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Dream High 2: Episode 4

We’re given hints at the potential conflicts of a few more characters, but as usual, what we get are crumbs. In attempting to give too many characters adequate screentime, you end up shafting everybody; it would have been vastly more effective to establish rapport with two or three kids, then work in the support crew. What we get instead is a lot of flimsy storylines, none of which have found purchase because they’ve been given no chance to connect with us.

I think there’s promise in what today’s episode gives us, but I fear it may be too little, too late.

SONG OF THE DAY

Jinwoon – “걸어온다” which Yoo-jin played in the street in yesterday’s episode.
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EPISODE 4 RECAP

Yoo-jin sits in jail, refusing to settle with his accusers in the assault case. To his surprise, he’s released: A teacher coughed up the 10 million won (nearly $10,000) to settle his case. Yoo-jin finds Principal Joo waiting for him — huh, so he’s not useless after all.

Yoo-jin can’t believe it either, but Principal Joo just shoves tofu at him (to eat upon prison release since it’s pure and white, symbolizing a fresh start). Yoo-jin says he’ll pay him back, to which Principal Joo yanks his ear (poor Yoo-jin and his abused ears) to assure him that he’s going to track down his elusive parents and charge the debt to them, plus interest.

As his new creditor, Principal Joo outlines Step 1 in restoring his bad credit: pass the midterm exam.

Ri-an proposes teaming up with Hae-sung, just as Yoo-jin comes charging up to JB. Ah, so the jail stint jumped us back in time, and now we’re at the end of the previous episode. As JB walks away, Yoo-jin calls him a coward and JB sort of squints a little before turning back and reminding him that he’s a celebrity and wasn’t about to waste his time dragging out the case. Naturally he’d just throw money at it.

Kang-chul sees that they’re fighting and because he’s a sadistic bastard, he smiles and says this is a good opportunity: They already hate each other, therefore they should team up for the midterm duet. Why, are you suggesting they hash out their differences via song? Because we saw how well the dance-off mended fences last week.

We learn that Yoo-jin’s settlement money came from Kang-chul when Principal Joo thanks him for the emergency loan, which Kang-chul says he doesn’t have to pay back. He assumes that the money was needed by Mrs. Joo for some domestic problem, and the principal doesn’t clarify.

A pair of young lovebirds gets caught holding hands and is punished for the infraction. They protest (“Is love a crime?!”) and teachers Jin-man and Tae-yeon cluck-cluck at the severity of Ji-soo’s disciplinary response. Tae-yeon wonders if her “spinster hysteria” is to blame for her bitchiness, and I ask, Seriously? What are you, a 19th-century parochial misogynist? It’s this kind of girl-on-girl backbiting that makes me dislike Tae-yeon. She’s got this weird haughty vibe now that she’s transformed herself into an OZ clone — which, by the way, I still don’t really understand, but whatever, it’s one of many things that strike me as inconsistent about this show.

Tae-yeon gossips that Ji-soo was always bitchy, even in her idol days. “When everyone else was cotton candy, she was a sugar cube, all tough on her own.”

Hae-sung decides to do the duet with Ri-an, and informs Ji-soo of the arrangement. Tae-yeon offers to be their coach, and gets assigned to JB and Yoo-jin as well. According to her chart, only two students are partnerless, meaning that diva Ailee will be shackled to psychic-wannabe Soon-dong. Well, that should be interesting.

Yoo-jin looks over his duet music for a song titled “Beautiful Dance,” sighing that they’re gonna make him dance after all. Also: You’re going to make them dance for a singing duet? Yeah, that’s not rigged in JB’s favor or anything. Or logical in the sense of words meaning… what they mean.

Yoo-jin’s prepared to rip up the music, but recalls Principal Joo’s warning about his parents repaying his debt and stops himself. Hm, so there’s some parental issue going on here…

He wonders what the principal’s really up to, and fantasizes that at Principal Joo’s funeral, they find out that he’s really been pouring all his chicken restaurant earnings into his students’ educations. He shakes off that scenario, but now he’s plagued with the nagging feeling that maybe he’s a decent guy, and that messes with his head.

Ri-an has ignored Hae-sung’s attempts to work on the song together, so Hae-sung pesters her that night until Ri-an divides the parts. Hae-sung protests — they’re supposed to sing together, not give Ri-an all the good parts.

Ri-an says that supporting the main vocals is singing together, and Hae-sung retorts, “Maybe in your group they were, but not for me!” Unexpectedly, Ri-an looks stung and Hae-sung backtracks, but it’s clear she’s hit a sore spot.

Since Jin-man is technically an English teacher, Ji-soo assumes he’s got no talent and brings him in to dance class. It’s more to mock him than anything; to her, he’s symbolic of the hopeless Kirin students with no dancing aptitude.

She condescendingly demonstrates a simple move and tells him to repeat it while she literally dances circles around him, like he’s a prop. It’s her demonstration of how a good dancer can cover for a poor dancer, and she instructs the students to give it a try. She calls out the best dancer and the worst to demonstrate, and JB smirks at Eui-bong as he passes him to the front.

Hae-sung, the worst dancer, is his prop-partner, which naturally she loves. This involves dance-hugs and closeness, which results in some jealousy-frowning by Ri-an and Yoo-jin.

Ri-an tells her after class that she won’t cover for her the way JB did in the dance, and Hae-sung says she’ll take care of herself.

Ri-an gets a call from her father and answers using an earpiece. Hae-sung tries to point out Ri-an’s contraband phone to a teacher, but Ri-an covers by pretending she’s talking to Hae-sung: “How could you? Didn’t you understand what I said before?!” Based on Ri-an’s emotional response (to Dad), Tae-yeon assumes she’s being bullied by Hae-sung. She warns that she’ll be watching her closely.

Ri-an drags her mother out of the talent agency where she’s had a meeting, and reminds Mom that she decided to stay with OZ. Even though she wants to, Ri-an can’t risk jumping ship and having Kang-chul crush her career in retaliation.

Mom doesn’t seem like an entirely terrible person, because she says she’s doing this because Ri-an is having such a tough time as an idol. The fancy fur she’s wearing turns out to be a knockoff, and while Ri-an scolded her for the splurge when she thought it was real, now that it’s fake she tells Mom to use her money to go buy a real one.

Yoo-jin and Eui-bong gripe about JB while shooting hoops together, only to have JB himself appear. He suggests a game, and Yoo-jin — who has the reputation of being an awesome player — is happy to oblige.

Strangely, though, JB starts dancing in front of him instead of playing, and Yoo-jin stares in confusion. JB dance-skips around and taunts, “You play your way, I’ll play mine,” and I swear if somebody breaks into song, I’m going to break somebody’s head.

Oh no, is that a song I hear, cueing up to ruin this moment? Gawwwwwwd. JB flashes mocking smiles at Yoo-jin and keeps dancing while Yoo-jin scores basket after basket, not even caring that he gets the ball stolen from him repeatedly. Arg, Dream High, now I’m mad at you for ruining a Bye Bye Sea song for me.

Then JB turns the tables by taking the ball, confusing Yoo-jin with some dance tricks, and scoring. Yoo-jin outscores him overall, but JB’s the one gloating triumphantly. God, I just want to smack that smile off his face.

