[Drama 2014] Golden Cross 골든 크로스

[Guest]

victorb

said:  It's been a while since a drama was dark enough to suit my taste but I have to say Golden Cross is pretty close to reaching that level.

The first two ep had me feeling utterly disgusted at the reality portrayed in them

(don't kid yourselves these things do happen IRL even if the series is a bit OTT sometimes)

P.S. Who else had the biggest smile on their face when Faye Wong's cover of the Cranberries song came on

(yeah I'm looking at you @stuartjmz

) )

[victorb]

stuartjmz said:

I found the episodes hard to watch for this very reason. It was unsettling and troubling to watch them in the aftermath of the Sewon tragedy, an incident at the very least made worse than it needed to be by exactly the sort of croneyism and corruption depicted in this Drama.  I watch Dramas for entertainment, and when one is at least 60% documentary, that's troubling.
It's also troubling when most of the other 40% is makjang buffoonery. The mishmash of bleak, realistic evil, with clownish hyper-elaborate conspiracies and John Mayer style silliness did not sit well with me. Neither did the minimal screen presence of the person who drew me to watch the Drama in the first place, Lee Si Yeong.
That said, I'm sticking with it for a few reasons. 
First, my headspace when viewing it. I live in a country that is ALWAYS in the top 3 in the Corruptions Perception Index, and in the last 5 years has been 1st equal more often than not. The RoK, by contrast is a real outlier, the lowest-placed 1st world country, a fully developed economic powerhouse and major member of the OECD that sits in the mid 40s. I was already angry and frustrated at Korea's system by the Sewol incident and seeing that reality played out for entertainment did not feel right. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to nod sagely and self-contentedly and say "and they ain't kidding", if nearly 300 people weren't newly dead because of exactly this sort of evil. So I'm hoping that as time passes, I'll be in a better place mentally and emotionally  for watching it.
Besides that, the other reason I'm sticking with it is because it did a lot right. One that REALLY grabbed me was Seo Dong Ha. Most K Dramas villains seem cartoonish, at the extreme end of that scale we have the Austin Powers escapee that was John Mayer. Or we have the almost omnipotent, psychotically raging supervillains like BB in  City Hall. In Seo Dong Ha we get a villain who is repulsive, skin-crawlingly repellent, but also a human being, who loves his daughter even while seeing nothing wrong in skirting the edge of pedophilia. Such a nuanced villain was a real plus for me. It also illustrated how unnecessary the whole "time bomb" palaver was, and to be honest, the whole "Golden Cross" too. Some guy sitting in a room that apparently has cameras in apparently every room in Seoul? Puh-leeze! We already have a genuinely evil villain, oh so painfully plausible corruption and perfidy, we don't really need omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent secret society as well. Like my discerning dongsaeng, I'm putting up with this makjang silliness in hopes of a satisfying revenge melo. If CCTV-watching dude has a white cat on his lap next week, I'm outta here!
On that note, I found the set up a little convoluted and therefore slow. The only other revenge melo I've watched Nice Guy, had a much more straightforward, personal motive and so got into the guts of its story faster. Here we have plenty of personal reasons for hate and revenge, but it was bogged down by the need to bore everyone rigid with an unnecessarily complicated and drawn-out financial setup. Anyone who knows how to spell "Seoul" probably  knows that Korea's entire economy makes a double helix look like a straight line, I felt the financial skulduggery could have had quite a bit of the exposition trimmed. 
I am very interested to see how LSY handles her role - it will be a big change from anything I've seen her in, and the interactions with her family should provide plenty of scope for a wide range of emoting. A quick question here - who was sleazy gallery owner/Mum's toyboy? I know I know him, but couldn't quite place him. 
And finally, one more bouquet for the series so far, it's music. The use of The turtles Happy Together was nothing short of inspired - it perfectly captured SDH's disconnect from the reality of who and what he is. It may have tainted an old favourite, but it was damn smart music selection, that's for sure. And then, of course, there was FAYE FREAKIN' WONG!!!! I've just listened to that song 3 times in a row while typing this and I could do it another 33 without hesitation - gahh, I just don't have the words! 

So for those reasons, I'm giving this a qualified pass and look forward to the story proper getting underway. And now, if you'll excuse me, for some COMPLETELY inexplicable reason I have an urge to watch the last half of Chungking Express  again. Damned if I know why. 

[Bwear]

Something tells me that Yi-reh might not be evil daddy's biological daughter.......

[Guest]

victorb

said:

[Guest]

victorb

said:

[chrissydiva]

I have a question because I'm so confused. Is that lady LSY character's mother or stepmother?

