The Magician \ Joseon Magician \ 조선마술사 \ Joseonmasoolsa

To put it most concisely....The Phantom of the Opera meets The Prestige meets The Titanic meets The Fall in Joseon-era Korea. Wow.

child Bo-Eum

This is the story of two slave children, Hwan-Hee {Yoo Seung-Ho} and Bo-Eum {Jo Yoon-Hee} who escape their {abusive in all possible ways} master in a bloody betrayal that ends in one assistant dead and their master in furious enemy hands.

Hwan-Hee on stage

As adults, one of the two is a master magician*, drowning self-hatred and the horror of his past in alcohol, drugs, and any pretty assistant he can get to follow him backstage. The other's horror is even more never-ending: she has claimed safety from the owner of their new magic show, and in exchange has become a palm reader and a gisaeng...and she spends her free time obsessively going after the thoughtless, pretty girls who attract her fellow escapee, leaving him demanding in angered frustration and the viewer wondering in shocked horror if she kills each and every one.

first meeting

Then Hwan-Hee meets a new girl. Sold by her parents, bound to obey for the safety of her brothers, Cheong-Myung {Go Ara} is as much a slave as he ever was, though she is a princess on her way to wed an emperor. Watched only by a sympathetic guard, she begins sneaking out at night to meet him, delighting in the one person who treats her "as a commoner" - as a person. 

You already know it's going nowhere good...and then their old master appears, here to steal the emperor's future bride and the ancient sword being sent as a gift. Or rather, he'll do that while accomplishing his main goal, which is revenge on the two who scarred his face and quite clearly left him for dead. 

I've seen it described as enchanting, and it is. Enchanting and poignant and lovely and painful all at once.

"You're like a family," Cheong-Myung says wistfully, after a night in the town's underbelly where she meets the stage hands and fellow performers.

"Are we?" Hwan-Hee asks, and the question is just as wistful.

The subject matter is {obviously...} very dark...yet all that I stated above is whispers and implications. Rather than the overwhelming darkness that could have been shown, you see light and color and glorious beauty that overlays the entire movie with a magical glow. It's a story of young love shadowed by the past and the future. 

Until you reach the end, when the young magician returns to meet the revenge that awaits him head-on, only to be drawn into a magical house of horrors, where lamp tricks and mirrors play with his mind, and every swirling curtain moves to show him another dying friend...And you realize exactly how young he is, as time turns back and he becomes again the helpless child, kneeling before his master and begging for the pain to stop. 

But he has grown in all those years away, and even as his master systematically tears him apart, he works his own kind of magic to restore justice once again.

Exactly what that means, and whether the ending is magic or wistfulness, I will leave you to discover when you watch it yourself.

*{For the curious, there is no actual magic involved on the part of the good guys. Besides a tortured loathing for the blue eye that marks him a freak, part of the scathing self-hatred mentioned above has to do with the fact that Hwan-Hee has no way to help the sick, starving peasants who frantically beg him to save them with his magic.}

Damo 다모 The Undercover Lady Detective

다모 3.5-4.5 stars
PG-13 for...POLICE related work. This is a historic drama so it's not as graphic as now a days, I think. There are a few scenes to watch out for:
There are two rape related/sensitive scenes. The first case in the first episode, a rape/murder investigation occurs. The second one is the attempted rape of Chae-Ok that she is utterly awesome in destroying, however it is just a little bit before she gets free, there is nothing graphic it just makes you go :P :P. Chae-Ok does take a few chances to bathe, all scenes are pretty distant, and mostly modest but still :P. Also there is someone who is beaten whose bloody backside you see. There is a weird healing scene...very temple...ish stuff, just so you are aware.

There are people slain on screen, at one point almost an army is killed on screen. It's not terribly graphic but still it is impacting and devastating. *SPOILER* several of the people killed are people you follow in the drama.*SPOILER END*

*MAJORSPOILERMAJORMAJOREVERYONEYOUCAREFORINTHISDRAMAWILLDIEANDITWILLBEWORTHALLTHETEARSYOUWILLSITANDSOBFORENDOFMAJORSPOILER*

다모 is like watching poetry on screen. The lines...the people, the story. It's a tragic poem. Stunningly beautiful...a story that will leave a beautiful scar on your heart to cherish.

This is one of my favorites.

One of my FAVORITE FAVORITES!

I stumbled across it by accident and it was one of the five dramas I pulled up to decide between. 다모captured me within minutes...melting away the world.
I was unfamiliar with fusion drama's when I first started watching dramas but I rapidly fell in love with the story telling, despite the unique fantasy like flying sword scenes.

