Like Unnie said, this first post business is hard. I am experiencing major stage fright here. Now, I've written about this stuff on my personal blog several times, but that was different. That was me writing to people that a) probably weren't going to read it anyway and b) even if they did read it, they had no idea what I was talking about. That relieves a lot of the stress (once you muscle through the "Oh dear, they're going to judge me and think I'm strange" inner dialogues). If all goes well and according to our wildest dreams, however, this will be read by like-minded people who share the same addicKtion as us. That's a whole lot of pressure, especially since we're more along the lines of "hobbyists" than "experts". I also wish that my first post wasn't going to be a review. In my text to Unnie, after she brought up this idea of reviewing the dramas we're currently watching as we actually watch them, my response included the subtle declaration of, "I suck at reviews". I probably shouldn't say that out loud at this point because maybe you'll believe me and stop reading and then this project will be all for naught. Hmmm.... Well, you could always just skip to Unnie's part. She is a walking, talking, typing, breathing, human form of IMDB. Seriously. It's kind of creepy the sheer amount of knowledge she has and can spew out on command (go ahead, try her, but shhh, don't tell her I said so, she'll kill me). However, since I've made the commitment to this blog and this particular weekly segment, I shall sally forth and do my very best. {Insert maniacal, nervous laughter here}
Besides the stage-fright induced brain meltdown I'm currently experiencing, I also have a little distraction I'm fighting in the background. The kids, who I'll call my Little Poppers (or LPs for short), are in the dining room having a rather lengthy conversation about all things KPop. They are singing all of the songs on my playlist (thankfully for them my playlist is still a little fledgling of a thing) and talking about their favorite groups and group members. For the record, they don't like EXO-K's "What is Love" (sorry EXO K). LP#2's favorite is Big Bang. LP#1's is SHINee. You know, in case you were curious. Ahh, a proud mommy moment to be sure. Makes it hard to concentrate though. Have you ever listened to children's conversations when they think adults aren't listening? It's awesome stuff. But I digress. You're not here to read about funny kid stuff. Bring on the review!
Okay, so we're jumping ahead a few episodes obviously. I hate synopses (according to dictionary.com, that is how you pluralize synopsis - hey, I learn something new every day), so I won't give one here. Or ever. Not my thing. Sorry. Or not, if it's not your thing either, maybe you appreciate the lack thereof. Right about now you're probably thinking, OH MY GOODNESS LADY! GET ON WITH IT! Did I mention I suck at reviews? Hey, don't say you weren't warned. I'm nervous and when I'm nervous I tend to babble. Even in writing. Especially in writing.
Anyway, I just watched episode 5 today. It started out with him "remembering" that he was Yong Tae Yong. Obviously he doesn't really remember being Yong Tae Yong but figures this is some weird reincarnation thing and he just better go with it. He's a smart dude the things he figures out. An odd amount of time is spent focused on the J4 (Joseon 4) Power Rangers cutting their hair. Okay, so I get that that is a big no-no where they come from, but still...1 hour 4 minutes talking about not much more than haircuts? I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like the episode, it was fine, but not my favorite. Maybe because I knew halfway through that I'd have to review it and then I became a little concerned when I realized there wasn't much to talk about. Cousin? Bad dude scared about everyone finding out the bad thing he did. Step-sister? Evil and all tied up in the mess whether she wants to admit it or not. Same as the first 4 episodes. Not much new there. Though there is a cell phone that turns up. Ooooh! And it proves his identity. Forget the DNA test you were about to do (dang! I really was curious as to what the DNA test would have revealed, but no-oo, the cell phone proves to be evidence enough - drat!). The rest is about haircuts.
