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Witch Amusement: Episode 14

It’s official. Witch Amusement has lost its mind.

The good news: at least the crazy is the entertaining kind. I think I’ve figured out what must’ve happened: some nutjob anti-fan of Han Ga In / Dennis Oh / Bin / Kim Jung Hoon sneaked on set, dropped a bunch of crazy pills into the punch bowl, and everyone drank the Kool-Aid. It started gradually, unnoticeably, finally culminating in the schizophrenia of this episode. Yup. That’s got to be it.


There was a time I tried to divvy out these caps to include everyone and not just Jae Hee, but they’ve all become much less interesting. Jae Hee is by far the most compelling thing in this series. So why fight it?

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Byul – “세상의 반” (Half the world) [ Download ]

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This episode had me rolling on the ground with laughter. Figuratively speaking. It was so wacky and all over the place, I didn’t know what to do with it. I don’t think they did either — the writers, the production, the actors. It’s like they either forgot what show they were filming (hence the crazy pills theory), or they gave up and were like, “Aw, fuck it. Let’s throw everything in.”

Everything CRAZY, that is! It was so farcical, it was almost a parody of itself. I kinda wish they took that extra step and went into self-satire, because that would really be something.

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EPISODE 14 SUMMARY

Mu-ryong tells Yoo Hee he’s not getting married, then leaves. Yoo Hee hesitates for a moment, then decides to go with her feelings and chase after him —

It’s an… interesting variation of the ubiquitous back-hug. Maybe they were going for something slightly different than the standard. But it comes off more like, “Help, I’m so tired from running twenty feet to catch you that I have no more energy! Be my arm-rest!”

Yoo Hee tells him not to go, because she missed him. She doesn’t know why, but she keeps thinking about him. Mu-ryong takes her hand, then shows Yoo Hee how normal people hug properly.

After admitting that he missed her too, the happy couple cook together, and Paran watches with satisfaction. Paran also picks up Yoo Hee’s cell phone when Joon Ha calls, mentioning she’s with ‘Mu-ryong hyung’ at the moment.

I’m infinitely relieved that there were many more face and upper-body shots of Mu-ryong than full-body shots, because Jae Hee’s hair is vastly improved (thank you, coif gods!) but his wardrobe, sadly, is NOT. They must have gone over-budget on Yoo Hee’s smashing wardrobe and figured, Hey, Jae Hee’s pretty skinny. Tell him to drop a few pounds and we’ll fit him in Yoo Hee’s castoffs.

As Mu-ryong leaves, he and Yoo Hee share a good-night hug just as Joon Ha arrives, pissed off. Never mind the fact that Yoo Hee already tried to break up with him a couple of times and return his ring. But a man’s testosterone knows no reason.

Joon Ha punches Mu-ryong, saying he’ll kill him, but Mu-ryong doesn’t fight back (perhaps feeling bad for his part in breaking up their loveless relationship?). Yoo Hee forces them apart, and defends Mu-ryong as blameless: “It’s me, I like him.” She repeats it several times because the smarty-smart doctor doesn’t seem to understand, and Joon Ha — omo! — slaps Yoo Hee.

Mu-ryong may have been willing to take the hit himself, but seeing Yoo Hee slapped, he busts out his “Oh no you di’int!” face as he forces his way into the elevator and demands that Joon Ha apologize to her immediately. Joon Ha says Yoo Hee is his woman — get lost. He says Mu-ryong will never last with Yoo Hee — he can’t do anything for her, and the President will never accept their relationship. Which, funny enough, is what the President used to say about Joon Ha.

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Now that things are (finally!) out in the open, Mu-ryong breaks up with Seung Mi. The scene’s much longer (than it needs to be), because most of it is a repetitive mishmash of stuff we’ve already heard, until we get to that long-awaited line: “Let’s split up.”

