first impression: The Moon That Embraces the Sun (Korean)

What better way to start off a series than with a short legend about the moon and the sun, some assassin killings in the night, a dash of political intrigue, a few significant deaths, a tragic prophecy, and some juicy court conspiracies? It's always a good sign when the first few minutes of a series manages to rein you right in, living up to all the hype that we've been hearing about over the past couple weeks. It's exciting and you get that spine-tingling thirst to keep watching (much like I had had when I was watching Tree With Deep Roots). While it's not the most original of plot devices hovering the first episode, it's really the atmosphere, the actors, the premise, and the tragic romance that's reeling me in (it's all about feel for me, really).

And yes, I know that I'm probably way late in putting out a first impression post for The Moon That Embraces the Sun, but I guess the term to use would be: "Better late than never." Right?

I DO apologize though (and we may skip the next two or three paragraphs if no one cares to hear my excuses and rantings) -- I had been planning on watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun since the very moment I heard about it. I mean, who could forego a series that was slated as a "from the makers of Sungkyunkwan Scandal" type of series? I loved Sungkyunkwan Scandal in all it's insightful, witty, beautiful and idealistic glory (shoddy ending included). And then after boarding the Dream High train and riding it all the way through to the end within two nights, I was hooked on the next Kim Soo Hyun project (because Song Sam Dong rules, doncha know!). Add the ever awesome Jung Il Woo into the mix right after I finished falling in love with him from Flower Boy Ramyun Shop.... I'm totally and permanently onboard this one!

And so it was unfortunate that so many factors had made it so hard for me to even start touching this series. And now I regret that I hadn't tried harder. The first English subbed online streaming version didn't even show up until about five to six episodes into the series. By then, I was in the middle of wrapping up thoughts on other series (which doesn't show since I've finished my articles and have yet to "complete" them enough for publishing). On top of that, I had this really overwhelming feeling that settled on my shoulders the moment I thought about watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun after I had already chosen to pick up Wild Romance, Color of Woman and Skip Beat! (none of which I have bothered to touch for a few weeks now).

I was under the impression that if I started watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun, I would have to blog about it (at the very least, a first impression post and some random thoughts as the series progressed). By the time I was resigned to start watching this series, the girls over at Dramabeans as well as all the media about ratings on this series had raved so much about the grandness of it all that I was worried I wouldn't know WHAT to write about it for myself. For me, it was a matter of: What good would I be if others are already putting such great recaps and thoughts on this series out for the public to bask in? Nonetheless, I still wanted to put my own two-cents in anyway and so I conflicted over how I would approach the series as a blogger. (Ultimately, I may end up rounding up the first impression post followed by random discussion articles, much like I had done so for Warrior Baek Dong Soo which was completely finished airing by the time I decided to get back to it.)

And then the following three series decided to start airing, all at the same time: Dream High 2, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, and Operation Proposal. All three of these, I had been anticipating just as much as The Moon That Embraces the Sun; and while only two of them are really showing good promise to the series' progression and the story line development, I still had my plans to blog about them.

Finally, I told myself, I should just jump into this and not really think about it (it also helps that I've already gotten my first impression posts for the above three series posted). I'm not a professional critic -- I just write about drama series, movies, etc., because I like to write about them. The reason I stopped writing in my anime blog was BECAUSE I overwhelmed myself by trying to get too serious and too "professional" about posting regularly and in specific form. I told myself before that I would NOT do that with this drama zone blog and I intend to stick within my comfort zone.


***

So what did all of that above really mean?

It meant that I wanted to make sure I had enough filler to meet my "articles should at least be this long" quota. That way, I'm not tempted to reiterated in different ways how much I'm enjoying just the first episode of this series already. Vague phrases such as: "I really love this series!" or "The series is onto a good start." or "I will totally continue to ride this exciting train of mysticism and wittiness!" type of redundancy can tell just about anyone what I'm thinking so far. But that only gives me so many sentences to include in the article and then what good would it be for me to have a blog. Because we ALL know that I'm going to continue watching The Moon That Embraces the Sun, no matter what.

But anyway... enough about me and back to the actual series now, no?

On a side note, the scenes are all really pretty, from the interior scenes of the palace, to the outside references to the moon, etc.... Sungkyunkwan Scandal had the same feel to it as well, sometimes giving even the most hilarious moments a beautiful backdrop.

As an introductory, we start off strong with a nice little court conspiracy. The dowager queen tasks her court lacky, Lord Yoon Dae Hyung to get rid of the other "Sun" who may threaten her emperor son, Seongjo's position as the current (fictional) king of the Joseon era. And so the Prince Uiseong's death is planned along with some framework set to make the death out to be an act of suicide via guilt of treason. Our first encounter with a shaman, Ahri shows us a woman who senses "murder in the air" and rushes off to Uiseong's only to witness his death; escaping her own imminent demise at the hands of assassins, Ahri rushes off and ends up falling off a cliff. We cut to Seongsucheong, the Office of the Shamans wherein the Chief of the Shamans seems to sense something amiss in the air, confirming her discomfit with the absence of Ahri. We learn from a conversation between the dowager queen and Lord Yoon that Ahri may have been in a forbidden romance with Prince Uiseong since she used to be his slave and so decide to throw her into the conspiratorial framing of treason as well. Since the Chief of Shamans (for whatever reason) serves the dowager queen loyally, they task the woman to confirm that Ahri had part in wanting her "lover" to become king and had created talismans for this to occur.

