It's the end! It arrived way to soon and although I wish it could go on for longer at least we get a solid web drama. In episode 5 we take a turn on the artistic concept train, but are left happy and content (I was expecting a lot sadder ending so I will take what I can get) and back to praying for the kdrama gods to get Seo In Guk back into a drama ASAP.
Another Parting Episode 5
We are back in the past. Ha Na is sitting at a large desk with her ex boyfriend who is yelling at her that she is a good singer but needs to be sexier. He then orders his underling to have the stylist show off more of her boobs. Ha Na continues to look a little confused/angry and just gets up and walks out, saying nothing.
We see the opening scene again of her beautifully made up face staring into the mirror, behind her someone starts pounding on the door and her past self + gun yells at her "why did you do that?"
OK I will be totally honest with you all, I have no freaking clue what this next segment means. We hear the haunting tango music and get a montage of her floating through sheer window curtains, bathing in an antique tub, playing with robots, and walking in her old clothes in an empty hallway only a silhouette against the bright lights. Added in the middle was a flashback of her kiss with Hul. Does she remember, is she shooting a MV (because lets admit that Korean MV's can sometimes not make any sense whatsoever.) Is she having a bad acid trip? Who knows. However next we see Ha Na walking down the street looking really fancy and put together, above the news screen flashes that the singer Seo Ha Na was missing and did not turn up for her debut performance. YAY, looks like she did change her destiny and avoided the life of lies that awaited her!
She walks along a very familiar bridge (but at least she looks less suicidal this time) and walking towards her we see a familiar sexy alien. WHAT??? How far back in time did she go? Does she remember him? Wow he looks so sexy in his priest bad boy outfit. But instead of him meeting her we see Ha Na come across the suicidal Ha Na and yell out for her to stop. UMMMMMMMM. I am confused again. The deja vu Ha Na tells the suicidal Ha Na to stay for one more day. They smile at each other and a bus passes in front of the screen and we are left with one Ha Na (the non suicidal one). OK just taking a guess that there was not actually two versions of her, just this signified the emotional journey and finding herself. THE END
MUSIC VIDEO
The opening scene is Ha Na singing in a club, just her and her guitar, looking very happy. She begins the song and a familiar person is in the audience (looking totally yummy). I am just making the assumption that this is not Hul, but his body that he was in. She sings (by the way I love love love this song) and we see scenes from the show flash across the screen. It ends with her walking out into the crowd and kissing Hul (who looks really surprised but not necessarily unhappy about what is happening).
My Thoughts:
Awwwww I like that in our own way we got a happy ending. Usually I would hate that they did the whole, the guy looks like Hul so they are swappable as the OTP, but for some reason it works in this show. It gives me my happy ending and I leave the drama with a tons of happy warm fuzzies. So what if I totally have to take giant leaps of logic to accept everything. Not to mention some of episode five was seriously too much artsy interpretative film for my liking. In the end I left with a very cute OTP that I enjoyed and also a new song to add to my playlist, and most importantly, a whole lot of pretty Seo In Guk scenes etched into my memory. It was a win win for us all.
My thoughts after I had slept on it: So
I contemplated this drama as I went to bed last night and this is what I
decided the final episode means. The duel Ha Na's including the acid
trip artistic scene really means that she was having an internal debate
over what she was going to do with her life. Was she going to change
her direction completely or continue down the path that gave her fame
while still probably avoiding certain pitfalls such as scuzzy ex
boyfriend. I think she did remember Hul the whole time and when she did
not change immediately and continued down the path of fame, old Ha Na
(in her head) came at her yelling at her "what are you doing" deja vu Ha
Na changed her mind and gave it all up to forge a new path. And when
she went on the bridge she came to terms with her old life and her new
life and official decided to embrace a different path and "live another
day". Later she saw Hul's human vessel at one of her performances
(where she kept to her indie music roots) and went and kissed him. I
don't think he is Hul but the human who he inhabited but that they will
end together giving us that happy ending. Sincerely,
Kmuse
P.S. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest recaps and posts. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts
It looks like we might take a turn to the serious in episode 4, but we also get a kiss scene so that might make up for it. Also be sure to check out the new photos of Seo In Guk for International BTN at the end of the recap. Could not resist giving you all a little extra surprise gift since he looks AMAZING in this photo shoot.
Episode 4 - Parting
Remember we left off just as Ha Na and Hul stole a car and were driving off into the sunset (or at least figuratively) for as far as they could go. Turns out that it was not that far since they ran out of gas. So our intrepid couple continues on foot. Where? We don't know, but that is OK since I am pretty sure they don't know either. Pre-planning does not seem to be their forte.
They begin walking and Hul comments about how cold it is. Ha Na actually smiles at him (first time her character has not looked suicidally depressed) and offers him her hand. They walk hand in hand actually looking happy and like a couple on a date. They decide to break into some type of sauna? Community Pool? (I can only assume they break in since they are the only people present.) As they sit staring at the pool, Hul exclaims that it is beautiful and looks like her tears. Ha Na asks if he has never cried and he replies that feelings are gone from his planet.
