Showing posts with label Mirror of the Witch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mirror of the Witch. Show all posts

Thursday, 12 January 2017

2016 Jaybird Awards

2016 Jaybird Awards


Wow, another year has come and gone- welcome to 2017! While 2016 wasn’t exactly my favourite year in K-Dramaland, I can’t deny that there was loads to choose from and a heap of variety. There were some huge dramas that were released last year- some lived up to the hype while others drowned under it, and there were of course a few lesser known dramas that snuck in some great stories. Not a lot really jumped out at me as being some of the best dramas of all time, but they all seemed to be on the higher parts of middle ground (though admittedly there are a few total stinkers). All in all, I think 2016 was a fairly good year for K-Dramas- the variety meant that there was something for everyone and bound to be at least a couple of dramas that you fell in love with.

Best Drama:

‘Signal’ really was a cracker of a drama. It’s a quirky little piece that stays a fair bit off the beaten track, but for a drama that covers so much new territory, it makes perfect sense. Time travel shows are a hard nut to crack as there can be so much that can go wrong, and have a higher risk of forming plot holes than other types of shows. However, the writing for ‘Signal’ was so fluid and sure of itself that it was hard to critique the plot. It was easy to trust that the writers weren’t going to drop the ball halfway through, as the story started off with such conviction that it was clear the drama knew what it wanted to do with itself. The acting was all splendid and everyone involved did an excellent job at bringing the story and the characters to life, so that it was almost impossible to disengage from our three detectives and their struggles. The confident and brilliant directing was really just the icing on the cake. 




Best Actor:

Despite what a complete and utter clusterf*ck ‘Moon Lovers’ ended up being, you can’t deny that Lee Joon Ki was totally killer. While the plot made little (to no) sense, Lee Joon Ki’s performance was always engaging, and he made So likeable in a way that might not have been possible had the role been taken on by a different actor. The odd directing hand that resulted in extreme close ups of our characters really gave us all a good look at how completely Lee Joon Ki threw himself into the role. His facial expressions were so incredible, right down to the smallest lip twitch.


Runner Up: Song Joong Ki (Descendants of the Sun)


Best Actress:
Oh Yeon Seo (Come Back, Ajusshi)
I find it quite hard to sort out the really great actress from the good ones, as sadly there’s not a huge variety of heroine roles- at least not as varying as the men get. However, every now and then there’s a drama with an actress who makes you really laugh, or really feel- or both. This year it was definitely Oh Yeon Seo. I don’t think she’s exactly a new face in K-Dramaland, but it was for sure the first time I was seeing her. She totally owned the role of an ajusshi trapped in a woman’s body, and was oddly believable as Kim Soo Ro. She has a flair for laugh-out-loud comedy, and paired with Rain it was just hilarious. Not only was Oh Yeon Seo able to bring the laughs, but she also hit the emotional beats perfectly. She conveyed perfectly the pain of a love that was never realised, and it truly ended up being a stand-out performance of hers.


Runner Up: Lee Sung Kyung (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo)


Best Short Series:

This mini-series was so good I almost wished they’d made it into a full 16 episode series. The young cast dazzled and gave strong, compelling performances, which is something mini-series often tend to lack. The story was succinct and tight, and got right to the point. Despite the limited amount of time the series had to tell it’s story, it was able to throw in so much emotion- both happy and heartache. 










Best Support:

Shin Rin Ah (Marriage Contract)
Oh my goodness, what an amazing, pocket-sized actress. A lot of young actors and actresses are passable because they’re adorable, and don’t have to do very much. Shin Rin Ah had a huge role in ‘Marriage Contract’, and had the acting chops to back up her sweetly adorable face. She had dazzling chemistry with both UEE and Lee Seo Jin, and added a huge amount of enjoyment to the series.










