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Coffee Prince, ep. 09-11
I am now equally dead of the cute and the angst! I have so much love for this series! So much love!
Warning: largely incoherent flailing under the cut.
I desperately want to watch episode 12 (OMG! The cliffhanger!), except it is 2:40 and therefore I am spending a few minutes typing this out instead of another hour parked in front of my computer.
OMG! OMG! OMG! THE CUTE! THE CUTE!
I think I nearly died of the cute in ep. 9 and 10! The beach scene OMG I cannot talk about it coherently because it reduces me to making high-pitched squealing noises! How is this so cute?! And the hyung-dongsaeng hijinks SO CUTE! I now officially retract everything mean I said about Han Kyul (Gyul? the romanization changed mid-series). He is awesome! He has that absolutely adorable little smile every time he watches Eun Chan and it makes me go completely incoherent every single time! The tissue on the face! The way they both would just randomly say "Hyung" or "Dongsaeng" just for the sake of saying it! Exclamation point! So cute!
Speaking of which, is the sworn brothers thing a very special thing? I could not quite tell -- I definitely see where the heightened intimacy comes in, especially since he's been her boss the entire time, but I was not sure if this happened fairly normally in actual society, if it happened fairly normally in kdramas, or if it is a Coffee Prince specialty.
Also, he pierces her ear and gives her an earring as an expression of love and affection and I nearly fell off the sofa when I realized because it is Kira and Setsuna from Angel Sanctuary and clearly earrings and ear piercings are the newest and bestest form of devotion ever!
Oh! And Han Sung and Yoo Ju! I was so afraid when Han Sung kissed Eun Chan, but I love how the show's been handling it. I love that Han Sung and Yoo Ju largely act like grown-ups, in that they do try to sit down and talk about things and that there's very little yelling normally. It makes the bigger emotional scenes later that much angstier.
I love that Yoo Ju realizes the incredible irony of her being jealous of Eun Chan, that she tries to acknowledge it even though she can't stop feeling it, and I love that Yoo Ju and Han Sung don't lie to each other, even when it's difficult. One of the big reasons why the love polygon in this drama isn't driving me crazy is because no one is really sneaking around anyone else's back, with the exception of the whole Eun Chan girl thing, but I forgive that.
I also love that Eun Chan and Han Sung continue to be friends; I really like their relationship. I'm so amused that she never stops calling him "ajusshi," even though she calls Yoo Ju "unni" and Han Kyul "hyung." This sounds incredibly dorky and exoticizing of me, but languages that indicate changes in relationship via appellations or pronouns lead to such great scenes (much like noticing when someone in manga drops the -kun or -chan and calls someone just by their name). Chinese doesn't quite have the same levels among people of relatively similar ages (though familial relationships? Figuring those out make my head spin), but I always feel weird when people use my name too much in conversation (i.e. "Blah blah blah, Oyce, blah blah blah" as opposed to using it to call my attention to something like "Hey, Oyce, check this out!"). I suspect it is because my sister only calls me "Jie" and my parents almost never call me by name (usually it's a nickname or it's "Jiejie"); when they whip out my name, something is Very Serious. Um, but that might just be me.
Anyway! Back to the drama! Oh, did Yoo Ju always call Eun Chan "Eun Chan-sshi," or was that only in the last episode, because she felt so awkward?
OMG! I was getting a little bored with the Yoo Ju/Han Sung storyline, but now I am right back in it because the angst! It kills! I am amazed that the series is killing me with two entirely different kinds of angst; Han Kyul's angst is new relationship angst, whereas Han Sung and Yoo Ju's feels older and harder and not as easy to sort out. Which is not to undercut Han Kyul's angst, because wow! But there is that sense of history with Han Sung and Yoo Ju, the constant repetition of leaving and wavering and trying again, of not being sure if it'll work the second time around.
Yoo Ju's speech on how she couldn't wait just killed me. I am so used to romance and shoujo tropes (and I suspect kdrama tropes?) of the women who wait around for the men, who are always forgiving in the end, who have the patience and the willingness to commit. It is nice to see someone whose philosophy is basically "cut and run," although possibly I am saying that because I overidentify with her and with the instinct to cut all losses.
And oh man, Han Sung. I like that the show isn't saying that Yoo Ju's way is right; when she talks about how he doesn't love only her anymore, there's this sense that it's acknowledging that maybe that didn't work so well the first time around, and of course she's running again because she's afraid. And while I usually yell at guys who cannot make up their minds, I get where Han Sung is coming from. I mean, he's basically loved this one woman for what? Eight or nine years? Two of which were post-breakup.
