kehrite
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Posts posted by kehrite
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I've been in a drama slump the past few months, but this is one I've really been looking forward to. The first episode was a tad slow for me, but I just watched 2 and 3 and loved them! Fully enjoying this now, my thoughts so far:
-I was always yelling about wanting to see tails back when Tale of the Nine-Tailed was airing, and never properly got it, but we finally got what we deserved with a beautiful shot only a couple minutes into the first episode. Lovely.
-I've always liked MLs who are serious and quiet WITHOUT also being cold, brooding, arrogant, mean, etc, but unfortunately there aren't many... so I'm enjoying him a lot here! I didn't care for this actor in the only other drama I've seen him in, Go Back Couple, but he's really growing on me.
-FL is very cute and relatable. I like that she's not super stylish/polished and I loved her awe and excitement over his room of antiques, I'd totally react the same.
-Second lead can go jump off a bridge. I hate his type. And then you're supposed to feel sympathetic because he developed feelings. So what? He's still arrogant and self-important. Yawn, no interest from me.
-Only three episodes in and already, rather than sulking and misunderstanding after a disagreement, the lead couple has a solid, straightforward, mature conversation. You love to see it!
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I'm admittedly not super keen on Jang Ki Yong, BUT I adore "inhuman" male leads so it's a no brainer I'm watching this! I heard about it a while back and I'm glad to finally see a teaser. I'm going to start out by saying what I said when Tale of the Nine-Tailed aired, but sadly never got... I want TAILS! Not a hazy magical outline in one early episode never to be seen again, I want the real deal. Obviously not showing constantly, but CGI those suckers IN at least a handful of times!
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3 hours ago, taeunfighting said:
@Clemzstar Thanks for mentioning these lovely scenes! They were my most favorites of the ending. Here is what I have:
I love sageuks, and one of my favorite tropes is when the king goes striding slow-motion into the throne room... so for me this was just sublime! Gorgeous shot, very dramatic and epic in the rain like that. For all my hatred of the actual ending, the first half had a lot of awesome moments like this.
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Sorry, I'm back with another comment, because I just cannot wrap my head around this ending! Can you IMAGINE experiencing what Bong-hwan did? Not just going back in time, having to adapt to being in someone else's body, the scheming and danger in the court, etc... but you're abruptly married to someone, slowly and warily come to trust each other, then fall deeply in love and form an intense connection to the point that you're staying up all night talking and sharing ideas, can't stay away from each other, and would literally risk your lives for each other, not to mention that you're expecting a baby. You would ride or die for your husband, "all in," even though you know that in the historical record he does not succeed. You also develop close personal friendships with your maidservants, the head chef, the little girl... and then that's all ripped away from you in an instant. You will never see them again, never say goodbye, never get closure, and you can't tell anyone about it. And all we get to see is Bong-hwan tearfully smiling over a portrait of Cheoljong in a book. That's it?! Are we supposed to just accept that BH is glad CJ was a good king, and now he'll just go on with his modern life? That would be absolutely TRAUMATIZING beyond words. I normally dislike sad endings, but it would've been better for the drama to just end sadly and acknowledge how heartbreaking the situation is, rather than painting it as a happy conclusion.
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I was gutted by the ending. There were a lot of satisfying and beautiful moments in the finale - from intimate character scenes to some gorgeous cinematography - but honestly, the blasé separation of Bong-hwan and Cheoljong left me kind of speechless. Bong-hwan was the one the king fell in love with, not So-yong. At no point did the drama ever imply SY and BH were "sharing" consciousness or "sharing" a personality. Up until the end it was clear BH had no idea if SY was still alive or not, and even though it's revealed that she'd been aware all along, she was never in control. She was just along for the ride, a very up-close witness to BH and CJ falling in love. And that's what we as the audience saw, a couple deeply in love and connected, and I'm in disbelief that they expect us to believe that a) BH magically lost all those feelings when he returned to the present, and b) that CJ wouldn't notice the difference in his wife. It was even indicated, while he was looking at the queen's dictionary, that he missed BH. But everything's still peachy? I would rather have had just a straight-up sad ending than have an ending that we're clearly supposed to accept as happy and resolved, but really isn't. I really can't believe the drama did that, it feels like we're being gaslit or something, and it's left such a sour taste in my mouth after what was an awesome story up until now.
