Zombie: Hey everyone! It’s time for another drama review and this time I’m joined by my wonderfully lovely friend, India (aka Drama Debussie) to discuss all the ins and outs, ups and downs that are sure to make up KBS’s latest drama, Iron Man.
Drama Debussie: Hello! Truly honored to be here. I loved doing drama club with you so much I just had to do it again.
Zombie: And I’m so glad you did! Joseon Gunman was a fun drama to chat about but I think this one is going to be even better. I mean for starters, we’ve got the next ten weeks to drool over discuss Lee Dong Wook’s character so already we’re off to a great start. (Sorry, fangirl moment. I’m still reeling from him in Hotel King.)
Drama Debussie: Listen, I totally get it. I too watched Hotel King and while I wasn’t a huge fan of the show, having Wookie in our lives for as long as we did was a gift in itself. Now we have him back! Granted, we have him back in a truly odd way, but he’s back nonetheless. Can we just point out the elephant in the room here? At first glance, Iron Man is a bit…spastic. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a truly off-kilter way to which we’re not accustomed. I love it but I have a nagging feeling it will go over many heads. I mean, we’ve had eccentric, spoiled, rich male leads before, but Hong Bin is an extreme version, right?
Zombie: Oh, absolutely! I spent the entirety of these first two episodes wondering what the heck is up with Hong Bin. I mean I get that he’s supposed to be the rich, angry, wounded, male lead with a multitude of issues that may never be resolved but this guy takes that typical drama trope and zaps it with a dose of gamma radiation. (And no, that whole Incredible Hulk reference in the second episode was not lost on me… I thought it was fantastically funny and incredibly appropriate.) Hong Bin is like some strange combination of the X-Men’s Storm and the Hulk, when he gets angry he makes it rain and turns into a metal porcupine… Neat trick but it’s going to get him into trouble one of these days.
Drama Debussie: Seems it’s already made things inconvenient for those around him. Especially his uncomfortably loyal Secretary Go. There’s something very Fezzik (Princess Bride reference for the win!) about him. He’s determined to protect Hong Bin by hiding his abilities not only from the world but also from Hong Bin. How many times can he knock him unconscious and drag him to that boxing ring before someone picks up on something? It will especially become harder to hide everything from our hero once he’s forced to confront his issues with his father, lost love, and what seems to be his unknown child. We’re quickly learning that the weather change and spikes are a product of Hong Bin’s heightened emotions.
Zombie: I have so many questions right now, about how all of this has come about (which is good, seeing as how we’ve only just started this drama). Two episodes in and I’m dying to know how Secretary Go and Hong Bin got together. Have they always had this sort of Bruce Wayne/Alfred type relationship or has Secretary Go only entered the picture since Hong Bin started controlling the weather and sprouting giant metal blades out of his back? Does Secretary Go have something to do with Hong Bin’s current condition? Was he there when this first started happening? And why does this happen to Hong Bin anyway? Has he always been able to control the weather? If so, what does that make him? And what’s with the blades? Is it a Wolverine experiment gone wrong or is it the physical representation of a broken heart? And if the latter is the case, why doesn’t the rest of the world start sprouting steel as well? See? I have so many questions and that’s not even close to all of them!
Drama Debussie: I’m on the same page. So many questions, so little answers. What’s worse is that we’ve only scratched the surface because that’s just Hong Bin’s side. We also have our heroine, Se Dong, who may not be as interesting as Hong Bin but certainly stands to play a big role in his life. Whether she wants to or not. I know that fate always has a hand in these dramas, but this is ridiculous. Se Dong and Hong Bin’s paths have crossed in so many ways that even I became dizzy. First, Hong Bin was attracted to her smell, then it turns out he now owns the company that she wants back, and now she’s caring for the child his first love sent back to Korea. That’s a little bit too convenient for my tastes but it certainly speeds along the process so that we can get to their romance right away and that I can always appreciate.
Zombie: I think that’s why I’m okay with such a dizzying array of coincidences. Se Dong and Hong Bin are from such different worlds, there would never be anything to connect them if they weren’t brought together by “fate”. Maybe the coincidences are a bit too much but I’m willing to overlook that fact if it means bringing our OTP together and keeping the story moving. I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot happening in this drama and we may need these coincidences and acts of fate to keep things at least somewhat believable. I mean we’re talking about a drama whose hero grows swords out of his back, there’s an awful lot of the unbelievable we’re going to have to deal with as it is, might as well accept it all and see where it takes us.
Drama Debussie: I’m all for fate pushing these two closer together because, as you mentioned, they truly are from different worlds. There’s also the fact that Hong Bin doesn’t seem to shake Se Dong as much as he does to others which I love.
Zombie: I love that too! Any time a drama heroine can hold her own against the likes of a terror like Hong Bin, I’m all for it! Down with the whimpy drama heroines who can’t stand on her own two feet! Hooray for those with gumption, like Se Dong. I have a feeling I’m going to like her, at least for now. We’ll have to see how things go in the future, too many heroines end up losing their gumption before the end. I just hope that doesn’t happen with Se Dong.
Drama Debussie: I’m still on the fence with her simply because she seems to take on all the problems of the world and I already desperately want her to tell everyone to fix their own crap! Although, I may be asking for too much. Nevertheless, I know she’s carrying a lot on her shoulders and her ability to do so with a good attitude is impressive. I can’t say I’d want her life but I’m almost tempted to say it after seeing all the adorable guys she’s surrounded by. How…how can I acquire at least that part of her life?
