more Oh My Ghostess
Oct. 19th, 2016 01:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
You guuuuuys I am so in love with this show!!!!! It's like, everything a romcom should be. <333333 I was afraid of it being like Master's Sun, which was a little too heavy on the ghost element for me. Oh My Ghostess is much, much more light hearted, and the ghost stuff is at a bare minimum -- it only actually matters in the context of main characters, rather than as an active plot device that requires the involvement of other ghosts. That probably makes no sense unless you've seen them both, lol.
I am so, so, SO into Kwak Si-yang, who plays Joon. Joon is possibly the most perfect secondary rival ever in terms of Asian dramas, in that he isn't really one. He just shows up from time to time to be fucking awesome. He's super good looking, aloof, perceptive, and kind to the heroine. I just love him. I don't think it's ever happened before that I wished the heroine would be more involved with the secondary love interest, but that is definitely the case here, because she's adorable, he's adorable, and they are adorable together. That said, maybe I feel that way BECAUSE he's not an obstacle to the main pairing; in fact, he ships it himself! Also, it might not even be accurate to call him a secondary love interest, because it's not clear that he actually thinks about her that way... but he's sort of set up as one just because he's so hot and has at least minimal 1:1 interactions with the heroine.
That is not to say that I don't love and appreciate the actual hero. I TOTALLY do. In fact, I'm a little surprised by how much I like Jo Jang-suk. But he's cute, he has great comedic timing and expressions, and his tender looks are great too. And you know what's most awesome of all? He is a fantastic on-screen kisser. :))) I know that's probably a weird thing to flag, but if there's one thing about Asian dramas that's a little less than satisfying it's the kissing. The girls are all so wooden and statuesque, and even when they aren't, it looks super awkward, because the guys try too hard or something. So let me give credit to both Jo Jang-suk and Park Bo-young, because their kissing looks super natural and hot. :D
I love, love, love almost everything about this drama. It's everything I ever actually want in a romcom. The hero and heroine are both wonderful (Park Bo-young is like another Kim So-eun), it makes me laugh a lot, the romance is believable and developed well, the supporting characters are awesome, there's even a little mystery on the side.
My one beef with it, though, is not a small one. I really, really don't like how much Soon-ae monopolizes the screen time. Park Bo-young plays her wonderfully, and she's super cute and charming, but the romance is supposed to be between Kang Sun-woo and Na Bong-sun. Bong-sun is the one who's a real, living girl, the one who has shyness issues and is in love with Sun-woo. Yet everything she has with Sun-woo is thanks to Soon-ae. About 90% of the time Sun-woo has spent with Bong-sun was actually spent with Soon-ae. :/ Me and the Dramabeans recapper really wished they'd have been more equal with that distribution; I have no idea why they weren't. I've just finished episode 13, and everything is out in the open now, so I hope that Sun-woo (seriously, the poor guy) now has a chance to fall in love with the real Bong-sun. They've had their moments, for sure, but a bunch of the seminal stuff -- including the cuteness that he enjoyed -- was actually Soon-ae. :/ The only thing he didn't like about her was how strongly she came on about wanting sex, but he eventually turned the corner on that, too. So I really feel like they kind of robbed the Bong-sun character by not letting her be herself more often when the relationship was building.
It might have even been okay if Soon-ae hadn't then fallen for Sun-woo for real, though of course she can't be blamed. As the Dramabeans recapper points out, he treats her really well, and this is the first time she's ever experienced anything like this.
Or it might even have been okay if Sun-woo had shown any kind of softness for Bong-sun before Soon-ae started possessing her. The only thing was that he enjoyed her blog posts, but that was it, and he didn't even know that was her.
As previously mentioned, I love anything to do with Joon. One of my favorite parts is when Sun-woo accidentally burns Joon's back with a pan, and the following ensues (from Dramabeans):
Or the time Sous Chef is in a bad mood because they've all forgotten his birthday, and he starts raking them alll over the coals for their deficiencies. His criticism of (hot) Joon: “You should stoop more since you're too tall! What are you, a model? You punk, go get a bowl cut or go to a plastic surgeon and get uglier!” LOLOL I can't stop laughing. God I love that whole kitchen. (Kwak Si-yang is 6'2", unusual for an Asian guy.)
Park Bo-young is super adorable and likeable, and I admire her acting chops to be able to convincingly play two different characters to the point that it's easy to tell who she is without us having to be told.
I think it was fairly obvious from early on that Soon-ae's grudge had nothing to do with being a virgin and has everything to do with being murdered, likely by Choi Sung-jae. :/ Other than messing up the main romance more than I would have wanted, I actually really like Soon-ae. She was a vivacious girl in life, who died far too young, and she's also a decent person as a ghost. Some of her behavior was a little manic, but for the most part I thought she was cute instead of getting on my nerves. Apparently that was not the case for some viewers, which is too bad for them considering how much screen time Soon-ae got with Sun-woo.