Uh-oh, looks like Yoo-jin has the same thought, because he hurls the ball at JB’s retreating back… only JB bends over at the last moment and the ball flies into Principal Joo’s forehead.

Kang-chul catches Ri-an on her return to school, confiscates her phone, and revokes her practice room privileges until midterms. With her skipping class and leaving school at will, what need does she have for practice?

The teachers have a staff dinner that night and head to a bar/noraebang afterward, where Tae-yeon demonstrates her terrible singing skills. Principal Joo explains that while she can’t sing, she’s a great vocal trainer. Which is like me saying I’m a great running coach because I understand in theory what it takes to put one foot in front of the other.

Kang-chul invites Principal Joo to sing next, though it’s clear that makes him uncomfortable. Then he tells Jin-man to go, adding that if he’s good he’ll turn him into a singer. Jin-man seizes the moment and manages to impress everybody, even Ji-soo, whom he drags up as dance partner.

Kang-chul takes a jab at Principal Joo’s lack of dance skills. Hm, is this a hint of an old rivalry, Yoo-jin/JB-style? Kang-chul has the ’90s idol background, and we know Principal Joo plays guitar. This possibly adds dimension to the idol-versus-talent tension, if only they’d let the conflict out of its cage…

Soon-dong makes contact with her spirit guide and tells Ailee that they’ll come in first place if Ailee sings while Soon-dong dances. Do these people not understand the meaning of the word duet? Like the other kids, Ailee’s inclined to dismiss her as a crazy, but can’t avoid that seed of doubt that makes her listen anyway. Soon-dong senses something strange about the upcoming midterms and declares that bad luck is on its way.

Hae-sung practices her song, and while she’s not a terrible singer, she’s not good, either. Just like your average, everyday person singing in the shower. Tae-yeon criticizes her breathing technique in a mocking way that makes JB smirk, which renews my desire to smack him. Yoo-jin at least looks sorry for Hae-sung’s hurt feelings and shoots JB a disapproving look.

Tae-yeon re-assigns her to the supporting line, saying that this isn’t a solo performance and they’re not competing. Except for the part where you’re making them compete, you mean? (Technically, I suppose the kids don’t know it’s a competition.)

Hae-sung morosely asks Soon-dong to conjure her guide for more help. The instructions send her on a Mission Impossible trip to the boys’ dorm to swipe a boy idol’s childhood photo, so she can carry it with her onstage. She finds an album and takes a picture from it… revealing the coupley photo of JB and Ri-an hidden behind it.

Without practice room rights, Ri-an is reduced to singing in the laundry room, where JB runs into her. He calls her irresponsible for ditching her partner to practice on her own, which is rich coming from you, Mr. Basketdanceyball. Ri-an retorts, “What about you? Did you take responsibility for Shi-woo?”

JB insults her back for being a pretty face who doesn’t sing and who can’t act. She slaps him.

Hae-sung’s still in JB’s room when he comes back and ducks under his bunk bed. She watches him reach for his Rubik’s cube, which reminds her of a different encounter from two years ago.

Flashback: He’d been crying alone and she’d felt so bad for him that she gave him her Rubik’s cube, saying it would make him feel better. It makes her happy to see that he still has it.

Yoo-jin enters to ask for a CD of their dance moves, since he doesn’t want to learn from JB directly. Then he catches a glimpse of Hae-sung huddling under the bed, although he can’t see her face, and assumes JB’s been sneaking a girl here.

He pulls aside the cover to reveal Hae-sung, and both guys gape while she stutters that this is not usual behavior for her. Ha. Somehow it’s not a convincing argument.

She runs out in embarrassment. Yoo-jin wonders whether they’re dating, which JB denies in horror. So if they’re not dating, that means Hae-sung’s a stalker, he decides.

Hong-joo and Nana practice their duet, which sounds great until she coughs and winces. She wants to continue, but her voice breaks again and he urges her to go to the hospital. She says he’s overreacting, but heads there anyway, and finds Shi-woo chatting up the nurses.

She explains her throat issue via handwritten note, then tells Shi-woo to beg Kang-chul for forgiveness so he can stay at Kirin. They have an easy, half-bickering rapport that makes me wonder whether they’re dating, especially since she seems sincerely worried for him and he jokes, “Wanna run away?” He points to the scarf she’s wearing, which is his.

Hae-sung bugs Ri-an again to practice and gets blown off again. Ri-an says they can practice separately and then run through the song on the day of the performance, adding that she didn’t know Hae-sung was this bad.

Yoo-jin approaches his own duet with determination, choosing to practice on familiar turf: the basketball court. He starts moving like JB did during their game, working in his basketball movies so that eventually it looks like a hybrid dribble-dance with the ball.

Hae-sung comes across him mid-practice, faithfully blowing up a balloon as a breathing exercise. Yoo-jin waves her away in annoyance.

But when he flinches away from her balloon, she smiles an evil grin, guessing that he’s skittish around balloon popping. He jumps when it pops, and she laughs her head off and pulls out another.

When Hae-sung stumbles in dizziness, Yoo-jin looks worried for her sake, until her stomach growls. Just hunger.

They go to Principal Joo’s chicken place, quite possibly just so Yoo-jin can enjoy bossing him around as customer. Principal Joo kicks them out at the end of the meal, and Yoo-jin clucks over the poor service.


In exchange for the chicken dinner, Yoo-jin asks a favor of Hae-sung. She’s happy to oblige, since it involves secretly filming JB’s dance rehearsal, so Yoo-jin can use it to practice on his own. And while they and the other students spend the following days practicing, Ri-an sits idly by and wastes her time.

Evaluation day arrives, and it’s treated like a pseudo-concert, with a red carpet inside the school hall and paparazzi line, giving the students a taste of the celebrity experience.

Hae-sung nervously waits for Ri-an to show, but the event kicks off without a sign of her. And they’d never even practiced together once.

Kang-chul introduces the event and asks how the kids enjoyed their faux red carpet, then wonders how many of them might get to experience the real thing. He advises the students to give up on their empty dreams, because if they want to make it, they’ve got to leave fantasyland behind. Um, somebody pull this guy aside to remind him the name of his drama.

With that in mind, he announces that today will be an audition of sorts. No rehearsals or do-overs. He drops the bomb that one person in each pairing will be cut, which means their partner has just become their rival. If that makes you mad, he says, then win and earn the right to stick around. He dangles an extra carrot: He’s planning to take the cream of the crop and turn them into a super idol group.

Ri-an finally arrives while the students are backstage, and Hae-sung pulls her aside. She’s a bundle of nerves over their lack of practice, but Ri-an tells her carelessly that it shouldn’t matter how she does since they’re in an every-man-for-himself situation.

Now Hae-sung realizes that Ri-an picked her because she’s the easiest to beat, and that she knew about this additional cut. Ri-an tells her that she hasn’t practiced at all while Hae-sung has been diligently at work, so she can just beat her then.

Hae-sung vows that she will. Ri-an says, “I’ll be tough — onstage, I’m the pro. And you’re nothing.”

