Episode 1 » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps. KBS premiered its new Monday- Tuesday drama today, Mary Stayed Out All Night, which I thought started out fluffy- silly with a basic premise that’s pretty ho- hum familiar, but which got progressively better as the hour went on. The series started off with a tentative 8. Rival dramas stayed about the same as usual; SBS’s Giant drew a 2. MBC’s Queen of Reversals a 1. With the first episode over, I can say that I’m feeling cautiously optimistic. I can’t say I’m hooked, but the tone is refreshing, the pace breezy, but most importantly, the chemistry between Jang Geun- seok and Moon Geun- young is incredibly cute. Like, ridiculously adorable. When they smile, it makes me smile. That’s a good sign. SONG OF THE DAYMary Stayed Out All Night OST – “Tell Me Your Love” by TRAX . Download the latest version here. You also need to have Java. Script enabled in your browser. EPISODE 1 RECAPWe start out at the picturesque scene of an outdoor wedding, where the ceremony proceeds in typical fashion (except for the fact that the bride’s barefoot and the groom is wearing some kind of acid- washed atrocity for pants). The bride is beaming, and although we all know who the groom is, his face is purposely kept hidden from us. The bride’s father stops the ceremony, bursting in with another groom and delivering him to the altar. The sunny scene immediately darkens like something out of a Tim Burton movie, and now they’re all in a graveyard. Mary Stayed Out All Night (. UnOfficial Fan Page for Mary Stayed Out All Night The Mary Stayed Out All Night (Marry Me, Mary!) Roller Coaster has finally come to a complete stop, ladies and the occasional gentleman. This was one wild ride, and I feel mentally drained from the combination of the crazy on. ![]() ![]()
Groom #2’s head twists all the way around like it’s made of putty and the guests turn into zombies. The bride tries to shake off the second groom’s hand but can’t; she clings to her own groom, whose face remains turned away. Obviously this is a fantasy that is supposed to represent a prescient nightmare of our heroine, but now for her real life: The “bride” is WEE MAE- RI, or MARY, played winningly by Moon Geun- young. Currently all of her household belongings are being repossessed, but even so, she’s not a mess of hysterics. She politely helps the movers take away her things, then even cheers once she’s in her now- bereft apartment. But we’ll soon see that she’s not actually happy to have her home stripped barren; this is her way of seeing the glass as half- full. We’ll gradually recognize that Mary’s habit of counting to ten is a coping mechanism, used to get her emotions under control. Hey, at least now she has room to dance, she tells herself, keeping her optimism alive. It also helps that she’s squirreled away her basic necessities, and retrieves them after the repo men have departed. The reason for all this can be traced to that ever- familiar kdrama cliche of the errant father. Mary’s dad has failed in business venture after business venture, not out of vice but because he is overly gullible and has fallen prey to several scammers. He keeps thinking that the next venture will save them, but just digs himself deeper and now they’re up to their eyeballs in debt — to a tune of 1. USD. When the debt collectors swing by to demand repayment, Mary tries to fend them off with a lie, while Dad escapes through a window. Though to be honest, who could?) Among the belongings Mary spared from repossession is her television, to which she turns as a source of comfort and escapism. Okay, she totally wins me over here, because how awesome is it that Mary is a drama addict? At 2. 4 years old, she’s only a semester shy of university graduation, but she has had to take a leave of absence from school because she can’t afford the tuition. Furthermore, she’s been avoiding her friends because she can’t spend money on entertainment, so it’s a rare occasion that’ll bring her out to meet them. Tonight, she’s called out by friends who have been drinking; instead of calling a driver, Mary offers to drive the car for some cash. The trio decide to hang out, since they haven’t seen her in ages, and they decide to try the clubs in Hongdae. Note: Hongdae is a neighborhood north of the Han River that is home to a bustling music and live- show scene. It’s where independent/rock/songwriter musicians often play, and has a more casual, independent vibe than, say, the scene on the other side of town. For a long time, Seoul’s hottest hotspots have been south of the Han River in the Kangnam district (which literally means “south of the river”), where the newest nightclubs, cafes, and entertainment can be found. Within Kangnam you have neighborhoods like Apgujeong- dong (young, trendy, expensive) and Cheongdam- dong (upscale, luxurious). In contrast, Hongdae is looser, grungier, and hipper. Just the kind of place where a talented, free- spirited rocker would be famous in local circles. By which I mean: KANG MU- GYUL (Jang Geun- seok), front man and guitarist of a rock band that plays the Hongdae club scene regularly. But Mary doesn’t know