"Descendants of the Sun" Episode 3 recap

After a long week of waiting, "Descendants of the Sun" has graced us with another episode that came in at an unheard of 23.4%. Again, I can't iterate enough how slick and gorgeous it is or how fantastic the actors are in their roles. Song Joong-ki, despite his pretty face, is 100% masculine and in charge of his character while Song Hye-gyo owns the drastic change in hers. Not to mention that we finally get to see the beauty of Greece that plays the role of the country Uruk where the drama takes place. Please be sure to stick around for some home grown insight about Greece from Orion, HanCinema's own Greek goddess.

The drama has a wonderful way of transitioning from scene to scene using objects as transitional material, very much like musical composers do with different motives and themes in songs. Its use of sound and light are the most noticeable (good) side effect of having time to produce. And, of course, there is the fact that the camera revels in the natural grandeur of Greece and its expansive waters and craggy, verdant islands. It really is stunning.

As for the plot, well, this episode was weaker than the first two. The events that occurred seemed disjointed and only included in order to show off the skills of the characters. When the episode concluded, the details fit together, but the duration of the show was a little strange in pacing. Then there are the foreign actors come to add awkwardness yet again. At least their roles served solid purposes, but the stunted line delivery and silly faces detracted from the severity of the situation - the black arms market is no paltry matter and it was hard to focus with David McInnis pointing guns at bad actors.

With that said, there was some amazing character development. Si-jin is as immature and fallible as they come. He's not good at flirting with Mo-yeon and errs many times, but he absolutely adores her. His learning curve is quick and his intuition is quicker. He can see something drastically different in her demeanor and behavior. Losing the professorship for the third time and to a reason as demeaning as nepotism has broken Mo-yeon's spirit and will to be a good doctor. She has become a ladder-climber, and Si-jin doesn't like to see it. I appreciate the disappointment he openly shows in her. He doesn't shy away from that or how he still feels about her. That emotion motivates him to push her to remember the passion she once felt as a doctor, to the point where he will hold others at gunpoint to help her save a life. A bit dramatic, but quite effective.

Their situation is a reversal of the second episode where she criticized him for following orders that weren't for the greater good. He obviously kept it with him as his actions in the episode show. Mo-yeon and Si-jin are like mirrors for each other: being around each other forces them to reckon with themselves.

We finally get to truly meet Myung-joo who is as feisty as Dae-yeong is serious. Her appearance is quite short, but enough to render her quite likable. Onew as youthful and naive doctor Lee Chi-hoon is adorable and good for comic relief, at least for now. I saw those tears in the trailer. And I am looking forward to see how hard circumstances mold and change our characters. Until episode 4!

Orion's trivium: The beautiful beach featured in the episode is "Navagio (Shipwreck)" beach in Zakynthos, Greece. The beach is only accessible by sea and air, although there is a lookout point on a monastery at the top of the cliff and a location for rope jumping. As beautiful as the scenery is, the story behind the shipwreck is less than romantic.
The vessel, named "Panagiotis" ended up there in 1982, according to many reports, when bad weather got it stuck near the shore. The ship was actually carrying smugglers of cigarettes and there are a few versions as to how things went down. The simplest one is that it just hit the bottom near the shore after its engine failed. Another one has the Greek Navy or coastguard chasing them until they were forced to shallow waters.
According to the most interesting one, the captain and crew locked the smugglers up in order to profit off of the goods themselves. When the ship got stuck at the drop-off point, they dumped the waterproof packages into the sea, hoping it would help. As it clearly did not, the crew and smugglers simply headed for shore and were later arrested. It is said that local residents looted the vessel and took the cargo found all over the area. The authorities later gathered all the illegal items from homes near the location.

Written by: Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

Trivium by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

"Descendants‬ of the Sun" is directed by Lee Eung-bok, written by Kim Eun-sook and Kim Won-seok-II, and features Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo, Jin Goo, and Kim Ji-won-I.

