프로포즈 대작전 (a.k.a. Operation Proposal) Review 1 of 2: Episodes 1-11

프로포즈 대작전

(a.k.a. Operation Proposal)

2012

CSTV

Main Cast:

Yoo Seung Ho 유승호 as Kang Baek Ho 강백호

Park Eun Bin 박은빈 as Ham Yi Seul 함이슬

Lee Hyun Jin 이현진 as Kwon Jin Won 권진원

Go Kyung Pyo 고경표 as Song Chan Wook 송찬욱

Park Young Seo 박영서 as Joo Tae Nam 주태남

Kim Ye Won 김예원 as Yoo Chae Ri 유체리

Lee Doo Il 이두일 as Jo Kook Dae 조국대

Park Jin Joo 박진주 as Jo Jin Joo 조진주

Synopsis:

     Kang Baek Ho and Ham Yi Seul have been best friends since elementary school. Actually Baek Ho has had feelings for Yi Seul but kept them wrapped in his heart. Finally, when Yi Seul is about to marry another man (Jin Won) at a wedding ceremony which is attended by Baek Ho, Baek Ho regrets that he never confessed his love for the bride. Such a fantasy, a fairy appears and gives him a second chance to win Yi Seul. Then Baek Ho travels to the past and recreates every moment he has with Yi Seul in order to win her heart. Will he succeed?

(credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Proposal#Plot)

     When I first started watching Operation Proposal, I thought it would be a story about someone who gets to go back to a moment he regrets and change something, thus changing his future to be exactly what he wanted. I figured it was a nice storyline. I mean, who doesn't have a moment they wish they could go back to and change? But then I figured that would be too simple of a plot line so I wondered how they were going to make things interesting. Well, lo and behold, he went back to the present and things were still pretty much the same. Ok, so maybe he has to work for his happiness. Fair enough, right? I mean, he already gets a chance to go back and change things, so why should everything else be so easy?

     Well, after going back even 5 times, he still ends up in a similar place as before: losing the girl. At this point I started getting really frustrated at Baekho, Yiseul, and even the coach. Baekho makes the same mistakes every time because that’s who he is. That’s his personality. I mean sure, every time he goes back, his career gets better,  his friends' relationships and careers get better, and Yiseul ends up getting her dream job. But the relationship between Yiseul and Baekho seems to end up always in the same place. Of course, Baekho isn't the only one at fault. I personally think that Yiseul should have more nerve. She’s such a stereotypical Korean drama girl that it's just downright pissing me off! If she likes the guy she should admit it, or when he does confess to her and try hard to be there for her, maybe she should hold onto that. Ok, sure, with his immature jerk personality before, I could see why it was hard to tell him how she really felt. And of course it must have been difficult for her to even imagine that his kind thoughtful actions meant little more than a joke. Even I (and I'm not exactly the most fragile girl in the world....) would be scared of being belittled and laughed at by him. But once he starts going back to his past to try to fix things, I don't think she tried as hard as she could have, especially since he would have been very positively receptive of her feelings, and especially since he was trying hard to make amends and show her how he felt.

     But by the 11th episode, I have to wonder if some people are destined to go a certain path. No matter how hard Baekho tries, Yiseul ends up going to the teacher. And seriously, it's getting seriously frustrating watching him keep going back to try and fix things. I mean dude, come on! you need to know when to give up. I’m not saying it’s easy, but at some point he should think about what would make the person he loves happiest. She always feels neglected or forgotten or hurt at some point when she is with Baekho, but the teacher has always been there for her. And they seem pretty happy together. Sometimes the best thing you can do for the person you love is to let them go. At this point in the drama, I feel like Baekho is acting very selfishly. and I understand that it sucks to admit that the one person who can make the one you love happy is not you. It’s a terrible and painful thing to realize. But wouldn’t it be more painful still to keep fighting it and going back to change things and getting hurt over and over and over again? Wouldn’t it be better to have the pain of admitting defeat and letting go for a short while, and then be able to move on? I understand Baekho’s motives. I understand his regret. Heck, I’ve been there, and I’m sure many of you readers have also felt the heart-wrenching pain of regret. So I understand why he keeps trying over and over and over. But if he were to really sit down and think about it, especially at this point in the game, maybe he could come to the conclusion that maybe Yiseul and the teacher were always destined to be together, no matter how hard he tried to change his past actions.

