Day 20: A drama you started but can’t finish

Short answer: Too many.

How many times have you started a drama and adored it for exactly three episodes, then it suddenly changes on you and becomes this hideous thing that gives you violent thoughts and makes you think about the multiple ways the main characters can die a terrible death?

No, just us then? Muhaha.

For us, this is the most disappointing thing about being a drama fan. Your fangirl senses start tingling and you become all obsessive thinking about the drama all day and counting down the days till the next episode is out. You pin your hopes on it thinking that just maybe this is ‘the one’ or ‘the one right now’ and then wham bam – it’s over and you’re left thinking, why the hell did we waste all those hours in the first place?

Or worse, you are forced to shelve a drama because real life happens and you literally don’t have the time to watch it. The thing about returning to a shelved drama is that it’s lost that ‘in the moment’ crack factor and we can rarely bring ourselves to return to it despite loving it while tuned in. Sadly for us, we have dropped/ shelved a lot of dramas over the years for this reason alone. Damn you real life, you are a drama junkies nightmare!

A few notable dramas that fall under this category:

Office Girls:

We know what you’re thinking – weren’t they obsessing and gushing over this drama for ages? Yes we were, we admit it but honestly that drama extension killed Office Girls for us. We followed the drama through other blogger’s recaps and frankly that was more than enough for us. Some of those recaps were painful to read as it looked like the final part of the drama was dragged out to max as the television station milked this money maker for all it was worth.

At least Office Girls finally brought attention to our beloved Roy Qiu – no more love rival roles for this guy. Yay!

What’s Up:

We literally have two episodes to go but still we can’t bring ourselves to finish it and we don’t know why!! Seriously, the drama is brilliant and we’re thoroughly engrossed when we’re tuned in but as soon as we switch off, it takes a lot of effort to want to watch more.

 

Don’t look at us like that- we swear we’ll finish it soon!

Sungkyunkwan Scandal:

This was a drama that we were so utterly obsessed with and in love with for so long –(read our posts for proof – gush central!) and then subbing restrictions were applied and we were forced to go cold turkey. Trust us – we weren’t ready for that. Eventually when subs suddenly started popping up we had moved on to something else and never returned to the awesomeness that is Sungkyunkwan Scandal and all that hot bromance.

Finally there are the dramas that we started and then quickly dropped because they were frankly…crap:

Ring, Ring Bell, Drunken to love you, The Colour of a Woman, Thorn Bird (UGH).

Sadly for us this list is rather long and we could be here for a while.

Day 7: Your Favourite Story

Isn’t it obvious? We like them all!

We joke but it’s true, we can’t resist a good drama trope – whether it is a marriage contract, birth secrets, rich guy/ poor girl romance… you name we’ll watch it.

If we really had to pick one type of drama story we can’t resist it would have to be the cross dressing storyline.

We love cross dressing dramas! Okay, that is a sentence we didn’t imagine we’d write down…ever. Heheh

Coffee Prince, You’re Beautiful, Hana Kimi and Sungkyunkwan Scandal are a few that come to mind and yes, we adored them all.

What is there not to like about a guy falling for a girl simply for who she is? Gender barriers be gone – he loves her as a person!

We also love that sticky angst portion that comes with this type of story as we watch the leading man or love rival wrestle with their feelings as they come to terms with the fact that they love a dude.

The leading ladies are always strong and likable.  In every drama we’ve watched under this topic, they always dress up for a greater purpose like saving their brother from trouble, getting money or in Hana Kimi’s case because it was a single sex school and it was the only way in.

This drama story always has two types of male characters both of whom we adore:

The guy that knows the secret and spends the majority of the drama protecting her and keeping her out of trouble

Tae Kyung from You’re beautiful was so lovable and remains one of our favourite leading men. Then there is Crazy Horse from SS. He was her silent protector that hiccupped his way through the drama until he got himself an awesome bromance.

The guy that falls for the leading lady despite thinking they are a man

Nakatsu from Hana Kimi still holds our hearts as the sweetest love rival from a Jdrama.

