After all these years of kdrama, I don’t think I’ve seen a sageuk or a historical drama. All the ones that I watched are fusion sageuk, which are fictional stories with a historical backdrop. They’re called “fusion” because the script gets elements of history, i.e., a notable person or a significant event, and fuses or blends them with fantasy, alternate endings, kpop-sounding OSTs, contemporary issues. The focus of the script is the personal drama of the lead character rather than the retelling of a historical event.

Now, to my non-Korean eyes, there’s also a wide range of fusion sageuk, from the intense ones like “Queen Sun Deok,” to the melodramatic ones like “Goong” and “Moon Embracing the Sun,” and to the light and fluffy ones like “My Sassy Princess” and “Splash Splash Love.”

If you want an overview of sageuk, here’s a blog that I found helpful:

http://koreanhistoricaldramas.com/introduction-to-sageuks/

I’m sure it won’t come as a shock to you, my faithful readers, that I’m shallow as a puddle, I’m allergic to makjang, and I don’t pretend to possess erudite tastes. My favorite fusion sageuk are the light and fluffy, Joseon-pretty, romcoms. They’re the equivalent of Jane Austen period dramas.

That’s one reason I’m watching Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency. I’m attracted to bright little things that I can carry in my head, and drop guilt-free after I tire of them.

The second reason I’m watching this romcom is to see how men would approach matchmaking and whether their methods would vary significantly from that of a female matchmaker. Granted, the screenwriter is female (her other drama was “I am Not a Robot”) so we’re still getting the female interpretation of “what should be” a man’s mindset. But so far, the technique of the Flower Crew proves to be quite unique.

For instance, our introduction to the Flower Crew shows them hard at work “staging” an accidental meeting between the two marriage prospects. Both the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be reject matchmaking, and believe in fate. On paper, they’re a 100% match but since a) they reject a formal matchmaking, and b) they’re always surrounded by their coterie of friends, the Flower Crew must stage an accidental meeting.

The mastermind of the crew, Ma Hoon, observes the street scene below him, from the safe distance of a second-floor balcony.

Note: His location is symbolic of his mindset towards love and romance. He sees himself as separate, or ABOVE from the fray.  From his “ivory tower,” he likes to quote adages, cite rules, or make lofty pronouncements. This is his personality quirk. It tells me that he’s well-read, bookish, scholarly…although I doubt that he actually took the state exams to qualify him as a scholar.

From the balcony, he states, “In order to catch a star, there needs to be a gap in the sky.”

Now, THAT’s the Viki sub. Here’s the dramabeans version, “One can only catch a star when one has a moment to look up at the sky.” The kissasian sub agrees with dramabeans, too.

Now, I’m not Korean and I don’t speak the language but I’m going with the Viki sub on this one. The Viki sub is the correct one.

You see, there’s no question that in order to SEE a star you need to look up at the sky. But in order to CATCH a star, you need a GAP in the sky.

As I mentioned earlier, the two people are always surrounded by company. The only way they can meet each other is to get them SEPARATED from the rest. That’s what Hoon means when he says there needs to be a “gap” in the sky.

Always with the guys.

Always with the girls.

Smart, isn’t it? Hoon immediately spots the obvious impediment to the romance.

BTW, that’s another one of his personality quirk. Not only is he precise and logical, he also has keen situational awareness of what’s going on.

Now, he’s observing the whereabouts of the groom-to-be and the bride-to-be.

He’s like a flagger in a racetrack, preparing for the big event.

credit: deepthrottle

Hoon signals the Flower Crew with his flag, and directs the flow of the traffic…errr… fated meeting.

Spotting Hoon’s signal, Race Car #1 aka Flower Crew member, DoJoon, declares, “This body will give you that gap.” He means that his handsomeness will provide the distraction.

He goes to the group of girls and chats them up. In a span of seconds, he sweeps the girlfriends away and leaves the unsuspecting bride-to-be alone. Do you see what he did there? A gap here means a separation. DoJoon detaches the friends from the girl so she’s wandering by herself.

Hoon declares it time to catch a star,

and he signals Race Car #2, Flower Crew member, YoungSoo, to start his engine running start the barrels rolling.

One barrel heads straight for the girl and the groom-to-be appears out of nowhere to save her. He twirls her out of harm’s way and literally catches her in his arm like a falling star that Hoon forecasted earlier.

And the three gods of matchmaking watch the happy couple from the balcony.

In Western mythology, the Fates is often represented by three sedentary goddesses, spinning and weaving the threads of destiny all the day long. In contrast, in this romcom, the fate of the two lovers is manipulated by the three gods into a fast-paced action scene.

lol. Now, do you see what I mean how refreshing it is to have a male version of a matchmaking? Everything was coordinated and streamlined for a maximum impact.

