49 Days

49 Days

6.5/10

49 Days

Genre:                                   Episodes: 20                         Year: 2011

Romance

Melodrama

Supernatural

Synopsis:

When a woman tries to commit suicide by jumping in front of a truck, there is a large accident on the road. The accident causes Shin Ji Hyun to enter a coma, though her spirit lives on outside her body. A Scheduler, a man who transports souls to the afterlife, gives Ji Hyun a chance to return to her body as she wasn’t supposed to die in the accident. Ji Hyun will live if she can find three people who will cry genuine tears of sadness over her. Ji Hyun is allowed to use Song Yi Kyung’s body, as she is the woman who attempted suicide and caused Ji Hyun’s unscheduled death.

Cast:

Lee Yo Won (Song Yi Kyung/ Shin Ji Hyun)

Nam Gyu Ri (Shin Ji Hyun)

Jo Hyun Jae (Han Kang)

Bae Soo Bin (Kang Min Ho)

Jung Il Woo (Scheduler)

Seo Ji Hye (Shin In Jung)

General Thoughts:

This is a drama that really shows how bad acting is much more bearable than bad writing. I was fully engaged in most of the plot for the entire 20 episodes, despite the less that satisfactory standard of acting coming from some (most) of our cast members.

This drama is the answer to Bad Acting vs. Bad Writing

The premise was an interesting one- and had a similar sort of take on death that ‘Goblin’ (which I just finished) had- that there are some deaths that can't be predicted. It was mapped out nicely that the reason Ji Hyun could use Yi Kyung’s body was because she was he one that caused Ji Hyun to die early by attempting to jump in from of traffic and commit suicide.

Who doesn't love a bit of ghost possession?

It was a nice way to connect our two female characters and quickly expose their characters and their differences- Ji Hyun happy, in love, and desperate for life, and Yi Kyung miserable, lonely, and wishing for death. It also introduced us to the best scene stealer I’ve ever seen. Jung Il Woo was fantastic as the Scheduler of Death and held a lot of my interest. A vast reason why I kept coming back to the series was for Il Woo’s steadily growing humanity (paired with his hilarious sarcasm), and the gradual reveal of the life he couldn’t remember. While I found it fairly obvious that he and Yi Kyung were connected, the show revealed it in a nice, natural way, and Jung Il Woo acted it to perfection. His emotions and expressions just seemed even more dynamic as he was acting next to a bunch of people who weren’t very good- but at least it made Jung Il Woo look awesome. On the other hand, I just couldn’t connect with Yi Kyung. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I had no burning desire to see her happy (I was much more invested in Ji Hyun) and didn’t quite see her as a fully fleshed out human being.

The only thing I care about in this situation is the Scheduler

She was supposed to be a sad, melancholy character that caused our hearts to ache for her and her pitiful situation, but I found her a bit exasperating to be honest. Mostly because she didn’t try to do anything. She made no attempt to move on with her life, and that really gave me the sh*ts. Perhaps I would have been a little more invested had we seen just how alone and awful Yi Kyung had felt before she met Yi Kyung, but in flashbacks we were only shown how happy they were together.

What a cute lil meanie weeny

Then they broke up. So it kind of annoyed me that this girl was pinning her life away for some man who she suspected had been cheating on her before his death. I guess, perhaps if a decent actress had been given the role I would be feeling a whole different set of emotions. Despite the set-up of the 3 tears scenario, we actually spent more time dealing with the company take-over than anything else. It wasn’t too bad, in that it helped open Ji Hyun’s eyes to how oblivious and naive she had been before, but I seriously don’t think we needed to spend as much time on it as we did. Considering that we virtually had no information on the company or how Min Ho was going to bankrupt it, there wasn’t a lot of tension. I didn’t believe for one second that Min Ho would actually succeed in seizing control of the company, so a lot of the interest came from how Ji Hyun was using him to her advantage. I wish the show had been just a teensy bit clearer in what her objectives actually were, because it felt like she was just sort of hanging around Min Ho in the hopes that something would happen. I think it would have added an extra layer of interest if Ji Hyun actually went out of her way to seduce Min Ho while in Yi Kyung’s body in order to get the information she needed, rather than just having him fall for her all on his own. Ah well, it was still interesting enough.

