Prosecutor Princess

from seobyunlover @ Livejournal

I had begun this kdrama a while back but I never finished it. My resolve the previous summer is to finish dramas I had begun.

This kdrama is awesome. The characters are deliciously complex, the score was beautiful, the cinematography was amazing, and save for the fans swooning for the male lead whom I didn't consider all that, I loved it. Every single character is written and portrayed like a real person, there is no typecast which makes me happy.

The prosecutor princess finds a shocking truth about her father and her curiosity gets the better of her. There are none of the kdrama cliches here, everything flows so seamlessly. Her character is faced with serious betrayal. The man she fell for was only using her to get his revenge. The man she had trusted all her life lied to her. Her character goes through so much but the essence of her character is not lost. She wants to know the truth and she does not let her love for her father or this new guy colour that.

The father in this drama would have to be my favorite character. Never have I seen any television program, Asian or otherwise, delve into a father's love for his daughter. She is his only child but the moment where he is faced with the truth, his concern goes to his daughter. He made some mistakes, he admits that, but his concern remains with his daughter. I have never seen an actor portray such a character in such an amazing way. It was simply beautiful.

The mother is so much like her daughter and I thank the writers and directors for keeping that similarity. The mother has to deal with this side of her husband she knew nothing about but she is not leaving him. She realizes her daughter's happiness, perhaps true happiness for the first time, but she maintains that "family comes first."

The guy is a seriously focused character. His father died in prison, sentenced for a crime he did not commit, and his mother died in a car accident while they were living in America. His life is sad but he is consumed by revenge. So consumed that he did not realize that the people he were after were people. He ends up falling for the prosecutor princess and revealing the truth about what happened that night. His character was the saddest of all, not because he lost his family, but because he could not forgive. He spent fifteen years pursuing revenge only to be left with an empty feeling.

The other members of the cast were funny as well from the head prosecutor to other members of the team. The Prosecutor Princess was a princess, her attire was far too flamboyant for a prosecutor and she received the customary slack for this. But I liked the work relation between her and her peers.

I especially loved the stylist for the show, especially the shoes. I love shoes, every single kind from sneakers to heels to sandals to boots. I like walking around barefoot but I love the feeling of shoes on my feet. And the shoes in this drama were spectacular. And back to the drama, it is different. Nothing is predictable and I love that. The characters are far from ordinary, the writing is lovely, the chemistry is like a hydrogen bond, there was no good guy/bad guy, it was complex and yet so simple. I loved it, I did.

Kamsahmnida.

Jin

The medical field and the legal field are two fascinating fields for me. I do not know which to choose and I am quite content with playing around academically, taking varied courses of course.

When I read that Jin was about a present-day doctor going back in the past to the Joseon era, I was seriously interested. I wish I could see something like this in Naija films, even US sef. I learned that there was a Japanese version, and I plan to watch that soon. So, I delved into Dr. Jin.

After being exposed to ER, House, Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy, I am familiar with fictional medical shows, particularly the makeup for the blood and gore. I was not grossed out by the surgery in Jin, although it seemed like everyone needed some form of brain surgery, and neither was I too impressed. It did not look real but the actors were believable and I could let the unimpressive makeup go. Besides, I was watching the drama to see what how he would get his tools and how he would make medicine.

Soju, a strong liquor, made for a good disinfectant, which is scary considering the heavy drinking culture in South Korea. Jin was able to work with a blacksmith to create tools and it was impressive to see materials made for scenes. 

But...the characters. Dear goodness the characters. 

Jin went back in time and met guy and girl. Girl looks like his current girlfriend, who is in the hospital following an accident, and guy would be the father of the next king. Jin is drawn to the girl because he feels he should protect this obvious ancestor of his girlfriend's. Girl is basically betrothed to this guy, her brother's best friend/brother, who cannot tell that she's just not into him. He pines and pines while being the bastard son of his family. Everyone makes a point to call him the bastard son, it's like his first name. Together they deal with politics and corruption all to protect their nation.

