Lee Joon Ki is one of my new loves.  His character in My Girl had me absolutely torn from the moment he appeared on screen. For one, there's just something about a pretty boy (& he was pretty) who's capable of fending off a mob of loan sharks & rescuing the leading lady. And he was so transparently sincere in his pursuit of Ju Yoo Rin.  I wanted him to get her so badly, even though I really liked the canon pairing & didn't want Seol Gong Chan to lose out either. (I also couldn't help feeling that Seol Gong Chan would have never recovered if he'd lost a second love and that maybe it was good for Seo Jung Woo's player ego to not win the first girl he set his heart on.  But she was his first real love, imo, so I felt so bad for him at the same time.) And the plentiful angsty scenes of him playing racquetball to get his mind off her & looking so torn afterwards?  *contented sigh!*  His angsty stares give Lee Min Ki (I Really, Really Like You) a run for his money.

Of course, I immediately had to find out what other dramas Lee Joon Ki's been in so I can see him win the girl & discovered he's the lead in Time Between Dog & Wolf that dangermousie was raving about recently.  I'll confess that at the time I was mildly interested but not enough to pursue downloading it.  But now?!  He's also the lead in a drama this spring called Iljimae where he plays a Robin Hood type character (robbing the rich to feed the poor) who places himself in jeopardy by falling in love with a doctor's daughter who is pursued by an Imperial Guard. This drama looks even more interesting when you consider that Joo Ji Hoon (Goong, The Devil) lost the lead role to Lee Joon Ki.

Anyway, believe it or not, there was significantly more to My Girl than just hot secondaries. For one, there was Ju Yoo Rin - the spunky lead with a knack for deceit & love off acquiring funds.  And absolutely no compunctions about creating a scene in public.  In some ways one has to wonder why the two guys loved being around her so much considering they never knew when she was going to pull one of her pranks calling into question their morals and/or masculinity. (& I have to really give them credit that they never attempted doing the same to her.  But it was probably for the best & she'd have just twisted their attempts at revenge into making them look even more foolish.) 

But that being said, she was a well developed character with a history that really helped explain who she was & why.  And I could really see why she fell for Seol Gong Chan almost instantly. He provided the things she'd been craving her entire life - stability, sincerity & consideration.  He had the financial means to never worry, he'd never disappear in the middle of the night - he was everything her father wasn't.

Seol Gong Chan felt like a lot of male leads - aloof & strict-business - in need of the lightening up which Ju Yoo Rin provided.  And he could give as good as he received (the scene where she tried to buy a bra at the market comes to mind). Kim Seo Hyun was exactly the kind of female secondary that is so stereotypical of kdramas - the type you love to hate.  A very one-dimensional character, too. However, I adored Gong Chan's aunt & Jang II-do.  Their little romance was too cute (as was that kid & Gong Chan's assistant).  And what's bizarre is I actually saw that specific scene from their french musical when I was flipping through channels a few weeks ago. I didn't watch it but I'd flip to it out of curiosity every little bit so I saw that ending that they were crying over.

I did notice a bit of a theme running strongly & unwaveringly throughout the entire drama.  Doing the wrong thing, no matter the intention, always created a consequence. Kim Seo Hyun's schemings inevitably backfired & drew Gong Chan & Yoo Rin closer together.  Jung Woo's pursuit of Yoo Rin, while always sad, was even more so when he was trying to take advantage of the situation.  President Seol lived in regret of having chased his daughter away and losing his granddaughter. Gong Chan & Yoo Rin had massive consequences to face due to their huge deception.

And that brings me to the one thing that really aggravated me to no end.  The grandfather had practically driven himself to the grave over remorse for his actions that had pushed his daughter away.  But the instant he gets the chance to do it over (with Gong Chan) he sets straight down the same path again.  And it takes over 2 years, & an entire procession of pleas, for him to get over himself. It really dragged out the ending to me & felt very unnecesary.


So, once again I am very glad to have taken dangermousie's recommendation to watch My Girl. But, at the end, it doesn't bump Coffee Prince from my fave kdrama afterall.  Or I Really, Really Like You from the #2 spot. In fact, I think Dal Ja's Spring might even still be in #3.  And I blame the last 2.5 episodes entirely for this.  That and the shallow fact that, when it's all said & done, I prefer oodles of kisses & tense romantic moments over a well developed storyline. (My Girl's kisses are a sore point with me - so good but we only ever got to see half a second before the screen would freeze, sparks explode across the screen & everything fade away.  I saw ten times the kissing - like an extended scene, if you will - by watching the My Girl Special!)

To close - a few caps of Jung Woo - because I couldn't help myself.

The cutest present ever!


His lips compete with Yamapi's!