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Poseidon: Episode 1

Take one part NCIS, one part Baywatch, one part Top Gun, one part k-pop music video, and mix it all up with some tragic-revenge and fall-from-glory themes. Are you wondering how on earth all that coalesces into a coherent, action-packed, thrilling hour of television?

Answer: It doesn’t.

Sadly, Poseidon falls into the category of Tries Too Hard, Underdelivers. The action scenes are empty sizzle, and are delivered on a production budget that makes it more campy than cool. It’s not all badness, but its entertainment derives in large part from humor of the unintended kind.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Yeo-hee – “꽃잎” (Flower petal) [ Download ]

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EPISODE 1 RECAP

At the harbor, a mission is under way. Teams move out — an armed special forces unit (SSAT), uniformed policemen, plainclothes officers — via boat and helicopter. They’re after Choi Hoe-gon, a mob boss with dealings in smuggled weapons, drugs, and fake luxury items, and have received intelligence tipping them off to his presence on a boat nearby.

At home base, the senior Coast Guard officers watch the mission unfold while the team moves out. A lieutenant reports a complication to the man in charge, the bureau director, because the target is heading toward international waters.

That makes the higher-ups pause, weighing the odds, because if they infiltrate the vessel and find nothing, they’ll be in hot water (har har) at the violation of international maritime law.

Arguing against that is impassioned Coast Guard officer KWON JUNG-RYUL (Lee Sung-jae) gets on his radio to insist that being in international waters doesn’t matter if they nab their quarry. The Coast Guard director finally gives his terse approval, and the teams swing into action.

The SSAT agents land on the vessel and infiltrate, subduing the crew and searching for Choi Hoe-gon and his smuggled wares. But nope, there’s nothing. The ship is clean.

This is reported by hotshot SSAT agent EUN-CHUL (Yunho) to his boss, KANG JOO-MIN (Jang Dong-jik). This is the elite, cool-as-beans unit so they suppress their emotions, but not so Jung-ryul, who was so certain his information was correct and clears the table in an angry motion.

There’s also palpable tension between Jung-ryul (Coast Guard team leader) and Joo-min (SSAT leader), suggesting they’ve been rivals for a long time. Surely it’s a sticking point that as an SSAT member, Joo-min’s got the upper hand in terms of authority and cool factor, but I’m guessing that there’s more in their history.

But then Jung-ryul spots something on the wall — a bulletin board full of photographs contains one that’s a family snapshot of Jung-ryul’s own family, with his wife and daughter. Flipping the photo over reveals a black insignia bearing the Chinese character for serpent [蛇], which he immediately recognizes.

It spins him off into a flashback:

Some time ago, Jung-ryul had been called to the waterside by a mysterious kidnapper. Upon arrival, a black car had pulled up, dumped out a body, and sped off. The shadowy man inside the car had flashed Jung-ryul a sardonic wave — perhaps this is our nefarious Choi Hoe-gon, explaining why he’s so intent on nabbing him now.

Running to the body, Jung-ryul had recognized the badly bruised and battered corpse of his own wife, whose body was marked with the same black tattoo. Damn, that’s cold. What a way to leave a message.

Back in the present day, Jung-ryul’s frustrated bureau director mutters that Jung-ryul is truly done for this time.

Beach. Strutting up and down the shore are one hotshot and two nerdy sidekicks. They’ve all got names, but for the sake of clarity let’s just focus on the one that counts: KIM SUN-WOO (Choi Siwon), who oozes smarmy charm that’s confident in his good looks and his ability to win over any woman who looks his way. His friends do just as much ogling, but lack the charm.

Sun-woo spots a hot body to hit on and makes his move…and then backs off when the lady turns out more ajumma than anything. In falling to the sand, he gets a tiny cut on his hand, and wanders over to the first aid tent. Instantly smitten by the pretty lifeguard, he uses his cut as an excuse to request some first aid treatment, then pours on the charm smarm.

The lifeguard is LEE SOO-YOON (Lee Shi-young), and she can smell a sleazy playboy a mile away and treats him with perfunctory attention, rejecting his attempts to flirt. Sun-woo keeps going and tries her patience, until a distress call comes in on her radio and she runs off to save a drowning beachgoer.

With his interest already piqued, seeing her dash off in all her slow-motion glory makes Sun-woo look at her with googly eyes like he’s straight out of a fairy-tale meet-cute rather than a Baywatch run.

Soo-yoon performs CPR on the prone swimmer, but doesn’t get a response and Sun-woo decides to take over. Shoving her out of the way, he continues administering CPR until the swimmer gurgles up water and revives.

