Lovers eps 8-20(the end)
Jan. 13th, 2008 01:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganbmooreDespite the fact that a giant chunk of the last episode seemed like unneccessary dragging to fill up an hour of angst(which, frankly, is the case with every modern kdrama I've seen, so I'm not holding that against it) this remained good to the end, even though I called most plot developments well in advance. It had every element of kdramas that I dislike, but instead of my having to handwave and look past them, a la My Girl and Spring Waltz, they actually made them work, primarily in regards to the traditional kdrama love square, and the secondary characters. A lot of what I'd say about the leads, romance, and overall plot, I already said in other posts *points to tag* so instead, I'm going to focus in a couple things I touched on, but want to go into more now that I've finished it.
Short version: Very good drama, both as a romance and a relationship drama. It has its share of flaws, but most of them I got past without any hand waving.
I shall try Lovers in Paris shortly, and we shall see if kdramas work better for me now than they have in the past, or if I just lucked into two of the rare ones that do work for me.
That said, looking at the elements of various kdramas that I HAVE enjoyed, I've realized that while the drawn out melodrama and love squares and the manipulation into disliking characters don't work for me, comedy in kdramas works very, very well for me . Even Goong, which I have far more issues with than I'll ever get into in LJ(most of which have never made it to LJ, comments, post or otherwise) because I'd rather spend the typing time praising something, was borderline brilliant when it dumped the drama and went for comedy(I may have liked it as a comedy, actually) and has one comedy scene that's possibly my favorite kdrama comedy scene ever.
In most kdramas, the love square looks like this: we have, naturally, the hero and heroine. They are clearly Meant To Be from the start, often of the serious, angsty male and spirited female variety. Then there is the secondary male. He is typically either a friend or a rival of the hero and almost immediately falls madly for the heroine. Usually, we are meant to like him and feel bad when he doesn't get the heroine. Throughout the rest of the series, he is primarily defined by loving the heroine and either actively trying to win her, or pining away in the background while she and the hero try to be together. Then we have the secondary female, usually an exgirlfriend who returns to the hero's life. Almost from her first scene, we are manipulated into hating her. She is immediately shown to be self-centered or manipulative, or to have hurt the hero in the past. She then chases the hero throughout the series, sometimes being with him for a good chunk. Often, the hero begins the series in love with her, and she chases him after he tries to leave her. Her sole purpose is to be hated, and to make us want the hero and heroine to end up together even more. Typically, both of these secondary characters end up sad, alone and heartbroken. The hero and heroine(if they're lucky) get to be with the one they love, but the other two are in a sorrier place than they were when they started. Here, it's the opposite.
A while back, I posted a rant about how much I dislike love triangles in general. Among the few defenses (paraphrased, because I'm too lazy to find the post) was the idea that the purpose of a love triangle was to help a person move on, to have them realize that, even if they wanted to to, a relationship with one person isn't the best thing for them. Ideally, this is the case. Most triangles, however, exist to add complications and roadblocks to the romance...the feelings and lives of others are offered up as sacrifices to the happiness of the leads. Lovers, however, is the ideal. As the series begins, we have Yu Jin and Kang Jae, a couple who have been together for several years. Their relationship, however, is no longer something that makes either one happy. Yu Jin has realized that and is trying to pull away from Kang Jae, but Kang Jae is not yet ready to give up on their relationship. Into their lives comes Mi Joo, a kind but slightly batty, independent woman.
Through a sequence of events, Kang Jae and Mi Joo are thrown together many times. As he becomes accustomed to and starts to care for this odd new woman in his life, he comes to realize that while he deeply cares for and respects Yu Jin, he is not, actually, in love with her. And just as he is ready to end it, he learns that Yu Jin is pregnant. This is not a deliberate pregnancy on her part, or a plot to try to tie Kang Jae to her. She is, in fact, very worried that Kang Jae will be unhappy about it. Instead, Kang Jae decides to be responsible and stay by her side. For once, the hero's staying with the other woman when he cares about the heroine actually makes sense, and is done in a way that does not villainize the other woman, but rather, makes her a sympathetic character.