One female would not stop crying. It was a running joke among viki commentators that it was in her contract to cry every 5 minutes. As an actress Park Min Young is solid. She is a good actress but I fear she is being typecast. She was in City Hunter and she annoyed me in that role as well. Now City Hunter did not rely too much on the "love rhombus" (stolen from a viki commentator, thanks :D) between Park Min Young and Lee Minho's characters, but her character was known for getting in the way of the action scenes. It was embarrassing to watch as a female, and it is why I absolutely love Girl K, absolutely, hands down, forever will...even if Han Groo (and I still know her name without google) decides to play some stereotypical female roles. She was a BAMF (Bad-Ass-Mother-Fucker) and it was oh so refreshing to see. In Jin, Park Min Young was not entirely annoying, no that position was held by the main character, Jin. He had the most hilarious fainting spells, and he does not listen. He also feels that it is his responsibility to protect Girl. He saves her brother's life by operating on him and she's intrigued by the idea of being a doctor. She wanted to be a doctor and she achieved that. She makes her own decisions but the men, rather man, in her life just cannot stand that she will not listen to him because....drumroll...she may die. Yes, her character was just oh darn special that she had to live under his thumb or face the natural life cycle of death.

The gisaeng, Choon Hong played by Lee So Yeong, was fabulous. Gisaengs are female entertainers and they were privy to everything that went on especially on the political scale. Now she tells Jin to not go about changing history. Guess what he does? Invent penicillin and calls it...penicillin. Sorry Fleming, South Korea got it first sahn. Let's just apply some logic in this. I know, I know, there is no logic in kdramaland, same as no side vision or cell phones when your loved one runs away. Penicillin was a BAMF, it cured everything. Until some microorganisms started getting resistant and then it proved fruitless. Now penicillin was made decades after Jin supposedly made his and everyone wanted a piece. In addition to robbing Fleming of his achievement, sorry Alex, he singlehandedly sped up the resistance of microorganisms to penicillin. That is bad. That is worse than Sena and her boo's plotting in Rooftop prince. That is worse than all the evil mothers in kdramas put together. It means that in the 21st century, MRSA would be the least of our problems. But fortunately there is no logic in kdramaland and the future only has a few cases of penicillin-resistant microorganisms. 

And the operating rooms...I was hoping for a greater emphasis on cleanliness. I am surprised no surgery got infected with the amount of wading in and out and constant interruptions "touch him/her and I will kill you". Speaking of threats, so many folks were offering their lives to the Queen Dowager (oldest woman in the royal family) to prove their loyalty. You have no idea how many times I shouted at the poor woman to do it. Come on, off with his head, you know you want to say it. 

Something good

I love mathematics especially when used in algorithms.

See, I knew that I could not be the only Nigerian who enjoyed Korean dramas (kdramas). I'm not THAT special. So I turned to google, whose tab-icon I do not find particularly appealing. The white g on blue background is just not working for me for some reason.

I was watching an episode of "A Gentleman's Dignity" on Viki, one of my favorite sites to watch my Kdramas. Mysoju, ma binu, you were and will forever be my first--actually Crunchyroll was but you still hold a place in my heart. I do not remember the episode but in the comments, someone had posted that the female's lead "wahala" was too much and out came the love. The Nigerians recognized that pidgin word and the other Africans also picked up on it. It was such a beautiful moment for Nigerians to claim one another even though the comments were not in real-time. From the Nigerians came the other Africans, next came the Islanders and the other non-Korean nationalities. It was a beautiful moment, so beautiful I had completely missed the gazing into nothingness the characters were portraying, so I rewound.

And today, I found another Nigerian who enjoys kdramas and kpop: Radio Palava. My summer is officially complete. I got over my fear of roller coasters (no be me and you go enter the Intimidator, lai lai), improved my swimming, sent in my DACA application and learned to bake bread. Wetin man fi want XD?

