[Drama 2020-2021] A Man in a Veil, 비밀의 남자

[shamrockmom]

23 hours ago, confusedheart326 said:

I am increasingly noticing a trend of stereotyping characters. You have two groups. Good v/s Evil. Dressed in White to suggest purity and innocence and the other group dressed in Black, suggesting evil and all things wicked. 

 

I would really enjoy a drama with some shades of gray (not the kinky book, mind you). I want to see characters struggling because that's what life is. It is never as easy or clear as black and white. 

 

This trend was seen in My Prettiest Moments too. This kind of stereotyping makes me wary of the show. I think I'll wait few more episodes, read few more posts before taking a decision. The premise was promising but the character descriptions and  the poster kind of puts me off.

 

If we look at the shows getting the highest number of audience, they all have us on tenterhooks because we are not sure what the characters would end up doing due to circumstances. They might be inherently good but they can do things quite out of their character  and that keeps us, the audience hooked. 

 

I hope more PDs take this into consideration. Break this dichotomy. I mean if it's romcom, I am all for fun and laughter, but the serious melodramas need to rethink their strategy. 

 

I am sorry if this is not the right place to post a rant, but it is becoming extremely frustrating to see people divided into two clear camps. 

OK, let me try and tackle this one today. Most Korean daily dramas (this one included) do have a more simplistic group of characters. There are the good people and the bad people. Pretty simple. But we all know that life isn't really like that, right? 

What is going on here is really about escapism. It takes a lot of mental work to process out who is kinda-sorta good, and who is kinda-sorta bad and all the "gray" areas in between. Some of us who are overwhelmed by life just want simple entertainment, where the good people triumph and the bad people get punished (Karma). It has been my experience that the Karma in Korean dramas is not usually enough for my taste, or it doesn't happen quickly enough, or there has been so much damage done to the good people by the baddies that it doesn't matter in the end. But I have been pleasantly surprised--watch the daily drama "Waves, Waves" for a fantastic ending of Karma appropriately dished out without going overboard or holding back. 

I could absolutely watch a more mentally challenging drama. Believe me, I used to do just that. There's plenty of K-dramas to choose from that do not have stereotypically good and bad characters. You mentioned that you want to see characters struggling, because that's what life is.....well,  I'm personally sick of seeing struggle in my own life and those close to me. I'm worn down by life and want 30 minutes of entertainment! The nice part about K-drama is....you can have it your way! Ding-dong makjang storylines or mentally challenging storylines, you get to choose your option. And if the storyline starts out strong but takes a left turn into a swamp of utter ridiculousness, there's that off button on the remote which I've used many times even after investing up to 60-70 episodes. 

Some of the best daily dramas start out a bit on the hair-pulling side but eventually come around--"Move over Fate" is a good example. Some start well, and end up in the swamp. Some become so laughable that it's still a fun watch--"Love is Drop by Drop" comes to mind. 

As for "A Man in a Veil"  (Sorry I still think of it as  "Secret Man" because that is the literal title), I'm on board for now. As@seungshinpointed out, some of the actresses/actors have appeared before in better quality productions, so that gives me some hope. I already like that Lee Si Kang's character has had a zippy one liner here and there, and that he is already changing from a spoiled scumbag to a guy who can do the right thing. 

[confusedheart]

@shamrockmomOf course! I think Asian dramas are the best source of escapism. I myself watch these Asian dramas not only because of their excellent story line but also because of their ability to provide some relief after a long day at work. We are all working hard, doing our best. 

I mentioned how there was a trend of overtly simplistic storylines with stereotypical characters. I thoroughly enjoyed some really good dramas like  'Because This is My First Life' or my all time favourite , 'You are My Destiny'. The story was simple and it was well narrated. There are plenty of other such simple stories but don't have caricature of characters.

 

And of course we all have different likes and dislikes. I respect yours completely. Thank you for suggestions. I am still new to Asian dramas. I have been experimenting a lot and like you dropping most of them after a few episodes. But the best part is, there is always a good drama round the corner to make us feel better after a hard day's work.

