Remember- Son's War

Remember- Son’s War

8.5/10

Remember- Son's War

Genre: Episodes: 20 Year: 2016

Mystery

Melodrama

Synopsis:

After his father is sentenced to death for a murder he didn’t commit, Seo Jin Woo becomes an attorney in order to defend his father and arrest the real criminal. As his father has Alzheimer’s it is very difficult to prove his innocence. As the trial continues, Jin Woo starts to develop issues with his own memory, and is diagnosed with the same disease as his father. 

Cast:

Yoo Seung Ho (Seo Jin Woo)

Park Min Young (Lee In Ah)

Park Sung Woong (Park Dong Ho)

Namgoong Min (Nam Gyu Man)

Song Young Kyu (Tak Young Jin)

Lee Shi Un (Ahn Soo Bum)

Eom Hyo Seop (Hong Moon Suk)

Lee Won Jong (Suk Joo Il)

Kim Jin Woo (Kang Suk Kyu)

Jung Hye Song (Nam Yeo Kyung)

General Thoughts:

What a cracker. This drama was interesting to watch from start to finish, with hardly any dull moments in between. It’s not the most original content (murderous chaebol), but the extensive cast gave great performances and populated the drama-world with an interesting mix of characters.

I love Dong Ho and all his flashy suits

The plot wasn’t exactly plot-hole free, but as the series didn’t linger too long on any one conflict it was easy to overlook some aspects of the story that weren’t exactly concrete, as you never really had time to think about it too deeply, and could just let it pass as this drama’s logic. The few beginning episodes when the story was setting itself up were a little slow, but once the conflict was presented the drama moved along at a ripping pace.

This expression made me annoyed rather than sad

Our hero was perhaps a little too weepy in the early episodes (I just didn’t find Yoo Seung Ho to be a moving, believable weeper, though I know many do), so I enjoyed the story much more when he was being a confident, in-control lawyer. He was an easy character to root for- underdog hero does everything he can to bring down a corrupt powerhouse. What’s not to like? Yoo Seung Ho was brilliant in scenes where he was strong and determined, and really sold the man-on-a-mission vibe. He was also excellent in moments when his memory loss came into play. While I may not be sold on his crying abilities, his gradual shift from innocent to confused to sad realisation was done perfectly. You couldn’t help but feel for Jin Woo when he had a memory slip and just had that expression of pure confusion and helplessness. Park Min Young was excellent as the heroine beside him, and although she didn’t actually do all that much, she still remained a strong presence in the show. It shows how strong the character was written and how well Park Min Young played her that In Ah could be pretty quiet for a couple of episodes but it always remained clear that she was a source of strength for Jin Woo, and was fighting her own battles in the background. And boy oh boy did those two have some smoking chemistry going on!

Kya~ look how cute they are!

The times they got to play around and flirt with each other were just too cute and actually left me feeling a bit sad that the show didn’t have more romance in it- because I so wouldn't have minded seeing the two of them interact while happy a bit more. It also made me remember just how darn wonderful Yoo Seung Ho is when he smiles- because Lord knows we didn't see a lot of that in the drama.

His accent was icing on the awesome-character-cake

And Park Sung Woong was just magic! I have never come across him before, but he’s totally on my radar now. He made Dong Ho such an endearing yet conflicting character. He was so dynamic and so interesting that I really wanted him to come over to team Jin Woo. My desire for Dong Ho to turn against Gyu Man lead to me having a rather unfounded belief that there was NO WAY Dong Ho would sacrifice Jin Woo and his father. Except…he kinda already had. It was a great effort on Park Sung Woong’s part that Dong Ho remained a likeable character, as he showed his confliction and his constant desire to do the right thing, even though for most of the drama’s run Dong Ho actually didn’t do the right thing at all. I mean, when you think about it, he buried a whole lot of Gyu Man’s crimes and didn’t go back and correct them. The only one we saw play out was Gyu Man’s rape case (which Dong Ho buried) and that was only brought up by Jin Woo and In Ah in order to get Gyu Man in the defendant seat so they could make the investigation focus on the murder Jin Woo's father was blamed for. How many other horrible crimes did Dong Ho help cover up? And yet despite all this, through Park Sung Woong's brilliant acting, he was one my favourite characters for the entire show.

