284. Bride of the Water God 하백의 신부 2017 (2017) Korean

Nam Joo Hyuk, Shin Se Kyung, Lim Ju Hwan, Krystal, Gong Myung

Drama Rating: 4/10     Neck Score: A+

I wasn't going to watch this one, because it was obviously going to be not amazing.  But I kept watching all the clips and spoilers about it, and hearing about it from others, that I thought I would give it a chance.  Plus, I was having Gong Myung withdraws after Revolutionary Love finished, so I need to see it.  Plus, as everyone said, it's got a lot of pretty in it.  That's pretty much all it had in it.  It's rare to see something so fabulously bad as this.  It wasn't just because the actors were not the best.  I've seen Nam Joo Hyuk and Shin Se Kyung do decently well before, just not in this drama.  Although neither of them were so terrible that I wanted to cry or die even (most of the time), they were both not on their form at all and left much to be desired.  Really it was a combination of bad acting, directing, and writing.  I blame the writing the most for my lack of enjoyment.  It was just so bad, I didn't feel connected to the people who should.  I didn't care about the people I should, it was all just a big mess.  A big, pretty mess.

So, my biggest problem is that I just didn't care about the plot of the drama.  It just wasn't compelling to me at all.  In fact, I was probably watching it for all the wrong reasons, because I was way more compelled by the secondary couples and antagonist than the main couple.  It probably wasn't the best idea to watch a drama for Gong Myung when he wasn't even really in the first four episodes.  But he remained one of my favorites in all the other episodes.  I also related and cared about Lim Ju Hwan's character and story way more than anyone else.  So here is a list of the things I liked and cared about:



1. CEO Shin and his existential crisis.  What is more compelling then a man who doesn't know who he is, how he fits in, and is hated/feared by everyone?  Who grew up thinking he was a monster, and now that he has finally found a place, is being forcefully reminded about his past and apparent "sins?"

As a second male lead in a love triangle, he was the best too.  Because he understood that love couldn't be forced, but that the heart goes where it wants.  Even if you are a million times better than the male lead.

It's ok, Ju Hwan, I love you.

2. Bi Ryeom and Moo Ra Couple.  I'll admit, those kiss spoilers were the ones that kept me interested.  I really just wanted those two to hook up and stay together.  It drove me nuts that Moo Ra kept on obsessing over Habaek.  I totally didn't get that, whatever.  They just said that they were close, I never saw proof of that.  I'd believe that Moo Ra and Bi Ryeom were close then, it was obvious.  They were my OTP.  I also was really compelled about why Bi Ryeom was always misbehaving and being extra weird sometimes.  I liked that plot twist, especially as it was all tangled up with CEO Shin's existential crisis.

His smile made me keep coming back.

3. Secretary Min and Shin Ja Ya.  I don't know why, but I shipped them from whatever episode showed them first interacting.  I loved his quest to turn her into a decent person.  He is awesome.

4.  Is there a number 4?  I guess I did care about how many times they could make Nam Joo Hyuk and Gong Myung be shirtless.  I cared about that very much.

Glistening necks counts too.

5. YDG having a special appearance.  YDG in anything is an absolute plus.  He just swaggered his way through the cheese, no probalo.

Happiest moment of the drama was when YDG turned around a revealed it was him.

6. Moo Ra's clothes.

I want her shoes!

7. This hottie.  Oh Yeah.  More pretty!

That's the dude from My Amazing Boyfriend, right?

Things I didn't care for:

1. Habaek's mission and him not having powers (aka the main plot?).  It was stupid.  Couldn't he have gotten his powers back and kept them?  I was really over him not having powers.  I also didn't care whether he became king or whatever.  I found it hard to sympathize with him at all.  I didn't hate him or whatever, I just didn't care about him.

2. Yoon So Ah's problems.  She is the worst psychiatrist ever.  She's probably not even a good person.  I know they kept trying to tell us she was, but I really didn't think she was.  I also didn't hate her, in fact, she was fun sometimes.  I just... meh.  That describes her.  I could have less of her issues.

3. I especially didn't care about the drama that was going on in the last episode where they SUDDENLY focused on her daddy issues and were like: "yeah, the other guy is suddenly ok."  Also, that deus ex machina that popped up with the high priest at the end was lame too.  Moralizing.  Whatever.  I really didn't care about 98% of the drama and problems and was only compelled by those listed above.

4. I thought her shaman psychiatrist friend was annoying.  But I liked Nam Soo Ri.

5. Her orphan nurse friend was pretty annoying too.  I liked his ending though.

Yeah.... it was a mediocre drama at best.  I read up on the comic and I would like to read that.  Sad that this one is nothing like it, besides maybe character names.  I don't know why they bothered changing everything by making it modern, cause weird.  Probably because of the success of Goblin, which is the same sort of epic modern fantasy type deal, but even given that writer being who it was, it was way better written than this one, and it was boring.  So, yeah.  If you must watch (for the pretty, I assume) don't expect too much.  It is enjoyable, in spots, but it's not great.