Friday, November 13, 2015

'She Was Pretty'



Ugh how cute is he.


So I just finished watching She Was Pretty. Pretty sure I've mentioned it before. It's this Korean drama I've been watching for the past 2 months. I'm about to attempt on a drama review because I have so much to talk about and no one to talk about it to ('cept for a very few. Hi, Nana!). I'm no good at writing so descriptively like how I've read in some reviews (the one at Dramabeans write SO well, I sometimes just read random reviews for her writing!)

That said, I might have bits and pieces of spoilers in this post so if you're planning on watching this lovely show, please refrain from reading.

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See, I'm nice enough to even put a border so that you stop reading. Regardless, I'll try to not spill too much for you.


Oh my god. Do I love this drama or do I love this drama? It's so fun, so sweet, so loud, so bright (literally, the scenes were all shot so brightly, almost bordering over-exposure) and really makes you feel so warm about everything.

It's 16 episodes and I went through it weekly, so I didn't binge watch it or anything like that. This is my first Korean drama since Pride & Prejudice which was AGES ago. Nothing really piqued my interest and there have been dramas that I just gave up on the first/second episode. I've even watched one drama HALF WAY in (that's dedication guys, seeing how an episode is like an hour long).

What I LOVE about this show is how it is just very sweet and everything just comes down to love. In the sweetest and most genuine way.

Take our Idiot Reporter Shin Hyuk for instance. Played by the MOST wonderful Siwon. Honestly, this guy. What an actor. He serves as the comic relief for the show and he does it so well! Sometimes, I get really peeved with how unnatural some comedic acting can be but he does it so natural, so fun, makes you want to be his best friend. And given Hye Jin's appearance and careless behaviour, this goof ball still falls for her. The first of many lines that just melted me to slosh was

Hye Jin : I was really pretty back in the day! Hard to believe, right? But I really was!
Shin Hyuk : You still are.
HJ : Huh?
SH : I said, you still are. Beautiful.

And this was one of the few moments that he was not crazy or joking around. Which made it even sweeter. Given his playful manner, it can be easy to doubt his intentions and his feelings. Like was he for real or is he just brushing it off like it didn't matter? But although he was in high spirits all the damn time, you can still tell his feelings for Hye Jin grew more and more and more as they became close. It was very heart-warming to see him fall for all that she was in present day, frizzy haired and all.

Also, can we spare like 5 minutes to appreciate Park Seo Joon. I've decided. I'm going to watch everything he'll be in in the future. Such a good actor. It was very difficult to like him in the beginning because of how cold he was and how dismissive he was to Hye Jin. It did concern me a bit with how he was so obviously annoyed at Hye Jin at the start. Like??? She's your best friend and she must've been like that before so why you hating now?? Was it because she's not pretty now? I was annoyed at a point because here you have Shin Hyuk gazing lovingly at this girl from the next desk only to see her looking at Sung Joon. Like, girl??? You have someone who loves you flaws and all (cue Beyonce) and you're still blind?? To be perfectly honest, I was unsure of who I liked her better with right until the last episode. That was how much Shin Hyuk's feelings for her touched the hearts of the audience.

Although, there was a turn in the show where Sung Joon started showing his interest in Hye Jin. And this all before even knowing that she was the Hye Jin that he knew since he was a kid.

My other favourite scene ever in the show was when Sung Joon affirmed his feelings for her

"Even before I knew you were my Hye Jin, I liked you. It's always been you. Then, it was you. Now, it's you. And in 50 years, it'll still be you."

OMG MELTING RIGHT NOW JUST EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT I SWEAR THIS HYE JIN IS SO DAMN BLESSED TO HAVE A GUY WHO CAN SPURT OUT RIDICULOUSLY SWOON-WORTHY THINGS LIKE THAT AND ALL WITH AN HERMES SCARF WRAPPED AROUND HIS COLLAR (can't decide whether fab or tacky).

It was also heartbreaking to see Ha Ri falling for Sung Joon. It was finally time for her to realise what a real man looks like and it just had to be Sung Joon. She was radiating at the thought of Sung Joon but every outing, every date, every contact was accompanied with guilt. I didn't particularly like how dismissive Sung Joon was after finding out about Ha Ri. Like, how brief was that mini crisis!?!?! Min Ha Ri has equally a beautiful heart and the friendship between her and Hye Jin was so touching - these girls love each other like no other, always looking for one another and that part when Hye Jin rushed home from a date with Sung Joon (after finding out that he just left after confronting Ha Ri?!?! rude!) just to comfort her best friend. With Hye Jin, you really don't know who mattered more, the love of her life or the friend she's had forever. And I really liked that - she didn't weigh one over the one which was is just evidence of what a person Hye Jin is.

It was SO heartwarming to see Sung Joon's guards come down as the show progressed. He started acting cute and obvious and when he started warming up to Hye Jin during their little business trip, it was really refreshing to see a hard-exteriored character like him to finally just take a break. Even if he and Hye Jin didn't end up together, they would've been great friends still. He's still tough on his staff and with his work but only because he wants to take care of them. He found how much he liked this odd and crazy Hye Jin - which showed that he wasn't biased with his love for his childhood friend 'Hye Jin' who was played by Ha Ri (man, this must sound really damn confusing for anyone who hasn't watched this and is just reading this post for fun).