 
COMMENTS

Sorry, folks, the Dream High 2 train ends here. At least for us, because there’s just not enough in this drama to make us care — and whether the acting is good or bad, the writing spotty or tight, the music moving or bland, ultimately we have to care enough to stick with something. It’s not a terrible show, but that’s also the frustrating thing about it — it’s just sort of sitting there, full of potential but not fulfilling it. The ingredients are mostly present, they’re just not cooked together in a tasty way.

In some respects, this drama makes me think of Goong S all over again. You have an initial series that becomes an instant phenomenon, built on a premise that seems solid gold. You dive into the second series with all these hopes, thinking that even if it isn’t as good as the original, it would have a lot of the same kind of charm. So you stick with it, and tell yourself it has to get better, and remember all the reasons it should be good, and try to convince yourself that you like it more than you do. But in the end, you’re left with disappointment and a pale shadow of what you found so lovable the first time around. It’s tiring work to convince yourself something might get better when you don’t think it will.

I find that Dream High 2 is making a lot of little missteps that I could probably overlook, but for its fatal flaw: I don’t care about anybody, other than Yoo-jin. He’s the only character who is both acted and written well, and Jinwoon is pretty charming. If only they all were.

As viewers we’re pretty much hardwired to root for the underdog, but can you be an underdog if you don’t have talent? In the first series, I rooted for the Misfit Mafia because they worked hard and were talented; they just had the odds stacked against them. They hadn’t had the opportunity to cultivate their skills and show the world what they could do. Here, the Kirin kids have had opportunities — vocal training, music lessons, dance classes — but they happen to suck at this industry and therefore maybe don’t deserve to be famous in it.

Guitar-strumming Hong-joo has talent and so does dancer Eui-bong, but what about Soon-dong? I don’t even know what the drama intends for us to think of her. And the rest of their class — how am I supposed to wish you success when you buy songs for your homework assignment? Or expend your energies in psychic rituals rather than training?

I find myself agreeing with all the harsh words of the idolmaker adults, which actually confuses me because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to want for Hae-sung. Or Ri-an, while we’re at it. I really like Jiyeon’s performance, but I have no sympathy for the famous celebrity who can neither act nor sing.

Her setup IS intriguing as the reluctant idol, and her character allows the series to get in a few pointed barbs at the industry. Like her retort about setting up an internet shopping mall, which many a has-been idol singer has done after her initial source of fame has dried up — ouch. And I wonder if Ri-an’s duet behavior is really a self-destructive act — if she can’t leave OZ of her own free will, then let them cut her loose. I like that. But I don’t know what her trajectory in this drama is.

So unless Hae-sung and Ri-an suddenly cultivate dreams of accounting, I’m more likely to hope they give up their dreams than keep pursuing them. Not because people can’t want things they’re not good at, but because they would be wasting their lives on unrealistic goals. Dreams can still be valid when they’re attainable, and I’d rather they found a dream that actually made use of their skills. Otherwise it’s just sad; watching Hae-sung trying to cling to idol hopes when she’s apparently the worst dancer and a bad singer is depressing.

As for the idol half, that’s another big question mark. Last year the top dogs had their down moments, and Baek-hee and Jin-gook actually started out underdogs so you had reason to pull for them. This year the idols are presented as these perfect singing and dancing machines who are expected to crush their opponents. So… how is that interesting?

JB’s acting aside, I don’t find his character endearing or even relatable. We got a tiny look at his timid side at his audition, and another tiny peek at vulnerability in today’s flashback. Yet most of the time he’s stiff and smirky and I want to hit him. (Also: Why the heck did we not get today’s flashback in Episode 1? All this time Hae-sung has been presented as a silly fangirl when she’d met him before? What a waste of a setup.)

As for the dances: oy. I like the dances when they’re used well, like the stuff in the studio during class to demonstrate a point. And also: sparingly. Not in every other scene. The dance-offs have got to stop, if for no other reason that my muscles need a chance to un-cringe themselves from the last one. I feel like there’s a disconnect between what the drama tells us is cool and what we actually consider cool, which is odd because that’s something I thought was JYP’s forte last year — knowing when to undercut a moment or introduce a joke.

Then, the elaborate song numbers.

Here’s the thing about the songs. In the first season, as girlfriday pointed out, the songs were worked into the plot so that a performance was an extension of a scene. Not a commercial break or an excuse for a glossy recorded track to get some airplay. It felt like you had a performance that meant something, like producers had carefully combed through scores of songs and picked the best one to convey the desired message. So we ended up with a diverse mix of genres with artists ranging from lesser-knowns to household names, from the ’70s, ’80s, up through to the present day. This kept the drama mixtape eclectic and fresh, and had enough fun nods to bygone pop hits to appeal to people from multiple generations.

This season, it feels like some trendy producer handed over a list of autotuned bubblegum pop hits and the writers are left trying to figure out how to write a scene around these designated musical numbers. This does not work, Singin’ in the Rain notwithstanding. So, how to seamlessly work in “Roly Poly”? We don’t know, so we’ll just construct a standalone music video and drop it in somewhere. What about “Heartbreaker”? Oh, I know, a tense, aggro dance-off! Sure, that makes sense, if that strain of homoeroticism was intentional.

Last year I felt a sense of discovery every time I placed a song within the scene, then got its meaning for being there. Like “Goose’s Dream” as a declaration of determination. “Winter Child” as a heartfelt birthday gift. “Dream High” as a soulless techno beat that genius Sam-dong reworked, transforming it into our misfit anthem. It was music as a mode of storytelling.

This year, it feels like a visualization of Top 40 radio. It’s not creative, and it’s not interesting. Do not want.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not upset that Season 2 isn’t Season 1. The reason I bring up last year is because it’s an example of how certain elements worked well, in contrast to this year’s mishmash of things that don’t work well. If this had been the only season of Dream High it would have been easier to write it off as a mediocre drama. It’s because we have the first season that it’s harder to let go of 2, because I’ve seen how great this can be when the care is put into developing emotion and character and story.

In short, what I want from Dream High 2 is simply: To know what the point is. Is it about harboring dreams (even if you’ll never achieve them), or is it about giving them up? Is it about rock music versus pop, or about dancers versus singers, or about underdogs versus top dogs? I feel like there are threads of all these conflicts woven in, but they’re loose and unconnected, and it makes me unsure of what I’m watching. I just want to know what you’re doing, Dream High. I want to like you. I want to root for somebody! I just don’t know who that’s supposed to be.

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Thank you!

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Well at least you guys are trying to stay optimistic. Thank heavens for Yoo-jin though....For me, I'll probably l watch the rest of this series on fast forward. Actually, I'm pretty sure I will considering how many dramas I'm suddenly following and with the premiere of Operation Proposal this week too...oi, no tiiiime.

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So I hated the first dream high. It was all over the place I didn't even know SooHyun was the lead until the last episode. Suzy was a horrible actress. I think this one has much potential, I don't like JB's acting but the other roles I'm getting attached to.

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OMG! Did you actually watch it? O_O (more than 3 eps, first 3 eps were flat).

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I hated Suzy as an actress too and stopped watching Dream High 1 around episode 6. I don't care if she got better later on or not because she still was horrible in the beginning and i doubt she was that much better later on, i was excited about this one because of kang sora and jinwoon's acting wasn't too bad but this plot is just too much of a mess for me to bother wasting any more of my time.