Soo-yoon owes him, but she’s still annoyed with him and can’t hide her conflicted response. Sun-woo notes that she’s not originally a rescue worker, and introduces himself as officer Kim Sun-woo of the coast guard. That gets him the desired reaction, because her scowl disappears and she smiles politely and nods in understanding…before she turns sarcastic and declares that if he’s part of the coast guard, then she’s the police chief. She storms off muttering angrily, assuming he’s pulling her leg.

Sun-woo isn’t used to striking out with the ladies, but he gets over it soon enough, heading out to drink and party with his buddies that night. But while his friends are totally caught up in the frivolity of the moment, dancing on tables and drinking with pretty bar girls, there’s something about Sun-woo that looks detached and bored through it all.

The next day, it’s Sun-woo’s turn to move out on the job with his team, and they board a fishing boat and take a look around, having received information of a suspicious nature.

Sun-woo notes that these fisherman haven’t caught any fish in a long while, and sees a locked trapdoor. He asks the fishermen to open up, and that prompts the suspects to burst out into a fight.

The officers quickly subdue the fishermen, and open the trapdoor. Sun-woo descends first, recoiling at the foul odor that hits him, and then gapes in shock at the sight: Crowded in the bowels of the ship are huddled people who look more dead than alive, filthy and dead-eyed.

This changes things, and Sun-woo is hit with a sudden suspicion. He inspects each fisherman until he confirms his hunch: One of them bears the serpent tattoo on his back.

Time for him to have a flashback: Sun-woo had come up to a car parked on the dock, and opened the trunk. His face had crumpled to recognize the woman’s bloody body inside, bearing the serpent tattoo on her chest.

Back at the Coast Guard station, Soo-yoon chats with her co-worker, now in her officer’s uniform — turns out she was only lifeguarding on her days off. Her friend sighs that she should be using her time off to try getting a man, which makes Soo-yoon mutter about that weird playboy she ran into. He’s nothing to get excited about, she warns her friend, because he was exactly the type of playboy she hates. Her friend wonders if there’s a type of guy who exists who IS Soo-yoon’s type.

Soo-yoon is dismayed to hear that her sunbae, Jung-ryul, is currently in a disciplinary hearing for the failed sting operation. He gets chewed out by his superiors, who remind him that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and they warn him that his personal vendetta against Choi Hoe-gon is impairing his work. He’s ordered off all his cases.

One of the committee members is Coast Guard Lt. Hyun Hae-jung, who looks at him with empathy but doesn’t, for whatever reason, approach. And watching her with his own longing looks is SSAT leader Joo-min. I smell love triangle!

Jung-ryul picks up his daughter Hana from grandma’s, and dotes on her. In flashback, he remembers the happy family memories when it was the three of him, before his wife died, clearly unable to forget her.

In the present, though, it’s grandma (his wife’s mother, I believe) who urges him to find a new wife. She tells him that she won’t be around forever, and Hana needs a good mother. From Jung-ryul’s tense reaction, we can surmise he’s the furthest thing from ready to begin dating again.

Jung-ryul seeks out Sun-woo, another old acquaintance with whom he shares strained history. The details of their association aren’t explained, but we can connect some mental dots, given their shared connection to the serpent crime organization. Sun-woo comments that it’s been nearly four years since they’ve seen each other, and if we line up Hana’s ages in the flashback, I’m guessing that’s right around the time wifey died.

Sun-woo comments that he “handles things” by getting drunk and flirting with women. Ah, so the playboy act is a front for his hurt, bleeding heart! Aw. The comment makes Jung-ryul comment ruefully, “You’ve forgotten already.” It’s something that he’d both like to do himself, and has vowed not to do: Jung-ryul explains that he’d thought he had Choi this time, and that either he or Choi will have to go down for it to truly be over.

The next day, the SSAT team makes their slick, impressive entrance to the Coast Guard station. When Sun-woo arrives for work with his buddy Dae-sung, his face grows grim to see the SSAT presence, while dopey Dae-sung oohs and ahhs over how cool that special unit is.

Once inside, Sun-woo comes face to face with Eun-chul. They shoot each other challenging looks. Dare I hope for an idol boy dance-off? Alas, Eun-chul breaks the tension by extending a hand, saying it’s been a while, but Sun-woo ignores it and passes him by.

In the situation room, Eun-chul debriefs the SSAT and Coast Guard higher-ups on a new sting. There’s some tension between the two sides, with the Coast Guards bristling at SSAT interference on a mission that they could handle themselves. Eun-chul replies that they’re needed because this involves black market weapons, and request the use of a local guide.

