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The Bride of Habaek

 What is this ending? again?

Yoon Soo-ah wants to live with her immortal love until the day she dies? Did she not learn anything from her past life in Black Knight where she led a sad lonely life hidden in the country and as she aged the town folk thought she was first her husband's sister, then mother, then grandmother? I mean, come on, cut us some slack here. When will Shin Sae-Kyung catch a break?

And, what was that messed up story line that she is responsible for her father's death? That's just way too much grief to handle, especially since she is so angry at her father and it has messed her up for the last 10 years. Is this K-Dramaland telling us to let go of our deep buried anger towards those in our past? Is there some life lesson here about not wasting time on thinking you're a victim all the time?Sigh... maybe that's why I love k-dramas, they pull you in with the inner turmoil the characters have to go through. All the miniscule mistakes made from a flash of anger come back to haunt in the most depressing of ways. I get that and I love that but, I think there are moments of this regret that could have been done better in this drama. 

One story line that was never quite explained was Nakbin - the human woman who wronged Habaek 1200 years ago. Just like the Greek gods play with the lives of humans, Habaek's 2 best friends are at the centre of this misunderstanding. Krystal Jung who plays Mura, and does it well, sends a human woman to her death in a jealous rage. Habaek saves the woman and lets her live with him in the land of water. What a bitter pill for Mura to swallow! 

So, supposedly this kind of life is possible, much like Bella became immortal in Twilight, Nakbin chose an immortal life so she could live with her love. Why doesn't soo-ah get that choice? Biryeom, desperately in love with Mura and desperate to make Mura happy, aims to get rid of Nakbin by tricking her to betray Habaek. This is the part I want to know more of. How exactly did she betray him? What's the tea here? 

Then, we see the queen mother sentences Nakbin to die without incarnating and then finds the girl's relatives and forces them to pledge servitude to the gods. Firstly, why is there a queen 'mother' when all these gods simply exist. It seems confusing when Habaek keeps insisting the gods idea of family is different to humans. Secondly, it feels like the story line is incomplete if we don't know why she is being sentenced? We need to know the full story to know if justice is being served. Thirdly, why is Habaek shown as a young boy when he sees Nakbin? It seems cowardly to hide his true appearance if he is going to watch her die. 

I think as a whole, there are promising side-characters that deserved more of a story line. Namsuri working his part-time jobs would have been fun to see. The genius yet loopy psychiatrist friend talking with Soo-ah after she finds out how her father died would have been good to see. More scenes with the lower gods. I think what I'm trying to say here is that the main story line was not that strong and the major plot twists did not land as impactfully as they could have. The death of Biryeom's soldiers would have been much stronger if they had shown significant scenes of friendship earlier on. And, his hatred of Shin Hoo-ye would have made more sense. All they show is his death.... And, while we're in the cave, let's ask, why didn't they show more scenes with Nakbin and Shin Hoo-ye? Or Shin Hoo-ye and his adoptive family? Or Shin Hoo-ye ageing and dying? I really love a good build up scene. 

I found myself fast forwarding a bunch, but I still made it to the last episode. I can't help it. I love a good immortality story of gods playing with the human world. So... supposedly we got a happy ending because the two got to be together... but I worry for Yoon Soo-Ah. It's not fun aging alone. 

K-Drama My Heart

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