Navillera

 Navillera

9/10

Navillera

Genre:                                       Episodes: 12                         Year: 2021

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Shim Deok Chu is a 70 year old retired mailman who decides to pursue his lifelong dream of learning ballet. He meets his instructor, Lee Chae Rok, a young ballerino who has hit a slump while preparing for a big audition. 

Cast:

Park In Hwan (Shim Deok Chul)

Song Kang (Lee Chae Rok)

Na Moon Hee (Choi Hae Nam)

Kim Kwon (Yang Ho Beom)

Jo Bok Rae (Shim Seong Gwan)

Jung Hae Kyun (Shim Seong San)

Hong Seung Hee (Shim Eun Ho)

Kim Tae Hoon (Ki Seung Joo)

Jo Sung Ha (Lee Moo Young)

Kim Soo Jin (Shim Seung Sook)

General Thoughts:

This show is great and I love it. Ever since the first snippets of casting news and synopsis was released I was so keen for this drama. It sounded insightful and emotional, and the slightly unusual paring of an older actor and a new up and coming actor officially peaked my interest. Every bit of new news about this drama had me getting more and more excited and impatient for it to finally be released. I set a pretty high bar for this drama, and it met that bar. And then some.

I absolutely adored this show

The acting in this was really phenomenal, and there wasn’t a single person on the cast who didn’t delver an outstanding performance. As most of the show focused on Deok Chul and Chae Rok, those two characters had a lot of screen time, and were asked to bring a vast range of emotions to the drama. Park In Hwan is a very experienced actor and it was nice to have a drama that allowed him to really stretch his acting muscles. It’s a sad fact that once actors hit a certain age there’s usually drop in the amount (and quality) of roles they can take on.

By far one of the most easily loveable characters in K-Drama

It was nice that Park In Hwan was able to take on a role where he was not a side character, but the main character, and boy was he able to deliver on the emotions. Park In Hwan had such a magical way of making Deok Chul appear so sweet and soft, but never let the audience forget that this was a man who had a vast depth of life experience. The confusion and grief that Park In Hwan had to portray was a difficult thing to do, and Park In Hwan seemed to navigate this very tricky terrain with apparent ease. His performance was so layered, with his expressions in highly tense scenes able to portray more than one emotion at a time. Similarly, Song Kang delivered a complex performance also. Grouchy young person with a soft heart is not exactly a new idea in K-Dramaland, but it seems to be something that Song Kang can do very well. Song Kang was so good at ensuring that the audience knew that his snappiness came from places of hurt and worry, and not from anger or selfishness. I also thought Song Kang did a marvellous job of acting out the part of the ballerino. In my head I knew it probably wasn’t Song Kang himself doing the complicated ballet moves, but he was so convincing in the closeups with how he held himself and moved that I didn’t have a disconnect with the character where it felt like someone else in the dancing scenes. Song Kang put in a he effort at learning ballet for this show and it translated really well, and his performance and the show as a whole benefitted immensely from the time and effort he put into learning the art.

This show has made me want to go and watch a ballet performance

While all the support actors were extremely good, a stand out for me was Kim Kwon as Ho Beom. Kim Kwon had a similar task to Song Kang, where he had to convince the audience that his aggression and anger was coming not from a place of malice, but from a place of deep hurt. I found Kim Kwon’s eyes so wonderfully expressive and he really sold his characters redemption arc, as it never felt like it came about unexpectedly. The plot for this drama was pretty straightforward. It almost seems like it should be boring, a retired man is learning to dance ballet, but it never was. Each episode was packed with character development and relationship growth.

