There are dramas with my favorite actors in
it that I avoid because their roles might not please me. When A Man Falls In
Love (WAMFIL) is one of those dramas. My trepidation comes from early news which
indicated that my man might get a role as a cheating husband.
A cheating hero is definitely a big no for
me. It doesn’t matter how much I love 송승헌
(Song Seung Hun) I won’t be able to take it.
Therefore it takes me awhile to gather my courage and watch WAMFIL.
And what an experience that is.
I’m not going to say I love this drama
because even now as I’m writing this review the bitter after taste remains. But
I can’t say I hate it either because, Oh My God, my man is so lovable. There
has never been a more deserving hero to be loved than Han Tae Sang.
Unlike our usual hero who is basically an
ass, Han Tae Sang who is a gangster (former gangster) has a heart of gold. A
softie behind his tough façade. A gentleman who doesn’t even know that he is
one. A hero through and through.
He is intelligent without showing off his
brain. He is kind and generous without being obvious. He is easy going without
being easy. A
second rate mobster who thinks he could mess with this divine looking filthy
rich former gangster turns into businessman soon learns that underneath all of his
new looks, Han Tae Sang is still a very dangerous man.
A dangerous man who has no knowledge about
women and looks so adorable when he tries to date for the first time in his life.
So, with that kind of a hero how is it
possible for me not to love this drama? Well, I tell you why. It’s because I don’t
like the heroine. She
doesn’t deserve Han Tae Sang’s love at all. He deserves to get a better woman
than she is.
This is the first time in my experience of watching
a kdrama that I do not
root for the male and the female leads. I always root for the heroine because no matter how annoying or
stupid they are our usual kdrama heroines are
cute, kind hearted, not materialistic and most importantly always loyal and
faithful. Soe Mi Do is neither. I don’t like her in the
beginning, hate her in the middle and totally disappointed that she doesn’t
disappear from the face of the earth by the end of the drama.
I love kissing and bed scenes in kdramas.
Never once I imagine that they could ruin a drama for me. I watch those scenes in WAMFIL with
utter disbelief. Silently screaming NO, NO, NO!
Those
scenes are the last straw. I want the male lead to end
up with the second female lead. Unlike other love obsessed vengeful second female leads Baek Sung
Ju really loves Han Tae Sang and I love her for that.
And how I love Han Tae Sang when he
recognizes the fact that Baek Sung Ju does love him and he could be happy with
her instead of with a girl who not only has no love for him but worse has no regards for him what
so ever. A girl who shamelessly cheats on him with a guy who he considers as
his own brother.
Am I being unfair towards Soe Mi Do? I don’t
think so.
Although I don’t like her, I give her a
credit for accepting Han Tae Sang’s love and money and for trying to like him.
But the moment she starts kissing Lee Jae Hee, the moment they start to make
love in Han Tae Sang’s house, on his very bed, well, I could only say bitch.
She should tell him right then that she loves
another man. She should tell him that she doesn’t want him nor his money
anymore. She would redeem herself if she does
so. But she doesn’t.
Being fickle is one thing. But a cheater is
another thing entirely. The heroine in I Hear Your Face is fickle but despite
her fickleness she knows what’s right and what’s wrong.
A stupid heroine is acceptable. An annoying heroine is
acceptable. What’s not acceptable is a cheating heroine. A heroine who doesn’t
even have enough decency to recognize what’s right and what’s wrong doesn’t deserve to be loved by the male lead nor by the
audience.
When A Man Falls In Love offers something
new. But on hindsight perhaps it’s better to stick to the standardized
formula which has been proven to be loved and
enjoyed by the viewers
for so many years.
What I want to feel when I finish watching a
drama is a bubbly feeling that makes me feel the world is a wonderful place. I want my drama to put
a smile on my face and bring spring to my steps. I want a drama that would make
me feel good.
There are some scenes in WAMFIL that give me
a good feeling. The scene when Han Tae Sang closes his eyes when he thinks that
Soe Mi Do is about to kiss him is my favorite.
But even that scene has lost its power
against the destruction brought by the cheating heroine. Like Han Tae Sang you
might be able to forgive her and love the drama. Unfortunately I can’t.
*note to self: never ever watch a drama where
the leads are cheaters!*
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