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Dream High 2: Episode 3

It’s time to set up rivalries all around, but to be honest, I found myself struggling to care in this episode, though it did pick up somewhat in the latter half. Most of the hour was spent rehashing conflicts we already knew about, though the rivalry between Hae-sung and Ri-an has hints of promise and might take an interesting turn. And we do get our first glimpse at one pair’s romantic sparks, which probably saved this episode for me.

Dream High 2 isn’t faring very well in the ratings, dropping with each episode from 10 to 9 down to 7.2% with this episode. Light and Shadow led the timeslot with 16.8%, and Salaryman came in at 14.6%.

 
EPISODE 3 RECAP

JB says it’s annoying to have distractions in his practice studio, and Yoo-jin takes issue with that. Trying to break up the fight that’s brewing, Hae-sung pipes up that it is the agency’s school after all, and Yoo-jin’s squatting here, adding major insult to injury.

It’s enough to break up the standoff though, leaving Yoo-jin fuming at her. She chases him down outside, but he yells at her, asking if she doesn’t have any pride, if she’s just so nice that it doesn’t bother her that they took what was hers.

She hangs her head, and says that well, it’s not that they took, but that she lost her spot (from her own lack of talent). Yoo-jin asks what the difference is, or is it because they’re idols that she feels like it’s a given?

Meanwhile Ri-an confronts Kang-chul about his move to purposely out her from the movie. She asks to be allowed to act, and he tells her that she gains nothing from acting other than critics saying that she acts with her feet. Her retort: what idol doesn’t start out feet-acting? HA. No argument here.

But Ri-an asks what the lifespan is on her group – three years, at most? She muses that the other girls are good singers so they have roads to make it beyond their idol careers, but what about her? Should she just open an internet shopping mall and call it a day? He doesn’t even flinch as he tells her that it’s not a bad idea, since acting is not for her.

Later that night she moves into her dorm room, where Hae-sung and Soon-dong refuse to move out. She sees Hae-sung’s shrine to all things JB, and calls her a stalker-fan. As they fight, Hae-sung finds a picture of Ri-an with JB among her things.

Things escalate into a tiff about whose stuff goes where, and Hae-sung ends up sniffling on the floor amidst her broken trinkets, gluing the pieces back together. Yoo-jin’s words ring in her ear.

Jin-man gets called to unclog a toilet, now demoted to lowly handyman under Tae-yeon’s rule. He complains that she’s changed just because of the new agency, which she doesn’t see as a problem. Aw, it’s too bad ’cause I really did want her to stay nerdy and be one of the misfit teachers.

Jin-man drags his feet back to his attic room, more dejected than ever, and finds Yoo-jin waiting for him inside, with a whole basket of bananas as a housewarming gift. Jin-man can see straightaway that it’s a bribe to stay there, and starts to kick him out.

But Yoo-jin sees how frustrated he is over being the resident handyman, and offers to do all the fixing around here, in exchange for sharing a room. Jin-man considers it.

Hae-sung knocks hesitantly on JB’s door, and asks him out of the blue if he’s seen Dances With Wolves and Avatar. She explains that these two movies have something in common – interlopers come to a peaceful place and take over, stealing the residents’ homes and land. HA.

She says that the same thing always happens in those movies: a hero switches sides and joins the natives, and fights to protect the land and bring peace. He just stares blankly. She says that it’s the same thing that’s happening in the dorm, and hopes that JB will be that hero and take their side.

He just blinks and says it’s her problem and starts to close the door. But she sticks her foot in and looks at him in shock, “But… it’s because of you guys that we’re being kicked out…” He doesn’t think that’s his problem in the least, and shuts the door in her face.

Cut to: Kang-chul’s office, where he reads a report that basically looks like a third-grader’s scrapbook of Avatar, and peers over it to the dorm’s ousted students, standing there with blue feathers in their hair. Pffft.

He barely holds in his laughter as he attempts to understand the situation – so they’re the natives, and he’s the bad guy? He tells them to take it up with Principal Joo, but they already have, and got a big, “What do you want me to do about it?”

Hae-sung says it isn’t fair to compare them with idols, while Eui-bong asks to be given a fair shot against them. Kang-chul scoffs, asking if they really think they can beat them, and no one dares to accept the challenge. They shuffle back to class, defeated.

Kang-chul wonders if Principal Joo is really on his side or not, and decides to keep watch to figure out if he’s really a toothless tiger, or if he’s actually a hyena keeping his teeth hidden.

Tae-yeon gives the students a breathing test in singing class, by taping strips of tissue paper to their noses, and having them compete to see who can keep theirs afloat the longest. The idols win out, with Nana leading the pack.

She announces the upcoming midterm as a duet performance, and tells them to choose their partners and get to work.

Ri-an and Hae-sung bicker while heading into the bathroom at the same time, and then a group of girls comes in after them. Soon-dong is among them, and when her friends ask about her duet partner, she names Hae-sung right away, and then adds that Ri-an will lose some face this time around.

Her group’s got three members, which means there’s no way they’d include her. Ouch. It’s embarrassing enough to know that Hae-sung has heard all this, but then Ri-an is forced to acknowledge her presence when she drops her tissues into the stall next door.

Hae-sung is seconds from helping her out, when she acts like a brat about it, and Hae-sung happily leaves her hanging with the reminder, “You told me not to touch your stuff.” That’s karma for ya.

