King2Hearts

It was refreshing to come across a show that glorified peace the way King2Hearts did...the way it reminded us that our similarities are more than our differences, that we can love our enemy, that we have to look past the past. I was weirdly moved by that...perhaps because that's not something that's emphasized in American media.

We love our war, after all.

Also, it was a timely show considering the Sony/North Korea blow-up that's been happening the past few weeks. Grounding, even. I pride myself sometimes on being unbiased. This show reminded me exactly how shaped by my world my perspectives are. That's a good thing to remember.

So on to the review!

Kim Hang-ah and Lee Jae-ha--she's a special ops North Korean soldier, tough but sensitive, and trained especially to kill the royal family. He's the spoiled South Korean playboy prince who avoids responsibility like the plague. Throw them together for a massively important training exercise, and what do you get? Bomb threats, of course (you thought I was going to say romance didn't you? Ha!).

OK. There's romance too. But LOOK at those faces! This is so worth it. She beats him up for being an ass and he looks at her like she's the sun rising for the first time in his life.

Admittedly he goes on to be a much bigger ass, but by then I was already hooked.

 It's an unlikely romance, not just between a man and a woman, but between two countries struggling to find common ground and trust after years of fighting. It's about making friends with people you may end up having to kill if a war breaks out. It's about oddities and similarities and never giving up dreams of peace in the face of even the most determined war-mongers. It's actually very touching. I welled up a few times.

It helps that the acting (well, the Korean acting) is excellent. The story lines flow beautifully with the commitment of its participants. The foreign acting, of which there is far too much, is utterly atrocious. Oh well. Win some, lose some.

It's fast paced and exciting, with few (if any) really boring moments. And I really fell in love with Ha Ji Won for the first time in this drama.

The side characters are dearly engaging as well--there's an earnest, innocent chief of guards, a wild-child princess, a loving older brother, a mother who breaks every k-drama mother-in-law unspoken rule by being a supportive, affectionate person, plus more!



OK, now I feel like I'm in an informercial.

It's a shame that at the end, it didn't hit its full potential. It got sidetracked with plots that didn't have any real emotional impact, so that our finale didn't get to have the punch which it deserved. Really though, that's my only huge complaint.

Final Conclusion: One of the better dramas out there. Not perfect. Still wonderful.

(photos courtesy of Dramabeans)