K-Drama Review: A Gentleman's Dignity, Episodes 7-8

Read Episode reviews for:

A Gentleman's Dignity--Episodes 1-2
A Gentleman's Dignity--Episodes 3-4
A Gentleman's Dignity--Epsiodes 5-6

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 7-8

Well, Yisoo's not admitting that she's developing feelings for stubborn architect Do-Jin, but she sure does spend an awful lot of time thinking about him.

Like Most Women, She Does Her Deep Thinking While Wearing A Towel Hat.

Finally, Do-Jin's habit of recording everything that happens to him is explained to the audience--he has some weird mental condition where stress makes him lose his short-term memory. His sound-recording pen helps him remember the lost time, and I predict that this will play a bigger role in future episodes. He'll probably lose his memory of Yisoo entirely, just as she falls in love with him, like in Secret Garden.  Apparently, having an unrequited attachment to Yisoo is short-circuiting his brain quite a bit. Do-Jin needs to resolve this love issue quickly.

The Doctor Prescribes Love Potion Number 9. No, Not Really.

Yisoo's roommate Sera is still fussy because Yisoo likes Taesan. This conflict also needs to resolve itself soon, because it's not leading anywhere new. Me Ahri's buddy Colin is still around, trying to locate his birth father and making no headway. Jungrok is still getting into trouble with his wife and barely bothering to cover his tracks. Yoon and Me Ahri take a step forward, then back again as Yoon briefly mans up and asserts his interest, then back away again.

Sadly, This Moment Was Too Good to Last.

Me Ahri's got a lot to think about and so does Yisoo, so the two ladies go to the sauna to talk out their relationship issues. I'm a big fan of the jimjilbang setting in K-dramas--like noraebang and pojangmacha, it's a bit of cultural color that's not quite duplicated anywhere else.

Note: Same Jimjilbang (찜질방)Uniforms as in Rooftop Prince.

Do-Jin tries again to persuade Yisoo to give him a chance, and I really can't recall why she's still saying no, partly because I don't have a really good sense of Yisoo as a person or an idea of why she does what she does. She has many admirable qualities (excellent teacher, good mentor, supportive friend), but these just feel like an amalgamation of characteristics, rather than aspects of a real person's attitude.

Likable, but Missing Some 3-Dimensionality.

Do-Jin and Taesan are having trouble with their construction business, just to prove that there are non-lovey plotlines going on in A Gentleman's Dignity. But the business issues are shuffled pretty far to the background. Maybe the show would've been better if the audience could have gotten more invested in Yisoo and Do-Jin's lives apart from each other and the other characters? Just thinking.

Conference Time, Boys.

Episode 8 does manage to end on a slight cliffhanger when Taesan addresses the elephant in the room between himself and Do-Jin, and suggests that he (Taesan) might not be so indifferent to Yisoo's feelings for him after all.

Finally, He Gets It!

Things I Loved:

1. Yoon Staying With Do-Jin. It's because he's on the run from his own sad life, but Yoon has been living with various friends and family members for a long time even though he can afford his own place several times over. It's a tiny part of the episodes, but it's so sweet that Yoon slips into the nurturing role when living with Do-Jin.

Housekeeper, Complete With Apron.

2. F44. This show was ostensibly about all five guy friends and about their bond, but in actuality it seems more like a collection of love stories tied together by everyone being acquainted with each other. But it's still nice to get scenes of all of them just hanging out and supporting each other.

The Dudes, Just Being Dudes.

3. Brother/Sister Relationship. Taesan and Me Ahri have a few brief serious convos, and you realize that Taesan adores his kid sister and wants the best for her, but he's also willing to crush her heart by sending her back to America in order to "protect" her from her feelings for Yoon. Eh, his methods are high-handed, but his heart's in the right place.

But Baby Sisters Need Love, Too.

Complaints:

1. Stalled Love Story. I know Do-Jin and Yisoo will end up together, but the things keeping them apart aren't really good obstacles. In real life "I just don't want to date him" is a perfectly fine excuse, and once a woman decides she doesn't like a guy, that's the end of the story. But with Yisoo, I feel like she's just flouncing and avoiding the inevitable. Though perhaps that's just because I already know the endgame, here.

