(It’s Lee Hong-ki’s uncertain “Uhhhh…..” face that makes this shot for me.)

As for the episode, I kinda hate myself for doing this, but:

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Lyn – “Love U, I Love U” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of You’re Beautiful: Episode 10 (41 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 344 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hong-ki, Park Shin-hye, You're Beautiful

A very cute episode that dials back some of the angst and adds in more of the funny.

By the way, it seems many people are still confused about who knows what, so here’s where we stand as of the end of Episode 8:

• Tae-kyung knows that Mi-nyeo is a girl but thinks he’s the only A.N.JELL guy who knows the truth. He thinks Mi-nyeo likes Shin-woo.
• Shin-woo has known Mi-nam is a girl since Episode 2, but hasn’t said anything to anyone. He’s tried to come clean to her but lost the chance. He can tell Mi-nyeo has feelings for Tae-kyung although she has not explicitly said so.
• Jeremy likes Mi-nam, believing him to be a guy. He has no idea of the stuff going on with the other two bandmates.
• Hoon-yi knows that Tae-kyung knows the truth. He believes Mi-nyeo likes Shin-woo.
• Heyi knows Mi-nam is a girl, and Tae-kyung knows that Heyi has found out. Mi-nyeo herself doesn’t know that Heyi’s on to the secret.
• Mi-nyeo is oblivious to everyone’s feelings for her (including Heyi’s jealousy), and frets over her feelings for Tae-kyung.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Park Hyo-shin – “Gift” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of You’re Beautiful: Episode 9 (199 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 231 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hong-ki, Park Shin-hye, You're Beautiful

How the mighty have fallen…

As soyjoy mentioned in her last recap, watching an episode twice makes the shortcomings glaringly obvious. This definitely isn’t a masterpiece that needs to be seen more than once. It’s not surprising for a 50-episode series to be drawn out, but I think some plot development/movement is in order. Fortunately, Lee Chun Hee’s entrance has infused a bit of energy and his love interest has been revealed, giving me some hope for the future. I still enjoy the goofy and sweet moments, so all is not lost.

[Just a little housekeeping note: Unfortunately, our 3rd partner in crime had to bow out, leaving 2 of us for the recaps. With the good ratings, I fully expect to see 50 episodes of Smile, leading to our decision to recap 2 episodes together going forward.]

SONG OF THE DAY

Smile OST – “안녕 내 사랑” (Goodbye, My Love) by Melo’ Breeze [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Smile: Episodes 7-8 (3,332 words)

© dw4p for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 33 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Jung-yoon, episode recaps, guest bloggers, Jung Kyung-ho, Lee Chun-hee, Lee Min-jung, Smile

So good! Certainly still high on the angst factor, but still gets a lot of chuckles. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this level of excitement and anticipation about a drama. There have been a few gems that I adore, which are excellent examples of quality dramas, but I think You’re Beautiful taps into something on a more gut level. The drama is less intellectual, for sure, but for what it is, it’s not only written well but also hits the right emotional buttons. Given the fan response, I have to think many would agree on that. The last drama to do that for me was… Coffee Prince, I think, and that was over two years ago. (Man I feel old.)

Also: Jang Geun-seok, you break my heart. In a good way.

SONG OF THE DAY

Loveholics – “아픔” (Pain). This is from the rock (now-)duo’s first album since losing Jisun, but I think that this song — courtesy of the vocals by Jang Eun-ah — actually recalls classic Loveholic the most.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of You’re Beautiful: Episode 8 (178 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 321 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hong-ki, Park Shin-hye, You're Beautiful

Great episode! I was a little uneasy about whether the drama would start to flag once the initial excitement had worn off, but I think it’s still going strong. There are some nice moments in this episode, although (thankfully) they manage to be sweet without being saccharine.

(Sorry for the election ticker running across the bottom. I don’t think there are any versions without it.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Taru – “쥐色 귀, 녹色 눈” (Gray ears, green eyes) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of You’re Beautiful: Episode 7 (83 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 329 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Jang Geun-seok, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hong-ki, Park Shin-hye, You're Beautiful

I’m still not sure how I feel about this drama, and whether I want to recap it through the end. I enjoy watching it, and I will keep watching it, but… I was kind of bored this episode. After a nice beginning, this episode felt like a re-cobbling together of shows I’ve seen before. (I’ve seen Alias, I’ve seen 24.) For all the excitement of the plot — spies, plots, assassins, secret missions — it felt kind of ordinary, in a way. On the upside, it looked great and the plot unfolded smoothly. Which is why I think it’s interesting that I felt let down.

SONG OF THE DAY

IRIS OST – “잊지 말아요” (Don’t Forget) by Baek Ji-young [ Download ]

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Read the rest of IRIS: Episode 2 (4,214 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, IRIS, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Seung-woo, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Byung-heon, TOP

Recaps are back! Sorry for the wait, but you know how these things go. The show recently wrapped and claimed the slot as highest-rated drama of the year, but as far as recaps go I think we’re just starting to head into deeper plot territory with these episodes, now that we’ve got one brother (Sun-pung) happily married off and out of the way.

Sun-pung’s had the least dramatic courtship so I think it was smart to start off the series with his and Eun-ji’s romance — I know I was tuning in to the earlier episodes mostly to follow their development. I’m a little sad that the Sun-pung–Eun-ji relationship will probably recede now, since they are my favorite pair, but I suppose they need to make room for the others now.

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 26-28 (3,125 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Han Sang-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House