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And Now for Something Completely Different °VG° °Romantaholics only°
How does one admit that s/he spent over 16 hrs watching a show about how a con man poses as a wealthy blind woman's brother & ends up falling in love with her? This is utterly ridiculous. The plot summary is ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is that I cried through at least nine episodes. Part of me felt I myself was inside a scene from a comedy. Looks like the joke's on me.I'll have to accept that I appreciate art with my heart much more than my head. If one can roll with the premise, it's a more pleasurable experience Thus, romance addicts will hop on this cathartic roller coaster & love the ride. Be warned, though, mostly everyone else will hate this.
Between hankies, thoughts jumped to the front of my brain, like: "Hey, this is more ridiculous than a General Hospital, Peyton Place, & Dynasty doing a Reunion-Funny-Raccoon-Video-Holiday-Extravaganza!" Or, "This could be one of the most aburd plot lines ever." As it turns out, this is nothing! Who knew the following plots were being inflicted on the public? Luke & Laura save the world from being frozen. Or, how’bout it was all a dream... a dog's dream. Then there's Timmy, the doll that came to life along with Precious, the obsessive orangutan nurse. Don't get me started on Being John Malchevich, which is really good, but can't be explained. Therefore, TWTWB isn't so bad. I've decided to not be embarrassed for loving it, and it's not the only Kdramas that prompt similar thoughts.
TWTWB is the story of Oh Young & Oh Soo. She is born into one of Korea's dukedoms (her father is a CEO). Her parents had a nasty divorce, ending with her mother leaving the house & taking her brother, Oh Soo. Age 7 at the time, Oh Young longed for them, but she never saw them again.
There's 2 Oh Soos, & they end up friends: Oh Young's brother, born into modern day royalty, & the /other/ Oh Soo, who had been abandoned under a tree at birth. Oh Soo is a grown street kid, sometimes thug, always a gambler, & usually a con man. When the Ohs finally come looking for the long lost son, he has been dead a year. At the same time, the still living Oh Soo suddenly owes a debt to a mob boss that, in the words of ‘The Boss’, "no honest man can pay." So when the family lawyer comes tapping around, Soo jumps at the golden opportunity to make connections with these "well-off" targets.
This sets up a line of obstacles that he & his friends-and-abettors must navigate with thriller style machinations. The irony is that while Oh Soo believes he's moving into that house with his eyes open, ready to plot his course & exit monied & worry-free, he actually went there blind & ended up snaring himself.
TWTWB is a show about isolation, family, lousy or absent parents, dignity, responsibility, telling oneself the truth, & honor. Most of all, it's about forgiveness. The players have a roulette wheel of hurts, slights & other grievances laid out in a circular fire squad formation. Almost every character needs to forgive another in this series. Young's list is by far the longest. The person that forgives can go on to heal. Maybe it isn't possible to pardon somebody out of selfish motives, but the party that gets the most benefit when forgiveness occurs is the one that does the forgiving. As the aphorism goes: Dwelling on hate & anger is like drinking poison & expecting the other person to get sick. TWTWB also underscores that once a person has passed, we must live a little hollowed out if we've missed the chance to attempt reconciliation.
There's nothing novel about the plot's arc: Poor, but smart street thug with a heart of gold, meets innocent, poor-little-rich-girl. Over time, his evil agenda evaporates as love blooms. The journey that matters more than whether it's redundant. Human existence is redundant. What matters most is how they tell the story, and they do it well.
The slow pace mirrors Oh Young's pace. She must proceed methodically & feel everything out prior to stepping forward. The director wants the viewer to FEEL the actors’ emotions. It seems that half of the series is extreme close-ups. That, along with the cello music, is a direct send up to the lauded Ingmar Bergman. When we don't hear the cello or the chimes, there is a thrumming beat to the soundtrack that's intended to build tension. Every episode adds to the taut atmosphere. Given the long close-up takes, the actors are nothing short of sensational showing a range of emotions hidden under poker faces. It should excite lovers of the craft.
Young, who went blind shortly after the siblings separated, was completely cloistered while growing up. She knows nothing of the world or most human interaction, yet she's grown to not trust anyone. Locked away, she's too vulnerable & naive to be left alone. Yet she is very, very alone. Her money blinds everyone around her to her humanity.
Their relationship is adorable. It is as beautiful as it is increasingly uncomfortable as the show continues. He can't take his eyes off of her. Under his nurturing she opens up like a flower. He seems more & more reluctant to go through with his plans. He starts to deflect his agenda and, rather, work on unlocking some of the mysteries in Young's life. Winter is representative of Young's life: A very cold & very long winter. Soo's the warm wind. He blows in and shakes everything up. Soo makes the chimes ring.
