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| T he plot was surprisingly good - the kind in which anything can happen. You can put as many conflicts and twists as your imagination can conceive. You can totally control the outcome of the drama and, if you're feeling a bit playful, throw your viewers a curve ball by coming up with a really tragic ending. The stark contrast between a hilarious beginning and a desolate finale would have this series next to those having thoroughly unpredictable conclusions that you probably wouldn't like yet can't help but admire for their artistry and bravery. Not to worry though...you don't get that kind in this series. I'm just driving home the point that the unraveling of the plot was skillfully done in such a way that the writer can insert as many twists as he wants in an attempt to prolong the drama and still have his viewers seriously hooked. That's how good the plot is. I guess he realizes this too, as seen from the bit when Jo Kye Hyeong and Hwang Bo Ra, who play brother and sister in this series, talk of how Yoo Rin's and Gong Chan's situation is so like the movies and they begin conjuring possible scenarios between the two.
Now, the actors. I'm only going to talk about the ones that matter, namely, Lee Dong Wook (Seol Gong Chan), Lee Da Hae (Joo Yoo Rin), Lee Joon Ki (Seo Jung Woo) and Park Si Yeon (Kim Seo Hyun). I give props to the production company for casting such good-looking actors in one drama. Acting-wise, a little polish would be nice. But this drama is of that kind wherein the actors' portrayals of their characters are somewhat off in the beginning, but they grow on you. So, in retrospect, it was alright.
Lee Da Hae had the energy to get the scene going and for that I admire her. She can shift from comedy to drama with ease. Although there were times when her energy was just too much for me, as mentioned earlier, the antics grow on you and I found it to be quite cute in the long run.
Lee Dong Wook seemed a bit stiff in the beginning, it felt like his movements were somewhat calculated. In his fear to exaggerate, he ended up holding everything in. It was a little tiring to see him frown all throughout that I was relieved to see that he could smile...and he has quite a nice smile. He sure can portray the arrogance required of the role, and in those few comedic and poignant moments, he shone. Needless to say, after this series, I am now a fan.
Lee Joon Ki's character, Jung Woo, was too melodramatic in this series for my tastes. So he loves Yoo Rin, but the story came out quite short with these two characters. It didn't look like the two had established a deep relationship to warrant Jung Woo shedding tears for Yoo Rin. Had the story betwen them been shown with depth, I would commend the tears. But as it were, it didn't feel that way, so easy on the drama. The hurt expressions were fine; the tears, a bit inflated.
find Park Si Yeon really pretty. I was confused with her facial expressions though. There were scenes wherein she carried the same expression all throughout, it was rather difficult to fathom what she really felt at the moment.
Admittedly, I enjoyed the drama, from the plot down to the performance. It was deliciously light, even the drama bit wasn't that heavy. It had the makings of a series that you'd want to watch over and over again: pleasant comedy, enjoyable banter, repressed passion, and a healthy serving of drama.
I would have gone right ahead and gave this series a 10, but I'll leave the last point for improvements. So here's a well-deserved 9 snow globes out of 10.
*also on www.yesasia.com |
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