Also, how can anyone forget Han Kyul from Coffee Prince? He played tormented angst beautifully in that drama.

For us this type of drama storyline often develops the OTP’s romance better because let’s face it – they need to, the leading man thinks she’s a man! The writer has to go deeper than superficial factors and really give the OTP connections and build a relationship on a better foundation than just the usual misunderstandings, accidental kisses ect.

When one story gives us; great angst, real romance, friendship and plenty of laughs, what’s not to love?

We just love this drama story and we’re hoping for our 2012 fix real soon!!!

A Valentine for our Drama Boyfriends

Happy Valentines to all! 

Beware this is completely self indulgent and girly. *giggles

Last year we commiserated our favourite Love rivals that failed to get the girl, but this year it’s all about our numerous drama boyfriends- old and new…a girl can dream right?

First off, something that made us want to gag and reach for the sick bucket but at the same time we couldn’t help but enjoy all the cheesiness on show. Plus when Boyfriend no.1 –Choi Siwon looks super (no pun intended) adorable in this MV, how’s a girl to resist?

  

Boyfriend no.2– Hyun Bin in Secret Garden– He literally died for her! Enough said. Okay maybe not- did we forget to mention the man tears, the intense ‘I’m going to rip your clothes off’ stares and the amazing ability to look good in a fugly sequinned tracksuit?!

Boyfriend no. 3 – Sungkyunkwan Scandal’s Crazy Horse. Please note that we don’t find Yoo Ah In attractive at all in real life but as Crazy horse we adored him completely. What’s not to love about a mask crusader who hiccups uncontrollably around females? We loved him.

 

Boyfriend no. 4 – TOP (Big Bang and Iris) – TOP is strictly and possessively loved by Shams. Her fan girl ways are embarrassing and irrational when it comes to this guy- who loves to glare and occasional have really bad silver hair. (wtf is that about TOP? Shams may be able to forgive you but the rest of us can’t!)

 Boyfriend no. 5– Park Shi Hoo – The only drama actor alive that has managed to steal TWO leading men’s role from behind, plus look at him, he’s adorable.

Boyfriend no. 6 – Smile, You’s Jung Kyung Ho as Kang Hyun Su aka our Beta boyfriend. The perfect example of a Beta boyfriend who is at once smart, geeky and strangely attractive.

  

We mustn’t forget RoRo’s all time boyfriend – Big Bang’s Daesung. Muhahahah. What a hunk.  

Oh Drama boyfriends, we love so. *sigh.

2010 ~ End of Year Review

We watched far too many dramas this year…it’s a disease, so don’t judge us too much!

This year’s lot of dramas were disappointing to say the least- We think that’s the general consensus amongst most drama viewers- there were far too many dramas that started off so well and got you completely hooked from the start and then quickly descended into stupidity or frankly crap. That’s got to be the most annoying thing about it all…you get all excited and invest yourself in the drama only to be disappointed even more than you would have if it was rubbish from the start.
So here is a rundown of all of the dramas we managed to watch during 2010 with our general thoughts and feelings as well as our marks out of 10.

2010 Dramas that we completed:
Prosecutor Princess– The most unexpected drama love of 2010. We started it thinking it was going to be completely stereotypical, fluffy and possible annoying but we were so wrong. We completely and utterly fell for the characters- especially the leading lady who could have been so 2D but instead conveyed such sincerity and warmth that you can’t help but root for her. The story was also well structured, so compelling and by the end of it you will be sad to see it finish. Plus the relationship between the OTP was at once sticky, angst ridden and so sweet.

Definitely a must watch:

How much we liked it: 9/10- How good it was technically: 9/10

My Country Calls– Loved this drama so much!!! We hadn’t really seen a K-drama that we could label ‘comedy’ but we definitely found one in the form of this drama. Every episode will have you laugh at something; the script is what really stands out- solid, well written and so very funny.

