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Favorite Jae Wooks, Big Love, Crazy Villains, but the Show Needed More Cooking to Gel

As another reviewer mentioned, this show contains my two favorite Jae Wooks, too. I wanted to like it so much more. I don't know what happened here, but this should have been a strong 9.7 show, but fell short of the goal. Overall, I think that it just wasn't "baked" enough. Maybe they were under short production timelines, but I think that they did not spend enough time to lock down exactly what type of movie this was going to be so that the actors could deliver a consistent performance across the cast and/or the director could provide the right guidance. Maybe they were talking past each other, as we say.

And, as others have mentioned, maybe the script needed more time allotted to further digging into the emotional side of the human tragedy. (I felt like I had plenty of exposure to the abuse, that's for sure, and plenty of exposure to the fight scenes.) Coming from a book (which I haven't read), I can see how the story was complicated. It was probably a long book. In the book, there were probably good ways to tell which faction each of the similar looking middle-aged men belonged to. I really found it difficult, especially with the (beautiful) movie-type dark lighting and similar realistic costumes. I do think that it might have been possible to streamline the story. I understand that false trails and dead ends are needed to develop any good mystery, but with so many story lines running at the same time, it felt a bit over-the-top.

If they really wanted the whole show to feel over-the-top, they could have been a bit more clear about it. There were a few key moments, quotable lines that made me think that it wanted to be like a Clint Eastwood "Spaghetti Western" revenge movie, that it was purposefully supposed to be exaggerated. It is listed here in MDL as a melodrama, after all. But this stylization was not strongly consistent throughout the episodes. It also went big on the fighting scenes (mostly swords) in a Japanese martial arts overkill fashion, but the fighting scenes were all fairly consistent in style and lacked the gruesomeness that was quite front and center in the torture and abuse scenes--scenes that, with a slight adjustment, could have been as iconic as James Bond strapped down and headed into a buzz saw, or the scenes from the movie "Seven." Can anyone un-see those? I still get nightmares. (I mean, if you start the series with villains losing eyes and limbs, it should remain clear to everyone where we're headed, right?) One thing did become fully clear as the episodes progressed: the typical story of nearly everyone being "evil." Oh, except the man who we are led to believe may be Hong Rang's father, who after 11 episodes of silently following orders, ended his story arch with a tear in his eye. ("and...Scene!" Very Spaghetti Western).

The FL had a solid hold on her character's development arch, but she felt too brittle to me and too old for the ML (or the ML was too young for her) even though she was emoting like the Energizer Bunny. I didn't see her relax into a deep and sensual love that really would have driven home the reckless and desperate nature of the two leads. Again, could time or rehearsals have built this up? Probably. On the other side, the ML did much better in lending heart to the love scenes and developing the love story. He really brought the sexy to this (Much appreciated!), but his portrayal of the continuing story arch seemed a bit odd. I was bothered by his repeated wide eye movements, which I don't recall him using much in the past. Maybe he had too much botox and couldn't frown? Maybe he was foreshadowing the health problems that oddly showed up at the end? The facial expressions as the show progressed just didn't seem natural or realistic for a man who was supposed to be a stone-cold killer. I would think that not too much should have confused or alarmed him by that point. Yes, this could have been an attempt to show an awakening of a formerly dead soul, but, sorry, for me, they were excessive.

In the final climactic couple's scene, the FL really brought it home as it was exactly what she is best at. Yet, our ML needed a bigger build-up, something, something more in the script build-up or camera angles or dialog coming into the scene, something to bring the weight of the moment home for me. Some angsty crack of the voice? (If you have seen the movie "Midnight Cowboy," you have seen a good build up to a weighty final scene.) Really, I think a different FL may have created a better pairing that would have unlocked deeper emotions more naturally. Don't get me wrong, the FL is a GREAT actress and did a fabulous job in nearly all the scenes. It was the combo that felt off. The storyline/dialog/scenes of why they were supposed to have liked each other was there (maybe more so to justify his feelings than hers), but ultimately it was the softness, the deep ache, the hunger, that I couldn't see in them combined. I thought getting together was supposed to "unlock" them, but I didn't feel it that much, nor did I feel--as a couple--the desperation. It was probably a pacing or camera angle/close-up thing. It could have been a weather thing: the quilted hats and jackets during the wedding led me to believe that they had started filming in frigid temperatures. I don't know enough about filming to know the cause and solution.

I do think that the other Jae Wook, playing the increasingly indifferent and delusional Prince, brought his character home, given the fine line that the producers and directors seemed to try to walk between realism and "Kill Bill" Korean action mystery. (In my mind's eye, though, as I watched this, I kept seeing the scenes drawn in a manga in big, bold graphic images, rather than with realism.) As I write this, I am starting to think that the production team just wasn't experienced enough or give time enough to get everything to hang together as needed. I think this had the potential to be a block-buster in the Princess Bride (non-comedy) category. Sigh....

Finally, usually the music has something to do with creating the emotion. Honestly, I didn't notice the background instrumentals, so they must have worked, but I know the theme songs were fantastic! I don't know what the lyrics mean, but the songs sound wonderful, if modern. I will likely buy the soundtrack if I can find it. SO, I will rewatch, fast-forwarding to the relationship scenes to get a better grip on the love story. Maybe I was too distracted by the gore and double-dealing to see the subtle beauty before me.

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Great Drama, Even Better: LEE JUN YOUNG

As all the reviews state, this drama is great. You don't need me to add accolades. I love IU, Park Bo Gum, all the other actors. The story and production values are top notch. Everything is great about this show.