I will also say I'm quite curious if Korean audiences considered the ending satisfying or not.
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I love sageuks and have seen plenty of evil scheming officials, but Minister Kim (or whatever his official title is) is SO HATEABLE! That last scene was hard to watch, with that subtle smugness and triumph in his face. I said in a previous comment that Kim Jung-hyun's acting is impressing me but it bears repeating after this episode. It was heartbreaking to see him forced into submission in front of the court, you could just see the weight of that hopelessness settling on his shoulders. Can't wait to see Minister Kim get his comeuppance and the king's authority to finally be respected.
On the positive side, the fan fight was super cool and creative and the "text message" conversation between the king and queen was adorable. I definitely ship them now, though considering I have no idea how the logistics would work out considering who she (or he, I guess) actually is and all that! Their chemistry is great, and seeing them come to trust each other and be drawn to each other and how protective she is of him is really compelling to me.
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I'm thrilled by the teaser! I live for these epic, gritty, romantic sageuks and I bet this will definitely satisfy my craving. I'm looking forward to both the MLs as well as seeing the FL in some real fighting scenes of her own.
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I didn't originally ship the king and queen, but now that Bong-hwan and the queen's memories/thoughts are kind of "melding" together (however it may be,) and he's seeing the king in a new light, I totally want them to be together. I was already enjoying the dynamic of their wariness around each other slowly turning to hesitant trust, and now even moreso as the king asks her not to be his enemy and she attempts to come to his rescue. That kiss was super hot, though I assume he did it to hide the actual reason he was outside her room (though I do think he's having real feelings for her now also.) Given how conservative k-dramas tend to be, I don't know if they'll take the relationship route given that it's technically a man's consciousness, but I hope they do and gender just becomes irrelevant.
Anyway, I've been enjoying the drama's humor so far but now I'm really liking the plot progression into darker secrets and past events. I really felt for the king as he had what appeared to be a panic attack at the sight of the well. I'm really curious what the deal is with the well. Kim Jung-hyun's acting is impressive, this is the third drama of his I've seen and each role has felt completely different. (Also, can I just say his body is absolutely bangin...!)
(Oh, and one last thing, that location where the king and queen were eating overlooking the lush landscape was gorgeous! One of the best I've ever seen in a sageuk, I wonder where that is in real life.)
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Even though we know the queen isn't technically the queen right now, it was still painful to see the king go straight to Hwa Jin after she fainted, in front of everyone. In most cultures throughout history, even though royal marriages were rarely for love, it was expected that kings/rulers would always put their queens above mistresses or concubines - and from some of the things other people in the court said later, they thought it was a major slight, too. It's funny, in all the sageuks where there's some reason the king can't marry the FL, viewers (myself included) always say, can't she be a concubine? But now that it seems that's actually what happened, it's hard to like her! Maybe because we didn't see them fall in love and we just see the queen's experience? If this was some other drama and Hwa Jin was the FL, I bet I would've found it very romantic, the king choosing her over some mean queen and risking the consequences! But in this case I just winced.
Anyway, I adore the queen's two ladies, especially Court Lady Choi. Looking at images of hot and fit men to soothe her stress... now that's relatable!
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22 hours ago, Shine2111 said:
And you have no opinion about Seojun calling Suho murderer, blackmailing him, indirectly pushing him to die & be unhappy. Using LJK just to spite?
While it goes without saying that such behavior is wrong, the two boys have deep existing conflict between each other. Ju-gyeong has nothing whatsoever to do with it, so for me at least, Suho's cruelty toward her in the locker room was all the more deliberate, and hurtful to watch her go through. And personally, I never got the feeling Seojun is using her, that's mainly Suho's interpretation - to me it's been pretty clear Seojun genuinely liked her from the start, even though he's just now realizing it consciously. He may enjoy needling Suho about it, as he enjoys needling Suho in general, but his attention toward her is not "just," or even primarily, to spite him. Maybe I'd like Suho more if Cha Eun-Woo was a better actor... he's not a bad actor per-se, he's fine with overt displays of emotion but not so much with subtle details. To me Suho often just comes across as blank and disinterested. Whereas Hwang In-Yeop is giving a more nuanced and skilled performance - I can understand Seojun's emotions and thought processes better, he feels more layered and has more screen presence. But eh, we all have our opinions!