Who knew that Ryu Jin could be so funny? He has to be the best thing about this drama, he stole every scene he was in.

Why don’t more people know about this gem of a drama? It’s definitely worth watching.

How much we liked it: 10/10- How good it was technically: 9/10

Cinderella Unni– Oh dear where do we start with this one… First 3/4 episodes were drama gold. So well written, acted and we were utterly hooked. Then they had a time leak and we went from mild disappointment to anger as the weeks past- WTF? Has to be the only response by the time you finish this drama. Don’t watch it; it’s a waste of time- life’s too short to watch multiple crying scenes and pathetic siblings fighting over nothing.

How much we liked it: 4/10- How good it was technically: 2/10

I am Legend– Don’t watch it! Don’t be fooled by the first couple episodes being reasonable good, the majority of it is really rubbish. The drama had elements that could have been really good; like a potentially hot OTP- completed wasted and not even resolved at the end. Really good friendship dynamics ruined by long winded court cases and a repulsive ex husband that gets redeemed. It’s angering just reflecting on it.

Only good thing about it is the OST.

How much we liked it: 2/10- How good it was technically: 3/10

Pasta– Sure nothing ever happened and it had to be the fluffiest drama of 2010 but still… we really liked it. It was the OTP that did it for us. We loved them as a couple- so much chemistry, charm and it was lovely watching them do nothing for far too many episodes. (Don’t judge us too much).

How much we liked it: 8/10- How good it was technically: 3/10

Pick the stars– This was a drama that we didn’t expect to enjoy but we found ourselves recapping weekly and most importantly finishing it. We really liked the leading lady, the kids and eventually the leading man (we hated him for the first few episodes!). However the drama was messy, had irrational love rivals and by the end of it we found ourselves glad that it had finished.

How much we liked it: 4/10- How good it was technically: 4/10

Mary stayed out all night– The most disappointing drama of 2010?? Well it certainly sounds like it from the forums, blogs and ratings. It’s a shame it could have been really good but instead it just missed the mark. We think we were more forgiving than most… we actually liked the lead OTP, fell hard for the pitiful LR and just went with the silliness that was the drama but yes, we too have to agree it really wasn’t that great.

How much we liked it: 6/10- How good it was technically: 2/10

Baker King-We gobbled this drama up like the greedy drama lovers that we are- obsessed, hooked and emotionally invested right to the end. We loved the leading man Tak Gu so much- such a lovely character to root for- strong, lovable and he sure tugged at our hearts. We confess we cried during both reunions between Tak Gu and his mother and father. The drama managed to have the perfect mix of drama, angst and warmth and we were completely satisfied by the end.

This is a prime example of how the classic K-drama scenarios can be done well and even though you’ve seen it all before- trust us, you will still be hooked.

Definitely worth the crazy high ratings!

How much we liked it: 10/10- How good it was technically: 8/10

Down with Love (T)- Oh dear- we know this is a fan favourite and yes it started off cute, funny and very watchable but honestly it could have been resolved in half the number of episodes and it really didn’t need so many flash back scenes from the same flipping episodes.

Pros- Jerry is hot. Neg- every thing else.

How much we liked it: 3/10- How good it was technically: 1/10

PS Man (T)-  We really loved every episode up until around episode 10 and then we suddenly got really annoyed at this stupid OTP- they had no reason not to be together!!! It was infuriating to watch. Plus when you’ve got the most perfect love rival waiting in the wings, it just makes it all the more annoying.

Best thing about it: If you’re looking for a good laugh- check out Blue Lan’s crazy hair and leopard print trousers he would wear on a regular basis. 

Also a love rival that got viewers so excited that there was even a public vote to get the writers to change the end. Love fan power.

How much we liked it:  (up to episode 10: 9/10) the rest of the drama 4/10- How good it was technically: 3/10

Autumn’s Concerto (T)- We were completely hooked with this drama, it had everything that we can’t resist: an OTP who shared amazing chemistry and a drama that loved to bring in as much angst that was physically possible per episode! The sad thing with this drama is that it was so good up to about episode 6 and then that dreaded time leap occurred and ruined it! From episode 6 onwards the drama slowed down and cut the hot angst, which is a total shame because it was sooo good at the start. That said- do we regret watching it? No way- definitely one of the better T-dramas of the year.

