Heartstrings

Other title: You've fallen for me

Korean title: 넌 내게 반했어

Aired on MBC - Summer 2011- 15 episodes

Main cast:

Jung Yong Hwa as Lee Shin

Park Shin Hye as Lee Kyu Won

Song Chang Ui as Kim Suk Hyun

So Yi Hyun as Jung Yoon Soo

Woo Ri as Han Hee Joo

Kang Min Hyuk as Yeo Joon Hee

Lee Hyun Jun as Hyun Ki Young

Im Se Mi as Cha Bo Woon

Review:  -/+

Title: Makes sense :"You've fallen for me" is the name of a song featured and "Heartstrings", well, there are romance and music.

Girl: She's kind, talented. She starts "amazing"(+) then unfortunately becomes "annoying"(-). It's ironic because the main supporting female character starts "annoying" then becomes great.

Boy(s): I want him! Them. The male leads are handsome (yes, I know it's not a surprise) and have a pretty voice. Despite some inconsistency in how Lee Shin is portrayed, he is basically perfect. And Kim Suk Hyun is just awesome. Awesome.

Relationship: The falling in/out of love wasn't very well-handled (-) but some very common cliches were avoided which was great and original (+).

Other characters: There are A LOT of other characters. Most of them are interesting (+) but they get backstories in a way that made me keep waiting for when this will get important in the plot and it never happens. So it feels like a waste of time (-).

Also (-) for the bad guy. He has a backstory and is good at hindering the main characters but something doesn't work with him. In the end, he's just not compelling. He's pathetic and it's not even tragic.

Music: Gimme the OST. (+) Bonus: Korean traditional instruments. Their sound is beautiful.

Funny factor? It's funnier than most "comedy/romance" dramas. I actually laugh several times. There are many good comical characters and also some recurring jokes that work. (+)

Bottom line: This drama had so much potential: The characters are interesting and mostly cleverly developed, it's funny, it's original and I love the musical set-up storyline BUT besides the issues I already mentioned, there is a late development that is so unnecessary that it feels like it was a blatant way to fill another episode (so annoying) and I wish the set-up of the musical was more prominent.

It's not a drama I couldn't stop watching but at least I finished it. Also episode 7 is a drag. If you watch this drama, I think you'll like it and laugh and swoon but don't expect too much and be prepared to be mildly annoyed by the plot and the characters.

 

After the jump, there is a review for people who have watched it.

Don't read if you're going to watch it! You're going to know almost everything that happens!


I will talk a lot about the characters. First, Lee Gyu Won. As I said, she's great even if she's clumsy as only girls in drama are. She's lively and nice. Unfortunately, it's not really clear why she put up with "abuse" from her grandfather and why she lets him interfere so much in her life and choices. Yes, he raised her and it's her duty as his granddaughter to obey him but still, she's a grown-up and she has her father! Therefore, it often appears as a weakness of hers and a way to artificially create drama. Another issue I have with her is how she fell in love with Lee Shin. It was too sudden and it made her stalker-y and pathetic. Girl! Seriously?

At the beginning, Lee Shin is in love with a Dance teacher. She dances in the dark and always falls, in a nutshell, she's annoying. But she's sensible and as soon as she gets with the Director, she's nice and supportive.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin spends an episode acting stupid then suddenly, as though by magic, the next episode, he's totally ready to be interested in Lee Gyu Won. Again, I missed some transition or progression or visible breakthrough in his feelings.

As I said, the Director character is amazing. His personality is well-defined: He's talented and professional, proud and confident. He's also very much in love with the Dance teacher. I commend the drama for not introducing a love triangle despite the fake-outs. I was also pleasantly surprised that the hotel trap didn't result in a misunderstanding with Lee Shin and the Dance teacher.

The parents are linked but it doesn't go anywhere, plot-wise. It's just a fact. I like the scenes with Lee Shin's father (loved the actor) but again, they unfortunately don't bear enough consequences on the story, except making one episode even more depressing. By the way, unless I missed something, we don't know much about Lee Gyu Won's mother except that she died early.

Hee Joon/Joon Hee subplot: Good. He's so cute and I appreciated that she was not a complete beyotch cliché. Like when she told the journalists she didn't sing in the musical.

Good comical characters: Boon On (I laughed at the recurring joke of her always walking on LS and GW at the worse moment), the Director's friends, Sa Rang and her minions, the grandfather when he's not being mean.

The male lead in the musical has a beautiful, very emotional voice but I don't get his character. When he's introduced, he looks like he's going to be important and he turned out to be a very minor character, which was weird.

As I said, I liked the musical storyline a lot and wanted more of it but there were some huge problems which could have been avoided:
- Lee Gyu Won managed to do the splits after one night of training? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Sorry for the caps but it's just so impossible. I can buy that she trained a lot and progressed, I could admit that she's unusually gifted and I have to say that at the end, they admitted that she still wasn't dancing as well as Hee Joo, but then don't show her doing the splits, just don't.
- There is only one song by the female lead in the musical and it's just at the end. How is that possible in a, you know, musical? This song could be in the first act. As it is, there was no discussion that Hee Joo was the best choice since most of the "musical" was only dancing.

Finally, the unnecessary development: Lee Shin's hand. In dramas, people fall a lot but it seemed to me as a transparent way to fill the last episode. It was slightly interesting but the resolution was so forced and predictable that I wish they didn't. During the last episode, you're supposed to come to terms with the fact that it's almost the end or to wish it never ends, but I was actually thinking "OK, WHEN are you getting back together? Fast forwarding." The end could have been the same but better: they don't break up, Lee Gyu Won goes and comes back a star, all the characters meet for the concerts. Or they could even have given up on the whole "one year later" and just have a farewell concert for the Director and Lee Gyu Won. Tears. The end.