Hello all you kdrama (and specifically Blade Man) fans out there. Kmuse here, a little bit late with my thoughts about episode 5 and 6. I might have had a slight kdrama burnout (1st time in 4 years is not bad) due to some ambiguous OTP situations that are going on (Seriously, how many dramas are they planning on putting out where the lead is undecided. I am NOT a fan). But luckily Blade Man is not one of those shows that shall remain nameless all of TvN's current programming and I actually managed to watch these episodes with some sense of enjoyment. Who knew that a drama with a super hero identity crisis would perk me up so much? But since I am so far behind on the recaps I am going to combine two to make sure I don't find myself finishing up recaps months after the show is actually over.
In my personal opinion, what makes this drama work is Son Se Dong. She is not only the noona who holds everyone together, but is also the moral compass of the drama. Every single character seems to revolve around Se Dong and she continues to make them grow by just being herself. Not only that, but she does it without huge speeches or pleas or extreme gestures. It's the little things like letting a grieving mother feed her, allowing her boss to see how she treats everyone kindly, and holding a young boys hand when he is scared. Small things, but to these damaged people it is life changing. Anyone who eats that much food just to make a senile grandma happy should be nominated for sainthood. I am pretty sure being able to ingest that much food is a miracle in of itself.
My favorite scene from this week was when Se Dong and Hong Bin go shopping in the market. Hong Bin's wallet is stolen and Se Dong takes off after the thief. Hours later Hong Bin is ready to hire extra security to search for her, when in bursts Se Dong, towing the thief behind her. Not only did she capture him, but the use of her new bra as a pair of handcuffs was hilarious. When confronted by Hong Bin as to why she wasted all that for a few dollars, Se Dong informed him that she chased after the thief because the photo of Chang's mother was inside that wallet. Something that is irreplaceable. It is simple things like this that makes Se Dong irreplaceable in the drama.
We also get the official beginning the romance between our two leads. I love how magical the director is making it feel and look. The scene is full of cuteness, pounding hearts, and fireflies? Fireflies suddenly filling the night sky which allows us to witness the OTP (One True Pairing) have their first hug. I love how both looked completely shocked and unsettled. It was the perfect romantic moment for this odd drama, because why should that be mainstream when every other scene is unique and quirky.
Who else was surprised at the new "big bad" that suddenly emerged. I have to admit that I was flummoxed when Hong Bin's housekeeper turned into a mega villain almost equal to that of the abusive father. Shedding her servant disguise she attends a threat filled visit to our least favorite father. Threatening him, she demands that he give the mega mansion (the one that Hong Bin owns) over to her son. The son she had with evil father......ewwww. Those two procreated and produced a son, who I am suspecting, might end up being evil as well. But first they join forces to do, heaven only knows what, to poor little innocent Chang. Evil housekeeper kidnaps him and hands him over to evil father. Wow this takes the drama to a whole new level of evil, but I guess a person who is not against beating up a pregnant women, won't stop at getting rid of an unwanted grandson. Kudos to the writers for blindsiding me with all the crazy plotting going on.
Hong Bin finally learns the truth about what happens when he blacks out. Upon learning that his father had thugs beat Chang's mother, forcing her to flee to America, he goes a tiny bit postal. And since Secretary Studly is not there to make him pass out, he is very aware when he starts sprouting swords. Now at this point a saner person would start wondering if someone had slipped him something extra in his drink. Had he accidentally eaten the wrong mushrooms at dinner? Am I going insane and need to stop at the hospital? But not Hong Bin, he easily accepts that he forces swords from his body when he is angry. Hong Bin not only accepts it, but kind of goes on a power spree bounding across the city like Spider Man. Because that is the first thing I think of, climbing up the side of a building with the swords on my forearms. Hahaha. I am not sure whether I should be wincing at the total cheese of this , or be hoping that we get some more super hero moments. I think I will opt to take whatever the director/writers give us since so far they have not failed to keep me highly entertained.