Anyway, episode 6 was very funny! Seojun's underwear scene was absolute gold, the shift from over-the-top dancing to nonchalant to humiliated was great. I do wish Suho would've apologized properly when Ju-gyeong cried about how much his words hurt her; maybe he will eventually.
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On 12/18/2020 at 9:37 PM, kehrite said:
I'm over the whole "cold mean boy who's unkind to people BUT WAIT he has a sad backstory!" trope.
I said this last week and it's relevant yet again! I wasn’t really sold on Suho ever since that girl confessed her crush and he literally slapped the gift out of her hands, and now my dislike is solidifying. I feel sympathy for his pain and trauma, but there’s a big difference between being cold versus being downright cruel and deliberately hurtful like he was to Ju-gyeong in the locker room. And she’s supposed to magically see through it and rush to comfort him? It just didn't feel right to me. I predict intense second lead syndrome for me with this drama.
Anyway, the CLOY motorcycle moment was super funny! And I haven't seen KTEM but I got the reference anyway. I think that's three popular dramas referenced so far, I hope they do more!
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Originally I had no plans to watch this, I thought it looked boring and I normally don't like high school dramas, but my ugly self felt empathy reading about the FL so I decided to give it a try! I think if I was watching it all at once, I'd get bored, but it's a fun watch two episodes a week. I love the FL, her hobbies are refreshing and unique for k-drama land, and I relate to her awkwardness. I know there’s no point rooting for the second lead, but to me Seo-jun has much more charisma and presence than Suho. (I know the whole point is that Suho's personality is reserved, but sometimes I feel like I’m just watching an attractive statue! Plus I'm over the whole "cold mean boy who's unkind to people BUT WAIT he has a sad backstory!" trope.) Also, Seo-jun has much better chemistry with Ju-gyeong. Already bracing myself for second lead syndrome!
42 minutes ago, softestfairy said:But Jugyeong and Suho having a childhood connection has my rolling my eyes to the sky.
Yeah, I really dislike that cliche. 9/10 times it's just so cheesy and unnecessary.
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I'm really liking this! I'm picky about humor, but so far it's all worked for me. Historicals are my favorite genre, so I'm enjoying the moments spoofing the standard scenes we see. The queen visiting the gisaeng house and only getting accepted when she confidently plonks down money, then all the ladies fawning on her, was particularly funny to me! Shin Hye Sun is doing a good job with the body language and demeanor of a modern man without it being over-the-top cartoonish.
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I can't say I'm very satisfied with the finale. I started to check out of the love story a while back, so the wedding and romantic scenes did nothing for me. It's weird that Yeon bought Jiah a wedding dress for her marriage to some other future man, and had it given to her 6 months after his death, thus setting her back in her grieving process. Normally I hate melancholy endings but I think in this situation, it would've been better if Yeon stayed dead. Everyone was moving on, keeping his memory alive and also finding their own happiness. I feel like Yeon wanted that. But no, the drama had to tie it all up with a pretty bow and sacrificed Rang to do it. They gave him the chance to follow his brother's video advice, to be the good person he'd always been deep down, to cherish his life, to have a little family for such a brief time, and even confirmed via the fortuneteller that he was actually happy now... then snatched it away in favor of Yeon. I knew there was a high likelihood he'd die, but considering how the past few episodes all but wiped away any trace of him ever having been an antagonist, I was feeling hopeful. He went through so much trauma and pain in his life, and knew so little peace or love, and now that he's finally turning it all around and values his life and the people in it, he dies Breaks my heart. I'm glad he was reincarnated with a loving mother this time but still, that's not really Rang; the drama already established that reincarnation =/= the same person (Though they dropped the ball on that a bit by turning Yeon and Jiah into star-crossed lovers even though they barely knew each other, just because he loved her in a past life. But that's another topic.) The Rang we as the audience knew is gone, and he deserved better.
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Actual image of me whenever Lee Rang appears on-screen:
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Normally I wouldn't be into a drama about lawyers, but hey... Kim Bum. Say no more! Also, he looks divine in that Elle photoshoot.
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11 hours ago, violina said:
I thought I was not really good enough to express the depth of my character.
Wow, it's hard to think that he doubted himself, considering the talent he's always shown and the incredible performance he gave in this role! Even considering the next quote:
11 hours ago, violina said:Early in the drama, I was supposed to look expressionless and emotionless, so I was very limited in expressing my character.
