The Liar and His Lover

The Liar and His Lover

4/10

The Liar and His Lover

Genre:                              Episodes: 16                           Year: 2017

Romance

Synopsis:

Yoon So Rim is an aspiring singer with an amazing talent. She falls in love with Kang Han Gyul from the first moment she sees him. After hearing her sing, Han Gyul falls in love with So Rim’s voice. He lies to her that he is an aspiring composer, but the truth is that he is the songwriter behind So Rim’s favourite band.

Cast:

Joy (Yoon So Rim)

Lee Hyun Woo (Kang Han Gyul)

Lee Seo Won (Seo Chan Young)

Lee Jung Jin (Choi Jin Hyuk)

Hong Seo Young (Chae Yoo Na)

Choi Min Soo (Kang In Woo)

Sung Joo (Yoo Shi Hyun)

Shin Je Min (Lee Yoon)

Jang Ki Yong (Ji In Ho)

Song Kang (Baek Jin Woo)

 General Thoughts:

I’ve done it! I’ve finally done it! I feel like I’ve been watching this drama for half the year. Midway through, life threw some hurdles so I had a bit of a K-Drama drought while I sorted things out. Now things are (mostly) sorted and I could finally wrap up this drama. Admittedly, the long hiatus before I could watch the last couple of episodes has dulled my memory on the finer points of the show, so this isn’t likely to be a very long or detailed review (sorry).

My memory of the first half of this show is kinda vague 

It wasn't exactly a drama I was lamenting missing out on during my K-Drama-absent month, and I didn’t exactly rush back to it either. I kind of pushed off finishing it as I wasn’t all that into it, but it’s all done and dusted now. It’s not to say that the show didn’t have its own charms, but the drama as a whole just wasn’t doing it for me.

It's just a little immature for my tastes right now

It’s totally understandable that there are people who absolutely adored it, as there are sweet moments in it, the characters are all pretty likeable, and it delivers a nice enough story. However, I was just expecting something with a bit more depth. Although our heroine is still in high school, most of the other main characters are not, so I was expecting the drama to be a little less…well...high school-y. I think i’m just no longer in the stage of my life where love-at-first-sight seems like a solid set up for a real romance. Yes instant attraction can be cute and can make for some really good K-Drama relationships, but I kind of want something a bit more substantial. Five years ago I probably would have thought that this drama was one of the best things to come out of 2017- but alas, I’m not the young, idealistic teen I once was. Because of the stage of life I’m in right now, I found myself identifying more with characters that were dealing with heavier issues. I mean, next to Chan Young’s feelings of isolation and inadequacy, Han Gyul’s dilemma on wether to date So Rim or not just seemed a tad juvenile. It felt a bit like everyone else in the show was dealing with big, real world problems that belonged in a more adult drama while So Rim and Han Gyul were trapped in angst of their own making that was more suitable for a Disney TV movie.

For a girl whose sole dream is music, she sure seemed more focused on dating than singing

I was so distracted by how interesting and engaging the stories of the other Crude Play boys were that I actually started to dislike Han Gyul as a character. He seemed mopey and unnecessarily sensitive- particularly in the beginning stages of the show, and it was actually a little difficult to connect with him. He was snappy and rude to So Rim and the rest of his band, and it was kind of baffling as to why he felt so wronged.

I care for this whiney child very little

Every time he yelled ‘you just don’t understand’ I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I mean, come on dude, how old are you? In contrast, So Rim was a delightful character. She was chirpy and bright and tried her best at everything. All series long. She got no development at all. She was a nice enough character, but she was horrifically pigeonholed. All she amounted to was ‘that sweet girl with a great voice’, which is a bummer as K-Dramaland has really been coming leaps and bounds recently with giving us exciting heroines, and I’ve kind of been getting used to heroines that are bursting with personality. So while So Rim was nice and sweet, I wouldn't exactly say she was interesting or unique. Acting-wise it was okay. I wasn’t blown out the water, but the acting wasn't bad either. I’m not sure if it’s just because I haven’t liked the last few projects Lee Hyun Woo has done, but I feel like he's not choosing characters or projects that challenge him. His character here felt very similar to his character in ‘Moorim School’, and I actually think his performance is suffering because he keeps choosing safe roles. While his acting performance here was definitely passable, I do think that he's better than what he showed. On the other hand, I think this was a great project for Joy to choose. So Rim may not have been a diverse or dynamic heroine, but she was a sweet, simple start for Joy to find her feet in the acting world. 