I didn't really like Hye Jin's character. I wasn't so sure if I didn't like the acting or the script. It was too forced. Her energy level was too much for me. Like, every little thing was just 10% too much. I mean, obviously you can't blame this on Jung Eum, it could've been the directors preference but it was endearing at first but it just got a bit much. The carelessness and messiness of her character looked a bit strained. Like, the stuttering and the shouting. Her chemistry with Sung Joon, although the relationship was so cute, didn't really do it for me. I thought it did at first but I've been watching this other show, Bubblegum, main roles played by Dong Wook and Ryeo Won and their chemistry is infectious and sickeningly good so I couldn't help compare the two shows. But Seo Joon is a brilliant actor - every time he shoots a loving look to Hye Jin, it felt like a literal shot to the heart and you're just left there thinking "They can't possibly be someone so in love like that". I had to constantly pause and scream into my pillow and slap myself before I could resume watching the show. The way he looks at her wins you every time. And he looks like a damn good kisser too at that. I liked how this show didn't really fake kisses too. I cringe at shows (cough The Heirs cough) with awkward kissing scenes - like you either want it or don't, guys, don't just touch lips and not go for it?????

And did you not just DIE at Hye Jin and Shin Hyuk's last goodbye ? Man, he really liked her. And when he told her to not go after she got a call from Sung Joon broke my already broken heart in more bits and pieces. Like, we're talking about a guy who steals underwear from his boss. For him to go '가지 마' (don't go) was award-winning. Loved his character perhaps the most because not only was he always in high spirits, but you can tell with this guy he'll love you with this all. Such a character - I'm going to miss Siwon and Shin Hyuk.

I got a bit peeved that Sung Joon didn't say a word about Hye Jin's make-over when it happened but now that I think about it, I'm glad he didn't. Because otherwise it would've been as if he's now attracted to her even more with her looks. Which was not the point of the show. I liked how he started  falling for her even before that and the fact that he didn't say anything about her make-over showed how much he didn't really care for all that. I also LOVED in particular, how Shin Hyuk particularly noticed the difference in her personality after her make-over. It became noticeably 'blah' after she got pretty. She was already pretty before this, anyway. This story was basically a message about how inner beauty can and should trump outer beauty. With a personality like Hye Jin's, who wouldn't love her.

All in all, I absolutely loved this show and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. It's a light hearted show about love and warmth and like I said before, I'm no good with descriptives but that's basically what it's about.

God knows how many times I've suppressed screams and shrieks to not let my housemates wake up, out of pure SWEETNESS. My heart beats fast to when I think about how simple Sung Joon's proposal to Hye Jin was. I was just aching after that. Couldn't deal. How simple but how bloody ridiculously annoyingly cute??!!!!! And how many times have I cried?!?!?!!?! More than I really should but that's besides the point.

Sigh.

I can't believe it's finally ended. I've endured 9 weeks for this show and so worth it, waiting impatiently every Wednesday and Thursday. It's the cutest love story, with such interesting characters (we can't ever forget the very garish Kim Ra Ra and her random Italian greetings! I predict they'll be a big thing to reference She Was Pretty with!). What am I going to look forward to on Wednesdays now???? I really, really hope Seo Joon gets involved with a new drama very soon because I'm such a fan of his (his face doesn't hurt either, so much prettiness in a guy i'm sobbing) and I hope that with this show he goes higher and further!

AND! Siwon is about to go to military (so his goodbye in the show was like a real good bye to everyone which made it even sad for me. Also, if you listen to the lyrics (ok fine, google translate them), you'll just CRY at his song for the show. It was played in a very prominent part of the show and made me cry buckets so whenever I hear the song, I get so emotional!) so we won't see him for the next 2 years in any acting project but let's hope the next 2 years come soon enough. I can't wait to see him in more dramas like this!

I'm such a huge fan of light-hearted dramas like this where girl likes boy and boy likes girl and they exchange loving gazes at each other when one's not looking and this was that show for me. Now that it's ended, I'm really going to miss the characters and the whole show. Made my heart smile, this one.

xx

4 comments:

  1. such a GOOD review! then, you should watch 'It's okay, that's love' or 'Pinocchio'. So many emotions ^^

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  2. Aww thank you! I have actually watched Pinocchio but it has been some time since I did but that show was also very very good! Thanks for reading! xx

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  3. hi Nadia! I have been your silent reader for a while and I decided to approach you on this post because I just loveeeeee Park Seo Joon. He is such a wonderful actor aren't he? Have you watched his previous drama witch romance? OMG! He made all the noona fall for him. Just so so sweet. Hehe. Hi again!

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  4. Hi Najwa! Thanks for reading my blog! And I know right, SUCH a dreamboat! Although he just finished She Was Pretty, I already can't wait for him to get into a new drama. And no, I haven't watched Witch Romance. Been busy watching on-going dramas. I'll check that out soon.
    Thanks again for reading!! xxx

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