This review may contain spoilers
This drama wasn't meant to be female centric, but the female lead stole the show for me. Jun Ji Hyun is at her absolute best playing an arrogant diva who still manages to be likeable and very* charismatic. A lot of the things she says- coming from the mouth of another person, would come across as obnoxious and get a lot of eyes rolling, but when Cheong Seong Yi says it, she's so darn funny that one cannot help but liking, laughing with her or laughing at her. The last time I laughed so much at a lead actress' performance was in Mr. Queen. While Ji Hyun excels at comedy, she also does emotional scenes well. I was surprised at how she could switch in the blink of an eye from being carefree/nonchalant one moment, to vulnerable and teary eyed the next.
Kim So Hyeon also did a good job playing the role of a cold and distant male lead, but to be honest, I don't really prefer this type of male character. It's just a preference, but I've always leaned towards strong, but warm (or warm-hearted) male leads. I'm not really into the trope where the FL has to win or thaw the heart of a cold man, but to each their own. That said, Kim So Hyeon's Do Min Jun had a very* good reason to be cold and distant. As an alien, he had plans of returning to his home planet, so it would be too painful for him if he were to develop attachments. It was a little strange for me when he suddenly kissed the FL out of blue, after acting so distant.
The second ML was the complete opposite of the one in Shine on Me. Park Hae Jin's Hui Gyeong embodied an ideal second male lead who was a bit clingy, but very loving...not just as an admirer, but as a friend. He later becomes a good ally to both the FL and ML. I thought it was sweet when he put his life on the line for Cheong Seong Yi and this was made even more touching because he didn't have any powers and was injured for it. There was also more to him than just pining for her. The emotional ups and downs he had as the younger brother of a murdered older brother (who he loved), as the younger brother to another brother (who turned out to be a psychopath) and finally, as the least favorite son to a narrow minded chaebol made me sympathize with him. The scene where he humbled himself and had to tell his disbelieving father the truth about what his older brother Jae Gyeong was really like, was one of my favorites.
Overall, I love the concept of this drama. This is basically the kdrama take on the romance between an alien and a human. I actually wanted to rate this higher, but couldn't for the following reasons:
1) Lack of chemistry: There is actually nothing wrong with both Jun Ji Hyun and Kim So Hyun's performances here and they gave their absolute best with what they had.
They simply, IMHO, had no chemistry.
It's not their fault. It's not the fault of how the characters were written, either. I just felt that the actress and actor themselves didn't have it. What's weird is that Do Min Jun had even better chemistry with Cheong Seong Yi's brother* and the scene where the brother pounced on him on the couch made me think of a BL XD. I think the most touching relationship for the ML here was not the one with the FL but the one with his older friend, Mr. Yeong Mok.
In the last few episodes where Cheong Yi didn't do much but cry over Min Jun's absence...the scenes where they said their goodbyes and professed their love for one another...I hate to say it, but I really didnt' feel anything during these moments that were supposed to be so heartfelt. At the back of my head, I was even comparing them unfavorably to the love confession between the couple in The First Frost, one of the few that actually felt raw, heart wrenching and had me in tears.
2) Conflict with Jae Gyeong, the main antagonist: I know that this drama is first and foremost, a romance, so I didn't expect Game of Thrones level writing when it came to seeing the leads square off with the main villain, but there were parts that were just plain stupid.
Why for instance, would Yura (the character blackmailing Jae Gyeong into marrying her) use a USB that could not be copied? She was calculating enough to get something like that to use against him, but why not make as many copies for security? They made a huge deal out of the USB being supposedly non-copyable, so that they could have many scenes with Jae Gyeong's henchmen trying to physically assault Min Jun and Seong Yi to get the drive...only for it to turn out that there was another* copy of the file anyway.
If Jae Gyeong was also such an evil mastermind, why didn't he just have his ex-wife killed? Why go through the elaborate ruse of having her locked up in a hospital where he could bribe the entire staff to keep her prisoner there. It's like the writers just did that so it could conveniently pop up later and be used against him.
There was also a wasted opportunity to address a major issue in Korea...the vicious cancel culture they have. Cheong Seong Yi was cancelled for something she didn't do. She was blamed for the murder of another woman without any proof and almost lost her career over it. It would have been extremely gratifying to see how the entertainment industry made it up to her when they realized she was innocent. Instead, the writers chose to have Do Min Jun reveal his powers to the public (for absolutely no reason...it's not like he was planning to become a superhero anyway, so what was the point of that?) so naturally, the public's attention was diverted to the alien with powers, not to the comeback of the maligned actress.
In real life, many Korean actors and actresses commit suicide over being cancelled or some baseless scandal or other...it would have been better if the writer didnt' sweep this issue under the rug. It would have been better if the story showed also how Cheong Seong Yi felt about the whole thing.