However, I care for these boys very much

The support cast were all pretty fabulous. Jang Ki Yong and Shin Je Min felt pretty green, but Lee Seo Won and Sung Joo were just delightful. The music was pretty good all round and the songs were defiantly catchy, and it didn’t hurt that Joy has an absolutely amazing voice. The cinematography was all pretty lovely too.

What Was Great:

Boy Band:

The only part of the story that could really hold my attention for any length of time was the drama going on between the members of the band. Bar Han Gyul, the boys were all struggling with really deep, emotional issues and it was always interesting to watch how they approached these issues.

My favourite part of the show right there

Mainly Chan Young. He was by far my favourite part of the show. He was so confused about where he belonged not only in the group, but in the entertainment industry as a whole. His feelings of constantly being compared to (and losing against) Han Gyul were just heartbreaking, and it was so easy to see how he had created this negative image about how he fit into the band and the friendship. It has to be hard coming into such a tight-knit group, especially when one of the boys leaves so you can have a place. And Han Gyul was always around as a constant reminder that he was the band’s first choice of bassist. It was a really tough situation for Chan Young to be in, and it was easy to sympathise with his struggles. Sure, sometimes his actions were a little petty, especially in regards to So Rim’s feelings for Han Gyul, but his desperation at having something Han Gyul didn’t have made it hard to dislike him. It was also a saving grace that it was always clear that he had feelings for So Rim as a person and not just a musician. In fact, I was rooting of him for a good long while there as I really questioned Han Gyul’s feelings for So Rim- his need to own her voice kind of made me think he was forcing himself to feel romantically towards her just so he could get her to sing his songs, whereas Chan Young’s intentions felt much more natural.

Chan Young loves you AND your voice. Han Gyul...well...it's debatable.

Chan Young’s eventual acceptance that So Rim would never feel the same way about him was done smoothly, as was his transition into feeling comfortable in his place in the band. It wasn’t just Chan Young that had great conflicts, but the other boys as well.

I was so onboard this love-line

Shi Hyun was always trying to keep the peace in the band, both by managing the turbulent relationship between Chan Young and Han Gyul and trying to manage the boys’ unhappiness in their musicianship by posting videos of the boys themselves performing. His side romance was super sweet, and I was really happy when he finally got the girl. Even In Ho had a great segment that focused on his fears and insecurities. The fear of coming clean with the truth had a huge impact on the band’s mentality, and I’m glad the drama went into what extremes the boys were willing to go to in order to cover their secret. In Ho was willing to seriously harm himself so that he wouldn’t have to face the negative backlash of the world finding out that the band used pre-recorded tracks, and that’s a pretty big deal. I liked that the show was willing to go to that less than cheery place considering that the rest of the show was pretty rosy. The challenges the boys in the band faced and how they overcame them with the love and support of each other was (for me) the highlight of the show.

What Wasn’t:

OTP:

I’ll keep it short and sweet. So Rim and Han Gyul just aren’t a K-Drama couple I’m particularly fond of. So Rim fell for Han Gyul really early on and the only real reason behind it was love at first sight. I mean, this girl fell for him real hard and real fast.

You have literally no idea who that dude is

But the way Han Gyul was treating her at the start wasn’t very nice, so I kind of struggled to see why So Rim was so insistent that she was in love with him. Like, why would you even feel like that- you don’t know him at all. Similarly, I wasn’t sold on Han Gyul’s feelings for So Rim. He was wishy washy and a little stingy with his feelings and once the triangle with Chan Young was brought in (both romantically and professionally), it felt more like Han Gyul wanted to keep So Rim just so Chan Young couldn’t have her as opposed to actually wanting to date her.

Just not feelin' it.

I wasn’t blown away by the chemistry between the leads either, and seeing as the story is so heavily focused on the romance, it’s probably why I didn’t enjoy it all that much.

Cartoonish:

Even if I hadn’t known beforehand, I could have pegged that this drama came from a cartoon source. So Rim is the exact kind of chirpy, mildly naive heroine that populates Japanese manga. But more than that, it’s the lack of depth that really announced that this wasn’t an original K-Drama.

