Paprika

Wow....I can't believe it's been so long since I made a real entry! I'd been pretty lax in my asian drama watching since the start of the school year but a friend talked me into watching Stars Falling From the Sky and Autumn Concerto.

And now! Cinderella's Sister! Honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was going to check it out because it looked to be a little too melodramatic and ridiculous but I heard such good things about the first episode. I'm really glad I decided to check it out because I'm loving it. It's a lot more angsty and melodramatic than I generally like my dramas. Especially since it was angsty from the very first moment.

I really am drawn to Eun-jo's character. I've seen a lot of people's thoughts about her and the dynamic between her and Hyo-Sun and there's been a lot of good points. In a lot of ways, I really relate to Eun-jo. I feel like she's been let down constantly in her life, especially her young life so it's hard for her to rely on other people. By the same token, there's not a lot of indication that she had friends, aside from Jung-woo. So she's never had anyone to reaffirm her inherent worth as a person or a friend and so she feels like given the choice, people wouldn't want to be friends or care about her. Therefore, by being rude and brusque to people, she's just beating them to the punch. That way, when they don't like her, she can justify it in her head as her choosing to push these people away. Moreover, if she doesn't have people around her, she doesn't have to care about anyone and she won't be hurt when they inevitably betray her.

While I'm in no way saying that I had any type of similar childhood experience or inability to deal with people, I understand how painful it is to be rejected or hurt by a "friend". And with a mother like hers', I can understand why she'd want to get away. After watching episode 6, I felt like this was especially the case because she clearly was hurt by Ki-Hoon leaving and so she wants to distance herself emotionally as much as possible to prevent it from happening again. I was also very taken by the gesture that she put forward for Hyo-Sun when she arranged for Hyo-Sun to be in the commercial. That indicated to me, at the very least, Eun-Soo does care about Hyo-Sun enough to try to help her out in some small way.

I also felt that Hyo-Sun really delights in pushing Eun-jo's button, in some senses similar to what actual siblings do, but in a more mean spirited way. Well...this is a kdrama, so perhaps just as mean spirited as an actual siblings. It also feels very petulant and childish, like she never quite moved past being a kid. Her voice over from the car ride at the beginning of episode 5 felt very much like kid-logic. "If you ask, then I'd tell you everything." But Hyo-Sun knows that Eun-jo won't ask....

Hyo-Sun reminds me of several girls (and guys) that I know that are very friendly people but not genuinely nice. She's too flaky for my taste and it's not that I think she's a bad person at all--but someone who's just more concerned about herself than anyone else. Especially because she knows how Ki-Hoon feels about Eun-jo and that Eun-jo has strong feelings towards Ki-Hoon but intentionally creates issues for them.

Speaking of Ki-Hoon, I am intensely interested in what has happened to him the past 8 years. He looks so broody all the time. I'm rather confused as to why he never contacted Eun-jo at all. Because he really seems to care for her based on those intense eye stares that he has going on. He also made some comment that really intrigued me....I might be misremembering but when Eun-jo brushed him off he said that she had no idea what he had gone through. I've come up with several alternate theories. The more practical ones involve him selling his soul and engaging in corporate evil deeds and backstabbing. The more fun ones involve him shirtless in a gladiator style environment. All of them involve angsty staring. He does that really well.

As for the parents--I hate the mother with a passion. She's so two-sided and manipulative that it kind of makes me sick. I feel bad for the dad because he really loves his wife. Or the version of her that he thinks of his wife. The version that's not an evil bitch who I want to run over with my car.

I really like this show so far and I have trouble waiting for the episodes. My only concern is that there's going to be a terminal disease creeping in here. Eun-jo has some of the usual symptoms.....the nose bleeds and passing out. Just saying.

And uhhh the Capitals won! I'm so excited! They came from behind with 1-4 to win in overtime. I definitely did the happy dance when they won. I'm pretty surprised that all the series are tied 1-1 but looking forward to watching the rest of the first round games.