One Zombie, Sharing Her Love of all Things Hallyu With The World
Zombie: So it seems we’re all in agreement that the first episode of Emergency Couple wasn’t nearly as awesome as maybe we were all hoping it would be. Maybe it’s because we’re all married that we don’t find a hugely gianormous fight between our OTP all that funny; especially when said fight brings about the end of a marriage.
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 1-2 (4/4)”
Welcome to the Emergency Couple review with Zombie Mamma, Tanya, and Karen. My name is Karen and for the next ten weeks, my partners and I will be sharing our thoughts on the newest episodes of Emergency Couple. Our thoughts will be simultaneously and exclusively posted on each of our blogs: Zombie Mamma, Hallyu Know?, and Wehaiyo! You can find our latest updates on either of these blogs. All three of us are Dramafever Drama club reviewers for the Dramafever website, but decided that we would review this drama independently.
What I am anticipating in the Emergency Couple drama is the chemistry between actor Choi Jin Hyuk, who plays Oh Chang Min and Song Ji Hyo, who plays Oh Jin Hee. When I first heard of the story line for Emergency Couple, it sounded very similar to the story line of the 2011 SBS drama, Paradise Ranch. The two main characters of Paradise Ranch are played by Shim Chang Min, who is most famous for being one half of the TVXQ band and actress Lee Yeon Hee. Their characters married young against their parents wishes, but divorced soon after. Years later, they meet again and fall back in love by the end of the drama. Paradise Ranch was the first full drama I watched on the Dramafever website, but the story line left me so disappointmented and worse, I felt that there wasn’t enough chemistry between Chang Min and Lee Yeon Hee. I sincerely hope that Emergency Couple does not fall into this trap. I can deal with a bad story line, but I don’t think I can handle another chemistry-lacking couple.
Emergency Couple is the third Korean medical drama I am watching. I have watched the 2007-2008 MBC drama, New Heart, which focuses heavily on the medical part and I have watched the 2013 KBS2 drama, Good Doctor, which has an equal dose of medical and love in the drama. By the way, if you haven’t already, I have reviewed all episodes of Good Doctor for Dramafever so feel free to browse through those reviews as well. So far, Emergency Couple seems to be the type of drama that focuses more on love than the medical part. We don’t get any political bickering at the hospital as seen in Good Doctor and there is no hint of any staff member who has familial ties to any hospital administration executive as seen in New Heart.
Still, with a third medical drama under my belt, I should be more familiar about how a hospital works, but I don’t. I am still very surprised at what an intern life was about. How are interns different from resident doctors? I notice that all interns go to work and leave at the same time. I wonder if the residents take over after the interns go home. Why didn’t they go home in shifts like residents do? I understand the interns of team four are assigned to the emergency room for three months, but what are the other departments? I would have liked to know the name of the other departments. I was also extremely surprised when Oh Jin Hee poured a bag of a patient’s urine on top of Oh Chang Min’s head, exposing him to contamination. I work in a medical-related field so I know that this is definitely a very dangerous thing to do. Who knows if the patient had any kind of infection and the urine actually got into Chang Min’s eyes. He would need to go to an eye washing station and report the incident to his supervisor immediately as well as get medical treatment as needed. Jin Hee would have lost her job immediately as she did it on purpose and Chang Min would have to deal with the medical consequences. This is never something to ever joke around with because everyone has a right to be safe at the workplace. Chang Min could not simply go to the bathroom and “wash it off.” I am very bothered by that scene as it was a reckless move by interns who should know better.
On a related note, I am disappointed that, like the plot of Good Doctor, there is bullying going on in this drama as well. Jin Hee’s first day was not only tough because of her mistakes from the previous night, but because all her team members wanted her to quit the hospital because she looked old and unreliable. I have low tolerance for people who judge other people without spending the time to understand the other person. Even the chief, Gook Chun Soo (Lee Pil Mo), tried to fire Jin Hee on the first day without giving her a chance to work. On that note, I felt sad for Jin Hee, especially after she removed her medical diplomas and placed them in her desk drawer instead. What a way to knock someone down. On the other hand, why couldn’t she tell Chief Gook the reason why she wanted to be a doctor? That’s really suspicious. In a way, I am not sure if she should quit or not quit because of that hesitation.
