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

Uncontrollably Fond

Uncontrollably Fond

6/10

Uncontrollably Fond

Genre:                                     Episodes: 20                         Year: 2016

Romance

Melodrama

Synopsis:

Shin Joon Young and No Eul have known each other since high school. Now in adulthood, the two meet each other once more. Joon Young has become a famous celebrity while Eul has become a PD. Needing work to pay off her debts, Eul convinces Joon Young to let her be the PD in charge of shooting a documentary about his life. 

Cast:

Kim Woo Bin (Shin Joon Young)

Bae Suzy (No Eul)

Lim Ju Hwan (Choi Ji Tae)

Lim Ju Eun (Yoon Jung Eun)

Yoo Oh Sung (Choi Hyun Joon)

Jin Kyung (Shin Young Ok)

Lee Seo Won (No Jik)

General Thoughts:

I really wanted to like this drama more than I actually ended up liking it. While watching it I found myself constantly making excuses for the situations and the characters because I so badly wanted this to be a series that I loved.

Uncontrollably Attractive 

But as the show sloooooowly unveiled (and I mean slowly), it became more and more apparent that this drama just wasn’t quite up to scratch. There were aspects of the drama that were amazing, but also aspects that were infuriating. The general idea is fantastic- a man has only a few months to live and wants to spend that time with the woman he loves. Awesome. There’s more than enough in that situation alone to make a sweet, swoony, yet heart-breaking story. Throw in a birth-secret (because it’s a melo, of course there’s a birth secret) and things get a little more heated when our hero’s father turns out to be a man involved in the death of our heroine’s father. It sounds wounderful, and on paper it looks like a drama that should work beautifully- but it doesn’t. And the reason it doesn’t is because the writer just plain didn’t know how to tell the story. It’s a typical 20 episode series where the writer aims for more episodes than the story can actually cover, so things started getting spread pretty thin in the middle there. I think I watched about 5 episodes of Joon Young quietly acting like an ass while Eul quietly stood outside his house looking sad, and not much else happened. Yeah, yawn.

Nobody in this drama makes any sense

The story just collapsed under it’s own melodramatic weight, try as Woo Bin and Suzy may to keep the whole thing from crumbling around them. Which is really such a shame as they both put in pretty fantastic performances (despite what people say about Suzy).

I'll have him in my family if you don't want him

I found all the acting to be believable- from our stars to our support cast, and the actors did a great job at keeping me invested in the story when I actually came to not really giving a poo about the plot- because they acted their characters with such sincerity and depth that they always had an underlying likableness about them. Some characters did drive me a bit batty though (namely Joon Young’s mum- because who doesn’t want Woo Bin as their son?). I found both the mothers in this drama to be pretty incomprehensible at times. Joon Young’s mum basically disowned Joon Young because he quit studying to become a prosecutor and instead became super rich and super famous. Yeah, don’t really see the problem there, but whatever. Her character did come around as she started to care for Eul, and Joon Young through Eul, but unfortunately she returns to the realm of the incomprehensible once she decides to avoid her dying son rather than actually spending any time with him. Because what’s better than being ignored by your mother in your final dying days? And Ji Tae’s mum was just straight up evil. I mean she hits her own son with a truck in order to maintain her own status and power- need I say more? 

What Was Great:

The Acting:

Everyone was fab. Yes, even Suzy. Sadly, I feel as though Suzy copped a lot of the criticism for the drama being such a flop as she was such an easy target, but she actually did a great job.

I thought Suzy was pretty fab personally

Eul wasn’t the easiest character to act as she was a character who mostly kept her feelings hidden- which doesn’t give the actress a lot to work with. Frankly, while there were some moments when I thought Suzy’s acting could have been a tad better they were few and far between, and I’ve seen worse acing from actual actresses.

The chemistry was pretty solid too

I thought Suzy did a brilliant job, and really brought Eul to life in a warm, likeable way. Woo Bin was just phenomenal. He gave Joon Young a depth I’m almost positive wasn’t there on paper. He shredded my heart in the best melo way, and I was blown away at what an incredible actor he was in this series. Even in the long middle portion, Woo Bin was able to keep Joon Young from being a dislikable character. Sure, he was frustrating and I kinda waned to slap him a bit, but I never hated him and could always tell that there was a reason behind his actions. Even though I didn’t know what that reason was. And even though it turned out to be a pretty crummy reason. Lim Ju Hwan was awesome as our second male lead- he never really outshone Woo Bin (which is what you want in a second lead), but was likeable enough in his own right. Yoo Oh Seung was wonderful as Ji Tae’s father, as you were never quite sure how far along the villainy scale he really was. Yoo Oh Seung perfectly displayed Hyun Joon’s conflicted feelings, and his gradual awakening to what a monster he was becoming. He made it seem totally plausible that Hyun Joon would have a change of heart, and presented it to us in a natural, believable way.