The amount of wrist/arm grabbing in this drama is unbelievably high. Haven't you Koreans heard of holding hands?

Visually the drama didn’t have a lot going for it- there weren’t a heap of expressions going around and there were only about 3 or 4 locations- none all that exciting. Much of the visual enjoyment came from seeing what ridiculous wardrobe choices Jung Il Woo would make, and seeing how weirdly well he pulled them off. The soundtrack wasn’t bad exactly, but it did feel like just your typical melodrama soundtrack- a female ballad with orchestral music where all the songs sound kind of the same. The editing felt pretty ridiculous at times and very dated. There were four cases in the first episode alone where characters walked past each other and we saw the moment they passed each other three times- each shot in slower slo-mo than the last. It was unnecessary and not very subtle. There were odd editing choices throughout the series that really did nothing to enhance it, and just made the drama feel very old- older than 2011.

I only saw this moment from 5 different angles- are you sure it's important?

What Was Great:

Tears and Death:

What let me sit through 20 episodes of awkward editing and sloppy acting was the story. I was invested from the start, and really liked Ji Hyun despite her lack of worldly knowledge.

You dead sucka

The idea of needing genuine tears and that there were different types of tears was an interesting one, and I wish it had come into play a little bit more (it felt like a bit of a rush to have 2 of the 3 tears come in the final moments). All in all, Ji Hyun did seem fairly clueless on all things tear-related. The drama also expressed interesting views on death. Most K-Dramas tend to lean towards there being another world after death or reincarnation, but I liked that this series took a different approach. In ‘49 Days’ death was nothing but a separation and a final goodbye. It’s a sadder approach, but does add a dose of desperation to the story, as well as good reasoning for Ji Hyun’s intense desire to live. You know, beyond not wanting to be dead.

Characterisations:

There characters were all brilliant. Ji Hyun had a nice little path of development throughout the series. She starts as a pretty dim-witted girl who’s too easily trusting, but as each conflict arises Ji Hyun’s learns to face it with confidence and determination. By the end Ji Hyun’s optimistic outlook and love for those around her are seen as an asset not a weakness, as she possesses those characteristics not from just being sheltered and fortunate, but from actively choosing to trust and love those around her despite the risks.

You for you learning how to adult (sort of)

Her relationship with Kang was just too cute and came about in a nice, natural way. Kang was always hard-on-the-outside-squishy-in-the-middle, but it was nice to see him learn to express his feelings to Ji Hyun- her impending death being a major factor in loosening his lips. Ji Hyun also had a really interesting relationship with Yi Kyung.

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater

It was enjoyable how Yi Kyung started being able to see Ji Hyun, and how Ji Hyun’s affection for her started to change her life. Due to Ji Hyun caring about Yi Kyung’s wellbeing, Yi Kyung started caring as well. The two developed a nice little friendship that had great dynamics and perfectly showed how the two girls were helping each other live. Our two main villains were also endlessly fascinating. Their conflicting emotions and internal quarrels kept the main company takeover plot interesting, as it added a heap of context to what was going on. Min Ho taking over the company point blank is pretty boring, so it was interesting to see that In Jung was the one who set him up for it, even though she’s the one who gets cold feet. It was a lovely exploration of how love means different things to different people- Ji Hyun loved Min Ho who she’s never really known, In Jung loved Min Ho who she could never meet openly, and Min Ho apparently loved everyone in a weird twisted way. Though I will admit that neither Min Ho or In Jung had any decent reasoning to try and bankrupt the company. Their excuses for there actions were all super, super lame. 

What Wasn’t:

Almost All the Acting:

It was hard to sit through at times, really it was. I nearly ditched this series after Episode 1 because I honestly didn’t think that I could make it through 20 episodes of Nam Gyu Ri’s acting- but then the story snagged me and I kept on going.

