Boys Before Flowers: Episode 5
Our trend continues: A couple surprisingly good scenes, and then some really bad ones.
Overall, I thought Episode 5 was a pleasant one — not too challenging but had its fun moments — with lots of gorgeous scenery.
Also, folks, since commenting has been prolific with regards to this drama: Keep it clean and keep it to the point, please! Comments are welcome, positive or negative, but when they veer into flaming or trolling territory, they get deleted. I don’t usually mod comments much but I think I’m going to have to start.
Thanks!
SONG OF THE DAY
Boys Before Flowers OST – “Paradise” by T-MAX, which is the group Kim Joon (Woo-bin) is a member of. [ Download ]
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
EPISODE 5 RECAP
Jan-di’s bike is set on fire, while she is assaulted with water balloons and blasted with a fire extinguisher. Seriously, are these Shinhwa kids all sociopaths? Regular bullying and taunting is bad enough, but they seem to be particularly malicious — like in Episode 1, when everyone watched the guy about to commit suicide and found it entertaining.
After being spurned by Jun-pyo and abused by her classmates, Jan-di tries to maintain a fierce exterior but is near her breaking point. She thinks to herself, “Please stop. Help me.” That plea is directed at Ji-hoo, since he’d come to her rescue several times in the past. She knows he can’t save her now, but pleads internally, “Nobody’s coming. But still… please…”
But she is not alone, because she has Jun-pyo! He bursts in on the scene, furiously shoving her tormenters away and beating them up (rather violently, I might add).
Jun-pyo kneels and takes Jan-di into his arms, saying, “I’m sorry.” Picking her up, he walks away from the now-subdued crowd.
Jan-di, thinking of the hotel pictures, tells him, “I didn’t do it, really.” He tells her, “It doesn’t matter. So keep your mouth shut.” She mumbles, “You still don’t believe me, do you?” Jun-pyo, looking upset with himself, says, “I do, I believe you!”
(I’m a little annoyed at how they took this potentially great scene and totally ruined it with ridiculous cheesy music. It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.)
Back at his mansion, Jun-pyo insists on tending to her wounds himself. When she tries to take over, he asks, “Wanna sit still, or wanna be tied up?” (Why Jun-pyo, you say that like it’s a bad thing.)
Now that she’s safe, they can get back to their mating dance bickering: he reproaches her for not learning from the past and letting herself be bullied, saying she must have the learning ability of an orangutan. They argue some more until he takes a towel to wipe Jan-di’s face, and his heart starts pounding.
Rattled, Jun-pyo shoves the towel in her face and tells her to do it, then walks outside, where he clutches his heart and takes a deep breath. (So. Sweet.)
After tracing the guy in the photos to Oh Min-ji (who masterminded the plan), Yi-jung and Woo-bin now deliver Min-ji to Jun-pyo, along with her kindergarten yearbook. Inside, Min-ji’s picture has been scratched out, which takes them to a kindergarten flashback to explain why Min-ji would have done such a thing:
Cute Little Ji-hoo — wearing all white, of course! — is playing the violin, and faking it just as badly as Grown-up Ji-hoo. Little Yi-jung is playing with clay, and Little Woo-bin is counting his fake money with the board game Life. HA.
But they don’t have anything on Little Jun-pyo, who is OMG so adorable. And also afraid of bugs. Attacked by a buzzing insect, he tries to shoo it away, when Min-ji joins in and swats at the bug with her sketchbook. She assures Jun-pyo that the bug is gone now and looks at him hopefully. He catches a glimpse of the page she’d been drawing, which shows a couple labeled with their names. (She’s supposed to be ugly, which they’ve enhanced with makeup and freckles.)
Offended, Little Jun-pyo throws the sketchbook down and stomps on it. He demands, “How dare an ugly thing like you consider me for a husband?” It’s kind of weird hearing such harsh words come out of the mouth of babes, but I suppose that’s the point; he tells her to get lost, that he will never like her.
Min-ji recounts how that after that day, she was ashamed to be seen. She ended up going to Germany and underwent multiple surgeries and intense pain: “Do you know how I put up with it? That look on your face. The look when you ran away from me like I was some bug or a monster. I haven’t forgotten a moment.”
Jun-pyo has been eyeing Min-ji with cold contempt, but at this, he says, “I don’t remember, but I’m sorry for it.” Min-ji protests, “No! That’s not it. The words I want to hear from you aren’t that you’re sorry!”
Crying now, she approaches Jun-pyo: “Look at me. Aren’t I pretty? I’ve become so pretty. Don’t you want me? I came back for you. This is the moment I’ve been dreaming of. Tell me you want me!”
Coolly, Jun-pyo responds, “I feel sorry for you. Do you know why? You’re still a monster, like you were then. No — you’re worse now. The kid back then still had a good heart.”
(GREAT SCENE. Lee Shi-young as Min-ji is very good, showing how she’s been twisted as a result of the trauma without being over-the-top eeeevil, and the whole exchange is well-played. For those of us who’ve started thinking Jun-pyo is all warm and fuzzy, this is a great reminder that even if he’s not wrong, he can still be so cold as to be cruel. I suppose this means that it’s not as though Jun-pyo is exceptionally cruel to Min-ji when he’s normally so warm; it’s the reverse — he’s exceptionally warm with Jan-di when he’s normally so cold-hearted.)
Jan-di’s been put in a spare room and wears his pajamas. Jun-pyo has taken the liberty of calling her parents (if she went home in her condition, they’d freak out) and throwing away her clothes. She shouts at him for getting rid of perfectly mendable clothing, at which he claps a hand over her mouth and says, “It sounds like you ate the heart of a train.” She corrects his misspoken adage: “It’s a train smokestack!” (He laughs that she’s wrong — you can’t eat a smokestack!)
There’s a moment when he leans over Jan-di, freaking her out, but it turns out he’s not making a pass but grabbing the first aid kit. Again, he tends to her injuries.
By the time he’s done patching her up, Jan-di has fallen asleep. He tucks her in, then leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead.
After he leaves, Jan-di opens her eyes.
In the morning, Jan-di awakens to find the staff at her disposal. Jun-pyo has ordered his butler to find exact replicas of everything that had been thrown away, with the exception of one thing: her bicycle.
Unable to find the exact same model, the butler parades a whole roomful of bicycles out for her appraisal. She tries them out with excitement, but then sees the price tag: 18 million won ($13,000). Her bike was much, much cheaper and very ordinary.
To encourage her to accept the expensive gift, the butler diplomatically asks her to be tolerant of the difference (like it’s doing HIM a favor) because they couldn’t find the exact match.
While Jan-di eats (a lavish, gourmet) breakfast, Jun-pyo pays a visit to Jan-di’s place.
The family is thrilled (and flustered) to receive him, and serve him a very plain breakfast. The foods are common, everyday dishes, but the Almighty Jun-pyo has never eaten anything like it, and he tries them cautiously after inspecting each one quizzically.
At school, the fickle crowd embraces Jan-di again, since (1) Jun-pyo came to her rescue and (2) there’s a new target to gang up on: Min-ji. The Catty Trio (Hateful Threesome? Evil Troika? Wicked Wenches? Vicious Bishes?) crowd Jan-di, faking concern over how much Min-ji hurt her. They rip on Min-ji for her surgeries, saying, “If I looked like her, I would’ve killed myself already.”
Not amused, Jan-di turns to them and points out, “You guys buy whatever you want, but beauty doesn’t count? You’ve all done plastic surgery too, but you mock Min-ji for it? It’s okay for pretty girls to use it to be prettier, but not for an ugly person?”
Jan-di turns to leave as Min-ji steps up quietly, eyes lowered: “I won’t ask you to forgive me.” Jan-di slaps her.
Min-ji adds, “I can’t say I’m sorry either.” Jan-di slaps her again and says she shouldn’t expect to be forgiven.
But when Jan-di comes to her desk, she finds the stuffed sheep there bearing a new message: “Jan-di, thanks. Let’s meet again.” Min-ji sings the song Jan-di once sang to make her feel better, which brings a smile to Jan-di’s face.
Jun-pyo has an announcement to make: Jan-di is now officially his girlfriend. The Gin-Sun-Mi trio collapses in disbelief and Jan-di protests, but she’s ignored while the rest of the students clap and hoot.
Jun-pyo adds, “From now on, I’ll take anything you say or do to Jan-di as an act against me, so don’t mess around.”
And then, Ji-hoo makes his reappearance.
Though everyone’s glad to have him back, this puts Jan-di into a gloomy mood. Ga-eul wonders if she’s over Ji-hoo now that Jun-pyo’s in the picture, which Jan-di denies is the reason for her distress. She worries that something feels different about Ji-hoo.
At home, the entire apartment has been crammed full of new appliances and furniture — courtesy of Jun-pyo. The whole family is ecstatic — they even had to turn some of it away because it wouldn’t fit through their doors — but Jan-di finds this wildly inappropriate.
Too enamored of the extravagance, her parents try to justify it through excuses (i.e., returning it looks bad for Jun-pyo, it would be rude), but she’s not having it.
Jan-di storms into the F4 recreation room, which has a few extra female guests today. She yells at Jun-pyo for ordering new things for her family without even telling her, and he completely misses the point by asking, “Was there something you didn’t like? Tell me and I’ll switch it.” After all, he’s her boyfriend.
She retorts, “Are you like that with all your girlfriends? Did you buy them clothes and cars and swap out all their furniture? In a little while you’ll be getting me a new house too, I bet.”
He says thoughtfully, “Actually, I was going to start with the new house, but Mr. Jung stopped me and told me to do it later since it’s attached to the dry cleaner’s.”
Jan-di reminds him, “I told you that you can’t buy friends, that you bond through your feelings. I don’t know how you were with all your previous girlfriends, but stuff like this pisses me off!”
He answers, “I don’t have any previous girlfriends.” At that, Jan-di’s ire deflates, and she says she can let it go this time — but he’d better watch it!
Looking around, Jan-di seems perturbed to see Ji-hoo flirting with a group of girls, although Yi-jung and Jun-pyo think it’s good to see him acting like a person instead of just sleeping all the time.
Sensing that things with Seo-hyun may have not gone well in Paris, Jan-di asks him when he’s going back. He has no plans to.
Asking whether she’s really dating Jun-pyo, Ji-hoo muses, “Was I too late? I was going to ask you to date me.” Jan-di’s shocked, but he smiles and tells her it was a joke. He suggests, “Then what about dating behind Jun-pyo’s back?” which she again takes for real. He laughs that she’s the same as ever, then says, “I missed you” as he leaves.
Jun-pyo sneaks up on Jan-di on her way to her job, laughing to see how excited she is to find a coin on the ground (which he dropped).
Armed with a mysterious mission, Jun-pyo grabs Jan-di and drags her along on an errand, which doesn’t turn out to be an errand so much as it’s a shopping spree. (To ensure that they have the run of the department store, Jun-pyo sets off a fire alarm, which sends everyone running to evacuate and leaves them alone.) He entrusts the next part of his plan to Yi-jung.
I love how seriously Yi-jung bursts in on the restaurant to get Ga-eul. He tells her to hurry; it’s an emergency. Ga-eul guesses, “Has something happened to Jan-di?” She frets over the possibility of an accident, to which Yi-jung tells her grimly, “If we’re late, you might not get to see her. Hurry!”
So when Jan-di and Ga-eul are driven onto the tarmac of a private runway and deposited at a private jet — where F4 awaits — they’re completely baffled. Jun-pyo announces, “We’re going on a trip.”
Jan-di sputters, no way! But what about her parents? How can she leave so suddenly?
Jun-pyo replies, proud of himself, that he’s already gotten her parents’ permission, and to keep them from worrying, he brought along her best friend, too. (He’s even made allowances for her job, providing a staff of modelesque waitresses to replace the girls, who bring in a wave of new customers.)
Jan-di can’t believe he wouldn’t even ask her first, or find out when she can make time for a trip. Jun-pyo responds, “I wanted to go someplace nice together, all the preparations were made, and it’s not like Korea will be in trouble without you. What’s the problem?”
And then, they’re in New Caledonia. It really is gorgeous.
After arriving at the Shinhwa private resort, the group goes sight-seeing and browsing.
Outside one particular shop, Jan-di spies Ji-hoo taking a look at a potted flower. After he leaves, Jan-di takes a closer look, so the flower girl gives it to her with the instructions: “Give it to your lover.” (The scene is kind of random, but I mention it because I suspect it will come into play later…)
The girls wander by a fortune-teller who is purported to be extremely accurate, and have Jan-di’s palm read. The woman foretells, “I see a man. Your future husband.” Not only that, but he’s here with her: “A soulmate.”
Ga-eul thinks that’s great — that means Jan-di will marry her soulmate. But the woman contradicts her, saying, “Two different men” — Jan-di’s soulmate and husband are not the same man.
The woman finishes with one last bit: “You’re losing something important, as a woman.” The girls wonder what that means, then shriek, their minds jumping to (probably) sex.
And then, Jan-di wakes up. It was all a dream!
Still, it’s creepy and realistic, and with the woman’s last words on her mind, Jan-di panics when Jun-pyo takes her away, jumping to the conclusion that he’s just trying to get her alone to make some moves. Jun-pyo asks Yi-jung to watch after Ga-eul, which is how Yi-jung gets reluctantly stuck with her.
Following their initial encounter, I think Yi-jung has convinced himself he dislikes Ga-eul. He sees her posing goofily and disdains that she’s acting like a corny tourist. Undaunted, Ga-eul suggests taking a hike to the top of a hill, which does not interest Yi-jung in the least.
Ga-eul goes off anyway but shortly thereafter lets out a scream. Yi-jung runs after her, looking around worriedly, when Ga-eul appears and asks, “Aren’t you glad you came up here?”
Ga-eul tells Yi-jung that it’s his punishment for lying and tricking them into coming on the trip, to which Yi-jung says that it wasn’t a complete lie. “It seems like it’s just a matter of time before the two of them get into trouble.” (His wording can mean any kind of trouble, but hints at the, er, hormonally driven variety.)
