Pinocchio

Pinocchio

8/10

Pinocchio

Genre:                    Episodes: 20                  Year: 2014

Romance

Comedy

Melodrama

Synopsis:

When Ki Ha Myeong was a young child, his fire-fighter father died in an explosion. Without anyone to blame, the media painted Ha Myeong’s father’s incompetence as the cause behind the accident that resulted in several deaths. After experiencing the negative effects of these media reports, Ha Myeong’s mother commits suicide. Ha Myeong falls into the ocean with his mother, but is rescued by a mentally unstable elder from an island, who believes the ocean is returning his oldest son, Choi Dal Po, who died many years earlier. Ha Myeong takes on the name Dal Po and lives as the elder’s son, and they are soon joined by the elder’s youngest son and his daughter, Choi In Ha. In Ha's mother happens to be the reporter who began the devastating and inaccurate reports on Dal Po’s father, which led to the destruction of his family. 

Cast:

Lee Jong Suk (Choi Dal Po/Ki Ha Myeong)

Park Shin Hye (Choi In Ha)

Kim Young Kwang (Seo Bum Jo)

Lee Yoo Bi (Yoon Yoo Rae)

Lee Pil Mo (Hwang Gyo Dong)

Jin Kyung (Song Cha Ok)

Kim Kwang Kyu (Kim Gong Joo)

Hyun Hee Bong (Choi Gong Pil)

Soon Gyun Sang (Ki Jae Myeong)

General Thoughts:

I vote that every K-Drama heroine from now on has Pinocchio Syndrome. It just moves the plot along so much faster. This series really highlighted how ridiculous and unnecessary all our lying and noble idiot actions are. Even without these convoluted misunderstandings, our plot remained intriguing and complicated and allowed for the show to focus on other conflicts- such as the manipulation in the media and all its grand power plays. Which was fantastic- because it gave us room for the romance, but also room for the weightier, more emotional scenes.

It sure keeps things moving when our leading lady can't lie

The cast was perfect. Lee Jong Suk was able to pull of cutesy, damaged, determined reporter flawlessly, without ever letting Dal Po appear too unstable or confusing. He beautifully highlighted how all these raging emotions can battle it out inside a single individual, but managed to hold onto Dal Po’s original sense of self. Park Shin Hye complimented him brilliantly. Her straight-faced humour was wonderfully utilised in the usage of Pinocchio Syndrome, which allowed her to break away from the stereotyped roles she usually gets (ugh, Candy Girls).

Basically how I fixated I was on this drama

The experienced support cast in the workplaces were wonderfully endearing. You really notice the experience of more seasoned actors (such as Lee Pil Mo- who is always phenomenal), as they are able to grab attention and make a dynamic impact in whatever scene they are in, no matter how short their appearance. The writers did an excellent job at letting the relationships between all the coworkers and colleagues play out in amusing and believable ways, without taking time away from our main characters and their conflicts. Each support character had their characters’ created completely, and always appeared as more than just ‘extras’. Except perhaps Yoon Yoo Rae, who could have done with a little more fleshing out- especially when you consider she’s one of the more prominent female roles in the series. Similarly, our hodgepodge family was beautifully constructed. There were fascinating dynamics drawn between each of the family members. Any scene between Grandpa and Dal Po was stunningly touching and commented beautifully on what the true meaning of family was- unconditional love and support. Dad had a similar family connection with Dal Po- only throwing in his complete devotion and protective instinct for In Ha. It was always funny to watch Dad’s desire for Dal Po’s happiness battle with his desire to keep In Ha safe and protected. And then there’s Hyung. Who killed me. Every. Time.

Cue the unrelenting sobbing

The casting for Ki Jae Myeong was just perfect. Reason 1- Soon Gyun Sang was able to switch so seamlessly and believably from warm, loving brother to bitter, calculating avenger. He was downright frightening at times. Reason 2- he was taller than Lee Jong Suk. Which might not sound like a big deal, but it actually contributed massively to being able to visualise Dal Po’s victimisation and powerlessness.