     Another frustrating fact about all this is that after he goes back to the present (Valentine's Day 2012), he has no control over his past self’s actions after the point in time that he was changed (does that make sense? Time travel gets so confusing..). I would assume that his past self would go back to being his normal immature self, which is why he keeps losing Yiseul. Perhaps what the Conductor is trying to show him is that no matter how much he changes his actions in his past, he can’t change who he was as a person. Which brings me to the conductor! What a strange fellow! I think its pretty awesome that he keeps giving Baekho chances to go back and change his life and his relationship with Yiseul, but I wonder what his motive is. Does he figure that destiny is destiny and even time travel can’t change that, but he wants Baekho to be able to move on and live with no regrets after he runs out of chances, so that’s why he keeps sending him back? That would be nice if it were true. Baekho would feel more so that he tried his hardest but it just wasn’t meant to be. That would really be a moral worth learning; that some what-ifs were never meant to be, even if you go back and change things. But after trying so hard and going through the pain of going back to his past and dealing with his skeletons (like the injury, the army, his mother, and of course losing Yiseul again.... and again....), I kind of wish he could just get the girl, get his dream job, have his friends all be successful and happy (and married), and live happily ever after. I would much rather have a happy ending than a story with a moral. Most of the time. But I guess we’ll see how it plays out from here on out. And by the way, I am a rather cheesy hopeless romantic in case you didn't know (how could you? But now you do. Hehe..), so I am always really excited and happy when the male and female protagonists end up together... So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a satisfying (maybe even happy?) ending.

Feel free to leave a comment! I would love to read your comments and feedback! Thank you!!

49일 (a.k.a. 49 Days) Final Review: Episodes 17-20

~~ Note: I know this final review is coming out months after 49 Days ended, but it’s definitely not easy keeping up with real life and the drama world. It never occurred to me so drastically that the drama world never slows down or stops.... It’s nearly impossible to catch up once you’re behind!! So I will make it a priority goal to keep up with these reviews! Thanks for reading!!~~

First off, I’d like to say the ending was unexpected, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t unpleasant. I’m rather satisfied with the way it ended, but it wasn’t particularly terrible or terrific.

I applaud Jung Ilwoo tremendously for such an a-ma-zing performance!!!! Those scenes with Yikyung were truly heartbreaking!! I really loved how they were written. Everything the couple did was so full of love for each other. I loved the things Yisoo did for Yikyung... That’s probably what made the farewell so much harder to watch. And his goodbye speech to her was so well written!!! I don’t know which is sadder, the farewell scene or Yisoo’s accident scene...

In the end, I was pretty happy with the acting from the entire cast. Nam Gyuri did improve her acting. Of course it could just be because the character became more complex, but still, she wasn’t totally hopeless. She was a bit wooden at times, and her reactions felt kind of forced, but still, I’ve seen worse. (By the way, don’t you think Nam Gyuri and IU look alike?). Lee Yowon’s acting was very consistent to the end. I really enjoyed the interaction between Yikyung and Jihyun, it was so cute and heartwarming to see them so happy together. I know I’ve said this before, but I was extremely impressed with Lee Yowon’s acting!! Her emotions weren’t so forced and she played the two different personalities so well. The male leads are very talented and played their characters with skill and experience. All the minor characters were so cute and lovable and they were all cast so perfectly! I think this was a good choice for Jo Hyunjae’s come back to the drama world after his military service. It had a good cast and a pretty good following of fans from what I can tell. It would be pretty fun to see him play a villain role though. 

Even though I really enjoyed the soundtrack, I’d have to say it does not make my list of top 10 soundtracks. None of the songs really stand out and get stuck in your head, but I love that they got some of the cast to sing the songs!! 

The special effects used were pretty fun and creative. They did not seem too out of place or super obviously CG, which I was pretty happy about. I especially liked the Scheduler’s appearing and vanishing acts!! Of course that’s editing more than special effects, but still, well done and fun nonetheless.