Ha Na comments that it must be comfortable on his planet with no emotions. Hul replies: " No emotions, no tears. No Tears, no Love." Ha Na tells him she wants to live there, but our sexy alien just looks sad and says "I want to live here." He is silent for a few minutes and then asks "Do you think dust can feel as well?" OH NO..... I am already so sad and he is not even gone yet. All he wants is to be loved.... sob sob sob.
We then get an impromptu swimming scene which I totally support. Both of them jump in clothes and all and swim underwater hand in hand. AWWWWWWW I love this couple so much. It also comes in handy that they can speak telepathically to each other so they can continue to communicate while frolicking like water sprites. She thanks him for stopping her and helping her get through the day since now she thinks she can get through the next. He replies that he has only one day to be with her which make him sad. (Oh the feels..... keep it together Kmuse, deep breaths). They come out of the water. Hul leans in for the kiss. This viewer is waiting with bated breath for "the kiss" and then.......... the stupid cops bang on the locked door of the pool room screaming that they know they are in there. WHAT THE HECK........ Worst timing ever!
Unfortunately that is also the second that his watch of doom's timer goes off telling him his time as a human is up. Hul, grabs Ha Na and tells her it is time to go. Hul looks at her intently and says "If I take you back you have to promise me three things Hana (her name is the same as the word for one) Never Lie to Yourself. Hana never lie to yourself. Hana never lie to yourself. He then slips the pill he was given at the beginning between her lips and kisses her. And wow, I don't know how but this scene just took so much emotionally from me. As he kisses her a single tear runs down his face and time begins to rewind. We see everything flash backwards until she awakes sitting in a seat across from her ex boyfriend who is impatiently trying to get her attention.
OH NO! Does she remember Hul? Is Hul now dust since he gave his way home (still not sure how that all works but it does not matter since I am just living in the world they created and not poking holes) to Ha Na? Does he get an F on his report since he is not able to tell his higher ups why humans cry? What are they going to do tomorrow for the finale? UGH I need answers now! Unfortunately we have to wait tomorrow for the conclusion of the drama.
Also, I just learned that the main point of making this web series was to promote a newer group Melody Day's upcoming single, "Some Kind of Goodbye" which will be released later this week after the finale of the web series. I will be sure to post it in my blog for those of you interested. Until tomorrow I will just leave you with all these pretty new Seo In Guk photos.
Til then,
Kmuse.
PS - Be sure to follow us on Facebook for info on all our newest blog recaps and posts. https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-crazy-ahjummas/336988683021748?fref=ts
For those of you who don't know me outside of my blogging persona, you are probably unaware that I am a HUGE Seo In Guk fan. For that matter I would even declare him my #1 bias out of a huge list of favorite actors. So when I heard that he was going to be in a web series, Another Parting, I was all on board. Make that 100% on board and so happy to see him anywhere since he is currently in between projects. This is my first experience with a web series so I went in knowing nothing about how they work. From watching the first two episodes I guess that they are small 10 min segments of a story. It has a very indie movie vibe but both of the main actors are very memorable and charismatic so I am enjoying it. Since they are so short I am going to do a more tradition recap and of course have a plethora of photos that show how awesome Seo In Guk looks. I know that a bunch of people might not have watched these episodes yet so I am helping you out by posting the youtube links. So watch and after feel free to read my recap so no surprises are ruined. I would really suggest watching them since it is only 10 min for each episode. A really easy and fast treat to end your night. Episode 1 -Meeting
* Be sure to turn on the Closed Captions for subs.
Episode 2 - Hana and Hul
Episode 1
We open our webisode with some sad tangoish music wailing in the background as our leading lady, Hana, walks across a bridge looking resolute and holding a brown paper bag. When I first saw the bag I assumed it held liquor (since here in the US that is usually the bag of shame you get when you walk out of the local liquor store.) but nope, reaching inside the bag she pulls out a gun and walks towards a locked room. She bangs on the door crying and screaming for the person inside to come out. Eventually the door opens and we see a more glamorous and put together version of her. (What? Is she a twin? Is this some serious mental collapse scene where this is all in her head? I am so confused) She screams at the other her "why did you do it?" To which the other her replied "I don't know, you would know better then I". Hana falls to the floor without firing the gun, tears rushing down her face as she completely breaks down.
We next flash to a hospital where we see a sexy (yes, Seo In Guk is sexy even in a coma) man linked on life support. The bleeps on his machine start to speed up and eventually go into that long bleep of death (or in this case it means that he was disconnected from his life support system). The staff rushes into his room but finds that the coma patient has disappeared.
