bojojoti

I avoid melodramas, and I hate angst, plus the low rating was enough to deter me until I saw Viki was going to remove the drama soon. I clicked play on impulse and was treated to a fresh (though older), realistic drama revolving around an opportunistic playboy; a naive, sweet girl; a cold, repressed man; and a spoiled, rich woman. The sweet girl, Han Eun Su, navigated the murky waters of the betrayal of her true love, sabotage from a jealous woman, and a controlling spouse. Unlike so many dramas today, I had no idea who would end up with whom, or who, potentially, would be destroyed. Out of the quartet, three were self-centered and manipulative. Eun Su did her best to deal with them all fairly and with decency.

For someone who shies away from angst, this drama was saturated in it with little let up until the last 30 seconds! Normally, I'd despise such a drama, but the actors did such a good job with their roles. I hated all the characters at various times in the show (except Eun Su, although I wanted to give her a good shaking from time to time); then, I'd feel compassion and understanding and wish for their happiness! There were no perfect characters—they were all gloriously flawed and alternately wonderful and terrible.

I appreciated the dilemmas presented: horrible secrets of the past don't dissipate and can destroy the future; mistrust is a killer of relationships; getting everything you think you want won't necessarily make you happy; and holding on to toxic relationships won't make them better.

I love how raw and original this production is compared to current dramas. There weren't the usual tired tropes, or, when they were present, they were given new life. The music was of its time and added to the feel. Eric Mun did an amazing job as Kang Tae Ju, a disgusting, immoral reprobate who was respectful of his elders and had his own finely tuned sense of morality (it was okay to have an affair with an engaged girl, but married women were off limits; it was okay to accept an expensive watch as a gift from one of his admirers, but a car was too much).

I appreciated that the writer respected his characters and his audience. When Tae Ju talked about wanting lots of children and a house with a yard for them all to play in, the viewer knew he wasn't thinking of sharing that with his fiancée. When he gave up his idea of a house with a yard for a city apartment to defer to his fiancée, the viewer knew he'd given up on the happy life he'd envisioned for the security of a wealthy one. I love that the writer and actor didn't have to spell it out for the viewer.

And, now, I've got to watch something fluffy, because I've suffered. It was worth it, though.