Coffee Prince Episode 1 and 2: Sort of Recap

I thought and thought about what drama to watch. Then it hit me, Coffee Prince. Okay, it didn't. It just happened to be on the first page of Netflix and I hadn't seen it since early high school. Years have passed and it's safe to say that I forgot a good chunk of the drama other than the obvious, she's pretending to be a he and the male lead questions his sexuality.
It was shortly after episode one that I decided to start recapping. It's fun to write without too much thought :)

Episode 1:

-I totally forgot that the whole thing started because Choi Han-Gyul 's parents thought he was gay. Also, Ko Eun-Chan is really cute as a boy. I'd like to say it's progressive for the time. 

-I remember how much I dislike the mother. She's one of those characters whose only purpose is to fuck things up. 

-Choi Han-Sung is the man. Ah, that sweet, sweet deep voice. Sigh.

Choi Han-Gyul (Gong Yoo)

Ok Eun-Chan (Yoon Eun-Hye)

Han Yoo-Joo (Chae Jung-An)

Choi Han-Sung (Lee Sun-Kyun)

Episode 2:

-I'm around the 30 minute mark right now. Han-Gyul made a proposition to Eun-Chan at the end of the previous episode. He wants her to be his gay lover to get out of blind dates. She agrees under the pretense that she is a guy.

-On the storyline B, Han-Sung  is struggling with feelings for his ex (Han Yoo-Joo)who has come back after two years. She wants to get back together with him and he's confused at what to do. She left him for another man.
-Later, he has a run in with Eun-Chan and asks for advice, disguising it as a problem that his friend has.
-He ends up sleeping with Yoo-Joo and telling her to go the following morning. He's upset that she doesn't try to stay.

-A montage of Eun-Chan and Han-Gyul shopping together plays and the two commence strolling down the street in matching suits. As they walk the people watching them suddenly are hit by a gust of wind that I'm still trying to figure out. Is this symbolism for the gay romance? There is even some CG fruit.

Looking FIIINE!

My fruit! Gust, gust, gust...

Eeek!

-The two have lunch and Eun-Chan shows off her special dog nose skill. Han-Gyul ends up drunk. Eun-Chan tries to take him home, but wouldn't you know it, she can't open the door. He wakes up at the Karate studio Eun-Chan works at. There he learns more about "him", smiling at the bits he discovers. It's what normally happens in a hetero romance, but with him believing she's a he it's awesome. 

-Hang-Sung struggles with his feelings for Yoo-Joo some more.

-Han-Gyul lends Eun-Chan money and awakes to a thank you call from her. His grandma comes to assign him a position as the owner of a local shop. Meanwhile Eun-Chan learns that the owner of the dojo she was working at skipped town, leaving her without wages. Weird music plays to cue the change that has just plopped onto their lives.

High School King of Savvy: Sort of Review

I did not realize that the last drama I talked about was Master's Sun. I remember at the end of it I was skipping just to finish. King of Highschool was no different.

The leads:

Lee Min-Seok  - Seo In-Guk

Jung Soo-Young  - Lee Ha-Na

Jung Yoo-A  - Lee Yeol-Eum

Yoo Jin-Woo  - Lee Soo-Hyuk

Basic Plot:

Lee Min-Seok has to pose as his older brother, working a corporate job and juggling high school. Jung Soo-Young is in love with Yoo Jin-Woo, but eventually falls for Min-Seok.

Reasons for watching:

I have a huge celebrity crush on Seo In-Guk. When he smiles, my goodness… 

Reasons for Finishing:

I kept thinking it'd redeem itself. How could so many people like something so patriarchal?

-The female lead is nothing more than a run of the mill temp worker, eventually getting "upgraded" to secretary. Not by merit, Min-Seok demands she is re-hired in that position. She was had to be re-hired because Jin-Woo, the second lead, did not like her and decided to fire her, sparking all the feels for the rest of the show. 

-Let's talk about Jin-Woo. This guy is creepy. Though, I'll admit he changes near the end. He manipulates her, tries to force a kiss, and is a aggressive with his "feelings" which were never developed enough for me to find it plausible.

-Min-Seok is an alright character in contrast. He seems like someone who strives for fairness. What I didn't like was how the show pretty much handed him everything on a silver platter. Girl, check. Job, check. Awesome athletic abilities, check. Loyal friends, check. Stalker girl, check. Handsome, check, check, check!!!

