Mary Stayed Out All Night, Some Thoughts
Dec. 16th, 2010 04:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesWe've more than reached the half-way mark for this show (episodes 10-12 aired this week), and I think it's time to share some thoughts. The writer change was a good idea; you can tell the new writer is trying to get all the storylines together and trying to turn even the most hated characters (the parents) into real people. JI has become an interesting and real boy! Joon is still. . .a diva, but at least we've gotten a small reason why. And MG/MR? Are awesome and adorable.
The written preview is out at Ockoala. Ockoala says its a bit makjang, but I saw differently. Why? Well,
Think back. No, seriously, look at Hana Kimi, Playful Kiss, Goong, Hana Yori Dango, Personal Taste, 1 Pound no Fukuin, Absolute Boyfriend, Oh, My Lady, Take Care of the Young Lady, most Hong sister dramas - I could go on. None of them, if you really think about it, have plots that make sense. Like, at all.
Hana Kimi - I keep up with high school athletics in Japan. The boy who once saved me is on the track team. I know! I'll pretend to be a boy, go to his school, and try to get him to jump again! Perfect plan. (Makes no sense!)
Playful Kiss - I'll stalk you, 'til you love me. In any other drama, she's be Creepy from Gloria.
Goong - You're both teenagers, but you'll marry because of a promise between two dead men. Even though he has a girlfriend and we know nothing about her.
Hana Yori Dango - The crazy, destructive, boy who rules the school will fall for you, if you punch him - once.
Full House - You can't legally sell someone else's house!
I could go on. . .
Look, I'm not saying Mary Stayed Out All Night is the best written show ever. It's clearly not. It has a lot of plot holes (How can MR/MG have been a fake couple for 50+ days when they met in early November, and episode 8 took place on November 30th?) and the original plot doesn't make all that much sense. The Dads and Mom are unlikeable, Joon is underdeveloped (I blame it on her being an original character for the drama, used as a plot deceive by the first writer, and deemed useless by the second writer), and most of the goodness of the drama comes solely from the interactions between MG/MR/JI.
But, the doesn't make it a terrible drama that's lost its mind. It barely had a mind to begin with! Mary's always been, what it is, a romantic comedy that's just a little bit cracky. At least the new writer has stopped using the same few plots over and over again (Loser Dad tries to break up MG/MR, Creepy Dad tries to force JI/MR together, Joon throws a diva fit, Loser Mom visits MG and then leaves him to go see her boyfriend, MG/MR are cute together, a misunderstanding, its all resolved, JI looks at MR, MG/MR are cute.)
At least this writer is trying to evolve the characters a bit: the past between the parents, Joon, JI as a person, that's all being explored. I like that. The pace has picked up, JI is a real person, and the writer is trying to explain why Creepy Dad is creepy and why Loser Mom is always abandoning MG. It may not always make the most sense, but at least she's trying to turn these previously unlikeable or wooden characters into real people.
JI is learning that his father is in love with MR's mother. I think he's starting to realize why his dad wants him to marry MR. That's why he'll start treating her coldly in episode 13. He doesn't want her to suffer under his Creepy-ass father. (Who is seriously two steps from being cartoonishly evil)
JI moves MG into his house, so the two (MR/MG) can be together without Loser Dad stalking them every five seconds. JI may have feelings for MR, but he also wants her to be happy.
Loser Dad and Creepy Dad need to wake up - MR doesn't want JI. Maybe if they had calmly asked them to date a few months ago, things would be different. But, now it's too late. Loser Dad just wants his debts paid; Creepy Dad just wants to live the marriage he never had with MR's mother via JI and MR. It's gross.
Loser Mom telling MG she wishes she had never had him? It's nothing that can't be forgiven so easily.
Joon - its a bit late for her to be a real character. But, her pity party has stopped for the moment. Yes, she's had a few fits, but at least the new writer is trying to make her a more likable and real character.
JI - he's become a real person. Likable. His feelings for MR seem more real now, and though I still think they aren't right for each other (MR would have to change too much, deal with Creepy Dad; JI seems to see MR as "save" - almost like a mother or sister), I still think they make good friends.
MR/MG - they are one of the cutest couples of the year. I really think this show is about MG growing up and growing as a person. MR is his way of growing up. Their love is what is helping MG become an adult. I like that.