Kang-chul makes an announcement (though why he felt the need to film it like the five o’clock news I have no idea) that the upcoming midterm scores will determine the fate of the dorms, in response to the protest today. And to make it fair, the judge will be Principal Joo.

The students cheer and thank Hae-sung for her crazy idea, but as soon as talk turns to duet partners, everyone including Soon-dong disappears at the speed of light. Aw, poor Hae-sung. Soon-dong sets out to get on Yoo-jin’s good side to partner up with him.

Ri-an’s suspicions are confirmed when Ailee sidles up to Nana, and JB says he’ll partner up with Shi-woo, as expected. There is the problem of finding Shi-woo, because apparently he’s MIA and due for a rebellion of some sort, and JB sighs.

In the dorm, the bidding starts for Hong-joo as duet partner, and Hae-sung almost succeeds in out-bidding everyone, until Nana shows up and says she’ll bid her voice. They launch into a duet on the spot, as we montage into everyone practicing for the midterm.

Partners it is, and the Nana-Hong-joo pairing throws everyone for a loop – Ailee, who assumed she’d be partners with her bestie, and Hae-sung who’s lost out on her sure bet to score well.

Ri-an is busy watching her drama episode of Dream High where they’ve cut her in as Hye-mi in the Kirin audition scene with Baek-hee. Ha. She’s so terrible that even SHE cringes, watching herself. Yeah, it’s that bad.

She drowns in the online chatter about how awful she is and how it’d be better to make Baek-hee the lead. JB comes by to ask her about it, and she wonders if he still likes her. She cheekily tells him that dating is against the rules, as if challenging him, and he laughs.

Ri-an’s been fielding calls from her mother for days, and finally heads out to meet with mom and a new agency rep, who assures her that if she switches teams, he’ll take care of the back end and make sure that her image remains untarnished, while promising her that her primary career will be acting. But the meeting is discovered by a reporter, and is quickly called to an end.

Shi-woo heads out to a club where he drags one girl out from the crowd. She’s a has-been idol buried in scandals, and pretty much resigned to her fate. He tells her that it’s not the first time, but she says that her life is over at twenty-two, and that she never should’ve become a singer.

JB arrives at the club looking for him (with a tip from Nana) but misses him and ends up walking back alone. The sound of a guitar stops him. It’s Yoo-jin, playing out in the street with a sign advertising guitar lessons.

People applaud, take flyers for lessons, and leave him money, and when he stoops down to collect it, someone tosses in a 10 won coin. He looks up and it’s JB, musing that he hasn’t changed his repertory in years. He tosses in another coin and commands him to sing another.

Yoo-jin scoffs that he doesn’t sing for just anybody, and offers the crowd another song from the soul, not “imitating other people.” He starts, but then the crowd suddenly screams, “It’s JB!” nearly knocking Yoo-jin over to get to him. JB smirks and Yoo-jin is left gaping.

Shi-woo leads the girl to her car, but discovers a pair of guys playing paparazzi and snapping pictures of them. He gives chase into an alley and smashes their camera, which only makes them turn on him.

Yoo-jin and JB head back (though why the sworn enemies are walking home together beats me) and spot Shi-woo getting the crap kicked out of him. Yoo-jin makes a move to help him, but JB stops him with a hand to the shoulder, saying that Shi-woo’s always messing up.

Yoo-jin’s jaw drops, “Aren’t you friends? Members of the same group?” JB tells him to stay out of it. But they both end up heading over anyway, and JB actually pushes Yoo-jin aside to help Shi-woo himself.

One of the guys recognizes him and taunts the little idol boy, so JB gets all ragey and throws punches. Yoo-jin scoffs, “You’re the one who said to stay out of it,” and joins them in the fight anyway.

Hae-sung searches for someone to be her duet partner to no avail, while Ri-an gets presents and offers left and right. Wanting to be alone, Ri-an demands that Hae-sung get out, since she doesn’t deserve to be there anyway, and Hae-sung serves it right back, saying that if Ri-an’s an idol she at least ought to be better than her.

Ri-an tells her the story of her uncle who wasted his life away studying for the civil service exam that he could never pass, and tells her that what she needs is a great big dose of reality to make her give up.

It leads to a hair-pulling catfight, but Ri-an ends it with one big kick to the face, sending Hae-sung flying back onto the bed with a bloody nose. She and Soon-dong end up in Tae-yeon’s room, begging for one night’s refuge from their roommate from hell.

Hae-sung stays up late, solving math problems to relieve her stress (well that’s just loony tunes) and catches Yoo-jin sneaking into the dorms. He scares her half to death, and has to drag her into the kitchen just to keep from being discovered.

They share a pack of uncooked ramyun and she asks how his duet with Soon-dong is going. That’s news to him since he never agreed to be her partner, and Hae-sung perks up, “Do you want to be my partner?” He awkwardly coughs his way out of answering her directly.

She sees the cuts and bruises on his face, and takes some band-aids out of her pocket. She patches him up, covering his nose and cheek with little JB band-aids, which is sure to make him crazy later. Heh.

But the closeness stirs him, and he suddenly becomes shy and smiley at her touch. AW. Okay, first really cute moment of the show.

She gets up to go, but then turns back to say that he was right – she’s not going to let them take what’s hers, and she plans to fight for it. He smiles proudly.

They walk out into the hall together, and run right into JB and Ri-an (because he called her to let him inside the locked door). It’s just a silent stare-off, but Hae-sung’s clearly upset, and Yoo-jin clocks her reaction.

