There’s a light at the end of every drama tunnel, but sometimes it’s how we get there that matters more than how bright that light turns out to be. I wish I wasn’t so conflicted over this finale or the last few episodes, because I truly did love this show in the early stages, and wish that love could have carried all the way through. By no means does that make the show terrible or the journey not worth taking, but there’s that feeling of What Could Have Been, even though that feeling got tempered by all the pretty people and all the pretty cinematography.

If nothing else, this was an insanely beautiful show, well-scored and well-acted. If we add the ‘something else,’ then this was an insanely beautiful if not sometimes-frustrating exercise in understanding people who looked like people, but had some moments where they didn’t really act like people. But it’s time to let bygones be bygones and say farewell to Winter. I’ll try to remember the good times, and I’ll be sure to remember that through you, I discovered Jo In-sung.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 16 (Final) (4,559 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 272 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

It’s always the ones you love that hurt you the most, and after a few episodes of emotional decline, this was the episode that turned the experience sour. While not singlehandedly negating what I’ve enjoyed about this show, this episode did manage to cram everything everything I didn’t like about this show into one package. Is it good? Is it bad? I don’t know if even *I* know, because I’m still confused about my feelings and half of the characters’ feelings. But from a plain ol’ user experience: It wasn’t fun for me.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 15 (3,456 words)

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Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

There are two ways to interpret this episode: (1) It’s slow, or (2) It’s slow, but it meant something. I’m barely leaning toward door number two, though that doesn’t make this an especially thrilling hour of television either way. Let’s be honest, we know we’re all here for Soo, and not because we’ve formed especially deep relationships with the fly-by-night side characters. (And yes, that’s even taking into account the fact that Kim Bum is a national treasure.)

Regardless, the con is no more and Everyone’s Sad, though we do get some interesting character revelations for Young and Secretary Wang as we head into the final stretch. How it’ll all end, I really have NO idea. I just hope there’ll be some surprises on each character’s journey to shuffle off this mortal coil. Heck, I’ll just take some surprises period.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 14 (3,638 words)

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Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

There’s a bit of meandering and soul-searching our characters need to do before everyone finally cuts to the chase, though you might be left wanting when it comes to the Big Confrontation. Really, we should know by now that holing two characters up in the middle of nowhere usually leads to something we either seriously like or seriously don’t like, but sometimes shows can still surprise us. And not that happy kind of surprise where you’re all, “Oh, Winter, you shouldn’t have!” More like, “Oh, Winter. You really shouldn’t have.”

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 13 (3,841 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 261 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

Secrets come out by the truckload, since everyone but Young gets to eat their Wheaties this episode. Our hero tries to use the precious time he has left to help our wayward heroine, but the prognosis just gets bleaker and bleaker with each episode. Or, rather, it just stays the same: Abandon all hope. Nice ‘n cheery, just like you’d expect.

Ratings took a slight dip this episode, dropping from 14.9% to 13.3%, though That Winter still maintained the lead among competitors IRIS 2 and Level 7 Civil Servant.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 12 (3,633 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 131 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

When money won’t do, our hero is asked to trade days of his life for love, whether it’s his second true love or his ever-loyal BFF. The tables have turned regarding Young’s desire to live, which of course ends up being counterintuitive to Soo’s desire to live (even though he SO was there first). But if you’re ever caught wondering exactly how long Soo has left to live, worry no more! Chances are, you’ll be reminded in the next scene. And the next. Tick tock.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 11 (3,551 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 138 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

There’s no shortage of emotionally powerful scenes this episode, as characters we think we know prove to be entirely different than who we thought they were. (Or do they?) For every great revelation there’s an equally baffling counterpart, but all you really need to know is that there’s a game afoot, and there’s one goal everyone agrees on: Getting Young to care about living.

Ratings look to be locking in already, with That Winter poised to keep its first place spot (at 14.2% this episode) until the end of its run.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 10 (3,850 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 124 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

This show makes lying look AWFUL, not to mention fruitless and just plain difficult, as our hero jumps through an endless procession of hoops made to test his story, when all he really wants to do is save our heroine from herself. Everything every other drama has taught you about lying in perpetuity pales in comparison to what the last nine episodes have taught us and what future episodes are bound to teach Soo. Ugh, Life Lessons. Can’t you leave these two alone, just this once?

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 9 (3,928 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 150 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

They really weren’t kidding about the dichotomy between our two leads when it comes to their ideas on life and death during the pre-production press cycle, and it’s an issue that’s becoming all the more apparent as we officially hit the halfway mark (I know!). Even with darkness looming ahead, there are more cute moments in this episode than you can shake a bell at, giving off the vibe that we’re actually watching two people bond as opposed to two actors just giving it their best shot. Thumbs up, Winter. Thumbs up.

As far as ratings go, That Winter isn’t necessarily killing it at 13.3%, but when you consider that its competition is pulling in single digits, it’s a pretty valid victory.

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Read the rest of That Winter, The Wind Blows: Episode 8 (3,530 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 109 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows

SBS’s melodrama That Winter, the Wind Blows is turning out to be the It Drama of the moment, so it’s getting the buzz and the glossy photo shoots, like this one in the latest issue of High Cut magazine.

The photos are the behind-the-scenes shots taken from the characters’ mountaintop “snow date,” broadcast in the recent episode. It’s a nice change of pace from all the tears and charged emotion, I’ve gotta say; you can’t say the show isn’t compelling for its intensity, but it is refreshing to get a breather from it every once in a while, remembering that all that Sturm und Drang is fictional. Phew. Breathes.

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Read the rest of Behind the scenes of That Winter for High Cut (173 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 88 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Jo In-sung, Kim Bum, photo shoots, Song Hye-gyo, That Winter the Wind Blows