KDrama: Fashion King

From Left to Right: Yoo Ah In, Shin Se Kyung, Lee Je Hoon, Kwon Yu Ri

--KimchiDrama

I actually liked this drama, I really did mainly because I could relate to the characters in a way--all of them. This was not a drama about love, but about a passion for fashion and success. And I welcomed that. It was also a fairly realistic drama, one of the most realistic KDramas I have ever seen. It shows people exactly how they are.We do not want to change. The actors were great. That I must say. The drama started out okay, it was crazy in all sense of the word, but I had hoped for it. Then the writing seemed to take a turn for the worse. There were a lot of loose ends and it was as if the writers were not paying attention to the characters they created. The beginning was crazy, "Rolex" will forever hold a different meaning for me, but the ending was something else. 

Young Gul played by Yoo Ah In 
He worked hard to get where he was. His mother abandoned him, his dad dropped out of the picture, his sister fell ill and died due to lack of money. His story is sad but he builds a clothing business and makes a name for himself. He meets a former childhood mate, Ga Young, (not "friend" as they had only met once/twice) and he aggressively pursues success. There is the antagonist Jae Hyuk who really cannot stand Young Gul and does everything to make this life hell. Young Gul becomes immensely successful but he was consumed by revenge. His character is something out of a Shakespeare play. His character is the "revenge is the ultimate downfall" or "money is the root of all evil." 

Lee Ga Young played by Shin Se Kyung 
There is no character development on her part, at all. Not once. She remains the same pushover. Even Iago's wife in Othello had some spunk compared to her. Now she is an orphan. Her parents died in a car accident and her mother's business partner makes her her live-in slave. This character is weak because her circumstance has made her weak. For me, this is the first KDrama character where the writers actually go into why she is weak and I can relate to her. But she remains weak. She meets Young Gul who is her savior; he gives her a home and allows her to design to her heart's content. Then she meets Jae Hyuk and while she clearly states that she loves Young Gul, she finds herself with Jae Hyuk. The former provides security and stability, the latter provides a rare opportunity to grow and develop her talents. It is the classic "eat your cake and have it too." 

Jae Hyuk played by Lee Je Hoon 
This guy wants what he cannot have, simple. This is why I did not like his character. He is a spoiled kid, who is in need of a serious therapist. His father hits him, with available objects, and his mother dotes on him too much while remaining oblivious to his suffering. He in turn abuses others, from his secretary to his ex-girlfriend/current girlfriend, to Young Gul and to Ga Young. For some reason, viewers loved this guy. Yet, he is the one who leaves his current girlfriend Anna, whom he had to woo back, in order to pursue another girl in another country, on another continent. He cannot stand up to his dad, or protect his then-girlfriend from his parents yet he wants to bring in a spineless girl. His character is sad and pathetic, but his money and status clouds all that. I label him "things are not at they seem." 

Anna played by Kwon Yu Ri 
This character leaves her work in the US for a job in Korea because her former boyfriend promises to do better. Now she loves him and while his parents gave her hell before, she decides to brace it. But his eyes are on Ga Young and he reneges on his promise to be there for her. Granted she is not as good a designer as Ga Young, she is a good businesswoman. With no comfort from Jae Hyuk, she seeks a friend in Young Gul. Young Gul likes her but she refused him, so they become drinking buddies. She is jealous of Ga Young and she wants her boyfriend to be monogamous. Eventually she breaks up with Jae Hyuk and moves into Young Gul's company where she is better utilized. Her character is strong but she struggles to find where she belongs. She does not belong in Jae Hyuk's world anymore and he hurt her, and she keeps looking for someone to accept her and love her. I label her "trying to find oneself." 

The drama does something so well that I rarely see in dramas or tv shows except on the Cable networks: SHOWTIME, Starz, HBO, etc. The characters are complex and the villains are also complex. There is absolutely no typecast here. The actors did a terrific job portraying these characters.Young Gul seems like the good guy but he also strays when he makes money. The writers explain why he does not open himself to others easily--his upbringing.Ga Young is weak but she does go after what she wants: her life at Young Gul's shop, her work at Jae Hyuk's company, and both guys breaking their necks for her. The writer also explains why she is so weak and indecisive. She was an orphan at a young age and she was practically a slave to the "weird bangs lady."Jae Hyuk is crazy because he is constantly being beaten by his father and he cannot separate his emotions from business. Anna is the way she is because she did not have a normal family; and apparently none of the characters did, and her hubby hurt her--badly.

