THAT ENDING, THE MIND BLOWS

                I know it’s not the most creative title, since I mostly create a pun on That Winter, The Wind Blows. The drama itself is pretty good. The casts are excellent, the directing and cinematography are well balanced and gorgeous. The story is straight up melodrama on chaebol heiress and conman fauxcest. But, the ending… makes my mind blows for a while. There are actually plenty of dramas airing in 2013 that have mind blown ending, unfortunately not in a good way. While it’s true we, as viewers, should look at the whole package, most of the times bad endings just enough to erase fond memories about said dramas. So expect lots of ending spoilers and maybe it’s best for you to have watched these dramas except if you’re okay with spoilers. 

1. Gu Family Book

This is a drama that maybe forgets the title. The title is “Gu Family Book” which is why I expected there’s some kind of journey to find said book or even the appearance of it. Alas, in the entire drama, we never knew the book, it never appeared before us, the hero even forgot about the book and never even care if he could find the book or not. Some could argue the other drama title is “Kangchi: The Beginning” but it doesn’t negate the very first title or diminish the existence of the book. Till the end, I wondered about the book and only get the hero waited for 400 hundred years to make reunion with his past lover in modern Seoul. I could accept the heroine death so why bothered to make her and the entire cast reincarnated, except the forever young half gumiho, and yet they cannot explain that damn book just because the hero said he didn’t need the book. Some people argue the relocation to modern Seoul actually for PPL (product placements). I kinda agree with it.

2. Shark

I feel bad for Kim Nam Gil. It’s for the umpteenth time he died in a drama or movie. I cannot fathom the importance of him died again in Shark. I mean, I know he’s antihero and he has to pay for his crimes. He also can’t be together with his lover because she’s already married so why they need to kill him?? Plotwise, there’s not much he can do. He’s already helping catch the villain and wrap up his business, so maybe the writer decide to pull some dramatic tension and wring our hearts by kill the (anti) hero. Or, maybe, because he’s a Shark, he needs to go back to ocean? Whatever, the endng left bitter taste to my mouth, heart, and soul.

3. Mirae’s Choice (Marry Him If You Dare)

I suggest we should change this drama title “Watch It If You Dare” just in case any k-drama newbie or anyone ever interested in it. It’s also the case when a drama forgets the title. I, as a viewer, expected at least Mi Rae choose one of two guys or choose being single or choose whomever she wants. Or, at least we can really watch her marry the husband. However, this drama succeeds at none. We just see Mi Rae turn back, look optimistic and positive and just there. It is the most exasperated ending I have seen. I left puzzled, confused, and unable to make coherent and comprehensive thought. The epilogue didn’t clear it either because doesn’t the writer forget that the characters live in parallel universe?

4. That Winter, The Wind Blows

It’s not so much confusing and mindblowing as the other 3. It’s just, I hope, we get more explanations on how we get to the ending. As long as I can remember, during two third of the final episode, we get to see the hero stabbed by his buddy and bleeding and there’s a lot of blood it could bathe him. Somehow, one year later, the second leads talk about flowers and the heroine go to a café where she met the hero all fine and healthy. Because it is romantic melodrama and the ending set in early spring, we get the beautiful scenes of two people hugging and kissing in beautiful spring blossom. I get the point of happy ending of course, but how we get there is what bugged me. How Oh Soo even survived? Was Jin Sung help him and actually not betray him? How about Jin Sung’s family? Oh Young’s surgery? How she could find Oh Soo? So many questions, almost no answer.

5. Answer Me 1994/Reply 1994

It is actually the case when the losing ship (and shippers) could not understand the ending (me included). I love Reply 1997 and I also love Reply 1994 until I know who the husband and how the writer toy the viewers till the end. Actually, up until episode 10 I’m pretty sure Chilbongie will be the husband, based on the clues in 2013 scenes and their interactions in early 1994. But after episode 11, I sensed CB only going to be plot device. What breaks my heart the most is how so little character development for Chilbongie but the writer keep telling us that he’s one contender for Na Jung’s heart. But nope, Na Jung only consider CB as friend and her heart only for Trash Oppa. I can’t even watch episode 18, 19, 20 and 21 without bleeding heart. The only consolation for CB is his wife that introduced to us 5 minutes in the finale. What the hell?? I adore Na Jung and Oppa interactions, but I just hope they don’t make CB such a sad, pathetic character just because his one-sided love and his yearning for family.

6. Goddess of Fire, Jung Yi

Read the synopsis of this drama. It would say that this drama based on historical character, the first female potter in Korea, Baek Pa Sun. It’s fictionalized account of course but shouldn’t it follow the history a little? Hell, don’t hope anything remotely resemblance to it. I’m still mad at the unnecessary plot of Jung Yi cross-dressing, making it tries to copy Painter of The Wind but with epic fail. The story goes south and I don’t know how many pottery competitions happened in this drama. But the biggest blunder of all is to kill Tae Do right before the final episode. The real Baek Pa Sun went to Japan and married Kim Tae Do. Even the cast and synopsis admitted that the drama follows Baek Pa Sun’s life and eventually she’ll marry Kim Tae Do. I don’t know what the writer or PD think, but they completely forget the story and create their own story out of blue and kill Tae Do in the process. In the final episode, everyone but Jung Yi and Gwanghaegun is dead. Jung Yi and Gwanghaegun grow old but they also don’t end up together just longing and sighing. It’s the very definition of bad, sad, and screwed up ending. 

