My Love from the Star

This series came out earlier compared to the previous three dramas--December 2013 to February 2014 to be exact. It again stars Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo-hyun as leads with Park Hae-jin and Yoo In-na as second leads.

I watched this next after Legend of the Blue Sea because I wanted to give Jun Ji-hyun another chance. And also, I was curious as a local adaptation of the series was recently shown here in the Philippines with Jennylyn Mercado playing Ji-hyun's role. In case you're curious, the first episode can be found below.


Like the previous drama, there were romantic fantasy elements in the story. The male lead, Do Min-joon (played by Soo-hyun), was an alien trapped on earth more than 400 years ago. He lived a solitary life with only one person whom he called as friend. With only 3 months left before he leaves, he meets the character of Ji-hyun, Cheon Song-yi, a top Hallyu star who became his next door neighbor. They got embroiled into each others lives and eventually falling for each other.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT

Kim Soo-hyun
To be honest, I didn't like him at first. He was so stoic and detached. There was no way I could empathize with the character which was so disheartening. But in the last few episodes, he was able to show emotion which managed to make me shed some of my frustrated tears.
And could this boy cry. When he cries, he really does give it his all. It was an unapologetic waterfall display of tears, snot and saliva. He's not your typical "beautiful" oppa but his acting is definitely stellar.

Joon Ji-hyun
Now this is one character that suited her to a T. She was able to play it well and being a top Hallyu star in her own right, she was able to portray this as realistically as possible (though I doubt she's as this kookie!). One thing's for sure, she was hilarious as Cheon Song-yi and she really pulled it off.

The Contrabida

Shin Sung-rok as Lee Jae-kyung

He was really scary. One of the best contrabidas I have seen in the world of K Drama. You will hate him as his evilness had no reproach. And one thing I appreciate about it is that there was a reason why he turned out that way. My pet peeve on TV or movie characters is if they are bad just because the script calls for them to be bad. I want them to be atrocious for a reason--whether its because of their childhood or for revenge or whatever--as long as there is a sense why.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT IT

The Ending
I really felt unsettled about how it ended. Actually, I myself had no idea how it should end. I've been wracking my brains on how the series should close (well, if I had it my way), but could not come up with anything satisfactory.

Kim Soo-hyun as Do Min-joon

Kim Soo-hyun's Hair
I swear, I wanted to cut this guy's hair. I don't know if the style was called for but I could barely restrain the urge to reach into the screen and pull his hair out of the way. Why are they covering their beautiful foreheads? Come to think of it, most of the dramas I've watched had the guys hair styled like this. Is it a cultural thing? Please help me understand as it is frustrating me to no end.

Shower Scene
I love shower scenes in K Dramas especially if it features one of my favorite oppas, Park Seo-joon. But the shower scene in this series made me double over in laughter. It was just so ludicrous! I mean, ok, he has an awesome torso but who takes a shower wearing a towel?  I don't mind if they did away with this scene but I think they just did this for fan service.

RATING
I give this three tissue boxes. The two leads were just awesome and the drama parts were well acted out. The ending though, was just not gratifying enough.

Watched: June 25-28, 2018

Goblin (Guardian: The Lonely and Great God)

The first Korean drama series that I watched and the one that got me hooked into this. It came out on December 2016 and ran until January 2017. It stars Gong Yoo as the title character, Kim Shin, together with Kim Go-eun (as Ji Eun-tak), Lee Dong-wook (as the Grim Reaper/Wang Yeo) and Yoo In-na (as Sunny or Kim Sun).

Kim Shin was once a warrior who was killed and as recognition for his unjust death, was cursed/blessed to live an immortal life and be a goblin--a god who protects souls. His existence can only be ended when he finds his bride.  Eun-tak is a girl who has lead a harsh life and summoned the goblin by accident and falling in love with him in the process.

The other main cast has their own love story to share and it's as heart-breaking as that of Kim Shin and Eun-tak's.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT (Possible Spoilers for those who have not watched it)

Gong Yoo

Grip Reaper and Goblin

I was never attracted to any Oppa. Even when one Oppa after the other visited the Philippines, I never gave them a second glance. However, seeing him act with his expressive face and eyes, I can't help but succumb to his charms and eventually fall in love with him.