We learn a whole lot of things within these first ten minutes of introductory story building (which is really nice because there would be a lot of questions otherwise). And the best part is that there is no dragging moment and we get through it all rather quickly; it doesn't seem rushed either since we're in the midst of WANTING to move onto the "present-day" story line (even IF the next part involves the kids instead of the anticipated "adults" of the series).

And so what else happens? Ahri escapes the assassins with the help of a noblemwoman, Lady Shin who is pregnant and kind. But it seems that the fate of Lady Shin's unborn child has already been written. Ahri foresees a tragic end to the noblewoman's unborn daughter, but cannot say anything about it. When we get flashes of the future, our suspicions are confirmed: the unborn child will be the future Wol (Han Ga In) who is known as Heo Yeon Woo until she is stricken with tragedy and loses her memory. Her life plays a huge role in the lives of two boys, Crown Prince Lee Hwon and his brother Prince Yang Myung, as the "moon" to both "suns".

With this event set in place, the story line takes off with a strong, solid foundation that I'm sure will continue to satisfy and fascinate (according to reviews and ratings) as the series progresses. While this wasn't exactly the best of the best in crop of pilot episodes, it had its attractiveness, though it feels as if it'll take another episode or two for the rest of the story line's excitement to pick up. Granted, there was enough excitement to kick-off the build-up of our world and our story, it doesn't stray far from standard historical court conspiracies and talk of fate and destiny and the like.

What I like about this first episode are the characters and a slight feeling of the mysticism, set up for all that symbolism of the Moon and the Sun references. Of course, I really DO hope that we don't overplay the Moon/Sun symbolism; because, well, I get it and there's no need to keep hammering in the connection of the Moon's (Wol) fate with the two Suns (Lee Hwon and Yang Myung). Don't get me wrong, the symbolism is excellently set in place, but too much harping about these Moon/Sun connections and it could get to be too annoying.

For the latter half of the first episode, we very quickly meet our three main leads in their "childhood" versions: Kim You Jung as Heo Yeon Woo, Yeo Jin Ku as Lee Hwon, and Lee Min Ho as Yang Myung. The three quickly become stand-out characters (of course with the excellent acting talent behind them, we've never had a doubt). More symbolism comes into play as each of the three have their own thoughts about each other's encounters: 1) Lee Hwon wonders if he'll ever get to meet Yeon Woo again; 2) Yeon Woo, upon learning that the boy she met is the Crown Prince, is relieved she'll never have to meet him again; and 3) Yang Myung watches Yeon Woo from afar, thinking to himself that it's great to be able to meet her again.

So it's another play on a forbidden romance in standard tragic rom-com glory with a couple who are fated to fall in love but cannot be together. All the while, we've got our third and fourth wheels diligently standing off to the side playing their parts. Of course, somehow I feel like Yang Myung's part will be much more significant than the part of the "other girl" who has yet to make her presence in the story line. But then again, what do I know since I've just started watching. I'm just going by simple standard romance tropes to make my predictions.

Other kids are also introduced as well, but not as in depth such as the teenage version of Seol, who is to become Wol (Yeon Woo)'s bodyguard in later story progression; Yeon Woo's brother Yeom, and the last boy to make up the best friend group a boy named Woon.

And already I'm loving the interaction between these kids. If I hadn't been anticipating this series in the beginning, after the appearance of these kids, I would be totally sold on this train. For instance, Yeon Woo starts off quiet and all-noble-like so I didn't have much of an impression of her. But then she starts talking and I'm taken aback at how spunky and brave she is. She's a young girl filled with ideals, wit, logic, and tons of spunk to boot (and she kind of reminds me of a younger version of Kim Yoon Hee, only with less bitterness and pride). Lee Hwon is showing us how quickly he can go from Crown Prince mode, to "just another young boy with his own ideals" mode and I'm sure it will be intriguing to continue following him. As for Yang Myung, he's created very much for the role of the good man -- I'm already feeling kind of heart broken for him because of all the "illigitimacy" issues he's had to go through as well as all the hardships he will be incurring for the sake of his beloved little brother.

The kids are so much fun and so in depth already that I know I'm going to miss them when they're gone. I look forward to seeing the appearance of Kim Soo Hyun and Jung Il Woo, but the "kids" of this series are already laying such a great foundation that it'll be hard to decide what I prefer to be watching more.

Again with the common phrase: "This series is starting off on very solid ground." And I mean it too. And seeing as how people have been raving about the rest of the series, I know I won't be disappointed for its progression at all. Of course, I only hope that I will have more thoughts to come soon (and that I can find a healthy balance between five different drama series and a book I'm trying to finish).