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THIS. I stopped watching DH1 because of the terrible acting, I just could not stand it. DH2 however has better actors (except for JB) which makes it easier to watch imo. And I still have my hopes up on the story to develop on something greater than it is rn..

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Jinwoon and Kang Sora are leading the drama well.. however because of awful acting from JB and complex directing.. people will want to give up on Dream High 2. Even so, I'm not going to be one of those people. I liked the first and want to give this one a chance. Jinwoon has already swept me off my feet XD And from ep 5.. I can see that Dream High 2 is stepping up it's game. Just wished it would focus more on the leads and lead us to the point quickly to build up the characters.

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I AGREE! after watching Ep 5, i feel that the plot has taken a better turn and that Jinwoon is just pure awesome (i seriously didn't know he had such wonderful acting skills)

I do believe that the drama is picking up its pace and that it does deserve another chance

so i really do hope that Javabeans will continue recapping instead of bidding it farewell for good... (O what difference it would be if thou recapping stops here~)

Im with Shena all the way!! Everyone saw the potential in DH2 and I believed that too! and now that I've seen its potential being slowly unearthed, let us all just give this another shot~! :)

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Agreed! I barely finished watching the last few episodes of it...actually did I finish it? I can't remember now. Obviously, it didn't have much of an impact.

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No Dream High I was much better in the sence you sort of connected with the charactors and the story was much better.
watch 2 first and then watch I that way youll like them better I think.

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When I started the first Dream High, I found the first epsiode boring. Then the second episode got better. When I finished the whole drama, it became one of my favorites. When I watch the first episode of Dream High 2, I was like this have some potential, when I watch second episode, it went downhill. And then every episode after that...I keep trying to tell myself that it will get better but even until I finished watching it....it just got worse and worse. I don't understand why some people would think Dream High 2 is better than the first one. Dream High 1 was much better in every aspect. The actors was so much better. They proved to the world that idols can be great actors too through this drama. And the storyline of the first one is clear and well organized. If you think Dream High 1 was all over the place then Dream High 2 would be a world of chaos. At least in the end of Dream High 1, the story actually come to an end and make sense. The story of Dream High 2 doesn't even make sense at all, even at the end. Its like that want to put so much drama and built up the characters and conflict so much yet in the end, none of it is even resolve. Its very unorganized and I felt like just becuz so many fans want a dream high 2...they just randomly throw a story together and then throw in more random conflicts as the story continues. Like I couldn't really see how Rian would suddenly turn good. I just couldn't feel it in the storyline, its like she just magically turn 180 degree to the good side and didn't really realize what she did wrong. And also they show that jin yoo jin and rian have some chemistry together but I wish they would at least end it happily but no they left it hanging. And also it annoyed me with the other love triangle of nana, si woo, and hong joo. I mean geeze woman, choose one. I like both of the guys though but still the drama leave us hanging again with an unresolved problem. Also about the promotion/poster, si woo is on the main poster and they make it seem like he is one of the main characters, but they never really show anything of his story. that is misleading and also i feel like the main lead for dream high 2 is rian and jb but again they put hye sung and yoon jin as the biggest picture on the poster. Yeah hye sung was really kinda the main character but I didn't see how yoon jin is. The whole story is literally about jb, rian, and hye sung....and the rest are just supporting. It pissed me off how they make the story so complicated and put so much drama in it...and in the end, they couldn't carry out what they promise in the beginning. Dream High 2 was failure.

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For anyone who gave this up, or isnt going to view it based on the shaky start: Read on!

Now that I have seen through the end of Episode 6 I will say that – barring crazy plot developments because actors have no control over that – character-wise, this is going to be a respectable Season 2.

It took our baby Idols a little while to warm up, but I would say that by 4 they were starting to be comfortable, and the entirety of eps 5 and 6 have moved the show forward tremendously for every single named character, from teachers/entertainment agency right down to the kids.

If you gave up – drop back in and check it out. You might be surprised.

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DB Your review is so so accurate!! I thought there was something wrong with me as I was not connecting with this drama, after hearing and reading so much hype about it.
Just watched 2 epis and now going to skip it as I just dont like or connect with anyone here.

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Bye DH2. The only positive thing about you that I could think of right now is that you have the fastest subbed episodes in recent memory.

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While the clearly better drama Shut Up FB Band, has the slowest.

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I know, right? Argh!

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Nope, SU:FBB's not the slowest.

Color of Woman just finished it's ep.20. Subbing stopped at ep.11. I'm frustrated because it has been more than a month and I want to know what happened to Jae Hee's character and his love interest.

Ex.#2: Vampire Idol finished ep.40 as of today. And you know what the last subbed episode was? Unbelievably, it's episode 1. And that was subbed around the 30th episode. Argh. I so want to watch it subbed. =(

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Feel your pain, for both dramas. :(

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Oh my!

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Hopefully, dramabeans would not mind but I found recaps for CoW on a blog called "An Entertaining Cup of Morning Coffee." Links below.
http://akikosmorningcoffee.wordpress.com/

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Thank you!!!

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omg thank you..viki was subbing it but the channel was taken down because of copyright issues. Its a promising drama, but its slowly entering the "kdrama-boring" period. I hope it gets better!!

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oh man... color of woman.. don't get me started on that one. at first i was all in cuz i love jae hee, but damn nothiing can help that drama now. the first few episodes were gold and i thought i'd help out with subbing after but i just kept fast forwarding and thus not subbing and then just gave up... i miss the snappy dialogues and such that was present in the setup. sigh, another drama doomed to be unwatched..

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Go to http://akikosmorningcoffee.wordpress.com/tag/color-of-woman/page/2/
She wrote detailed recaps (just like this site does) since episode 11 or 12 and has already recapped the final episode. Disappointing drama, you've been warned ;)

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agree.

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Not watching Dream High 2 because I'm so gaga watching Shut UP: FBB. I like the subs for SU:FBB does cable sub all their show? If I subscribe to TvN do I get to watch SU:FBB with subs and I don't have to wait for it to be posted? I'm from the Philippines so if there's anybody out there who could answer my questions please feel free:-)

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Dramafever subs SUFBB quickly. They have all four subbed and usually get it done in a day or two. It's great if it is available in your country!!

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I love dramas that are unpredictable (ex. HOTS), but DH2's unpredictable-ness does not make me want to know what happens next because nothing is really happening that surprises me or makes me care.

My conclusion: DH was campy heartwarming fun. DH2 is like Ri-an & JB. Shallow & superficial.

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Yeah, I was surprised. It's like Boys Over Flower's era once again.

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I think Shut Up has more substance and depth in every line spitted out by their actors, whereas this show's script is all fluff filling a waste of airtime.

Such a shame to see a successful name of a show dwindle down unable to maintain its predecessor's screen magnetism.

Weecaps or half-time reports are greatly appreciated if those ever happen. You never know!........... I know, I'm too optimistic here; DH1's influence.

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^ LOL

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oh good lord. JB's crying scene gave me secondhand embarrassment.

sigh. i'm sticking around for yoo-jin/hye-sung because despite myself i've gotten attached to them but that's pretty much the only reason i'll continue watching.

