Friday Drama Round Up #78

Ninja's Friday Drama Round Up #78

Master of Revenge or God of Noodles (Korean Drama, New)
Chun Jung Myung's new revenge drama. Kim Sung Joo plays the super villain in tn this one and boy, is he scary. This one is still in the backstory setting up stage but all the main characters have been quite intriguing thus far. 

Entertainer (Korean Drama)
I am happy to report that episode three & four were a marked improvement over the first two episodes! If you haven't checked this out one yet then be patient through the Jerry Maguire first episode and give it until episode three before you make a decision on Entertainer. 

Marriage Contract (Korean Drama, Just ended)
I am ashamed to admit that I bailed on this one pretty soon after I realized this might be a sob feast sort of story BUT Mama Ninja stuck with it and loved it so for those who don't might a little tears you might be ready to jump in. 

Magical Space Time (Chinese Drama, New)
Ruby Lin and Jia Nai Liang's new time travel romance drama. I checked out the first two episode and was pleasantly surprised by the show's comedic vibe despite it's rather tragic backstory. I can't quite declare this one a winner yet until I watched a few more episodes, but it does seem fairly promising. 

Road to the North (Chinese Drama, Pretty New)
Hawick Lau's latest revenge romance. Planning to check this one out soon...just for Hawick Lau. 

Omukae Desu (Japanese Drama, New)

A wacky new J-drama about a high school's boy's second job as Death's helper. With his new found ability of seeing spirits, our hero allows himself to be possessed in order to let the spirits finish their last wishes before they depart from this world. 

Judging by the first episode, Omukae Desu is a fun show with plenty of heart warming stories. 

Love at Seventeen (Taiwanese Drama)
Our two leads finally meet again after being apart for 13 years! Can't wait for this week's new episode. 

Up Coming Drama:

So it looks like Taiwan will be coming out with a remake of Ariel Lin and Joe Chen's It Started With a Kiss (based on a Japanese manga Itzaura na Kiss). I personally consider this to be a very brave attempt since the Ariel Lin and Joe Chen's version was quite beloved by many so the bar is going to be set quite high. 

Dino Lee (Singer/actor) will be playing the hero while Esther Wu (show host/actress) is playing the heroine's role. This drama will be the first time Dinao Lee and Esther Wu are in a leading role so it will be interesting to see how they do. FYI, back when Ariel Lin and Joe Chen did It Started With A Kiss they were pretty new as well. I guess using up coming new comers is becoming a tradition for this show.  

The New It Started With a Kiss started filming on April 21st and it's schedule to air this year. 

Golden Darling Episode 1-2 First Impression

Drama: Golden Darling (??1??)
Airs: Daily
Episodes: 40

Episode 1 & 2 Overview: 

A man who believes in carefully planning out every stage of his life, Jin Fa (Roy Chiu) is starting to get nervous when according to his timeline he is suppose to get married within the month. Luckily, a chance meeting with Ru Yu (Kuo Shu Yau) and the their wedding a month later meant Jin Fa is still on track on his life plan.  

Ready to embark on their new life together, Jin Fa and Ru Yu are busy getting their house ready for a house warming party with their friends...until an unexpected visitor shows up right in their living room. 

A time traveler from the future of 2036, Jolin is actually only 16 years old but due to some unknown reason her body has aged to 36 years old. Trapped in 2016 because her bio friendly corn battery ended up getting popped in the microwave, poor Jolin not only has to deal with her sudden aging but to convince Jin Fa and Ru Yu that she is their daughter from the future. 

Completely dismayed by the appearance of a stranger who claims to be his daughter from the future, Jin Fa tries to insists that having children was never in his "plan". Unfortunately for Jin Fa, his wife whole heartily accepts Jolin's incredible story and refuses to back down until Jin Fa relents. 

Ninja's First Impression 

What a wacky show! I really didn't know what to think of it at first but it strangely started to grow on me once I got over the initial "What the heck?!" reaction. 