You know what those angry boys need? A gentle grandfather figure

A layer of complexity was added to the story with Deok Chul’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and I was pleasantly surprised when it was revealed that Deok Cheol had known about his diagnosis the whole time- usually dramas would use this as a big emotional point where the main character would consider giving up on his dreams due to an illness. But instead, Deok Chul found out about his illness and that was the trigger for him to go after what he had always wanted. The theme of dreams and goal was very present throughout the entire show, and I liked how the drama touched on this in different ways through different characters. The most obvious was Deok Chul who after almost an entire lifetime of putting his dream off was now pursuing his passion. We also had Song Kang who was overcoming obstacles as he pursed his dream. But the two inclusions that really added a lot to the show for me were Ho Beom who thought he had missed the chance for his dream, and Eun Ho who just had no idea what her dream or passion was. Both were extremely relatable situations, perhaps more relatable than our leads. It can be so easy to think that we have missed out opportunity to follow what we really want to do with our lives, and Ho Beom was an interesting way to illustrate that. Compared to the other boys playing soccer he may have been older, but compared to Deok Chul who had decided to pursue his passion, Ho Beom was still so young and so much time. It was a great parallel between the two characters was lovely and mirrored a parallel that was being formed between Deok Chul and Seong San and Seong San and Eun Ho.

While they were all flawed, they were a lovely family

Both Deok Chul and Seong San felt they had to give up on their dreams in order to financially provide for their families, and similarly Eun Ho originally felt that she didn’t have time to find what she wanted to do in life as she was under so much pressure to begin building a career. It was interesting to see how the ideologies filtered down though the generations, and how as Deok Chul became more free and content in his pursuits, his son and granddaughter were also freed up to follow what they wanted to do. The directing in the drama was done well also. It’s not something I usually notice, but I think the water and the director worked well together to bring out the most of the emotions in the drama. In particular the scene on Chae Rok dancing in the snow to prompt Deok Chul’s memory was such a perfect culmination of smaller parts in the show.

CINEMATIC PERFECTION

It was one of Deok Chul’s first big moments where his memory fried him in a public setting, and the inclusion of having Ho Beom there linked back to a previous scene of Deok Chul telling Ho Beom that Chae Rok is not the kind of man that can be forced to dance wherever because he is a star who will soar. In that moment, with the snow falling and Ho Beom watching, Chae Rok soared for one of the first times in the show. It wasn’t because he was on a famous stage or performing in front of thousands, but because he was dancing with all the emotion he had for someone he dearly loved. Everyone in the audience watching could tell what a special moment this was, and this was reflected in Ho Beom, who had never really seen Chae Rok dance before. It was a perfect tying together of multiple scenes and multiple ideas that was just *chef’s kiss* perfection. 

What Was Great:

Relationships:

I touched briefly on the fact that this show doesn’t have a lot of actual plot going on, but that there was still plenty happening in the drama. A lot of the development was stemming from all the relationships the show had going on.

There was a lot of love going around

 Many of the relationships existed before the start of the show- Deok Chul and his family, Ho Beom and Chae Rok, but many new relationships started to form once Deok Chul and Chae Rok started to interact. The most noticeable of these was of course Deok Chul and Chae Rok themselves. Their relationship was the heart and soul of this series, and so much relied on this strange and unusual pairing being able to grasp and maintain the interest of the audience. There was great chemistry between the two actors, and watching Chae Rok come to rely on Deok Chul was lovely. The relationship took another turn during the season as Chae Rok learned of Deok Chul’s illness and in turn became an increasing support for Deok Chul, always worrying about his safety and ensuring his family were around to take care of him. This relationship was at the centre of the show, and it was such an innocent and selfless relationship that was so endearing to watch play out. Each of Deok Chul’s family members also had a unique relationship with their father. The show didn’t go into each and every one in depth, but I appreciate that it gave each of the three sibling special moments with their Dad so that we could see the different impact that Deok Chul had on each of their lives. Similarly, I really enjoyed the parts of the show that showcased the relationship Deok Chul had with his wife, Hae Nam. It’s not the usually fluttery romance that we get in K-Drama, but the support that they gave each other was beautiful.

Couple goals

I loved how Hae Nam just accepted Chae Rok when Deok Chul brought him home and basically treated him as their youngest child or new grandchild. She provided a caring warmth that Chae Rok had been craving since his mother’s death, and it was lovely to see how Hae Nam was able to help Chae Rok a similar way Chae Rok was helping Deok Chul.