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I actually read your entry paragraph for this recap and knew right away to skip everything and go straight to your comments section - I knew I wasn't missing much since I scanned the raw video today and could always reread this recap. I went straight to your comments to confirm whether or not you were dropping recaps for this series. As suspected, and what has been hinted at, Dream High 2 didn't make the cut. Sad day. But I think I'm still going to stick around and watch it, even if it's only for the pathetic reason of finding out what the hell this all comes down to. What's the end game Dream High 2? What's the end game? Even more pathetic is that I want to see Haesung and Yoojin's story - because one is an actress I adore and another an actor I am loving now (pretty and all).

Thank you jb and girlfriday for sticking with it as long as you did. Dream High 2? Pull your shit together..... Hwaiting!

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I actually like it that some of the students don't have talent. Because as a violinist, I've always come across an obstacle and self-doubt because I see all these other violin prodigies. Should we give up our dreams because we don't have talent or would hard work help pull us up?

Because the majority of people don't have the special "talent", I feel like the drama itself is more relateable

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But at the same time, as javabeans mentioned, it doesn't even seem like some of the less talented players are even trying. If they did try, even without natural talent, I think the characters would be so easy to root for. But if they don't have talent and they don't try... :?

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Wait, you guys are forgetting that the teachers themselves are not doing their best. Everyone is in a rut -- starting with the principal who is supposed to be the leader, the motivator for the school.

Ok, this is like dissecting a short story. You start with the obvious give-a-ways like when they showed the state of the school building which is rundown. Then they showed how unmotivated the principal and faculty and of course, that example trickles down to the students who are minors. They, the students adopt the same lax-a-daisy attitude.

How do you cultivate talent ? It is like NURTURE vs NATURE. Do you nurture a student and develop one's talent or is it inborn only ? Or both?

If you also notice, the pace is getting a bit faster now. If you remember, in DH 1 the pace was slower in the beginning also. Full of bits and pieces of details-- took about 3 -4 episodes to get going. I think there was just too much anticipation for this drama and now we are impatient for this to get going. I think the background set up is all set and story will move forward now. So maybe we should give them about 2 more episodes before we write them off ?

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How bout no.

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I agree! There's really so much expectations for DH2 and I think the director is trying to fit everyone's expectation by including as many songs, dance-offs as well as idols (screen time) in one episode. As of yet, DH2 really isn't going anywhere but the plot seems so promising. I really like the idea of these students bringing Kirin High School back to its glory days. So I guess I'm watching on!

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thank you for recapping anyway =)
I was turned off the second they had that music video dance/sing-a-thon on the 2nd episode.. but kept watching/skipping parts for haesung and yoojin.. since..well.. I'm a fan =) and I'm curious how the two would turn out. I wish they have less JB/RIAn and the whole Idol thing.. even though its supposed to be an idol filled drama..

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I was turned off by the "welcome" dance routine in the first episode. Don't think I could even get through the 2nd episode, especially after reading recap.

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Yeah ,what is the story? after this episode Im still trying to figured it out but still no clue . . .

Thanks for the recap :)

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yea..agree with you and JB...what is the storyline? Who are we suppose to root for? I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm only watching this cuz of yoojin. He seem to be the only character that's well acted, has a presence in the show. I like LB fine... if that's how his character is written. Should I blame it on the writting that didn't showcase the main characters first then the secondary characters? Possibly...and yet...(sigh)

I will keep hoping that it will get better in the next couple of episodes just to make sure that this isn't just a slow start. Haha! maybe after this so call rival contest cut, the show will really start? But isn't that such a waste of four episodes already? I mean, if they had started off with just the four or six main characters and concentrated on them in the first few episodes, that would have been a better setup for the show.
If it doesn't get better, I'll probably scam through most of it just to see whats happening.

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You know what i miss it's the warmth that the first show had. The first season started the first episode with warmth a principal who cared more about his students and believed in his kids. Then the baton got passed to the teacher who continues this nurturing loving character. It made me care as well. I just don't feel any warmth, nobody worth caring for or anybody worth rooting for, just characters who are uninteresting.

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agree! I think almost all the teachers in this Dream High are like total asses sometimes -_-" I feel like screaming at that president face to get out of kirin n also to principal joo n call back teacher kang (I miss him!) and that vocal teacher Taeyeon, I would really really love to strangle her once.....

I mean, I'm not hoping for the teacher in DH come back in this one or for it to be like DH1 but I mean come on! almost all the teachers are like cold, n y the hell jyp is not doing anything like he did in the first one? he should understand more and maybe well...do ATLEAST SOMETHING? and I pity these kids, like seriously. They're like lost puppies or something?

yoo jin & haesung is the only thing that keeps me hooked on the drama & I'm T R Y I N G to accept the others or the drama for that matter, but I'm not gonna stop yet, I'm willing to give it another chance.

p/s : JYP, LEAD THE CHILDREN WELL

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Or at least have the story line give us a reason as to WHY he's been demoted or something...

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Thank you, javabeans and girlfriday, for taking the time to recap DH2.

I must confess I'm only continuing for Hae-sung and Yoo-jin; their scenes are always the most fun and adorable. Here's to hoping that an actual story will cement in the future episodes.

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I'm starting to get annoyed with this drama! *sigh* I never thought I would say these words because I liked Dream High 1 and I was looking forward for this.... but the acting?!? The only people that I watch and anticipate here are: Kang Sora, Jinwoon, and Park Jin Young. The others (especially JB) annoys the crap out of me!!!!!

While I was watching this, I found myself fast forwarding to the scenes most of the time and I just watch the scenes where my 3 favorite people are acting :(

I'm still going to watch this but I'll just end up watching the scenes with JYP, Kang Sora, and Jinwoon... yup that's what I will do :D

thanks for the recap, Dramabeans :D

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At least someone out there enjoyed the JB crying scene: http://beneathpyramids.tumblr.com/post/17224320367/it-doesnt-match-11111

But seriously though, this kid is horrible. I actually find nothing redeeming about him so far. He's a horrible actor and tbh I'm not that impressed with him dancing-wise either. I wish instead of devoting so much time to him they'd just use his screen-time and give it the folks who can actually act.

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I'm glad you said it first. JB's dancing is not great. I can literally see him counting in his head with each step "1,2..kick ball change..3,4"

Is he really supposed to debut as an idol in the future? Because he may need to go back to idol camp or wherever it is they send those kids to hone their skills.

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maybe if this is about giving up on your dream then they should change the title 'Dream High' because its not match anymore.. maybe the title will be ' Sad Dream'?! LOL...

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Base on the rumors spreading, Kang So Ra will sing one of the OSTs. Maybe, she'll get into that dream but will end to be a supporter of that dream - something like Baek Hee's ending.

