YazQuan
Atlanta GA US
Stellar acting compensates for plot gaps
Generally, plot holes of the size and frequency of the ones in this series have me dropping a show like it's a hot rock, but the depth of the characters and the outstanding cast kept me binging Red Swan. There are a lot of gaps in the story and deux ex machina has to be called in when reality and the space/time continuum threaten to get in the way of script absurdities, but I still enjoyed the series.
The entire cast is great, without exception, and they make the show addictively watchable despite its boatload of flaws. I ended up sympathetic to characters I thought I'd hate and hating characters for whom I started out sympathetic.
Kim Ha Neul plays O Wan Su, a self-made rags-to-riches success story. She's a woman determined that other children be spared the fear, uncertainty, and deprivation of her own childhood. Putting herself in a position to realize that goal cost the lives of her loved ones, and puts her own life at risk.
Rain is Seo Do Yun, a former police officer on a mission to solve the murder of his brother cop. His investigation entangles him with O Wan Su when it appears the same killer is gunning for her. Don't ask how we know that, just roll with it.
The two leads hooked me from the get-go. A near foxhole type lust moment between O Wan Su and Seo Do Yun after the sniper incident was smoking, and I loved their restrained intensity and moments of tenderness throughout the series.
Despite how well Rain and Kim Ha-Neul worked as the lead couple, comments on the ML/FL dynamic follow the standard MDL pattern: ML is a perfect swoon worthy hunk whom the inferior-in-every-way FL doesn't deserve or measure up to. That comment pattern is so predictable it ought to be baked into the MDL plot synopses just to save time.
My advice: ignore that drivel.
Some commenters are bothered that Kim Ha-Neul's characterization of O Wan Su wasn't more demonstrative. She's presented with the vulnerable stoicism of a woman who has faced unbearable loss and has no choice but to persevere.
Perhaps Kim Ha-Neul could have played O Wan Su as a weeping damsel, swooning with the vapors, back of her hand pressed melodramatically against her forehead, but O Wan Su has to be strong and relentless to survive, and a strong, relentless woman doesn't have the luxury to wail, flutter, fall apart, or swoon.
One more place I'll diverge from the pack: I thought the ending was perfect.
The entire cast is great, without exception, and they make the show addictively watchable despite its boatload of flaws. I ended up sympathetic to characters I thought I'd hate and hating characters for whom I started out sympathetic.
Kim Ha Neul plays O Wan Su, a self-made rags-to-riches success story. She's a woman determined that other children be spared the fear, uncertainty, and deprivation of her own childhood. Putting herself in a position to realize that goal cost the lives of her loved ones, and puts her own life at risk.
Rain is Seo Do Yun, a former police officer on a mission to solve the murder of his brother cop. His investigation entangles him with O Wan Su when it appears the same killer is gunning for her. Don't ask how we know that, just roll with it.
The two leads hooked me from the get-go. A near foxhole type lust moment between O Wan Su and Seo Do Yun after the sniper incident was smoking, and I loved their restrained intensity and moments of tenderness throughout the series.
Despite how well Rain and Kim Ha-Neul worked as the lead couple, comments on the ML/FL dynamic follow the standard MDL pattern: ML is a perfect swoon worthy hunk whom the inferior-in-every-way FL doesn't deserve or measure up to. That comment pattern is so predictable it ought to be baked into the MDL plot synopses just to save time.
My advice: ignore that drivel.
Some commenters are bothered that Kim Ha-Neul's characterization of O Wan Su wasn't more demonstrative. She's presented with the vulnerable stoicism of a woman who has faced unbearable loss and has no choice but to persevere.
Perhaps Kim Ha-Neul could have played O Wan Su as a weeping damsel, swooning with the vapors, back of her hand pressed melodramatically against her forehead, but O Wan Su has to be strong and relentless to survive, and a strong, relentless woman doesn't have the luxury to wail, flutter, fall apart, or swoon.
One more place I'll diverge from the pack: I thought the ending was perfect.
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