Sun-woo is called in to be that guide, and clearly whatever his fraught history with Eun-chul is, it’s unknown to the people on his team, because they don’t see that this is an idea that simultaneously fills Sun-woo with embarrassment and dread.

Sun-woo balks, playing the wimp to get out of it, saying it’s a dangerous mission and he hasn’t fired a gun in so long he’s pretty sure he doesn’t remember how. Eun-chul steps in and excuses Sun-woo from the sting, saying he can get by with GPS — which gets Sun-woo out of the job, but also gets him the backhanded complaint from his superior about how he’s useless.

Once alone, Eun-chul challenges Sun-woo, “If you’re gonna live like that, why don’t you just quit altogether? Why are you still here? Pathetic.”

In a seedy part of town, gangsters unpack their latest shipment of fake designer bags, drugs, and guns.

The SSAT pulls up outside in their super-secret marked vans. Smooth, boys. I guess you should be glad that this black market operation is run by inept fools instead of people with proper lookouts. Or eyes.

Cue the Mission Impossible-style entry, as SSAT agents cut the electricity on the warehouse, then swarm the building. From there, it’s an easy matter of subduing the criminals.

The dark allows the crime boss and his right-hand minion to sneak out the back, however, and they aren’t spotted until the authorities take proper stock of who they’ve arrested.

Eun-chul sees that the boss, Ahn Dong-chool, has escaped, which frustrates his boss. But there’s a rogue officer on the ground ready to intercept Ahn’s flight; Sun-woo easily disarms the gangster and beats him into submission. Before he hands him over, though, he makes a deal with him regarding his stock of fake goods and warns Ahn to keep that a secret between them.

With that, Sun-woo delivers Ahn Dong-chool to his teammates, who are surprised to see him successfully nab the guy they lost — especially when it seems that Sun-woo has built up a reputation for being a slacker.

This means Sun-woo has effectively scooped the hotshots for once, and while I think Eun-chul is supposed to look fierce, or jealous, or challenging, he just kind of looks sleepy to me. C’mon dude, Sun-woo can’t manage a glare-off all on his own.

Jung-ryul is called in to meet with the director of the Coast Guard, who says sympathetically that there’s nothing he can do about Jung-ryul’s punishment. However, he gives him the order to put together his own team, called CGI 9 (Coast Guard Investigation 9), to investigate cold cases.

CGI9 is a project initiated by Lt. Hyun Hae-jung, and now Jung-ryul will be in charge of assembling the team. The director tells him that he’ll be mostly dealing with unsolved and unsolvable cases, but then it becomes clear he has an ulterior motive by giving Jung-ryul this team, because he wants him to catch Choi Hoe-gun. The director isn’t merely throwing him a bone, because he wants to get him too, but he knows how much this means to Jung-ryul. A win-win.

Jung-ryul’s two sidekicks agree to join him, although it’s with some reluctance because they recognize it’s not exactly a shiny gig. So does Soo-yoon, who initially thinks she’s being demoted, or punished, for being reassigned to it.

It’s somewhat mollifying to hear that she was specifically requested by the team leader, and that said leader is Jung-ryul, whom she respects. But then she hears the other name he intends to recruit — Kim Sun-woo — and recognizes him as the beach playboy. Grimace.

It’s cute how Jung-ryul’s two sidekicks ask him to bring on a pretty woman officer while he’s at it, and then deflate when he tells them it’s Soo-yoon. Not her! She doesn’t even count! One of them tries to reason that maybe it won’t be so bad since she’s just like one of the guys, and they won’t have to treat her special.

Sun-woo’s backdoor deal with the mobster gets him access to a car trunk full of illegal fakes, which he sells to a group of criminals. They quibble over the price, so he calls them on it and sets fire to the box, engaging them in a staredown of wills…and then he breaks first, stamping out the fire and lowering the price. Ha. You wuss.

It’s not clear if he’s doing this to make a quick, illegal buck or if he’s operating on a larger plan, but we don’t get to find out (yet). News comes in that Ahn Dong-chool blabbed all about their so-called deal, and now the police know that Sun-woo’s engaged in some corrupt activity.

Eun-chul hears the news and can’t believe it. It sends him to the shooting range of broody moments, where he works out some of his…aggression? Frustration? Latent bromantical feelings Sun-woo-ward? Aw, you wuv him, just admit it.