Best Couple:
Lee Sung Kyung and Nam Joo Hyuk (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo)
This totally didn’t seem like the drama that would have the best romance, but it definitely was. The two characters of Bok Joo and Joon Hyung were so sweet and innocent, and felt all their emotions so clearly. It was a beautiful coming-of-age series, and really highlighted the ways relationships shape you into the person you become. The two were not only insanely adorable, but a source of support and strength for each other. Their relationship highlighted so beautifully and so simply that there are some things that family and friends can’t do for you- and you just need that one special someone to not only tell you that you’re perfect the way you are, but believe it themselves. The progression of the relationship between Bok Joo and Joon Hyung was so sweet and so realistic, and the friends-to-lovers dynamic really came into its own- the two were practically dating before they even knew they liked each other. It was a cute romance that had a lot of heart, and two loveable leads.

Runner Up: Gong Hyo Jin and Jo Jung Suk (Jealousy Incarnate) 


Best Villain:

Yum Jung Ah (Mirror of the Witch)
It might be an understatement to say that historical dramas can verge on boring. But in ‘Mirror of the Witch’ Yum Jung Ah delivered a spine-chilling performance that added a huge amount of intensity to the series. Hong Joo wasn’t just a villain without rhyme or reason, and could at times be oddly pitiful- a huge credit to Yum Jung Ah who could make the same character so hatable and horrific, but also strangely sympathetic. While the writing often seemed a bit repetitive, Yum Jung Ah continued to deliver a strong performance as the villain, and was always a force to be reckoned with, while also gradually drawing back the layers of her character’s complexity.

Runner Up: Kwon Yul (Let’s Fight, Ghost)


Best Ensemble:

There’s something so wonderful about a drama that has a beautiful ensemble. It’s so much easier to fall in love with a series that has a number of different characters, but so much harder to write a number of characters convincingly. ‘Age of Youth’ appeared to be a happy coming-of-age story, but surprisingly had some darker undertones. The five girls each had a different story to tell, and the writers managed to focus on each of the housemates without the drama feeling jumpy. Each of the girls was acted brilliantly, with the actress fitting the character perfectly. While the girls were delightful on their own, it was the scenes of them together and the budding friendship that arose despite their differences that really sold the show. No matter how much they bickered and criticised each other, the housemates were always there for support, advice or a drink. The girls created a true feeling of camaraderie that made the show so enjoyable to watch, and the girls so easy to love.

Runner Up: Fantastic


Best Bromance:

A great bromance is always a fun time, but it just becomes even funnier when one half of the bromance is trapped in the body of a stunningly beautiful woman. This was an adorable bromance that transcended lifetimes, with the two dead ajusshis returning to the world of the living together. The relationship between the two was so sweet, and often hilarious, and was the true heart of the show. All four of our ajusshis (their souls and their reincarnations) did a brilliant job, and Rain and Oh Yeon Seo had brilliant chemistry. The two did an excellent job in ensuring that the relationship between the characters remained purely platonic- especially when you consider how smokin’ hot they both are. The bro-love in ‘Come Back’ was definitely a winner, and rivalled both the love-lines.


Best Gal Pals:

The housemates in ‘Age of Youth’ were just so sweet and likeable. As each girl had a completely different personality it was inevitable that they clashed, but it was so enjoyable the way they all reconciled after. No matter how angry they got at each other or how many toes were trod on, at the end of the day the girls were all there for each other when it was most important. The relationships that sprung up between the friends were so real and relatable, and were just pure entertaining to watch.





Runner Up: Fantastic

Best Idol Gone Actor:

Seo Kang Joon (Cheese in the Trap)
Three of the 5urprise boys were keeping themselves very busy this year with some notable acting roles, but Seo Kang Joon was a standout. Despite all the conundrums going on behind the cameras of the drama, no one can deny that Seo Kang Joon put in a strong performance. He was able to easily grab the necessary emotions in a character that could have easily come across as too closed off or too volatile. Seo Kang Joon hit a nice balance between the two and delivered an engaging, likeable second male lead, and definitely earned himself some attention in the world of acting.



Runner Up: Kang Min Hyuk (Entertainer)


Worst Idol Gone Actor:

It’s a sad truth that for every successful idol-turned-actor there’s going to be…well…a not so successful one. Son Naeun took on the second female lead in ‘Cinderella’, and the results weren’t that pretty. Her obvious green acting did little to help a character so poorly written that it was at best difficult to watch, and at worst downright annoying when Hye Ji was on screen. 