You can't not not love him- he's just so snazzy

The momentum of the show was pretty fast, with new, smaller conflicts being introduced to keep our minds occupied while the heroes prepared for the final showdown. The smaller conflicts always had something to do with Gyu Man or Jin Woo’s father’s case, so it never felt like we were watching filler in order to get through the number of episodes the show needed to air.

Great angle, great lighting, great face

Granted, there were a few plot holes now and then (though admittedly most of them have slipped my mind by now), but the show’s constant focus on the big picture made it easy to let minor details slide. I found the plot and the characters so enjoyable that I was happy to not let my mind focus on the messier parts of the show so that I could be fully engaged in the story the show was trying to tell. And as for something that was certainly not messy- the cinematography! The drama was just shot beautifully. A multitude of angles along with playing with light and shadow really made the drama visually appealing to watch, while also tightening the tensions or emotions of a scene, or giving a bit of insight into the characters. Jin Woo and Dong Ho tended to have a lot of shadow, while In Ah- our prosecutor of justice and hope was always filmed with a lot of light. In fact, there were times it seemed as though In Ah herself was actually glowing- as if her inner goodness was spreading to the world around her (cheesy I know, but not exactly untrue). The drama was just so compelling to watch, and the main characters are just so fascinating. 

What Was Great:

Cast:

There’s not much to say here, everyone was fantastic and they all did brilliant jobs. Namgoong Min really was phenomenal as our villain though.

Great actors make for great conflicts

Goodness, he’s dynamic. He’s one of the best actors when it comes to believable tantrums, and his switching between his two faces was excellently done, albeit a tad creepy. But it’s not just how excellent a villain he was, but Namgoong Min also made Gyu Man weirdly relatable.

How do I feel bad for you? You are quite possibly the worst human ever...so...how?

Like, he was a horrible, horrific human being with no redeemable qualities, and yet I found myself feeling sorry for him. How? Why? It really had very little to do with how the character was written, it’s just that Namgoong Min had this amazing ability to show how lonely and hurt Gyu Man really was with very minute facial expressions in very minute amounts of time. Sometimes in K-Drama you get so used to seeing a lot of actors and so used to the roles that come up a lot (such as rich boys with murderous tendencies) that it all kind of becomes the same. Then you’ll have an actor, such as Namgoong Min, come along and smash their role out of the park and it really makes you sit up and notice what a good actor they are. Because no matter how many Chaebol villains we get, Gyu Man is probably going to be one of the ones I remember most- and that’s purely because he was acted so perfectly.

Gradual Progress:

Generally speaking I’m not a huge fan of cat-and-mouse conflicts. I tend to find them a bit circular and slow, as our hero and villain fight all series long but we know the hero will come out on top. So in this sense, I appreciated that ‘Remember’ focused less on how our hero was going to defeat his enemy, but more on how he will change as a person and what he will have to sacrifice on his way to victory.

Gave up love for justice

In the end, Jin Woo spends his last years with memory fighting against injustice and gives up any chance at leading a normal, happy life. He could have easily given up after his father died and spent his time contently with In Ah, but instead he chose to give up his remaining time and his potential relationship with In Ah in order to catch Gyu Man. Cat-and-mouse conflicts also tend to put all their conflict resolution in the last few episodes,

Just look at Gyu Man burn those bridges

but this drama felt more like a net slowly closing around our villain rather than the usual constant circling before the final attack. One of the best aspects of the story is that it wasn’t just our band of heroes that cornered Gyu Man. It was endlessly interesting and mildly satisfying seeing how Gyu Man kept creating more and more enemies for himself. The way he treated those around him, particularly his assistant friend, were huge steps in his own downfall. It wasn’t just the hard work of the righteous that brought Gyu Man down, but his own inability to control himself and maintain his relationships. It’s rather a nice take on the psycho-chaebol element. I’m so conditioned to seeing chaebol villains being so smart and so manipulative that only a very special, highly dedicated and intelligent individual would be able to bring them down. But with Gyu Man it always felt as if he’d become his own undoing sooner or later, and with Jin Woo’s interference it just came on sooner. It’s almost a little relieving to believe that despite all his money, power and connections, Gyu Man’s own arrogance and superiority would have allowed his crimes to catch up with him eventually. Guy Man’s role in his own destruction also meant that there was steady movement towards the show’s finale.

