Goodbye Mr Black - KDrama

If there’s one thing any drama should strive to get right it’s the story line, you know the plot that gets you gripped and keeps you hooked for the whole series. But it occurs to me that sometimes, even when the plot has many enjoyable and gripping points to offer, it happens that the story can unravel as the drama progresses and there’s unfortunately nothing, not even the acting that can fully save it, though the attempt is pretty interesting to observe.

A drama that has followed this unfortunate road of break down is Goodbye Mr. Black. This drama starts off very interesting and for a few episodes there in the beginning it keeps this momentum. However, somewhere in the middle it seems to all go to crap as the story takes a turn and things become possibly too complex for the writers of the show to keep realistic intrigue and good story flow. Granted the characters are interesting, it seems that the writers try to overcomplicate some of their back stories all for the sake of a ‘happy ending’ for the lead couple.

In any case, the story follows your average revenge story where our lead male, Cha Ji-won, is framed for murder while his father gets murdered and his situation covered up, all because our villains want to control the family’s business. What is really sad is that one of the bad guys turns out to be Cha Ji-won’s best friend who has always envied the seemingly perfect life of the Cha household. Min Seon-jae falls from grace very quickly as he tries to do things, through the wrong way, and gets caught by one shady old man, Baek Eun-do, our second greedy villain.

Left for dead we see Cha Ji-won come across our lead female, Kim Swan, who at the time is a nameless woman is just drifting around Thailand trying to survive. The two run into each other and through a misunderstanding become acquainted. Of course they continue to run into each other and Kim Swan even saves a fatally wounded Cha Ji-won. While in hiding the two become very close but it isn’t long before they part ways in order for Cha Ji-won to start his revenge plan.

Move forward a few years we see that Cha Ji-won returns to Korea where he finds Kim Swan who has been waiting for him and so begins his revenge on Min Seon-ja and Beak Eun-do. Of course things have changed and the road to victory is tough and full of difficulties, but that doesn’t stop the little team Cha Ji-won has assembled from powering through and bringing down the bad guys.

Throw in a few little drama cliché plot drivers and you have quite a complex story where we see both the bad guys and good guys winning alternatively as the story progresses. Though the story does slow down there in the middle as things become, in my opinion, too complex while the focus is moved to the awkward development of our lead couple’s romance.

The drama has a lot of potential and despite the slight unravelling that occurs there near the end, it still proves to be an interesting watch, though I won’t say it couldn’t have been done better. The acting is also something that could have been worked on just a little bit more. Though they play their respective characters very well, it can’t be denied that the characters themselves can sometimes come across as a little forced in doing what they do. Whether this was an acting problem or a writing problem can be debated though.

Overall this drama started out strong and gradually began to break down. This was a shame really, however, I wouldn’t say it is a show to put aside, simply because of the potential one could see within the intended story. Though honestly this could just be my fangirl opinion where all things with even slight interest should be viewed. Oh well…

Dramaworld - Webseries

I have to say in the recent drama/web series that I finished watching I have come to appreciate the clichés and adorable corn that comes with being a fan of Korean dramas. No matter how predictable and cheesy kdramas are it still baffles me how so much enjoyment can be had when immersing one’s self into these worlds of make believe. It truly is an interesting experience, one that has been highlighted in this web series that is in effect catered to those of us who would love to be fully immersed in the worlds we watch weekly.

The web series I’m referring to is Dramaworld, a title that gives you an idea of what’s to come, in my opinion. An original series backed by the popular drama streaming sight Viki, this show proves to be almost everything a hungry fan of kdramas would like. It offers romance and action with a little of fantasy mixed in to ensure just the right cocktail of enjoyable viewing. Of course the only drawback, I think, is that the episodes are way too short.

The story follows an American girl who is obsessed with Korean dramas, so much so that it constantly affects her daily life. However, this self-conscious girl who doesn’t view her life as much of anything gets an interesting chance that many would no doubt sell their liver for as she magically gets transported into her current drama obsession. There, in a world that has filled her days and dreams, she comes across the characters of the show and learns that things aren’t always coincidence.

But she is not alone from the real world as she runs into another man who explains to her that the roles of those not from around there are to ‘facilitate’ the drama and ensure that happy endings always play out. Of course our new ‘facilitator’ isn’t as smooth as can be and while being star struck with all the characters she’s obsessed over, she finds herself screwing with the story more than she is supposed to.

Needless to say things start going pear-shaped and Dramaworld is in danger of vanishing as the main story goes off script and our poor little fangirl struggles to get things back on track and what she thought was a sweet little romance story turns to a much more interesting mix of events.

The story is fun to watch, especially if you’re a kdrama fan and can pick out all the clichés and adorable jokes that poke fun at how ridiculous Korean dramas can actually be. Despite being a show that highlights the overdone clichés and rehashed plot points that most Korean dramas follow, Dramaworld does still have its own little twists and surprises as it goes on to keep you hooked.

Overall I think it was quite a worthwhile experience and time well spent and I would recommend it to any fan out there who has always wanted to be part of their favorite show. The acting was pretty good, even the exaggerated parts fit well with what you’d expect in a kdrama and I must admit I loved the cameo appearances of legitimate kpop stars just doing their drama thing while the show goes on. This is definitely a show I might just re-watch just for the heck of it.