Lee Sun-Kyun | subtitledreams

Review – My Mister

Holy shit, somone give this show all the Korean Oscars known to man. The nuances in the characters – the extended scenes in which nothing is happening, expect what’s happening in their head, reflected on their faces – holy God! This is mesmerizing tv. Not only is it an interesting plot – and unique – but it’s sooo subtle. It’s slow, but in the best simmer way. There are main characters, but even the side characters are massively important to you while viewing. Everyone is connected, developed, full of their own stories and pain and personalities.

If you’ve already watched this amazing show, you know those moments where (anyone of) our characters are on the phone, holding back everything, but the person on the other end knows them enough to know what their sighs or hesitations mean… that slow motion development of inner conflict without words… Jesus. It’s good. Even if the plot had sucked (and it didn’t), I would have been won over with the character development. Escaping obvious tropes and cliches, the people in this show suffered silently and then together and then silently again. Family, friends, lack of, all determined how they approached letting people in. And letting people in – really in – to your inner world was the key focus of this show. The few people who break down your barriers, or who you surrender your castle to, these are the people who really know you and who also can really hurt you. They are your true reflections.

Overall Rating – 9.5/10. Being Jealous of a Close Knit Community of Alcoholics for 16 Episodes.

More thoughts on plot and characters – which include SPOILERS… below….

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Review – My Wife’s Having an Affair This Week / Listen to Love

This is one of those shows that reminds me why I am single. But cheers to all the working moms in the world – cause let’s face it, you are doing twice the work and haven’t been thanked for it since mother’s day of last year, right? Though Lee Sun Gyun is adorable and has a gorgeous voice (his new drama My Mister is incredible, also someone please force him to read audiobooks), I pretty much found him impossible to love in this show. I kept thinking, “Let’s see how well you do with your kid for a week without your wife around, ya jerk.” And then, when we finally get that scene, he can’t even handle it for one day. He pawns his kid off onto his coworkers and friends, who seem to instinctively understand joint parenting more than the married, child rearing couples on this show. Not that it is all the husband’s fault. I hated Song Ji Hyo’s character just as much. The bland, lowered eyed, push over wife – desperately trying to be perfect, always smiling, always agreeable. Use your words, people. If you act like a doormat, you can’t be surprised when people walk all over you.

Though there was a lot to dislike about this show, I did find most of it enjoyable. The shenanigans of the unfaithful lawyer. The online community marriage counseling. The side romance of the two television producers was delightfully awkward and unusual. And I liked the ending, though I wanted more. The exploration into the nature of affairs, the motivations, the suspicions, and the consequences were interesting but also only waded into, not fully explored. I watched the whole show – after jumping ship on several shows recently, it was nice to find something that actually drew me enough to finish it. So… I give it a “Meh.” A nice middle grade. Not bad, not good, but definitely not just right.

Overall Rating – 6.5/10. Tuna Mayo Gets Her Happy Ending Via a Shotgun & a Hot French Dude.