Look: I’m on Team Haru. When I list all the pros and cons of both male contenders, Haru’s good qualities far outnumber Kyung’s. Kyung is still in the negatives.
However, if there’s any reason for me to rethink my position on Haru, it’ll due to the actor Lee Jae Wook who portrays Kyung. The actor makes me WANT to switch sides to Team Kyung (lol. Be very frightened, Team Haru, if that happens.) and defend his bad character. Lee Jae Wook has me convinced that Kyung’s asshattery (which he even commits on his own free will, in the SHADOWS) is worth taking a second look at. The actor is persuading me to consider the extenuating circumstances.
Remember that Captain Firefly from Hotel del Luna? Even when he tried his darnest to charm his way out, I wasn’t convinced, right? I said he was the guy who committed worse deeds than Manwol. Although he didn’t physically kill people, he manipulated Manwol to go on a rampage in order to save his skin. And his pretty face wouldn’t be brainwash me to consider him less guilty.
Had another actor played the role of Kyung, I would have easily written off Kyung as a bad apple. He’s beyond saving, just like Captain Firefly was beyond character rehabilitation. But LJW’s acting made me look.
And that’s why I’m annoyed with Rowoon’s acting.
LJW’s acting is exerting undue influence on my perception and understanding of the characters because Rowoon’s acting is weak.
Unlike with Gong Seung Yoon in “Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency,” I’ve been PATIENT with Rowoon. I avoided calling him out for his lackluster acting.
Why?
I cut him slack because:
1) he’s an idol so he isn’t trained to act, and
2) the nature of his character seems to require that he’s in a perpetual state of discovery. His character is a tabula rasa or a clean slate. Haru doesn’t have any preconceived ideas because he is, as he repeatedly said, still searching for answers.
Hence, whenever I see the expressionless face of Haru, I assume that he doesn’t know how to react since he’s still processing his reaction to the stimulus. Also, he can’t express emotions because he doesn’t understand his emotions yet. Or perhaps, he’s just a stoic accepting, calmly accepting whatever comes his way.
But I’ve passed the midway point of this kdrama now. When I keep silent about my misgivings about Rowoon’s acting, then I’m no better than these deplorable oppa-apologists who think that their oppas can’t do no wrong.
I call it the way I see it. I’ve been a bitch panning other actors when they stink so it’s just fair that I call Rowoon out for his insipid acting, too. He’s underwhelming me.
You know I back up my arguments, right? Let me pick one scene. I’ll go with the beginning scene in Episode 8 (or Chapter 15) when he first discovers the secret room in the library. At this point, he’s been Haru’s sidekick for a couple of Stages and Shadows already. His character has a role in the manhwa and should be as expressive as the other extras in the comic book.
I’m highlighting this scene because 1) this is a monumental moment for him. Discovering this hidden room should stun him, and 2) as a regular character (not a nameless extra), he can display a wide array of emotions here.
But look what happens:
He walks in and discovers the room. His expression:
The flower lands at his feet. His expression:
He picks up the flower and stares at the sketches. His expression:
And he focuses on DanOh’s sketch. His expression:
He walks away from the room. His expression:
He encounters DanOh. His expression:
DanOh speaks in a daze, “Haru?” His expression:
She walks away. His expression:
He calls her back and approaches her. His expression:
He tells her that Baek Kyung already left. She wonders why that’s all he’s talking to her about. “Baek Kyung?” she asks. His expression:
He asks her if he should know more details about him. Aha! He moves his brows for that quizzical look:
She tells him to forget it and walks away. His expression:
Eleven out of those twelve screenshots, his face was ridiculously unchanged. I can switch around these screenshots, and it won’t make any difference to the scenes. lol.
See that? I observe all his facial expressions because I take a lot of screenshots when I write down the episodes. I’ve come to a conclusion that Haru’s expression remains the same when he’s acting solo. I call him Mr. Eyebrows because his eyebrows are constantly in a horizontal line. lol.
If he has his acting chops, then this is what I expect to see:
1. When he walked into that room, his eyes should have looked bewildered, astounded, confused. “Why is there a room like this in the library?”
2. When he picked up the flower, his face should have shown recognition. “Ah the flower! But..but..what is it doing here?” He should have been taken aback. His mouth could have opened, his eyebrows knitting, his forehead creased.