Likewise, Yoo Hee breaks it off with Joon Ha and returns the ring to him. He tries to change her mind, saying they shouldn’t act rashly, but take their time. He understands if she looked at someone else for a moment, but he knows she’ll return to him. He’ll wait for her. But Yoo Hee just walks off. Good luck with that, Joon Ha! Maybe you should hold your breath while you wait.

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After posting Episode 13’s summary, I felt kind of bad for ripping into Jennifer Bae so harshly… until I saw Episode 14 and remembered that she totally earned it. I’m not saying actors don’t deserve any understanding, but once you’ve gotten the job and become a paid actor — whether or not you’re equipped with the skills — you have to take criticism as a part of being a professional. And if you can’t deliver, then you’ll get a lot of criticism. Watching this scene was like watching a bad Youtube amateur video. I swear.

As Allison merely repeats the same thing as before (Come back to New York!), it’s an utter waste of time. Except for the part where Sara sees Allison holding Johnny’s hand (I wonder if Allison is Johnny’s ex, even if she’s not his current girlfriend) and flips out. Allison recognizes Sara’s unique brand of fearsome crazy, and makes a hasty retreat.

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Joon Ha meets with the President bedecked in a dark suit at the waters of the Han River, because now Witch Amusement thinks it’s a mobster movie. This tends to be a popular setting used in many other dramas/films, but the most recent that comes to mind is last year’s gangster drama Lovers (연인).

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You be the judge: LOVERS

The contrast of the locale and the acting and the mismatched music makes this scene weirdly laughable. Joon Ha tells the President he will not give up Yoo Hee. The President asks if it’s because he wants the hospital, and Joon Ha answers that it’s also because of Yoo Hee. He won’t lose her, and asks for his help.

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This next scene is lovely and cute, and beautifully shot — Yoo Hee surprises Mu-ryong with a grand gesture. Timed to his arrival, the bridge lights up, and Yoo Hee presents him with a cake. Mu-ryong starts to approach, but she tells him, “No, stay there. I’ll go to you.” As far as symbolic statements go, it’s a rather nice one.

Aww. Cheesy, but heart-warming… if ONLY, oh, I don’t know, I hadn’t already SEEN IT BEFORE?

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2005’s Delightful Girl Choon Hyang

As we all know, kdramas recycle stories and moments all the time… But as this one involves the same director — and even the same ACTOR! — it’s hard to overlook. I loved this scene in Choon Hyang, but my appreciation for the Witch Amusement counterpart was dulled by the striking similarities.

At least this scene is salvaged by the last bit, where we pan down past the lovers to see Manager Lee and Hee Jung, huddled in the cold with the power cord, manning the lights. Acknowledging the mechanics behind the romantic gesture (we never see how the lights turn on, even though I always wonder) redeems it slightly.

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Happiness is short-lived, though, as thugs drop by Mu-ryong’s family restaurant and make a mess, overturning everything and breaking furniture, as a message to Mu-ryong from the President. In the process, Song Hwa’s girlfriend, who I think is named Mi Kyung, gets a direct blow to the stomach. Worried over her baby’s condition, the family rushes to the hospital… where we find out she’s fine. But not the baby. Because there is no baby. She’s never been pregnant. She apologizes, saying she just wanted to be with Song Hwa so much. He leaves, angry and upset at her lies.

(I was beginning to wonder at her non-pregnant physical appearance, and thought they were going to pull another Full House on us. But it’s nice to see they actually had a point in not highlighting her pregnancy.)

Joon Ha calls Mu-ryong to ask if he got his “message.” Mu-ryong did, loud and clear. Joon Ha tells him things will be fine if he lets go of Yoo Hee, and Mu-ryong answers: “I guess I have no choice. I can’t give her up. I’ll protect her.”

The thugs also go after Yoo Hee, who puts up a big struggle before she’s overpowered and kidnapped. It’s great that they remembered she’s supposed to be good at fighting, but the whole martial-arts excess is a little ridiculous. It’s like she turned into Buffy overnight.

