Love Rain, literally

Looks like they’re taking the title literally for Love Rain, with series leads Jang Geun-seok and Yoon-ah meeting in the rain in the above still.
The multigenerational “premium melodrama” from melo king PD Yoon Seok-ho (he of the Season dramas) has already pre-sold to Japan, no doubt owing a lot of its hype to the two stars, both of whom have heightened profiles abroad as well as home. The drama has been filming since September, starting with the earlier 1970s period; it’ll then cover the following decades and resume with their children’s generation. The analog-versus-digital dichotomy is one of the main motifs, in addition to the youthful-love-and-angst melo plots we’ve come to expect from PD Yoon.
The drama is planning for an early 2012 broadcast, which means a good amount of it will be pre-shot. That’s probably for the better; it’s hard to maintain “premium” levels of quality when you’re mired deep in the live shoot.

Me Too, Flower: Episode 2

Hello! I’m orangy911 and I have the honor of writing recaps for Me Too, Flower on this wonderful site, which has been my virtual home for anything related to K-dramas for the past four years. I’m excited to finally be contributing something to this community and I look forward to discussing the good and the bad about this drama.
First things first, I think we can all agree that we’re going to have to engage in some suspension of disbelief. Now, I’m naturally a sarcastic, sardonic person who likes to make fun of things, but I will try to get over the fact that:

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 8

The scenarios aren’t amusing, but these characters crack me up. Who would’ve thought a wedding cancellation would be funny? At a certain point, you have to step back and marvel at the way the rich folks in this drama think; it’s like you’re watching people from another planet, I swear.
That said, could we please return the focus to Seo-yeon and her oppa and dongseng, please? They’re the heart of this drama, and without them front and center, the drama starts to feel distant and amusing rather than moving.
SONG OF THE DAY

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 7

Ji-hyung faces the firing squad for his decision, and some of the bullets veer left and hit Seo-yeon instead. But when my heart isn’t breaking for them, mostly I’m spending the episode laughing my ass off because of Hyang-gi’s parents and their bizarre ideas about what is and is not right. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the first dramas where I love watching the so-called villains of the piece as much as the good guys. I could watch Lee Mi-sook be her character all day, every day.


EPISODE 7 RECAP

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 6

Episode, meet your two guest stars, Fallout and Damage Control. It’s time to turn the focus onto the other side of this fractured love story, which means that we get some necessary development, although sadly less focus on my favorite characters (Seo-yeon and her two awesome men, aka oppa and dongseng). But at least we get more of the awesome Lee Mi-sook, who can turn the most dire situation darkly funny.
I’m relieved to have Flower Boy Ramyun Shop running concurrently with this one, because I’ll need all its fluffy cuteness to ease the heart-wrenching intensity of Thousand Day Promise. True, it makes me feel vaguely schizo to bounce from choked sobs to belly laughs, but I’ll take that tradeoff.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 5

This episode just about killed me dead. It’s D-day, otherwise known as fan-hitting time for le shit. I love how quickly we get here, how raw the emotions are, and as always, I’m madly in love with Jae-min. He really ought to just dispense with that silly car and ride around on a white horse.


EPISODE 5 RECAP
Ji-hyung and Jae-min share a drink, and Ji-hyung confesses that he regrets it

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 4

It’s the brothers’ episode to shine, as some characters go hurtling towards the truth, while others stay firmly in the land of denial. Grab a hanky and settle in. Oh, and you’re also gonna want your phone handy, to call your brother when it’s over.
Ratings: Promise hits a new high with 17.5%; Kye Baek follows with 13.3%; and Poseidon brings in the rear with 7.3%.


EPISODE 4 RECAP

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 3

Ooh, I love how things are shaping up. I really appreciate that this drama can be emotionally stirring, but without the grand melodrama that usually accompanies this genre. It’s full of emotion, without wallowing in it or offering it up as some sort of glorious misery. At least not where it counts (mothers and aunts can be excitable, sure): namely Seo-yeon, who faces her crisis with such a realistic mix of feeling — coolness that turns to fear, calm that erupts in panic — that I’m just captivated by her struggle.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 2

I didn’t love the first episode, but I did love the second. The first rattled me, because it began so unconventionally, in medias res (and not the kind where you get the quick 48 hours earlier orientation either). But this episode takes a step back, not in time, but in breathing room. I feel like I have some space to learn who the characters are, which draws me in. I don’t know that the first episode alone would’ve hooked me, but paired with the second, it makes the world feel lived in, and whole. I’ll discuss this further in the comments, along with a note on melodrama as a genre.

Thousand Day Promise: Episode 1

Thousand Day Promise premiered today, and has all the makings of a taut, angsty melodrama. To be perfectly honest, by the halfway point I wasn’t sure I was enjoying the episode, but I was captivated by the conflict, the emotion, and the acting.
One of the things that make the writing great about this episode is that what you see at first glance is not always what you get. A scene starts out a certain way, then develops and twists and ends up in a surprising place. I love that. There’s conflict all over the place, and tons of flawed characters.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop: Episode 6

This drama is candy-coated crack laced with Tabasco. How can a drama be so many things? It’s cute, it’s hilarious, it’s witty, it’s addictive, and it’s HOT. What I love about this show is that it’s got oodles of heart, but it’s always better when that heart is couched in wit and sexual tension and lots and lots of toilet humor.


EPISODE 6: “A Secret That Cannot Be Told”