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It has been an insanely busy weekend for me, so you are getting a mini recap of episode 4. More of a Kmuse's musings if you will. Because sometimes real life just does not seem to want to fit into my blogging schedule. Not to mention there are two new kdramas (Secret Door & The Greatest Marriage) plus a ton of US shows premiering this week that somehow need to fit into my life. Because heaven forbid I miss something good.....or sub-par....OK, I will watch almost anything, but at least I dropped the horrible US reality TV out of my life. See I made sacrifices. HAHAHA
So my first comment is about the cute little gaggle of geeks that follow Se Dong around. A fellow kenthusiast from one of my FB discussion groups, was wondering if we are going to get to know the khottie geek squad more one on one. I personally hope this doesn't happen since I love the feel of this group of boys as a whole. I don't really care about their stories. It is enough to know that they are all total geeks, devoted to their noona, and that they are cute following her around. I don't want any type of romantic love triangle with any of them because it would just feel off. It seems that the writers are gearing up to break one of the khotties off from the group (the guy in the hat. See don't even care enough to learn his name) and make him romantically invested. But when it comes down to it, I JUST DON'T CARE. Remain one of the crowd, I will like you a lot more.
I know that the little boy is traumatized and still young. I know that I should be feeling great sympathy for Chang's emotional turmoil. But it is hard to feel anything when I am trying to stuff marshmallows in my ears due to the overuse of this kids absolutely horrible, nails on chalkboardesque, kill me now so I never have to hear it again, crying. JUST USE YOUR WORDS! I am totally siding with Hong Bin on this one. That horrible sound is enough to drive any parent batty and I literally had to start using the mute function every time he started again. Let's hope that Chang settles down and starts communicating some other way then wail. Might I suggest carrier pigeon, interpretive dance, mimery, or even smoke signals. Anything has to be better than the current status quo.
I start giggling every time Se Dong says "wow". How flipping cute is she, and it is even funnier when she does it over and over. Poor Hong Bin's embarrassment on the bus when she kept "wowing" at every little thing was so cute. That said, we saw a few weak points in Se Dong's character. She is wonderful when she has a goal, when she is on a mission to take care of those she loves, when she is fighting the good fight. But put her in a situation where she just has to be "herself" without plot moving her about, and she falls a little flat. While beautifully filmed, the scene of her going to the country with Hong Din and Chang left her with nothing to do except be nice arm candy. And instead of shining, the character felt a bit simple. I hope that the writers realize this and keep her very active and solving other people's problems in the near future.
Talking about the filming of the road trip to grandpa's house, how beautiful was the scenery and the composition of these scenes? I was highly impressed and wonder if they put this storyline into the show, just to support this cinematography. Makes me want to travel to South Korea and take a meandering excursion through rural countryside.
It's time to stop ignoring the elephant in the room, or more like the giant sword sprouting gorilla, as we see Hong Bin go all King Kong during a lightning storm. I still am not sure how I feel about the literal growing of swords all over his body. On one hand, cool, it is cheesy but different. Not to mention, Who doesn't think Wolverine is sexy? Nothing wrong with a khottie having a iron problem. But then you have the sword suit. I know we have not really gotten a good look at it yet but from what I could see in silhouette and through the rain, I am feeling underwhelmed. Instead of pulling off the concept I feel the director is trying to work around the scenes without showing us anything. When I watched the opening clip I totally had impressions of classics concepts such as Frankenstein, King Kong, and Harry the Angry Hedgehog. I am just not sure if it is working for me. But at least we get to be amused as Secretary Studly finds his charge climbing up the cell tower. I totally remember having that same expression the first time my son tried to go up the cupboards in my kitchen.
I, of course, saved my favorite scene of the episode for last. Namely, Secretary Studly piggy backing his boss through downtown in their robes. How did this come about you might ask? It seems that Hong Bin is starting to retain some memories of his hedgehog nights. There are only so many passed out moments, unexplained cuts, and property damage that can be explained away, even for a narcissistic like Hong Bin. He demands answers. Answers to questions, such as why does he always pass out? Why doesn't Secretary Studly take him to the hospital? How did SS get that huge slash on his arm? Why do I dream I am a human shish kabob? Hong Bin tries to trip up Secretary Ko by asking questions fast and fierce, but this is not our secretary hottie's first rodeo and he is quick on his feet......literally. In an effort to prove that he really did carry Hong Bin from the hotel to the gym, he retraces his supposed route with his boss hanging off his back. If he doesn't make it within 5 min and 36 sec, it will be proof that he lied and who knows where that would lead. In my opinion, this is one of the funniest scenes I have watched this year. Comedic gold.