Mu-ryong just sees Yoo Hee being driven off and tries to give chase, but can’t continue as he’s on foot. Mu-ryong’s shocked to realize Joon Ha’s behind this when Joon Ha asks him, “So how are you going to protect her now?” Ooh, evil genius keeping the lovers apart through manipulation! Looks like Joon Ha’s been watching Choon Hyang too.

Because now we are in a thriller-action film, Yoo Hee is taken to a dark, sinister warehouse where she’s bound and gagged. Joon Ha plays his part as the action star, bursting into the warehouse in a blaze of heroic glory. He singlehandedly takes down the gangsters, rushing to Yoo Hee’s rescue. (He later pays the gangsters off for carrying out his plan.)

Is it ridiculous? No. It is beyond ridiculous. Even if it’s staged so Joon Ha can be Mr. Man and save Yoo Hee, it’s total overkill.

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Seung Mi and Song Hwa drink, and Song Hwa mentions their thug encounter earlier, while also worrying about what to do about Mi Kyung. He doesn’t necessarily want to break up with her… but what she did still pisses him off. Seung Mi tells him she can understand — Mi Kyung did that because she likes him so much. (Seung Mi had better not be getting any strange ideas from Mi Kyung.)

Mu-ryong’s parents (more his mother) blame Yoo Hee for the recent trouble, and combined with Joon Ha’s threats, Mu-ryong avoids Yoo Hee’s phone calls. She seeks him out, asking what’s wrong, and why he’s distant. She jokes, “Has your love cooled already? Do you not want to see me anymore?” and Mu-ryong answers, serious: “Yes. Let’s stop seeing each other.”

She doesn’t understand, so Mu-ryong speaks coolly and harshly to make his point clear — she’s not his type, he thinks the relationship is too much for him, he doesn’t want to handle a woman like her… “Goodbye, and don’t call me again” are his final parting words. Even though it’s written all over his face that he doesn’t really mean it, that he hates saying those words. Actors take note! See how much you can do with one facial expression!

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Despondent Yoo Hee goes to see Johnny for support, but changes her mind and leaves without meeting him. She does run into Seung Mi, however, who tells her to let go of Mu-ryong. Yoo Hee’s ruining him, what with her father sending thugs to bust up Mu-ryong’s family restaurant. Yoo Hee’s shocked to learn of her father’s doings.

Our favorite man-couple drink together — Johnny can sense something’s wrong (is it the man-love intuition?), even though Mu-ryong says nothing’s the matter. Mu-ryong asks if life would’ve been better if he’d just become a doctor instead. But seeing that Mu-ryong doesn’t want to elaborate, Johnny doesn’t press, and they just drink. In the solace of each other’s loving company.

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Yoo Hee confronts her father, who says he doesn’t want to give his daughter to a man like Mu-ryong. He doesn’t like Dr. Yoo either, but “Since you two like each other… I just want you to be happy.”

Uh, er?

In shock, Yoo Hee stumbles home, stripped of her energy, and finally collapses in her lobby, where Joon Ha’s waiting. It must be that pesky Conveniently Timed Mystery Illness that arises whenever the plot needs it to.

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Joon Ha comforts Yoo Hee, who accepts him uncertainly. He says pretty words about how he doesn’t like seeing her hurt, and their wedding plans are back on, even though Yoo Hee doesn’t look whole-hearted about it.

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Yoo Hee gets an unpleasant surprise visit from Joon Ha’s ex-fiancee, who’s come to warn her against Joon Ha. Yoo Hee doesn’t believe her accusations, but the fiancee has come prepared with evidence — papers for a hospital signed in President Ma’s name, and a recording of her conversation with Joon Ha in Episode 13, when Joon Ha all but admits to marrying because he wants the hospital. How very secret-agent of her.

In a determined fury, Yoo Hee storms in to face Joon Ha —

And she is PI – ISSED. She’s SO pissed off, the word needs an extra syllable.