It is just incredibly interesting watching the both of them trying to figure out a relationship long term, particularly because they know each other so well even as they're both trying to change, trying not to make the same mistakes over again. It feels like a very real relationship.
But! My main focus is still on Han Kyul because OMG! OMG! I think this is now my favorite gender-bendy romance ever, just because for the first time I remember, they actually have the guy admitting that he's in love with the other person before he finds out about the gender switch! I hate the romance novel trope of "Oh wow! I am attracted to a man! Woe, sexual identity confusion!" and then "Oh, you're a woman. Of course! My body instinctively knew it all along." It's this awful bait-and-switch that doesn't acknowledge the entire question of sexual orientation and love and desire.
Also, I adored Han Kyul before for all the cute smiles and the playfulness, but I absolutely love him now for kissing Eun Chan even when he thought she was a guy, for actually taking that step, for saying that he didn't care if she was a man or an alien, and that they should try to go as far as they could. He was thinking of taking her to America with him! OMG! And... it didn't read like the usual yaoi and slash "I'm not gay! I'm just in love with this one person" to me.
I think it is because Han Kyul has taken so much time to think about it; it feels like he has actually considered long-term consequences. I was also very surprised when several of the coffee princes basically said, "So what? Yeah, it works that she's a girl, but even if she were a guy, big deal." I feel like usually, the gender confusion is cleared up before these questions can even come up.
Also also, I am really enjoying that there's a really large focus on family relationships as well as romantic ones. And not just the whole drama of Han Kyul's parentage, but just small scenes like Eun Chan meeting his grandmother, of Eun Chan and Eun Sae bickering. I also like that Eun Chan's mother is a romantic interest; it is so nice seeing a non-twenty-year-old get to have a romance. It is played for laughs, but at least it's there. And I loved the scene between Eun Chan's mom and Manager Hong, along with Manager Hong and Han Kyul. I like that there are inter-generational relationships, and that they are actually given a fair amount of weight.
But most of all: SQUEE! The angst! The cute! Han Kyul in torment! The angry kiss by the refrigerator! The sweet one in front of the paintings! The absolutely adorable phone call afterward, where both of them just could not stop smiling!
Oh, show, I love you so much.
Um, so I only have up to episode 17. Is that incomplete? MUST HAVE REST OF SERIES NOW.
I swear, I will actually post something not about dramas some day.
But for right now: SQUEEEEEE!
Warning: largely incoherent flailing under the cut.
I desperately want to watch episode 12 (OMG! The cliffhanger!), except it is 2:40 and therefore I am spending a few minutes typing this out instead of another hour parked in front of my computer.
OMG! OMG! OMG! THE CUTE! THE CUTE!
I think I nearly died of the cute in ep. 9 and 10! The beach scene OMG I cannot talk about it coherently because it reduces me to making high-pitched squealing noises! How is this so cute?! And the hyung-dongsaeng hijinks SO CUTE! I now officially retract everything mean I said about Han Kyul (Gyul? the romanization changed mid-series). He is awesome! He has that absolutely adorable little smile every time he watches Eun Chan and it makes me go completely incoherent every single time! The tissue on the face! The way they both would just randomly say "Hyung" or "Dongsaeng" just for the sake of saying it! Exclamation point! So cute!
Speaking of which, is the sworn brothers thing a very special thing? I could not quite tell -- I definitely see where the heightened intimacy comes in, especially since he's been her boss the entire time, but I was not sure if this happened fairly normally in actual society, if it happened fairly normally in kdramas, or if it is a Coffee Prince specialty.
Also, he pierces her ear and gives her an earring as an expression of love and affection and I nearly fell off the sofa when I realized because it is Kira and Setsuna from Angel Sanctuary and clearly earrings and ear piercings are the newest and bestest form of devotion ever!
Oh! And Han Sung and Yoo Ju! I was so afraid when Han Sung kissed Eun Chan, but I love how the show's been handling it. I love that Han Sung and Yoo Ju largely act like grown-ups, in that they do try to sit down and talk about things and that there's very little yelling normally. It makes the bigger emotional scenes later that much angstier.
I love that Yoo Ju realizes the incredible irony of her being jealous of Eun Chan, that she tries to acknowledge it even though she can't stop feeling it, and I love that Yoo Ju and Han Sung don't lie to each other, even when it's difficult. One of the big reasons why the love polygon in this drama isn't driving me crazy is because no one is really sneaking around anyone else's back, with the exception of the whole Eun Chan girl thing, but I forgive that.