3. When he looked at the sketches, he should have looked astounded, amazed, awed. That was a very a detailed sketch of DanOh. And only a person in love with her would have drawn that. “Why, it’s DanOh! Who drew this? Why?” His nostrils could have flared, his jaw dropped.
4. When he walked down the corridor, he should have looked in deep thought, pensive, perturbed, curious, wondering, “What’s going on here? What brought me to that room? What was that all about?”
5. When he encountered her and she called his name, he should have looked like he was waiting for her to say something more, like he was hanging on to her next words, “Yes? I’m Haru? What do you want?” He should have a questioning look here.
6. When she walked away, he should have looked restless. “Wait. I have to tell her something. Should I tell her that there’s a room with her sketch?”
7. When she told him off for thinking of her as Kyung’s sickly fiancee, his face should have looked flustered, bothered, troubled, questioning, or frustrated. “What are you not telling me? What more is there to know about you? Do I know you from someplace else? Why are you mad at me?” His cheekbones could have tightened, his jaw squared to show tension.
8. Then when she walked away again, he should have a “What the hell is going on?” look on his face. His eyes should have looked confused.
But look at the pictures again. The actor’s face was the same all throughout and I had to do all the guesswork. Ha!
That annoyed me because if he was such a good actor, then all these emotions should have come out. Other viewers who aren’t as perceptive (or imaginative) as I am wouldn’t have interpreted his lack of reaction the way I did. They wouldn’t have understood his “inner thoughts” because, judging by his expression alone, Haru looked…well…bored. Unmoved.
Now, to give you perspective, let’s now go to a scene with Baek Kyung. It’s in the same Episode 8. He’s looking for the “Secret” manhwa in the library and he accidentally sees something monumental, just like Haru. He discovers the “Flower” manhwa.
This scene lasted…I don’t know… two, three minutes? But boy, his face did all the work. Almost every other second, his face was registering a different expression.
He scanned the shelves for the “Flower” book.
See that? His eyes were roaming. His jaw dropped, mouth opened. This is what Rowoon should have been doing when he was scanning the wall, looking at the sketches. Rowoon just STARED.
Then he moved away but stopped. He sensed something behind him.
I can take a screenshot of Rowoon easily because I can freeze the frame and his face doesn’t change. With Lee Jae Wook, I have to do “bursts” shots because his face is constantly changing.
If Rowoon had been a better actor, this is how he should have reacted when the flower dropped at his feet. See that? I couldn’t tell if the flower just appeared out of nowhere or it floated down or it had been at his feet the whole time because there’s no change in his face.
With Lee Jae Wook, it was easy to tell exactly WHEN the book suddenly appeared on the shelves because his face showed it. Kyung sensed that something was happening behind him.
Then Kyung scanned the pages. Look at his eyes shifting.
This is what Haru should have been doing when he was staring at the three/four sketches on the wall. Instead, his eyes glazed.
Then, the Squid guy grabbed the manhwa from Kyung’s hand, and he was surprised. But notice? He didn’t become slack-jawed. His eyes showed irritation at the Squid guy for being rudely interrupted rather than guilt that he was discovered.
He asked, “What’s this?” Squid guy answered, “It’s nothing.” He squinted at the Squid guy to show suspicion, then his frown deepened to show disbelief.
He retorted, “How is this nothing? She looks just like DanOh?”
He glanced down at the book then looked back at Squid guy. This facial gesture emphasized his skepticism; he directly looked at the book to challenge Squid guy’s assertion. He was saying, “Hey! Read the book! It’s DanOh!”
Then when the Squid guy left, he had that bothered look, “What the hell is going on?” look on his face.
This was Haru’s “What the hell is going on?” face.
lol. What a difference, right?
When it comes to revelations, Haru’s discovery of the secret room and his subsequent confrontation with DanOh demanded more emotionally-charged reaction from him. But sadly he didn’t deliver. The actor’s bland, one-size-fits-all-strong-emotions facial expression cannot express everything. As an actor, he should work harder on showing the viewers the inner feelings and the inner thoughts of his character. He shouldn’t be leaving the interpretation open to the viewers because as I said, most viewers aren’t as discerning as this crazy bitch.
I’m right to say that Rowoon is under-performing in his role.
