Women…

When I began with my first Chinese Series, “The Perfect Match” I was delighted to see the grandma handling all the business & keeping in check her daughter-in-laws & grandsons. Ailing or in hospital meant more visits by the family members.

Then ‘Coffee Prince’ had another grandma challenging her grandson to start the first coffee shop & show profits. I wondered if the themes were woven around the families & such steely women?? None other than Gong Yoo being trained by his grandma. Their relationship was too good to behold. I was lucky to witness one of the gems in Kdrama. Very few dramas come closer to it, after a decade or so.

“The Marriage Contract” had Uee, my favourite with her child. Having lost her husband early, in debt, now she is being chased by the loan sharks. Her mother-in-law has shunned her. When she has to be hospitalised, she requests her mother-in-law to look after the child. As they bond, the change in the mother-in-law is remarkable. She realises that if she is grieving for her son so is the daughter-in-law who has lost her husband. Penniless she is also trying her best to look after the child.

The cherry on the cake is when she wholeheartedly backs her(daughter-in-law’s ) remarriage. The hero, Lee Seo-jin is marrying her because he wants her liver for his ailing mother. He wants his mother to live her life happily which she has never done before.

I like women-centered themes & where the stories have something new to offer. I had seen too many ‘Saas- Bahu’ stories & found a new outlet. Maybe not all the choices were as good but not disappointing either. I simply love costume dramas. ‘Love in the Moonlight’ Or ‘The last Empress’, ‘The Empress Ki’ have all fascinated me. But the best remains ‘Moon Lovers’ it has no parallel yet. IU has a role of a lifetime! Her relation with every prince was unique. Lee Joon-gi as never before or now. ‘Flower of Evil’ doesn’t have that magic.