Ga-eul is immediately concerned: “No!” He laughs at her wild imagination.
Meanwhile, Jun-pyo takes Jan-di along a stretch of deserted beach. During the walk, Jan-di imagines all sorts of wild possibilities and warns Jun-pyo not to indulge in any dark, ulterior motives. Thus she is shocked to see him bringing her to a simple, lovely table set for two.
Jun-pyo tells her she acts tough but is pretty shocked at little things. Jan-di: “This is a little thing?” She marvels that it’s like magic: “Are you a genie?” Jun-pyo’s jealousy flares: “Who the hell is he? Is he better than me?” Jan-di clarifies that she meant the genie from Aladdin, who could do almost everything save three things: He couldn’t kill, raise people from the dead, or make someone fall in love against their will.
The last part seems to get through to Jun-pyo, although he’d previously insisted that people could be bought (and his actions all episode long have been proof of that).
Jun-pyo puts in a phone call to Jan-di’s family, who urge her to have a fun time and not worry about them. Afterward, Jun-pyo sees her subdued reaction and wonders, “Did I do something wrong?” It looks like she’s about to cry.
Jan-di answers, “It’s because it’s so nice here. I wondered when my parents would have a chance to come to a place like this. My family would love to see it.” Jun-pyo: “Let’s come with them. We can come back with your family.”
And then, Jun-pyo walks toward the water, unbuttoning his shirt, and announces it’s time to get down to business.
COMMENTS
I think one (perhaps unexpected) problem that may be emerging is that Lee Min-ho is so appealing as Jun-pyo that it kind of renders the love triangle moot. It also makes you want to yell at Jan-di for being drawn toward Ji-hoo at all when he has about one-tenth the charisma of Jun-pyo — plus there’s also the added part about how it’s so obvious that Jun-pyo totally adores her. Sure, his courtship is a little clumsy, and I think she was justified hating him through the first two episodes, but now he’s shown himself to be downright sweet (at times).
On the other hand, the “money can’t buy love” issue is something I’m looking forward to seeing unfold, because it usually gets glossed over in the Cinderella dramas. And as much as Jun-pyo’s actions are well-intentioned (and aww-inducing for us viewers), he really is just throwing money at Jan-di, proud of showing her what his name and wealth can give her. Naturally, she’s impressed at the resort (and the plane, and the clothes), but I don’t think she even sees Jun-pyo for his money; she just sees him as a guy.
RELATED POSTS
- Kim So-eun earns praise for double duty
- Behind the scenes with Kim Bum in New Caledonia
- Flower boy power
- Boys Before Flowers: Episode 4
- Boys Before Flowers: Episode 3
- Overnight star Lee Min-ho awash in CF offers
- Cast members featured on Boys Before Flowers OST
- Boys Before Flowers: Episode 2
- Boys Before Flowers: Episode 1
Tags: Boys Before Flowers, Gu Hye-sun, Kim Bum, Kim Hyun-joong, Kim Joon, Lee Min-ho
I actually feel more excited seeing Yi-Jung and Ga Eul together.
omo, I have been practically holding my breath until you posted.
I think I’m seriously addicted.
The episodes are getting better and better
but i agree with your comment about the love triangle thing
it was my biggest issue with Joon Pyo from the start. He just isn’t mean enough. Doumyoji is supposed to change graduallllllly…so that in the beginning, we all want her to be with Rui instead. And even after Makino fall for him, he is STILL supposed to be a real difficult guy/
But they are portratying Joon Pyo as the perfect guy right from (almost) the start…so ya…its pretty stupid that she will go for Ji-hoo, who has absolutely nothing going for him
i want Shun Oguri lol
Thank again for the awesome recap!
Not to take away the spotlight from Jan-di and Jun-pyo but I cant wait to see what happens with Yi-jung and Ga-eul…!!! Gosh.. the chemistry! Yay!
Keep it up!
omg thanks so much for the recap,
ive been refreshing this page since 8:00! hahaha
i love little f4, they are so adorable!
and the thing about the money cant buy love thing
i was thinking the same when he said
that he was better than genie because
he could save the dead and kill the alive
but he never mentions about buying love.
also does it seem like jihoo came bac ktoo fast?
they BARELY HAD JANDI-JUNPYO moments
in episode 3 and hes back already!
sighhhh i think there was too little tme given for jandi
to fully understand her feelings or even build feelings for
JOONPYO<33333
is it just me or was the issue with “sleeping with the guy from the club” not properly solved?
Thanks for the recap! The poor little girl that had to play “ugly” Min-ji. Man, like that won’t mess with your head.
Best line: “It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.”
yeah, i think lee min ho’s charisma and charm can be potentially problematic for the triangle storyline. when i was watching the japanese version, i rooted for rui the whole time and grew to like tsuska (or whatever his name was). with khj’s atrocious acting, i can’t fully understand why jandi would like jihoo over junpyo. i think it’s going to be a hard sell for the viewers. maybe a miracle will happen and khj will get better…
is it just me or was the issue with “sleeping with the guy from the club” not properly solved?
Of course it was solved — it was solved when Jun Pyo came in white knight manner to help the damsel in distress! Two mentions of sorry’s, some light scolding, and some aww-the-boy-is-tending-the-girl moments later, and all is a-okay! Torment? What torment? /snark
Thanks for the recap.. I have seen it, but still can’t wait for your comment.
I just wish Jun Pyo carry Jan Di little bit higher. It seems like Jan Di weigh too much.
And Jan Di aggrees to go to caledonia is not because Jun Pyo or even Ji Hoo, but because of the lobster.. Funny..
Yi-jung and Woo-bin tracked the guy from the club, and Min-ji was found to have been behind faking the photo setup to make Jan-di look bad. Jun-pyo knows the truth and now the whole school does too. I’m okay with that as a resolution.
Actually I do think it’s working with me, especially in JunPyo’s scene with MinJi, I still hate his rudeness and his violence. I get kinda annoyed with him at this point and understand JanDi. While a lot of people keep saying “OMG how can JanDi still like JiHoo when JunPyo loves and cares for her so much”, I just can’t feel this way, I keep thinking it’s kinda annoying how he thinks she’s already his wife and she MUST love him because he loves her and because he saved her, despite everything he did… I can’t help but feel that JunPyo still have to change and do a whole lot more to deserve somebody’s love… And that’s a good thing, since this IS the most important development of the story.
MinJi is surprisingly my favourite side-character in Hanadan
I kinda understand her, and I really like her being a part of Tsukushi’s friends clique (Shigeru, Sakurako and Yuki) later in the manga, she’s so funny, I was hoping in this version she wouldn’t go away like in MG, but wouldn’t turn into a stupid/futile girl who keeps saying Tsukushi’s not pretty… I was probably expecting too much 
I’m not sure if I liked how they handled this arc… Even so I really liked the actress in this version, it was definetly better than the other adaptations… Oh, and the slaps felt kinda unnecessary, I have to say, not really Makino-like…
I too have been pressing “refresh” since early this evening hoping to read your recap as soon as it’s posted. By the way, I love it when you wrote this:
“(I’m a little annoyed at how they took this potentially great scene and totally ruined it with ridiculous cheesy music. It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.) ” – that made me crack up!!!
Anyway, yeah, Lee Min Ho is portraying Jun Pyo in such a charismatic and great way that it would be stupid for JanDi to fall for anyone but him. I’m looking forward to seeing how this love triangle develop. Also, even though Jandi only dreamt it, but who do you think the “future husband” and “soulmate” are since they are two different people?
Your absolutely right, Lee Min Ho is overtaking his role so good that he is leaving the Ji-hoo in the dust. He is making us girls, sighs, fall for him so fast and easily, unlike other adaptations where you wereactually torn in the love triangle.
At least in this episode, Ji-hoo is showing some depth into his character when said to Jandi that he wanted to ask her out.
But yeah, its like we already want JanDi to be with Goo already.
I’m still debating watching this drama as I saw the Japanese HYD and didn’t love it enough to want to watch the story twice. So I usually skip the summary and just read your comments section to get a general idea of if this will be worth my time since I think Lee Min Ho is rather attractive. LOL And there’s just so much hype about this drama, I almost want to give in like I did for Coffee Prince. Anyway, I loved Rui and couldn’t get why Makino chose Domyouji over him, especially in the sequel. Anyway… it looks like this version makes it a lot clearer? Anyway, thanks for your summary and thoughts.
Hey Sarah, I’ve been wondering about this song they’ve had a couple of times on the drama. It’s the song near the very end of ep 5, when Junpyo drags Jandi to eat alone on the beach. It was also used when Junpyo ‘asked’ Jandi to go on the date with him (where his voice was drowned by the sound of airplane). Do you by any chance know/have the song? I tried googling it from what I could hear, but didn’t get anything.
Although I prefer JP over JH.. I definitely do not like JP as a character. He’s spoiled and self-centered. He’s starting to get wayy too posessive over JD (eg. preview of eps 6). I can see why JD would be annoyed of him, I mean apart from his good looks, the man is just a big baby.
I think i missed something
when was it stated that it was Min-Ji behind the whole thing?
thanks for the recap!
kim bum is seriously great; i loved how he convincingly he made ga eul believe that jan di was in an accident without ever really saying it himself because it wasn’t the truth.
overall, i’m really anticipating more yi jung/ga eul scenes because they’re both cute!
i agree about the third leg (ji hoo) of the love triangle being weak in comparison and rendering it unbelievable, not that i’m complaining…who couldn’t resist lee minho/goo junpyo?!
and as for the jan di-min ji relationship, i think the writers could have spun it differently. i don’t think that jan di had to slap min ji, because to me that seems overly harsh. rather, i think the appealing thing about makino’s original character was that she’s strong but not heartless [and the TWO slaps seemed to be a little much]. makino eventually forgave sakurako, but not immediately. that’s why i thought the scene where she slaps min ji and then it immediately cuts to min ji’s narration to be rather contradictory.
and a quick question: i LOVED the scene where sakurako’s henchmen beat up tsukasa who refuses to fight back in the jdorama version. is the first scene in this ep the “same” scene? i don’t remember how closely the dorama followed the manga, but if it’s based on the same situation, then the kdrama version didn’t have quite the same meaning for me. i loved how tsukasa doesn’t fight back and by doing so shows how much he loves makino, as opposed to just “throwing money” at her like you said. but completely ignore this paragraph if it’s not the same part in the plot, or if one version deviated more from the manga than the other.
finally, i also loved jun pyo’s last line to min ji about her heart. lmh embodies a little bit of sadness, but mostly honesty and coldness. fantastic!
thanks again! can’t wait for ep 6; i’m addicted! =]
I completely agree with your observations at the end, Jun Pyo is so charismatic and sweet if a little clueless that it turns the love-triangle a moot point. He is high handed and spoilt but does not suffer from a major physical/character flaw (Violent, Ugly, ……) In all honesty it feels like JP is wronged party and Jan Di is some how cheating on him. After all she rarely succeeds in resisting JP’s advances and seems to lead him on unknowingly. On the other hand Jan Di is seeing what she wants to see. She is convinced that she is in love with Ji Hoo and she has to pursue her heart.
Jun Pyo does seem to revel in his money and power and seems to be trying to win Jan Di’s heart that way…coupled with sweet thoughts though. In Hyd (J-version) they had solved the issue when Domyouji takes a beating to protect Makino (He puts his life at stake for her) or when he offered to make sure that Makino will end up with Rui if she desires so (Putting her happiness before his own desire). It will be interesting to see how they resolve it here.
Haha Amy! good answer
I actually think you are rigth about Lee Min-ho being spreading charisma all over the dorama, even more than Ji-hoo… one of the reasons, probably, why I don’t seem to have a problem with this version of Tsukasa (I am a huge fan of HanaDan Jap).
I am truly trying to not compare one version with the other since it’s not fair in many ways, but I still don’t like this version of Rui. Ji-hoo may have many quatilies but there is still something missing.
I am hoping than in more episodes I can grow to like him… plus, I am DYING to see Jun-pyo’s sister appear!!
Thanks for reading my randomness.
@CW
You should take a quick peek at the Manga to see why this story is worth watching over and over again
I also didn’t think the J-Drama was a good portrayal of the Manga…it thought it was too theatrical.
But the K-Drama so far has been really subtle..so i think it’s worth watching
Rebeca, sorry if that was unclear. I clarified the post in case it was confusing.
@19
Actually…the part where Tsukasa gets beaten up is part of another plot in the manga…it has nothing to do with Sakurako
But as the J-Drama was only a couple of episdoes (9 i think), they ended up smooshing a couple of plots together.
THe beating up part is also one of ma faves in the manga! I hope the K version does it!!!
Thanks Javabeans!
xD…. wonder what the ‘business’ is… (LOL. I’m suppose it’s probably another istances so well known in kdramas where they make you thinks it’s something(usually sex-related) but it’s actually somehting else (innocent). I keep suspecting that they’re just going to swim…)
The island looks absolutely stunning.. and so does Jun-pyo.. like always. (SO hot it’s burning me!!! xp)
Ok, so that’s what happened to the dude. I wondered for a second… Makes me ponder over something else too… Like, what happened to the dude who almost comitted suicide but then Jan-di saved them? And what happned to Han Chae Young’s character? (Though I suppose there’s going to be more to that. T.T)
I can’t wait till Jun-pyo’s sister shows up. (I like the actress who plays her. Though I can never get her name. xD)
Thanks for the recap! REALLY, TOTALLY, WITHOUT-A-DOUBT, POSITIVELY IMMENSELY, EXTREMELY apprecaite it!
Hope you continue on.
I had the same thought…that song in the beginning was awful. I didn’t like the scene much …..it looked too realistic, too much a like a Korean gangster fight scene then the song made me burst out laughing .