He is his own worst enemy

As our heroes uncovered new ammunition to use against Gyu Man, Gyu Man himself was causing his own allies to turn against him, giving Jin Woo and In Ah even more evidence and information. The slow betrayals from those involved in Gyu Man’s crimes gave the plot a great forward momentum, and made sure the story was always moving forwards rather that just going in circles.

What Wasn’t:

Underutilisation:

There were so, so, so many characters in this series but they were sadly under-utilised. You’d think that with 20 episodes each of the characters would have enough time to get fully developed, but that wasn’t really the case. The biggest case of underutilisation was definitely Nam Yeo Kyung.

She is significantly less involved than I thought she'd be

She really is perfectly placed to be a deeply interesting character. As a prosecutor she has a sense of justice, but she is also a part of the Nam family who use their power and influence to avoid justice. Yet her father and brother are constantly ignoring her and treating her like a child who is of no real importance, so it was hard to gauge where her loyalties were. It could have been so interesting to watch her struggle with what she wanted to protect and what she wanted to stand for, but it never really came about. Her turmoil was hinted at, but was never used to its full potential. Surprisingly, another dramatically under-utilised character was Joo Il. The writers only just put in enough effort to make the story passable, but it was still a little confusing, and a fair bit was left to the viewers’ imaginations. It was clear that Joo Il and Dong Ho had a father-son relationship, but I still remain confused as to how that played into Dong Ho betraying Jin Woo and his father. It didn’t appear that Joo Il was being threatened, but rather that he was reaching for more money and/or power. Which doesn’t seem like a decent excuse to let someone go on death row for a crime they didn’t commit, just sayin’.

I kinda get what you're doing here...but I also kinda don't

It was kind of glossed over why Dong Ho decided to pull out of the trial, and so remained slightly confusing when Dong Ho decided to jump back onto team Jin Woo. Nothing had really changed between Dong Ho and Joo Il, and Dong Ho seemed to walk away from their supposedly airtight relationship pretty easily. It wasn’t clear what Joo Il was after in regards to Gyu Man’s company or really any of his actions around Dong Ho. The writers seemed to really be pushing for the whole ‘they’re trying to protect one another’ angle, but it just didn’t really come off, as the writers didn’t really spend any time developing Joo Il as a character outside of his involvement with Gyu Man and Dong Ho.

It made way more sense to me for Dong Ho to pick Jin Woo

The series was still excellent, and there was enough sense in the plot to get by on, but in hindsight there were a few characters that if developed more could have really given the show an extra punch of emotion.

Soft Take on Alzheimer’s:

Basically the series had its rosy-glasses on whenever it was dealing with Alzheimer’s. It focused most on the memory aspect of the disease, but this wasn’t done smoothly or accurately with Jin Woo’s father.

This guy got the worst deal by far

Although it was done in a simple way, it was still passable as Jin Woo’s father’s memory loss was kinda the whole point of the show. My main gripe is how the show dealt with portraying Jin Woo’s Alzheimer’s. I understand that the doctor giving Jin Woo 6-12 months was just to give the show a timeline and ensure that it made sense why Jin Woo was going for Gyu Man so hard and so fast, but it is just so ridiculously inaccurate that it really made the show seem a tad ridiculous. But again, it was passable as it wasn’t a huge part of the show. It was how Jin Woo chose to leave for apparently no reason that really got on my nerves. If someone that young actually had Alzheimer’s and the progression of the disease was actually that fast, there is really very little chance that a year later they’d be with it enough to be walking around unsupervised. Jin Woo didn’t appear to be getting any help for his disease, and it didn’t seem to be progressing much from where we’d left off a year before.

How did he remember to go here? Hoooowwwww?

It’s unlikely that Jin Woo would be sick enough to not remember In Ah or any of the events involving his father and Gyu Man, yet still be able to remeber where to hang his notes and how to get to wherever it is that he’s staying now.