Sun-woo doesn’t hear the news until the next day when he’s heading in to report for duty, whereupon his buddy finds him and warns him that he’s in trouble. Sun-woo grimaces to hear that Ahn sold him out. Well, you’re the one who trusted the criminal, so who’s really the dummy here?

And then, their attention is caught by the arrival of a trio of officers, aka Jung-ryul’s newly assembled CGI9 team. They’re led by the pretty, pretty woman who’d already had him smitten on Day 1. Sun-woo ducks behind a pillar and gapes.

 
COMMENTS

I didn’t hate the first episode, but honestly speaking I was heading into Poseidon with very low expectations. So there was no disappointment, just lack of interest or substance.

One problem is that this drama feels pretty low-budget given its scope and genre. When it was first announced, I think it was definitely going for the higher-production-value slickness of IRIS or Athena (it does, after all, share the same writer as IRIS and has the director of large-scale hits All In, HIT, and Swallow the Sun). It doesn’t achieve that cool factor, and in fact tries so hard to be cool that there’s just no getting there. It’s that contradictory, so-difficult-to-create nature of cool, where you have to give the illusion of effortless, inherent awesomeness — the harder you try, the more you work against that effect.

The drama itself doesn’t feel ridiculous, but it’s over-the-top and therefore funny, in a cheesy way. It’s inadvertent camp. The tone is also kind of a mess, all over the place without a strong emotional hook to get you invested. Yes, I’m interested in the murders marking both heroes’ pasts, and I want to know what made hotshot Sun-woo retreat so hardcore into himself and hide behind his frivolous shell — but that curiosity is mostly in an academic sort of way. The drama doesn’t ring with me in a genuine place.

Too bad that the one place where the episode could have really built up a strong point is in the Sun-woo/Eun-chul bromance/rivalry, because who doesn’t love bromance? Who doesn’t love hotshot rivalry? Add in a pained past and suppressed empathy, and that’s a relationship I would have otherwise been jumping to see more of. (Note: Character descriptions say that Sun-woo and Eun-chul used to be rivals on the same team, always edging each other out to claim first and second places.) Sadly, Yunho falls woefully short of the mark, so it feels like Siwon’s trying to have a rivalry with a cardboard cutout. Sorry guys, I was keeping my hopes up for a Yunho improvement, because it’s been a while since Heading to the Ground aired and he could have had a lot of time to work on his acting. And I thought Yunho would’ve done better in this because it’s an easier role to play — he’s an extended cameo, and gets to be cool and arrogant — but he makes for a wholly ineffectual rival.

It doesn’t help that the drama is vastly overscored, with dramatic music that feels better suited for something with more grandeur, a la Daemul or even City Hunter. When you apply such bombast to a relatively small plot point, it just makes the scenes feel absurdly comic, like with Soo-yoon’s big Baywatch rescue. Cringe. And when the big swoopy pop songs blare, you feel like you’re in a music video, only the scenes are oddly flat and plotless to merit such OST treatment. It makes the soundtrack hilarious; the songs are fine, but the misapplication adds that comic sheen. Like laying over the soundtrack of Top Gun over an episode of 90210.

Lee Sung-jae is good, but I’m not sure that this plot can do much to make him all that interesting for me. On the upside, the chemistry between Sun-woo and Yoon-soo is very cute already, and I think they have fabulous bickery energy. I roll my eyes a bit at his whole love-at-first-sight deal, but hey, if it brings him to his knees faster, I’m willing to go with it.

Verdict: I’ll probably keep watching for a few more episodes, if anything for the Siwon/Lee Shi-young dynamic, but recaps are a no-go.

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thanks jb......off to read now :).....i can already feel the hotness!!!

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Yeah, this would definitely be a pass for me. Not enough time on my hands to sit through dramas that don't grab me. Gotta keep moving!

P.S. I actually don't mind idols giving a shot at acting. I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. But even with my generous grading curve, Yun-ho should really stick to his idol duties. I'm sorry but I was cringing at his "acting" :(

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You are more generous than I...I know there is talent out there, and the number of drama openings for newbies are limited - so why are they wasted on idols with absolutely no talent? It's all about money, and bringing in viewers even if the product is too poor to keep most of them loyal. This is what has led me to largely give up on Japanese dramas - too many twig-like little boys who cannot act.

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I agree the first episode was dragging a bit, but things pick up in the second episode. I'll have to buy the DVD when I visit Korea next year, because the online uploads are not very good. I'm loving this series, unfortuately I don't have time to deal with my computer being wierd.

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Weeeeeeell......at least the 1st episode was better than Athena's...

