LA_Drama Fan

Ep 17 was epic...where JY was reading the script for the finale of "Straightforward Romance" and PS reaction. And with her recollection of her garden encounter...PS's satchel keeps getting dropped and forgotten about, LOL. HyunWoo is really killing it in this episode, he was spot-on with his expressions. Ep 18 was good too. If they could get rid of JD and stop this stupid MR plot, this could be a really good series and not the creepy mess it's heading towards. But, I know, it's this writer's way of doing things.

I'll go out on a limb and say that KBS needs to re-think its weekend formula for 50-episode family dramas. Lately, the quality of the writing just isn't there. IBN crashed after about 2/3 in, as did TRHC. 3BS would have been a great 30 episode drama if you cut out the endless loop of DNA testing. It probably doesn't make economic sense to run 2 30 episode series where one 50 ep would fit, but if you get rid of the "padding/filler" episodes and scenes, some of these weekenders that are mired in the 7-level ratings here could rise up into the 8s. And be a lot more enjoyable too.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Just finished Ep 12 and would just like to say how much I like this show. The leads are so unique, I've never met anyone like them before in any K or C-drama. She is so internally conflicted and is completely getting blindsided by her true feelings because she's so obsessed with her professional goals. He, on the other hand, doesn't know what to make of her "flirting" and it's interesting that he's in love with someone he doesn't trust yet (completely understandable)...so he keeps from expressing his feelings and refuses to let her get the upper hand. Which of course frustrates her.

The supporting cast works well together too. I know it's slow-paced, but that's OK with me as it's more realistic.

And ShanShan in all black in the snow scene was gorgeous.

It almost seems like the writer is throwing every weird thing she can think of at the wall to see which will stick for shock value. Sheesh.

This show needs a whole fleet of WTODs

King the Land's chemistry between JunHo & YooNa is off the charts - it redefines chemistry for me. What's Wrong w. Secy Kim & Hometown ChaChaCha have good chemistry w. the leads. Oh Min Suk & Shin DongMi are terrific as the older couple in It's Beautiful Now, but their screen time becomes increasingly limited as the show progresses and the story falls apart about 2/3 way in.

You have to take the MDL ratings with a grain of salt. I've seen great shows start out high and wind up with low 7s. And utterly crappy shows that we all agree stinks, wind up with mid-7s.
I've given up on the ratings.

Why is ShuYi so anxious about getting ShiYan on WeChat? She is able to text message him directly. Isn't that good enough? (I'm not that familiar with WeChat).
(watching Ep 6)

I'm not sure if my Kocowa even works anymore, but here in KBSAmerica land, the shows run 2 weeks behind, which is kind of odd...normally weekenders are 1 week behind. But it's OK, this show isn't exactly gluing me to the edge of my seat

That makes a lot of sense, given the traditional conservative bent these weekend "family" dramas have. I understand that YLAG was the last of the "successful (highly rated)" weekenders and everything else since lagged by comparison: IBN, 3BS, TRHC. And I can see where she got her green-light quickly based on her reputation, but still, she needs to be watched.

Our cable service now has KBS America as a dedicated channel (although in low-definition) so I can see the entire show un-edited as compared to the broadcast version here in LA that gets 20 mins of running time cut out at the 30 minute point. The only problem is the inability to FF thru the annoying other elders and stupid storyline.

Frankly, this series wins the Golden FF Button award.

Agreed.

This writer (based solely on my impressions of her work in YLAG) has some 'different' ideas. Which, on the surface, isn't such a bad thing: I would welcome avoiding forced 'happy endings' in series where they were not deserved (I'm looking at you, Apple of Me Eye) or redeemed characters who should never have been (MIL in The Love in Your Eyes, for instance). Some of these ongoing tropes are just too much.

But this writer has a dark side, IMO. I don't mind twisting things up, but she needs to rein it in. I walked away from the TV on Sunday when they showed the scene where DoRa was locked in the empty resort with the stalker by her mom. I don't need to see that, frankly. And this stupid incest thing and the mentally-challenged daughter story-line is insulting, to say the least, to those of us who have a relative with these issues. KBS needs to assign someone from Standards & Practices to review the scripts before shooting. Normally, the network is pretty locked-down on this kind of stuff.

Sorry, FWIW - "For What it's Worth". Thanks for your input, I hope that's possible for him to do. Her world back in her old life was destroyed and I'd hate to see her return to that.

So, a philosophical question....
FWIW, I'm still 2 weeks behind - they showed the ep with the nude photoshoot last nite on KBS America but I do read the comments here and we can see where this is going....

PS knows that having her reclaim her memories and identity returns her to a horrible world where creditors are probably still straining at the leash to get at her future earnings and media attention she will not be prepared for.