Sad to say but I do completely agree with you … honestly I’m more drawn to Baek Hyung (LJW) bc of his acting, I can feel the emotions when I watch his scenes but haru … I just can’t feel it .. 🙁
Btw, I appreciate your content !!! Thank you
It’s hard to say because of the role. Xu Kai from The Legends and Story of Yanxi Palace is a case in point. His roles demanded a sort of blank-face or innocence, so no matter how cute he was, I wasn’t convinced he could act. Then saw him in Military Arsenal Academy, where he plays a brat and rogue, and he played it well. Rowoon is a newbie so it’s great he can learn the dynamics of staging and hitting his mark and delivering lines convincingly, and he’s doing fine, but he’ll need to do more to be an “actor” in general. Could he play Kyung’s role convincingly? I don’t know, but I’m not sure anyone can know until he plays something that stretches him a bit. I take your points and observations, but frankly he never holds up the narrative because I notice bad acting, while someone like the girl from Joseon Flower Agency for me made the show unwatchwble.
Ha! I chose those two scenes for comparison because the difference in level of acting is visible.
As I said, with Haru, I have to rely on words. Did you notice how I’m obsessive about writing down the dialogues? That’s why. 🙂
It’s similar to asking the court stenographer to read back to me the transcripts of the proceedings. I must know exactly what was said. But body language is important, too. With Haru, I’ve to extrapolate his feelings.
I want Haru to be the final outcome; he’s hands-down the better man for DanOh. And, as I said, it sends the wrong message to women viewers if an verbally abusive, temperamental, rage-aholic guy like Kyung ends up with the girl. It normalizes and romanticizes bad behavior. I’m so done with the asshole-y, tsundere guys. Frankly, I don’t even understand why they became a staple in these romance dramas.
But with LJW’s acting skills, he’s making tsundere look cool. (facepalm) 🙂
😂 look out. Incoming fan girls. He’s beautiful to look at though. Like a sculpted David. But yeah I feel like he doesn’t “commit” to scenes. Which is why I was trying to work out if he was deliberately “distant” and non-commital to the scene for effect and in this perpetual bewildered state or if it was just nerves and inexperience. Good actors/actresses commit fully to scenes, no holding back. They have a great handle on the circumstances surrounding the scene, their cast mates and where they are coming from, the stage set. They’ve already played it all out in their heads before the actual camera rolls. And then it’s just a matter of tweaking it to suit the PD’s camera angles and preferences etc. It’s not just about the script and the lines or the brief provided by the writer, it’s about making the character your own and putting your own bent on it. KHY has done that for her character DO. I can’t imagine anyone else playing DO. She is DO. I get that HR loves DO, but that’s more because of KHY. She dictates what I feel in any one scene. If she’s besotted, I am besotted. The relationship comes solely from her standpoint. All the energy from the scenes come from her, he takes her cue. That’s why I say she defines him. Without her, he can’t exist in isolation as a character. She’s the one who’s made me believe that HR is the only one for her. And it’s testament to what a great actress she is.
HR based on his acting thus far is coming across as otherworldly, like an alien who just observes. He doesn’t seem to want to engage with the world at all. If that is his final reveal, that he is an angel or something other than “human” in the ManHwa world then it would make sense. He’s not meant to live in this world so he should be distant. Otherwise his character doesn’t quite make sense to me. It lacks authenticity? When he spouts his lines or calls her name I am supposed to get chills because DO stops mid speech and she acts how I am supposed to perceive him. Had she not done that, I wouldn’t have thought to think of him calling her name like it’s a caress? She dictates how I respond…every time. When MinJae spouts his lines to GD I swoon. I get nothing when HR says his?
I know. I pointed out that the role dictates whether Rowoon should play blank-face or not. But THAT’s exactly why I chose that scene to highlight. I wrote that.
In that scene, Haru isn’t the Old Innocent Haru. Rowoon’s role there is the Kyung-wannabe, follower, cool kid, chill, tennis player, new cute guy in the block. Remember? The Haru in that scene is the new and improved Haru so why was his face still blank?
It’s because Rowoon acted that scene as if he’s the same expressionless Old Haru.
That’s what he could do.
And I’m sure that the director is well aware of Rowoon’s limitations, too. That’s why if you re-watch that scene in the library, you’ll notice that the scene was highly edited, that is, the shots of Haru’s face were alternated with shots of the flower, the hand, the sketches, the wall.
