Drama Obsession: Spring 2012

ROOFTOP PRINCE!

After finishing the melo-drama Padam Padam, I think my heart has suffered enough.  I need something light and cute to make up for it.  Rooftop Prince was perfect.  It also has Padam's Jung Jina:  Han Ji Min, as the lead actress.  I already knew she was an amazing actress, but watching her transform is amazing.

Some people were saying Han Ji Min is not good enough, not pretty enough etc.  I don't know what to say. If she can't act, who can then?  Amazing actress.  And she's not pretty?  Everyone has their own taste, but I think that's a bit too much.  ParkHa(her character) was meant to be average looking focusing on work rather than looks unlike her sister.

I think she is very beautiful.  If she is ugly, I am Frankenstein.

Now on to the story. 

Park Yoochun plays the crown prince, Lee Gak.  He is married to the crown Princess HY.  However, he was meant to marry the sister BuYoung, but HY accidentally burned BYs face when she was younger(he doesn't know that)  One day, the crown princess is found face down in the lake, dead.  LeeGak doesn't believe it was suicide like everyone else and tries to find the murder with the help of three guys.(or criminals) This was 300 years ago.  Meanwhile in the present, we have ParkHa, the reincarnation of BuYong, living a hard life in America.  Her step-sister, Sena, ignored her cries when they were smaller, as she was driven away on a truck making her loose her memory and not remembering her parents.  She meets Taeyong, LeeGak's reincarnation, and Taemu, in New York and TY falls in love with PH.  However, he dies, also face-down and TaeMu ignored him letting him drown.

So this brings us to ParkHa returning to Korea meeting her stepmom and stepsister and then the fantasy elements kick in:  The prince and the 3 guys get teleported into her rooftop house, while searching for the murderer.  Now four guys from Joseon, 300 years ago, and ParkHas personality give the viewers loads of fun.

POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!

Now to my thoughts:  Even though it is a light drama and comedy, it still has many mysteries and a slight dark side to it.  I applaud the directors for the production and I must say it is extremely well done.

Now to the mysteries:  The prince asks BuYong:  "What lives while it's dead, and is dead while it's alive".  This riddle she seems to have solved in her own way as she tells the prince, the night of the murder.  Now what could the answer be?  Some speculations are: Lotus flower(as ParkHa/Buyong means Lotus) or of course candle, which is not related to the story.  It could also be butterfly, as seen in the first episode.  Another thought was Soul, as Taeyeon is dead, but his soul lives in LeeGak, same with ParkHa.  I am sure the writers will solve this riddle and connect it to the story in a way that LeeGak and ParkHa realize, that they belong together.

Another thing is, what do the characters represent.  But for me it is very  clear, that ParkHa represents a flower, possibly the lotus.  The prince says in the first episode that "The flower was more beautiful than the bride."  This ultimately represents Park Ha for me.  Even though Sena might look better with all her expensive clothes and make-up etc., ParkHa is beautiful from inside as well.  ParkHa has this subtle beauty, natural and yet not very noticeable.  I also found this in their haircolors and clothes, Sena has red hair, she is trying to be noticed badly, while ParkHa is very casual.

Now what does the butterfly represent.  It could be LeeGak.  But for me it does represent their love.  ParkHa and LeeGak were meant for each other and the flower somehow connects them, I think.

Who died, who is the murderer, who is alive, who is related etc.  

We find out that Sena and ParkHa are indeed half-sisters, with the same mother.  Senas is the illegimate child given away when she was young and ParkHa the abandoned one.  Now, they are sisters in Joseon, but  maybe they were really halfsisters.  The father suggested the younger ParkHa than the older sister, making me think that Sena was illegimate as well.  This could be one reason for the murder.  Another reason was the nature of SN, or HY, always jealous and purely evil, so I think she could be the murderer.

And then there is Taemu:  He wanted TY place, that's why he let him die(or killed him, whatever way you look at it).  I have a feeling, that even  in Joseon there was such a character and that LeeGak will see and recognize him when he returns. 

And to be honest, I think it was BY who died in the pond.  We were never shown the face.

Now scenarios could be:  1. Someone poisoned the persimmons to kill the prince, possibly TaeMu(maybe he had an affair with the princess, and so they plotted together)  His father or other people could have helped him, or they could be the murderers.  However, BY or HY died instead.

2. HY and TM, in Joseon, wanted to live together.  It is said that the princess takes walks late at night.  Possibilites for this:  1. She meets TaeMu with the help of her servants. 2. BuYong helps her meet TaeMu by dressing as the princess(this would explain why she was wearing the clothes).

So they made it look like the princess died by killing BuYong.

3.  HY kileld BY due to jealousy.  We didn't see what happened that night, so the prince might have been really nice to BY making HY jealous leading to the murder.  TM could have helped her.  She dressed her in her own clothes and ran away with TM.

Another mystery(not really) is the ending:  Perfect ending for me would be:  Prince returns to Joseon, finds out what really happened, goes back to ParkHa.

Now to each character:

ParkHa and LeeGak

I think those two have amazing chemistry.  Both of them are portrayed as pure and loving, even naive at times trusting people easily and being used.  While both of them are really smart.  Taemu and Sena don't show this type of thinking not in the present and not in the past.  LeeGak is quick to find out what Taemu really did and BuYong in the past was considerably smarter than her sister being able to actually TALK to the prince.  His wife couldn't even talk I think.  She even seems to have solved the riddle.  Their characters match and they are the typical good protagonists, that fight the injustice.  (Park Yoochun is a really good actor, I didn't notice him before, but his voice etc. are really perfect for this role)

Taemu

He freaks me out at times.  To me, he is a bit better than Sena as he has a motive.  However, he doesn't seem to have guilt or anything similar, as he keeps trying to poison LeeGak.  He seems very bitter and sad to be honest, trying to be succesful while loosing his humanity.

Sena

She is an amazing actress and really cute.  I loved her in A thousand day's promise as the cute naive rich girl.  However in Rooftop prince, she is too evil.  We get to see that Sena is evil from a young age.  While ParkHa is always smiling, Sena doesn;t show any of this.  She always has a dark expression.  I don't if that is because of the fact, she basically has no parents or whatever, but she is extremely bitter.  Even now, when she is rich, has a loving boyfriend etc. she still is not happy, this is what destroys her.  Being jealous, ungrateful and unhappy unlike ParkHa, who despite her hardships never showed those things.  She is an interesting character: everyone haters her.  Her actions are just evil, nothing else in my opinion, no real motives, she just enjoys hurting ParkHa, possibly to fill her own unhappiness.

Now I recommend everyone to give it a try.  And the Joseon Powerrangers are really cute!