Watch A Gentleman's Dignity HERE on DramaFever.

Episode Evaluations: These episodes were okay. Nothing too new and nothing terribly frustrating; I'm expecting some big plot shakeup to happen next week. Please?

K-Drama Review: A Gentleman's Dignity, Episodes 5-6

Read Episode reviews for:

A Gentleman's Dignity--Episodes 1-2
A Gentleman's Dignity--Episodes 3-4

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 5-6

Our F44, four guyfriends who are over forty, are gathered together in their favorite coffee shop discussing a matter of great importance: which member of the kpop girl group Girls Generation is the best. *headdesk* Do-Jin insists that it's Taeyeon (the best singer), Taesan insists that it's Yuri (the curviest), while Jungrok stubbornly holds out that Tiffany is the best (incidentally, Tiffany is my favorite member, too).

Yoon stares at them all and mumbles his disapproval of their silliness. Until they all spot Sooyoung of Girls Generation at the counter and Yoon goes running up to her, salivating and begging for an autograph, even stooping so low as to do a little dance in imitation of the song "Genie".

Let Us Never Speak of This Moment Again.

But this throwaway intro scene does serve nicely to remind us that despite the title of the show, these gentleman have very little dignity. They're little boys who got taller and entered the workforce is all.

In the lovey-dovey plots, Sera, our heroine Yisoo's roommate, is jealous over Yisoo liking her boyfriend Taesan. But c'mon, now! Taesan doesn't like Yisoo and he's made it clear that he never will, plus Yisoo's not the man-stealing type. So Sera's passive aggressive verbal jabs at Yisoo are kind of pointless and outright mean. You won Sera, you got the guy--you don't have to rub your friend's face in it.

Taesan's little sister Me Ahri has a few connections besides Yoon going on now. She teams up with Do-Jin to help him a little bit with his pursuit of Yisoo. Then we find out that she's friends with Jungrok's dragon lady wife, so the web of connections thickens. Me Ahri is also the one to send Yisoo a daring, fetchingly red dress.

First Time She Has Really Smiled, This Episode.

In a series of misunderstandings and hijinks, Yisoo puts on the dress and winds up stranded in the middle of the city with no cab fare and a dying cellphone battery. She calls up Do-Jin to rescue her (yeah, that's sending a mixed message, when she's been trying to get him to leave her alone). Do-Jin says he won't come, but then does. And he gets so angry at finding her in her party dress, laughing at someone sitting in a car, he rams his own car into the back of their vehicle.

Ehh. It's supposed to be an example of his devotion toward Yisoo since Do-Jin normally treats his car with kid gloves, but there's an important distinction for me: Do-Jin isn't crashing his car to save Yisoo from anything. He's crashing it to cut short her potentially flirtatious conversation and to express his displeasure! That action is in the same category with guys who punch a wall to show a girl just how ticked they are.

My Destruction of Property Indicates My Seriousness.

So Do-Jin takes Yisoo with him (girl, why are you getting into a car with a man who just intentionally smashed his fender in a fit of temper?), and they have a few more romantically charged moments, but nothing really changes between them.

The only real plot complication shown in these episodes is Colin, a 20-year-old guy who is looking for his birth father. Colin has made appearances in other episodes, but nothing has really been done with his character yet. Now he's getting closer to the F44 and he's still not sure which one of them is his papa.

It's probably not Taesan, since that wouldn't make for much drama, and probably not Yoon, since that would be creepy (as Colin is Me Ahri's friend). If it's Jungrok, I hope that the father-son connection will bring some depth to Jungrok's character, and if it's Do-Jin, that'll make for good tension, too. Colin's not an exciting character, but he could bring about some big changes and as a bonus he is played by the cute one from CN BLUE.

Pictured: The Cute One From CN BLUE.

There's more drama and sadness with Yisoo mooning over Taesan, but then Do-Jin whisks her away for a moonlight stroll, which ends in this:

Yay!