Runner Up: Kwon Yuri (Gogh’s Starry Night)


Least Convincing Couple:

Yoon Shi Yoon and Kim Sae Ron (Mirror of the Witch)
The drama had a lot of things going for it, but romance was not one of them. Which is a shame when love is kind of the driving force behind the characters’ motivations. Yoon Shi Yoon did a pretty good job carrying the romance all on his own, but where the series made its error is probably in casting a heroine half Yoon Shi Yoon’s age. Poor Kim Sae Ron just didn’t have the capacity for portraying a convincing love story. I think that really, due to her incredibly young age, she didn’t have enough experience as either an actress or in actually experiencing romantic love. Sure, the two had some pretty cute scenes- but did I ever believe they were so madly in love with each other that they’d die for the other? No. Not really.

Runner Up: Madame Antoine


Show Carrier:

Ryu Joon Yeol (Lucky Romance)
‘Lucky Romacne’ was a pretty cute drama overall, but I think that most of the cute came from Ryu Joon Yeol. He absolutely carried this show, no questions asked. The plot was really pretty minimal and the love interest was bland if not annoying, yet the show remained engaging and enjoyable as our adorable robot hero learned to love. And he learned to love in the cutest way possible.








Runner Up: Song Jae Rim (Thumping Spike)


Biggest Disappointment:

There are several ways that a drama can be a huge disappointment- the most common being a drama getting so hyped up before its screening, only to then fall underneath all the crushing expectations. ‘Moorim School’ was not one of those. The drama didn’t really create much hype, but the writers, producers and director were all making some pretty loud noises about how ‘Moorim School’ was going to be a groundbreaking drama in terms of making K-Drama a more international place. Which excited me to no end being a Westerner with a huge love of K-Drama. And then it so did not do that. Sure, there were some international cast members, but none of them were important- none of them did anything, and the fact that they were non-Korean was pretty swept under the rug. Also it was just a bad drama. The story sucked, the acting wasn’t that great, and the romance was beyond disappointing.



Jaybird's Choice

This is not only my favourite drama of the year, but quite possibly my favourite drama of all time. It may not be a high-stakes drama, but the characters are the heart of the show- and they’re such great characters. Bok Joo and Joon Hyung are just a dream to watch develop, and their adorable friends-to-lovers romance is backed up by stellar acting from both our leads. A host of side characters gave the show an in-depth, fleshed out feeling, and the ties of friendship and family were just as prominent, important, and adorable as the romance. The drama never had any lags, or points were the conflict was dragged out for too long, and always kept a cracking pace that left you wanting more, more, more. I could talk for days about how much I love this show. This show is love. This show is life.


Runner Up: W- Two Worlds





2016 Dramas Watched:
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Saturday, 17 September 2016

Mirror of the Witch

Mirror of the Witch

6.5/10
Mirror of the Witch
Genre:                                Episodes: 20                     Year: 2016
Romance
Fantasy
Historical

Synopsis:
Unable to produce an heir, the Queen of Joseon turns to a Shaman who wields black magic in order to conceive. She gives birth to twins, a Prince and a Princess, but both have been cursed by the black magic used. The Shaman places all of the curse onto the Princess and orders her killed, but the Princess is rescued and grows to adulthood. Together with Heo Joon, the son of a slave, the grown Princess, Yeon Hee, works to break the curse that threatens her life and plagues Joseon. 

Cast:
Yoon Shi Yoon (Heo Joon)
Kim Se Ron (Yeon Hee)
Kwak Shi Yang (Choi Poong Yeon)
Yum Jung Ah (Hong Joo)
Lee Sung Jae (Choi Hyun Seo)
Jang Hee Jin (Queen Shim)
Lee Ji Hoon (King Sunjo)
Lee Yi Kyung (Yo Kwang)
Moon Ka Young (Sol Gae)
Min Do Hee (Soon Deuk)