So far, I cannot take sides on this love drama war. Chang Min and Jin Hee equally annoyed me and I don’t see a reason to take either side. Jin Hee seems to be such a weak character who is physically and emotionally influenced easily. Chang Min’s words are so poisonous and his character is very selfish. As a married woman, I found their famous fight scene so dramatic. No matter how angry I am, I would not take my anger out on such expensive items. I guess they didn’t show Chang Min and Jin Hee hitting each other because otherwise, the audience would be too shocked and uncomfortable with domestic violence. From what I see, both sides have their faults and I wonder how they will fall back in love within one year at the hospital. I expected Jin Hee to be more competent as an intern since she obviously worked hard to get where she is, but she messed up a simple thing like a blood draw, making me lose some of my faith in her abilities.
Those suffering from an Heirs drama withdrawal will experience a bit of deja vu because actress Park Joon Geum is playing Choi Jin Hyuk’s mother again, only this time she is his real mother and Jin Hyuk seems to be a mama’s boy.
Yoon Joo Sang, who I will always affectionately remember as Shin Sang Duk from the 2013 SBS drama, I Hear Your Voice, makes a cameo appearance as Chang Min and Jin Hee’s wedding officiant. Actress Jun Soo Kyung also makes an appearance as a hospital director who flirts with Chang Min.
Since we ended with a ridiculous plot line where a suicidal patient had easy access to a security guard patient’s gun, Jin Hee shocked the suicidal patient and Chang Min with a defibrillator, which was a bit comical because I don’t know if her facial expression at the time meant that she enjoyed it or not. I think, at this point, I can’t take the medical part too seriously so I better enjoy the romantic comedy parts and that’s exactly what I signed up for.
Look for our upcoming collaborative chat about episodes one and two soon, exclusively on our blogs.
Zombie Mamma | Hallyu Know? | Wehaiyo!
Emergency Couple:
Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Welcome to Hallyu Zombie Drama Review! I am joined by The Zombie Mamma and Karen Yoon-Kung and we will be writing weekly opinions on Emergency Couple starring Choi Jin Hyuk and Song Ji Hyo.
Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel about this show yet, so my opinion may be fairly short this time around. In Episode 1, we got to witness an adorable rush to the alter as Oh Chang Min and Oh Jin Hee ran away from those who were seemingly protesting the marriage (this was never really explained, so I can only assume that is what was actually happening). Then we are launched into a depressing household, where the characters have been married a year, but there is not real explanation as to what went wrong and how they ended up in that situation. The climax is, of course, this epic fight between the couple which I didn’t find humorous at all. I have to say though, even though it was a bit over the top, it was one of the most realistic fights I have seen between a couple in a drama. There truly are toxic relationships that end with everything literally being destroyed and the two sides just staring at each other as to say “how did we get here?” So in that sense, bravo drama land?
Since so much of the beginning story is missing, Episode 2 seems a little off-kilter to me. They run into each other, obviously still have an extreme dislike for one another, but all of that magically seems to subside in course of Episode 2.
Chang Min and Jin Hee both become interns at the same hospital. While Jin Hee makes mistakes the other interns and the department Chief are all hard on her, and Chang Min quickly ends up coming to her defense. We obviously know that they are going to end up back together at some point, but I still want to know what happened to begin with and why it’s such a big deal that since it was never explained. Heck, Jin Hee even throws urine on Chang Min while he tries to prevent her from running into his mother/her former mother-in-law. He’s seemingly trying to be a nice guy.
What I have come to appreciate about this show is the characters themselves are diverse. Each has their own strong point and so far, at least in the limited exposure we have had to them, hasn’t waffled. Chang Min is strong-willed and caring although he comes off as cocky. Jin Hee is stubborn to a fault and seems to thrive off being told she can’t accomplish something, as seen when Chief Gook tells her to quit trying to be a doctor because she ended up in the ER herself. Chief Gook himself has a stubborn streak but is willing to teach through a “tough love” approach to those who are willing to work to learn. Even the other interns have their quirks and I can’t wait to see what they all develop into being.
The most stand out moment as far as comedy, since this show is supposed to be one, is the end of Episode 2. A crazy patient in the ER has taken Chang Min hostage at gun point and Jin Hee decides to save him.
While the situation itself is not all that funny, watching her internal conflict about whether or not she should save Chang Min after she sees that she can get to the paddles is. Definitely not the smartest idea, because she shocks Chang Min as well as the gunman, but at least she did something unlike everyone else who hides… Except Chief Gook. He does try to talk the man down, but you can’t talk to crazy sometimes. Oh. And the faces they make. Honestly.
