So I finished watching Gu Family Book today (don't even get me started...no really, don't) and I've been experiencing this thing called....
...
I don't even know what you would call it. Sitting-there-in-a-helpless-daze-while-thoughts-of-betrayal-manifest-in-your-mind.
That sounds about right.
Anyway, so the horrible feelings I suffered through during the last two episodes of Gu Family Book got me thinking about a lot of other similar dramas I've watched and I really just got...depressed.
The big D.
Why? Because I realized that I am continually being betrayed by the very dramas I love and yet I still keep watching them. Must be another one of those mysteries of the universe.
Anyway, in honor of my forsaken state I though I would make a post dedicated to the top five dramas (other than GFB) from South Korea which I adored up until the very end when they stabbed me in the back. Interestingly enough, not all of the dramas on this list inspired the same kind of hate as others, which is weird and yet probably a good thing (watch how my "level of re-watchability"'s fluctuate...it's rather worrisome).
(Also? Gu Family Book...thanks for the worst birthday present ever). =_=
CAUTION: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE FOLLOWING DRAMAS: 49 Days, Bridal Mask, City Hunter, Rooftop Prince and Faith.
DRAMA OF BETRAYAL #1: 49 Days
This is the very first drama I remember watching and feeling utterly betrayed by the ending. I have many reasons for feeling mislead, the biggest being that the writer had a history of happy, fulfilling endings and the trajectory of the drama suggested a satisfying conclusion.
The whole purpose of this drama was for Ji Hyun to gather a tear from three people who genuinely love her in order for her to get her life back. Throughout this journey we were rooting for our heroin to accomplish this mission--not quite knowing if she would be able to--and yet when she did indeed succeed in accomplishing this quest....she ended up dying anyway.
The fact that Ji Hyun died is not what makes me angry. The fact that she died anyway is what upsets me. Had she not succeeded in gathering the three tears I would have been sad--but okay--with letting her go. The fact that the writer trolled us in the last hour and totally crushed my hopes and dreams for the OTP after already making us suffer a bittersweet parting for the second couple was unacceptable.
This is not one of those tragic endings I've been able to swallow and digest with time (like, say, Hong Gil Dong). And what's worse is that 49 Days was actually a really good drama all around: good acting, good plot, exciting, romantic...and I just absolutely loved it. But thanks to the last episode, to this day I have not forgiven the author for putting me through such a frustrating ending.
Level of re-watchability: ZERO.
DRAMA OF BETRAYAL #2: Bridal Mask
This little gem right here has gone down on my list as the worst drama in the history of dramas.
Don't get me wrong, when it wasn't being total suckage it was being totally awesome, hence the betrayal. In fact, I obsessively loved this drama despite it's many, frequent flaws.
I had hopes and dreams for this show. None of which ever happened. And yet I continued to watch.
But by the end, it was just too much. Especially with all the unnecessary deaths.
I get that people had to die...it was just one of those dramas. But there is a time and a place, a will and a way...if you know what I mean. Bridal Mask attempted to wring heart-wrenching emotions out of viewers in a completely (in my opinion) unsuccessful way.
I think the reason I felt the most betrayed was because there were so many ways I thought this drama could have been better and it was disappointing to see it constantly taking the "easy route" instead of delving into deeper stuff. Oh, the 'could of's' with this show. To get a better idea of what I mean, you can check out a review I posted of the first 16 episodes of Bridal Mask [here]. This is what I posted on my tumblr after I had finished it:
I feel like I’m recovering from an abusive relationship……with Gakshital.
No, really.
It seduced me with it’s charm and glamour wooing me along with whispered promises and enticing anticipation.
And just when I was in too deep, head over heels in love, I started seeing the warning signs I’d long been ignoring. And then the torture started. Time after time, Gakshital would abuse my poor, manipulated heart and time after time it would whisper “I’m sorry, it’s not my fault! You still love me right?”
And then I would start to think that I was wrong. That there must be something wrong with me for thinking like I did.
And just when I was about to go crazy and loose my mind, Gakshital had the nerve to end it all. Just like that. Throw me in the dust. Though despite being heartsick and peeved, this—at least—set me free at last.