Golden Darling kinda reminded me of Saturday Night Life skits a bit with it's humor and the audience laughter sound affects. It was definitely a lot of fun to see all three well known Taiwanese entertainers playing such different characters that we are used to seeing them in. To be honest I am still a bit puzzled why Roy Chiu decided to veer of his usual idol drama to do a daily but it has been a lot of fun to his comedic side.   

With the desire to expend out of the T-idol drama dominance, the producers of Golden Darling had apparently been looking for a comedy script for quite a while. When their writing team failed to come up with a viable script, the company makes the daring decision to go with three young script writer with zero experience. 

While I am quite impressed with the guts it must took for the producers of this show to try to expend the T-drama's horizon it remains to be seen if the rating would hold up. FYI the first two episodes were 0.66 and 0.60 but it looks like the third episode took a dip to 0.28. It would be quite unfortunate if the rating doesn't pick up because that would probably discourage other attempts to branch out in the future. 

Anyhow, do give Golden Darling a try. Don't expect much of a plot but it does have plenty of laughs. 

All text copyright @ www.NinjaReflection.com

Happy Home Episode 17-18 Recap

Happy Home Episode 17-18 Recap By Ninja
We are going to switch things up a bit this week and go over the two leads' story first since this week's episodes were more Mi Soon heavy. 

Eager to help Hae Ryung settle into her new house, Ji Gun shows up unannounced and insists on doing a bunch of "manly" tasks for our heroine...until he hurts himself and becomes Hae Ryung's assistant instead. 

While Hae Ryung is glorying in her new found freedom, the very impatient Madam Jang has already set up a marriage meet for her son. Annoyed by his mother's meddling, Hyun Ki declares "My wife would be very displeased by this situation" and walks out of the marriage meet. 

Actually mildly surprised that Hyun Ki took the time to make his little speech before storming out of the restaurant, Young Eun calmly tells him "Before we were lovers we were friends for 20 years, so as a friend I will tell you the truth. The more you hold onto that woman the more she will get hurt...and the reality is that you can't protect her." 

Unable to muster up enough courage to tell her parents about her decision to get a divorce yet, Hae Ryung decides to tell her little sister, Hae Won first. Despite being shocked by Hae Ryung's announcement, Hae Won nonetheless quickly chooses to support her Hae Ryung's decision once she finds out that her brother-in-law was cheating on her sister. 

Side note: Knowing how much of a shock Hae Ryung's divorce will be to her parents, Hae Won also decides to hide her pregnancy for the time being.
Falling back on his favorite trump card, Hyun Ki uses the clueless Daddy Bong to host his own promotion party and successfully shows Ji Gun first hand how much his in-laws like him. Visibly uncomfortable as he sits in Daddy Bong's restaurant, Ji Gun's expression turns even more sullen when Hyun Ki confidently hints that Hae Ryung would eventually go back to him (Hyun Ki) because of how much she loves her family. 

Fortunately, our heroine is made of a much sterner stuff than Hyun Ki thought and proves her resolution to end her marriage by confessing to her father her decision to get a divorce. To Hyun Ki's credit, he doesn't try to hide his mistake but admits quickly in front of Daddy Bong that he had an affair. 
After a sleepless night, Daddy Bong shows up at Hae Ryung's new house and tries to get his daughter to just forgive her husband's "mistake". Not backing down, a tearful but determined Hae Ryung begs her father to understand her inability to stay in such a broken marriage anymore and asks Daddy Bong to support her decision. 

Speechless as he looks at his crying daughter, Daddy Bong leaves without another word. 

Calling Hyun Ki out right after he leaves Hae Ryung's house, Daddy Bong is in no mood to forgive even when Hyun Ki kneels in front of him and promises to never cheat again. Not moved when Hyun Ki asks to be given another chance, Daddy Bong yells "Give you another chance so my child could die? For a child who has always suffered by herself instead of saying anything, a child who has never let me worry, how much has she been holding in? How much pain has she been through?" That much more disappointed because of how much he liked Hyun Ki, a sad Daddy Bong tells Hyun Ki to end the marriage quietly because that's what Hae Ryung desires. 

