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| Not a disappointment--seeing Stray Kids in concert. K-dramas sometimes a disappointment |
It was an emotional month for BTS news. And we're all still adjusting.
It can be frustrating when a drama has interesting characters and a compelling setting, and then just fizzles on story. It's why the great ones really stand out because they stick the landing. But even with some of the fizzlers, they can still be a pleasant ride.
Such were the shows I watched in June...
Sh**ting Stars
This enemies to lovers yarn is set in the world of celebrity PR (the title being a play on words for a Korean expression relating to dealing with celebrity poop). A leading TV and movie star Gong Tae-sung (Kim Young-dae) has know his publicist Oh Han-byul (Lee Sung-kyung) since college. They've been at each others throats for years but come to discover their passion for each other drifts over the thin line from hate to love.
It's always nice to see a workplace drama where a female character holds her own up against the "mean" boss. Here, Oh Han-byul is incredibly good at her job and no amount of teasing or minor torture from Gong Tae-sung, her agency's biggest client, is going to stop her. In fact, he needs her to do spin on his own life and she does so with great care for him.
The couple's anger shifting to romance is the best thing about this show. While Gong Tae-sung starts off like a jerk, they do reveal the years of quiet nice things he's done for Oh Han-byul. She’s also not that easy to win over. She’s rightfully put up a wall with him, but that also makes him have to work for her affection. He also is quite overcome once he's sorted out his feelings and he is hilariously useless at wooing her since she sees all his machinations as part of his previous teasing.
The narrative conflicts are where the show gets thin. There are some PR situations surrounding Gong Tae-sung which go from a bizarre stalker to someone threatening him (but I swear this storyline just disappears--did I have a stroke and miss it?). There's class K-drama buried trauma that you can see coming a mile a way (forgivable). But the show peters out before the last few episodes and takes the long road to wrap things up with three couples eventually in its focus. Oh Han-byul's friends also have romances of their own.
This is Kim Young-dae's first leading role and he plays the cool aspects of his character's star power well and then shifts admirably to the bumbling romantic fool. I was not a fan of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo but it's nice to see Lee Sung-kyung as a more capable and substantial character.
Although there is no boner-killer like someone patting you on the head. Ugh, not charming romantic gesture by any stretch. Let's not do that in any future shows please.
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Do You Like Brahms
Set in the competitive world of classical musicians, Chae Song-ah (Park Eun-bin) ditches her business degree to start over again in music school because she's so passionate about the violin. She's last in her class and everyone keeps reminding her of this. But nevertheless she presses on because it makes her happy.
Meanwhile, the number 2 ranked pianist in Korea, Park Joon-young (Kim Min-jae) has moved back from Europe and is struggling to keep funneling money to his family who are always in financial trouble. All he wants to do is take a break having lost his passion for music a long time ago. Both of these people are trapped in unrequited love triangles with other people they've been friends with for years. Since their crushes are kind of doomed (well they think they are), they drift towards one another.
I'm a bit of a sucker for sad love and there's such melancholy to the way both of these characters are struggling in their lives. Finding each other feels like the way out but it's not an easy path.
Since both characters are introverted, it can be challenging at times to fully appreciate what anyone is feeling. Park Joon-young, in particular, has spent his life suppressing his own wants and needs and is not really in touch with what they are so he does not verbally express what he feels. Chae Song-ah tries to voice things but she's also quite mousy and reticent to say too much. So you can imagine this creates a lot of romantic and emotional build-up. And also an impediment for the audience.
They also both exist in a world where wealthy patrons hold all the power. Even within the academic world of music, everyone is clamoring for funds, support, and status. No one seems to care about teaching or mentoring their students. Way down at the bottom of the list, is the music itself. The show develops this atmosphere and toxic environment well. No wonder everyone is a little bit sad.
Park Eun-bin is still not my favorite actress. The stiffness I saw in her in The King's Affection is here as well. While her characters may have reasons for their closed-off nature, it would be nice if we could see more of what's happening emotionally in her performance.
It is not always clear what's stopping this couple from finding happiness with each other. Be prepared for a slow amble towards romance.
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