Boys Over Flowers

Boys Over Flowers (on Netflix) otherwise known as Boys Before Flowers, or as we like to say in America...Bros before Ho's.

I actually have no idea if that is the intent of the title but after watching 7 episodes, I'm pretty sure that's what it means.

This was, by far, not what I intended to put up here as a first post. However, I started this series last night for a few reasons. 1) It's been on my radar since I started watching K-Dramas, and 2) it's on Netflix and I have a friend who wants me to suggest some K-Dramas on Netflix for her. So, I started the series last night intending to watch a few episodes to see if it was worth her time.

Six hours later, way past my bedtime, I had to force myself to go to sleep. I will admit, I didn't have high hopes for this drama simply because of the name. What a weird, dumb name by American standards. Boys Over Flowers? But I should know by now that you can't judge a K-Drama by it's name. You really can't.

Let's start with the cast, because the first 2 episodes weren't all that special; I kept watching because of the cast. I tend to give a show 3-4 episodes to hook me...typically the first 1 or 2 episodes of any series, Korean or American, are terrible and you can't judge the whole thing by those. I also have a skill that my sister envies- I can watch a terrible or slow or boring show because I really like a cast member or two. If I really like a person in a show, I will frickin' watch the heck out of it. I will let you know it's a crappy show, but I'll still watch it myself.

Let's start with the main guy:

Lee Min Ho

This guy is amaze-balls. This is a really good picture of him; in all honesty I find him cute but not really my cup of tea as far as attractiveness goes. Don't get me wrong, I totally see the appeal, but he's just not a dude I would consider "hot." That being said, he's an amazing, charismatic actor. He's the lead in one the first K-Dramas I ever watched, the one that hooked me in, City Hunter. If you  haven't seen City Hunter, go watch it. I will review it here eventually, but I will tell you now that it is one of my favorite series ever. And, again, while I don't find him overly gorgeous, he is a fantabulous actor and I love him to death. This show, Boys Over Flowers, is not exception. He's got stupid curly hair, but he's so good at his part you can't help but love him. He was the reason for the first hook into this show.

More after the jump ----->

The next cast member I recognized is another one of my favs:

Kim Hyun Joong

This guy fell on my radar while watching It Started With a Kiss. Yes, that is a Taiwanese drama, and yes, I will eventually review that one, but for now, let's start with the fact that the story has been in a Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese version. I haven't seen the Japanese version, but the Taiwanese version far outshines the Korean version. The Korean one is called Playful Kiss, which is, again, a stupid name, but the story is okay. I think if I would have seen it first I would have liked it a little better overall. Yet, that is neither here nor there; Kim Hyun Joong was the main guy in Playful Kiss. His acting is....meh. Serviceable.  His looks are good, but he's not hottest dude on the block. Yet, I kept watching Playful Kiss to the end because of him. There is just something about him that is super attractive to me, yet I can't put my finger on it.

Anyway, I saw he was in this when I started watching it and I was sold at that point. I love him, for no reason I can outwardly explain. His hair in this show is ridiculous and I keep hoping each new episode that they cut it just a little shorter (he looks best with shorter hair, I don't know why dramas keep putting long hair on him) but overall I enjoy seeing him on screen when he's there.

So...those were the two hooks that got me to keep watching it. The story, however, lends itself very quickly to being intriguing and interesting; I also find myself laughing quite a lot as well. Spoilers for the first 7 episodes ahead!

For those of you who haven't seen it, this story is about a school where rich kids go. I honestly didn't pay attention to any of the back story that was played during the first half of the first episode, but from what I can tell, the "WalMart" tycoon of Korea wanted to make a school for privileged kids and that is the school that the show centers around. At this school there are 4 seniors, all hot dudes, who have been born into the wealthier families and basically run the school. They are pretty much dicks to everyone and everyone lets them be that way.

Enter our heroine, Jan-di, the poor girl who gets a scholarship to go to this school. They establish right away that she is defiant and likes to speak her mind, which is another thing that hooked me into this show. I am a little tired of the trope of the girl who is somewhat strong-minded but not really when it matters. This girl seems like she'll bust you over the head if she has a good reason to.

At first she doesn't step up right away because she doesn't want to get into trouble with her mom, but eventually she can't stand it and calls out the leader, Jun-pyo (played by Lee Min Ho) on his bullshit. Hilarity ensues while he tries to tick her off and she keeps on going, despite his attempts to bully her out of the school. At this point, Ji-hoo (played by Kim Hyun Joong) has decided he likes Jan-di's spunkiness and he helps her out a bit. Therefore, as in any good K-Drama, Jan-di develops a crush on him. Meanwhile, Jun-pyo has decided Jan-di is fighting back because she has a crush on him. And herein lies our love triangle.

