Vampire Detective - KDrama

Sometimes watching something simply because it happens to be in the genre you enjoy isn’t such a great idea. Because as perfectly as it is supposed to cater to your appetite it can also happen that the overall storyline isn’t up to scratch. This is unfortunately what I have recently experienced in one of my favorite genre kdramas that sadly failed to live up to the many expectations that were set out before it. Of course that’s just my opinion.

The drama I speak of is Vampire Detective and I must admit that I am sorely disappointed in the way it was executed given the fact that it had so much potential. The story revolves around an ex-police officer who gets infected with a new strain of the ‘vampire virus’ turning him into a special type vampire, not bothered by the sun and if hints are to be believed, not bothered too much by the hunger too. Using these new abilities he works in a private detective agency with an older friend from the force and they go off solving strange and difficult cases that even the police turn away from.

Of course in true kdrama tradition it turns out that most of these cases are connected, in that they lead our fledgling vampire into an underground world where vampires are the norm and that his friends from the force, thought to be dead during a mission, might actually still be lingering around. The main story is admittedly a bit flimsy and the way it is presented is hap hazardous and inconsistent.

While the show does hold some interesting aspects, most of the surprises and action is brief and predictable. Not to mention the whole fact that our lead is a new-type vampire is barely even addressed or fully explored as the show focuses on how amazing his talents as a detective are. Though this isn’t exactly a bad thing it falls short from the promises this genre is supposed to deliver on. The other members of the agency also had much potential, but they basically got thrown to the side as characters just there for some dramatic effect and possible hostages for whenever the baddies needed to make a point.

As for the storyline it remained, in my opinion, inconsistent and sometimes incomprehensible as it rushed through certain things and threw in some random cases just to keep the detective side relevant and maybe show pieces of what a vampire detective could be capable of but not fully of course. It didn’t help that the lead also had a broody personality that didn’t match his actions and motivations, but I have to wonder it that might have been an actor-problem. Whether the acting was good is hard to tell as the story didn’t grip me enough to show that, or maybe even the actors themselves felt there was just something off about the show and didn’t give it exactly their best. Either way I barely paid enough attention to that as I soon grew to just watch the show out of obligation for starting it.

Overall, this was a show with much potential but filled with great disappointment. Hopefully the hint for another season shows a possibility for growth with new storyline and better acting, but if the ratings weren’t as good as I assume, then I doubt even that will come to pass. It really saddens me though that such a show somewhat flopped, but it just goes to show that expectation isn’t something one should give too much energy to when jumping into a new series.

Entertainer - KDrama

The one thing you always get used when watching kdramas is the romance element between the lead couple. It becomes quite refreshing when this element is overlooked for a change and a different approach is made when addressing the storyline. This is the case with a recent kdrama that has finished and I must say I am happily impressed with what I have watched and experienced.

Entertainer strays from the usual romance plotline we see in so many kdramas and instead it focuses on the importance of the people around you and the relationships you have that can both make or break you. Yes sure, there is still a little bit of romance implanted here and there but what I love about the drama is that it doesn’t focus on it and in doing so gives us quite a refreshing story about life and consequence.

The drama follows a music director, Shin Suk-Ho, who leaves his company in order to start his own. However, things don’t go smoothly for our lead as his former employer holds a slight grudge at his leaving as well as his intent to take one of their famous groups with him. Things go pear-shaped and poor Suk-Ho ends up landing in prison for a brief while as well as having his barely started venture going under.

Luckily however fortune smiles on him as he comes across a new talent while in search of funds. Enter Jo Ha-Neul an aspiring singer with a sad past and complicated situation that could break the fragile hope that Suk-Ho has. Here we have a good singer who has been falsely framed for sexual harassment by his best friend, who just so happens to have recently been taken in by Suk-Ho’s old company as a new talent.

Believing in Ha-Neul, Suk-Ho makes it his mission to clear the young singer’s name in order to make him a star and thus he begins forming a band. Joining the band are quite a few interesting characters, each with their own interesting and sad past. First we have the ex-student from Julliard, Kyle, who makes his living playing as a stand-in for others. Then we meet Na Yeon-Soo who works at night in karaoke bars in order to support his son Chan-Hee and last but not least we have studious Seo Jae-Hoon who is somewhat pushed harder than most to study and make something of himself that his mother approves.

Taking this bunch of interesting and mismatched group of boys, Suk-Ho goes on to create the ‘Ddanddara Band’, meaning entertainer in Korean. However things don’t go easily as Suk-Ho soon discovers that clearing Ha-Nuel’s name will come at a cost. It also makes things more complicated that the incident is connected to his previous company and the workings of the devious CEO that has various reasons for which to block the band’s success.

Another interesting thing is that Suk-Ho and Ha-Nuel actually have a past connection through Ha-Nuel’s deceased brother, something that also brings a bit of complication into their lives as there turns out to be some undiscovered sadness in their connected past.

Honestly this drama brings so much to the table in terms of storyline it’s hard to outline it all here. It kind of makes sense that the romance plotline would take a backseat as all the other stuff happens. But we still can’t deny the drama’s love triangle between Suk-Ho, Ha-Nuel and Jung Gue-Rin that occupies a good chunk of the drama, but not enough to overshadow the overall beautiful story that follows the lives of a few entertainers trying to overcome their struggles and make it on their own.

I loved this show and the relationship between Suk-Ho and Ha-Nuel, maybe a bit more than the romance story even. This drama had good writing and the pacing was on point. I can’t even deny that some scene’s brought a bucket of tears to my eyes while the little victories that the band had made me cheer like a crazy person. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in storyline over the love-love aspect.

One must also acknowledge the amazing songs that were churned out of this drama as they moved your feels into all kinds of frenzy. From the band’s first song ‘I see you’ to the heart aching duet between Jo Ha-Nuel and the deceased Jo Sung-Hyun. These are all memorable songs that you just have to love as they bring more life to the drama.