 

[Lmangla]

14 hours ago, shamrockmom said:

What is going on here is really about escapism. It takes a lot of mental work to process out who is kinda-sorta good, and who is kinda-sorta bad and all the "gray" areas in between. Some of us who are overwhelmed by life just want simple entertainment, where the good people triumph and the bad people get punished (Karma). It has been my experience that the Karma in Korean dramas is not usually enough for my taste, or it doesn't happen quickly enough, or there has been so much damage done to the good people by the baddies that it doesn't matter in the end. But I have been pleasantly surprised--watch the daily drama "Waves, Waves" for a fantastic ending of Karma appropriately dished out without going overboard or holding back. 

super! @shamrockmom ~ loving your explanation for what makes daily drama such a fun watch for many of us. absolutely spot on!

have been watching more daily dramas because 1. it is subbed now unlike before 2. it is easy watch at only 30 minutes and the simple story outlines makes it relaxing. that said, I think one of the reasons that karma is often unsatisfying is because daily dramas often recognize that the villains also have some sort of humanity to them. so if they have broken the law, they will serve sentence accordingly but for others, life goes in some form. they will often lose something like money, status and perhaps relationships but life goes on. it can be unsatisfying but perhaps also reflects a reality that there is no solution at times that it truly satisfactory because people are both good and bad....

 

@confusedheart326 ~ daily dramas in general are a mixed bag but it relies so much on its actors to give the nuances. I tend to watch a lot of revenge dramas and some of these villains and negative characters are complex. they aren't at all one dimensional which makes them interesting to watch. in the drama, 'I am a mother too' -- the villain's arc in the end was really surprising to watch. she did some horrendous things but as she accepts her past, we also understand how her own relationship with her parents and ex shaped her rather negative attitudes towards parenthood, marriage, family and relationships. in the drama 'gracious revenge', both sides were doing bad things in their anger and quest for revenge. at one point, the lead finally tells her mom "can we stop? have we done enough?" -- it was a drama where the older actors really brought their experience and skills to create characters that were quite complex. so it really depends on the drama and the actors. even the dumbest of dramas have interesting notes to them when there are actors who can pull these nuances out of them.

 

for me, daily dramas remind me a little of children cartoons or folk tales -- they can seem deceptively simple with stock characters but yet the themes they cover can be very deep. so brainy dramas can be great to watch (depending on my mood and life situation really)....  however, I have personally had the most profound conversations on this forum on dramas that were nowhere brainy. instead, it was just the regular daily & weekend dramas where people have posted their views that really made you sit and think about people and relationships. some of these dramas were not even that well-written but the chatter we had was memorable, fun and even made us think. even the dumbest of dramas has the potential to have great chatter. so, am glad that we have a variety of dramas and genres that appeal to people's tastes, moods and needs of the hour.

[confusedheart]

@Lmangla True! I really enjoyed my conversations with the members here. People are soooo perceptive. I miss half of the clues and have to go back and rewatch the scenes to fill in the gaps. I love K-drama villains! Innocent Defender, Doctor Prisoner and The Last Empress have some really good villains. The kind you love to hate. Hats off to the actors who played their roles sooo well that we loved to hate them. P.S. This is digressing from the topic but I loved what you wrote  in Lie After Lie forum....that was sooo beautiful!

Spoiler

there is also a kind of poetry to how she conveys her thoughts and to a man who makes a living out of words,

 

I think I need to update my repertoire. I have watched two daily dramas. 'My Golden Life' which was good but had to skip at times because it dragged. And 'I had a Lover' which was the most frustrating drama ever! I went through a roller coaster pf emotions, not all very pleasant. I wanted to shake those characters so badly! Kindly suggest some good daily dramas. Like @shamrockmom suggested, nothing beats coming home after a long day at work  and watching  some feel good kdramas. Good looking people, beautiful costumes, locations, music and great stories. 