I am not sure what drew me to this drama....maybe it was the scenery...

The stunning vistas

The golden silence of the bamboo forest

 The stunning peacefulness...

Then this face....

 Then hers...

the queerness of two people in trees..

 Flying

 Then her first words...

Where you trying to kill me?

Then his haunting answer

I already killed you.

A chase....

A hail of arrows...

A commanding voice:

Turn around Jang Sung Baek

It's all over!

Give up do not resist!

What you see before you is only a cliff.

You ran down a road that it's a road.

His reply:

A road that isn't a road.

How can you say that?

If a person takes a path...

If two people take it..

If many people take it
Then it becomes a road.

In this rotten world.

All I did was create a new road.

Commanding voice:

Don't be foolish the road you created is only a cliff leading to death!

His reply:

You're wrong.

Though my bones may be buried here today.

After I die many people will take my path and make it a road.

Some time their blood and souls will fill the valleys and rivers

and a new road, and a new world will definitely be opened.

Even though I die now

I will not...completely die

*whispers softly to himself* only Jae-Hui...

*then back to the world* This life of mine ends here

Please relieve me.

Commanding voice

How dare you!

Her voice

If I do not kill him with my own sword. I will regret it.

Him:

Don't make a mistake this time....

*fades to white*

And we spring to old Joseon...

And the Left Police Bureau

 Where we meet Chae-Ok a tea servant for the police.

She is a female detective...and a slave...in name only.

 Chae-Ok has keen abilities in the detective field and her fellow officers often rely on her.

Here is the commanding officer...he and Chae-Ok go a long...long way back.

Seriously! This drama is filled with awesome quotes and Proverbs.

But when I mean they go a long way back...I mean....a long way back...

 This is her brother

 Her father imparting wisdom...

 The inquisitiveness of a 7 year old..

 The affection of a father...

 and his apology to his children.

 The last few moments with her brother...

 as they are being chased...

 Now a little slave girl...

 And the illegitimate son of a noble meet...

 forging a bond and a destiny...

of faithful loyalty...

 That does not fail if even trialed 10,000 times...

 And the student becomes the master, teaching a slaves hands to war...

 So much of this drama is poetic and a beautiful tangle of emotions and destiny twisting and twinning and churning the heart.

The three main characters have their fates to tightly tied together and Chae-Ok is nearly torn between the two leads who are though twain, her core.

Chae-Ok
She is played by Ha Ji Won. OH MY GOODNESS THIS WOMAN IS INCREDIBLE! She made me fall in love with Chae-Ok and her incredible story, a powerful woman, yet quiet and subtle she wields so much power and receives so much respect. Her heart is beautiful. Stunning...she just makes me marvel...and I'll stop carrying on but Chae-Ok will make you cry, and that is okay.


Yoon
The strong commander, the one she has been following since she was 7 years old, the compassion and pity of two lost souls finding each other and making each other home. Falling in love but neither are going to let it happen. To let themselves actually...fall in love.

 Jang.
Ah! This name. THIS MAN. He has a soul in his eyes that can hardly be matched. He has known pain and trial and yet has conquered it all to come to the point where is now.
I'll be honest. I fell in love with him.
Some of my favorite quotes from him are:
One must first kill with the heart. (The reason they haven't killed each otheryet.)
You are the first person to draw blood from my lip and lived. You will be the last.
If the people are not of heaven, I will destroy heaven as well.
He is sheer awesome and epicness...that will kill you. A prince of people...he sees people...

It's a story of justice. Scales, checks, balances...and justice. What does justice really look like? What does it mean? Is it really...blind? Is destiny also...blind?

It ends with this...

 A far off mountain…

A mountain with a deep green forest…

A destiny…that could not foresee that divide

A love I could not measure…

A love that tore my heart apart…

Not again… never again…

Do not live for me…

Splash Splash Love

Rating: 10 of 10 for quality, PG-13 for content
Content Advisory: this is a really clean drama.  There is one scene involving someone having unknowingly taken an aphrodisiac and another scene where one character attempts to seduce another one, but both scenes are mild and clean.
Black Hats worn in this drama: several.  In Joseon society, court officials all wore black hats.  The most notable black hats for the purpose of this review were those worn by the king- both his court hat and his undercover hat- and Dan-bi's court hat.