Jung Il Woo's face says about as much as you need to know

On the bright side, at least it’s not that our heroine was terrible and seemed even more terrible because everyone else was good- the whole cast was pretty much on the same level. Except Jung Il Woo who was a total standout and acted the pants off everyone else. Bae Soo Bin and Seo Ji Hye were pretty okay- they were mostly mediocre but then had some scenes where they really nailed it and did some great acting.

Completely expressionless isn't the casting choice I'd make, but what would I know?

The rest…well, yeah. At first I didn’t think anything could be a cringe-worthy as Nam Gyu Ri’s acting, and I was actually quite looking forward to when it would be Lee Yo Won as our heroine. But as time went on, I actually found myself preferring Nam Gyu Ri. While her acting was really not that good, it was at least consistent, and I gradually got used to her performance as she settled into the character and didn’t try and do anything too over the top (most of her crying scenes were pretty unbelievable). But rather than getting used to Lee Yo Won’s performance, it actually started to annoy me more. I liked Nam Gyu Ri’s take on Ji Hyun better, and started to find myself wanting her to wake up just so I wouldn’t have to face Lee Yo Won acting her anymore- her idea of innocent brightness was just not as cute nor as convincing. Granted, she did have the challenge of acting two characters, but still. It seemed like Lee Yo Won really didn’t know how to distinguish Yi Kyung and Ji Hyun. While Ji Hyun was bubbly and emotional, Yi Kyung was just…nothing. And it’s not that she was written that way either. She was a character carrying deep guilt and sadness, but I didn’t really feel that from Lee Yo Won at all (see Park Bo Young for a highly successful performance in a similar situation).

There was alarmingly little talent to share between our two female leads

Yi Kyung just became a big blur who was super boring and super nothing-y unless she was being possessed. Jo Hyun Jae was okay as Han Kang- he didn’t have to do anything too taxing. I didn’t love him as much as might have if Kang was played by a man who could do killer I-love-you-but-I’m-holding-it-in face, but I liked him enough.

Basically the Whole End:

Yeah, so Ji Hyun dies. Not what I was wanting. I’m not against having the heroine die (I liked it in ‘Goblin’ and in ‘Mirror of the Witch’), but you have to give me some sort of heads up that it’s a possibility.

Congratulations, you're alive! For like 5 more days.

Narratively it did make sense, but on an emotional level it wasn’t what I was wanting- and if I have to convince myself that I’m okay with the ending, then really, I’m not okay with the ending and you’ve done something wrong. Like, the whole point of this series hasn’t just been about Ji Hyun learning things through experience and whatnot- it’s about her actually getting back alive in her own body. And being cute with Han Kang in her own body. Because really, the suckiest part about that whole ending is that Han Kang gets nothing. He never gets to properly love the girl, he never gets to hug her her in her own body or anything. What kind of ganky-ass romance is that? And I’m almost certain that Ji Hyun was supposed to get her original lifespan back- and I’m not sure that that’s how it played out. The cause of her death is a complication arising from her injuries of that very same accident. Like, what the hell? If she’s going to be brought back to life shouldn’t everything be healed? It’s like telling someone that they won’t die from being hit by a car and later specifying that they technically didn’t die from getting hit by a car, they died from blood loss or whatever. The worst part about Ji Hyun’s death is that it was absolutely unnecessary. All the emotions that we get from Ji Hyun’s death, and all the points the show is trying to make about living on once a loved one has died we’ve already seen in Yi Kyung and Scheduler’s relationship- we didn’t need to see that same scenario play out twice.

I don't think we really needed the two romances to have the exact same ending

Our main characters totally could have been happy, but the writers were just going for shock value. Ji Hyun’s death also impacted how happy I felt about the two girls being sisters. It could have been a cute extra tidbit at the end to find out that they’re actually related, but it all feels twisted after Ji Hyun’s death. Like, oops sorry one kid’s dead, but here have a consolation daughter. Come on show, you’re better than that. At least you should have been.