I am finally seeing a bit of fraying on the edges of this drama.
Episode 4, while still highly entertaining, saw some strain on the
characters development. Will it be able to bounce back? Or is it going
to sink into the melodrama pit of doom? And why do I expect that every episode is going to end in a writing apocalypse. I kind of feel like the writers are Dread Pirate Roberts from princess bride. "Well done Blade Man. It's truly tragic that I'll most likely kill you in the morning".
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It looks like I will be recapping Blade Man. It is not that I don't enjoy Rain's new drama, but when it comes down to it, I think my writing style is more entertaining when the drama recapped is just a bit odd weird unpredictable. Luckily, "Blade Man" fits all my criteria and also has the future possibility of going really downhill fast. YAY? If nothing else I will be able to let the inner sarcastic kmuse out now and then.
For those of you just discovering
our awesome blog, I am Kmuse, one of the two main bloggers in The
Crazy Ahjummas. 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
to ask me in the comments. Or better yet come like our facebook page
and ask me there. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts
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 "Blade Man".
Episode 3 starts right where we left off with Chang (also known as the cutest pouting boy ever) covering his ears and singing a nursery rhyme to himself. Hong Bin pauses, overwhelmed with emotion, as he looks at his son for the first time. Unfortunately for everyone, Hong Bin, being the emotionally stunted man child that he is, is incapable of translating his emotions to the poor little boy and instead ends up yelling at him to stop crying. I foresee some serious Dr Philling from Se Dong, before this relationship is healthy.
Speaking of Se Dong, how cute is her little gaggle of khotties that she takes care of. I can't decide if she reminds me more of mother hen or Snow White taking care of the dwarves, either way there is a huge amount of cuteness going around. Makes this ahjumma suddenly have the urge to adopt a boy band of my very own. Hmmm somehow I don't see my husband being onboard (but my daughters sure would be....kekeke). Se Dong, like the good noona she is, finds herself and the nerd crew a new job and things finally start to look like they are going her way.
Things are not going well at the Joo household. Two very stubborn little boys (Hong Bin is not really little, but the maturity level was about the same) clash as Hong Bin suddenly experiences the joys of parenthood. Hong Bin tries to share his favorite video games, but Chang cries. He tries to share his food with him (kudos to him for actually trying and not just ditching the kid to the staff) but again Chang alternately cries and throws up. What is a poor dad supposed to do, but call the girl that he knows has a rapport with his son.
I don't know what magic the PD pulled for this drama, but I am absolutely loving Shin Se Kyung (Se Dong) in this drama. She is funny, full of heart, resourceful, and really stubborn all in one awesome heroine ball. Called in the middle of the night for a Chang emergency run, she is able to calm the poor boy down. Her version of magic is obviously just what this family needs (I got a little misty eyed watching her interact with the little boy. I am appreciating that behind the crazy story there is a lot of heart).
Hong Bin, realizing a life line when he sees it, attempts to hire Se Dong as Chang's permanent nanny. He is enraged to find out that Se Dong already has a job. Words are spoken, feelings are hurt, and Se Dong ends up storming out of his house. Would have been a perfect exit, if she hadn't forgotten her purse and phone inside the Mansion. But when Se Dong tries to enter the house, alarms go off and Hong Bin (in a moment of pettiness) allows the cops to be called. Afterwords Hong Bin threatens to have her arrested as a thief if she does not become his nanny. Bwahaha If Hong Bin is this bad over just a caregiver, imagine how insufferable he will be when he is in love.
Se Dong calls his bluff and actually phones the police herself, declaring that Hong Bin needs to be arrested for defaming her name. BWHAHAHA. Poor Hong Bin is forced to back down and even apologize for his actions, much to the disbelief of his staff. I love how his housekeeper even faints from shock. It is so nice to see a leading lady not be in awe over the TKJ's (Typical Korean Jerks) wealth and privilege.
Se Dong's humiliation of Hong Bin was not going to go unchecked. Spending the night pacing around his mansion trying to figure out a suitable punishment, he finally falls asleep giggling like a loon. Khottie is starting to look crazy, usually not a good thing for those around him.
