Saturday, August 15, 2015

Review: I Remember You (2015)

📆 Saturday, August 15, 2015 • ⌚ 11:55 AM • 😇 rossetteayu

Criminally underrated.

If there's something I have to say about I Remember You as it ended, it's how criminally underrated the show is. Makes me wonder how rating systems in Korea work when a show this good doesn't even get the ratings it deserve.

Image via Saram Entertainment.

Genius young boy Lee Hyun (Seo In Guk) lost his family a few years back to criminal Lee Joon Young whom his father was instigating then for confession of the crimes Joon Young has committed. Carrying in him the ghost of his tragic past, Hyun then went to the States and made name for himself as a noted criminal professor with books published all over the world. However, sometime in 2015, he receives a mysterious email from an anonymous person. This pushed him to finally go back to Korea to confront his past, look for Joon Young, and put an end to the ugly, decade long thread that tied them to each other.

Image via OhmyNews.

Shady plot? I thought so too. I Remember You originally started as something not anywhere near my cup of tea, to be honest. I thought it was too heavy and psychological for my liking, but alas, curiosity won me over... because of Jang Nara. I peeked once, marathoned three weeks' worth of the show in just one day, and decided to follow through until the end.

And yes, that I did not regret.

I Remember You was a pleasant 'comeback' drama for me who had been in a watching-hiatus for almost a year now (my last I think was Joseon Gunman which I haven't finished yet until this day); and I'm so glad I picked it up over its competitors.

❀ RAVES ❀ »•»

1) Seo In Guk. Watching I Remember You has opened a door to someone really dear to me now — Seo In Guk. He was a keeper I learned about through this show, and if it wasn't for I Remember You, I probably wouldn't have known of this wonderful gem. Seo In Guk did great as Lee Hyun: his performance of a genius profiler devoid of much emotion was so spot-on I find it hard to imagine Lee Jin-Wook (whom the crew originally recruited) doing the lead. Don't get me wrong, I love Lee Jin-Wook. He was awesome as Sun Woo in Nine, but I don't think he'd be as awesome if he was the one who did Lee Hyun. I just couldn't imagine, probably because Seo In Guk nailed that portrayal compellingly well: be it the noted stoic expression of Hyun, the restraint from smiling and showing so much emotion down to the calculating genius profiler that he is, Seo In Guk was definitely perfect as Hyun.

2) Other notable performances. Park Bo Gum was another pleasant surprise I've come across because of this drama. Much as I loved the bromance between him and Seo In Guk, I loved more how complex his role was and how he was able to bring justice to it. He can be cute and innocent one minute, then be totally cold and scary the next. So much potential, this man has. And Choi Won Young! Ooohhh Choi Won Young!

3) Romance. Contrary to what the show initially marketed itself to be, the romance does not take center stage anywhere in this drama. Romance isn't its focus, and rather than a framework basis for the show, the romance serves only as a plot device to get the story moving. Yet it works, and the romance-not-romance there is between our leads was something I absolutely love. Seo In Guk and Jang Nara's chemistry is hilarious but at the same time endearing, limited but at the same time swoon worthy... and I was totally sold.

4) Brain. Aside from Seo In Guk and the roster of notable characters, what I love most about I Remember You was the way it kept me on the edge of my seat thinking... and thinking... and thinking. It is not your usual drama where everything gets thrown at you for you to eat. Rather, it engages its viewers to be part of the show by weaving clues and forming their own conclusions. I actually had fun myself identifying who Joon Young really was and analyzing how Min was connected through all of this. The symbolism is also pretty much heavy on this drama, which I love.

❀ RANTS ❀ »•»

1) Open-Ended Ending. How I Remember You decided to wrap itself up wasn't as emotionally satisfying as the previous rides were, in that ~~Joon Young didn't really get caught~~ and Min didn't get fully redeemed.

❀ RULING ❀ »•»

Yet all in all, I Remember You was definitely worth the 16 hours I've spent watching. Sure there may have been some lapses here and there, but other than that, everything else was good. I love how tightly woven the plot was and how it continued to surprise its viewers up until the end. Truth be told, I was ready to give up on it come episode 15 as we were already near the end but a lot of questions still remain unanswered. I was afraid I Remember You would turn into another God's Gift experience which I loved first but got disappointed at in the end, and I'm so glad it didn't. Partially, at least.