The storyline is very unique and one of a kind in the Korean drama world, from what I can tell. It’s got some similarities to Secret Garden, but overall, very different. I loved the story and writing for 49 Days until the last episode... Story twists are much more shocking when they’re planted early and pondered over for more than five minutes.

*****Spoiler Alert!!*****

I was rather shocked that they would kill Jihyun in the end. It was such a twist, the way the events played out. If Jihyun did die, I only thought she would not gain all three tears. It never occurred to me that they would bring her back only for her to die. I’m not all that upset that Jihyun died, actually. I thought it was a very balanced ending. It’s kind of a "life goes on after losing someone" kind of story.

The one thing I disliked about the ending was how they tied in the sister relationship between Yikyung and Jihyun. It was just so rushed and poorly planned. I heard some speculations about Yikyung finding out one of the lead characters was her younger sibling (I don’t think they ever specified the gender), but my impression was that those ideas were purely fan based speculations. Of course, I should have remembered that more likely than not, when something is mentioned in a drama, there’s a good reason for it. But just the way they played out that story was just so rushed. If they had introduced something about it even a couple episodes earlier, that would have tied in a lot better in my opinion. And I always wondered if Jihyun ever found out that Yikyung was her sister and that’s why one of the three tears was not hers. Thinking from Jihyun’s perspective, it would hurt to think Yikyung didn’t cry genuine tears for her. I mean, they got really close towards the end. Of course, Jihyun could have just assumed that Seowoo and Injung cried for her first. But anyways, it definitely answers the question as to why Yikyung was shown crying at least three times for Jihyun, but the tears were never counted. 

The ending had gaping flaws but I was still quite content with it. Most things did fit together well. Even though the end wasn’t the ideal outcome, it was more realistic than a lot of other dramas in a sense. It was definitely not your typical romantic comedy. The conclusion was very open-ended in that Yikyung doesn’t start dating Kang, but they don’t say to leave that possibility out. Since they have each other and they got their closure with their significant other, it is definitely possible for them to heal and move on and fall in love again, possibly with each other. I really do love that Yikyung is no longer alone and has a family and friends who genuinely love her, but again, could have been played out better. And as for Jihyun and Yisoo, they don’t have any regrets, so they got their closure too. Pretty satisfying, if you ask me.

Thanks so much for reading my 49 Days reviews! I would love comments and feedback! I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this drama, or your thoughts on my thoughts! =D

49일 (a.k.a. 49 Days) Review Part 2 of 3: Episodes 7-16

49 Days Review Part 2

(Episodes 7-16)

4 more episodes!!

So, strong start, a little slow around episode 6-10, but then it REALLY picked up these past few episodes! I’m satisfied with the acting overall; very well done. A few characters have plateaued some, but Jung Ilwoo’s acting makes up for all of it! What a performance in episode 16! WOW! Nam Gyuri’s performance is improving as well, although I can’t really say if it’s just that her character is growing so she has a better opportunity to show us her skills. Lee Yowon is also such an amazing and talented actress. I find myself forgetting that this is really just one person performing as two people. It’s so believable that she is inhabited by two different souls! She is such a heartwrenching cryer, but then her happy scenes are so cute! 

I love the whole you-know-that-I-know-but-we’re-all-pretending-we-don’t-know-anything thing that is going on with Kang and Yikyung/Jihyun. The scenes itself are just so adorable and heartwarming, but then deeper meaning once you calculate that they knew each other’s knowledge of the situation is just so ironic, funny, and CUTE!!

The storyline is getting really intense! They finally started revealing a lot of answers to some seemingly insignificant questions (and items) from earlier on, which was a total OHHHHH moment (or several moments, for that matter). I love how what seemed to be set rules and boundaries are getting broken and pushed... it’s so confusing, but refreshing because it’s unexpected. I love how the in limbo world is able to interact with the real world people all of a sudden. I wonder, does this happen with other 49 day souls, or is it just these people because of all their intertwining connections....

I love Jung Ilwoo and Jo Hyunjae’s songs for the soundtrack. The lyrics are very fitting for the drama, and I love when the main actors sing for the soundtrack, especially since they both have beautiful voices. Jung Ilwoo’s voice is more on the melancholy side, which fits since they revealed our Scheduler’s rather tragic past. Jo Hyunjae’s is full of love and longing.