MOST IMPORTANT, I have to give a big shout out to LEE JUN YOUNG. I have seen him in a number of roles. He is phenomenal, a true gifted chameleon who makes each role come to life in full, vivid color. When I saw him in Brave Citizen, I swore that he must be a sociopath in real life. In DP, my heart was ripped out when he played the victim turned revenge killer. Here, his love-sick school boy to reality-burdened adult was AMAZING. There is nothing that he can't do. Other stars are always clearly themselves, no matter what role, take Bai Lu or Esther Yu or even Park Bo Gum, for example. Lee Jun Young can turn himself into any character in simply mesmerizing performances. I can't believe that he debuted as a singer/rapper/dancer and didn't focus on acting initially. To know that he not only acts but also has all these other skills makes me wonder why I am allowed to live, having no talents whatsoever.

Lee Jun Young is one of the best actors not just of his generation, but of all generations. He shines like diamonds. I can't wait to see his next performance.

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Characters That You Will Love to Love; Insane and Unnecessary Plot Point at the End

The best part of this show are the characters. The ML's character is finally a man who is honest all the time, never takes the easy way out by saying the fast and easy thing. SO REFRESHING! He is an example to all men and to all screenwriters. Add more characters who act like responsible adults, please!! The FL is emotion on a plate. This actress is known for conveying emotion extremely well. Her dewy eyes look at you like an 8-month old's and you want to give her everything she never had but deserves.

The romance between the ML/FL is like most of these Korean shows today: all longing and misunderstanding with little physical interaction until the end, much like the Chinese high-school-based dramas. The secondary characters are all great, including the secondary and unrequited romances. All people you love to love: fun, mature, reasonable, and inspiring.

SPOILER:
The story is complex and deals with mental health. Honestly, the description here in MDL makes absolutely no sense to me. As the FL's personality becomes more clear, it is a bit difficult. It takes a while to get used to her and figure out what is going on, but we have had other Korean dramas (quite a few) that include mental health struggles, so why be surprised when it is the female finally, and not the male? Are only men allowed to be complex?

BIG SPOILER:
The only thing that REALLY bothered me came at the very end of the show, so don't read on if you don't want to hear about this INSANE spoiler: Everything was smooth sailing into the sunset when we learn 50% through the final episode that the FL's parents are actually alive. WTF??? If she wasn't already crazy before this, how could finding out that your parents were alive and decided to leave you with the evil couple who hated you and disowned you at a young age not send you into a padded cell in the "nut house"? The real parents didn't love her enough to want to take care of her? Especially the father? WTF!!! It's not enough to have one set of evil step-parents, now she has a duplicate set? And then, the ML just agrees to let her go off to confront her father by herself and she comes back fine? She was barely holding it together up through episode 11 and now she can take on something like this? Just to fill up the last 20 minutes of screen time? PULEEZZE, screen writers, who up to this point have been pretty good, have some sense of pride in your work and don't kowtow to producers who feel that the ending "needs more drama." This plot twist is something that would take a full five episodes to overcome and is just way too much horror for one lead character to go through (outside of Chinese historical dramas, that is). Don't feel lovable? Well, now you have two sets of parents who don't love you. Deal with it--in less than 10 minutes with no further explanation and come home smiling. Unbelievable. Truly. The brown, swirly emoji on top of an otherwise tasty cupcake.

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You are a Burden so Leave the One You Love

I had to stop watching this after episode 2, because I read the episode summaries and saw that this was going nowhere from a romance perspective. I then watched the last episode to see how everything wrapped up. This is very much like many Japanese romances, where the realistic and cynical nature of the story brings me down. So this is a life's lessons drama, which I wasn't up for watching. There are many two-hour movies about sad love stories, but 10 hours is too much for me.

I read the reviews by Blue_Moon and Linxminx here that give me the full plot, for which I thank them. They provided some key quotes from the show. I will add two more from the last episode: "Actually, saying goodbye over the phone isn't so bad" and "Thanks to you, I can now hope for a warm goodbye." So we know what this movie is about, but throwing a genuine love story into the mix and not allowing it to come to fruition is too cruel for me.

The theory here is that when a person is burdened, you should leave them alone and not add your burdens to their satchel. This is what I most disagree with and why I can't watch this. The idea that --giving someone love and supporting them through their burdens while also bringing your own burdens with you is NOT the way to live-- is WRONG THINKING. People need people who love them and no amount of family love can replace romantic love. While the video shows that people gain strength from various others in their lives, cruelly leaving someone "for their own good" and leaving them in the dark is never the right decision. Leaving them alone, without an equal, if flawed, partner beside them is the worst thing to do. No one is perfect and no one is without burdens that those who love them share. If the philosophy that you are only a burden were true, no one would ever get together at all.

While the idea of letting go of the past and moving on is great here in the drama, the show does NOT effectively demonstrate that the ML and FL were fundamentally not right for each other. They try to make you think so by showing a picture of the FL smiling brightly as a teenager and the, then older, FL saying she doesn't like that girl and the ML saying he does. The smiling girl was not the person the ML fell in love with. He knew the anxious, non-studious, not cautious, stressed FL all along.

Yes, the story says move on and love again, but love is not that easy to find. Throwing love away because of flawed logic is pitiful. What you need to love someone is FAITH, not just sacrifice. Here, we have all sacrifice and no faith. I can't watch the unfolding of something with which I so fundamentally disagree.

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