Off, my heart

I was surprised when the show brought in more scenes of Eun Ho as I didn’t think that she would be a major character going in, but I really enjoyed the character growth she was given. A lot of her growth stemmed from her relationship with her grandfather and with Chae Rok, both who encouraged her to take the time to find what she wanted to do in life. I adored that the sow gave a little hint of possible future romance between Eun Ho and Chae Rok, but am glad that we never had anything concrete come out of it. Chae Rok was already a part of the family, and while it would have been adorable for him to officially join the family as Eun Ho’s partner, I’m equally glad that for at least the duration of this drama, Chae Rok’s main tie within the Shim family was through Deok Chul. This show was absolutely jam packed with emotions, and all of those emotions came from the detailed characters that populated the show, and the deep, poignant relationships they all shared.

What Wasn’t:

Just Gonna Gloss Over That Child Abuse Huh?:

Okay, so the only thing that really didn’t like a chord with me and is what prevented me from giving this show a 9.5 (the highest I ever rate anything) was the way Chae Rok’s Dad’s character and story line was developed.

Like, c'mon guys- that's a full on baseball bat he's whacking them with...

At first there wasn’t anything that seemed like it could hurt the show- Chae Rok’s Dad went to prison and in doing so resulted in the closure of the school’s football club. It did take a detective to figure out that the most likely chain of events there is that Chae Rok’s Dad was hitting some of the students. And sure enough, that’s what was happening. The loss of a father figure was an crucial part of Chae Rok’s character and was an important factor in the relationship that was formed between Chae Rok and Deok Chul.

Cute ballet Alzheimer's gramps is way better than...this guy

Deok Chul started to fill a void in Chae Rok that Chae Rok didn’t want to even admit was there, and it was a beautiful and bittersweet thing watching Chae Rok learn how it felt to have an unconditional support and to always have someone in his corner. The issue I have with Moo Young’s character is that they centred more on the fact the he unwittingly ruined the soccer club rather than that he…beat the shit out of children? With a baseball bat? Like that’s not something small. The reconciliation between Chae Rok and Moo Young was nice enough, but it always felt like it had this looming shadow behind this nice scene of Moo Young not really being all that regretful that he smacked the sh*t out of these kids. Even in his apology to Ho Beom he was very much ‘I’m sorry I ruined your dream by having the club disbanded so scouts never saw you play’ rather than ‘I’m sorry I was misguided in my methods and thought beating you was a suitable motivator.’ And then after he handed out some shoes everyone was all happy to move on with life. It felt strange and unresolved and I cannot say that I was satisfied or comfortable in the way that story line was resolved.

He did poor Ho Beom so dirty

I think it was a delicate subject that the show touched on, and unfortunately I Just don’t think it was handled well. If the show was going to choose to focus on the fallout of the club rather than the actual abuse itself, then I wish that they would have come u with a better reason for Moo Young to be arrested. I mean, seriously, a man who has just been released from prison for child abuse is then given a job in a…school? With more children? Seriously?

Recommend?

Yes. Everyone should watch this drama.

This show is an absolute friggin' masterpiece

100 Days My Prince

100 Days My Prince

6.5/10

100 Days My Prince

Genre:                                                  Episodes: 16                                 Year: 2018

Romance

Historical

Synopsis:

In order to try and restore balance and bring rain during a long drought, Crown Prince Lee Yul orders all single men and women in Joseon to be married. After an assassination attempt, the Crown Prince loses his memory and lives as a peasant. A peasant girl, Yeon Hong Shim, is forced to marry the amnesic prince due to the new law that all singles must be wed.

Cast:

D.O (Lee Yul/Won Deuk)

Nam Ji Hyun (Yeon Hong Shim/Yoon Yi Seo)

Kim Sun Ho (Jung Je Yoon)

Jo Sung Ha (Kim Cha Eun)

Kim Jae Young (Moo Yeon)

Jo Han Chul (King Neungseon)

Han So Hee (Kim So Hye)

Jung Hae Kyun (Yoon)

General Thoughts:

Overall this show is a cute and sweet love story set in the Joseon era. It came pretty close to being a truly amazing drama, but just had a few too many slip ups along the way. The main issue this drama faced was that it couldn’t really decide what it wanted to be.