On the other end of the love square, there is Sae Hyon. Sae Hyon is, like most secondary heroes, almost immediately smitten with Mi Joo, and pursues her through much of the series. He is not, however, primarily relegated to pining after her. In fact, it's actually a secondary story with him. His main story is his complicated and conflicted relationship with Kang Jae, who was brought into his family when they were teens, and with his father, who has consistently favored Kang Jae since bringing him home, making his own son an outcast. His story focus in the series is primarily his fighting to be recognized by his father, and to stand on equal footing with Kang Jae, brought there by his own merits. There is also the additional factor in his story of Choi Yoon, or "the hussy."
Now, straight up, Choi Yoon is my favorite character. A woman who has had and buried three rich husbands, all of whom were much older than her, Choi Yoon is Sae Hyon's secretary/business partner/semi-regular sex buddy. I knew I liked her when she casually walked in on Mi Joo in the bath(Sae Hyon had invited her to stay with him) and started collecting her bathing oils and lotions, and casually asked Mi Joo if she wanted more of a scent, and then knew I loved her when she held her own against Sae Hyon's psychotic mother(who I liked, in an odd way) despite being dragged by her hair, wearing nothing but a bathtowel, and being called a whore. Though she does several "bad" things throughout the series, it's made very clear that she only does them out of a desire to help Sae Hyon, and it's also shown that, even if he is pining for Mi Joo, there's a perfect option right there for him, if only he'll realize it.
Now, here's the thing: here, the existance of the triangle HELPS three of the four involved(Mi Joo is largely unaffected by it aside from the complications it gives her love life.) For Sae Hyon, he needs to "lose" something, without his father's interference or denial, to learn that yes, he does have his own weaknesses, but also his own strengths. And, I like to think, it eventually made him better able to appreciate himself, and what he did have. For Kang Jae, being trapped between the two women helped him realize that loving and being in love were not synonymous, and that going through the motions with someone he cared for but did not love was not the same as opening your heart to someone, and being one with them. For Yu Jin...well, honestly, Yu Jin did not get the ending I'd hoped for. That said, much of Yu Jin's adult life had been defined by her being "Kang Jae's woman." She had money, style, a career, a handsome boyfriend...everything she SHOULD have to be happy...except the love and devotion of the man she loved. He spoke the words and thought he meant them, but they were hollow, and she knew that while she had his protection, his name, and his body, she never really had "him." And because she wasn't loved, she couldn't love herself. By seeing what he was like when he TRULY loved, I think she was better able to appreciate herself, and to see that she deserved better. not better than Kang Jae, but better than what she had with him.
To be completely honest, because I had been spoiled for the happy/unhappy status of the romance at the end, I spent most of the series more worried about Sae Hyon, Yu Jin and Choi Yoon than about Kang Jae and Mi Joo. I was very, very satisfied with the eventual outcomes for Choi Yoon and Sae Hyon, and while Yu Jin's ending wasn't what I was hoping for for her, I fully believe that, like the other two, she is in a far, far better place in episode 20 than she was in episode 1.
But to talk about the actual romance...
I like both leads, a lot. Both as characters and a couple. I like that Mi Joo is actually a WOMAN, not a girl, and looks and acts 30~. She also has flaws. Character flaws. Flaws that we are MEANT to find annoying but like her anyway, as opposed to flaws we aren't supposed to notice. And because she is flawed, she's made all the more likable, because she's more human. I like that, for once, the hero's conflict between the women MAKES SENSE. He isn't clinging to or staying with/returning to a woman he obviously doesn't love for no apparent reason than to add a few episodes and conflict to the series by keeping the OTP apart...he has a good reason. In addition...he does still care about Yu Jin. Very, very much, and it's not indicated that he stops caring. He just comes to realize that he isn't in love with her, and that they both deserve better. I also like that Kang Jae and Mi Joo aren't immediately portrayed as perfect for each other, or mooning over each other. When they can barely stand each other at first, it makes perfect sense, and as they slowly move from tolerating each other to odd friends to more, it feels like a natural development, not an instant epic romance. And most of my other thoughts that aren't majorly spoilery are in my other posts, so I'll go no deeper(and really, the spoilery thoughts are just a natural development of the others.