General Thoughts:
12 episode dramas should only be 10. 16 episode dramas should only be 14. 20 episodes dramas should only be 16. Such is the unfortunate fate of K-Dramas. Once again we have a clear example of a brilliant story supported by phenomenal acting that is ruined by the writers trying to stretch for more episodes than their story can actually cover.
Some golden moments hidden by unnecessary episodes
While so, so much of this drama was excellent, it got bogged down in its own misery as our characters danced into the realm of poor decision making and inability to make any sort of sense. Except for Joon who somehow managed to remain a sensical and endearing hero until the end. It’s such a shame that the story had to be spread so thin, as the beginning of the series had absolutely perfect pacing.
Goodness the beginning was intense
The first 11 or so episodes were exciting and perfectly paced, with an equal balance of our heroes being victorious and our villains being dastardly. While the story centred around its initial set-up and then Yeon Hee and Joon lighting candles to break the curse, it remained exhilarating and extremely addictive to watch. However, once the true manipulative nature of our villain was revealed and Yeon Hee went to the palace as the Princess the plot started to lose its momentum.  Acting-wise this drama was like a buffet of extraordinary talent. Yoon Shi Yoon makes his return from military and definitely makes himself heard. His acting was flawless throughout and he managed to maintain a tricky balance of light-heartedness and deep emotion- easily able to switch between the two between scenes or even inside a single scene. The royals in the palace all gave excellent performances as well, particularly our main two- the King and the Queen Dowager. Both Jang Hee Jin and Lee Ji Hoon put in stellar performances. Although playing extremely flawed characters who often made mistakes, the two managed to keep their characters (mostly) in the realm of likeable.
Lee Ji Hoon brought all kinds of intensity to his role
While there were definitely times you wanted to slap a bit of sense into them, through the marvellous acting, their decisions were always understandable as we were all made privy to the fears and vulnerabilities that underlined these characters. And of course we have Yum Jung Ah who has given us one of the most dynamic villain performances of the year. Hong Joo was terrifying, dislikable, and strangely pitiful.
A solid villain performance is always fab
Yum Jung Ah was able to show all aspects of Hong Joo’s character- from her deep, unending hatred, to her loneliness and pain. She always showed just enough cracks in Hong Joo’s confidence that she never appeared straight-up evil, but never too much vulnerability that there was any hope of redemption. The weakest link in the cast was definitely our leading actress. I’m not usually one that cares for the age of actors- as long as they give a convincing, believable performance, I don’t care if they’re 13 or 33. However, I do think that Kim Sae Ron’s age was a huge weakness in this drama. She’s not a bad actress, but she does lack the ability to exude a maturity beyond her age- which is something she definitely needed in this drama. I never felt like the character of Yeon Hee was ever a woman- she always remained a girl to me. This wasn’t helped by Yeon Hee’s innocent and inexperienced character, as she only came off more child-like. The romance was carried solely by Yoon Shi Yoon whose incredible acting lead me to believe that it was plausible for him to fall incredibly, madly in love with this girl- but I never really felt such emotion from Kim Sae Ron, and Yeon Hee’s feelings for Joon felt more like a school-girl crush than anything else. That one scene of Yeon Hee’s anger that flickered between Yeon Hee (Kim Sae Ron) and Hae Ran (Jung In Sung) showed what the show might have been like had the role of Yeon Hee gone to a more experienced, mature actress. And it was awesome.
Defiantly the weakest link
Sorry Kim Sae Ron, I do like you and I do think you’ll become an incredible actress- but I don’t think you’re quite there yet, and this role was a bit much to handle. The supporting actors were all wonderful, shining beautifully in what screen time they had, but never overstaying their welcome. The cinematography was stunningly beautiful, as was the soundtrack and both added an alluring sense of mystical wonder to the series. Despite its shortcomings, it was always a very visually (and auditory) appealing drama.

What Was Great:

First Half:
The first half of this series rocked. The story flowed so smoothly from its initial set-up to the bulk of the plot with hardly a breath in between.
It was a boring episode if no one got stabbed
It was intoxicating to watch, as the story kept moving at a ripping pace and there were so many mysteries to uncover. Relationships developed swiftly and believably and the story was building itself up for a thrilling climax between our heroes and our fantastically villainous villain. Sure, that climax wasn’t as intense as it should have been- but the build up to it was excellent. If the whole drama had moved with the same pace and determination as its first half, this could have been a truly excellent, unparalleled drama.