I first knew about him in Train to Busan. I wanted to watch it when it first came out but I was pregnant then so I delayed watching it. My colleague at work starting telling me about him when she saw him in Goblin. It was because of that that I found myself watching it as well.

He can sing too! He did not lend his vocals in any of the songs in the OST but I managed to listen to some of his songs. His voice is so cool and soothing and made me want to learn Korean more!

Lee Dong-wook

He was perfect as the Grim Reaper and his back story with Sunny was as heartbreaking. I love his bromance with the Goblin. I always look forward to any of their interactions and scenes. Though they profess their dislike for each other, they end up watching over each other.

The story

There's a saying that nothing worth comes easy. The love stories in this series were definitely not easy. But seeing them overcome all odds made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I cried so much in the four days that I was stuck in my chair watching this. The writer, Kim Eun-sook is indeed talented to be able to come up with a story that intertwined so many lives and with lines (even if translated) that can skewer a cold heart. I'm so amazed how it managed to really hook me until the end.

I guess what really got to me was the premise of someone living an immortal life and looking for the person who can end it, only to fall in love with that person in the process. And when he tried to extend his life because he wanted to spend more time with her, she started getting into accidents because she has no reason to live if her purpose cannot be fulfilled.

Grim Reaper and Sunny's story is more tragic as it involved their past lives. I'm happy how it was resolved at the end but I still have some concerns with Shin and Eun-Tak's story. What would happen to the goblin when Eun-Tak finishes all her 4 lives? 

The OST

This was a surprise. Considering that I don't understand Korean, I was expecting that I will not appreciate the music but I felt otherwise. I guess music will always be universal--like love. Even if you don't understand the lyrics, the melody can become an earworm.

There were several songs that I like: 

- The opening theme, Round and Round by Heize and Han Soo-ji. Though it reminded me a bit of Evanescene, the song captured the mystery and fantasy of the drama.

- Beautiful by Crush. It was played during poignant scenes involving the two main leads. 

- Who are You by Sam Kim. Whenever the chorus is sung, I could see in my mind, Eun-tak running towards the goblin.

- Stay with Me by Chanyeol (EXO), Punch. The result of the collaboration of the aforementioned artists is just beautiful. Now if I can speak Korean so I can sing of the parts that I like.

Fashion

I don't consider myself a fashionista. I have a basic fashion sense but nothing that would warrant me a place in Project Runway. However, I was entranced by the winter attire, especially that of the male leads. They look oh so cool and dashing--especially when they were wearing those long coats. I heard that those coats were sold out after they wore it in the series.

The Poetry

The poem above was read by the Goblin when he realized how much he has grown to love Eun-tak. I'm not sure if the translation did justice to the original poem.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT IT

Some say that the ending can be left as is. But I really wanted to find out what would happen to the goblin when Eun-tak's lives run out. Also, will his wife keep on getting into accidents if she postpones killing him? Will she have a different purpose when she's reborn? After all, the purpose of the goblin bride is to kill the goblin.

There was a time that I felt uncomfortable of the age gap of the two leads. She's a 17-year old high schooler (although in real life, she's older than that. But thanks to their inherent good skin, she really can pass herself off as a teenager) while the guy is in his late 30's (well, technically, he's more than 900 years old). But I managed to ignore it when they did not make any mention of it in the series which was a big relief. Other writers would've made it a source of contention between the leads, for sure.

RATING

I rate my dramas with the amount of tissue that I have consumed while watching the series. 

Five Tissue Boxes - Awesome! Exemplary! More! More! Standing ovation! Finished a whole tissue box from all the crying! 

Four Tissue Boxes - Great! Good job! But something missing.

Three Tissue Boxes - Ok. Not great but just ok.

Two Tissue Boxes - Not ok but not bad either. The disadvantages outweighs the redeeming factor.

One Tissue Box - Meh.

Since this was my first, I felt that the next ones really paled into comparison (except for Moon Embracing the Sun). So I give this five tissue boxes!

Watched: June 7-10, 2018