LMH is great but where is the rascally Domyouji? This episode didn’t feel like HYD at all. Rui doesn’t look so gray and ashen and seemed a tiny bit less worse than the earlier episodes. Jandi is really alienating me. Her friend is more likable than her. This is my least fav’ episode so far.
to the 19th commenter :
i bet you ANYTHING that the similar scene will come out some other way so dont be too sad! that was definitely my favorite scene too because it showed that domyouji would do anyhting, litereally ANYTHING for her.
i think this time it will come out with some other issue like with junpei(?) guy beating up domyouji instead of like in JAPANESE VERSION where rui comes to rescue her. i think.
and i agree with everyone saying that they dont understand why she would choose hyun joong over him but maybe because he was always there to rescue her when she was in trouble? as if he were her prince charming! yeah…
deeta (#16), that song is on the OST and it’s “One More Time” by Tree Bicycle.
agreeing with 27th commenter,
I KNOW THEY TOTALLY EXCLUDED JOONPYO’S MOM TOO
LIKE WHEN SHE ASKED THE SECRETARY TO FIND OUT
ABOUT JANDI’S BACKGROUND, like she should know by now
and get super mad, no?
although i did think it was too early, if she said that he should tell her like immediately i would think.
Thank you for the recap!
Lol at this part: “Wanna sit still, or wanna be tied up?” (Why Jun-pyo, you say that like it’s a bad thing.) ”
Now I have perverted thought.^^
loving jun pyo
but one thing i CANNOT STAND: CAFE MUSIC?!?!?! like the music they play at lesser-starbucks cafe places? really?
I love the Yi Jung and Ga Eul moments. I’m really looking forward to how their story develops.
In the manga and other drama versions, Yuki was all over Soujiro like most girls and the difference is that Yuki went the extra mile of resolving Soujiro’s issues with his childhood love/ first love. It seems that here in the Korean version, Ga Eul is different in the sense that although she found Yi Jung attractive initially, she did not fall in love with him at first sight. It would be interesting how their story will play out…
Ah lol, thanks so much. That’s perhaps the only song they haven’t been overusing and I sincerely hope they wouldn’t start to.
It always kills me how its FREEZING cold outside and the school girls are wearing ridiculously short mini-skirts! lol
I’ve been waiting for this entry too! I’m definitely addicted to this drama… even though this is the 3rd time I’m watching this story… sad, but true.
But something’s been bugging me ever since the first episode…I don’t know how it was in the original manga, but at least in the Japanese and Taiwanese version, i can tolerate the hazing on Makino, and believe that Makino didn’t think it was THAT big of a deal to do much about it. But when it gets up to the point where the guy wants to commit suicide, and Jan-di is being tortured… I don’t know.. that’s some serious medial bills. Being in such an expensive school, why not sue?! If Jan-di would only just stop and think for a moment, she would realize that if she sues every single person who threw a water balloon at her, she would be enjoying her family trip to New Calcedonia in no time!
Well the only thing that really bothered me this episode was Jandi’s slaps–that was totally unexpected o.O because it was… not her character, I guess? But omg new caledonia or whatever is gorgeous! Where is that anyway? I’m gonna google it right now :] :] :]
Looking forward to tomorow’s episode!
Oh, how I love this drama. Sure it could be silly and not so good at times, but I don’t recall a time when I’ve been so addicted to a drama in a VERY LONG TIME. It feels so nice to be so wrapped up into a drama. I miss how it feels. lol
Like you said, Jun Pyo is just too darn cute to not want him to get what he wants (which is Jan Di) and it’s going to be so cute seeing him all jealous and fired up. Oh, this is going to be good.
And like a couple of the other commenters, I am really looking forward to seeing Yi-Jung and Ga Eul’s relationship development. Hopefully they’ll be together (because in the Japanese ver., I prayed and prayed, but to no avail.)
the confrontation scene between minji and f3 was my favorite in ep. 05. good solid acting right there.
Has the tacky saxophone music been totally ruining the mood for anyone else? Seriously, I love Kenny G, but every time I hear that music pop up, I just cringe. It’s just inappropriate.
Thanks for this recap!
The kindergarten scene was really great bahaha – what I can’t get over is – they got Gu Jun Pyo reading!! Ludicrously adorable – I actually love this part of his pose that’s survived to adulthood – besides that cool pose – we see him reading in repose, with little to show for it – I guess even as a kid he knew what looked good lol.
One leg of the triangle set up does seem rather artificially cobbled together though – when Jandi was hoping for her prince charming to save her I was kinda underwhelmed by her memories – like uh can you think of anyone else? Also KJH is giving me weird Bae Yong Joon vibes, which is super weird cos from what little I’ve seen of his variety and talk show appearances he’s so much less of a dead fish.
I am enjoying how different Doumyouji is in this version, accepting his feelings for Jandi much earlier (or at least denying them less) but I was actually hoping the production would just work with this charisma instead of forcing the triangle through. (Yes it must exist, but there’s something off about its balance right now). You’re right when you mention how Jandi is more of an exception that proves the rule for him – and I did like the Lee Dong Wook-like vibes he gave off in the first scene. Unfortunately, his perm also gives me some rather jarring Kim Rae Won vibes sometimes. @ 19 Anonymous, I know what scene you’re talking about! And I hope this wasn’t it cos I’m looking forward to it too =)
Am I the only one who thinks the fire alarm scene could’ve been improved by a pair of Louboutins lol. The hoodoo bit of the New Caledonia trip is weirrdddd I want to know what the heck Jandi’s subconscious is up to. But I’m loving the Ga-eul/Kim Bum interaction – he didn’t lie when he said they might not catch up if they were late, did he? Haha
I like how Jun-Pyo’s exceptions for Jandi extend to her family – that guy actually has some manners afterall lol. And somehow despite the over-the-topness of that family, they don’t actually alienate me unlike the other versions.
One last thing that no one seems to have mentioned but bothers me a lot – what is that dress Jandi is wearing?!?! Its colours are cartoon-hamburger-like, and it makes her look like an elf/forest creature, and not in a good way. Cute hats though.
[...] Recaps: Episode 5 Thanks Javabeans!!! Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Boys Before Flowers: Episode [...]
@37
I think things in Korea (or rather, Japan, where the original story was written) work differently. I don’t think she would just be able to sue with such ease as they sue in teh US.
Plus the whole thing about Jan Di (Makino) is that she has true integrity and is not tied down to money at all. The real Jan Di would prob rather die than take a cent out of the rich folks
I don’t know what to thing of the fortune teller dream, I don’t agree with the whole soulmate and husband being 2 different people, I just don’t see JH being the soulmate when in the manga IMO didnt seem to have deep romantic feelings for JD, which is my understanding of soulmates. I think LMH is doing great as Tsukasa, but Rui from the jap version was the best I’ve see.
If we can only have LMH as Tsukasa and Oguri Shin (i think) as Rui!
it would be the best
Okay, seriously Ga Eul and Yi Jung get the MOST ADORABLE COUPLE OF THE CENTURY AWARD from me!!!!
They are SOOOO cute together, it’s ridiculous!!
Javabeans, I couldn’t agree with you more about the love triangle being a little hard ot believe since (at this point), Ji Hoo is absolutely no match for Jun Pyo…it’s so wierd cuz when I first watched HYD, I sooooooo wanted Makino to be with Rui and now the tables are completely turned…loll…
I also think this episode tipped the scales towards Jun Pyo a little too much so our opinions are probably really biased at this point, I think the next episode will balance it out…
I loved the heartbeat scene (it made my heart MELT) and the part where JanDi goes “Are you a genie?” and Jun Pyo goes “Genie? Who is that jerk?! Is he better than me!?!?” LOLL
god, but Jun Pyo and Kim Bum are HOT.
Oh in this semi-mockable-world….thank heavens Javabean exists!
Thanks for the great recap and for the side comments which r downright fun-E!
I guess i still have to wait another day or two before i can watch Episode 5; but then again i thank you immensely for the fantabulous sum up you got here!
I don’t understand why you all are so excited over this drama. Nothing special..in fact it’s kinda BORING..muahh… Reminds me a lot of typical drama series in the U.S.
Does anyone know what song they played at the rescue scene??? (the one with lyrics)
“I think one (perhaps unexpected) problem that may be emerging is that Lee Min-ho is so appealing as Jun-pyo that it kind of renders the love triangle moot. It also makes you want to yell at Jan-di for being drawn toward Ji-hoo at all when he has about one-tenth the charisma of Jun-pyo — plus there’s also the added part about how it’s so obvious that Jun-pyo totally adores her. Sure, his courtship is a little clumsy, and I think she was justified hating him through the first two episodes, but now he’s shown himself to be downright sweet (at times). ”
totally agree with that. LMH exudes so much of the charisma as well. plus i cant seem to root for Rui as much here. although, khj is a bit better here and off cam really funny so some trouble there. and that im a huggggggggggeee GaJung fan more than Jundi right now. and im having hopes for them. although we know it didnt quite happen previously.. but i really have hope. plus i really like Ga Eul, great casting there.
still enjoying this and cant wait for more… so much i wanna happen.
@42 LOL ….you are so right. Jandi does look like an elf/forest creature. They have been dressing her really weird so far. In that dress she could have easily been going to the mad hatter’s tea party or visiting the hobbits. In the next episode she seems to be dressing better. I noticed a madras sundress….very appropriate for an island. I wish LMH had worn white linen pants instead of grayish pink. With his coloring he looks so nice in white. It was quite a nice change to see F4 dressed a little casually. Rui had a cool hat on.
I believe the term soulmate can be used to refer to a bosom friend as well. In that sense, it is definitely possible for there to be a soulmate and a husband. The husband can also be a soulmate and a best friend. The term husband is a relationship title.
The fact that Lee Min Ho is playing Jun-pyo too charismatically is not really problematic for me, because in all of the versions of Hana Yori Dango, I was always rooting for Domyoji rather than Rui. I think you’re on point with the whole “money doesn’t buy love” theme that is being worked out ( I think pretty nicely) in this “cinderella” plot, because although we gawk at Jun-pyo’s wealth- buying Jandi’s family new furniture, taking her to New Caledonia, etc.- what really makes Jun-pyo such an endearing character is these little moments, little glimpses of Jandi’s hesitation and confusion about her feelings towards Jun-Pyo (i.e. the fact that he confesses he’s never had a gf, he phones Jandi’s parents for her while they’re at New Caledonia). The fact is that Jandi sees Jun-Pyo as a guy and not for his money and I think these awkward moments between them where Jun-Pyo doesn’t know how quite to respond is what makes him fall for her even more.
Also @ aceyyy – a pair of Christian Louboutins hahhahah ohmy, but it would’ve been a nice touch lol
Can someone please shoot whoever is picking the music for this series??!?!
What is up with the elevator music towards the end with Ga Eul & Yi Jung?
I totally undersatnd what you mean about the love triangle. In the manga and Japanese HYD I loved Rui from the start and felt pain when Makino didn’t choose him. I do like Domouji but I thought his character is an ass. LOL
In this Korean version, -_- I couldn’t feel the charm from the guy playing Rui at all. Instead, I felt that Gun Pyo is so meant for her. -_- That’s the difference between the acting for each version…maybe?
Anyway, I hope things might change.
bahahaha i can always look forward to your recaps (: they always make me laugh out loud
best line of all:
“It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings”
i and the jihoo line
ahahaha
your recaps are totally worth reading even if i dont watch some of these dramas (hence, instead of doing school work, i come here and procrastinate by reading all of your old entries)
keep up the good workk <33
@45
Without getting too deep, I believe in this instance the dream JD had is the conflict she is beginning to feel over which guy, JH or JP, is the right one for her. JP has been cruel to her and even though it is obvious he is taken with her and treating her better, the cruelty is not something easily forgotten. JH, on the other hand, has been her rescuer and she is responding to that; perhaps thinking that this one is her soulmate because he has always treated her better.
I hate to bring up HYD and the comparisons but I have to say I never liked the lead in that drama. My support of the secondary male character never changed over to the lead. Doumyouji’s change didn’t feel gradual or believable. I felt like I was being manipulated. Like this guy…oh but now like the other guy because I tell you to. And look at all the nice things he’s suddenly out of the blue doing! Blah.
And why would we want to see another carbon copy of that character?
They shouldn’t have to bring Jun Pyo down to make Ji Hoo look better. The issue is that Ji Hoo has zero personality and barely gets any real interesting dialogue. So basically the only reason I can conjure up for JD liking him is that he was nice to her a couple of times. That’s all it takes?
Not an outstanding episode but it was really fun. I’m completely hooked and can’t wait for tomorrow’s episode.
Ah, and the music really is terrible. I still can’t believe they ruined the scene where she’s running to meet Jun Pyo 4 hours later by playing that really fast, upbeat pop song.
I’m guessing Ji-hoo is “the soulmate” and Jun-Pyo is “the husband”. But wait a minute, shouldn’t JP be both? And funny how the fortune teller doesn’t really look like a fortune teller
Always enjoy reading ur recaps. This episode was fun.
thanks for the recap!! : )
i really enjoy your recaps!! thanks again!! : )
i hope kim bum gets more screen time. as an actor i think he has a lot of potential. not to mention that he has the good looks to boot. : )
“Lets get down to business” lol hahaha so hilarious I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow! I’m really liking this show. the Yi-jung & Ga-eul!!! relationship I can’t wait to see what happens I think I’m more excited about what will happen between them than the main characters. kkkkkk dramabeans your recaps are awesome!!! thanks!
wow, it,s so good…………
Ok, yeah the saxophone music is awful!!!! Totally takes me out of the moment every time. As for the matter of the whole soul mate vs. husband. I think JH is supposed to be the soul mate but JP will end up her husband. When I saw that scene I kept thinking about the end of series 2 of the Japanese version when Makino summed up each of the F4 and said that Rui was her first love and that he understood her the best but that she was destined to be with Tsukasa.
I really want to comment about how closely the Taiwanese, Japanese, or Korean version relates with the manga but sadly I have read the manga too long ago (3 or 4 years ago?) to actually remember in great detail.
