I'm trying something a little new today with a first impression. My watch-list is a mile high at the moment, and with all of my schoolwork it doesn't look like it'll be getting shorter any time soon (I have to apologise for anyone anticipating new posts - there just aren't enough hours it the day), so for the time being I'll just have to be content with the ongoing drama. Anyhow, Angel Eyes sparked my curiosity after I discovered Kang Ha-neul and Nam Ji-hyun played the younger versions of the characters, but the often hard to hard to watch melodrama, so I'm putting it aside for a while. I've watched the first episode, and I'm definitely intrigued, but I have no intention to go on at the moment since I'm certain that it's going to get really angsty.
Angel Eyes is the story Yoon Soo-wan and Park Dong-joo, a boy and a girl who happened to get wrapped up in something far bigger than themselves. When Soo-wan was young, she lost her eyesight after an accident. A tunnel had collasped, and whilst she made it out alive, her Mother didn't. Dong-joo's father was a fireman, and he lost his life attempting to rescue Soo-wan's mother. Dong-joo and Soo-wan both lost a parent that day. They both grew up pretty well, regardless, and eventually meet, unaware of the way they're already connect. Dong-joo practically falls for Soo-wan at first sight, not realising she's blind. Soo-wan is initially quite prickly towards Dong-joo, but warms to him after discovering how kind he is. By the end of episode one, the two have become a couple.
I guess I'll start with the actors. The adult actors, of the main actors I suppose, have yet to make an appearance at this point. Honestly, I'm a little deterred to go on because I don't particularly like them. Lee Sang-yoon will play Park Dong-joo, and I'm not about to say I despise the man since he was pretty adorable in Twenty Again and I've heard good things about his performance in Liar Game. The problem is simply that I always think of his stubborn and persistent character in My Daughter Seo-young.
Gu Hye-sun, on the other hand (who will play Yoon Soo-wan), I just don't like. She starred in my first Korean drama, Boys Over Flowers, and I found everything about her frustrating. I understand I'm being a little ridiculous - there is nothing to say I won't like her more here, or in something else - but I still worry that Angel Eyes will be absent of chemistry or lose everything that made the first episode endearing once the main players step in.
I love Nam Ji-hyun and Kang Ha-neul. She recently took on her first leading role in Shopping King Louie (expect a review for that soon) whilst I've seen him in things like Monstar, Heirs, and Misaeng. This is the most adorable role I've seen Kang Ha-neul tackle, for sure - he makes Dong-joo someone innocent and thoughtful, giddy with the joy of first love. Meanwhile, Nam Ji-hyun did a fantastic job of making her character's blindness feel so realistic.
I enjoyed the first episode for the most part, despite the tragic opening and the hints for more tragedy to come. If the have a problem, it's that this drama just keeps reminding me of Love Rain, where a conflict I didn't care about drowned out everything good about the show. Dong-joo and Soo-wan's parents are certainly going to make the chances of happiness shrink in the future.
In addition, this whole episode really made me think of Missing You. The resemblance was uncanny - like this, an adorable childhood romance took centre-stage for the first few episodes until a horrible event occurred that ripped the main characters apart. The child actors stole the show; Park Yoo-chun and Yoon Eun-hye couldn't compete. Will Angel Eyes lose all appeal once Nam Ji-hyun and Kang Ha-neul are gone? Will poor chemistry destroy a good plot. I have absolutely no idea, but for now I'm happy enough with the first episode's happy ending I'll be perfectly content to end the drama here.
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