SBS weekends have been pretty lackluster for me for a long time. The last weekend drama I enjoyed (somewhat) was Cheongdamdong Alice. The ones after that like Birth Secret, Goddess of Marriage, and Thrice Married Woman have all been singularly hard to watch. Not bad per se, just not very fun to slog through. Coming up next is Angel Eyes, the drama that initially floated as leads Lee Jun Ki and Han Ji Min, but now has confirmed a completely different set of leads. Gu Hye Sun and Lee Sang Yoon will be pairing up for this first love melodrama that has already started filming the childhood section. Playing the teenage counterparts to Gu Hye Sun and Lee Sang Yoon are Nam Ji Hyun and Kang Ha Neul, both of whom I honestly like better than the adult leads. Gu Hye Sun will be making her first K-drama return since Take Care of the Captain with Ji Jin Hee in 2012. I don’t know why but it feels like she’s been gone for much longer than that. Lee Sang Yoon is a drama regular and last year did both the MBC sageuk Goddess of Fire Jeongi with Moon Geun Young as well as My Daughter Seo Young with Lee Bo Young.

Angel Eyes will be primed to follow the typical weekend family melodrama types of narratives as the two leads are teenage sweethearts but are separated by something involving the male leads parents. Years later, the female lead gets a cornea transplant and regains her eyesight and becomes an EMT. The male lead becomes a surgeon (of course) and their paths cross again. Rounding out the cast is Kim Ji Suk playing the second male lead and antagonist in the story. I’m actually rather indifferent to the cast but find the big potential stumbling block to be the screenwriter who wrote Boys Before Flowers and Operation Proposal, both of which were hot messes story-wise. Apparently Gu Hye Sun accepted this role because she is getting to work with her BoF screenwriter, and I’m not sure whether it’s a good idea on either of their parts. On the other hand, the PD is all sorts of awesome having directed Will it Snow For Christmas, Only You, and What Happened in Bali. All of those dramas are so pretty to watch with great directorial flair. Decisions, decisions. I’ll probably watch the childhood portions no matter which since I love those two youngsters, but the rest will depend on if the story is actually engaging. The first stills are out of Kang Ha Neul and Nam Ji Hyun filming for Angel Eyes and they are definitely cute together. Nam Ji Hyun is always so winning in any role, and she’s left indelible teenage performances as the younger female lead in dramas such as YISFC, Giant, and Queen Seondeok. Angel Eyes premieres at the end of March on SBS. Continue reading →