Yoo-jin wakes up the next morning to Jin-man staring at his face (or more accurately, his cutesy JB band-aids). Jin-man: “Do you like guys? But you can’t like me, okay? And put on some clothes around here.” Ha.

Yoo-jin pushes him aside and gets up, but one look in the mirror says it all. He screams bloody murder.

Principal Joo gets an unsettling visit in the morning from some cops, and then the school erupts with the announcement that Shi-woo and Yoo-jin have been suspended.

News breaks of yet another Shi-woo scandal and Kang-chul decides it’s time to cut him loose for good. He tells Ji-soo to leak the story and look for another school for his transfer.

Meanwhile Principal Joo helps smooth things over for Yoo-jin with the police, though he’s still on the hook while JB and Shi-woo have paid their way out with a settlement. He then notices the shiny new guitar Yoo-jin is carrying. He seizes it until he’s in the clear, mostly because having the guitar means he’s got access to perform in the street. But he looks like he’s enjoying it personally as well. Yoo-jin stews.

In the hospital, JB reads about Shi-woo possibly being cut from OZ (Ji-soo hospitalized both the boys to sway sympathy their way) and Shi-woo shows him the list of students to be cut.

He figures he was on his way out anyway, so he expected as much, but didn’t think it’d be so soon. JB wonders why he’s showing him the list, and says it’s totally logical that the agency would cut its underperforming artists.

He asks if Shi-woo expected him to fight on his behalf. Maybe not fight, but not being an ass about it would be nice. Shi-woo tells him he’s changed, and JB rips up the list and counters that he thinks it’s more pathetic when people refuse to change. Uh, okay then.

Ri-an frets over Shi-woo just being tossed to the curb that way, and Kang-chul uses the opportunity to make his point – that he knows more than she thinks, and that he’s got the power to make it so that Shi-woo (and she, by implication) can’t work in this industry ever again. He warns her not to make trouble.

Principal Joo tries to remind Kang-chul that this is a school not an agency, and that they should maybe try to protect the students and grow them, not just cut people at the first sign of trouble.

But Kang-chul declares that he’s going to make Kirin the best art school in the world, and the way you do that is by cutting those who don’t show promise. He says that giving endless amounts of false hope is just as bad, and that they ought to find what they’re good at if it isn’t this.

Principal Joo just asks for a fair chance for everyone, and Kang-chul says that’s what the exams are for. To make it interesting, he decides that out of each duet pair, only one will make it and the other will get cut. Just for kicks? That’s sadistic.

Yoo-jin chases JB down in the hall to confront him, and JB just tells him that he did warn him to stay out of it, and offers to loan him money if he needs it. He turns to go with a smirk, and Yoo-jin calls him a pathetic bastard. JB stops, and has some kind of reaction… I just couldn’t tell you what it is.

Ri-an finds Hae-sung and asks her to be her duet partner. Hae-sung starts to turn her down, but Ri-an guesses that she doesn’t exactly have a lot of choices right now. Hae-sung eyes her warily and starts to consider it…

 
COMMENTS

Sigh. For most of the episode, I found myself hard-pressed to find a reason to care about this show, because none of the characters were really moving me. The setup has potential, but none of the execution is taking full advantage. It’s sadder knowing how full of spark Dream High was, because the reminders of its better, slicker predecessor aren’t doing this show any favors.

Yoo-jin is so far the only character worth following, and though Hae-sung and Ri-an show signs of promise, they’re still barely out of the gate. Perhaps this duet rivalry will bring something a little more interesting for that pair? We can only hope. I’m already really tired of the JB/Yoo-jin rivalry, only because it’s exactly the same in every single episode, and multiple times in each episode at that. I’m confused why they waste so much time repeating the exact same conversation between them, because, uh, we geddit.

At least give them dueling guitars or something to change it up; just something other than that same in-your-face stare-off for the umpteenth time. And it’s starting to feel like beating a dead horse, but man, if JB were played by someone who could act, I might not feel like all his scenes were sucking the joy out of this show. It kind of kills me that his role is just getting bigger.

The thing is, I remember caring a lot more about every little sing-off and dance-off in Dream High, but I’m perplexed as to why I don’t feel the same pull this time around. I think the answer is that the musical numbers aren’t rooted in narrative the same way — there’s no setup and motivation, just a detour for a song, with no stakes. I need stakes, otherwise I’ll just tune out, no matter what the song is.

The one moment between Yoo-jin and Hae-sung with the band-aids was the first time I saw a spark and a connection worth caring about – it was enough to make me wonder why we’re getting so very little of their interaction in favor of the lesser pairings. And I don’t even mean romantically, (though the cute sparks are a big plus) but these two as characters are a great pair. Their scenes together might be my only lifeline to the show, if things stay the way they are.

We’re still waiting for the show to get better and give us a reason to stick with it. We’ve been on the fence for recaps from the start, but now I’m beginning to wonder if maybe the plus side of that fence was all based on residual feelings from Big Brother Dream High. I’m still rooting for you, Dream High 2, but if you can’t stand on your own two legs, I might have to cut you loose.

 
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Love the show... yet they have a lil too much filling

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That's exactly what it is right there. FILLERS! That's the best way to explain it. It's why some anime have been known to be a pain, because of all of the damn fillers. Dream High 2 needs to just stop with the nonsense and start making people care.

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At least animes sometimes have the excuse of having fillers so that it doesn't go ahead of the ongoing manga. But not this show.

