[Drama 2018] Misty 미스티

[maddymappo]

1 hour ago, triplem said:

Besides Kim Nam Joo, Misty also got nominated for best drama & Jeon Hye Jin ( Eun Joo) is up for best supporting actress . 

Looks like Misty will be up against Secret Forest. 

[justamom]

57 minutes ago, maddymappo said:

Looks like Misty will be up against Secret Forest. 

 

Looks like I gotta watch that since so many of you recommend it!

 

Kim Nam Joo all the way! I watched all of those shows except Woman of Dignity. Kim Nam Joo has had an impact on Korean women like I’ve never seen before. ALL my Korean girlfriends in their 30s/40s were watching it and loved her 

 

and Jeon Hye Jin was freakin awesome.

[kdyes]

I am only familiar with SHS in MGL and the others I don't know.  SHS and KNJ are not in the same league as actors (at least not yet) and SHS's MGL role pales by comparison to KNJ's in Misty.  Kim Nam Joo had a lot to work with and took it to the top...KNJ for Baeksang actress, Yes!

 

I watched Secret Forest after MGL ended to wipe away another disappointing drama that started high and went downhill, in MGL's case turning into a soap.  SF was thoroughly enjoyable, well crafted and I have to say IMO better deserving of best drama award since Misty's writer ruined the last eps and left so many tag ends (r we up to 25 yet?), etc. etc.  -- and even though Misty -- with all the writing flaws -- still got a rise out of me like nothing else in a long time.

 

Spoiler

I'd like SHS to get a voice coach.  Her tone is not appealing, in fact I found it grating; and when she starts speaking quickly it sounds like marbles in her mouth, almost like a trace of speech impediment.  I've read she has excellent diction, but to someone who doesn't understand Korean, tone/cadence, etc. are everything.  By the end of MGL, I was almost wincing when she spoke and early in SF she was sounding the same, but happily slowed down and toned down.   Would like her to listen to hours of Ha JiWon and even KNJ....I don't know that many female actors...having to admit to following the boys more:  during FTLY I read on Soompi that JH reads the newspaper aloud to warm up his voice.  JJH also has a great voice...and there are many others.  SHS take note!  Sorry to be off-topic by way of lauding KNJ!

 

 

 

[africandramalover]

21 hours ago, loopo said:

just finished watching the show. uhm, why? one of the best this year, hands down! from fashion to character,  but seriously though that ending? why? why> why?

 

I'm still traumatised by that ending..... I've even slowed down on watching dramas, I had to switch to Japanese stuff... then Netflix has taken over pretty Noona who Buys Me Food.....

 

Help needed: my friends,the ones I mentioned earlier were talking in the office about MISTY ( two weeks later) and were wondering...

 

Tae Wook goes off the proper lane and into oncoming traffic.... but then GHR's make up girl picks a ringing phone and rushes it to her..... did Tae Wook commit suicide by driving onto oncoming traffic? Someone had mentioned that it seems he was still on the right side of the road.....

 

I'm personally too traumatised to watch this drama again. The WRITERNIM thought she was clever, but I think those are delusions of grandeur. 

 

As for the Baeksang, Kim Nam Joo, Kim Sun A and Kim Hee Sun need to win it jointly. Woman of dignity was a hoot!! And despite the ending mess of MISTY,  Kim Nam Joo delivered 200%!!

[mary-ann]

this drama is soo addicting, i just finished the last episode, and the ending is soo unexpected i'm speechless, in my head Kim Tae Wook is not dead but get injured in the accident and they continued their life together, i would sooo love if they made a season two of this drama. Anyway i really really enjoyed this drama, and if anyone know a drama with just as intense plot please tell me so i can watch, while i'm waiting for "Romantic Comedy King" to air!

 

oh and i really hope Kim Nam Joo and Ji Jin Hee and the one who played Eun Jo win an award for this drama, they truly deserve it!

[Veronica Park]

Misty Series Review https://ahjummamshies.com/2018/04/08/k-drama-reaction-misty-series-review/

[40somethingahjumma]

On 4/6/2018 at 10:05 PM, loopo said:

I just finished watching the show. uhm, why? one of the best this year, hands down! from fashion to character,  but seriously though that ending? why? why> why?

Well, that's the million dollar question.

Would've paid front row ticket prices to be a fly on the wall when that meeting took place.

