I posted this on my other blog: entertainmentaasia but I decided I might as well as repost it here. It took me two hours just to recap the first episode of this drama. I don’t usually watch many dramas nor do I spend hours recapping them but I liked the first episode quite a bit. Not only because of the acting but the music used is fabulous. I have never been to a musical before but I really want to. Any recommendation?
We have decided to do something dramabeans style by doing a review of each episode of a particular drama. I (free soul) have not been watching many Korean dramas lately and was going through my tumblr when I came across a subbed video of “What’s Up”. The drama is entirely pre-produced due to several issues namely not being able to find a channel to air it as well as Daesung’s car accident. Many of the actors have moved on to other dramas and one, I believe, is in the army now. I have a lot of expectations from this drama due to it having more actors than idols unlike “Dream High” as well as being pre-produced.
Episode 1
Les Choristes – Vois Sur Ton Chemin.mp3.
The drama starts off with individual shots of each character, there are seven of them all wearing black clothing. The shots are pretty solemn and I am guessing it is either their graduation or more probably it is a death of someone special. The music in the background seems to be suggesting that as well. The lyrics are definitely haunting.
It is obvious from the start that they are all connected to each other in some way or another, but we do not find that out until later on. The drama leaps back one year to a roadside somewhere in Korea, where a drunken man accidentally hits another individual along with several others as he is walking. In the background there is a rock like song playing with mega auto tune with a masked man singing. The individual falls to the ground when he is hit holding on to his shoulder. My thought immediately was that the guy who was hit might be suffering from a shoulder injury. Though, that thought is shattered when it becomes clear that the individual is making himself look as if he is being constantly being beaten up by the drunk man. He is not alone though, another guy jumps in between them to “stop” the fight but it is clear that his intentions are otherwise.
So, it seems as if our main character Jae Hun (Lim Ju-Hwan), who looks way too young to be an 82er by the way, is actually a pick-pocket thief along with his two friends. One of whom happens to be a girl and who seems to like Jae Hun though his friend seems to like her. Well, that is typical isn’t it but I have a feeling that these two will not be much of a big deal for now until maybe later on when Jae Hun ends up achieving his goal. There seems to be a lot of running in the episode for Jae Hun, first from some street thugs followed by police officers that he tries to fool in order to save his friend. His chingu, though, I have a feeling does not appreciate the friendship as much as Jae Hun does.
While Jae Hun is on the run, the viewers are introduced to another major character, we are not shown his face though fans of the individual playing the character should not have a hard time guessing who that is. Apparently, the character is apprehensive about showing his face despite being the new pop/rock sensation known as Hades. The character seems to be really popular and talented judging from his opening scene. His manager seems to be convincing him to perform but Hades is a little apprehensive citing his mother as the reason. The manager finally gets him to agree by saying that as long as he has the mask on, no one, not even his mother will be able to recognize him.
Back to Tae Hun, who is still on the run from the police because he tried to act smart in front of the cop and having it backfired on him. While trying to escape, he hops on to a motorcycle and ends up driving it too fast thus hitting a man. The man is shown earlier talking to someone and looking at pictures of a girl with a note attached to it. He is in a hurry to get somewhere which is why he does not see Tae Hun’s motorcycle. The damage is not severe though when Tae Hun (who has crashed into some boxes) looks back to check on the man, he witnesses the man getting up only to be hit by a truck. I seriously got a deja vu while watching this scene since it reminded me of Dae Sung’s car accident controversy.
The note attached to the pictures lands near Tae Hun who picks it up in a daze and is about to walk towards the man but realizes that he will be incarnated for causing death, chooses to run away instead. While running, he sees two men putting a furniture in a truck and helps them thus gaining their confidence to drive him to their destination. He walks into a hallway, which is very elegant and seems to be right out of a royal drama. Tae Hun is still in a daze since he cannot stop thinking about the man he might have killed but loses all senses when he hears a woman singing.
Phantom of the Opera – Dream of Sanity
The song is beautiful, even I am sent into a trance. Tae Hun loses all control over his body and falls on the ground in trance. Next he is seen talking to shop assistant who is busy watching Hades sudden announcement (more on that later). He keeps on asking her about the man that had an accident outside but she keeps on replying that she does not know, clearly not interested in having a conversation. When he asks her if the man survived, she simply replies “yes”. Tae Hun seems relieved and walks out of the shop only few seconds before another worker comes to announce that the man had, in fact, died. I am pretty sure that fact is going to come to haunt Tae Hun pretty soon.
