Let's just tear it up and start over

[yobo]

It looks like when durama writers find themselves painted into a corner and no longer believe their own stories, it's time for a major flash forward. IMO it couldn't have come at a better time, all loose ends and head-scratching notwithstanding. It will take a little while to get used to, but the freshly renewed situation has already gotten interesting. Btw, the urinal scene :owas a classic!

[fantasticeel]

Isn't that the same little kid from "Wife" in the flash foward? I think the last thing he needs is another father who has a wife and daughter behind his back. I just hope that someday he can find a dad who won't cheat on him...

[mikey]

We’re two weeks ahead of you folks in Chicago, and I remember how jarring it was when the 5-year jump happened. It also took me a few episodes to get used to it, but I was surprised at how quickly everything started seeming perfectly natural again. Don’t worry, it won’t be long before you start feeling right at home.

It’s refreshing to see Young-joon and Ja-young in a warm (though “friends-only”) relationship. Even more refreshing not to see Young-joon drinking himself to death every evening.

Didn’t Young-joon sign a contract committing himself to 5 years in Bangladesh? How’d he get out of that so easily?

Okay, and just I have to add this one: I think Ja-young’s new –do is really lousy! (I know, I’m always kinda obsessing over her hair, aren’t I)? I loved her long hair, liked her shorter hair, but this makes her look kinda frumpy, don’t you think?

Mikey

[petirrojo]

campaign. (She and I are addicts of another format of daytime drama, Spanish-language telenovelas, and were catching up on major plot developments in the exciting Ladron de Corazones (Thief of Hearts) on Telemundo). She reminded me of an old campaign they had... "Miss a "Days", Miss a lot!"

I felt like that last night, and was eminently grateful that I did not miss yesterday's show, though the vertiginous leap forward that it took made me feel like maybe I had (missed a lot)!

Whew! New jobs, new attitudes, new relationships... have I stumbled into another show? Of course not, cause there's granny, stuck in the same old, same old "hate that JY for what she's done to my grandson" mode. Double whew! Thank heavens some things don't change! ;-)

I gotta wonder about YJ though: what does he get out of this relationship, except some adorable peeing time with a toddler 8^D ?

Oh, and how did he get out of his 'contract'? Well, what would they do; kidnap him & make him go? Just kidding. That's North Koreans. Okay, just kidding again. The real answer is: money. He promised to support their efforts financially from Seoul.

[galacticchick]

I wasn't able to see the drama at 6 p.m. but I did tape it and when I was watching it I couldn't help but think, did I miss that much?

Yep must agree that peeing scene was extremely cute. But I've got to say that if the kid thinks Young-joon is his "uncle" wouldn't it be confusing when he will start to call him "dad"? Assuming that he and Ja-young finally tie the knot.

They picked pretty cute kids. Yuna is a cute little girl too and she has a very sharp sense of fashion. Loved the little hat she was wearing at her grandfather's wedding ceremony. I would have liked to have seen the courtship between the domestic helper and Sang-min's dad.

[yobo]

Yes mikey it was quite a surprise for me too, even knowing through spoilers that this was coming. Have to agree with you about the hair, too.
petirrojo, I have heard that those Telemundo serials are great, in fact I got into one about 7 yr. ago called La Inolvidable which I don't think was subtitled but I guess my rusty Spanish helped out some. Also I hear that the Philippines have gone crazy over Mexican soaps, and are making their own now, which have become a national obsession. How do our K-dramas compare to all this?

[galacticchick]

Wow, this forum is getting international discussing spanish soap operas.

I saw one about a year ago that was dubbed from Portugese into Spanish and had english captions on Telemundo and was called El Clon. It was about clonning. Pretty good script too.

[JadeEyes]

I've seen a couple of references now to a "5-year" leap forward, but the notation on the screen said 4 years later, not 5. Small difference maybe, but a 1-yr. difference all the same.

I had heard some kind of big leap forward in time was coming, so it wasn't so jarring for me, although I was surprised it happened the way it did. Otherwise, I didn't find it difficult to adjust to. It's actually kind of nice to have the action move forward like that as it was starting to feel as though everyone was in a rut and I was growing weary of it.

As to the contract Young-joon signed, the volunteer coordinator wasn't comfortable w/ YJ going anyway, so I think he was happy to let YJ out of his commitment. No doubt they'll hit him up for a lot of $ and he'll give it no doubt, too.

About Ja-young's hair...I liked it long, too...it was so beautiful. But she's such a beautiful woman, she's pretty however she wears her hair. I do think the new shorter look does make her appear a little older...which is what they're going for anyway, so that's a successful use of appearance alteration.