[Lmangla]

2 hours ago, confusedheart326 said:

P.S. This is digressing from the topic but I loved what you wrote  in Lie After Lie forum....that was sooo beautiful!

awww, thanks. their relationship and their conversation has a lovely kind of poetry.. rather like beautiful leaves flying around on a spring day..

 

as for drama recommendations, am enjoying the current daily drama 'my mom has an affair' -- just hoping it ends well. for older ones, the weekend drama 'twinkle twinkle', 'what happens to my family', 'five kids' are all great family dramas where there aren't any super villains but just regular life and people. for a revenge drama, would suggest 'heaven's promise'..

[confusedheart]

@Lmangla Thank you for the suggestions. I was at a loose end so these suggestions are most helpful.

[Lmangla]

On 9/18/2020 at 10:45 PM, tulip06 said:

If he was righteous, he would go straight to the mother in law and say, here is YR with my brother, they were dating, my brother is in hospital and they were going to marry just before she decided to hop into bed with your son, so get a dna test, lady.

finally watched friday's episode and it is hard to tell what is the end game of driver kim. like you said, if he was really looking out for his brother, then shouldn't he telling the mother-in-law? what exactly is he waiting for? guess, he wants her to squirm and feel some of the pain of his brother? shrug...

 

was anyone else surprised that the baby survived as well as driver kim? at least a/c chairman has a brain and has realized seo jun needs some structure and discipline. he is a spoilt brat but at least he had the sense to fix what happened because of yujun's late delivery....

 

liked how the restaurant couple quietly decided to stop looking for the past. at some point, one has to let go. they seem like a couple really in sync with each other. is it a cousin or brother-in-law who lives with them? what is the relationship? anyway, he was apparently a detective at some point. wonder how that will fold into the story...

 

@maribella ~ am also waiting for tae poong to smarten up. it feels like the drama is slowly taking its time but right now, it feels like there are separate stories happening and hard to tell how all of them are connected...

[tulip06]

@Lmangla I find that driver Kim rather abusive and creepy. This is not how you get pro revenge. I may skip elder sister’s storyline and focus on Seo jun until I see from my fast forward some resolution to the former story. It’s icking me out as an emotional abuse survivor.

[partyon]

 Swords and Destiny Sageuk Poll 2

 

A new sageuk poll is up!

• Which is your favorite kiss in a sageuk?
• Who is your favorite second lead?
• Who annoys you the most in a sageuk?

 

Please vote!

 

Thank you!
Your Event Organizers @partyon & @Lmangla

[nohamahamoud2002]

Watched ep 1 on KBSWorld. I like the character of TP as a seven-year old minded man. He is such a dear. His transformation later on alarms me, reminding me of Love till the end. I wish we could have more of his pure-hearted personality. The actress playing the evil twin is always casted in the same role (ex. Home for Summer). I wish to see her casted as a kind person one day. 

[Lmangla]

1 hour ago, Jillia said:

Preview for episode 12:

omo, we have got abs...  in a daily drama!!!! hahahahhah....

[foreverempress]

That NOSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[Lmangla]

7 minutes ago, Jillia said:

Should we tell....... your "co-worker" who shall not be named until you give your okay?

 

yea, she can watch abruptly and wonder what is going on!

[tulip06]

3 hours ago, Lmangla said:

omo, we have got abs...  in a daily drama!!!! hahahahhah....

 

Oh yes, LSK’s fight their way out of his shirts.

 

Im so happy that YR dealt with Driver Kim. He was too scuzzy to be a righteous avenger. Now I’m amused by the middle aged love triangle and seeing why the chairman doesn’t quite trust his wife. He may just rightly suspect her of having something to do with his first love’s disappearance. And that saintly wife is quite murderous!.

[shana0127]

Cold Chairman is handsome and cool . He is no less then ML. That golf scene was cool. At least they showed somebody golfing rather then just keeping that kit for show as in FP.