I got all excited in the last scene though. He chases after the bus, gets it to stop and dashes on to stop her from leaving. He shouts, "Who gave you permission to leave" or something like that, then, my subtitles stopped. You see, I was too anxious to start it and didn't wait until it was fully subbed. Usually not a big deal, but it was in that scene that the subs were missing. So he continues emphatically and all cute (he is Yoochun after all), she says a few lines, he grabs her and everyone on the bus starts clapping as they exit. I couldn't understand what all was said, but judging by the context of what happened, imagined it to be very romantic. Then I went back and rewatched it once the subtitles were there. Big mistake. Should have stuck with the imagined romantic scene - it was lots better in my head. He shouts that she didn't have his permission to leave. She says (and I'm paraphrasing the entire conversation here), "but I thought that's why you wanted a last picture, to say goodbye". "No, that was because we were about to cut our hair". "Oh." Grabs arm and drags her off the bus while everyone claps. Huh? If I were on a bus and witnessed a scene like that, first of all, I'd be too dumbstruck to react at all, but if I could, it wouldn't be to cheer on the controlling, angry man talking about taking a picture to say goodbye to his and his friends' hair. Kind of ruined the romantic scene for me. Yes, yes, I get the whole idea that they have feelings for each other that they themselves don't quite understand or acknowledge. It should be romantic. Normally I would totally agree. But by that time they had lost me. I have enjoyed this drama up until this point and have high hopes that episode 6 tomorrow will redeem itself.
Unnie's Two Cents on RTP ep 5:
Gotta admit, like my Dongsaeng, I do agree that, an inordinately, large amount of time, was spent on the cutting of the hair. Now, with that agreement in place, I will admit, that I too, get the importance of the hair cut, for the men of the Joseon era. It's a big deal....to them. Not so much to us. But in respect of the era & the culture I will allow a, 'moment of silence', to mourn the passing of the hair.
{imagine mournful playing of a gayageum here}
And.... we're back.
I had no problems with the subtitles because I was too tired to watch last night {horrified SCREAM here}. Sorry been fighting off a head cold & with the cold weather coming back {GO AWAY 30 DEGREE temps!!! I am ready for warm weather!!!} I was just feeling way too icky to stay awake & watch RTP last night.
As for the end scene? I thought it was funny. And yes, even a tiny bit romantical. {BTW I make up words whenever I feel like it...deal with it.} He, meaning The Crown Prince aka;Yi Gak, or his reincarnated self, Yong Tae Yong, whichever name you prefer, uses 'Halmoni's' {Halmoni means grandmother} money {ie Black card w/ unlimited spending potential} to buy the GINORMOUS painting of what appears to be an almost identical tropical beach scene. Similar to the one, Bak Ha has saved on her phone, for when she is feeling down & needs a pick me up.
{I have a pick me up pic on my "hand-a-pone" as well...it's of "My Hyun-y", Kim Hyun Joong. Sigh}
Where was I? {cricket. cricket.}
Oh yes! The picture, he bought, for Bak Ha. Then with the help of the ahjussi, who nearly ran him over, he chases down the bus, waves it to a stop, & climbs aboard to tell her he was saying goodbye to his hair, not her, {DUH!} & that she does not have HIS permission to leave for America.
{Remember he is the Crown Prince ~ hence the bossy control freak issues}
All to the applause of the rest of the passengers on the bus. Awesome!
Then there is the requisite awkward 'I am still holding her by her wrist' scene which immediately followed the 'forcibly dragging her by the wrist' scene. This is K-Drama 101 people!!! Then a truck honks startling her INTO his arms for the "I am hugging him & this feels so nice & I am SHOCKED that it feels so nice & so right" scene. They pull slightly apart & he looks into her eyes & she into his & then ... end scene. Remember this is episode 5, by now we are starting to see a little "Skinship". Gasp! {hubba hubba}
My take is haircut portion slightly comical but also slightly boring, bad guy/girl are behaving typical for the character...no depth there...maybe later, depends on how/if the writer's decide to delve deeper into the characters & have them evolve. But the relationship between the Prince & Bak Ha is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see episode 6.