Re-watch?

Nope. 20 Episodes of that acting was quite enough, thank you.

49 days and three genuine tears later she's...still dead

Jealousy Incarnate

Jealousy Incarnate

6.5/10

Jealousy Incarnate

Genre:                               Episodes: 24                           Year: 2016

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Pyo Na Ri is a weather caster at SBC. She has had a one-sided love for announcer-reporter Lee Hwa Shin for three years, but he has always found her irritating. Na Ri decides to give up on her crush as she meets Hwa Shin’s friend, Go Jung Won, sparking Hwa Shin’s jealousy.

Cast:

Gong Hyo Jin (Pyo Na Ri)

Jo Jung Seok (Lee Hwa Shin)

Go Kyung Pyo (Go Jung Won)

Lee Mi Sook (Gye Sung Sook)

Park Ji Young (Bang Ja Young)

Lee Sung Jae (Kim Rak)

Moon Ka Young (Lee Pal Gang)

Kim Jung Hyun (Pyo Chi Yeol)

Seo Ji Hye (Hong Hye Won)

General Thoughts:

I must admit, though I enjoyed many episodes of ‘Jealousy’, I walked away from the series feeling rather uninspired. I’m just not really sure what sort of story the writers wanted to tell or what they wanted to achieve.

So much happened, and yet...so little

A large part of these feelings of confusion are probably due to the unnecessary amount of episodes, along with not focusing on one main point. You’d think it would be about jealousy and a big ol’ love triangle (what with the title and all), but if we're all honest it was a one man show- and that man was Hwa Shin.

Hwa Shin > Jung Won

I don’t think there’s anyone anywhere who actually thought Jung Won was in with a shot because he was one of the blandest second male leads I’ve ever seen. He’s basically just typical nice-guy plus butt-loads of money- but no personality to speak of. Go Kyung Pyo was kind of completely out-acted by our two leads who both fit so well with this kind of bickering, confused comedy. Rather than appearing funny in his jealousy (as Hwa Shin did), Jung Won often came across as forceful, and didn’t really seem to ever listen to what Na Ri was saying. Because of the rather lacklustre second lead, the whole triangle situation didn’t really have any tension. Sure, it was fun to see Hwa Shin spewing with jealousy for a while and not knowing what to do with himself, but that got old surprisingly fast because it was just so plainly obvious to everyone (except maybe Jung Won) that Hwa Shin would get the girl. Even our heroine, Na Ri, was actually a pretty bland character. Once you take away Gong Hyo Jin’s delightful performance you realise that we know nothing about our heroine outside of her love for Hwa Shin.

Sweet yet tasteless all at once

She got confused and dated two guys for a while there- but a lot of what we saw about Na Ri was very situational and not so personal. I know that she loves Hwa Shin and loves her little brother…and that’s pretty much it. We never really get a feeling of what drives Na Ri as a person beyond her feelings for Hwa Shin, which leaves Pyo Na Ri feeling extremely similar to Gong Hyo Jin’s previous characters- because beyond Gong Hyo Jin’s take on the character, there’s really nothing there.

The many faces of Jo Jung Seok Show

So while our heroine’s character might have been boring, Gong Hyo Jin’s wonderful and often funny performance did quite a lot to distract from all Na Ri’s developmental flaws. Hwa Shin was really the only character that was explored in depth- with his cancer, his job, his family and his feelings. All these situations and the way Hwa Shin reacted to them gave a sense of realism to his character, and let us feel his emotional moments alongside him and understand him. Jo Jung Seok delivered an absolutely excellent performance, and was really the comedic heart of the show. And quite often the emotional-heart too. He brought his A-game to set and made Hwa Shin a hilarious, yet loveable idiot with all his deflated pride and stubborn floundering. I appreciate that it was his time in the hospital that really opened his eyes to Na Ri, and not just that his friend started to like her. I do wish the whole jealousy situation had played out a little differently. A part of me wanted the relationship between Jung Won and Na Ri to come to its own conclusion before Hwa Shin stepped in, because it really appeared that the only reason Na Ri dumped Jung Won was because she liked Hwa Shin that 1% more- which I suppose is fine, but I still kind of wanted a solid, justifiable reason why Na Ri and Jung Won wouldn’t work well together (beyond Jung Won being so darn plain). Actually, you know what. I wouldn’t have even cared if Na Ri did dump Jung Won because he’s plain- at least it’s a reason.