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"Please Come Back, Mister" Episode 3 recap

As it turns out, the background for "Please Come Back, Mister" still isn't completely fleshed out, although by the end of the episode Yeong-soo and Gi-tak have managed to progress to the level of zany schemes against conspiratorial villains. It helps that they become aware of each other's existence here, finally realizing that they're in this game together in a scene that proves to be a bit of an out-of-body experience. Yes, that was a dumb joke. So are most of the ones in "Please Come Back, Mister".
While I can be a fan of dumb jokes in the right context, "Please Come Back, Mister" is rubbing me the wrong way by just being kind of loud. Yeong-soo manages to annoy just about everyone by having a huge crying fit for the stupidest possible reason, while Gi-tak is more loud in body language. I can't get past how ridiculous he looks spreading her legs out so wide. Is it really that hard for him to find some clothes that aren't a short skirt?
Although that's all really more of a personal taste issue. My sense of character sympathy is really badly skewed for this drama. It might be because Yeong-soo and Gi-tak's goals aren't that clearly defined. When Yeong-soo does voiceover about how terrorizing his family with morbid false revelations about himself, he rationalizes it as being for the greater good, but what greater good? Yeong-soo's ethical reputation is about all his family has left to be proud of anymore.
The way "Please Come Back, Mister" keeps alternating between serious drama and loud jokes is also a bit of a problem. It's weird how Yeong-soo and Gi-tak will spend a lot of time talking badly about themselves, provoking moments of choked emotions, and then the whole premise gets undercut by another joke. I feel legitimately bad for Yeong-soo's doppleganger. He just wants to be the guy who makes dad proud, but that's not what fate has in store for him.
Am I overthinking this? Probably. Logically it's obvious to see that the appeal in "Please Come Back, Mister" is mostly rooted in the way Rain struts around acting like a complete buffoon. "Please Come Back, Mister" is an excessively goofy low-brow comedy where body switching is the main selling point while the plot lingers in the background. As genre material it's probably doing exactly what it's supposed to do, so I can't really hate it that much. Even so, I really just want to get to a more concretely defined conflict sooner rather than later.
Review by William Schwartz
"Please Come Back, Mister" is directed by Sin Yoon-seob, written by Noh Hye-yeong and features Rain Kim Soo-ro, Kim In-kwon, Oh Yeon-seo, Lee Min-jeong, Lee Honey, Choi Won-yeong, Yoon Park and more

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"Moorim School" Episode 14 recap

I'm still trying to sort through what just happened in "Moorim School"'s episode 14. The plot was relatively straightforward, but I have no idea what the show is trying to tell me about the characters.

I thought a while of how to analyze this and this is what I've come up with: Chi-ang is supposed to be divided by his loyalty as a son to his morally-impaired father and by his love for his friends who have seen him (according to exposition) through thick and thin. We're shown a montage of him with Si-woo compiled mostly of their first days together. (Why didn't the show give us a better grip on their friendship than that?) Then we're shown numerous scenes with vague dialogue about their deep friendship that is fraught with daddy issues. We know that Chi-ang struggles against becoming the cruel man his father is, but the staring and brooding make it very hard to really see into him as a character; or to feel the connection between him and Si-woo. I do appreciate that he understands there is a choice to make as to what sort of person he will be, but there is so much back and forth that the gravity of such a decision is lost.

Then there is Si-woo himself. He has turned into Mr. Miagi - giving sage advice and guiding the foursome. At the same time, he's a struggling youth, but the dichotomy isn't shown well. He starts crying and I'm confused by the onslaught of tears - they weren't properly set up. Also, what happened to his concern over fame? His career? His fans? Fans in K-pop would not stay quiet so long about a missing idol. It's a bit bizarre to see nothing develop on that front.

Seon-ah's struggles are the clearest and easiest to understand while at the same time being well-developed. She is lost now that her identity has been redefined. She struggles, and her friends struggle to help her. Chi-ang does finally come to offer her support, but the scene was fleeting and they separated quickly. For being friends, these kids spend a lot of time alone and brooding.

