First: I loved the finale of You're Beautiful. I loved YB in general. I'm sad it's over already. I know some people were disappointed with the ending, but I don't really see why. It's not like the majority of drama couples aren't a given from the first episode, or something. Second Lead shippers occasionally grate on my nerves, but I liked Shin Woo enough to let it slide (for the most part).
Secondly, I have just spent the better part of 2 days in bed/throwing up and my internal clock is completely off kilter, so excuse the following angry rant.
Why, exactly, is it, in any country and any language, the shows I love best are the ones that don't quite get the ratings? While it's hardly a danger for an Asian drama to be canceled, there is the possibility of cut downs. Though in YB's case, I was actually happy with the length and glad it didn't get an extension. Extensions are good if they do something good with them. Most of the time they just slow down the plot while the writers try to stretch 4 episodes worth of story into say, 8.
Also, this talk of YB 2 is rather ridiculous. Not only did it not have the ratings, the story is over. I mean, people, it's not like if they did have a season 2 GMN would miraculously end up with Shin Woo (BECAUSE GMN AND HTK BELONG TOGETHER, CLEARLY) this time, so I don't really see the point. <.<>YB isn't just something to watch, it's special. It's BECAUSE I love it so much that I wouldn't really want them to touch it unless they had a really solid idea. But most dramas base their stories around relationships between characters, and they've already gone through that. Yes, I adore it. Yes, I want more. But more of what? Not wanting it to end brings about a knee-jerk reaction like, "YB 2!!" But the story's over, and it had a reasonably happy ending (whether you liked the end result or not). I'm looking forward to the actor's next projects and the next Hong sisters drama (if you haven't seen their others, I highly recommend them), but that's about it.
Anyway, YB, in my opinion, is criminally underrated (though it certainly has a loyal following), whereas the hot mess that was BOF (which for some inexplicable reason had a series high of 34.8, YB raking in 11.9 at it's best) failed to impress me, quite frankly. I far prefer Hana Yori Dango. Apart from suffering from the aforementioned extension retardation, BOF sort of suffered from retardation all around. Despite it's intense and somewhat undeserved popularity, NOT one of the better dramas I've seen. That said, Lee Mi Ho was.. somewhat.. of a plus. That and Kim Bum's smile.
Also, what is with the constant comparisons to BOF for like, EVERY drama? Watching a drama on viikii with the discussions up is infuriating, because every 45 seconds there's a retarded and pretty unrelated connection made. ("OMG they looked at the sky just like Jandi and Junpyo in BOF") ("woooow shin woo made her tea he's so similar to ji hoo...") No, people. No. Plus the star/moon thing actually made sense in this drama. And it had meaning. More than, "Hey, I spent a bunch of money on this necklace and... yeah." It was hardly a copy. Go Mi Nam did not get herself lost in a blizzard, did she? Hmm? Yeah, didn't think so. And she was supposed to be a moron, but Jan Di was the tough but smart (swimming...?) weed from the Korean ghetto or whatever. Curiouser and curiouser.
Also, I actually liked Shin Woo (apart from my typical frustrations when he wouldn't just tell her the truth and/or him butting in on lovely lovely MN/TK time after MN had already made it clear it was not going to happen, but even those weren't as violent as they usually are, because he was a less annoying character). Don't compare him to Ji Hoo. I hated Ji Hoo. And it wasn't because I had an unusual passion for the Jan Di/Jun Pyo relationship, or anything (their "romance" actually left me kind of.. indifferent). I just really didn't like him. At all. Moving on.
I know YB's low ratings are partly because of IRIS, which I refuse to watch for now out of my insane loyalty. Plus I'm already watching like 6 other dramas (with 7 on hold O.O) at a time. I finished My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, though, which was good and really cute, but given the apparent phenomenon it was, nothing earth shattering. That said, Hyun Bin is extremely extremely good looking. But his English made me want to gag and laugh all at once. Daniel Henney is also very very attractive, and apparently on Three Rivers now? Which I have not seen nor do I plan to (CBS medical drama, no thanks), but Alex O'Loughlin from Moonlight stars in it, I know that much. I also saw Hyun Bin in A Millionaire's First Love, but it was awhile ago..
I really want to watch more of Hong Gil Dong (I probably would have finished it already if it weren't for all the episodes being broken on MySoju and me having to resort to YT), but I'm not looking forward to the time jump. The Hong Sisters almost always do a time jump of like a year or two. Which I think is just stupid in some cases, but works in others. That said, they didn't really do that in YB, and apparently not in Fantasy Couple, either, which I have not seen but I guess is based on that hilarious Goldie Hawn movie Overboard? Buh buh buh buh buh buh... buh buh buh buh...
I should also really get on finishing some of the other dramas that have been sitting around half done for so long... Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, Attention Please, Why Why Love, Stand Up!!, Tree of Heaven, It Started With A Kiss, etc. I just get easily distracted with other dramas and end up starting new ones without always finishing all of the old ones (unless I really really enjoy them, like YB). I used to only watch one drama at a time, but that can be tedious, especially when you're watching a melodrama and in the mood for a little comedy. So now I alternate between different dramas, which puts more on my plate, but it's more fun. :)
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