So does PS have the moral/ethical right to tell her about her past, so she can return to her past life? Or should he "leave sleeping dogs lie" and let her live a simpler, happier life where he can take care of her in relative obscurity? What is the right thing to do? If that is the whole point of this series, then I think it would be very interesting and redeem it from the god-awful other characters (except for the aunt/brother couple) that make me want to FF thru most of it.

What would YOU do? I would want to leave her be and maybe get her out of Seoul, and back to her "mother's" hometown. I'm just not sure if I have the right to do that?

Absolutely agree with "Once Again". I'm currently watching it, and about half-way thru. So far, it's avoided all the stupid moments that have plagued other weekend drama since It's Beautiful Now.

I can kinda-sorta understand her being a klutz as she is in a totally unfamiliar position that she was all her life - manual labor vs. privileged child star/model/actress. She has neither the conscious memory or muscle memory to do these things. This is one of the things they are trying to show us how "different" she is. But the visual similarity needs to be addressed. What strikes me as odd is that they did such a GOOD job of making her look totally beaten up in the hospital (swollen lips, eyes, etc). Granted, that was probably shot in one day, so they could justify the hassle of makeup for it.

absolutely!

It would have been nice if they could have used a different actress for a brief cut-in shot every time someone new sees her, so at least we could know what they think they're seeing. It wouldn't have cost that much extra.

OTOH, I wouldn't have expected them to go to the trouble of altering her face via makeup/prosthetics (too much to go thru for every scene) but they could have altered the way she walks (limp due to injuries & improper healing) and posture?

(Full disclosure, I'm watching this on KBS America, so I'm only on Ep 11 but watching un-subbed snippets on Kocowa).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't this writer give us 2 Amnesia plots in YLAG? So, first amnesia @ Ep 16 seems par for the course?

I have to agree w. Inkling below, what else are they going to do with her at this point if her career has indeed been crushed? And as Slothful said below, using the same actress for all scenes post-surgery just ruins the effect. They could have done this better with still keeping the same actress as FL. I guess her facial reconstruction only gave her a perm and eyeglasses. She's the female equivalent of "Clark Kent".

One thing that struck me in Ep 16 is the actor that talks to the ML around the 5:50 mark...he ALWAYS seems to play a Doctor in every k-drama I've seen. He gets no credit here (yet), but I guess he's not a medical professional here?

It's interesting that the title on the International Feed is "Beauty & The Devoted" I've also seen it referred to as "Beauty & Mr. Reliable". Both of which I think is more accurate.

This is such a good series, I'm amazed.

Just finished Ep 31 (61 & 62/100). The writers have balanced the stories between the couples so well (Mom/Dad, Doctors, Sadoons, GaHee/HyoShin, older Bro/exwife) it's commendable, especially compared to the last few weekend series we've gotten lately. Of course, I said the same about It's Beautiful Now and they screwed that one up after Ep 37, so there's still time.

I find it odd that there is so much hate for GyuJin on the Disqus boards back when this was first aired. I'm assuming that most of those members were women who simply can't understand him. He's used to a dominating female role in his life (his Mom & then NaHee) and has characteristically hidden or denied his own feelings and opinions and just been subservient to his women. It's why he can't express himself to NH and why he simply acceded to her request for a divorce. He gave her what she wanted, without even considering his own feelings. Once she lost the baby (due to her own stubbornness and ignoring his pleas to take it easy), he shut down because he would have been fearful of saying anything wrong, plus he probably didn't have any idea of what to say. So, at the end of 62, we are presented with a microcosm of this, and a somewhat cliche scene: the leads encounter each other while trying to connect. Except that this scene was saved by incredible acting by the leads...it was beautifully done. And true to form, GJ struggles to express his feelings to her to not leave, even apologizing before asking her to not go. Their embrace (complete with her hesitant initial steps before breaking out into a race to his arms) was so sweet and touching.

Do they have issues to overcome before they can reconcile? Yes, in spades. But it's not all on him: their communication problems are mutual but can be dealt with. He needs to overcome his reluctance to express himself to her and she needs to listen to her husband and come down to his level. Only then can he deal with his mother and put her in her place. (I won't get into my issues with NH at this point).

I'm looking forward to how they go from here, fingers crossed they can keep it up til the end. (Oh, and I do FF thru the annoying "friend" of the Kimbap lady)

I am watching this at "arms-length" on KBS America, which just aired eps 5-6 this weekend. Not really interested in any other characters other than the leads, as everyone else is typically awful (tho the aunt and FL older-brother are kind of funny). Not really going to get too invested in this, so lots of FF here until the series ends and I'll look at everyone's reviews before trying to watch the whole thing.