With a less skilled actor the character could've come across as lifeless or wooden, but instead there was subtlety and nuance and you just knew something else was going on behind the cold facade.
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I'll be real here, normally I probably wouldn't be interested in this drama but... Kim Bum. Say no more!
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I love historicals and I've appreciated Ji Soo and Kang Ha Neul in everything I've seen them in, and I'm also a big fan of the sadly underused rich girl/poor boy trope, so I'll be keeping an eye out for this one!
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I love historical dramas and I love fantasy elements like the bodyswap trope so I'm looking forward to this! Also, he looks very handsome, even if I knew nothing about the drama, this alone would pique my interest!
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Not-so-patiently waiting for the spinoff to show up online somewhere with subs... I've been digging through the internet all day, and only found a few low-quality, unsubbed, one minute long clips on YouTube!
EDITED TO ADD:
Anyway, I admit I have a hard time understanding how some viewers feel zero sympathy for Lee Rang. It's hardly a surprise his moral compass is off-kilter: not only was he unwanted, abused, and abandoned, but he essentially had to grow up alone with no guidance after the mountain burned. And it's been revealed in recent episodes that he was forced into an unwilling contract with the chairman after being saved, and that a lot of his actions are a direct result of what the chairman and Imugi wanted. I doubt he has any personal interest in reviving Imugi! I'm really curious to see what he does going forward, now that he's free from that servitude. At this point I'm more invested in him than the main couple! I find him so complex and compelling.
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What an episode! My feelings were all over the place! Lee Rang murdering my emotions as usual: how uncertain and wounded he was when the chairman manipulated him into thinking he'd been abandoned again, the subtle facial expressions shifting from hope to hurt when Yeon called but just askede about the plant, how overwhelmed he was when Yeon apologized in the bar... the scene in the greenhouse was heartbreaking and I kept hoping for it to be revealed that Rang wasn't really going to hand over Yeon, it was just a trick or something, but it wasn't happening and wasn't happening and I was just like "gahhh" and then finally it was! So happy the brothers could come together properly. It was really satisfying.
Also, the moment with the mealworms was so funny, and I could totally relate to Ji-ah's coworker wanting to know all about Yeon's abilities... I am DYING to see real proper tails!
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Loved that kiss at the end. Not only because of the emotions and passion and joy and the beautiful way it was shot, but because I hate when FLs just stand passively with arms hanging uselessly during a kiss, and I loved seeing her reciprocate!
Loved the dynamic between the brothers in the forest. Kim Bum continuing the amazing performance, with all the subtle expressions revealing his true feelings beneath the hardened mask. Also: Yu-ri, we're totally on the same wavelength. I know it's fairly likely it'll happen at the end of the drama but I refuse to think about it...! I'm so attached to him I'm just going to completely melt down.
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At this point, Lee Rang can practically do no wrong in my eyes. I mean okay, yes, he can, but this guy has been through such severe trauma and it just gets worse and worse with each flashback. To summarize what we know so far: his mother hated and neglected him and abandoned him to die. He was taken in by his big brother, who then also left him for reasons unknown. His home was burned down with the apparent goal of killing foxes, and though he survived, the mountain was destroyed and he had to strangle his beloved puppy to put it out of its suffering. All of this when he was only a young child. The next time he saw the big brother he loved so much, years later, it was as an executioner. As he lay dying, TV president guy saved him and now Rang is in debt to him. And none of that has ever been addressed or dealt with! Not exactly a lot of therapy options for mystical fox spirits. My jaw dropped when Lee Yeon said he regretted saving Rang, my heart broke when the villagers and his mother were hurling abuse at him, and then I smiled ear-to-ear when they started fighting back to back. I NEED them to make up and Rang to be okay.
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[Drama 2021] You Raise Me Up 유 레이즈 미 업 - Yoon Shi Yoon, Ahn Hee Yeon(Hani)
in k-dramas & movies
Posted
I love YSY, I’m so happy to watch him in a new drama. The premise is great, so far it’s both funny and unexpectedly heartwarming and not taking itself too seriously. Also, I’ve always thought YSY has an amazing ability to be both adorable and sexy and here he is proving it again - he was so cute in his pink pajamas, yet you can tell his body is amazing, I’m just waiting for a shirtless scene…! As of right now though I just want to give him a hug, poor dude.