AbztractIsight
Cruel Intentions movie + Boys Over Flowers, made baby with Heirs= TEMPTED
LIKES:
Woo Do Hwan's acting was great; tears, steamy sexuality and good guy vibes. But his talent was under utilized for the sex appeal of his character.
DISLIKES:
WRITING: SUMMARY (No Spoilers){see after OVERALL for the SPOILERS explanation}:
In the beginning of the story, it caught my interest as they introduced the dark, extravagant life of the three friends: Si-Hyun (played by Woo Do Hwan), Soo-Ji (Moon Ga Young) and Se-Joo (Kim Min Jae). It showed us how the rich are privileged and yet there is negativity from family pressures. They created a fake persona and couldn’t be themselves, in order to survive. They hurt others, because their parents or siblings hurt them. Since they can’t take revenge on their parents, they play with other people’s feelings. Se-Joo is a womanizer, treating everything like a big joke. Si-Hyun toys with women’s affection. While Soo-ji gets pleasure in tormenting others.
Enter Tae Hee, who is supposed to be cynical about love, due to her parents and their subsequent divorce. She is the target of the game suggested by Soo-ji, to be seduced by Si-Hyun, before he breaks Tae Hee’s heart.
The story had potential to be deliciously devious with the right dose of wicked sexuality. They could’ve even added a modern twist by giving subtle hints of homosexuality between Si-Hyun and Se-Joo, for soft-core eroticism. Soo-Ji should’ve been doing a lot of her own seducing of guys outside of her friends, even playing a bit of a sociopath, to make her character more interesting. But poor writing and inconsistency with the characters derailed it from being a good melodrama.
There were too many unnecessary sub-plots with the other characters, including the parents. This made it a mess and things became tediously long. It needed more from the “teens”; telling lies, backstabbing, manipulation, incidental sexual liaisons with their targets, etc. The female lead was to be pretty on the outside and ugly on the inside. I tried to feel sorry for Soo-Ji, since she’s supposed to be an immature teenager, yet in the end I was just done with her. When focus shifted to her, I found it barely tolerable. She constantly used emotional blackmail, but it didn’t come across as believable.
I did like the character of Lee Se-Joo, but they under developed him. He had a sub-story that went no-where and added nothing to the plot. There was a limit to the chemistry between the males and females, with more chemistry between Si-Hyun and Se-Joo, than anyone else.
Too many extra characters and sub-stories, which took away from the main drama. The adult sub-stories were tiresome, with their selfish narcissism, to the point I skipped their parts towards the last ten episodes. The adults with their lovers, had no chemistry and only seemed to be seduced by greed and power. The usual rich parent formula failed.
I wasn’t happy how the show addressed the family abuse and mental health issues in many of the characters. Some of it could've even triggered viewers.
The “who-done-it” portion of the storyline, was just too easy to figure out.
ACTING:
It was my first time seeing Joy act. I felt she did the best she could with the given script, but the cuteness was too much. Her character, just like Moon Ga Young’s, had little growth. Moon Ga Young did her best too, but her acting skills couldn’t save the terrible writing.
OVERALL:
Overall it was an okay drama, but the ending felt rushed and some of the sub-stories were unfinished. It wasn’t as satisfying as they tried to make it, by using a 5 year time gap. The drama fell short, and I hated the shaking camera bits that were done to add tension or suspense (it gave me a migraine).
Specific Details with SPOILERS:
Soo-Ji:
First thing that was annoying & tested my patience by episode 8, was how Soo-Ji was constantly getting jealous of Si-Hyun and Tae Hee, even though it was her idea for him to seduce Tae Hee. Soo-Ji came across as a spoiled child having frequent tantrums. Her suicide attempts weren’t handled well by the writers/show and seemed more unnecessary than dramatic. The show simply dismissed it and made the person struggling through it, seem selfish. They could’ve handled the mental health aspect better.
