I Miss You
Melodrama
20 episodes
Currently airing Wednesdays and Thursdays, MBC
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(This poster is just like I like my melos: DRIPPING! WITH! MISERY!)
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This drama shows all signs of being a classic K-melo: it’s built around a tragically separated pair of young lovers who are reunited as adults, only to be kept apart by an angsty love triangle.
I Mis You is like a vortex of hope and fear for me. I’ve adored Yoon Eun Hye since hitting “play” on Coffee Prince’s opening episode, and ever since I’ve longed to see her in something more meaty and serious than the light-as-air rom-coms she seems to gravitate toward. Yoon Eun Hye may not be the most skilled actress or pick the best projects, but her utterly likeable persona and charming awkwardness always shine through. I’m also a huge fan of melodramas; the more insanely over-the-top and full of misfortune they are, the more I tend to like them.
But that’s where the fear comes in: I Miss You was written by the same screenwriter as Can You Hear My Heart, one of my least favorite shows of all time. I’m hoping that my violent reaction to CYHMH can be attributed to its overly cutesy acting and lousy direction, but I’m not so sure. Beyond that, I Miss You’s tumultuous, wank-filled backstory is every bit as melodramatic as its plot (read more about the hot mess at Drama Beans and The Vault). And then there’s the fact that this drama’s cast was only finalized a week before it began airing, which means most of its filming will be alarmingly close to live.
I want to love this drama (and probably will, in spite of myself), but it’s hard to imagine anyone on this makjang merry-go-round finding time to focus on creating a decent show.
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Interestingly enough, my ears perked up a bit when I heard the final casting calls would include Yoo Seung Ho. Honestly it seems like a strange inclusion, but I'd sort of like to see how well he takes it. I always think he could be giving more than he's got in the acting department. Would like to see him in a good angsty role again now that he's a bit older.
ReplyDeleteAs for getting so soon back into makjangland, I will sill wait on this one for a while. Hey, maybe I'll take up Spring Waltz next instead!
The outside edges of this show's apparent love triangle both seem weird to me—to my eye, Yoon Seung Ho looks too young for Yoon Eun Hye, and Jang Min Ae looks too old for Yoochun. I'm definitely up for them to prove me wrong, though.
DeleteTeehee...Spring Waltz = makjang city. (Which is exactly why I loved it.) I'm tempted to watch it again every time the theme song comes up on my ipod.
ah, too much makjang around these days! I find it hard enough to embrace the misery that is Nice Guy ... how am I to deal with this one?! I love Yoon Eun Hye, I love Yoochung (who doesn't) and I love Yoo Seung-ho, but I am probably going to pass. Sadly.
ReplyDeleteIt might be worth reconsidering poor I Miss You after it finishes airing—the good thing about modern melodramas is that they tend to have endings happy enough to make you forget all the misery along the way. I'm looking forward to seeing Yoochung as something other than a Joseon scholar; I never could make it through Miss Ripley, in spite of his cuteness.
DeleteThe first two episodes were surprisingly well done. It still has plenty of time to go down hill, but so far so good. I can't wait to watch episode 3 tomorrow!! :)
ReplyDeleteBTW A Love to Kill is still really addicting, I'm definitely glad I decided to watch it on a whim.
I'm totally adding A Love to Kill to my queue—it mustn't be too crazily makjang if you like it. ;)
DeleteOh it is totally makjang lol. It's a cry fest!!! I'm not sure why it's got my attention but it does.
DeleteI already know this one is wayyyyy to much for me. I was barely able to handle Nice Guy, and from what I've heard that was pretty light in terms of melodramas. But I wish Yoon Eun Hye the best of luck! She has this way of making you identify with her characters, and I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to watch her suffering fro 18 episodes straight.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, these melos remind me of Netflix's parent-advisory system. It includes all these flags for things that are so ridiculously over the top that they lose all real-world impact, like "zombie-related violence" or "cartoon drug use." It's hard for me to get emotionally involved with a show that's so blatant in its sad-sackness—I would just watch it as an excuse to appreciate the crazy things screen writers can get away with in Korea.
DeleteOn the other hand, seeing Yoon Eun Hye being tortured (literally, based on reviews I've been seeing) might be too much even for me. She was apparently signed on as female lead for the drama Que Sera Sera, and I'm glad she didn't take it. I liked that show, but if she had been in it all its horrible plot twists would have been too immediate just to shrug off as "Television is crazy, isn't it?"
The third episode is like the most intensely sad episode of a drama I've ever seen. They have already set it up to be a massively brooding drama, but at least the things they are sad and freaking out about are legitimate reasons to be upset and not stupid things blown out if proportion. I still really love it so far even with all its depression. It feels like a sad artsy movie so far
DeleteDramabeans totally just dropped recapping it for issues of sadness overload, which has only happened a few times to my knowledge. So it must really be a downer...
Delete(Yay!)
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