The story of an unfortunate prince named Yeong soo (Dae gil), who is born of royalty but lives a peasants' life. Dae gil is the best gambler in the Joseon era. He holds deep resentment inside, but is also cool on the outside. (DramaWiki w/edits)
Lee In jwa, a deposed man of entitlement, burns with the desire to avenge his family and sets out to infiltrate the palace, raise Dae gil to be the next King, and overthrow the reigning monarch as vengeance. (me)
REVIEW
The first part of this 24-episode historical drama (based on actual events that are then embellished to the point of being fictional) was a thriller to say the least.
Lee In jwa is a ruthless, cunning, conniving man who is determined to depose the reigning king as part of a plot to avenge his massacred family in an earlier uprising when he was a boy.
He's intelligent and stealth, carefully selecting and depositing people within the palace to pose as spies for his dastardly deeds.
One of his victims is Dae gil's mother, who is sent to the palace on In jwa's instruction, and when the king takes her as his cheob, the plan bears the much anticipated fruit.
However, Dae gil arrives six months later, causing the king to be suspicious and orders the infant destroyed.
Dae gil is spared and sent, instead, to the gambling man the woman had once lived with, and it is there that Dae gil grows into a young man filled with high spirits, gambling savvy, and a thirst for justice.
The second part shows us Dae gil's desire to avenge the death of his gambling father as he embarks on the second journey of his life.
He meets with a former palace guard and spends a few years with the skilled master learning everything he needs to know about martial arts, sword play, and how to win at the game known as right vs. wrong.
Then, in the last part, we're made to suffer through a lot of intrigue, murder, and foiled attempts by both the bad and good factions surrounding the plot.
Personally, I became swept away by every gambling scene in the first few episodes and had hoped that the two, estranged brothers would remain as staunch allies in their inevitable fight for justice.
Alas, things changed -- the gambling routines stopped, the madness ensued, and I was left to wonder why it was ever important that Dae gil came from the king's loins.
And, like all great Sageuk stories, the bad guy continued to gain power, prestige, and influence despite the countless number of times someone, anyone, could have cacked his sorry ass and ended the pitiful reign of one so small-minded and blind to his own misdeeds.
It was great to see Jang Geun suk again, but he never managed to blend in with the scenery or disguise of his being a character and remained the baby-face, pretty grin Rocker that he is in reality.
Sad, too, that Kim Sung oh's Gae Jak doo was bit and that he had to die so soon.
He did a marvelous job portraying the hardened mountain man on the wrong side of the royal family who was trained as an assassin to murder the king.
Lim Ji yeon as Dam seo (Tom Sawyer, as she became known each time her name rang out in a scene) did a fine job as well, portraying the young woman who's father is loyal to the wrong side, working closely with Lee In jwa, who eventually kills him and takes Dam seo in as his own daughter.
Of course, Dam seo eventually learns the truth and has to re-examine her entire life, but the predictable occurs when she goes against everything she's come to believe as a show of . . . uh, well
. . . I honestly don't know.
She just did a really stupid thing that is entirely expected to occur in a Sageuk.
Yeo Jin goo is pretty, and my daughter fell in love with the handsome Prince Yeong jo as soon as he appeared on screen.
Her mother spent most of the time trying to decide who had the deeper, more sexy voice, him or Dae bak.
The prince won, but only by a fraction.
Yeo Jin goo
She also thought that Dam Seo was pretty, but her mother thought otherwise and chose this woman instead:
Romanization - Ddo Ohhaeyoung
Aka - Oh Hae Young Again, Another Miss Oh, Misunderstood
Genre - Romance, Melodrama
Writer - Park Hae young
Network - tvN
Episodes - 18
Released - 2016, May - June
Cinderella Plot - No
CAST
PLOT
Oh Hae young is dumped by Han Tae jin on the day before their wedding. She becomes despondent and reckless in an attempt to move forward when she knows she can't.