Not as compelling as Hyung- but still good

In front of the rest of the world, Dal Po is strong and determined (if not slightly wounded), but in front of Hyung he is desperate and broken- and having Lee Jong Suk look up at Hyung with his abandoned puppy-eyes had a much heavier impact than having Lee Jong Suk face-to-face or looking down on Hyung ever would. All in all, the plot was just fantastic. We had several layers that were slowly pulled backwards until we had our final villain and our final battle (of sorts) for victory. I truly appreciate that revenge on Reporter Mum didn’t end up being our endgame for our characters, as it seemed a bit weak for the second half of our series. I mean, it wasn’t going to be easy to match, let alone beat the intensity of the first half. Hyung’s arc was captivating and wrecked havoc on my emotions (largely thanks to Soon Gyun Sang), and revenge seemed like too weak a motive to continue on with. Thankfully, having a bigger player behind Reporter Mum let us feel that the conflict was very present- not just rooted in the past as a revenge story would have been. Rather than simply working to bring about justice for a past wrong, Dal Po and In Ha were working to expose a much larger conspiracy with much more at stake- which helped raise the intensity levels back up (though still not as much as in Hyung’s arc).

What Was Great:

Family Conflict:

Everything regarding every family in this drama was picture perfect. We had around four seperate family dynamics that were explored, and all were brilliant. Our first conflict is of course Dal Po (Ha Myeong)’s family and it’s destruction. The injustice that occurred was infuriating, and gave us not one, but two heroes to root for- namely Dal Po.

Weirdly, I did start to miss his muppet hair

However, as we first witness the completely unnecessary and completely brutal annihilation of Dal Po’s family, it also makes it easy to love Dal Po’s Hyung, Jae Myeong. As an audience we don’t want him to take the dark path we can see him contemplating, but its understandable. We almost want him to get a pass for murder because we understand him and love him so much. Like, I know he killed a bunch of people- but you guys really effed with his life.

I can still feel my heart bleeding

Can’t you let it slide? All things considered, Hyung’s wrap up was pretty satisfying. The emotional reunion between the brothers was the tearful embrace I was waiting for- but with an added emotional kick, because you know it won’t be for long- because Hyung’s already wondered off down that dark path (sob). Having Hyung in prison was infinitely better than having Hyung top himself on live television, but sadly it did limit his screen time for the later half of the drama. I wish we’d had a few more Grandpa-Hyung jail moments to show Dal Po’s new family reaching out to Dal Po’s old life- but at least we got it once. In ha’s family conflict was an entirely different ballgame, because unlike Hyung and Dal Po, there wasn’t a lot of heartfelt love between her and Reporter Mum. It was interesting to watch Song Cha Ok slowly start to realise the similarities between her daughter and herself, but whenever you thought Reporter Mum was coming into the realm of ‘good guys’, the drama would smack you with some new flashback or new monstrosity, until you were certain there was no redemption arc coming, and it would just be In Ha realising that every perception of her mother she had ever held had been entirely wrong.

Well that's rude

Bum Jo’s conflict with his mother was smilier to In Ha’s, but was different enough that we didn’t feel as though we were getting a repeat of the same thing. While Reporter Mum appeared to have some realisation that what she was doing was wrong, Chaebol Mum couldn’t even fathom why Bum Jo was bothered by her actions.

The root of all evil (as far as this drama goes)

While In Ha struggled to get her mother to acknowledge her wrongdoings, Bum Jo struggled to convince his mother that her doings were wrong at all. I love that the writers didn’t try a last ditch attempt to save her character, and that she was arrogant and unrelenting to the end. It was the love of her son, not the admission of guilt, that ultimately led to her downfall. The last, and thankfully least present of the family battles was Grandpa’s acceptance of Dal Po and In Ha’s relationship. It was always playing subtly in the background, but was only brought forward right at the end. I appreciate that Grandpa didn’t accept the relationship right away- but I am glad that it came about in such a natural, unprovoked way- which made it that much more rewarding.