Much to the joy of all the ajummas in Hae Ryung's cooking class who has been complaining of Ji Gun's frequent absences, Ji Gun was finally able to make it to the last class. Smiling brightly as she watches all the ajumma taking great pleasure in teasing Ji Gun, Hae Ryung laughs when Ji Gun eventually makes his escape from the ajummas after the class ended to catch up with her. 
Readily agreeing to Ji Gun's request to help him pick out a birthday present to send to his son living overseas, Hae Ryung wonders around the mall with Ji Gun without realizing that their little outing has been seen by Ji Gun's ex-mother-in-law. So she would be Present Lee's wife and Kang Min's mother. Still holding out hope that Ji Gun would get back together with her daughter, Madam Lee is already mindful of Hae Ryung because of the hospital rumor so this little outing is not going to help at all. 
Mii Soon's Story:
Her heart aching to know how much pain her oldest daughter (Jin Hwa) has been hiding since she found out about her father's affair, Mi Soon's motherly instinct is still on full alert despite Jin Hwa's behavior has turned back to normal... sort of. Seemingly grown up overnight, Jin Hwa forces herself to put on a smiling face in order to ease her mother's mind but in reality the blind trust of her childhood has been ripped away and she can't look at her father the same way ever again.  
Still fearful that her father will be taken away, Jin Hwa gets on a bus when she mistakenly thought Se Ri was on it and ends up getting lost. Completely frantic when she finds out her daughter has gone missing, Mi Soon is a sobbing mess until Chul Soo steps forward and calms her down. 

Fortunately, Mi Soon soon gets a phone call from the police station informing her that her daughter has been found. 
Her suspicion aroused when her daughter tells her about seeing Se Ri around, Mi Soon follows Man Ho to a hospital and has her heart broken once again once she sees her husband with Se Ri. 

Stumbling home, an already overwhelmed Mi Soon explodes in anger when she sees Jin Hwa resorting to forcefully covering her little sister's ears due to her insensitive aunts talking about Man Ha's mistress right within the two girls' hearing. 

Stoic when Man Ho spins a lie about going on a trip with his "dying" friend, Mi Soon gives her husband one last chance and asks him to choose his daughter over his "friend" instead. Not surprised when an offended Man Ho insists that his"dying" friend needs him, Mi Soon readily agrees to let him leave on his trip and even gives him some money.  
Following closely behind as her husband happily drives off with his mistress in the very car she had bought him, a furious Mi Soon is ready to end it all by hurling her van right into the offending sight. Her fury turning to sadness at the last second as the image of her precious daughter flashes before her eyes, Mi Soon swerves at the last second and hits a telephone pole instead. 

His fear turning right into anger the moment he is out of danger, Man Ho confronts a still dazed Mi Soon and yells "Are you crazy? Were you trying to kill us?!" 

Staring at the man who didn't even bother to see how hurt she was, Mi Soon sneers sadly "Us? You and Se Ri are us? Then what am I?" Staring at Man Ho who feels no guilt to be caught lying but is instead busy accusing Mi Soon of being a scary woman, Mi Soon continues "I am finally seeing you. Let's end this...no, I will end this." 

Ignoring the shocked and confused impression on her husband's face, Mi Soon slowly limps away. 

Ninja's Thoughts
Yeah!!! Finally! I am assuming it might be a few more episodes before Mi Soon is divorced BUT I am so happy that she has finally realized that her husband is just hopeless. 

By the way, am I the only one torn about how I feel about pairing Chul Soo off with Mi Soon?? The writer has certainly made Chul Soo a really cool character and he certainly proved himself during Jin Hwa's disappearance that he can be the support that Mi Soon sorely needs...but isn't he just too young? Or is it just me?

After this week's episode I am actually starting to feel bad for Man Ho and Se Ri. Man Ho is not a evil guy by any means and I think deep down he actually cares more for Mi Soon than he realizes but in the end he is going to destroy everything he has over a woman who knows how to appease his pride. 

As for Se Ri, I feel bad for her because she is going to get exactly what she wanted  - Man Ho. The million dollar question I am really curious about is this: Will Se Ri still want Man Ho once Mi Soon leaves and she finds out that her "all capable" oppa is literally nothing without his wife? 

