Sorry the blog post was delayed. Due to the trouble of finding subs and then finding out that the main subber for the US was having technical difficulties uploading the drama, it is only now that I am able to watch ep 1. But it was well worth the wait. I am just going to apologize now for the extreme fangirling that will probably occur during the recapping of this drama. To say I am a Seo In Guk fan, is an understatement. I LOVE LOVE LOVE everything he does from dramas, photo shoots, movies, and music. So prepare yourself for massive fangirling throughout.
Let me do a quick intro for those of you who are new in checking out The Crazy Ahjummas. For those of you just discovering
our awesome blog, I am Kmuse, one of the three bloggers on the site and
for now the most vocal. Dongsaeng and Unnie are still around but real
life has taken a huge chunk out of their blogging time so for now you are
stuck with me. I am a mother of three and an avid kdrama watcher, in
that I love to watch literally everything. There are very few currently
airing dramas that I am not watching so if you have any questions about
them (or really any drama since I have seen an insane amount) feel free
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For those of you who have not read my
past recaps, I am one of those bloggers that really likes to just
discuss my opinions on certain scenes or concepts of the drama. I don't
go step by step through the whole thing. So if you are looking for a
more complete recap you might have to look elsewhere (and then come back
and read mine of course). But enough about me, lets get to what you
are really waiting for and discuss episode 1 of "High School King".
On the first episode I usually like to do a quick intro of all the characters and then maybe note my favorite moment in which they were involved. Or in the case of Seo In Guk, more than one moment. Seriously did you see how many scenes he was in where he was just amazingly hot....Ummm, yup, the answer is all of them. I was texting my kbestie Angela through the whole thing with comments such as "Hey look how awesome he is walking", "Wow his biceps looks amazing in that shirt", and "The way he is lying on that couch is just perfect." OK BREATHING DEEPLY AND TACKLING THE INNER FANGIRL BACK INTO HER CAGE. Let's get started shall we?
We open the show with a helicopter flying over the city, out of it steps Lee Min Seok (Seo In Guk) dressed to impress in a designer suit. He has minions walking behind him and enters a limo, his boss is there to congratulate him on a job well done and calling him his ace. He walks out of the boardroom and rushes to the elevator while starting to undo his tie (so so sexy), his assistant (leading lady Jung Soo Young) tells him that he has a test at 10 and needs to hurry. As he rushes out of the office, he pulls a Clark Kent and emerges in a high school uniform. Complaining that he is horrible at tests he rushes off on a scooter, Soo Young yells at his back to always pick bubble 3 if he does not know the answer and does a little "fighting" motion. I can already tell that this drama is going to be daebak! There is something so entertaining about Min Seok being the star employee with huge multimillion dollar deals left in his care and yet he is worried about passing a test in high school.
Flashback to an earlier date before the "switch"..........
Lee Min Soek is the hot headed hockey star in his high school (I know that he is probably not the one doing all the hockey stunts, but in my little fangirl bubble SIG can literally do anything, so I was totally cheering as he made goals.....is it goals in Hockey? I know nothing about the sport other than Seo In Guk looks hot in a hockey jersey.) He is obviously the star of the team, yet also its bane, as he explodes over a foul. I love that the coach told him specifically to not explode and his answer was "Coach that was when I was younger, i wouldn't do that now." Needless to say, he exploded, and was kicked out of the game. Then he continued to explode off the ice, in the locker room, and in the hallway. Where we meet the two leading ladies who happen to be sisters. HEHEHE It cracked me up when main girl Soo Young told her sister to reconsider her crush since he obviously has issues.
The B lead love interest is thug high schooler, Jung Yoo A (Lee Yeol Eum) who will from henceforth be called "stalker girl" She is also a fangirl to the nth degree and is only interested in all things "Min Soek". Not at all shy, she openly calls Min Seok her husband and threatens anyone who might harm him, including the other teams hockey players.
My favorite scene with stalker was when she made her way to the dugout and was cursing (and I do mean cursing) the player who fouled her hubby. She outshouted the coach and was eventually told to go back up to the stands. When her sister, Soo Young, shows up at the game to drag her back to school, she literally pulls her around the floor trying to get back to her "oppa".
Usually this type of character annoys me to no end, but this actress plays her with so much spunk and energy, that it comes through as funny rather than annoying (at least so far). I give myself freedom to change my mind at a later date.
Yoo Jin Woo (Lee Soo Hyuk- Shark, Tree With Deep Roots) is the current golden boy at the company Comfo (does this seem like an odd name for a company to anyone else? Or is it just me?) The illegitimate son of the companies owner, he must work doubly hard to impress a parent who is not overly caring. Everyone in the office, including Soo Young, swoons at the thought of him, and he is obviously considered a good catch, if you judge it by the primping the office girls do to impress him.
