kdrama: Arang and the Magistrate eps 1-2

Arang and the Magistrate is based on a Korean folktale about a ghost who asks a magistrate to solve her murder. Adapted into a fusion sageuk, it is, naturally, now also an action packed romance. (One destined to end badly given the whole "our heroine is dead" bit. Unless she ends up possessing someone else's body for good, which would be an entirely different kind of bad ending...)

While there are definite horror elements, it's more supernatural mystery than horror. Arang remembers nothing from before her death, and has accidentally frightened the last three magistrates to death when she tried to approach them for help. Until Our Hero, Eun Ho, came along, the only human she could interact with was Bang Wool, a female shaman who can hear but not see Arang. Eun Ho is the son of the former prime minister and a slave who is looking for his mother, who disappeared years ago, and tries very hard to ignore injustice and people in need, but isn't incredibly good at it. There's no explanation yet for why he can see ghosts.

There's also Moo Young, a grim reaper who is supposed to capture Arang and take her to the underworld (but doesn't seem to be trying TOO hard), and Joo Wal, the strange son of the local lord who is possibly connected to Arang and either is secretly evil, cursed, or possessed. Yoo Seung Ho also randomly pops up as the Jade Emperor and is clearly having the time of his life.

The soundtrack is engagingly anachronistic and so far the writing is excellent. The plot is very much Serious Business but the show manages to frequently be hilarious, largely due to how Shin Min Ah and Lee Joon Ki deliver their lines and bounce off each other (though everyone that's needed comedic timing to so has been excellent at it). Also, I'm glad that instead of the typical "rough around the edges hero who will be Redeemed By Love," both leads are rough and on the crude side and have more than a bit of a bully in them (her more than him for the last part). I'm not sure how they'll maintain the plot for 20 episodes but I have high hopes.

( brief spoilers )