I also love that Eun Chan and Han Sung continue to be friends; I really like their relationship. I'm so amused that she never stops calling him "ajusshi," even though she calls Yoo Ju "unni" and Han Kyul "hyung." This sounds incredibly dorky and exoticizing of me, but languages that indicate changes in relationship via appellations or pronouns lead to such great scenes (much like noticing when someone in manga drops the -kun or -chan and calls someone just by their name). Chinese doesn't quite have the same levels among people of relatively similar ages (though familial relationships? Figuring those out make my head spin), but I always feel weird when people use my name too much in conversation (i.e. "Blah blah blah, Oyce, blah blah blah" as opposed to using it to call my attention to something like "Hey, Oyce, check this out!"). I suspect it is because my sister only calls me "Jie" and my parents almost never call me by name (usually it's a nickname or it's "Jiejie"); when they whip out my name, something is Very Serious. Um, but that might just be me.
Anyway! Back to the drama! Oh, did Yoo Ju always call Eun Chan "Eun Chan-sshi," or was that only in the last episode, because she felt so awkward?
OMG! I was getting a little bored with the Yoo Ju/Han Sung storyline, but now I am right back in it because the angst! It kills! I am amazed that the series is killing me with two entirely different kinds of angst; Han Kyul's angst is new relationship angst, whereas Han Sung and Yoo Ju's feels older and harder and not as easy to sort out. Which is not to undercut Han Kyul's angst, because wow! But there is that sense of history with Han Sung and Yoo Ju, the constant repetition of leaving and wavering and trying again, of not being sure if it'll work the second time around.
Yoo Ju's speech on how she couldn't wait just killed me. I am so used to romance and shoujo tropes (and I suspect kdrama tropes?) of the women who wait around for the men, who are always forgiving in the end, who have the patience and the willingness to commit. It is nice to see someone whose philosophy is basically "cut and run," although possibly I am saying that because I overidentify with her and with the instinct to cut all losses.
And oh man, Han Sung. I like that the show isn't saying that Yoo Ju's way is right; when she talks about how he doesn't love only her anymore, there's this sense that it's acknowledging that maybe that didn't work so well the first time around, and of course she's running again because she's afraid. And while I usually yell at guys who cannot make up their minds, I get where Han Sung is coming from. I mean, he's basically loved this one woman for what? Eight or nine years? Two of which were post-breakup.
It is just incredibly interesting watching the both of them trying to figure out a relationship long term, particularly because they know each other so well even as they're both trying to change, trying not to make the same mistakes over again. It feels like a very real relationship.
But! My main focus is still on Han Kyul because OMG! OMG! I think this is now my favorite gender-bendy romance ever, just because for the first time I remember, they actually have the guy admitting that he's in love with the other person before he finds out about the gender switch! I hate the romance novel trope of "Oh wow! I am attracted to a man! Woe, sexual identity confusion!" and then "Oh, you're a woman. Of course! My body instinctively knew it all along." It's this awful bait-and-switch that doesn't acknowledge the entire question of sexual orientation and love and desire.
Also, I adored Han Kyul before for all the cute smiles and the playfulness, but I absolutely love him now for kissing Eun Chan even when he thought she was a guy, for actually taking that step, for saying that he didn't care if she was a man or an alien, and that they should try to go as far as they could. He was thinking of taking her to America with him! OMG! And... it didn't read like the usual yaoi and slash "I'm not gay! I'm just in love with this one person" to me.
I think it is because Han Kyul has taken so much time to think about it; it feels like he has actually considered long-term consequences. I was also very surprised when several of the coffee princes basically said, "So what? Yeah, it works that she's a girl, but even if she were a guy, big deal." I feel like usually, the gender confusion is cleared up before these questions can even come up.
Also also, I am really enjoying that there's a really large focus on family relationships as well as romantic ones. And not just the whole drama of Han Kyul's parentage, but just small scenes like Eun Chan meeting his grandmother, of Eun Chan and Eun Sae bickering. I also like that Eun Chan's mother is a romantic interest; it is so nice seeing a non-twenty-year-old get to have a romance. It is played for laughs, but at least it's there. And I loved the scene between Eun Chan's mom and Manager Hong, along with Manager Hong and Han Kyul. I like that there are inter-generational relationships, and that they are actually given a fair amount of weight.
But most of all: SQUEE! The angst! The cute! Han Kyul in torment! The angry kiss by the refrigerator! The sweet one in front of the paintings! The absolutely adorable phone call afterward, where both of them just could not stop smiling!
Oh, show, I love you so much.
Um, so I only have up to episode 17. Is that incomplete? MUST HAVE REST OF SERIES NOW.
I swear, I will actually post something not about dramas some day.
But for right now: SQUEEEEEE!
no subject
You have to watch episode 12 because there's this one scene I want to talk to you about, and you'll understand why I stalled at this point for months.
no subject
OMG! Just watched ep. 12 will post.
no subject
no subject