Yoon Si Yoon, Lee Se Young, Kim Min Jae, Cha Tae Hyun, Yoon Son Ha
Drama Rating: 6/10 Neck Score: A
This show had so much potential. But it was all over the place. I think it took too much on itself and then couldn't follow through. There were so many wonderful characters and situations, but it ended up being just typical and slapped together at the end. It's a lower middle on my range of disappointment vs. liking of the
four dramas early summer dramas we watched together.
It was a weird but interesting premise to start off with. It started with Ji Hoon (Kim Min Jae) narrating it, so we though his part in the plot would remain important. In fact Yoo Hyun Jae (Yoon Si Yoon) wasn't introduced in the first few episodes, except at the very end. There were so many plots that were supposed to be tied together, I wished they had all stayed that important. I wanted to see way more Bo Hee and Kwang Jae. I was always down for more Grandpa and Granddaughter stuff too. Instead, they focused on the love triangle between father and son in a super awkward and lopsided way that was reminiscent of
Reply 1988, meaning it gave
Lizabreff some
Jung Hwan Syndrome. Well, I guess it was a modified second lead syndrome, because they focused so much on Ji Hoon being in love with Woo Seung while Hyun Jae was falling in love with modern technology, that she ended up shipping them too much. It's easy to forget the three accidental kisses in one episode at the beginning because they were way too comical to be believed. The problem was they didn't balance or pace the show well so we didn't know who to root for. Even I (a die hard Yoon Si Yoon Fan- team Hyun Jae the whole time) would have been fine if Ji Hoon had won, because of how unbalanced the love story was. The real OTP was Hyun Jae and his phone. Or even just the BroTP- Hyun Jae and Kwang Jae.
There were so many plots that I wanted to see more of that just fizzled out. Bo Hee's quest to reenter the entertainment field and her devotion to Hyun Jae (her baby daddy). Kwang Jae's long time love for Bo Hee, which could have been a pretty funny "love triangle" since 93 Hyun Jae was pre-baby daddy Hyun Jae. Even Ji Hoon wanting to be an idol sort of fizzled out of importance when all of the sudden it became completely and only about the main couple. It all went down hill when Woo Seung moved out and Hyun Jae started working at Star Punch.... well not completely, it was still fun and cute. I loved all the interactions between Hyun Jae and Young Jae. Him always using his office, etc. That is just when the focus really got skewed. It seemed like they sacrificed the purity of the story to the rating gods and turned it into a blase romcom (not that Yoonie in love will ever be blase, he's the cutest thing in all creation).
I just wanted there to be way more focus on Hyun Jae and why he was there, where the money went, and why he did what he did in 93, what happened in 94, and why he disappeared and died. They managed to cover all of that, but with way less focus and screen time than I wanted. Kind of rushed it. Although the meeting of 93 and 94 might have been my favorite thing ever. Hyun Jae and Hyun Jae is a beautiful thing. They were the same person, yet not, because they had had different experiences, separate from each other. Was that too much of a spoiler? It was a tiny spoiler. I don't regret that though, because this show doesn't make that much sense the way it jumps around and forgets to update you on people and stuff. It was almost as bad as a 50 episoder that only had 16 episodes, except it would have been way too draggy if it had been longer.... unless they suddenly wrote it better and gave plenty of time for all the story lines and characters and didn't try to confuse us as to who the OTP was, etc.
So this wasn't as gross of a disappointment as
Lookout was (still angry and crying, what the heck!) for me anyway. Maybe
Lizabreff feels differently, as a Team Ji Hoon Girl, but it was definitely not all it could have been, and that's sad. At least it was still funny and cute until the end, even if it didn't make as much sense. You all know I would watch any show for Yoon Si Yoon no matter what anyway (literally have a
post dedicated to that...) So points for casting my Yoonie? JK, I will also watch anything for Cha Tae Hyun and Kim Min Jae too... so great cast, interesting premise, and writing.... wth?
Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is the first installment in a series of movies that all have to do with a team of reapers helping souls through their judgement in the different hells in their first 49 days of being dead. The reapers have a further stake in this because if they help enough paragons they will earn a chance to also pass judgement and be reincarnated as well. The Two Worlds follows the path of Kim Ja Hong (Cha Tae Hyun) who was a fire fighter and predicted to be a paragon. I really liked how it brought up how complicated a human's life is, even when they seem to be a paragon of virtue, constantly saving lives and acting selflessly. I also really loved how they portrayed the different trials and hells, especially since each god of hell was a fabulous cameo with an equally fabulous costume. It was fun to recognize each god and get excited to see who was next. They were all awesome. Also, the prosecutors were hilarious. The dynamic between the three reapers was super fun too. The mysterious and cool reaper, Gang Rim (Ha Jung Woo), who actually remembers his past (I'm sure we're going to learn even more in the next movie) is like the dad (or hyung/oppa) of the group. Hae Won Maek (Ju Ji Hoon) is the punk uncle/younger brother, who likes to argue and complain, but they all will protect the donsaeng Duk Choon (Kim Hyang Gi) at all costs. It was a funny action packed trip, as they tried to unravel the knots of what was happening and what had happened, so they could defend their paragon to his reincarnation. It had great effects, action, and of course made us cry with all the feels. All the FEELS! Why are they also making me laugh while I'm crying, dang it! It was good.