When Se Dong and the geek squad arrived for work the next day, they find the company closed and abandoned. It seems that it went mysteriously bankrupt after hiring them. Hahaha, Hong Bin impatiently awaits Se Dong's call and the acceptance of his job offer. And being in dire straights with a gaggle of khotties to take care of, Se Dong finally gives in. However judging from the amount of effort Hong Bin is putting forward, and his gobsmacked expression after Se Dong accepts his job proposal, it is obvious who the boss of the house is going to be.
My Thoughts:
If you take away all the crazy special abilities and spiked back, this show really is all about forming connections. Whether it is between our OTP (One True Pair), a father and son, or a gaggle of khotties and their honorary mom. I love the heart in the drama that is buried beneath the show's glitzy gimmicks. It is this that keeps me watching, while the occasional King Kong superhero moments continue to make me anxious. Not that I don't enjoy them, but these scenes continue to put the drama on the edge of a crap filled abyss. Let's hope it can continue to go forward, entertaining and quirky and not fall in.
Oh, "Blade Man" (previously known by the title "Iron Man") how you entertain me. So much to say, (some of it actually complimentary which is unexpected) so much to mock and question "what the fudge?" I am not sure if I will actually be recapping this drama (Rain's big comeback starts next week, so there is stiff competition for my recapping attention), but I at least wanted to put some of the many thoughts I had while watching this drama, to paper (or whatever the online equivalent of paper is). Who knows, this show might engage my creative juices, even though I am still predicting an epic crash and burn situation. But just imagine the literary bonfire it could create. It might even provide a better mocking recap than Gap Dong, and Gap Dong was pretty epically mocked.
I will admit that I started watching Blade Man simply to see how bad it was. How can I pass up the opportunity to watch a drama where the man literally has blades growing from his body. Simply consider all of the questions this abnormal feature brings forward. Where do the blades come from? Is this a hereditary problem (judging from his father and the actions of his butler I would not be surprised) or just a special one time thing? How does he not know that he is having fits of rage that result in the springing forth of swords? And most importantly, Why is he so angry?
Let's start off with a recap of our characters.
Joo Hong-Bin (Lee Dong Wook - Hotel King) is our leading man and VERY VERY VERY angry. "Why is he angry" you might ask? Hmmmm I am not sure if we get a really good reason for his anger issues. He does have a cold, controlling, jerk of a father (but so do 90% of all kdrama leading men). His girlfriend was poor and left him because of his father, but really I was expecting at least a murder/accidental death of so said girlfriend, to be the reason for his anger. Nope, she was alive and having his child in America (since the child is now alone in Korea, I can only assume that she is now dead) so that can't really be the reason. From what I can tell so far, the only reason for his extreme anger is a jerk father and a feeling of entitlement. You might be asking again "Kmuse, what makes him different from every other jerk Chaebol in a kdrama?" The extremeness of his anger is what makes him different. He not only is angry, but literally beats, destroys, decimates, anything or anyone in his way when he loses his temper. It was at such a level of abuse that I winced when he was chucking computers and other office items at his two employees when they did not meet his standards. It went way past the line of funny to very uncomfortable.
Let's take a break from the unfortunate subject of his abuse and focus instead on all the quirks the writers decided to give him. I have this image of a bunch of writers trying to figure out what super powers to bestow upon our hero? Then when they got to the end of the day and were still debating, they just said screw it... lets put them in a bowl and whatever we pull out is what we will go with. Seriously, I am pretty sure that is how it went. Either that or they were really really drunk.
Let's tick them off. Most obvious of course are the bounteous swords that come out of his body when he gets angry (or more importantly, when he tries to control his anger and not physically beat anything). Second is the ability to create rainstorms and cause electrical power outages. Why? How does this at all relate to the swords and how does he not notice that this happens every time he loses his temper. Finally we come to the oddest ability of all, Hong Bin has a super sniffer. Yup, he can smell everything even if it is far away and this of course causes him massive anger. Anger at the maids for using the wrong detergent, anger at his staff for using too much cologne, anger at the housekeeper for having spoiled marmalade in the fridge. How can a poor man focus when he has to get angry about so many things.
