Do you hear that?
It’s the giant sucking sound of “The Prisoner of Beauty” drawing my attention from other shows this month. Blame @agdr03 for recommending this 36-episode cdrama.
A brief note on the cinematography because I failed to mention this in my First Impressions.
Notice the use of colors in the opening scenes of Episode 1?
Both main leads are bathed in orange light but the contrast is perceptible. The male lead is cloaked in black hood (like an avenging angel) and the orange light is from a burning building. He’s the one who had lit it on fire. He’s walking away with a concealed smirk because his mission is accomplished.
In comparison, the female lead is dressed in bright white (like a ministering angel before her supine grandfather) with her skirt making a frilly puddle around her. The orange glow appears to be from the fading daylight, suggesting that her elderly grandfather’s earthly life is about to end. She sits beside him waiting for his last instructions.
The color and images are meant to convey that these two are yin-yang of each other. Different but complementary.
Update on the programs I was watching in May:
I still have “Heavenly Ever After” (one more episode to go) and “The Haunted Palace” (where was I??) to finish.
I already downloaded “Good Boys” starring Park BoGum on my Amazon Prime. Is this available on Netflix for you, @nrllee?
I still have my eye on “Our Written Seoul” starring Park BoYoung and Park JinYoung but I simply don’t have time to fit it in my schedule.
I almost binge-watched “Dear Hongrang” for Lee JaeWook. But the show became too sinister for me, and I wasn’t in the mood for that. Besides, the female lead Jo BoAh doesn’t appeal to me.
As for “Tastefully Yours,” I’ll reserve this for later. I’ve my fill of cocky-rich-boy-meets-sassy-broke-girl trope.
With all these pending dramas, I can add only one more this month.
1. First Night With the Duke
The title made me wince but I’m checking this kdrama out to see if it’s a spoof of that steamy Bridgerton series written by Julia Quinn, and adapted on Netflix.
Write-up from soompi:
“The First Night with the Duke” is a fantasy romance drama about an ordinary college student whose soul is transported into a minor character in a romance novel, Cha Sun Chaek (Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun). After waking up in the world of the novel, she ends up spending the night with the obsessive male lead, Yi Beon (2PM’s Taecyeon).
The story ignites when Yi Beon, a cold and calculating male lead, becomes obsessed after their first night together. Cha Sun Chaek, possessed by the real-life college student K, finds herself caught in an unpredictable love story. As their romance unfolds, viewers are drawn into the complex web of relationships within the novel’s world.
Source: soompi
Cast: Ok Taekyeon (of the boy band 2PM) and SeoHyun (of the girl group Girls’ Generation)
Episodes: 12
Start Date: Wednesday, June 11
Airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays
Where to Watch it: Viki
Network: KBS2
What about you? What are you watching this month?
Good morning, @packmule3 and All.
Oh, First Night with the Duke does indeed sound like a Harlequin-type romance, doesn’t it? But I rather like Ok Taecyeon – to me he is funny in comedies and such a villain in dramas. His chat show interview about his NYC audition experience is good.
I tried Tastefully Yours and just couldn’t get into it, despite decent reviews and my appreciation of the actors. I thought Love in the Kitchen did it first and better. Am continuing with Haunted Palace and will check out Good Boys.
I would like a change of pace and I will investigate some J-doramas with that in mind.
@Fern,
I don’t mind watching Taecyeon in comedies at all because he’s a great ham actor. But I don’t think he suits melodramas like the other actor-idols, Park Jinwoo (who’s currently in “Our Unwritten Seoul”) and Yim Siwan. It’s because Taek tends to do stock mannerisms (e.g., clench fist for anger, stick out his jaw for aggression) and be a bit theatrical in emotional scenes. His eyes aren’t as expressive as Park Jinwoo’s. 👀
I like him anyway because he’s a good sport and doesn’t mind laughing at himself.
I also enjoyed the chat interview about his n y c interview. So interesting how that happened and how he tells the story.
I also could not get into taste for the yours, despite really liking KHN.
