TV Recap: City Hunter Ep. 1

I have not watched a Korean drama in years--since high school, perhaps? The main reason is, here's how Sophelia works: 1) I have very good self-control prior to starting to something, but... 2) If I succumb and start something... and find myself addicted, I absolutely won't stop until I finish. This is why I try not to buy junk food, because that shit will be devoured in less than two days. Hence, this is also why I rarely watch TV, because chances are if I get hooked, I will sit in front of the computer, neglecting food and sleep, in order to binge-watch for hours on end.

For some reason though, I came home this afternoon with a hankering for some mindless entertainment, and the idea of watching a K-drama popped into my mind. I don't really keep up with what's hot in that department, but I did recall that a lot of people I knew were hooked on City Hunter when it came out a few years ago, so I figured I'd give the first episode a shot.

Below is more or less my recap/thoughts on the first episode:

The episode more or less starts off with a bombing in Burma, aimed at killing the South Korean president but instead kills a bunch of high ranking officials. Meanwhile, there's a woman giving birth and her husband is nowhere to be found. A hundred bucks says that this newborn baby is gonna be Lee Min Ho, aka the hero that will BE A MAN. Isn't that how these stories usually start?

It turns out that the absent husband is actually one of the South Korean Secret Service-esque guys at the bombing, who survives and makes it back to his wife's side along with his best friend, who is also in the Secret Service. He literally holds his newborn son for like a minute before telling his wife, "Aiitte peace out---gotta go do some top secret business. We'll name the kid when I get back."

Meanwhile, these five official-looking people sit around a circular conference table and talk about planning an Operation Cleansweep to go into North Korea and kill... important people? I'm not entirely sure. Oh, it turns out the bomb was planted by North Koreans. So Absent Husband and Best Friend recruit some top secret soldier friends from a restaurant and other civilian locations, and they're getting all ready to head into North Korea when the general promises them he'll bring them all back home safely. Can you actually promise these things to soldiers? I am tres confused.

So these badasses do a spectacular job of getting into the North Korean building and slicing a bunch of throats, though Absent Husband is unfortunately stabbed during the commotion and Best Friend tries to drag him back to the submarine that's supposed to take them all home. But then, it turns out the five council members agreed to abort the mission in order to save face for the President (and save their own asses from getting fired), because otherwise the Americans will dissolve some sort of protection agreement they have with the South Koreans if they find out that the South Koreans retaliated against the North Koreans. So the only guy in the council with any semblance of a soul reluctantly orders the gunmen on the sub to shoot and kill all the men who were on the mission. In an act of true love, Absent Husband covers Best Friend and saves his life by hiding him underwater while he takes the bullets in the back.

So Best Friend goes crazy from grief and returns to South Korea, where he warns the quasi-nice council member that he's gonna take his life as revenge for all the lives he ordered killed to cover up the mission. At this point, I'm calling Best Friend by a different name, because Crazy McCrazypants goes PSYCHO. He goes off to find his bestie's wife, who is tenderly pampering her newborn son, and she literally turns her back for a second only to find her baby gone and a note that says something like, "Your husband is dead. I have taken your son. It is for your own good. Live a new life." He decides to raise this boy as his own son, for the sole purpose of exacting revenge on those council members.

Fast-forward years later, Crazy McCrazypants is some sort of drug lord in the jungle and is ridiculously severe with the training of his adoptive son. At this point, I'm at about thirty minutes into the episode and all the what-the-fuckery is rattling in my head:

- Why the fuck did the guy kidnap his best friend's son? If you even cared at ALL about your friend and his wife, how on earth would this be a good idea?? It never crosses your mind that MAYBEEEE giving the kid a chance at a normal life might be a good idea, or at least letting the mother have some say in all this??

- Why the fuck does his big revenge plan revolve around raising a baby into a man?? First of all, you have no idea if the baby will physically grow up into a capable fighter--what if he ends up being a sickly weakling--and second of all your plan is gonna take 20 years or so to accomplish. Why don't you just do your fancy revenge plan yourself??

At this point, I was about to give up on this show when full-grown Lee Min Ho finally shows up on an elephant. Years back, I had friends who were obsessed with Lee Min Ho, and at the time I never really understand what all the gushing was about. But it was like as soon as his physical beauty entered my computer screen, my interest level in this drama shot up like forty points. Good save, Lee Min Ho. I was just about to close the browser window.

After an amusing chase sequence in town where he saves the life of a Korean gambler from angry gangsters, I lose interest in Crazy McCrazypants' efforts to prove he's king of the jungle and lay down the law by forcing his son to shoot at targets around his foster mother. I'm more interested in wondering how Lee Min Ho maintains such flawless skin while living in the jungle? WHAT IS YOUR SECRET LEE MIN HO I MUST KNOW. Later, the gangsters he humiliated earlier show up at their little jungle hideout and shoot up a bunch of people, including Lee Min Ho's foster mother. More carnage happens, and basically Lee Min Ho also goes nuts, and blah blah blah at the end of all of it Crazy McCrazypants loses his right leg to a landmine that Lee Min Ho stepped on and he tells him the truth behind his birth and kidnapping and the ridiculous revenge plot. Lee Min Ho vows to get revenge, and not once does he question the fact that his adoptive father's revenge plan is COMPLETELY BONKERS.

Fast-forward seven years later, and Lee Min Ho's got himself a nice pair of hot pink pants. Ughhh I liked his dark v-necks and messy jungle hair better---not a fan of this perfectly coiffed metro look. He walks around what is presumably South Korea and ends up near this lovely young lady whom I am guessing will be the main love interest, and for some reason they stand like two yards within each other and never make eye contact. END EPISODE.

Will there be an Episode 2 recap? I don't know, because my remaining interest in this show is dangling on a string held up mainly by Lee Min Ho's good looks. Though if he continues to wear questionable outfits, I may have to ditch this altogether because I have a tendency to get irrationally riled up about horrendous fashion choices (see: Youngjae of B.A.P's floppy hat in the "Coffee Shop" MV or Domyouji's season-finale hot pink shirt or the furry mess from the double date in Hana Yori Dango). I mentioned this to YY, who told me:

YY: oh you would love the fuzzy, baby pink sweater he wears in the heirs.
SL: ewwwwwwwwww lemme go google that

      okay, finished the first episode. not sure if i want to invest in this drama yet lol

      omg what is this ungodliness that has befallen my eyes

YY: look how soft it is!

        and how well it complements his complexion

        LMAO
SL: yes it certainly brings out the rosiness of his doll-like cheeks. WHAT THE EFF.
YY: http://www.dramafever.com/news/now-you-can-own-lee-min-hos-actual-heirs-sweaters-/

        look at all the wonderful things he gets to wear in this show
SL: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE MY EYES ARE ON FIRE

To (possibly) be continued...