I hate to be the wet blanket, but he would be nowhere near that functional

Not to mention that Alzheimer’s isn’t just a memory thing. Along with his brain forgetting his memories, Jin Woo’s brain would also forget how to do other things- like eat, and speak, and walk. Understandably the series didn't want to go that far as it would massively take away from the happiness of the show, but if they were going to suggest that Jin Woo was sick enough that he wanted to remove himself from In Ah they should have gone all the way with it. Or, they should have gone all the way with the rosy-glasses and let him stay with In Ah and his friends, occasionally forgetting things but remaining happy all the same. The show’s indecision to go all out in either direction left the ending of the show feeling a little weak and a little emotionless when the rest of the show had been packed with intrigue and heart.

Recommend?

Definitely! This drama is fantastic. While it’s not free of plot-holes, the story remains engaging from the start to finish with very few drags in momentum. The hero and heroine are easy to root for, and Namgoong Min gives one of the most dynamic villain performances in K-Dramaland.

Endlessly entertaining

I Need Romance 3

I Need Romance 3

8.5/10

I Need Romance 3

Genre:                                   Episodes: 16                          Year: 2014

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Shin Joo Yeon is a woman who used to be innocent and kind, but has been hurt badly by failing love and turned cold. Joo Wan grew up with Joo Yeon as a child, but hasn’t seen her since he moved to America. When Wan returns to Korea under the name Allen, he is sad to see how life has hardened Joo Yeon. Joo Yeon doesn’t recognise Wan as the boy she grew up with, and he uses that as a chance to show her real love.

Cast:

Sung Joon (Joo Wan)

Kim So Yeon (Shin Joo Yeon)

Namgoong Min (Kang Tae Yoon)

Wang Ji Won (Oh Se Ryoung)

Park Hyo Joo (Lee Min Jung)

Yoon Seung Ah (Jung Hee Jae)

Park Yoo Hwan (Lee Woo Young)

Yoo Ha Joon (Ahn Min Suk)

General Thoughts:

Well, well, well- that’s an adorable little drama right there. Sung Joon really carried the romance well and made this drama one of the better noona romances around. As far as the ‘I Need Romance’ franchise goes, I will admit that this one didn’t really seem to fit in the same mould as the other two before it.

More romance, less angst

I’m not complaining as I actually preferred ‘3’ over ‘2011’ and ‘2012’, but hardcore lovers of the franchise might be a bit put off or disgruntled at the differences. For starters the love-line. It’s far more dreamy, fairytale, not-quite-real than the previous two. Rather than being about the everyday struggles of loving someone flawed and getting to the heart of why the main couple fell in love, ‘3’ takes a much more typical K-Drama approach in that it’s mostly about the joy and fluffy feelings of a beginning romance.

Not the same three friends we're used to

It’s also a fairly new relationship. In ‘2011’ the leads were in a 10 year relationship, and in ‘2012’ they’ve grown up in the same house all their lives. Here, Wan and Joo Yeon may have known each other as kids, but they’ve never met as adults. This meant that the romance was more about falling in love rather than staying in love. This instalment also lacked the noticeable girl-trio. While it was a bit sad to miss out on all the girl bonding and friendships (we did get a bit of this in the last few episodes), it also meant that the characters felt new and interesting. The ‘2012’ girls felt a bit like carbon copies of the ‘2011’ girls, so it was nice to have some new personalities in the mix. The writers also didn’t commit as hard to the love triangle as they did previously. While in previous seasons there might have been some doubt as to who would end up with the girl, I don’t think anyone was really thinking that Wan would be left high and dry while Sunbae got the happy ending. Perhaps the biggest difference is that this story is primarily told from the leading male’s point of view. Joo Yeon does do a lot of voice-overs, but it’s mostly Wan’s thoughts and Wan’s side of the story that we connect to.

It was definitely Wan's show

These differences were what made the drama feel new and refreshing, but there were definitely similarities that reminded you that it was part of a franchise. We got the same voice-overs letting us in on our leads’ thoughts, the same thoughtful, contemplative tone, and the same editing style.

Do I believe this relationship will last? Not a chance.