I do, however, have one complaint: They killed one of my favorite side characters. He was part of my happy family scenario as the one who explained to the babies that not all mommies were batty and not all daddies were so serious they could moonlight as statues(both in the good way, of course) but that the babies were lucky to have them as a mommy and daddy. And they even tricked me into thinking they might live, too. (note: most of that could apply to any of five characters-though one is the only character, aside from the villain, with I disliked-and the part that doesn't apply to all five doesn't come into play until the last episode)
A while back, I posted a rant about how much I dislike love triangles in general. Among the few defenses (paraphrased, because I'm too lazy to find the post) was the idea that the purpose of a love triangle was to help a person move on, to have them realize that, even if they wanted to to, a relationship with one person isn't the best thing for them. Ideally, this is the case. Most triangles, however, exist to add complications and roadblocks to the romance...the feelings and lives of others are offered up as sacrifices to the happiness of the leads. Lovers, however, is the ideal. As the series begins, we have Yu Jin and Kang Jae, a couple who have been together for several years. Their relationship, however, is no longer something that makes either one happy. Yu Jin has realized that and is trying to pull away from Kang Jae, but Kang Jae is not yet ready to give up on their relationship. Into their lives comes Mi Joo, a kind but slightly batty, independent woman.
Through a sequence of events, Kang Jae and Mi Joo are thrown together many times. As he becomes accustomed to and starts to care for this odd new woman in his life, he comes to realize that while he deeply cares for and respects Yu Jin, he is not, actually, in love with her. And just as he is ready to end it, he learns that Yu Jin is pregnant. This is not a deliberate pregnancy on her part, or a plot to try to tie Kang Jae to her. She is, in fact, very worried that Kang Jae will be unhappy about it. Instead, Kang Jae decides to be responsible and stay by her side. For once, the hero's staying with the other woman when he cares about the heroine actually makes sense, and is done in a way that does not villainize the other woman, but rather, makes her a sympathetic character.
On the other end of the love square, there is Sae Hyon. Sae Hyon is, like most secondary heroes, almost immediately smitten with Mi Joo, and pursues her through much of the series. He is not, however, primarily relegated to pining after her. In fact, it's actually a secondary story with him. His main story is his complicated and conflicted relationship with Kang Jae, who was brought into his family when they were teens, and with his father, who has consistently favored Kang Jae since bringing him home, making his own son an outcast. His story focus in the series is primarily his fighting to be recognized by his father, and to stand on equal footing with Kang Jae, brought there by his own merits. There is also the additional factor in his story of Choi Yoon, or "the hussy."
Now, straight up, Choi Yoon is my favorite character. A woman who has had and buried three rich husbands, all of whom were much older than her, Choi Yoon is Sae Hyon's secretary/business partner/semi-regular sex buddy. I knew I liked her when she casually walked in on Mi Joo in the bath(Sae Hyon had invited her to stay with him) and started collecting her bathing oils and lotions, and casually asked Mi Joo if she wanted more of a scent, and then knew I loved her when she held her own against Sae Hyon's psychotic mother(who I liked, in an odd way) despite being dragged by her hair, wearing nothing but a bathtowel, and being called a whore. Though she does several "bad" things throughout the series, it's made very clear that she only does them out of a desire to help Sae Hyon, and it's also shown that, even if he is pining for Mi Joo, there's a perfect option right there for him, if only he'll realize it.