In short, Mary isn't a great series. But, it's a good romantic comedy. And, just like all romantic comedies (especially those based off mangas or manhwa, a lot of the plot is out there. Mary doesn't take place in the ground world. It couldn't. It shouldn't. It takes place in manhwa world; where princes marry commoners, movie stars marry internet writers, and no one can tell a girl is a girl when she wears a boy's uniform.
Am I disappointed in the drama? A little bit, yeah. It could have gone a lot of places, but it didn't. Then again, neither does the on-line manhwa. I suppose this drama could have been better if they had stayed closer to the original source materiel, but that would have made a better daily drama. And, I doubt JGS and MGY (who make this drama) would do a daily drama.
I think what makes me sad is that people are starting to say Mary is "so bad its good" and that it "has no point". Come on, it's not a heavy drama! It hasn't made sense since day one! Two contract marriages. Creepy Dad. (And, why doesn't Creepy Dad just have MG arrested? Legally, he and MR are having an affair, and that's illegal in Korea.) The wackiness. Etc. None of it has ever made sense. But, now you turn your back on it? Just as the pace is moving forward and characters are developing. I just. . .it annoys me when people are drama snobs over a breezy romantic comedy.
I'm not angry at anyone. It just makes me sad when people watch a show for 12 episodes, then decide it's a bad drama. Just as the writer is fixing things and making things slowly start to make sense.
Or maybe its me. Maybe I love this series, MG/MR, etc, so much that I'm ignoring the bad in favor of the loveliness of MG/MR. I don't know, but I just had to get this out.
The written preview is out at Ockoala. Ockoala says its a bit makjang, but I saw differently. Why? Well,
Think back. No, seriously, look at Hana Kimi, Playful Kiss, Goong, Hana Yori Dango, Personal Taste, 1 Pound no Fukuin, Absolute Boyfriend, Oh, My Lady, Take Care of the Young Lady, most Hong sister dramas - I could go on. None of them, if you really think about it, have plots that make sense. Like, at all.
Hana Kimi - I keep up with high school athletics in Japan. The boy who once saved me is on the track team. I know! I'll pretend to be a boy, go to his school, and try to get him to jump again! Perfect plan. (Makes no sense!)
Playful Kiss - I'll stalk you, 'til you love me. In any other drama, she's be Creepy from Gloria.
Goong - You're both teenagers, but you'll marry because of a promise between two dead men. Even though he has a girlfriend and we know nothing about her.
Hana Yori Dango - The crazy, destructive, boy who rules the school will fall for you, if you punch him - once.
Full House - You can't legally sell someone else's house!
I could go on. . .
Look, I'm not saying Mary Stayed Out All Night is the best written show ever. It's clearly not. It has a lot of plot holes (How can MR/MG have been a fake couple for 50+ days when they met in early November, and episode 8 took place on November 30th?) and the original plot doesn't make all that much sense. The Dads and Mom are unlikeable, Joon is underdeveloped (I blame it on her being an original character for the drama, used as a plot deceive by the first writer, and deemed useless by the second writer), and most of the goodness of the drama comes solely from the interactions between MG/MR/JI.
But, the doesn't make it a terrible drama that's lost its mind. It barely had a mind to begin with! Mary's always been, what it is, a romantic comedy that's just a little bit cracky. At least the new writer has stopped using the same few plots over and over again (Loser Dad tries to break up MG/MR, Creepy Dad tries to force JI/MR together, Joon throws a diva fit, Loser Mom visits MG and then leaves him to go see her boyfriend, MG/MR are cute together, a misunderstanding, its all resolved, JI looks at MR, MG/MR are cute.)
At least this writer is trying to evolve the characters a bit: the past between the parents, Joon, JI as a person, that's all being explored. I like that. The pace has picked up, JI is a real person, and the writer is trying to explain why Creepy Dad is creepy and why Loser Mom is always abandoning MG. It may not always make the most sense, but at least she's trying to turn these previously unlikeable or wooden characters into real people.
JI is learning that his father is in love with MR's mother. I think he's starting to realize why his dad wants him to marry MR. That's why he'll start treating her coldly in episode 13. He doesn't want her to suffer under his Creepy-ass father. (Who is seriously two steps from being cartoonishly evil)
JI moves MG into his house, so the two (MR/MG) can be together without Loser Dad stalking them every five seconds. JI may have feelings for MR, but he also wants her to be happy.