Sigh...maybe this week's episode should've been titled "Want a Happy Life? Get a Divorce!" because it sure feels like that's the case after seeing Hae Ryung's bright smile. Freed from all of shackles placed on her by her husband and his mother I am really curious to find out what our heroine's true personality is like when she no longer has to force herself to be something she is not. 

Speaking of being something she is not, I thought it was hilarious that we found out in this week that the perfect Madam Jang is actually a terrible cook. How sad is it that she only cooked once for her son and even then it was for a tv show.  

Love at Seventeen Episode 3 Recap

Love at Seventeen Episode 3 Recap By Ninja
With full confidence that Shu Lei (heroine's friend, most popular girl of the school) will eventually forgive her for refusing to reveal the identity of the mysterious "Peter", Alice is more concerned with the fact that she has fallen in love with the school's most sought after boy.

So consumed with all the confusing feelings jumbled up inside her, Alice falls asleep at school and dreams of Hao Yi declaring in the most heart skipping manner that he likes her. Darn, I was so excited there for a moment! 
Rudely woken up from her lovely dream by her friends, Alice is bewildered when she sees Shu Lei triumphantly wears a jacket from the very same boy (Qi Tai) she has sworn she will never date. Unbeknownst to Alice, through a series of misunderstandings Shu Lei has come to the mistaken conclusion that Qi Tai is her secret admirer Peter. At first perplexed by the mistaken identity, Qi Tai quickly realizes this is his perfect chance to date Shu Lei and unabashedly assumes the role of Peter.

Unable to understand why Alice is still insisting on protecting Peter's identity even when she has already decided to date Qi Tai as a reward for him being her secret admirer, Shu Lei sees Alce's silence as a further proof of her betrayal.

Still not forgiven by Shu Lei, Alice is resigned to go home all by her lonesome until Hao Yi invites himself to her house with the excuse that he desperately needs some math tutoring. Notwithstanding her full intention to do all she can to save Hao Yi from flunking his math class, Alice's study session with Hao Yi soon turns into a tickling session when our hero discovers that she is ticklish.

Embarrassed when the play wrestling ended with Hao Yi on top of her, Alice shyly reminds Hao Yi to get back to studying. His mind obviously not on the books at all, Hao Yi eventually turns the conversation into a investigation about who Alice likes. Too shy to just tell Hao Yi that she likes him, Alice drops several hints for Hao Yi to figure out on his own...alas our hero is too dense and ends up stomping away in anger believing Alice must like some other guy.
At first disheartened by Hao Yi sudden departure, Alice's mood lightens considerably when she finds a piece of paper Hao Yi accidentally left behind.

Fuming by himself as he wonders who Alice likes, Hao Yi hides his delight when he looks up to find Alice in front of him. His delight quickly turning to embarrassment once Alice takes out his math test and asks "Would someone who gets 100% on his test really be in danger of flunking math class?" Hao Yi utters a few weak protests then quickly change the subject to the upcoming dance party at the school camping trip and insists that he will be Alice's partner...since no one else would be her date anyway.
Ignoring all the girls that are clamoring for his attention, Hao Yi sits down in front of Alice and for once is honest with his feelings as he invites Alice to dance with him not because he pities her but because he truly wants to be with her.

With her dram coming true right in front of her, Alice bright smile suddenly wanes as her mind finally connects the dots and realizes that her best friend might be in danger.

Dumbfounded when Alice pulls her hand away from his and turns down his dance invitation by saying "I have more important things to do right now," Hao Yi stands frozen as Alice dashes away for what he assumes must be to another boy's side.
Suspicious that Qi Tai might attempt to get Shu Lei drunk, Alice runs around searching for her best friend. Tipped off as well that Qi Tai is in possession of alcohol, the teachers are also out searching for Qi Tai's whereabouts.

Gasping in shock when they see two shadows on top of each other in a tent, the little group of searchers burst in with the worst possible conjectures in mind. Confusion turning to dismay when she looks up to see Hao Yi's shocked expression, Alice tries to explain but no one seems to be listening.

