ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: The Three Musketeers Episodes 1-2

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Like many of you, I’ve been squeeing over the pictures and teasers of The Three Musketeers for what feels like ages now, so it only makes sense that now that I’ve finally found a place to watch this highly anticipated drama, I’d have to take this one on as my next to review. Because really, how could I not? It stars Jung Yong Hwa and I’m pretty sure that by now, you all know how I feel about him! Continue reading “ZOMBIE’S DRAMA REVIEW: The Three Musketeers Episodes 1-2”

FROM CHICAGO TO KCON: ZOMBIE’S ADVENTURES IN L.A. – DAY 1

KCON 2014 1494 To sit down and try to recap an entire weekend of Hallyu awesomeness is no small feat but I promised you all that I would come back and share all my stories with you, so that those of you who weren’t able to attend KCON 2014 would be able to get a glimpse of what an entire convention dedicated to all things Hallyu is really like. I also promised to share all of my other adventures while I was in L.A. which means I’ve got a lot to cover so I’d better get to it! Are you ready? Then let’s go! Continue reading “FROM CHICAGO TO KCON: ZOMBIE’S ADVENTURES IN L.A. – DAY 1”

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: It’s Okay, That’s Love Episodes 1-2 (2/2)

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Zombie: So, here we are, ready to take on another HZDR and I have to say, I think we picked a winner with this one!

Tanya: We have thought that before and ended up with 11th hour duds, but even the style of this one is different. Have you noticed that it’s not even filmed in regular drama style? It feels more…. movie?

Zombie: I have noticed and I have to say, between that and the originality of the characters and the intriguing hints at the plot to come, I’m hooked. Nothing about this drama has the feel of a stereotypical drama, beyond the male and female protagonists starting off on the wrong foot, and I like that. The characters are refreshingly unique and they have such an interesting intertwined relationship, I find myself drawn to them, quirks and all.

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Tanya: The diversity of these characters, as you pointed out, will be the key in driving this drama. So far it is working and, sometimes, the over complex relationships between all of them make it feel more real than normal. I can completely believe that they are all interconnected that way and still cool with it because small towns are often that way.

Zombie: I think relationships in general, are that way. If you have a group of friends who have been friends for years, it’s not difficult to imagine they may have had some sort of (and this will sound totally cheesy) love connection during that time that just didn’t work out. It is possible to remain friends with someone, even if a romantic relationship doesn’t work out. I think that’s what we’ve got here and I like that. It means these characters are going to end up depending on each other to get through whatever lies ahead for them and that, I think, is what is going to make this story interesting.

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Tanya: I am actually enjoying the slight medical aspect of this drama as well. It’s not cheesy or overdone and it feels natural for the characters. They mostly let work go when they are at home and they don’t seem like perfect doctors. They are all equally flawed along with the people they are trying to help. Again, another type of realism about this story that I am appreciating.

Zombie: I really enjoyed that too. It’s not everyday you see a medical professional portrayed in a drama that’s as flawed as their patients. I especially like that Hae Soo has to go to counseling sessions herself because it’s something that professionals in that field of work have to do, at least as part of their training and I’m sure it’s something that’s ongoing as well. Doctors are humans too. I’m sure they’re just as messed up as the rest of us! Ha!

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Tanya: I really love that they are striving to show both sides of all mental disorder arguments as well. Mental health is a hot topic globally, so allowing the other perspective to shine through is a bit groundbreaking really. With all of this praise that we have, there is one character I want to talk about. I have formally taken stance about this on my blog, but how much fun do you think Do Kyungsoo has essentially playing a saesang fanboy after all of the personal experience he has had as a member of EXO? I think he has a blast myself…. and since the show is so mental health driven, it kind of makes me feel like he’s trying to give a hint to those who take it too far by showing them what it feels like.