He is also the object of Soo Young's one sided crush which comes to a head when he learns her name and is polite at a company dinner. She being the total crazy nut that she is, misinterprets this to be sexual signals (will discuss this more later) and accosts him in the bathroom shouting out her love. He of course turns her down and she proceeds to get very very drunk (also will discuss details later in the post). Jin Woo is called to come take care of her (she had become so drunk that she had layed down in a doorway) and brings her to his house. I liked that we got to see some of the man beneath the company shark with this scene. Obviously he is not heartless and will help others when he has to. He also is upfront and not one to not say exactly what he means. While I think Lee Soo Hyuk comes across as a stiff actor most times, in this type of role he is perfect. He has a feeling of strength and standoffishness that resonates within this characters mannerisms.
Jung Soo Young is not your most put together Korean leading lady. In fact she is the anti-heroine to such an extent that you kind of wonder if the writers were on something when creating her character. She wears frumpy yet quirky clothes that scream single old maid who owns too many cats. In a country of designer fashion, she sticks out like a sore thumb and I can honestly say that have never seen a leading lady wear such long skirts. Even in dramas where the leading lady was supposed to be "plain" they still showed a lot of leg and/or some fashion sense.
It is not just Soo Young's fashion sense and resemblance to a turtle that make her unique, she also has some hilarious inner dialogues going as well as a knack for misunderstanding other people's signals which results in so many laughs. I can't recall the last time that a leading lady made me laugh so much. This is the first time I have seen her in a drama and already I am a huge fan.
My favorite moment of Soo Young's was her hot mess of a confession. After reading up on dating signals and pheramones she comes to the conclusion that her boss (who she had just met the night before) was in love with her. Following him into the men's bathroom at their office dinner, she bursts out with her love confession. Needless to say, her feelings are not reciprocated and he asks her to please get her feelings in control.
Beyond embarrassed over her social gaffe, Soo Young proceeds to get very very drunk in a convenience store. Kicked out, she waits for her bus and meets our male lead, not that she remembers since she is very very sloshed and busy calling her boss's phone. Hehehe it cracks me up that she keeps rambling on about how he was throwing out pheromones and signals and needs to get that under control so poor innocent girls don't mistake his intentions. And then when her phone goes dead (since yes, she has called Jin Woo that much) she borrows Min Seok's phone to complete her drunken tirade/apology.
He unabashedly listens into her conversation and just chuckles. This is such a cute meet between our OTP (One True Pairing) and I am happily surprised with their chemistry. Not that there was really much worry that they wouldn't click, since I am pretty sure Seo In Guk could have chemistry with a rock. However, Soo Young's extreme quirkiness did have me concerned if I would be able to root for them as a couple. But oddly they really fit each other and I think that for once we have a leading lady that is such a hot mess, the age gap won't be a huge hurdle for her.
Soo Young leaves the bus, along with his phone, and Min Seok is forced to jump out of the bus's window (that was so cool) and rush after her. He finds her passed out in a doorway, cuddling her bag of popcorn, and mumbling. He tries to leave after retrieving his phone, but is too much of a gentleman to leave her passed out and alone. Min Seok covers her with newspaper, hobo style, and calls Jin Woo to come pick her up. He even waits to make sure she is claimed. Awwww an emotional connection is made!
Was figuring that I might want to do a quick recap of why Min Seok starts pretending to be his older brother. You know, since it is kind of the whole concept of the plot and all. Coming back from Germany (he had been studying abroad since their parents death) to work as head director for Comfo (still think it is an odd name). But for some mysterious reason he does not get on the plane in Germany. He instead calls his younger brother, Min Seok, begging him to go into work and pretend to be him. It's a matter of life and death. I Guess it is convenient having a brother that literally look like your twin for times like these. At first Min Seok refuses, but his feelings of loyalty kick in and we end the episode with him vaulting the school fence to go become his brother.
Random Thoughts
There has got to be some kind of product placement for the popcorn our leading lady was cuddling in her drunken state. I saw it several times, including when the grandfather was stealing a candy bar. It totally worked, now I really really want some popcorn. Well played kdrama marketers, well played.
So far this drama has not been a straight up slap stick comedy. It is hitting the right note of poignant character development mixed with crazy character humor. This is something that is not always easy to achive and I really appreciate the writers attempts to give a very credible back story to every character before throwing them all into the mix. I also appreciate that even the second leads have more going for them than just greed or obsession. I got a sense of real feelings and fears, at least from Jin Woo, and I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here since I suspect it is going to be one huge roller coaster ride of a drama.
Kmuse
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