Park Do kyung is a popular sound engineer. A year ago, he was supposed to marry Oh Hae young (Jeon Hye bin), but she did not appear at their wedding. He became desperate and sets out to destroy the man he assumes took his place.
REVIEW
The five stars isn't a mistake on my part even if this 18-episode melodrama did have its awkward, confusing, and down-right implausible moments.
It is the story that deserves the accolades, along with the acting on the part of a well-rounded and in-sync cast, and especially the soundtrack that actually fit not just the story but the mood as well.
This was one of those rare charmers that could be labeled a sleeper (if it wasn't for Eric Moon starring) that took me by surprise as it started to unfold and kept me engaged throughout.
Yes, even when things started to go astray with the private lives of a few of the aside characters, and each time the director felt the need to rehash bits and pieces along the way.
Brilliant writing and a brilliant plot made this work for me, and I do hope for a lot of others as well, because at least one someone involved in the making of this drama deserves a bit of recognition here.
I could easily and sometimes embarrassingly identify with Oh Hae young #2, but it was still a refreshing delight to see a 'real' character portrayed for a welcome change instead of Little Miss Perfect, Poor Miss Picked On, and Wow, Ain't She Something.
Oh Hae young #1 was Miss Perfect but with a unique quality to her and only slightly flawed.
I want the giggle doll!
Oh Hae young #2 spoke to me in a way very few on-screen characters ever have because she was not just honest but also true to her inner and outer selves beginning to end.
She's different and she knows it, flawed and okay with it, and overly anxious to please as much as she hopes to be pleased.
A definite INFP-T personality type (just like me).
When the story opens, she's an adult working for a Food Distributor and preparing to get married to her handsome fiancé, Han Tae jin (Lee Jae yoon) when he breaks it off and disappears.
Hae young #2 is devastated and falls into a terrible downward spiral of misery for a time before eventually shrugging it off by pretending it's okay, she's okay, everything's okay so leave me the F alone kind of existence.
Then Eric's Park Do kyung enters the picture, and he's had visions of Hae young #2 in his head for awhile now, so when he watches her pass him by on the street, he becomes determined to get to know her better.
(This isn't a spoiler)
Turns out he's to blame for Hae young's misery since he was engaged to Oh Hae young (#1) when she left him at the altar, and when his best friend, Lee Jin sang (Kim Ji suk) points out Hae young #2's fiancé in a club, both men assume he is the reason why Hae young #1 broke up with Do kyung.
So, Do kyung decides to ruin Han Tae jin and it works, so Tae jin has no choice but to break it off with Hae young #2.
Then, and for the length of this melodrama, we watch as the interesting plot unfolds, and if you think this is another stereotypical and predictable story, you'll be surprised.
The levity scenes and aside stories could be partially labeled as such, but for the most part, the main story proved to be fresh, intricately woven, and far less foreseeable than expected.
Eric's character proved difficult to warm up to or like, which is a good thing, because that is precisely who he was meant to portray as Do kyung -- the aloof, unfeeling, inhibited man who doesn't even smile when it is called for or display any emotion even while in love.
Which is also why I can't quite say whether Do kyung and Hae young were good together or possessed on-screen chemistry because in character, they both had to struggle so hard just to warm up to the idea of a relationship that it sort of detracted from that chemical romance aspect.
Yes, they looked good side-by-side, I'll give them that, and yes, the kissing scenes were amazing, but as for their deserving to be together and wanting to root for them . . . it's hard to say.
Do kyung's father makes an appearance about mid-way through, and it was great to see Lee Pil mo acting the part.
Lee Pil mo
Gosh, do I love him.
The premise behind Do kyung's character is that he is able to foresee his own death, and while discussing the issue with a psychiatrist, Do kyung starts to learn as much about himself as he does about life in general.
Even knowing he's going to die, Do kyung struggles to change himself in order to become happy with the only woman who really matters -- Hae young #2.
For a majority of the first half, I couldn't wrap my head around the suggested need to sympathize with Do kyung after what he'd done to destroy the lives of two perfect strangers, and it never occurred to me that Tae jin, at any point in the eighteen episodes, owed anyone an apology -- except to Hae young, of course.