Come on, Joon Ha. You don’t fuck with the girl your hired kidnappers complained was such a good fighter that they demanded more compensation.

…and we are two episodes away from the end! I wonder how they’re going to wrap this up. At this rate, anything could happen. And I mean anything. Monkeys? Nuclear weapons? Amnesiac serial killers? Flying potatoes? You never know.

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It started off quite well in the first few episodes and suddenly descended into ridiculous plots. Maybe the original writers got sick and they had to get replacements. Ha Ha.

I agree, the chemistry between the leads are really awful, coupled with bad acting. I do not see any semblance of Yoo Hee falling in love with Mu-ryong, in terms of her acting. She always have the same stupified expression whether she is surprised, in shock, in anger, or whatever.

Thanks for your great summaries! I gained a better understanding of the drama just from reading them.

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true to that! i feel so tired with the series of events..
but like you, i still watched it til the last episode.

sadness.

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Sarah,

I'm afraid I lost interest in this drama quite a few episodes ago because of its predictable plot, lack of chemistry between pairs (all of the pairing), and abundant bad acting. However, being masochistic and having long had the habit of finishing whatever I start, I'm still watching - painfully.

Sigh.

Amy

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AHhahaha!!! this summary kept me laughing. your quips and the subtle sarcasm was just the best.. like they say in korean Chae go ye yo! >> not sure if that's right in romanization i just spell how i think it is. hehehe I loved that DGCH scene too!! Im suprised that the PD choose to do that. But man, savior of this ep is definitely JaeHee. WIthout him on screen this will just be dull. Hahahha I think this ep is crazy but hecka funny.. i dont know what to think. Did PD ssi give up on this? Oh gosh, Im just hoping they end this somewhat well. Arggh.. I expected something better from PD ssi what happened? Is is because its a different station now? lol.. I love the man-love sooo cute! ^^

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seriously, jayhee wears the worst shoes/sweaters/shirts/whatever in this. especially shoes. its hard to watch.

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yea. i guess, me too? i kinda stopped watching it already and resorted to reading your summaries instead. hehe. and oh, i started watching another drama, soulmate. (just so you know?!) haha anyway, i just hope WA will have a pretty good and satisfying ending. keep it up sarah. =)

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he hehe ROFL � I love reading your summaries. Ep 13&14 has clearly brought out your funny bone.
"They must have gone over-budget on Yoo Hee's smashing wardrobe and figured, Hey, Jae Hee's pretty skinny. Tell him to drop a few pounds and we'll fit him in Yoo Hee's castoffs."

"Clearly Mu-ryong thinks the best way to go unnoticed is to disguise himself as a gay gigolo wearing a trim women's suit with ajumma sunglasses, traveling alongside his dorky tourist buddy in vacation-going casualwear"

JooJinMoLovesMe: "wrote Regarding MR's clothing, I can't but help notice that he dresses like a girl. His jeans are in his shoes, like jeans in boots. He always seems to wear some long cardigan-like sweater. And he carries around a faux crocodile black patent leather tote! He's a girl!"

Seriously the person dressing him needs to be fire. :-)

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I confess that I'm not actually watching the drama - just reading the recaps but I don't think I can forgive them for ripping off that scene from Delightful Girl. A karaoke or some other random scene is fine but THE romantic scene of the drama is ripped off from a previous drama by the same director? Come on!

This director kinda offends me because I felt that My Girl and Delightful Girl were so darn similar (even though I like them both). But now that this somewhat different story rips off scenes from his previous drama? Come on!

On another note, javabeans, do you write fiction? If so, do you have anything posted online?

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I LOVE HOW U COMPARED THIS EPISODE TO OTHER KOREAN DRAMAS LIKE FULL HOUSE AND DGCH, I LAUGHED SO MUCH DURING PARTS IN UR SUMMARY..."It must be that pesky Conveniently Timed Mystery Illness that arises whenever the plot needs it to." AND "Our favorite man-couple drink together -- Johnny can sense something's wrong (is it the man-love intuition?)"

