She Was Pretty Review

Hey guys!!
Did you miss me? Don't answer.

BUUUT I'm back now!!

Now, let's talk.
When I found out Hwang Jung Eum had a new drama I was ridiculously excited cuz I've been such a huge fan of hers since Little Mom Scandal and I thought she was AMAAZZING in Secret, Kill Me Heal Me and Incarnation of Money. When I saw Park Seo Joon's name I was like "OMG Oh Ri On  is the male lead this time and that means he finally gets the girl!!" I also noticed that Hwang Jung Eum loves to work with actors she's already worked with because the actress that played Rara (the wacky and fabulous editor-in-chief) was also in Secret. Now I gotta be honest, I have nothing against Park Seo Joon but when I saw his name, a part of me wanted to see Ji Sung's name instead. I know they've worked together twice now but I'm greedy!
Like honestly I can't help it; his chemistry with Hwang Jung Eum is out of this world like crazy explosive and amazing and wonderful and-- yeah I'm still not over Kill Me Heal Me.

  *plays this whilst crying and eating a ginormous bowl of ice cream*

Okay I apologize that was off topic. 

I really feel like She Was Pretty was a really nice change for Hwang Jung Eum because it was relatively light for the most part. In an interview she said that crying scenes are difficult for her so I'm glad there were like little to no crying scenes in this drama.

To be quite honest, I felt a brother/sister vibe from our two leads (obviously that wasn't intentional) like especially in the beginning; it was hard for me to stop see them as Oh Ri Jin and Oh Ri On and I know we found out that those two (SPOILER ALERT) weren't really siblings but either way I felt like their dynamics were very sibling-y. I even feel like the actors kinda look alike, or is that just me?

Of course as the drama went on I grew to accept and like them as a romantic pairing. Yes, it did take some time and a tiny bit of effort but I began to stop seeing them as their previous characters.

I know a lot of viewers were ITCHING for that dramatic makeover for Hye Jin but honestly it wasn't really as dramatic as I thought it would be. I loved that when Sung Joon saw her, he didn't like get off his seat and start jumping on it (à la tom cruise) and then jump off his seat and start doing the harlem shake just cuz she decided to do something with her hair and put on some blush and some eyeliner. 

And this is a little bit of a sidenote but homegirl was never really ugly in the first. Unattractive maybe, but not like bad looking. Maybe I feel this way because i'm so used to the actor's face and I know what she looks like outside of the drama. 

I'm glad she got the makeover because I think a growth in her self esteem precipitated it and her confidence grew even more after she got it. 

Now, let's talk about everyone's favorite character:

SHIN

PRETTY-FACE-CRAZY-PERSONALITY

HYEOK. 

I think Siwon did an GREAT job with this character because when we were first introduced to him he was kinda like that goofy, overly excited co-worker that EVERYONE has. The one that thinks work is a playground and everyone is their BFF. Ultimately just the comic relief that every kdrama has.

But as the show continued on we saw that Shin Hyeok was hiding something and his hyperactive funnyboy personality was mostly just a facade and I was like "ooooooh now this interesting". 

Clearly I'm biased here (because Siwon has been my Super Junior bias since day 1) but I grew to like Shin Hyeok waaaaaaay more than Sung Joon. I feel like the Sung Joon love wasn't there in the first couple of episodes  because he was a serious asshole and he treated Hye Jin so harshly but then on the other hand, we had Shin Hyeok who teased her mercilessly but was a friend to her. 

So Sung Joon  already had a disadvantage and ON TOP OF THAT we had Siwon from Super Junior playing Shin Hyeok so of course he already has a huge fanbase on his side. I just felt like the writers could have done more to flesh Sung Joon out a little. I'm not saying he had to be goofy and nice but there is a way you can write a likable asshole. it's been done before. 

I also think all the best/memorable lines were given to Shin Hyeok so in the end he was like the breakout star of the show. And another thing, 

I'm not saying his better looking than our main lead but...

^^ that's all I can say.

And there's this thing Siwon does with his voice like that raspy-ness... melts me into a puddle every time. 

I've never had second lead syndrome ever in my life but I felt it this time. I felt it.

 Honestly, I can't even lie, 49% of me wanted Hye Jin to be with Shin Hyeok. let me explain why its only 49%. As much as I loved Hye Jin and Shin Hyeok together (I felt like they had more chemistry) they just weren't on the same wavelength. Shin Hyeok most of the time was being that annoying older brother so it was hard for her to see him as anything other than that. And by the time he was ready to actively pursue her, it was already too late. I think if he had been more real and mature with her instead of joking around all the time,  maybe just maybe, she would have seen him as a potential boyfriend.