As for JY and YJ just being friends...it does seem as though they're spending a lot of time together and hanging out together a lot...meeting for dinner and lunch and doing activities together and with her little boy. Considering that when they were officially an item, the most physical the relationship got w/ them was hugs and once a peck on the cheek, as I recall....it seems like what they have now is not all that different from what they had before. OTOH, as YJ is not married and doesn't appear to be dating anyone, it's hard to understand what he's looking for. Is he really content to live like a monk while maintaining a platonic friendship w/ a woman he adores but may never have as a true partner? And what's going on w/ his grandmother? Does she know YJ sees JY as a friend? Is she ok w/ that, or does she still nag him incessently? Is she on his case to find someone and marry? If not, why not? If so, how can he bear that any better than before? And JY once said she would not see YJ because his grandmother wouldn't approve of them meeting in any manner. I'd be curious to know how it evolved that she became comfortable w/ the idea of being YJ's friend, despite GS's stern, unyielding disapproval.

It's hard to believe that YJ could content himself w/ this relationship and seek nothing else in all this time. Of course, we don't know what's gone on in the interval, but knowing YJ, there's probably been no one else. I asked my husband yesterday if he loved me that much that he would have remained my faithful, platonic companion for 4 or 5 years the way YJ has. He said something both sweet and sobering. He said he would always want to know me and be friends even if he was certain I would never consider him as anything more than that...he said he liked me that much. But he added that he doubted he would refrain from seeking out other relationships that offered more potential while that was going on. He said he would hope we could still stay in touch and spend time together even if he began dating someone or even married eventually. But he wouldn't give up looking while being my platonic friend if he was pretty sure there was no likelihood of that changing in the forseeable future.

It would've been kind of romantic, I guess, had he said he loves me so much he would remain faithful to me for a lifetime while never experiencing a physical relationship with me the way YJ is doing. But that's totally unrealistic, and bottom line, I'm glad he knows he wouldn't do that. Frankly, it seems more than a little unhealthy to me to hang on to someone in that way.

Jade

[petirrojo]

Just as with any type of programming, there's good stuff and there's average stuff and then there's dreck.

The telenovelas airing in the Spanish language (and Brazilian imports dubbed into Spanish) have some similarities to Duramas. Both have a fixed, limited run, anywhere from 3 to 6 months on average, though a really popular title will often be extended. Some recent hits have gone to the 1 year plus mark (not always successfully).

Also, the same actors take roles (sometimes repeating their characters ad nauseum, sometimes taking on fresh challenges) in new novelas, so your favorite actor will pop up in new novelas every year or so, just as with the Duramas.

As for storylines, well, they're all over the board, depending on whether you want the costume drama (I HIGHLY recommend "Corazón Salvaje", a 10-year-old repeat that is considered the best of all time, if you have Galavision; Sundays at 8 PM Central, repeated again in the wee hours), Cinderella stories (don't recommend them), or action-packed drama (check out the aforementioned "Ladrón de Corazones", M-Fri at 8PM Central on Telemundo, 44 in the Chicago area), or very sexy, sweet romances (don't miss "La Costeña y el Cachaco" from Colombia on TeleFutura at 4 PM, M-Fri, channel 60 in Chicago).

If you have a little bit of Spanish and want to brush up, it's an excellent way to do so and most of them are close-captioned in Spanish. Sometimes, the Brazilian/into Spanish ones on Telemundo at the 9PM slot even have English close-captioning on CC3. And, if you're interested, there's a great fan forum site, much like this, were you can check out opinions, plus many of them have summaries from the previous day's show, generally in English.

Here's a link to one specific forum: foro.telenovela-world.com/n4/list.php?f=199

I love checking out cultural differences around the world and novelas are a great way to do so!

If you want

[Cadie]

galacticchick said:

But I've got to say that if the kid thinks Young-joon is his "uncle" wouldn't it be confusing when he will start to call him "dad"? Assuming that he and Ja-young finally tie the knot.

The translation is a little off. The kid doesn't actually say "uncle" as we would know it. The term he used is more like a title that a younger person would say when addressing a considerably older man.

Seeing how attached the kid is to JY, I would think he would be thrilled to call him dad later on (hopefully soon!).

[yobo]

I have one more question about this Great Leap Forward--not a rhetorical one for the writers, but for mikey. I don't have time to go looking for it, but I remember his reference to a series of blind dates that YJ went on in upcoming episodes (not referenced as spoilers), and I wonder if YJ has been going on grandmother-induced blind dates for over 4 years and will continue to do so ad nauseum, or was mikey trying to throw us off the trail? Anyone else remember what I refer to? Otherwise I'll have to go looking for it!

[Knov1]

Cadie said:

The translation is a little off. The kid doesn't actually say "uncle" as we would know it. The term he used is more like a title that a younger person would say when addressing a considerably older man.

Seeing how attached the kid is to JY, I would think he would be thrilled to call him dad later on (hopefully soon!).

Yeah he's actually calling him 'sir' or 'mister' but it's just translated as uncle.

[mikey]

Yobo -- well, I guess it's sort of a spoiler, but not really if you know the characters. You'll see soon enough that Grandma Sohn is still setting Young-joon up on blind dates -- and that Young-joon is still continuing to avoid them at all costs.

Boy, they're a stubborn pair, aren't they? Must be in the genes.

[yobo]

You mean after four years Young-joon still hasn't met every available young woman in Seoul? Grandma must be slipping in her old age.