-Trying to go back, I'm struggling to remember all my plot complaints that dealt with sexism…I guess I'll just move on to general grievances. The boy is 18 and the woman is 28…That's a huge gap for the age group. 28/38, good, but 18/28…no, no, no. I couldn't go with it. I'm 22 and just thinking an 18 year old seems icky.

-Gosh I don't feel like going beyond bullet point ideas. I doubt anyone would read this and if someone is, I'll go further. No use getting worked on something that isn't worth it. Kind of like reviewing a hallmark movie.

-Uh.... I did read some comments on Dramabeans and one talked about how the show went against normal conventions. The ending was unexpected, there wasn't too much angst, no rich guy, etc. In that respect, I liked the show.

Alyssa Notes:

As I'm typing this I pause in between. I feel like if someone else read it, they'd catch these pauses. It's not a nice flowing article, "girl, sexism, blegh". Oh, well. I will be talking about my more negative reviews in future posts. 

Rating 7.0/10 --- I finished :) and <3 Seo In-Guk <3

-Alyssa Pena

Originally written : (11:03pm)(12/18/14)(Friday)

Master's Sun: Sort of Review

Normally I open a word document for every single drama I watch, so I know where my time went. Perhaps an awesome idea will be born, at the least I'll improve my writing. This time around, I just wanted to let it out, I did not like a good chunk of this drama. 

Things started off well... Aside from the norm in Korean dramas, "me man, she woman" gender roles. Every now and then the woman had the upper hand, just not in a way that was beyond feminine charm. I continued watching for a good portion of the show, because of the lead female Gong Hye-jin. She, along with Seo In-Guk, is someone that I enjoy watching on screen. I might make a separate post of all the things I've seen with her in it. 

The drama hooked me, always hinted that her character had an extra level of depth (going beyond the helpless damsel) when bringing up her life before her accident. She used to be top of her class, popular, confident, outgoing and the bing bam boom she saw ghosts and was dismissed as crazy. I figured somewhere down the line she'd get over the ghost complex. The assertive female lead that I craved would take over the frail women who clung to the hero male. Somewhere around the halfway point I gave up. 

 Far into the show I decided what the hell, might as well finish it. By episode 12, I was skipping a good chunk of the scenes, barely making it through the finale.

Finale Summary (spoilers...though not really): Bodyguard ends up with bratty woman, husband and wife began anew, side characters end up together, male and female lead banter around till the final scene. Yay...

Rating: 6/10
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Author's Note: I'll discuss in another post, my "departure" from dramas. Just know that there's another review-ish thing that I will be posting and it's just as negative. I'm sure there was some good in the show and had I written while watching there'd be a lot more positives. It's just tiring watching a genre that progresses the role of a female at a snail's pace. 

White Christmas Episode 1 and 2 Mini Recap

Scary shit has never been my cup of tea. You know that movie Disturbia with Shia LeBeouf? The boy finds out that his neighbor is killing people, stashing bodies in his garage. Well when I saw it in theaters I had a jacket over my head with a small hole to peek through. Granted that was many years ago it's the gist of how much of a wimp I am, not that I mind. Another time I was watching The Woman in Black with a group of friends and a lovely cat sitting in my lap. At one part this bird pops up out of nowhere which caused me to jump in surprise which probably scarred the once content cat for life as he bolted up the stairs not to be seen for the remainder of the day. Knowing this about myself, for stupid reasons, I have put myself in the line of fire by deciding to put my declaration against scary/thriller media to a temporary end. It started with the French zombie-type thriller Les Revenants moving on to the South Korean drama White Christmas. What I’m willing to watch for six handsome boys…

You might counter that the series is not that scary. Well, I’m a scaredy-cat.

  

 EPISODE 1:

The episode starts with the talk of monsters and my man Baek Sung Hyun looking stoic. I’ve followed him since Tree of Heaven, a time where getting hit by cars or cancer were the norm. There was no such thing as a happy ending. It’s Christmas break at the most prestigious high school ever. We’re talking about the top 1% here. Seven students and one teacher decide to stay behind. The first episode spends a majority of its time setting up the characters, revealing that they have all received an anonymous letter foreshadowing death. Some students speculate the meaning, but for the most part they don’t take it too seriously. One creepy night they discover a bloody man at the school’s gate. Not thinking hey this man can be dangerous because this is pretty much how all horror themed media goes, they let him in. Out of the seven students there is only one girl (Eun-Sung). At the end of the episode she attempts to commit suicide, exactly where the letter predicted. Coincidence? Maybe not.