And 51% of me shipped Hye Jin and Sung Joon because I mean,  their backstory was so beautiful and touching. and its a soulmate ting. As much as I loved Shin Hyeok I couldn't ignore the fact that Sung Joon really was her soulmate. 

When I saw that  “to my best friend, Jackson” in the last episode, I cried. Like I want someone to call me Jackson now!! 

Anyways, let's flashback to one of Shin Hyeok's best moments:

 I love him so much.

Moving on to Ha Ri.
Now, this was a difficult one because when I saw how awesome her relationship with Hye Jin was, I knew the writers were going to fuck it up. 
At first I was mad at Hye Jin for putting her in that awkward, cringeworthy position but then when Ha Ri started actively going after Sung Joon I was like

I was ready to curse her out, beat her up e.t.c and this was the same for EVERY VIEWER. all the girls in the viki timed comments were like "that ****!" "I HATE HER!!!!" "She can't do that!! that's just like the rules of feminism!"
When she kissed Sung Joon I was like"sis, wyd..."

But honestly, I had to kinda take a step back and look at it from her perspective. She was lonely and felt lost and Sung Joon  always just happened to be there for her at her weakest moments. on top of that, she was dealing with abandonment issues cuz her mom up & left her and her step mother was practically cinderella-ing her (ok, it wasn't THAT bad) AND her father was clearly pussy-whipped cuz he couldn't even muster up three fucks to give about the fact that his wife was antagonizing his daughter.

So yeah she was being greedy and selfish but can you really blame her? can you?. It was a tough situation but they worked it out and I forgive the writers for putting us through that ordeal because it shows that a true bestfriendship can withstand anything.

Honestly I was mad at Hye Jin too when she started avoiding Sung Joon because of Ha Ri but I understand her rationale because if I was her I wouldn't jump into his lap immediately either. like she and Ha Ri were best friends for YEARS they were more like family to each other. They were like fraternal twins so I completely how she felt.

At the end of the day, Hye Jin and Sung Joon still ended up together so it's all good. I'm sure Ha Ri will find someone else now that she know that there's more to life than dating superficial partyboy assholes who only want you for your looks. 

Am I the only one that wanted Shin Hyeok and Ha Ri together!!? This is super shallow but like visually, they would look awesome together and I think their personalities match. they're both caring people who know how to have a good time. okay, now I'm mad at the writers again because they really could've given this to us. I feel robbed. I would gladly pick a Shin Hyeok/Ha Ri side story romance over the office romance between Han Seol and Yoochun's little brother (even though they were kinda cute).

While we're at it,  I would've loved a Yo Na cameo too. I know Ji Sung is busy being a father right now so I'll try not be too salty about it.

Special Shoutout- Kim RaRa 

Gawd, this woman is comedic golden!!! She was so hilarious in every single scene and honestly some of her outfits were on point. this actress has been perfect in all the roles I've seen her in. 

I really liked what Hye Jin said about being a main character vs. a supporting character. I sometimes  feel like I’m a side character in my own life too. I could chalk it up to my insecurities or whatever but either way Its definitely something I’ve felt many times. but like Hye Jin said, its important to breakout of that mindset and not give up on yourself (or your dreams). you might feel less pretty, less smart or less interesting than other people but you always gotta take care of yourself and cherish your own thoughts, feelings, looks, personality e.t.c. 

Whether you feel it or not YOU ARE THE MAIN CHARACTER IN YOUR OWN GODDAMN LIFE STORY  and so its up to you create those experiences or opportunities you want. Yes, there are times where life will like flip the script on you and go in a way that you don’t want it to go but like its imperative that you don’t completely give up the steering wheel to life and just let it fuck shit up. you got every right to be in that driver’s seat, with one hand (or two; some like two) on the steering wheel. 

I would give this drama a solid 7.5/8. I really liked it but I'm not gonna act like it was perfect. There were some things that could've been better but it was funny and enjoyable and heartwarming and cute. My expectations were never high in the first place; the main thing I was weary about was the possibility of it dragging and becoming too makjang. 

And now its over :(

Alas, I'm off to listen to the OST again and this time I might actually not cry! Ayyy!!