How much we liked it: 7/10- How good it was technically: 7/10

 

Previous year’s dramas that we completed this year:

Que Sera, Sera– LOVED IT!!! It was all about the OTP- so intense, angsty and addictive. Watch it.

How much we liked it: 10/10- How good it was technically: 9/10

Loving you a thousand Times– We were hooked from the start. Melodrama at its best. We avoid melodramas like the plague but this was done so well- Such a tight script, well acted and intense. We cried so much- our feelings for characters were so turbulent we went from hate to like in literally half an episodes- now that’s good writing.

How much we liked it: 9/10- How good it was technically: 8/10

Save the last dance for me– One of the older dramas we watched this year but it was really good. Although the drama had many predicable elements- we fell hard for the OTP- they were so sweet together and when you’ve got a OTP that you like enough- you can get past ridiculous memory loss scenarios and the fact that the end was pretty a complete rip off of the Hollywood movie- An Affair to remember.

How much we liked it: 8/10- How good it was technically: 7/10

Thank You– We cried so much! We were emotionally invested from the start- the story was so compelling and pulled at our heart strings so much. Not your standard K-drama- it’s got so much more depth, heart and it was steeped in reality.

How much we liked it: 10/10- How good it was technically: 9/10

Lawyers of Korea- It’s a nice way to past the time. It was funny, romantic and had a very sticky love square.

How much we liked it: 7/10- How good it was technically: 7/10

How to meet a perfect neighbour– We enjoyed it while we watched it- if you’re looking for a dramatic OTP (concubine bracelet *shudder), cunning Love rivals and greedy evil people- look no further, my friends.

How much we liked it: 6/10- How good it was technically: 8/10

Smile, You– Curse you greedy drama makers- you ruined this drama by adding a 15 episode extension! Seriously, we really enjoyed this drama with its adorable trouble free OTP, annoying but funny love rivals and entertaining family dynamics.

How much we liked it: 7/10- How good it was technically: 6/10

Pride (J) – We loved everything- that’s right everything! From the music, the bromance and the lovely OTP. For a 12 episode drama- they managed to get so much packed in.

Definitely a much watch J-drama.

How much we liked it: 10/10- How good it was technically: 10/10

  

2010 dramas we shelved for various reasons:

Sungkyunkwan Scandal– We definitely plan to finish this drama- we got to episode 12 and we still loved pretty everything about it. Then Baker King entered our lives and every other drama became a distant memory.

Queen of Reversals– We shelved Queen of Reversals because we didn’t like Tae Hee’s husband, we thought he was a complete idiot that didn’t really love his wife and the idea of watching this OTP was far too off putting BUT….news of an extension and Park Shi Hoo as a love interest, we may just need to tune in again. *giggles.

PSH must be a leading man’s nightmare- they must fear it every time he’s added to a drama list because seriously the guy managed to make himself a lead with sheer screen presence- man he’s good. We realised that Jung Joon Ho and Kim Seung Woowho was the leading man in How to meet the perfect neighbour are best friends in real life and if PSH gets upgraded to leading man (again) – that would mean that this set of best friends would both have been pushed aside from leading man because they can’t compete with the charms of PSH. How unlucky!

The woman who still wants to marry– We really enjoyed watching this drama when we were tuned in. It was hilarious at times, depicted great friendships and made us laugh out loud multiple times. However even though it was all of the above, it just didn’t hold our attention enough to complete.

 

2010 really was the year that could have been. So many dramas that had so much potential to be amazing but failed to deliver the goods! It wasn’t all bad we found dramas that were unexpected loves that have a special place in our drama viewing hearts. Here’s hoping that 2011 will be filled with more tear jerkers, angst filled, laugh out loud funny dramas.