@monmor,
So it wasn’t just me who couldn’t relate with “Tastefully Yours.” 😂 I like Kang HaNeul fine but his role here didn’t call out to me.
@Fern,
There was this jdrama whose plot amused me when its ad popped up on YouTube, but I don’t know where to find the whole 6 episodes. iIt’s called…
Wait a sec, the title is long,
“Shiawase Kanako no Koroshiya Seikatsu”
Or translated as
“Happy Kanako’s Killer Life”
It’s about this assassin-to-be who’s great at her job because she’s invisible to the world. I mean, figuratively invisible 🫥. Nobody notices her and her imaginary friends.
It’s dark humor.
@pm3 I did think KHN’s Acting Was good In tastefully, yours, but it was the character that did not appeal to me and a character We have seen so many times before. Perhaps the script will do something different with him?
I am watching “The Haunted Palace” and “Dear Hongrang”. I am interested in “Our Unwritten Seoul”.
@packmule, thank you for the recommendation Happy Kanako’s Killer Life. I’ll have a look for it. Later in July, Netflix will have a dorama starring Satoh Takeru.
I forgot to mention that I have started “Our Unwritten Seoul” because of the leads.
Happily enjoying final episodes of PoB, Haunted Palace and Tastefully Yours.
TY is worth a second look, even tho the slowfood vs corporate non-ethics is old, even so, there is always a chance to do it better, in my opinion perfectly
The trend lately is girls with egos and guys with complications and I love the FL lead here. She knows what she wants and doesnt freeze or wriggle around wagging her tail when the ML looks her in the eyes. Not a rich guy-plucky poor woman trope.
Really excellent production values. KHN gets a chance to show off his totally stage-driven comic acting — he uses all parts of his body in pratfalls, sudden too-late revelations etc.
Our Unwritten Seoul is still really excellent (4 eps into it), but in the same groove, familiar tropes executed very well. Leads are doing brilliantly so far.
For fluffy romance addicts, there is a modern Cdrama at 24 eps of 45 mins, which only = 18hrs of watch time. The ost is addictive and heart-lifting. Be Passionately in Love (15 eps into it) is more “passionate Youth Build A Better Future” so fans of what was a very steamy novel have dissed it.
Recent trend in cdrama is to slide kdrama sideways — so BPIL has a skittish spoiled FL and lots of misunderstandings. I like it, even though she is a bit confused abt her own feelings I see a very old-fashioned girl looking for a lifelong love beneath all the nonsense.
Otherwise no romance attracts me on viki or netflix so waiting hopefully for future shows. Today may be the first 90 degree day in the Northeast US so I plan to rewatch Jirisan, oh those misty green mountain ranges…
@packmule3 you mentioned last month that you had signed up for VIP membership with IQIYI to watch “Best Thing”. So did I, but found the show too bland and FFD most of it. Not even close to LoveO2O IMHO.
But since you have a sub to IQIYI, you might want to check out “Story of Kunning Palace” with the same ML as “Best Thing” but which I think is as good as “The Prisoner of Beauty“. The last episode of Kunning Palace is one of the best I’ve seen in a cDrama that completes the arc of the story very well.
I forgot to add that part of the reason I wanted to watch “The Best Thing” was to see if the ML’s (Zhang Ling He) kissing style was the same as in Kunning Palace, which I can only describe as “devouring”. Sadly it was not!
@Rebecca – I second your enthusiasm for Kunning Palace – a really engaging show.
Thanks, @Rebecca.
How long is the “Story of Kunning Palace?” I think that’s my deciding factor for now. 🙂
Yes, I don’t know what to do with my IQIYI subscription. I haven’t used it in over a month.
I reached Ep 4 of “Best Thing” but I found the girl too wishy-washy. I get that it’s hard to break up a long-term relationship but I can’t help wondering whether the ML is just a rebound lover/boyfriend or not.
Plus, I find the doctor-patient relationship unethical.
I don’t usually like the time-leap tropes in my dramas, but in this case, I think it’s better that the leads stop seeing each other professionally and romantically for a while, then re-start a relationship when a) she’s totally over her college sweetheart and b) no longer needing medical treatment from him.