EPISODE 2:

Eun-Sung lives another day. The creepy man is still there. My gosh, just looking at him gives me the chills. More character development is done, which I would love to share with you, but well I’ve sort of got a life now. You should just watch it instead, it’s worth it…DO IT NOW! The whole episode revolves around finding the person who wrote the mysterious letter, back stories, scary looks, and the start of teenage angst. I’ve got to say this was the first episode in the series that I had to pause the show and take a breather due to the creepy factor rising. One moment you think the boy is all alone in his room and the next BAM there’s a hand on the chair. The episode ends with the viewer discovering that the teacher has a note as well. No one is safe.  

What I love about the show is that by prolonging the inevitable death the viewer is constantly on defense wondering when it’s going to happen. And it’s not like the romantic comedies that string you along for ages wondering when the two will end up together, because the character development and the environment they live in are fleshed out enough to keep you invested.

 

CITY HUNTER: Mini Review (-ish)

What I Remember
I know the site "Dramabeans" raves about the drama and while I normally agree with their opinions,  I never really got into it. The hero was too damn whiny and the girl was just going with it, very one dimensional. For whatever reason though I can't forget the scene where the girl is dangling from a roof and the City Hunter is doing his best to lift her up despite having been wounded. On top of which, I believe she was passed out. Meaning, she was nothing but dead weight. Just like much of the "suspense" the drama provided, it was too much.

Verdict: 6/10

Dream High 2 Recap/Summary: Episode 16

EPISODE SIXTEEN (The Freaking End!)

     Things open with Rian performing again, still no singing… After she finishes she goes backstage to greet her friends. Noting JB’s absence, she asks where he is and as she does he “coincidently” walks in. Yoo-Jin gives him the ol’ threat routine, telling JB that he better not chicken out. He still wants JB to kneel down to him. JB heads out onstage and walks on with a limp. His friends that are watching wonder what’s wrong. I’ll tell you what’s wrong, he RAN AFTER HAE-SUNG WITH A TORN ACL THAT’S WHAT!!!!! He trips during the performance and everyone talks in concern.

     Somewhere dark we find JB sitting all alone. Rian approaches him in tears. She says that he should have mentioned his condition and that she should have been nicer. No shit. JB tells her that he will no longer dance and gives her his shoes as a sort of way to seal the deal. He then tells her to live out her dreams, because she has put in more effort than him. Things cut to her onstage and she blabs about how people view her and her journey and JB and shit. Basically it’s a mini montage of the series. She proceeds by singing a song. I started zoning out.

     Yoo-Jin finds JB and chews him out, in the tough love kind of way. JB just wishes him a good performance, but he says he doesn’t need it because he always does well. Back onstage, Yoo-Jin closes his eyes in preparation and the scene ends in light.

Eight Months Later.

      All the Super Idol kids step out of a bus and a list of fans and reporters await them. Except, Yoo-Jin’s not with them, he is on the sideline. Things flashback, just about a minute into the flash forward, and it shows Yoo-Jin purposely screwing up his audition. He plays a few strings/chords/whatever and says nothing but “G-Minor”. He ends his performance by saying that that is all he is right now and that he will go out on his own. Backstage Rian lightly scolds him and somehow manages to get her arms around him in the process. He he. Shin Jae-In (the guy in charge of these damn competitions) tells Yoo-Jin that he is making a mistake, but Yoo-Jin replies that he isn’t. He walks away, Rian follows in glee, and Jae-In smiles. 

       In the now present, as in back to eight months later, Rian and Yoo-Jin are seen talking. They start off with some friendly small talk, but soon Yoo-Jin questions her about why she didn’t decide to go solo. Apparently she had won the random last minute competition. Rian replies that it’s all because of her friends. Yoo-Jin smiles at her sincerity, begins to make fun of her, and gets his hands on her face. Just as they semi-kind of share a moment JB walks in and asks if they are really going out. Yoo-Jin dodges this by asking if Hae-Sung is coming and JB says that he shouldn’t ask. Yoo-Jin complains that he can think of her if he wants. JB says that Hae-Sung was the one who liked him, as in not Yoo-Jin. The two bicker and Rian breaks it up by saying Hae-Sung liked her most. She dangles the famed pendent in front of the two. 

     The whole flash forward thing has brought us to graduation day. Some people give speeches, the students clap. Rian is brought to the stage and announces that she will be reading a letter in Hae-Sung’s place. Lame. A montage of Hae-Sung and everyone’s journey soon ensues. Again, lame. Another mini montage of their graduation plays.