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I always felt that I either prefer the anime air after the manga is close to being completed or some such thing, or the anime just not bother with fillers and wait it out. The most useless fillers I can recall were the Naruto ones. Probably why I fell off that wagon.... Bleach too. Heh.

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i actually agree 100%
plus i don't know why but every time a dance number comes out now i just end up fast forwarding it because it's so boring :|

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Totally agree.. in Dream High i would absolutely love the musical numbers because they were always so cute and sincere but now it just seems like these musical numbers are to try to fancy up a weak plot... :/
Definitely fast forwarding majority of those.

FOCUS MORE ON HAESUNG AND YOOJIN. that's all i've got to say.. because amazingly.. the bandaid scene was also the first scene i really cared about.

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JB Bandaids heh

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i still love the setup. now, after the polish is gone from the first week's excitement, i can see the cracks. writing and acting being the large ones here.

honestly, i sort of just want the whole show to be about yoo jin and hae sung.

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Some emergency action should be taken. It wouldn't be the first show to do it. So they should, at least, change the writers a.s.a.p. Because, well, to change actors would be... Impossible. Otherwise this drama will slowly die into misery and it would be too much of a pity for Dream HIgh 1 to have such a poor relative.

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*sigh* I couldn't even finish reading the recap. Dream High 2 isn't drawing me in :( I found myself just scrolling down to see the eye candy instead of actually trying to focus on the story. Hopefully is gets better?

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I know.. I was looking forward to the drama because of kang sora and jin woon but the story just isnt developing.. ugh such a shame since I WANT to like this show..

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Same here! I kept on scrolling down n down to check if there is anythng interesting anywhere...but nope! Totally disappointed! :( Altho i dis pause at the yoojin n hae sung cute moment :P but that was it! There is hardly any dreaming or going higher here LoL. Its just a plain simple boring drama with music as d base, cant even try to compare it with DH1 >.<

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sad to say that i feel the same way... this drama does not excite me in any way... even the main leads are losing their touch with me in this episode... they were the only reason i watch ep 3 because i was totally bored with the first 2 episodes....oh my...i hope episode 4 is a better episode or i might just drop this altogether and not waste my time... sigh...

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OMG!!! This is what I was doing too. Didn't really bother reading the entire recap. I don't know if I will even tune in the next time.

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Gah...same here. I mean I read the recap and I love Girlfriday like nobodies business, but the story itself was so boring :(

When I watch I'll make sure to fast forward to the cute YooJin and HaeSung scene. They really need to just make the show about them. The idols are boring.

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I feel like I'm only watching this for Kang So Ra and Jinwoon. Which would be fine, I guess, if they were front and center most of the time. Sigh.

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Basically I agree. I started watching this because of Kang Sora... but her character... slow growth. Although I'm interested in how she'll turn out.

Yoojin is by far the most interesting character. Which is funny because I usually root for the cool guy more than the 'hot/rash' guy, but... <3 gyuh.

I'm sort of interested in Rian... and I like Nana. Shiwoo too is intriguing, if only to get me interested in what he meant by JB has changed and JB's huge reaction. I AM getting more interested in JB as a character... but not really because of -him- yet?

._. I feel sad hearing that DH is SEW MUCH BETTER from people... I mean, the ratings says it all, doesn't it? (Have not watched DH yet). But I'll continue to watch DH2 until it completely dashes my hope by either picking up in the wrong direction, or not picking up fast enough.

Please get better show T_T...

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I believe DH1 eventually made it as the leader of its time slot. the plot and characters were more defined and well written.

I finished watching both and can in all honesty say DH1 was much better.

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"JB stops, and has some kind of reaction… I just couldn’t tell you what it is."

Hahaha. That was epically hilarious. I have this feeling if things don't pick up tomorrow, than jb and girlfriday are going to stop recapping. So for all that is good and holy, pick up the pace Dream High 2. You're getting slaughtered out there. COME ON! I'm loving the little scenes we are getting of Yoojin and Haesung, but it's not enough. I need more! MOAR! I'm sad that we might be losing Dramabean recaps of DH2, but I'm going to hold on and keep watching. Why? Because Jung Jinwoon and Kang Sora make it a little less oainful to watch.

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*painful

Oh kerfuffle FINGERS! *hands desk* Followed by a *headdesk* Sigh

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dude, this is a bummer like none other.

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"I think the answer is that the musical numbers aren’t rooted in narrative the same way — there’s no setup and motivation, just a detour for a song, with no stakes. "

Agreeeeeeee. Last episode was friggin pop song overkill, I was bored to tears. And even in the 1st episode when BEG's abracadabra came on during the ritual scene, that was totally unnecessary.

Anyway, haven't watched this episode yet, skimmed through this recap and judging by your comments, I don't have to get my hopes up for this ep. I'm still rooting for this drama too but god it is hurting me.

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I dropped the show at the first episode T.T

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I hope you guys will still recap Dream High 2. It doesn't have to be you guys someone else could recap them. :)
Come on Dream High 2!

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Thanks for the recaps, I also don't see much potentials from other actors aside JW and KSR, and as I watch the episode, I only look forward to the scenes with them two together.

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"JB stops, and has some kind of reaction… I just couldn’t tell you what it is."

lolz, even Suzy wan't this bad. I can't believe anything this kid says. When he talks (or doesn't) I just get distracted by the vacant look in his eyes. I don't even know anything about his real-life idol career so that makes it doubly hard to care. Sigh. I had such high hopes for this season too. Hopefully tomorrow night is better.

