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