So, I want to know what you think of this new drama. Are you missing the back story? Where do you think this drama is going to go? Any characters you love so far? You can leave me a comment here or tweet @Hallyu_Tanya.
If you missed The Zombie Mamma’s post yesterday, you can find it here. Don’t forget to join us for Karen’s post tomorrow and our group post on Thursday!
Emergency Couple:
Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]
Hey everyone! Hallyu Zombie’s drama review is back and this time we’ve asked our fellow DramaFever Drama Clubber, Karen (aka Powerz) to help us recap TvN’s latest medical rom-com, Emergency Couple. Woo-hoo! Much like we do for DramaFever, Tanya, Karen and I will be spending the next ten weeks sharing with you all of our thoughts and hopes, likes and dislikes, predictions and ponderings as the story of Emergency Couple unfolds. As always, we’d love for you to join us in our discussion, so grab yourself a snack, curl up in your favorite chair with a warm blanket and your computer and join us as we dig into Emergency Couple!
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 1-2 (1/4)”
Zombie: Being fans of U-KISS (and more specifically, Hoon) it just wouldn’t be right if we ended our review of Pretty Man without doing a little tribute to our favorite little brother, Dae Shik.
Tanya: He’s just adorable… In real life and in character, that is. I appreciate the comic relief he brought to the show through Dae Shik, but also the more serious family moments he helped bring forward. Although he and Bo Tong usually fought, you could tell the love was there. Bo Tong always had her little brother to depend on. 
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Finale: Our Tribute to Dae Shik”
Zombie: So as most of you know, Tanya and I have had a thing for Ma Te’s hair from the very beginning of Pretty Man. We predicted from the get-go that Ma Te’s hair would change with each woman he set out to conquer and wouldn’t you know it, we were right! We both agreed that if Ma Te’s hair changed with each woman, we’d have to do a tribute to Ma Te’s hair in all of it’s varied gloried at the end of the show. Being women of our word we’d like to present to you, without further ado, our homage to Pretty Man Ma Te’s hair. Enjoy!
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Finale: A Tribute to Ma Te’s Hair”
Tanya: Holy ending Batman. It was too easy, but seriously, let’s backtrack and talk about other stuff first!
Zombie: So I was a little disappointed in David’s reaction to Bo Tong and Ma Te at the beginning of Episode 15. He was way too surprised to find out Bo Tong was Ma Te’s passcode. C’mon man! You know they’ve been friends for years and that Bo Tong’s been in love with Ma Te the entire time you’ve known her. This is not rocket science! It’s a stinking K-Drama! Get with it already!
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Episodes 15-16 (2/2)”
Zombie: So this week’s episodes ended in the most adorable way possible! Loved it!
Tanya: I’m happy that Ma Te is finally realizing they are actual feelings and not just because Bo Tong is convenient. Better to know for real than to be uncertain?
Zombie: I guess! It certainly took him long enough!
Tanya: Random side note, does David actually know how to laugh? Because it certainly is creeper every time. Even when it’s not supposed to be forced it’s like they have to beat it out of him or shock him to cue the laugh, I swear.
Zombie: It certainly sounds like the most forced laughter on the planet. Seriously, it’s the one thing about David that has bugged me from the very beginning. Forced laughter is unbecoming in an otherwise overly sweet second lead.
Tanya: I will give David one thing though. The moment between him and Ma Te where he says he worked for the company because he liked him as the President was a nice touch.
Zombie: Between that scene and the one where he tells Yu Ra off for saying he’ll never have Bo Tong, David’s had some pretty awesome scenes this week. Just goes to show you how amazing he is (as if we didn’t already know).
Tanya: I appreciate the fact that Bo Tong has made her decision and is sticking with it. They drug it out long enough, and having two episodes left will be more than enough to get the relationship set and not leave it in Wonderland.
Zombie: Was there ever any doubt she’d stick with Ma Te? *NO!* This was one of those dramas when you had no doubt the leading lady would stay true to her man throughout the entire thing. There was no chance for David because Bo Tong was just so obsessed from the very beginning.
Tanya: Big bombshell: Ma Te is Na Hong Ran’s son, like we suspected. I’m not surprised by her reaction to learning who Ma Te is. I am very appreciative of Park Ki Suk and his dedication to doing the right thing though!