[victorb]

stuartjmz said: Actually the CPI is on topic because it very literally is about the perception of corruption. Having been a participant in 2012, I know that the questions simply ask about respondents' perceived view of corruption in their country as it impacts their daily life. I don't for a picasecond think that means a country with a high ranking is lily-white, but the perception of corruption is on-topic here , as shown in DY's rants at his father about doing whatever it takes to get ahead. On a crude, macro sort of level, the difference between a country ranked 1st and a country ranked 45th is in the expectations of how the system works. Here, we expect petty, venial sort of corruption, like nepotism, old boy networks, etc., but still have an overall assumption that the law and agencies who enforce it actually work. As the characters in Golden Cross demonstrate, that's not an assumption held automatically in Korea. That's why the CPI's relevant here, because for all the many, many flaws in the system, a revenge melo would be harder to sell here simply because most Kiwis would say, "why not just phone the cops?" DY knows that's a risible question in his world.

FWIW, I suspect events over the last few months here in Aotearoa could well see a change in that very same

perception of corruption here, with the greed of some politicians helping to scratch a little of that naivete off

[Ihjj]

I have a question because I'm so confused. Is that lady LSY character's mother or stepmother?

I'm pretty sure they're blood. They're just not in a healthy relationship. Lol.

[Guest]

victorb said:

[lindy01]

There are so many villains 'face' in this drama esp the Golden Cross gang. I've seen a few of Kim Kang Woo & Lee Si Young movies and will be here to support this drama.Somehow I'd prefer to see Lee Si Young with a shorter tomboy haircut.
KBS do made good dramas but the storyline may not appeal to the local viewers taste. My 2 recent favourites from KBS, are 'Beyond the clouds' & 'Miss Korea'. Both were exceptionally brilliant in casting and actings. I do hope Golden Cross can do well too. Having an idol wannabe actor in it doesn't guarantee success if the storyline is confusing.

[gaby81]

Ihjj said:

I have a question because I'm so confused. Is that lady LSY character's mother or stepmother?

[gaby81]

lindy01 said: There are so many villains 'face' in this drama esp the Golden Cross gang. I've seen a few of Kim Kang Woo & Lee Si Young movies and will be here to support this drama.Somehow I'd prefer to see Lee Si Young with a shorter tomboy haircut.
KBS do made good dramas but the storyline may not appeal to the local viewers taste. My 2 recent favourites from KBS, are 'Beyond the clouds' & 'Miss Korea'. Both were exceptionally brilliant in casting and actings. I do hope Golden Cross can do well too. Having an idol wannabe actor in it doesn't guarantee success if the storyline is confusing.

[Ihjj]

That and Her Mother Cheats On Her Father Among Other Things That Make Ashamed To Be Blood Related To Her. She Had To Destroy The Tabloid Guys Camera and Compensate Him For The Damage.

And of course she doesn't realize that her father is a pedophile. Sad isn't it.

[Guest]

chrissydiva said: I have a question because I'm so confused. Is that lady LSY character's mother or stepmother?

[gaby81]

Ihjj said:

Ihjj

said:

[gaby81]

stuartjmz said: chrissydiva said: I have a question because I'm so confused. Is that lady LSY character's mother or stepmother?

[Ihjj]

I'm pretty sure she's her biological mother, much less sure El Creepo Grande is actually her biological father. The wife/mother's crack, "you're Kim Yi Rye, not Seo Yi Rye" only makes any sense if YR is his stepdaughter. That also makes sense from the story POV I think, since her eventual part in taking him down can be excused because he's not blood. After all biological parents are always infallible angels in K DRamas, even when they're also Satanic Hellspawn. 

You know what, after she said that it makes me second guess their blood relation. I'm wondering if he's her biological father?? Dum, dum, dum...

[Guest]

victorb said:  

[Guest]

Shameless sponging time again. I'm a hunt and peck typist even in English and Hindi, the idea of laboriously copying this text to find out what it says by pasting into Google Translate gives me the screaming heebie-jeebies - anyone care to indulge a lazy oaf and translate these screens from the opening of the episodes for me? 

[victorb]

lindy01 said:KBS do made good dramas but the storyline may not appeal to the local viewers taste. My 2 recent favourites from KBS, are 'Beyond the clouds' & 'Miss Korea'. Both were exceptionally brilliant in casting and actings. I do hope Golden Cross can do well too. Having an idol wannabe actor in it doesn't guarantee success if the storyline is confusing.