One Zombie, Sharing Her Love of all Things Hallyu With The World
Last week we were left wondering whether Chang Min or Jin Hee would realize his/her feelings for the other first, this week, we’re left wondering which man will step up and be Jin Hee’s hero/savior as she stuck in mid-fall for an entire week. (Do I sense an homage to My Love From Another Star here?)
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Emergency Couple Episodes 5-6 (3/4)”
Hello everyone! I spent most of this week’s episodes being super annoyed by the ridiculous situations the drama brought forward, so let’s recap!
Chang Min is still in over-protective mode and insists to Dr. Gook’s face that he’s the one that performed the surgery even though Gook knows he didn’t. I understand Chang Min doesn’t want Jin Hee to get in trouble because there will be an inquiry into the death, but I don’t know many who would sacrifice their career for someone they don’t even get along with.
Later, “the intern who performed the tracheotomy” is called into the review board’s conference and both Chang Min and Jin Hee show up, however only Chang Min has the guts to walk up to the podium and say he did it. Jin Hee cowers in the walkway until Chang Min starts taking questions from the other doctors. At the point she speaks up, she makes both herself and Chang Min look like idiots because one of them obviously has to be lying. You could tell by the look on Dr. Gook’s face even he thought she should have just kept her mouth shut at that point.
Our lovey dovey couple was at odds with one another as situations in the ER became tense. Honestly though, I think Sang Hyuk had every right to get annoyed with [his wife] Young Ae. She’s in there venting and then gets frustrated because she dropped something. He’s trying to help her out by picking it up and she just keeps going off and he finally speaks up in defense of himself. They way she asks if he’s annoyed is more like, “How dare you speak up against me” and I am unhappy with that. I know there is usually a stronger personality in a relationship, but they just got married… There should be more equality present.
We are then greeted by the Chang Min’s mother who took pills, seemingly on purpose, so she could herself into the hospital that he is working at. Jin Hee is assigned to work with her and is mistreated of course. Mother requests that Jessica (aka Han Ah Reum) be her attending intern instead and pulls strings to get her way, to the annoyance of Dr. Gook. It is an obvious ploy to work on getting Chang Min and Ah Reum together.
In the end, however, Jin Hee comes through and ends up saving her life because she puts an EKG on her after remembering she had previous heart failure. Again, the mother treats Jin Hee like she is worthless and continues her tantrum.
Lastly, we are introduced to one more issue: Jin Ae. This girl freely comes into Jin Hee’s home, steals her stuff and sells it for money, then demands her sister send her more money because what she stole was worthless. I would have put the smack down… It’s ridiculous.
What did you think of this week’s episodes? Let me know in the comments below or @Hallyu_Tanya on Twitter!
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!
Zombie: So is it just me, or are things kind of falling less-than-spectacularly apart for Pretty Man? I mean are the writers just so confused, they have no idea how to write their way out of this mess they’ve put themselves in or have they just given up completely?
Tanya: I’m pretty sure Ma Te fails in a fantastic way or just gives up altogether because there is no way they can make it through four more women in 4 episodes. If you have such a strong concept at the beginning of a show I don’t understand how you can just abandon it near the end, but that seems to be what is happening here.
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Episodes 11-12 (1/2)”
Zombie: So apparently I’m not so very good at guessing what’s going to happen next as I was completely WRONG about David’s true identity…
Tanya: I’m actually starting not to like David so much. He seems overly spiteful, but holy plot twist Batman! I’m starting to have suspicions that maybe Ma Te is the long-lost son of Na Hong Ran. That may be tragic, but also explains why she disappeared and is still keeping him away because she doesn’t want anyone to know.
Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: Pretty Man Episodes 9-10 (2/2)”