There are many things about this show that I love, however, let's start with the things that irritate me. First of all, where are the freakin' teachers? These kids get bullied, and bullied BAD. Not necessarily directly by F4; I get that the four of them are "untouchable," but the rest of the kids are running around willy nilly, lighting bikes on fire and throwing eggs and tomatoes at people. Are there zero grounds for discipline at this school? That irks me here and there at points but once you realize that these kids are just allowed to do whatever, you go with it.

Secondly, lets talk about the scene where Jan-di supposedly slept with that other guy and pictures were taken of her. She was drugged for goodness sake. People are standing in front of that TV, pointing at it, and laughing at her while she very well could have been raped. I would hope that wouldn't happen in reality. Then, when Jun-pyo shows up and sees it, she doesn't shout out, HEY I WAS DRUGGED in way of explanation. I was shouting those words at my phone for like five minutes during the scene; there were like eight different openings she could have explained what happened and she just stuttered and looked at the ground. That is freakin' infuriating. Why don't the girls in these K-dramas try to explain things when they are perfectly justified in doing so? I know, I know, it creates more drama, but that is lazy story writing. Since there are perfectly timed dramatic moments later in the show, it is just a little disappointing that they stooped that low during this series. It is a common trope, but an irritating one none-the-less.

Other than those two things, and stupid boy hair-dos, I can't really complain! I think the love triangle is set up perfectly- I am not sure which one I want her to end up with! Either one would work for me, honestly. I know she thinks she likes Ji-hoo the best, but I think we all saw the look in her eyes when she drew the little yellow stick-figure of Jun-pyo on the wall and his curly, curly hair. She likes that dude, come on. And I think Ji-hoo sees it as well. Again, I'm only on episode 7 (I just watched 7 this morning) but that's the vibe I'm getting.

I like Jun-pyo's character development. He actually seems to be growing, little by little, because of this girl. Even if they don't end up together, I think he'll be a better person for it.

Ji-hoo is honestly a little bland, but he does have that "shining knight to the rescue" vibe down pat. They even dress him in white for most of the series, I didn't miss that symbolism.

The show trots along just fine for a while, funny and interesting, keeping my attention and my curiosity at just a good enough level for me to click "next episode" at the end of each hour. Then...dun dun dun... the island vacation comes into play.

All the island stuff played out perfectly. The whole thing with the ankle bracelet, her dropping it, Ji-hoo picking it up, Jun-pyo seeing him have it, and then Ga-eul telling her the meaning of it...perfect at pulling your heartstrings. Having Jun-pyo set up the lunch on the beach, flying her over the "heart" on the island in the helicopter, the nice things he says to her...perfect in helping you fall in love with him.

The first night she sees Ji-hoo at night at the sailboat, when he hugs her at the end, I totally thought he was going to kiss her. I thought, "what a missed opportunity, they could have had Jun-pyo see and drama would ensue." But oh no, this show is one step ahead of me. Instead, it set the stakes a little higher the next day between Jun-pyo and Jan-di, then had her deny Jun-pyo a kiss, then 20 minutes later she lets Ji-hoo give her a big smack right on the lips...just as Jun-pyo comes by! WHAT!? I was lying in bed at 12am and I sat up straight, laughing and terrified at the same time, yelling "nonononono" at my phone (I watch on Netflix on my phone). As the confrontation played out, I seriously felt like I was going to throw up, I was literally nauseous about it, putting myself in her shoes. That's how much this show has me reeled in.

Oh, and a side note, I am in love with the little romance going on between the "player" F4 member, Yi-jung, and Jan-di's best friend, Ga-eul. He doesn't know it yet, but he's totes head over heals in love with her. She doesn't know it yet either, but that will be fun when they figure it out. Those two are so cute whenever they are on screen together. Ooooh! I found this picture:

I can't wait! Squeee!! And by the way, this guy is way more my type than the other two. I think he's the cutest out of the four. These two are so adorbs I can't stand it. I need this scene to happen.

Anyway....

Now here we are, episode 7. They are doing silly competitions at the moment for whatever reason; the best part of that is the introduction to Jun-pyo's big sister who is awesome. She needs to stick around for a while.

I will post another blog when I am finished with the series. I do know that I tend to be disappointed with last episodes of K-Dramas. They don't usually work for me. I am aware of this, and anticipating this, but I still want to know what happens. I have many hours of entertainment ahead of me.

So, yeah....Boys Over Flowers, Bros Before Ho's, whatever you want to call it....watch it. It's great fun to see a girl stand up to a bully and that bully grow a heart and then get it broken and then try to figure out how to piece it all back together. Korean entertainment at its finest!