I cannot imagine how devastating it's going to be for Eun-hee to learn that her kind, supportive husband was actually the one to cripple her, and is in fact, evil to the core. Well, he's a victim himself, as he was a poor orphan boy who had a terrible childhood (though if he was going to suffocate that baby, maybe he was always bad), and then was taken over by an evil spirit. But at this point, his deeds are too connected with him, so I don't see how they can do any kind of ending where he gets the evil spirit exorcised and then is able to move on. It's too bad, and they played the shock factor really well, because the actor was SO good at being kind and earnest that the reveal that he wasn't what he seemed was incredibly shocking.
It's also going to be so devastating for Soon-ae's father, to learn that the cop who he had been so kind to, who had made it a point to keep coming around the restaurant (seriously, that guy is so depraved), was the one who had murdered Soon-ae.
I've even grown to love the unni medium, Sun-woo's mom, and So-hyung, though the last was a long road getting there. I mostly appreciate her from the episode where she accepted that Bong-sun was the one Sun-woo wanted and gave in graciously. I didn't enjoy that she was more of a secondary love interest threat for him than Joon was for Bong-sun; it should have been equal. I also kind of wish that they'd built up the thing with Myung-ho a little more, particularly when Bong-sun left and was staying with the Shins. I also wish Sun-woo had tried a little harder to get in contact with her... we didn't even see him try to call or text her! And he went all the way to her grandmother's but didn't consider that maybe she was with those people down the street who she had helped all those times? I mean, unless at that point he was fully buying her ghost story, but what normal person in their right mind wouldn't harbor SOME doubt still? Enough to at least consider ever possibility. So yeah, kind of disappointed that he didn't even consider it.
Only three episodes left! I'm so sad. Whenever there's a super good show/book like this, I really dread coming to the end, even though I know I'll be happy with it. I might have to immediately rewatch it. >.>
I am so, so, SO into Kwak Si-yang, who plays Joon. Joon is possibly the most perfect secondary rival ever in terms of Asian dramas, in that he isn't really one. He just shows up from time to time to be fucking awesome. He's super good looking, aloof, perceptive, and kind to the heroine. I just love him. I don't think it's ever happened before that I wished the heroine would be more involved with the secondary love interest, but that is definitely the case here, because she's adorable, he's adorable, and they are adorable together. That said, maybe I feel that way BECAUSE he's not an obstacle to the main pairing; in fact, he ships it himself! Also, it might not even be accurate to call him a secondary love interest, because it's not clear that he actually thinks about her that way... but he's sort of set up as one just because he's so hot and has at least minimal 1:1 interactions with the heroine.
That is not to say that I don't love and appreciate the actual hero. I TOTALLY do. In fact, I'm a little surprised by how much I like Jo Jang-suk. But he's cute, he has great comedic timing and expressions, and his tender looks are great too. And you know what's most awesome of all? He is a fantastic on-screen kisser. :))) I know that's probably a weird thing to flag, but if there's one thing about Asian dramas that's a little less than satisfying it's the kissing. The girls are all so wooden and statuesque, and even when they aren't, it looks super awkward, because the guys try too hard or something. So let me give credit to both Jo Jang-suk and Park Bo-young, because their kissing looks super natural and hot. :D
I love, love, love almost everything about this drama. It's everything I ever actually want in a romcom. The hero and heroine are both wonderful (Park Bo-young is like another Kim So-eun), it makes me laugh a lot, the romance is believable and developed well, the supporting characters are awesome, there's even a little mystery on the side.
My one beef with it, though, is not a small one. I really, really don't like how much Soon-ae monopolizes the screen time. Park Bo-young plays her wonderfully, and she's super cute and charming, but the romance is supposed to be between Kang Sun-woo and Na Bong-sun. Bong-sun is the one who's a real, living girl, the one who has shyness issues and is in love with Sun-woo. Yet everything she has with Sun-woo is thanks to Soon-ae. About 90% of the time Sun-woo has spent with Bong-sun was actually spent with Soon-ae. :/ Me and the Dramabeans recapper really wished they'd have been more equal with that distribution; I have no idea why they weren't. I've just finished episode 13, and everything is out in the open now, so I hope that Sun-woo (seriously, the poor guy) now has a chance to fall in love with the real Bong-sun. They've had their moments, for sure, but a bunch of the seminal stuff -- including the cuteness that he enjoyed -- was actually Soon-ae. :/ The only thing he didn't like about her was how strongly she came on about wanting sex, but he eventually turned the corner on that, too. So I really feel like they kind of robbed the Bong-sun character by not letting her be herself more often when the relationship was building.