Skipped most of Yunho's scenes...half expected Chun Jae-man's right hand McCreepy to turn up (and that would have been great too!)...some of the fight scenes' directing I really didn't like at all. But I love Siwon & Lee Si-young's acting. So there.

Anyway, I'm keeping my expectations low so as not to be disappointed in the end (remembering MYS).

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Agree about the OST too. It's distracting and really doesn't suit the scenes at all. It's just the 1st episode and they have what? 3, 4 new songs already?

Sorry that you're not gonna recap this anymore JB. I respect your decision not to while it's still early. Thank you for this first one though.

As much as I love Siwon & LSY, this episode just seems to be trying to hard. *sigh*

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Thanks DB for saving me an hour of my life I'd never get back had I watched it before reading the recap.

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Isnt Lee Shi-young too skinny to look good in uniform?

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she's a boxer in a real life..and won the boxing championship..^_^

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I just watched this episode and I completely agree with you javabeans. I actually had my hopes up, but sadly this did not deliver. Oh well, back to my wonderful world of movies that rarely disappoint.

only1tony

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Sector 7

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any chance you'd recal DIRTY CARNIVAL or maybe DAISY?

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Oh, come on. don't be so cruel. still episode 1. besides, i like the story evolved between SW and SY

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No ABS...what pray was the point of the episode?

Thinking I'm gonna skip this one.

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Have been waiting all day after watching the raw at noon. Love Choi Siwon already, no doubts, difficult to take eyes off him and look at someone else when he is running around with his mid riff open.

at some point,i will have to look at other cast members, but now am happy to see CSW on the screen all the time

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Dude, false advertising.

Lame.

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No rippling abs!
No shirtless scene!
Not even a wet t-shirt!

Got my hope up for nothing.

False advertising indeed. :)

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i know! only reason i watched :D

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I read that the ABS appear in episode 2, which is tonight! I'm gonna watch...if only for that! :)

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You make the abs seem like a deep sea creature. :)

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You guys... dies laughing...

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@girlfriday Maybe we can do a Lie To Me type of thing with episode threads, except in this case, it would be nothing but screen shots of Siwon (with captions, natch), along with a one-paragraph summary of whatever nonsense went down in the relevant episode. Heh, I'd be ALL OVER that ish.

On second thought, don't do that. We don't need more of the Lie To Me hullabaloo-ballyhoo, fun as it was to read.

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i second that motion. but gah, i really wanted to see if siwon has improved in the eyes of our unni-experts. perhaps another kdram another time.

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ahhh...thanks for the recap though...i just finished watching it and I was kinda wondering too if I had another tab open coz i can hear some music that kinda didn't match what i was watching...
i would have been sold too on the bromance between SiWon and YunHo...omo....2 HOT SEXY Guys, why not???
too bad YH won't be in it for long? since he's not on the poster...
since I have nothing to watch on M/T I'm sure i'll keep watching it...

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yunho... i don't even know why he's acting. he's just so bland to look at even.

poor lee sung-jae to be stuck with this :(

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Of the TVXQ members, I really can't stand to even look at Yunho & Changmin. And they stayed with SME which I really think is the anti-Christ of Korean entertainment agencies, even if I like SuJu & SNSD. Makes Yoochun & Jaejoong (and even Junsu in his cameo on SOAW) much, much, much, much better.

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*thumbs up* Agree!!!

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heh...for me, as an actor, yoochun and jaejoong, yes. but junsu, no...he seems awkward in SOAW.. ^.^

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@Ace,

Why? Are they horrible-looking people or did commit a sinful deed?

Using acting to criticize them as a human being is low.

They stayed at SM. So? Just like JYJ, each group has their own reason. We don't know the real, bare reason behind, so why are you judging them? On a number of occasions, they (all 5) express they still love and care for each other.

I like my DB5K and detest it when people put down one group to up the other. Be reasonable, at least.

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Um, I'm like Ace. Of the 5 guys, I have the least affinity for Yunho and Changmin. For me, it has nothing to do with them staying with SME, I've felt this way even before the group's legal drama.

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i agree with ping, no need for the judging. acting is acting.

what you said about homin is harsh. "cant even look at"??

fyi, Junsu is awkward too...not wayawayway better.

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Um, are you talking to me? Who's homin?

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Junsu is actually a pretty strong actor when doing live theatre.
I guess dramas aren't his thing though (ohhh, scent of a woman cameo. How that awkwardness will stay with me forever)

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i was peacefully reading the review and the comments until i came across this foolish rant. don't bring your ignorance into a drama review that has absolutely nothing to do with TVXQ and the former members. it's people like you who spread hate and rumors and you sound like Yunho and Changmin just murdered your pet kitten. and SME the anti-Christ? what does that make SuJu and SNSD then, devil's minions?

please stick to reviewing the drama and the acting. thank you.