Villain:
Yum Jung Ah also rocked. She was so dynamic in her role as Hong Joo. I was easy to dislike her character, but despite her actions being completely wrong, she remained completely understandable. It’s part of what made her such an interesting rival- she’s totally psycho, but it’s totally understandable why she became that way. It’s not so much that Hong Joo was an evil woman, but her circumstances lead her to develop such an intense hatred of the royal family and the hierarchal system as a whole, and she just so happened to have the power to do something about it. 
Fascinatingly evil
What’s most fascinating about Hong Joo is that she isn’t exactly wrong. It is wrong for the royal family to have such complete control over everyone’s lives. It is wrong that a person’s worth is decided by the circumstances of their birth. But her way of attempting to change the system is also wrong. What’s even more fascinating about Hong Joo is that she and Joon share many of the same beliefs and struggles. Both are treated poorly due to being born in a lower class, and both find it ridiculous and unfair that you can never rise above your birth status. However, while Joon struggles to find the right path to tread and the right way to challenge these ideas, Hong Joo chooses hatred and revenge. Hong Joo is an insanely interesting character to have around, and thankfully not too much time was spent pouring over her backstory. We are given the simple facts about how she got to where she was, and that made it understandable to see where she was headed.
Hugely dynamic

Redemptions All Round:
Redemption arcs are hardly ever executed all that well. They’re passable and characters go from being unbearable to tolerable- but rarely make it back to being likeable characters. But not in ‘Mirror of the Witch’! 
Best redemption arc I've seen
Redemption was something these writers were able to handle excellently. My particular favourite was Queen Dowager. She was understandable, but not always likeable- but her redemption arc was wonderful. She starts as a victim before rather rapidly becoming a mild villain- I mean, she wants to kill one of her kids so that’s not great. But after she loses the Crown Prince and finds Yeon Hee again, she does her best to try and protect her daughter. It’s clear that everything she’s done has been to try and protect her children. I mean if both are going to die you might as well try and save one, right? It’s a beautifully complicated situation that makes for some interesting television. Queen Dowager going from wanting to kill Yeon Hee to wanting to protect her at all costs was completely believable and fantastic to watch. The King had a similar redemption, albeit a bit less satisfying (as he briefly returns to being a d*uchebag after his redemption arc is completed). 
Literally coughed up the blackness of his heart
Our Orabeoni Poong Yeon had the least satisfying redemption arc, but a redemption nonetheless. His first redemption was not so much of a redemption and more of a he-was-tricking-everyone-including-the-audience. 
Cool fire-power. Shame you didn't really do anything with it.
I do wish we’d had a bit of a clue-in to the fact that Orabeoni wasn’t actually going to kill Yeon Hee, as while I was relieved that he’d been tricking Hong Joo, I’d still wanted to punch him hard in the face for like 4 episodes because he was acting like such a bloody prat. His actual struggle with black magic and insecurity had far less of an impact as we had all seen it before. Only he was pretending the first time. But not the second. But it all turned out the same way anyway. Linked in with Orabeoni we had Sol Gae who had a real b*tchin’ redemption. You could see it gradually creeping up for a while, but it was still beautiful to watch how her love for Orabeoni drew her away from Hong Joo. And while she didn’t live long after, at least she managed to live the remainder of her life true to herself. 

Final Wrap-Up:
I’m glad the writers chose to end the series the way they did. It takes a lot of guts to kill of your heroine, but I’d be pretty miffed if they'd made a magic way out of the curse right at the end.
Had people killing themselves left, right and centre
 I honestly thought that Joon would be the one to die, so I’m much happier that Yeon Hee was the one in the end. Because she was a much milder character and I wasn’t all that attached to her. 
Surprisingly I'm not mad that our heroine died
The show did have the option of using Hyun Seo as the final sacrifice to break the curse, but ultimately I’m glad it was Yeon Hee. It was a bittersweet moment when she chose to sacrifice her life for Joon, and it seemed only fair that the last candle to be lit was Yeon Hee’s. She’s spent five years of her life granting the wishes of everyone else, and while it’s kinda sucky for her that she died in the end anyway, it was nice to see Yeon Hee taking things into her own hands after she’d been following others for the majority of the series. I also appreciated the way they didn’t try and bring Yeon Hee back in any way after she died. She died and that sucks, but Joon still lived a good life. He didn’t appear to love anyone else, but he dedicated himself to medicine and lived a long life, and it was a sweet way to end the series having Yeon Hee waiting for him in (what I assume was) the afterlife.

