Early Access: Fan Letter Please E1, E2

E1. Ok, this is shaping up to be pretty cute; I'm happy I picked this one as a palette cleanser, for after The Glory Part 1. I mean, why not have a quick dose of cute, before I jump back into revenge, when The Glory Part 2 comes out, eh?

I do have to say, though, that the difference in tone between this and The Glory took me a bit of getting used to.

After working on the review of The Glory all day, I'd actually found it a bit bemusing, coming into this cuter, breezier world. 😅

I'm glad I took the time to get acclimated, though, because, as it turns out, it's actually quite nice, to watch something that reminds me of traditional k-romcoms, versus the recent Dramaland trend of either serving up darker shows that have nothing to do with romcoms, or serving up romcoms with a side of murder.

Word on the street is that there is no murder on the side of this romcom, and that in itself means that Show deserves an extra brownie point, yes? 😁

Sure, there's a slightly old-fashioned flavor to it, which I'm probably registering as that traditional k-romcom sort of vibe, but it's not offensive. And yes, the humor is a little broad and silly, but again, it's not offensive.

So far, Show isn't amazing, but it is turning out to be cute and enjoyable, and sometimes, that's just what you need from a drama.

Plus, there's the thing where Show's only 4 episodes long, so everything needs to move at a brisk pace, which means we don't have to wait long at all, for Stuff to start happening. That's definitely a plus in my books. 😉

First things first; I like the set-up and casting, so far.

Yoon Park is quite perfect as our earnest, slightly hapless young single dad, who just wants the best for his daughter - and may not make the most thought-through decisions, when it comes to placating her.

After all, Yu Na is suffering from leukemia and has to suffer through painful tests, and as a doting dad, I can believe that he'd be more ready to say yes to her, even when her requests might be hard to fulfill.

..Which is how he ends up writing fake replies to her fan letters, because he doesn't manage to get her idol, top actress Kang Hee, to agree to his request.

On that note, I think that Sooyoung's perfectly cast as Kang Hee too; she's got the top star aura down pat (is that just her being her top star self..? 😁), and looking at her, I would absolutely believe that she's a popular actress with a lot of fans.

Her hidden angst is pretty well-played too, in that, I can believe that she's got emotional wounds that she doesn't like to talk about, and I can also believe that she'd choose to act like everything's ok, when, in fact, there are things that are not ok, in her world.

Her mother being a source of struggle, frustration and shame, is also something that I could believe, even though this is admittedly on the slightly more melodramatic end of things.

Reporters being nice to her face, but gossiping behind her back, is also something that I can believe happens in the industry.

While I don't think that Show's intent is really to make a statement about the k-ent industry, this all does land as being plausible, even though it's clearly amped up for dramatic purposes - like the way that drunk reporter throws that bottle at Kang Hee.

And also, the way the drunk reporter grabs Kang Hee's wrist, only for Jung Seok to shine the car headlights right on them, and then walk up to get the reporter's hands off Kang Hee.

I mean. That's clearly for dramatic purposes, because in the first place, just because Jung Seok's responding to Kang Hee's call for a driver, doesn't mean he actually has the keys to her car, yes?

But I get it, Show wanted the dramatic moment, of Jung Seok coming to Kang Hee's rescue, and wanted it to land like a Big Moment in a TV drama - before undercutting it with Jung Seok's admission that he's just there as her driver.

On that note, I just wanted to say that I hadn't quite been expecting the high school connection between Kang Hee and Jung Seok, but I'm not mad about it.

Somehow, with a short show like this, I find that I'm more open to the liberal use of tropes? Coz, they do function as drama shorthand very well. 😁

I found myself enjoying the high school flashback quite nicely, even though, strictly speaking, both Sooyoung and Yoon Park don't quite pass for 18-year-olds anymore. 😅

Still, it was fun to see them in their school uniforms, and get a taste for what these characters' high school life was like.

And, it was pretty fun to see them have that run-in, where Jung Seok is the new transfer student looking to ditch class, and Sooyoung's the rising star with little interest in school, also looking to ditch class.

The way he has no clue that she's a big star, and the way she takes his gruff manner to mean that he must be a senior and thus deserving of more respect, is pretty cute.

But the swoony part, is when he owns up to smoking and gets punished by the teacher - when she'd been the one smoking in the first place.

The fact that he does this for her, right after meeting her, and without even knowing who she is, is altogether pretty heart-wobbly stuff, and I can see why Kang Hee would immediately develop a special interest in him.

We don't see yet, whether they had any other sort of bond or connection in high school, but clearly, they haven't been in touch since high school, so I can also see why Jung Seok would act like he didn't know her, at first.

It's just simpler that way, isn't it?

The fact that Kang Hee won't leave it at that, and lets on that she recognizes him, shows her forthright sort of nature.

And, the fact that she balks at the mention that he has a daughter, and then later peeps at him leaving her house, while wondering when he got married, definitely indicates some level of interest and attraction.

Like I said, it's nothing super inventive, but it's breezy and cute, and quite enjoyable.

When Kang Hee's reputation gets dragged, that she throws away fan letters, of course young Yu Na would find a way to put her voice on social media, to vouch for her idol, saying that she's received heaaps of letters from Kang Hee - which, of course, weren't written by Kang Hee at all, but by Jung Seok. Oops.

I appreciate that Kang Hee's first instinct is to clear up the misunderstanding, and say that she wasn't the one who wrote those letters, which, again, is evidence of her honest and forthright nature.

But, I can understand why her agency would persuade her to hold off on that, and I can also see how this would lead Kang Hee to eventually visit Yu Na at the hospital - which is, of course, where she comes face to face with Jung Seok, all over again.