I do remember though that Taiwanese version (Season 1) actually closely matches up to the manga as a whole. I think all the scenes are there. The only thing wrong with this version is SEASON 2 where it got totally ridiculous because it changes from the manga. I totally hated it, season 2 that is.
As for the Japanese version, it was unfortunate since I never completely watch it because I just finished the earlier version of the manga and felt like i know the WHOLE storyline a bit too much. Plus, at first look of the character I thought they were a bit…not-attractive-enough to be F4. I only grown to like Matsumoto Jun after Kimi wa Petto and then decided to watch HYD Japanese version. As for Oguri Shun, I thought he did a great job portraying Rui. I found myself rooting for Rui more than Tsukasa in this version. Oh….how sad I felt when she didn’t like him because she had come to love Tsukasa. As for the plot, since it was so condense into 9 episodes it wasn’t precisely following the manga. It was moving a bit too fast but the acting was great. I love Matsumoto Jun’s portrayal even though he was really stupid. LOL
Now it’s this K version. Let’s just say the setting is different to set it out from the previous two – which I don’t mind. As for the acting, so far the guy I think that does the least is that guy who says “yo yo yo What’s up bro!” Yeah, I don’t remember his name. -_- LMH sure does the charisma well. I think I can say I’m drawn because of him. As for Kim Bum, since his impact on the series is not so great and the love relationship is so know already I don’t really feel that “OMG” with Gaeul. I adore Kim Bum’s smile though. I just got my cousin to be a kim bum’s fan.
There, my take on all these.
I watched the episode back to back TWICE–that’s how much I liked it. I think Ji-hoo as a character redeemed himself a bit in this episode. the conversation at the stairs is great. He is sly, flirtatious, bold, and naughty. I thought he was subtle and great. He is a complete contrast to Jun-Pyo, and while JP is loud, JH is quiet and caring in his subtle ways. I mean, JP can send all the big screen TVs Jandi’s way, but it is the act of a simple handkerchief from JH that speaks volumes to her.
I loved this episode because it had such great scenes of JanDi yearning for JH, JH seeming to notice and like that, and JP aware of what’s going on, and watching JanDi. Such awesome texture of triangle.
I like that the triangle is not psycho.
JP is really gorgeous. He is so tall, it is impossible not to immediately be drawn to him. He is also such a good actor–he uses his eyes to convey so much. In the last scene when he watched JanDi as she talks about wishing her family was there, he really seems sad. He doesn’t have a family to bring to the island, and I wish Jandi would be more sensitive to him. But she doesn’t know him yet, so I guess she doesn’t realize how lonely he is.
Ah, I love this show.
Them Koreans sure know how to put on a show. Both the Japanese and the taiwanese version pale next to this one.
I was jumping like a little girl and laughing during the whole episode! Lee Min ho is amazing as Jun Pyo! I love the first scene when he holds Jandi and tells her he’s sorry (for not believing her). But as one of the earlier post said if we look at Jun Pyo from Jandi point of view, he does keep on throwing money in her face. He is starting to fall for her, but I do understand why she’s fallen for the orange hair guy; he’s more humble, he has tons of money, but he acts like a regular person ect.. If I was Jandi despite the fact that Lee Min Ho is the hottest Asian guy I’ve ever seen in my life, personality-wise he does not fit the criteria of Jandi or me (If I was Jandi) ! I have a feeling that Jun Pyo character will change a lot during the drama (still 21 episodes left!!) so by the time the series end he will be a different person! I love what the model told Jandi at the second episode about how Jun Pyo is a lonely person and that is why he acts that way! (mean and sometimes cold). I love this drama not only because of the story, but because of the characters (especially Jandi and Jun Pyo)
See you guys on the next post of Episode 6
Am I the only one who was puzzled why the writer(s) decided to omit the “confession” scene at Jun Pyo’s house? In the manga, it was the first time Domyoji acknowledged his affection straightforwardly and gave Makino a reason to be (slightly) guilty over her feelings for Rui. When Jun Pyo announced that Jan Di as his girlfriend at the cafeteria, I was like “Since when did they agree to go out?”
thank for caps. it’ s very fun. i like Lee Min Ho and Goo Hye Sun, they look cute.
I’m like so many of your readers who has been checking and checking your website for the latest recap.. …. so many of us (global fans) are so anxious to watch and understand!! Gracias for the recap yet again. Due to the BBF craze right now, while waiting for the Mon-Tues to arrive, I’ve had a watch of the Taiwanese Meteor Garden and the Japanese Hana Yori Dango. Not sure if I’m bias or not but I’m never one for the Taiwanase made dramas, I can’t stand the mandarin twang and emotions. The Jap HYD unfortunately does not bring forth the same overall ‘feel’ that BBF does. LMH and GHS’s chemistry is undoubtedly stronger and the ‘feel’ is so much more! There’s also what I call the k-Drama magic that draws me in line and sinker!! Lurve it!
What a wonderful recap.
Did anyone notice that Soujiroh’s hair is longer at New Celedonia compared to when they were still in Korea? Haha. They should have taken more care to make things appear more fluid.
Hey! thanks soo much for the quick and enjoyable recaps (i had just finished reading your previus ones and…whoah behold, a new one ready to read!). I just wanted to respond to a comment #13 from “Debbie” and reiterated by those following her.
When they talk about the soulmateand future husband being two separate people I actually DO think they’re the same person. At first I assumed they were the two legs of our love triangle, but from previous knowledge we know that the relationship between JanDi and JunPyo will becmoe love and they’ll both develop. No matter how charismatic LMH’s character is coming off there are still several resolutions that need to be dealt with–therefore keeping this “soulmate” from being recognized and fully ready to become a “husband”~*~*
AND cheers to Yi-jung & Ga-eul!!!
Jandi must have had learning ability like orang utan bwa haha what a nice suggestion jun pyo:-D
I think one (perhaps unexpected) problem that may be emerging is that Lee Min-ho is so appealing as Jun-pyo that it kind of renders the love triangle moot. It also makes you want to yell at Jan-di for being drawn toward Ji-hoo at all when he has about one-tenth the charisma of Jun-pyo — plus there’s also the added part about how it’s so obvious that Jun-pyo totally adores her.
I agree… but isn’t this only the same case for many kdramas… that the heroine is usually oblivious (and on worse cases, horridly fickle)? I’m not bothered just because I like that sense that kdramas have in their productions… but it leaves me still wishing that Hyunjoong improves more on his portrayal of Jihoo… I mean, c’mon… Jihoo should at least show some chemistry with Jandi, but so far there is zilch. Its probably my one and only gripe about Kkotboda Namja… just because its really disappointing that the third leg of the love triangle isn’t really bringing the goods.
Maybe Episode 6 will be better at this, perhaps?
Hanadan has completely won me over, but it is mainly due to the Japanese Hana Yori Dango. As much as I dislike unoriginal work, this drama is an exception. They can make this into any kinds of versions (english, thai,malay, etc) and i dont mind watching as long as the storyline runs the same.
The point is, the storyline has the right formulation to be a great drama, but the problem happens when the director/producer could not even turn Hanadan into something as good as its japanese version, due to basic/hygienic things such as the bad background music. It’s really sad. I felt that the behind-the-scene people did not make good enough planning/preparations for Hanadan thus the awfull background music and not-so-impressive props. In the first 2 episodes, i even felt that the supporting casts were really useless. Thank god there were slight improvements in the following episodes.
i know i shouldnt be comparing but I love korean dramas and have high expectation on Hanadan. Plus, I am totally hooked on it, so I can only hope that it gets better and better from now onwards.
ps: thanks for your ranting – truly appreciate your write-ups.
im way more excited about ji sung and ga eul. actually, i reckon they should do a spin off drama with just them XD
LOVVVVVEEE kim bumm didnt see enough of him. i was just scaning each inch of the screen when im supposed to be watching and searching for him LOL
I can’t decide if I hate this soundtrack because it’s lame all on it’s own accord or if it’s because the soundtrack to Hana Yori Dango was so amazingly heart-wrenching. The pop songs seem so out of place…ugh! And adding a ’sax-a-ma-phone’ to any music automatically ups the cheese factor.
Music aside, I’m digging this drama for the mindless, predictable entertainment that it is…ahhhh, sweet, sweet mind (and eye…Hellooooo Jun-Pyo) candy!
Thanks for the recaps…it fills in the blanks for all the missed subs….yaaaaay!!
oh no oh no. ji-hoo-hate-alert!!!!
i cant believe i actually hate this character in this series.
sigh. lee min ho is soooo sweet. like the manga one.
den now its waiting for jan di to realise she likes him as well.
once they start that, its just honey.
but den again. i am waiting to see how they resolve the family and etc crisis.
each series is different. they better do it. if not….
and why so little gaeul and yijung scenes???
i am starting to prefer watching more of gaeul and yijung cause i like both of them. for jun pyo and jan di, is just because i like the jun pyo character. watching it only for jun pyo.
my fav characters: junpyo, gaeul, yijung…!!!! yatta!
Call me strange, but I’m watching Boys Before Flowers to see how Ga Eul and Yi-Jung end up. :3 They’re my favorite couple.
Is it just me, or is the Jan Di/Jun Pyo relationship moving extraordinary fast (one-sidedly)? Well… At least Jan Di isn’t requiting all of his love, yet.
I like Ga Eul better than Yuki… Ga Eul is sassier.
to 74: i totally agree. i want a gaeul and yijung spin off as well. haha. that would be so much nicer. and they have the gaeul yijung upcoming banana boat together. tomorrow? looking forward!!!! =]
to 75: i guess after the super amazing ost of hyd, everything seems undermined. and also after watching soulmate. have you watched soulmate? the ost fitted in perfectly. =]]
Thanks for the recap!
“For those of use who’ve started thinking Jun-pyo is all warm and fuzzy, this is a great reminder that even if he’s not wrong, he can still be so cold as to be cruel. I suppose this means that it’s not as though Jun-pyo is exceptionally cruel to Min-ji when he’s normally so warm; it’s the reverse — he’s exceptionally warm with Jan-di when he’s normally so cold-hearted”.
I agree with you, coz up until episode 3 minus the ending all we saw was JunPyo being so calm at all times though his character should be the opposite, and it proves here in this episode with the scene with MinJi that HE IS that great JunPyo/Tsukasa that we know he should be
Btw, Lee Min Ho is just plain gorgeous!
I really liked the first part of this episode…the second part of it is just a build-up for the next one-I think. Anyways, I really enjoyed Jun-pyo treated Jan Di when he was treating her wounds, his anger shows how much he cares for her and how he clutches his heart when he leaves the room-freaking “aw” moment.
The whole exchange between Min-Ji and Jun-pyo was super intense despite how indifferent Jun-pyo seemed. Good acting on both sides. Also, Ji-Hoo definitely approved in this episode, the dialogue between Jan Di and him was quite saucy…it showed that JJH is definitely approving in terms of acting. I don’t really like how Jan Di pretends like she doesn’t understand what Ji Hoo is saying, sometimes her over-acting bothers me, sometimes it fits and sometimes it doesn’t.
I do like the bickering between Jan Di and Jun-pyo but at times I wish she would give in just a little bit. I love how Jun-pyo is obvious with his feelings but I wish Jan Di would just enjoy some of his efforts. I do agree the idea that Jan Di is having a problem with Jun-pyo because of the money issue. Anyways, I am loving the series and love your recaps, I also watch the episode before I read them because I love reading your take on things!
@ 78 (Shu):
I did, I did watch Soulmate!! Freakin’ loved that soundtrack (and the drama of course, that goes without saying)…made me wish some hot stranger would shove their headphone into my ear and play me a totally heart string twanging type song!! : )
after watching episode 5, I am now convinced that LEE MIN HO as GOO JUN PYO is the reason I am loving this drama!!!
JAVABEANS.. I agree with your negative feedbacks about BBF, I mean, you are right on with your posts! But so far.. LEE MIN HO portrays his character so well that he cured me from my “other guy disease”!!!!! I always loved Hanazawa Rui and Huaze Lei in the previoid versions before I fell in love with Tsukasa or Dao Ming Si.. but in BBF…
GOO JUN PYO all the way!!!!!!!!!!
I can overlook all the negative feedbacks about BBF right now (cheesy music for example) because LEE MIN HO is uber cool in this drama!
Hahahahaha, I love you episode recaps on this drama they always makes me laugh. [you side comment I mean]. The scene with Min Ji and F4 I felt so bad for her, and then you commented on how cruel Jun Pyo was, I instantly thougt *with goosebumps* I wonder what his mom is going to be like in the upcoming episodes.
i thought this episode was pretty good. it could do without the cheesy ’90s jazz music playing in the background. seriously i hope they switch music directors in the future episodes.
The first scenes of this episode has definitevely captured me into continuing to watch. Jun Pyo the Hero coming to save (although quite violently) his Cinderella! How can you not fall in love with him?!
It’s so cliché, obvious, and cheesy, but that works everytime…Wonder what’s wrong with us girls? Why these fairytale tactics keep working in this 21st century?
I worth nothing on the pyschology field, maybe someone can give a scientific explanation?
ugh! whats really bothering me is one of the main songs they keep using on this show sounds so familiar to a song that was in witch yoo hee. i think the singer must be the same too cause the voice sounds exactly the same.
I am completely ‘wowie-fied’ (is that even a word…?) at the pace the subtitles are coming… It’s so fast that I cannot believe it! BUT I’M NOT COMPLAINING!!!
Oh, thanks Javabeans for your recaps! I love your additional little remarks. BWA HAHA!
^ yes i agree, that song is very very similar to one used in witch woo hee (which was like the cheesiest drama ever), and im pretty sure the singer’s the same (Achily), because i read somwhere that they were using some of the same artists in BBF as in Witch yoo hee.
damn, screw this crappy soundtrack.
also, i think in BBF, junpyo and jandi’s love seems to be developing very slowly, much slower than in the taiwanese version. in meteor garden, by now, theyve had a kiss scene and also that deep/meaningful scene after sancai gets bashed by the school kids, you know when daomingsi says “If you say you didnt, then i beleive you!” or something like that.
oh well, i guess the gaeul and yijung scenes make up for that.
after reading your recaps, i actually wasn’t in the mood to make a comment of any kind until i watched the episode. and it pisses me off that they seem to have exerted so much effort and paid great attention to so many details of the story, except for the music/sound score. does the director have some kind of deal with the singer/record label of the songs used here? hearing songs from my girl and witch yoo hee just bothers me a lot, it’s not even amusing.
one of the major reasons MG was such a hit was because it had great music. MG had “recall” because of the music used. like when i hear broken vow, that parting on top of the mountain with the meteor shower as backdrop comes to mind. or i think about that tragic spain trip when the song yo te amo plays.even HYD was able to pull it off with Arashi’s Wish.
it may just be me. but i strongly feel that music really does a lot for any drama. and it’s like paying the drama the “respect” it deserves when APPROPRIATE music is scored. especially one that has precedence such as MG & HYD.
this production has to be really thankful that JP is soooo gorgeous and really is quite convincing as Doumyoji/Dao, otherwise, this would really suck.
I’m liking what I see so far, but what is up with the cheesy soundtrack and “sound effects” to say, blinking? ><. I like Lee MIn Ho as Tsukasa/Go Jun-Pyo, but it’s too early to say if he’s done a better job than Matsujun, for now. I love the scenes between Yuki/Ga Eul and Sojirou/Yi Jung too.
I agree the love triangle is non-existent. I love jun-pyo a little too much and ji-hoo not enough. hyungjoong needs to turn on the charisma.
I think that jun-pyo turned into a good guy to fast. We’re only 5 episodes in and he’s gone from cold hearted jackass to aww such a sweetheart.
And i am equally if not more excited about ga eul/ yi jung relationship! baby faces unite.
In the last scene the audience is led to believe that something will happen between Goo Jun Pyu and Jan Di but my guess is that he brought her to the deserted island to teach him how to swim…..LOL!
watched the episode earlier today and glad for your post =D thanks for the excellent work.
i couldnt quite put my finger on what feels off and you did! jihoo isn’t pulling his weight as rui
hanazawa rui *could* be so much more! i still have hope for him…? the more speaking parts he gets the more i hope he grows into his role.
I am ridiculously excited for Yi-jung and Ga-Eul.
NEXT EPISODE.
OMG.
Re: the Cinderella issue: I totally agree. I’ve always liked Doumyouji better than Rui (this drama is no exception), but I see why Jan Di’s conflicted. As adorable as he is, Jun Pyo needs some boundaries. I’d be so uncomfortable if a guy I’m unsure about announced to everyone that we were dating, and then forced me to go on a trip with him. Not to mention, if she turns him down, she’ll be fed to the wolves again.
I mean, Jun Pyo’s being kind, for him, but he’s not treating her like an equal–he’s making decisions for her. Also, if it were me, my assumption would be nothing is free. I’d rather do without the vacation & the attending guilt and expectations from someone I’m not crazy about.
I really cant wait for your next post.
Im so excited!!
to 91: i totally agree with the blinking sound effects, what the hell is with that? and jandi doing that innocent blink thing is starting to piss me off as well.
but yeah, yi jung and gaeul ! im really starting to liek this couple. yi jung is growing on me, he so cute ! especially when he does that flirty smile. LOL
and gaeul too. her actings pretty good and i just realised that she was in fly daddy fly. shes very pretty as well !
“Jan-di’s bike is set on fire, while she is assaulted with water balloons and blasted with a fire extinguisher. Seriously, are these Shinhwa kids all sociopaths?”
Exactly what I thought when I watched the first 5 minutes of this drama!! I understand that it’s just a drama, but seriously, where are all the teachers to stop this? I thought the F4 boys were suppose to be the bullies, not the other way around.
Dear Hyun Joong shi – AJA AJA – many more episodes to go for the dang PD/Writer to write you in better – your few lines and scenes are made plastic posey by them many a times….I hope you get to show depth soon…
*yeah I’m biased… I adore HJ – I feel he so far is doing a decent job with what he was given to work with aisah…Show them, show all of them!! No charisma?? Wooden? Plastic? – Blast all their current views of you to smithereens! ha ha – Noona has your back – LOL gosh… *blush*
Dear Lee Min Ho shi – you are doing a splendid job.. never liked your character in the Japanese version – couldn’t stand the guy who acted as you here…. he seemed such a bad hat rascal lol but not you….. you make Jun Pyo human in all his insecurities and brattyness .- you make Jun Pyo reach out to all our bimbotic souls..LOL….that Jap version guy (forgot his name)…acted in another J-drama… Bambino – a bumbling chef with talent..which I saw prior… so maybe that foreshadowed my watch – bumbling chef to Super Rich bratty kid/guy in one skip – totally no go – aigooooo LOL
Onwards BOF – AJA AJA – Thanks so much Javabeans, gosh you’re so fast with the summaries!
P/S For shallow me.. There is little what not to like about BOF and the little is… the violence of it all… my young daughters love this show wish I could delete all the violence…. and this “School” we see NO Teachers where they go? Think I only saw a westerner one ONCE!..
soompi thread is very crowded and here is submerged with so many comments…means that the drama has really gain a certain popularity…
I watched episode 5 this morning not in good quality but I feel something wrong, unfortunately I can t point a finger on it..the whole episode seemed strange for me and the view, the filming totally different..sometimes it was going fluently and sometimes it was stangely no that fluent..anyway your recaps javabeans is as usual really good ..thanx
omigosh. lovelovelovelove~
i like the korean vers. better than the taiwanese’s and japanese’s.
but, somehow the actors who played as the leader of f4 always attract me. hahaha. i love jun mstsumoto, jerry yan, and of course our lee min ho. hahaa.
They are all very charming. kekeke.
ps: dont you think minho look kinda old? he doesnt look 22..he was born in 87, fyi. still handsome though. kekeke.
I watched Epi 5. And I agree with in this versions all the key points scenes which made what is HYD keep being ruined (it’s so sad).
Jun Pyo is so kind ; calm ; mature ; nice ; even sometimes cold, you wonder why Jan-di don’t like him or hate him?? Too bad.
Please can sombody explain me why ther is not any chemistry between the F4. Do they know each other?
You wrote:……..ridiculous cheesy music. It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.
wha…ha..ha..ha..ha..ha.. exactly my feeling. Haven’t they fired the music director yet?
Oh how I so wish they could re-do the music from the beginning of episode 1.
i enjoyed the first two episodes of this series. but unfortunately, my interest has been dwindling ever since. maybe i shouldn’t have expected anything since i have already watched the first two versions of the story.
i liked meteor garden because that was my first taste of asian dramas. i didn’t even mind the horrible acting.. (when i tried re-watching it though i just had to stop because everything seemed so pathetic)..
i had doubts about hana yori dango (japanese drama). however, from the first episode, i knew i would be seeing something new. that’s mainly due to the story being short, too short even, for after the last episode i was left craving for more, but it was really good because all the essentials were well conveyed.
now we have boys over flowers.. so far, the best thing i can say about it is that the writers had made a realistic reason why jandi gets to attend shinwa high. i mean, i always think the weakest point in the original version is how a poor, ordinary girl like makino can just attend a supposed to be very, very, very elite school. how great can f4 really be if a commoner like makino can manage to be schoolmates with them, right? she can’t even boast of a scholarship since she’s not very bright..
as for everything else, i think i expected too much. i guess i secretly hoped that they wouldn’t follow the manga too closely, so that the audience would be given a new experience in watching the drama.. give it a new twist, that is, without having jandi end up as junpyo’s half sister or junpyo dying of cancer.. maybe they should have let the coffee prince writers do the script.. i think the way they created that drama without doing an exact replica of the manga is very commendable.
Please Why Jun Pyo loves Jan-di? I can’t understand, I mean is it because she put ice cream on his face? Why Jun Pyo reminds the prince of GOONG instead of Domyoji? And he does almost everything Domyoji character wouldn’t do?
ahh!! ep 6 is airing in about an hour.. can’t wait~
btw, I LOVE YOUR RECAPS. just wanted to get that out!
and the psycho kids are acceptable – this drama is a manga adapatation after all, and as everyone knows, anything is possible in that world. lol. where would a good cinderella story be without the unreasonably psychopathic side characters?
actually, i don’t think the two slaps were harsh at all. it was rather appropriate when you consider the fact that jandi had considered minji her friend, and moreover her only friend in the school. what minji did was total betrayal, and that whole experience was borderline traumatic too.
oh yeah, imho, the whole dream sequence about the soulmate and husband was meant as a visual representation of her feelings at the moment… i think. like she still has feelings for jihoo, but she is starting to like junpyo and all that. maybe. lol!
51 minutes…
LOVE LOVE LOVE your recaps….. hehe
I’m kinda glad that I didn’t watch either the TW or JP version or read the manga before for that matter….
As a first timer to this whole franchise… In all objectivity I think the KR version is pretty fun to watch… And I suppose it’s inevitable that I keep seeing comparisons in comments and reviews everywhere since this is the 3rd version after all..
But I think for fans of the JP/TW versions, would it help to make the drama more enjoyable if they could leave the bias at the door as far as possible? I mean it’s a little difficult to enjoy the show while picking on the differences, no? Just a thought anyway
And as for KHJ as Ji Hoo – gotta agree he hasn’t really caught on, but with the plot unfolding as it is… maybe he might just grow on you? Coz he sure did on me… LOL
AND YES – THE MUSIC SUCKS BIG-TIME…. what’s it with KBS dramas and bad music…..
haha, the scene between ga eul and ji yung is so cute, ji yung is a little arrogant, different from soujiro in JP ver, however, I like it. ^^
Why do geum jan di still not realize the beauty in goon jun pyo???? I start to get annoyed with her, hummm. Hope the next ep will have something developing between them
thank you so much for ur recap, although i watched it in mysoju, i still want to read your recap and your comment ^^
Just love the scene where JD and JP were arguing about the heart of a train/ smokestack and JP breaks into that adorable smile when he realizes his mistake. He makes me giggly all over and I’m a 53 year old married woman who has two grown up daughters! GHS is overacting ‘cuz she’s a 24 year old trying too hard to make us believe that she’s 16. I hope she resolves this problem soon. LMH, though unbelievable as a high school student does incredibly well with his interpretation of his character with his more subtle acting. His face is so expressive!
I agree at this point that Oguri Shun in HYD did a better job as Rui, but hey let’s give KHJ a chance, after all there are still 19 episodes left. I heard from one of the interviews with the cast that the production crew monitors the fans’ reactions on the internet after each episode. (Bet they’re reading all out comments right now!) KJH has expressed his apprehension in not being able to portray the role as he should in a SSP episode, thus putting him on panic mode whenever he has a scene. I mean, try to fill in the shoes of Vic Zou and Oguri Shun whom the majority wanted to win the girl. The negative comments will either make KJH sink or swim. I hope he swims!
Thanks a million for the quick and wonderful recaps! I’m amazed at all the work that a lot of people have done from subbing to recapping BBF within a span of 12 hours. We non-Korean speakers thank you all.
yi jung and ga eul is <3
i’m actually anticipating more for this couple.
lee minho’s hott btw.
your recaps are always so thorough and excellent, so props on that!
i agree w/ everyone else about rooting more towards junpyo > jihoo.
it’s strange.
like in the japanese vers, we were all rooting for rui & makino, but in the korean vers, i’m leaning more towards junpyo&jandi!
jihoo barely gets to talk in this korean version, and he just doesn’t have the flair to him.
but nevertheless, BOYS OVER FLOWERS ROCKS!!!!!
I don’t think the problem about the love triangle not working well is because of Lee Minho’s charismatic Jun Pyo. I don’t think an actor can be blamed for acting too well.
At this point of the story (based on manga and other series) we are supposed to start liking him. Lee Minho has been acting as Jun Pyo perfectly since the start. The reason why Jun Pyo was liked since the start is simply because Hyun Joong wasn’t able to portray Rui/Ji Hoo’s charisma since the beggining. And as you said, his Ji Hoo is just 1/10 of charisma of Lee Minho’s Jun Pyo.
Lee Minho is fullfiling his task as Jun Pyo and has portraying his character well. But Hyun Joon’s Ji Hoo is still lacking something.
Of course Hyun Joong improved in the last episodes, but the beggining of the serie is crucial to make viewers understand the reason why Jandi/Makino like JiHoo/Rui. And it was exactly in the beggining of the serie that Hyun Joong’s Ji Hoo was more lacking and less charismatic.
PS: I love Hyun Joong and I’m his fan but I’m a little bit diapointed with his acting as Ji Hoo… and I feel sad admiting it because I know how hard he’s working.
Excuse me You have been liking Jun Pyo since Episode 1!! Don’t make an excuse.
Please The F4 is non existent LMAO.
Thanks for the recaps.totally love it.
I’m loving Yi Jung-Ga Eul scene.They just look so lovely together.XD
WHY ISN’T JANDI FALLING FOR JUN PYO instead of Ji Hoo.
I’ve watched the taiwan version and the japanese version..gotta say that unlike other version where i was practically rooting for Makino-Rui at the begining…i’m already rooting for jun pyo and jandi in the korean version.
Lee Min Ho really potrays his character really well.I didnt really felt the love triangle beween junpyo-jandi-ji hoo.
The only thing lacking from the korean version which i found very disturbing was the chemistry between the F4.Aren’t Jun pyo and Ji Hoo supposed to be best friends???Why does it seems that Yi Jung and Woo Bin are better friends compared to junpyo and jihoo.Hopefully we’ll be able to see more of their friendship as the story gones on.
I couldn’t be more agree with 24 and Tippy.
I find myself rooting for Ji-Hoo, horrendous bow tie notwithstanding, and I wasn’t sure why. But. Jun-Pyo is such a monumental dunderhead (he does seem to have developed some wits lately, though), and since Jan-Di isn’t impressed with his wealth that’s all there’s left of him. Then again, his admission of not having dated anyone was pretty sweet, and it softened me toward him. He just doesn’t know how it’s done. Also, Lee Min-Ho does the scenes where Jun-Pyo is surprised by his own feelings towards Jan-Di really, really well.
I do hope the show explores the “money can’t buy love” theme further; if Jun-Pyo keeps showering Jan-Di with wealth like this without any explicit arguments from her, their story will get even less plausible for me pretty quickly.
The way Jun-Pyo’s always dragging Jan-Di somewhere against her will really chaps my hide and adds to Jun-Pyo’s knuckleheadedness. Since she’s feisty enough to kick him in the head and berate him rather effectively she could put her foot down as he’s about to pull her arm out of its socket. At least once. Please?
As for the show as a whole, I’m torn. I’m a k-drama newbie and I’m not familiar with the other versions of the show, so it took me a while to wrap my head around the whole setup here. Accepting the story as fantastical (which is how I read it) does become more difficult since the production is so clumsy, especially with scenes that I read as attempts at the dreamlike — it’s not that hard to get bow movements at least plausible, use the right kind of saxophone (assuming the Kenny G style of saxophone abuse is even remotely appealing) or teach people ballroom dancing. And the less we see of Jan-Di’s painfully overacting family, the better.
In spite of my whinging I’ll still keep watching this show, as opposed to, say, Star’s Lovers, which I find better made in many ways but both boring and frustrating. Like previous posters, I’m really looking forward to the Ga-Eul and Yi-Jung story unfolding, and the show is just plain fun in spite of all the hiccups.
OK. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried to like this drama and take it on its own terms. But I give up now. I’ll still watch, probably to the bitter end, but with much sighing and rolling of eyes.
I feel I’m watching a school production (with a humungous location budget). “Unsubtle” is this drama’s middle name. Way too much going for The Cute. And The Set Piece. Set Piece 1: in which hero comes to the rescue (accompanied by sappy music – huh?) SP2: in which hero tenderly tends wounds. SP3: in which poor girl is wowed by riches and servants scrape gratifyingly. SP4: in which poor girl acts tough and is gratifyingly vindicated. SP5: in which poor family is wowed by rich young man. SP6: in which the spirit of Pretty Woman is invoked (but unfortunately all I can think is “what an asshole to set off the fire alarm). SP7: in which audience is to be wowed by rich boys’ ostentatious display. SP8: in which audience is to be wowed by gorgeous location shots (but unfortunately is just bored. You know, in this day and age of ample travel tv, we need more than nice scenery to make up for a laboured and not terribly compelling plot).
It’s a hotch-potch of Set Pieces. I was hoping to get to know Jan Di better and understand why Jun Pyo falls for her so deeply and how F4 ends up dancing attendance on her. But so far she’s just The Girl Who Shouts Too Much. Ji Hoo remains a non-entity (but perhaps it is a mercy that he didn’t do any heavy acting in this episode). The remaining 2 F4 boys are still just pretty faces. Jun Pyo is probably the most convincing character, but he still seems rather unreal and contradictory to me – it feels like he just acts whatever is called for in his set piece (moralistic, if the set piece is The Put-Down of Min Ji; stupid if the set piece is Being Cute with Jan Di).
Oh the incoherent plot. Oh the silliness of it all. The spectre of Witch Amusement lifts her dreaded head.
I watched a funny Big Bang’s HYD Parody (realased long before BOF). The funnier is the member of the Band make a better work than the one in this version. It’s really sad F4 are more convincing than the one in the Korean version (look at the portraying of TOP of Domyoji. You will think it’s Domyoji and not so called teenage 35 year old man. Especially Rui. The chemistry between their F4 is convincing too.). The sadder is it’s the same concrning Makino (although it’s played by a man in the parody).
Serendipy you said it!
OMG this episode was very good! I hope JD start liking GYP soon!
, can’t wait for ep. 6 to air! 
i really hope they bring back Min-Ji. she was great in the past few episodes and it would be a waste just to have her leave the entire series, but i guess the plot can do without her too. sad.
i agree with everyone. the yi jung – ga eul romance is great! i can’t wait to see how their relationship pans out.
i’m glad they heated up the rec. room. i noticed in the earlier episodes there was fog coming out of their mouths when they’re supposed to be inside!
lol @lily
I agree with the Big Bang parody having everything this drama lacks, like a good characterization. It has a Domyouji that makes you see why she wouldn’t like him at first, the Rui that makes you see why Makino likes him, and the bond between the F4.
Except I can’t really appreciate Daesung as Makino. But yeah, he’s slightly better if I could get over the fact that it’s Daesung in a skirt.
LOL this part made me laugh..(It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.) I liked how you explain Junpyo’s coldness, it just makes sense. He WAS cold to her in the beginning except for when she really did things he didn’t expect.. =) I really liked this episode. =D
Frankly TOP makes a more convincing Domyoji than Jun Pyo (And TOP is Korean not Japanese but the way he treats “Makino lol” at first he is really mean, childish,stupid, rude and he doesn’t look old he is not cold), the setting fits well the atmosphere, the chemistry between the F4 is really here, Big Bang’s Rui is convincing too (Although he is not Oguri Shun), and LMAO Daesung makes a much better Makino than annoying Jan-di and LOL he has a good chemistry with Top and Rui, The other two F4 don’t look like child (especially the playboy man).
The story is not long but frankly it follows better Hanadan story.
I think Lee Min Ho is chanelling Mr Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice.
I’ve read somewhere that P&P was the inspiration for the original manga, and I think that in that respect Jun Pyo is modeled to be arrogant and cold but actually very passionate beneath that cold facade, and this episode was all about Darcy’s, sorry, Jun Pyo’s passion for Jandi. We get such an insight into his feelings for her, and he acts like such a knight in white armor, that he seems impossible to resist.
I agree with Javabeans that Ji-hoo so pales in comparison, that it turns Jandi into a TSTL character for actually caring for him.
ah, javabeans. u are making me wanting to watch this…
love ur recaps!
the only thing that is bugging me is the ost. haven’t watch it, but from the looks of it…it’s BAD.
this kdrama has a BIG budget..
amazing clothes, amazing scenery, amazing jun pyo! hehe..
i am officially addicted to this drama! this is the only thing that was in my mind while taking my statistics exam and this episode did not disappoint!
can’t wait to see tomorrows episode..
jun pyo has really grown into me that i can’t wsait to see his “hurt/broken” look..
@ Sparrow
the “Domyoji” you describe is anything but Domyoji of Hanadan. Domyoji has lost his humanity so he is lonely, cruel, mean, violent childish and impoli with no social skills but he is not COLD, CALM, NORMAL!!! Rui is COLD, CARING, with A LOT OF CHARM but Domyoji is the opposite!!
Why Jun Pyo is in love with Jan-di and has passion for her? I can’t still understand.
I love your deep insights to each episode. Thanks. About the love triangle, I agree with you. Yeah Jun Pyo is still rude (but to everybody else except Jandi). She sees him super adorable and sweet to her right now. And honestly when I see JiHoo I ROFL. I still can’t take him seriously, especially with that sleeping habit he got there
I absolutely love this line: “I’m a little annoyed at how they took this potentially great scene and totally ruined it with ridiculous cheesy music. It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.”
@129 lily- I agree with you, JunPyo’s reasons to be inlove with Jandi seem not solid enough, but I guess everything depends on the person, like in sports on how much a fan can support his team eventhough they lose all the time
And I also do’t understand what people see in RUi’s character? (fr manga and all drama version) the mystery thing? I can’t see it..I’m probably blind! haha
OMG. Thank you for the summary. I thought this drama was not going to stand a chance to the Japanese one but boy am I wrong. They’ve done things that have enhanced it…the situations are supposed to be outrageous so over the top events and things are fine. <3 Goodness I am so crushing on Lee Min-ho right now. He has truly taken in the character as his own! LOVING IT!!
@ 119 serendipity
I understand what you mean! It’s like most scenes revolving on one particular story are done okay but when you look at the bigger picture, something is always off… It’s probably because the characters were not well-developed and the plot was not well-planned…
i don’t know if i’m the only one, but i still find goo hye sun’s acting to be a bit off occasionally! there was one particular bit in this episode that made me cringe: when she was flapping around in his room in his pyjamas with him watching.
i actually think she doesn’t look that much older than the rest of the cast so she doesn’t have to try so hard to act cute and exaggerate her actions. it just comes off as a really weird contrast because the rest of the acting isn’t similarly exaggerated. sigh but apart from this unevenness, i do like this drama so i greatly appreciate your recaps!
@119 Serendipity
You’re totally right about the show being silly and constructed of clichés — which is precisely why I’ll continue watching it. Pure escapist fun, as opposed to a show that will teach me something about life.
Having said that, I wouldn’t mind a bit of self-irony or ironic self-awareness, even if the 5th episode is a tad early for the show to start referencing or poking fun at itself.
Argh.. Just came back to comment again since I didn’t get a chance to finish reading your review. =) [School.. Hehe..]
I agree with you 100%, its seems as if Junpyo is buying Jandi’s love. Haha, but we all know Jandi doesn’t see it that way but sees him for what he really is. He’s sweet and caring towards her and I think thats why she’s actually going through with all these things Junpyo does to her or gives her.
Oh goshers, why is Jihoo interfering? I guess in this version, Lee Min Ho is just so awesome as Junpyo that I’m just like “Geum Jandi, get it straight!” In the other versions I’m like “Aw… Rui…” Haha, yeah… But I LOVE your reviews they give me better understanding too haha. ;D
@ 119 serendpity – couldn’t say it better myself! Must say I’m just sticking around all the eps for guilty pleasures sake.
The music so far has been horrible, development of characters is so-so. And oh, the dramz, it is coming; we know that JP is going to get engaged. But now he really likes JD because she’s the only girl that’s ever hated him, isnt that quite obvious people?
I have to comment about the slaps, it felt wrong not because it was harsh, but because it didn’t feel like something Makino Tsukushi would do. She was admirable because she could express everything she wanted without using volence, as opposing to Domyoji, who was really violent but couldn’t really make a point. The most violent thing Tsukushi did was throwing tea in Domyoji’s mom. It just felt wrong.
Thanks javabeans… i’ve been wating for you recap so much…
I believe that there is one thing missing here, i agree with the fact that JP is far too cute ( I ADORE HIM!) for the love triangle but also is the fact that we only have see him with JD and like you said:
“For those of us who’ve started thinking Jun-pyo is all warm and fuzzy, this is a great reminder that even if he’s not wrong, he can still be so cold as to be cruel. I suppose this means that it’s not as though Jun-pyo is exceptionally cruel to Min-ji when he’s normally so warm; it’s the reverse — he’s exceptionally warm with Jan-di when he’s normally so cold-hearted”.
Which proofs that indeed JP is only warm when is about JD and one else. And so far that is what we only have seen. Maybe in the next episodes this will change according to the storyline when JP finds himself realizing that he can not make JD falls for him that easily.
I still like this version; and the sense of being it too fast is because the use some of the escenes that happen quite after Rui comes back from Paris, so I hope they are going to use more stories that we haven´t seen in the other two version. perhaps?
Sorry if a wasn’t clear enough haha but my head is full of conclusions and english is definitely not my native language.
“It’s so tragic and heartbroken, you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.” HAHAHA I loled
And yes, the love triangle thing is really not working out. Compare to Jun Pyo, Ji Hoo has the charisma of a wet dishrag. There is just no competition here at all.
Still, I’m really loving this Korean version. Well done for making a great drama out of my very favorite manga. I was worried that after so ,any versions, it would start to get repetitive but luckily, I was wrong!
I understand why Jandi hasn’t completely fallen for JP yet, but does she have to yell all the time and make those unnecessary faces/expressions?? This is one of the reasons why I hate “trendy drama”. To be honest, even though I don’t like JD/JH, I really like their scenes together, only because she yells less.
I agree with you “Ichiru” and Domyoji (Not Jun Pyo) has always been my Fav character of Hanadan because he represents the “change (reminds me Barack Obama)” for me so he is the most important “piece” of HYD.
So people Why Jun Pyo has passion for Jan-di??
thanks for the recap!
Talking abour Nishikado and Yuuki (sorry but I’m bad with korean names so I can’t remeber) in the manga she falls in love with Nishikado when he helps her with her boyfriend issue, and I think you can also see that in the jdrama.
I was hoping to see the kiss scene in this episode I can’t believe they skip it, it was one of the best scenes of the manga and is sucha a sweet moment btwn Tsukasa and Makino, the only version that include that scene was the taiwanese version and was lovely.
I agree with Daniel too. It’s seems there Jan-di act sometimes like Domyoji while Jun Pyo acts like Rui
thank you for the update! The drama puts a smile on my face and that’s all I ask for. Sure it uses the wrong music and is cheesy but it works for me.
i have never seen the jap version and so when ppl make comparisons, i hardly ever know who is who…
i saw the tw version, but in that one, the jandi character POed the hell out of me, i loved the gujunpyoo character, and i liked jihoo as a person. the other two f4, were just side stories for me.. rainie as ga eul was awesome. i loved gujunpyoo’s sister. i don’t remember the girl jihoo was in love with at all..
in this version, i feel like lee minho just takes over with his acting. he’s not unlikeable in any respect for me at least, yes he’s a little heavy handed, but that’s what i love about him, his lack of finesse and the hard time he has with expressing his feelings, and also, how unapologetically he goes about all of it. i do wish tho, now reading other comments, that he was meaner, so i can like him more later, instead of liking him from like the start, but then again, i have always been character biased towards him. idk, i’m just in love with lee minho and his portrayal i guess. soo cuuute. don’t ask me why, i have no idea.. and can someone be criticized for being too good? so that other ppl get left behind? that’s a new one.
jihoo is annoying i feel in this version. just last episode, which feels like yesterday in my life, he was in france, and now he’s back. umm… can we take a breather from you? there’s no explanation for his sudden reappearance (i’m guessing he got rejected / it didn’t work out), but shouldn’t he exude some sadness when he returns, and only chase girls in attempts to get over the other girl. instead, he just seems happier and more playboyish. jihoo’s character is all about the “delicate male flower”. there’s nothing subtle about this character except for his lack of charisma. maybe that was too harsh, i think i’m just too biased towards gujunpyoo and i don’t understand why jihoo has to come back in now to mess it all up and confuse jandi. but character aside, i hope hj develops more as an actor and plays up to his really important role..
jandi over acts A LOT. she lacks character development for me. i read a comment that this drama is moving slowly, and since the jap one was 9 episodes, and this is 24, so it should be moving slowly in comparison, but i really missed the buildup, where 1, gujunpyoo falls in love and then can’t deal with his emotions, so he tries to deny his love for her 2, where jandi resists him more. i just feel like it’s all so one-sided. i have a clear idea of how gujunpyoo feels right now and the reasons for his actions, but i have no idea what’s going through jandi’s head right now. her character relies too much on gimmicky eye blinking and cuteness, rather than character development. like… if she’s such a tough cookie, when doesn’t she actually deny gujunpyoo’s heavy handed moves, instead of just sort of ducking away. i mean… if you don’t like someone, how can this all be happening? she’s just too passive for me to understand what’s going through her head… i also didn’t like the not one, but two slaps. it doesn’t fit her as a character. she’s supposed to represent something stronger than that..
basically, she should be the lead, so her family, her roots, and her identity, should be equal if not more important than gujunpyoo’s. right now, she’s being overshadowed and i have no sense of her feelings or her side of the story.
i think the rhythm and timing of the drama is a little off. like, episodes are basically solid hours of screen time, much like a movie, more so than a tv drama per say (at least in the states), so i feel like 1. it’s really impressive to shoot that much footage, maintain the quality that the drama has, but 2. maybe it could be paced better? i have no sense of time. everything just runs into each other. all the storylines link like nonstop action, and so i feel i just got hit by a tornado, without feeling buildup, conflict, resolution, character development, without really feeling all the moments btwn gujunpyoo and jandi, and other delicacies that need to be more meticulously done. in that way, i agree with serendipity, it’s all setup, and not enough core story, and character development, but I STILL LOVE THIS DRAMA. i still love the setups too
kimbum, btw, shines in this drama. even when he’s in the background, my eyes draw to him and his smile. he just emotes very well, just standing there. and i’m so ridiculously interested in his and ga eul’s storyline. they are so cuute together and since both are 19, a real life romance would be good. their chemistry is totally happening. and ga eul is very good as her character, maybe too good. so much so, that she doesn’t feel like supporting character. same with kim bum, their screen presence and overall chemistry just take over.
which segue ways into another problem i have, i feel like jandi and gujunpyoo have no real chemistry at this point. and f4 is not like f4. they aren’t friends. in fact, i feel like gujunpyoo and jihoo secretly hate each other. there’s no brother ship :[
the music tehehe, i actually love the soundtrack. the kenny g bits are a little bit mmk, but all in all, i like the music / i don’t notice it as much as everyone else does.
but honestly, I LOVE THIS DRAMA. i read all the comments. i constantly refreshed veoh to watch it. i can’t think about anything else. i read recaps and recaps. despite my criticisms, i could probably rewatch episodes, which i never do, and i’m a lee minho fangirl now <3
I agree with what alice and I franckly respect his/her view (she don’t say it’s better than this or than that…). She/he likes it because it’s like that. Although it’s bad executed, off characterized with bad acting.
love ur articles keep up the good work….
ahh goojunpyo is starting to grow on me. lee minho plays a much more appealing tsukasa than the japanese version..
owhhhhh…my dramabeans…i’ve been waitin for ur recaps….waitin does pain…thanx fo the recaps…
love this drama…thanks for the recap*.*
i totally agree with you…though i think kim hyun joong (jihoo) is absolutely adorable from seeing him being married to hwangbo on “we got married” i’m so totally rooting for junpyo, he grew on me so fast despite his terrible hairdo…i was so excited in ep4 when he straightened it…why oh why did the curls have to come back?!?!?!
thanks for the recap. thoroughly enjoying the drama aside from the exasperating fear-of-sex undertone. i’m growing to like the pretty boys and the bold curly hair look. like someone before said, i’m looking forward to the potential relationship between ga-eul and yi-jung.
who knew rich korean kids could be so snarky. yuck.
thanks!
LOL it reminds me Bollywood system. Kind of “Leave your brain at home and enjoy the movie”.
Sorry if I hurt someone
i agree with your comments, i just want to yell at the screen to Jandi “like Junpyo he is so sweet” & to Jihoo “go back to Paris or where ever you were before”. in the 1st 2 eps Jihoo’s character was nice but cold which made him funny, but then ep 3 & 4 he just seemed confusing, like when he was dancing with both girls, shouldn’t we have felt that he was in love with Han Chae Young’s character? it just seemed so robotic & his facial expressions are mostly blank.
actually i think i’d have to say my fave character is Jan Di’s little bro, SO CUTE HAHAHA
I’ve watched both the taiwanese & japanese versions and I might be the only one, but I liked the taiwanese version (Meteor Garden I) a lot better.
This Korean version I am enjoying it so far. Lee Min Ho is absolutely the perfect actor for JP (Domyoji), totally awesome, full of charisma. Jandi, arhh…she is ok, if she doesn’t over-acts and tries SOO hard to be cute. It gets annoying. JH/Rui is such an important part of the drama but in this version the actor is not channelling the right vibe. I hope he improves soon.
Kim Bum is wonderful as expected. I like to see more of him.
Can’t wait to see JP’s sister comes into the picture!
the music does seem like it belongs to an ahjumma drama. lol
and jandi’s dress she wore to the island… o___O
(the music director and costume designer need to be shot on site)
other than that i liked the episode.
dramabeans i luv ur recaps,
99% of the time i completely agree
with how u critique the dramas.
yay!
Goo Jun Pyo’s and Jan Di’s acting is very, very good. Jun Pyos just never realizes that Jan Di likes him best when he is doing something nice and not when he is throwing money around.
Just love the scene with Jun Pyo at Jan Di’s parents. He acts as if he were visiting the aborigines and studying their alien behaviour, surroundings and the food with (sceptical) interest.
I cannot accept Jan Di going on a shopping spree with Goo Jun Pyo without putting up at least a little fight. So accepting household appliances is not o.k. but accepting warderobe items is? And is the flunky at the mall not the one following Mrs. President a.k.a. MOM around? He seems to be putting his job on the line for not telling on Jun Pyo and Jan Di.
Do so agree to Ji Hoo being either presented badly by the director – or which I assume – the actor being a total miscast.
Especially like the Yi-Jung and Ga Eul scenes as well and I hope they will develop into a nice subplot.
I think of the Korean version of HYD as the Paris Hilton version: Blink of Swarovsky crystals (o.k. let’s say diamonds), beautiful to look at, sometimes dumb and out of line, sometimes surpringsly intelligent even shrewd (I mean IQ 120), always stylish and en vogue (and of course generating lots of money from the fans). But I think when watching the whole series in three years time with some emotional distance I will probably not find it as compelling any more because there is no real flow, the scenes sometimes seem to be tacked together in an artificial way. While I still love watching Taiwan HYD because of the emotinal development of the characters and Japan HYD because of its wit.
First, I came stumbling upon this website about a year ago looking for QSS (my fav foreign drama) recaps, and found all this other stuff! Hard to believe that this is my first comment but thanks, javabeans.
The only excuse I am giving for this drama’s (glaring) imperfections is that the story was originally written for a cartoon (manga, whatever). It IS exaggerated and goofy and giddy and over-the-top and it is easy to get carried away. I would have personally preferred if they toned it down to do a drama, though. Some of the actors are rolling with the cartoony-ness and coming across as lively and just real enough, others, not so much.
Ga Eul is brilliant. Joon Pyo – ditto. Ji Hoo…it pains me to look at him. Some people were just not meant for the camera. Jan Di’s character feels forced and most of the time it makes me feel really uncomfortable, but I do like her much better than in Ep 1.
I really didn’t like the location change for this episode. I felt like they needed to kill some time and mix up the emotions, but were failing with what they had, so they threw this whole vacation thing in. That floating resort also made it look like they were in some sci fi movie. I guess we’ll see what they give us have tonight. I can’t say I’m not a little apprehensive…
@19
the part where Doumyouji gets beat up like others have said, is a part of a different plotline in the story and is actually one of the turning points in the Makino/Doumyouji relationship so I was really dissappointed that the jdrama didn’t show it in that aspect and instead made it into sakurako’s henchmen. I really hope that the kdrama includes it (except I can’t remember at the moment when in the manga this happened so its possible plot wise they may exclude this scene). The taiwanese version included it and even with the bad acting you can feel these two get closer through this scene so I really hope that they somehow incorporate it into the kdrama version.
@ 159
I completely agree with you. I felt the TW version followed the manga most closely so you can really feel the emotional development between the characters esp, Rui/Makino/Doumyouji unfortunately the acting was pretty bad at points making it hard to watch. The JDrama, because of the 9 episodes, was funny but didn’t have the emotional oomph of the TW and manga versions. The Kdrama I think is refreshing and maybe because I have already seen the other two, I like that they are getting to the point quickly but I do miss the development of the characters that the other two did and the kdrama left out. I was never a Rui fan although I do wish that the kdrama would make the love triangle more believable but with Lee Min Ho’s charisma you really see no contest between the two especially since they are speeding through the beginning part of the story you don’t really get to see why at the beginning Rui was much more appealing than Doumyouji.
even with its faults I really like the kdrama as much as the previous versions if just to see Yi Jung/ Ga Eul and JunPyo/ JanDi because they are just entertaining to watch.
Thank you so much for the recap.
.
Luv reading your comments
I have to say that i agree with Daniel’s comment. I can totally understand why JD would choose JH over JP. JH’s acting aside, what girl would pick the overbearing, forceful, ignorant guy over the compassionate, understanding, intelligent guy. JH is the one who saves her everytime she is in trouble, he is the one who comforts her (in his own weird way) whenever she is sad or hurt, and it doesn’ t help that he is handsome. JP on the other hand is the one who set the entire school on her, the one who doesn’t listen when she talks (he just forces his will and desires on her), and he drags her around like she is his pet. He didn’t ask her if she wanted to be his girlfrield. He just told everyone she was his girlfriend. He didn’t ask her if she wanted to go the trip or on their first day. He demaned it and expected her to follow his command. To the viewer it is cute, but as a real girl it is annoying.
Also, JD and JP are sorta alike. They both are quick to anger and they both are rather bossy. What girls wants to be with a guy just like herself. All day long she has to contend with taking care of her family financially, being bullied at school, helping out in the dry cleaner, and remeber she is still a student. She still has to study, take exams, and swim. At the end of the day, do you want a boyfriend with whom you are always fighting or do you want to be able to relax and let your guard down? It must be tiring trying to be strong all day. Eventhough we all know the ending to this story, at this point in the drama if I was her I would choose JD (rui) character over JP (domyoji).
Finally, I would also like to say that I can understand why she is not trying to hard to fight off JP advances. One because he just won’t listen and two because she needs a break. Without his endorsement, she is back to where she started. I know that that is not a very popular thought, but she is human. Everyone slips every once in a while and have purely selfish moments.
Javabeans thanks for the recaps. Can’t wait for episode 6.
I think part of the reason more people are starting to comment here is because certain places are too heavy on one side, almost blindingly unwelcoming to any sorts of criticism to their pet drama. You otoh obviously love this drama despite its very visible and sometimes jarring flaws which you also whole-heartedly admit. I think that’s why this place is sort of a nice place for people to voice out their opinion because your readership usually reflect a somewhat similar mindset in approaching a drama.
That said, I totally quit watching in the middle of the 4th episode. Not because I hated it, just that the whole thing got so boring that i got distracted by some random discussion elsewhere. After ignoring the tab with BBF for hours I just didn’t feel like goin back to it, so i closed that tab and went straight here to read your recap of the rest of that episode. I must say, I share almost all your sentiments on where this drama is lacking although I’m less generous towards certain parts of this drama.
Usually recaps with this much flail-able caps and funny commentary would make me want to watch a drama but in this case, your recaps are more entertaining than the actual thing (btw those cute JanDi caps are very much cute and appreciated). However your enthusiasm on certain scenes didn’t manage to draw me back to the drama. Maybe it’s because i’m too familiar with the whole plot and the other aspects of the drama doesn’t quite make up for that lack of suspense. I would’ve continued watching for LMH but am not a big enough fan of just that one guy that i’d swallow the rest, flaws and all. Essentialy this drama was for me, LMH’s one man show. He needs someone he could really play off of for this to not turn very stale very quickly. So far JiHoo=not up to par, JanDi=underdeveloped (imho).
I (like everyone else) blame the producers/directors. I think the fact that they casted Hyunjoong in JiHoo’s role was a huge sign at the start that they were not up for making this drama work 100%. Very gimmicky (idol popstar with the right looks but unproven acting chops) move and unfitting for a character who is supposed to hold much more weight than HJ is currently capable of.
I guess I’m just mourning the loss of potential there (hugely successful franchise!, remake by teh great korean drama makerz!!1!) and basically using this place to whine. lol sorry.
does jandi really have to yell and scream all the time. it’s kind of (well, very) annoying.
How the production dared to show and portray Oh Min Ji when she was young and supposely ugly with this little girl, i mean it’s not fair for this young little girl to be labelled as ugly, how people can do this.
Even in the japan version they were smart enough for allowed this.
I am not kidding I think they should cast TOP and Gdragon (of Big Bang) as Domyoji and rUI
it is quite obvious that there is no chemistry with jandi and ji hoo as well as the actors playing them.
there is SO much chem btw jun pyo and jandi tho.
i just can’t imagine someone being so sweet. and yes, he is throwing money at her but it’s the only way he knows how. for now.
lee min ho is so hot!
