Before I jump into SBS's new Wednesday-Thursday drama The Heirs, allow me to fully give closure to the recently-ended Hong Sisters drama Master's Sun.
Like most of you, I went into this drama with one foot out the door, just in case the writing goes haywire. Because of that-drama-that-will-not-be-named, despite my earlier devotion to the sister-duo's better dramas, there was much hesitation and trepidation going into Master's Sun. I'm just beyond happy to say that this drama proved to be so much better than the previous one.
Albeit a last minute one-episode extension dragged things on for awhile towards the end, we still got our happy ending and - maybe thanks to the extra episode - we got to relish in sweet-nothings for a bit. Those are always the best things in rom-coms. So yeah, good job, show.
Usually, a timeskip is one of those narrative devices that I generally dislike. Especially when they happen at the end of a story. But I give the usage of the technique in this particular drama a free pass because it wasn't used ala deus ex machina where the jump magically fixes things.
Gong-shil returns after a year still with the same problems. She can still see ghosts and they still flock around her. But what changed in the year she spent traveling was that she's learned more about herself and how this special talent came to be. She wasn't able to rid herself of the problem, but rather she has learned to accept that it's a part of her now and she's not scared anymore. I like that. Now she can approach Joong-won with the mindset that she needs him because she loves him, and not because he's her emergency shelter.
The character growths that ran throughout the drama were satisfying. I like how their individual developments followed opposite trajectories where she needed to love herself more, and he needed to learn to love someone apart from himself. It's also nice to note that while it took Gong-shil a gap year to learn how to love herself, Joong-won's own growth happened earlier. So while Gong-shil was away, I love that all Joong-won did was wait - because it was so uncharacteristic of him, this proves how far he's gone in his love for her.
I also enjoyed how the final episode explored the other relationships in the story. Kang Woo and Little Sun were absolutely adorable. I know that some people did not enjoy Tae Yi-ryeong as much as I did, and I understand that. But to me, she was just hilarious. And I get how Kang Woo came around to actually caring about her. Cute, cute, cute. Especially that scene on the red carpet. "I'll do it later." OMG, yes please.
Unni and Cheap Mouth got a sweet ending. Aunt and Vice President got a happy ending. Even trashcan ahjussi ghost got to move on. But one of my favorite relationships in the drama got the best ending ever and it resulted in, quite possibly, my favorite scene in the drama's entire finale week. Episode 16 had me blubbering at the hug Joong-won gave Secretary Kim. That was one friendship I was so afraid would get torn apart because of the whole Hee-joo/Hanna thing. So I was beyond ecstatic that that wasn't the case. Those two need each other. *cries*
I do think the two lead actors carried most of the dramas weight. Their chemistry is off the charts. Have you seen their interviews together? The behind the scenes clips? Good god, just go ahead and get married please. I've honestly never seen anything that So Ji-sub was in prior to Master's Sun but this might've encouraged me to go and check out his older works. Unfortunately, most of them are melos. I must've loved him that much in this drama for me to want to go and check him out doing stuff that will make me cry.
Gong Hyo-jin, on the other hand, I fell in love with in The Greatest Love. Which doesn't say much of me as a fan because that came right before this one. I have, however, seen in her in other dramas that I have yet to actually finish watching, like Pasta and Biscuit Teacher, Star Candy. It's not because of her lack of onscreen presence that I haven't watched these dramas completely. It all boils down to my attention span and the many dramas available in kdramaland. But suffice it to say that I've always loved her acting and always thought she has some kind of magic touch that just lights up the screen.
While the drama did well plot-wise, and it's safe to say that the Hong Sisters survived the slump of that-drama-that-will-not-be-named, I'm still inclined to favor their earlier works. It's not that this drama wasn't a boatload of fun and light-hearted romance, because it was, but Delightful Girl Choon-hyang and You're Beautiful were just that much more epic for me. Having said that, this drama (with all the Hong Sisters' trademark metaphors and puns and meta references that I absolutely love) could be considered a successful comeback for the writing duo. If a drama successfully makes me fall in love with not just the lead characters but with the second leads as well, it deserves two very happy thumbs up.
Now, I'm off to watch The Heirs. OMG, finally.
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