Early Access: Heartbeat E1-2

E1-2. Hahaha, ok, this looks like it'll be fun. I'm in. 😁

For the record, this is a surprise turnaround, because I'd actually watched episode 1, when considering this show as a replacement for some other show on Patreon, and episode 1 hadn't grabbed me the way I'd hoped.

Because I'd been pressed for time at the time (which, as you know, is the story of my life of late; something I'm working to change), I decided against pressing on to episode 2, and wandered off to check out another show.

And now, I've come back to check out episode 2 for a couple of reasons:

1, I hadn't taken to My Dearest the way I'd hoped to, and was looking for a replacement show that I'd enjoy, for Dr. Romantic 3, and

2, I've been seeing a nice amount of pretty ardent love for Heartbeat, among the drama community.

I figured there was no harm taking a second look at Heartbeat, especially since I'd only watched episode 1, and at that point, Show clearly wasn't done with setup yet.

Now, I surprised myself by enjoying episode 2 a lot more than I did episode 1, and I'm actually looking forward to watching episode 3, as I type this. A very nice turnaround indeed.

So, what hadn't I liked about episode 1?

Well, I didn't hate it per se; it was reasonably entertaining in its own way, but I just wasn't jiving so much with Show's sense of humor, which leaned broad and somewhat slapsticky, and I wasn't sure that I would find 15 more episodes of said broad humor up my alley.

If I'd been more patient, I would have found that episode 2's humor worked a lot better for me.

For one thing, our protagonist (who goes by the name Woo Hyeol) doesn't have his sidekicks with him in episode 2, and it was largely his sidekicks that I quickly grew tired of, in episode 1. 😁

Before I get to that, though, I did want to say that the thing I enjoyed most about episode 1, is how sharp Taecyeon looks, in the dandy 1920s suits. That was literally the thing that I spent my focus on, in episode 1, because everything else was just ok, for me. 😅

I liked seeing Woo Hyeol being a powerful vampire, but I didn't feel all that invested in the loveline that he had with his Joseon love, Hae Won.

And I was rather indifferent to his burning desire to become human, because he wanted to be able to experience love.

It's a pretty old trope by this point; a supernatural creature with immortality and superpowers, willing to give it all up, in order to experience love, despite it only being for a human lifetime.

And then I felt in-principle sympathy for our female lead In Hae, for being scammed and losing her apartment overnight, but I also felt like it was a stretch, that when she gets the keys to Woo Hyeol's house from her father's estate after he's declared legally dead, the first thing she does is investigate the dark basement of said house, and open the coffin she finds there.

I did think it was kinda funny that when Woo Hyeol gets all angry and glowers at In Hae that she's going to pay for waking him a day early, he doesn't even get to touch her neck with his fangs, because she bites him first instead.

Very feisty indeed, and I was admittedly a little curious about what would happen between them, now that they've met, but I was sufficiently disenamored with Show's general sense of humor in episode 1, that I wasn't overly keen to press 'play' on episode 2.

..But I'm glad that I've now watched episode 2, because I feel like this is where Show picks up.

It did take me a bit of a mental adjustment, to get used to the idea that the previously extremely powerful Woo Hyeol is now practically powerless, because he's almost, but not quite, human.

It was a little jarring for me at first, not gonna lie, because Woo Hyeol being powerful and badass had been a highlight for me, in episode 1.

Once I got used to that idea, though, this soon become a running gag that became more and more amusing, the longer it got dragged out. 😁

And somehow, even though I wasn't super amused at first, the fact that In Hae treats Woo Hyeol as some kind of homeless scammer-parasite became funnier to me as it went on, as well.

I thought it was quite funny, when he faints after being bitten by her, but she thinks he's dead, because he has no heartbeat, and rushes him to the hospital, where he's eventually pronounced dead - and then, when he wakes up, In Hae basically thinks he's come back from the dead, heh.

Woo Hyeol continually trying to find his way home, and In Hae continually trying to shake him off, is low-key entertaining to me, but I think there are 3 things that made me think, "Ah, this show is going to be pretty fun."

Here they are:

1, when Woo Hyeol tries and fails, multiple times, to prove to In Hae that he is, indeed, a vampire. His elastic expressions, as he tries to summon his fangs, to no avail, made me giggle out loud. Taecyeon can be a hoot, when he wants to be. 😁

2, when Woo Hyeol spots his reflection for the first time, and it's in In Hae's eyes.

His words, "In your eyes.. I'm there," sound like they're right out of a romance trope, and then the way he grabs her face, to get a closer look, looks like it's right out of a romance drama, but to him, it's literal. He's literally trying to get a better look at himself, in her eyes.

And of course, In Hae gets all freaked out, thinking that he's leaning in to try to kiss her, and throws him out. Hahaha.

3, when Woo Hyeol gets drunk on instant ramyun, lol. Must be all the MSG they put in there? 😁

His complete ecstasy while sniffing and tasting instant ramyun for the first time is also quite hilarious.

Makes me wonder how he'd react to other MSG-heavy food products, like spam, or potato chips. 😁 Would he get as drunk on those? (Now I really hope Show provides us with an answer to this question!)

I'm glad that Woo Hyeol finally meets someone he knows - Mr. Ko, the cat who'd first told him about sleeping in a hawthorn coffin for 100 years, being the way to become human.

For one thing, I just want Woo Hyeol to have a friend, and Mr. Ko is definitely less comedic in episode 2 than in episode 1, so I count that a win.

For another, it's helpful that Mr. Ko gives Woo Hyeol a reason to keep close to In Hae; apparently, there must be something special about her, because no ordinary human can open a hawthorn coffin.

Ooh. Interesting. I wonder what special powers In Hae might have, and whether she's fully human, in this case?

And this is how we have Woo Hyeol drinking that vial of blood that Mr. Ko gives him, and finally having use of his powers again (I'm guessing this is temporary, and that the powers last only as long as the blood fuels him), in order to help In Hae.

Apparently, because of the bite that she took out of his neck, he starts hearing her, when she's in distress. This is such a handy plot location device! 😁

It's partly for his own benefit, that Woo Hyeol decides to drink the blood in order to help In Hae, but it's still rather sweet, I feel, that he's using that precious vial of blood, on her account.

I love seeing Woo Hyeol being all powerful and badass, and it's cool how he uses his powers to find In Hae, and then proceeds to subdue the scammer dude effortlessly.

Importantly, this is when In Hae starts to believe that Woo Hyeol has been telling the truth about being a vampire.

I do love that closing scene, which we've actually already seen in the trailers, where she asks him if he's really a vampire, and he answers, "Do you believe me now?," before adding, with an outstretched arm and a slight twinkle in his eye, "Let's go home."

..Which is SUCH a cheeky nod to 2PM's song "My House," which features a very similar soundbite, and outstretched arm sort of gesture. Tee hee hee.

You can check out the MV here, just for funsies. Plus, it doesn't hurt that Taec's rocking a vampire-adjacent, werewolf sort of look, in the MV, heh. 😁

Overall, Show really picked up for me by the second half of episode 2, and now I feel like episode 3 will be lots of fun to watch.

Yay for second chances, eh? 😉

Next episode notes will be out on: Tuesday, 15 August 2023!

* This show will be covered on the Early Access (US$5) Tier *