 

On 4/7/2018 at 11:36 AM, maddymappo said:

Looks like Misty will be up against Secret Forest. 

 

Would be interesting to know what the criteria for taking the top prize is. 

Secret Forest/Stranger should win it just for consistency in quality alone. Not sure about Mother. Have heard good things about it. SF is an extremely well-crafted drama that does all the hard work from start to finish. Doesn't resort to "cheating" and gimmickry. For me Misty takes too many shortcuts for it to be in the same league. On hindsight, knowing what comes at the end, Misty shines primarily because of the lead character. But even her thunder is stolen by the nonsensical last 15 minutes.

 

Not sure why Prison Playbook wasn't even a contender. Love the use of the ensemble cast and the delightful way in which it juggles dexterously with humour (black and slapstick) while maintaining a strong emotional core. Great character arcs and great execution demonstrated in how everything comes together.

 

Of course I want Hyukkie to win for Money Flower. He was so good in it.

[kdyes]

Try this; you may like it:  Misty Redux for those of us who disliked how the drama went!

 

Re-watch and at ep 4 when it’s revealed that KL dies in a car crash, mentally add a quick flashback of KL and TW fighting, KL dying then and TW unsuccessful in killing himself with KL in the car (10 secs). Watch the rest of the drama with that truth firmly in mind.  I’m re-watching that way now, and IMO Misty would have been much much better if TW’s accidental killing of KL and attempt to die -- as the brooch fell on the car floor -- were shown to viewers in ep 4 when KL died.

 

As I’m watching this way, it’s much more interesting: I found HR more likable...seeing her being duped day by day.  Eun Joo is more interesting, even KL’s manager, even the detective, lol!  HR not explaining to TW how her brooch (and that brooch yet) was returned through KL is even more horrifying since I'm witnessing its real-time relationship to the eruption of anger soon after which caused KL’s death and ruined TW’s life and a newly shared love.

 

TW accompanying HR to KL’s wake (!!) Closing his eyes with some emotion after looking at KL’s photo, it was like “Wow, I never noticed that in Misty.”  As he looks at EJ then, it’s more meaningful since TW knows he made her a widow – and I clearly know that, too.  When EJ tries to engage TW as her attorney...his reticence had deeper meaning. Certain of the truth in Misty Redux, nothing is lost, entertainment value is gained, and we still see all the contradictions in TW, HR and everyone else. The story can play out mostly like it was initially written.  Then “I wanted to look perfect to you” isn’t the sum response, which had sounded ridiculous when Misty aired that ep.

 

In ep 5, when HR returns to News Nine and takes the high road as she reports on her situation, we see TW watching; he and his asst are moved by her quality.  TW’s also been hearing HR’s reporter friend/source insist HR would never have been with KL, so TW’s looking a bit regretful, wistful for the first time since Thailand.  This means something different to me now.  Later, TW meets HR at work in the garage and tells her she was “great” on the news that night and to lean on him.  With his anger passed, he’s found a way to get closer to HR, and I experience it as both genuine and deceitful. When TW then told HR that he’d been angry that she was involved in any way with someone as unsavory as KL (I hadn’t heard it like that in Misty; I only got the sexual overtone), it made me wonder if TW somehow excused his accidental killing of KL because of his low opinion of KL as an adulterous low-class sleaze.  In Misty Redux, TW’s staid privileged upbringing seems to play a role in how easily he submerged his culpability. 

 

TW’s comment to HR then that he will do whatever he can “to make it all up to you” took on new meaning as well. TW sure owed HR the Golden Door as he explains “I can’t even protect my wife (dropping that brooch) so why protect my principles.” TW always seemed confident that HR wouldn’t remain a suspect.  But seeing through a different lens now, I realized he had to make sure she wasn’t indicted; so I see his use of his family’s connections differently. In Misty Redux we know that TW owes HR at least all of this…And I still can’t hate him, lol!   

 

So, for those of you “down” about how Misty went, you might try Misty Redux!  Or suggest to friends who want to watch for the first time and you're conflicted cuz they'll hate the end and maybe you.  I’m no longer a victim to the dubious trickery of a new writer and enjoying Misty like I did early on – and even more.

 

Off to start watching Prison Playbook….it was great here!

[bedifferent]

On 4/8/2018 at 3:02 PM, 40somethingahjumma said:

 

Would be interesting to know what the criteria for taking the top prize is. 

