Seo Jin and His Ha Na Tree Take a Longing Walk in Hyde, Jekyll, Me

I swear my “Ha Na is like Seo Jin’s special tree” metaphor came completely organically. I kept wondering how best to really capture her presence in Hyde, Jekyll, Me (or Hyde, Jekyll, Tree) so far and her stiff and blank facial expressions (or non-expressions) totally landed me in the tree comparison realm. Even better is Seo Jin having an indoor atrium/hothouse in his sprawling residence, all the better for the flora analogizes to take root. I’m so on a roll here LOL. The production is even making my case by releasing stills from episode 12 showing the two leads walking through a tree lined outdoor boulevard, a scene where Ha Na blends in with her surroundings in ways that are exactly opposite to how she doesn’t blend into this drama at all.

I’m growing increasingly fond of the drama as Seo Jin’s story takes flight, not to mention crazy vengeful Tae Joo adds to the limited excitement onscreen. I can even root for Seo Jin and Ha Na as an OTP (totally don’t feel Ha Na-Robin one whit) because narratively that has been established as part of Seo Jin’s breakthrough and opening up. Like I said, Ha Na’s his special tree and he’s finally going to take care of her himself rather than let Robin get all the potted fun. That doesn’t mean I now like Ha Na, or that Han Ji Min has improved her acting. Her character remains woefully written and Han Ji Min’s acting continues to be shockingly lackluster. Her way her speaking her dialogue at times like this (A….re…you….Ro…..bin…..?) with a totally blank face drives me nutters. If the PD is directing her as such then boo on creating the whole Ha Na mess. Bad tree, bad tree, you go timeout over there!

Poor Hyun Bin remains acting circles around Han Ji Min and it’s still majorly distracting. I wish I could watch them do a scene on set and get a sense as to whether the two actors actually feel chemistry with each other? Or is it as devoid of sizzle as what the audience sees? Han Ji Min isn’t my favorite but I’ve never been this let down by her. Good golly she’s seasoned enough and this has got to be one of her worst performances in the history of ever. But to be fair, it’s certainly not the worst actress performances I’ve seen in a drama plus she’s actually quite innocuous to watch. Like a pretty tree, heh. It’s simply that I expect more from her in particular, and wish for more in the context of this story. With 9 more episodes to go, if I can get a few scenes from her that pop then I’ll say a few hallelujahs!


Comments

Seo Jin and His Ha Na Tree Take a Longing Walk in Hyde, Jekyll, Me — 16 Comments

  1. “Bad tree, bad tree, you go timeout over there!” ROFL. Thanks for the posts on this drama! The truth is, I can’t get myself to watch it b/c of the female lead. I’ve seen her at Dae Jang Geum. I liked her there, maybe because of her likeable character but disliked her in Resurrection. Why does her weeping there annoy me? Oh boy, i was tempted several times to skip her scenes. But, she is really pretty to look at like a tree in the fall…lol…sorry, to those who are her fans. Just stating my opinion.

  2. Having read what Ms Koala likes (of dramas, actresses and actors and your so-called great acting of some of them), I can’t take you seriously of your review, which are usually very bias. Seriously!! I think this place now only welcome haters rather than people who give constructive comments……sigh!

    • true, i can feel the hate… always making fun of all, its like nothing they do can please her, i just come here to read because dramabeans is blocked at the office 🙁 but i guess haters need to have thier space too

    • What haters? Me and a lot of other people like HB to bits and we even liked HJM in Padam Padam. Still, because of her ‘acting’ there (and the awful writing), we had to drop this show. Our anger became snark because that’s the only thing left to do. *Thinks 4 weeks & then everyone is free*.

      • Han ji min is gorgeous but dhe can’t act, at least in this drama. She only has one expressioN. She is sooo blunt and acts like those actresses in old 90’s dramas.

    • I like Ji Min but her acting in this drama is terribly boring. Monotone voice combines with a dull character = Zzzzzzz and totally forgettable. It’s actually quite distracting with her blank face and monotone voice that I couldn’t care less about her character. I just wish the writer and Ji Min would add life to “Hana”.

      When I think of “Hana Tree”, I think of Seo-Jin peeing on her to claim her as his territory. Dogs do that. Hmm…..I think I’m taking this ‘tree’ too far.

  3. This is Koala’ blog where she is just giving her POV. Doesn’t she has the right to her opinion. Lets face it, everyone has his/her biases, viewers like us are no different. So it seems we can just dismiss her assessment as bias (hate) whereas what we think is not bias. Overall, have been enjoying her reviews including those that differ from mine. Many of her account are fun, refreshingly frank, insightful and spot-on.

  4. I’m still behind episode 11.
    But she’s bland. Real bland. There’s so much that you can blame on the writing..the truth is she’s not acting the role as well. Her tone is always so monotonous …and she like 3 expression maxed.
    There’s zilch spark when she’s acting around hyun bin and you can’t fault him for lack of trying. Sometimes I feel his stares are burning but into a wall and not getting anything back. I like han Ji min enough but I agree this has to be her worst performance!

  5. I gotta say that Hana was given practically nothing good to do in the last two episodes. Ep 11 and 12. AIsh and to top it off HJM only had the one expression and that drive me crazy. Your boyfriend has DID – snap out of it and do something to help him!!!! I like this otp together but really Hana needs some life injected back into her. HJM herself is pretty cute behind the scenes.

  6. Maybe they’re dating for real? Lol… I’m just trying to find anything that will answer me why is this otp feels so bland.
    Han Ji Min is an okay actress and she cries beautifully but i agree that i only get one expression from her in this drama. The writing is one problem but her acting is so dead here.
    I don’t get how HB character falls in love with her , it’s just felt forced by the storyline.
    But my criticism for her bland acting is nothing compared to GHS bloody acting. At least Han ji min is a comfortable and beautiful tree to look at .

  7. Totally agree with Ockoala. Glad it is not just me that thinks this is lackluster acting by the female lead. Her acting waxes and wans. It is not always bad, but she does not do well with expressing emotions through facial expressions. Ha Na following Soe Jin into the Haunted House was laughable. She just looked goofy and I don’t think the show was going for that. I like the drama overall and luv Hyun Bin. I am committed to the end.

  8. I don’t really have an opinion on Han Ji Min. She’s just whatever, but I would rather watch her in a drama over Shin Se Kyung any day.

  9. That’s it. I am so on the verge of giving up on HJM’s acting in this drama. what’s happening? She still is as dull as beans after 12 episodes! First I blamed the writing, but now part of the blame lies with HJM’s acting. Writer and HJM need to make Ha Na better by next week! There are only 4 weeks left- and I don’t want this drama to be a flop in my book- but it looks like it will be, if it doesn’t improve by next week 🙁

    What attracted me to HJM & HB pairing – in the first place- was their intense chemistry in The Fatal Entcounter. I shipped them so bad even though she was his grandma- kinda icky lol. That scene at the beginning when she warned him not to mess with her (OMG lasers were coming from her eyes) and in this drama- I feel nothing from her-. WTH!

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