YOUR SO RIGHT JAE HEE IS THE BEST AND CUTEST ACTOR IN THE SHOW OF COURSE...

I ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT, I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT IM A SUCKER FOR THE ROMANTIC PARTS OR SEMI-ROMANTIC LIKE AT THE BEGINNING AND THE BRIDGE SCENE EVEN IF IT SOO MUCH LIKE DGCH DOWN TO THE CAKE AND THE SAME ACTOR

BUT YOU ARE SO RIGHT "At this rate, anything could happen. And I mean anything. Monkeys? Nuclear weapons? Amnesiac serial killers? Flying potatoes? You never know."

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SUMMARY'S ONCE AGAIN

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"Looks like Joon Ha's been watching Choon Hyang too."
I keep laughing n laughing. Javabeans, I think WA is a sequel of Choon Hyang. So maybe the next project of the director is sequel of my girl. Ha ha.. I hope not.
It's an amusement too reading not only your summary but also the comment.

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LMAO!!!

I Stopped watching this drama a LOOOOONG time ago but i keep coming back to read your summaries because they make me laugh so much.... :D

I find your recaps FAR more amusing than the actually drama...haha

I loved your last sentence... "At this rate, anything could happen. And I mean anything. Monkeys? Nuclear weapons? Amnesiac serial killers? Flying potatoes? You never know."

LMAO

so true....

this drama is all over the place..

Thank you for your summaries! They tickle me :D

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I hope Joon Ha kan make Yoo Hee understand and I hope Yoo Hee married with Joon Ha and lived happily ever after. I hope Yoo Hee don't angry with him. And Joon Ha really2 love Yoo Hee. I Hope Joon Ha's accusations just kidding or leaseing. I hope Yoo Hee not love Mu-Ryoung...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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i'm on the bandwagon of "given up on this drama but enjoy reading javabeans summaries~" so thanks for all your time and effort javabeans~

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man... I wonder if I will laugh as much watching the episode as I have reading your summary.
In my case, i stopped watching after Ep 2 or 3. I can't even remember. But I still read your wonderful summaries. Thanks!

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Your summary of ep 14 tickled me so hard I cant stop laughing now!!! *help*!!! I have to agree the PDs are on their heels now realising they havent cover so many things and simply threw all in one episode..the most ridiculous part is MR and YH getting tgt and breaking up in just one epi!!! What a man MR is...but can't analyse this series too much...one would just go bonkers lol...

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i LOOOVE your summaries! im serious,it gives me a giggly fit everytime i read it :D
anyways,i agree that some parts are really ridiculous but JAE HEE is getting hotter,so what the hell xD

"Joonha has been watching Choon Hyang" - ROFL!

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Boy, oh boy. They really went over the top with this one, huh?

I think the amount of Jae Hee screencaps is inversely related to the quality of the plot (or lack thereof). Lol. Sounds like the writers and producers went all out, not only to rehash plot contrivances, but to put crazy-ridiculous to a whole new level.

Thanks for the wonderful and entertaining summaries. I have to admit that I had high hopes for this drama and it turned out to be a bit of a letdown. I'll just have to tough it out and endure their brand of crazy a little while longer. Good thing there's JH to look at.

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I just giggle to myself when I think of Myuryung sprinting to catch up to the kidnappers' car. We see him running as he turns a corner, and he runs so intently on the side walk. But, alas, he's no where close to the car. They don't even show the car in front of him or even on the side. There's none of that scene where a movie/tv character tries to run after a car, and as we see him fading away from the car's rear window, he stops gasping for air, his head down and his face expressing disappointment. But, in case of Myu-Ryung and the kidnappers, not even close.

We just see him running. He always runs, whenever Ma Yun Hee calls.