It was enough to remind you of the things you loved in the other dramas but also avoided seeming like it was trying too hard to cram all three shows into one distinct set-up. Moving onto this drama alone, there were really so many things to enjoy. The romance is what takes centre stage (obviously), and the lack of a competitive love triangle meant that we got to see and enjoy every moment of our hero wooing his lady love. It wasn’t all smooth sailing, and there were definitely some sadder moments, but the show never lost itself in trying to drag out too much emotion. The characters felt genuine and sincere and their situations were relatable, so that let the emotion of the story flow naturally without feeling forced. We were sad when our characters were sad because we connected with them- not because of some angsty soundtrack and weeping actors. The characters were all flawed enough (except maybe Wan because he’s perfect) that they felt real. There were sides to each character that were both likeable and dislikable, and the relationships were all fun to watch develop. I really loved the inclusion of a man in the early friendship circle, as it meant that in the girly conversations it added a male opinion. The acting was pretty great all-round. Sung Joon was particularly delightful.

Sung Joon is the biggest big spoon I've seen in K-Dramaland

Even though Joo Yeon was a character that had a lot of defences (that sometimes made her seem dislikable), Kim So Yeon acted her with an undertone of vulnerability that kept the character likeable. The four different couples and their different issues felt new and interesting, and meant that our main romance could take its time telling its story, as there were many other plots to keep us entertained in the meantime- my favourite being Min Jung and her baby-daddy.

You don't even know what you've just started

I will admit that I wished the side stories had a bit more depth and/or screen time, as it felt like a rather abrupt end to their stories. But then again, that would take away time from how adorable our leads were, so I’m not super disappointed about it. Also, side note- the soundtrack for this drama was wonderfully enjoyable and added a lot to the series. 

What Was Great:

Goguma:

Ahhh the K-Drama hero that doesn’t exist in real life no matter how hard we wish. Wan was just an all-round perfect hero. He loves and protects his girl and never forgets to let her know just how special she is.

Things like this just don't happen to regular people

Sure, Wan had his (minor) flaws, but he’s the type of drama hero that every girl wants in real life. The last drama I watched Sung Joon in almost completely killed my love for him, so it was nice to be reminded of why I like Sung Joon so much in the first place. He does the sweet younger man so well, and was just too adorable for words. 

Learning Curve:

Throughout the whole series, each of the characters were learning things about themselves and about the people they cared about.

This is what happens to regular people

It meant that the drama felt like it was continuously moving forward, and we never got bored watching similar scenarios play out. Even though Joo Yeon’s brief stint with Sunbae felt really awkward and emotionally dead, it was easy to watch because we knew that it was something Joo Yeon had to go through in order to recognise her own feelings. Se Ryoung could at times be a character that was difficult to like, but she was great at causing conflict for our heroine. Se Ryoung brought out the worst in Joo Yeon, and not only was this a problem in that it made Joo Yeon a worse person, but also because it distanced her from Wan. While it was nice to see Wan calling her up on her mistakes, it did add a bit of nervousness to the relationship- when would Joo Yeon finally get sick of Wan nagging her? It was excellent that Wan eventually came to the realisation that he couldn’t force Joo Yeon to change, and that he had to accept her the way she was now, and not just love her for the girl she used to be. The two main girls, Joo Yeon and Se Ryoung, had mass amounts to learn when it came to each other. I’m glad that they were able to play nice by the end (even if it came on a bit quick), and they each took what they learned from that relationship and used that to better their other relationships.

All the b*tchiness was worth it to get our heroine here

What Wasn’t:

Fairytale Finish:

Every ending was tied in a neat little bow. I’m usually not one to whine about happy endings (because I love happy endings), but it did feel a little forced here.

I guuuueeesss I can live with all snoodles and no angst

Wan and Joo Yeon didn’t really encounter any really problems that stemmed from him being so much younger than her. It felt a bit like we ended on a happy note, but were going to miss out on so much growth and development they could have had- the downside of dramas that focus only on the start of relationships. I also think the friendship between Joo Yeon and Se Ryoung was wrapped up a bit quickly- as if the writers suddenly realised they didn’t have enough time to do a bigger reconciliation. I also wanted to see a little more of Min Jung and her baby-daddy and all the issues they would face. Of all the conclusions, I think I was most disappointed with the way Hee Jae’s story finished. While I really liked Woo Young and believed that he liked Hee Jae, I never really bought her side of the romance. I thought what her character needed was some single time without a man telling her who she should or shouldn’t be. I guess she sort of did get that a bit with her trip, but I would have liked a bit more of an open ending for her character (gasp- me? Wanting an open ending?!).

Recommend?

For sure. This drama has so many things going for it. Sung Joon is a delightful hero and makes the romance really addictive. 

Long live noona romances