It’s a particularly good episode for Jung-hwan, which is a treat since he was already smart and sexy to start with—upping the intensity on both makes me a happy camper. There’s something about these kinds of upright, passionate, yet antagonistic characters that makes for a richer character conflict, in the way that Prosecutor was such a fantastic foil for City Hunter. You can’t blame the guy for upholding the law, even as you wish he’d bend it a little for our good guys, but the very fact that he refuses to bend is what makes him so great. And then you get them both on the same team and make everything even awesomer. We’re not completely there yet for Won and Jung-hwan, but I love watching the process unfold—it makes for a fun sort of anticipation.

SONG OF THE DAY

Nemesis – “애원” (Plea) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 10 (4,196 words)

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

Chess pieces move around, power shifts, and Team Hero makes significant strides as well as suffering pretty big blows. It’s a great day for our sidekicks as well, who step up in big ways to make their contributions and have me eagerly anticipating more to come in the next episode. I hadn’t expected some of the side characters to play as big a role as they have, but it’s a pleasant surprise since it feels like the world is a fully populated place with all sorts of people, not just pawns to be arranged around our hero.

SONG OF THE DAY

XIA (Junsu) – “바보가슴” (Foolish Heart) from the Mandate of Heaven OST [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 9 (3,609 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

What happens when you pit two rugged all-star casts against each other? It’s a survival race of the ages in Running Man as our cast faces the Law of the Jungle team for some variety fun. They’ll laugh and cry with each other through the funny and the tears, through excitement and the pain. Which cast will reign supreme in this heated battle for pride and glory?

EPISODE 145. Broadcast on May 12, 2013.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 145 (2,606 words)

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Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

Who could resist that face?

…and I just realized that that applies to either one in this case. But Rang’s unexpected bond with Jung-hwan is turning into one of those heart-tugging gems that never fails to make me smile. There’s something to be said about the sincerity of a child’s pure heart, and it turns Jung-hwan into putty in her hands, I swear. He may growl like a bear, but in her eyes he’s strictly of the teddy variety.

SONG OF THE DAY

Yoo Seung-woo – “Hello” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 8 (4,006 words)

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

A strong episode for our good guys, who finally get a leg up in this whole murder-conspiracy-intrigue business after letting the baddies run around them in circles for a while there. Not that I blame them for their ineffectual defenses thus far—their opponents have just been too powerful to manage—but it’s refreshing to see the pendulum swing the other way, and our heroes outsmarting their enemies. It’s doubly satisfying to see the feeble crown prince coming into his own somewhat, standing up for himself and making strides into fighting back.

SONG OF THE DAY

Peterpan Complex – “건축가” (Architect) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 7 (4,256 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

We get not one, not two, but three Spartakooks likenesses to join our cast in a Children’s Day Special. Is it too early to start panicking? Then it’s time to settle the score once and for all between the two ddakji masters. Who will come out on top and flip our expectations? Will there be a new ddakji king to usher in a new era?

EPISODE 144. Broadcast on May 5, 2013.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 144 (3,212 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

As I said, I love the lighter moments in this show, and with Won on the run, we get more breathing room, which is great because it’s refreshing to expand our outer limits. The palace can feel like such a world in and of itself because of all the stakes and intrigue constantly in play, but it’s also stifled and insular, both in mentality and in physical space. There’s much more room for exploration, character mingling, and relationship development outside its walls.

SONG OF THE DAY

As One – “사랑이 어색해” (Love is Awkward) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 6 (3,926 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 46 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

I like that the characters in Mandate of Heaven are smart—they see clues, put them together, and are more or less shrewd about how to interpret motive and intent. Aside from the fact that it’s nice to have smart characters in any drama, this keeps the plot pushing forward rather than spinning its wheels; we’ve all seen the show where the drama clearly needs everything to head toward point Z, but can’t get there yet. Thus the show will keep its characters stupid, since that’s the easiest way to stall. When your characters are on top of the ball, though, the plot has to keep on its toes and continue to update its assumptions, which I enjoy.

With Episode 5, Mandate of Heaven overtook the top spot in the ratings to lead the Wednesday-Thursday pack. It’s a bit of a muted victory, though, considering that all three shows are languishing in single digits: Mandate of Heaven had 9.6% for this episode, against 8.9% (When A Man Loves) and 4.9% (All About My Romance).

SONG OF THE DAY

10cm – “Nothing Without You” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 5 (3,984 words)

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

Time to loosen those vocal chords and get that tambourine ready for a noraebang experience you likely won’t ever forget. The godfather of variety pays our cast a visit to train their sharp wit, fine-tune their physical gags, and bring out a new persona. Some things don’t ever change, and perhaps someone’s bad luck is really a sign that the variety gods have a bright future ahead of them.

EPISODE 143. Broadcast on April 28, 2013.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 143 (3,343 words)

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Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

This is a particularly gorgeous episode. Perhaps that’s because it contained scenes to be used as the drama’s opening sequence, or perhaps the change of scenery offers up a whole range of movement and color that we hadn’t seen previously within the palace confines.

In any case, our characters and are story swing into full action mode with our hero on the run and a very dogged officer determined to hunt him down. I won’t argue that Mandate of Heaven is a seamless drama or even the best of its kind, but it’s very solidly engaging, chock-full of appealing characters, and a feast for the eyes. Best of all is that while there’s enough plotting and scheming to keep the politics strung taut with conflict, I’m really finding this show to be an unexpected dose of fun. And that’s never unwelcome.

SONG OF THE DAY

Geeks – “Officially Missing You” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 4 (3,401 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi