Goong S - Episode 1

First of all, I would like to thank all of those who made it possible for Non-Korean Speakers like I have a chance to watch this Drama with English subtitles! You guys are getting fast! Kamsa hamnida
If you are done watching the drama we also made a post on the final episode 20 check it out

This entry is basically a review on the first episode, if you are still interested click it to read more!

So, I finally watched the first episode of Goong S. It’s really hard to talk about the 20 something-episode-drama based on only watching the first episode. I have never done this, because I don’t think it’s any fair to the cast and crew. But since it seems like it’s such a controversial topic these days, I add my piece too.
Now that I’m thinking, actually it’ll probably be fun to come back to this once we finished watching the whole drama anyways.

So just like everybody else said on this planet who has watched Goong 1 compression between Goong 1 and Goong S is unavoidable!
But you remember this is not supposed to be a sequel! Uh huh! Whatever?!
One suggestions they made to make our lives easier was try to take it literally as, THAT ONE was the Princess Hours and THIS IS the Prince Hour *scratching head* (like we don’t know?) they say all this, but no matter what you do form the background music to those pathetic bears at the end, constantly kept on reminding every cell of your body of the Goong 1 * shrugging*

After watching this, it made me realize that how hard it is actually to act! You know, we never realize how much effort these people put into a show b/c they do such a magnificent jobs most of the time. But a drama like this is a reminder of what we have taken for granted! Especially watching Se7en in quarrel with his character is an evident to this fact! Oh and that’s when Se7en has basically grew up in front of camera! He had zillion of Music Videos and Advertisements not to mention appearing in variety shows and etc,… so just imagine us in his place! meaning the people who has never been in front of camers but their owns!!! I know for a fact that I would simply pee in myself!

Having said this, here comes the reality piece. Like everybody else I am not that pleased with the first episode either, but for the following reasons:

The first thing I didn’t like was the camera angle!
OMG, Seriously who was in charge of that!? Whoever was in charge looks like was one of those hard-core party students that probably failed most of his classes during college!
For his information, even though we don’t have academic background on cinematography, but dear we have seen good movies and most defiantly have sensitive organs in our faces just like the ones we are hoping you have too and we happen to call ours EYES!!
Seriously what were you thinking man? The hallmark of your skills was in this one scene way at the end of the episode that the camera zoomed into the projector! You know, you can get sue for burning our eyes! Honestly speaking such a pitiful job they did! *shaking head*

Next thing was costume designs! I think men’s outfits were too tacky! Sorry for being too blunt!
I couldn’t find the ones I have been looking for, these pics are from upcoming episode which serve the purpose ^^ in the first picture the coat is crying on Se7en’s body! Are ya aiming to make this guy looks like a monkey or something?! cuz you are successful to some extend!!! The least thing you could do was to use some suggestion from his regular stylists! There are certain things sounds like they know better than ya’ll!!! For one thing, he doesn’t look adorable in his grandpa size coat! nor in a Polka dot SHIRT (2nd pic)!!! He is a man for God’s sake!

Thought we understand the pressure that the person in charge is bearing! For, the Princess Hour was all about her flawless dresses, which was way worthier than the face of that actress in most of the scenes. Assuming the same rule applies to the Prince Hour it’s too much to deal with on its own. And the biggest problem is the fact that not much can be done as for creating unity in designing men wardrobes. If you think too much, you’d end up designing what this guy singer Rain wears these days or members of that Fly To The Sky!

Notice the Golden saftey pin on top of that gliter belt on Brian (right) oh and I didn’t die and for once Brian’s hair looked good! I hope after he saw himself that night in the mirror, ditches out those long layers combo and keep this one instead *praying* on the contrary that hair of HwannHee (left) is a total disaster! Looks like what a confused 17 year old girl would do to her hair for her prom night! Why can’t both of these two look good for once in the same picture!

I defended the designer I guess? Huh! But OMG, women’s outfits were even worse!