P.S. I almost forgot one small thing that I feel I have to express. Bad Guy Cousin, Tae Mu, played by Lee Tae Sung. I realize Lee Tae Sung is, in fact, an actor, & therefore wants to play many different characters, as an actor. He wants his roles to be varied, full of depth & complicated, so he isn't typecast. Afterall, that IS every actor's worst nightmare, to be typecast. BUT I am so used to him being the sweet, lovable, good guy, IE: Bong Joon Gu from Playful Kiss, that when I realized he was going to be the bad guy in this one, I was kind of. Okay not kind of. Really mad at him. I wanted to scream, "What?!?! No!! You are sweet, cute, funny, lovable Bong Joon Gu!! Not some nefarious, plot twisting bad guy." But I realize this is unfair to his career, & I want him to have a successful, happy, long career. So, I will allow him to no longer be Bong Joon Gu. I give MY permission for him to move on. Hey, Dongsaeng, be quiet & stop laughing at me! That is all I have to say.
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Rooftop Prince episode 6 - Unnie's Review:
Can I just point out that a haircut makes all the difference in the world. The J4 (Joseon 4) look so much better after the haircuts. Still the sweetest, cutest, most clueless group of guys around. But then I am not so sure, I wouldn't be just as clueless, had I been ripped from one century & dropped into another.
The rooftop is getting its makeover as promised by, Yong Tae Yong's, Halmoni. He DID get his haircut. Complete, with the huge beach picture for Bak Ha. Then, because the rooftop is under construction the ever present "Black Card" makes an appearance & a really cool RV is sitting outside for the 4 guys & Bak Ha to share while the renovations are under way. Of course, Halmoni reminds Yong Tae Yong that he promised they would all start work the next day, & then gives Bak Ha money for her to buy things for Yong Tae Yong. And Yong Tae Yong rips out the "Black Card" {yes, again} & its shopping time. Only in this drama the guys get the make over. Aww, guess that means no more Power Ranger sweatsuits. I'm kind of going to miss those....oh wait a minute there are 4 incredibly well dressed men, in dark well tailored suits, & sun glasses, doing the "strut walk" through the mall. I forgot what was I talking about?!?!
seriously. I can't remember.
Oh yes, now its time for lessons on how & what to expect at work & of course how to order coffee. A-Mer-EE-Cahn-O! CaPPe Latte. Did she forget the Prince doesn't like coffee? He only likes sweet things. I doubt even the CaPPe Latte has enough sweet to entice his massive sweet tooth. Oh well, it was a cute lesson & the "Engrish" pronunciations priceless. Now don't get me wrong, I am pretty sure my Korean accent is laughable because it sucks so badly, so I am in no position to judge or ridicule, besides I LOVE all accents.
There are a few moments of sweetness when Tae Yong & Bak Ha are shopping together & she eyes a pretty bracelet & he asks her if women of this century like that kind of stuff & he asks her later what she would want to do on a "Date". She tells him tandem bicycle riding, so of course there has to be a scene where she teaches him to ride a bike, {no bikes in the Joseon era duh!} by yelling at him & mocking his inability to do something so simple, as learning how to ride a bike. In her mind, you can see, she is thinking he likes her & that he is planning all of this for her. But I can see he's looking at how to woo her step sister, after all Se Na is his Princess re-incarnated. And I am just waiting for the scene later when she sees her sister wearing the bracelet. You know its coming right?
Sure enough he gets Se Na to go bicylcing with him & leaves her a drink with the bracelet draped over the bottle. Sigh. Poor Bak Ha. Have I mentioned I really hate her step sister. Which is what the writers & director are going for. Bingo! You guys did an awesome job. I'm really hoping that later she reforms.
Then there was drama when her evil step-sister realizes she did not in fact leave for America after all. Uh-oh. Which of course included the ever present "throw a glass of water in her face in public", scene. I am sorry but I am waiting for the person who gets water thrown in their face to throw water back. Maybe I'm just that kind of person. But you throw water at me & you can darn well expect to get a face full yourself. By the way, I am aware that this scene happened earlier but I am on cold medicine & if you remember the 4 really good looking men strut walking kind of threw me.