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Maybe it should be renamed "Dream Bye"

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yoo-jin is the heroic captain of a ship that's sinking down down down. hae-sung would be up there with him if i understood WHY she wants to be a singer when it's clear she has no natural affinity.

i had love. a lot of love. funny how quickly that dissipates in the face of such obvious cheap commercialism.

last season, my immediate big beef with dream high was the worry that the idols and the plot would just be used as vanity props for the growing shallow pool known as kpop. my expectations were turned on their head in the best way possible. i came into dream high 2, guns ablaze, ready to love love love and then exactly what i feared for the first season became the reality of the second.

i actually intend to stick it out despite the sinking feeling in my gut. i love jinwoon and kang sora that much. i guess i just have to stop expecting greatness. /sob

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Sigh, same. I really had a lot of love for this drama. To an embarrassing degree, actually. To think that I had more love for this at first than SU! Boy Band (gasp!) I started out hoping for all the youthful-ness and underdogs and forming those "families" (always get me in the gut, they do). Well the underdog's there, and I guess some youthful-ness, but it's not done...right. If that makes sense. Like it's there, but I don't feel (and appreciate) it as much as I did in Dream High. I am only really invested in Yoo-jin's character. It's so much richer than the others. I mean, yeah, a girl who's dream is to be an idol finds out that she's not that great of a singer after all is really rich and looks good on paper, but the way this drama portrayed it was just wrong. Or done blandly. Not heart-tugging at all. Too bad, I really like Kang Sora too. Maybe next time, they'll pair Kang Sora and Jiwoon together again and have this awesome drama. About youthful fervor and whatnot. Done in that heart tugging way. :)

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Agreed. Loved the care and thought that was put into DH1, but 2 is a big hodge-podge of things. The over-arching story that EVERY drama needs isn't there. Weird that with all the idols acting, its not the acting that's the problem, its the writing.

I'll stick with it. Its a fine playing in the background drama and I'm too invested in Yoo-jin already. The Jinwoon fangirl wont let me leave this ship.

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Ahhh... So the recap ends here?

Honestly, I think the show was made for JYP to introduce his trainees to everyone so he can earn more money or popularity.

The first four episodes could have just shrink to one episode only or an episode and a half.

Too much filler scenes. Well, I would still continue watching the Drama since I am more curious what will happen on the 5th episode since the story will move there.

JB and Hye Mi had similar features but Suzy had this appeal that made the character good and very likeable. JB, on the other hand, is really cute and yeah, hot, but he's dull.

Hae Sung was played by Kang Sora really good but the writer made her to be the exaggerated Song Sam Dong which I hated.

I believe the plot had potential but the many of the characters made it stagnant and not growing.

Too much expectation ruined the show. And for now, I am just hoping the story picks up.

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Thank You!
When I watched the first 2 episodes I thought, maybe the NEXT two episodes will actually give us direction because I wasn't sure WHAT I was watching. Nope. Still confused. And annoyed because there's way too much JB and I have no interest in a kid that look prepubescent and smirks uselessly for the entirety of his scenes.
I swear, the only reason I watched this far was because of Yoojin. Now I'm just going to wait til drama is near it's end to go pick out the Yoo jin moments because I'm so certain that this drama isn't going to pick an actual plot anytime soon.

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Sigh. Thanks for the recaps and I totally get why you guys need to stop. It's taking every ounce of patience I have to grit my teeth and get through a damn episode, because I promised myself I would hold on until episode 5.

What you said about the songs really hit it home for me. I'm not feeling the magic I felt before. I found myself fast forwarding through all the performances, which was weird because I couldn't get enough of them last year. Take for example Episode 10, when Hyemi and Samdong sang Panic's “기다리다” (Waiting) at that Yakuza wedding and I just remember laughing my ass off because it was such an inappropriate (and dangerous) song to sing at that kind of wedding. Later in the same episode, Pilsuk pick ups her guitar and sings the same song after a fight with Jason, not knowing that Jason is right outside her hospital bed, listening to her sing and regretting the fight. That same song undercuts the final heartbreaking scene of Samdong, waiting giddily for Hyemi to show up for their date, only to see her up in a ferris wheel kissing Jingook. I remember sobbing so hard long after the credits rolled. See? Two widely contrasting emotions from the same freaking song. THIS is what I keep looking for in the second season. It's just ... not there. Sigh.

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Omg...you are so right!! I have to admit something: I am still replaying the DREAM HIGH songs. Right now, I am playing Maybe--Kim Soo Hyun and Suzy. The songs carried so many meanings. I remember in particular, that's the message the drama sent us. That it's not about what flair you do to the song...it's about emoting and conveying the meaning of the lyrics. Remember when the class was given the lyrics to the Dreaming song..and each of them interpreted it in how it conveyed their feelings at the present moment. Pil Suk to the giddy feelings she was feeling with her crush, Hye Mi to the warm feelings she felt towards a person who was the source of her inspiration, and finally Sam Dong..to a dream he thought was unattainable...but discovered if he DREAM'ed HIGH...no obstacle would hinder him in his journey. Kim Soo Hyun conveyed the emotions to perfection...as the song started off slow (confusion with his dreams), to off-tune (disappointment), and finally success (anything is possible). The tears which flowed along his cheeks upon realizing this feeling was a feeling I still have not forgotten as it became the source of my inspiration. I am really disappointed in how this drama turned out.

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You are my hero. Everything I wanted to say (and more) is put in words perfectly. These songs just don't give you that feel. I think it's probably more execution than the actual song, (I'm not sure since I fast forward through those...) but maybe these actors are just not as invested as the original cast? My main objection of DH2 is the number of main characters. There's so many that to producers and agencies, it's unfair to solely give our main main characters half an episode while the others get, say, an eighth or something (yeah, I'm exaggerating). However then there is not enough time for our main characters to develop, given how little screentime they have. As a result nobody grows, and nothing ever happens. It doesn't help that DH2 puts too much glam just to...well, glam it up.

Anyways, (back to) the songs here just don't move you. I remember bawling in the scene where Hye-mi signaled to Sam-dong to get on the right key while he was singing on stage. (I'm sorry if this is the same example, I don't remember when it was). That? Broke my heart. Even after I watched it like five times. On repeat. The music here is so...music-video like. Kind of like Lollipop with those obviously studio-made backgrounds. And whatnot.
(once again) I agree with you, that THING I'm looking for...is just not there. It's a shame, really.
(on a side note: Did I just restate your post in more crude language? I'm sorry. Me and my rambling. *sigh)

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You don't have to apologize, I totally get what you're trying to say ;). Coming into this season, I never expected to see the same characters or have them rehash the same story. But I did want them to retain that one thing that made me fall in love with it in the first place: that every single performance meant something .

Maybe you're right, it's because they're trying to cram way too many stories for too many characters that none of them are ever developed properly. And maybe that's why there's no heart or soul when anyone sings or dances. In these few episodes, I found myself mildly impressed (when Yoojin performs), bored and indifferent (when Nana or Hongjoo sing), to just outright cringing (that overly long music video in episode 2 and anything to do with JB, ugh). I don't remember ever fast forwarding through any performance in the first four eps of season 1: whether it was the Hyemi-Baekhee "Goose's Dream" standoff, Pilsuk singing in her sushi costume, Jason practicing his dance moves in a dimly lighted hallway, Jingook replicating the same moves on a rooftop after getting kicked out of the goshiwon, Hyemi singing "Only Hope" while pooping in an outhouse in the middle of nowhere, or Samdong's god-awful performance for a provincial television show in a rice-sack cape.

That song you were talking about (it was in episode 13. see? I can remember which song from which episode, it was that memorable), remember when Hyemi was mouthing the lyrics while she was signaling Samdong and it felt like they were BOTH singing the song? I was bawling so hard. Sigh, I miss season 1.

@mserenity: I listen to the OST every once in a while, too, just to remember the magic I felt when I heard those songs for the first time :).