Secret Forest/Stranger should win it just for consistency in quality alone. Not sure about Mother. Have heard good things about it. SF is an extremely well-crafted drama that does all the hard work from start to finish. Doesn't resort to "cheating" and gimmickry. For me Misty takes too many shortcuts for it to be in the same league. On hindsight, knowing what comes at the end, Misty shines primarily because of the lead character. But even her thunder is stolen by the nonsensical last 15 minutes.

 

Not sure why Prison Playbook wasn't even a contender. Love the use of the ensemble cast and the delightful way in which it juggles dexterously with humour (black and slapstick) while maintaining a strong emotional core. Great character arcs and great execution demonstrated in how everything comes together.

 

Of course I want Hyukkie to win for Money Flower. He was so good in it.

 

LOL. So I got to catch most of the nominated dramas this year: SF, Mother, Misty, Prison Playbook, JBL.  That's really lucky of me since I often watch only 1 at a time.

 

Mother is an excellent drama.  Lee Bo Young and the little girl Heo Yool were fantastic.  Please watch if you haven't  The best of this year for me so far, Misty was up there till the end.  I'm one who love hopeful ending cuz you know, life is hard already, give us something to believe in.  Kim Nam Joo was fantastic.  Good luck to her as I think SF is the heavy favorite in the drama category.  Prison Playbook was a gem.

 

In all, a lot of the nominees were deservedly nominated.  

[maddymappo]

Yes, unbelievable - I am here yet again because I need to vent about something.

 

We now know that TW stuck his clothes from the night of the accident, in the bottom of the office trash can.  So how long had it been when his asst found it there 2 months?   Didn't they have a janitor throw out the trash??  How absurd was that!

 

And  I am wondering about the detective. We see him from the beginning suspicious of the accident (ok get that) but then within 24 hours finding the pin he comes to the unshakable (at least for about 12 episodes) conclusion that HR did it, because of the brooch which he immediately recognizes is hers,because of his obsession with her, since the jeweler was killed  years before. Although we never know why he had it in for that little high school girl when the boy took the blame.  No, the writer never explains a darn thing, did she?    

I noted from the beginning that the investigation was a farce.  My daughter when she was 10 yrs old could have conducted a better investigation.  But there seemed something so "knowing" about him. The thirty year veteran.  He had the wise look on his face, like he knew, he understood things, that we weren't let in on yet.  But of course that was a wholelotta nothing.

 

So could it be Ahn Nae Sung just stinks as an actor?  Maybe we were supposed to know that hew as inept, hollow, holding an old bitter grudge against HR because he could never prove a hunch about her from years ago?    It is possible that the writer always visualized him as a mediocre act who was trying to leave the force in a blaze of glory, and the actor just made him seem way more serious a character than he really was.  I dunno. But I still have his itch about some of the ways things didn't seem to fall into place the way they should have in this drama. so grumpy

 

[40somethingahjumma]

4 hours ago, maddymappo said:

Yes, unbelievable - I am here yet again because I need to vent about something.

 

We now know that TW stuck his clothes from the night of the accident, in the bottom of the office trash can.  So how long had it been when his asst found it there 2 months?   Didn't they have a janitor throw out the trash??  How absurd was that!

 

 

Yes, I picked up on that too when I first saw it and thought "What the heck!" It was cringeworthy.

 

Honestly, I cannot help but think that they changed the direction of the drama midstream. Or at the very least, the director thought he was making a drama with a storyline which was quite different from the one the writer had in mind. I've been thinking that for a while since the last two episodes feels tacked on and all over the place. 

 

I've seen Anh Nae Sang in many dramas and he's a seasoned character actor. One of my favourites in fact. He's done bumbling buffoonery before so I know he's more than capable of it. He's played cops before in Yu Na's Street and God's Quiz 3... very different types from the one he played here. So if they wanted him to be the idiotic bungler rather than the sagely detective, he could have pulled it off with the greatest of ease.

 

If you recall, I made the same criticism re: JJH acting in a certain way in certain scenes. It's not JJH's acting I fault but the writing. Sure, when one recalls certain scenes in hindsight the possibility that TW could have been the killer was always present but the way they pieced together the resolution was slipshod. So many things left unexplained. My own view was that it was probably meant to be just an accident after some major altercation but then a decision was made to give us an "unpredictable" ending.

