(You feel the sexy vibe from Kim Hyun Joo here?
And don’t you just want to lap Wookie up? <3333 )
Okay, I have not exactly been committed to all the dramas I’m watching or having been watching all this while right now. The reason? None other than the time constraint I’m facing due to work. And also the incessant nagging that I’m getting from my family (some addicts will know, and share with me the same plight). Sighz.
The only dramas that I’m following closely right now is Brilliant Legacy and Partner. I have put City Hall on hold (stopped at Ep 15) because to be frank, I wasn’t in the mood (and still not am in it) to get into all the sappiness and political conflicts blah blah blah. CSW and KSA are love, but still, I’m not eager right now. Triple is also currently pending catching up…due to the fact that I had put it on hold back then just to watch one other drama for some shallow reason (Wookie of course!). Now that drama has not just become a regular must-watch every week, it also became a priority of mine… you know, the picture above tells it all.
Partner started off okay. The pilot episode did not interest me to a very high extent, regardless of how I loved Lee Dong Wook’s new playboy image. The plot was not very well polished, direction and flow were choppy, scene transitions were just all over the place. It wasn’t intolerable, but it wasn’t ermmm… intriguing or should I say, captivating? At one point in time, I even had that teeny lil urge inside me telling myself to give up the drama, because I usually decide whether to continue watching one based on my impressions of the first episode. And I’ll say it, I even groaned that I had to translate the whole episode (for WITHs2). Bad bad me huh? >.<
Anywayz, that became history after watching Ep 2. The main reason (initially) was of course Lee Dong Wook’s portrayal of his character Tae Jo. An arrogant, confident and smart lawyer who uses every single opportunity he has to flaunt his ability and assets. And when I say ability, I mean his ability to charm and woo girls. One who’d slack in work just to court his favorite Jung Won. One who’d make time for his potential girlfriends rather than take on complicated cases. In short, Tae Jo is a playboy. And a downright flirty one I would say. Honestly, I was quite taken aback by this new image of Lee Dong Wook. Never saw it coming as I have always had his pre-fixed image of Lee Dong Wook playing the serious and capable guy who would always be loyal to the girl he loves. But Tae Jo totally destroyed all of that, and some more, made me fall in love with Lee Dong Wook all over again. <333 (Not that the love was ever lost in the first place tho.) His character TJ is nothing new in Kdrama-land, we’ve seen enough to know. But there is this endearing charm and appeal in his character which makes you want to like him and root for him. Nothing in him will make you frustrated, irritated or annoyed (just like how Eun Ho sometimes may do to some of us), regardless of how insensitive or irresponsible he may be. He’s just fun. I absolutely enjoy every single moment he’s on screen. When he’s in court, his aura of confidence commands. When he’s not in court, his cuteness and weird sense of humor take over. He’s like a totally different person in and off court! =P And not to mention, I really really dig his attire in the drama. He looks HOT in every single suit he wears, be it a colored checkered shirt, or the green shirt (which would be super difficult to pull off unless you have what it takes), or just a simple, plain white shirt!
With regard to the drama itself and the other characters, I have to admit that I had my qualms. I wasn’t really into Kim Hyun Joo’s character Eun Ho in the first place. And neither was I interested in Jung Won, Young Woo or the rest of the supporting characters. To top it off, the first case wasn’t exactly thrilling. However, I don’t know…starting from the middle of Ep 2 onward…everything started to pick up. The second case came into play, TJ and EH’s relationship started to develop further, and the drama started to delve into more interesting aspects. It became better and better.
What I appreciate most about the drama is that it doesn’t downplay its legal content to accommodate the budding relationship between the characters in the drama. I’ve experienced this once in another drama Lawyers of Great Republic of Korea which essentially focused on a love story using a legal setting. Whilst I have to say I loved that drama, I didn’t really appreciate how it took 20 episodes to deal with one divorce case. Partner is like a breath of fresh air to me. Whilst its flaws may be apparent, what with the professional conduct issues left unpolished, coupled with some choppy direction and so on, the drama has heart. The drama not only deals with how lawyers strive to win a case or to win an argument, it delves deeper. It tries to show how the law isn’t just black and white, and that the law isn’t just paper and ink print. It endeavors to show that the law encompasses humanity, heart and spirit which may not be obvious on the outset and that such elements are intertwined even within the four cold walls of the court. And furthermore, we get to see things from the perspectives of all parties involved in the cases. The accused, the witnesses, the lawyers…etc. They paint a picture for us to think and analyze. And even if our conclusions are not the same as portrayed in the drama, at least it got us to think.
Now, the other reason for you to watch Partner? Need I say something? hehehe… If the pictures above don’t work for you, then you’d have to get your drama recommendations somewhere else. =P
Tae Jo and Eun Ho. You see, they are partners. First 2 episodes, they detested the sight of each other. And then along the way, magic happened. EH started to notice something different about TJ. He’s attractive, no doubt about that. But she discovered more. She noticed that the playboy isn’t a playboy at heart, he always had that special someone in his heart. She noticed that the playboy is not to be messed with in court, because he’s smart, obvservant and critical. Much more, she noticed that the playboy isn’t just a hard cold shell, he has heart and conscience burried deep inside him. Sounds dramatic huh? Not at all. Cos in the drama itself, the process of EH discovering TJ to be more than what she claims is all fun and lighthearted. All their scenes together, especially from Ep 6 onwards, were just downright hilarious and fun. Their bickering slowly turns into teasing. Teasing into compliments. Compliments into concern. Concern into? You know what’ll happen later. hehehehe…
TJ and EH’s partnership is special. They’re starting to grown on each other, and somehow are starting to acknowledge each other of their own capabilities. Lee Dong Wook and Kim Hyun Joo’s chemistry gets better and better by episode. And altho I have yet to feel anything sizzling between them, the vibe they give out when they’re together is really nice and fun. They’re slowly buidling up momentum and I appreciate that.
Conclusion, I am really having a blast watching Partner. Have watched all of the episodes which have been aired, and I already can’t wait for the battle in Ep 9 to begin! Hopefully we’ll get more of cute moments of TJ and EH aside from them dealing with their case!
So just before I scoot off, I’ll leave you with two Partner NGs of Lee Dong Wook and Kim Hyun Joo. You will see how comfortable they are off-screen…. not joking!
credits: KHJ’s blog/Soompi Partner thread/ youtube clip uploader
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