On a side note, there is a fascinating connection between two of our Moon/Sun cast members. My parents had just recently finished watching Giant which featured Yeo Jin Ku and Kim Soo Hyun playing the childhood versions of two of the main male roles, a set of brothers. And so it comes as a surprise to me that these two were actually cast as a set of brothers in one series, but now, in Moon/Sun, Yeo Jin Ku plays the child version of Lee Hwon while Kim Soo Hyun gets to carry on the "adult" version. The age difference is NOT at all that big between both boys, so it's kind of interesting and I wonder what type of basis the production staff used for this casting. I mean, I'm not complaining since both are excellent actors; I'm just wondering how this happened. Yeo Jin Ku, while able to pull off many child versions of main male leads, I would have never placed him as the child version of a character who's "adult" version is played by Kim Soo Hyun, just because neither of them look like they're passed the stage of young adult-hood anyway.

No biggie though; just a connection that I found amusing.

Anyway, I'm now off to finish the rest of what I can for The Moon That Embraces the Sun with high anticipation for its glory.

***

Props to Ahri (Jang Yeong Nam) who turned in a really creepy awesome performance in her dying  moments during torture.

news: Sam Dong's Dream High 2 Cameo

Hell yea!

Clicky to Read!!!
source:  Dramabeans

Yes, I watched Dream High in a two day sitting. Yes, I really enjoyed it A LOT. And yes, I would love a Kim Soo Hyun cameo in the upcoming all over, hyped up Dream High 2. This is totally an excellent marketing ploy since people who loved Dream High also loved Song Sam Dong in all of his cute country-bumpkin-turned-hot-guy glory. I certainly was impressed by the character as well as Kim Soo Hyun's portrayal -- and his singing voice was nothing short of excellent as well. Even though Dream High wasn't exactly what I would call the best drama series (since it felt more like an idol marketing promo that lasted 16 hours), it was like guilty pleasure crack and I was sold on it every minute.

So, yea, I'm looking forward to seeing Dream High 2, although I will admit I've had my reserves. Sequels usually don't hit the spot as well as the original, and I've seen many a drama series suffer from the "Bad Sequel Syndrome" wherein it either doesn't live up to its former, or it tries too hard to be individual and ends up planking. So with a now known cameo of Kim Soo Hyun, I would start watching it just to see his appearance.

Oh, yes, then there's Jiyeon too. I like her, but I've only ever seen her in God of Study, so it's not like I can really critique what I feel her acting should be like. Although the poster seems to lean heavily on the fact that she might be the "main antagonist" -- like the first Dream High's Yoon Baek Hee, played by fellow T-ara member Ham Eun Jung. A little disheartening, but we'll see where the series takes our kids.

Anyway, in other Kim Soo Hyun related news from Dramabeans (which is more heavily Jung Il Woo centric), the "adult" cast of The Moon That Embraces the Sun will be appearing in the next few episodes. And here I am, not even having seen the first episode at all yet. I'm having some issues finding any streaming where there are English subtitles (or I'm not looking hard enough), and I'm sighing up a storm of silent tantrum at the fact that I can't follow the series at the same time as everyone else. Drama Fever won't even be streaming it until about a month from now. I guess by then I'll just have to watch it all the way through without getting to blog about it too much -- there's good and bad about that, I guess.

news: Moon and Sun and Snow and Jung Il Woo...

Goodness has this been a busy last few weeks of December! I keep finding more stuff to blog about (which is not a bad thing). Unfortunately, it's going to make my next few months pale in comparison since I'm planning on slowing down a little. Of course, if a nice new series comparable to City Hunter or Flower Boy Ramyun Shop grabs my attention, then maybe I'll be busy with more articles. At the very least I won't have to resort to filler 'intro info' stuff about series that are two or three years old. Not like I won't try though, cause I've got a lot of posts written to completion (they just need some nice screen caps to go with them).

Anyway, well it has become a daily thing for me to check Dramabeans for new posts on entertainment news, episode recaps... the like. A few weeks ago, I saw this article:

Clicky to read

And since I fell in love with Jung Il Woo's Chasung rich brat in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, the picture and the name "Jung Il Woo" piqued my interest enough to read the article. Reading the description of Jung Il Woo's new role in this The Moon That Embraces the Sun series, penned as a fantasy-sageuk, javabeans notes: "...Jung Il-woo plays [Kim Soo Hyun's] hyung who purposely acts like a frivolous playboy because he doesn’t want people to back him politically and endanger his dongseng.

I was thinking... "Hmm... I may check this out later."

But then other things came up and so I didn't really think about it too much later aside from, "I wonder what Jung Il Woo's newest project will be like."

Today, I read this article:

Clicky to read some more

And I was thinking, "I like kick ass female warriors." I'm a sucker for strong female lead(?) roles. I'm not sure if Yoon Seung Ah is on par with leading lady status since Han Ga In seems to be cast as the heroine of this series, but I'd watch something historical slash fantasy slash very fictional just for a strong female lead. The article says that she will be the bodyguard for Han Ga In's character who plays a shaman. So that could be interesting too.

So now that I've been hooked by the series' concept, I decided to backtrack a little and so I read this next article:

One last clicky

From Dramabeans:
Casting has been revealed for the upcoming sageuk drama Moon That Embraces the Sun, which is adapted from a novel by Jung Eun-gwol, the writer who wrote The Lives of Sungkyunkwan’s Scholars, the novel that gave us Sungkyunkwan Scandal. Phew, that’s a mouthful. Basically: Sungkyunkwan Scandal v.2.0 in the works? Yes, please!