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@Ace Now you are just being ridiculous. I can understand if you don't like someone's acting and it's your right to express that. However, to degrade 2 guys (that you don't know personally) based on their choices in life is disgusting of you. This is a drama thread so please don't bring your misguided hatred here.

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I totally agree with you. Yunho's "acting" and Changmin's "acting" in Paradise Ranch, were absolutely terrible. Even worse than most other idols. They need to stick with the over produced songs, SM gives them to sing.

Oh, and ditto on what you said about SM entertainment.

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Found Yoona's male counterpart in the acting dept. ;)

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Okay, I admit it wasn't spectacular. But I almost don't care. Is that shallow of me? Yes? Well, I'll own up to it. Yunho may be a cardboard cutout, but he's a darn fine one. ^_~

I'm sad about no recaps, but I have to admit that this probably wouldn't be a good drama for them. Let's hope Poseidon finds some kind of footing, even if it ends up being in the campy-enough-to-enjoy-mocking category. As long as it's not another Myung-wol the Spy or Athena, I'm good.

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Why oh why didn't they just make this a simple love story minus sea, ships and serpents?

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choi is won looking good...thanks for the recap

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he just kind of looks sleepy to me. C’mon dude, Sun-woo can’t manage a glare-off all on his own
and I die laughing!

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After reading this recap I don't know whether to be glad that Eric didn't star in this drama... but the one he *did* star in didn't seem to be any better. I'm not sure if Eric would have played Sun-woo, but I think Siwon seems to be a good fit for the role - since Yunho looks like a teenager, having a relatively younger guy (than Eric) makes it believable that Sun-woo and Eun-chul are contemporaries.

I might still give this drama a shot, just to see how it pans out on TV, but I'm grateful as always to JB for tempering my expectations :)

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the one with eric and kim kang-woo had a different storyline, i think.

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Yeah, it did cross my mind that the story was going in a different direction while Eric was supposedly on board (haha, nautical pun intended). I don't know if the change would have been made if he had stayed, but if both those things had happened (Eric staying + story change), I'd still pick Siwon to play this role over him, but only because Siwon looks younger.

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Myong Wol was good for Eric in many ways. He came out of it with more fans and he continued to show his passion for acting. As an actor, he completed his job very well. I think Poseidon may or may not have been good for him. The only thing for sure is Poseidon wasted a lot of his time after his comeback from the military for 2 years.

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"Once inside, Sun-woo comes face to face with Eun-chul. They shoot each other challenging looks. Dare I hope for an idol boy dance-off?"
LMAO..#dead!

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LOL
I think they already had the dance-off on a Strong Heart.
Yunho won.
:)

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DongbangJunior!!!! RAWR!!! Sorry the fangirl in me just had to... I think not, he challenged Eunhyuk... Siwon and Yunho was not in the same episode before..

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A week of Fall premieres all around. A night of premiers more like it. How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls, Hawaii Five-o, Poseidon and many more. And it seems like, sadly, Poseidon so far is at the bottom. Will it fair any better against NCIS tomorrow? Stay tuned to find out... Oh wait. No recaps. Right. X/

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Thanks for the recap, JB.
I posted the following comment before the recap post popped up - too lazy to retype, plus that's why God invented "cut & paste" :)

"Just watched the first episode.
Had no idea that Yunho’s part seems to be on equal footing with Siwon’s – both boys look entirely hot, with the edge going to Yunho (being dressed all in black does the boy proud)! From the way Siwon kept glaring at him, I totally call dick-fight, and real soon!

As far as the ep itself, it looks fairly typical – good guys (with all their ass’t angst problems) vs real bad guys and Poseidon had both good and bad special effects.
Editing seems rather choppy, but nothing too jarring.
Siwon goes the WHOLE ep without taking his shirt off. Booo!

One thing, though. The soundtrack was rather (I thought) inappropriate for this genre. Most of these action type dramas use building, thematic music to highlight the “big deal” scenes. Without being able to identify the K-pop groups, I swear it sounded like they used several SuJu tracks with 2PM thrown in. It was rather weird."

Glad to see that JB's recap pretty much described my take on Poseidon. Another episode or two should be the decider.

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from reading JB's recaps and those photos, i am already bored!

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Only here for the Siwon screencaps. Shallow? Who, me?

