Faith

 신의 (信義) / Shinui / The Great Doctor (神醫)

2012 24-episode Korean Period Drama that starred Lee Min ho as Choi Young, Kim Hee sun as Yoo Eun soo, Yoo Oh sung as Gi Chul, Lee Philip as Jang Bin, Kim Soo yun as Deo Gi, Sung Hoon as Chun Eum ja, Shin Eun jung as Hwa Soo in, Jo In pyo as Goo Yang gak (Yang Sa), Choi Suk jin as Ki Won, Kim Mi kyung as Court lady Choi, and Hwang Woo yun as Ja Woon - to name a few.

Let me start by saying this is the 3rd time I've watched this drama since its release a few years ago - thus the 5 sparkling rosebud vases.

And, if anyone wants to argue with me about my dislike of Heirs, let them join in a face/off between that drama and this one first.

This is how and when Lee Min ho shines; as bright as the brightest star in all of Korea and beyond - even to Hollywood - which isn't saying much, but I'm sure a lot of you out there think that Hollywood is the greatest to ever come along and again, I'd have to disagree. It USED to be that way, but not anymore, and when people freak out over guys like Justin Bieber and Ryan Gossling ... well ... all I can say is I don't even want to waste my breath or time arguing.

Lee Min ho as Choi young

Everyone and their uncle already know what this one was all about, so I'll spare the details and sum it all up by saying it's about a young, gorgeous warrior with two things on his mind: sleep and being a warrior.

He's assigned to protect the king, of course, and the king's new bride from Yuan (China), when something goes wrong and in order to save this woman, warrior Choi luckily discovers a way to travel through time. He ends up in modern-day Seoul and tracks down a flighty plastic surgeon, dragging her back to his time and demanding she save the queen.

Before that, though, he gets into a tussle with the police and ends up stealing one of their bullet-proof shields, which doesn't disappear or disintegrate as he travels back in time, but whatever.

Polymers may have actually existed back then ... you never know.

It added some humor to the show, okay?

The second thing about this drama was the cast, which included Lee Philip and Kim Mi kyung!

Lee Philip as Jang bin

Kim Mi Kyung as Court lady Choi

Now, he might be showing his age a little, but in my book Lee Philip is still one fine looking dude and it'll be awhile before I get tired of seeing his fine face, hearing his sexy voice, and ogling his exceptional frame.

As for Madam Kim, well, she's always going to be up there with the list of greats and will likely never grow weary of entertaining the masses, right?

Philip's character played the court physician, and he spent a lot of time getting to know Yoo Eun soo, the modern-day plastic surgeon thrust into an ancient world and made to do a lot of unsavory bidding as much as she was able to walk alongside our stalwart warrior and try her best to win his stalwart heart.

Kim Hee sun as Yoo Eun soo

Despite what others had to say about her in blogs and at aznv.tv, surprise, surprise! I disagree wholeheartedly with their opinions. This woman blew me away with her acting and made me like her regardless of whatever else it is she's done or said to upset the masses.

She's beautiful and talented, and she reminded me in a way of Grace Adler (Debra Messing) from Will & Grace.

Anyway, next come the baddies; the menacing types who always arrive right on time in any period drama and attempt rather successfully at first to undo, unwind, and unload all the good being done and get away with it for a majority of the show.

Jo In Pyo as Goo Yang Gak (Yang Sa)

Shin Eun Jung as Hwa Soo In

Sung Hoon as Chun Eum Ja

My, my, my.

I even thought the old guy was nice to look at! He's the master-mind of the bad gang and possesses super-powers and an angry heart. 

His sister is very beautiful and did a great job portraying an evil woman with an evil heart who possesses the power of fire to lure and destroy men. 

Then there is our amazingly handsome baby boy with a great head of hair and an obedient heart. He possesses the power of music, or a one-note, which he extracts from his weapon of choice: the flute. The one-note has the ability to destroy the internal workings of the human body.

All three did great acting jobs, were entirely convincing in their roles, and added the right amount of flavor to the show. Their costumes, aside from the king and queen, were the best, too.

Did I mention the fact that our hero, Choi Yong, also has special powers? His arm is electrified, which runs straight to his sword, given to him by a great king. This comes in handy in battle against others with special powers - so the playing field evens out instead of being unfair.

Reason three why this was so great: the costumes, the scenery, and even the set decoration. It was simply marvelous and helped to ease the soul instead of making us sit through a lot of strife, grayness, and dismal that usually occurs when a writer and then producer send us back in time.

Treachery, deceit, and nefarious schemes always abound in a period drama - especially those from Korea - and it still amazes me how the writers take fact and twist it enough times to make fantasy seem factual, but whatever. It seems to work, so that's fine.

Reason four why Faith is a fiver for me is Lee Min ho.

Yep, that's right! I said Lee Min ho. Thinking about it some more, I've come to realize that this show has a lot to do with my unfavorable opinion of his work in The Heirs. After seeing him in Faith, and in Boys Over Flowers, it came as quite a disappointment to see the way he acted in The Heirs.

It was his chance to shine; to really step up to the plate and make a name for himself and he didn't.

In Boys, I thought he was funny, commanding, and intriguing enough to want to see more. In Faith, I started to fall in love and came to realize just what it was that had everyone else so mesmerized. Then I watched Heirs, what the rest of the world watched, and with as much dizzying anticipation, too.

What a let-down.

I know he's done more than just these three shows, and I already watched some, will watch others.

He's handsome, I agree. He's talented, too. He's got the goods, to include height, the face, the body, and the smile.

His eyes captivate the soul, and with a little work, he'd make one hell of a true lover in a modern-day or period drama if he learns how to use those eyes of his to draw out what any hetero- female wants in a man like him.

Not even the guy on the left could scene-steal or hold a candle to our Warrior Choi in Faith, though.

Who stole everyone's heart in The Heirs? Eh? It wasn't Min ho-sshi but his angry counterpart, that's who.

Like I said, he blew it for whatever reason, and I'll chalk it up to his having been either burned out or uninterested in the script and let it go at that.

Reason Five why I loved Faith so much: chemistry.

Lee Min ho's Warrior Choi and Kim Hee sun's Yoo Eun soo had great chemistry even if she does and did look a few years older than him. So what. I don't care about things like that unless it's an old, gray-haired fart trying to get with a high school girl, and then GAG.

Even the budding love story that grew between King and Queen and their onscreen performances together were like-able and believable. It was cute, too, the way she behaved both behind his back trying to help, and in his presence, standing up for her heart while making him figure it all out on his own.

There'll always be the constant reluctance to go with ones own heart in these shows, both period and modern, which annoys the heck out of me but there's nothing I can do to change that fact or make it go away, so ...

Warrior Choi spent too much time avoiding the inevitable, and even if there was a reason for it, it is still irritating to have to sit through night after night.

Okay, so that's my review of Faith. (Actually, my review of why I didn't like The Heirs - lol)

Here are a few extra images of the hot guy with the cool weapon.