Any more suggestions on mind blown ending? Or are you having your favorite mind blown ending?

Drama Review: Shark/The Legend of Orpheus: Don’t Look Back (2013)

Rating: 7/10

Genre: revenge, thriller, melodrama, romance, mystery

The Cast:

Kim Nam Gil as Han Yi Soo/Kim Joon

Son Ye Jin as Jo Hae Woo

Ha Suk Jin as Oh Joon Young

Honey Lee as Sec.Jang

Nam Bo Ra as Han Yi Hyun

Lee Si Yeon as Kim Dong Soo

The Plot:

                A man comes back to Korea to fulfill his revenge mission against his lover’s family. He covers his real identity in order to unravel the mystery surrounding his father’s death and many unknown deaths. Then he uses his former lover who now torn between past first love and present husband to bring down his sworn enemy.

Review:

Kim Nam Gil

                Shark is revenge thriller melodrama by writer/director duo Kim Ji-woo and Park Chan-hong (the minds behind Resurrection and The Devil). It was also Kim Nam Gil’s army comeback project so many people anticipate it. The drama however didn’t live up to the expectations and the ending sealed the deal as disappointed drama. This drama also has many allegories in form of shark and Chagall’s painting “Orpheus”. The shark fish symbolizes that life must goes one as shark has to keep moving in order to live. The “Orpheus” painting features in some scene to remind us that this is a story between man and woman that cannot be together. The painting depicting the sad myth of Orpheus where he travels to the underworld to save his wife, only to lose her in the end because he looks back before they’ve both reached the upper world.

                The first few episodes are good, gripping and balanced. They provide background story to romance and the revenge mission. The childhood story is tragic and one can only hope their life wouldn’t be as bad as Yi Soo. He was poor and his father was merely a driver in Jo Family where he met his lover, Hae Woo. Then, someday his father framed as hit and run driver only to murdered days after. As Yi Soo tried to unravel the secrets behind his father’s murder, he was hit by truck. Severely damaged Yi Soo had to get reconstruction surgery that changes his face and his physique gets tainted. As convenient as any other dramas, Yi Soo just happens to be CEO of Giant Hotel, rival of Jo Hae Woo’s family hotel and Jo Hae Woo just happens to be prosecutor in charge of some mystery murders. The secondary characters are nice and sometimes provide comic relief and happy moments in an otherwise bleak and depressing drama. The story between Han Yi Hyun, Yi Soo’s younger sister and Kim Soo Hyun is even interesting and memorable. The main romance is depressing as ever as Hae Woo already has husband but still play fire with Yi Soo, leaving husband, Joon Young, the loneliest man all the time. Their romance is passionate made by promises and kisses but you can’t help but feel sympathy to Joon Young that left out and clueless most of the time

 As the story moves the drama little by little unravel the mysteries all thanks to Prosecutor Jo-Detective Byun combo and some random professor in charge of explaining the history of Korea and the connection with evil mastermind, Granddaddy/Chairman Jo. If there’s one thing this drama does well it is the creation of the evil character, Granddaddy/Chairman Jo, Hae Woo’s grandfather and Chairman of Gaya Hotel. He is truly terrifying and beyond redemption. In early episodes he seems nice and even Hae Woo cannot believe his Granddaddy would do many evil things. But towards the end more and more horrendous stories came up and truly justify Grandaddy Jo position as the evil of all evil.

What totally kills the drama is of course the ending. The ending maybe the most WTF ending in K-drama history and really makes me want to forget this drama. Warning!! Spoiler!! So in the end the hero died with no solid reason why he must die in the closing stage of this drama. Even when he cannot be with his lover (because she has husband) doesn’t mean he must die. What makes me mad and angry, he died because of Evil Chairman who only get prison sentence and still smile in the end. What a way to anger the viewer who from day 1 roots for the hero to destroy the villain. The villain doesn’t feel any remorse or even apologize and he still dares to kill the hero!! End of spoiler. The revenge mission seems moot and at some point you just want the hero to forget the revenge and live happily with his sister. 

Ha Suk Jin

It also wastes Ha Suk Jin’s talent as Oh Joon Young. Most of the time he just seems sad, confused, depressed, unable to get Hae Woo’s attention. He is clueless and only knows the bigger picture when everyone in their family already knows. He is supportive, kind, nice husband and good cook but he just can’t get Hae Woo’s love. Even his own father only confess to him when it’s too little too late. Poor Joon Young!!  To conclude this drama also solidifies Kim Nam Gil’s position as “Nation’s Corpse” as he almost always die in every project he’s in. Poor Kim Nam Gil!!

Life Lessons:

1.    Never watch Kim Nam Gil’s drama/film before it finished just to know the ending. It is painful and depressing to see your hero die in the end.

2.       Never seek revenge to anyone, especially the one that higher than you and the one that close to your lover. Your revenge either fails miserably because your opponent has so much power he can destroy you or your love distract your revenge mission.