All That Chemistry:

Park Shin Hye learns to kiss. ‘Nuff said. I wouldn’t go as far as saying they were amazing snogs- but her eyes were closed, so there’s a huge improvement right there. There were a heap of sparks flying between Park Shin Hye and Lee Jong Suk. Thankfully the love triangle was kept to a bare minimum- it was practically non-existent. This let all the magic happen between Dal Po and In Ha without a third party butting in and ruining all the fun.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes

It’s always enjoyable when the romance is a byproduct of all the other goings-on in the series, as it feels much more authentic that way, and often bypasses all the irritating plot points that have been used to death (misunderstandings galore) in dramas where the romance is the focal point. Misunderstandings were also reduced by the pure fact that In Ha couldn’t lie- which added a strange and new dynamic into the mix. A heroine that was honest with her feelings- how unheard of! There was a brief patch in the middle towards the close of Hyung’s arc where our main couple were apart even though they wanted to be together, and I still don’t quite understand what all that was about.

Here's some more in case you weren't completely satisfied

But thankfully for the majority of the series we had our hero and our heroine fighting side by side against injustice- which is far more enjoyable than watching your main couple fight internally about things that could be resolved with two sentences. 

Unexpected Redemption:

I did not expect Song Cha Ok, aka. Reporter Mum, to have a redemption arc. At the beginning of the series, it certainly looked like they were setting up for the happy clappy family reconciliation, but once you hit the mid-way point it seemed bleak.

Welcome to 'How To Pull Off A Redemption Arc 101'

Personally, I would’ve been happy for Reporter Mum to go down alongside Chaebol Mum- but the writers really hit the nail on the head with the close of the series. Reporter Mum was mirrored in In Ha- and we see how one choice could take In Ha to the same place as her mother- there’s just one crucial difference. Choi Dal Po. In Ha has a man she loves telling her what’s right and just, and she can see how small misrepresentations can snowball- while Reporter Mum only had herself to rely on. But that in itself isn't enough to save her character. It’s Reporter Mum’s choice to go down with the ship that gives her the final blast of redemption. Not only does she fully acknowledge her wrongdoings, but she also fully prepares to face her punishment. It’s a gradual process aided by effective use of flashback that allows the redemption to feel natural and wanted in the face of a bigger, badder enemy.

What Wasn’t:

Brief Patch of Separation:

After Hyung goes to prison, Dal Po pulls away from In Ha and her family. I still don’t completely understand what the writers were aiming for here, except that they needed something to give a bit of breathing space between our leads. And seeing how Park Shin Hye couldn’t up and disappear like usual (what with her constant hiccuping and all), I suppose this was the only answer the writers could conceive.

Go hold hands and canoodle and stop wasting our time

Thankfully it was all kept pretty minimal, and our couple were back together in no time. Because, sorry- Seo Bum Jo had less than no chance with Choi In Ha. Thank God. I think we’ve all seen enough Chaebol Romances for now- and no one was wanting a repeat of ‘Heirs’. 

Seo Bum Jo Confusion:

It didn’t quite make sense what Seo Bum Jo was doing while our reporters were preparing to bring down his mother, aka. Chaebol Mum. He seemed to run back to her in order to gather up inside information, but then did noting with any of the information he uncovered.

Didn't quite focus on him enough for me to care

Which turned out to be for the better, as it’s Reporter Mum who gets to feed Chaebol Mum to the wolves and gains her own redemption in the process. But it does kind of render Bum Jo useless. Why was he here at all then? We’ve already seen the mum fiasco play out between In Ha and Reporter Mum, so I was almost hoping that sweet but sheltered Bum Jo would end up retreating back into Chaebol Mum’s protection anyway. He was innocent and naive like a child, and had no experience in disappointment and hardship the way our main couple had, so it would have made sense. In the end, his character wasn’t unappealing or annoying- he was just kind of there. Much like Yoon Yoo Rae. Whatever happened to her romance with Cap? I know I wasn’t the only one that wanted to see that play out to completion. 

Re-watch?

Very likely. The dynamics between all the characters were extremely enjoyable, and it’s got a lead couple you can’t help but root for. The plot has always got forward momentum, the cast are perfect and the story is a lot meatier than your typical rom-com. Also Lee Jong Suk.

Park Shin Hye's actually kissing back- clearly Lee Jong Suk is doing it right.