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jb and gf, you guys are so good at articulating the impressions that are usually just floating around, shapeless, in my head.

you're right, the musical sequences in the first dream high made more sense because they were parallel to the actual story. i loved most of them. but here, my eyes were glazing over. that one super long in episode 2? felt a bit too much like a musical, chock full of characters we'd hardly been acquainted with.

i like shi-woo's and ri-an's characters, and jin-woon and JB are great foils for each other. i like those four well enough; i don't think JB is actually that bad, though i admit his crying scene was kind of bad. he doesn't seem much worse than suzy was in the beginning; if anything, based on my hazy first impressions, suzy was a little worse.

it's kang so-ra's character i didn't expect to dislike so strongly. i find her annoying, which was completely unexpected. i thought it was ji-yeon i would hate. i don't know if it's the character or the actress. i loved sunny, and her in it. but kang so-ra and dream high? surprisingly not as dreamy as i'd expected.

i also agree that there's just a lot of characters running around right now. i wonder if the first dream high was a bit easier on the audience in terms of getting to know the characters because of the audition scenes. i felt we were introduced to the core cast quite organically through the auditions.

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I agree Dream High 2 is a no for me. I expected too much of it cuz of Dram High...convinced the series would be just as addicting. Plot development seems slow.

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I now think Dream High 2 is now JYP's Paradise Ranch (of SM Entertainment).

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give it another week!! it seems like its developing :D

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Optimism! ;)

I'm skipping next week's episodes. will maybe tune in the week after next to verify if there's any development.

@ochrehelios - maybe. Though I dropped PR after the first 15 minutes. Couldn't stand the leads. DH2's going with the live-shoot system instead of being pre-produced like PR. Maybe it would have been better if it was pre-produced? ... Not likely with the same writers.

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I guess I should start with Dream high and stop at Dream high. Thanks for the detailed analysis!

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thats actually funny cause it took a few episodes in the first dream high for me to even like it..so please give it about one more episode and rethink on your decisions please??:(

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Yeah, I stopped holding out hope you guys would keep recapping after seeing episode 2, which pretty much guaranteed, for me, that Dream High 2 couldn't live up to the original. Maybe if they had stuck to, you know, the promoted plot of established idols vs wannabe idols, the drama could have found its ground. I'll probably keep watching, if time allows, just for Yoo-jin and Hae-sung, who I adore.

So, the Hae-sung/JB flashback reminded me of Hye-mi/Jin-gook's relationship. That's sort of lazy writing,(been there, done that) but I agree with you jb, it would have made more sense to include the flashback earlier so we could see Hae-sung wasn't just a rabid fangirl.

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i actually enjoy this show quite a bit..but you guys should really watch padam padam its really good without all the korean drama cliches!

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sigh.

javabeans: That would be funny if they were all unsuccessful and/or has-beens.

girlfriday: Like the D-list idols.

javabeans: The ones who refuse to give up on their dreams, because that’s what all the dramas tell you to do, only… in this case, maybe they’d be better off. But it would have to be a black comedy, because otherwise that’s just depressing.

guess not.

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you are do right about DH2 having the Goong S feeling.
bye bye DH2

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Goodbye Dream High 2. Hope someone else picks up recapping it (if they can handle it).

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"Why, are you suggesting they hash out their differences via song? Because we saw how well the dance-off mended fences last week."

*Giggles* It's the little things.

I knew it was coming. I've been snarking about Dream High 2 before it even premiered so I was ready for a disaster. But with that being said...I'm gonna miss the recaps. I'm probably gonna continue to watch this mess, until my fascination with YooJin wears off. I give it about two episodes before the writers have YooJin wearing a sparkly tracksuit, while simultaneously crip walking, crumping and shuffling to the beat of some bubble gum kpop. Only then will I be released from this DH2 prison :)

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Did anyone else notice JB's bedazzeled school uniform? Looks like he needs to add sparks when he lacks them in his acting lol

Javabeans took everything out of my mouth and articulated it beautifully. Story doesn't make sense, no draw, no sense of determination from the underdogs. Dream High was everything: determination, heart, cuteness, fun, DREAMS. This drama has forgotten it's title: DREAM HIGH. I only give this drama one plus, the pleasant surprise Jinwoon. For a first-timer, he's pretty good and conveys and emotes his scenes extremely well. Or maybe it's because he's acting next to the wooden board of JB...who casted him btw?

All in all when you don't have a KIM SOO HYUN..you won't succeed. Just look at the ratings of Moon Embracing the Sun. Im kidding..but seriously what happened to the writers of the first season?? I refuse to believe that this drama was written from the writers of the first season who gave us everything and more. Dream High was a pleasant surprise...while Dream High 2 has been a bitter disappointment.

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definitely different set of writers. i checked out the credit rolls before the drama aired and damn i already felt the ominous foreboding... that it won't be as great as last years'. cause what really made the drama for more than any other aspect was the solid writing.

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Thanks for giving this drama a shot on our behalf, ladies. I'm still a little curious about the series, but as you rightly point out there are too many people and not enough time to fully develop their stories. (I agree with some previous commenters about Yoo-jin - he's the most interesting of the lot.)

DH2 makes me think of Glee's Season 2 - I had high hopes because both shows had such a strong Season 1, but they ended up falling flat because the hype led them to pile on the glitz at the expense of the substance.

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Also, don't think I didn't pick up the "clucking" about poor service at the principal's chicken restaurant! Hee :D

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Ohh too bad. I had no expectation for DH2, and actually I want to stay just because of Jinwoon, and I'm happy he's doing pretty well, but you're all right.
There's no story, and I don't care anyone but Yoojin ( and a bit of Jinman ).

Even Kang Sora is disappointing for me, too bad.

Anyway, I think I'll drop this for now, maybe will catch up later on slow drama days.

Thank you for your recaps so far!

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Dear Dream High 2

Lets break up. I'm in love with your older brother Dream High 1. It's just that he is better looking and has a better personality.
It's not me it's You!

PS I'm taking Youjin and Hae Sung you can keep the rest.

mychocoheart

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Oh ! I love that comment. Should we offer DH2 a new pair of shoes, to be sure the message is clear ?

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Well I can't blame you. I also found myself wondering "what is the point"? I actually like Yoo-jin and Hae-sung. I actually want to see what happens to these to as a couple (not really sure they will end up as a couple as season 1 kinda changed up the couple OTP. In season 1 I really didn't care about the romance because the story was so good and heart warming that the love relationships where kind of like adding sprinkles to a cake. I really liked Kim Soo Hyun. He was such a great actor that sometimes it felt like his talents were wasted for a drama like dream high. But i did find Suzy's acting hilarious and it didn't bother me that she couldn't act as well (the drama really played it off.

Im just going to keep watching it cause i'm just sticking for yoo-jin and Hae-sung. and if they dont become a couple at the end of the season, I am going to be one pissed off drama fan.

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It is so unfortunate for Kang Sora. I love her and her acting, she doesnt even here.

also, that it aired alongside Shut Up. so we can see the difference.

i haven't watched episode1 until now. just been reading recap.

*sigh*

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what i meant to say was:
*she does a good job even here.*

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Well, I feel sorry for Kang Sora. This could have been her ticket for a bigger career. But, the people around her, costars and writers, were did not let her to take that break.