What the...? Where was I when this was announced? This is basically saying, "From the creators of Sungkyunkwan Scandal..." and that means that, if the drama series is shot in any way similar to how SKKS turned out (sans ending), then we're in for a fancy fun ride. On top of that, we've got a kick butt female swordsman, the ever welcome Jung Il Woo with that intriguing character description (pretending to be a flirty playboy to protect the little brother? Hell yea!), and I've heard so much fawning about Kim Soo Hyun's acting skills. (I'm closer to considering watching Dream High just to see what this Kim Soo Hyun is all about!)

I'm totally in now. The next few months may prove eventful after all! January 4? I'm marking my calendar for that... well, a week after since English translations take a little while to come out.

thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop (Korean) -- the final showdown (sort of) and overall thoughts

This article contains spoilers, but mostly opinions; proceed at your own risk.

꽃미남 라면가게 - Kkotminam Ramyeongage

Jung Il Woo as Cha Chi Soo
Lee Chung Ah as Yang Eun Bi
Lee Ki Woo as Choi Kang Hyuk
Park Min Woo as Kim Ba Wool
Jo Yoon Woo as Woo Hyun Woo

Kim Ye Won as Kang Dong Joo
Ho Soo as Yoon So Yi
Kim Il Joong as Coach Seo
Joo Hyun as Cha Ok Gyun (Daddy Cha)
Seo Bum Suk as Director Go (Daddy Cha's secretary)


On an entirely serious note, the last episode wrapped things up rather well, in my opinion.

Episode Sixteen brings a heartwarming atmosphere of holiday cheer amidst the lingering after effects of Chi Soo's Noble Idiocy from last episode. On top of that, Kang Dong Joo is preparing for her wedding (half-heartedly) and the resoluteness of Eun Bi's broken heart is beginning to take a toll on the boys of the Ramyun Shop. At the Chasung Palace, Daddy Cha laments over Chi Soo's depressed behavior as his faithful secretary comments that this was exactly what "Madame" did every day and every night before she left them. (I think perchance Chi Soo isn't so much caviar as he is, maybe abalone or king crab, which can be eaten with rice or ramyun just fine.)

Outside of actully recapping the entire episode with random thoughts about particular scenes, I'm not sure how best to go about this particular article. And since girlfriday has already done a stellar recap of the last episode over at Dramabeans (much better than I could ever do), I'm opting for a more chaotic and scattered formula for this post. I've taken notes of particular scenes that have piqued my interest and will simply comment on them. And so the rest of this article about the last episode might seem a little bumpy, but that's how I'm rolling for it this time around.

Also, beware mass screen capping. I give my apologies now, but you've been warned.

First of all, I fairly like the opening of the last episode with a Holiday cheer atmosphere, which immediately pans to our boys laughing hysterically at some sort of black and white Christmas(?) movie. It gives us a bit of a calm lull before the storm starts to hit in the ensuing rest of the episode. It also coincides nicely with our Christmastime viewing experience. On that note, Merry Christmas to all in this online community! This post had been meant for publishing a day earlier, but unfortunately, real life priorities will always come up first.

My next comment is on the parallelism symbolizing the "fated to be" relationship between Chi Soo and Eun Bi. This is what I've come to conclude about it: For a series that is chock full of symbolism at every turn, analogies of the most unpredictable kind, as well as a phantom premise based on the ideas of "Fated" and the like hovering in the background as shadows ("bells ringing when you're with your true love") this parallelism doesn't really bother me as much as it would have in another romance story line. For another series, this type of parallel symbolism would have actually been kind of tacky. I feel this way only because I'm guilty of doing the exact same things whenever I've tried writing my own rom-com: I always try really hard to throw out dormant, yet blatantly obvious reasons why our main couple is "meant to be together." From every action and reaction to having the two always being at the right place at the right time or doing the exact same thing at the exact same time even in two different places... This is how I've come to see my own writing of a romantically linked pair -- "god-given" justification for why they were meant to be together.

And the parallelism in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop that has been occurring between Chi Soo and Eun Bi (in this last episode and in other prior episodes) have given me this type of insight. However, the truly gratifying part of all of this symbolism in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is that, depite all those idealistic hints in the background, we still take the dealings of Fate and throw them all out the window. The idea is there, but our characters don't resign themselves to it. From the moment that Chi Soo first steps out of his caviar bubble to try being ramyun, I realized that the so called "fate" that everyone keeps going on about wasn't going to be the problem. And to top it off, Eun Bi's final decision on her love life is a direct attack on who everyone (herself included) thinks she should be together with: Why does she choose Chi Soo? Because she loves him and it's as simple as that and no other reasons (Fate included) need to be her deciding factor. She just knows that she can't seem to be happy without him.

This also brings me to the ending rescue sequence that totally reverses everything known for being a static convention in rom-coms. While our Prince "Chapunzel" (as coined by girlfriday with me hooting in laughter upon reading the name) resigns himself to a more mature stance of noble sacrifice in order to save the Ramyun Shop, Eun Bi finally decides to take fate into her own hands and goes to find him. And I like that she has finally realized her own desires and has chosen to go and retrieve her lost love rather than be resigned to stick by what she had believed to be the fate of her and Chi Soo's relationship.