Zombie: I have a feeling we’re not the only ones asking that question right now… Five adorable guys, one girl, all squished in a tiny apartment… *sigh* Oh, to be a K-drama heroine… Haha! On a different note, Se Dong did reach a breaking point and after having her proposal rejected by Hong Bin, she went to visit her boys in jail and told them they were just going to have to go to prison to pay for their crime because she simply didn’t have the money to get them out. I’m not sure I believe she’s actually going to let her friends go to prison but at least she let them know she’d had enough of their crap for one day.
Drama Debussie: I guess we’ll have to see but she doesn’t strike me as someone who leaves her friends hanging even if they are in jail for a VERY good reason. You spray paint a rich guy’s house there’s a good chance you’re going away for a while.
Zombie: Most definitely and they deserve to be miserable for a while, if for no other reason, than for causing so much trouble for Se Dong. If you’re gonna get wasted and vandalize someone’s property, you should at least be man enough to accept the consequences, not go whining to your noona to come bail you out. Little punks!
Drama Debussie: You should also not give special food orders to your noona while in jail. I mean, what the hell? It’s funny, but what the hell? Speaking of odd, any guesses as to what may have happened with Hong Bin’s first love, Kim Tae Hee? It’s early, but is it ever too early for theories?
Zombie: Not in my book! My guess is she was driven away by Hong Bin’s father, because he deemed her unfit for his son. If Chang is reall Hong Bin’s son, then it means Tae Hee and Hong Bin had some sort of relationship prior to her being chased off. Were they married at one point? I don’t know. I suppose they could have been secretly married and then when Pops found out, he drove her away but we all know you don’t have to be married to have a kid. Maybe when Pops found out Tae Hee was pregnant, he forced her out of the country. I really wish I knew how long ago Tae Hee and Hong Bin split, as it would give a good point of reference for all of this. I also wish I knew if Tae Hee was still alive. I had originally thought she had passed away but the report of the police officer made it seem like Tae Hee had been living in the U.S. all this time. Was Hong Bin aware of that? I’m leaning more towards the, “No he wasn’t” but at this point, I’m not really sure. If Tae Hee is still alive, you can be sure Hong Bin is going to be obsessed with finding her, which is going to throw some monkeys in the way when it comes to developing a relationship with Se Dong. I can see that being a painful experience, should it really come to pass.
Drama Debussie: Since we don’t know whether Hong Bin’s abilities is a product of his broken heart or something he had before Kim Tae Hee left, I have to wonder if maybe she saw his abilities and was scared enough to leave. Although, it wouldn’t have just been the abilities that would chase her away. It may have been the pressure Hong Bin’s father was putting on her to leave him and she may have known she was pregnant before she left. I feel like if his father was mainly the cause of her leaving just the glimpses we were given into their relationship makes it hard for me to be believe she would leave just because his father disapproved. There would have to be culmination of reasons and events that would lead to her leaving.
Zombie: If Tae Hee were really afraid of Hong Bin’s abilities, would she willingly send her son back to him? I’d be more inclined to believe Hong Bin chased her away for her own safety but even that doesn’t seem to fit with the overwhelming amount of anger and bitterness Hong Big harbors towards his father. I too feel like Hong Bin’s father is the one to blame for Tae Hee’s disappearance but a part of me wonders if there’s more going on here than we realize. Could it be possible for Hong Bin’s father to be the reason Hong Bin is the way he is? Could his father have been the one to curse Hong Bin with this rather unusual condition?
Drama Debussie: I’m definitely getting some gumiho vibes between Hong Bin and his father. Not that they are gumihos, but it seems the father may have passed on his “talents” to Hong Bin and his cruel nature may be his twisted way of protecting his sons.
Zombie: I know Joo Jang Wan (Hong Bin’s father) made a rather big fuss about both of his sons not living up to their potential. Could it be that he knows what they really are and is disappointed they have chosen to ignore their “talents” in exchange for a normal life? Though if that were the case, Hong Bin would know about his “episodes” and at this point, that’s not the case as he always blacks out during/after them and can’t remember anything that happened, other than what comes across as a dream.
Drama Debussie: I don’t know how much Jang Wan knows, but it certainly seems Hong Bin’s house staff knows more than anyone about him. It’s a little creepy. They remind me of characters from Japanese mangas.
Zombie: Right? Especially Butler Yoon. She gives me the creeps! There’s just something off about her… I’m not sure what, but it’s unsettling.
Drama Debussie: Everything is unsettling about Hong Bin’s life quite frankly.
Zombie: Truth! Here’s hoping Se Dong can help him out with that. It’d be nice if he wasn’t a tormented porcupine forever.
So tell us, what did you think of the first two episodes of Iron Man? Are you as intrigued by this story and its characters as we are? Do you have any theories about Tae Hee and Hong Bin’s relationship and how it fell apart? What about Chang? Do you think he’s really Hong Bin’s son? We’d love to know what you’re thinking so be sure to leave us a comment below!
You can find both Drama Debussie (@dramadebussie) and Zombie Mamma (@TheZombieMamma) on Twitter so be sure to stop by and say hi! (We just love it when you do!)
Catch up on all of The Zebussie Drama Reviews of Iron Man here:
Episodes 1-2 [Part 1] [Part 2]