 

This is I think, the problem with trying to live shoot a mystery thriller over 16 episodes without having the big picture in mind from start to finish. 

[jd50]

I can't believe I'm back either. Although I'm a lot less aggravated than before, the trauma lives on. Lol.

 

I attribute the inconsistencies and weird changes in behavior in several of the characters to the writing. Misty was refreshing to me because the actors were high caliber, without an obvious idol plunked into the cast for the sake of ratings. I feel they did their best to inhabit their characters but were overwhelmed by bad logic, poor research (legal procedures laughable) and a silly drive to keep the viewers guessing until the end.

 

Themes were picked up and dropped or outright stomped on. The social justice warrior Hye Ran that fights to break the glass ceiling as a serious reporter is, in the end, a talk show host? What's she going to do? Pick a book of the month? She was better off making documentary specials. The importance of the free press/ fourth estate runs strong throughout the drama until the last episode. It was totally undercut for me when Director Jang hides the truth about TW in his box of secrets. 

 

I don't know how they settled on the ending. The live shooting had to contribute, but filming did not run up to the last day. Did anyone argue against it? I haven't heard. It reminds of commercials that get made with obviously offensive overtones that get pulled within days due to public backlash. You slap your head and wonder what anyone was thinking!

 

[justamom]

On 10/04/2018 at 8:25 PM, kdyes said:

 

Try this; you may like it:  Misty Redux for those of us who disliked how the drama went!

 

Re-watch and at ep 4 when it’s revealed that KL dies in a car crash, mentally add a quick flashback of KL and TW fighting, KL dying then and TW unsuccessful in killing himself with KL in the car (10 secs). Watch the rest of the drama with that truth firmly in mind.  I’m re-watching that way now, and IMO Misty would have been much much better if TW’s accidental killing of KL and attempt to die -- as the brooch fell on the car floor -- were shown to viewers in ep 4 when KL died.

 

As I’m watching this way, it’s much more interesting

 

I did go back and do exactly that.

 

but if they exposed TW so early, then we wouldn’t have spent so many hours and posts guessing and guessing.... the guessing is supposed to be part of the fun, right?

 

I suppose if it did that, then it would have been more of a melo-tragedy and less of a suspense/thriller!

[justamom]

On 10/04/2018 at 11:54 PM, bedifferent said:

Mother is an excellent drama.  Lee Bo Young and the little girl Heo Yool were fantastic.  Please watch if you haven't

 

I watched episodes 1-4 and loved it. But I found it very heavy going, not the sort of show you can marathon. Especially because I have a young daughter. I’m glad to hear it was consistent throughout, I plan to pick it up again soon. I’m currently following My Ahjussi, also heavy/mature adult drama stuff. I can’t do more than one heavy drama at a time, my heart can’t take it.

 

When I need some fluff I watch Pretty Noona clips. I read on Drama Beans someone saying this show is more accessible than his previous work...Pretty Noona is sweet and all but....I think I prefer his previous work  anyone else have similar thoughts? @africandramalover?

[bedifferent]

@justamom yeahhh, Mother is heavy, puffy eyes tissues galore.  I wouldn’t watch along with My Ajusshi  Thanks for considering my opinion!

 

The only work of Ahn Pan Seok I watched previously was the indelible White Tower  

 

I watched clips of Kim Nam Joo and husband Kim Seung Woo in interviews and such.  She’s a fun happy personnable lady, so much different than her character here.  Props to her acting!

[kdyes]

Page 66’s first three posts demonstrate how scrambled Misty was. I followed Misty for the story, which sounded interesting, and the cast.  I enjoy mystery for sure but that wasn’t the draw here for me.  Interestingly, after reading @justamom’s post, I surfed a bit to see how the drama was advertised and found there was a lack of clarity from the beginning about what Misty was.  I think there’s a relationship with our experience of Misty being all over the place as @40somethingahjumma 's and @jd50's comments describe (director and writer not on the same page and messing around with ideas, putting stuff here and there). 

 

JTBC Worldwide called Misty Romance, Drama, Revenge in that order.  Wikipedia covered all bases with Melodrama, Mystery, Thriller, Romance.  Soompi coverage and Dramabeans called it a mystery melodrama.  One of our moderators posted looking forward to a +19 romance and melodrama.   I couldn’t find a press release, but Yonhap News Agency quoted the director, possibly at the presscon, as saying Misty was “more than just a gripping story...depicts unpretentious love...” No wonder our brains can’t compute this experience.  What was this thing?  And what was it supposed to have been?  