Knows nothing. Except those times when she's the font of all knowledge.

Not that all cartoon to TV adaptions are bad, I’ve enjoyed many many dramas based off both manga and manhwa, but ‘Liar’ wasn’t really selling it. What I started to notice more and more was how heavily the story was driven by dialogue. Rather than action and situations, quite a lot of scenes comprised of characters sitting around talking at each other. It’s not a huge deal, but when a show is so heavily dialogue driven it takes away a bit of excitement. It’s almost as if we’re being told that the characters are changing and developing, but we’re not really seeing it play out, because the characters never really do anything except talk to each other. Another aspect of the show that felt distinctly cartoonish was the relationship between the leads. In almost every situation So Rim is a bright, cheery girl who doesn’t have a lot of experience with the world. I mean, at one point she even says ‘what does it mean to fail at love?’. And yet as soon as Han Gyul is around, particularly if he is struggling with something, suddenly So Rim is filled with Sage knowledge and understanding of the world and can give great, life-altering advice.

Look at everyone just sitting 'round talking at each other

For some reason these kind of interactions work really well in manga (like ‘Fruits Basket’), but don’t really translate well to a show. I could almost see the manga panels while the show was running, and that’s not really a good thing.

Recommend?

If you want a simple romance in a music setting this drama will be the one for you. If you want to watch an adult relationship develop with a lot of depth and sincerity…pick a different drama.

I'm off to watch something with (hopefully) more substance

Moorim School

Moorim School

2/10

Moorim School

Genre: Episodes: 16 Year: 2016

Fantasy

Action

School

Synopsis:

Popular boy-band member, Yoon Shi Woo, struggles to perform as a celebrity as he suffers severe headaches and occasional hearing loss. After a near accident, Shi Woo’s rescuer suggests that he attend Moorim School, where the Dean is likely to be able to cure his illness. Wang Chi Ang is the son of a wealthy Chinese businessman and his mistress. Chi Ang’s father is adamant about his son attending Moorim School, but Chi Ang is reluctant to go. However, Chi Ang decides to attend after hearing that a girl he is interested in, Shim Soon Deok, is a student at Moorim. 

Cast:

Lee Hyun Woo (Yoon Shi Woo/Yoon)

Hong Bin (Wang Chi Ang)

Seo Ye Ji (Shim Soon Deok)

Jeong Eu Gene (Hwang Sun Ah/Young)

Shin Hyun Joon (Hwang Moo Song)

Alexander (Yeob Jung)

Shin Sung Woo (Chae Yoon)

General Thoughts:

Yeaaaaahhhh. This drama. Oh goodness. I think it tried really hard, and I think everyone involved tried really hard- but it was just all over the place. To start with, it had no clue what genre it wanted to be, and each character seemed to belong to a different genre. Yoon Shi Woo was the star of a melodramatic coming-of-age drama.

Some much needed fan service. 

Wang Chi Ang was the second male lead in a chaebol rom-com. Hwang Sun Ah was the support in a melo cross action. Shim Soon Deok was the heroine of a tacky school rom-com. Then we also had Hwang Moo Song slaying it as the star of his very own mystery-action…but no one else was in on it. Too add to this hodgepodge of genre, we had a very, very green cast. Jeong Eu Gene did well enough as Sun Ah- I believed her in her role, and she never went too over the top, even if you could tell she was acting some of the time. Hong Bin absolutely nailed his role. Granted- arrogant, childish chaebol isn’t the hardest role to conquer. But who cares? He did it well. All you people b*tching about idol-gone-actors can just shut it, because Hong Bin out-acted half the actor-actors in the whole darn drama. Lee Hyun Woo’s not green. He’s anything but, and he delivers a strong performance- which is just as well because his character is sucky and weak, and without Lee Hyun Woo behind the wheel, I wouldn’t have given a flip about Yoon Shi Woo. The writers just made him too perfect. Nothing the boy did could go wrong. He was suddenly zen and mature and a master of romance and all martial arts. Yawn- it’s not fun when your hero already has all his sh*t figured out. I really wanted Wang Chi Ang to kick his butt in something just because Chi Ang was going through all this struggle and turmoil, while Shi Woo had it pretty easy. Ah well. 

