Hello Peeps.  I hope you’re able to stay cool during these summer months.  July has been insanely warm for Oregon.  Dare I even say hot.  Thankfully an angel gifted me with an A/C unit and so for the first time, I’m surviving nicely.  Although, to get the best circulation for the apartment I put it in the window near my computer.  The apartment feels great…..but I need a sweater to blog. *chuckles*

For those of us who are fans of the Taiwanese show Fated To Love You, there is now a Korean remake for us to watch and enjoy.  This is one of my favorite shows out of Taiwan and I watch it regularly.  This may put an unfair bias towards the Korean remake simply because there is so much that is awesome about the Taiwan version such as our male lead, for example. Ethan Ruan set the bar high for the confused but adorable Cun Xi.  Jang Hyuk has some big shoes to fill as our lead Gun.

Joining me on this quest will be Firnlambe from Soju-Like-Kdramas:   “Greetings!! I suppose you can call me the counterbalance to Wendilynn for this series. I’ve only seen the Taiwanese version once. I loved it, don’t get me wrong–but I don’t have nearly the same attachment to the characters, so I should be able to provide a little less biased opinion on each episode” ^-^

So then…lets get started.

We start out with a model shampooing her hair for a CF.  She freaks out that this unknown product will damage her pampered locks.  In saunters our company president, full of confident arrogance and gifts us, the viewers, with some gorgeous, over the top shampoo porn.

Wendilynn:  Its quite an introduction for our male lead, Lee Gun.  He’s gorgeous without his shirt on and this show does seem to try and keep him shirtless at every opportunity.  That laugh though… *shakes head*   Its uncomfortable to listen to. I had a hard time warming up to him because he came across so smarmy.
Firnlambe: Oh God….this…..this was hard to watch. As glorious and gorgeous as Lee Gun is shirtless, the over the top cheesiness to this scene was a tough pill to swallow.

Next comes our Post-it girl, Kim Mi Young.  She has the coolest opening sequence ever.  Who wouldn’t want Pentatonix singing your introduction. 

Firnlambe: I like this casting…..this version of the Post-it girl is just as good as the original.

Wendilynn: I have to agree with you.  I like Jang Na Ra.  So I was really happy to see her as our Post-it girl.

Here’s the jerk she takes on her winning vacation to Macau.  I’m only including him because they actually keep him around for a few episodes.  This guy is a total sleaze.  As soon as she wins the vacation, he starts schmoozing her so he can go along. 

Firnlambe: Personally….I didn’t like how Korea went about introducing this couple. It was waaaaay too rushed. And because of that, the coming events didn’t have nearly the same impact on my sympathy radar for our leading lady as I had in the original.
Wendilynn:  I also felt like part of the story was missing leading up to the morning after.

Here’s our prime candidate for SLS.  Daniel is gently played by gorgeous Choi Jin Hyuk.  Looking for his lost sister who was adopted out to strangers unknown.  We are greeted with him at an orphanage playing soccer with children.  Can he steal our hearts any more completely?

Firnlambe: I foresee much more heartache in my feeling towards Korea’s Daniel than I had for Taiwan’s Dylan. Granted……..that maaaaaaay have to do with how gentle Choi Jin Hyuk is portraying him.
Wendilynn:  He’s playing him much more warm than Dylan was played. Dylan didn’t get warm till much later, where Daniel’s warmth is evident from his first words.

Enter trouble in the bodies of the Island company President and Kim Mi Young’s brother-in-law. These two have hatched a plan to catch Gun In flagrante delicto so that they can save their doomed company.  Their comedy of errors is funny and sets everyone up for the inevitable. 

Firnlambe: Mixed feelings are mixed on these two. I can’t decide if I’m going to like them or not yet.

Wendilynn:  One of the joys of the Taiwan version is the cheesiness of the islanders.  Although these same characters were more redneck in the T version.  Here they are just sort of dumb.

Firnlambe: Agreed…and that’s too bad. I’ll take cheesy rednecks over bumbling idiots any day.

Wendilynn:  I think the difference in story length plays a role here.  Taiwan shows get far more episodes to play with  then Korean shows do.  Although, this K version is supposed to have 20 episodes.

Gun’s first love, Se Ra.  Prima Ballerina who has lost the audition to be Odette in Swan Lake. She is willing to let Gun propose to her because she thinks she has nothing else. One phone call is all it takes to change her life as well as Gun’s and Mi Young.

Firnlambe: Begin the hate cycle!!! Se Ra is just as selfish and self-centered as An Na.
Wendilynn:  I didn’t like this character in either story.  What really made it worse is that we get far more backstory  on how much Gun has loved and ached for her.  Its a counterpoint to his overwhelming smarminess when he’s being a jerk.

