“So, if you are annoyed by the flooding of City Hall posters who seem raving mad and crazy about a drama that maybe starts off a little boring and choppy, then please forgive them and forgive me. And give City Hall a chance. It will be worth it.”

Raving mad and crazy…guilty as charged. I was late to the CH party, but I’m going to be one of the last ones out the door when it’s over. Which is today.

Pardon me for a moment while I wail in despair…Noooooooooo…….!

Unlike many, I loved this drama from the first episode (I credit CSW for that, since I already loved Kin Sun-ah ever since MNIKSS). Their scenes together are so electric and powerful and REAL that they’re almost impossible to watch, yet you can’t tear your eyes away.

It’s just wonderful.

Maybe some of you haven’t seen it and are wondering whether you should. Or maybe you watched the first few episodes and didn’t think much of it.

Well, here are my thoughts, after watching the first 18 episodes, and literally dying here in the office, because Episode 19 was last night and Episode 20 finale is airing as I type.

First, an admission. City Hall starts off kind of choppy. It does. It doesn’t really seem to get going with one particular plot point or another, even after a few episodes. Maybe this is because a lot of the stereotypical plot devices so prevalent is many k-dramas are conspicuously absent here. There are no amnesia accidents, no accidental fate / destiny kind of meetings, no fake or contract marriage / relationships, and no immediate family corporate conspiracies to grab your attention. The initial setting of a drama is a slow backwards city where picayune and minor corruption is the norm and nobody really cares.

Until somebody, a woman, starts to care. And as this woman of no certain status, family, money or education, starts to care, she begins to attract enemies as well as supporters. This is the story of that woman, and how she suffers tremendously because of that care, and how she fights back and gains in confidence and strength, first to become mayor of her city, and then to defend her city as mayor. This is the story of how this woman fights despite knowing that she may not win, despite knowing that the shady path would be the infinitely easier path, and despite knowing that she being used as a pawn in a political game with national implications.

Shin Mi Rae is a woman with a heart so big and so strong and yet so delicate that ‘compelling’ is too light of a word to describe her character. City Hall is a story of how she evolves and grows stronger to protect her people, at at the end, is able to overcome even the most powerful and wealthy of enemies.

But even THAT is just the secondary story, because above all, City Hall is a love story between Shin Mi Rae and Jo Gook, the political prodigy who has the pedigree, financial backing, intelligence and charisma to be President of Korea. And I can say that I’ve never seen a love story told like this before. And I’ve not seen kisses like the kisses that I saw. LOL. And I’ve never seen a character like Jo Gook before, played astonishingly well by Cha Seung Won.

***

So, if you are annoyed by the flooding of City Hall posters who seem raving mad and crazy about a drama that maybe starts off a little boring and choppy, then please forgive them and forgive me. And give City Hall a chance. It will be worth it.

I have to confess, I did watch about 20 minutes or so of Ep 19 without subs, hoping that my understanding of about 20 words of Korean had somehow magically turned into a command of the entire language. Alas, that was not the case, so I turned to Triple to keep me occupied. It really is getting better and better. I don’t have a clue how some of the relationships are going to play out and that makes me happy! I’m also watching Who Are You and YKS is great in that as well.

Now back to basking in the glow of City Hall…better yet, I think I’ll watch it again!