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Instead of Suzy, I think of JB as the Taecyeon counter-part of DH2. Though Taec wasnt that impressive of an actor..he wasnt THIS bad and contributed SOMETHING to make the triangle and plot more compelling.

Also, while we are talking abt Dream High...
http://static.allkpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120206_suzy_1.jpg
I LOVEE how Kim Soo Hyun/Sam Dong has his eyes closed. So. Cute. *_*

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So true. Suzy was semi-decent not really bad in the beginning of Dream High, but even than she improved. Not even at her worst was close to of JB's 'acting'. Heck even Taecyeon is better, not by much though, at least he tried to act.

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Sigh. Just watching for Jinwoon. I hope he makes it big, since I just love him *squeeee (love his rock and ballad songs. Weird to put them in the same sentence, I know.)
But really, this show...
needs to get a grip?
deliver right?
get a better actor?
less dancy/glam more plot?
stop referring to Dream High, cause it's making me want this show to be as good as the last?
I dunno. :/ This show is just...meh.

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The band-aid scene basically made the entire episode for me. So much so that I'm willing to stick around with this show just to see what happens with those two kids. It is so unfortunate that they have had so little scenes together because they're the highlight of every episode and I can't get over how much I am loving Jinwoon here. His face during that entire scene with the bandaids was just lovely.

I'm still hoping this show improves because I still see a lot of potential here and I do think episode 3 was a lot better than episode 2 but so far it's the Kang Sora and Jinwoon show.

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Hahahaha. i totally agree..

I was just watching this ep all bored-like..
And then the bandaid scene came and then all of a sudden i had some care in this dream-high"er" world.

Just love how jin woon was able to express that puppy love on his face.

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I get secondhand embarrassment watching JB act. It's just...really awkward and wooden and bad.

I'm actually really impressed with Jinwoon. For a rookie actor, he's doing a great job.

Sticking around for Hae Sung and Yoo Jin as of right now. They're also my lifeline to this show. Not to mention I love their chemistry. <3

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Yup. This show is definitely under the BIG shadow that dream high1. Thankfully Jinwoon can act?!

I still loves the songs remake, its cute but if its continue, maybe as JB/GF said last week, it'll just be on long music videos.

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I just realized when you compare the "stare off" caps above, JB and Ri-an kind of look like dead fish.

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to be brutally honest...watching dream high 2 only makes me miss the first one so much. :(

the reason why this season is so mediocre in comparison is because only one of the writers from dh1 stayed.

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Really, they only have one of the writers from the first season? Bummer. I was just thinking that the writing seems off because I can't seem to care about any of the characters. Oh well, I'm still holding on until the fifth episode because I remember DH1 really didn't get good until then. God, I hope it gets better.

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Thanks for the recap!

I have to wonder how the auditions will turn out, because how will they cut our main characters if they are partners? I feel like it's a competition with no stakes for that matter. I may not know exactly how it will turn out, but I have a decent idea that none of our main characters will get the can.

Also, I hope they don't drag that out either. I'm hoping for resolution on that plot line at least by the beginning of next week's episode. It is just seeming less like a story and more like random sing/dance time with moody teenagers staring at each other. =/

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The biggest problem is the writing! Because honestly, I've got problem with the acting. Everyone is adequate and Jinwoon is killing it + Shiwoo actually impressed me today.

But the writing, oh vey. There's NO STORY! There are no stakes, there is nothing pushing the plot forward. Right now we have random scenes strung together. They're trying to tell everyone's story, but there is no larger overarching conflict. Crossing my fingers that ep 4 saves this sinking ship, that I will probably not be getting off.

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Maybe I'm easy to please, but I don't really see anything wrong with this show...heh....

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I think this is going to be one of those dramas where I keep hoping for it to get better (because I really want to love it) but it never does. Already, three episodes in and I have absolutely no emotional connection with any of the characters. Basically, I don't know what is at stake and I don't know what exactly I'm rooting for. The set up definitely has potential but it seems like the producers just don't know how to execute it all. I'll probably watch it through to the end because I'm loving Jinwoon and I'm a fan of Kang Sora. There should definitely be more Haesung and Yoo-Jin interactions, because those are the few moments this show that has me caring.

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word!
otherwise it will turn out to be the little engine that couldn't..
that would be sad

I am puzzled as to what we should think about the characters and why should we root for them. except for that of Jinwoon, he's actualy making something happen and we see that he has some kind of a dream and a purpose there. but even for Haesung.. I don't understand why I should think that she should be in that school, they haven't given us anything. here wanting it soverybad isn't enough .. basically I love her character (if you leave out the fact how she worships that fish-face-dude).. but step it up already!

aah.. and there's too much filling indeed. and why are people randomly in one place and then in the other without any plausible reason?

I still like it though - for Haesung and Yoojin.. More Haesung+Yoojin!!! 주세요!!

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I was hoping these idol stars would make me care...but now i'm confused as to why they were casted in the first place.

dream high at least chose people who had other "acting" gigs prior. The producers have their priorities out of wack! hoping the duet project will shed light on the real conflict as opposed to flipping between characters we dont give a rats butt about.

make us care already, spend the filler setting up the story!

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Agree with most of the people here... This show is definitely on the slow start. I'm hoping that it will pick up soon since the new problem-cutting those who don't have potentials out makes the idols against the regular students. Maybe this set up will bring out actings from most of the main actors that will make us care? and want to watch what happens to these characters in the end.
Cuz really, it's third episode and the show isn't pulling me in--- I feel blah...There's no zing! or life or anticipation of what's going to happen next.

