Sometimes our favorite characters are not always the lead. Which why we find it important to give our secondary characters their time to shine in the limelight. Come join us as we chat about those that stood out during 2017.
Telzeytalks
Kitty- My favorite would be the cat in Because It’s Our First Life. It is a beautiful cat and I just wish they had more scenes with it. Or if it talked to the audience. I bet it has interesting things to say.
Kim Yoo Joo- My favorite human secondary character would be the sister-in-law in Father is Strange. She was so awful at first as the bully, and then morphed in a believable way through realization, remorse, and then learning to build good relationships. Lee Mi-do was so good at making us hate her at first and then slowly becoming someone we ended up liking,
Han Bok Ja- There is a sweet little ahjumma coping with sickness and an irascible husband in The Package. Lee Ji-hyun brings her to life by making us first feel sorry for her and then proud of her as she makes little gestures of kindness and becomes friends with the other women on the tour.
Karie the Maknae
I only have one and anyone who has read the While You Were Sleeping recaps will know who it is: Han Woo Tak (Batman!), played by Jung Hae In. Besides his all-around adorableness, I’ve loved seeing him step up to the plate for his new friends over and over again. He’s the voice of reason when they’re being unreasonable and absolutely dedicated to making sure the right thing gets done. Plus, his love for Batman puts him over the top for me — totally speaks to my geek-girl heart. (I’m wearing my Spiderman shirt today, but I have a Batman shirt. Just sayin’.)
Kdrama Jen
I definitely fell for Woo Tak (and his adorable scruff) in While You Were Sleeping, but we can’t ALL wax poetic about him for hours. Well, actually, we already did during our private fangirl chat and we probably will again during our upcoming podcast debut. (That’s right, folks, something new is coming soon). But…here are my other picks:
Kim Mi Kyung- In Go Back Couple, the mom stole the show for me. Kim Mi Kyung is an actress that most drama watchers will immediately recognize. She was the ahjumma hacker in Healer, the aunt in Master’s Sun, and the mom who lovingly served a home cooked meal to Kim Woo Bin in The Heirs. She has been in so many dramas, you could likely name one at random and you would probably see her in it. In Go Back Couple, she once again shines. She plays every character with such sincerity. I am in awe of her acting range and talent.
Woo Do Hwan: This young actor is making my list in multiple categories. He did not feel like a second lead in Save Me. I think he was supposed to be, but it was his story I cared about most. He is also keeping me captivated as the brother of a pilot accused of using a plane crash to commit suicide for the insurance money in the show Mad Dog. In order to reveal the truth he dons disguises and takes on different personas and the whole thing feels just a little like Healer (especially because Yoo Ji Tae is in this one too). In two different shows, this young actor is stealing scenes and leaving me confused about who is really supposed to be the lead!
Ma Ke- The Chinese actor Ma Ke had me staying up late in a hotel room binging on the drama The Journey. Again, I am not sure if he was supposed to be the second lead or star of the show, but I was so firmly Team Vampire while watching this one. He played his character with such a combination of restrained sexiness and vulnerability. I was smitten! I just wanted him to bite the girl, so they could go make magical vampire babies.
CLKYTTA
Key and Kim Seul Gi in Lookout. This was one of my favorite dramas this year and I normally only like fun and fluffy dramas. I loved these two, they had great chemistry and they were really fun to watch. Key’s Kyung Soo seems like just your average punk kid and Kim Seul Gi’s Bo Mi is a frightened shut-in, so you don’t really think they would mesh, but they do. I loved the whole partners in crime feel to their relationship and I loved their chemistry so much I have to mention it twice. I really want to see Key in more dramas, I’ve always loved him in Shinee, but I think he fits in well as an actor too.
I also loved Mr. Ma and Soo Ji in Because This is My First Life. They make the whole opposites attract concept true and I love them as a couple and as two of our OTP’s closest friends. Soo Ji’s whole bra storyline has been both hilarious and a great way to point out sexism in the workplace. She is a modern woman who makes her own rules, and to watch her be stifled by the good ole boys club at work just kills me. I want her to quit and start her own business and show everyone what she is capable of. Mr. Ma is one of those characters that you think is going to be shallow at first, and then you are delightfully surprised that he has depth. So far he’s proving worthy of his girl, and I love how sensitive and thoughtful he is.
Drama Geek
I think I’ve already stated that this was the year for ensemble casts. You can run down the list of dramas I stuck with this year and find they all have a great cast. I’m just going to list some of my favorite teams.
Suspicious Partner– The fact that Ji Wook starts out as a prosecutor, but ends up running a firm filled with a group of rag tag lawyers made this drama stand out from some of the other law shows. And they managed to make their office meetings the hightlight off the show. The bickering between CEO Byeon and Bong Hee was a delight to watch, and then when you add in Investigator Bang and Eun Hyuk to poke at them and Ji Wook it was always so much fun.
Mad Dog-This show lacked the oomf in the overall story to end up on my best drama list, but the team was the one of my favorites of the year. The bromance between Kang Woo and Min Joon was both heartbreaking and made me giddy at times. I loved the sweet relationship that developed between Noo Ri and Min Joon as well. I felt the show really popped and crackled when they all worked together to take down whatever bad guy they were up against.
Solomon’s Perjury-This was a drama that ended in early January that I didn’t watch until it popped up in my Netflix suggestions. The cast was filled with young characters and reminded me a little of how it felt to watch School 2013 or White Christmas. I know if we come back to it in a few years we’ll be surprised at how many it actors and actresses are in it. The character that stands out the most is Lee So Woo. He’s played by Seo Young Joo who was also in Girl’s Generation 1979. He was a dark character and didn’t have as much screen time as the rest but every time he was, I was drawn to him.
Be sure to check out all our other End of Year reviews HERE!
Til next time,
The Fangirls