Choi Ye Bin has the type of face and smile that lights up a room. I could see her becoming the queen of dailies and long form dramas like this. Bae Da Bin (Mi Rae) could probably also dominate the space. She's got a bright smile and is more traditionally 'beautiful'. They smile and hearts melt. In terms of this week's episodes I'll put it in spoilers below.
I don't really understand their living situation. Two daughters work full time - one as a pharmacist(?) and one recently as a school nutritionist. And finally the youngest seems to work odd jobs part time. Okay, the mother is a novel writer. I get that.
But surely with the middle daughter getting hired they shouldn't be having major rent issues?
It's not a complaint or anything it's just funny. In American sitcoms you always wonder how they afford to live where they live. But in Korean makjangs? How can they not afford to live where they live?
Edit: Dropped at 19. The drama didn't surprise me or anything it's just too messy and the leads aren't enough to keep me in. Love Park Se Young and the male lead isn't too bad either when he smiles. The lead's brother plays a pretty good nervous/angsty guy too. There is stuff to like and if you like repetitive messy-ness in your makjang you might like this a lot. But for me, 19 episodes was enough to stop.
? South Korea is not progressive on feminism, mental health or LGBTQ issues.
The rise of BL is the story of a fetishization of a vulnerable group of people and not an indication of changing attitudes towards gay men. Gay men in South Korea and other parts of Asia are still vulnerable and face routine discrimination.
It has its flaws but I really liked the oldest son's relationship and the youngest son to some extent although that was a weird journey/ending. The Brutus character went on an interesting transformational journey. I dreaded his scenes early on but by the end I really enjoyed his character.
Of course there are makjang-y characters you might hate - the mother, the second son were two characters I had immense dislike for. They sort of mellowed but I never really got over my dislike for them.
No real villains or anything. Just a family makjang drama.
Overall one of the stronger ones and up there with my favorites - Family's Honor and Smile, You. Interestingly enough they all came out around the same time 2008-2010 but each one has a wildly different feel.
Hyun jae helped Mi Rae to get divorce from Mi Rae's husband as soon as possible.So why is he taking so long to…
Yeong Eun has children with her husband, they've both been unfaithful and there is more money, more assets to fight over. They can't come to an agreement so they are going to court.
It makes sense Mi Rae's marriage cancellation went faster. The big worry from the first few episodes was that Mi Rae's ex-husband would fight them in court. But instead he chose to give up and accept the cancellation. He gave up because apparently the marriage was to make his mom happy and his mom gave her approval to ending the marriage.
It's a good contrast. When two people are interested in moving on - Mi Rae and her ex-husband - things can work quickly. But when two people are interested in fighting it out or winning or not losing... the fight can go on and on and last a long time.
Hyun Jae needs to set boundaries. His ex is a bad person but she's told him that and he's still humoring her while also being interested in Mi Rae. He needs to make some firm decisions and stand up to his ex.
Mi Rae's paternal grandmother is the worst, her mother is only slightly better. They are both extremely entitled and seem to always want it their way or they'll complain and blame everyone else for not going along with decisions they have made on behalf of others. I have someone like this in my life and it's awful dealing with them.
I wonder if we'll see the slow descent of dementia with Mi Rae's maternal grandmother. They obviously hinted at it when she referred to her son-in-law as her husband.
Seriously, what's wrong with Korean dramas being dragged for months!! That's exactly why I've stopped watching…
I wish it were a daily makjang as well to get the episodes out faster. My boss is going to retire before this show finishes airing. And I'm being serious. She just told me she was retiring earlier this week.
Kim So Yeon would make a great mythical creature. She's got an other-worldly look to her at least in my opinion. I couldn't get through season 1 though.
Saw the trailer as it was on the front page of my Netflix. The trailer makes it seem like there will be no comedic relief and so I think that might be it for me, I'll leave it off my lists for now and try to remember to come back after reviews are in.
As things stand right now this is starting to remind me of Best Wedding(?). A Korean drama about a single mom. And while I appreciate the importance of that drama especially in a patriarchal society like Korea... I did not enjoy it. And my thinking is I won't enjoy He's Expecting either.
The ex-gf is not only annoying, but shameless, mannerless, no self respect, cheated in both relationship, gets…
I think it's a good setup. Right now Hyun Jae kind of has all the "power" in the relationship with Mi Rae. She's his former client. He's seen her at her worst and most desperate. Now she'll see the same and just like he helped her out, she will help him out.
The ex-gf is a bad person, no doubt but a necessary character to balance out the power dynamic between Hyun Jae and Mi Rae. Hyun Jae needs to be knocked down a little in the eyes of Mi Rae, he needs to be humanized a bit and not be seen as Mi Rae's savior.
Now that being said if this drags on beyond lets say another ~4 episodes I'm going to be disappointed.
Did the subtitles for this show ever get better? I made it roughly halfway or so and the subtitles were bad at…
Show is pretty bleak after fast forwarding through what I remembered and finishing the last half. I get there is an alternative ending but they botched that in a rush to get something "happy" out the door. Some basic stuff is forgotten - like the leads stopped the poison from being released but second or third female lead (whatever you want to call her) gets her happy ending with the spoiled prince because she rescued him from the poison gas that never happened.