Soo & the boys from the street are shown to have limited options in life. At the end of the show, Soo loses all interest in making any excuses, valid or not. He & BFF Jin grew up next to Moo-chul who has a complicated relationship with Soo over a past tragedy and has given Soo 100 days to pay off his debt. Moo-chul may not like Soo, but he sticks to his word, despite being pressured to act earlier. Mr. Kim, the mob boss, is juxtaposed with all of the neighborhood boys. They have a code of conduct, but Mr. Kim respects nothing but his own image. While he likely knows Soo didn't steal his money, he demands repayment anyway, because he's jealous of Soo. Everybody is making deals & promises throughout the show, but Mr. Kim has no intention of keeping his word. Moo-chul may have been contracted to kill Soo, but everyone seems to understand it's just business, and nobody thinks he's lying about anything. It makes for good watching.
Soo is compared to the people around Young. We see that most of the condescending snobs are worse than he is. Young is the center of the wheel that everything turns on. The people around her may seem to care about her, but the money always undermines relationships & corrupts everything. Yes, Soo came to defraud her, but he ends up guiding her to the land of the living. He may have been abandoned at birth, but Young, born to "privilege," was treated even worse, as Soo was taken in by a loving family. The people around Young claim to love her, but from one perspective, they are the #true con artists. Her life has been pain. She is secluded in that secret room, with despair & self-pity infecting the space. She'd given up, out of exhaustion, by the time Soo arrived. She wants to die. Soo is next to Young because he wants to live! These opposite forces draw them together, swirling around each other, as fate tries to bring balance & promote growth.
Now to the Uh-Ohs. There's some /near insulting/ logical gaps & pitfalls. Several things make no sense at all. They did such a nice job with many elements, but some of the mistakes are astounding, given the context. This is a no spoilers review; few examples are possible. One of the worst things that occurs is related to revelations about one character. This person turns out to be delusional & dangerous. It's wildly inappropriate that this person is permitted to linger around. The flaws are severe enough that I can't go higher than a 7 rating. The cropped ending is too brief & klutzy, which is an issue with many Kdramas. Yet, it still is probably in the re-watcher category. I miss them already. Besides, Kim Bum, as Soo's BFF, has never looked more adorable. His parents, who raised Soo, are the only good parents in the show (even Secretary Wang has problems with her dad).
The portentous soundtrack amplifies Soo's (and the viewer's) dread of that fateful day; Young will learn the truth someday. We learn just how sweet & pure she is & how desperate she is to be loved. If you're like me, you'll also tear up from around episode 6, give or take, until the end. Flush out those tear ducts.
Soo was utterly transformed by his time with Young. From doing anything to survive, he now knows what he wants to /live/ for. He makes amends, he shows appreciation for those that looked out for him. He's left his room, joined his family & is open to caring for others. His face radiates a beautiful peace, tinged with underlying sadness. He has accepted truth into his life, particularly the truth about himself. That's even more useful than loving oneself. No excuses. Soo refused to make any excuses. That's not easy. How many of us can do that? He says he wants to pay for his mistakes. It's a touchstone at the gate of the path to redemption.
In the end, the cold winter yields to a warm & blossomed spring. The path of redemption & healing is complete. Love Isn't Blind After All.
〰QUOTES〰
Things end up as you believe.
Certain times are so heavy and long certain times feel so lite and short and at times the two are interchangeable at worst they perish for good...
〰IMHO〰
Age 15+
RATINGS
Directing 7.5
Acting 8
Romance 8
Flutters 6
Sound & music 8
Ending 8
LEVELS
Action/ Excitement 5.5
Thought provocation 6
Re-watch? I intend to
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
〰Modern Day -
A Witch's Love 7.8,
Her Private Life 8,
Touch your heart 8.2,
Crash Landing On You 9.1,
Oh My Ghost 10,
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9,
Love Struck in the City 7.3,
Be Melodramatic-8.7
Hospital Playlist 9,
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9
The Cursed 8.3,
Flower of Evil 8.9,
The Man from Nowhere 8.9,
Black 9,
〰Bad intentions turned upside down:
Crazy Love-7.8,
Familiar Wife-8.5,
The Golden Spoon-8.1,
Call It Love-8.4,
Anna-8.1
〰Romance junkies only:
My Secret Romance-7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks),
Boys Over Flowers-8 ~ melodrama to the max,
The Bride of Habaek-7,
Heirs-7.3,
Something in them Rain-9,
C: Well-Intended Love-7.5 Rom-porn - extra points for the dopamine,
When I Fly Towards You-7.8,
Wait, My Youth-8.4,
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5,
Find Yourself-8.9,
Hidden Love-7.8
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It was may more emotionally driven than I expected and the actors did an amazing job delivering those emotions. It focuses a lot on dealing with your own inner issues before accepting that you can be happy.
