Everything comes to an end as our heroes finally defeat their mediocre foes and we settle in for some happily ever after…or not. Come join us as we chat everything episode 18 & 19 as we harden our hearts against possible explosions of bubbles as The Little Mermaid story rears its ugly head once again.
Operation Prove Dad’s Murder
KMUSE: Dad is dead (I don’t miss him at all) and Blackwidow goes into full fainting widow mode. I can’t believe she pulled that off without one snarky look over at Joon Jae. Impressed.
CLKYTTA: Evil Stepmom really deserves the Korean equivalent of the Oscar for this little farce.
Drama Geek: I rolled my eyes so hard at both her and stepbrother’s performance here.
Its a Twin Switch
KMUSE: I like the taking the twin’s place plot twist. I might have even liked it more if we had the revelation before the last few episodes of the drama. I really feel that the modern day bad guys were not that fleshed out. We just knew they were bad guys because of greed and it wasn’t until now that we start seeing hidden secrets and motivation. Sadly, a little to late to make me care about their evil intentions. I kind of wish we could just push them to the side again and have the OTP continue practicing their kissing technique. It is bound to get better with practice right?
CLKYTTA: I really want to believe that Joon Jae’s mom is the twin, and that’s why she targeted her family. Why? Because it’s a drama and that’s a good twist. If you guys haven’t figured it out yet though, I’m normally wrong on my predictions…
Drama Geek: Evil Stepmom and Joon Jae’s mom went to high school together and that’s why Mom knew here real name. (CLKYTTA: How did I forget that?) I’m assuming Evil Stepmom found her twin at some point and poisoned her then took her identity. But I’m with KMUSE and really don’t give a fart about them. It was pretty satisfying to see her go down, but I don’t care beyond that.
Haidi: The stepmom. Ugh. Just drink your poison like a good little witch and die already. (And what’s with the eyeball cutting? That’s some messed up bit of writing) I wonder what the writer was thinking when she decided to add another villain to the storyline. I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume one of two things happened. One- someone in the Korean press wasn’t satisfied with Dae Young’s solo bad guy act so she increased the evil factor (x infinity) by throwing our least favorite mother figure into the mix. Or two- said evil mother threatened to walk off the show if she wasn’t given a more prominent role. I’m hoping it’s something like that because the alternative is that Park Ji-Eun has become a raging alcoholic and her writing is slipping.
KMUSE: On an up note, we got to watch Blackwidow get slapped, put down by Cheong, and arrested…… not once but twice! It was very satisfying to see her get hit by the karma train.
CLKYTTA: This was really gratifying. I loved seeing Blackwidow go down in flames!
Drama Geek: I think more than anything her rich entitled attitude is what I liked seeing put down the most. Money doesn’t always make you untouchable. Especially when they have a smart and sassy mermaid on the good guy’s team.
Haidi: *puts scene on repeat* *puts scene on repeat* *puts scene on repeat*
Cheong Continues to Be Awesome
CLKYTTA: Cheong has to be one of my most favorite kdrama characters of all time. She’s one the most complex characters even though she’s wrapped up in a pretty little package. I love that she doesn’t stand down and she fights for her friends.
Drama Geek: She’s my favorite character of the show and I’m so glad that her powers didn’t fall the side after they got further into the story.
Haidi: Amen. But so help me merwoman, you shut LMH out one more time and I’m going to break you so hard you will cry black pearls.
KMUSE: Thank goodness they didn’t make her a total damsel in distress. Sadly, I can almost guarantee that some type of noble idiocy is on the horizon for our leading lady.
Double Crossed x 2
CLKYTTA: OK, I knew that Wannabe Bro was bad news. He’s more devious than I thought though, I mean, come one, targeting Joon Jae’s best buddy? How low can you go?
Haidi: I thought he played the part pretty well. His character is new to being a baddy and his real dad is pretty worthless during the episodes. Nam Doo had my full attention during the scene.
Drama Geek: I really wish the brother had been played by a stronger actor… I think this episode would have been more compelling.
KMUSE: I have to agree with Drama Geek. This actor just isn’t at the same level as the other bad guys or even Conman Bestie. He gets overshadowed all the time. Doesn’t help that I can’t tell if he feels guilt, and is evil, or is supposed to be just evil. It makes me not connect with the character.
Noble Idiocy
Drama Geek: Can someone please send a message to all the Kdrama writers out there that if you push someone down to the ground and follow them you can both miss the bullet/knife/spear. It’s a drama trope I really wish would die. It’s so bad that when I was watching an American drama and they actually did push someone out of the way and didn’t get hurt I had to second guess them.
