HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Bride of the Century Episodes 15-16 (2/2)

Tanya: All aboard the disappointment train! Wooowoooo!

 

Shai: I don’t want to be a part of this train *sobs*

Tanya: It wasn’t that I was really disappointed in the ending, but some of it just… You have a kid and don’t tell the guy until over a year later? Send an anonymous note maybe? “Oh by the way, I had your baby.”

Shai: He didn’t seemed surprised though, so maybe he already knew Kang Rim existed and didn’t know his name. Though maybe that’s not plausible since he sent out a nationwide search for her. Overall I enjoyed the ending, so rare to have a finale episode be so mellow and non angsty.

 

Zombie: I was okay with the lack of angst but I was disappointed in the lack of a good kiss. I suppose that’s better than ending on a super-awkward lame-sauce kiss so I won’t be too disappointed but for a drama that had its fair share of kisses, I thought it should have had at least one good kiss before the end.

 

Tanya: I’m not going to say the lack of spectacular ending killed the drama, because it didn’t. I actually enjoyed when he found her with the yarn and the families meeting and coming together. I also understand why it took a year for things to settle, but she didn’t have to up and completely disappear from HIM during that year. Just the rest of the world.

 

Zombie: I get what you’re saying and I can’t disagree. I hate how nearly every single couple in Dramaland is forced to separate before they finally get their “happily ever after.”

Shai: The thing I don’t understand about her disappearance is the fact that he couldn’t find her despite her being in the same town she came from. Is Namhae that big? Though I do understand her reasons for leaving, it’s not the regular noble idiocy we find in dramas, but it was like 2 years. Did she actually hide that good or did he leave her alone for a year then decided to find her the next year?

 

Zombie: I’m not really sure on that one. I wasn’t really convinced she went back to Namhae either. I’m pretty sure there are a lot of coastal towns to choose from, I thought she went off to a different one so that Kang Ju wouldn’t be able to find her that easily.

 

Tanya: I didn’t think she went back to Namhae either. I know that had been their original plan before things got bad as far as media and whatnot, but I think that plan changed once things started getting serious as far as threats. At least that’s how I took it.

Zombie: Me too. So I was happy to finally get the ghost’s story. We’ve been waiting a long time to find out what was up with Ghost Lady, I’m glad they told us her story before the end.

 

Shai: I agree with you two, maybe she planned on moving back to Namhae at first but when everything got more serious she moved to a different town. Oh yes, I was also happy to get Ghost Lady’s story. Who knew it was mostly revenge? I do like how it wasn’t simple and I enjoyed seeing how she really tied into the family. She’s great great grandma. No wonder she was always taking care of Kang Ju.

 

Zombie: I was more than a little surprised to find out Doo Rim’s grandmother was a “first bride,” once upon a time. I thought she’d just worked for the family at one point, I didn’t expect her to be one of Kang Ju’s grandfather’s loves.

 

Tanya: Can I just touch on the fact that I loved the cycling of actors/actresses to give the sense of reincarnation between the past and the present? I thought that was brilliant in showing how everyone has been connected for generations. It may have taken a long time to settle, but this destiny was building for a very long time.

Shai: I have to agree with you Tanya. Yang Jin Sung actually played 4 characters in this drama and I have to applaud the writers and her skills for actually portraying four people with different personalities. Each one was different, but I did like how they tied the reincarnation into the story without making it seem forced or like an entire separate story. To even go off of what Zombie said, I wasn’t shocked Halmoni was the bride we saw in episode 1, I figured it out in like episode 9 or something lol I didn’t expect her reasons for faking her death, that was a nice twist I didn’t think about.

 

Zombie: This drama actually had quite a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, which is probably why I liked it so much. It wasn’t as predictable as most and really, it was just a good story.

 

Shai: This is easily one of my top dramas because of the story alone, but I loved how they executed it. There were some common drama tropes, but they twisted them and that’s what I appreciated about it. One very big thing for me was how well written Kang Ju was. I know we discussed this last week, but he was really unlike any other drama male lead.

Tanya: I missed out last week because I was flying to LA, but I did read it. And I completely agree. Kang Ju wasn’t without his internal conflict, and yes he did have a little outburst now and then, but he is one of the most stable male leads I have ever seen. I liked it a lot. I also appreciate the maturity that they gave Kang In even though he was an idol and could have been crazy.

 

Zombie: I hear ya! I think the Kang brothers got their stability and level-headedness from their father. Il Do is seriously one of the coolest fathers ever in the history of Dramaland!

 

Shai: Papa Choi was arguably my favorite character in this show. He was so understanding about everything, I really enjoyed how he was written to be the voice of reason.

 

Tanya: He was very accepting and I think that’s what made life a little bit easier for the brothers. Who am I kidding? A lot easier…. especially since Mommy has some crazy.

 

Zombie: At least they were all able to work through their issues and grow as a family. I think that’s just awesome.

 

Shai: I ended up liking Myung Hee after a while. Yeah she was sorta cuckoo, but she generally did what had been going on in that family for a while. After she realized what had happened, she tried to fix it. I understand her reasons not wanting to accept Doo Rim at first, but I love how she came back and they all became a happy family. Her turnaround was very well written.

Tanya: I loved that the separation let her become her own person again. I loved her sassy little “What if I don’t accept you?” line. It was impeccably delivered.

 

Zombie: Again, that’s all part of what made this drama as great as it was. It was well cast, well written, well-directed and well-played.

Tanya: What do you think of the criticism that some are giving Lee Hong Ki about his acting? We all know he played Jeremy in You’re Beautiful and it was a pretty shallow character. Now it has come up that he wasn’t able to give Kang Ju the depth that he should have had.

 

Zombie: I’m afraid I have to disagree with anyone who says Hong Ki didn’t do Kang Ju justice. I thought he did a fantastic job in portraying Kang Ju, so much so that comparing him in this role to that of Jeremy is just wrong. Jeremy was a shallow character because that was how he was written. Kang Ju, on the other hand, is a very deep and complex individual and I think Hong Ki did a wonderful job in portraying that. Maybe his reactions were as serious as Yi Hyun but really, would we have loved Kang Ju as much as we did if he were as much of a stick-in-the-mud as Yi Hyun. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Yi Hyun for his devotion to Doo Rim but he wasn’t much fun to be around… He was a very flat, emotionally limited character which made it hard for me to love him like I loved Kang Ju. There’s something about a playful side that make a guy more attractive to me and Kang Ju had it… In spades.

Shai: This was my first time watching Hong Ki act so I went in with no actual expectations. I heard about his acting in You’re Beautiful, but I didn’t really let those negative reviews affect how I watched this drama. As someone who had never seen Hong Ki act before, he did very well. He portrayed the emotions that was needed for his character and the situations nicely. Somewhat better than those who are actual actors. I have no real complaints, he brought Choi Kang Ju to life and it seems this role was made for him. That’s how well he did, well at least to me.

 

Tanya: So how many zombies are we going to give this drama? I vote 5/5. Although I had one small issue with it in the very last episode, I think it was well-rounded overall.

 

Shai: I also vote 5. Yeah that issue could be a problem, but it didn’t really affect the overall story for me. This was a very well written drama and I’d like to watch another drama from the writer.

 

Zombie: I too have to give it a solid 5. I fell in love with this drama from the very first episode and it’s been a bright spot in my week ever since. You know a drama’s good when you feel like you’re saying goodbye to an old friend at the end and that’s exactly how I feel with this one. *sobs*

 

Thanks to everyone who read our reviews of this drama! Let us know your thoughts on the ending in the comments below. Until next time!