2nd Lead Syndrome

I don't know why, but suddenly I am having a huge case 2nd lead love in several ongoing shows.   As a kdrama viewer I am usually 100% behind the leading man no matter how big of a jerk he is. I have never been one to coo and sigh about how sweet the other romantic interest is, why bother since it is doomed anyway.  But with this last batch of shows I have seriously started to have some serious problems supporting the leading men.  So I decided to list out my favorite B Crushes as therapy.  It might not get them the girl in the end, but at least I can gaze at their pretty pictures a bit and dream of them getting their happy endings.

Ta Hwan - Empress Ki

I went into the drama anticipating that I would like it, it is written by my favorite kdrama writers after all.  But I was not prepared to dislike the leading male quite as much as I do.  Joo Jin Mo's (Frozen Flower) portrayal as Wang Yoo fell really really flat.  The actor has one intensity and only a few expressions so whether he is in love, angst, or fighting it all felt the same.  Add in the sappy Michael Boltenesque song that is his theme and I am happy to not see him on the screen.  Lucky for me it seems that the writers agreed and as the show as progressed we see less and less of the moody king.  Thank goodness because watching him try to portray angsty love makes me one very very annoyed Kmuse.  Instead we get a good helping of Ta Hwan (Ji Chang Wook - Warrior Baek Dong Soo, Five Fingers) the emperor of Yuon and Nyang's eventual husband.  Ji Chang Wook is a very versatile actor and his ability to go from a sniveling weakling of a prince to a strong leader was truly a joy to watch.  It also does not hurt that he has great chemistry with Ha Ji Won (Secret Garden).  It would be interesting to see if the writers always planned to make the 2nd lead so prominent in the script or if it was revised when fans jumped on the Emperor/Nyang ship, either way we get a lot of my favorite couple and for once the 2nd lead actually does get the girl (at least if they follow history).

Han Yoon Chan (Lee Tae Kon) - A Well Raised Daughter

How I love Han Yoon Chan, let me count the ways.  He is strong, intelligent, handsome, extremely tough, and ruthless.  Add in that he is obviously a man and not some young idol boy actor and he becomes the perfect package.   He plays the illegitimate son of SS CEO and half brother to the lead Seol Do Hyu.  Where Yoon Chan moves heaven and earth to support our leading lady through all her troubles, the lead Do Hyu is the equivalent to a damsel in distress.  Instead of standing up strong, he tends to wring his hands, ask his daddy for help, and mope around.  And while I can appreciate the pretty "I'm in love" staring contest they do, that is not going to pay the bills when one's father leads a coup against your company.   So instead of the tepid pretty I am going with the strong confident supporter in this drama.  I can honestly say that watching him defend her honor/secrets by beating the crap out of people is truly satisfying and worth at least a hundred sonnets dedicated to the beauty of one's eyes.

 

No Min Hyuk (Ko Gyung-Pyo) - Potato Star 2013QR3

This is probably the character that I am the most surprised that I have fallen for.  An uppity highly educated president of a toy company, No Min Hyuk was not even on my radar for the first half of the drama.  It did not help that he had an accident that reverted him to his seven year old self complete with amnesia.  However, even damaged as he was he slowly wiggled his way into my heart.  And I say that if you can make me love you with the main girl even with amnesia and the personality of a kid then that is a huge accomplishment.  It set the story up that by the time he regained his memories and transitioned into a more adult one sided love I was firmly a fan of Team Min Hyuk.  We still have a solid 40 episodes to go so my hope that he wins the girl is still staying strong.  MIN HYUK FOR THE WIN!!!!!!!

I know that I can't be the only one out there with a B lead crush.  Who are your favorite men who are destined for loneliness?  Do you think that we will ever have a rise of the B Leads just to shake things up?  Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments, and have a wonderful weekend.

Kmuse

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