Happy New Year! Love the MustHaveSubs Girls XxX

Quick Drama ramble

Aside from Baker King, we’ve really not had a chance to watch anything else- which isn’t a bad thing because BK pretty much rocks and is outrageously addictive. However we found some stead-ish links for Sungkyankwan Scandal with English subs- so yay, we can return to fan girling on this gem of a show. More people need to watch this drama, it’s so good and well considering this year has had so many promising dramas which fizzled out super quickly, people should know about the dramas that are actually worth watching rather than the overexposed ones- ahem… Playful Kiss and Oh! My Lady.  

Speaking of such dramas, it looks like Runaway has an all round poor first episode review for practically all sources;  the dramas said to be- all looks, no substance, lacks soul ect ect. Also the negative reviews/ opinions seem to be reflected in the ratings for episode 2 as it dropped drastically- yikes! Poor Rain, better luck next time.

However more promising news is the fact that Dae Mul is doing well both in regards to the ratings as well as the actual drama- hurray. Although we’ve been harping on about watching Dae Mul for months now, if we’re honest, we were a little put off by the promo material, especially the trailer. Maybe it’s because it wasn’t how we envisioned it and KSW in the shiny gold suit was…weird and tacky. Also we really don’t like the idea of watching Lee Soo Kyung as a conniving love rival (we love her- we adored Soulmate and My Country Calls). However we’re always ones to cheer for substance over star power, so we’re pleased that it’s doing well and as soon as we get a chance we intend to watch this drama. Seriously, there is not enough time to feed our outrageous obsession!

Shame about Runaway– we won’t get to watch Lee Jung Jin in action- we like him J

Okay, a quick mention of the only drama we actually watched in the last couple weeks:

Baker King- Everyone knows we can’t resist a bit of Bromance-

What’s a girl to do when bromance is thrown into the works? Oh dear we were resided to the fact that we would dislike Ma Jun wholeheartedly and then the writers go and throw in tonnes of bromance making it impossible not to soften to the scary eyed illegitimate heir/ son of evil in carnet!

Just look at the follow shots- Hello, there is a double shower scene, PLUS a very intimate bed shot, hahaha.- drama makers we salute you for giving us exactly what we want.

Shame all goods have to come to an end and Ma Jun has to return to being a complete git to Tak Gu. It was nice while it lasted.

Drama rambles

 Like almost everyone else watching Sungkyunkwan Scandal we are gutted that Viikiii have stopped subbing and have gone into ‘intense’ negations with the network. Which usually means goodbye drama; it was nice while it lasted. However strangely enough reading through all the stressed out downright bitchy comments on the Scandal page, it looks like us viewers and Viikii subbers will all find out whether Scandal can be viewed on the website really soon (well that’s what they say) – so there appears to be an answer on the horizon; whether it good or bad, we just have to wait and see.

Heres hoping for good news because we need our Scandal fix ASAP! We are so totally obsessed and in love with this drama- there are no words.

Episode 9 thoughts:

We think we may be in the minority that actually got to watch episode 9 (lucky us) and as usual it was it’s fabulous self…if not a little bit on predicable side. The episode was all about showing our favourite F4 working together and bonding as friends in the aim to clear Yoon Hee’s name. (We’ll keep it vague for those who haven’t seen the episode). Although it was all very Scooby gang like, we don’t mind at all because frankly we could watch this quartet do absolutely nothing together for an hour every week, that’s have smitten we are with this show!

Other mentions:

So our favourite Crazy Horse- Yoo Ah In who plays Moon Jae Shin in Scandal was recently in Vogue Girl and honestly WTF??– He is wearing more eye make- up than us girls or even Jang Geun Suk! Give us the manly, brooding Crazy Horse over this girly boy any day!