In the ending, after Min Jun left, they came out with this ridiculous thing where he gets sucked into a wormhole. When he finally returns to earth and to Seong Yi, his body could only be partially physically present for short periods of time. There was absolutely no reason for this. His alien race had the technology to land on earth. Couldn't they just make something up where they allowed him to return?
They should have either had a totally sad ending where the leads were separated forever or a totally happy one where they were reunited forever. Not this half baked scenario.
Kim So Hyeon also did a good job playing the role of a cold and distant male lead, but to be honest, I don't really prefer this type of male character. It's just a preference, but I've always leaned towards strong, but warm (or warm-hearted) male leads. I'm not really into the trope where the FL has to win or thaw the heart of a cold man, but to each their own. That said, Kim So Hyeon's Do Min Jun had a very* good reason to be cold and distant. As an alien, he had plans of returning to his home planet, so it would be too painful for him if he were to develop attachments. It was a little strange for me when he suddenly kissed the FL out of blue, after acting so distant.
The second ML was the complete opposite of the one in Shine on Me. Park Hae Jin's Hui Gyeong embodied an ideal second male lead who was a bit clingy, but very loving...not just as an admirer, but as a friend. He later becomes a good ally to both the FL and ML. I thought it was sweet when he put his life on the line for Cheong Seong Yi and this was made even more touching because he didn't have any powers and was injured for it. There was also more to him than just pining for her. The emotional ups and downs he had as the younger brother of a murdered older brother (who he loved), as the younger brother to another brother (who turned out to be a psychopath) and finally, as the least favorite son to a narrow minded chaebol made me sympathize with him. The scene where he humbled himself and had to tell his disbelieving father the truth about what his older brother Jae Gyeong was really like, was one of my favorites.
Overall, I love the concept of this drama. This is basically the kdrama take on the romance between an alien and a human. I actually wanted to rate this higher, but couldn't for the following reasons:
1) Lack of chemistry: There is actually nothing wrong with both Jun Ji Hyun and Kim So Hyun's performances here and they gave their absolute best with what they had.
They simply, IMHO, had no chemistry.
It's not their fault. It's not the fault of how the characters were written, either. I just felt that the actress and actor themselves didn't have it. What's weird is that Do Min Jun had even better chemistry with Cheong Seong Yi's brother* and the scene where the brother pounced on him on the couch made me think of a BL XD. I think the most touching relationship for the ML here was not the one with the FL but the one with his older friend, Mr. Yeong Mok.
In the last few episodes where Cheong Yi didn't do much but cry over Min Jun's absence...the scenes where they said their goodbyes and professed their love for one another...I hate to say it, but I really didnt' feel anything during these moments that were supposed to be so heartfelt. At the back of my head, I was even comparing them unfavorably to the love confession between the couple in The First Frost, one of the few that actually felt raw, heart wrenching and had me in tears.
2) Conflict with Jae Gyeong, the main antagonist: I know that this drama is first and foremost, a romance, so I didn't expect Game of Thrones level writing when it came to seeing the leads square off with the main villain, but there were parts that were just plain stupid.
Why for instance, would Yura (the character blackmailing Jae Gyeong into marrying her) use a USB that could not be copied? She was calculating enough to get something like that to use against him, but why not make as many copies for security? They made a huge deal out of the USB being supposedly non-copyable, so that they could have many scenes with Jae Gyeong's henchmen trying to physically assault Min Jun and Seong Yi to get the drive...only for it to turn out that there was another* copy of the file anyway.
If Jae Gyeong was also such an evil mastermind, why didn't he just have his ex-wife killed? Why go through the elaborate ruse of having her locked up in a hospital where he could bribe the entire staff to keep her prisoner there. It's like the writers just did that so it could conveniently pop up later and be used against him.
There was also a wasted opportunity to address a major issue in Korea...the vicious cancel culture they have. Cheong Seong Yi was cancelled for something she didn't do. She was blamed for the murder of another woman without any proof and almost lost her career over it. It would have been extremely gratifying to see how the entertainment industry made it up to her when they realized she was innocent. Instead, the writers chose to have Do Min Jun reveal his powers to the public (for absolutely no reason...it's not like he was planning to become a superhero anyway, so what was the point of that?) so naturally, the public's attention was diverted to the alien with powers, not to the comeback of the maligned actress.
In real life, many Korean actors and actresses commit suicide over being cancelled or some baseless scandal or other...it would have been better if the writer didnt' sweep this issue under the rug. It would have been better if the story showed also how Cheong Seong Yi felt about the whole thing.
In the ending, after Min Jun left, they came out with this ridiculous thing where he gets sucked into a wormhole. When he finally returns to earth and to Seong Yi, his body could only be partially physically present for short periods of time. There was absolutely no reason for this. His alien race had the technology to land on earth. Couldn't they just make something up where they allowed him to return?
They should have either had a totally sad ending where the leads were separated forever or a totally happy one where they were reunited forever. Not this half baked scenario.
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