This review may contain spoilers
I already wrote a recommendation for this drama, but I will quickly say it here...while watching WHIB, I was constantly reminded of Que, Sera Sera (WHIB came out a few years before). They shared the same vibe. It's a darker K-Drama that deals with more mature topics. It's mostly about love and greed of money. I liked the vibe of the whole thing. It's not fluffy in the least. There are a few humorous moments, but over all it's angst filled dealing with every day life...love, money, desire, greed, etc.
For me the angst was done well. After seeing so many dramas, these days I tend to fast forward through parts that bore me, usually dealing with secondary characters and such. However, this drama was twenty episodes long and I did not fast forward it once. Not even for a minute. I was completely engaged throughout. It was fast moving, and I wanted to hear what ever single person had to say. For me it was all a meaningful part of the progression of the story.
I'll admit this story is brought about by a series of contrived, coincidental incidences that are used to bring the four forever together. But seriously, if you're going to complain about that, then you shouldn't watch k-dramas, because that's basically how they all are. It's a tried a true plot device. It's easy for me to look over this and chalk it up to "fate" as they do in the drama itself.
There are four main leads in WHIB and they all get a good amount of screen time. You never know who the main male lead really is, because they both get equal screen time. At first, none of them are all that likeable. However, by the end, I really enjoyed them all. That included all their faults and wackiness too. They each make choices in their lives and we get to see the consequence (usually a fall out) of that choice.
I gave the acting for this drama a 10, mostly because of Jo In Sung. I had read somewhere that he was the most anticipated Korean actor to return from the military, and I just didn't understand that as I hadn't seen any of his dramas and had never heard of him. However, he knocked my socks off. This guy can act. He was great! No wonder he won all the best actor awards for this drama! (As a side note, at the time of airing this drama rated in the 20s and even got up to the 30s so it was pretty popular at the time). Seriously, the guy impressed me, and I look forward to watching his other work. Anyway, he plays the rich guy to a T.
Ha Ji Won (of Secret Garden) was one of the appeals to me when I decided to watch this drama. She did a fairly good job as well. She plays the poor girl. The other two mains played their parts perfectly and fit the roles great. The drama was cast perfectly in my opinion all the way down to the secondary characters. I just loved the psycho rich moms!
The main thing that got me to even notice this drama is I was looking through best couples in k-drama videos and such. This drama was on a top five list, with Ha Ji Won and Jo In Sung being like third best Korean drama couple in dramaland (just someone's personal opinion) as their characters in this drama. One of the pictures posted of them just really caught my eye and I could totally see their chemistry just from that. And they were right, they made this drama rock, and their interactions throughout were just awesome. However, this in no way, shape, or form, is saying that they get together. They might, they might not. You have to watch to find out. Watching them in this drama was great, and it would be neat if they could do another project together.
The music was uneventful, but it did it's job with blending into the story and providing the feeling of things like foreboding and such.
The rewatch value is a seven. Mainly because, I will probably eventually rewatch this again although it won't be the same. Normally, there are is so much angst in dramas that in order to prevent myself anymore personal anxiety, I read all about the drama I watch before hand, and if I can find out the ending in advance, that's a good thing. It helps me enjoy the drama with out feeling my skin crawl. Or, you just tend to know from the very beginning how a drama is going to end. Well, like I said, this is not your typical K-drama. From the very start, you may have an idea of how it's going to end. Your going to have your own opinion of who she's going to end up with based on which main guy you like the most, most likely. However, you will not know who she ends up with until the very end. And unless you found a spoiler some where, you will not know how this drama ends. Period. That in itself is kind of appealing and new in dramaland.
This of course brings me to the ending. I could not find out how it ended anywhere I looked on the net. I decided to watch it regardless, because I was so intrigued that nobody wanted to share the spoiler. I also found where most people that commented on the end didn't like it. That doesn't sound good right? Well, I've learned not to base my decisions on how other people interpret an ending. I have found it all has to do with personal taste and opinion. After watching the ending, I felt it was brilliant. It even made me smile. It was completely unexpected until it actually was playing out, however, I thought it was great!
But this is why the rewatch value of the drama is only a seven. Because, part of the appeal of this drama the first time around is not knowing what is going to happen next, what choices our leads are going to make, and how those choices are going to effect them and everyone else around them. Throughout the whole drama, you don't know who she really loves, who she's going to choose. Is she going to choose love, money, a combination of both, or neither?
Overall, I would give this drama a shot. I gave it an eight, because I truly felt it was very good. The overall tone and vibe aren't for everyone. I like it though. So, if you're interested, give it a shot!
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