I tried Waikiki first and it might be the first time I really laughed out loud at a Kdrama. Sure, I've smiled before, but this one is seriously funny in a pratfall physical comedy sense that I hadn't seen in a Kdrama before. It's about a group of guys (+ one girl) who own a failing B&B (in Honolulu, Hawaii, I'm guessing, given the name of the drama). One morning they wake to find a baby and expected hijinks ensue. You know, poop. Diapers. A breastfeeding mom (once she comes back). Embarrassment. Public humiliation. So, so so much awkward. There's more but I'm going to leave it for another write up for when I finish watching it because I definitely will go back to it. But...
Then I watched the first episode of The Legend of the Blue Sea. The description says that it's the story of a mermaid from the Joseon era (1500s)...well, here:
Shim Cheong (Jun Ji Hyun) is a mermaid who follows her one true love, a nobleman’s son from the Joseon Dynasty, to modern-day Seoul. Moon’s modern doppelgänger is Heo Joon Jae (Lee Min Ho), a highly skilled scam artist who first becomes interested in Shim Cheong because of a jade bracelet worth $6 million that Shim Cheong wears. (Edit: she's NOT from the Joseon era; she's a reincarnation of the self back then, just like everyone else in this how...man, I hate whoever writes the blurbs)So I knew going in that Joon Jae was a con man. I did NOT know that he was going to turn out to be YET ANOTHER EFFING CHAEBOL WITH FAMILY ISSUES. But by then I was in love with the characters. So...sigh. Here I go again.
Jun Ji Hyun is particularly a joy as she is so fully committed to her "fish out of water" mermaid on land and the expressions she makes are priceless. Great physical comedy. She's beautiful but obviously not at all afraid to go full throttle crazypants. I will definitely try My Love From the Star someday just because she's in it. I'm actually liking Lee Min Ho more than I anticipated too -- he's a conman but he shows his good heart quite early on (even if he is in denial about his attraction to Shim Cheong). I'd also seen him in clips from another show called Heirs (that I may or may not watch as it's definitely a chaebol-filled fun fest) and he just...well, he looked really smarmy in that. But I'm really enjoying him in this.
And this is a show full of fate & coincidences & mystical realism but unlike Secret Garden or About Time, it WORKS. I love it. I'm about to start episode 9 and oh man oh man oh man, I really really hope it doesn't go south. Because so far, every time I've had a question about the mythology of how the whole mermaid thing works or the bouncing back and forth between the Joseon timeline vs. the modern day one, it has been answered (or you at least get a partial answer and the promise of future reveals).
And the writer is handling the comedy element so well too -- the miscommunication from the straight-talking, very literal minded mermaid to the wily conman that is his own competition/worst enemy. But also the pathos and the heavy moments. Many of the more serious ones so far have been in the Joseon era (other than when Shim Cheong nearly dies after being run over by a car) but they've all worked.
I'm not even minding the chaebol thing too much (maybe because Joon Jae ran away from it all and wants nothing to do with it?) though there is a seriously evil step-mom thing going here (and a possibly evil but possibly good step-brother). If this show can keep it up, it may well end up my new favourite.
Edit: Welp. I'm about to start episode 18 and am in the home stretch now. There are 20 episodes (+3 special things -- I started off with the director's cut versions of episode 1 and 2 and just skipped the normal ones). It has maintained it's goodness. I've had very few quibbles, though the lightheartedness of the early episodes has been going progressively darker as they delve into the depths (and I ain't talking about the ocean). There are still some comedy moments and fluffiness but also plenty of doom and gloom and foreshadowing of coming pain (though also, potentially, hope). I'm pretty sure it will end up mostly happy, though the father-son reconciliation wound up just being a dying confession on the dad's part -- and via voice mail message to boot. So not a lot of closure for Joon-jae.
I'd say the writer has really plotted this one pretty well. The only somewhat issues (at this point), would be that I don't actually see why the Black Widow Evil Step Mom stayed married to Chairman Heo for so long. 17 years. She killed off her other husbands within a year. It might be that she had to wait until Joon Jae disappeared, but that was eons ago as he ran off when he was a teenager and it seems like her plot to kill him off too so he can't contest the will is fairly recent. Also that Real Mom was stupid for not ever contacting her son (or trying to) based on what feels like ONE conversation with Evil Next Wife...I mean, why would she trust what the woman that just stole her husband said? But I can forgive this one as Director Nam's wife had lied and told her Joon Jae was happy & studying overseas. But it is a little weak, maybe because I'm a mom and I would NEVER do what she did (even if she is a sympathetic character).
