Saturday, 26 March 2016

Dream Knight

Dream Knight

6/10
Dream Knight
Genre:                           Episodes: 12                           Year: 2015
Fantasy
Romance

Synopsis:

After her mother dies, Joo In Hyung is left with little money, and begins having a hard time at school. However, watching Jr. from popular boy group GOT does give her hope. Seeing In Hyung struggle every day, her four dolls come to life in order to protect her and make her happy.

Cast:
Song Ha Yoon (Joo In Hyung)
JB (JB)
Jr. (Jr.)
Jackson (Jackson)
Mark (Mark)
Youngjae (Youngjae)
BamBam (BamBam)
Yugyeom (Yugyeom)
Min (Lee Jenny)

















General Thoughts:
I won’t lie. I’m so biased towards GOT7 that this could have been the worst drama on the face of the Earth and I still would have enjoyed it. That being said, the drama wasn’t actually all that bad. Granted, if you’re going in expecting a detailed, emotional drama- you’re going to be disappointed.
Thankfully not a terrible drama
The series is light-hearted and a little childish- but really, that’s kind of what you want in a web-series staring a boy-band. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much story the drama actually had.
Cute GOT7 trumps Dramaverse Science
It was more than just an extended music video of the boys, and I appreciated that the singing and dancing, while very present, took a backseat to the actual storyline. I didn’t totally buy Song Ha Yoon as Joo In Hyung, but she performed well enough. Especially when you consider that she’s actually quite a bit older than the boys. The drama stuck to it’s own rules pretty well- nothing bugs me more than when writers create a fantasy world and then don’t abide by their own rules. The ending was quite open-ended and a little unexplained, however it did teeter on the edge of breaking the dramaverse rules. How did JB come back as a human? It didn’t seem like In Hyung was sad again, and his doll had disappeared. Despite not explaining itself, the ending still gets a green light purely because it was adorable and it’s what we all wanted anyway. 


What Was Great:

The Boys:
I was already a massive fan of GOT7, so there really was minimal risk that I would be disappointed in their performances. The older boys did tend to get the more active roles in the series, but it definitely seemed as though they had the most acting ability anyway.
What I wouldn't give to have four handsome men materialise out of nothing and follow me around
What little time BamBam and Yugyeom had on screen was a tad awkward. JB and Jackson proved themselves to be fairly competent actors- not outstanding by a long shot, but believable enough for a fluffy web-series. I was happily surprised at Jr.’s acting- he tended to lean less towards ‘acceptable’ and more towards ‘actually pretty good’. The boys were obviously having a good time filming, and that really translated, as they were always captivating and enjoyable to watch. Obviously their singing and dancing was on point. Duh.

The Story:
It wouldn't even surprise me if these boys actually did glow with magical awesomeness
It actually wasn’t all that predictable. I went in with a pretty clear-cut idea of what would happen story-wise, and I was nicely surprised. Sure, the main storyline was fairly easy to see coming (our leading lady falling for JB), but I was pleasantly surprised when Jr., BamBam and Yugyeom turned out to be ex-knights. I must admit- I did not see that coming at all. I’m all for a Season 2 about those three. Right from the start, the plot knew exactly what it was, where it wanted to go, and how much time it had to tell its story. The episodes were short and sweet, delivering the desired amount of cute and interesting without becoming too boring or repetitive.
Behold the glory of GOT7
The writers obviously went into the series with a goal that went beyond ‘behold the shining glory of GOT7’- which is always a risk going into a series staring idols. Sure, GOT7 were publicised through the drama, but there was enough story backing the drama that it didn’t feel like we were having GOT7’s talent smooshed in our faces. 

The one and only- It's 2PM!
The Cameos:
One of the things I enjoy about JYP’s projects are the cameos. I know that it’s basically just advertising for more JYP talent. I know, but I still love it. It’s like finding little easter eggs in the series, and as a fangirl- I just plain get excited to see celebrities I know making little cameos. ‘Dream Knight’ has snippets of JYP himself (because I don’t think JYP can ever not be in one of his own productions), 2PM’s Chansung, 2AM’s Chang Min, comedian Lee Gook Joo (as a man?), and Choi Woo Shik.

What Wasn’t:

Illness:
I just didn’t feel the need to give our heroine a terminal (was it?) illness. It didn’t play into the plot all that much, except to make In Hyung appear pitiful. Which wasn’t really needed- her aunt already stole all her inheritance. It wouldn’t have been such a flaw in the drama, if they hadn’t played it to be such a big card, before ignoring it completely.
I actually thought they might kill her off
One minute In Hyung is on the verge of her muscles completely seizing up and dying, the next it’s a year later and she’s apparently fine. Ah well, it’s not like I expected the series to be flaw-free.

Re-watch?
Quite possibly. The joy of these cute, short dramas is that it doesn’t take much time to re-watch them, and knowing the plot doesn’t lessen the enjoyment of the series. ‘Dream Knight’ has now made my list of things to watch when I’m feeling sad- because it’s just so bloody adorable. These boys 
Could they get any cuter?

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