Loser Dad and Creepy Dad need to wake up - MR doesn't want JI. Maybe if they had calmly asked them to date a few months ago, things would be different. But, now it's too late. Loser Dad just wants his debts paid; Creepy Dad just wants to live the marriage he never had with MR's mother via JI and MR. It's gross.
Loser Mom telling MG she wishes she had never had him? It's nothing that can't be forgiven so easily.
Joon - its a bit late for her to be a real character. But, her pity party has stopped for the moment. Yes, she's had a few fits, but at least the new writer is trying to make her a more likable and real character.
JI - he's become a real person. Likable. His feelings for MR seem more real now, and though I still think they aren't right for each other (MR would have to change too much, deal with Creepy Dad; JI seems to see MR as "save" - almost like a mother or sister), I still think they make good friends.
MR/MG - they are one of the cutest couples of the year. I really think this show is about MG growing up and growing as a person. MR is his way of growing up. Their love is what is helping MG become an adult. I like that.
In short, Mary isn't a great series. But, it's a good romantic comedy. And, just like all romantic comedies (especially those based off mangas or manhwa, a lot of the plot is out there. Mary doesn't take place in the ground world. It couldn't. It shouldn't. It takes place in manhwa world; where princes marry commoners, movie stars marry internet writers, and no one can tell a girl is a girl when she wears a boy's uniform.
Am I disappointed in the drama? A little bit, yeah. It could have gone a lot of places, but it didn't. Then again, neither does the on-line manhwa. I suppose this drama could have been better if they had stayed closer to the original source materiel, but that would have made a better daily drama. And, I doubt JGS and MGY (who make this drama) would do a daily drama.
I think what makes me sad is that people are starting to say Mary is "so bad its good" and that it "has no point". Come on, it's not a heavy drama! It hasn't made sense since day one! Two contract marriages. Creepy Dad. (And, why doesn't Creepy Dad just have MG arrested? Legally, he and MR are having an affair, and that's illegal in Korea.) The wackiness. Etc. None of it has ever made sense. But, now you turn your back on it? Just as the pace is moving forward and characters are developing. I just. . .it annoys me when people are drama snobs over a breezy romantic comedy.
I'm not angry at anyone. It just makes me sad when people watch a show for 12 episodes, then decide it's a bad drama. Just as the writer is fixing things and making things slowly start to make sense.
Or maybe its me. Maybe I love this series, MG/MR, etc, so much that I'm ignoring the bad in favor of the loveliness of MG/MR. I don't know, but I just had to get this out.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-12-17 02:42 am (UTC)ETA: I don't think people are turning on it. Dramabeans and her commenters are having a hatefest but they disliked it from the start so it's not really a change in attitude.
I think my rant comes from Dramabeans, Soompi, and a few other people. It makes me, annoyed isn't the right word, but it's like this: everyone is entitled to their own opinions. But, it annoys me when people go onto forums or write long journal entries about how much they hate a certain drama. It's one of the reasons why anti-fans annoy me. Why spend so much time on something you supposedly hate? It's cool if you post about how disappointed you are with certain things, but - do you have to take up pages of a thread or tons of space on my f-list to tell me how much you hate a drama?
Also - I don't think I want to go to Soompi anymore, especially the Gloria thread. People are starting to hate on that drama, too.
Oh, I finally did a mary fanvid - its a bit below. Hope you like it.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-17 02:50 am (UTC)I saw Gloria bashing and it made me :( WTF.
I don't go to M3 thread because it's JI/MR central and that makes no sense to me.
I keep expecting Secret Garden to devolve into bashing any moment - we just passed the halfway mark.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-17 03:09 am (UTC)I still don't get JI/MR. Even with the new writer, with JI acting like a real person - I'm just getting brother/sister vibes. Maybe its just too late for me to switch.
I've seen a little bit of Secret Garden bashing on my f-list. Mostly concern that the plot isn't really going anywhere. I can't comment on that, as I still haven't started it. I'm waiting until the end - then I'll check the f-list to see if people think its still worth a go. If there's one thing i hate: it's a well written, well directed, well acted drama that goes nowhere.
no subject
Date: 2010-12-17 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-12-17 03:28 am (UTC)