I think they've done a good job of showing the internal conflict/jealousy in Chi-hyun, the waffling stepbrother. He was manipulated by his mother all along and has realistic baggage. Not sure yet whether he's going to turn out "bad" or "good" but it could go either way and was well done. It's a believable arc either way (good or bad--there's enough evidence for either), though if he'd received true love from his Stepfather, the chance would have been much higher for good. But he didn't get that. Dad, let's be honest, was truly a blind idiot in both the literal and figurative senses. Not even sad that he died, though he really couldn't catch a break. He was weak and selfish (on so many levels) and that's how he wound up where he did.
The Evil Step Mom is actually more of a flat character with no progression. Her motivations remain unchanged and she's really a bit of a generic sociopath. The serial killer dad of Chi-hyun is actually Evil with a capital E but he's got more of a "reason" (if that makes sense) -- he'd carried over the burden of his evil deeds from his last life into this one and they had plagued him and driven him a bit mad all his life. Well, Evil Step Mom sort of did too, but somehow the difference in the actor's portrayal brings more weight to Ma Dae Young. Not that I have any sympathy for him at all; I mean, he's bad through and through.
It's Nam-doo that I think is going to wind up possibly feeling like the big bad. They are teasing it. I'm a little conflicted about that. I kind of expected it (the set up has been going on for ages), but I was also kind of hoping that his better nature overcomes his greed, but with the glimpses of the past Nam-doo in the Joseon era, it doesn't seem likely. But part of the whole thing with this show is -- are we tied to fate? Are they doomed to repeat it?
One thing I wish they had either really done OR not done at all...around the midpoint it seemed like the present was having an effect on the past timeline. Dam-ryung's death date became later than the historical one, he was able to hide/preserve a scroll as a message to Joon-jae, etc. But then there was the tragic end for the original lovers and I'm not sure why they moved the death date? Was it just a red herring to give hope to their story? If so, it didn't last long enough to have a "good" effect on the plot and instead just winds up a note of disappointment. But there's still something going on "back there" as we see memories via the comatose Director (quibble: coma occurs an inordinate amount in Kdramas compared to real life, doesn't it?). I'm sure he'll wake up at the precise moment he needs to...
But. Anyway. The pacing has barely flagged and nothing in particular has been dropped (though I still really want to know why the little girl can hear Chung's mermaid voice). Only a few more episodes to go! Please, please end well.
Edit: (after episode 18) Oh, so glad they didn't go the route to make Nam-doo the bad guy! It was a nice caper twist and worked out believably enough for the characters. You could see him going either way and it was an effective plot twist rather than being something out of left field. Now to see what happens with him and Chung (well, after she survives being shot, because I don't think they actually killed either of them at the end of this last episode when there's two more episodes to go).
Edit: Finished it. Overall, I'm happy with this one and glad I watched it. Is it my fav now? I'm not entirely sure. I feel a bit bittersweet about the end because, while the ever-present Kdrama forced separation thing was used (a three year one this time), I can see that it works okay BUT I really don't think it was necessary -- nor was it necessary for her to wipe his memories yet again (I mean, seriously, his brain's gotta be like swiss cheese). Even though he fought to retain his memories, they weren't complete. Didn't she learn anything? About not erasing love? I get why it was a valid way to go BUT I really wish they hadn't, not when she herself had said she wouldn't erase the memory of his dad from him.
That choice also meant that the ending, once Chung was back in his life again wherein he was the only one to have any real memories of her (and his memories were incomplete and based partly on what he'd documented), didn't contain ANY more follow up of the other characters because it would have been too confusing to hash out in the short amount of time left in the final episode. They didn't even SHOW the wedding (just a picture of them in bridal get up), which was another cheat for the viewers. Yes, it's a story of their destined love but it was also a story about the family that they had created around themselves -- seriously, writer-person, that was an underlying theme for this show--FAMILIAL LOVE--and so this ending with the forced separation and the memory-wipe thing feels like a cop out. So, basically, while it works and it fit the characters okay, it also felt too typical. Like something any drama would have done...so it would have been nice if they had done something else. Something more magical and unexpected. Also, the show talked a number of times about "give and take" -- why couldn't she have given him his memories back? Or why didn't he go to the old sage-y neuropsychologist to get his memories back as he'd done previously? Seems like a plot hole.