Other news:

Dr. Champ- Episode 1: general thoughts

We watched the first episode of Dr. Champ and strangely enough it wasn’t what we expected at all. From the trailer/promo material we imagined it to be a lot fluffier than it was, however it had substance and the majority of the characters seem to be shaping up to be really interesting; as they are driven by loss, heartache or a desire be the best having come from really humble roots- which is always far more compelling than your standard reasons K-dramas like using eg. Being close to their first love or pretending to be a boy to earn some money!

 The biggest surprise for us was Kim So Yeon character Kim Yeon Woo. We really like her character in the sense that on one hand she’s incredibly intelligent, hardworking and successful however on the other hand she’s a real underdog and probably at her lowest point both personally and professionally. She is neither unbelievable kind and good like other K-drama leading ladies- as she’s got quite a bad temper and isn’t afraid to take it out on her interns, but at the same time she’s  driven by strong ethics and compassion and definitely comes across as a character that we could happily root for in a drama.

Jung Gyu Woon Park’s character Ji Heon has already been presented as a sweetheart who is going to cry pretty heartbroken tears by the end of it. The guy is adorable, kind natured and has a cute nephew as an accessory but naturally this being a K-drama this type of character will never get the girl in the end.  That position is reserved for Uhm Tae Woong’s character Lee Do Wook. He only made a brief appearance in the first episode but our predications were spot on with the House reference- they even had a pill popping scene, which we’re hoping was used to poke fun at the House similarities and not just another blatant rip-off from the show.  

Is it us or does UTW look younger and shinier than he ever looked in his previous dramas?

 Overall for a first episode the drama wasn’t bad at all- we liked the writing, the acting and the pace- So for now we think we may stick around and see how the rest of the drama turns out.

Sungkyankwan Scandal – episodes 7 & 8

It’s all progressing so nicely- we love how LSJ is so outrageously in love with Yoon Hee and doesn’t question it out all- yes it’s really normal to stare longingly at your ‘male’ roommate, or have the urge to tuck him in ever so gently while staring affectionately at his sleeping face. He’s a complete goner and we look so forward to all of his betrayed angst and heart ache when he finds out that Yoon Hee has broken every rule imaginable and gone against everything ethic he stands for by going to the university. Ooo, angst, brooding, heartache- can’t wait! Hehe.

Although we love Crazy Horse and Yoon Hee together, in our opinion there is absolutely no competition for Yoon Hee’s heart in this drama- it’s Lee Sun Joon all the way. Week by week, the writers subtly develop this unique and really sweet relationship between the OTP where friendship and mutual respect is at the heart of it all. Respect and friendship is great but it’s their unspoken sexual tension and lovely chemistry, which we love.

To put it simply we love this OTP! Great work drama makers – we are impressed (don’t let us down now).

Other mentions:

-Evil Eyed School President has literally spent the last few weeks walking around threatening people to no avail at all- we really wished that Crazy Horse lived up to his name and gave him a good hard punch in his face when he offered Yoon Hee the leftovers. OOoo, we look forward to the day he’s properly brought down a peg or two. Although Cho Sun was pretty great when she gave Yoon Hee her handkerchief in front of Crazy Eyes and declared her undying love for her. Her crush on Yoon Hee is so sweet, poor girl- in a way we hope she never finds out that Yoon Hee is a girl, it will totally break her heart.

-Oh Crazy Horse, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, come on over we’ll be happy to wipe your tears.

We’re so pleased that he knows that Yoon Hee is a girl! We literally squealed with delight at the end of episode 7! Yay. We look forward to watching him protect her true identity both in secret and out in the open. Come on, if we wanted someone protecting us, we’d happily take him any day.

 Giggles* Whether it’s watching him defending Yoon Hee against the likes of evil eyed School presidents or hiccupping nonstop, we can’t get enough of this guy. Damn our love for those ill fated love rivals- We fall for them hook line and sinker EVERYTIME!