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count me here . i was here only for siwon LOL

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I have now watched the first minute;
30 first seconds: lame camera work. Looks like a report on local TV.
30 first seconds: way better, but the mood is not there anymore.

1:15 shaky camera's back!
How can I focus on the story?

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I meant "next 30 first seconds".

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Sounds baaddd....sigh...would focussing on Siwon's abs help? No? Sadly, there's only so much a goodlooking guy can do, no amount of absflashing would redeem a shoddy production. I think I'm going to say bye bye to this drama, too bad I'll never get to see Siwon and his abs. I actually like him and think he can act.

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Camera shake and uncreative focusing *cough* could ruin the sight of even the prettiest abs.

If we're lucky and JB & GF continues the recapping of the show, we can always watch out for the "absmal" and watch the episode where he does it. Or just the scene.

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HAHAHA. aww. so sad it didn't work out.

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Hmm... this one sounds like a pass for me as there are so many other (underrated) dramas currently airing with great storylines and casts that are occupying my time. This type of storyline is not really my favorite genre, so to hear comments that the special affects and music are not as good is disappointing. Also, right now every time I hear about this drama, I can't help thinking of "what this drama could have been" if it had been Eric and Kim Kang-woo had stayed on.

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Woah! With all the anticipation for Siwon, I didnt even realize that Yunho was in this drama...

I'm sad that this was a disappointment :/ I was hoping that this would be my new "Myungwol" and live up to the hype(?) and be something good to watch, especially since my other dramas have hit a slow spot and I've been wanting for things to watch...

That said, I'm sad that it's not a successful NCIS/Baywatch mix. That would've been awesome! :D

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dang it... i was actually hoping for a good new action drama to replace city hunter....TT_TT for some reason i just can't find good action dramas that are City Hunter style... or even Fugitive Plan B style... LOVED them both.

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have you seen Dog/Wolf?..... great drama

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I didn't expect much from this drama...although I still haven't watch the eppy yet.

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i feel so bad for cast and crew, but oddly enough i don't feel bad for the producers heh

i was keeping my fingers crossed that the drama would do well despite the odds they're facing, but i guess when it's bad it's really bad...

since May this year, there've been a lot of dud dramas coming our way... this may be a good time for me to check out chinese dramas.

thanks for recapping ep 1, JB. thanks also for letting us know there won't be anymore recaps for this drama from this site.

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Kangly, we need our Kang-ah; that's what's missing from all these dud dramas.

Altogether now, mournfully, Kang-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

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So true! I miss our Kang-ah. Kang-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

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Our Kang-ah
is now in Chin-ah
doing a dram-ah
our Kang-ah.

These days
he says "xie, xie"
but from him
it sounds like sexy
i keep imagining he's
calling me Sexy.

Kang-ahhhhhhhhhhh

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OMG SOOOOOO FUNNYYYYY!!!! I just fell over my chair laughing!

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Kang-ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss you so! Come back to us!

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I love you guys <3

Forever keeping that (and other) craze alive. :D

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I haven't watched the first episode yet, and haven't read the full recap but I pretty much got that same impression as what you'd concluded in the intro paragraph after I watched the Poseidon Highlight (youtube.com/watch?v=B60zIdNnrmU) I knew it was pretty much a miss and especially confusing, tonally.

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Oh my...that screen cap of Yunho in a beret...with what is known (where I live)...as *douche-bag yacht club shades*...or rather, the kind of sunglasses 3rd generation-money, drunken frat boys...wear.
(that's not a good thing, btw)
However, I think Yunho *does*try really hard to do well. ~

p.s. Siwon's eyebrows always concern me...they're kinda like a life form unto themselves...the Shibrows ~ ~

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I haven't watched this, but it's weird I kept thinking Siwon went topless in the beach scene....read the comments about how he stays clothed the entire ep, was puzzled, so went to check the pics, and what d'ya know...he IS wearing clothes - TWO layers, to be precise!

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Si Won is hot! If I had enough free time to spend, I'd watch this for him... but, sadly I have none. I wish this drama well... for Si Won ; )

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U-Know Yunho (Eun-Chul) reminds me of the Taiwanese actor Vanness Wu.....
http://www.mysoju.com/star/vanness-wu/

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there's a BIG DIFFERENCE between the two, Vaness CAN ACT, Yunho sadly CANNOT.

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DITTO.

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i so wanted this drama series to work for siwon because honestly, he can act. but it seems like he just does not have very good luck with scripts.

i agree about yunho. gawd... when is he ever going to learn how to act?

