O-Ring

If you manage to overlook the weird 4:3 ratio effect...

Sandglass is one of the most significant k-dramas ever.

Anyways, what is your take on Elegant Friends? I know you did not like it, but you managed to finish both episodes. I stopped after the robbing and the knight in shining armor scene, because it was too cringy. Lee Tae-hwan is also one of the worst actors I have ever seen. But does it get more bearable? Or was the quality consistently bad afterwards? It felt like I was watching a parody on Sky Castle or TWOTM. Did something exciting happen to make you want to continue watching? I fast-forwarded the episode to quickly glance whether something interesting would happen, but from what I could see there was a lot of talking and not a lot happening.

People are just overestimating the qualities of the leads. Both are just your typical k-drama actors that mainly thrive because of their popularity. They are not gods of acting. If they are able to deliver Baeksang/Golden Bell/Blue Dragon-winning performances, they should make the move to movies and not waste time on k-dramas. When I read the comments here, it seems people are thinking that JCW skipped the opportunity to star in Parasite for this role. But in truth, he most likely skipped some action-packed OCN drama for BR. Since he got discharged from the army, there are no dramas that are classic JCW on SBS, KBS, MBC, JTBC or TVN. Perhaps Vagabond, but that's about it.

I am not sure whether this relation still holds, as cable closed the gap and streaming becomes more important, but in the past all the A-listers would reject offers for high-quality cable dramas to perform in public channel dramas. See this article: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2017/09/688_236440.html. I think there is still more prestige in starring in a drama that is broadcasted on a primetime timeslot on a public channel over a drama on OCN or a decently popular drama on TVN or JTBC.

Of course you did not. It is a joke... Because 4:3 was the norm in the nineties, so that is why I named a random drama from that period. I cannot believe that anyone in post-2010 would think that 4:3 ratio is acceptable...

Let me guess, Sandglass from 1995? Haha... Who on earth thinks it is artistic to use 4:3 ratio in 2020... Even the transitions in When My Love Blooms were less annoying.

Haha, love that description. I am pretty sure that JCW feels the opposite with Healer. You paid him half price and he gave you a full product. Remember this dude still gets less than some singers-turn-actors and who have no real drama hits to demand such a high pay

I hope so, but the quality of this drama will have to come from the writers and the director, because the acting is definitely a notch or two below that of Sky Castle and TWOTM. I also hope that Yoo Joon-sang will use his normal deep voice... He is now acting with a radio voice, which makes it totally not convincing.

Both Sky Castle and TWOTM had a supporting cast that are of the quality of the main leads. No acting holes. For this drama, most of the leads are normally playing very minor roles, not even worthy to be called supporting.

Perhaps JTBC accidentally put that picture in my head by baiting me with comparisons of Sky Castle and TWOTM. But when I was watching the confrontation between Song Yoon-ah and Han Da Gam/Han Eun-jung (or whatever name she nowadays go by) in episode 2, I thought to myself the whole time: Kim Hee-ae confronted Han So-hee much better or Yum Jung-ah was more impactful when she warned Kim Seo-hyung or Lee Tae-ran. I am constantly comparing the three shows. Song Yoon-ah's character seems like a rip-off of Kim Hee-ae. The intake scenes behind a desk and a computer with her patients is very TWOTM-like. In most dramas, the distance between the doctor and the patient is much closer (patients are sitting sideways from a doctor, not opposite). Even the sex scenes reminded me of TWOTM haha...

Were this show marketed differently, I would perhaps be more open and judge it by its own merits. It is way funnier and less of a psychodrama than the other two shows. I could even consider it as a mature slice-of-life with makjang elements.

Most lists and polls I have seen, rank JCW better in looks than both LMH and KSH. In terms of acting, KSH is number 1 followed by JCW. Truth to be told, looks are hardly the deciding factor between the three. All three are good-looking enough to make girls melt. Looks are also a bit overrated. Park Seo Joon or Lee Jong Suk are definitely not more handsome than JCW, but still the other two are more popular. JCW is underperforming versus the others, because he acted in too few mainstream, popular dramas, but rather chose critically acclaimed shows. That helped him in becoming a credible actor, but it did not result in more money than LMH. On another note, I think that JCW and LMH need to revamp their careers. JCW needs to prove that he can pull in viewers with popular dramas and LMH needs to prove that he can play in more deep roles. Basically they should exchange scripts

Even on iQiyi (the streaming service BR airs on), BR is number 1. So it is also doing okay on streaming. Undoubtedly there are more people streaming this show than Healer back in the days, because streaming was less popular in 2015.