This week’s lot of episodes seemed to have only added to our outrageous fan girling for him- we love how this guy who happens to be a masked political activist, nicknamed Crazy Horse hiccups whenever he’s around a girl- how cute is that!? The whole bed scene was so funny- they have at least a sweet bed scene every week but watching CH stuffing clothes in his mouth to stop himself from hiccupping, followed by LSJ waking up to find CH literally sleeping against his stomach was hilariously adorable- could he be anymore different from his masked activist’s persona?

Also watching him take Yong Ha aka determined pervert/ cross dressing girl detector down in possibly the girliest tussle we’ve seen between two guys in ages, was so funny.  We’re so pleased the group are officially starting to have proper scenes together as a foursome and especially appreciate their F4 strut down the road at the start of episode 7- hello boys (+ girl).

Can’t wait for next week! 

Sungkyankwan Scandal: episode 5-6

This drama makes us feel warm and fuzzy- honestly we sit there gushing and giggling our way through each episode- like those silly fan girls we would happily mock in the past- We are complete goners.

This photo screams:  screen shot- how cute was this scene?

These two episodes were all about Yoon Hee training hard towards her aims to win the Dae Sa Rae with the help of both her boys – Crazy Horse Jae Shin and of course Sun Jun. This week’s episodes had a distinct Mulan feeling, which we don’t mind at all- we adored Mulan.

Highlights:

-Crazy Horse- we knew we would like him from the start but after this week we have to confess that we love him. We giggled outrageously when he started hiccupping around Yoon Hee- poor guy he’s obviously going to get his heart broken by the end of the drama. His relationship with Yoon Hee is so sweet but it’s his future bromance in the making with Sun Jun that excites us. The rebel against the model student being friends…oooh we can’t wait! Plus their interaction is so interesting- they are very similar in many ways but they do things completely differently – we like how they respect each other even though they don’t get each other …just yet.

Although he spent the majority of the night bleeding heavily with an arrow in his stomach, Jae Shin forced himself to the competition the next morning, all because he made a promise to Yoon Hee- seriously how can we resist not fan-girling whenever he’s around?

 -Lee Sun Jun making a miracle happen! Smooth, so smooth- he maybe as stiff as a board but boy does this guy get the best lines.

-Yoon Hee- the girl can do no wrong in our eyes- plus watching her train this week was outrageously cute- how sweet was the scene where she finally hit the bulls eye and Sun Jun told her he was proud of her!! Ahhhh, the drama writers know exactly what we want from our cross dressing romance- just perfect!

Sungkyunkwan Scandal: 3-4

Just when we thought we couldn’t have fallen harder for this drama… honestly it’s so good- we feel thoroughly spoilt and eagerly wait for next week so we can sit down and ravish another two episodes.

So the Joseon F4 have officially been introduced and we loved them all- not a single weak link in the group.

 

Lee Sun Jung is great- he’s a complete stick in the mud- totally geeky and rigid and definitely wouldn’t have any friends at all if it wasn’t for Yoon Hee defending him all the time! We love how we’re on episode 4 and he already crushes on her. Haha, poor guy. We totally disagree with people that think that he’s the least developed or interesting character in the group. On the contrary we like how he is as far away from your typical leading man as it gets.  He has exactly the same ethics and principles as Yoon Hee but due to his lack of social skills and rich boy upbringing he’s not as good at expressing himself like her and as a result ends up winding people up in completely the wrong way. We really like how the writers have mirrored much of the OTP individual personalities but at the same time they are completely different from each other- making their interactions so interesting to watch. They suit each other really well and the more we watch, the more we love them as a couple. Plus how great will it be when he finally loosens up and allows himself to fall hard for guy/girl Yoon Hee? We for one can’t wait!

 

We may just have a big fat girl crush on Yoon Hee, we love her that much. She’s everything we like in a strong leading lady- she’s smart, has integrity and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and others. That said she’s failing miserably in her aims to pass as a guy- We really wanted Crazy Horse aka Moon Jae Shin to be her confidant and help her keep her secret- just because we really like their interactions but the Hana Kimi conclusions not so bad either. We knew it! As soon as they introduced the rebel teacher/ nurse we knew he would be the one to help her pass herself off as a guy. 