While on the mysterious Hades end, we are shown a flashback after his first performance of his childhood. A young Hades is sitting in a playground where his mother is telling him that she and him have to hide from the world and they will not be seeing each other for a while. The innocent little kid does not know why and asks her when she will be back. The mother has no answer and leaves as the kid looks on. We travel back to present…wait no the past…the mid-past? mid-present? Anyways, we are back at the showcase of Hades where his manager tells him not to take off his mask since he has to perform again soon. Though, one can clearly tell that the boy is feeling really sweaty and exhausted, he walks about to the mirror and slowly starts to take off his mask. Not realizing that there is someone else in the room. My first thought was that it was Tae Hun since he was on the run at that time, but it turns out to be a journalist who takes a snapshot of Hades real face. It is Big Bang’s Daesung playing the character of Do Sung.
All hell breaks lose trying to catch the reporter, who though immediately takes out the SD card and throws in the public. Somebody catches it and walks away with it. We are not shown who but I have a feeling it is somebody from one of the seven main characters. Do Sung is extremely upset and calls somebody. From the sound of the conversation, it seems he has called his mother who informs him that he needs to quit and she will clean up the mess. As well as threaten the poor boy that she will break all ties with him if he continues to perform. Wow mother or whoever you are, great way of breaking your son.
He performs one last song before bidding his goodbye to his beloved fans who are definitely not happy with the news.
In the morning, we get a glimpse of Tae Hun’s household. He is seen sitting with his mother after he arrives over breakfast. When he tries to say something, she immediately shushes him with a “I don’t have money”, which Tae Hun feels offended towards. Though, unlike Do Sung’s relationship with his mother, Tae Hun seems to have a friendly relationship with his mother. He starts to describe her the sensation he felt while watching the woman sing the night before and claims to have experienced a “Phopa Phopa”, which his mother obviously makes fun of. Though, it seems that he only wants to go to university so his mother can get married again. I wonder what is the deal there. She, however, does not seem to have any such thoughts though she does want him to go to university and gives him all her savings.
Looking at his past experience, I would have assumed that he was just conning his mother but he seems to be a really serious. His friends visit him while he is at work and he tells his female buddy that she needs to fill out his application. He does not even bother to sit down and select a university but just randomly points to one. When she looks at the university name, she asks him if he can sing or dance, neither of which he can. He just simply tells her to put him under an acting major since he is really good at that. His guy friend, however, thinks that Tae Hun seems to be wanting to go to university to show that he is better than them while his female friend seems to agree and ends up putting musical as his major. Wow, this is going to be interesting.
We are then shown a subway platform, where we are introduced to the third main character, Tae Yi (played by Kim Ji-Won), who runs into the subway but seems to be looking lost. She sits down after looking at the map and starts to have a conversation with her father, who happens to be the same guy that Tae Hun hit. Turns out, she is having an imaginary conversation though this is going to be causing a lot of problem with her potential love line with Tae Hun (who happens to be ten years older than her…wow…and um…okay). The father keeps asking her if she knows where she is going and how to get there, she assures him but does not look too confident. So, she decides to ask the man standing in front of the doors if she is headed in the right direction. Guess who the man turns out to be…yes, it’s Tae Hun. I am guessing he is the main main main character since he seems to be everywhere.
We later find out that they are both headed to the auditions, one thinking it is for acting while the other knows it is for a musical. We skip to the university, where a man is seen quickly setting up the audition room, while the auditioners are in a different room practising or stressing out. In that scene, we are introduced to three characters simultaneously, one of them being one of the seven main characters. Alright, I am not entirely sure what all their real or character names are but we will find out in the coming episodes or at least I will.
The fourth main character we are introduced to seems to be a nervous wreck who is very scared about the auditions. While trying to calm his nerves down, a voice tells him that he just needs to take it easy and realize that judges are ultimately performers as well. Mr. Nervous is sent into trance when he looks up to see who spoke to him, it’s Eun Chae-Young (played by Jang Hee Jin). She seems to be really sweet. When she walks into the audition room, the judge played by Kim Mi-Young, I believe, calls her by her name instead of a number (all the individuals who are taking the audition are suppose to identify themselves by their numbers and not names). It is revealed that Eun Chae-Young is a popular actress who would like to act in a musical but not without proper knowledge. This seems to shut the judge professor up since she was being extremely critical of Chae-Young’s presence at the audition.