Are we a rom-com or are we a dramatic sageuk?

All the promo materiel sold the show as a light and fluffy rom-com dressed in Joseon setting. But as the drama kicked off, it started to seem as though the writer wanted to tell a more dramatic, sageuk story. Which wouldn’t have been that bad, but the balance was just never right- either tilting too far towards completely comedic or too far towards dry historical.

He's just too adorable

This drama could have been absolutely amazing had it been able to interweave the humour and the drama together, but as we only got one or the other, and not a nice bled of the two, we were all left with a bit of tonal whiplash. It’s not that the show did one part better than the other- I really enjoyed the lighter, funnier atmosphere when the show was in its rom-com stage, and the palace politics weren’t as boring and confusing as your usual sageuk- it’s just that they felt like to separate stories that had been crammed together into one drama. What really held this show together were the characters- and I think a large part of what made the characters so enjoyable were the actors behind them. D.O completely smashed his role of the amnesic Crown Prince, and I loved watching him show of his comedic timing. I’ve watched him in more serious roles, so it was a nice change to see him take on something a little lighter and a little sillier. And seeing him succeed so tremendously has got me all excited for the time he (hopefully) takes on a straight rom-com leading role. Considering what an amazing actor D.O is (seriously, I don’t even think the biggest idol-actor anti fans are able to criticise his acting), it’s almost a surprise that this is his first lead role in a drama.

Sad D.O makes my heart bleed

Nam Ji Hyun has a long list of credits to her name, and while I find her enjoyable, she has yet to completely amaze me. I much prefer her in lighter, more comedic roles, so I thought she suited this drama really well in it’s fluffier stage, where she played the grounded realist to D.O’s naive fool. While their chemistry wasn’t exactly off the charts, they had a sweet, innocent vibe to their relationship,

Not someone you wanna mess with

and my favourite part of the drama was definitely watching the two characters warm up to each other and start to care for one another. Also, I will never not want to see jealous D.O. Jo Sung Ha did a brilliant job as our manipulative antagonist. He has such deep charisma that he’s so good at portraying characters with power, whether they be on the side of good or evil. He always gives a layered performance that makes you believe there’s more to his characters than meets the eye- even if that depth isn’t explicitly written into the script. Jo Sung Ha gave Vice Minister Kim a calm duality that made him appear much more sinister than if he had simply been outwardly shady. One of the things I’m starting to realise I like about Jo Sung Ha’s performances is that you can almost see his characters’ minds working. Rather than having Vice Minister Kim appear like a character who had everyone under his thumb comfortably, Jo Sung Ha truly made you believe that there was a great deal of thought and process behind keeping everyone under his thumb- which not only makes his character seem smarter, but also makes it less of a long-shot that our heroes will be able to eventually topple him off his seat of power. Kim Jae Young isn’t exactly a high profile actor at this point, but I think he did a pretty great job as the heartbroken brother of our heroine.

Ah, my sageuk weakness- tall, silent guards/assassins

I wish that Moo Yeon and his story got a bit more screen time, because as it is, there wasn’t quite enough for me to get a grasp on Kim Jae Young’s acting ability. The same could be said for Han So Hee, who is a fairly new actress. She had to appear cold and calculating for most of the drama’s run, so it was difficult to really get a grasp on how well she was doing. The point that made me sit up and notice her was Moo Yeon’s death scene. For the most part So Hye had been a pretty stoic character, so I was impressed that Han So Hee was able to deliver such raw emotion in that scene without making it seem out of character for the Princess.

Is there anyone who didn't see this coming?