Secondly Soo-Ji could’ve been a really strong and devilish character, but her development was botched by the writers. She was vicious at first, but then just pissy and depressed, making her character less effective. Even more silly is that her doctor-mother ignored the warning signs that her daughter has mental illness. The mother doesn’t even lock up her own medication, even after finding out her daughter took the medicine too.
Third: Soo-Ji’s character didn’t seduce anyone and barely teased Si-Hyun and Se-Joo.
Se-Joo:
His main roll was holding together the friendship between Soo-Ji and Si-Hyun. He helped them, more than they were there for him. That made the ending episodes, where Si-Hyun rushes to his aid, less believable.
The abuse inflicted on Se-Joo by his family, happened too often and made his character more pathetic than a victim.
Si-Hyun:
His seduction of Tae Hee was too short and easy. His seducing of the mother-model, was more believable. He needed to have more conquests before targeting Tae Hee, for us to believe he’s the great seducer.
Also watching Si-Hyun’s dad trying to get with Soo-Ji’s mom, was extra cringe.
Tae Hee:
She falls for Si-Hyun way too fast, for someone who is supposed to be cynical about love. Also she was supposed to be pure/truthful and loyal in her friendships. From the beginning she hides having read Si-Hyun’s DNA test. She believes everyones lies, instead of being open with Si-Hyun and listening to him. The whole “give me a pass” junk, was dumb because neither she nor Si-Hyun gave the other a pass when it came to lies or betrayal.
Throughout the drama, they made it seem like Tae Hee had a really bad accident which is what traumatized her psychologically and hence her memories of it were gone. But the accident they showed in the flashbacks was just her getting hit by the side mirror of the car, and she hurt her foot when falling down from the impact. The only reason she was in the ditch, is because she stood up to fast and got dizzy, then fell into it. The writers screwed up in creating this critical memory.
Other Characters:
The writers left Park Hye Jung’s relationship with Joo An unfinished/resolved. Also did Lee Ki Yeong get thrown in jail for his part in assaulting-attempted murder of Se-Joo and Si-Hyun? What happened with Go Kyung Ju (Tae Hee’s best friend). Did Park Hye Jung’s mother get caught for keeping her son from going to military service? So many unfinished sub-stories.
Woo Do Hwan's acting was great; tears, steamy sexuality and good guy vibes. But his talent was under utilized for the sex appeal of his character.
DISLIKES:
WRITING: SUMMARY (No Spoilers){see after OVERALL for the SPOILERS explanation}:
In the beginning of the story, it caught my interest as they introduced the dark, extravagant life of the three friends: Si-Hyun (played by Woo Do Hwan), Soo-Ji (Moon Ga Young) and Se-Joo (Kim Min Jae). It showed us how the rich are privileged and yet there is negativity from family pressures. They created a fake persona and couldn’t be themselves, in order to survive. They hurt others, because their parents or siblings hurt them. Since they can’t take revenge on their parents, they play with other people’s feelings. Se-Joo is a womanizer, treating everything like a big joke. Si-Hyun toys with women’s affection. While Soo-ji gets pleasure in tormenting others.
Enter Tae Hee, who is supposed to be cynical about love, due to her parents and their subsequent divorce. She is the target of the game suggested by Soo-ji, to be seduced by Si-Hyun, before he breaks Tae Hee’s heart.
The story had potential to be deliciously devious with the right dose of wicked sexuality. They could’ve even added a modern twist by giving subtle hints of homosexuality between Si-Hyun and Se-Joo, for soft-core eroticism. Soo-Ji should’ve been doing a lot of her own seducing of guys outside of her friends, even playing a bit of a sociopath, to make her character more interesting. But poor writing and inconsistency with the characters derailed it from being a good melodrama.
There were too many unnecessary sub-plots with the other characters, including the parents. This made it a mess and things became tediously long. It needed more from the “teens”; telling lies, backstabbing, manipulation, incidental sexual liaisons with their targets, etc. The female lead was to be pretty on the outside and ugly on the inside. I tried to feel sorry for Soo-Ji, since she’s supposed to be an immature teenager, yet in the end I was just done with her. When focus shifted to her, I found it barely tolerable. She constantly used emotional blackmail, but it didn’t come across as believable.