Ahh. Looks like hijinks are in store, with Jung Seok and Kang Hee likely working together to keep up the ruse, and I am here for it. 😁

E2. So. A good sign that I am enjoying a show, is that I'm sorry to get to the end of an episode, because, since I watch stuff on a schedule for the blog, it means that it's time for me to move on to something else, and it'll be about a week(ish) before I get to come back to this story and these characters.

And, I felt that, getting to the end of this episode.

Which means I'm enjoying this properly for sure, and I'm now thinking, how cool, that we had a couple of weeks between finishing The Glory Part 1, and waiting for Part 2 to drop - because otherwise, I may have never gotten around to watching this little show, despite my good intentions.

And honestly, you guys, I'm growing fond of these characters, more than I'd thought I would, especially given the shorter screen time that we get with them.

But here we are, just 2 episodes in (with just 2 more to go, sob!), and I'm fully on board, and invested, and wanting the best for our characters, and rooting for a happy ending, for our OTP. 😁

And like I mentioned before, sure, some elements are tropey (like, what about that Truck of Doom, which effectively cut off the only familial support that Jung Seok had, in being a single dad - I was in slight disbelief, for real, y'all 😅), and in a way, yes it's all kinda-sorta paint by number and therefore on the predictable side of things.

But, I think it works for this show, because it functions more like narrative shorthand, and gets us to where our characters need to be, quickly - and time is of the essence, since we only have 4 hours of total screen time to play with.

In principle, I don't care for the Truck of Doom trope, but in this case, it does drive home just how wretched Jung Seok must have felt, in that time of his life, losing his mother so suddenly like that, and abruptly finding himself being the sole caregiver to a sick child.

This angsty backstory does add depth to what I'd originally imagined to be "just" a fluffy romcom about a top star and a single dad - and depth is almost always welcome, in my stories.

Given all that Yu Na's had to deal with, it's not that hard to understand why Jung Seok would literally beg Kang Hee on his knees, to allow his white lie to carry on; it's because Yu Na's perceived connection with Kang Hee gives her strength to deal with all the pain.

And how could anyone say no to that, right?

That's why I'm personally on board with the idea of Kang Hee stepping forward, to make that connection a real one, by visiting Yu Na at the hospital, and spending time with her and her friends, and even agreeing to Yu Na's request, to visit her at home.

It's really so great to see how happy Yu Na is, in the highlight reel that we get, of all the various things that Kang Hee does with her and her friends, at the hospital.

And, I'm so relieved that Jung Seok's friend Yoon Do stops that nasty journalist from capturing any pictures or videos of Jung Seok begging Kang Hee on his knees.

Without his intervention, we might never have had that visit to Kang Hee's house, and that's one of the big highlights of this episode.

Of course, Show is hinting at other potential troubles up ahead, with the reveal that that DJ who'd made pointedly barbed remarks about Kang Hee, had actually been her friend in high school.

And the whole reason that she doesn't see Kang Hee as a friend anymore? Why, Jung Seok, of course.

I do like the flashback to high school, though, because it fills in some context for us.

We learn that many girls had had their eyes on Jung Seok, and we also learn that Jung Seok had appeared pretty indifferent to them all, but had at least some goofy smiles, in response to seeing Kang Hee. 😁

That.. pretty much tells me all I need to know; that basically, Kang Hee and Jung Seok had been drawn to each other, though they may not have acted on their feelings.

Going back to the visit to Kang Hee's house, I thought the kiddie-hosted private fan meeting was a cute idea, but I was more interested in how the visit turns into an impromptu sleepover - which, of course, affords our OTP some important one-on-one conversation time.

I like that their conversation goes to deep and personal things like what had happened with Jung Seok's mom, but also, leans into the lighthearted and silly, like when Kang Hee does that spontaneous photoshoot of Jung Seok modeling the various clothes she's brought out for him to change into, after his beer incident.

In true tropey romcom fashion, we have a hyperproximity moment, when Kang Hee trips and Jung Seok falls on top of her, but I rather like how Show plays it lightly, such that Kang Hee gets all ready for the kiss - but finds that Jung Seok's already on the other side of the room, having nicked her mobile phone, to get rid of the incriminating photos of him wearing her clothes, heh.

And, somehow, I even find Kang Hee's vain side endearing, like the way she gets all made up in the morning, then tries to pretend like she just woke up looking like this, ha.

That Dramatic slo-mo hair-in-the-wind sort of moment is quite funny to me, both when Kang Hee preens upon opening her bedroom door, and also, when Jung Seok reacts with that stunned expression, upon seeing her.

Tee hee. I was quite tickled by this.

It's just too bad that everything goes to pot, just about, when Nasty Journalist writes that supposed exposé, claiming that Kang Hee's bribed Jung Seok, in order to save her reputation.

Plus, poor Yu Na is shocked to tears, when Kang Hee admits, when Yu Na asks, that she hadn't been the one to write those letters to Yu Na. Aw.

The silver lining is, Jung Seok and Kang Hee stick together through this, and Kang Hee gets to see just how much her presence has meant to Yu Na.

As we end our episode, I have to admit that I was quite amused by our epilogue, where we see how Kang Hee had known that Jung Seok had been a lawyer - and then, how, in expressing her mortification that she'd appeared to have stalked him, she knocks that beer can against her forehead, which is turn causes the BeerGate Incident, which had then led to Jong Seok needing clean clothes.

Somehow, I really like this idea that Show's put thought into properly stringing things together, so that there's a traceable causal relationship between things, that it can show us.

I'm happily curious to see what else Show has, up its admittedly short sleeves. 😁

Final review will be up on the blog on: Monday, 13 March 2023!