Now, is it strange that I found Eun Bi's outburst from the bathroom after a bout of constipation, declaring the un-okay-ness of Chi Soo's sacrifice in her angry tone, plunger in hand, looking like she's about to fight the world, kind of touching? I was really clapping and cheering and all sorts of satisfied that the duration of depression and Noble Idiocy lasted all of ten to twenty minutes before someone decided to take things into their own hands. And then the rescue scene wherein Eun Bi rushes to Chasung (plunger still in hand like a battle sword) was totally hilarious, especially when she started to accumulate followers starting with Ba Wool and Hyun Woo who chase her from the Ramyun Shop, then Chi Soo's posse who decide to join in, and finally the neighborhood ahjummas who are reveling at how Eun Bi has more Flower Boys following her around.

Then at Chasung, the dream sequence rescue rears its ugly head -- Eun Bi climbing a set of stairs to get to Chi Soo ends up tripping over her dress, which flashes her to the dream she'd had in the beginning of Episode Fifteen. Except in that particular case, she felt helpless as she was taken away by the palace soldiers and Chi Soo watched on, completely useless as he didn't want to "wrinkle his clothes". In reality, however, Eun Bi chooses not to resign herself to that kind of fate; the dream didn't have to happen in real life too and so she rips her dress into a shorter length, throws it and her shawl at the pursuing Chasung security staff and continues on.

What really took the cake for me was when Eun Bi confidently announced that she would gladly take responsibility for Chi Soo (a total role reversal if there ever was one). She would continue to date Chi Soo at the risk of Daddy Cha bull-dozing the Ramyun Shop as well as kicking his son out onto the streets without a dime to his name. Eun Bi's response (as taken from the Drama Fever translations): "His bare body, I'll live very well with it." This was in response to Daddy Cha's confirmation that he would strip Chi Soo bare and penniless if Chi Soo chose to leave Chasung and be together with Eun Bi. While the translation at Dramabeans makes a lot more sense in that Eun Bi declares that she will "take Chi Soo's broke ass and support him", I found that I kind of liked the more hilarious (and suggestive sounding) translation from Drama Fever, if only because it was funnier and more "rawr"-worthy. I'm strange like that, I know.

Eun Bi attacking her ex-boyfriend in the face with her used plunger was also a nice little detail that I don't think felt too extra. And I agree with girlfriday that it was hilarious how he was brought back for a mere millisecond just so we could see that moment of satisfaction -- I'd always wondered what happened to him after that entire music store debacle and whether or not he'd make another appearance. I'm totally happy with this short fix of violence (disgusting as it was).

What I'm really hooting about is that entire role reversal though, because for the past couple episodes, I've been in a bit of a fit over Eun Bi's passiveness in the entire love line. She has been rather dormant and easily pushed around, not once taking any action on her own to get what she wants. She'd been spending a lot more time just over-analyzing the entire situation, only to come up with a bag full of "what ifs" which always end up leaving her in a rather poor state. But this last episode really reaffirmed my respect for her kick ass personality that should have surfaced a long time ago. And so I loved that Eun Bi is the one running to take Chi Soo away from his caviar prison, and I love how Eun Bi openly declares that she will take care of Chi Soo (I guess as the older and questionably more experienced party in this couple), and I love how she charges in and grabs Chi Soo by the wrist and drags him out of his castle. And then I also love that she is the one to initiate the "happily ever after official couple kiss" that conclusively stamps Cha Chi Soo and Yang Eun Bi as official lovers.

For once in a rom-com, the man isn't the one who fixes all the problems for the couple to get back together. For once in a rom-com, the girl is the one who initiates all the dragging, declarations of love and responsibility, and kisses. It's only unfortunate that this is the only episode wherein all this role reversal awesomeness happens. And it's also not such a bonus that Eun Bi did get some help from her Pillar Husband in order to move forward to retrieve her Prince (though it was a bonus on Kang Hyuk's part).

There are just too many more swoon-worthy scenes in this last episode that ended up getting me excited and giddy, but if I chose to mention them all, I might go on forever and I still need to do an official wrap up of my opinions (unless I separate and make a whole different post for those, which MIGHT actually happen considering how much I've rambled on already). I might as well have just recapped the whole darn thing.

And so I'll mention a few other items and try to be brief about them:

Firstly, Chi Soo's maturity was very much welcomed. When he recited the same words that Eun Bi had said (reflecting from the very first episode) about how you cannot change love, I thought it was a very meaningful circular conclusion to his growth. At the same time, even after the time skip was employed, I'm also glad that some things still didn't change for Chi Soo: when he ends up enlisting into the army, he chooses to be stationed somewhere else (not with his usual posse whom all also enlisted with him) because he'd get to keep his hair the way it is. Chi Soo's vanity is one to be reckoned with, but I don't blame him.

