Best Combinations in Kdramaland
As an avid Gong Hyo Jin fan, I have been following this drama ever since she was cast as the female lead. This drama was originally scheduled to air on KBS but, due to some scheduling issues, it ended up airing on SBS instead. Luckily, the issue did not affect the drama too much. In fact, it was even beneficial as it aired earlier since SBS pushed it to compete with W - Two Worlds (MBC) and Uncontrollably Fond (KBS2) in the same Wed&Thu 22:00 time slot.
It irks me when some people get into this drama with the same 16 episodes drama standard. "What's up with the slow pace?", "There are some unneeded scenes.", "I don't want to see other side characters' stories!" etc. I mean, come on! This is a 24 episode drama, you can't expect it to be fast pace or demand the writer to only show us the main romantic relationship. My advice would be to please withhold your judgment, and watch more than the first two episode. This drama gets better as it progresses, to the point where you will be waiting eagerly for next week's episodes.
Story
The main story takes place at a news studio. Our female lead, Pyo Na Ri, is a weather forecaster, while our male lead, Hwa Shin (Jo Jung Suk) is a reporter. Our second male lead, Go Joong Won (Go Kyung Pyo), is Hwa Shin's best friend, as well as the cliche chaebol. One can simply tell by looking at the poster, that there is obviously some sort of love triangle.. On top of that, the male lead has the same name as this drama's Korean title 질투의 화신 , (Jiltuui
Impressions of The First Two Episodes
The first episode started out with a cute animation. I have never seen a Korean drama with one, so it was rather refreshing for me. Moreover, I really like how the cute, little things are imitating our characters at the end of the episode.
As usual, the two first episodes serve as an introduction and show us the characters' backgrounds and personalities. I found the story-telling style to be quite nice, though the one hour episode was just too short - the episode ended suddenly. The chest grabbing scene was just too hilarious and reminded me of Gong Hyo Jin's character in Master's Sun.
However, the music did not leave me with a good impression. In addition, the directing gave off a newbie vibe as the director tried to show us his new creative style. Plus the editing got under my skin because of my OCD. Despite all of that, it was still able to catch my attention and kept luring me into watching the next episode.
Main Characters
Pyo Na Ri
Pyo Na Ri is a hardworking weather forecaster who doesn't even get upset at being told to stick out her chest and bottom more because she needs the job more than anyone else. Na Ri's mom has passed away and her dad was not mentioned in the drama. Since she has to support herself and her little brother, she will do anything to earn money.
Unlike news anchors, weather forecasters are not full time employees so they only receive payment when they are reporting the weather news. It's also not as enjoyable as news anchors who only read-off the news, while weather forecasters have to check on the weather statistics and write the news themselves.
I am glad that Gong Hyo Jin picked up a strong character again. I like the way Na Ri threw away the umbrella because both guys wouldn't want to use it together. And everything she wears looks so good; her figure is something to die for.
Lee Hwa Shin
Hwa Shin is a man among man; he's manly, dares to speak his mind, and is not afraid to stand on the side of justice. Plus, his skills as a reporter are top notch. These reasons are exactly why Na Ri was so obsessed over him for three years.
Even though he might be rude, and denying his feelings sometimes, he's a lonely man that need somebody to give him love.
I now understand why our beloved GHY suggested that Jo Jung Suk play this character. JJS is perfect for this role and the way he does his comedic scenes made my stomach hurt from laughing so much. He really did sacrifice a lot for this drama: the chest checkup scene, slipping on the floor with double nosebleed, fart repeatedly, get hit by his mom because of wearing a bra, and crying in such an ugly way...all to provide comedy to this show. I just couldn't stop laughing at those scenes.
Go Joong Won
"What's with this hairstyle?", was my first impression of this character. I even had doubts about Go Kyung Pyo's ability to act out this character because his character is 10 years older than him in real life. Nevertheless, as the drama progresses, he repeatedly proves that he can pull this character off. He's made my heart flutter multiple times even though I am more on Hwa Shin's side.
The 'Second Lead Syndrome' is realy hard with this one. Go Joong Won is good looking, tall, rich, caring, attentive -- he's what all ladies want in a boyfriend. This character has been designed to make us fangirl over him and cheer him on.
I really like how well his character is, even though he did not grow up in a harmonious family.
Supporting Characters
What I really like from this show is that the supporting characters have enough screen time and we get to know their stories. Some of their scenes were absolutely hilarious.
Kye Sung Sook & Bang Ja Young
I greatly enjoyed Kye Sung Sook (Lee Mi Sook) and Bang Ja Young's (Park Ji Young) scenes together. KSS is a reporter-turned-anchorwoman and BJY is the department head and an announcer. They are rivals, both in career and romance; entering the company at the same time, have the same taste in clothes, and even fall in love at the same guys.
Pyo Chi Yeol, Lee Ppal Gang, and Oh Dae Goo
Most of the time, these three tend to appear together. They are all high schoolers.
Pyo Chi Yeol (Kim Jung Hyun) is the little brother of Na Ri. I love his character here: he doesn't hesitate to remove his clothes in public because he hasn't paid his tuition fees, and how caring he is for his sister warms my heart.
Ppal Gang (Moon Ga Young) is KSS' biological daughter and BJY's step-daughter. In addition to hating her mothers, she wears makeup and short skirts to school. Many viewers hate her character, but I on the otherhand, just feel pity for her. She grew up with divorced parents, a bankrupt dad, as well as losing her biological dad at such young age. It's understandable that she would act our like the way she does. I hope there will be character growth for her, so she can stop acting like a spoiled kid.
I really like the friendship between the three of them, and hope that it stays as friendship, instead of merging into some sort of complicated love-triangle. One interesting thing about this drama, is that it has three triangle relationships: the main characters, KJJ/BJY/Chef, and the three high schoolers. I presume it's for the sake of showing us more jealousy between characters in order to suit the theme of this drama.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I really love how slice-of-life this drama is, as well as how all the stories of the supporting characters' come together to create the drama as a whole. It delivers more mature and realistic relationships between people. While there are some sad moments, the drama spices it up with many comedic scenes in order to keep it light. The comedy in this drama is one of a kind comedy and is rather unique to this drama. I hope you'll all stay till the end and enjoy this refreshing romcom!