Which is such a sweet and tender moment, it makes one wonder why Do-Jin can't be considerably less creepy all the time. Could we just stay in the non-creep zone, if these are the results?  제발?

Things I Loved:

1. Guest appearance by Sooyoung. It was only for 30 seconds, and it caused one of the silliest scenes ever, but it was good to see her adorable smiling face in the show.

Sooyoung, Hwaiting! (화이팅!)

2. Yoon. He's precious, and so innocent for a grown-up, successful lawyer. He's trying to do right by Me Ahri, and I'd probably be supporting them as a couple if Me Ahri were more mature. I tend to wish Yoon could be paired with someone more dignified.

But Any Couple He's Part of Will Be A Sweet Couple.

3. Do-Jin. He's still a stubborn mule, but less jerkish now that we know he's stopped dating other women while pursuing Yisoo. It's adorable that he starts bumbling around her, doing really stupid things as if he were an awkward teenager. It's nice to see him being less than totally self-assured.

At His Best When He's At His Worst, If You Will.

Complaints:

1. Sera/Taesan. I don't care if they stay together or break up, so any subplot involving their potential to stay together or break up has me checking out. Taesan is nice but not nice enough that I want to save him from Sera, and Sera is mean but not mean enough that I want her to get some comeuppance. So. We have a couple that induces no emotional attachment of any kind for me.

Pointless Bickering Gets Dreary at Some Point.

2. Sad Yisoo. The girl needs to find some joy in life and stop slumping. Taesan not liking Yisoo makes her sad, and Do-Jin liking her makes her sad, and most everything makes her cringe and fret and worry. For me to love her again, she'll need to start enjoying her world more.

"Seo Yisoo, Here's the Song That I'm Singing--C'Mon, Get Happy!"

 

Watch A Gentleman's Dignity HERE on DramaFever.

Episode Evaluations: Despite their flaws, I like Yisoo and love Do-Jin, and they're currently the only reasons I'm watching A Gentleman's Dignity. I'm just not invested in what happens to the other three couples, and that's a shame because it means that I'm only really cued into about 25 minutes of screentime per episode.

Psalms on Sunday: Psalm 4

Psalm 4 moves through a few different themes pretty quickly. The Psalmist (probably David) begins by calling on God and asking him to deliver the speaker from trouble, as he has already done in times past.

Verse 2 changes tacks and addresses a totally different audience: sinful people. The speaker is pretty fed up with people in general and their vanity. The speaker contrasts this bad behavior with that of the godly people God has set apart as his own special people. The speaker counts himself among these special people and indicates that this is why the Lord will answer his prayer.

Verse 4 seems to be addressing no one in particular, just offering a piece of advice for everyone and saying that people should be so much in awe of God that they avoid sin. The verse also encourages quiet meditation and personal reflection. I'm not entirely sure what "sacrifices of righteousness" are in the next verse, but they seem to be more of a spiritual thing than a literal animal sacrifice such as the ones Jews commonly offered at that time.

Verse 6 deals with people who are discouraged and who think God will not aid them. The speaker asks God to look at his people and remember them.

Verses 7 and 8 address God directly again, telling God that he has made the speaker's heart happy, in a way that exceeds even the merriment that comes during the harvest festivals. The speaker concludes that he is entirely safe and can rest securely, knowing that God is his protection.

______________________________________________

¹Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

² O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah.

³ But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

⁴ Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

⁵ Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶ There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

⁷ Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

⁸ I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
_______________________________________________________

K-Drama Review: Big, Episodes 5-6

Read Episode reviews for:

Big--Episodes 1-2
Big--Episodes 3-4
Big--Episodes 5-6
Big--Episodes 7-8
Big--Episodes 9-10
Big--Episodes 11-12
Big--Episodes 13-14
Big--Episodes 15-16

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 5-6


As the episode opens, bodyswapped teenager Kyungjoon hugs Da-Ran to keep her from opening the door to mean girl Seyoung's apartment. If Da-Ran opens the door with a key that her fiance Yoonjae had in his possession, she'll have confirmation that Yoonaje was cheating on her before the bodyswap. Kyungjoon physically blocks Da-Ran from entering the apartment, and he finally has to lift her over his shoulder and carry her out of the building to keep her from confronting Seyoung. His default action seems to be picking Da-Ran up.