Unwilling to fess up his plan to get Shu Lei drunk, Qi Tai promptly accuses Alice of trying to seduce him out of her jealousy towards her best friend. Angrily denying Qi Tai's charge, Alice protests that she was the one that pushed Qi Tai off her and she was only trying to find Shu Lei to tell her that Qi Tai is not Peter. Unable to stand by when he sees Alice is still valiantly trying keep his secret under the worst situation, Han Ming finally announces that he is the real Peter.

Unfortunately, Han Ming's public confession was met with disbelief and all the students choose to believe Alice as some tramp who tried to seduce her best friend's boyfriend. Bewildered, Alice turns her pleading eyes to Hao Yi but her hope is cruelly dashed when even Hao Yi refuses to believe her.

Time Jump to 13 years later! We meet our heroine first.

Working as a lab researcher, it is easy to see that the 30 year old Alice is no longer the friendly eager girl with a pleasant smile for everyone. Instead, feared and despised by most of her co-workers, Alice has become a well known emotionless robot at her work place. 

Our hero on the other hand doesn't seem to have changed as dramatically as Alice but has simply matured and gain a whole lot of confidence with his success in his career. Back from U.S., Hao Yi has accepted a job with the Jie Si Te corporation as their crisis management specialist...the same company our heroine works at.
Showing up at the very same comic book store he used to frequent during his high school days, Hao Yi jumps to action when a man started choking in the store. Stunned when he realizes while he was busy saving the man's life, the woman standing next to him had "rescued" the much sought after comic book from the choking man's hand and has gone off to enjoy herself at a cubical, Hao Yi is determined to educate the cold blooded woman on principles of human kindness.

Impatient to have some stranger buzzing around her her when she simply wanted to enjoy her comic book, Alice stands up to leave and belatedly realizes the busybody is none other than Hao Yi.
Giving no indication that she recognized Hao Yi, Alice simply checked out the comic book and walked away.

Nagged by a sense of familiarity even though most of Alice's face was covered by a mask, Hao Yi mutters to himself "It can't be Alice. She has disappeared for 13 years...plus there is no way a woman with such a dreadful personality could be Alice."

Meanwhile, other than a slight pause as she walked out of the comic book store Alice gives no sign that Hao Yi was more than a stranger to her.

Thankfully not torturing us with a bunch of near misses, the writer quickly allows the two leads' paths to cross again. Eager to meet the famous researcher A.I. of Jie Si Te corporation, Hao Yi is shocked when Alice walks in and calmly introduces herself "I am researcher A.I. short for Alice."

Ninja's Thoughts

Sigh...this episode left me in a gloomy mood. The sweet first crush that had so much hope and the friendship that should've lasted forever all came crushing down in such a epic manner for our heroine. I think Alice's pain resonated with me because all of us probably had to learn those life lesson in one way or another so it left a more lasting impression on me.
Judging by how drastically Alice has changed to the point of attempting to shut off all her emotions I am assuming there must be more unpleasant things that happened after the school camping trip that the show hasn't shown us yet. I cringe to think what Hao Yi might've done 13 years ago as a teenage boy who can't see past his hurt pride, but I guess we have the rest of the show to make him beg for Alice's forgiveness. By the way, I will freely admit that the heroine wasn't the brightest bulb at the school camp either. It seems plain dumb that she wouldn't tell Hao Yi that she is concerned about her friend but instead chose to go off in the dark to search for Shu Lei herself. 

I didn't include this in the recap but I am a bit worried about Alice's fainting spell at work and her trip to the doctor's office towards the end of this episode. I am hoping really hard that the writer is not going to spring some fatal disease on us but instead is just paving a way for the hero to have a reason to take care of the heroine...or maybe the reason why she disappeared years ago??

I am strangely looking forward to next week's episode when Edison Wang's nerdy character will come back triumphant as the successful AND very good looking grown up Peter. There were a few hints that maybe Peter has turned his idol crush on Shu Lei into genuine feelings for Alice but then according to the preview it looks like he will be reunited with Shu Lei soon so I wonder if maybe he and Alice has become more like families to each other than potential lovers.

All text copyright @ www.NinjaReflection.com