Zombie: Not to mention what it looks like to the rest of the world. His character, Gang Woo, is just shy of crazy in his love for Jang Jae Yeol but I love him anyway. He’s so cute! I just wish I could shake this ominous feeling I have about him… I’m afraid something bad’s going to happen to him in the future and that’s gonna break my heart!
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Tanya: He’s too good at going sweet to creeper in less than a second, but I think the character will develop more as the weeks go on. I am also loving Lee Kwang Soo in this drama. While his character, Park Soo Kwang, is funny they manage to do it without making fun of the fact that he does have Tourette’s that he’s in treatment for. It’s a very fine line to walk, but I think they are doing well.

Zombie: So far so good. That’s the one thing I’ve been a bit leary of in these first two episodes… I like how they’ve handled the cases of mental illness so far but I’m afraid one of these days someone will decide it’s okay to turn an illness into a joke and, IF that happens, I’m not gonna be so happy about it.

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Tanya: Me neither. Hopefully they continue on this path.

Zombie: Like you said, it’s a fine line to walk and so far, they’re doing okay. We’ll just have to hope that things don’t get out of hand in the future.

So tell us, what are your initial thoughts on It’s Okay, That’s Love. Are there any characters that have particularly caught your eye? How do you think the subject of mental illness is being handled so far? What do you think of the overall story? Are you intrigued? Where do you think things are headed, or is it too soon to say? We want to know your thoughts so be sure to leave us a comment below!

You can find us talking about all manner of Hallyu goodness on our blogs, zombiemamma and hallyuknow or you can find us on Twitter @Hallyu_Tanya and @TheZombieMamma

Catch up on all of our previous discussions of It’s Okay, That’s Love here:

Episodes 1-2: [Part 1] [Part 2]

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: It’s Okay, That’s Love Episodes 1-2 (1/2)

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Hello everyone! Hallyu Tanya and I are back with another Hallyu Zombie Drama Review and since I know you’re all as excited as I am about us reviewing It’s Okay, That’s Love… (Okay, so maybe you’re not quite as excited as I am but I’m going to pretend that you are so that I feel better about myself. Ha!) Anyhoo, whether you’re excited or not, I’m happy to be reviewing this drama so let’s just skip all of this introductory fluff and dive in, shall we? Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: It’s Okay, That’s Love Episodes 1-2 (1/2)”

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: We Got Married Global Edition, Season 2, Episodes 14-15

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Hallyu Tanya are back with our final review of We Got Married: Global Edition, Season 2 and we want to know, did you enjoy this season as much as the first? Which parts were your favorite? Which couple was your favorite? Who would you like to see appear in Season Three (if there is such a thing)? We want to know it all so be sure to leave us a comment below! Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: We Got Married Global Edition, Season 2, Episodes 14-15”

FRIDAY NIGHT DRAMA: Doctor Stranger

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This week brought us the finale of one of the most interesting and frustrating dramas I’ve watched in quite a while. Chock full of spies and double agents, miracle-working doctors, dirty politicians, plots to rule the world and long-lost love, Doctor Stranger was certainly one of the most complicated dramas I’ve ever watched and one that hooked me right away so it’s only natural for me to feature it as this weekend’s drama to marathon.

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Taking over the God’s Gift-14 Days time slot on SBS, Doctor Stranger was toted as a medical romance but the truth is, it was so much more than that. The story follows Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk), the son of an incredibly skilled doctor and surgeon, Park Cheol (Kim Sang Joong), who is shipped off to North Korea in a secret mission to save their glorious leader. What was supposed to be an in-and-out operation, carried out in the strictest of secrecy, turns into something much more desperate as Park Cheol learns that his son has been brought along to provide him the “motivation” needed to succeed in this surgery. Things quickly go from bad to worse as Park Cheol and Hoon soon realize their dream of returning to South Korea will never come true. So much happens between the time Park Cheol and Hoon arrive in North Korea and the time Hoon can finally escape that I can’t even begin to go into it all here, just know that things happen and eventually (as in about twenty years later) we find Hoon living in South Korea, desperately searching for a way to rescue the love of his life, Song Jae Hee (Jin Se Yun), from the prison camp she’s been a prisoner in for years.