NOPE

Then that brings us to Seo Ye Ji. Guys, guys, I’m sorry. But I just wasn’t buying it. I always felt as though Seo Ye Ji was acting. I never felt even the slightest hint of genuine emotion from Soon Deok. I wasn’t a big fan of Soon Deok as a character to begin with either. To go with the cheesy over-acting, Soon Deok was rather selfish and inconsiderate- particularly in regards to Chi Ang. I don’t think I’ve seen a supposed heroine lead someone on quite like Soon Deok did.

Jeez, leave some boys for the rest of the school

By the time the drama finished, I still had no idea who Soon Deok was supposed to be as a character. She was flat, lifeless and unentertaining to watch. Beyond our four leads, the rest of the characters all fall by the wayside, only having brief glimpses of the spotlight. The plot is probably the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. The writers tried to be too mysterious, but it was all fairly obvious. It was easy to peg who was a good guy and who was a bad guy- even when they hadn’t explicitly said so. And then the show acted like it was a huge reveal when these characters came out and actually said ‘Oh yeah, btw I’m a bad dude’. Oh, we know. And then things that were supposed to be obvious were totally confusing. There’s a bloody great school hidden in the mountains and I’m just supposed to accept that? What are you doing, this isn’t Hogwarts- get your act together and tell me what’s going on. In addition to being glaringly obvious, the plot was so slow, and so boring. Nothing really happens, and you’re dreaming if you want any solid character development. The music was pretty great, but, y’know- VIXX. And Lee Hyun Woo. It would have been blasphemy if it wasn’t.

What Was Great:

Alexander the Great:

Yeob Jung was probably one of the most interesting characters of the lot. He had a great deal of hidden depth about him, and was set up to be a great antagonist.

Bring on the teenage angst, I say

Obviously no high school is complete without an arrogant jerk ready to trample on all those in his way. Woo- tension! What a neat surprise tension was in this drama. And Yeob Jung was at the centre of most of it. 

Alexander makes it aaaaalllll better. Well...not quite.

Alexander did a great job at portraying the assy bad-boy. His acting was pretty spot on: whether he was being an angry antagonist, or a begrudgingly helpful schoolmate. His occasional bouts of English were pretty random (and bordered on gimmicky but that’s not his fault)- but at least he can actually speak English well. As well as 500 other languages. Just kidding guys, it’s not 500- it’s only 8. And did he do his own martial arts? I’ve got no idea, but it felt like he did at least a little of his own martial arts. But I could be wrong. Sadly Yeob Jung's character development did come to a screeching halt- perhaps due to the episode cutback. Apparently we're all just going to ignore his glaringly obvious family issues and the fact that he tried to strangle his brother in a school fighting competition. I don't care, still one of my favourite characters.

International Cast:

Ohhh my goodness what a smorgasbord of international actors. Joining Alexander (who is half Korean-half Portuguese, raised in China, studied in America) we have Shannon (English), Sam Okyere (Ghana), Daniel Linderman (Germany) and POP (Thailand). It was super exciting. Until I found out none of them did anything.

What Wasn’t:

Waste of Cast:

Yeah, so that was a gaping hole in the series. We have this beautiful, exotic cast- but then they are totally under-utilised. Alexander gets the most screen time of the lot (which I’m not all that mad about), but I still wanted to see more of the international cast- especially as this was one of the main reasons I set out to watch ‘Moorim School’.

Wow- just look at all those characters who won't be developed.

Daniel comes in second and gives a nice performance in the limited screen time he got. It was nice to see a white guy in a Korean drama that could actually act. Way to go Daniel. Sam only pops in every now and then to remind people that he’s the security guard, but he doesn’t actually do anything. The school essentially has no security. POP and Shannon barely get a look in. I couldn’t even differentiate POP from the rest of the Korean school kids unless he was speaking Thai.

Is This Even a Plot?:

It’s a little like the ‘What came first: the chicken or the egg?’ scenario. Except it’s more like: is the plot so bad because the number of episodes were cut, or were the number of episodes cut because the plot was so bad? 

Apparently no one knows. Not even the writers.