 

What’s  wrong with me ?  After FP I suddenly have started liking older leads. 
 

Does that happen once you start watching family dramas so much !!!!

[nohamahamoud2002]

Why is the focus on villains in revenge drama? I know that TP will be the centre of attention soon when he starts his revenge, but really villains always get on my nerves. They are scheming all the time and get away with it for too long. I am starting to think that the evil twin is the female lead. 

 

[liyahsbutterfly]

2 hours ago, nohamahamoud2002 said:

I am starting to think that the evil twin is the female lead. 

 

They should make YR the FL because I hate how spineless and pathetic YJ is.

 

Also, I missed a few episodes. Someone recap me?

[nohamahamoud2002]

1 hour ago, chococarmela said:

 

They should make YR the FL because I hate how spineless and pathetic YJ is.

 

 

You are a feminist lol. I really like TP's mom the most. I am sad that she will die.

 

I suddenly remembered Mexican telenovas where villains keep plotting and scheming all through. 

[Lmangla]

11 hours ago, chococarmela said:

 

They should make YR the FL because I hate how spineless and pathetic YJ is.

 

Also, I missed a few episodes. Someone recap me?

lets see -- so far we have 3 different story threads:

1. tae poong & family ~ so evil twin yura was pregnant, her ex she dumped because he is too poor is still in coma. turns out his brother became a driver for tae poong's mom and then he started blackmail yura. his grand plan was to do a DNA test on the baby after birth. not sure why he didn't just tell tae poong's mom about it. anyways, yura tries to have him killed -- that is the assumption as someone cuts his brake oil. he has an accident but survives. yura asks uncle google on how to cheat the paternity test and finds out that infant babies should not be fed before the test as the mother's DNA might end up getting reflected. so what does she do? obviously feeds the baby right before the test and it shows up as negative. driver kim (the brother of ex coma boyfriend) is shocked

~ tae poong's mom is still battling her illness in secret and is trying to fulfill her dream to build a centre /development for the handicapped. she is working with the wife of a/c chairman. she is running out of money and so intends to sell some property

 

2. a/c chairman & family ~ so this one is rather boring. basically he was forced to marry his wife but had to give up his first love. so he remains cold like an a/c to his son seo jun as well. that fella got exiled to the suburbs factory where he is supposed to work as a regular employee. he is now having a tentative friendship with yura the good twin who sells him kimbap in the morning. she is so good that she is paying for the scratch that some old man did but does not have brains to realize that seo jun is rich. she obviously has memory loss and forgotten he was driving a fancy car. hmmm...

~ the a/c wife seems to have some thing to do with the disappearance of the first love...

 

3. the restaurant family ~ hubby was trying to look for details regarding his wife but seeing how distressed she was getting after every false lead, he decided to stop searching and she also agreed. but, someone who used to live as a neighbour 20+ years ago shows up (for reward money) and tells him that a young woman came looking for her and this restaurant lady ran away. so who was this young woman -- was it a/c wife?

 

that was pretty much it...

[marrez1]

18 hours ago, shana0127 said:

Cold Chairman is handsome and cool . He is no less then ML. That golf scene was cool. At least they showed somebody golfing rather then just keeping that kit for show as in FP.

 

What’s  wrong with me ?  After FP I suddenly have started liking older leads. 
 

 

I thought I was the only one who noticed him, he is very sexy for his age
I am disappointed to see that his wife is in fact so evil, we had been presented to us as a very gentle, kind woman, too bad to see such a bad woman, of course it is about her rival but I already think she will become very nasty I can already see that she will use all her privileges to to enslave our nice characters,  I imagine that she will be ally with evil twin it is obligatory, will there be a redemption for her? or prison?

and their son, the second male lead, I don't like him , it will soon be seen that he will do her a lot of harm in our FL, by allying with evil twin, of course it is obvious that she will seduce him when she sees that he comes from a very rich family