Why Why Love, ep. 06-10

[oyceter]

Er, I succumbed to the cute...

Also, it helped a lot that standard drama romance fluffiness took center stage. The class issues are obviously still there, but more on your standard romance level than on the very realistic yet very not portrayal in the first few episodes.

I am still somewhat amazed that the drama has managed to make me forget about Jia Di's family's tens of thousands of dollars of debt. Okay, not really, since I know I am the biggest sap ever. Getting Jia Di's mother off screen in a plausible manner helped a lot, as did the plot hijinks that made Jia Di stay over at Huo Da's for a few days. The plot hijinks themselves did not seem that hijink-y when they were happening, but the aftermath was very standard shoujo, which meant my brain just went with the trope. I am sad that Jia Di is now more of your typical heroine, though I still love that the best way to cheer her up is to get her riled up about something.

Also, Huo Da managed to win me over more by paying for Jia Di's uncle's hospital bill quietly. And the actor is really just ridiculously charming. I am even beginning to fall for his hair, at least when it's shot straight on, as opposed to the views of the ridiculously feathered sides and back. Huo Da now reads more as a childlike guy who has a bad temper but comes through for Jia Di no matter what, and all his jokes are sort of stupid, and yet incredibly cute. Possibly I was felled by the pink toothbrush, wheelchair antics in the rain, him stumbling around on his broken leg to find Jia Di when he hears her house has been beset by gangsters, or his self-defeating, clumsy, yet endearing attempts to get his brother and Jia Di together.

Huo Yan, sadly, has fallen somewhat in my estimation, as this is now the second time he has fallen for a Big Misunderstanding. Also, his actions under Big Misunderstanding were just cruel. On the other hand, I burst out laughing when the writers tried to get the audience to like him again by giving him a traumatic childhood.

He was a bastard child! Sold by his mother to his ultra-rich family! Woes! I so called Jia Di's mom's friend as his mom.

I would feel more sympathetic for Yan Shu were it not for her habit of sitting in the car and thinking at a green light, because I am petty and road-rage-ful like that. Also, it would be nice if she didn't immediately think poorly of other women vying for the Huo brothers. On the plus side, I really like Jia Di's relationship with Xiao Nan. I doubt it will pass the Bechdel test, but they feel like good friends with a lot of history. I also liked that Jia Di did not give in to the tragic childhood story, although she walked off for much less selfish reasons than I would have preferred.

And now! Jia Di and Huo Yan officially date! I anticipate much lack of chemistry between the two and much angsting from Huo Da and Yan Shu, both of whom will make poor attempts to hide it and possibly date each other as a subconscious attempt to make the other two jealous. I am really hoping that the two brothers don't end up fighting over Jia Di, although I bet that's what's going to happen anyway.

So: Devil Beside You. Same cast, good reviews... worth a watch?

Comments

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Devil Beside You made me an eternal fan of Kingone(the brother in this) and he and his love interest in the show are one of the best secondary pairings I've seen in a drama.

It also gave me such an intense aversion to the Mike He/Rainie Yang pairing that I can't make myself watch WWL(or, so far, anything else with either of them in it)despite many reliable promises that I'll like it. You know the whole thing with the alpha jerk who essentially pressures the girl into being with him and then bullies her and pushes her around the whole time, but it's ok because he's cute and has angst? That's the entire show. I can't even really like or feel for her, because she just takes it. She pouts a bit and makes token protests, but lets him bulldoze over her and jerk her around the whole time. Even when she does put her foot down over something, it's her complaining that he rejects love letter from girls he doesn't know, right on the heals of saying nothing while he he orders her around. I mean, I hate Goong/Palace(drama, not manhwa) for similar reasons, but at least she tries to stand up for herself.

Actually, most of the supporting cast is pretty cool, and even their individual characters are ok if balanced well with someone else, it's just that the combination of the 2 is the perfect example of all the wortst shoujo tropes. I think the manga was released in the US as "The Devil Does Exist."

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

I think the manga was released in the US as "The Devil Does Exist."

The manga is unexpectedly good; or maybe it just fared well (for me) in comparison to the drama. I felt like the Jiang Meng/Takeru (Mike He's part) was much less of a jerk, and when he was still a jerk I understood the reasons why.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

IIRC, the drama also tried to make me understand why, it just made me like both less.

The drama is one of those things where I enjoy but have some problems with it while I'm watching, but then after I finished I sat back and thought about it, and realized how much I really hated it. I had the same problem with Goong.

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

IIRC, the drama also tried to make me understand why, it just made me like both less.

Agree -- but for me the manga was slightly more palatable because Takeru was plainly being presented as an immature punk kid, while his drama counterpart was supposed to be... oh, I dunno, some kind of misunderstood badass. It's a total YMMV-type situation, I know, I'm just talking aloud.


I had the same problem with Goong.

Okay, that sounds interesting. Did you write about this anywhere?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've never done a proper writeup off Goong because it's so massively popular. But basically, you have a girl who is stripped of anything resembling personal autonomy and put directly under the power of a guy who doesn't care about her(and is, in fact, obsessed with someone else) who allows others to push her around and passively permits his friends to be cruel to her(I'm sorry, but when the girl who wants him back walks up and asks him if he's really ok with the way she's being treated, and he says nothing and doesn't seem to care? The guy earns my hatred.) and is extremely demanding and critical of her behavior, and then his family is too, and his main defense is "I don't like all the expectations that are put on me." In addition, he spent half the series stalkerishly in love with Hyo-Rin(actually the only character in the whole thing that I liked...and don't get me started on the "hate this one because she's smart, elegant and collected, and love this one because she's cute and quirky" thing) then suddenly is completely over her and all about Chae-Gyung.

Shin's treatment of Chae-Gyung basically makes him the dorama "hero" I loathe the most, topping Takizawa Hideaki's character in Taiyou no Kisetsu(that hatred, I think I did document...)

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

I was sadly remiss in saying so, but I was really glad you took the time to respond to my request. I don't think I can agree, but I'm always interested in other people's interpretations and this one especially gave me some food for thought...

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Well, I tend to be extremely strict when it comes to the behavior narratives expect me to accept from "heroes" in romantic stories, and Goong hits almost every wrong button it can in that regard. Kdramas in general (at least most of those I've watched or tried to watch) tend to go the "he has money and will save her from poverty and other financial troubles, and that and his angst justifies his behavior towards her."

I have the same problem with a lot of romance novels, not to mention a lot of shoujo. Though with shoujo, it's usually more bullying/being a wallflower/etc.