Next, Kang Hyuk's presence has been one in which I feel love and sadness towards. There is very little noted about Kang Hyuk in this last episode, but each of his scenes shows his true form as the caring and loving, good man that he's always been. From urging Eun Bi to look into her heart, to helping her out of the mass crowd of protesters at Chasung and equiping her with running shoes so she could better save her Princess "Chapunzel" (girlfriday I am STILL chuckling about that coined nickname for our Chi Soo), and finally walking away with the grace of a hero and a lonely wanderer, but leaving with that adorable, teasing pettiness of:

"While you and Chi Soo are living in bliss, I am sure I will drown my sorrow in booze, and with the help of many other women... I'm sure I'll slowly mend my loneliness as I pass along as the bad guy... While I go on cursing you."

He's so cute and he's so great and he's still always thinking about Eun Bi first. And much like Eun Bi, there's really no way to describe what I really want to say to him or about him. I DO want to include that, when he started laying down to take a nap in the middle of Chasung, even though it was his strategy to trip pursuing security staff, I found that I had missed seeing his lazy, always sleeping moments from earlier episodes. Despite being in love with Chi Soo the entire way through, there's a special place in my heart for Kang Hyuk that doesn't even do justice for his greatness; but it's there and makes me remember him as the dear Pillar Husband who always looked out for everyone else except himself.

And then finally, a comment on side supporting characters I have neglected to talk about since I started blogging about Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. Kang Dong Joo (Eun Bi's best friend) and their old volley ball coach (whom I only know as Coach) have been weaving their own side story in and out of the main love line for a while now. While I have made little mention about them, I will comment that I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing that our little makeshift family, the little love triangle as well as the entire conflict about "caviar vs rice" still has room for a smooth transitioning into the lives of our supporting characters, even if very briefly. Ba Wool and Yoon So Yi's love line has been an ongoing comedic flair, but when Dong Joo and Coach began exhibiting signs of romantic connection, it was a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. And it was rather interesting to see between the rest of the chaos.

I have to say though, for the few scattered instances of Coach and Dong Joo's side love line, it was rather deep and meaningful. And so when their love line came to a conclusion, I totally got giddy and hooty with excited laughter. When Coach shows up on the day of Dong Joo's wedding only to re-enact one of my most favorite scenes in one of my most favorite movies, Love, Actually, I almost died. And to top it off, even with some of the placards being questionable in romantic aspects ("But I know all the plastic surgery you had done five years ago" along with a picture of the chubbier Dong Joo during her high school volley ball years) the entire scene was just so sweet and so touching that I was OMG-ing like a teenage school girl and clutching my chest in an attempt not to fall over.

Can I say that this was probably the BEST EVER conclusion to a supporting couple side romance? I LOVED IT!

As I already said, there were just so many aspects in this one last episode that I just enjoyed to death. But to keep going on would just require me to copy and paste girlfriday's recap and just put in my own personal comments at each scene she talks about.

In all honesty, this has been one of the few more perfect, more complete endings I've experienced in K-drama since I've first started watching them about five months ago. The only other one was from My Lovely Sam Soon -- the only difference is that Flower Boy Ramyun Shop's ending for the main couple was slightly more finite than the one presented in Sam Soon. However, both had their own charms and despite the "I wish this series could go on forever and ever" mentality that I typically get, I'm fairly content with the ending for Ramyun Shop.

On a side detour about the employed standard time skip device, I don't think it really bothered me as much as other time skips have done in the passed. In fact, I really don't like time skips, because they're always a means for a series to find a way to wrap up the ending which always turns out pretty awkward. The time skip usually happens because we want to separate the couple for whatever reason, which typically isn't the best one in rom-coms. However, in Ramyun Shop's case, the time skip didn't feel forced at all. Using the army as a means to separate the couple for two years which will give Chi Soo the chance to grow into a less squicky age (in order to calm the masses of controversy in viewership) and hopefully a more matured young man was a pretty good ploy. Enlisting in the army is a requirement in Korea for young men and it's not like it was a forced reason that could have been resolved with a little more tact and communication (unlike the Noble Idiot break up of a man who doesn't want his girlfriend to stay in Korea and miss out on an opportunity to become famous because he needs to have wrist surgery). While the age gap hasn't really been an issue for me (I mean, no matter what, there will always be a six year gap between the two), this time skip army enlistment worked to satsify squickiness of viewership.

Also, I think it might have been a means for Daddy Cha to utilize his last strike of punishment for disobedience -- and to tell Chi Soo that even if the boy chooses to leave Chasung, they are indeed still father and son and this is something that, as his guardian, Daddy Cha can exert power over. It's like a "Fine, you can have your own way in your love life, but you are still my son and so I'm at least going to do something still within my power to lay down my authority and to tell you that I'm still upset with you." And so Chi Soo's American citizenship is forfeit and now he's off to army training. Petty as this may be (if this is indeed Daddy Cha's mind set) I think it works and remains in true character to the series.

So... Time skip and then closing voice over as well as final, standard rom-com reunion... it all falls into place pretty neatly.

I DO appreciate that while we see a "happy couple getting together in the end" conclusion, the rest of the supporting characters, side stories, etc., are fairly open-ended. Daddy Cha may still be his typical misguided, piteous, weak-willed, lonely man who's actions all story long were propelled by that bad experience he had with his love for Chi Soo's mother. If he had suddenly grown happy and understanding, it would have seemed forced. In the end, he's still the big ol' softy of a father who dotes on his only child, treating him like diamonds and fragile glass statues.