The music was so so, not a big fan of the theme, but that isn't going to stop me from recommending everyone to give this one a try.
May even rewatch it some day when I get time! :)
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This review may contain spoilers
This show is gorgeously created and is so beautifully filmed, scored and casted. The story is really good and really well crafted. I know some people felt the characters were naive but i think that was the point of them. Jo In Sung's acting feels kiddish but it somehow feels right. While Song Hye Kyo's acting shows the main point of her life. The way she executes Oh Young is brilliant. She makes people feel pity for her but still at the same time feel that she a spoiled brat ( BTW everyone in this drama is a grey character ). The Unravelling of her story and Jo In Sung was executed really well. Even Kimbum and Jung Eunji did a really good job even though there characters were poorly written (for me) they both made you feel bad for them. Their story was the one's that didn't make sense on why Eunji was helping Jo In Sung because she was the only one who hadn't ruined her life after the sisters death. Kim Tae Woo's character Moo Chul was really badly written and you almost feel no sympathy for him till he dies. The Cons of this drama probably starts from episode 12 when the story finally begins. The drama starts off really slow and then just goes in lightening speed. There is so much childlessness and the really irritating twists that don't make any sense is what sinks the whole drama down. Even then its not all episode 16 that you hate this drama it was like ending the drama on the first episode since honestly it can end in the middle of episode 16 when Jo In Sung gets hurt by Kimbum or either be 18 episodes instead of 16. The last episode makes you feel so dissatisfied that it ruins the whole drama for you. Even though the drama starts out brilliantly grips you into each sequence somehow the end is what ruins it for you. This drama would have been on my Top 10 since there is no crazy mother in law or anything but just because of the end it ruins it for you. However i still would suggest you to watch it because even though the end makes you feel dissatisfied the drama is genuinely really enjoyable to watch and the whole process is really fun.
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The story is great and the screenplay was brilliant, with very few flaws and almost not overdone scenes. It was excellent keeping the balance between the importance of the main history, side stories and in general everything else. Each character/story has the needed amount of screen time, not more or less, which is extremely rare in not only K-dramas but also other film productions as well.
As stated before, there are almost no unnecesary things at all which I never got to see in any K-Drama before. No filling side stories, no nonsense love triangles, no inconsistence at all. Main characters as the history are absolutely organic, not overdone, not plastic. All of this drama is about pain we do to others/we receive and redemption, executed perfectly by the cast.
A series were the characters are not perfect but just human, characters are full of flaws. Through the entire series the characters experience an incredible development which will lead them to their resolution.
The history is full of mystery, totally legit and brilliant as well. There weren't higlghy unrealistic events and each chapter keeps you more intrigued than the last until the final like no other series I have watched. It also has the sprinkle of comedy needed.
The pair that played the main characters was sublime, again, nothing overdone, just real. I can't stop thinking how amazing this was. Seriously I think that I will not watch something as good as this Drama again.
The only little big thing was the unnecesary mysterious final.
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About this drama, I like the way how the actors play their role, though I think Seong Hye-kyo (Oh Young) is not that convincing acting as someone who is a blind person. And I actually watched this drama for Eun-Ji (Moon Hee-Sun) but the character that she plays annoys me. A selfish and self-centered girl who doesn't care about other people. Everytime Heesun appears in the screen I know some dumb drama will happen.
This drama is not bad, just a little bit dramatic(?) and weird. I just got weirded out when Oh Soo starts acting a little bit protective and touchy when he should act like the brother of Oh young. I know he's not the real brother but it still weirds me out.
Overall I'll give this a 7/10. It didn't bore me, just felt weird while watching some scene.
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Needed more depth
Not being a particular fan of melodramas, I went into this with no expectations and unlike many people I had not watched the Japanese original Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu, or the Korean movie remake, Love Me Not. This drama gets a lot of praise and many people have enjoyed it and wholeheartedly recommend it. I did like some aspects of it and it did grab my attention during the first part, but unfortunately, it gradually declined.At the start what immediately caught my attention was the beautiful cinematography. I particularly liked the color scheme and how they match it to the character's state of mind or personality. Also, the filming locations, background scenery, clothes, and overall mood, were really pleasing and soothing to the eye.
The cast did a decent job portraying the characters. The characters themselves were flawed and had nuance and depth to their personalities and actions. Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo had intense chemistry in my opinion and I would love to see them together in future dramas. I did find that Jo In Sung played the charming yet tortured conman brilliantly, and managed to show his character's duality convincingly. Song Hye Kyo plays a prickly blind woman that comes off as distrustful and a bit conceited. That makes her look strong and independent, and not some poor woman with a disability.
