[Drama 2020] Forest, 포레스트

[nonski]

3 hours ago, triplem said:

By the way , did you guys noticed what the triggers were to his burning hand? The 1st time he was holding a cup of hot coffee. But the second time , it was in the forest and he was not holding anything. Was it triggered by a memory of a sound or sun rays or something?

First time it was from the hot coffee, second time I wondered too and then realized the area where he stood at that time it happened was had little or no trees around, seems like the trees were cut off or must haven been some forest fire.  So i think that trigerred.

 

2 hours ago, nrllee said:

 But I think that particular memory he has is actually a happy one...which ended in tragedy?  So it may have started out as a happy time...but it ended with the fire?

I was assuming that involved his mom, re his visit to her memorial.

 

3 hours ago, triplem said:

Not a deal breaker of course since most of us are here for the leads. 

 

Same case for me as well...  It isn't reeling me in yet but I'm getting there.  Maybe cuz I have crash landed somewhere so it's kinda hard for me to find my way back to the forest. 

 

A chingu before mentioned (@packmule3 ) about the drama being either character driven or plot driven.  Well basically this one will be the character driven.  I can see the story revolving around the two main leads and how they find their way to the path of healing, as this is a healing drama.  This might be the reason why most side characters seems to have no connect for me, yet.  Doesn't matter though as long as they have limited exposure and the screen time for the leads is maxed out.  Though tbh I was not expecting any excellent plotline on this one but just the way to recovery of both leads and whatever twists and turns they would encounter along the way. (Maybe some thoughts from @bebebisous33 )

 

Let's enjoy the ride and Park Hae Jin's comedic moments... his timing he seem to have perfected after our last stint with Man to Man.

 

 

 

 

 

한국경제TV
'포레스트' 박해진, 럭셔리 수트부터 티셔츠까지 완벽 소화 Park Hae-jin, perfect from luxury suit to T-shirt.

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[bebebisous33]

@nonski Well, the pace of the first episode was slow but the second episode (3/4) was better. My problem is the company he is working for. First, you have the impression he is the CEO the way he acts and deals with business partners. Then you discover that he is just a director, yet he gives the impression that he is really powerful. 

As for his phantom pain, it is definitely linked to sensations: visuals and the sound. Remember in the forest, when the birds started flying, a memory resurfaced which triggered his phantom pain. With the coffee, he felt as if he was standing in the forest.   

[nrllee]

12 hours ago, triplem said:

Do you have time? i know you're on vacay...as you know my medical knowledge is bad but how does sequential memory work here? You made a good point about the happy memory...there was that balloon floating in a  flashback in eps 2 when he felt that pain.

Not a medical term.  Sequential as in it’s not just one thing.  There’s a sequence or a number of things that tie in with that memory or memories.  But I do think it’s a happy one - a birthday party? Family related? With some tragedy tied in with it. Like @nonski suggested?  
 

I like the contrast in characters. He’s very cold (seems to thaw out only after sedatives ) and his pain is “hidden”.  Whilst her scar is out in the open, she didn’t bother hiding it (he mentioned that she seemed unabashed to reveal it) and she wears her heart on her sleeve.  I also like the fact that they seemed to have loving parent(s)/family upbringings.  I love how her dad comforted her when she “lost” her job.  And he seemed to have a lovely relationship with his mom (? Or grandmother?  I didn’t catch how the lady at the memorial was related to him...he didn’t call her Omma?  He actually called her by name?  Which is odd culturally?).  The forest is the place of reconnect for both of them. Far from the madding crowds and busyness.  Where life slows and there’s time to mull and think. 
 

The second trigger was the birds in the forest.  Like what @bebebisous33 suggested. The flock of birds flying up into the sky triggered the memory of the red balloon flying up into the sky.  Were there children laughing in the background of that memory?  Maybe a birthday party?  It’s likely a childhood memory because YJ said he looked Iike a child when he was reminiscing holding the coffee.  The sun’s rays catching the rising coffee vapors?  

[40somethingahjumma]

It must be the season for dramas out in the regional backwaters. My 3rd drama in 3 months to be located outside the Big Smoke so there's potential for even more gorgeous visuals. Sadly it's not on Netflix for me to appreciate the quality of the cinematography.

 

Frankly I have no idea how or what to make of this drama so far. For one, the set-up feels rushed and spotty. I don't mind a few cliches thrown in for good measure but at least do them decently. The two-timing boyfriend... yuck... saw that a mile away. Moreover, the people in this drama behave like caricatures not human beings. I've never seen a group of people more determined to annoy the heck out of each other and the audience. All that unnecessary hostility and overacting... it's so crude. It's as if everyone is on some kind of drug that triggers the worst part of them when they open their mouth. At best the drama flip flops between makjang and detective elements.