Zombie: I’m sorry but there was no bombshell to Ma Te learning the truth about his mother. Maybe he was surprised but the rest of us saw that one coming episodes ago! Seriously, I was a little disappointed by Ma Te’s response to the news. I mean, if he were such a devoted son to his assumed-to-be-mother, wouldn’t he have had a more emotional reaction to Hong Ran’s confession? I thought his reaction was pretty lame. As for Ki Suk’s dedication to do what’s right, I say “Hooray!” It’s about time someone in that family decides to start acting like a normal, decent human being.
Tanya: That is true, definitely. I knew Yu Ra was going to be kind of heartless, but I didn’t expect her to full cast Ma Te aside and then try to use him against Hong Ran. That was a little excessive to me.
Zombie: Honestly, the longer this show goes on, the more Yu Ra and Hong Ran look alike. They’re both selfish, evil, conniving, spoiled, greedy, *insert word of choice here*. I’ve never been a fan of Yu Ra but I just plain don’t like her now. Time for everyone around these two to just walk away and never look back. Life would be better for us all.
Tanya: I think we had a meme for that.
Zombie: Moving on… What was the point of woman #7? She blackmailed Lee Kim and she drove Ma Te home after the shock of Hong Ran’s confession but other than that, she’s been pretty pointless. Have the writers just decided Ma Te’s learned everything he needs to now and are just throwing random women in for fun and calling them # whatever?
Tanya: Well, there are still two more episodes for her to serve a purpose. We already know Bo Tong, Yu Ra, and Hong Ran are numbers 8, 9, 10, but unless two of the three have a huge change of heart, not going to happen.
Zombie: So if Bo Tong, Yu Ra and Hong Ran are the last three women, what lessons will Ma Te learn from them? Obviously from Bo Tong it’s going to be how to love but what about the other two? How to make everyone in the world hate you? How not to run a business?
Tanya: Speaking of business, Moon Soo stood up to Hang Ran and it made me laugh. It wasn’t even a funny scene, but seriously serves her right.
Zombie: I cheered at that part. I felt like his courage came too late (imagine how things would have been had he stood up to her a long time ago) but still, better late than never! I guess, looking at this week’s happenings, Moon Soo could only find the courage to stand up to Hang Ran after meeting David and learning a lesson or two from his little brother.
Tanya: There is part of me that doesn’t understand David’s resistance to working at MG with his brother and father. I know he doesn’t really want to have part of that life, but at the same time he’s already come out at a board meeting and he’s officially in the crosshairs of Hong Ran.
Zombie: I’m pretty sure it, at least in part, has something to do with his resentment toward his father for abandoning him and his mother. That and he’s only too aware of Hong Ran and her personality and her business practices. He’s aligned himself with Ma Te and Bo Tong Company because he likes the way the company is run. He wanted to distance himself from MG Group from almost the very beginning of this show so it only makes sense he would want nothing to do with them now.
Tanya: Truth! Any predictions for the last two episodes?
Zombie: I could make some predictions but I think I’d rather see what our readers have to say.
So readers, what do you have to say? What do you think is going to happen between now and the end? Any predictions? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll be back next week to wrap up the final episodes of Pretty Man.
This week spirits were crushed, identities were revealed and love confessions were made, which can only mean one thing; we’ve reached the penultimate week of Pretty Man and it’s time to dig in!
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Episodes 13-14 (1/2)”
Anneyong! I really want to dive into the episodes from last week, although a bit later than planned! We saw Ma Te get humiliated, but overall a lot of growth in all the characters.
Ma Te convinced Gwi Ji to take him to the MG Group Party, just to be humiliated by one of Jackie’s friends in front of Park Ki Suk, who he believes to be his father. It is rather unfair that this woman painted him as a player, however Ma Te has no one to blame but himself. He should have realized that his past and his decision to take on the ten women task that Yu Ra gave him would come back to bite him somehow. There is no way you can move through so many people in a short amount of time and not be seen as opportunistic or of bad moral character. He is then further insulted by Hong Na Ran when she laughs at his attempts to meet his father and calls him a piece of trash. This leads him to breakdown for the second time in the show.