The camera was NOT rolling continuously, like with Baek Kyung’s library scene.
The camera did NOT roll continuously like it did when Kyung was looking around in the shelves, walking out, then turning back. For Kyung’s scene, his face registered confusion, discovery, disbelief…and so on, so there was no need for editing and splicing the images.
Rowoon couldn’t do the same thing, so the images or shots were edited to give the viewers the impression that he was shocked.
Image of wall.
His emotionless face.
Image of flower dropping.
His emotionless face.
Image of him picking up flower.
Image of hand holding flower.
His emotionless face.
Image of the sketches.
His emotionless face.
It’s a camera trick. The images are flashing and our brains are the ones filling in the emotions. Just like with suggestive ads on TV lol.
Do you see what I mean?
If he was a good actor, the camera would have stayed focused on his face (like it did with LJW) as he went through the motions. The camera would have just been rolling because it would have recorded the fleeting emotions on his face.
That is so funny. Had not given this much thoughts. until u pause and see the facts in front of you…
Ohmilord. I’ll tighten my spam block after this.
I didn’t even mention Rowoon’s face because this ain’t a beauty contest. But yeahhh, I guess he looks nicer than LJW.
I can’t imagine anybody else play DanOh but Kim Hye Yoon. She’s IT.
But Haru??
Rowoon’s okay but Cha Eun Woo could have done just as well. lol. Remember that guy? Another handsome guy but otoke?! He can’t act.
Jang Dong Yoon…but can he kiss? that’s the question. (hahaha. That’s going to be running joke for Tale of Nokdu)
Nam Da Reum (but he’s only 17. He’s the Spirit of the Well in Hotel del Luna)
Lee Tae-hwan (that brother from What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim)
Park Jin-Young (the guy from He’s Psychometric) lol. He’s too funny, though.
Not a idol fangirl here but I admit I was drawn by the pretty face nonetheless. 😛 Still navigating my way through good or bad acting. So I appreciate the detailed breakdown of all the scenes, yes he does look like he could have expressed the emotions more. Imagine Kim MinJae as Haru in this drama instead!
Kim Hye-yoon is my next all time favourite actress now, I read about people not liking her acting and I’m like waaaat…
Wow for the first time,aside from soompi which i positively like….this article is a well intelligent review. I admire your intellectual capability and resourcefullness in details. Your style of criticisms and opinions are not baseless unlike some reviews I read and opposed which cause me some bashers/haters. They simply write reviews based solely on their absurd prejudices and ignorance but you are just….can i call it brilliance?I so admire. Anywayz im #TeamDanHaru but Ro Woon’s acting is “underwhelming” as u say but like what u also said his kpop and not in acting field like Baek Kyung and his facial reaction should’ve been like Kyungs to reciprocate Kim Hye Yoon’s acting. But DanHaru is jz so adorable both in drama and the “film making” so I’ll jz consider Haru as bored and be biased…lol
Personaly, I can feel what Haru feels confusion, caring, sadness, etc. And the feelings I can feel correspond to the scene. I don’t need him to open his mouth by watching the wall. Haru and Baek Kyung are to different characters who don’t react the same.
Lee Jae Wook is a good actor, but he always has angry scenes in this drama The same expression with the mouth.
I like the both actors in their characters because I can feel their feelings.
Anything to justify my fascination with Kyung lol joke 😂.
Right now, I’m just so proud with Lee Jae Wook even though this is my first time watching him. I’m so happy he’s the one playing Kyung and give justice to the role he’s playing. In my opinion, it’s so not easy to play the antagonist. Playing a jerk? Being bad? Yeah 😅
Yes yes, I’m happy for Haru-DanOh but I’d have enough of romance for now. I can’t really look at Rowoon (because he’s handsome & cute, and also his acting doesn’t appeal to me), and just focus only to Hyeyoon when she acts so giddily and happily in love. Even tho I’m “Team Kyung” (lol), I’m okay and be happy with DO-HR dating scenes cuz HY really looks soooo happy, really acts the part.
Now I’m focus on Kyung’s journey on learning more and his further realizations as the drama unfolds. Well, also LJW and KHY scenes 😄😁.