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didn't expect this drama to be any good tbh, with the really limited shooting time etc
and well, Yunho can't act even if his life depends on it, what's new?

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Yep, took a glimpse last night, eh...cringed, no-go for me too. Thanks JB.

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i belive reading yhe recap it isn't bad at all seeing the odds all u say abt. myung the spy . comn if u can write ur vieews based on ep i believe u goota wake up and be in the hot seat by all means ( actor , director , actress )

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I wonder if yunho ever heard anything about "acting class/lesson" because he sure needs to attend those classes first.

My goodness Heading to the ground should have been a major lesson for him. But it doesn't seem like he learned a thing from that "failure" of a drama. I watched that drama to the end to see if yunho can improved but bleh...he really needs to attend acting classes or just stay being an idol who sings in auto tune most of the time now. their new album has many songs in auto tune.....

yunho can learn a thing or 2 from his brothers who are venturing in to the drama land.

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hope u consider doing the recap if episode 2 is better ... wanting to see more Siwon pictures here ... haha :D

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am I the only one who watched it because she had nothing better to do and liked it?(also liked siwon, whom I have never liked before?) Yunho isn't bad at acting for me and he also looks hot with those glasses :)

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Nope, I also had nothing to do and actually liked it. However, I am super biased since I've been a Siwon fan for what feels forever. I will probably keep watching unless it totally sinks *pun intended*. Yunho doesn't bother me much either. But I wasn't expecting him to shine, so it's ok. We'll see

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Smiles at all the pretty!

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I watched the first 10 mins of the drama and can't help but laugh at the over the top acting. I hope this drama doesn't categorize itself as action drama because it's more like a comedy.
Si Won should have chosen a different drama to do.
I'm glad Dramabeans isn't going to recap this.

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What i know about CPR is ... "Don't miss every single second b'coz it's about life and death" .... and they are arguing about something "not important" while doing it ??? ... Big mistake !

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Havent watch coz my internet decides to breed turtle... Wae internet? Wae?

Thus basing from the recap...
Siwon bb... (urgh bb... ur eyebag...TT_TT)
his character... really like to know the back story what makes him such a wuss, why he did the things he did...
And I didnt really ship Siwon with Chae Rim in Oh My Lady... but this with Lee Shi Young... I can ship... they looks so cute together!!!

Well Yunho isnt the lead so would not expect him shine but more like the scene stealer... really upset reading that seems "off" but with a schedule like that, prolly just explain why he look listless... or dead eyes... you need sleep my leadershi!

That said... hope second episode will be better than first... and abs flashing pls...

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Oh my if this drama is really as bad as most of you described it then I really feel sorry for Lee Si Young. She's such a good actress but apparently her dramas aren't quite the same.

I watched Birth of The Rich and Loving You A Thousand Times and didn't like both. The former was packed with draggy plot and awkward acting(read: Ji Hyun Woo & Nam Goong Min) while the latter was just draggy and depressing to the point of being pointless.

So when I heard she was casted in this drama with Choi Siwon, I was quite psyched coz Choi seems to be quite the actor(from what I read in reviews) but I'm disappointed now to see that maybe Lee's bad luck with dramas could possibly continue with this one.

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I like Lee Shi Young a lot too. I think even if this drama tanks, she's a resilient actress and would probably not be too burdened by it. I think she's capable of coming out of it smelling like a rose, even if the drama itself is crap.

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gonna give this drama another try cus of choi si won

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Yunho's serious look is seriously killing me...just isnt convincing, its more funny than macho to be honest!

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Big MEH on the whole thing especially the so-called 'bromance'

After what I got with Jisung/Jaejoong in Protect the Boss and Seungho/Jiwook in Warrior Baek Dong-soo, this one is just MEH
You want awesome bromance go watch those.

Only thing this one has going is Siwon and Lee Shiyeon (and little Hana and Dad). *sigh*
Good thingnI had no expectations.

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It's a REAL shame because Siwon is a good actor, at least from what I saw in "Oh My Lady". But shoving Siwon and Yunho into one drama does not automatically mean it will be highly rated. The Korean audience wants quality, not just a bunch of idols, in their tv dramas. Same with me!

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"Dare I hope for an idol boy dance-off?"

I CONCUR. that might make we want to watch this ^^

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I was planning on giving this drama a try but from the recap I think I might skip it. I was planning to watch just for Si Won anyway. I'll just have to watch Mr. Simple performances instead, too bad he only has like two lines. When will there be a drama centered around Si Won and his abs ?! WHEN, DRAMA GODS ?!

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