I did not say that you said something wrong, but you were asking of JCW fans are really happy with this drama. I am not a JCW-fan, but I hope that he manages to find a hit such as Boys Over Flowers and The Heirs to make it really big, because he is not a bad actor. If you look at pure acting talent, it is ridiculous that Lee Min Ho makes twice as much as JCW. This does not even include the amounts of CFs LMH has. JCW will definitely not receive the S-tier level popularity by acting in the Healers of this world. Even the top-tier actresses such as Son Ye Jin could only find international fame after acting in CLOY (a relatively easy and simple rom-com). Arguably her most accessible work to date.

I think JCW is just an actor that is a bit stuck in mediocre hits and experimenting a bit to force his popularity. If he manages to find a breakout role such as KSH, LMH or Song Joong Ki did, he can basically cash on the Korean/Chinese CF-deals and once in a while perform in a quality drama by a top-writer.

Depends how you look at it. SBS qualifies this show as a 32-episode drama. So that would mean that there are two parts. Episode 16 (or the second part of episode 8) scored 8.7%.

There is a trade-off... Today BR received its highest viewership ratings so far at 8.7%. People are always saying that Healer is JCW's finest work, but that drama peaked at 9.4% in 2015, when ratings were much higher. So BR has approximately the same popularity as Healer.

So the question is: do you continue to act in dramas that are high quality, but lowly rated? Or do you act in dramas that are average in quality, but decently rated? We all know JCW is a great actor, but he never achieved S-tier fame. What is the use of acting in high quality dramas, if no one is watching it? Look what piss-poor quality dramas such as Boys Over Flowers or The Heirs has done to the popularity of the actors...

Yeah, it looked fucked up. I don't think it was stretched though, rather squeezed together?

These are not my words, the director, writer and even JTBC hyped the show up as Sky Castle meets TWOTM. By placing the bar that high, I want to see immediate gratification.

Your explanation of the drama is exactly why I call it not fast-paced and thrilling. In the first minutes, we already see a murder. What should have happened next is an adrenaline-filled episode, but they then take one step back and explain the dynamic between the friends. The other two shows immediately went on a rampage by the main characters after the big reveal (cheating of the husband and the mysterious suicide of one of the moms). The shows also built the storyline and character dynamics throughout the episodes, which allowed them to keep the fast pace throughout the show.

Perhaps it also has to do with the fact that the other two drama had more sleek editing, better wardrobe, more intense music and a better decor. I also find the actors better than this cast. Kim Hee Ae and Yum Jung-ah are very refined actors. But the next episode does look good after watching the preview and will show whether it is able to fill the shoes of both dramas

Perhaps episode 2 will be better, episode 1 had a very long build up. It is not bad, but I think JTBC is too confident when they said that it would be a mix between TWOTM and Sky Castle

I am not feeling it yet. I have watched approximately half of episode 1, but it seems that the writers have taken all the bad habits of the characters of The World of The Married and then put it in a Sky Castle setting. From what I can see, it misses the fast-pace of TWOTM and the thrill of Sky Castle. It is a bit too much. Song Yoon Ah has such a low-cut shirt that it is not classy-sexy anymore, but a bit sleazy. The guys also seem to be a bunch of horn dogs

Initially there were people saying that SB did not know the boundaries with DH. In my opinion, the boss definitely goes one step further. I mean, he even gives his dad the impression that he is a couple with YJ. It is not that I really think he is a sexual harasser, but if SB is one according to many i-netizens, then the boss is definitely one... But guess what? We never hear people criticizing the boss. It is called double standards ;-)

Canadian, eh? Tim Hortons is the coffee chain, Tim Burton is the director.

Although YJ is annoying, I must say that her boss is even a bigger douche bag. If the 6,000 people want to make a real complaint about sexual harassment, they should complain about him. He is the true sexual/workplace harasser. YJ tells him that she is in a relationship with DH, the dude tells her that he will not back down (does not understand the word "no"). He also forces her to go to the Phantom of the Opera with him by using his power inside the company and threatening her that she is responsible of keeping certain important clients satisfied.

Absolutely. Have you noticed that the ones that are flaming this drama on MDL always have an avatar of Seo Ye Ji or Kim Soo Hyun. Or say things as "It is Okay Not to be Okay is so much better, why do people watch this racist/offensive crap". I am sure that there are more people that do not like this drama, but most people do not bother to respond; only the fans of a rival actor or drama post their "opinion"