Hello Dramabeans, I ran into your website while searching for “boys before flowers reviews” & bookmarked your site the second I read your first recap. Your witty humor and accurate episode summaries are the best I’ve ever found. I haven’t been able to see this episode yet (NEED subs) but your synopisis managed to quench my thirst for this drama. I can say that without even watching this episode, from what I read, I prefer the Taiwanese version for theTsukushi beat down. The scene where Doumyouji rescues her, tends to her wounds and kisses her (and she corresponds to the kiss) was one of my favorite “awwwww” scenes. I believe the Koreans toned it down a little too much. Im looking forward to the other beat down where Doumyouji rescues her by not fighting back and she shields him with her body from the chair. Haven’t read the whole manga. But did watch the Anime (loved it), Taiwanese Drama (loved it) & Japanese Drama (liked it). For now, gotta say Im prefering the Taiwanese version. They gave it a more drama/adult tone. I’ve got high hopes for the korean version. I hope they don’t disappoint. Cause I’ve always said Koreans know how to do Romance in Dramas. Once again Dramabeans, you have a lovely site here. Im gonna go read your Painter of the Wind Reviews…..I want to see if you can get me to watch it =P
I loved the Taiwanese version too. There are a lot of parts that pulled on my heartstrings. So far this korean drama is pretty good too. Hope it will just get better & better! Lee Min Ho is HANDSOME!
@ Alice- Since Javabeans wants to keep it short and I have a rambling tendency, I have to say: I agree with EVERYTHING you’ve said. I DID watch the Jdrama, and am a huge HYD-the-manga fan as well, so I thought perhaps I was being unfair. But you’re in correlation with all my thoughts so perhaps I’m not being as nitpicky. lol.
I do have to say that I am not enjoying the drama as much. The side characters, I agree, but it’s still not reaching kdrama expectation for me, even with Jun Pyo/Domyouji’s Beastliness (or lack thereof) aside. Perhaps I’m too hung up comparing Jandi with the very very likable jdrama lead? Or for that matter, ALL the likable kdrama leads I’ve known?
Episodes 5 & 6 could have been smushed into just one, no?
[...] in his portrayal of the iconic cold-hearted-but-actually-sweet male lead. Ah! I was reading Dramabeans’s recap for episode 5, and the comments left by other rabid fans on her page(s). Someone [...]
I just wanted to say that i accidently stumbled upon this show while being bored on youtube, and I LOVE IT!!!
I’m actually from Canada, and not Korean or Asian or anything, it was my first time discovering a Korean drama, and I am HOOKED! (Looove the fact that there are english subs, otherwise i would be totally lost)
The boys are extremely good looking, (which is the reason why i began watching in the first place lol) The story is super cute, the acting i find pretty good and entertaining, no complaints really.
Except for the kissing/hugging scenes….LAME!!! lol
And i also wanted to comment that as an outsider looking in (I had not idea that there was a Japanese, or comic book version or anything etc. etc.) I truly feel the show is great!! I’m glad i didn’t know about the other versions because I have a clear canvas in front of me instead of comparing all the versions, and like i said, as an outsider looking in, the show has everything from good funny/dramatic story line, to good looking actors, to just being entertaining period.
I agree with Plurals…I know there are a lot of better actors in Korea than Min ho and Hyun joong….feel sad for those who weren’t chosen but have so much to offer more than looks
whoopsie
-deleted-
tis fun!!!
luuvs it!
i really love it!!!
fun
entertaining
sweet
It sucks. really. Too superficial, bad acted, Too much
For some reason it seems as if the Ji Hoon (I always want to say Rui) role in this drama is drastically different. i remember in the beginning they mentioned that Ji Hoon had autism, so maybe they are playing up that aspect whereas Rui was just a quiet shy guy. Maybe Ji Hoon is supposed to have serious issues about opening up to people. Now I don’t know if they did this because of Kim Hyun Joong’s acting, or if his expressionless faces are supposed to match the directions he was given. I see Jan DI rescuing him more than he is rescuing her, as opposed to HYD where Rui was a total prince charming, riding up in a white car and all.
I actually like the new portrayal of Ji hoon, it makes it diffrent from all the other adaptations. I have to agree though Jun Pyo really isn’t that mean, but it makes his character more real. He’s more like a bratty kid in love who doesn’t know what to do.
I vote for the Vicious Bishes amd I miss Sakurako’s crazy eyes.
OMG! soo great. I know that GaEul and YiJung will be together at the end of the series! I reckon that LMH looks better with his hair straight
I told myself I’ll watch this drama objectively and not compare it to previous interpretations. However after watching this episode I’m a little disappointed that this version is taking a safe road, same as the Japanese HYD, and not really showing the darker sides of Doumiouji’s/Jun Pyo’s character or the physical intimacy between Tsukushi/Jan Di and Doumiouji/Jun Pyo.
Doumiouji is truly hateful in the beginning and you want Tsukushi to end up with Rui; there is real tension in their triangle. In this version you have to wonder why would she even consider Rui.
Meteor Garden is probably the closest we’ll ever get to seeing the violence/rage Doumiouji is capable of. Maybe it’s because I’m a huge fan of the manga that I keep wanting more. It’s all just … too cute.
Marie I don’t understand. Do you mean in Japanese HYD they didn’t show the darker side of Domyoji?????????? If yes (what is funny)I think even BOF lovers will tell you you are ABSOLUTELY “WRONG!!”
Did you really watched HYD?? I don’t think soo or you are biased to MG. So I will understand you
Thanks for the recap, javabeans!
Oh gosh..I just realized that GHS resembles Rainie Yang. They have a tendency, in certain scenes, to walk forward in the same way: pouting, with the head stuck out in front. The “prowling” look. No wonder it was so unattractive.
Anyway…
@ Striker: Seriously, the same thing was going through my mind. Having a little girl play the “ugly” girl is so unethical. But at least she wasn’t really that ugly. I guess Asian people really don’t like freckles.
I like how the magazine reads “Borbes” instead of Forbes…They could have called it “Money Money” or some random name which isn’t copyrighted.
Jan-di is very rude to her parents. Confucian values? Although the parents are supposed to be silly and all that, this is excessive. Jan-di should be one of those stereotypical drama moms who hit their children with whatever is on hand.
Also, I was wondering if Jan-di actually went to school before she was drafted to Shinhwa. I don’t know how the Korean school system works, so was it the end of the semester or something? Or did she just go?
I think Jun-pyo and Jan-di really suit each other just because of the way Jun-pyo can actually control the over-violent and over-loud Jan-di. But I doubt how any relationship would actually work, seeing that everything is done without the other’s permission or even knowledge. The gf announcement. The furniture. And Jan-di forgives Jun-pyo so easily after the hotel incident. He doesn’t even apologize.
The soundtrack reminds me of food.
“Stand by me,
while I’m buying clothes.
Watch over this!
I’m not wearing this!”
The scenery in New Caledonia is very pretty. Well, onward to episode 6.
Sorry, I’m being very picky today. But so much of this episode is very annoying.
Jewel_L : yes, they missed the important part where Tsukasa said he likes Tsukushi for the first time (in his mansion, when he’s taking care of her wound)
Many people ask why Tsukasa like Tsukushi in this forum.
If you read the manga, it’s very clear that beside she’s the first girls who stood up and fight back. Tsukushi character is very loveable. She speaks her mind (a bit too loud sometimes) but she has manner, she;s cute and fashionble (her clothes were simple yet adorable). And in a conversation with Rui, he stated the things that he likes about her: though her live was hard, she never complain about it, she also smile/laugh and cry wholeheartedly. She made them (not just Doumyouji or Rui, I thin all F4 in general), rethink of what live really is…..
She also taught them friendship (after she came, F4 befriend many others…let other be in their circle…like Yuki, Kazuya, Sakurako, Amon, Amakura ect). ~~ my list will go on and on….better if you read the manga yourself.
Oh….blooper (a prove that I’ve been watching these more than twice LOL)….
GaEul outfit….when she depart and arrived in New Caledonia……
STella @ 184. I too am a little annoyed by the fact that he doesn’t realize that almost everything that happens to her is his fault. That the people around him respond to his emotions and moods, and that she does forgive him easily for everything.
However, having said that, I must also say that that arrogance is what I like about Domiyoji. He doesn’t apologize for anything. He just charges ahead and deals with the fall out later if he feel like it. Maybe that is what makes him a great leader. The ability to see what he wants and take it. The ability to make the hard and tough decision. Let’s face it. If he wasn’t so single minded he would never get Makino, and they would never win over his mother.
I really feel that the Korean BoF is character-assassinating the Makino character. I am not familiar with the manga, so maybe she really is that annoying in the beginning of the comic series, but Inoue Mao did such a great job in showing Makino to be tough and wise and loveable, while Jandi is such a moron here, I really don’t feel she is worthy of the amazing change that she initiates in the Domyoji character. If LMH was less awesome, the difference between the two characters would be less noticeable, but really I feel Jun-pyo is so much more awesome than Jandi here and has a lot less to do to be “worthy” of her. Makino in the Japanese HYD, on the other hand, was totally a catch because only she was capable of putting the F4 in their places. Domyoji totally met his match in her, and the coming of age of his character was really quite lovely to watch (Matsujun is a terrific actor, you’ve got to admit).
ANONYMOUS YOU TOOK THE WORDS OUT OF MY MOUTH!!! Indeed Matsujun really expressed Domyoji character very well, what some people tend to forget.
I feel like you especially when Jun Pyo took care of Jan-di at epi 5. I mean she did not stop to shout like a spoiled child (maybe she is afraid her parent might worry) while Jun Pyo was cold, calm, mature, nice that I wondered “is that really HYD or Goong??”. I mean at first why he loves Jan-Di??
“The Catty Trio (Hateful Threesome? Evil Troika? Wicked Wenches? Vicious Bishes?)” lolz. i think all of these names fit. tee hee.
i agree though.
i’ve basically fallen for jun pyo already, irregardless of any comparisons to HYD. its true. you’re supposed to gradually fall for him as it progresses and root for the “rui” character in the beginning. i’m sorry but ji hoo just doesn’t do it for me. not when he’s up against jun pyo.
Dramabeans you are completely right in your assesment of the love triangle. It doesn;t make a lick of sense and its why BOF is only enjoyable to watch in the beginning. After that is an exercise in frustration at the Makino/Jandi character. This is the inherent problem with making a live action version of the manga. In the manga Domi is a horrible molesting, slapping guy who is really really mean and violent. It makes her dislike of him more reasonable. Unfortunately a live action version of the manga HAS to tone down Domi. Look at how people reacted to the quasi almost rape scene in Que Sera Sera. That scene in QSS is very similar to the manga version of the scene where the tarty trio show him the tape and he tries to kiss her. They wisely toned down the scene to just an attempted kiss. It’s HORRIBLE in the manga. Unfortunately the whole story line of the show falls apart without Domi’s horribleness. It makes Jandi look wishy washy and stupid. To be fair in the manga I thought Makino was wishy washy and stupid fairly early on. But not this early!
I am enjoying these early episodes because I know (since they are following the manga very closely) pretty soon I will dispise Jandi and the show will lose a lot of it’s charm for me. The producers in toning down the Domi character are pretty much garunteeing that I will be deeply frustrated by it looks like episode 10. I was hoping to make it too 13 or 14. I can only hope that they decide to deviate from the manga storyline more
jian di and jun pyo forever!!
“you’d think they both found out they had cancer or something. With 90 days left to live. And are also siblings.”
hehe ^^; sounds like ‘90 days loving time’ with kang ji hwan lol <3
OMG I LOVE LEE MIN HO (insert fangirlish squeal) and idk why but i love the song that comes out of the sheep (when jan di sang it though). does anyone happen to know if its like a korean children’s song or something? i wanna learn it <33
hi everyone =D
I love reading your reviews! .. just had to point out that this comment:
“Cute Little Ji-hoo — wearing all white, of course! — is playing the violin, and faking it just as badly as Grown-up Ji-hoo. Little Yi-jung is playing with clay, and Little Woo-bin is counting his fake money with the board game Life. HA.
But they don’t have anything on Little Jun-pyo, who is OMG so adorable. And also afraid of bugs. Attacked by a buzzing insect, he tries to shoo it away…”
was wonderful! and I couldn’t agree more! haha
….
“he really is just throwing money at Jan-di, proud of showing her what his name and wealth can give her.”
hmm! I’ve never thought of it this way but you’re absolutely right!
it’s neat to see things in a different way.
can i please know were to grt all the episodes from???
i loveeeeee dis!!:)
i love boys before flowers its really good!!!!!!1
OMG!!! i think yi jung and gaeul make the CUTEST couple
<33 and this version of bbf total changes my view of the story. In the japanese version and meteor garden i <3 rui and didn’t understand why she would choose the him over rui…srsly vic zhou was sooooooooooo hot!
i like lee min ho talaga kasi bagay na bagay sa kanya ang rule nya. at ang gwapo2x nya talaga!!!!!!! baliw na nga ako sa kanya eh hes so handsome talaga!!!!!!!! mwaaahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!
oMG……… jun pyo s so handsome…………….wehwei…. i love diz… i lyk d way he showed his feelings 4 jan-di…………..his doing his bezt 2 make jan_di happy… OMG…. i lyk his character sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…………………..AZTIG,,,,, and da smyl of yi-jeong……
wow… how amazing this… i haven’t word for describe this movie.
i like this i like this so muchhhhhhhhhhh
go go lee min ho
go go lee min ho
you so awesome make me breathless
is very nice and beuatiful drama i love it i love u gu jun pyu
is very nice and beuatiful drama i love it i love u gu jun pyu
hi guys i love i’am your number 1 fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
love you
did Jan Di really got rape? or it was just a set up???
i love boys over flowers come from khimber claire tan
chinese name;lu kim siu