New side characters this episode, as well. All for training purposes & some more comedic relief, involving our sweet boys from the past. Are they cute or what as they prove their worth by memorizing every employee with Halmoni's company & shouting greetings to them as they call them by name? Wait a minute! How does this have anything to do with how the company works or how hard they will prove themselves? Oh, who cares, they are uber sweet, and really that's all that matters. Right?
But the real drama begins when Yong Tae Yong's other aunt (we'll call her Evil Aunt - mostly because I can't remember all these names - my kids are lucky if they get called by the right name & I am the one who helped name them!} returns, obviously she is a bad guy too. And his evil cousin {Tae Mu} & evil uncle {can't remember his name either} are working towards a nefarious takeover plan & they need her help to wrest the control of the company away from Halmoni, who, of course, has no idea her family are all vipers!
But wait there is more. It turns out that Evil Aunt knows Bak Ha/Se Na's mom, & it doesn't appear to be a good relationship at all, as Bak Ha/Se Na's mom is throwing stuff at Evil Aunt's feet & yelling at her to go away! It turns out that she may not be Se Na's mom, because Evil Aunt says she came to see her daughter, as in Evil Aunt's daughter, & why would she be asking Se Na's mom if she could see her own daughter. UNLESS, Se Na IS, her daughter!! WHAT?!?! That was an element I hadn't even considered. This drama is throwing in the curves & complications. I am really hoping not to get too confused with this one. Maybe I should start taking notes while watching. Yikes! Homework!
Meanwhile, sweet moment break, when Bak Ha & her mom go to celebrate her father's Death Day with the traditional food & spirits. They then, after some reminiscing, decide that they will go to this one restaurant Bak Ha's dad was always wanting to go to. Just as they sit down {I feel it important to mention that Se Na cannot be bothered with her step fathers Death Day} Bak Ha's mom turns around & sees Evil Aunt eating. She immediately tells Bak Ha they should just leave. Bak Ha calls her "mother", which makes Evil Aunt take a closer look at Bak Ha, I feel a K-Drama 'misunderstanding' is coming soon, but Bak Ha does as her step-mom wishes & leaves. But mom is in a hurry to get distance between them & Evil Aunt & isn't looking as she rushes from the restaurant.
While racing to get to Tae Yong's Evil Aunt before she leaves town, Tae Mu, calls Se Na & says for her to meet him at a certain restaurant ASAP!!! Guess which restaurant it will be? In his haste to get there in time & in her haste to get away from Evil Aunt, Tae Mu hits Bak Ha's step mom, with his car. Se Na has arrived, just after the accident, & once again shows her cowardly yellow stripe by turning away, which brings back all of Bak Ha's repressed memories & she remembers her step sister turning away & letting the truck drive off with her, 9 year old self, inside screaming for her "unnie" to save her. Tae Mu & Bak Ha pick up her mom & put her in his car & rush her to the hospital in one direction while Se Na hops into her car & drives off in the opposite direction. So many nasty words come to mind for Se Na right now.
It's time for the final show down. Turns out their mom is ok. But it is time for these 2 "sisters" to have it out. They end up back at Tae Yong/Halmoni's company. Bak Ha admits to Se Na she remembers everything, there are a couple of slaps back & forth. Bak Ha says she won't forgive this time. Se Na tries to go for another slap, Bak Ha catches her wrist in mid-swing & the bracelet goes flying. Bak Ha of course recognizes it as the present Tae Yong had hidden in his jacket & she mistakenly thought was going to be hers.
She walks away & runs into Tae Yong in the hall, all shaken up & obviously having been upset, he doesn't notice this at first glance & asks her sweetly & smiling if she is there to pick him up. She just looks at him & walks past him without a word. He looks concerned, slightly shocked & completely confused. He turns & sees Se Na, coming from the same direction Bak Ha had just come from.
End of episode.