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Hae-sung and Yoo-jin's interactions are my favorite part of the drama... Hope there would be more of them in the next episodes...

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Sorry to have to say this but I'm really disliking JB (both the actor and the character). It already sucks to have character JB written as a jerk (as of now), but it sucks even more to have it acted out by a wooden face actor JB who shows no life in his eyes and speaks with an emotionless voice. If it has been an actor who can act, the character could have been given more life and perhaps more depth for the viewers to at least sympathize with him a little.

For now I think Ji-yeon's doing fine as Ri-an but sadly her character feels flat. In Dream High, Baek-hee may have been a meanie at first but I did understand why she was acting that way and I actually felt sorry for her. But here Ri-an is just some self-centered meanie who looks down on people and lashes out at others when she's in a bad mood.

I'm liking Kang So-ra but am hoping to see more fight in Hae-sung. It hurts to see Hae-sung being trampled over and over again by Ri-an and JB but it hurts even more to have her think that it is a given that she's worse than the trained idols and so she should give in to them. I hope that she'll suffer a blow huge enough for her to finally realize that she must have more confidence in herself and more determination to make herself stronger so as to kick the asses of the idols. And this has to come SOON because it's tiring to see this weak Hae-sung being kicked around by Ri-an.

Yoo-jin is, for now, my favourite lead character. I've always seen Jin-woon as the nice maknae of 2AM but didn't know that he could be so cute and charismatic! Love the scenes with him and JYP (they're so funny together!). Am also looking forward to scenes of Yoo-jin and Hae-sung together! This couple is probably the reason why I'm still sticking to this drama and diligently watching it each week.

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I'll have to disagree with the statement that Rian is a purely flat character. The main traits of her we've seen so far are her arrogance and rudeness, but taking into consideration that she's been an idol for 3 years with no advancement of her acting career, I think it gives more reason and substance to her frustration.

Additionally, in the scene where Rian meets with the President of the other entertainment company, the way that Rian's mother pushes for Rian to become an actress also very strongly suggests that she was pushed into the entertainment circle by her parents (on top of her own wishes, of course) which adds another level of pressure that Rian's experiencing.

Another thing to consider is that Rian is frequently subject to netizen criticism. She's clearly much more comfortable and open when interacting with her Oz Entertainment companymates, but only in relation to the Kirin students - who are all strangers - that she's a lot more closed-off. It seems like a defence mechanism that she's adopting.

...I'm not saying that her terrible attitude is excusable, of course. Just that Rian as a character does bring quite a bit to the cast of DH2. ;P

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ratings should be earned. this drama doesn't deserve high ratings just yet.

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One of the reasons why it's not doing so well is because Jinwoon is pitted against JB who's a bit weak in the acting area. I understand he's knew.. but his act is dull. Dream High had Kim Soo Hyun who's literally a great actor; he caught my attention ever since Will It Snow For Christmas. Taecyeon.. I didn't have a problem with him. Compared to Dream High, the first one had stronger actors. I refer to the musical teacher, Kim Soo Hyun, and Eun Jung.

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*correction* why did i put literally?? xXXXXXXX!!!! Kim Soo Hyun is AMZING~~

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they're not giving us enough of something, and i can't put my finger on what it is. all i know is i was bored during the first 2 episodes, but thought this week's might be better. i never like going through the setups when a drama starts. don't ask why. i'll stick with this through tomorrow and next week, but if it doesn't improve i plan to drop it...

i like ji-yeon better than i thought i would, and she's better than i thought. i'd never seen her in anything. and jin-woon i like quite a bit, but i just can't get behind kang so-ra here. i LOVED her in the movie sunny, but not really liking her quite as much here.

never had really high hopes for the second season, but still... disappointing...

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oh and. about kim jung tae! i feel like i've seen him act so many cold/mean characters with aplomb, and i loved him as funny and bumbling in choi ji-woo's most recent drama. i was most let down to see that he wasn't going to be the bumbling type here either. so far he seems as dull as the rest :( major disappointment there as well.

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I'm going to take a leap here and lay the blame for these last two eps where I think it belongs - right on JYP's doorstep.

He teamed up with BYJ in the original DH, but BYJ had much more control over the production and storyline. This time around, JYP has taken over and it's obvious (to me) that his time spent in the States dealing with the mess he insisted pushing the Wonder Girls into has great influence here. He's now trying to replicate some sort of High School Musical/Glee/Disney product - preteen and teen fodder - long, overdone musical numbers, shallow plots and some lame acting.
(The kid who plays JB was chosen by JYP as the best audition from all those kids who competed for this role - because his acting and facial expressions were 'fantastic'. Really, JYP? This kid can't act his way out of a paper bag.) He's also made it a point in an interview for DH2 to state how much bigger HIS part is - and he gets to romance TWO ladies this time around! **sigh**

I'm seeing similarities between DH2 and his WG's movie (which is criminally awful) overdone music scenes and cheesy dialogue - he must have a hand in the writing or a red pencil for the scripts.

Say what you want about Bae Yong Joon - but he turned out DH in fine style. JYP needs to be in the passenger's seat, not behind the wheel. He's killing this sequel.