Thank goodness Joon-jae had at least thought ahead and created a contingency plan with his journal. Though it really didn't make sense that when she first talks to him in front of everyone he pretends not to know her but then five minutes later finds her so they can re-create their iconic umbrella scene. What was the point of that other than to bring that imagery back? Anyway.
I just counted. Since this new obsession started I have watched (or partially watched) about 18 or 20 dramas. At least half of them have used some form of the forced separation. Whatever I watch next needs to NOT have a chaebol thing or forced separation. Seriously.
But, anyway, 100% glad I watched this one. There were very few things I could fault it on (other than some predictability) and while I wish the end had been a bit different, I can't say that there's actually yet been a Kdrama that I've watched where I've liked the end any more than this one. Does that make sense? There are quite a few ends I've liked MUCH less, that's for sure. I would even watch this one again (with some judicious forwarding). Very much enjoyed Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Min Ho. In fact, enjoyed Lee Min Ho MUCH more than I thought I would. Not that I'd seen him in anything other than clips so far from a few different series (like Boys over Flowers and Heirs) but the bits I had seen had made me think I wasn't going to be a huge fan. He changed my mind with this one. He did a lovely job and actually made the romance much more believable than it might have been in someone else's hands. Ji-hyun was just a treat all the way around. Totally adore her. Would also love to have her hair. Ha.
Also quite enjoyed Shin Won Ho (as Tae-ho) -- very sweet (though, really, they didn't have to fob him off as some kind of consolation prize to Shi-ah in the end), and Lee Hee Joon (as Nam-doo) who played that edge of good guy/bad guy so well. Lee Ji-hoon was also really excellent as the conflicted stepbrother.
Edit: (after mulling it over all night when I couldn't sleep) I think I figured out what's really bothering me about the ending and it has to do with the mythology of the show (plus, probably, my growing hatred of the forced separation thing). Throughout the show, it was shown that the mind wiping was not anywhere near a perfect, no error thing -- Joon-jae was getting flashbacks before Shim Cheung even arrived in Seoul. Nam-doo had flashes of memory whenever he stubbed his toe. Even right after she'd performed her mind erasing trick on the tacky rich couple, the lady remembered there was something about Dubai. Many more instances of this. AND the show more or less posits that the effect of the mind wipe is less effective as Shim Cheong is weakened. She is at her weakest point after the gunshot -- I mean, it's the entire reason she leaves for three years! -- and she goes around and wipes the memories of not just one person but LOADS (not just the ones we see, but she would've had to do Detective Hong too and his underling at the very least). And we're not talking small wipes, but big ones, as she's completely erasing herself from 10+ people. Based on what happened with previous wipes when she was stronger, these wipes would be nowhere near complete or perfect. And while people may forget things normally over the course of 3 years, I don't find it believable within the mythological framework that the show built that NO ONE would remember her at all. And thus, the forced separation/memory wipe thing really bugs me and bugs me more and more the more I think about it.
Bleh. Still really enjoyed the show though. Once again, it wasn't until the end that things fall apart. The centre did hold...
So...my ending for this -- they could even keep the ridiculous forced separation thing if they want -- Cheung attempts to wipe everyone's memory and be the Noble Idiot/Martyr, leaves for her deep sea recuperation, comes back. But rather than having forgotten her (maybe they forgot temporarily, maybe they have gaps in their memories, maybe they have remembered more and more over time), they all remember her when she gets back because Joon-jae has kept her memory alive and helped them all to not forget. And that's not even an issue with the mermaid thing because the only other person who knew that was Nam-doo and he finally proved at the end that he was on the side of good. Probably Joon-jae made excuses that she was off recovering somewhere. I dunno. But she comes back and finds herself once again surrounded by the family that she has made for herself and in the arms of her destined love. Then the final bits/epilogue could also include some scenes with the family -- at the very least, the wedding, with Nam-doo giving her away and Real Mom crying and Yoon-na as a flower girl (though they'd probably have to use a different actress to show the 3 year gap), Tae-oh snapping a surreptitious picture and Shi-ah whacking him in the head. All of that stuff. Then, sure, they can move to their cottage on the beach and have the nice cuddly scenes at the end. Fin.
I like that better. That'll be my head canon now.
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