Just because we’re enjoying a kdrama doesn’t mean we have to slavishly applaud everything in it.
Bitch Rule #101. Bitches don’t do seal-claps.
Sometimes poking fun at the ludicrous set-up can bring us down to earth and regain proper perspectives.
Here’s my list of lame tropes. Warning: lots of pictures. This might slow down your internet connection so I’ll break this topic into multiple posts.
Episode 1.
1. The hawk metaphor
We see a hawk soaring over the mountains of Korea.
Of course, we find out later that Jung Hyuk’s codename is “Mountain Hawk” (at 32:45) which is appropriate because hawks are symbols of courage and known to fiercely protect against enemies.
I think this is a foreshadowing. Only the birds can fly freely between North and South Korea.
2. Heartless capitalist heroine
She turned a dating scandal into a marketing strategy because they’ve broken anyway. Nice!
3. Evil chaebol family
4. Evil mother?
5. Harassed but loyal secretary
6. The “Winds of Change”
I truly wasn’t expecting this homage to “Wizard of Oz” but okaayy, I’ve seen worse.
7. Alpha male
We recognize this stereotype, right? He’s a lean, mean fighting machine but when he goes home at night, he’s whipped by his girl.
8. Evil commander
I know this guy from the kdrama, “The Vineyard Man.” He starred with Yoon EunHye.
Sidenote: My husband and I were about to invest in a vineyard around the time I watched this kdrama. But after I finished this show, I said nope. It totally ruined the romantic illusions of owning a vineyard.
9. Meet-cute: Landing on the guy
Again, I wasn’t expecting this literal crash-landing on Jung Hyuk…but oh well. This is a variation of that accident trope where the heroine trips and falls into the arms of the hero.
To add to your kdrama lingo: A “meet-cute” is the cutesy scene when the future lovebirds first encounter each other.
10. Saving her from being roadkill
It’s a given. The heroine must stand there like that deer-in-the-headlights until the hero swoops in (like a hawk, haha) and rescues her.
11. Aegyo transformation
From bossy-tooty to cutie-patootie; from alpha male to beta male. All it takes is a little bit of aegyo, and their whole personalities are upended.
Like, she throws a tantrum like a kid while she’s hanging from the tree, and immediately, he’s smitten.
Episode 2.
1. Cohabitation
Of course, they have to live together now. Forced cohabitation is top kdrama trope, along with amnesia, and wrist-grabbing.
2. Product placement
I saw that Swarovski product placement.
For the life of me, I don’t get why people go for this. Buy real diamonds or wear cheapER costume jewelry. Swarovski is too expensive for what it is: fake diamonds.
3. Preparing her breakfast
Hahaha. I would have looked suspiciously at his concoction, too. Like, who makes noodles from scratch for breakfast? What does he want?
But can you believe how photogenic this ramen and potato kimchi turned out?
4. JungHyuk’s fab squad
The hero has an entourage to advise him in the love department. The different personalities of the squad provide a perfect balance. There’s —
JooMook: the kdrama enthusiast and love specialist
ChiSoo: the antifan, he balances JooMook.
GwangBum: the handsomest and most level-headed
EunDong: the maknae but reliable kid
5. Chicken and beer
What’s a kdrama without chi-maek? After Subway, this is a must-see in kdramas.
6. Insulting Catholic tradition
-1000 points
I wish these kdrama writer would start showing hypocritical characters as members of faiths OTHER than Roman Catholic.
Every time, the script calls for a silly, shady, sanctimonious, two-faced, lying, cheating character to go to a Catholic church and pray, it makes a farce of a religion with a 1.2 billion adherents. Just stop.
Throw shade at another belief system, like crapology (i.e., a belief that everybody’s crap is supreme) or something.
And don’t get me started on that travesty named “Angel’s Last Mission”….
7. Nosy ahjummas making kimchi
North or south. East or west. Some things never change. Kimchi-making is still a woman’s job.
8. Coffee drinkers
Yeah. While women make kimchi, the men drink stink…err…stick coffee.
And did you see this? The stick coffee were hidden under the sachets of corn coffee?? Whut? You can use corn kernels as substitute for coffee beans? Intriguing….
I thought it was cute however that instead of the usual “Americano” in kdramas, the craze in North Korea is “stick coffee.” In case, you don’t know what stick coffee is:
It’s instant coffee in a single-serving pack. And you can actually save time (and a spoon to wash) by using the plastic pack itself as a coffee stirrer.
9. Shower Scene
Sorry, oppa-fans! You didn’t get to see Hyun Bin’s abs. But there was a bath scene and it involved the female lead instead.
However, we must acknowledge that the bath scene actually had a purpose in the script. It wasn’t gratuitous like most shower scenes. While Seri pestered him nonstop on the phone for her “emergency” needs, he actually went out of his way to shop for her requested items.