As for the story, it was intriguing in the beginning and had me so captivated until halfway. At parts, I could not connect the characters' personalities with their actions any longer. Especially the female lead. Was she strong or was it just a front that she put up? Her behavior was so strange, that as the story progressed I could no longer care much for what she did or said. Maybe because this was a melodrama, the exaggerated emotions sometimes came out as intense, other times as over the top, since it felt to me that the emotions did not match their actions, especially the romantic scenes. On top of that, the twists and turns presented along the way did not contribute to the overall development of the characters and did not justify their actions in a believable way.
In conclusion, the drama has interesting characters but it lacked depth and any meaningful development that leads to a sort of absurd ending which left me confused. Other than that, if you like Jo In Sung, this is still worth a watch.
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It was Jo in Sung's acting that really pulled me into this drama, I started to fall in love with him myself. I had watched him in that's okay it's love with my favourite actress gong hyo jin, He is just so good at expressing his emotions through his whole body even his eyes. Also Song Hye Kyo's acting was amazing, it must be hard to keep your eyes unfocused all the time.
I seriously found myself crying along with the characters and falling in love just as they were. This is definitely a drama that sticks around with you too. I finished it yesterday but all day today I could only think about this drama. It's so sad but beautiful. The more I think on it too I realise that the journey was the important part of this drama not necessarily the ending.
I wish I could have given this a 10 because their love was so perfect, they needed each other so much but the ending really let down this amazing drama for me. That's not to say it wasn't good, but it wasn't amazing either. I also regret not having watched this sooner as I thought it would be sadder than it is. If you haven't watched this drama, go do it now!
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Worth a watch
LIKEThe chemistry between Oh Soo and Oh Young
When Young consoled Soo on the mistake he made when he was young - that was comforting
When Soo saw his old self in Young and start to feel her - how all the feeling started
The real reason Young is experiencing her unfortunate life - shocking
The love and hate Moo Chul had towards Soo
DISLIKE
The ending...
MUSIC - personal fav
A Winter Story - The One
Snow Flower - Gummy
Gray Paper - Ye Sung
REWATCH VALUE
Five for now
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This review may contain spoilers
I didn't realize how old it was
I just clicked on it on netflix and settled in, watching at 1.5 speed with liberal fast forwarding. The intro music drove me up a wall. One of the standard elements to the kdramas I have watched is beautiful female leads and Song Hye-kyo certainly was good to look at! While watching it I was thinking about the fight scenes and how they were of lower quality and attributed that to an intended style when it probably was normal for 2013. It was a cold, windy, and sometime wet day today and I hustled through the last 8 episodes with just a few breaks. Nice and comfortable. Candidly, I didn't really like the male lead but then I don't think I was supposed to like him...at first. But we got a relatively happy ending amidst cherry or some kind of blossoms, so at least back in 2013 these writers were still formulaic and delivering what audiences want to see.Was this review helpful to you?
Was great until the last 2 episodes
While watching, I really liked the storyline and the acting by the two leads, Jo In- sung and Song Hye-kyo. The outdoor scenes in the mountains and sea were beautifully filmed ...Then I got to Episode 15, after ML gets kicked out of the house. Most of Episode 15 comprised of each character separately reminiscing of good times and pining for each other. What a waste of film!After FL kicked Secretary Wang out of the house for fraud and embezzlement, she then called the Secretary in the middle of the night to see how she's doing. If FL missed the Secretary so much, why did she bother kicking her out in the first place?
Starting with Episode 15 & continuing to Episode 16, I started getting bored. The FL finally watched ML's video but later told him that she can't forgive him but they can talk about things after the surgery. She wanted a blow-by-blow description of ML's feelings while they were together and lying to her. While she's talking, ML began the waterworks from his eyes. By this time, I am bored with his crying. Jo In-sung is a good actor with a great acting range and I was initially wowed by his emotional scenes. But after 2-3 straight episodes of continual crying, I was now indifferent and bored, the emotional impact was now lost on me.
Also, FL slit her wrist, but yet she's eligible for brain surgery 2 days later? Seriously? What hospital allows that without a psych eval? This hospital even performs brain surgery at 9 pm! I guess surgeons in Korea don't work during the daytime and schedule complicated brain surgeries at night ... or maybe they perform easy surgeries during the day and save the complicated brain surgeries for later in the night (with a lot of caffeine to keep them awake)!
This show could have been outstanding, given the vast talents of Jo In-sung and Song Hye-kyo, but I blame the writer and director for the nonsensical episodes near the end. There's no need for me to rewatch this show.
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They really give justice to the role they portray! They are a good match not only in limelight but in real ife as well..
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