At first you think it’s about Shi Woo losing his hearing- but nope the writers forget about that pretty fast. Then you think it’s about the bromance-romance tension, but Soon Deok makes her choice super early on. And can I just say- what a d*ck move Shi Woo. Our hero who is supposedly shining in glorious perfection knows the only friend he’s ever had is crushing on this girl, so he totally just steals her away. And everyone seems surprised that Chi Ang isn’t cool with that. Whatever. I wouldn’t have been half as mad if that meant Chi Ang got his love line with Sun Ah moving- but no. They only get together after that huge time skip and we miss all the good bits. Anyway, after that brief conflict (if you can call it that) we move on to the whole Chintamani thing. Yeah, I don’t really get it either. Apparently there’s this thing that can grant wishes and there’s a key to get to it that’s been split in three and everyone’s fighting over it. For an action drama there’s a hell of a lot of chitty chat about who’s got the key and how they should go about getting the key. For fudge’s sake people- JUST GO GET IT. FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT. There was no tension. There was no suspense. There was no real sense of conflict. There was no doubt in my mind that Wang Chi Ang was on our side. All those scenes of him pretending to be buddy-buddy with his father were just painful to watch.

Coincidence? I think not.

Then the show went all Kung Fu Panda- and the Chintamni was actually just a glowey rock. The Dragon Scroll (oops I mean Chintamani) says you are the secret ingredient.

What the Hell is This School?:

Am I just supposed to accept that there’s a weird ass school up in the mountains? And that everyone kind of knows about it and is cool with that? What does this school even teach? It doesn’t seem like magic is a common thing here, but the whole school is hidden inside a glowy magic barrier. And that’s just normal to everyone. Hmm, okay.

I don't even know what half those teachers teach

Oh, and Shi Woo and his father have telekinetic abilities too. No one seems too disturbed by that either. Seriously, for a school that only teaches morals and martial arts, there’s a whole lot of spooky sh*t going on. Way weirder than some glowing rock. Though not weird enough to be interesting.

What Language is This?:

In honour of our drastically under-utilised cast, there were a bunch of different languages going on in the drama. Which is great- I’m all for a multi-cultural K-Drama.

Please, please- just make it stop

But all the school kids seemed to understand Yeob Jung when he spoke English- but no one else could speak English. And sometimes they understood Nadet (POP) when he spoke Thai, and sometimes they didn’t. Similarly, characters’ ability to understand Chinese seemed to differ depending on the situation. Shi Woo’s father has been interacting and correctly responding to this woman who speaks Chinese all drama long, and then suddenly he can’t understand her when she’s on the phone speaking Chinese because that would be inconvenient to the whole plot. Whatever, I don’t even care anymore.

Re-watch?

No. If I could un-watch this, I probably would.

Finish him.

Oh! My Lady

Oh! My Lady

3.5/10

Oh! My Lady

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                                   Year: 2010

Romance                                                             

Comedy

Family

Synopsis:

A divorced housewife, Yoon Gae Hwa, becomes the housecleaner for a popular, arrogant celebrity, Sung Min Woo. After discovering he has an illegitimate daughter, Min Woo moves Gae Hwa into his apartment and pays her to be the child’s ‘substitute mother’. Together the two must work together to keep any scandals from ruining Min Woo’s career.

Cast:

Chae Rim (Yoon Gae Hwa)

Choi Siwon (Sung Min Woo)

Kim Yoo Bin (Ye Eun)

Park Han Byul (Hong Yu Ra)

Lee Hyun Woo (Yu Si Joon)

Moon Jeong Hee (Han Jung Ah)

General Thoughts:

It’s not a good drama. I mean, when your whole show is carried by a singer and a 5 year old girl, you’ve got a problem. Siwon completely steals the show (what little of it there is to steal) as the stroppy actor unprepared for fatherhood- the mass amounts of fan-service don’t hurt either.

That's basically all you need to know right there

Kim Yoo Bin is just delightful any time she’s on screen. She’s basically perfect- whose heart wouldn’t melt looking at her adorable little face? I didn’t care much for our main lady, Yoon Gae Hwa. I get the feeling that she was supposed to be endearing- but a lot of the time I just found her naggy and annoying.