Mission accomplished!

The third reason I’m watching this light and fluffy, Joseon period, fusion sageuk is to watch the romance develop between Hoon and Gae Ddong. Ha! I’m aware that the OTHER ACTOR, Seo JiHoon, has many fangirls so I’m speaking up for my boy, Kim Min Jae. No, I’m not his fangirl in the sense that I’m going to wax lyrical about his facial features and his manliness/whatever.

But I’m going to point out why his budding romance makes more sense than the King/blacksmith Soo.

For one thing, there’s more effort involved in upending Hoon’s unromantic stance towards marriage.

It’s already been established from the start that the King/blacksmith Soo is in love with Ggae Ddong (GD) so what fun is there to sustain an ill-fated love story between a king and a slave girl?

That love line is a nonstarter unless the King discovers he’s an impostor royalty or GD is of noble blood. To be honest, it feels odd to watch a romcom and wait for the second lead to fall OUT of love with the heroine.

In the case of Hoon, the plot revolves around him falling IN love with GD. The story has been set up to override the rules of the Marriage Agency.  Hoon may have created the rules to live by, but destiny will have other plans for him. In fact, I think that’s the meaning of the title of the episode, “Fate from the Skies.”

Just like the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be rejected matchmaking only to be fall unknowingly into the trap of the Flower Crew, Hoon rejects the idea of love only to find  love falling from the skies because it’s his fate.

Literally. His fate falls from the skies.

As of Episode 1, Hoon has put forth three rules.

First rule: seeing is believing. According to Hoon, any marriage discussion, the matchmaker has to meet the couple to ascertain the marriage.

Second rule: only believe what the eyes can see.

This seems to be a corollary of the first rule, doesn’t it? But they’re slightly different. In this romcom, I think the first rule will be broken soon by Hoon. He doesn’t believe in love, but once he sees it – or personally experience falling in love – then he’ll believe in it. His perception will change because of his encounter with love.

The second rule expresses skepticism. While the first rule demands proof or a visible evidence, the second rule insists on doubt. You can only ONLY believe in what is visible and evident. All other things that can’t be proven, must be doubted.

Do you get it?

For GD, Hoon’s second rule is unacceptable. She accuses him (wrongly, of course) of caring only about appearance because Hoon had just walked away from matching an ugly client. She says since he missed seeing the ugly girl’s emotions, so he didn’t believe the ugly girl’s sincere feelings.

GD: You face-obsessed swindler scholar! You said you are the middleman when it comes to matchmaking for love. Aren’t you embarrassed?
MH: I’m not a middleman. I’m a matchmaker. I don’t find love. It’s my job to find people.
GD: It’s the same thing.

No. Again, they’re not the same thing. I think what Hoon means is this: a middleman trades and sells a commodity and that commodity is love. But Hoon doesn’t purvey love. He doesn’t provide, supply, spread or promote it. What he does, however, is match people. He finds people who’ll match and fit each other. Whether they fall in love or not is not his business.

MH: You can’t see what can be seen, but believe in what can’t be seen. How can you understand what I mean?
GD: (doesn’t reply but headbutts him in response)

GD is insulted because Hoon is deriding her being simple-minded. She can’t understand the difference between a middleman and matchmaker. Plus, she’s blind to what’s evident and obvious, but credulous enough to believe in what’s unseen and imaginary. In other words, she’s dumb. lol.

Third rule: all expenses regarding marriage must be paid in full after the wedding. The King/blacksmith had paid in advance for the matchmaking service with his mother’s gold hairpin. Hoon returns the gold hairpin which is probably good in the long run because it means he hasn’t been placed on retainer, lol, to fulfill the wedding.

Anyway, these three rules set the parameters of the story. We can easily predict that the rules will conflict with Hoon’s relationship with GD.

Already, the ending scene of Episode 1 tests the first rule.

The King/blacksmith Soo describes GD as the “most beautiful face in Joseon.” Hoon goes to the market looking for Soo’s lady love.

When he realizes that Soo meant GD, he frowns in disbelief.

Remember? The first rule states, “To see is to believe” and, in Hoon’s mind, there’s no way she’s beautiful.

He’s seen her and, nope, he’s a nonbeliever. lol. He orders her to come to him.

But she throws a box of fish and salt at him. The salt is funny because salt is thrown at people to ward off bad luck or evil spirits.

She makes a run for it. He chases her till she reaches a dead end. She climbs a wall while he patiently waits for her to stop panicking.

Remember what he said in the beginning? “In order to catch a star, there needs to be a gap in the sky.” He couldn’t approach her back in the market because the whole world was around them. Now, he’s formed a gap or a separate space just for the two of them. He can talk to her.

MH: How about giving up now?
GD: I don’t want to. Why are you doing this to me?
MH: I will catch you, so come down, Stone lump.