But now I am torn, unable to move on. Wanting to go back. Bombarded with thoughts of the good times only, somehow forgetting the bad. I can’t fully give my heart to another. Another drama who treats me good, who won’t betray me and who would never hurt me. Instead I am constantly thinking about my abusive, former love.
Anyone know a good counselor?Level of re-watchability: ZERO
DRAMA OF BETRAYAL #3: City Hunter
This drama has still managed to stay as one of my favorites despite my bitter disappointment in the ending. It positively swept me away when in aired back in 2011 and it was one of those shows that kept me anxious for more every week.
But of course, as dramas tend to do, it faltered a bit in the last quarter of it's run but I was okay with that. However, the open-ended-ness of the ending was a pretty big blow that I still haven't quite recovered from...
So did Yoon Sung live? Or did he die? That is the big question which wasn't really answered in a satisfying enough manner for my tastes. Plus I didn't get the OTP payout in the end that I was hoping for. And also: why the big blood-line "twist"? Unnecessary. What's with these dramas, anyway?
Overall, not as big of a betrayal as it could have been but because it was such a great drama quality-wise it left me feeling rather jaded.
Level of re-watchability: HIGH (in fact I'm re-watching it right now...)
DRAMA OF BETRAYAL #4: Rooftop Prince
This drama (like City Hunter) is still on my list of favorites despite having a back-stabbing ending. In fact, I've already re-watched it (and yes, the ending still hurt).
I will be the first to admit that Rooftop Prince has many flaws...mostly with the plot just being poorly constructed (there are many plot holes) but it was just so darn cute and funny that I didn't even care.
However, because it is a time travel drama and not Queen In-Hyun's Man (which was perfect in EVERY way), tragedy was bound to happen. A quote from my review (ie. WHY I FEEL BETRAYED):
This does NOT have a happy ending for our super duper cute couple. Not at all. I WILL argue that it is bittersweet at best. Realistically (who are we kidding? Realistic? This drama? There is a stone TURTLE that mysteriously turns it's head as the camera zooms in on it ominously before our Josen F4 are magically transported to the future. There is no realism here) it makes since that things turned out the way they did...within the context of fiction the writer provided. Yi Gak travels to the future to uncover the mystery behind his crown princess' murder. Mission success! Of course he would be transported back to the past. That is where he belongs. Especially since he has a perfectly comatose reincarnation in the future. Why not?
BUT my heart so desperately hoped for a miracle. It is hard to go through an entire drama series rooting and cheering for OTP only to have them--technically--not end up together in the end. I understand that Tae Young is (pretty much) Yi Gak. And I am convinced that in the end, when he finds Park Ha, he has (if not all) at least some of Yi Gak's memories/personality traits. The way he stands...and what he says...all point to that. But the truth of the matter is that he is NOT Yi Gak. And Yi Gak went back to the past and died (at some point), alone. If I can imagine Tae Young has most of Yi Gak's memories now that he has awoken from his coma, I feel a little better, since that would mean Yi Gak did come back for Park Ha and get his well deserved Happy Ever After but boy does my heart still hurt for these two.Level of re-watchability: HIGH
DRAMA OF BETRAYAL #5: Faith
I went through pretty much the same stages with this drama that I did with Gu Family Book: I hated it at first (what a disappointment!), fell in looooove with it somewhere along the way, and then felt betrayed by and unsatisfied with the ending.
This should be a warning sign to me, you know? If it starts out terrible--run far away. It may get better but it will only get worse. How depressing.
It really boiled down to one thing for me with Faith: I wanted more from the OTP (ONE KISS? REALLY? WHY?). I felt like the whole thing just fizzled in the end and....actually, I don't even remember much about the last episode, that's how bad it was. And then it just...ended. It was over, just like that and all I could think of was I wanted so much moooore. There was potential for a lot of things with this show that just never happened (as seems to be the case with the other dramas I've mentioned in this post). Overall I was very unsatisfied and even more upset because I just loved it so much.
Level of re-watchability: MEDIUM (skip-watchable)
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