It might have even been okay if Soon-ae hadn't then fallen for Sun-woo for real, though of course she can't be blamed. As the Dramabeans recapper points out, he treats her really well, and this is the first time she's ever experienced anything like this.
Or it might even have been okay if Sun-woo had shown any kind of softness for Bong-sun before Soon-ae started possessing her. The only thing was that he enjoyed her blog posts, but that was it, and he didn't even know that was her.
As previously mentioned, I love anything to do with Joon. One of my favorite parts is when Sun-woo accidentally burns Joon's back with a pan, and the following ensues (from Dramabeans):
She stops him to put some more ointment on the burn, which sounds really bad out of context, with him grunting, “Unhhhh, be gentle!” Soon-ae: “I’m being really gentle!” Joon: “Uhhh, uuuuuuuh, okay, stop!” Soon-ae: “Hold on, just a little more!” Joon: “Unnhhhhh!”
Of course, Sun-woo follows them just in time to catch the sex noises coming from the storeroom, and busts inside. It doesn’t look all that good, with Joon bent over and his shirt raised, and it’s even more suspicious when they answer awkwardly that Joon was asking her advice on a personal matter.
Joon scurries away quickly, and Sun-woo asks jealously how long they’ve been such close friends. Soon-ae answers vaguely that it’s been a week or two and makes her escape. Sun-woo can’t believe she’s pushing him away with excuses when she’s doing who knows what with Joon. Sun-woo to himself: “Do you ask advice like this? Unnnhhhh! Like that?!”
Or the time Sous Chef is in a bad mood because they've all forgotten his birthday, and he starts raking them alll over the coals for their deficiencies. His criticism of (hot) Joon: “You should stoop more since you're too tall! What are you, a model? You punk, go get a bowl cut or go to a plastic surgeon and get uglier!” LOLOL I can't stop laughing. God I love that whole kitchen. (Kwak Si-yang is 6'2", unusual for an Asian guy.)
Park Bo-young is super adorable and likeable, and I admire her acting chops to be able to convincingly play two different characters to the point that it's easy to tell who she is without us having to be told.
I think it was fairly obvious from early on that Soon-ae's grudge had nothing to do with being a virgin and has everything to do with being murdered, likely by Choi Sung-jae. :/ Other than messing up the main romance more than I would have wanted, I actually really like Soon-ae. She was a vivacious girl in life, who died far too young, and she's also a decent person as a ghost. Some of her behavior was a little manic, but for the most part I thought she was cute instead of getting on my nerves. Apparently that was not the case for some viewers, which is too bad for them considering how much screen time Soon-ae got with Sun-woo.
I cannot imagine how devastating it's going to be for Eun-hee to learn that her kind, supportive husband was actually the one to cripple her, and is in fact, evil to the core. Well, he's a victim himself, as he was a poor orphan boy who had a terrible childhood (though if he was going to suffocate that baby, maybe he was always bad), and then was taken over by an evil spirit. But at this point, his deeds are too connected with him, so I don't see how they can do any kind of ending where he gets the evil spirit exorcised and then is able to move on. It's too bad, and they played the shock factor really well, because the actor was SO good at being kind and earnest that the reveal that he wasn't what he seemed was incredibly shocking.
It's also going to be so devastating for Soon-ae's father, to learn that the cop who he had been so kind to, who had made it a point to keep coming around the restaurant (seriously, that guy is so depraved), was the one who had murdered Soon-ae.
I've even grown to love the unni medium, Sun-woo's mom, and So-hyung, though the last was a long road getting there. I mostly appreciate her from the episode where she accepted that Bong-sun was the one Sun-woo wanted and gave in graciously. I didn't enjoy that she was more of a secondary love interest threat for him than Joon was for Bong-sun; it should have been equal. I also kind of wish that they'd built up the thing with Myung-ho a little more, particularly when Bong-sun left and was staying with the Shins. I also wish Sun-woo had tried a little harder to get in contact with her... we didn't even see him try to call or text her! And he went all the way to her grandmother's but didn't consider that maybe she was with those people down the street who she had helped all those times? I mean, unless at that point he was fully buying her ghost story, but what normal person in their right mind wouldn't harbor SOME doubt still? Enough to at least consider ever possibility. So yeah, kind of disappointed that he didn't even consider it.
Only three episodes left! I'm so sad. Whenever there's a super good show/book like this, I really dread coming to the end, even though I know I'll be happy with it. I might have to immediately rewatch it. >.>
