All right, so Kim Ji-hoon isn’t exactly a strong actor, but he IS very, very pleasant to look at. (I mean, really really great eye-candy. The first thing I said when I saw the news and the accompanying photos was, “Oooh.”) He’s also taking on his sageuk debut as he joins the cast of Iron Empress.

The KBS weekend drama features a host of skilled actors, headed by Chae Shi-ra in the title role of the empress. This ought to be a change of pace for Kim as he takes on the role of Hyun-jong, the eighth king of Goryeo (although the drama portrays him prior to his ascension to the throne).

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I knew Love & Marriage would end on a happy note, and that nothing totally unexpected would come in the last hour. But I was still pleasantly surprised with how well the drama wrapped up its romance — even managing to pull out a bit of cleverness to keep the inevitable from being totally predictable.

I’ll be the first to admit that Love & Marriage isn’t a perfect drama, or even a particularly noteworthy one. But what it did, it did well: happy romance that endeared its characters to those of us who don’t necessarily like our dramas traumatic. Also, I always want to give extra points to dramas whose finales manage to satisfy AND add a little something extra to the series, rather than ending on a disappointing note — or even just an adequate (but unexciting) one.

SONG OF THE DAY

Love & Marriage OST – “Come to Me” by J [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 16 (Final) >>

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Love & Marriage reminds me of the exchange in Clueless — Cher: “He said you gave him a toothache.” Tai: “How’d I do that?” Cher: “It’s an expression. It means he thought you were sweet.”

If this drama were a type of candy, all my teeth would have fallen out by now.

SONG OF THE DAY

Love & Marriage OST – “이젠 나를 붙잡아” (Hold onto me now) by Jung Jae-wook [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 15 >>

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This episode probably shouldn’t be taken with too much seriousness, because it felt like everyone regressed for a moment into adolescence and acted like a bunch of kids. It almost seemed like the actors were having a bit of fun — and while it wasn’t, uh, realistic, it was cute how they joked and played around more than usual. (Also, there are a lot of funny faces today.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Holladang – “Beat One” [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 14 >>

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LOL, and I mean that literally: this was a laugh-out-loud episode, with a number of unexpectedly quirky-funny moments.

A lot happened to move our stories along and close a few loops. I know that Conflict is at the heart of Drama, but I always cringe when my characters go through hell even though I know it’s necessary for story development. But there’s nothing wrong with the Love & Marriage school of thought, which is that conflict may include pain, but does not need to revel in it. You can have character development without Tragedy and OMG TEH HURTINGS.

SONG OF THE DAY

Brown Eyes – “가지마 가지마” (Don’t go, don’t go). You don’t even know how much this song made me burst into a giggle fit when it was used this episode. [ Download ]

LOVE & MARRIAGE Episode 13 >>

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