Luckily there is one person who does not send his super sniffer into a tizzy. Our poor plucky heroine (of course she must be poor and plucky, for what good kdrama superhero story would write it otherwise.) has the magical scent (maybe her shampoo) that does not make our angry hero, well, angry. Son Se Dong (Shin Se Kyung - Fashion King) is the catnip to Hong Bin's cat and it cracks me up when he goes into a kind of serene trance anytime she is nearby (check out the below picture and understand that Hong Bin is standing there sniffing her essence. Se Dong of course thinks he is some kind of sniffing pervert.
Se Dong is not just any random good smelling female. She is also part of a team which designed a game that was bought/stolen by Hong Bin's company. One of the co-creators of the game sold it out from under the rest of his group and ran off to America with the money. Se Dong being the leader of the remaining geek brigade goes to Hong Bin's workplace to demand that he hire them to finish up the game. Lots of cute arguing happens between the two, but the issue about the game remains unresolved. Unfortunately for Se Dong, the Geek Brigade got drunk and decided to take justice into their own hands. Spray painting a clever design and the words thief on Hong Bin's imported stone wall, they were all arrested and it is up to Se Dong to come up with the money to pay restitution. This forces Se Dong to get a job caring for a little boy (Chang) which leads us to the next character in our lineup.
Chang, cute little six year old ball of adorableness. He is the son of Hong Bin and ex-girlfriend who fled to America. Abandoned under unknown circumstances and brought to Korea by a shady neighbor Ahjumma. He was then abandoned again in the airport by Shady Ahjumma and picked up by Se Dong who had been tracking down her game stealing coworker. Chang took a shining to Se Dong and when he would not stop crying the police agreed to let her take him home (and later agreed to pay Se Dong if she became his caregiver while they searched for Chang's guardians). Only in Korea will they let some random stranger off the street take home a perfectly good little kid with no background checks. I am totally having a face palm moment at this plot twist. I foresee this being the driving force between Se Dong and Hong Bin's relationship. Not only will Se Dong have to cure Hong Bin's "anger issues" but will also forge a bond between father and son, support the Geek Brigade, battle Hong Bin's evil father, and manage to not stab herself on her future boyfriend's swordy back during any back hugs that may occur. That is going to be one busy heroine.
I saved my favorite character for last! The super talented, ever sexy, khottie of all khotties, Secretary Ko! Or as I will call him in the future (if I actually end up recapping this of course) Secretary Studly. He is AWESOME! Not only does Secretary Studly handle Hong Bin and his anger related rampages with a delicate touch, he is efficient (ordering new equipment to replace everything his boss breaks), has the reflexes of a ninja (seriously he is either a ninja or an alien with superpowers of his own.....I am not putting anything past these writers), and somehow hides his boss's sword sprouting secret from everyone........including his boss. How Secretary Studly manages to keep that secret a secret is beyond me. I about died laughing when he hefted Hong Bin over his shoulders, running away from a father induced fight, to avoid sword sprouting consequences. Secretary Ko truly puts all other secretaries to shame.
Overall Thoughts:
In all its crazy, I actually was highly entertained. I compare it to a more Manga/Japanese style of drama due to its topic and over the top style. It was a total shock since, after seeing the trailers and posters, I was expecting a train wreck of epic proportions. But the extreme overacting worked in the context of the story and for once Lee Dong Wook's crazy angry eyes fit the characters storyline. The extreme expressions actually made me buy his character more then if they had tried to play this off in a more realistic manor.
The same can be said of Shin Se Kyung's performance. Is it overacted to the nth degree? Yes, but considering I hate Shin Se Kyung's usual acting style, this was a wonderful surprise. I have hated her past work so much she was even in my top 5 least favorite actress list, one to be avoided if at all possible. So you can imagine how much better she would have to be for me to praise her. Is Se Kyung suddenly a great actress? No, but she is tolerable and works within the premise of the story.
I loved how innovative the director was in using the fast switches between camera angles and odd framing of characters in the shots. Their bodies are all falling off the edge of the shots. It made the show seem fresh and caught my attention. It was nice to see something different then the boring back and forth between two characters.
That said, I am still kind of expecting things to go down in a ball of flames. I just don't think that this type of pace can be kept throughout the whole drama and if it sinks into the melo-zone, then all the things I like about it now are going to disappear. So I am hesitant to commit to weekly recaps. What do you think? Should I go for it and chance a possible disaster, or go with a more safe drama like Rain's upcoming romantic melo? I am torn.
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