Seriously, this is a step towards the right direction. This isn’t me being prudish. Just like I don’t watch Victoria Secret’s fashion show, I find it distasteful, and insulting, to be forced to ogle at a naked man’s torso.
I can judge the quality of the show by the script, direction, and acting. Thank you very much. There’s no need to sell the show with sex. Bitches should be above this.
More here:
10. The Mary Poppins’ Magic Bag
He brought here three days worth of clothes in a single bag? What else was in there? A pink elephant?
11. Secret Identity
This is a variation of the secret chaebol son trope, wherein the upright chaebol son enters their family company with his real identity kept hidden.
In this kdrama, Jung Hyuk’s family record was expunged from his file so nobody knew that he was the precious ONLY son of the Director of the General Political Bureau which oversees the military.
12. The Paper Reveal
This always happens. Important papers will drop accidentally on the floor, and the hero/heroine will pick it up to discover some big secret about the other person from reading the papers. Seri found Jung Hyuk’s application to a conservatory in Switzerland.
13. Engagement of Convenience
I swear I don’t go for the “Me Tarzan, You Jane” declaration because I don’t like the possessiveness approach in courtship. But when Jung Hyuk strode in and declared to everybody that Seri’s his fiancee, I felt this primeval urge to shove Son Ye Jin out of the way, and put myself in front of that gun barrel.
Take me instead, Hyun Bin…errr…Jung Hyuk!!
14. Fated encounter
It’s a given in kdramas that the main leads’ paths have crossed once, somewhere, sometime ago, and they didn’t know it.
Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if a young Jung Hyuk happened to show up at the beach while young Seri was counting all by herself. That’s why he knew that she was scared of the dark. Of course, this whole “fated encounter” trope would be ludicrous in real life but hey, this is kdrama. Anything can happen.
****************
I’ve to continue later because of my wretched cough.
Episode 3.
Episode 4.
Episode 5.
“It’s a given in kdramas that the main leads’ paths have crossed once, somewhere, sometime ago, and they didn’t know it.”
Yup…multiple times…in a past drama, past life maybe (?)…wait…no… in real life, 😮😂 in a grocery aisle…
https://ssl.pstatic.net/mimgnews/image/076/2019/01/21/2019012201001541900120561_20190121140904998.jpg?type=w430_q70
LOL. Are you going to list every one of those tropes, @pkml3?
Hope your cough and fever are abating. My husband has been coughing for many weeks. Take care of yourself!
Did they do the accidental kiss? 😂. Truck of doom?
1. Nice call on the flying freely between north and south. I always notice these bird flying openings because they are so ubiquitous in Chinese dramas, but at least in this one the image has more metaphorical depth.
4. As per your other post I’m not convinced she’s the evil mom. She had Seri as her #1 on quick dial I noticed.
I loved the WoOz thing – an indication they’re not taking things too seriously. My complaint is they should have made it even more over the top. It’s my complaint about this show all-round, actually – they should dial it up. I know that won’t happen; I’m in the minority that easily loses interest in this writer and director’s productions.
I too do not get the Swarovski thing.
This bitch likes a handsome man’s bare torso but not when the baring is gratuitous or the actor is self-conscious. The scene should not look like product placement. I end up feeling sorry for the actor that his director is pimping him out.
I sighed when we find out the male lead’s dad’s some big wig. I get North Korea’s not great but it’s tiresome being forced to see it through a capitalist lense.
For me this would be a better story or at least as good a story if she was a middle class professional and he a poor as dirt soldier. Chaebols and privileged North Koreans suck.
6. Kdramas could actually make fun of buddhism because it’s more dominant there? 😒 I watched a chinese drama where a couple prayed and the husband’s incense is 10 times bigger than normal and praying about getting rich and other selfish wants pfft
I can’t wait for the weekend to come, ep 7 and 8 of CLoY 😃
I don’t believe I’ve seen any work by this writer and director. Their names don’t ring a bell but then I didn’t actually look up their previous work.
Hmmm…you reminded me that I’ve been meaning to comment on the writer’s depiction of North Korea. I’ll post about this later.
The flying John Deere tractor caught in the tornado was bizarre. Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect with the CGI so I let it slide. However, I felt second-hand embarrassment for the actress because she had to act frightened in front of the green screen. I would have hammed it up if I were her.
Yes. You were ahead of me. 🙂
Talk about truck of doom! That truck looked like a juggernaut.
But I’m also slowly getting tired of her sojourn in North Korea. I want her to return to South Korea soon (perhaps by episode 11?) and tackle the problems there, too. Besides I want to see how JH handles living in SK.
Yes. 🙂
This kdrama is very — how do I say it — trope-y. However, I can also appreciate that the writer is using cliched scene in a different or even opposite way. For instance, that male shower scene was a female bath scene. The scenes involving his squad are quite entertaining. “Rooftop Prince” had a similar arrangement where the prince had his posse, but the interaction of this group is more natural, especially the “fake animosity” between ChiSoo (the mean one) and Seri.