 

Just finished watching a la Misty Redux as I posted on p 65 and saw many things I missed first time out bcuz they kept us so distracted with red herrings.  Three times the camera lingered on KL’s scar…were we going to need to i.d. him in the morgue?   Music gets creepy when TW walks over to HR with the letter opener…”I’ve got to kill again!!!”  Really poor.  So many mis-directions, meaningless and taking up screen time and neural space. 

 

While ep 15/16 were better for me the Redux way, the last 15-20 minutes are aaargh regardless.  And psycho MW getting schmaltzy, too, especially with EJ and opera in the background.  Like the first time, 16 went the way of Hallmark cards for me.  (I do buy them at times...)  Despite all the criticisms I've made, I'd still recommend Misty, with caveats. 

[maddymappo]

9 hours ago, justamom said:

 

I suppose if it did that, then it would have been more of a melo-tragedy and less of a suspense/thriller!

Yes, I think it would have been a melo-tragedy, which in the  end I would have enjoyed more.  I really enjoyed watching it though as everyone says the first 14 were terrific.  I think the writer wrote "six characters in search of an author" - she developed all of these themes and plot lines and just didn't know what to do with them.

[jd50]

1 hour ago, kdyes said:

JTBC Worldwide called Misty Romance, Drama, Revenge in that order.  Wikipedia covered all bases with Melodrama, Mystery, Thriller, Romance.  Soompi coverage and Dramabeans called it a mystery melodrama.  One of our moderators posted looking forward to a +19 romance and melodrama.   I couldn’t find a press release, but Yonhap News Agency quoted the director, possibly at the presscon, as saying Misty was “more than just a gripping story...depicts unpretentious love...” No wonder our brains can’t compute this experience.  What was this thing?  And what was it supposed to have been?  

 

Interesting analysis! I did not realize the many ways Misty was categorized. The only thing that really stuck with me was that TW and HR were supposed to find love through his defense of her and I suppose they did. In the middle of watching Misty, I occurred to me that it would be better off in a shorter format, like a 10 episode J-drama or a movie. The flaws would have been less noticeable and there would have been less room for the countless red herrings tossed our way (scars, gloves, pills, taxis, hidden faces, etc.). Of course, that wouldn't have prohibited that ending.

 

Has anyone watched the Korean movie "I Can Speak?" I don't want to give away the plot if anyone plans to, but that was another case of feeling like I was watching three separate genres competing in one movie---comedy, melodrama, and political commentary. Like Misty, still worth the watch, but left me scratching my head.

[africandramalover]

17 hours ago, justamom said:

When I need some fluff I watch Pretty Noona clips. I read on Drama Beans someone saying this show is more accessible than his previous work...Pretty Noona is sweet and all but....I think I prefer his previous work  anyone else have similar thoughts? @africandramalover?

 

Lol.....of course no one will ever top Secret Love Affair for the next twenty years!! it's the writer's fault! She cooked magic for five years and served it HOT! I wonder how pdnim Ahn Pan Seok  would have pulled of MISTY though......

 

Pretty Noona is much needed sweetness after the trauma that was this show...... I am all for the fluff and kissing and sweetness....... but it makes me SO PAINFULLY AWARE that I am single!!!! All that kissing!! I'd love to have the actress' problems right now! Chapped sore lips!! dayum!

[bedifferent]

On 4/15/2018 at 11:43 AM, jd50 said:

 

Has anyone watched the Korean movie "I Can Speak?" I don't want to give away the plot if anyone plans to, but that was another case of feeling like I was watching three separate genres competing in one movie---comedy, melodrama, and political commentary. Like Misty, still worth the watch, but left me scratching my head.

 

I did.  I agree, I Can Speak felt very much like chop suey.  Social activism, heart warming drama, political historical movie all roll in one.  The last 1/4 lost most of the nuanced writing... the end almost killed the movie if not for the wonderful job by Na Moon Hee.  Too bad the writer decided to stop developing Lee Je Hoon’s character toward the end.  Overall, great msg just that the movie stopped a little short of the finish line.

 

Anyway, wonder if HR will adopt one day...