Rated Horribly with Love
Moment of honesty, we've all stuck around really messy dramas because of the eye candy. The following are shows that I rated terribly but still enjoyed to some extent. Simply because, my ratings reflect my objectivity and not how temporarily obsessed I was with Ichihara Hayato. Basically, these are my guilty pleasures. (Note that these are solely my ratings, as a lot of these dramas have pretty high ratings!)
Runaway~Aisuru Kimi no Tame ni
The selling point of this drama is the emotional stories involving the characters, and the very lovely to look at in a buzz-cut, Ichihara Hayato. There are four characters who break out of prison for different reasons. I'd personally recommend the catholic church to scout them because they give saint Thomas Aquinas a run for his money in the saintly department.
Furthermore, these characters seriously suck at being fugitives. However, the cops are even worse at doing their job. The cops couldn't catch these guys if they were ebola. I mean my goodness, how can a bunch of fugitives running away with a seven year old girl evade these cops? The answer is very easily! They legitimately tweet their location, interact with just about everybody they know, and the cops can't even catch them. It's like watching Wile E Coyote and the Road Runner. However, I still enjoyed it. The characters are oddly charming and the script is a bizarre concoction of love, laughter, tragedy, and friendship.
Warrior Baek Dong Soo
Warrior Baek Dong Soo is the messiest script that I've came across. So messy that it makes the kibera slums look clean, and you'd be hard pressed to find proper sanitation there. I am almost 100% confident that the writers changed their minds halfway through this drama, because they had absolutely no idea where it was going. By episode 16, this drama was beyond repair. It was flatlining and the writers were pretty much throwing anything at it in order to revive it. They added different characters, an awkward plot twist, an ill planned revolution, some awkward romances, and strange connections before ending the drama on a rather mopey note.
The main focus though is on two characters. A mopey assassin named Woon who never kills anybody but broods over how evil he is, and Dong Soo, our charming lead that everyone sucks up to. Yes, I still finished this laughable mess because I'm a sucker for bromance. Honestly, that was the only selling point here.
The Heirs
Yup, a controversial one. I finished The Heirs. I had no expectations and just went in with a “how bad can this be?” Well, the plot is pretty awful, but it's also strangely good at times. Furthermore, there are a few episodes (about three) that, at least for me, were very well done. Unfortunately, because the build up to these episodes was terribly done, these episode were kind of overshadowed by them, still these few episodes showed potential where it mattered. However, the two main characters are thoroughly boring, you couldn't make them interesting even if you forced them to dress up as clowns. The female lead gets dragged around so much, you would think she is a potato sack, and ultimately, there is no point to their story. They end up struggling for no reason because everything is solved so easily.
The supporting characters aid the story and create something to cling onto, except for the piece of dog poop that is the second female lead. You've seen her type before, no need to even explain. I liked Young Do a lot, played by Kim Woo Bin. I'm aware he's a stereotypical jerk with unresolved mommy issues, but his display of self-awareness makes him quite an endearing character. However, still a rich man, poor woman story with an easy conclusion.
Secret Garden
Your stereotypical romance story with a slight twist. The body swap helps nurse the stereotypical evil mother character, water throwing, dog poop of a second lead and really the fail proof formula of romantic k-dramas that everyone seems to love.
This is really your rich man, poor woman story that sucks you in, even though you've seen it so many times. Ha Ji Won plays Ha Ji Won. Okay, I am shade-throwing there but she really seems to only play this type of character. A strong woman for all the “girl power” lovers there, but underneath it all, she's constantly being dragged around by the track suit wearing Joo Won. For a rich guy, he really re-uses that track suit. Their romance is kindled by nothing as such is the way of the k-drama. He sees her, he likes her, he stalks her, the k-drama triple combo of love. To be honest, a lot of these romantic plots would be downright creepy if the guy wasn't attractive. Kind of feels like attractive guys get a pass. Selling point of this story is the humor and supporting characters. I quite liked this, but that still didn't distract me from what it truly is.
Le Jun Kai
Le Jun Kai is a mess that does very few things right, but does them when it matters. However, it's an infuriating combination of a woman suffering from stockholm syndrome and a very abusive man who is projecting his anger on the wrong person. Unfortunately, the female lead still likes him. because, well, when does the female lead not like the male lead? I ask that very seriously.
What solidifies this plot is some decent emotional scenes at the end and some slight symbolism here and there. The end takes on theatrical elements to elevate a very stereotypical moment. The light focuses on the two main characters as the background fades and the stage is left with these two characters who simply resolve their feelings. I am a sucker for this type of nonsense. Since it shows behind the scenes, someone is thinking about this. Yes, the build up is ridiculous, but this simple yet poignant moment makes me forgive the flaws.
Feel free to share your guilty drama pleasures below.