Yes, lets thank the hapless morons who get you jacked up on sex juice.  Really, does Gun absolutely need to wear clothing?

Firnlambe: He can keep the shirt off…..as long as he changes his hairstyle. This floppy mop needs to go.
Wendilynn:  Yeah, it adds to the smarmy feeling. lol

Our couple has both consumed the drink that will make sex inevitable, however, unlike the Taiwanese version that actually gives you a clean love scene.  We get a hokey cartoon euphemism about making rice and then a snuggle wake up scene. This show has no problem getting Gun shirtless at any opportunity, but heaven forbid we show people kissing.

Firnlambe: Well….in their defense it’s not a cable show…or a weekend drama

Wendilynn:  I was just dumbfounded that they didn’t even kiss.  Not even a chaste one before switching to the cartoon. And after the shampoo porn scene, what’s to be worried about?

Firnlambe: True….maybe they’re wanting to save the kisses for later?

Mi Young, upset after finding out that she not only slept with the wrong person, but that her sleazy BF was sleeping with someone else as well is left upset and feeling low.  While scumbag refuses to take any responsibility for her emotional state, enter Gun to play the white knight.

Firnlambe: So you know how I said my feels for the coming events were not as strong this time around. Yes….I felt sad for Mi Young, but it wasn’t neeearly the same level of devastation that Xin Yi experienced. Although I did love that Gun was there to pull her up when she reached her lowest point.
Wendilynn:  Agreed.  I don’t think they played it to the same level as in the T version.  Although, that conversation about whose the noble and whose the commoner was amusing to watch.  Lawyer scumbag thinks he’s all that and Gun shows up to show him otherwise.

Both Gun and Mi Young have been hurt by the people they liked. Ditched unfairly.  Gun, despite his bravado at other moments, had a heart of gold and listens to her sad story.  Fighting tears, he decides to champion her cause and embarrassment and maybe, get a little payback.

Firnlambe: I wholeheartedly LOVED this scene….no qualms whatsoever.

Wendilynn:  I had serious.. and I mean serious misgivings about Gun as our lead up until this scene.  Even when he’s practicing for his proposal, I had a hard time buying that he could be gentle.  Those tears in his eyes dispelled that worry.

Firnlambe: I blame his hair stylist.

Wendilynn:   LOL!! Maybe they went and borrowed whoever ruined Full House: Take Two’s hair and make up?
Firnlambe: It all makes sense now…..

Enter the polka-dot twins.  Why are male fashion designers always played as being gay?  In this case, they are way too funny to not give a shout out to.   They are responsible for turning our post-it girl into a goddess. 

Firnlambe: ooooooh Polka-dot twins…..I loved these two
Wendilynn:  They were funny, but a bit too much for me.  When they were complaining I kept wanting to say, “Is this all your skill is good for?  Wimp out at the first challenge because she hasn’t been spending 20K a month on plastic surgery and spa treatments?”

Enemy spotted.  Gun is taking Mi Young out to slay the troll under the bridge.  They are both dressed to kill.

Firnlambe: Seeee!! Swept back hair looks much better on Gun than the floppy style he was sporting earlier.

Wendilynn: Yes, he’s very handsome here.

Firnlambe: I also preferred this makeover….it felt more dramatic for some reason.

Wendilynn:  I’m with you on this one, this Post-it girl makeover was much more the thing and fit her better then what Xin Yi got.  She looked like a goddess here.

Firnlambe: Lady Luck … goddess style!!

There is nothing more humiliating then realizing you had a crush on a coward. While some people would take pleasure in their enemy on their knees before them.  Mi Young knows that this was the guy she thought was “worth it”.  To see him groveling so he doesn’t lose his gambling money makes her realize she had picked a loser to start with.  That’s never a good feeling.

Firnlambe: Jerks will always be jerks….no matter how much they tell you otherwise.
Wendilynn:  I understand how she feels though.  My last boyfriend was a train wreck and it made me feel terrible that this was the type of guy I was attracting. What did it say about me?  I haven’t really dated seriously since.

Gun truly is a gentleman. He may not be in love with Mi Young, but he respects her courage and kindness.  He gives her the gambling chip and tells her that as long as she’s got one chip, she has a chance to change the game.  This was also a running theme in the Taiwanese version. Its nice to see it here too.

Firnlambe: Agreed…. I’m also glad they kept the chip theme running. Here’s hoping she puts it on her key chain…..although this chip is a tad bit larger–so that may cause some problems.

Wendilynn:  Maybe she can turn it into a charm necklace?

Firnlambe: Ooooo, I like the way you think m’dear.

This wraps up our first two episodes of this new series.  As you can see we have mixed reactions to the set up of our leads and the pacing felt a little off.  We have much hope for the next episodes where things start getting serious for Gun and Mi Young.