Welcome back, @leedale9198. Yes, I’m looking forward to Lee Jae Wook’s future projects. I remembered him from Memories of Alhambra. He played a bad hombre named Marco.
Here is a gif of him from MoA. If I remember correctly, he was showing the bad boss how he invented the software program. He was typing on the table. lol. He’s good, this Lee Jae Wook. I hope all this attention on him now doesn’t go to his head, and that he stays grounded.
https://66.media.tumblr.com/232d65b420ef3930b740be2fd08a97c1/tumblr_pozpgiQpYW1wqgu20o1_r1_250.gifv
@packmule3 Hihi I’ll check the link out later. I don’t really comment that much and just lurk in this blog reading some posts.
Right now I can’t help but get second lead syndrome in the dramas I’ve been watching lately. Firefly guy in HDL and Kyung here in Extra-ordinary you 😭😂😭😂😭
I’ve had said the reason I like firefly guy than kim min jae and why I rooted for him is because he’s handsome and cute and their chemistry with iu is great. But then so is Rowoon here as Haru. Contradicting much?
Well, I’ll just reason out that their chemistry with Hyeyoon is lacking to me. He didn’t charm me at all hahaha. Maybe because I know he’s an idol and I already have my bias to my fave kpop idols so like hmmm gonna not let him charm me or else hahaha. Or other reasons lol idk 😂😅.
Anyway, wanna share also the fact that I’ve seen most of the cast in webdramas. DoHwa, Kyung’s brother, and SaeMi. JooDa and Haru also have their share of acting chops in webdramas. Namju, I’m not sure but I think I’ve also seen him in some webdrama too. Just so glad I see familiar faces while watching the drama 😁
“ I’ve had said the reason I like firefly guy than kim min jae and why I rooted for him is because he’s handsome and cute and their chemistry with iu is great. But then so is Rowoon here as Haru. Contradicting much?”
Did you mean Yeo JinGoo? 😂 But I think we all agree here that they could be twins MinJae and JinGoo.
@nrllee oh it’s Yeo JinGoo! 😅😂 Well, I’ve also been waiting for a drama or movie with them in it. They really could pass as twins hahaha 😂
Thought I would add this as evidence of LJW’s versatility as an actor. I just watched a little clip about him and it reported that he was cast in EY first and then when the actor supposed to play the male lead in search:WWW had to enlist (what? How did that happen.? 🙄), they gave the role to LJW. But because this wasn’t planned, in the early stages of filming EY, he actually had to film both dramas concurrently (as the end of search:WWW overlapped with the beginning of filming for EY). It’s a hard ask to juggle 2 roles like that in 2 different dramas. I haven’t watched Search: www so I have no idea how he fared there. So I am looking forward to his future works. Sounds like he’s already been cast in another drama set to air in 2020 (I’ll go to you when the weather is nice – what a mouthful…). It sounds like it will be a hit with the likes of Park MinYoung and Seo KangJoon (He of The Third Charm fame).
You’re right in your analysis of the actors, and it shows.
I use screenshot software that captures about 2.4 frames per second.
This allows you to see all the different expressions an actor can make.
Of course, it’s not totally revealing.
An actor capable of a lot of different expressions can play badly if it’s not appropriate.
An actor capable of few expressions can play well if it is the right expression at the right time.
It is still a good indicator.
I’m quite disappointed with the acting in a lot of recent dramas.
In extra-ordinary-you, many actors, including the lead actress, tend to overact, or adopt “fluffy” forced comedy expressions. In general, I don’t like, I prefer situation comedy. It throws me out of the story, and I can no longer take situations seriously, nor feel emotions. I quickly give up some dramas when it horrifies me. For example, “Kill me heal me”.
Some actors are still very good at clowning around, so I don’t make that a generalization. For example, Kang Ji Hwan in “incarnation of money”, whose script is particularly villainous and at times crazy.
To choose from, I prefer the acting of the old melodrama, even when they force it a little, and the tragedy is exaggerated.
Or the slightly more theatrical acting of the old historical dramas. For example, Go Hyung Jung playing Lady Mishil.
I haven’t been able to see all the 2019 dramas, but so far my two favorites are “Love in sadness” and “The last empress”. Of course, the acting is great on top of everything else. At this point, I’m not taking off from the story anymore, because I’m fascinated by the acting.