The Prime Minister and I happens to be one of the few recent dramas that both of us watched together, so we’re going to do a joint review on this one. A warning: spoilers will most definitely abound in this review. Here we go!
The Story: A spunky female paparazzi reporter is assigned to write a story about Korea's most eligible bachelor, the Prime Minister, a very serious, overworking widower who is out of touch with his three children. Through a series of misunderstandings, a scandal erupts where the public believes she is his lover. The only way out of it? A pretend marriage, of course! Which is also in her favor because she has a terminally ill father whose dying wish is to walk his daughter down the aisle. Will this contract marriage turn into real love???Answer: Obviously, yes.
Coco: I fell in love with Prime Minister and I in the beginning because of the personality of the female lead. She was smart, fun, and adventurous.
Vivi: Same here. She was so sassy! Even though there was an age gap between the two, she didn’t let the male lead push her around.
I do have to say, though, that I’m still upset that she just dropped her scooter in the middle of traffic. Spunky, yes. Safe? No. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SCOOTER?
Coco: It was just a casualty of the trade. One reason I loved her was because she had the funnest job. Who wouldn’t secretly love to be paparazzi? Even though everyone “hates” them, you know you peek at tabloids while in line at supermarkets. I think sneaking around and taking photos of people and prying into their personal lives sounds like a blast. Right? I was just sad that this side of her so quickly disappeared.
Vivi: Look, I was just happy that she started with a job, period. At no point in time was she on the brink of homelessness! That’s female empowerment right there. But yes, I feel like they set her up with a unique, rooftop-sneaking personality, and it just disappeared the second she got married and started straightening her hair. Is she like Samson or something? The curls give her power? In the end, she was this deflated version of her former self. Typical bland, nice female lead.
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| Exhibit A: Curly and sassy on left, Straight and dull on right. |
Coco: Agreed. It was kind of strange because we didn’t even get to see the transition or makeover. Suddenly she was wearing dresses instead of jeans and it barely mentioned that leaving her job and becoming a housewife was any kind of a loss for her. She mentioned that it was hard for her to be in the house all day once, but there was no talk about it after that. As much as the ending plot device of the female lead venturing off on her own to find herself gets tiresome, in this case it made up for it a little.
Vivi: No way. She ventured off to become a successful author, which appears to be the new Kdrama version of the “fashion designer.” Remember Marry Him If you Dare? She did the same thing.
Coco: Plus, if I think about it, it was really more of a sign of her domestication. Since she was struggling with becoming a mother to these children, becoming a children’s book writer is the tamest version of her former career.
Vivi: Yes, exactly that. But what makes it even worse is that they domesticated her into a nice housewife, and then SHE ABANDONED THE CHILDREN! What kind of logic is that? “You know what would totally help these poor, abandoned children? If I ALSO abandoned them! Their mom is in town--this is the only possible answer!” Because we all know that kids can only handle one loving person in their lives at a time.
Coco: Yes, that seemed like the worst idea ever. As if they weren’t traumatized enough. I don’t think that piece of writing was true to her character. I think they just fell into the noble selfless love plot device, which as we’ve already discussed, is stupid and awful. Not to mention that it just led to the whole thing evolving from a fun romantic comedy to a lackluster melodrama.
Vivi: Yeah, aside from the deflated female lead, that’s the second big problem with this show. It turned into a melodrama, but it was a shallow melodrama. Instead of going into depth with the actual real-life problems they were facing (him dealing with his wife’s death, her dealing with her dad and struggling to fit into her new role), it felt like the writers were just saving up random plot devices (He got stabbed!) that they could toss in for emotional impact. It felt cheap. I hated all of the boooooooring political intrigue, and the whole side story with the wife dragged everything down so that I didn’t really care about any of it.
Coco: Yes, I wish they had never brought her back to life. It would have been much more interesting if they had just focused on him dealing with his wife’s betrayal and death and the guilt he felt, and her dealing with the fact that she was giving up her life and personality while also dealing with her dad’s terminal illness. It makes me think that the writers just added that storyline in because ratings were slipping and they thought people might be more interested in a melodrama. I would have instead liked to see their relationship develop as they each find identities that make them happy with each other’s help.
Vivi: The one consistent positive for me was Lee Bum Soo as the prime minister. Yes, there was a patch in the middle where the writers made him shout at his wife a little too much for my taste, but I thought he handled the role really well overall. I genuinely liked the prime minister, and that was 100% due to acting. Yoona did well with what she had, but she didn’t get much to work with for the last third of the drama. They were so cute together!
Coco: I loved Yoona, and I think she did a great job even though her character degenerated. And it’s not like her character became totally unlikeable. There were aspects of her that were lovely and admirable, but she just lost the spirit and feistiness that would have made me want to be her best friend. I will definitely watch her next drama because she is really cute and fun as an actress. Let’s just hope that next time she has better material.
Vivi: I felt the worst for Yoon Si Yoon, though. Poor guy got nothing to do the whole time. I guess he got to practice his worried face a lot?
Coco: The only other drama I had seen him in was Flower Boy Next Door, and I wasn’t a fan of his childlike, slightly annoying character. This drama actually made me like him a whole lot more. He’s really pretty good at crying. But he played a second male lead that I only felt somewhat torn over. At the end when he’s like, then just date me, I was like, ok that would be pretty good, but I wasn’t crying inside that she chose the Prime Minister instead.
Vivi: You’re right. I liked him even though he just had to be sad all of the time. How I feel about these characters is how I feel about the drama in general. It wasn’t actively bad; it just lost the magic towards the end. I certainly wasn’t nearly as angry with this drama as I was with some others that I’ve seen.
