K2 (2016)
케이투
Starring: Ji Chang Wook, Im Yoon Ah
Seen: May 2020
I started watching this long before I finished it. Of some reason I found it slow, but still kind of interesting. In my review of Healer I mentioned wanting to see more actions dramas with Ji Chang Wook and this became it. Yes, I do see a pattern but I still love it.
Story Summary:
Kim Je Ha is an ex-soldier who served in Iraq. There, he gets framed for the murder of the civilian Raniya, whom was his lover at the time. Because of this he runs away and becomes a fugitive. After his return to Korea, he gets offered a job as a bodyguard by Choi Yoo Jin, the owner of JSS Security Company and wife of the presidential candidate, Jang Se Joon. In exchange for necissary information he needs to take his revenge on the man who ordered the kill on Raniya, presidential candidate Park Kwan Soo. As a new bodyguard, Je Ha gets assigned to guard Go An Na - the hidden daughter of Jang Se Joon, whose life is always threatened because of her stepmother Yoo Jin. An Na, who has been reclused and lonely all her life, starts relying on Je Ha, who shows concern for her and protects her at all costs. Slowly, they fall in love and this has Je Ha torn between having to work with his ally, Yoo Jin, to be able to get his revenge and protecting his new-found love, An Na, against his ally.
first impression:
There's quite a lot of guns in this show. I guess that's kind of a must in an action show. There's also a lot of injuries featuring a lot of dramatic bleeding, so if you get queezy at sight of blood or the imagination of blood - K2 is not for you pal.
I ended up pausing my binging at two occations when watching this show, I just felt like it moved too slow in the beginning and it was also quite hard to keep up on what was actually going on. I have no idea how he ended up with a gun to Yoon Jin's head, for example. I don't remember this scene in the car either. I waited the whole show for it and realized I must have forgotten it from earlier in the show when I stopped binge watching it. I was completely lost at that point already so that was the first time I pause. I think I even watched a few dramas before I resumed K2. I really liked the end though, so I don't regret watching it.
I have two things to say about Ji Chang Wook in this drama.
1. ASDFGHJKLHU
(Chocolate or whipped cream? *;)* )
2. He's a master at acting paniced or distraught. I am so amazed.
(Look at that PAIN :'( )
I have always respected actors who has mastered the art of facial expressions. You might scoff at me and say it's part of their job but when you see someone who really can control what they show and how, you realize how many people there are who can't.
Furthermore I have two things to say about Je Ha.
1. Kingsman called, they want him hired asap.
(He can even work an umberella!! Perfect new recruite for the gentelmen - even if he isn't British. Haven't seen Kingsman? GO WATCH IT it's one of the coolest action movies I've seen and no I'm not going to explain that further - go watch it.)
2. He asserts dominance in the most laid back way I've ever seen. When he knows it's rightfully his place as superior, he doesn't blink to claim it. Awsome! Boss it, baby!
If I'd add a number 3 to Je Ha's list it'd be "what kind of steel man is he". In episode 10 when the bad guys are invading the building where An Na and Je Ha were for An Na's photoshoot, if you pause the video when Je Ha sees the intruders from the staircase, it says "Fentanyl" on the big bottle of liquid they're turning into gas. Fentanyl is an opioid used for pain relief. It has similiarites to heroin but can be a hundred times stronger than morphin. You get higher than fricking Burj Khalifa, then resperatory difficulties, then you'll die from an overdose. In an old episode review I happened to find, though, they say it's anasthetics. Inhaling anasthetic gas depresses neurotransmissions within the central nervous system. It calms you to the point of numbness. You wouldn't be able to move after a while, just sink down to the floor like a sack potatoes. I've also seen a video "version" where the subtitle says they're releasing nerve gas. Nerve gas is a leathal gas, even in smaller amounts, and disrupts the nerve impulses from the brain to the organs. It apparently causes excrusiating pain, paralysis and uncontrolable seizures (among other things). This is why you can die within minutes, you suffocate due to lung paralysis. No WAY he'd be able to walk around in that smoke fog like he did if it was nerve gas. There's a reason it was so affective on the battlefields of World War I - it killed everyone so violently and quickly no one could fight back. But to sum it up, no matter what kind of gas it is it's quite unrealistic that Je Ha is fighting the way he is completely engulfed in it. I guess they thought the little coughing would make it up. I'm with An Na; "how are you going to fight with that gas?". Hm.
Moving ooooon. My favorite kind of action is the one which has a bit of suspense in it and the last episodes with the bomb involved were precisely that. I CRIED during the final episode when An Na's dad sacrifised himself to ease the weight in the elevator. It was also so touching that he held his wife the last seconds, even though he kind of hated her he knew it was the end. I was so touched how the agents on the top floor screamed and cried for K2 to reply when they'd cut the lines holding up the elevator and how relieved they were when they managed to tell they they survived. That was so beautiful I cried a little with them~ my major thought in that moment, however, was somwhere along the lines of: "OMG SO EPIC WHY ARE ALWAYS THE LAST EPISODES IN DRAMAS SO F*CKING INTENSE AAAAAH". Such an amazing ending to a real action filled show, and the very last scene with Je Ha and An Na back in Spain, in public, without guards or prying eyes, enjoying the view and each others embraces was exactly what I'd hoped for. They deserved the happy ending they got, and I loved how they did as they'd talked about earlier - to go back to Spain together.
I also cried for his shouder nuzzling when he hugged An Na on the roof top. That shit was cute as hell.
Cultural imput:
One thing I really got hung up on is in episode 6 when An Na has an allergic reaction to the strawberry ice cream and passes out from loss of oxygen. Je Ha starts doing mouth-to-mouth but he doesn't do any compressions even when he says her pulse is low. I don't know how they learn CPR in Korea, but I thought it was the same routine everywhere. I've taken several CPR classes for both adults, children and infints and the rule is: 1. Check attention - can they hear you? Je Ha does this. 2. Check breathing. Je Ha does this too. 3. Used to be checking for a pulse but it's more recently been take away from the procedure to save time. 4. Start compressions. Rythm of "Staying Alive" the song from Saturday Night Fever (103 beats per minute), 30 compressions each round between four inhalations (30-4-30-4...). Je Ha only does inhalantions and I am confused. I'm not an expert, but from what I've learned you should always do compressions regardless if the person's heart is beating normally, irregulary or not at all. It's to get the oxygen from your inhalations better circulation to all the organs since you are literally helping the heart beat (your welcome for the quick CPR lesson, I recommend taking a course). I exclaimed loudly when I saw that. He's supposed to be a professional bodyguard to very important people (in this case) and he doesn't even do CPR properly when his protege is dying? Deduction of salary, if not the entire job position.
Another thing which annoyed the crap out of me (yes, I have very strong reactions/emotions/opinions about things - you are absolutely right about that) was the scene in episode 9 where Je Ha has a nightmare and wakes up in a panic and hugs An Na. It started out so sweet and then they jump apart, like it's something to be ashamed of that he had a nightmare triggered by past trauma and he woke up afraid. WHY is it always portrayed as shameful to show rawer, unconsious emotions like this? I don't get it! Why?? So many of "tention" scenes in dramas are so hesitant, drawn out and I just want to snap at them to get a move on it. Act! React! Come on! Can anyone move in more slow-mo than characters in Korean dramas whenever it comes to a love interest? Jeezle weezle.
That was it for this review. Still worth finishing, though! Stay tuned, more reviews are in the writing~
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