Tae jin continues to apologize, though, and I continued to feel sorry for him and hope that something good would happen to him and not just to Hae young.
Perhaps the writer wanted me to accept the notion that men are made to suffer far worse and for far longer than a woman?
Poppycock and horse feathers.
Poor, sweet, and totally innocent Tae jin! (ㅠㅠ)
Lastly, we have Hae young's parents to thank for a lot of the marvelous, sublime, and over-the-top funny or self-indulgent scenes.
Whenever I see Kim Mi kyung in the line-up, I know I'm in for a treat (with the bitter exception of The Heirs).
Kim Mi kyung
STILL
There was enough TYPICAL going on with this story to let me know it was, indeed, a K-Drama, but I blame the director and not the writer.
1.U-Turns are standard fare in any K-Drama, right?
So, when the You Forgot Your Wallet scene occurs, the U-Turn should have occurred but ...
2.Family is ultra-important and super-high on everyone's list/mind, right?
So, Tae jin has absolutely no one on his side? No one when he's overnight destroyed and business ruined within days?
Hae young doesn't hear anything through the grapevine?
His buddies haven't got a clue?
Not even an omanee to cry and carry on like it's the end of the world?
3.Everyone in Korea drinks to excess, right?
They drink, and drink, and drink to shit-faced oblivion sometimes, and then they drink some more -- which is okay!
To hell with your health, your liver, pancreas, & kidneys, your brain cells, or even your dignity!
Right?
And yet . . .
cigarette blur
a lit cigarette is blurred because that's a BAD thing.
4. Skinship most-often occurs outside, right?
Producers of these dramas like to bludgeon us foreigners over the head with the idea that EVERYONE in Korea is excessive in modesty and fiercely guard their personal space.
Which makes zero sense to a foreign mind if EVERY so-called intimate scene (kissing, hand-holding, arm-in-arm strolling, etc.) actually occurs out in the open, in broad daylight, or in a narrow alleyway somewhere in and around Seoul.
Which actually says Koreans are not quite as excessive in modesty or personal space as they'd like us to believe.
However, in Another Miss Oh, the two aside characters are INSIDE when they decide to give kissing a chance (and, mind you, she is 45 and he is 35) when the very next scene offers us this little bit of WTF?
Wait. Wait. is right!
You guys were just inside the house, and now you're outside?
You left the house.
To kiss?
WHY?? 5. Cars and Wind and Hair; not a good combination. Right?
Yet, in every K-Drama, while driving along a country road, a city street, or a major highway, it is inevitable that the woman (always riding shotgun) will roll down the window.
And, in every single instance where this scene occurs, the woman's hair remains perfectly still, her eyes remain wide open (because no one wears sunglasses outdoors in Korea), and she is able to carry on a conversation using her inside voice.
Never has to shout above the howling wind while scrambling to gather her silken locks in both fists, while squinting in order to see with a modicum of ease.
Must be nice.
6. Speaking of cars, there's always one available when you need it, and even if you hadn't used it in a previous scene, right?
Continuity error or directors gaff, I can't be sure, but this happens at least twice in Another Miss Oh, where the character starts out on foot and ends up behind the wheel with zero indication of the vehicle's having been somewhere within hopping in and taking off distance.
So, why were you walking in the first place?
THE SOUNDTRACK
The OST stunned me.
The same song wasn't replayed again and again, but the same tunes did repeat throughout the eighteen episodes for a nice change of pace.
It didn't matter, though, because I really, REALLY enjoyed them all and got teary eyed listening to the last one (below).
It'd be nice to learn that the artists receive awards for their effort because MAN, was this an impressive line-up!