But Hey, It's Effective.

Finally, we see new emotional shades from Da-Ran; she's angry and humiliated, and more grown up too, I think. She had been living in a sort of childlike daydream that's no longer possible. Kyungjoon leaves Da-Ran to go visit his own comatose body, which is now hilariously placed beside a Mari pillow and a wall decorated with Mari pictures.

Yoonjae/Kyungjoon, Sleeping in Mari Central Station.

Kyungjoon's current interactions with Mari are hilarious, and I really get the sense that actor Gong Yoo is cracking up at Suzy's antics. Mari holds Kyungjoon-body's hand before she leaves and tells him to visit her in her dreams. Aw, she's such a doll sometimes.
Kyungjoon finds Da-Ran nursing a bottle (or two) of soju at her family's empty restaurant, thinking of the fiance who abandoned her. Da-Ran breaks down crying and leans on Kyungjoon's shoulder begging "Yoonjae" not to leave her. She falls asleep, and now Kyungjoon's in the position of protecting her, which is a nice reversal.

The Deadly Green Bottles Indicate Sorrow.

Kyungjoon walks around his own house, looking at all of Da-Ran's perfect nesting materials, and he wonders what will happen to all her nice wedding furniture if there's no wedding. This goes to show that Da-Ran may love Yoonjae, but she's equally in love with the dream of being settled down in a comfy-cozy house with comfy-cozy trappings. There's no reason the guy in the scenario has to be Yoonjae--any upstanding man would do.

Da-Ran surfaces from her alcohol fog and realizes that she has a wedding photo shoot coming up!  Kyungjoon agrees to the photos, and Da-Ran looks lovely in her wedding dress, but also fragile and just on the verge of tears. Kyungjoon's clearly wowed by her, but he wonders why she's doing this. Da-Ran replies that the pictures mean a lot to her, even though there will be no wedding--there again, the trappings of the wedding carry as much or more significance to Da-Ran than the man himself.

Insert Bridegroom At Left.

Da-Ran gives Kyungjoon a plane ticket, so he can go to LA and escape the whole situation. She just wanted to have these last photo memories of Yoonjae before he left. Kyungjoon frustratedly asks if it's just Yoonjae she'll be remembering, even though it was Kyungjoon who followed her around and made all those photo memories. Then he give her a real, genuine kiss as the wedding photographer snaps some final shots. Ooh. So let's recap: Yoonjae kissed Da-Ran once while she was asleep(she thinks), while this 18-year-old kid is brave enough to kiss her in front of everybody and let her know where he stands.

We Have a Winner.

Kyungjoon and Da-Ran fight and he says tells her that it was a goodbye kiss, since he's leaving for LA. Da-Ran's little brother Choongshik overhears this and administers a BEATDOWN to Kyungjoon for treating his noona so callously. So sweet!

All this turmoil is good because it leads to tough questions: for the first time, Kyungjoon asks what will happen to him if Yoonjae doesn't wake up. Good question. Until now, Da-Ran had just been acting as if Yoonjae would wake up in a week and when he did, another bodyswap would naturally occur. It's time Kyungjoon and Da-Ran acknowledged that they're dealing with a supernatural issue whose rules they don't understand.

Ignorance Is Bliss.

Now, Yoonjae's cold mom arrives in Seoul. Eek! Yoonjae's Mom wants him to come back to America with her. Kyungjoon is pretty jazzed about this--he proudly says that he's going to skip all the useless years most people spend growing up. He'll go to America for one year, and after he gets smarter, he will come back to Korea and marry Da-Ran. Because he likes her. Simple as that. WHAT? Da-Ran laughs at the idea of marrying a high school student, and he's hurt by her dismissal.

Aw, Don't Laugh at the Boy's Proposal!

He leaves for America. And then... Timeskip one year into the future? I've never seen this plot device used so early in a show's run.