 

 

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Using the extraordinary medical skills he learned from his father, Hoon becomes a surgeon at a prestigious hospital in Seoul where he quickly finds an anesthesiologist who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jae Hee. Through more twists and turns than an amusement park roller-coaster, Hoon finds himself in so many unpredictable places there really isn’t any way to recap what happens without giving things away. Let me just say that this is one of those dramas that you really need to watch for yourself, just so you can understand the level of crazy that happens in every stinking episode. Believe me when I tell you, there is rarely a dull moment in Doctor Stranger.

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So, with a drama so full of action, mystery, suspense and yes, even love, you would think that there would be enough to keep me satisfied and if you’d talked to me during the first half of this drama, I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you but, something happened as the second half of this drama unfolded that left me flipping tables and bawling my eyes out, all at the same time. For the sake of those of you who haven’t watched this drama yet, I won’t go into details but let me just say that I suffered a severe case of second lead syndrome here and seriously, I think I’ve been scarred for life. Oh Soo Hyun (Kang So Ra) plays Hoon’s second and she is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing female characters ever in the history of Drama Land. Seriously. She is everything a female lead in a drama should be but never is and somehow manages to attain a level of awesome that most characters could never even dream of reaching. She’s really that amazing and she certainly overshadows our female lead which is why I suffered as much as I did. There’s only so much I can handle when it comes to seconds and Doctor Stranger eventually crossed the line.

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That being said, if you’re looking for a drama with action, suspense, a healthy dose of romance and a bunch of political shenanigans and medical drama thrown in, just to keep things interesting, then Doctor Stranger is probably the drama for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the way this drama kept me on my toes as I could never accurately predict what was going to happen next. (I don’t know how things are for you but for me, this unpredictability was a rare treat.) To be fair, there were also moments that had me scratching my head, wondering how on earth that could ever possibly happen and also moments when I just wanted to throw things because everyone was being an idiot (usually while patients bled out on the table in front of them) but I was willing to overlook a lot because I loved the overall plot of the story, harbored a massive soft spot for Hoon and thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of amazing side characters. After all, Kim Tae Sool (Jung In Ki), aka Sunglasses, was pretty much the most amazing character in this entire drama and Han Jae Joon (Park Hae Jin) was this fantastic enigma of good and evil that left me wondering whether I should hate him, love him or just drool over him. (Pretty sure I did all three at some point, sometimes all at the same time…)

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However, this drama also has some pretty big flaws, most of which I won’t get into because I absolutely hate spoilers myself and refuse to inflict them on others but I will say that things do kind of fall apart at the end. I made many predictions about the way this drama would resolve itself and I have to say, very few, if any, actually came to pass and it’s not because I’m a horrible predictor of the future. Mostly there were a whole lot of plot holes and characters who did a complete 180 for no reason whatsoever which, you have to admit, is pretty darn frustrating, especially if you’ve been hating them for oh, say, twenty episodes… If that weren’t frustrating enough, there’s also the whole second lead thing which, I will warn you now, if you find yourself prone to suffering from second lead syndrome, chances are you’re going to want to run as far away from this drama as you possibly can because this one will most likely shatter your heart into a zillion tiny pieces. (Hope that doesn’t spoil things too much for those of you who haven’t watched this drama yet. If it did, I’m sorry!)

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Plot holes and craziness aside, I did enjoy this drama (for the most part anyway) but I know I’m not the only one who watched it so now it’s your turn to tell me what you thought of Doctor Stranger. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Were you a Quack Couple shipper like I was or were you shipping the OTP? I want to know it all so be sure to leave me a comment below. Oh, and if you’d really like to dig into the ins and outs of the drama as you watch, be sure to check out the review Hallyu Tanya and I did of Doctor Stranger here.

HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Doctor Stranger Episodes 19-20 (1/2)

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I can’t believe the end of my beloved Doctor Stranger is finally upon us but it is so here I sit, with tears streaming down my cheeks, trying to figure out if I’m sad because this drama is actually over or if it’s because absolutely nothing that I predicted for the end came to pass. Maybe it’s a combination of the two? Since I can’t really decide, I’ll just dig into these two episodes and try to find the source of my sorrow. Care to join me? Continue reading “HALLYU ZOMBIE DRAMA REVIEW: Doctor Stranger Episodes 19-20 (1/2)”