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Oh Cynthia ! I agree with you on 100 % of your statements. " clap, clap ". I believe in the BYJ / JYP pair, BYJ is the winning element and he should have ( if he felt interested of course ) been in control here. Sorry to say, for me this project gave me the " cash machine " feeling from the start, and i'm sad to see i was right. JYP is on the wrong road here.
- My global feeling : Young pretty people agitating on the screen.
- If it's supposed to be a parody of the idol's world, they should have done it all the way. You know, i wouldn't have complained about JB playing an awful acting actor ( !! ) on first eps, if we could see him getting better progressively. And i agree with GF : Seeing 2 fishes constantly defying each other gets old pretty quick.
- If it's supposed to be realistic : Too much fantasy and out of the blue moments.
- " Dream High " : Where is the dream feeling, the beating heart, the soul ?
- I just hate the colors used on the sets and for the clothes : Mix every colors and every patterns ( grey with fluo and red, stripes ans stars and... you get the idea ). It's discordant and ugly and truthfully even the screencaps are painful to look at.
- Mentioning Avatar and Dances With Wolves is nice : Those are GREAT movies. But THEN you have to match the standards of your model.
So please, call the script doctor and change the set designer and the stylist. Or else i will abandon that ship after ep 4 like GF.
ps : I should say that i liked DH 1 since first ep. It didn't took me 4 episodes to stick to it like for other viewers, so i think i'm unreasonably tolerant here. Plus the other musical dramas down here are so good.

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Like you, I recall being on board for the original from ep 1, on. It hooked me right away - IU in her 'sushi' suit had me, along with the 'Goose's Dream' sing-off.

Any time sequels (or prequels) are put into production there is this very danger of what we're seeing here, happening. The sequel has to have the continuity of the original, the visual look and feel, along with a flowing storyline connecting the two must be there. Otherwise, how can we as viewers connect to it? DH2 is too discordant at this point. Someone needs to get in there with an editing scalpel, asap.

There's an old saying that JYP needs to be mindful of: You can't cram 20 pounds of shit into a 5 pound bag.
:)

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Excellent comment. I jumped into DH1 without any previous knowledge, so I had no idea that Bae Yong Joon was behind the helm. That clears up a lot.

JYP is a full out mess. He should have left this one to the professionals. If he had played his cards right he could have opened the door for a DH3, but he can pretty much hang it up after this disaster.

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JYP is an odd duck. I really like him in his scenes - he's funny, a talented dancer and musician and has a good sense of humor. I don't think there are many celebs out there who could take a hit on their personal appearance and laugh about it - to the extent of having a running banana gag used on his monkey-like appearance.

But then there's this other side to him that's totally business to the exclusion of any reality. That's why I mentioned his pushing of The Wonder Girls into a market where they have clearly failed. He allowed them (and himself) to be put in totally humiliating circumstances in dealing with the American machine and refused to back off.

Now, this DH2 is his personal playground and he's running amok, giving the devoted DH fanbase what he thinks they (we) want to see - only he's seeing those wants through his skewed Disney/TNIK money-making lens. What works in the U.S. doesn't work in the land of Korean drama and he just doesn't get it. The reason many of us have deserted American TV programming is because we're sick of having crap shoved down our throats and now here we are, being force-fed the same mess by JYP.

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Oh don't get me wrong. I love JYP when he's in his element. Unfortunately, this is not it. He was great in moderation for the first DH, but I really think at this point he's doing too much.

I can understand his need to use this as a vehicle for his artist. I can respect his hustle. But they should have been used according to their strengths. JB should have played a background dancer...with no dialogue. He's just uncomfortable to watch.

Disney is garbage now. Perhaps if he modeled it after early Disney it would be a little easier to stomach.

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Wow. That's kind of harsh. I'm not sure if you can determine whether the Wonder Girls have failed or not, since it hasn't been to long since they've entered the US market. But I agree that what works in the US may not work in Kdrama. However, I love Glee and don't mind that Dream High 2 may be similar (haven't watched it yet). It's obviously a preference thing. Some people hate Glee and some people don't.

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I was under the impression that this is still a joint project between JYP and BYJ?

Can someone verified that this is solely JYP's project? I don't understand why they'd break a great partnership since DH1 yield such great results.

=/

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What i found :

Production Companies: KeyEast, JYPE, and CJ Media
Producer: Bae Yong Joon, Park Jin Young

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The production companies are still an intact partnership, but this time around BYJ is definitely taking a back seat for whatever reason, be it his iffy health or the management hassles of handling KE or just a modicum of disinterest in DH2 combined with believing that JYP will be successful.

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I'm not sure if the rumors were true that SME was supposed to be part of the production companies involved in making DH2 but dropped out of the project because of the busy schedule of their idols (???). On one hand, it maybe could've been better if they were on board, but the word "cash machine" comes to mind and look what happened to Paradise Ranch. So.

In DH1, I knew that JYP was in charge of the musical aspect - and it was great! So I was wondering what went wrong here. The song and dance stuff included in the scenes are not that impressive since it feels so random. The only song I like so far from the OST is You're My Star by Suzy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daz_MmNdYMQ

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Dream high 2 really isn't grabbing my attention...it's too out there...it's not realistic like the first one...Kang Sora's character is like Pil Suk mixed with Hye Mi. That's not a very good combo. I mean she has the weirdness of Pil Suk but the outcast of Hye Mi. Have a feeling it's just gonna be another drama that will not really leave a big impression on you. Maybe it'll get better as the plot line progresses?
Crossing my fingers >.<

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You know what, Im not gonna be judgmental just yet, cuz I think that Ri-An has a lot more spark in for her. For dream high, it was all about music. Here we get to see acting intentions from an idol. Talk about the unfairness. Im defending that part. And also, one of them is gonna be a song writer I can just feel it. The diversity of the fields is larger here,albeit they don't put a clear mark on who's what. But the duo feel will perk during the Rian Haesung perfomance. And the face off between Yoojin and JB. BUTTTTT, too many perfomances will make it whack.