RATING: 15 points plus alpha. Nuff said. 😉

PS. I found it amusing how Seo In Guk plays a super neat and clean man in the drama and how shocked he was to find Cha Ji An's house so un-lady like with all the mess when he's a lot messier than her in real life. Haha! Ji An's house was nothing compared to his house in I Live Alone! 😂

Lee Hyun complete with apron.

Seo In Guk a complete mess!

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Random Thoughts on Seo In Guk & I Remember You

📆 Sunday, August 9, 2015 • ⌚ 10:23 PM • 😇 rossetteayu

Wow. Just. Wow.

Image via OhmyNews.

I never expected to fall for I Remember You this much. Although I love(d) Jang Nara, the plot initially felt quite heavy for my inkling. That, plus Seo In Guk was someone new to me. I didn't know what to expect, or if I really should be expecting anything. But alas, my curiosity won me over. And boy was I glad with the results. 😍

That being said, here's some random thoughts on the show and Seo In Guk. Just because I couldn't get enough of these two.

On Seo In Guk. One of the most valuable and unexpected gem I got to know from the drama: the handsome, manly and very talented Seo In Guk. Though High School King of Savvy (which he also stars in) piqued my interest in so many levels when it got released, I never really got the chance to actually have it tried since I was, well, busy. That being said, I Remember You was the official drama that introduced me to Seo In Guk; because if not for this show, I still would have put Savvy on hold until now. Watching these shows made me realize what I have missed all these years because yes, In Guk is really one hell of an actor. I am absolutely amazed by how great his acting skills are especially when he wasn't originally an actor but a singer who debuted from a reality search. Discovering In Guk is like opening my eyes to a set of other good dramas I've neglected for so long (hello, Reply 1997, I've heard so much about you) and I do plan to marathon EVERYTHING that involves him going forward especially if it cures withdrawal symptoms I'd experience once I Remember You ends. (Sorry, Junki-ssi. I think I finally found THE ONE — someone to love forever, and a lot dearer than you at that. I'm also pretty sure I'll be able to finish all of his dramas faster and sooner than yours. PS. I haven't even started Hero yet. But don't worry, I still love you.)

On the plot. Heavy and dark psychological dramas aren't really my cup of tea, so if I spend my precious time watching these instead of romcoms or crimes or immersing myself in a book, it sure has got to be pretty, pretty good. Otherwise I wouldn't give a damn. Haha. Say for instance: the last mystery/thriller/ drama I've watched was God's Gift over a year ago. That show was a blast. Well yes, except for the ending. And some other loopholes. I Remember You is going to be a pretty different story compared to that though. and I'm very very sure of it. It's intriguing, interesting and simply cleverly written I have confidence that it will. I haven't seen any plot holes from it yet, and I hope to not see any going forward (given the fact that we only have two more episodes to go with still a whole lot of mysteries to solve). Everything that this show throws on us seem to have been carefully planned from the get-go. Everyone is interconnected in one way or another, and no one can get away without being suspicious. The people you least expect something from turns out to be the actual people you should expect something from (hi, Eun Bok), and I love the shocks I get every single time. Writer-nim has been pretty witty in laying out a story like this right before our very eyes, and I believe she wouldn't thwart our confidence in her by writing an ending unacceptable both to us viewers and the plot as a whole.

On the romance. Oooohhh. This is one aspect that's pretty hard to handle in this kind of drama. I sometimes worry that the romance would soon fly out of the window given how serious and heavy the tone of the show is, but I'm glad to be proven wrong everytime a new episode comes up. The slow but sincere romance hidden beneath I Remember You didn't fail to get me, and I am very much addicted to both In Guk and Nara right now. Really. I even fear for my sanity sometimes. Haha! I feel like an idiot for laughing and squeeing like a hopeless fangirl when there isn't even much of a fan service between them. Hats off to writer-nim for making a romance like this work despite the very limited "romantic" interactions. I take it that she knows how to write her script a little too well, because yeah... how else will she be able to pull off a romance as cute as this if not for some witty and clever writing? Never in my life have I swooned over a simple peck in the forehead, nor an awkward good morning smile especially in terms of a drama. But with I Remember You... I've been moved beyond comprehension. And that's incredible writing I should say. Let's admit that no matter how great In Guk and Nara is in making the chemistry between them work, great actors can't do justice to great romance alone. There has to be a story to win the audience over — a backbone of some sort — which then lies within a writer's script. Struck me gold. 💘

I believe I still have a lot more to say, but it's way past bed time and it's Monday tomorrow. I have to sleep! That being said, let me collect my thoughts come Tuesday and I'll be back with a review after the show ends.

In the meantime... let me end this post with this.