Dong-yi Episode 4, recap

I was going to put a sad picture here, but why be depressed all the time?

Dong-yi Episode 3 recap

Okay, just, I’m sure y’all know this already, but the first few episodes of a sageuk is nearly always filled with what I call the path where the hero/heroine has to walk through a valley of angst and dead relatives before establishing themselves in a lifelong mission of finding out why. So, the bloodshed is expected?

*passes you pre-emptive tissue*

Dong-yi Episode 2, recap

Dong-yi: Episode 2

Hey, now that Photobucket has stopped kicking itself in the head, figuratively speaking, we can has screencaps.

Watching this scene, I was thinking about how awesome Dong-yi would be as Iljimae. Think about it, she’s just as smart as he is, has a very strong sense of justice, and no one would ever, ever suspect it. 😛

Dong-yi Episode 1, recap

Dong-yi: Episode 1

Yeah, I’m crazy. (50 episodes! My soul quivers.) But I’m going to make this clear up front: Dong-yi looks interesting now, and so I’m recapping it, in part because fangirling for Bae Soo-bin has caught me by surprise and in part because I love how epic this drama promises to be. I will not, however, guarantee regular as clockwork updates (real life, alas, intrudes) nor will I guarantee to be faster than the fansubbers.

Obviously if it becomes a pile of steaming crap in the middle or Han Hyo-joo loses her acting chops I will stop, because one torturous go-round on the ‘Force Self To Recap Machine’ was quite enough, thank you. (Or, god forbid, it turns into Yi San, the drama of 77 episode fame.)

In all honestly, I love the entire freaking cast; that does not happen very often. In addition, I have faith in the writer and director, so we shall see.

Without further ado!

Dong-yi Character Stats

Translations are not 100% accurate, but they should have the general gist of things. Character sheets are at the bottom.

General Stats

(Choi) Dong-yi
– Portrayed by Han Hyo-joo, younger self portrayed by Kim Yoo-jung
– Age in drama: 11-49
– Born 1670
– Outgoing, intelligent, compassionate, good at math
– Her father and brother were framed and killed when she was young
– Had to keep hiding from Inspector Seo for same reason
– With the help of gisaeng Seol-hee (who was in love with her brother), took shelter at one of Pyongyang’s gisaeng houses and learned the arts
– Selected for service in the palace due to her natural intellect and generous nature
– At the same time Cha Chun-soo, her brother’s good friend, did his utmost best to keep her safe
– Eventually attracted the attention of King Sukjong and became Choi Sook-bin
– Was object of jealousy for Jang Hee-bin, but a great favourite with the queen

Shafted, shafted, shafted: A Story of Female Second Leads

This is Janine Zhang, who plays Lan Xiying in Black & White (she’s basically an expert on everything having to do with the law, medicine, and a damned good sharpshooter into the bargain). I would love to be her, but yeah. I’m not that awesome.

A long time ago Thundie wrote an article-essay on the treatment of male secondary leads in kdrama, and I felt inspired enough that I promised myself that I would write up a similar one about the female ones.

This is just something I’ve noticed, but the amount of hate towards female characters almost always beats the hate for male ones. And while on one hand it’s seriously not cool, on the other hand I think the tired old tropes women keep being thrust into have something to do with it.

Without further ado:

An Introduction to Chuno, My Style

Dear Thundie! You asked why I wanted to watch Chuno, right? I finally sat down and marathoned the rest of my eps yesterday, and I have to say, it surpasses expectations. (On the downside, am all caught up now, so… [insert nail biting].)

♥

So I thought it would be your average boring melodrama of one girl with like, the 5 other attractive men in the cast, but no! It actually has plot, plot not driven by Lee Da-hae’s snow-white skin. Not that nakedness on this show is gratuitous or anything, it’s just that in the first 6 episodes, all that manflesh and heaving bosoms is spoiling me a little.

Grumbling about distracting nekkidness aside, the pacing, the cinematography, the music are all perfect. The acting leaves me a little cold at times, but that’s just because the set-up is begging for narm. (That link goes to tvtropes. This is a warning for you to inform your friends and family in case you never make it out of that site.)

Picture feudal Korea at the beginning of the Qing dynasty, plots are afoot, slavery abounds, and people insult each other with words like ‘contumelious’ and ‘slattern’. (I recognized X’s translating style about halfway through episode 1. A difficult job well done. :D)

This is DAE-GIL. He is responsible for about 60% of the chest-baring in this show.

Korea’s Little Sister’s Got It … In Spades

Moon Geun-young’s always been interesting to watch and follow, simply because she’s a great actress. However, since she’s in her twenties, it’s not really appropriate to call her ‘Korea’s Little Sister’ anymore, though her image certainly continues to be cutesy and pure.

… but! I am glad to say that she rocks the mature sexy look as well. *is immediately shot*

Judge for yourselves:

Tousle-haired, smoky-eyed, full-lipped devastation.

Versus

‘Ah, I do love winter. And possibly unicorns.’

Spring 2010, Trailers!

Upcoming:

Hong Lou Meng/Dream of Red Mansions

– Okay, I don’t actually care for this version because the 1989 one was like, the end-all be-all of Hong Lou Meng adaptations, but after the clusterfuck of the selection process and the general pretty, I’m curious to see where this goes.

Summer’s Desire

(My god, the trailer comes in 2 parts!)

– As for as I can tell from dramawiki, it’s about 2 people in love with a manipulative second male lead trying to separate them. (He had money, it helped.) Honestly, if it wasn’t Huang Xiaoming and Barbie Xu, I wouldn’t even look, but… the opportunity of a TWdrama, with an actress who’s not, you know, the type to fake idiocy.

Dong-yi

(This thing is just so gorgeous.)

– Han Hyo-joo! Bae Soo-bin! Ji Jin-hee! Pretty historical clothing and intrigue (though at 50 episodes it’s a bit heavy)! Bae Soo-bin doesn’t get the girl, again!

Personal Taste

– Ahh, what would a girl be without her fake-gay roommate? (Apparently missing all those rainbow-sparkly moments.)

Cinderella’s Sister

– The summary’s somewhat sketch on details, but it’s Moon Geun-young being sexy and angsty. I’m really not going to pass that one up.

Oh! My Lady!

– Romantic hijinks between a male star and his housekeeper! With added age difference! I mean, I’m not expecting any Oscar-level acting, but it sounds fun.

Already Airing:

Down With Love

– He’s a snotty lawyer who has no time for anything, she’s that hard-working girl who carries fridges on her back to earn money. This is a drama just waiting to happen. (Having actually watched all 26 leaked episodes, I can honestly say that this is a joy to watch.)

Dong-yi Picspam, because everyone needs a 50 ep sageuk

DEAR CHINA & TAIWAN,

THIS IS HOW PRODUCTION VALUES SHOULD BE. (Well, this and Chuno, not that I’m saying you have to run around with dramatic expressions all the time. But some resolution would be nice.)

This is Dong-yi.