Now, here's the thing: here, the existance of the triangle HELPS three of the four involved(Mi Joo is largely unaffected by it aside from the complications it gives her love life.) For Sae Hyon, he needs to "lose" something, without his father's interference or denial, to learn that yes, he does have his own weaknesses, but also his own strengths. And, I like to think, it eventually made him better able to appreciate himself, and what he did have. For Kang Jae, being trapped between the two women helped him realize that loving and being in love were not synonymous, and that going through the motions with someone he cared for but did not love was not the same as opening your heart to someone, and being one with them. For Yu Jin...well, honestly, Yu Jin did not get the ending I'd hoped for. That said, much of Yu Jin's adult life had been defined by her being "Kang Jae's woman." She had money, style, a career, a handsome boyfriend...everything she SHOULD have to be happy...except the love and devotion of the man she loved. He spoke the words and thought he meant them, but they were hollow, and she knew that while she had his protection, his name, and his body, she never really had "him." And because she wasn't loved, she couldn't love herself. By seeing what he was like when he TRULY loved, I think she was better able to appreciate herself, and to see that she deserved better. not better than Kang Jae, but better than what she had with him.
To be completely honest, because I had been spoiled for the happy/unhappy status of the romance at the end, I spent most of the series more worried about Sae Hyon, Yu Jin and Choi Yoon than about Kang Jae and Mi Joo. I was very, very satisfied with the eventual outcomes for Choi Yoon and Sae Hyon, and while Yu Jin's ending wasn't what I was hoping for for her, I fully believe that, like the other two, she is in a far, far better place in episode 20 than she was in episode 1.
But to talk about the actual romance...
I like both leads, a lot. Both as characters and a couple. I like that Mi Joo is actually a WOMAN, not a girl, and looks and acts 30~. She also has flaws. Character flaws. Flaws that we are MEANT to find annoying but like her anyway, as opposed to flaws we aren't supposed to notice. And because she is flawed, she's made all the more likable, because she's more human. I like that, for once, the hero's conflict between the women MAKES SENSE. He isn't clinging to or staying with/returning to a woman he obviously doesn't love for no apparent reason than to add a few episodes and conflict to the series by keeping the OTP apart...he has a good reason. In addition...he does still care about Yu Jin. Very, very much, and it's not indicated that he stops caring. He just comes to realize that he isn't in love with her, and that they both deserve better. I also like that Kang Jae and Mi Joo aren't immediately portrayed as perfect for each other, or mooning over each other. When they can barely stand each other at first, it makes perfect sense, and as they slowly move from tolerating each other to odd friends to more, it feels like a natural development, not an instant epic romance. And most of my other thoughts that aren't majorly spoilery are in my other posts, so I'll go no deeper(and really, the spoilery thoughts are just a natural development of the others.
I do, however, have one complaint: They killed one of my favorite side characters. He was part of my happy family scenario as the one who explained to the babies that not all mommies were batty and not all daddies were so serious they could moonlight as statues(both in the good way, of course) but that the babies were lucky to have them as a mommy and daddy. And they even tricked me into thinking they might live, too. (note: most of that could apply to any of five characters-though one is the only character, aside from the villain, with I disliked-and the part that doesn't apply to all five doesn't come into play until the last episode)
Short version: Very good drama, both as a romance and a relationship drama. It has its share of flaws, but most of them I got past without any hand waving.
I shall try Lovers in Paris shortly, and we shall see if kdramas work better for me now than they have in the past, or if I just lucked into two of the rare ones that do work for me.
That said, looking at the elements of various kdramas that I HAVE enjoyed, I've realized that while the drawn out melodrama and love squares and the manipulation into disliking characters don't work for me, comedy in kdramas works very, very well for me . Even Goong, which I have far more issues with than I'll ever get into in LJ(most of which have never made it to LJ, comments, post or otherwise) because I'd rather spend the typing time praising something, was borderline brilliant when it dumped the drama and went for comedy(I may have liked it as a comedy, actually) and has one comedy scene that's possibly my favorite kdrama comedy scene ever.