Dun Dun Duuuun!!!!!! {sorry I had to go there}
Whew! My final review is; this drama is definitely getting interesting & seems to be chock full of drama twists & turns. Sub plots & lots of villains. Each of them out for their own selfish desires. So many liars & back stabbers. Yikes! But Tae Yong & Bak Ha have very sweet chemistry & I see them having to go through a whole lot more evil before they get anywhere close to hooking up. As of right now Tae Yong is focused on the Princess & has no clue he actually likes Bak Ha more. Bak Ha, I think, already knows she like Tae Yong but how she will react to his courting her evil step sister, I will have to wait & see next week. Looking good, drama is picking up. See you next week...stay tuned for next, Dongsaeng's Rebuttal.
Sarang,
Dongsaeng's Two Cents on RTP ep 6:
Confession time - I haven't watched it yet (gasp!). And this review was scheduled to post three hours ago. Oops. I have to get it posted before the next one which is coming on line in an hour, so I'm letting it go without my two cents. Sorry. My apologies. I got distracted by Strong Heart's YG Family Special (the end of 123-that I've been waiting to watch forEVER!-and then 124). I have nothing to say for myself in my defense except, "Big Bang". I am hopelessly in love with Big Bang and just had to watch. I'm sorry (head hanging in shame). Want me to review Strong Heart?! Amazing and awesome and hilarious and if you haven't seen it yet, go! Go watch it! If you hurry they're still on YouTube. No telling when they'll be pulled though - they don't tend to stick around too long which is why I chose to watch it instead of RTP. Hey, when opportunity knocks.... Am I right or am I right? Hello? T.O.P? G-Dragon? Taeyang's dance at the beginning of ep 124? Seungri spilling all the good juicy about his fellow group members? Sweet, sweet Daesung talking about his sister? I mean, how could I not? I'll let you know when I get around to RTP ep 6. Until then, let's give the YG family some love. Here, I'll even help you out. Here's part one of 7 for episode 123. Enjoy and happy Friday!
*And I would hope that it would go without saying, but this is not my material. I didn't create it, I didn't sub it, I didn't have any part in its existence. I watched it, loved it, and then clicked the link in order to share it. That's all. All material included belongs to the rightful owners. Do not steal any part of this from the rightful owners or do anything else to it. They don't like that.*
Update: Just finished ep 6 of Rooftop Prince. I am willing to overlook episode 5 as a fluke. This episode really turned things around for me. I enjoyed it so much more than the last one. One of the opening scenes is her walking with the J4 who are all spiffed up in suits and walking in formation. You know the formation. One girl and her entourage of hotties. It makes me wonder, just how does one get their own entourage of hotties? I want one. Okay, not really (don't think Husband would go for that), but still, a girl can appreciate the idea. Anyway, like Unnie said, some new characters are introduced. The Dog Man (still trying to figure out who he is exactly) and the lady who I believe, unlike Unnie, is Bak Ha's birth mother, not Se Na's. Only time will tell which one of us is right. {Ooh, the plot thickens! Dissension in the ranks!} My favorite part was when Bak Ha FINALLY remembers what her step-sister did to her back when she was 9 (abandoning her on the truck that then crashes causing her to forget who she is and spend the rest of her life living as an orphan) and confronts her about it. Yay! It was hard to watch her be so nice to a sister who's dirty deeds needed to be revealed. The love quadrangle...sigh. Of course I knew it was coming, but still. Evil Step Sister being wooed by the sweet Tae Yong while sweet Bak Ha gets her heart broken? So sad. Obviously Se Na is going to choose whichever guy she thinks will ultimately wield the most power in the family business, whether that be her fiance (who I think she's only with because she could see that he would be the one taking over until Tae Yong reappeared on the scene - but maybe that's just my bias against her - I suppose it's possible she actually cares for him - ha - unlikely - cold-hearted shrew) or Tae Yong. Well, we're only 6 episodes in to a 20 episoder, so we all know we've got a whole lot of drama ahead of us. Sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!
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