One of the show’s more charming points turned out to be the side characters. Which totally caught me by surprise. Usually the support characters that are only there for the humour tend to annoy me as they end up being stupid and over the top, but the villagers that populated ‘100 Days’ were funny and endearing.The peasant background was probably a helpful tool in making them so charming, as their naivety was appropriate. The contrast of book-smart Won Deuk and the street-smart villagers was a great combination,

Who knew the simple villagers would be so endearing?

and provided a nice dose of comedy that was neither ridiculous nor insulting. The editing of this show actually turned out to be one of its biggest downfalls, which is a bit disappointing when you remember that this is a pre-produced drama, so there’s really no excuse for not having the show looking sleek and smooth. The scene transitions could be totally random at times- just instantly jumping from one scene to the next. It was also hard to tell when we were entering or exiting a flashback sequence, as there was absolutely no hints to guide you in or out of the flashback. There were several times in this show where I was confused as to what was happening only to realise that the flashback scene had actually ended a few minutes earlier and we were know back in the present. The writing was fairly sloppy overall, with the character construction and development being the only real good point. The plot itself felt a bit random and all over the place, and it was fairly confusing as to what story this drama was trying to tell. For the first 12 or so episodes it seemed to want to tell a sweet love story between two kids separated in their childhood. But then it suddenly switched to being a story on how Yul learned to become an understanding and just King from is time spent amongst the people.

No, no, don't ditch the romance- that's literally why we're here

And the romance got shoved to the side- which honestly wasn’t a smart move when it’s the sugar-sweet romance that your viewers are tuning in for. While I was fairly interested in the palace plot and who was trying to get rid of the Prince and why, as soon as that plot started coming at the expense of the romance, I found it a tad exasperating. 

What Was Great:

Boys, Boys, Boys:

There were basically three things in this drama that I absolutely loved to pieces- D.O and his spot-on portrayal of the grouchy, yet loveable Crown Prince, Kim Sun Ho as the charming concubine’s son just trying to make it in the world, and Moo Yeon and his tragic romance.

May this reluctant bromance never die

D.O carried a lot of this show on his own, providing gravitas during the palace politics and adorable chemistry during the show’s rom-com stage. D.O brought the two separate plots together and delivered a completely loveable hero that was impossible not to fall for. Yul’s playful, bickering relationship with Je Yoon was nothing short of delightful, and his petty jealousy over Je Yoon and Hong Shim was always hilarious.

If D.O hadn't been the hero I might've had some hefty Second Lead Syndrome to deal with

Je Yoon was an interesting character on his own, and I liked that while we were all preeeeeetty sure he was on the Crown Prince’s side, the drama toyed with the idea that he could flip and join the Vice Minister’s team- but not enough that the show had to sacrifice Je Yoon’s likability. His dilemma between choosing love or loyalty was interesting to watch play out, even if we were all fairly certain that he would remain loyal to the Crown Prince. And what can I say- I always end up being a sucker for the tragic bodyguard characters. It was Kwak Dong Yeon in ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’, it was Song Jae Rim in ‘Moon That Embraces the Sun’, and it was Kim Jae Young here. I hate mindless angst, but I love a good tragic love story. And Moo Yeon falling for the daughter of the man who killed his father and destroyed his family is a great recipe for a deliciously tragic love story. I enjoyed how appropriately angsty Moo Yeon’s dilemma was- does he run away with his sister who has been waiting for him for years, or stick by the woman he loves?

Well this won't end well

I really wish that this storyline had managed to grab a bit more screen time, as I felt it wasn’t quite done as well as it could have been. So Hye remained pretty much a non-entity for the whole show, and I would have loved to see how she and Moo Yeon fell in love.

What Wasn’t:

Timing:

This show’s biggest issue is that it had no idea how to time things properly. We were given just enough time in the childhood section of the drama (though I’d also argue that I wanted to see more of what happened to Moo Yeon rather than just having to assume it all), but after that the timing got really rocky.

At least we had a cute romance to distract us from the fact that no one really knew what was going on

This writer had a weird habit of withholding information that didn’t add to any mystery, but would have instead cleared things up for viewers. I have absolutely no idea why the drama thought it was a good plan to wait so long to tell us that Hong Shim actually believed there was a Won Deuk out there somewhere that she was supposed to marry.

Who even is Won Deuk?

