It’s nice to see MBC whipping out the nice cameras for Missing You, which it used on the first few episodes of Arang and the Magistrate which really showed in the visual pop of setting the stage in that fantasy period world. Isn’t the screencap above where Hyung Joon and Soo Yeon are overlaid absolutely breathtaking? Nice Guy was helmed by a truly masterful PD who unleashed his entire creative arsenal of camera angles and frames, whereas the PD of MY isn’t nearly as talented but does have a good eye for capturing a burnished emotional sensitivity in the narrative. Together with a talented cinematographer, MY is a lovely feast for the eyes though it doesn’t always flow well. At times its like a series of standalone pretty portraits that once collected into a photo book doesn’t quite gell as a unit. But I do appreciate a pretty drama when I see one since conversely some dramas lately have seemed so cheap and shoddily filmed in comparison. I mention the filming quality of MY only because the preview for episode 7 is out and rather than thinking about the story, I was really taken with the visual images on the screen. I love how the blue-ish tints have darkened and spread, almost like the sadness is oozing out of everyone.
The scenes with Hyung Joon and Soo Yeon sitting at the bar drinking (LOL, just imagining my baby boy Yoo Seung Ho drinking sends me into fits of giggles) were sooooo gorgeous. I love how the PD chooses to film their scenes almost exclusively just the two of them. And even when they are in a crowd, such as at the fashion show or in the hotel lobby, our eyes are arrested to only the two of them and they only have eyes for each other. I absolutely think this is unhealthy and the two of them need to have more friends. But considering one is running for his life from his murderous older half-brother (Jung Woo’s dad) and needs to stay incognito, while the other is running from a traumatic and stigmatized past, it’s understandable they trust only each other to the exclusion of others. But I love that Hyung Joon lets Soo Yeon do whatever she wants and doesn’t control her, she runs off to Jeju for the fashion show and she heads to Seoul to find him. It’s not like they live in a bubble world, but that they live in an emotional cocoon built by the both of them. I’m excited to see how the return of Jung Woo into their lives will affect their relationship, and open up old wounds that will hopefully be able to heal properly this time. I want Soo Yeon to forgive Jung Woo for his very human choice, and I want Jung Woo to find out what his asshole dad tried to do to Hyung Joon.
LOL, I love how they tease each other. You can tell that Hyung Joon is doing something to annoy Soo Yeon and she’s trying to grab the phone from him and his smile makes me happy they are like normal couples just having fun with each other.
Seriously? Could these two people be any more drop dead gorgeous? Please drama gods, let them make a noona-dongsaeng rom-com for me next year. Pretty please?
Preview for episode 7:
You’re really making my day with these IMY posts. So many of them and I’m devouring all of them. And yes the two really are breathtakingly beautiful.
poor Soo Yeon, watching her Mom from a distance 🙁
Thanks for these lovlies.
The vibe between them is so relaxed; they prolly will end up being besties by the end of the drama, and would love a rematch in a much lighter show, or a film.
Happy when they use the good cameras, too.
I am watching two dramas (KoD and DGGG) about dramas and actors, and keep recalling what that very vocal Golden Time scriptwriter said about writing for what she considered actors who didn’t measure up to her words. (article on Dramabeans http://www.dramabeans.com/2012/11/golden-time-writer-puts-foot-in-mouth-insults-cast/)
So while I am trying to watch this one with my turned off brain, I can’t help but wonder a teeny tiny bit how the script changes as the cast settles into their roles.
If you have one actor who delivers intensity and layers in his/her performance or one who is OK with the words you give him/her, don’t you lean towards the one you think earns better material?
Don’t you start to wonder, “Hey, what if I gave him a tendency towards even more evil? Would he still be able to maintain the audience’s sympathy? It is about screen time, but it is also about the complexity of the role. JIS in WHIB is one example of how the script changed to highlight his character more, and I think Brain got better as Shin Ha Kyun crushed his performance in that one.
Which means we keep letting the Boy Scouts stay simple and we pour on the spice to the guys/girls who can handle it.
Bingo!
Let the shining light hero stay, well, uber-heroic. I can dig that. He does it so well, with the self-loathing and the moping.
But YEH and YSH are just so nuanced that I feel like they are making more of the Hyung Joon-Soo Yeon relationship. It’s almost like the Harry and Zoe we see isn’t what the writer had in mind. It’s like the PD went “woah” when Harry looked at Zoe and realized “hhhhmmmm, this here is something MORE….”
Rewritten scripts? No, not WHIB. It was a two male lead one girl drama from the get go. The only change was that Jae Min (JIS) was supposed to be an older man, with wealth AND power AND strength. Rather than the loser man-child he was. But I fully believe that HJW’s choice, Soo Jung’s choice, was in fact influenced strongly on her explosive chemistry with JIS. Witness it was all In Wook in the first half, then a reversal of fortune shall we say in the second half.
Rewritten endings are dramas like Beautiful Days where the second male lead was written as the male lead midway and the story extended, or in Queen Seon Doek where HISTORY was upended to make the second male lead the lead.
Here? I don’t see it happening. With half the viewers and likely more on the canon ship, doing so would be courting too much vitriol. I don’t like fan wars. I’m okay with the story staying canon. I can fan fiction my way to the ending that makes sense for me.
What slayed me in May Queen is that the writer threw a 15!!! year relationship and the entire character built up of the second male lead under a bus, train, and plane in order to get the leading lady with the first male lead. That just blows! That better not happen here.
What? You mean Lee Byung Hun character in Beautiful Days was supposed to be the second lead initially?!