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ugh, aw this episode seemed to be the best episode throughout the series so far alongside with the first episode \: this drama honestly has no story... i enjoy some of the comedic parts & yeah. but idk i had such high expectations for this drama since i loved the first one oh so very much. this one just has too many fillers & glee like scenes. & the pace is way too slow. & ugh, jb's hot but his acting is bad & his character pisses the hell outta me. the only characters i LOVE are obviously yoojin & haesung. eh, well more of yoojin. xP & what's sad is that jiyeon was one of my main reasons on watching this, but i ended up not really caring for her character as much :c but i still adore jiyeon & i still think she's doing a great job portraying her character. it's just her character... meh. im still going to stick with this drama just to see if there will be any improvements & story progression. if there is still no improvements up to episode 8, that means bye bye DH2. is this what i get for having such high hopes? ugh. they always end up shattered at the end. dh2, you better pick up ): you have such great potential, but you're just not taking the time to fullfill it. man, this just makes me cry & miss the first season even more -tear- THEY NEED TO BRING BACK THE OLD WRITERS I SWEAR OMG

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I had the same hopes, too, at first, but after watching the 1st episode, I decided that I didn't care...
too bad, because imo, Kang Sora did well in this, so did Jinwoon...

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I do thank this show for one thing and that's for introducing me to Jiwoon. I know it's only been 4 episodes so far but I'm really impressed with him and he's got a really charming presence. I hope just because Dream High 2 isn't doing so well in the ratings it doesn't mean I won't see him in anything else. I'd love to see him in another drama. He's got potential and he's easily one of the better idol actors out there, especially out of JYP's bunch of actor idols.

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agreed.

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For me it was a surprise that you recap till ep. 4. I couldn't watch even the second episode :))

There are some other good dramas to watch, but not this one.

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i dont care abt dream high 2 either considering how it's looking more and more like a half - assed job by some slacker.

but i'm way too invested in yoojin to just give up now.

will anyone else be recapping this?

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the trouble is of course is who paying for this to get made ie who do all the idol in the show belong too. Thus you not getting tv to tell a story that second place to selling the idols on display so they try at making sure they all get good screen time, even it is does mess up the story. They pretty confident that it will not matter and the idol fan base well carry the show no matter how much of a mess they make of it.

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hmm.so you'll not continue recapping this drama??^^

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I totally agree with your sentiments. I just miss knowing who to root for and actually looking forward to the bits where they sing and dance- in DH1 the performance scenes really felt like the payoff for the effort of people I actually liked/rooted for. When Pilsuk did a duet with Jason, then Samdong. If I didn't like them, I could at least be impressed, ala Snake Team. DH2 is just... idk. Musical montages that I just wish were over as soon as they begin and awkward dance scenes that I wish were gone. The only musical scene I actually enjoyed was where Hongjoo was involved, and even those were poorly incorporated into the plot. I feel like the most important bit was the fact that they didn't bother to make any of the characters, save perhaps Yoojin (I was initially disappointed with Jinwoon being casted but ironically his is the only one I can really stand), relatable. I'm assuming Hyesung is supposed to be the main female protagonist, but I am ambivalent about her and her dreams at best.

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I had no hopes for this drama when I first heard of it...but I rather like it now xp

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I'm one those really disappointed in Dream High 2. I had such high hopes for the sequel. I think the biggest flaw (among other flaws) is the writing. There was not enough of a good story/script to make the viewer care for its characters. The first DH had substance and more acting experience in its cast. The second biggest flaw of this production is the casting. I wish they had cast idols that have had more experience or more training in acting workshops if they were newbies. From what I understand this sequel was supposed to take place 3 years after the first one, but why did they set up the school with totally different characters and the place became all worn down? Then 8 years later, all the original characters are back there again, and the school is thriving once more as seen in the first DH. I find a disconnect in the way they forced the story upon us. They should have stuck with the majority of the secondary characters to keep the same feel of the school and worked in new characters for the students. I find that except for a couple of good actors in the supporting role, the others seemed bland and out of place. I guess to hope for 2 seasons of awesome dreams was way too ambitious in the first place.

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In Season 1 you hv JYP and BYJ working together right. This Season 2 I was hoping they will cast the teenage Hyesung and some of rookie actor/actresses from BYJ agency.

A bit disappointed... I will let it go too then. Still dont see the good acting from Kang So Ra.. I assume that she's better than Suzy.

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oh... i plan to watch this drama after What's Up. but reading at the recaps.. i might just skip at the most part.
i might re-watch What's Up again.

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If you haven't, try Shut Up Flower Boy Band. I am not really into musicals (only watched Dream High because everyone on dramabeans recommended it ... and loved it ... and only watched Dream High 2 because of Dream High), but I loved the first 4 episodes.

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Aw. It's sad but there's really no way JB or GF, or anyone for that matter, can recap something they don't sincerely care for.

I feel bad that this didn't live up to the 1st season. But I'm prolly still going to give it a try once all the Eng subbed eps are out. And since we're still not halfway through it, I'm still holding out hope.

Though I'm happy that Jinwoon has given a chance to show strength in acting (this at least, hopefully, opens his doors for more acting projects), I feel bad for Kang Sora for this could've been her way to show her acting skills to a bigger number of audience. She already proved herself in Sunny and all she needed was a big project to shine even more. What a shame.

Like JB and GF, I want to love this show so much, because I feel like if I don't, I'm going to betray and be disloyal to the DH1 (yep, that's how much I loved the first season). Please, Drama Gods, do something for this show. :(

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Ah, now that JB mentioned, I suddenly missed the dance/song numbers in DH1. They were all so memorable!

*SPOILER*
- Sam Dong's number when she picked up Hye Mi from the audience
- Pil Suk's audition
- Baek Hee's first solo stage
- Hye Mi's birthday song to Jingook
- Hye Mi's song to Baek Hee through phone (that made me cry buckets and buckets of tears too)

And so many more! Aaarrrgh. I really wish we can have the taste of that again.

*brbwatchingthesescenes*

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thanks for the recaps so far! I'm dropping this drama too, it's just plain boring to me. You two take a breather before March madness:)

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I second song pong! :)

You ladies save that time-bendy thing and energy for better dramas.

(I'll rewatch DH1 for now)

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I strongly suggest you watch ep 5 & 6.. you will board on this train again!!!

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I second this! Episode 6 was just pure AWESOMENESS! :)) You'll definitely want to watch this drama again after that episode. Now I'm downloading episode 7, and I'm going to watch it even without the subs. :> And I hope they'll still continue doing recaps. :|

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yeah!
okay at first i kinda bored with the first 4 episodes, but i was so curious, and i end up watching the 5th & 6th episode. and it was just.. great! and i decide to continue watching this drama.
i just watched ep 7 even its still raw, gonna rewatch the subbed one because it awesome. haha
okay maybe this show is a bit slow, but i love the conflict and the romance web between JB, sora, jiyeon and jinwoon. ;)

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I totally agree... i enjoyed ep 5&6. I just started watching it again after staying away from it for some time. I also stopped comparing DH2 to the first one.

So if you guys haven't seen the eps after 4, you're missing out.

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