Ba Wool's relationship with Yoon So Yi was still in a rocky spot wherein she continues to drag him along while she goes on dates with those "an oppa I know" casual boyfriends; you want him to either give up on her or do SOMETHING to change his course. But the fact is, this time around isn't the Kim Ba Wool and Yoon So Yi love story, and Ba Wool is the one who chooses to continue seeing Yoon So Yi despite knowing that she's seeing other men. This relationship could go in all sorts of directions, and a simple forced kiss is still not the conclusion for them. The open endedness of it was actually rather satisfying. Ba Wool still has a long road to go if he continues to be stuck on Yoon So Yi (whom I've long ago grown out of that hate/hate impression for and am just biding my time for her own maturity to kick in because I just don't really get her and I'm tired of trying to analyze her). If Ba Wool had been given a happily ever after, whether with Yoon So Yi or a newly employed love interested, then we would have fallen into that dreaded "Couple Curtain Call" that I hate so much and the series would have been awkward... and tacky.

And then there was the Hyun Woo and his own possible start of a Chi Soo/Eun Bi restroom meeting, in reversal -- a potential new love line that doesn't need to be elaborated on, but with all sorts of possible hijinks to ensue in an imaginary new story line that we don't ever have to see to be content with.

On another side note, I really do like that Ba Wool and Hyun Woo have grown a very simple bromance relationship with each other. Where Ba Wool started off being annoyed with Hyun Woo, it's nice that the two of them ended up being close (even if Ba Wool won't admit it) and that by the end of the series, they're still working with each other even though the Ramyun Shop is no more. This is one of the many wonders of the Ramyun Shop bringing two complete strangers together, who probably would have never even bothered to acknowledge each other in any other setting.

Finally, I know that a lot of people are really distressed over the conclusion that Kang Hyuk ended up with. I feel bad for him too and throughout this last episode, I really kept wishing to the gods that, maybe we can overlook societal taboos and maybe Eun Bi could just be with BOTH men? I know that's a really bad desire, and for the first time ever I'm actually condoning a two-timing relationship, but still... when you've seen all that Choi Kang Hyuk has done for his Wifey and you've seen how even SHE has no idea what can be said or done for Kang Hyuk to make things better... I just really, really want something significant for him.

I want our Pillar-ssi to be happy too and watching him walk away from that Ramyun Shop with welled up tears in his eyes was heartbreaking.

However, I'm actually kind of glad that we didn't get a complete "Couple Curtain Call" just for his sake. I want Kang Hyuk to have a romance of his own, maybe sometime down the line in his life; now is NOT the time for it to happen, though. To me, the idea of making Kang Hyuk find another someone to love at the end of this series would have been tactless and too rom-com standard for me to have enjoyed it. It would have also terminated any possibility of an open-ended conclusion to this particular side story, which cuts off all possibilities that Kang Hyuk may get his own story in the future (even if a sequel would also be kind of forced). Over all, however, I DO like that Kang Hyuk's ties to the story line ended up being so much more than just a love line with Eun Bi. He was also connected to a little brother, the Ramyun Shop, as well as the two little Flower Boys he took in to work for him. His presence isn't limited fully for the sake of Yang Eun Bi and her romances and he also helped Chi Soo with his growth as well.

The ending to a romance story line doesn't necessarily always mean that EVERYONE must find a significant other within the allotted time that the story line takes place. Love isn't the only thing to life. While Flower Boy Ramyun Shop was set in a more comedic, almost comic book like fashion, the conclusion was more realistic than a complete wrap up of happy endings. And so rather than being a romantic comedy as its only calling card, Ramyun Shop also gave to us a journey of growth by both Cha Chi Soo as well as Yang Eun Bi. Chi Soo learns to mature and become a human being worthy of others' love and care when he learns to love and care about others. Eun Bi learns to accept herself as who she really is without trying hard to fit in with the norm -- Yang Eun Bi is Yang Eun Bi, and despite the fact that she's returned to the respective societal norm of taking the civil service exams again, she has found herself as Yang Eun Bi.

Finally, the Ramyun Shop's closing was a sad one. I really DID hope that the makeshift family could have remained together forever. I really wanted Daddy Cha to withdraw his redevelopment plans and save the little building. I wanted Kang Hyuk to continue running the Ramyun Shop with the boys and Eun Bi. It would have been a Fairy Tale happy ending and it would have satsified the masses; because the Ramyun Shop has become a significant place in everyone's hearts.

Am I sad that it had to close down? Yes. But is it something that I can accept? Yes. Because as much as I loved what the Ramyun Shop represented for our little Flower Boy family and Eun Bi, its closing was in tune with the rest of the series' conclusions. The Ramyun Shop, became a certain special time and place for the five people who worked there and will always remain as a beautiful memory. The Ramyun Shop brought everyone together to share special moments; but even with the Ramyun Shop gone, life still goes on. Maybe viewers would have been happier with a Ramyun Shop success ending scene -- but that would have been forced and a an ex deux machina ending. Chasung isn't going to withdraw redevelopment plans that have always been in action just for a moment of love for his son; that would be unrealistic.