that about him when she hits him with her friend’s car in her distraction, since she’s not familiar with the Hongdae neighborhood. Hearing a thunk, she rushes out of the car to see the victim, who lies crumpled on the ground. Afraid for his safety and her own liability in the accident, Mary checks on him worriedly. There’s a bit of a *moment* between the two as they get a good look at each other (ah, attraction at first sight!), although since we’re coming from Mary’s perspective, it seems to be mostly on her end. You do have to appreciate the (probably) unintended humor of this exchange as one friend asks blankly, “Is he a beggar?” while the second friend marvels, “Wow, he’s good- looking!” Yup, you’ve just summed up the crux of Jang Geun- seok’s charm. Mary’s both relieved and disbelieving when Mu- gyul dusts himself off, assures her he’s fine, and walks away. Her friends are also relieved to hear that he’s fine and not threatening to sue, but they fear that he might come after them later, and go after the friend because the license plate and car are registered in her name. Thus Mary belatedly decides to follow him to make sure to settle this incident, fighting her way through the crowded Hongdae streets. She loses track of him in an alleyway, but finds herself at the entrance to a club where a show is just getting started.(Sharp- eyed viewers will notice a poster for the band “Absolute Mu- gyul,” which is also a pun on the Korean term meaning “absolute perfection.”)Mary works her way into the club, looking for any sign of Mu- gyul, and finally sees that he’s not in the crowd but onstage, singing his hit song Please, My Bus! It’s a pretty catchy song, but the lyrics are just absurd. Mary gets a good photo of him performing, thinking that it’s proof that he was healthy after the accident, and then hangs around backstage after the show hoping to catch him. Alas, she has to contend with a throng of groupies, all equally eager for a moment with the hot rocker. I’ll take a moment to point out one concertgoer who remains rather mysterious. Drama- loving Mary thinks she recognizes her as a television actress, SEO- JUN (and she’s right), but Seo- jun (played by Kim Hyo- jin) keeps her face hidden and her demeanor aloof. According to Mary, Seo- jun is a talented actress but hasn’t been seen in any dramas recently. We can see that she’s here to see Mu- gyul, but we’ll have to wait for more info on her (and her relation to Mu- gyul) for a while longer. Backstage, Mary manages to get a brief word in with Mu- gyul, but he treats her as just another fan and gives her a hug (thinking that’s what she wants). So she resorts to following him to his next stop, hoping to get a moment alone with him. Witnessing how Mu- gyul shrugs aside a woman who tantrums, “How dare you do this to me?”, Mary assumes that he must be a cold- hearted player. That impression is reinforced by his next stop as he has a drink with another woman, and her misconception isn’t given a chance to be disproved because she can’t hear their conversation. Here we find out that Mu- gyul has been tricked into signing a fraudulent contract with this woman, a band manager, and is ready to wash his hands of the matter. Especially since she hardly gets him or his music anyway; she’s pressuring him to ditch his bandmates and find new ones if he wants to hit it big on a mainstream level. Mu- gyul rips up their contract and pre- empts her protests by handing her a wad of cash. He has given up his apartment (to get back his deposit money) and is giving her everything he has, to soothe the blow of all the money she’d invested into him. The manager can recognize a deal when she sees one, and accepts his decision. Fair enough; Mu- gyul obliges and dashes off a large signature — but to his confusion, Mary looks dismayed and says, “But that’s too big.” Mary flips the paper over and asks for a small autograph at the bottom of the page, and although he finds her request odd, he obliges. Happily, Mary grabs her ticket to freedom and dashes outside, where she starts to fill in the above blank space with some legal jargon about how the signer, Kang Mu- gyul, absolves the car driver of guilt for the accident. Too bad she probably should have moved over a block or twenty before writing the fraudulent “agreement,” because Mu- gyul finds her outside and rips the paper up. They’ve both had pretty crappy days, so they end up talking it over with some drinks. Or at least, he drinks while she prods him to sign the document stating that he won’t go after her later and allege that it was a hit and run. But his bad experience with his band manager has soured him on contracts, and he tells her he won’t sign anything lightly anymore. Meanwhile, she needs the peace of mind of a written statement because she won’t trust anyone’s word anymore, having been scammed (with her dad) so many times already. Mu- gyul offers Mary a drink, and here we see some of that Korean style of business- dealing/social interaction, because refusing the drink would be considered rude, and Mary still needs to soften him up into signing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2016
Categories |