The first half of 2018 has come to an end, many kdramas aired their last episodes this past week, this week about 6 new dramas premiered and I am having a hard time keeping up with everything, I am literally lost and don’t know where I am in which episode of which kdrama I have watched so far, its that bad!
However, I was looking forward to the premiere of “Time” mainly because its lead Kim Jung Hyun was rude at the drama press conference, he used ‘method acting’ as an excuse for his cold behavior in the conference.
I don’t want to talk badly about that again here, so if you’re curious about my reaction to his rude behavior click here.
I bring this up because I will be discussing Kim Jung Hyun’s acting in particular and its influence on the plot and why it made this drama so enjoyable for me. More on that later.
Let’s start with the plot because I AM LOVING IT!
So, the plot outline is rather interesting. Its about a rich chaebol of a huge conglomerate, Soo Ho. He is, as you’d expect, rude, a womanizer, outrageous, useless, and he thinks he owns the world. So far, typical.
And a woman, Ji Hyun, she is bright and hardworking despite lacking a college education. She provides for her sister and mother, her mother is a shitty person (excuse me, im bitter, we’re two episodes in and I hate her guts) who borrows money and owes people a lot.
Soo Ho ends up meeting Ji Hyun in a typical kdrama set, he insults her in front of everybody in her part-time job, she tries to stand up but caves in when she finds out he’s rich and important. He forces her to apologize to him and their tale begins.
Somehow and after a series of unfortunate events, Soo Ho ends up ruining the family’s life forever, unintentionally, though.
Ju Hyun younger sister Ji Won resort to prostitution (sorta) to pay for her mother’s debt because she can’t help any other way. Being an escort girl pays a lot, you know! (Do you?)
Soo Ho gets diagnosed with cancer, its terminal. Its apparent from the first episodes that we’re gonna have a heartbreaking ending, the drama is dark and I love it.
This is by far one of the most impressing kdrama premieres of 2018 so far. If you guys follow my blog, then you probably noticed me complaining about kdramas this year.
I can’t even put a top 10 list of 2018 kdramas so far, I tried to make a YouTube video of that and honestly, I felt that I would be a hypocrite if I ended up posting such a video because with all honesty, I only liked 4 so far.
“Time” is gritty, annoyingly realistic and dark, there is almost no humor which I appreciate because it plans on discussing dark subjects with its heavy plot, and there is no room for that.
I liked the actors’ performances, it felt like everyone was their respective characters, everyone was into their role and their character’s trouble and I could sense that. I like it!
Also, some kdrama fans were complaining about Seohyun’s acting. Honestly, this is the first time I ever saw a drama of her, but so far, she is stable, delivers her lines well and does great. She doesn’t feel like an idol, I don’t get it where did that criticism come from? Believe me, if she sucked you’d see me complain, she was great!
With all honesty, I kinda prefer her to YoonA (please don’t send me death threats)!
I was on the edge of my seat for the entire first and second episodes, I was immersed, very angry at certain scenes, very disappointed at others, I was very invested and that’s something not every kdrama can easily pull off, not with its premiere.
They jump right into the meat of the plot, they waste no time, they do introductions fast and jump into what matters, but it didn’t feel cramped or too fast, not for me.
It introduces what matter forth and most, of course, some of the scenes, the lines and the characteristics of the main characters are predictable but the execution is top notch.
Its hard to find a fresh, never-done-before script these days, mainly because everything has been done already. But “Time” manages to utilize those clichés and stereotypes and upgrade it into an uncomfortable overly dramatic level.
I like that Soo Ho is a dick and that he knows it. He is broken, has anger management issues and he is not even trying to mask it. The direction of the drama also doesn’t try to justify his action, not yet.
They do explain that he’s the illegitimate son of his rich rich dad and that he has a stepbrother and mother who will obviously try to bring him down throughout the drama runtime.
His main characteristics aren’t anything unusual or new to be honest with you, but here, instead of them trying to mask it, here they embrace his rude-ass behavior.
He reminded me of the excellent Namgoong Min’s performance in “Remember: The War Of Son.” He played a very similar character that snagged him awards and recognition from fans and critics. But Namgoong Min’s character was the second leading character not the first like the case we have here with “Time.”
The star of the drama is obviously Kim Jung Hyun; he is putting on his most challenging performance to date. He is so into character and is doing amazing.
Remember what I said at the beginning of this article?
I received a lot of hate for calling him out for being a dick at the press conference of “Time.”
So basically, he was cold and embracing the character that he’s playing in the drama. He told the press that he was using ‘method acting.’
Obviously, his behavior at that press conference will never be justified, but method acting does work wonders, the only problem is, it takes a toll on the actor’s mental and physical state.
To those who don’t know, method acting is a form of acting where the actor mystically ‘becomes’ the character or tries to somehow literally live the character in life. So you’re basically living your character, you never break it, you never return to your real self, you become the character you’re playing.
Some of the Oscar performances over the years by actors and actresses were the results of ‘method acting.’ I don’t personally encourage it because I am well aware it can negatively affect the actor. This is what happened with Kim Jung Hyun during the press conference.
He is giving his all to what could become one of the greatest performances of 2018; I just loved how he embodied the character and gave his all. This is in no way justifying the actions he did at the press conference, I think method acting has a time and a place but its not when you promote your work.
I also liked that Seohyun’s character has a boyfriend here; I just wish she doesn’t fall for Soo Ho, that would just disappoint me. I also liked the way the sister died (okay, this sounds wrong! let me explain!)
The sister’s death isn’t really anybody’s fault, its an accident but everyone is all over the place because they suspect its murder, the suspects as well as their circumstances don’t really indicate an accident. She died picking the money in the swimming pool, nobody killed killed her, they influenced the action but nobody literally killed her, which I liked.
This grey area of right and wrong is an interesting subject and I believe the writer and director will explore it in this drama.
Also, lets talk about actor Kim Joon Han’s performance, which is excellent. I hate hate his character. Those who pretend they’re nice and good while doing bad sinister things scare me far more than those who are bad, they know and show it.
I just hate the way he treats his girlfriend and the way he caves in for the boss because of money, I feel like he’s the true bad person in this drama.
Also, can someone bitch slap the mom for me? Because I just can’t stand her! Everything is her fault!
I just googled the director and the writer behind the drama “Time,” I discovered that director Jang Joon Ho is working on it, he had previously directed “The Heirs,” which explains why the drama looks so darn good and why the directing is great.
The writer of this drama is the true hero, it was written by Choi Ho Chul, his previous works include “Secret Love” and “Mask” two amazing kdramas with a lot of twists and turns.
“Mask” remains one of the most highly underrated kdramas of all time in my opinion, it was fun, intense and had a lot of twists and turns, so I have high expectation that the drama script will only get more interesting with time.
The premiere was amazing. This drama can potentially become one of the best of 2018 so far.
What did you guys think of it? Did you like the premier of “time”?
What are you still doing here? You can watch this by clicking this link!
