HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Bride of the Century Episodes 13-14 (1/2)

It never fails with this drama, just when I think I’ve got this drama all figured out… WHAM! Something comes up, out of nowhere, and throws a great-big-giant monkey wrench into all of my well-thought-out ideas and I’m left wondering just what the heck is going on… Which is probably why I love Bride of the Century  as much as I do. Just when you think it’s going to become a more typical (and therefore predictable drama) it surprises you by becoming something so much more than you expected.

With the way things were left last week, I was left wondering if Kang Ju and Doo Rim would ever really find a way to be together. It seemed like Doo Rim felt so obligated to be with Yi Hyun that she was going to willingly let Kang Ju walk away forever. I have to admit, I’m beyond relieved that Kang Ju stepped up and put an end to any of that nonsense! Yes, it took him a while to get his head on straight but like Doo Rim said, Kang Ju’s smart (apparently  much smarter than anyone has ever really given him credit for) and he got things figured out in the end. Hooray!

Honestly, I’m pretty amazed at how quickly Kang Ju got over his hurt feelings. I was expecting him to drag his childish temper-tantrum out a bit longer but I suppose this is another one of those times where people (or at least I) failed to acknowledge his maturity. Kang Ju really is an intelligent individual and though he has had moments of spoiled brattiness in the past, he’s proven himself, this week at least, to be quite a force to be reckoned with. I’m truly blown away by how calmly and precisely he carried out his plans to put Ma Jae Ran and Yi Kyung in their place. He didn’t whine. He didn’t seek spiteful revenge. He simply showed them the true power of Taeyang Group and those behind it (aka himself) in a thoroughly impressive way. I am so beyond happy to see that Kang Ju and his mother finally decided to stop trying to hide the truth and just come right out and confess everything. Kang Ju was right when he said that was the only way to be free from all of this mess and move on. It’s so rare to see someone in a drama actually facing their problems and being completely honest, so to see Kang Ju moving beyond the pettiness of those around him, it just made me love him more. Way to go Buddy! Way to go!

I was a little disappointed in Kang Ju’s mother when she finally presented Choi Il Do with his first wife’s diary and a request for a divorce. What kind of nonsense is that? Choi Il Do knew the truth about his first wife all along and yet he chose to remain with Kim Myung Hee anyway. Wouldn’t you think that he would have divorced her a long time ago, if that was really what he had wanted? Why would she try to leave him now? It’s not going to change anything. Sure, she was unaware of her mother’s actions until now but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s been married to her for the past thirty years. Why let go of something when you could just work to make it better? Guilt or not, you have to let go at some point and move on. I suppose this is Myung Hee’s way of doing so but I find it to rather pathetic.

Speaking of pathetic, I think Yi Kyung and Jae Ran are about the two most pathetic people on the face of the planet. I’m sorry but I have no sympathy for people who try to lay the blame for all of their current misery on others when everything they’re suffering is a direct result of their own stupid actions. Good grief women! You dug your own grave on this one and now you’ve got to lie in it… And while I use that simply as a figure of speech, it seems Yi Kyung has taken me seriously and to that I have to shake my head and roll my eyes. Seriously? Life was really so bad for Yi Kyung that she decided she had to end it? There was really nothing worth living for? Getting a fresh start in Sydney wasn’t good enough? Really?

Of course Jae Ran isn’t faring any better. She’s been arrested, released on grace, given the chance to start over and instead she falls off the deep end and goes to kill Doo Rim with her bare hands, all the while blaming Doo Rim for things she herself made Doo Rim do. I suppose in that moment of drunken despair, logic is out of the question but I still found it ridiculous that Jae Ran is blaming Doo Rim for doing exactly what she told her to do in the first place. At least Jae Ran got the shock of her life when Sung Joo Shin appeared in front of her, instead of Doo Rim. Oh I can’t wait to see where this goes next week! That one brief glimpse into the past and seeing that all of these characters are there… Eeek! I’m dying to know what happened then and what’s going to happen next!

In the meantime I shall comfort myself with happy memories of Kang Ju and Doo Rim’s cuteness (now that they’re officially together as Kang Ju and Doo Rim… Weren’t they just adorable at the sauna?) and ask you what you liked best in this week’s episodes. I always love to chat about dramas so be sure to leave your comments below!