Soon-deok's situation is easy to gloss over. The best thing about her is that Seo Ye-ji is the strongest in the bunch. She packs a mountain of emotion into a few brief seconds of screentime. Her father's situation would be more interesting if it wasn't so disconnected. That is a major issue of the show: ideas and concepts just aren't connected. There's no real flow to the plot or the characters. The teachers come and then disappear, especially Sam Okyere's character. (Travesty: he's fantastic!)

Onto the new regime at school. The new dean, as I said last review, is a mockery of a villain. His evil plans are just laughable. The search for the key to the Chintamani is getting old. Let's get the thing found already and cause problems that way. "Moorim School" likes to talk about how people change over time and difficulties - let's add the immense hurdle of unsurpassed power and see how the characters react.


Written by: Raine from 'Raine's Dichotomy'

"Moorim School" is directed by Lee So-yeon-I, written by Yang Jin-ah, and features Hong Bin, Lee Hyun-woo, Shin Hyeon-joon, Seo Ye-ji, and Eugene Jung.

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"Six Flying Dragons" rated 16.4%

SBS drama "Six Flying Dragons" came in first.
According to Nielsen Korea, "Six Flying Dragons" rated 16.4% on the 1st of March.
This is 0.5% more than the previous episode and the highest rating drama out of all three broadcasting stations.
MBC "Glamorous Temptation" and KBS 2TV "Moorim School" rated 12.8% and 2.8%.

Source : www.tenasia.co.kr/arc...
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"Six Flying Dragons" Episode 44 recap

The rivalry between Bang-won and Do-jeon is stymied by one unfortunate problem- Bang-won and Do-jeon continue to act like this is just an interpersonal rivalry, where the goal is to dishonor and humiliate the other. That's not what's at stake here. Seong-gye has to constantly remind everyone that the entire future fate of Korea hangs on actions in the present day. Bang-won and Do-jeon are trying to win battles rather than the war, which is why one or the other keeps managing to slip away.
Let's consider Bang-won's scheme to ensnare Do-jeon in an ethical trap. Functionally speaking it's the exact same trick Do-jeon tried to pull on Bang-won, getting the would be crown prince out of Joseon and somewhere he could cause less damage. That didn't work because Bang-won's capable talents allowed him to survive a situation that probably should have killed him. Do-jeon's capable talents grant him similar avenues of escape. Both men have enough resources to avoid an apparent death blow- but most importantly they're creative thinkers, and have similarly gifted allies.
So now what? Are they really just going to endlessly circle around each other? No, because the allies are, at this point, sick of the constant stalling. It's weird how several of Bang-won's comrades seem to have a greater appreciation for the big picture than Bang-won himself does, when Bang-won is the one positioned for the greatest direct benefit. Yet Bang-won seems to enjoy political games just for the sake of fun alone. Even in pillow talk Bang-won can't escape the joy of constant scheming.
In many ways this makes Bang-won a basically sad character. His scene with Boon-yi here is perhaps the single greatest moment of genuine estrangement between the two, because it shows how even with Boon-yi, Bang-won is resigned to constant tactical scheming. This was once a woman with whom Bang-won could share the joys and agonies of his heart. But Bang-won's obsession with the plan has overtaken all other considerations. Bang-won is sacrificing humanity for efficiency.
It's not that bad a trade-off, considering the greater situation. Joseon is going to need a leader who can act decisively for the sake of winning, not principle. While a lot of this is necessary because of ethical crises Bang-won himself helped to exacerbate, at this point, what difference does it make? Bang-won was Do-jeon's triggerman. Without that, Do-jeon's ability to enforce order has been badly choked up, which is why he's playing defense at a time when offense is what's necessary to win the day.
Review by William Schwartz