I’ll say it again, and I wont ever stop saying it…YOON EUN HYE can have chemistry with a pack of GUM!! The girl is just that good. I hate melos, but im watching it for her–and I did not expect to fall in love with Yoo Seung Ho. How old is this kid? Should he be macking on my YEH? I love the interraction between all of them, and I wish I can just sit and watch only these scenes. GAH, I love you YEH!! Girl did an awesome job with that crying scene, made me shiver. Her and Ha Ji Won–fave K- actor.
Yes drama gods, a rom-com for YSH & YEH. *_*
I think one of the reason they chose YSH for the role is that yes, he is a good actor who can portray the role of the villain quite well but then he is also so much younger than the other two so they didn’t expect him to have such chemistry with YEH. I mean, it is easier for the audience to rooy for PYC and YEH if there is no chemistry between YSH & YEH right? So maybe they really didn
Oh my, Capt K, you spoil me so with all your posts!! Hope you had a happy thanksgiving.
Anyhow, honestly, I was NOT expecting YSH and YEH to have that much chemistry. I was thinking a little bit, but nowhere near what we are seeing onscreen. As a drama viewer, I was excited, but they have definitely exceeded all of my expectations. I admit, I thought it because the age difference is big, but b/c of the number of years, but the stages in life. 20 and 29 is a big life stage difference. or is it 19 & 28? Anyhow, it’s bigger of a stage gap then say age 24 & 33. I’m just so amazed with our Harry/Zoe couple. 🙂 I will definitely be crying when they have to breakup.
I agree that keeping the story on track makes the most sense. The OTP was meant to be the OTP and they have good chemistry too.
YEH is gorgeous in that last still. So natural, so pretty. 🙂
Opps… I meant to say *not b/c of the number of years…
My Thanksgiving was awesome, thank you for asking! 😀
The Harry/Zoe connection blows me away. Where did that searing chemistry come from?
it happened the moment adult Hyun Joon looked at the adult Soo Yeon! 🙂
I started watching from Ep5 and was unexpectedly sucked in. Generally melos are not my thing so I was surprised. I think it might be because the story is now revolving around characters that make you root for them because no matter what awful thing they might do in the future episodes they are at heart decent people with a great capacity for love.
I can’t get on the YSH/YEH ship because the age difference still weirds me out. :/
But I seriously LOVE the relationship between JW, SY’s mom, Detective Kim’s daughter. I love how they seem so happy together even when what made then a “family” is not blood ties but mind numbing tragedy.
Same here, Briana. While i think that the characters are gorgeous individually, i still cannot ship YEH with YSH mainly because of the age factor. Looks so dysfunctional to me. Sorry. But looks like YSH has a lot of potential as an actor.
gahhhhh i am tipping over to the temptation of watching MY despite already having enough melos under my belt for now… just for them both! ><;;;; i would go back and watch from the beginning instead of starting at ep 5 if it wasn't so traumatizing hahaha
kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! daebakkk! soo love miss k! my YSH …! be still my heart. swoon.
My reaction exactly when i see this post… Kyaaaaaaaaaaaasaa~~~~~~!!!
Tomorrow is Wednesday right? Thanx Ms. K…
Beautiful stills…beautiful man!
I want to jump off the ship now, because I’m sure they will make him evil to justify her going back to the other him. =(
So you got me again. I wasn’t going to watch this because of all the angst. Then I kept reading you and your readers comments about it and BAM, here I am watching this drama.
The first 3 episodes were hard to watch. The subject matter and the portrayal of them all too real. The young actors were superb. The young actor who played HJW has got charisma oozing from him.
Now the adults are up and I think they are acting their socks off.
Thanks Ms.K.
Reading your opinions on this show, I felt a bit sad because you seem too sure that the couple of HJ/SY will not be allowed a happy ending. I guess I will watch a few more episodes. If I see that they definitely will turn HJ into a villain, and try to make a 1/2 months relationship more important than a 14 year relationship, then I guess I’ll just have to stop watching this show to save myself the aggravation (I’ll just continue to read your recaps lol). They had no reason to make us fall for the second lead, if they wanted her to be with the first lead from the beginning.
This is the first show that has me really rooting for the second lead and the heroine to be a together lol.
I also have to say that the second lead HJ, has one of the most beautiful and intense gazes/stares I have ever seen. Also the chemistry between them is one of the best I’ve seen, since I started watching K-dramas (it’s been almost a year now). Well actually their chemistry is amongst the best I’ve seen, period. HJ/SY are my OTP 😀
now that i’ve seen ep 5 and 6 ^^;; the camera is very pretty i’ll agree… but the disconnect from shot to shot is really bothering me wrinkles nose* lol i KINDA get where the story is trying to go and what the director is trying to do… but the way its done is pretty sloppy =/ i’m just so spoiled
The characters do seem interesting… they all have a certain degree of attractiveness to me, all 3 of them, along with faults that boggle my mind. HJ is such a big question-mark, especially his interactions with JW in these two episodes… his smirk and laid-back answers… need more episodes to find out. I wonder if he will be developped as beautifully as MR from CYHMH… it’ll be a test of YSH’s acting prowess too if he can flesh out his character’s inner world as well as NGM did with Maru =P
just babbling along
Thanks for the updates, I’m quite torn apart.
Because as much as I love this two, and their amazing chemistry
The interaction between SY and JW is yet to be seen. So I’ll be going crazy
not just with one but two ships. This right here will be the death of me metaphorically speaking.
why is the difference in directing between ep 2 and eps 5 and 6 so big????!!!!!! @___@ sigh
I recently saw this video which includes an interview with Yoo Seung Ho and Kim Ha Neul about their movie Blind that came out last year. He’s always been such a noona killer! He also describes his ideal woman in the interview to which KHN makes a joke about how she’s trying to look like that. It starts at 7:25.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQmdAqdIaIA
Thanks K, for the updates IMY of YEH.