The ending was not well thought out, although I believe the writer/director were aiming for a Shakespearan tragedy. But they missed the mark. Young Gul is in financial trouble and he leaves Korea for New York, USA. He leaves his girlfriend, Ga Young, behind. Time passes and he sends her a letter and ticket for New York, Jae Hyuk (the guy who does not understand the word NO) intercepts the message and brings the girl to New York. Ga Young things Young Gul abandoned her (this character has serious and realistic abandonment issues) and sticks with Jae Hyuk. It is inferred that the two are together. Life does not give pretty endings but it would have been fitting for both Ga Young and Young Gul to be together. It just would have. 

And I think this drama goes the easy route: the rich kid gets his way and wins the girl. Young Gul has been consistent in saying no to Jae Hyuk and saying yes to Young Gul but now she switches? That did not make sense. Their relationship was as clear as day. Oh and Young Gul somehow manages to call her and they did not talk it out. Instead, he gets shot by some random guy while on the phone with her but she does not hear the gunshot. The ending was bizarre and odd and just way out on left field. The writers and directors did not employ the KDrama cliches here, and I appreciated that, but they used it in the end which was pointless. Why have the guts to go a different path only to go back to it. I like the cliches though, especially when it is interpreted differently, but it was refreshing to not see a lot of them in this drama. However, the ending seemed to satisfy the viewers who wanted the rich kid with the poor girl. I would have wanted to see a more realistic ending: Jae Hyuk in therapy, Young Gul and Ga Young starting over in New York, far away from crazy Jae Hyuk, and Anna standing on her own. I'll chalk this up to a slightly bad Shakespeare rendition. Also, the fashion was not that great.

Rooftop Prince: SeNa

--SMTOWN-B2ST-INFINITE SUBS

I watched Rooftop Prince at about the same time I watched Fashion King. I preferred Fashion King over Rooftop Prince, even with its crazy ending. 

Unlike most of the viewers, I thought Sena with how evil she was, was the saddest character. She was as sad as Jae Hyuk in Fashion King, and thankfully both characters were just as complex (Jae Hyuk wins in complexity). The saddest part for me was when Sena's real mum meets her adoptive mum (her aunt) and the adoptive mum made her favorite dishes and the floodgates open when she burned herself trying to carry a hot pot. That moment hit a nerve because it was absolutely realistic. Sena never really liked her "mum" and she was not a caring daughter. Yet her "mum" gave her everything a mum could--Sena's foods cooked in that picky manner, and as much love as a mum could give. Sena did not return the favor but the "mum" was her mum.

Sena played by Jung Yoo Mi

"mum" played by Song Ok Sook

Biological mum played by Na Young Hee

From Left to Right: Choi Woo Shik, Jung Suk Won, Lee Min Ho

KDRAMA SUMMER VIEWING CHALLENGE

I love villainous characters and Fashion King, so far, is the only one to give me a good one. I do not like typecast roles, they are simple and boring. My favorite characters would have to be the "Power Rangers," the King's 3 men,  and the antagonist SeNa. The Power Rangers are hilarious and adorable while SeNa is just beautiful to watch, her acting is just amazing.

Green Ranger (the smart one) played by Lee Min Ho

Yellow Ranger (the adorable one) played by Choi Woo Shik

Blue Ranger (the bodyguard) played by Jung Suk Won

King played by Micky Yoochun

I do not pay attention to main characters unless they stand out, exceptions: Hyun Bin, Kim Sung Ah, Lee Seung Ki among others. The main characters in this drama are actually pretty good but the "loveness" of it all is just not my cup of tea. I do have to say that Micky Yoochun did exceptionally well here.

I like Sena because she was such a bad character (in the literal meaning and the Michael Jackson meaning) and played by a really good actress. I wanted a reason behind why she hated her sister but the writers/directors never gave one. Something must have spurred that hate. In the past it was because her family put her aside for the Crown Princess (which does serious damage to a kid's psyche). But in the present, there is nothing concrete. Other than her real mother abandoning her with her aunt, which could explain why she was never close to her adoptive mother.