 

Crazy Horse has finally been given some depth considering he’s the character most shrouded in mystery up until now. How great is he- we love how he’s all dark, moody and imposing.

‘You sleep here…forever! ‘-Hahaha. We laughed so much during the bedroom scene- so funny.

Oh yes- we loved when he swooped in and saved Yoon Hee from getting hit by the evil School President’s arrow. We would love it if he knew all along that she was a girl and that he was just going along with it- how good would that be, hey?

 

Last but no means least we have to mention our favourite playboy Goo Yong Ha. Yes, we confess that we think he’s outrageously cute/ hot and when he smiles we giggle a little but seriously, look at him- he’s adorable! In our opinion he steals every scene he’s in and as a character we love how nothing gets past him. He’s so astute and such a trouble maker that we can’t help but like him. One question though…how the hell did he and Crazy Horse ever become friends? They are such an odd couple; forget that, we can’t wait for all four of them to be friends- now that’s an odd foursome. So excited!

 

Other thoughts:

 

We loved Yoon Hee’s nickname- so funny. Also love how she’s just accepted it and answers to it whenever anyone calls her a Big Dick. Hahaha.

 

If we were Cho Sun we too would fall for Yoon Hee- She’s the perfect gentleman. We really liked how Yoon Hee rescued Cho Sun from the grubby clutches of the Minister of War…like father like son apparently.

 

Anyway gushed enough for one week- till next time.

Sungkyunkwan Scandal: episodes 1-2

We checked out SS last night and we loved it, simple as that! We were excited about this drama ever since we heard that it was about a plucky cross dressing leading lady who becomes a part of the equivalent of a Joseon F4, seriously how could we resist? Anyway we sat down hopeful but realistic and finished the episodes pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

Considering it was the first two episodes, the drama did well in presenting the major players as well as setting up the general frame work of the drama. We thoroughly enjoyed the fast pace, beautiful scenery and great script, which managed to achieve a nice balance between light hearted comedy and heartfelt angst.

We adore the leading lady- smart, savvy and so very compelling. As a character she is driven by desperation, love and a deep rooted desire to support her family, so you can understand how she ended up in such a situation and knowing it’s for something so much more than simple ambition makes it impossible not to root for her and her struggles as the drama progresses. We couldn’t help but notice that Park Min Young (Yoon Hee) has lovely chemistry with all of her fellow F4 members, which is a relief and a nice surprise- we particularly loved her interaction with Yong Ha aka the very cute playboy member of the group. We love how he realised straight away that she was a girl and spent the first two episodes playing with her- so funny.

Lee Sun Joon is an interesting leading man for us. We concluded that he had many of the standard K-drama qualities such as slightly cold, rude and naturally sticking rich but as a character, we couldn’t help but think he was more on the geeky side than most leading men- which isn’t a bad thing; it comes across as both funny and enduring at times. He’s so moral and has such strong convictions that watching him get himself into trouble defending his beliefs and ethics is thoroughly entertaining. Also we think he’s a bit of a busybody- seriously it’s so unnecessary for him to get involved as much as he does but watching him continuously get involved in Yoon Hee’s business is a refreshing change from the cold, indifferent leading men in your standard K-dramas. Plus the guy can kick butt with the best of them- so smart, geeky and a fighter- not bad for a leading man.

Unlike some dramas where we loved the first lot of episodes but wondered whether the drama had enough steam to last 16+ episodes, we think that this drama has plenty of issues to explore and definitely look forward to seeing what crazy escapades this F4 are going to get themselves into, plus see how this very different group of individuals all end up being friends. Oh we can’t wait for all the angst coming their way- seriously what is it about cross dressing girls we can’t resist? We must have a problem or something because it doesn’t matter what the context is we always end up watching and loving dramas where strong, good hearted girls dress up as boys and manage to get the leading man to question their sexuality, ha!

So we loved the first lot of episodes and have our fingers crossed that the drama remains as good if not better. Till next week.