Sure he was nice...but he was just so booooringggg

I don’t know about others, but I much preferred watching Hwa Shin have a hilariously hard time holding in his crush and jealousy than watching him and Jung Won fight over Na Ri like a piece of meat. Having Na Ri be oblivious to Hwa Shin’s feelings added a lot of comedy to the series. When she realised he liked her, she kind of became a little unlikable. Because if she honestly liked Jung Won, would she really have kissed Hwa Shin? I guess my fundamental issue with this segment of the series (because there were a lot of different segments in its 24 episodes) was that no part of me believes you can romantically like two people exactly the same- particularly when doing so becomes detrimental to everyone involved.

Funny is fine- unnecessary angst is not

I felt more like Na Ri was stalling for time with dumping Jung Won rather than actually liking him, because it was obvious to every man and his dog that she liked Hwa Shin way more. The drama tried to make use of its many, many episodes to introduce lots of different ideas between our main three characters.

It was no secret that this is where we were headed

However, having so many smaller segments kind of prevented the drama from having a lot of depth- because most of the situations didn’t get milked to their full potential. I wish the drama had chosen one way to handle its triangle, stuck with it, and really developed the situation- because as it is, it feels more like the writers were aiming for cheap laughs rather than an in-depth, constantly developed trio of characters. Because in all these situations, Jung Won was pushed to the side in order to enforce that NA RI AND HWA SHIN ARE THE ENDGAME SO DON’T GET TOO ATTACHED TO JUNG WON. We had Hwa Shin be quietly jealous while Na Ri dated Jung Won, be vocally jealous about it, have Na Ri try and dump them both, have Na Ri try to date them both, have Na Ri live with them both (for like maybe two episodes), all while Na Ri helps Hwa Shin through his cancer treatment. Frankly, all the best parts of the drama didn’t actually have Jung Won in them, and Hwa Shin and Na Ri had a far more entertaining and amusing relationship when it was just the two of them. Because the breast cancer storyline was excellent.

So much fun, so much cute, so much absent Jung Won

It added a huge amount of depth to Hwa Shin’s character, and gave him room to grow and develop as a character, all with Na Ri’s assistance. His infertility was another great extension of this, and I felt far more invested in Hwa Shin’s medical woes than the woes of the so-called love-triangle. Smaller things in the drama made the series highly amusing, such as its quirky editing. Playing back past scenes on screens around our characters was hilarious and often provided a great deal of information on how our characters were feeling and what they were reacting to. There were lots of small moments that played in the background that are easy to overlook, but add quite a lot to the series. The music choices were always excellent- properly enforcing the romantic or (more often) awkward atmosphere. And of course any scene Bum was in was delightfully funny.

The unsung hero

What Was Great:

Emasculation:

One of the more interesting plot points of the series was definitely the way Hwa Shin had to deal with his illnesses that made him think less of himself as a man. Watching him struggle with how to perceive himself over the location of his cancer was interesting and thought provoking- because we don’t often think that men can get breast cancer. Hence the pinkness of everything breast cancer related.

Breast cancer bits were the best bits

Hwa Shin’s time spent in the hospital with Na Ri had a nice balance of humour and heart, and was a great way for the two to grow closer. Nothing speeds along a relationship quite like a shared secret. Hwa Shin’s infertility was another great conflict for him, as it made him question not only his own manhood (again), but also what he could provide for Na Ri.

