Of the many Cdramas on my plan to watch list, this one has always been the first on the list, and it's been that way for since I first learned about this drama.
But now there's a catch: I've watched many Cdramas in the waiting time, and I've developed an aversion to how they seem to end, which is bad (mostly).
So now I'm really worried that this drama that I've been looking forward to for so long ends badly.
I started watching this yesterday--thanks for the article that tipped me off about it.
Also, I just want to say that the Thai subbing community is incredible. Thanks to Neko Meow Meow, who is subbing this and making it possible for me to watch it.
This lakorn has been made three times--in 1998, in 2008 (which is this one), and 2016. I haven't researched this, but I think all three are based on a novel. In that regard, you can't consider the lakorns without also recognizing that they're based on original source material (which I haven't read.)
I've seen all 3 versions, and they all make me want to tear my hair out, but this one makes me want to tear my hair out because I set it on fire first.
The FL, Beeyachat, spends some 16 hours total in this lakorn being abused in ways that are genuinely stomach turning, and not in anything like a sexy way. She is basically a doormat whose only purpose seems to be providing every other character with an outlet to express their rage by slapping her, beating her, or attempting to rape her. Beeyachat's response to this disgusting abuse is to cry, and that she does, for 25 or more episodes. It's intolerable.
You'll hate every character in this lakorn except Mon's mother and aunt. You'll especially hate Beeyachat, a character drawn as so innocent, she's essentially a half-wit, and whose "virtues" are so exaggerated, that whatever good she's supposed to represent, you'll want to be the opposite.
What an annoying character the FL lead is. So whiny and sulky. So childish. Most of her outfits--socks included--are festooned with pompoms and other useless bric a brac that would present a safety hazard and laundry nightmare in real life, to say nothing of how they'd interfere with her supposed career as a professional make up artist.
There is a third FL whose behavior is thoroughly unsympathetic and unlikeable, as is typically the case in dramas with love triangles.
ooWee, is there some chemistry between the leads, or what? It's only up to episode 4 so far, and there's already been more skinship than I've seen in most dramas. (Except for the first three episodes of Misty, but that show broke my heart and I don't want to talk about it.)
I know better than to watch a cdrama while it's airing, but I'm going to break that rule one more time, so if this show doesn't end well and I'm right again, I'll probably start barking like a dog.
The first two or three episodes, I'm thinking, wow, a show for grown ups, and then, while the episodes that follow are pretty good, they're not even close to the beginning.
Second, it looks like they put her lipstick on with a putty knife, and I thought her hair was dumb.
Third, the ending is a great example of a show that doesn't know how to end itself.
All the performances were exceptional, but not enough to make me care about the lead characters.
I fiercely despise the trope (especially in lakorns) where a character catches a cold or gets feverish if they've…
It's a good point. But easy stuff like that shouldn't make viewers dumber. The Star Wars universe is completely imaginary, but believable, and no one gets nose bleeds from working too hard or a fever from being out in the rain.
I fiercely despise the trope (especially in lakorns) where a character catches a cold or gets feverish if they've…
That reminds me of how much I hate the nosebleed thing. In kdramas, it's overwork, and in cdramas, it's arousal. So dumb. Unless you've got leukemia (which is no joke), real people in real life don't get nosebleeds from that.
I like the rain scenes and the piggyback rides, but I HAAAATE the accidental kiss, when the leads fall on to each…
wo, that accidental kiss business. Oh please God make that one stop.
Also, all the characters in dramas are superheroes, because there ain't one of them that ever gets more than a bump or scratch when they're hit by cars. (Unless it's the truck of doom. Those are different.)
I kind of enjoy the "one lead gets sick (preferably female)" cliche, especially if the other lead playing hard…
I fiercely despise the trope (especially in lakorns) where a character catches a cold or gets feverish if they've been rained on, neither of which is credible or possible, as is known by virtually anyone who ever had to go to a science class. Why do writers keep using this as a story element?
Some rom-com clichés are a MUST for k-dramas (sweet, annoying or guilty pleasures)...For me, the loveliest cliché…
3. very poor and unlucky, but has 200 pairs of shoes and designer handbags while living in an apartment that literally is too tiny for that many shoes, clothes and handbags.
I'm looking forward to all of these, especially "The Great Tempter" (drama's title at Viki), although the Universal Drama Law states that the more you've looked forward to a drama, the greater the chance it will start bad, end bad, drag in the middle, or feature a surprise noble idiot.
I'll believe this is airing when I'm watching the first episode somewhere and not a moment before. Plenty of shows are like Lucy and Charlie with the football, but this one is the worst.
Romance part was a little too much for me. Hope they tone it down a bit.They should have gone slower with romance…
Completely agree. First episode was mildly entertaining, but I spent most of the hour going "wtf?" I like comedy elements in dramas, but this was bordering on slapstick. I hope future episodes tone it down.
Man, was I the only person who was under the impression this was going to be in a historical setting? I guess…
It's a sageuk in the sense that the original source material for this drama (and all of the many versions of this) is an 18th century French novel. There was a Korean film made of the novel, "Untold Scandal". There is also a Chinese version, as well as two American versions, including "Cruel Intentions" and "Dangerous Liaisons".
Virtually anytime you're watching or reading a story that has a bet about whether or not an innocent can be seduced, you can thank the French novel for the plot line.
But now there's a catch: I've watched many Cdramas in the waiting time, and I've developed an aversion to how they seem to end, which is bad (mostly).
So now I'm really worried that this drama that I've been looking forward to for so long ends badly.
Also, I just want to say that the Thai subbing community is incredible. Thanks to Neko Meow Meow, who is subbing this and making it possible for me to watch it.
I've seen all 3 versions, and they all make me want to tear my hair out, but this one makes me want to tear my hair out because I set it on fire first.
The FL, Beeyachat, spends some 16 hours total in this lakorn being abused in ways that are genuinely stomach turning, and not in anything like a sexy way. She is basically a doormat whose only purpose seems to be providing every other character with an outlet to express their rage by slapping her, beating her, or attempting to rape her. Beeyachat's response to this disgusting abuse is to cry, and that she does, for 25 or more episodes. It's intolerable.
You'll hate every character in this lakorn except Mon's mother and aunt. You'll especially hate Beeyachat, a character drawn as so innocent, she's essentially a half-wit, and whose "virtues" are so exaggerated, that whatever good she's supposed to represent, you'll want to be the opposite.
There is a third FL whose behavior is thoroughly unsympathetic and unlikeable, as is typically the case in dramas with love triangles.
Utter nonsense. Ugh.
I know better than to watch a cdrama while it's airing, but I'm going to break that rule one more time, so if this show doesn't end well and I'm right again, I'll probably start barking like a dog.
But meanwhile, it looks like there will be some other dramas to look forward to!
Thanks for the article.
The first two or three episodes, I'm thinking, wow, a show for grown ups, and then, while the episodes that follow are pretty good, they're not even close to the beginning.
Second, it looks like they put her lipstick on with a putty knife, and I thought her hair was dumb.
Third, the ending is a great example of a show that doesn't know how to end itself.
All the performances were exceptional, but not enough to make me care about the lead characters.
What this show could have been. But wasn't.
Oh, I like that so much.
Also, all the characters in dramas are superheroes, because there ain't one of them that ever gets more than a bump or scratch when they're hit by cars. (Unless it's the truck of doom. Those are different.)
Virtually anytime you're watching or reading a story that has a bet about whether or not an innocent can be seduced, you can thank the French novel for the plot line.