The patient is walking around outside garnering a lot of attention since he is still in his hospital gown and walking sideways (Nothing cries crazy guy like someone doing that weird sideways shuffle). A taxi pulls up next to him and a hand waves him in. Going into a deserted parking lot we see an older ahjumma ask (going to use his name even though we don't learn it til later) Hul if he is dizzy. He says yes he is, and she comments that it is not easy entering into a human body. WHAT WHAT WHAT???? I totally did not realize that this had a supernatural element involved. Seems like we have a body snatching alien situation on our hands and this specific alien (seriously Korea really knows how to do Alien themes right. They are so HOT) is given the task of finding out why humans cry. Now I am not sure why this is a super special study needing to be done by aliens, but from what I can get from reading between the lines, their culture has lost the ability to show emotions like humans do so they are doing a study. Kind of like archeologists studying ancient Greek pots, we humans are the equivalent to pottery. The older alien says that this is something they had never been able to find out and it is the hardest of all the tasks. She then gives him a watch and says that this will tell him when his time is up. He also receives a pill and a warning that if he misses his deadline he will become dust.
She drops him off on a busy street with the suggestion that he get used to walking forward since people don't walk sideways on this planet. We also see that he has had a wardrobe upgrade as he steps out of the cab in an outfit which is a mix of priest, idol, and Korean thug that just looks amazing on him. I especially love the long coat which gives him a sexy bad boy vibe. He looks around then uses his arms to pick up one leg then the other walking forward awkwardly.
He gets started on his quest immediately by going up to random people and asking them where he can find someone who is crying. Needless to say he gets some weird looks and one ahjumma threatens to beat him if he does not go away. He just looks quizzically and asks if that would make him cry. HAHAHA. We see him many hours later walking on the same bridge we saw in the opening scene. He comes across HaNa looking out into the river and crying. He says in his head "I found one".
Episode 2
We pick up right where we left off. Hul finds HaNa crying and staring at the river. She starts to climb the railing and he shouts (telepathically to her) to stop. She pauses and looks over at him and asks "what"? He again tells her telepathically to not jump. I guess this is a big enough reason to make her reconsider killing herself at that moment since she instead goes to a bar with the hottie alien and tells him her woes.
Turns out that she was a top singer/model with fame and the perfect producer boyfriend. That is until the newest rookie replaces her both as the current "it" girl and with her boyfriend. It was even worse that her replacement turned out to be her best friend. Having lost everything she decides to end her life by jumping off the bridge. Hul says that he does not understand this concept of "love" since it is something only read in the history books. Surprisingly she does not seem to be really interested in his otherworldly origins and continues to just focus in on her problems. He asks her if she really wants to kill herself. She shakes her head and says "No. What I really want to do is kill that Bastard." Hul just grins and says "do you want me to kill him for you?"
And now we enter into our Korean Bonnie and Clyde segment of the show. Where HaNa and Hul go on the warpath to hunt down and kill her scumbag of an ex. They look amazingly cool and tough walking down the hallway and she hands him her gun. He smirks and asks if this relic works. They burst into the room where her Ex boyfriend and best friend are entertaining a bunch people. And Hul waves his gun around until he has to pause and ask "which one is your boyfriend?" HAHA
LET'S PAUSE HERE FOR A QUICK MONTAGE OF GORGEOUS SEO IN GUK + GIRL + GUN PHOTOS!
The scummy ex and party seem very unimpressed mocking her and her "fake" gun. That is until Hul fires into the ceiling proving that the gun is real. This of course causes mass panic and the ex hilariously tries to hide himself behind his new girlfriend and eventually the couch. Hul asks HaNa if she wants her ex best friend killed as well to which HaNa stonely says yes. Her Ex BFF is actually surprised and is asking why? what did I do? Hul aims the gun then yells bang bang out loud and blows the end of the gun. He then chucks the gun at one of the guests, grabs a surprised HaNa's hand and they run off hand in hand eventually laughing.
My Thoughts:
So that was a whole huge bowl full of unexpected. I actually love that this show is a lot quirkier then I was anticipating. The synopsis of the web series just stated that it was about two people who found each other at the end of their lives. Which to me screams tears, angst, and either suicide and or terminal illness followed by more crying. So it was a happy surprise to find that it is about a weird body snatching alien finding out about humanity quest. I also love both of the main actors who's style of acting are very dynamic and eye catching. Seo In Guk can do no wrong in my book but I was also happy that I liked Wang Ji-Won. She is an actress that I don't think can pull off perky or happy but as a suicidal crazy singer/killer she can totally excel. I am so sad that this is going by so fast. I believe that there are only 5 episodes which mean only around thirty more minutes of goodness. With the speed of the show we also don't have the time to really flush out any of the characters so we just have to accept them the way they are and rush forward. But since both actors are really selling their roles I will sit back and enjoy what little we get. I hope that all my readers give this series a chance. It is something truly different that everyone can try and enjoy.
