ядiи

Just watched the episode this morning and will jot some thoughts before heading to work.

The story is set in two timelines, the on-going case of domestic violence of Seoyoon’s family (Kim So Hyun) and the past story of how Hongjoo’s father died even when she could predict his death.

A funny note: It was only when I looked at the Korean netizen responses that I realised so many of them didn’t realise that the “boy” with the bus driver was Hongjoo. I mean… isn’t it obvious? Even if she had short hair, but Hongjoo mentioned her father in the first episode and she is the only one who consistently has these premonition dreams? Dad and Hongjoo hit me quite hard too, and the fact that he wanted her to have long hair makes her decision to cut it to “save her mom” in Ep1 mean even more.

Also, I didn’t even make the connection that young Jaechan was there at the funeral because of HIS policeman dad got shot by the army guy at a convenience store, until I saw it mentioned in the knetizen responses. Which explains why he is in a suit and dyed his hair back to black. So both Jaechan and Hongjoo are the victims of that army dude and they are connected by… a baseball? (Also, RIP to people who play Jongsuk’s parents. Again.)

Anyway, back to the present-day storyline, where we finally find out the name of Shin Jaeha’s character - it’s Jung Sungwon! Hongjoo sees his name in her dream, but it comes with a murder suspicion. More cute shenanigans from Handsome Brothers (™Hongjoo’s mom) just leads to more heartbreak when Jaechan dreams that his brother is being carted away in a police car.

Kim So Hyun does a nice job as a proud pianist who has had to observe her father abuse her mother for years – and then get away with it with the help of corrupt lawyers and incompetent prosecutors… plus loads of money and a particular loophole in the law. Watching Jaechan finish write up that case in 5 minutes was an epicly strange combination of hilarious (because he was motivated to work by being shamed by prayer at lunch and Jongsuk just played that silly charm to a tee I LOVE IT WHEN HIS VOICE BREAKS) and dreadful (knowing that a terrible human being is going to go free). I wanted to laugh but cry at the same time. Oh, Park Hye Ryun, the feels you give me.

My guess is that Seoyoon somehow manages to poison her dad but Sungwon got the blame. And then it is up to our prosecutor-reporter duo to SAVE THE DAY! (Yes, did you forget that Hongjoo was supposed to be a reporter?)

Can’t wait for next week! PHR just creates this little warm worlds of people that I can spend forever watching. Yubeom (Lee Sangyeob) is just proving himself to an irredeemable asshole… but I do want to know what his damage is. Knowing the writer, she will give him some reason to be doing what he is doing.

~spoilers of course PLEASE WATCH FIRST~

There’s no one quite like Park Hye Ryun at writing realistic and heartrending mother-daughter relationships; that’s where I teared up in Episode 1.

The series started casual and light, but quickly took a turn into dark and shocking. Since they have delved quite deep into the relationships of the main characters already, I wonder how they will play out the dynamics in the upcoming series. Personally I am looking most forward to finding out what turned blondepunk!Jaechan into respectablelooking!Jaechan.

Jongsuk is as cute as expected as Jaechan; I want him to play up his awkwardness even more. It is refreshing to see everyone just side-eyeing him all the time. (P.S. Him and Jaeha are the definition of adorable as brothers.) Suzy shoulders a difficult role and mostly pulls it off, running the emotional gamut in 50 minutes. There are one or two weak moments, but IMO she particularly excels in the melo scenes – her eyes have an intense sadness.

With such a careful writer at the helm, I have reason to believe that Hongjoo’s hair-tie that she throws on the ground and her photo on the dashboard of the car will all be clues to be used later.

The drama is really pretty too; especially impressed with some of the special effects like how the calendar turned into the flowers of the next scene. :)

I think one of the major motifs that this drama will explore is how a dream changes when more people believe in it. If one person has a dream, it is hard to convince the rest of the world. But when two people share it, then they can seek to change it. Let’s see if Hae-in’s character becomes the next person to share in that dream given how his life was changed in the last scene.

Can’t wait for Episode 2!

(Source)

Kim Myung Min said, “Usually because people see that Jong Suk started from modellling, they can form pre-conceptions about him, but I prefer to judge after I see the person myself, so I did not have any pre-conception before I met him.”

“Jong Suk already did a few pieces of work well, that is why Park Hoon Jung director noted his performance and gave him this role of a villain. There is some sort of reverse charm inside Jong Suk.”

“When (you) watch VIP, (you) will be shocked. (You) can see Jong Suk’s new image. I felt that the director’s judgment is different after all.”

“Personally I like straightforward acting, in that aspect, when juniors are asking senior questions, they have to be fearless, that is not a question about self-esteem.”

“However, recently almost no juniors are willing to ask questions. The lovely thing about Jong Suk is that he is always asking non-stop ‘what is the good way to do this?” He is lovely.”

김명민은 “보통은 (이)종석이가 모델 출신이다 보니 선입견이 있을 수도 있다”며 “하지만 나는 사람에 대해 직접 보고 판단하지, 선입견을 갖고 만나지는 않는다”고 말문을 열었다. 이어 “종석이는 이미 여러 작품들을 잘 소화해냈고, 그랬기에 박훈정 감독의 눈에 들어 악역까지 맡게 된 거다”며 “종석이는 안에서 뭔가 나오는 반전 매력이 있다”고 전했다. 그러면서 김명민은 “‘V.I.P.’를 보면 다들 깜짝 놀랄 거다”며 “종석이의 새로운 모습을 볼 수 있다. 나 역시 감독의 안목은 다르구나를 느꼈다”고 귀띔했다.