Acting:
Congratulations everyone, your acting was superb. Everyone (except maybe Kim Sae Ron, but I’ve said my piece on that) did a phenomenal job and made the drama that much more enjoyable to watch. Yoon Shi Yoon was a complete stand out, and while this drama didn’t end up being spectacular, it was still an excellent stage for Yoon Shi Yoon to make his comeback.
Every thumb I have is up for Yoon Shi Yoon

What Wasn’t:

Inconsistencies:
Sometimes I was just plain confused as to what was going on. The whole flipping of Orabeoni was a tad confusing, but my biggest gripe would definitely have to be how unclear the rules around Black Magic were. 
Do you people not know that you're ON THE SAME SIDE?
The curse was set up nicely and followed the rules that were set- either Yeon Hee or Hong Joo had to die. Only the Crown Prince or holy fire could kill Yeon Hee. If Hong Joo dies before the curse is broken the curse can’t be lifted. Simple. Black magic rules- not so clear. Hong Joo seemed to do whatever she wanted so long as it was convenient for the writers. Apparently anyone can be afflicted by black magic, willing or not. The blood connection to Hyun Seo was a big ol’ what the f*ck is going on here. So Hong Joo uses magic to control his dead body. Fair enough. (I won’t ask why no one just killed Hyun Seo cuz that dude was causing all kinds of problems, but whatever.) To rid Hong Joo of her black magic our heroes destroy the source of her power- which they do in order to free Hyun Seo. Only he’s still under her control. What, why, how? And her black magic is still affecting Poong Yeon too. HOW? THE WOMAN CAN’T USE BLACK MAGIC! I don’t…how…I can’t even. 
It would be great if you actually arrested her, but that's none of my business
It also got a tad confusing regarding information. As a viewer we have all the information about the curse and who’s afflicted by black magic, so it could be a little hard to keep track of which characters knew what. A couple of times I was caught of guard by characters doing foolish and apparently incomprehensible things, only to realise that this character didn’t have this teensy piece of info. I won’t lie though, sometimes characters did have all the information and still acted like idiots anyway.

Lack of Romance:
About as much love as we got
Although the romance was a major point of the series (our big conflict was dying for love), the romance was actually a little lacking. Again, this is mainly due to the huge age gap between Yoon Shi Yoon and Kim Sae Ron. While I genuinely believed that Joon loved Yeon Hee, I wasn’t totally convinced that the two were uncontrollably, madly, I’d-die-for-you in love with each other. It does hurt when you can’t have any snogs. In fact the skinship between the leads was kept to a bare minimum (again due to how young Kim Sae Ron is). While the love was passable, I was really hoping for a brilliant, explosive love story. This was not a brilliant, explosive love story.

Draaaaaaags On:
Oh my goodness this drama is long, and it starts to feel long- which is not what you want. At the start I couldn’t wait to get to the next episode and stayed up all night watching. But past the halfway point it actually felt more like a chore. I had to watch the drama to see how it ended, but I kinda wanted to skip a few of the more mundane, wheel-spinning episodes. Once Yeon Hee enters the palace the plot doesn’t really manage to make its way forward. 
Definitely keeps intensity up when you have a crazy chick murdering a whole bunch of people
Our villain keeps playing the same tricks and the same people keep falling for them. It was repetitive and slightly exhausting. Once Hong Joo was locked up I don’t know why anyone would go visit for a chatty-chat. They all know what a conniving, manipulative person she is, yet everyone just seems to go out of their way to get used by her. It did feel like the writers were rehashing old material in order to drag out a couple more episodes. 

Re-watch?
Long dramas have to be really cracking in order to warrant a re-watch. Unfortunately ‘Mirror of the Witch’ was not a cracking drama, mainly because it was so long. 
So pretty though
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