Love in Trouble (Suspicious Partner)

After watching Healer, I'm now a fan of Ji Chang-wook and his cuteness. This one is his most recent drama before he entered the military for mandatory enlistment. It aired from May to July 2017. I initially panicked when I saw that it had 40 episodes but fortunately, only 30 minutes each (so technically, 20 regular episodes).

Noh Ji-wook (Ji Chang-wook) played a prosecutor who had the (mis)fortune to cross paths with lawyer, Eun Bong-hee (Nam Ji-hyun). He was then forced to make a choice that greatly impacted his life and career.

Personally, I like his pairing with Min-young more than Ji-hyun.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT

Legal Learnings

Though I've watched Suits, this series gave me a better insight on how the justice system of Korea works. I found it interesting that the Prosecutors were left with the task to prove the guilt of the defendant. Moreover, their roles were clearly differentiated even in the court room, wherein the prosecutors also wear robes, although with more color compared to the judge.

The Lip Bite

This one I really noticed more. JCW bit his lip. A lot.

Jichangwook Lip Bite GIF from Jichangwook GIFs

The Supporting Cast

The lawyers in JCW's firm were so funny especially Mr. Byun and Mr. Bang. I found it especially entertaining when their meetings usually ended up with nothing vital being discussed much to Ji-wook's frustration as Mr. Byun would go on with his rants.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT

Everything

I finished this for the love of JCW. I don't know if it was because of the number of episodes or I was just biased for PMY but it took me 7 days to finish this series. That's already too much as I'm usually done in 3-4 days.

Come to think of it, I really don't know why I struggled so much to complete the drama. Though it did give me time to catch up with my blog.

Story-wise, maybe because I felt that it was stretched too much. Eun Bong-hee was falsely accused of a crime that she did not commit and Noh Ji-wook withdrew the case when the evidence that were found was tampered with. The whole series centered on Bong-hee finding the real culprit and clearing her name. Granted that there were suspenseful moments, I was still not crazy over it nor could give an objective or more lengthy review.

The second leads did a good job though. It did not take long for me to pick-up why Ji-wook despised Ji Eun-hyuk (Choi Tae-joon) so much. Apparently, Eun-hyuk stole Ji-wook's girlfriend, Cha Yoo-jung (Kwon Nara) from the former. However, I don't know if there was something lost in translation but such was not the case--or if it did happen, they wanted to seek forgiveness? I got confused for awhile. But they do they have good chemistry, not enough to save the drama for me.

RATING

I give this one tissue box. If you're going to watch it, watch it because of JCW.

Watched: August 15-22, 2018

Healer

I started watching this because I got curious when my friends refused to ship Park Min-young with Park Seo-joon. They said that they prefer her with Ji Chang-wook. I asked for recommendations and I was referred to this drama.

This series was shown last December 2014 until January 2015. It starred Ji Chang-wook, Park Min-young and Yoo Ji-tae.

Ji Chang-wook played a "courier" or night messenger with the code name of "Healer" that get things done for a price (short of killing someone). Park Min-young was a reporter from a tabloid news website while Yoo Ji-tae was also a reporter but more well-known. An event from several decades back brought them together and they had to deal with the truths that came out from that fateful day.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT

The JCW-PMY Ship

I didn't believe it at first but the Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) told it all. In contrast to the BTS of What's Wrong With Secretary Kim wherein Seo-joon and Min-young would immediately jump apart after an intimate scene, Chang-wook and Min-young can't seem to keep their hands off each other after a take. No wonder so many people are shipping them!



And they look oh so good together!




Ji Chang-wook

Now I know why Jinkee Pacquiao went crazy over him. He's really cute especially when he appeared all formal when he and Min-young crashed the press conference of the mayor.

Ji Chang GIF from Ji GIFs

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT

The OST

There was just something off about it. The scoring felt clunky--instead of making the scene more emotional, it did the opposite.
And I have nothing against Michael Learns to Rock but I have no idea what they made Eternal Love as the show's theme song. Whenever they played it, it doesn't seem to fit.
Like in the clip above, the couple marched out of the salon with Eternal Love playing in the background. It really didn't feel right.

The Ending

I felt that it lacked resolution. Whatever happened to the parents of Chae Young-shin (Min-young's character)? And the evil assistant? It lacked closure! I want to know what happened to them.

RATING

I'm giving this two tissue boxes because of the JCW-PMY ship. Their chemistry is so palpable that you look forward seeing them in a scene together. And that airport scene. PMY was just so lovely and JCW was so smooth!

Watched: August 11-15, 2018