Christmas evening my family was winding down from the excitement of the day and starting to go to bed, and I was looking for something fun to watch.  I had been wanting to try this drama for days, and thought, 'What better time to watch something fluffy?'.  What I thought was going to be a pleasant little interlude to Christmas Day turned into me holding my sides laughing, snickering and just thoroughly enjoying this drama.  Korean drama is known for having deeper themes than American drama, but I still didn’t expect much depth from this because it was only a mini-drama.  I was pleasantly surprised at the valuable life lessons that were dealt with in a light but still poignant way.  I finished it with a warm feeling and over 200 screencaps.  Having enjoyed it so much, I persuaded my mother and sister to watch it with me for Valentine's Day.  They thought it was fun and I liked it just as much the second time around.

See, black hat seal of approval:

Jang Dan-bi hates school, math in particular.  She detests her mother nagging at her to make something of herself and she doesn't like not being talented at anything.  She's not clever, witty or creative- basically, she doesn't have anything to recommend her or fit her for a clear future.  On the day of the SAT exams, she decides she can't handle the pressure anymore.  Running away from the test site, she jumps through a puddle; landing in a cauldron of water in the middle of a ceremony asking the rain goddess to break the drought in Joseon- nearly 600 years prior to her own time.

When she introduces herself, the King mistakes the word 'high school senior' for the word 'eunuch', so she is ordered to join the eunuchs who serve the court.  To save her arm from being cut off for being disrespectful, she tells the king she can teach him the math problems and science facts that he longs to know in order to govern Joseon with science instead of superstition.  The King agrees that in turn for her teaching him these things, she may go back home when it rains.  As she waits, watches and teaches, she learns vital lessons about people and herself, while contending with a wary queen, disgruntled court officials, and the enigmatic guard with whom she rooms.

When the rain comes, will she choose to return home or will she stay in the past with the people who appreciate her?

Doojoon, leader of idol group BEAST, did a great job as young King Sejong; eventual inventor of Hangul- the writing system the Koreans still use.  His use of soccer to vent the frustrations of the day was a fun plotline, especially since he only walked during the game, never ran.  (Kings don't RUN, Dan-bi!)  Off the soccer field, the ball did double duty by being thrown at the chief eunuch whenever he entered the king's chambers at inopportune moments (which I laughed heartily at).  Best part of his costume in my opinion?  Those red boots he wears.  Favorite Sejong moment: when he discovered the taste of chocolate, via candy from Dan-bi's backpack.

He also had some of the best quotes in the drama:

 

‘You mean in the future, people voluntarily become eunuchs to study arithmetics?  That’s very incredible.'
‘It’s all right.  This gosam is surely a guy.  I can tell from his hand.'

I had enjoyed Kim Seul-gi's secondary role in Flower Boy Next Door and SSL again showcased her excellent comedic acting ability.  From her gleefully flicking the king when he gave the wrong multiplication answer, to taunting him to chase her on the soccer field, to drawing faces on tangerines; she kept me snickering, giggling and laughing.  By far the funniest moment was when Dan-bi has to ride a horse to escape and manages to stay on by imitating the Horse Dance from PSY's mega-hit "Gangnam Style".  I was laughing so hard I had to cover my mouth with a pillow so I didn't wake anyone up.

Queen Soheon was interesting and as I finished the drama, I found myself wanting to know more about her and wondering if this portrayal was just for the fluff quotient of the drama or if it was anywhere close to historically accurate - was she at any time a lonely queen wishing for a friend?

Guard boy Park Yeon stole my heart from the moment he walked onscreen.  His standard response to disrespect of the King ("Cut his arm off!"), his past with the queen, him knowing so much more than he ever let on... all of them endeared him to me.  I also have costume envy concerning his guard costume.  This was actor Ahn Hyo-seop's first drama but he's already lined up two others and I'm looking forward to watching more of his acting.

The costumes were good - typical Joseon costuming.  Aside from the two things I've already mentioned, no costume in particular grabbed my interest.  The OST had a fun, peppy, modern pop sound blended with the wistful sound of a sageuk.  My favorite song was Kim Hyung-Joong's Splash Into You.

A short story, whether prose or drama, needs to feel complete.  It shouldn’t feel like a prologue or a first chapter, but neither should it feel like an outline.  SSL kept that balance.  While there were definitely areas that could have been fleshed out, it never felt lacking or that something was missing.

Whether you want a fun break from more serious dramas, or you love lighter dramas, or you want something cute and time-travely for Leap Day... or maybe you've never watched a kdrama before and you need to start somewhere - I highly recommend Splash Splash Love.