Her name is Ggae Ddong which sounds like “dog poop.” Gae = dog; ddong (or ttong) = poop.  But he’s given her a new nickname after she bopped his forehead with her head, “Stone lump.” Although his nickname is only marginally better than “dog poop,” using a term of endearment is a common drama trope to indicate the beginning of a couple.

GD: Am I crazy?
MH: I’m not here to catch you.
GD: (whining) Really? Would I believe you?

GD: I have a marriage proposal to you.
MH: What?

Her surprise at his words causes her to topple down from the wall. He catches her in his arm, like a falling star.

It’s not entirely her fault that she (mis)hears his proposal and misinterprets it. His declarative statement does sound as if he’s the one proposing to her. But her mind should have accounted for the fact that he’s a marriage broker. That’s his job: to present a marriage proposal. She jumped to the (wrong) conclusion because she’s predisposed to see him

Hmmm… when we think about his agreement to facilitate Soo’s wedding, it actually breaks his second rule. Remember: the second rule states that he should only believe what the eyes can see.

In Hoon’s eyes, the match between Soo and his love-of-his-life isn’t going to work. He tells Soo all this, point-blank, when he meets him waiting at his doorstep.

Soo insists on setting him up with GD.

MH: But why me? I told you no several times. Why does it have to be me?
Soo: They say that the cord of fate tied by you will never break.

Soo was told that “every relationship that they (the Flower Crew) create never breaks. Once connected, you live a happily ever after life.”

MH: Is that the only reason you came to me? That if you didn’t believe in such rumors, the love you believed in would break apart? (sighs) I’ve nothing to say, so please go.

Hoon thinks that Soo is looking for a guarantee, an assurance, a talisman of sorts, that his love and marriage will last forever. And Hoon cannot guarantee that. He believes that a heart is cunning and that nothing can tie it down, if it wanted to go.

Soo: Why can’t you accept me?
MH: You wish to get married based on a petty rumor and that silly notion amuses me. Also, if your heart is weak enough to rely on a rumor, it’ll be broken anyway, even if I help you.

Hoon is absolutely correct here. The success, longevity and happiness of love and marriage cannot be based on superstition. A marriage depends on the couple. Soo insists on the Flower Crew, and nothing but the Flower Crew, because he believes the Flower Crew will bring his union with GD good luck. Hoon points out that if Soo does NOT have faith in himself and GD, then there’s nothing that a matchmaker like him can do to make his relationship work. Likewise, if Soo DOES have faith in their relationship, then any matchmaker will do to marry them both.

Soo: How can you be sure of that? You may be wrong, Matchmaker.
MH: I don’t make mistakes. Unlike you, I only believe in things that I can see. When difficulties arise, love is the first thing that changes. How can I move ahead with marriage, trusting someone like you?
Soo: (protesting) When facing difficulties, love can also become stronger.

Soo still idealizes his love for GD. He remembers his dying mother’s words and he takes them to heart. The key thing that he’d learned from his mother is that true love really does exist, and it’s possible to love someone till death. He looks at his keepsake from his mother,

and recalls her last words. “Make sure to use it open the heart of the one you love.”

Hence, he swallows the “fairy tale” that was told him about the Flower Crew’s success rate. He’s lived his life with his mother’s words in him. But only time will tell whether his actions will match his words.

In contrast, Hoon has been disillusioned by love – or to be precise, by FAKE love. He too has a keepsake from his beloved brother but he remembers the bad things. He remembers his brother teaching him how to tie the love knot. “This is the Dong-shim-gyeol knot. It means it’s tying two hearts together as one. To live together well as if they shared one heart? If you tie it this way, it usually doesn’t unravel.”

But when he looks at it, he thinks, “Just because you tie it together with a cord, like this, a person’s heart cannot truly be tied down. A person’s heart is so cunning.”

What he means is a person is bent on leaving, no cord, talisman, or lucky charm, can hold that person back. To borrow Selena Gomez’s song, “The heart wants what it wants.” lol.

So there you go, a brief comparison of their attitude towards love. As Hoon says, “to see is to believe.” Their different experiences when they were young (i.e., what they saw as children) have shaped the way they regard love now (i.e., what they believe as adults).

But the interesting part here is that although Hoon is skeptical that Soo’s feelings for GD can withstand pressure, he breaks his second rule to “only believe in what you see.” He proceeds with the marriage match for Soo although he doesn’t believe in Soo’s feelings will last.

And he breaks his rule because he’s outvoted by the two other Flower Crew. lol.

This is my review for Episode 1. I don’t know whether I’ll have time to write an episode-by-episode review but I’ll try to make time by the power of grayskull….

I hope @agdr03 and I aren’t the only ones interested in this show.