The black dress looks like melted whipping cream on top of a muffin or something. As for the purple one, if you’d ask my grandma’s maid to wear it she would throw it in your face! not only the style, but looks like it’s too tight that the actress wearing it is debating to make her next breath or not, before the the director announces the CUT!

As for the make up artist, is she/he the one who helped HwanHee in his Sun Kiss CF?
(Notice matching lip colors!)


Men’s hair was fine, but women’s was a disaster spells with T! It was such a MESS and from what I saw in upcoming episodes’ preview the worse is still has to come! All the black pins on those maids’ heads were revealing! And those chignons (up do) on the women’s heads were crying in the party scene!

Who was the art director by the way?! I’d like to have a word with him/her/them/it?! So you people expect us to not compare the two dramas? huh? Why everything has to end up by forgiveness that audience has to honor? If you wanna make us believe in certain way then you yourself make it that way! Till then we as an audience have all the right in the world to think in what we think from what you made us watch!
I’d tell you what! If you would only not put those pathetic bears in the end of each episode just like in the Goong 1, you’d realize what a favor you would have done us! Take them out and then come out lecture us to consider your work a whole different thing!
And now that you’ve made them, it’s not like they are really well designed or something! You could have at least done yourself a favor by saving the money on bunch of useless fabrics and eye-buttons and not create those scary looking things you called it bears!
First of all, they have not been sewed well! I guess the Goong 1 bear-makers had given ya’ll not only the wrong pattern but also the whole different list for toolkit materials. I really wanna know what kinda crossed-eye animal you had in mind while making these?! Seriously, the bears you guys ended up making are deformed and skinny looked like having diarrhea! and the way you made them move gives this a reality!

Notice the bears cannot stand still, instead swing side to side, perhaps they are desparetly looking for a restroom!

Their decoration and constructive work seemed okay so far.
I can talk about this forever, but let’s just ends this here, unless you want me otherwise ^^

I think the problem is not the story-line, so far the drama has a much stronger story that some crappy screenplays other people have written and actually won the prize for! One vivid example is the drama, “A LOVE TO KILL”. But what I think went wrong, lies in the dialogs! Actors and actresses were forced to say predictable lines which resulted the whole thing seems to go beyond what we call boring!

As for the acting of that guy Se7en, I feel like he is stressed out more than anything!
But again there were times when it was more than obvious he is trying to avoid eye contact with the camera and the crew behind the scene! I donno how to cover him up for that piece O.O *speechless*
Oh and for those who called his acting NATURAL, I would like to ask them consider rewatching what they think they watched! For, in the world the rest of us live, we don’t consider these facial expressions natural! (pics bellow) I donno if you are from a Circus family, grew up with bunch of clowns! To the rest of us, his facial expression were anything but natural!







What was that toward the end? Was that material art exhibition? Is this supposed to be an action movie or what? I think they forgot 90% of their fans are bunch of teenage girls in middle school whom their favorite color is PINK!!! What kinda audience they are aiming to attract, I have no idea?! Unless that part has to do something with the whole Prince guy which doesn’t seems like it! As he was scared to even look at the sight of those knives and swords!

Overall, I don’t think actings of others were any better than that of Se7en, the reason being for fingeres pointing only to Se7en, however, is that the poor guy is taking such a big burden on his shoulders alone! By making the worse decision he could’ve ever made in his career planning. Choosing such drama as his debuted play which has a lawsuit hanging in the law court somewhere against it, and being threatened any minute for being pull off the air and broadcasting due to plagiarism in one hand and has massive general public expectations on the other hand!
Instead of all this he should have chosen a drama that nobody would even bother to think it’ll worth watching! That could’ve provide him a space to show-off what he has to offer to the character! and try to prove people wrong!

Having said all this, one can’t ever judge the whole entire drama based on the first episode; there has been some dramas with way worse intros and endings that actually ended up being successful, it happened before in the same industry, examples I can think of right now, for a drama with an awful intro “MY GIRL” and the one with the most retarded ending, “A LOVE TO KILL” oh as a note “A Love To kill” didn’t ranked well overall, but at least that psycho screenplay writer won an award for her crap