"Six Flying Dragons" is directed by Sin Kyeong-soo written by Kim Yeong-hyeon, Park Sang-yeon and features Kim Myeong-min, Yoo Ah-in, Sin Se-kyeong, Byeon Yo-han, Yoon Gyoon-sang and Cheon Ho-jin

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"Cheese in the Trap" Episode 16 Final recap

Given all the fuss about how "Cheese in the Trap" was preproduced, I'm a little surprised that the finale manages to fall into traps generally associated with the live shooting system. Characters make major decisions in the blink of an eye, critical plot information falls out of nowhere, huge life-threatening accidents terrify half the cast, and the epilogue just sort of tapers off into mundane life with no real kick. "Cheese in the Trap" is the rare drama that manages to feel too short- I feel like we're missing at least four episodes of context here.
The story progressions are logical. Of course In-ha would have a meltdown and then refuse to even acknowledge that she was the one who lost control. But if her character journey was to mellow into someone with barely passable social skills, that arc really needed more than half an episode spent in a mental hospital. Even if In-ha's admittance was obvious legal manipulation to keep her out of jail, the woman does in fact have mental issues in need of treatment.
Although the bigger issue is obviously Jeong. I never really minded Jeong's general absence from a lot of "Cheese in the Trap" because a lot of the story lines we got instead were in their own way very compelling explorations of growing up in the modern world. Yet considering what Jeong does this episode, and how this has been influenced by the man's excessively negative self-perception...why wasn't Seol able to fix that?
I know, I know, it's the antithesis of realism to have love solve everything. In this case, though, the discussion of romantic love as an abstract concept just seems unnecessarily cynical, to the point of feeling less realistic than a fairy tale. Jeong loves both In-ho and In-ha. While Jeong isn't very good at expressing himself to them, he is good at expressing himself to Seol. So why doesn't Jeong take that as a learning experience?
"Cheese in the Trap" has always been at its strongest when it was depicting continuity. In that sense it was perhaps inevitable that the ending of the drama would be a disappointment. The best conflicts in "Cheese in the Trap" were very fuzzy and ephemeral. They should have ended sooner, but didn't because such-and-such character insisted that it was more important to be right than it was move on and do something constructive. Ironically enough, it's "Cheese in the Trap"'s own insistence on adhering to this moral regardless of context that lets the story down.
Review by William Schwartz
"Cheese in the Trap" is directed by Lee Yoon-jeong, written by Go Seon-hee and Kim Nam-hee and features Park Hae-jin, Kim Go-eun-I, Seo Kang-joon, Lee Seong-kyeong, Nam Joo-hyeok, Kim Gi-bang, Park Min-ji and more.

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"Glamorous Temptation" episode 43 recap

Joo Sang-wook gave up on revenge and love.
On the forty-third episode of the MBC drama "Glamorous Temptation", Jin Hyeong-woo (Joo Sang-wook) gave up on revenge and love.
Jin Hyeong-woo went to Kang Seok-hyeon's (Jeong Jin-yeong) room and cuffed him. Jin Hyeong-woo felt betrayed as Sin Eun-soo (Choi Kang-hee) betrayed him and saved Kang Seok-hyeon.
Jin Hyeong-woo said to Kang Seok-hyeon, "I have no reason to live. I'm going to hell with you" and tried to kill him but Jin Hyeon-woo couldn't kill him when he thought of what Sin Eun-soo had said to him. Sin Eun-soo said Kang Seok-hyeon was the only person who could change Jo's (Yeom Jae-wook) mind about witnessing Mi-rae's (Gal So-won) accident.
Kang Seok-hyeon was ready to accept his death, then when Jin Hyeong-woo hesitated, he asked, "Have you lost your confidence?" Jin Hyeong-woo said, "I can't forgive you. Eun-soo will be sad. I am going to give up on the revenge I've dreamed of for 16 years. I will give up my hate for you but you have to make Eun-soo happy, not sad. This is my first and last request to you".

Source : www.xportsnews.com/je...
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