Coco: You know what was actively bad though? The fact that there was NO KISS! A handshake? SERIOUSLY?
Vivi: I wonder if it’s in Lee Bum Soo’s contract that he can’t go past a hug. The same thing happened in History of a Salaryman. Maybe his wife gets too jealous?
I actually didn’t completely hate the handshake at the end. (*waits to be attacked). I mean, I didn’t love it, but I got that it was trying to be symbolic. Besides, I was much more upset that we didn’t get a scene with the kids at the end.
Coco: True! How cute was that little boy? He sent me into some serious baby hungriness as only really adorable Asian kids can.
Vivi: Man Seeeeeeeeeeeee!
Coco: If I had stopped watching The Prime Minister and I halfway through I would probably have added it to my favorites list, and maybe even to the recommendations list, but it took a nosedive due to writing and I honestly struggled to make myself watch the last couple of episodes.
Vivi: Ditto to all of that.
What did you think of The Prime Minister and I? Comment below!
Anyone who's been watching Kdramas for very long knows just how educational they can be. We learn so much about what life must really be like in Korea, right? Right? Ok, maybe not really, but the fantasy aspect is what makes them so great! I already shared
12 Things We learned about Korea from watching Kdramas, so if you missed it be sure to go get educated. Here are 12 MORE!
Any other fun things you learned about Korea from watching Kdramas? Comment below!
The first Kdrama I ever watched was
Lie To Me, and the main reason I began watching it was because I didn't know anything about modern Korea and wanted to learn. And boy did I ever! I've even been teaching all the fans over on
DramaFever's Facebook page. Here are 12 things I've learned about Korea from watching Kdramas.
What other fun, exaggerated things have you learned about Korea from watching Kdramas? What about American dramas? Comment below!
Summer is over and it’s time to head back to school and work. To make this transition a little easier it helps to bring some delicious snacks with you. Instead of grabbing your trusty American snacks, spice things up by trying a Korean snack. In order to determine which Korean snacks are the best, I headed over to K-town to pick some up. I had a hard time deciding because once I see Korean stuff I want to buy it all, but I finally narrowed it down to 5!
The taste testing panel included Min, Jackie, and Stan from
DramaFever, and me, Coco.
We scored the snacks on texture, flavor intensity, aftertaste, and balance of sweetness/saltiness. Here are the results:
1. Corn Chi
Texture: 7/20
Flavor Intensity: 9/20
Aftertaste: 11/20
Sweetness/Saltiness: 14/20
Total: 41/80
Comments:
Min: “It was kind of bland and too mushy. Flavor was ok, but I wish it were more crunchy.”
Jackie: “Not crunchy at all. Quite disappointing because I thought it would be like cheese puffs.”
Stan: “Mushy and on the bland side.”
Coco: “Not good at all.”
2. Sweet Potato Snack
Texture: 13/20
Flavor Intensity: 13/20
Aftertaste: 12/20
Sweetness/Saltiness: 13/20
Total: 51/80
Comments:
Min: “It’s good and sugary but the hard texture and funky aftertaste make me not want much.”
Jackie: “Very sticky but pleasantly crunchy. Nice mix of sweet and salty. Kind of too savory for a snack.
Stan: “Crunchy and just a little sweet. Could eat lots of them.”
Coco: “Kind of like sticky pretzels. Good for a handful, but not a whole bag.”
3. Corn Snack
Texture: 7/20
Flavor Intensity: 6/20
Aftertaste: 11/20
Sweetness/Saltiness: 7/20
Total: 31/80
Comments:
Min: “Tastes like day old popcorn without butter. Is this a snack for old people?”
Jackie: ”Very light and not crunchy at all. Neither sweet nor salty.”
Stan: “Very soft and mushy, but a pleasant aftertaste.”
Coco: “Has a bland taste with a strange not-quite-popcorn texture.”
4. Peanut Balls
Texture: 11/20
Flavor Intensity: 13/20
Aftertaste: 10/20
Sweetness/Saltiness: 13/20
Total: 47/80
Comments:
Min: “Funky fishy taste. The nut in the middle was a nice surprise, but it was not my favorite.”
Jackie: “I definitely like this crunchy snack with its peanut taste.”
Stan: “Crunchy and a little sweet with an odd aftertaste.”
Coco: “Like a peanut-y, fishy version of Captain Crunch. Strangely I want more. Kind of addictive.
5. Ddukbokki
Texture: 14/20
Flavor Intensity: 18/20
Aftertaste: 14/20
Sweetness/Saltiness: 12/20
Total: 58/80
Comments:
Min: “Can’t tell if it’s sweet or salty. The spiciness is good until the aftertaste.”
Jackie: “ Very flavorful. The spicy kick is a nice surprise. It has a lasting aftertaste.
Stan: “Crunchy with a pleasant spicy aftertaste.”
Coco: “It’s like dehydrated Asian noodles: sweet, spicy, and sticky.
And the winner is Ddukbokki! Check out your nearest Korean market to try some of these snacks for yourself!
Have you tried any Korean snacks? Let us know how you like them in the comments below.
For our last little video from KCON 2013, we decided to ask Kdrama fans the hardest questions they have ever faced: Who would you ultimately choose to date- Jun Pyo or Jihoo from Boys Over Flowers, or the actors who play them, Lee Min Ho, or Kim Hyun Joong?
Check out the results in this amusing video. Look for Rosie from
Shine a Light Rose and her mom as they answer the questions!
I was pretty pleased with this game, so look out for more Flower Boy Face-Offs in the future!
So let's hear it ladies and gents! How would you answer these questions?