Wow. I have no clue why they did this....  Is this timeskip going to be a good thing or bad thing? For sure, it's an unexpected thing.

After a year, we see Da-Ran mirroring episode 1 by rushing into a church for another friend's wedding. Da-Ran is congratulated on passing her exam, so we know she has become her own woman by passing her test and becoming a real adult in the workforce. At the wedding, she sees Kyungjoon!... or is it Yoonjae? She says hello, but he still doesn't answer, until this: "Gil Da-Ran-ssi. It's been awhile."

So Chill, So Cool.

This is a game-changer. That year-long gap alters everything about where I thought this story was going.

Kyungjoon is outright impersonating Yoonjae now, by being friends with Yoonjae's friends. He needs Da-Ran again because Yoonjae's Mom wants to force him to marry Seyoung! Kyungjoon says: "You are the only person who knows me perfectly. So the only person I can marry is you." But not for real. He asks Da-Ran to be his pretend fiance, so the tables have turned yet again! 

Also, Choongshik and Mari are still hanging out together! He's still paying off his pizza debt, one year later, and he has something important to tell her when the debt is paid in full. Awwww!

Supah-Supah-Cute.

Da-Ran needs to make a decision about what to do with Kyungjoon, and soon. Da-Ran wants to help him out with the fiancee ruse, but if she spends time with him, she wonders if her feelings for Yoonjae will be reignited. Come on, girl, how hard is it to help the poor bodyswapped guy?

Meanwhile, Mari is adding up evidence about Kyungjoon's identity. Mari pulls a B&E and breaks a window just to get into Kyungjoon's house. She sees his kiddie bed and his toys, and finally she gets it. The episode ends with Mari hugging Kyungjoon, knowing he's the real Kyungjoon.

Yikes!

Things I Loved:

1. Mari. Oh my Mari. You are so cute and insane. I don't know why I was surprised to see Mari still at Kyungjoon's bedside after one year; it's so her. She's even attending school in Korea, to be near him. But she reveals that she has to stay by Kyungjoon because it's somehow her fault his mother died. So, the stalking is halfway about guilt, and that makes more sense than just a blind cartoony devotion.

So Precious, She Doesn't Quite Creep You Out.

2. Da-Ran's Not-So-Bright Family. I heart Da-Ran's Mom and brother Choonshik so much. They love Da-Ran with all their hearts, but they are not the most perceptive of folks.

The Gil Family Does Not Comprehend.

3. Everything About This Show. Seriously everything.

And Also: This.

Complaints:

1. The Miracle Angels. Why is that cherub picture that Yoonjae and Kyungjoon both have so important? We get hints, but no answers.

2. Doctoring? Kyungjoon's planning to go back to work as a doctor, because he's been studying medicine like mad. Cause, you know, one year of studying medical textbooks is equal to going through med school, an internship and a residency. And then there's the fact that Kyungjoon can't stand the sight of blood. Erm.

Buzz Lightyear: "I Don't Believe That Man's Ever Been to Medical School".

Theories:

Yoonjae is Kyungjoon's Brother. It's an old, tired theory, but it makes sense.

Yoonjae is Not a Bad Guy, Just a Boring Guy. No further evidence has turned up  to suggest that Yoonjae was a bad dude. In fact, now we know that Seyoung's attachment to him was entirely one-sided and was pursued only from her end.

You Can Rest Easy, Da-Ran.

Episode Evaluations: That time skip changed everything! In a good way. I quite simply cannot wait to see how everything will unfold now that Kyungjoon is more grown-up, Da-Ran is more practical, and Mari knows the bodyswap secret!

K-Drama Review: A Gentleman's Dignity, Episodes 3-4

Read Episode reviews for:

A Gentleman's Diginty--Episodes 1-2

Contains Spoilers for Episodes 3-4

A Gentleman's Diginity took a nosedive for me in episodes 3 and 4, but episodes 5 and 6 are looking up a bit, so I'm back on board for recapping/reviewing, despite losing some love for the show.