I was endlessly confused when Hong Shim seemingly didn’t know that Yul wasn’t a stranger who had lost his memory and that she and her father where lying to him about his identity. Because even if she did believe Yul was the Won Deuk from the next village over (which we weren’t even told about), then why was she making up a love story using scenes from her childhood love? While I figured that she didn’t actually know the identity of ‘dummy’, it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t Won Deuk, as Dummy was a noble. So filling Yul’s head with those stories had zero chance of jogging his memory (except that they were his memories- which Hong Shim had no way of knowing). And while I totally adored watching Yul and Hong Shim fall in love with each other and start to develop their relationship, there was a big lag in the middle where that was all that was happening. And if that’s all there was to this drama it wouldn’t have been that bad, but knowing that we had to go back and resolve the palace plot made me nervous that the show was running out of time. Which, spoiler alert, it did.

Can't you guys be charming and adorable and solve the whodunnit mystery?

I fail to see why Yul and Hong Shim couldn’t have been developing their relationship at the same time that Yul and Je Yoon were working on finding who tried to kill Yul. Because once the attention shifted to Yul and Je Yoon doing their detective work, Hong Shim was hardly even in the drama. And as an excuse for her minimal screen time the writer used- you guessed it- noble idiocy!

Well, well, well- if it isn't the consequences of your own actions

At first I was on board with their angst- because Yul is the Crown Prince and he’s already married. But when Yul was so ready to risk everything in order to somehow stay with Hong Shim, it was more than a little irritating when she wasn’t onboard. It felt like Yul was the one who was going out of his way to chase Hong Shim down and prove his love to her, while Hong Shim never gave anything back. This became 100 times worse in the final episode where Yul had found and gotten rid of his threat in the palace, was happily single, and Hong Shim still wasn’t in the picture. After her noble status had been restored and Yul had made it completely clear that he wanted to marry her, I fail to understand why Hong Shim wouldn’t agree. And then she has the nerve to act all sad that she’s not together with the man she loves. Like, who’s bloody fault is that if not yours! While we should have been spending some quality time with our couple being cute and happy, instead I was questioning whether Hong Shim really loved Yul at all. Because if she did, why was she letting him pine for her alone for a whole year when there’s no good reason for them to be apart?

Least dramatic victory ever

The conclusion of the whole palace plot seemed remarkably easy, and if it were so simple to take down the Vice Minister I fail to see why Yul and his father couldn’t have done it way sooner. The war was more or less irrelevant (except that it paved the way for that darned time skip), and if all the Vice Minister’s followers fell apart and became non-threatening without him, why didn’t someone just knock him off sooner?

If he wasn't here as a responsible, plausible King option- why was he here?

Yul’s idea that death is too light a punishment was kinda okay- but it also seemed like he was making things way more complicated than it needed to be. It felt a lot like there drama tried to set up all these reasons why simply killing the Vice Minister wouldn’t solve all Yul’s problems only to find that, whoopsie, we’ve run out of time and our only option is to quickly kill the Vice Minister and pretend that the palace is full or rainbows and unicorns and people who are 100% okay with the Vice Minister getting shot and the Crown Princess being dethroned. To be honest, I’m kind of annoyed that the drama turned into a drama about Yul being King when it seemed like it was setting out to be about Yul finding love. He never wanted to be Crown Prince or King, and Prince Seowon seemed like he had a pretty steady moral compass and would have made a good King with the right guidance. I was kind of hoping the show would take the route where Yul would give up the throne to live as a nobleman (or I dunno, Magistrate) in the village where he found friendship, family and love.

Can...can I have a sageuk that isn't about a dude learning to be the best King ever?

Admittedly, I did like seeing the light tone in the palace (and this cruddy wrap up is almost with it for the joke that people thought Yul had a thing for Je Yoon), but it felt foreign after spending all our time in Hong Shim’s village. We didn’t even have the familiar face of Hong Shim to ease us into happy palace life as she was off being busy not wanting to marry Yul. 

Recommend?

If you liked ‘Moonlight Drawn by Clouds’ this is likely to be your kind of drama.

A large part of this drama was honestly delightful