Bad Guy

An eye for an eye, leave the whole world blind - that what Gandhi had said. In a sense it do make sense that if everyone seeks vengeance for the wrong done to them and then the other party or the loved ones of the other party will also seeks vengeance after that, and on and on, the cycle keeps on turning and the sphere of person getting hurt becoming wider - thus the world will be full of wounded people. Unless of course they have the heart (or lack the heart) to eiminate all possible revenger in the first place; so the revenge-cycle will stop with them. But then if we let it be; let the ones who wronged us scott-free without consequences of their actions - I don't want to live in that world either.

Hmmm...nowadays I've been watching so many drama with so many potential, or maybe I've more discerning eyes these days so I can detect so many weaknesses in a drama....

Bad Guy is such a drama. I was hooked at first with Kim Nam Gil's wounded look but as his past reveal themselves slowly, I was like hmmm... I was okay with him seeking revenge on the parents, but why seek to hurt the children also. Like him then, there were merely children - just watching what the adults were doing without the power to do anything to change the course of events.

He was at first Choi Tae Seong, living happily with his adoptive(?) parents when suddenly he was ripped away from them to live in gilded house and was told that President Hong was his real biological father. President Hong had a wife with a son and 2 daughters already. Then, suddenly when he was celebrating his 10th (?) birthday comes the news that they had made a mistake and he was not the son and as if he was merely a lost puppy he was put outside the door for his former set of parents to pick him up while President Hong went to pick up his true son. What a heartless bunch of people, couldnt they just tolerate him a bit more and let him wait INSIDE the house rather than out in the rain? Anyway, his former parents didnt have the chance to pick him up because they died in an accident on the way. That leave the little boy to roam the streets, until Seo Yeong save him from other bullies kids and take him to the orphanage with her.

Now, he's all grown up and become Shim Gun Wook (Kim Nam Gil) and Seo Yeong died either from suicide or murder after she was dumped by Hong Tae Seong (Kim JAe Wook) the kid who replace him in the Hong's family. Gun Wook used his flair as the stuntman for a movie to attract the attention of Hong Me Ne (Jung So Min), President Hong's youngest daughter and get Hong Tae Ra (Oh Yun So) hot and bothered in the bargain.

Another character is Moon Jae In (Han Ga In) who works for Madam Shin (President Hong's wife) and who just got dumped by her boyfriend because his mother thinks her social status is not good enough for her son. This puts ambition and greed in her head, so she went to pursue Hong Tae Seong. At first she mistakenly believe Gun Wook was Hong Tae Seong and Gun Wook meanly didn't correct her.

I think the middle episodes I kinda lost interest cause I see no sense in Gun Wook's actions, snorted that all available and of age female characters fall for Gun Wook, and I started to sympathize with Hong Tae Seong and lil' bit of hatred of Jae In (come on make up your mind! or is it your heart?) then the last episodes start to get interesting again with the evil character was reveal and this is not merely just a misunderstanding-goes-big-awry. But then again maybe because of the rushed production, they are so many scenes that makes you go what???? And I always find Korean court scene (either in sugeuk drama or modern ones) that doesn't make any rational sense, based on what evidence? just heresay would be concrete proofs beyond reasonable doubts? Arghhh!!!! And the cops here is just waiting to be spoonfeds that it makes you want to strangle them. Okay, maybe they were just 'props' for the storyline, but couldnt the writer(s) makes them not so dumb....???

[Spoiler Alert!!!!]

I do think that Gun Wook death is a reasonable ending because I can't be satisfied if he's left alive and chosen neither Tae Ra nor Jae In nor if he chose one of them, so he's better off dead. What I don't like is how the remaing characters had in some level nothing changes in their lives. Madam Shin was let out on a bail just after a brief moments in prison and she get what she wanted, Tae Ra as the president of the company. Mo Ne continues with her pampered lifestyles. Tae Ra and Jae In not knowing of his deaths continue with their lives although mooning for him and wishing he was happy. I think the only change is Hong Tae Seong who left travelling to be indepent, be what he can be with his own merits.

Oh yeah, much as I'm trying to get use to the pairing with Noonas?Ahjummas in korean dramas, couldn't just the writer just slip in that Tae Ra was a bit uncomfortable with the age gap between her and Gun Wook? Her only concerns about Gun Wook was she's married already and Gun Wook is her sister's boyfriend...

I'm looking forward to Mischievous Kiss because of Jung So Min, she's so adorable with happy-go-lucky attitude but not so much as hell-hath-no-fury-like-a-woman-scorned. Shim Eun Kyung would probably wish that she had gone for that oversea study rather than waste time acting in this drama, also she's cute here too - but totally forgetable character.

Coffee House

Lee Jin Soo (Kang Ji Hwan) is a successful thriller novelist - to the whole world he's a gentlemen but to those who's clsose to him, he's a bit weird with sarcastic tendency and strange habits. One day while evading his publisher Seo Eun Young (Park Si Yeon) arrangement for an interview with some reporters he stumbled in Kang Seung Yeon's (Ham Eun Jung) family coffee shop and as a favor to one of his buddy who had a crush on Seung Yeon, hired Seung Yeon to be his secreatry (cum. slave) while he was writing his new novel.

Anyway, there is some history between Jin Soo and Eun Young ever since their universities day and then now Eun Young's ex-fiance (Jung Woong In) has come back into her life and acts as if it was heaven blessing that he still want Eun Young. He blames Eun Young for being so confident and independent that is why he strayed to another woman. Huh! Man and their ego! Jin Soo and Eun Young can barely tolerate him, but they have to because he was their sunbae... I guess it was the easy way, suffer a few hours of person's dreadful company rather than make a big scene. In reality, we do tends to that....

I think even half-way through the drama the audience was left guessing who Jin Soo will ends up with; his best-friend or his secreatry... many have chosen camp, but me I couldn't care less because there's simply no chemistry between him and the two female characters. It's an okay drama, but it just does not make you feel addicted that you foregone everything else, actually maybe if it wasn't for KJH, I'll give up watching in the early episodes stage, it was that draggggggggingly slow. It's a drama that overtime I'm gonna forget the storyline but will not rewatch again just to remember...

The only character that I find engaging is Kim Dong Wook (Park Jae Jung), one of Eun Young employees who has a crush on Seung Yeun. It's sad how the drama actually does not explore more on his character.....

Jung Woong In is also wonderful, I choose him in Last Scandal rather than the main hero but now, if he's real-life person I'm sure I'll avoid him at every oppurtunity....