In true spoiled-brat fashion, Gwi Ji got rid of Myo Mi so she could have Ma Te to herself. Sadly for Ma Te, you can tell that he actually liked Myo Mi so he is a little disappointed, but admits that Myo Mi is the queen of timing, which was the lesson she was to teach him in the end. I’m actually sad to see Myo Mi go. She was one of the better characters in the series since she was so very grounded considering her profession and the people around her. That type of genuine person is really what Ma Te needs to have in his life.
In the lesson of clout, Ma Te decides to challenge Gwi Ji’s father and ask/demand SS Home Shopping network from him. Gwi Ji challenges Ma Te to submit to her by making him her boyfriend with SS Home Shopping as the bait, but Bo Tong steps in and gives him a reality check by slapping Gwi across the face and calling her trash for using those types of tactics. Bo Tong is, of course, correct. You shouldn’t have to buy your boyfriend via his humiliation. I enjoyed Gwi Ji and Ma Te receiving a dose of reality, even if it did result in Bo Tong’s arrest.
Ma Te and David face off at the police station over Bo Tong. David’s tells Ma Te that he is going to protect Bo Tong, however Ma Te is unsatisfied with that. Subsequently, he decides that he is going to protect Bo Tong and tells her that to her face, which is an admission of his feelings for her.
Continuing her evil ways, Na Hong Ran manages to set up Park Moon Soo and get him arrested for illegal gambling. Although he is dismissed from all charges after some investigation, she continues to press the situation and uses it to try to remove him from MG Group all together.
Going further, it seem that Bo Tong will never get over her obsession with Ma Te. She decided to seek out Yu Ra and beg on her knees that she give Ma Te the passcode he needs to see his father. This leads to David confessing to Yu Ra that his is a son of MG Group and the agreement that he will work to protect Moon Soo and take down Na Hong Ran. Once Yu Ra tells Bo Tong that David is giving up everything for her, Bo Tong runs to him and David admits that he loves her.
Yu Ra ends of giving Ma Te the code per her deal with David, but he deletes it because he did not earn it for himself. This is by far the most grown up thing we have ever seen Ma Te do! Not because he didn’t earn it himself but because he is uncomfortable with the fact that so many people are being affected by this passcode. He is actually starting to take the lives and feelings of others into consideration although it put himself into a tougher situation.
Gwi Ji gets herself into a situation that she cannot get herself out of because she refuses to apologize for ruining a shoe. Ma Te comes to her rescue and proceeds to tell her that sometimes you have to learn to choke back your pride, which is a lesson she needs to learn. Money can’t buy everything.
I don’t know if I can forgive Ma Te for the awful prank he played on Bo Tong when he got drunk and told her that he loved her. Granted, he immediately told her that is was a lie and explained why he has such a hard time dealing with feelings, but it was cruel. At least he is learning that he doesn’t actually know what love is and that is the first step to finding out. He does tell Bo Tong not to go anywhere until he figures it out, but that makes me wonder if he wants a safety net or if he actually does have the beginning of feelings for her.
We get to witness the board meeting in which Na Hong Ran tries to get rid of Moon Soo, however David enters the meeting and as the majority stockholder saves Moon Soo from being dismissed from his position at MG. This leaves David in the crosshairs of Hong Ran because she’s going to do everything in her power to figure out just who he is.
Getting his comeuppance, Gwi Ji’s father starts to feel the pressure when Prosecutor Lee Kim investigates the company. Gwi Ji decides that she wants to study in exchange for marrying Ma Te. Her dad won’t have it though and tells Ma Te that he’ll give him SS Home Shopping if he can get Lee Kim off his back and he stays away from Gwi Ji.
Ma Te tries twice to get close to Lee Kim but fails because she can see exactly who he is and how he works. He appeals to her sense of loneliness and is straightforward with her about it and the situation.
Our cliffhanger into the upcoming episodes is Park Ki Suk telling Na Hong Ran that David/Joon Ha is, in fact, his son. There was something gratifying about seeing her knocked off her pedestal from that news. She did make me laugh when she asked if he was “going to pull out a new son every time Moon Soo gets in trouble.” That was pretty classic!
I am intrigued by Yu Ra’s interest in Ma Te’s watch that Bo Tong has since it matches the piece that Hong Ran has!
So what do you think is going to happen next? Are we going to learn whose son Ma Te really is? Will David be safe from Hong Ran? Who will Bo Tong choose? Let me know what you think in the comments below or tweet @Hallyu_Tanya!