Eight Years Later. Really?!

     JB is now in charge of making music and is sporting a really ugly perm. Why can’t we go back to the days when JB had the really hot bleached hair?? Someone is purposely sabotaging his looks, I just know it. Ui-Bong now instructs a dance class. Some of his students chatter about his looks. Just as he calls them out for a lecture, Lee Seul comes in and tells him to stop, they are a couple. 

     In a dressing room Teacher Yang (JYP) starts complaining about his outfit and dance moves, but his fellow teachers encourage him. The whole thing is teasing JYP (the real-life person) and his old style. To add to the funny, Teacher Yang is auditioning for a show that he is moonlighting for in real life. Meaning, JYP plays himself judging Teacher Yang. Okay, so I’m not the best at explaining this scene. In short, JYP is playing two roles, Teacher Yang and himself. The whole thing is supposed to be a joke (a very dumb one).  

     The Nana, Ji-Woo, and Hong Joo triangle continues and Ji-Woo is still at a loss. 

     Yoo-Jin is now a teacher of rock music and thank our lucky stars, he has a decent hairdo.

     Rian and Hae-Sung run into each other on a plane and the two have a small chat about what they are up to. Of course, they are both successful. During their talk they both discover that they have been called by Yoo-Jin. Getting to school they are happily surprised to see the new students dancing and singing to the “B Song”. 

      Somehow Hae-Sung ends up in charge of directing a play and she tells Rian that she must audition. The two end up laughing after some small bickering. JB and Yoo-Jin walk in and things start to get campy. Rian looks at JB and gestures toward Hae-Sung with her head, he just smiles.

     Backstage the girl playing Hae-Sung applies makeup, preparing herself for her role. Rian comes in and starts dabbing off the makeup, telling her that she must be “average, average, Average!” Hae-Sung enters and chuckles. Rian pulls out a ugly duck sweater and asks that the girl playing Hae-Sung wear it. The two laugh some more. Hae-Sung then proceeds to check out the props. At one point someone asks her about chopsticks and a spoon. Hae-Sung had forgotten, but thankfully she stills carries the chopsticks that JB got her.

     The play, that I’m guessing is a regurgitation of the drama, opens with Rian telling everyone that they are B. Things continue with the rest of the team giving heartfelt words and blah blah blah. A new rendition of the Dream High theme song is performed. I’m not a big fan of this version, the spark is gone. The drama ends with some parting words from the group. Something like, our dreams have changed, but perhaps we will become someone else’s dream. 

QUICK SUMMARY:

A bunch of montages, flash forwards, Yoo-Jin exits the idol world, JB can no longer perform, and everyone ends up happy. 

EPISODE REMARKS:

As an ending, this episode sucked ass. It was montages and happy scenes strung together. Yeah, it’s good that we aren’t left with some stupid last minute cancer or whatnot, but still…What I freaking HATED was that no one really got together, in terms of the main characters. It wouldn’t have been bad, had romance never been hinted at. However it was and I was pissed. Then there is the whole Rian and Hae-Sung thing. Good for them, they are all chummy, but why the hell didn’t the show play on that earlier?! It’s nice to not have a bitch character, especially ones that do 180 personality changes out of the blue. Although the show gave little answers and a big fat bow wrapped on everyone’s problems, the ending could have been worse. So…good for them I guess.

SERIES REMARKS:

I know I shouldn’t relate this drama to the first, but they gave me no other choice. What the hell am I supposed to think when I see the new kids singing the first Dream High’s theme song? On the acting scale, both had some wooden actors, though JB managed to double the damage. As for story, Dream High 2 managed to take a good concept and burn it to the ground; taking it to random music videos, lack of direction, and stupid plotlines. Oh, and the damn clichés. But if for some reason you disagree, let me know why. Maybe you liked them both?

Despite it all, I kind of liked some moments that the show had, RIAN AND YOO-JIN FOR THE WIN! 

COMMENTS AS THE WRITER:

I kind of rue the day I decided to recap the series, bad idea. But, I figure that it’s all about improving. It let me know how much time goes into this and how it kind of takes some of the joy out of just watching. I know I had a brief hiatus from the last recap, but life kind of took over and to be frank, I really didn’t mind not getting to the last episode. I can’t stress this enough, but PLEASE comment. It would brighten my day to know that at least one person is reading this, because site views are unreliable.  

Sorry for the long ass post, but hey it’s the finale. I did it!

-Alyssa