Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #449
Anne: Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is the first day of my 4 day off from work. However, I had 2 hours of meetings and at least one hour of "immediate" things that I need to complete. Then the electricity went off for like 1.5 hours. Sigh...well...my first day of peace and quiet was not all peace and quiet. And I also didn't get to sleep in all that much...hm....I am certainly doing time off wrong. Or I'm just a workaholic and I can't stop even if I want to.
Ok...let's discuss some of the shows I've managed to watch last week.
Stay With Me
This was also in my list on Viki and it popped up again after me watching those other BL dramas last week. Now, before we get to the whole drama thing...doesn't Xu Bin (the one in the red checkered shirt) looks at lot like Xu Kai? (Know that their last name isn't the same despite the spelling.) I only did a cursory search on google and there is nothing that would indicate that they are related. If anyone knows, drop a comment below.
Now...as for this drama...this a remake of Addicted, the one that got banned after 15 episodes some years ago. For this remake, they added extra characters, change the name, change other little details, but it is the exact same story line. And this time, the remake is GREAT! It got rid of some of the problematic plot devices that are very characteristic of BL dramas (if you've read the book you know exactly what I'm talking about...the scene where Gu Hai "convinced" the girl to stop pestering Bai Luo Ying). In this remake (because the previous one was cut short), we finally get to see the how sly Su Yu's (the boy in white) admirer was in creating situations that manipulated the perception. While there isn't any blatant scenes, there is definitely enough hints and details dropped throughout the drama that lead the audience to a certain conclusion.
I'm just giving everyone a few very obvious details, there are more, but these are hard to miss. The first one was where Wu Bi didn't want to continued to study because he was tired, and Su Yu told him to go "stretch his muscles". Which led to Wu Bi to respond that maybe he should help Su Yu "stretch" out (the phrasing in Chinese really just means stretching before you exercise), and proceeds to carry him off and says "it's not like we haven't done it before". The second one was where Wu Bi's dad found a "tube" on the unmade bed. Wu Bi grabbed it and said it was lip gloss. And told his dad it was a really lubricating kind from overseas. Ha ha ha. I was giggling like a crazy fangirl. And if anyone missed ALL these hints, there Xiao San, Su Yu and Wu Bi's classmate, who constantly daydreams about the CP.
This remake also finished the first arc of the story, and we see the craziness of Mo Yi, Wu Bi's older cousin, who is insistent on separating Wu Bi from Su Yu's influence. This remake also gives background on why Mo Yi was so concerned about Wu Bi being able to give and do anything for Su Yu. They closed the first arc like the novel, and left a hanging ending that allows for a second season.
My biggest question is in the original story, Su Yu's character went into the Airforce to allow Wu Bi's character to get out from under his father's thumb. But in this remake, Wu Bi's dad is a business man, not a general, and Wu Bi wanted to enter the Airforce on his own. I have a feeling that after the ending of the first season, Su Yu will still follow the original plot, but this time, doing it to fulfill Wu Bi's dream instead of his own.
If you liked the original (or if you didn't see it), this remake will not disappoint. And there is also a lot about family and what makes a family. It's actually a really good family drama and the BL is just an added bonus.
Behind Your Touch
This was the only other show I'd watched last week. In my last week's post, I only glossed over the main characters and the main plot. I have to say that the pace has not slowed and the funniness is still making me laugh out loud. However, you have to watch this show by completing disregarding reality. The off-beat side characters are the other part of what makes me laugh through this drama.
There is Bae Deok Hee...
...a detective on the same force as Jang Yeol (the ML), who is always translating what is the real meaning behind the words spoken by those who lives in this town. So when a couple is fighting...the wife says "If I only hadn't gone stargazing that day"... And Jang Yeol was like "what is this?". Deok Hee says "That's when Ok Hee (his sister) was conceived". The husband then says "So says the person who had so much fun counting the starts." The wife says, "I only counted up to ten." Jang Yeol asked again and Deok Hee says "That's rather inappropriate, so I rather not explain it myself." When the husband says that he wants to go find some wood. This translates to finding wood to carve his seal for the divorce paper. And when the wife says that she will also go find some wood. This translates to building a coffin for her husband. This goes on and on. There are a few scenes like this, where Deok Hee has to translate the meaning behind the words. I love these scenes!
This is Ok Hee, Deok Hee's sister who is looking forward to the day when he can arrest her himself (actual statement when he introduced his sister in episode 1).
She plays the accordion for the person she is in love with. Besides this little quark, she is also apparently the leader of a girl gang (filled with girls from when they were in school, but understand that each have their own lives and would drop everything when Ok Hee calls for "help").
Let me clarify, a gang of girls plus one guy. He showed up because his sister had just given birth and he felt it was important for someone in the family to show up when called. And he kept showing up from then on. Each of these characters are very well drawn and distinctive. And with each "call", they display a trait that is needed in the task at hand. This is one of the funniest details in the drama. This is just the most ridiculous gang ever.
Then there is the 2nd ML, Kim Sun Woo...
...Who is also new in town and works at the convenience store. He rescues animals/kittens, and is our FL's crush. He is also the person that our FL keeps trying to touch as a way to find out more about him so that her pursuit of him will be more successful. (I never said that our FL is not boy crazy...). But he's very mysterious...and obviously there is something he's hiding.
There is also a shaman who channels General MacArthur, but the shaman can't speak English. There is the police chief (Won Jong Muk) who has his own stalker in the form of the FL's aunt who is his ex-girlfriend (who is trying to get him back), Jung Hyun Ok. Her attempts are all horrible fails... and their failures are all completely outside of normal thinking, to the point that they are laugh out loud funny.
There are a lot of other characters in the show, including the newly "killer" in a raincoat.
This entire show's comedy hits all the correct spots on my funny bone!