Wow, Lola, way to make me look lazy!! I do exist, everyone!! I'm just busier than a certain someone. Now for my first post!So I've been watching this drama, Bad Guy (or Bad Boy, apparently), for a few days and it's been....well....hmm. To be frank, I cannot decide if I kinda like this drama or really hate it. The reason I chose it is because Kim Jae Wook is in it (LOVE), and I figured you can't go wrong if he's in it, right? Well, I've yet to answer that question.
Here's a little relatively Spoiler-free synopsis of Bad Guy:
Choi Tae-Seung is adopted by the Haeshin Group, sold by his real family (who actually loves him), because he is believed to be the President of the Haeshin Group's illegitimate child. However, after a little while it is found out that the paternity tests were mixed up and the child is not actually the illegitimate child of the President, and is cast out as a liar (he's like, 6 years old by the way) for attempting to trick his way into the Haeshin Group. The real illegitimate child was then brought in, and the first son was forced to go. Years later, all involved have grown up and the first son, who has taken on the name Shim Gun-Wook, takes revenge on the Haeshin Group for all it has done to him.
Now, like I said, I have a hard time telling whether I like or hate this drama. The premise is good, with a very interesting story. Starts off with a death, but it comes forth that it might be a murder rather than a suicide, which they originally thought. They find out that the girl who died is Hong Tae-Seung's (the second son, the real illegitimate child) girlfriend. This may or may not be a major plot point later on.
In the mean time, It's Hong Mo Ne's (the youngest daughter of the Haeshin Group) birthday! So she's having a party on an island. And what do you know, there's a movie being filmed on this island as well, which causes Mo Ne and her sister to meet an unknown, but undeniably sexy stuntman. This may also become important later on.
In the mean time, we also find ANOTHER main character (now are you getting why I can't tell if I like this?), who is employed by the wife of the Haeshin Group, and is friends with Mo Ne. This girl's name is Moon Jae-In (alias: Mary-Sue). She decides to go to this island, as well, to attend Mo Ne's birthday party, but secretly her mission is to seduce Hong Tae-Seung, because she's kind of a gold-digger. So she goes to the island and ALSO meets this mysteriously sexy stuntman. This may or may not become important later.
So that's pretty much a summary of the first episode or two. Lots of confusion, lots of characters, and, once we get to know Shim Gun-Wook better, LOTS of dramatic flashbacks. And not dramatic in that 'OMG so saaaad! D;' way. No, no, no. At first it's kinda like that. But after the...oh, I dunno, FIFTH ridiculously dramatic flashback, it's kinda gotten to the If-that-really-happens-in-real-life-I'm-gonna-go-kill-myself-right-now-because-I-have-no-faith-left-in-humanity amount of tragic and sad. It's really hard to watch. Once those Smack-You-In-The-Face-With-Drama Flashbacks end, though, it's better. The story begins to unfold, Shim Gun-Wook's plan starts going into action, all with a more-than-healthy helping of Sexual Tension, and OH, did I mention Love Triangles? Or really, it's more like Love Hexagons....or something. Basically, everyone wants to sex Shim Gun-Wook, both Hong Tae-Seung and Shim Gun-Wook are in love with Moon Jae-In, Moon Jae-In is in love with the guy who has the CashMoneys, and Moon Jae-In's sister is in love with her sideburns.
As far as acting goes, this is a pretty good drama. I can't say I really love the characters, since half of them are intended for your hatred, and half of them have some kind of stunted emotions caused by some kind of trauma.
Shim Gun-Wook is an AMAZING character, played PERFECTLY by Kim Nam Gil. The perfect click between the two sides of Shim Gun-Wook is literally visible, nearly tangible: the cold, ruthless hatred of a man who was hurt beyond measure and is thus seeking revenge, and the sweet, caring, more-than-lovable man that he would have been, and almost is, if not for his childhood trauma and lust for revenge. Shim Gun-Wook is an excellent character, played by an incredible actor, but I would probably like him a lot more if he wasn't such a pussy and got a little more selfish when it comes to Moon Jae-In.
Moon Jae-In is basically a Mary-Sue character. She is poor, and hates it. Her father died a while ago and her mother is off working somewhere. She lives with her troublesome little sister (who is pretty annoying in my opinion, and has a terrible haircut), and works for Haeshin Group's wife's art gallery. She WAS Mrs. Hong's favorite, because she knew her boundaries around people of a higher social class, but after the whole glass mask thing around episode 7 or 8, she lost favor in Mrs. Hong's eyes. Moon Jae-In is pretty, with gigantic eyes and lovely cheekbones, and manages to seduce the man she's after, be it the real Hong Tae-Seung or Shim Gun-Wook, who pretends to be Hong Tae-Seung for the first few episodes. She has a flawed, but strong sense of justice, getting angry and yelling at anyone who does bad, and yet is only interested in men with money, since her philosophy in life is to have 'A fine carriage rather than fine morals'.
Hong Tae-Seung is a really, really dumb character, but I guess he's necessary. He is played by Kim Jae-Wook, and played perfectly, so it's really just the character that I hate, rather than the acting. Hong Tae-Seung is basically the rebellious character of the illegitimate son who never got enough attention. He spends the whole drama pouting, crying, shouting, sulking and drinking, and generally acting like a very over-grown four-year-old. My hatred for this character very nearly cancels out my love for Kim Jae-Wook (at least while I watch this drama) because of how mind-numbingly obnoxious and blatantly damaged he is.
Not to sound too repetitive, but I really cannot decide if I like or hate this drama. With the factors of the premise versus the outcome, the acting versus the characters, the confusion versus the complexity of the story, it's just too hard to decide. I know I'll review this again, once it gets more interesting and/or when the series ends.
As far as recommendation goes, if you're looking for a really good drama, then watch something else. If you're so bored that you need to watch a drama or else you're going to start yanking your own hair out and banging your head against the walls, go for it! (That is, watch the drama, don't yank your hair out or cause yourself brain damage) The later episodes are worth watching, at the very least, even if you have to go through those first few (annoying) episodes to get there.
Sorry about the ridiculously long post! I couldn't help ranting a little bit, along with synopsis and whatnot. Hopefully I can find time to post more! Until then,
Love~ Zazi.
No comments:
Post a Comment