I did like the character of Lee Se-Joo, but they under developed him. He had a sub-story that went no-where and added nothing to the plot. There was a limit to the chemistry between the males and females, with more chemistry between Si-Hyun and Se-Joo, than anyone else.
Too many extra characters and sub-stories, which took away from the main drama. The adult sub-stories were tiresome, with their selfish narcissism, to the point I skipped their parts towards the last ten episodes. The adults with their lovers, had no chemistry and only seemed to be seduced by greed and power. The usual rich parent formula failed.
I wasn’t happy how the show addressed the family abuse and mental health issues in many of the characters. Some of it could've even triggered viewers.
The “who-done-it” portion of the storyline, was just too easy to figure out.
ACTING:
It was my first time seeing Joy act. I felt she did the best she could with the given script, but the cuteness was too much. Her character, just like Moon Ga Young’s, had little growth. Moon Ga Young did her best too, but her acting skills couldn’t save the terrible writing.
OVERALL:
Overall it was an okay drama, but the ending felt rushed and some of the sub-stories were unfinished. It wasn’t as satisfying as they tried to make it, by using a 5 year time gap. The drama fell short, and I hated the shaking camera bits that were done to add tension or suspense (it gave me a migraine).
Specific Details with SPOILERS:
Soo-Ji:
First thing that was annoying & tested my patience by episode 8, was how Soo-Ji was constantly getting jealous of Si-Hyun and Tae Hee, even though it was her idea for him to seduce Tae Hee. Soo-Ji came across as a spoiled child having frequent tantrums. Her suicide attempts weren’t handled well by the writers/show and seemed more unnecessary than dramatic. The show simply dismissed it and made the person struggling through it, seem selfish. They could’ve handled the mental health aspect better.
Secondly Soo-Ji could’ve been a really strong and devilish character, but her development was botched by the writers. She was vicious at first, but then just pissy and depressed, making her character less effective. Even more silly is that her doctor-mother ignored the warning signs that her daughter has mental illness. The mother doesn’t even lock up her own medication, even after finding out her daughter took the medicine too.
Third: Soo-Ji’s character didn’t seduce anyone and barely teased Si-Hyun and Se-Joo.
Se-Joo:
His main roll was holding together the friendship between Soo-Ji and Si-Hyun. He helped them, more than they were there for him. That made the ending episodes, where Si-Hyun rushes to his aid, less believable.
The abuse inflicted on Se-Joo by his family, happened too often and made his character more pathetic than a victim.
Si-Hyun:
His seduction of Tae Hee was too short and easy. His seducing of the mother-model, was more believable. He needed to have more conquests before targeting Tae Hee, for us to believe he’s the great seducer.
Also watching Si-Hyun’s dad trying to get with Soo-Ji’s mom, was extra cringe.
Tae Hee:
She falls for Si-Hyun way too fast, for someone who is supposed to be cynical about love. Also she was supposed to be pure/truthful and loyal in her friendships. From the beginning she hides having read Si-Hyun’s DNA test. She believes everyones lies, instead of being open with Si-Hyun and listening to him. The whole “give me a pass” junk, was dumb because neither she nor Si-Hyun gave the other a pass when it came to lies or betrayal.
Throughout the drama, they made it seem like Tae Hee had a really bad accident which is what traumatized her psychologically and hence her memories of it were gone. But the accident they showed in the flashbacks was just her getting hit by the side mirror of the car, and she hurt her foot when falling down from the impact. The only reason she was in the ditch, is because she stood up to fast and got dizzy, then fell into it. The writers screwed up in creating this critical memory.
Other Characters:
The writers left Park Hye Jung’s relationship with Joo An unfinished/resolved. Also did Lee Ki Yeong get thrown in jail for his part in assaulting-attempted murder of Se-Joo and Si-Hyun? What happened with Go Kyung Ju (Tae Hee’s best friend). Did Park Hye Jung’s mother get caught for keeping her son from going to military service? So many unfinished sub-stories.
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