The one that made me cry even when the scene wasn't sad -- just a really lovely tune
Genre - Comedy, Drama, Romance
Screenwriter - Yoo Young ah (유영아)
Episodes - 18
Network - SBS
Broadcast - 2016, Apr to Jun
Cinderella Plot - No
CAST
SYNOPSIS
Shin Suk ho worked for one of the largest entertainment companies as a director, but after a series of let-downs, he starts up his own smaller talent agency. He gathers people to form a band, and through a lot of hardship and soul searching, Shin Suk ho becomes a real and successful manager. ~DramaWiki (w/edits)
REVIEW
In all honesty, this would have been a winner had it ended at 16, but with the addition of two more episodes (to wrap up all the loose ends), I'm still glad I watched and remained ENTERTAINER(d).
And, what an ending Episode 16 turned out to be, eh?
As a matter of fact, on a 1:10 scale in the weepy category, Tantara would probably be in the 9 to 9 1/2 range (I'm suggesting the need of at least two tissue boxes if you plan to watch all 18 episodes in one sitting).
seriously, you'll need the tissues
However, it might be that seventeen and eighteen were added not just to clear up any loose ends, but also as a way to help calm down the viewer so (we) could finally breathe, smile, and actually enjoy the rest of the story.
(It is a) Sin (to) Suk ho had his work cut out for him from the very start, I must say.
Semi-ruthless, go-getter mentality, and in desperate need of an extra-strength prescription for Ritalin, Suk ho bulldozed his way through life and his career, knocking down anyone who stood in his way and barely making a dent in his hidden conscience any time he let someone down or cut someone out of their fair share in a coveted piece of ENTERTAINER(ment) pie.
And then his even more ruthless, cunning, conniving, and vindictive boss made things much worse by setting the wheels in motion to have Suk ho destroyed before being fired.
This is the first drama I can recall where the levity scenes had little to no affect on me in the first sixteen episodes.
It was simply too heavy, too maudlin, and too filled with bone-crushing, mind-boggling demise to make me forget we're supposed to smile and laugh at the minor incidentals that occur between massive overload angst scenes.
I'm sure if I go back and watch some of So Ji sup's earlier work I'd remember what it's REALLY like to get sucked into a dark, dismal time warp of animosity-laden comeuppance, but who has the time?
The Soundtrack was wonderful, but like all good (and some bad) K-Dramas, they tend to over-play that one tune to drive me batty.
Not this time.
Even after 18 episodes, I still like that main tune and the lovely ballad used to anchor the plot.
Hye ri as Geu rin (Answer Me, 1988) starred as well and did a good job even if (SPOILER ALERT) nothing ever became of the hinted at romance between her and Suk ho.
Adam's Apple or Goiter?
A few entertainment websites list this as a Romance, but it isn't, sad to say.
The boys start out liking the girls, but there is zero romance involved with any of the actors' characters.
None.
This is about a band of misfits hooked up with a misfit Agent who all go through their share of agony before finally reaching the pinnacle of success.
Mostly, it's about Suk ho's triumphant rise from the proverbial Phoenix ashes to become a much better man than he had been before falling from grace and then forcing himself to start all over again.
E's ratings didn't do so well over there, and I'm not sure why, but the story did have as much melodramatic sap as it did tear-jerking agony, and a fair amount of WTF thrown into the fire.
Too much unfairness, too much struggle, a lot of far-fetched business shenanigans, and not enough roll-in-the-hay romance to justify giving this one any more than it deserves.
Still a good and ENTERTAINER(ing) watch, though.
I personally adore Ji sung and think he's beautiful -- yes, beautiful. Not handsome but beautiful in a very manly sort of way.
Ji Sung in Entertainer
He's a pretty, manly man.
A bit over-the-top in the acting skills area, but it wasn't bad enough to make me cringe or roll my eyes or want to tune out.
He's a pretty, spastic manly man.
And, the subs were fair enough to read but still stupid enough to want to screen capture for your viewing pleasure.
THE DUMB STUFF
Perhaps I should 'REFRAIN myself' from wanting to capture stupid translation errors.
But, this next one can't be helped.
It occurs far more frequently than it should, and I felt obliged to add a visual aid so that those who like to use the incorrectly uttered phrase below will learn from the mistake by actually seeing what it is they're saying.
