particularly stern and funny in this role. Of course we love Eugene after watching her in Save the last dance for me and the leading man Ki Tae Young is not too bad either.

As well as the well assembled cast; it’s got great comedy timing, moves at a reasonable pace and has a fresh approach to stereotypical issues.

So for now we’re sticking with it. We hope we can be this positive 20 episodes in, if not- its always more fun to mock away, either way we win. He-He