What I really really really loved about this drama is that for once, the characters had common sense--the main male lead that is. The King, along with his Power Rangers, had to solve a mystery and they were pretty smart. It is pretty rare to find a drama where the lead characters apply real life common sense so that was refreshing to watch. Also, this drama did the time travel bit excellently. I watched Secret Garden and the body switching was so underplayed and underutilized but in this one, the writers got it oh-so-right.

The drama was definitely about love but I liked the mystery aspect of it as well. Oh and the power rangers and the food---KDrama and food is something else. And those rangers were absolutely darling.

KDrama

I do not like film characters that I am supposed to like.

I'm watching this Korean Drama, popularly referred to as KDrama, and I cannot find complexity in the characters.

The King 2 Hearts                                        Rooftop Prince

See KDramas have this formula, in the same way a culture's movie's does: Hollywood, Nollywood, etc. The girl is weak, the guy is mean and needs redemption and he gets it through the girl. I got it. I just want some twist in it. I want a Romeo and Juliet type of thing, according to the way Shakespeare wrote it, where both main characters both die, there is a lot of comedy (a la my favorite character Mercutio), and most importantly the characters are dynamic and complex. There is a reason why Romeo fell for Juliet so quickly (Rosaline dumped him) and Juliet was the rebound girl.

I'd like to see a rebound girl/guy in a KDrama. And if there is already a drama with a rebound girl/guy, please let me know.

So in Rooftop Prince, which tries too hard to be funny, the characters are in some reincarnation twist similar to Once Upon A Time (USA show). While I do love the twist, the past explores the complexity of the characters more than the present does. In the past, it is shown why the female antagonist is the way she is: she wanted to be the bride of the Crown Prince but her father sidelined her for being older for her younger sister (and females are taller than males pre-puberty) and her mother gave her prized ribbon to her younger sister to look pretty for the prince. There is an accident with an iron, which may or may not have been intentional, and the sister is scarred for life. I get why she is evil to the sister, I do. Kids at that age, especially pre-teens and teens at that age are fragile. The younger sister could not help it but the parents could and they basically fucked up both of their daughters. Now it's up to the audience to decide whom to root for: the psychologically damaged older sister or the younger sister who just wants her unni's love?

And in The King 2 Hearts, another prince tagline, three members of both Koreas are combined for a WOC fighting-soldier-armed-forces tournament. That soldiers from North and South Korea are participating in the fictional WOC is meant for a unification of both Koreas. I do like the idea and given that the current tide is North Korea is undergoing a leadership change, this is good. The Crown Prince of South Korea is on the South Korea (SK) team to please the people who pay for his upkeep. Y'know, to make the taxpayers proud. On the North Korea (NK) team is a female and two guys. I love that the North team has the female, the symbolism of that is just beautiful. As usual, the Crown Prince is the one in need of redemption and his character gets complexity. He did not want to be king, even though he has the IQ for it. He is lazy and he does not like the added pressure from being in the royal family.

Now when the two teams get together, the pranks begin. The Crown Prince disrupts the team's campfire bonding because he's excluded (more like he excluded himself), and the NK team play one on him where they have him convinced he will be killed with a poisonous needle in his sleep. The Crown Prince comes back with telling the team and the entire faculty, where they are practicing for the WOC, that the female got dumped (ouchie), and he delivers a low blow telling her he does not see her as a woman. The two keep going back and forth, mainly between the main leads (crown prince and female) until the Crown Prince shoots the woman in an exercise.

Now I admit, that has got to be awful, getting shot by someone you are supposed to trust. But...where was the trust? Both of them are acting like little kids and it doesn't help that you have a gun in my face. Yes, the guy gave a low blow and so did the girl when she gave a psycho-analysis. However, I cannot connect with the female because by the 4th episode, there is no complexity to her. She seems like a strong person--physically and mentally--who uses both her fists and tricks to get what she wants. Except I never know what she wants. One minute, she's brave and fearless, the next she is coy and fearful. The abrupt switch between both traits is too jarring and uncomfortable.

A part of me was actually hoping her character died with that gunshot. Her teammates have more complexity than she does, and I cannot even remember her name.