Korean title: 옥탑방 왕세자
Aired on SBS
March/May 2012
20 episodes
Main cast:
Note:
I watched this drama week-to-week (starting from around the 5th ep), something I rarely do. I usually wait till all the episodes are out. I hate waiting ;) and the experience is more intense. But it also makes inconsistencies more glaring. I hope I would have liked Rooftop Prince as much if I had watched it in less sittings.
Review: Fav!
Title: I shouldn't have made fun of dramas titles because again this one is appropriate. I like it.
Girl: OK. Han Ji Min is in two of my favourite dramas and I don't especially like her. But let's talk about her character. She's a very generic drama girl lead. She's kind. She cares about her family. She's hardworking. She's brash at first but that is toned down quite quickly. More problematic: she does the DUMBEST action in the drama which stalls the plot. Plus she's a bit of a damsel-in-distress at some point.
However, she's brave. Like, a lot. In many ways. She faces whatever is going on.
Boy: Asian dramas are really good with male lead characters. They pretty much have to if the romance is a big part of the story. Here, Boy is just the right kind of arrogant and cute. But what I liked the most is that he's really smart. In a lot of dramas, Boy runs a big company usually thanks to his family and it is implied or mentioned that he is clever. But here, since it's a plot driven drama, we can see Boy using his brain to try to understand what is going on and what he should do. And he has good ideas. (+)
Other boy and girl: They have a lot of screentime so they deserve to be singled out. They are the "enemies" and I liked them. I think they are developed beyond the "they are just evil" theme (though it wouldn't have hurt to pad their motivations- I did that in my head) and their path is really interesting. (+) I can't say more without spoiling and I really don't want to spoil you on this drama because...
the Plot is the Number one reason this drama is a Fav. The threads were generic, especially the 'I want to take over a company" but :
I was seriously impressed by how many balls the drama throw in the air and how it managed to catch all of them. I like how everyone act mostly rationally (except for the DUMBEST action in the drama and it made it stick out even more). I like how expertly the plot and the characters interconnected. I like how it progressed steadily, almost never stalling (except after, you know, the DUMBEST action ever). I like how at any given point, the drama could go on many different directions and I had no idea which one it would take and it would end up one I hadn't even thought about. I didn't even like the end for many reasons but that couldn't spoil the enjoyment of everything that happened before.
Relationship: It worked well with the plot (though it could have been even more integrated). I like how it was built, the obstacles were natural. However, I don't know if it's because I'm lukewarm about Girl or... OK, I know. I think their characters don't match, for whatever reasons. (I would develop more but I'd need to heavily spoil what happens). Still, I'm willing to buy it because I love this drama!
Other characters: You see from the "main cast" that there are a lot of them. I like all the older ones except for the father of Other boy. The actor also played Geum Jan Di's father in Boys over flowers and he overacts. It was annoying. Other important characters are Boy's companions. They each have a distinctive strength and they are a treat. The way they react, the way they evolve... They are adjacent to the plot but at the same time, they are totally necessary.
Funny factor: A little. As many dramas, especially at the beginning since the premise of the drama is a huge opportunity for comedy.
Music: Plays its role. I grew to like it but it was sometimes distracting instead of enhancing what is happening.
Other points: There are historical parts and fantastic elements. Both are a Plus for me.
On another note, I have to mention the shameless product placements. At this point, the cars are a given (though I have no idea which brand they were using since I had never seen that logo before) but now, it's the phones. If you watch the Vampire Diaries, you know the scene where Klaus writes with a stylus "I will" instead of typing it. This (not exactly for the same app) happens twice and it's so obvious. Product placements are sometimes necessary but in these cases, they are litteral ads and become distracting. End of rant.
Bottom line: This is the first Fav I featured so I want to reiterate that this does not mean that the drama has no faults. I mentioned some of them in this review but in the end, the good was great enough to make me overlook its failings. Maybe on a second viewing, it will be different but for now:
- The storylines are strong. There are high stakes.
- The relationships between the characters are compelling.
- Events unfold naturally and logically. Actions have consequences. Nothing sticks out as totally unnecessary.
- It has heart.
FAV!
Developments after the jump: BIG SPOILERS ALERT! And I think that the surprises are important here...
As I said, I really liked the surprises in the drama: an apparent main character drowning in the first episode? The grandmother dying?
That brings me to the villains. As I said, I like them as characters except for Yong Dong Man (his laugh... really?). I felt bad for them since their plans just kept on failing. And their descent into evilness is interesting to see. They are both greedy, envious and selfish. But at first, they do not plan to kill. It just happens but when they decide to cover for it: slippery slope. It gets worse and worse. There's no turning back, they're desperate. It's different than just: "Oh, this person is evil and doesn't care about killing". And it makes their final plan all the more tragic and chilling.
So now, let's talk about the ending. I like happy endings. As soon as we learn than Tae Yong has been alive (an hackneyed and far-fetched development that I forgive since it has interesting consequences), I planned an ending in which Bu Yong and Lee Gak are together as well as Tae Yong and Park Ha. Or Lee Gak stays with Park Ha and Tae Yong goes back in time.
There is another problem with the ending. How is it possible than no one noticed that it was Bu Yong when they took her from the pond? I mean the servants must have known her face or at least they must have known that she didn't have a scar. Were they bought? If someone has an explanation or if I missed something, please share.
Now, why I accept this ending: it makes sense. At one point, I thought that Lee Gak travelled to discover that his true soul mate was Bu Yong. Well, he did find out (and has to live in a world where she died for him, in love with him - it's really sad) but the events were really paralleling. Different but same in core. Lee Gak (authoritative, pro-active) and Tae Yong (a dreamer, chill, simple) are different (the actor was quite good portraying them, he may have been helped by the language but still). Bu Yong and Park Ha too. Maybe it's because they were brought up in different ways but the fact remains. And I like that. However, if they're not the same people, the feelings (the love or the jealousy) bring them all together and lead to the same climax. It feels like the plot was thought from beginning to end and not made up as they go along.
Other points: Whatever happened to her two "friends"? I wish they had given some kind of explanation to their complete disappearance, like, they moved away.
I also didn't like the final scene because it was slightly creepy. Tae Yong is not per se Lee Gak so I wish they would have hinted that they would be falling in love again. Or that Tae Yong died and that Lee Gak and Park Ha would be reunited somehow. What? No, it's not awful!
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