As the third episode opens, our F44 (the group of four best friends in their early 40's) are hanging out in a club, talking to a 20-year-old girl and claiming that they are not ajusshis but oppas, who are a mere 30 years old! Ehh. Then they find out that the girl they're all chatting up is the daughter of a former schoolmate of theirs who married early. Eww. They bolt from the club, feeling a hefty case of the heebies-jeebies, as well they should.

Wipe That Smirk Off Your Face, Do Jin.

So anyhow, due to some weird circumstances, our heroine Yisoo has confessed her love to our hero Do Jin, but she doesn't really like him--she likes one of his best friends, Taesan. Do Jin plays along because he's head over heels smitten with Yisoo, but doesn't know how to win her over. They don't really begin to date after this; they're just connected closely enough to confuse Taesan and everybody else about how closely connected they are.

The Do Jin/Yisoo love line isn't the only one progressing in these episodes. Taesan's 24-year-old kid sister Me Ahri is in love with sensible lawyer Yoon. I'd be rooting for this couple harder if she didn't spend most of her time trying so desperately to get Yoon's attention that she acts 14. He clearly likes Me Ahri, but for me to support these two, their entire dynamic will have to change drastically.

Go Save Someone Else From Falling Dishes, Yoon.

There's a lot of great back-and-forth one-upsmanship between Yisoo and Dojin as he weasels his way into driving her to a baseball game she's umpiring. He abandons her to save Jung Rok from yet another self inflicted dilemma, so Yisoo steals Dojin's beloved car and leaves it waiting for him with a stinky dried squid hanging from the rear view mirror.

Smileyface Octopus Mocks You.

More pranks and banter are exchanged, but our lead couple reconfirms their key conflict--Yisoo still likes Taesan, no matter how much fun she has fighting with Do Jin. Do Jin also compounds the issues that keep them apart by continuing to romance other women while he's pursuing Yisoo. I can understand Do Jin not wanting to wait around just to be Yisoo's back-up date, but doesn't he realize that she's not going to think he's serious about her? This just makes him look like more of a jerk than ever.

Yisoo's unrequited love for Taesan also gets an extra push because her roommate Sera seems to be dating other people behind Taesan's back. It's a mystery why Yisoo is working so hard to preserve the sanctity of Sera's relationship with Taesan when Sera herself seems to be pulling the relationship apart at the seams.

Doesn't Know How Good She Has It.

Episode 4 ends with Sera realizing that Yisoo loves Taesan, which should nudge the plot forward at least a little, because right now everyone's at a stalemate. No one's marrying, breaking up, or getting together and that's not good, because there's not much else happening in this story besides the relationships.

Things I Loved:

1. Taesan's Sweetness. Taesan's just a regular old everyman, but he knows plenty about how to treat ladies properly. He's good enough friends with Yisoo that he warns Do Jin to stay away from her, not out of some misplaced sense of romantic jealousy but because Taesan knows Yisoo's too good for Do Jin and will likely get her heart broken by him. He's like everybody's protective (yet not overbearing) big brother.

Taesan Will Fight For Your Honor.

Complaints:

1. The Creep Factor. Watching 40-something guys hit on a 20-year-old is gross. I'm pretty openminded about age differences, but this pushes the limit too far, partly because the guys are lying about their own ages and partly because it's four dudes alone in a room with one girl. Nothing happens, and I still feel icky about the scene. *shudder*

No, Jung Rok, it's Not That Funny.

2. Jung Rok's Cheating. It's still being played for laughs, and I still fail to find it even remotely entertaining. I want Jung Rok's rich, smart wife to get rid of him and go conquer Wall Street or something.

You're Too Strong To Stick With the Likes of Him!

3. Yisoo's Passivity. There's not much for Yisoo to do in these episodes other than evade Do Jin's calls and secretly adore Taesan. I like her best when she's teaching ethics and working on her hobby as an umpire, because that makes her seem like a real woman with a lot going on in her life.

Not Really Developed As a Character.

Watch A Gentleman's Dignity HERE on DramaFever.

Episode Evaluations: I'm still watching, but the hero's looking more like a jerk and the heroine's looking more helpless, so these episodes really didn't work for me.