My thought process right now is a little something like “FML I wish I was a better writer so I could more accurately express all these feelings!!!” and “I NEED TO POST SOMETHING ASAP BEFORE 9-10!!!”. To anyone who actually reads this blog, this is my PSA for the summer: WATCH FOREST OF SECRETS. It might change your life, just saying.
[white_box] Spoilers up to episode 8, also very text heavy because I was too lazy for images. [/white_box]
I watched the trailers for this show, read the plot summary, was happy to hear about Bae Doona returning to Korean dramas but I struggled to develop any interest until someone on r/kdrama asked why people weren’t watching Forest of Secrets!” I may be allergic to popular shows, but I’m always game for something ~underrated. Now that I’m halfway through, I’m so glad I took the chance! Watching it makes me ridiculously happy. You know I’m in deep when I start frequenting the Soompi forum just for behind the scenes goodies, lol. I think I’ve only done this for a few shows (Secret Love Affair is the only one I can remember off the top of my head).
I think I generally disagree with most of the criticism leveled towards Young Eun-soo, and not just because I love what Shin Hye-sun is doing in the role haha. Some have likened her character to something like a rom-com heroine, and I don’t think that’s accurate. Maybe it’s because we’re so used to the truly unflappable Hwang Shi-mok or the super perceptive Yeo-jin that everyone else just seems like a caricature. Eun-soo’s biggest problem is that she rushes into things without thinking through how it might affect anyone but herself and her endgame, which is to take out the Chief Prosecutor. She’s also intriguing in that she’s kind of cold… I mean, homegirl nearly threw away her life to prove a point — her point — and I think that really speaks to how much value she places on other people’s lives in the face of her mission. She’s not to be underestimated.
If I could describe Eun-soo and Shi-mok’s relationship, I would say that she raises his hackles a bit. I watched the first episode again and I just got the feeling that she just bothers him. From the moment she unconsciously stuck her tongue out while thinking to when she said he wouldn’t know anything about having a woman in his apartment that late at night — Eun-soo is just someone who he is very aware of and distrusts, hence the weird tension. I do think that she also knows what effect she has on him, which is suuuuuuper interesting to me. She’s toeing the line! Sometimes I feel like we’re a few steps away from a massive betrayal, and other times steps away from them making out or something lol. Unlike other viewers, I don’t actually think she has a crush on Shi-mok; if anything, I think she REALLY wants his trust/respect so that she can further her own plans. I think it’s obvious how frustrating it is for her that he doesn’t let her in on much of anything.
And then we have Seo Dong-jae. This dude! On paper her seems like the very (very) handsome foil to Shi-mok* and the right hand to Lee Chang-joon; overall, a person who has the potential to block Shi-mok and Yeo-jin’s road to justice. He may be considered one of weaker actors in the cast, but he’s actually my favorite type of villain. He’s impulsive, sly, paranoid, a grade-A shit talker, emotional… but also cunning, intelligent (RE: his office getting searched — I swear, in any other drama it would have taken 20 episodes to figure out), and so damn human. It was equally amazing to watch him “set the table” and stay several steps ahead of everyone else (remember, he’s not stupid) and then watch him crumple when they finally caught up. Shoutout to Lee Joon-hyuk for making desperation look so damn delicious.
Other notes
- * NOT THAT JO SEUNG-WOO IS UGLY! Far from it, I’m thirsting for this guy 200% of the time but that is neither here nor there…
- I still can’t get a read on Lee Chang-joon (Chief Prosecutor), and his scenes are the ones I find myself rewatching the most. I genuinely think he’s trying to be the Good Prosecutor, but there are too many external factors that are distorting that road to justice, which in turn might make him take some measures that will turn him into the Bad Prosecutor. And I wonder if his desire to be the most just/the way he goes about it is just as distorted, too. Someone should check out his palace.
- Speaking of the Chief Prosecutor, his wife is mighty suspicious to me but that hospital appearance? Total red herring.
- HAN YEO-JIN FOR BEST GIRL. She is now the gold standard for detectives in k-dramas, especially ones that are supposed to be the foil for a lead who is (mostly) unfeeling/gruff with a tragic backstory. I just love her approach to handling Park Moo-sung’s family: she’s empathetic, perceptive (monitoring Moo-sung’s son closely before taking any action, her interactions with Shi-mok in general), and practical. Her sense of justice isn’t OTT, it’s inspirational. My only problem is that at this stage I don’t feel like we know enough about Yeo-jin —especially since her appearances can be scarce at times— and it’s killing me. We’ve got 8 episodes left though, so I will trust the writer.
- I love that the police are not ineffectual and that the prosecutors are shown to make mistakes too. Everyone is on the same playing field which just adds to the level of tension. LOVE IT. Did not love the cops treating Kyung-wan to dinner, it honestly made me a little sick. Y’all tortured him!
- After the news leak in episode 8 and Yeo-jin’s conversation with him in the pojangmacha (and the conversation RE: the abuse Kyung-wan went through, omg I loved that scene/her/Bae Doona forever), it occurred to me there’s a tendency for viewers to woobify a ~damaged lead, but I think this one in particular can be just as manipulative and cunning as some of the other villains. The road to hell is paved with good intentions… #trustnoone
. . .
Current
The only other drama I’m seriously watching right now is The Best Hit. If not for such lovable characters and relationships (forever and ever crying about Mal-sook and her gruff grandpa DON’T TALK TO ME), I probably would have dropped this a while ago. Part of it has to do with the introduction of a love triangle I really don’t care for. I’m not a fan of any plot that involves someone who 1) has been harboring feelings for years, 2) is rejected after a confession, and 3) still says, “well, I’m going to make you love me anyway!” Boy, bye. — Episode 22
Completed
Nothing! I haven’t finished any of the other dramas from my last post… kinda just being lazy.