Regardless, DREAM HIGH 2, YOU STILL GOT POTENTIAL.JUST UP YOUR GAME.IM STILL ON YOUR SIDE :P

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So messyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy the storyline is my first reaction to reading your recaps 1 - 3 in a row.

Gosh, so hard to follow who is who and what is what because so many people, wacky flow of storyline..ok not watching, not reading too... (and this is Girfriday writing, she who is such a pro in recaps and still i felt disorientated...aigooo)

I feel sorry for the cast .... the show has got no soul, skipping jumping trying hard to be original and falling not flat but falling astray!

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i could only scan watch today. nothing made me real stop and watch except the bandaid part. this drama shouldn't be called "dream' high. we just see clips of those can dance, and those who can't. or we see those who can sing and those who shouldn't. how does the school become better? how do the teachers and students want to fight for their goals? right now everyone wants to maintain status quo. rian knows she's bad, but isn't taking acting lessons. yj just sings on the streets but won't listen to teachers' instructions. hs only chases boys and mystical powers. jb - is he writing any songs or coming up with something original? sw, it's like he wants to get kicked out of the band/school. nobody really wants anything desperate enough and i'm starting to get bored.

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awww I wanted this to be a big hit cause of Jinwoo.
Agh~ hopefully tomorrow will be better. I remember the first DH needed like 5 episodes to get really interesting... hahaha oh well we will seee.....

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sadly, I agree with everyone and can't really praise any part of this episode maybe except Jin-Woon's acting. Girlfriday is right to say the problem with the musical numbers is that they feel empty, out of place and just...boring. I really loved the music part in DH, I still rewatch some scenes (eg. Suzy singing Winterchild to Taec's character) but here I'm not liking any music so far.

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SIGH, I'm rooting for you too Dream High 2. I believe in you, you have potential!

I think the flaw here is definitely the story line. The thing about the first one was how well it was executed. I didn't really enjoy the first couple of episodes of the first Dream High but once we got to 3-4, I was hooked. This one doesn't really have the hook. :/ Along with some of the above comments, there's too much "filler". Where the story? I want to get to know the characters more. Like, what the hell is wrong with JB? I kind of want to like him but he's kind of making it hard with his asshole personality. I hope our baby, Hae-sung can help him get rid of it. Sigh, the actor is awful but at least he's nice to look at.

Regardless of how episode 4 goes, I think I'll probably keep watching for Kang Sora and Jinwoon. That bandaid scene was beyond adorable. If they threw everything else out and just left us with these two, I'd probably still watch.

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I think I contradicted myself there. haha I apologize.

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this show is as if yelling to us to that "Yeah, idols are bad at acting. We've told you. We ARE telling you now. Like now. Look NOW. Right here. But why are you still watching bad idols acting?"

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Don't think so. The writing seems to be the greater problem here.

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I love Dream High. But there is something that season is lacking. I can't think of what it is right now. lol

Anyway, Jinwoo's acting is amazing. I can't believe this is his first time acting in a drama. JB's acting is just emotionless :(

I was loling when I saw that the band-aid has a JB drawing. lol

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Jinwoon*****

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Jr should be JB, JB should be siwoo, siwoo should be Jr

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I was randomly searching for more Dream High reviews and I stumbled upon one on kpoopedout.wordpress.com that basically listed out all the reasons why this drama is underwhelming to me. I highly suggest everyone go check it out!

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the good: Salaryman deserves the ratings increase.
the bad: Dream High needs to start pursuing those dreams. I get that it's a musical drama, but these musical segments would actually draw me in if they gave some insight into a character.

that said, the dynamic between hyesung and yoojin is sweet. they aggravate each other, but just as easily become friends. and i hope hyesung and rian continue to share a room, they are quite fun when forced to bear with each other.

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Wow I'm shocked that nothing has really happened yet to get me hooked.. usually I know by the 1st or 2nd episode and at latest third but I feel like nothing has happened. The only reason I'm still following this is because I'm a fan of a few of the cast members.

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For dream high 1, i personally have more feel for the show when is around episode 4. The first 3 episode is a bit slow for my liking as well.

Hopefully for dream high 2, the show will start to pick up soon. I was so hoping to see a full cast cameo of dream high 1 to dream high 2, but I guess my wish will never come true.

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I PITIED DREAM HIGH....

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Hm, this is missing the heart of the first one. Honestly, I loved all the characters there (well, almost), but here...I don't know what it is. There are also no awesome teacher characters and somehow the actors/idols are also a little less charismatic.

If anything, it's made me appreciate the first one more ^^ Now I want to rewatch it!

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PLEASE don't compare DH1 and DH2 anymore..It's NOT WORTH COMPARING at all...DH1 is WAY WAY WAY much BETTER than DH2...as an avid Fan of DH, i felt so frustrated with what i have seen in DH2...

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It's true it's a bad start for this season, but I still have faith. Specially since I didn't like first three episodes of the first season either, and then it skyrocketed to the gem it is today. For example, I disliked Hyemi and JinGuk characters. Specially Hyemi, I hated her! And then turned out to be so likable and funny, even if Suzy wasn't such a good actress. So yeah, I still have faith.

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