Doril
The Tropiest of Tropiest KDramas
I'm writing this review in 2021, but I watched this show back when it aired in 2013, and I can safely say that there is something truly unique about this Kdrama and I doubt it can ever be replicated ever again. To truly appreciate what this show is like, you have to imagine yourself as a Kdrama viewer from 2013: in the international scene, everyone used this little old site called Dramafever (in reality: mega popular free-to-use drama watching site) who actually had a hand in co-producing this show. It features cinematic, lesser known American venues such as Balboa Park in San Diego or the Terranea Rancho Palos Verdes resort near Los Angeles. Apparently, the scriptwriter intentionally designed the show to be a meme: she was no rookie at the time of penning the story and just slammed all the fun elements she could think of into it.
This memeness is both this show's greatest strength and its biggest downfall. On the one hand, in 2021, you may recognize the ridiculous star-studded cast: we've got the mega popular Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Hos as the leads. For side characters, they are all recognizable names: we have Choi Jin Hyuk who I swear is in everything, and most recently in a minor role in Mr Queen. We have Kim Ji Won of Descendants of the Sun fame (and more recently Arthdal Chronicles/Fight My Way). Even the even-more-minor characters have reached great notoriety: Kang Ha Neul would go on to star in the Baeksang-winning drama Where the Camellia Blooms. So what's the problem? Well, because it's so tropy, all the characters are one-dimensional, barely tapping into the skill of each actor. Kim Tan is a lovesick, rich teen with daddy issues. Cha Eun Sang is a pitiful, poor girl who cries a lot. Choi Young Do is your misunderstood second lead. Yoo Rachel is a bully. None of these characters have depth: they exist to fulfill their one plot role. It's hard to say it's "well acted" because...what is there to act? Personally, I love Kim Ji Won -- I think she expresses great depth as an actress in her other roles. But in Heirs? Her character exists to scowl or hurt Cha Eun Sang, either physically or mentally. And pretty much every single character can be described this way.
The story is of the same flavor: a wonderful exercise in "how cliche can you make a plot". We've got the tragic, teen romance. We've got Chaebols. We've got honoring your family vs pursuing romantic love. It's all there.
Ultimately, Heirs succeeds in doing what it set out to do. It's a beautiful show "about nothing", featuring gorgeous, sunny locales, beautiful actors and actresses, with a plot that invokes a lot of designer costumes and kisses. Back in 2013, I had a lot of fun watching it and I still do on re-watch. But there's "nothing there". Heirs is a weird show.
This memeness is both this show's greatest strength and its biggest downfall. On the one hand, in 2021, you may recognize the ridiculous star-studded cast: we've got the mega popular Park Shin Hye and Lee Min Hos as the leads. For side characters, they are all recognizable names: we have Choi Jin Hyuk who I swear is in everything, and most recently in a minor role in Mr Queen. We have Kim Ji Won of Descendants of the Sun fame (and more recently Arthdal Chronicles/Fight My Way). Even the even-more-minor characters have reached great notoriety: Kang Ha Neul would go on to star in the Baeksang-winning drama Where the Camellia Blooms. So what's the problem? Well, because it's so tropy, all the characters are one-dimensional, barely tapping into the skill of each actor. Kim Tan is a lovesick, rich teen with daddy issues. Cha Eun Sang is a pitiful, poor girl who cries a lot. Choi Young Do is your misunderstood second lead. Yoo Rachel is a bully. None of these characters have depth: they exist to fulfill their one plot role. It's hard to say it's "well acted" because...what is there to act? Personally, I love Kim Ji Won -- I think she expresses great depth as an actress in her other roles. But in Heirs? Her character exists to scowl or hurt Cha Eun Sang, either physically or mentally. And pretty much every single character can be described this way.
The story is of the same flavor: a wonderful exercise in "how cliche can you make a plot". We've got the tragic, teen romance. We've got Chaebols. We've got honoring your family vs pursuing romantic love. It's all there.
Ultimately, Heirs succeeds in doing what it set out to do. It's a beautiful show "about nothing", featuring gorgeous, sunny locales, beautiful actors and actresses, with a plot that invokes a lot of designer costumes and kisses. Back in 2013, I had a lot of fun watching it and I still do on re-watch. But there's "nothing there". Heirs is a weird show.
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