He just wasn't having a good time

No matter how much she loves him, she wouldn’t be able to cure his breast cancer or his infertility- problems that most other men don’t have to deal with at all. The conclusions for both conflicts were drawn in a satisfactory manner. All series long we watched Hwa Shin worry about how other people would perceive him after finding out about his breast cancer. It’s rewarding and a great display of character growth when he owns up to his illness in order to prevent Na Ri from receiving those same judgements- even if it is more common for a woman to have breast cancer than a man. As for his infertility, I adored how it was clear that Na Ri knew how he dealt with things, and knew that she just had to wait for him to accept this new reality. Hwa Shin’s fears were totally justifiable- he couldn’t give Na Ri something he knew she wanted, and failed to see how that would end with her being happy. With Na Ri’s constant support and encouragement, he comes to realise that it’s not the end of the world, and just because he can’t have kids, it doesn’t mean that Na Ri wants to go off and have kids with someone else. Not only that, but it was wonderful to see how Hwa Shin (who seems to have little confidence in his ability to care for Na Ri despite all his arrogance and pride) learns that he himself can be a source of happiness for Na Ri, no matter what he can and cannot offer her. So we'll just ignore that the end seems to forget that Hwa Shin's infertile when he and Na Ri have two kids after the time-skip- that felt like a cop-out.

Those snow-children are gonna be the only children

General Cuteness:

Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Seok are super adorable and super funny so that’s always going to be an upside (thank goodness because the whole drama was basically just them).

When it was cute it was very, very cute

Their whole relationship was always pretty fun to watch, and these two actors do some of the best bickering love ever. Throw in Bum who’s always cute and adds a bunch of funny to whatever scene he’s in and you’ve got a good combo. Na Ri’s younger brother was also pretty darn cute, and I do wish we’d got to see a little bit more of him. A whole different realm of cute was the relationship between the two mums. At first I didn’t give a toss about either of these characters, and to be honest I still don’t really care about their relationships with anyone else- but I’m so onboard the sweet friendship the two mums got going while trying to decide who would live with Pal Gang. Even though it was super obvious that they’d all end up living together, the begrudging friendship between the mums was still fun to watch- particularly when they were bonding over things they had in common- like their love for Pal Gang, or how hard it would be dating an asexual man. 

What Wasn’t:

No Side Character Use:

Despite the millions of side characters this show had at its disposal and the millions of episodes it had to develop them- none of them get much screen time at all. The show is dominated by Na Ri and Hwa Shin with a lot of Jung Won thrown in, but it did seem a little unnecessary to have all these characters who seemed like they would have small arcs of their own only to then go ahead and not develop them.

Were these kids supposed to matter?

Na Ri’s brother and his two friends seemed to drop of the face of the earth- despite Pal Gang being set up as a character that seemed to matter a great deal- with her mums, Hwa Shin being her uncle, and the triangle between her and the two young boys. Only none of these concepts really got more than 5 minutes of screen-time, even though it could have been used to add a great deal of good emotion into the series. Similarly, we didn’t really get to know anyone at the broadcast station that well either. We saw some of the weather-girls and some other reporters- but none of them had story-arcs or were really essential to the show in any way.

A huge wedding where I care about none of the guests

The final episode seemed to want to be a cute big farewell to the series with all its characters coming together at the wedding- only I didn’t really care about anyone apart from Bum, Hwa Shin and Na Ri. 

Go Home Jung Won:

Fighting losing battle. And everyone knows.

We always knew Hwa Shin would win. Seeing Jung Won become so bloody whiney after Na Ri chose Hwa Shin was just plain unenjoyable to watch. I barely even found him tolerable when Na Ri was sort of considering him, so after she made her choice and Jung Won was still moping around her, he was just annoying. His insistence on Na Ri being with him felt misguided and frankly delusional- particularly when he was adamant that she would come back and marry him despite her being happy with Hwa Shin. Hwa Shin’s insistence that Na Ri would be happier with him can be given a pass because…well…she is. But when Jung Won says those same things it just feels as though he’s completely disregarding Na Ri’s feelings. Boo, Jung Won you sore loser.

Re-watch?

No. While I remember enjoying much of this drama, when I think back I can only really recall negative things. Weird.

Pretty okay though, I guess