Aimed for charming- achieved irritating

There was also less than no chemistry between her and Sung Min Woo- Siwon’s character. I can appreciate that the writers were aiming for a relationship that wasn’t simply built out of attraction- but at least a little attraction is needed. The rest of the characters are so shallow and underdeveloped that it doesn’t even matter what they do because no one actually cares. Similarly, no one actually cares about the plot. The drama fails to capitalise on interesting plot-points, and never properly explores any of the plot-points it does go into. For a drama that touches on some heavy issues (single parenting, adultery, divorce, loss of personal freedoms) it’s extremely light on actual story developments.  If we’re all honest, the only reason anyone watched this drama is because of the gradual, but always adorable, relationship development between Min Woo and his daughter. And Siwon gets shirtless.

What Was Great:

Fan-service:

Mmmmm hmmmm

Before we even get any look in at the plot or any of our other characters we have Choi Siwon. A good way to start any drama. His acting is pretty consistent throughout, and he’s definitely got all the charms of a ridiculously handsome celebrity. Oh wait, that’s because he is one. Adding to this, for at least the first three, maybe four episodes, there’s always a scene with no top on. Fantastic, great, yes.

You're Welcome

Daddy-Daughter Relationship:

Unbearably adorable

By far the shining beacon of hope in this drama. While other storylines and relationships fell short, the relationship between Min Woo and Ye Eun is always pleasing. Min Woo’s slow progression from complete indifference to doting father is completely believable. Even in the early stages we are given little hints that the actor cares more for his illegitimate child than he is letting on, and his occasional, awkward displays of affection for her are to die for. It’s adorable to watch Ye Eun vie for her father’s attention, and her disappointment when she fails and excitement when she succeeds are perfectly acted. The gradual closure of distance between these two individuals is definitely the most enthralling part of the whole drama. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that without Kim Yoo Bin, this series would have been a total flop.

What Wasn’t:

Ajumma:

I just didn't find myself rooting for her

I get that Yoon Gae Hwa was a divorced mother. I get that she was older than Sung Min Woo, but boy did they hammer that point home. From her permed hair to her demanding attitude, Gae Hwa had ‘ajumma’ written all over her. Which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but the concept got tired pretty quickly. While we did have moments of development from our leading lady, she was never able to quite break away from her ‘ajumma’ stereotype. The hair, clothes and actions of Gae Hwa lead me to believe that she was far older than what the writers were aiming for, and killed any chance of a believable noona romance. Because she’s not a noona. She’s an ajumma.

Zero Romance:

There were no sparks flying between Gae Hwa and Min Woo. None. Nada. Zip. Sure, there were some cute moments- but they were never cute romantic moments. Many of these cute moments could happen between an 80 year old woman and a stroppy teenage boy, or between two straight men living with the world’s cutest 5 year old.

Anyone could act cute around Kim Yoo Bin

Any hint of romance between our two leads felt hideously forced and unnatural. While I’ll admit it was clear that Min Woo was developing affection for Gae Hwa, it felt more as though he was searching for a motherly figure in her- both for Ye Eun and himself.

It's weird. Just stop it.

I felt more of a mother-son vibe going on than a lover vibe. The fact is, our leading lady had far more chemistry (and couple scenes) with Yu Si Joon than Min Woo. The whole ending totally fell flat for me as well, as I never believed that Min Woo felt anything more for Gae Hwa except gratitude that she was a good mother to his daughter. His confession just felt like a desperate, and slightly confused, attempt to keep Gae Hwa as a mother for Ye Eun.

Second-Rate Secondary Characters:

So basically no one else gets much development. Si Joon is a wooden office-man with a failing marriage that he may or may not care about. It’s hard to tell. Han Jung Ah is a straight-faced choreographer who’s cheating on her husband, who she may or may not care about. Also hard to tell. Hong Yu Ra is the irritating first-love who hates the idea of anyone not falling at her feet, yet has the most round-about ways of trying to woo someone ever displayed in any drama ever. And there’s the annoying reporter. Oh, and Gae Hwa’s ex, but he’s actually so redundant it’s not even funny. None of these characters get any real development, and it’s hard to connect with them on an emotional level.

Just look at all these people I don't care about

Re-watch?

Never. I can look up Choi Si Won’s abbs and Kim Yoo Bin’s face on Google and get just as much enjoyment as I got out of this drama.

In the nicest way possible: Never again.