I had the snippet from the bridge (”Loving you in a crazy world, miwodo…”) stuck in my head the past few days. Just that little bit, nothing else, and it was finally driving me crazy that I had to sit down and figure out the entirety of the song just to put this ear worm to rest. Totally worth it, though.
I hope I’m reading these articles wrong because Nana as Kalinda? Um… no.
Not that I don’t love Nana. I do. She’s gorgeous and I really enjoyed getting to know her on Roommate.
But. She’s an idol who doesn’t have much acting experience. Who will apparently be playing my favorite role in this adaptation of The Good Wife. (If, again, I’m reading it correctly, because some articles are more vague about her being an assistant while others state she’ll be an investigator, so even though I’m waiting for someone more fluent than I to get to the bottom of the matter, it looks like netizens are just as confused – and disappointed – as I am about the casting news.)
That also sucker-punches the faint hope (hey, it’s cable! it could happen!) of the mere suggestion that they’d try to keep Kalinda’s character bisexual, because I’m pretty sure no agency will agree to that for one of their idols.
I just… gah. Kalinda is such an important character who has to be played with enough nuance that you can believe all the roles she puts on to get info from people, but also how well she shuts down to keep people out, and yet there’s a deeper emotional undercurrent – rage mixed with sadness and a stubbornness not to admit how lonely she is.
Can an idol, especially one with very limited acting experience, begin to do that?
This is one of those times that I want my translation attempts to be utterly and completely wrong. Although seeing those netizen comments… sigh…
Ha, I had to double-check which inbox you sent this, Anon, because I also run @fyparkkiwoong (so fair warning about bias).
The thing about 50-episode dramas is that they don’t run at the same pace as 16-20 episode dramas. Which sounds like a “duh” statement, but it also means they have the freedom to be a little leisurely about plot. Not in a way that diminishes the story, but in a way where they just don’t have to try and cram everything in at first and can spend time developing a character (many characters, actually, since they have the time to spend with more than just a handful of leads. Whether or not the production crew succeeds in this is another story).
As for Monster… we’re only four episodes in so far. I was pretty impressed that we only spent two episodes on the childhood versions when shows like this typically do at least four.
There’s definitely a bit of a tonal shift, though, between the first two episodes (hiiiigh melodrama – we’re talkin’ old-school melo) and the later two (more comedy, which was a relief, because it’s what I love best from this writer). I’m genuinely not sure where exactly this story will be going. I mean, yeah, I get the general idea – REVENGE!!! – but because there was such limited information about it prior to airing (oh the frustrations of finding any kind of teasers and background information), it wasn’t even clear to me until the press con extended teaser that the hero goes blind.
It surprisingly feels like it could be some kind of superhero show. I’m serious! Hear me out:
WARNING: SPOILERS
Our protagonist (Kang Ji Hwan) loses his mother, father, and eyesight in one accident, that may not really be an accident, and then his money is stolen from him, too. What he gets in return is incredible hearing and through, circumstances, a man-made anti-virus (created by his parents’ company that was stolen from him) injected into his body that makes his blood the new anti-virus. Of course, it was the only anti-virus created and therefore his blood is a precious as gold.
In the meantime, he gets his eyesight back (but retains his superhuman hearing) and works hard to change his identity so he can go undercover at his enemies’ company. He works hard to be the top ranking at the training facility, only he’s got competition in the likes of an illegitimate chaebol son (Park Ki Woong) who’s got something to prove – and a mental instability that makes him dangerous (even lethal).
They’re set up as enemies to go head-to-head as they compete for the top spot, but I’ve been rooting for them to grudgingly become friends (or at least find a way to work together) because I need it. For reasons.
Oh yeah, there’s also a love interest (Sung Yuri), who is spunky and clumsy and determined to succeed even though she’s not the best at anything. Which sounds like a stock character, but it works for me. She’s not a true love interest at the moment because our hero never saw what she looked like when he first fell for her (because he was blind, remember?) and he’s using a new identity and, y’know, no longer blind. Although we’re definitely being set up for a love triangle, even though Soohyun is there to add to the pretty and be perfect and mysterious (and another spy).
I don’t know what the hiring criteria is for the Big Bad Company, but there are spies everywhere it seems and I’m pretty sure everyone except for Sung Yuri’s character has a secret reason for working for (er, against?) the Big Bad Company.
There’s also Lee El looking as phenomenal as ever who also is like our protagonist’s handler, and since she works for the company who needs the virus, it’s a little unclear what side she’s on (although she seems to have a personal vested interest in helping the protagonist beyond just farming him for his vaccinated blood). She also goes undercover to get info she needs and help infiltrate. While looking stunning the whole time, of course.
Tbh you just reminded me I needed to go watch the episodes again because the first time through I was so excited to see all the pretty faces on my screen that I was mostly focused on taking screencaps of my beloved Park Ki Woong and the goddess Lee El. (Although the casting is incredible just in general, so I feel it’s worth it for that alone.)
Anyway. The point is I’m not totally sure where the show is going, because the first two episodes maybe weren’t the best at giving us a taste of what it’s going to be like. 50 episodes is, indeed, a huge commitment, and there’s no reason to start it if you’re unsure. Dramas keep – you can wait to hear more buzz about it and decide later if you like.
(But Park Ki Woong is back on my screen and that makes me very, very happy.)
I just did that thing where I woke up from a sound sleep and then began to panic because I’m an hour late to work but didn’t hear my alarm and why hasn’t anyone tried to contact me why why why isn’t my phone buzzing off the hook?!?!?!? *scrambles around in an adrenaline-fueled flurry to try and get ready*
Only to realize that, oh, hey, it’s PM, not AM. I’m not an hour late to work. I just took a ridiculously long nap when I got home.
Whoa, a sudden and random blast from the past on Unni Slam Dunk for me.
I recognized this song within the first three notes and was immediately transported to my teenage years when this was one of my fave groups. I can’t remember when I last listened to them (er, not this moment withstanding), but now I have the urge to revisit their music catalogue.
The Obsessive Dilettante 