Our favorite first generation Hallyu Wave actors are back–and they’re killing it! Here’s my review of the pilot episodes of Should We Kiss First and Mystery Queen 2!
Should We Kiss First
Network: SBS
Genre: Romance, Melodrama
No. of Episodes: 32 (35 Minutes per episode)
Shall We First Kiss is basically a drama about middle-aged people’s second chance at love. Our main characters An Soon-jin (Kim Sun-ah) and Son Moo-han (Kam Woo-sung) are both divorcees. While Soon-jin is keen on getting married again, Moo-han is not, however it is the former who’s living her life aimlessly. I honestly thought this one’s hardcore melodrama so I find it surprising that it did have a lot of funny scenes like Moo-han getting locked inside his bathroom for three days and Soon-jin being chased by a loan shark (quite new, right?). Despite the laughs, I did feel that the story was a little dragging in some parts. I hope the two would spend more screentime together because that’s when it was the most enjoyable. I found the characters and their relationships interesting especially between Soon-jin and her ex-husband’s new wife Ji-min (Park Si-yeon). They are not friendly with each other as expected but it’s apparent that they didn’t hate each other that much. I’m also curious why Eun Kyung-Soo (Oh Ji-ho) did divorce Soon-jin in the first place when he seems to be genuinely affectionate towards her. Did their child’s death has something to do with it? I think my favorite part of this drama was the use of flashback scenes towards the end where we’re shown the fated meeting between Soon-jin and Moo-han, which unfortunately she didn’t remember.
Verdict: I like seeing Hallyu Wave’s original favorites (Kim Sun-ah, Park Si-yeon, Kim Sung-soo) and that was what really piqued my interest in watching this. The first set of episodes are enjoyable as you watch it but you forget it immediately when you’re done. HOWEVER, this one is raking high ratings in Korea so the following episodes must have been very good. After all, these are all first impressions.
Mystery Queen 2
Network: KBS
Genre: Detective Fiction, Comedy
No. of Episodes: 32 (35 Minutes per episode)
We seldom see sequels in dramaland, and when we do, some of them tend to be almost unrecognizable, mainly due to the original cast’s exit from the show (see Mrs. Cop 2). Fortunately, that’s not the case for Mystery Queen 2 which is definitely a treat. I love seeing Kwon Sang-woo reprising his hotheaded cop role, Han Wan-seung and Choi Kang-hee jumping on board her ahjumma-slash-sleuth character Yoo Seol-ok again. The drama immediately took on a criminal case in its pilot episode so expect plenty of spying and fistfight early on. However, my favorite part is Wan-seung and Seol-ok struggling to admit their feelings for one another. The pull and push between the two had me laughing, and apparently, Kwon Sang-woo is never-aging. The drama is fast-paced (or maybe I just enjoyed it too much) that the episodes ended even before I realized.
Verdict: If you’re looking for a good detective drama without all the excessive gore and blood, then Mystery Queen 2 is a good pick.
Busy Ahjussi’s final ranking:
- Mystery Queen 2
- Should We Kiss First
Have you watched them?
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