 

If it weren't for the fact that it's the first PHJ thing I've seen in two years, I'd not bother because frankly I don't know what the show really wants to be. Plus there are a ton of other dramas that I'd like to watch. The comedic moments come across hamfisted and the FL even though an apparently trained professional, comes across as a hysterical drama queen. Yeah... like I said... a caricature. But I am sympathetic to her journey. PHJ's character is the only one that has a bit more dimension to him and he always brings his A game to the table. The character's not exactly a tsundere and there's a childish streak to him that's at odds with his ruthless M&A persona. It could work... and if there's anyone who could make it work convincingly in the long run, it's PHJ.

 

However, I am genuinely intrigued by the Taesung Group's interest in the forest. My imagination is going in different directions. We've just had environmental cover-up with What Lies Within... so that's a possibility. But there was a fire so it may be more than that.

 

The forest fire does hit close to home ... especially with the really bad bushfires here in Oz in recent months. That's a complex issue too... not as simple as it's touted in the media. 

 

Glad to see seasoned drama buddies here... if the drama goes up in smoke... we can all suffer together.

[nrllee]

53 minutes ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

If it weren't for the fact that it's the first PHJ thing I've seen in two years, I'd not bother because frankly I don't know what the show really wants to be.

Bingo.  That’s what I feel in a nutshell... it’s sort of a mix of Dr Romantic (Doldam it ain’t) and mash up of everything else.  .  Other than PHJ keeping my interest, I can’t “see the forest for the trees” (pun intended).  No idea where the show wants to take me.  Maybe that’s what the writer wants to do.  Everyone is somehow linked by the magical forest.  

[ktcjdrama]

 I am definitely only continuing to watch because of the OTP interactions. Same here, still don’t get what the story is about nor what the business is about fighting over the forest. 

 

@Ameera Ali I need the gif for the Library Ghost “wu-e?”

[larus]

Jo Bo Ah And Noh Kwang Sik Feast On Boiled Chicken In “Forest”

Drama Preview

Feb 4, 2020

by L. Kim

 

“Forest” dropped new stills ahead of this week’s broadcast!

The KBS drama is about a man who has everything but a heart, a woman who has lost everything but her heart, and how they discover themselves and the secrets of a mysterious forest. Jo Bo Ah plays Jung Young Jae, a skilled surgeon who wants to teach a lesson to people who show off. Noh Kwang Sik plays Choi Chang who grew up without any financial concerns thanks to his father but went against his father’s wishes in order to follow his dream of being an emergency rescue team member.

In the new stills, Jung Young Jae and Choi Chang are enjoying lunch together. He takes her to a popular chicken baeksuk (Korean boiled chicken dish) restaurant, and she looks overjoyed when he hands her a large chicken leg.

 

more https://www.soompi.com/article/1380986wpp/jo-bo-ah-and-noh-kwang-sik-feast-on-boiled-chicken-in-forest

 

[Sarang21]

So far from what they have shown about the female lead, I guess her father tried to kill the family through a car accident. She somehow survived and got adopted by her current parents.

What do you guys think?

 

[imgreatgal]

Just got around to watch the first ep. The ML and FL may have a past connection. Her panic attacks and the vision she has of a boy drowning in the car could be a connection to him... I don't know. Too cliché for me. Maybe I'll watch ep2 and decide if I'll stay or just to find out what the mystery with the forest thing. 

[RobinM]

So Basically what I am getting if this show succeeds it at all it will be solely  because of the chemistry of the leads unless the plot, characters and writing improve dramatically and the FL is annoying AF. 
 

yikes.

[nrllee]

1 hour ago, Sarang21 said:

So far from what they have shown about the female lead, I guess her father tried to kill the family through a car accident. She somehow survived and got adopted by her current parents.

What do you guys think?

 

I got that impression too.  So her current dad is like her foster/step dad?  When he acted all kind and loving I was wondering how he could’ve been the same man who tried to kill his own children (murder/suicide).  Maybe the scenario is such that her real dad tried to kill himself and the 2 children (her brother probably died?) - there are despicable men who do this to enact revenge on their wives .  Or they feel so depressed that they think they are doing their children a favor by ending their lives as well so they won’t be orphaned .  She survived and her mom remarried?  And the dad she has now is her step dad.  Her mom has passed away so it’s just the 2 of them now.  Urgh...if this is the scenario it brings back memories of one real case which made me sick to the heart.  It was horrible and disgusting.  In a spoiler because it’s off topic.

 

Spoiler

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5571819/Driver-tells-saw-monster-father-throw-daughter-58-metre-bridge.html

@RobinM 

Quote

the FL is annoying AF.

 I don’t mind her actually.  I liked her after Ep2.  She connected with PHJ’s character.  He needs her to fill in the blanks of his lost memories.  And I liked that she decided to walk her own path and stayed in the rural hospital to “find herself”.