I really wonder who will give Jihyun her last two tears. I don’t think it will be Seowoo, even more so because she found out that the guy she likes (Han Kang) is in love with Jihyun, so now she has the whole bitter love taken away thing going on. But also because it seems too simple, too obvious of a plot line. 49 Days is far from simple, so I don’t see why they would make that part simple. I almost feel like Kang Minho will end up crying for Jihyun, which would be in fact the most ironic of all. And perhaps the other person would be Yikyung, the borrowed body. I suspected that may happen earlier, but now that we know Yikyung can hear (and see?!!) Jihyun, I feel it’s almost certain. 

Then again, I wonder how likely it is that the writers will kill off Jihyun... Say Jihyun gets all three tears, comes back to life, marries Kang. Say Kang helps her find Yikyung and they become friends (which, by the way, raises another questions... all the people who figured out the 49 days deal, will they forget like Jihyun after it’s all over?), what is Yikyung going to do? Yisoo is dead, and there’s no way around that. I don’t particularly fancy Yikyung marrying the doctor, though we know his wife died a few years ago, so he is available. I guess the writers could leave her love life open ended, though that doesn’t appeal to me much either. Yikyung is such a lonely character, I feel like she needs someone (besides a friend, potentially Kang and Jihyun) to be with her. I almost want to pair her up with Kang, but then that seems rather disrespectful to Jihyun if she dies and somewhere down the road Kang starts dating Yikyung. Of course, I hate when the main character (male or female) is killed off, so let’s try not to think about that. 

On a more comical note, the Scheduler’s wardrobe is seriously more complex than many of the female characters’ wardrobes! He easily has at least three or four different outfits per episode. But perhaps we notice the constant change of eccentric colors and dangling accessories because of Jihyun’s lacking wardrobe. Besides getting tired of her same dress, I feel rather bad for the actress. There may be signs of spring in Korea with all the flowers abloom, but it definitely is still too cold for that dress!! But still, the Scheduler’s colorful variety of arrangements are a good balance to Jihyun’s constant pink. 

I wonder what happened to the “S love K” rings... wouldn’t the people who cleaned up the accident have picked those up? Why weren’t they given to Yikyung? I wonder if it’s because he’s an orphan and legally they aren’t siblings or even married, so they refused to hand over his belongings... usually the cops in dramas aren’t all too finicky about whose who’s guardian and proof and such... I hope they touch on that... If Yikyung had known about the rings, would she have been more or less depressed? I wonder what is her real reason for living like that for the past five years? I know it has to do with Yisoo, the way they separated, and his death and all that, but what is the real motive... Does she think he was cheating on her? Does she feel regretful that she didn’t trust him and they separated and he died still loving her even though she doubted him? Did she get the rings, so that’s how she knew of his intentions? Oh, and another question.. When Dr. Noh said he felt responsible for Yisoo’s death, what did he mean? Was Yikyung going to the psychiatrist before Yisoo died, showed him the pictures of Yisoo with another girl, and Dr. Noh said Yisoo was definitely cheating on her? (By the way, that accident scene..... That has to be on my top 5 list of most heartwrenching scenes to make me cry ever!)

I love when the antagonists get what they deserve!!!!! I could have use a little more hair tearing when Seowoo started beating up Injung! And when Kang started punching Minho for Jihyun.... beautiful! Not only because Jo Hyunjae looked awesome all angry and punching someone... but also I love when a guy beats up another guy for a girl... hehe. But probably the most satisfying is the fact that Jihyun does to Minho the same thing he did to her... she kind of lead him to believe she was interested him, which she did only for her own gain, and then he finds out that he fell for her but she is indifferent. And then he finds out it was Jihyun all along?!?! Serves him right! But truth be told, Minho kind of scares me.. He’s willing to go to any lengths, use whatever means necessary in order to complete his plans... In a way he has nothing to lose.. Those are the scariest people, because you never know what they will do.

I can’t wait until the finale of 49 Days. I’m quite a bit sad at the idea that it’s coming to an end (no more Scheduler, bipolar Lee Yowon, softy Jo Hyunjae....), but alas, all good things must come to an end. But that’s what DVDs are for... Right?

Until next time.