While outside the building, we see a frantic Tae Hun running around to find the right building, when he crosses path with a man. It is not revealed who the man is and Tae Hun considers him to be simply a worker though I have a feeling that he is much more than that. The man is not amused at the way Tae Hun talks to him, and seems to be astonished when he is ask where the acting department is. He asks Tae Hun if he is the one who filled out his application and is told otherwise. When Tae Hun is asked to look properly at his application, he realizes that change. Not good at all!
While, that is going on, Tae Yi is seen running around as well trying to find the right building. The man who was talking to Tae Hun earlier finds her and asks her if she still has not found the building. He is confronted with a crying Tae Yi, who claims to have visited the campus before but that was during heavy winter. In short, she is lost. Wait a minute…there is another character, whose name I do not know. So I guess there are eight main characters. I am so lost.
Anyways, another character (I think she is not one of the main characters), is introduced as applicant number 101. She seems to be quite nervous as well but manages to give a good performance. The sequence of the audition is: singing, acting, special talent. After her audition, we are introduced to her sixth main character, Oh Doo Ri (played by Lim Ju Eun). She seems to be the antagonist of the lot but I think i am going to like her character. Her mother treats her as a princess and has instilled (or at least tried to) proper etiquettes. Though, Doo Ri is shown putting on a show in front of her mom while hating the whole thing. While auditioning she realizes that the judges look bored and immediately switch to her real personality (which she obviously pretends is acting) shocking everyone around.
It is finally the time for Mr. Nervous to perform and he messes up though one can clearly see that he has loads of talent. He has a whole novel memorized…I wonder how many times one has to read a particular book to have it memorized. Anyways, he has definitely managed to impress the judges. Back to the auditioners room, we find Da Sung siting on the ground, looks like he is here to audition as well. Interesting. Tae Yi appears out of no where and sits besides Da Sung, who I am sure lacks in confidence. He seems a little scared of her. Tae Yi, being all bubbly and everything, starts to talk to him, asking him which song he would be auditioning with and decides on her own that they should practice together. Their little rock paper scissor game to decide who goes first is really cute. While that is happening, we see Tae hun sitting beside them and slowly moving towards the duo. He suddenly interrupts them to ask, “What is a musical theatre?”. The look on the duo’s face is the look I would have if I were auditioning for a musical and another individual there to audition asks me that question.
It’s finally time for the Da Sung and Tae Yi to audition, the latter going first. Before she goes in, she gives a high five to Da Sung, who, by the look of his face, seems to have just given his first high five and hwaiting gesture. She amazes the judges with her crazy acting. She is in for sure! When she comes back, Da Sung wants to high five her again but she is too busy spazzing about finally finishing her audition. I love these two together already! Though, I have a feeling that there is going to be a love triangle with Tae Hun.
Speaking of Tae Hun, it is finally his time to audition. I am already scared for him but he is a con artist, remember? He manages to impress the judges with his performance without even auditioning. When the assistant cannot find Tae Hun song CD, Tae Hun pretends to know him really well, even raising suspicion about both of their sexual preferences. I have a feeling that the assistant is going to be conned a lot in the show. Anyways, Tae Hun clears the air by saying that he does have the audition material to perform and this was just his improvisation.
The last person to perform is, Da Sung, who starts off nervously but picks up rather quickly, giving a performance that only a true singer would. Anyone who thinks that Daesung cannot sing needs to hear his rendition. I wish I knew how to rip the song from the video but unfortunately I do not.
Jekyll and Hyde – This is the moment
While he is performing, Chae-Young is dealing with people recognizing her but stops when she hears Da Sung singing. He is truly amazing with the way he picks up the song. He is totally into it and really passionate about the song. Though, when the song ends, the videographer starts to clap happily shouting, which scares him, in case she recognized him so he quickly hides his face with his hair. That’s where it ends, unfortunately.
Verdict:
I truly loved the first episode. The acting seems spot on as well as the editing and direction. A lot of folks will and are comparing it to “Dream High” but I do not think these two dramas are alike. True, the theme is similar but this drama seems to have more depth in it, which I found lacking in “Dream High” along with the acting of course. Though, I loved “Dream High” a lot as well. I am hoping that the rest of the episodes are as good as this one. We still have one more character to be introduced. Can’t wait to meet him!