Episodes 28(?) onwards felt unnecessary. Just felt like squandered potential or it should have been shorter. Instead it was too long while telling too little of a story. Having the leads fall back into a pattern of old habits to stall for time was annoying to be frank.
Nothing much until the last ~10 episodes. We find out she loved the ML's dead brother and then she dies after overhearing the conspirators and trying to warn the prince and princess.
Did the subtitles for this show ever get better? I made it roughly halfway or so and the subtitles were bad at times. Not bad enough you can't understand what is going on but bad enough that it is painful to read while trying to watch the drama.
Might give it a go at some point this long weekend and restart from beginning.
“Pachinko has a subtle, melancholic feel and he can't pull it off ... not nearly the acting ability to pull…
None of these are premiere publications for Hollywood or movies or TV. You would only put these quotes on a DVD sleeve if you had nothing else to put.
The major publications have basically glossed over Lee Min Ho almost entirely. Only acknowledging he's a major character or he's a big star in Korea.
Most of the praise seems to be for Kim Min Ha and Youn Yuh Jung. The scenes that get praise for acting don't seem to involve Lee Min Ho - like Sunja leaving her family as one example of a scene that received praise.
He has his fans to be sure. He's not terrible either. I don't think he stands out and given he's paired with a rookie in Kim Min Ha who is receiving praise... that is telling.
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We'll have to see how things go and whether or not it feels repetitive after a while but no complaints after 2 episodes.
But surely with the middle daughter getting hired they shouldn't be having major rent issues?
It's not a complaint or anything it's just funny. In American sitcoms you always wonder how they afford to live where they live. But in Korean makjangs? How can they not afford to live where they live?
Edit: Dropped at 19. The drama didn't surprise me or anything it's just too messy and the leads aren't enough to keep me in. Love Park Se Young and the male lead isn't too bad either when he smiles. The lead's brother plays a pretty good nervous/angsty guy too. There is stuff to like and if you like repetitive messy-ness in your makjang you might like this a lot. But for me, 19 episodes was enough to stop.
The rise of BL is the story of a fetishization of a vulnerable group of people and not an indication of changing attitudes towards gay men. Gay men in South Korea and other parts of Asia are still vulnerable and face routine discrimination.
Of course there are makjang-y characters you might hate - the mother, the second son were two characters I had immense dislike for. They sort of mellowed but I never really got over my dislike for them.
No real villains or anything. Just a family makjang drama.
Overall one of the stronger ones and up there with my favorites - Family's Honor and Smile, You. Interestingly enough they all came out around the same time 2008-2010 but each one has a wildly different feel.
It makes sense Mi Rae's marriage cancellation went faster. The big worry from the first few episodes was that Mi Rae's ex-husband would fight them in court. But instead he chose to give up and accept the cancellation. He gave up because apparently the marriage was to make his mom happy and his mom gave her approval to ending the marriage.
It's a good contrast. When two people are interested in moving on - Mi Rae and her ex-husband - things can work quickly. But when two people are interested in fighting it out or winning or not losing... the fight can go on and on and last a long time.
Mi Rae's paternal grandmother is the worst, her mother is only slightly better. They are both extremely entitled and seem to always want it their way or they'll complain and blame everyone else for not going along with decisions they have made on behalf of others. I have someone like this in my life and it's awful dealing with them.
I wonder if we'll see the slow descent of dementia with Mi Rae's maternal grandmother. They obviously hinted at it when she referred to her son-in-law as her husband.
As things stand right now this is starting to remind me of Best Wedding(?). A Korean drama about a single mom. And while I appreciate the importance of that drama especially in a patriarchal society like Korea... I did not enjoy it. And my thinking is I won't enjoy He's Expecting either.
The ex-gf is a bad person, no doubt but a necessary character to balance out the power dynamic between Hyun Jae and Mi Rae. Hyun Jae needs to be knocked down a little in the eyes of Mi Rae, he needs to be humanized a bit and not be seen as Mi Rae's savior.
Now that being said if this drags on beyond lets say another ~4 episodes I'm going to be disappointed.
Episodes 28(?) onwards felt unnecessary. Just felt like squandered potential or it should have been shorter. Instead it was too long while telling too little of a story. Having the leads fall back into a pattern of old habits to stall for time was annoying to be frank.
Might give it a go at some point this long weekend and restart from beginning.
The major publications have basically glossed over Lee Min Ho almost entirely. Only acknowledging he's a major character or he's a big star in Korea.
Most of the praise seems to be for Kim Min Ha and Youn Yuh Jung. The scenes that get praise for acting don't seem to involve Lee Min Ho - like Sunja leaving her family as one example of a scene that received praise.
He has his fans to be sure. He's not terrible either. I don't think he stands out and given he's paired with a rookie in Kim Min Ha who is receiving praise... that is telling.