[Sarang21]

30 minutes ago, nrllee said:

I got that impression too.  So her current dad is like her foster/step dad?  When he acted all kind and loving I was wondering how he could’ve been the same man who tried to kill his own children (murder/suicide).  Maybe the scenario is such that her real dad tried to kill himself and the 2 children (her brother probably died?) - there are despicable men who do this to enact revenge on their wives .  Or they feel so depressed that they think they are doing their children a favor by ending their lives as well so they won’t be orphaned .  She survived and her mom remarried?  And the dad she has now is her step dad.  Her mom has passed away so it’s just the 2 of them now.  Urgh...if this is the scenario it brings back memories of one real case which made me sick to the heart.  It was horrible and disgusting.  In a spoiler because it’s off topic.

 

  Hide contents

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5571819/Driver-tells-saw-monster-father-throw-daughter-58-metre-bridge.html

@RobinM 

 I don’t mind her actually.  I liked her after Ep2.  She connected with PHJ’s character.  He needs her to fill in the blanks of his lost memories.  And I liked that she decided to walk her own path and stayed in the rural hospital to “find herself”.

 

I was confused at first too, like how can he tried to kill her and then be all that kind.  But that wouldn´t make sense for her current dad to be the same as her biolological one. Considering her panick attack whenever she thinks back to that incident, she wouldn´t be able to be near him ever again. So like you said he can only be her stepdad. 

 

Refering to the case of the father and son in the drama the reason could be that the father is trying to escape from loan sharks? He can´t pay the debt and are being harrassed by them, he thinks the only way is to take his own life but can´t leave his son behind or he would become the target. Whatever the reason I think it is still wrong do something like that. 

 

As for the FL , I really wonder what drove him to that decision. Not that there would any excuse for such behavior. But he seems really apologetic and repeatedly told her to not forgive him. 

 

The guy in the story that you posted just looks evil. One glance at him and you know that this guy is no good. I feel so bad for everyone involed. 

[lu09]

I still didn't get to watch it. Have no time..... Hopefully, by the weekend, hopefully.........

[Beycuteful]

This kdrama has just started and I might be the only one who doesn't care much about the story/ plot coz I'm enjoying the OTP's chemistry.

 

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gifset from: https://beyacuteful.tumblr.com/

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I just don't want to critically think about the plot or the story details (don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading your inputs). But for now all I care is how they will fall in love with each other. Hahaha! So that alone gets me excited to look forward to Wed-Thurs.

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[nonski]

 

 

11 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

The forest fire does hit close to home ... especially with the really bad bushfires here in Oz in recent months. That's a complex issue too... not as simple as it's touted in the media. 

 

I hope things are looking better now and hoping you and your family were not affected by the forest fires there at the Oz.

 

 

 

11 hours ago, 40somethingahjumma said:

Glad to see seasoned drama buddies here... if the drama goes up in smoke... we can all suffer together.

Hahaha you had me at this!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, always loved reading them.

Thanks @bebebisous33 @Sarang21 @nrllee @triplem and everyone for sharing your thoughts.

[Fabbo]

I've read from a lot of people that they are annoyed with the FL. I guess i am the only one who was way more annoyed with the generic ML set up?

[nonski]

 

[ktcjdrama]

 I am not annoyed at all by the ML nor the FL. In fact, I love them! and they’re for now the sole reason I am watching. Yes, I agree it is a very classic character setup of the ML and FL. 

[RobinM]

Who are we kidding? People are watching this for His abs and potential skin ship and his abs and cute couple scenes and his abs. Sounds great to me!  Nothing wrong with Brain and eye candy sometimes. Lots of smart deep dramas to choose from if you want that instead.

[nrllee]

24 minutes ago, RobinM said:

Who are we kidding? People are watching this for His abs and potential skin ship and his abs and cute couple scenes and his abs.

Really?  I will go with cute couple scenes.  He can keep his shirt on and I will still watch.  Personally I like how he emotes (or doesn’t in scenes that don’t require it).  He seems to balance it well.  This is my first time watching this actor and I like him.  The storyline is a tad haphazard right now but I am willing to give it a few more episodes for it to gather momentum.  The plot line that is keeping me invested is the mystery behind his “Human Torch” hand.  That...and the forest.  And FL’s new rustic quaint lodgings.  FL (Eventually I will get his and her character names ) is the only one with a window into his repressed memories right now so she will be the key to finally unlock it for us.

 

As an aside, is the second male lead also rich?  He fronted up with a yellow sports car (?) to give her a lift when she arrived?  Hardly a practical option for off road driving? Are all Rescue Workers just bored Chaebols wanting an adrenaline rush?   He gets on my nerves.  I find him awkward/green (pun intended) in his role and he’s over-acting which doesn’t help.  Not sure what second female lead has against FL?  She recognised her name at the hospital and didn’t seem particularly pleased to see her there.