Was I satisfied with the ending? Yes. Was it a good one? Definitely. Was it the best? I don't know if I could answer that. Simply put, the wrap up for this series did NOT leave me unsatisfied and it did NOT leave me wondering or yearning for anything that was untouched. Instead, despite its finite-ness, there is still the possibility of a renewal or a follow-up. Would I do something like that to Flower Bow Ramyun Shop? Probably not -- again, it might end up being too much and too dragged out. But would I pass up any chances to see some more love-dovey, chaotically comical sweetness between Chi Soo and Eun Bi? That totally wouldn't bother me. Do I want to know how Ba Wool dumps Yoon So Yi and finally finds himself a girl to care about him enough to only see him? Of course. Do I want to witness Hyun Woo's newly blossoming possible love line? Yea. And as for Kang Hyuk, what about his own love story? Honestly, does he really need one? I wouldn't refuse it, but at the moment, it would be too much, plain and simple. More fininte conclusions for everyone would have been nice; but it would really have been too much and too dragged.

As a whole, this series and this story is done.

And you know, I really, really loved it. Every conclusion fell into place almost too perfectly. And when I say almost too perfectly, I'm not using a sardonic tone; I'm totally sincere. I don't think I would have changed anything.

The series overall was like crack-tastic fun. But I don't need to say that too many times. I've doted and swooned and riled and I've gone on and on and on about Flower Boy Ramyun Shop so much that I'm starting to wonder when I'll tire myself out. Of a lot of drama series I've seen in a long time, this has been one of the better and best ones and with such a satisfying ending (although I know a lot of netizens would beg to differ) to me this was probably the best series I've seen all year (or within the five month time span I've been watching K-drama).

I know that I'm still a K-drama newbie, but I'm not a story book or rom-com newbie. I know what I like and I know that my own opinions and standards and values differ immensely from a lot of other people. I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that when Flower Boy Ramyun Shop first started broadcasting, I wasn't even going to look at it twice. And then when I finally started watching it out of curiosity, I thought it was good fun, but that was about it -- and since it was fun enough, I chose to continue watching it. And even as the series progressed into mid-series, I honestly didn't hold much love for Cha Chi Soo's arrogant, spoiled brat lifestyle and his less than insightful non-compassion for other human beings. And I really DIDN'T care for Choi Kang Hyuk either -- the creepy vibes were up because of his claim on Eun Bi and the house, living with her without her knowledge. It got me wondering which one of these guys would actually be decent enough for boyfriend material: the lazy stranger who shows up most awkwardly, or the asshole of a second generation chaebol who can't seem to stop making life hell for everyone around him.

And so it's kind of a wonder to me that this series ended up sticking to me, growing on me, reeling me in to its deepest recesses and then finally just becoming an addictive drug I couldn't stop coming back to. I'm not even sure when I started loving Ramyun Shop so much, but it happened.

Ultimately, I think what drew me to the chaotic mess that was Flower Boy Ramyun shop had to do mainly with its refreshing non-standard navigation through standard plot devices. As I've stated before, I like that the entire series rushes by in a zippy way, introducing one story arc and resolving it almost immediately. I like how common cliches are employed to help the story line progress, but a fairly unpredictable twist is set in to give Ramyun Shop's story line its own individual sense of style. I especially love the series' sense of attention to detail; sometimes viewers notice the strangest little things that may not have anything to do with plot progression, but adds onto the setting and the atmosphere of particular scenes. It shows that the writer and the production staff might have been thinking about the direction of this series on the viewers' side of the screen and asking themselves what little details and what random questions will a random viewer come up with or notice.

For instance, Ba Wool's Miss Teddy Bear new girlfriend having her own little bottle of yogurt while he partakes in some lamenting about Yoon So Yi on the other side of the table. There was also the Coke shot scene wherein Eun Bi pours Ba Wool shots of Coca Cola for him to drown his sorrows in as a replacement for soju (which I assume is a no-no for nineteen year old high school students in Korea?); it parallels the past when Eun Bi's father poured her milk shots to teach her how to make those satisfying "soju facial expressions" that female leads like to make in almost every rom-com. And then there's the ongoing Pororo protective blanket that Chi Soo has grown attached to, which ends up worming its way back into the last episode upon Chi Soo's dip into depression because of his Noble Idiocy. Even at the end when Chi Soo goes to reunite with Eun Bi, he claims that because he's "Chwa" he can't be coming out to see her in a tacky army uniform; it's so in character with Chi Soo's personality despite his matured growth.

The little details of Ramyun Shop are just so finely tuned that I can't help smirking every time I notice something that otherwise could have been missed.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, from its quirky characters to its use of strange analogies and symbolism, leading into a very finely presented emotional center, made for one of the better romantic comedies, maybe even one of the best, that I have been exposed to in a long time (or maybe ever). With great acting, story telling and direction, the only setback of Ramyun Shop (as I will be repeating in a later post) is that in order to love it, you really HAVE to be drawn into its comically created, over-the-top world. And once you're in, there's absolutely no turning back.

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Related articles:
first impression: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- mid-series
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- episodes 9 and 10
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- shipper status update
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- the end is near
thoughts: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop -- finale on the horizon

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