Though I would have just shown the video my dying boyfriend spent a month of his life on to get myself

And Lee Seo Won was adorable as Eul’s baby brother. Jin wasn’t the most complex character to act as he mostly just had cute scenes, but it was a great way for Lee Seo Won to get his face out there and I look forward to seeing him in more dramas.

The Pretty:

Everything was pretty. Kim Woo Bin- pretty. Bae Suzy- pretty. The cinematography- very pretty. The whole show was shot in a very melancholy, broody way that reflected the sadness in the plot. Throw in an amazing soundtrack and you have the makings for a very appealing drama.

Snow makes everything better looking

The Death:

What would have killed this drama (even more so that the writing) would have been if Joon Young had somehow made it out alive. I did have a fear of this happening as they seemed to stress a little that our hero was avoiding treatment, so I thought they might swing for him deciding to get treatment at the end and somehow having a miraculous recovery.

I was a tad surprised when our dying hero actually died

Thankfully that did not happen. Sad as it was, Joon Young needed to die. We’ve known right from the get-go that the whole point of this drama is that this beautiful man is having an unfair, early demise. The wrap-up for Joon Young’s illness was handled extremely well- his symptoms became increasingly worse as the drama went on, and the last two episodes were a heart-tuggingly sad look in on the final stages of this man’s life- his gradual memory-loss was particularly emotional. It was a nice, clean finish for the star after he got the justice for Eul he so desperately wanted. He worked hard in his last months to reveal the cover-up of her father’s death, then moved himself away to live out his last days with the woman he loved (and only occasionally remembered). The start and the finish were truly wonderful highlights of the drama, and I don’t think they could have handled Joon Young’s death any better than they did. 

What Wasn’t:

The Drag:

While the start and the end were brilliant, the middle section of the drama was basically its death. Nothing happened. Joon Young was sad. Eul was sad. I was sad. For five hours. The great part about the set-up of this drama was that it had all the angst it needed- our hero is dying. That’s all that's necessary.

What the f*ck is goin' on here?

It made every aspect of the series have an underlying sadness, because even if our main couple were being very cute and very in love, we knew it couldn’t last because our hero’s days were numbered. It’s all you need. But then the writer threw in all these unnecessary complications with Joon Young hatching plan to woo the woman who ran over Eul’s dad, but fails to tell Eul anything about it.

So snoodly- but so terminal

So Eul is sad because she doesn’t know why Joon Young is acting all aloof. And Joon Young is sad because he can’t be with Eul. Only he could be with Eul if he wanted- he’s just never given her a heads up that he’s running a scam mission to get a confession. I wouldn’t have minded the whole wooing thy enemy thing if there’d been some cute couple cahoots on the side- you know, like how Jung Eun thought there was anyway. The worst kind of angst is angst that is brought on by our leads being idiots- and that’s all this was. We had wonderful, heart-wrenching melodrama in the form of finding ways to tell people that Joon Young is dying and how to cope with the fact- but it was all overshadowed by the never-changing, unentertaining miscommunication and self-destruct antics of our hero. The worst part is that it took SO LONG for his stupid plan to come to fruition. He’s just assing about being mean to Eul and pushing her away (which drastically decreases Eul agency- what’s she supposed to do when she has no information on what’s going on?). There’s also the plot line of Ji Tae standing up to his parents, but that also moves at a snail’s pace and in all honesty- do we really care?

♫ Aaaaaallllll the evil ladies, all the evil ladies ♫

I would have much preferred we spend that time going into the past relationship between Eul and Joon Young (because I feel like there was room for more exploration there) and that we have flashback episodes like episode 2 that would help explain the current personalities of our leads. Alas, that flashback episode only really seemed to be setting up the whole Eul’s-dad’s-death-cover-up plot line thing. Or better yet- they should have just axed five or so episodes. Having 20 was just overkill.

Re-watch?

No. It was uncontrollably long, uncontrollably frustrating, and uncontrollably slow. 

But Woo Bin and Suzy rocked it