CLKYTTA: I’m with Drama Geek on this one, let this trope die a quick death and be mentioned in every writing class 101 as what not to do.
KMUSE: I want to know how in a country full of people who have never touched a gun, he can pull it away from the cop, figure out how to turn the safety off, and fire before someone can take him down. I agree with my co-bloggers. This is a stupid trope.
Bestie Conman Suddenly Became Interesting
Drama Geek: This was a twist I really liked. I never thought he had always been in cahoots with the step family, but I did feel pretty sure he’d sell Cheong if he could. And they kept him true to character by still trying to figure out how to make money off her.
Haidi: I was 95% convinced he had betrayed Joon Jae. As his character was developed I kept holding out hope that his conscience would get the better of him and I was almost devastated. Then they pulled the stunt with the flashback and I was panicking again. Then I was celebrating again. And Dae Young…don’t you even think about it.
CLKYTTA: I was convinced he was a bad guy, but I’m very happy I was wrong. I’m really surprised that he’s such a hero from the past though, I never saw that one coming.
KMUSE: His character development (both past and present) the last few episodes was one of the highlights of the drama. I totally didn’t see him being a good guy in both versions. A truly pleasant surprise.
The End of the Mediocre Bad Guys
KMUSE: I had the most satisfaction watching Blackwidow get caught and have karma kick her in the butt. The stepbrother was just sad and unexpected. I sincerely didn’t expect him to kill himself at this time but I felt it was a satisfying ending for a mediocre character. I think I was least happy with the Daddy Bad Guy. He never achieved true scary status and he was caught so easy. Really a disappointment all around.
CLKYTTA: This was all wrapped up a little to easily for me. I’m still bummed that they took all of Reply Dad’s memories and he doesn’t even remember that he’s a really bad guy. I figured they would kill off Wannabe Bro because his character was just so weak.
Kissing
Haidi: The kids are making progress in this area. However, by the end of 19 I imagined LMH yelling, “I’m going in!” before his kissing scene. I’m willing to bet there are plenty of ladies out there who are ready to help him get the hang of things.
CLKYTTA: The kissing is my least favorite part of this drama. It still isn’t quite natural or right feeling.
KMUSE: Ha. Haidi, I will never be able to watch that scene without your comment at the forefront of my mind. When it comes to smooching skinship these two actors just don’t click. I still claim that a lot of the blame falls on the director who has a very specific look he wants for his lip locks.
Drama Geek: After Heirs and now this drama, I’m starting to think Lee Min Ho’s kissing ability really isn’t as great as everyone claims. Or he just ended up with two bad directors in a row. The only time they look natural during skinship in this drama is when they’re cuddling in bed.
That #@$(@*&#$ Little Mermaid Story Strikes Again
Drama Geek: I knew from the beginning that at some point she’d have to go back to the sea and then they’d reunite. It is a mermaid story, and in Korea they stick to the original version for the most part. I’m interested to see how they bring them back together.
CLKYTTA: Can we move on to another fairy tale already? I’m so tired of The Little Mermaid and “disappearing into bubbles or foam” that I could scream!
KMUSE: I hate the mermaid story and could happily never hear it referenced again. It isn’t romantic, it’s just an example of people who couldn’t think outside the box and made bad life decisions.
Thoughts:
Drama Geek: I really, really, really wish this had been a 16 episode drama. So many narrative strands would have had to be tighter. The side stories would have been more concise or cut. And I also wish the bad guy team had been cast better/different. Black Widow did a sufficient enough job, and I actually think if they’d used her as the main bad person in the past life it might have been more compelling. We have one episode left, and I’m happy we’re at the end. Hopefully the show can bring it in with a solid win.
CLKYTTA: It’s almost the end and I’m still of the opinion that this is an okay drama. Not one that I’ll watch over again, but one that I’ve enjoyed this go round. I think they got all wrapped up in the big name cast and made it way too long, and not even good acting can help when a story starts to drag. Honestly I think they should have switched Conman Bestie and Wannabe Bro and those characters would have been much more interesting.
KMUSE: I understand why they made it longer drama. With these actors they were almost guaranteed high ratings. That doesn’t mean the drama is necessarily better because of the length. I have enjoyed the show but won’t be sad when it ends this week.
We only have one episode left. Will our OTP find happiness or will one or both of them disappear into a bevvy of bubbles (stupid story) and disappear for ever? Be sure to join us next week as we discuss this and our feelings about the finale.
Til next time,
The Fangirls