I’m still loving OCN fantasy thriller drama Black, showcasing the best drama performance I’ve seen from male lead Song Seung Heon and a truly creative and addictively confusing script. It’s basically God’s Gift: 14 Days, the previous drama by screenwriter Choi Ran, mixed up with dark and twisty supernatural elements of grim reapers and the mythology of death. But like GG there’s a sense that Choi Ran mapped her world out too big and therefore needs time to lay the foundation and then peel back the layers, but for the viewer it can be too dense and now after 12-episodes not enough revelations to sustain the balance of clarity and mystery.
I seriously have no clue who 444/Black was when he was alive though there are clues, and the big bad remains frustratingly opaque. What remains great is Song Seung Heon being awesome and awkwardly hilarious as the arrogant grim reaper in a human body, even as I miss Kim Tae Woo‘s cameo as reaper 444, and the side characters notably Kim Won Hae and Jo Jae Yoon. Sadly the only weak link in acting and character is Go Ara‘s female lead, yet again proving this poor girl can’t catch a break. She was fine in the beginning but has just devolved with every episode to the point I kinda want her to die lol. Anyhoo, Black is still loads of fun to watch and I can’t wait for the tsunami of reveals to finally drop.
Song Seung Hoon redeem himself in this drama but still disappointed with Go Ara’s acting.
She has been fairly long in this business and still so bland. She and SSK are similar pretty but bland acting.
Has she gained a lot of weight? She was so slender in Hwarang.
Not that there’s anything wrong with her having some weight on her but it does seem that they have been dressing her in some very baggy clothes to try to hide it which IMO calls more attention to it.
Go Ara was good but then she just seems like she mumbles and talks through her two front teeth these days and it just IRKS ME! Like, ennunciate! PLEASE! STOP MUMBLING!!!
I haven’t fully paid attention to the last two episodes because I’ve been annoyed by her mumbling!
I do like this drama and I can’t wait for the reveal, but I’m annoyed at Go ara, too.
SSH…what can I say…he’s always been hot and he’s doing really well in this one!
As much as I like this drama, such a refreshingly original and packed piece of work in a land of no-brainer, predictable Kdramas, I feel this one lacks the urgency and relative discipline of God’s Gift. That story started out with a bang, an emotionally gripping story of a mother searching desperately for her kidnapped daughter, and keeps in rein whatever meanderings this writer seems to relish within a tight structure of 14 days counting-down. This drama, however, has way too many stories for too many characters, and the stories lack that urgency and focus. The reaper is the only endearing and truly intriguing character, and Song Seung Heon really gives him a dramatic presence. But I feel that the story could have been told in a much better way that won’t sacrifice clarity in its bid to keep up the mystery.
That said, still a refreshing and intriguing show that keeps the viewers guessing until the last minute. I agree about Haram’s character. This writer is never known for writing endearing female characters, but Lee Bo Yung in God’s Gift still managed the best out of a similarly neurotic, reckless and hysterical character. By the time of episode 12 of this show, my impatience with Haram is such that I find myself both stunned and also thankful that she is dead! Wow, I feel so bad. Yet she is really getting on my nerves.
This is certainly the best work Song Seung Heon has done. I have been reading your blog since the time of My Princess, and I still remember how everyone loved his comedic timing. He should really do more comedy. The comedy in the first few episodes felt a bit gross and over-the-top, but obviously it went down extremely well with the Korean audience. Serves to show people just love slapstick.
By the way, 444 was Joon, who may have given his heart to his brother Han Moo-gang, whose body 444 has inhabited. Since the heart comes from him, so it makes sense that 444 cannot leave the body, not like other reapers who can inhabit and leave human hosts at will. The Big Baddy is, I feel, Senator Nam, who was holding a book-signing event in the first episode where the male lead was held hostage, by a soldier who was sexually harassed by the sone of Senator Nam. He is the one behind everything in the past and in the present. In this writer’s work, it is always the politician who is the Big Baddie.
Oppa! I always knew you had it in you to be awesome!
Cant wait for tomorrow to come. Black is the only worth watching this year at least for me.
Goodness. Whatever Go Ara acts, she’s always facing negative remarks from you people. IMO, Ara exceeded in Ha Ram’s role and she executed her emotions perfectly, just like in Hwarang. Just because she puts on weight, she mumbles or she cries….she’ll face criticism however hard she tries! Give the girl a break, will you people? She’s one of the few young actresses who is truly talented in acting and whatever emotions she conveyed, REMEMBER – it’s scripted totally! People always admire the actor but not the actress. Yes, SSH did his best in Black but Go ARa rocks too!