I was giggling when I saw this, and to add to my amusement, my wife says to me out of nowhere 'he is so skinny and his legs too. How is he going to run after that car with those legs?

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Gee...getting sick and bored
Kdrama always remain the kdrama style..
This drama really not so interesting..
the story's dull..luckily just 16...i guess it must be tortured..
really,for dennis fans they just opened up a special forum of WA coz of Dennis?Oppa!
I think i never will watch this if there's no Dennis..
yawn~~~

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Just to clarify, I was pretty hard on Dennis here, but really, I missed Johnny in this episode. (Just as long as it's without Allison, because she brings Dennis way down with her.) More Johnny! Because that means more Johnny/Mu-ryong love. And seeing the "camaraderie" (ooh, euphemism!) between Dennis and Jae Hee is now my favorite part of the series. Because Jae Hee brings Dennis way up (ooh, euphemism!) Didja all see that behind-the-scenes clip of the scene where Jae Hee gets slapped by the President, and Dennis jokingly "comforts" him by cuddling Jae Hee's head to his chest? But seriously, slash OR straight, those two are great together.

@Amyable, I suffer from the same ailment. I wish I could let go of bad series more quickly, but I can't get past my (morbid?) curiosity at how it will all end. I think, maybe, just maybe, it'll pick up and make the rest of the series worth it. Hey, it kinda worked for Goong S, where the last few episodes at least didn't make me regret the hours I put into the rest of the series. But with Witch Amusement, I actually still enjoy it despite the plot shenanignas -- because they're so damn funny, and more importantly, fun to make fun of!

@louela, Anonymous, yeli, lime9, jade -- thanks for reading even though you've stopped watching the series! I didn't think anyone would want to read if they weren't watching, but I love that you stuck around for the mocking.

@Anonymous (comment #6), I do write other things, but I don't post them up...

@Bunde, whenever I see Jae Hee running, I think of Mong Ryong in Choon Hyang. So in the running scene in this episode, when Mu-ryong gives up, out of breath after chasing the car, all I could think was, "Tch. I bet Mong Ryong would have made it."

@everyone, thanks for laughing along! The series gives me plenty of material to work from, that's for sure. Seriously, these things practically write themselves.

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kekeke.., I also stopped watching a while ago
I think your summeries and the comments are more fun
please do continue to write
and thank you!

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Jae hee is really good actor...really hot.....thank you

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Girl,

I see myself coming here often to listen to your random songs of the days LOL! great job on that .. we have similar taste la la la la la (ke ke ke ke)

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hi all.
i seriously stopped watching full episodes of Witch Amusement after the fifth episode cause it didn't seem worth watching the whole thing. i still read javabeans summaries just to see if it gets better as i love the director. seriously, javabeans, i love all your summaries cause of your clever and subtle remarks on the acting/scenes/relationships/plot/etc.
after watching this, i'm really disappointed by the director. i mean, after Choon Hyang and My Girl, i was really anticipating another excellent drama...as they say, "the third try's always the charm". i mean, My Girl and Choon Hyang were nearly perfect dramas, so i expected the third one to surpass them, but i was sooo seriously wrong. i mean, Choon Hyang and My Girl had typical plotlines like Witch Amusement, but the execution of both stories was perfect. no matter how typical and cliche both CH and MG were, i couldn't stop watching every single episode. i know that some of the blame should go to the writers, but still, shouldn't the director recognize when a script has gone completely BONKERS!? anyways, no major blame...i still like the director cause like all people, he can't be successful all the time. haha.
also, Han Ga In and Jae Hee have decent chemistry so their relationship is fine for me. i just wished that Jae Hee had picked a better drama cause he's such a diverse actor. i mean, have you guys seen him in 3-Iron?
anyways, thanks for the summary. i seriously laughed out loud at the things you said.
on a random and very superficial note, the actor who portrays Song Hwa is soo cute. love his hair. i saw him in My Girl and originally thought he was a girl from afar (sorry about this, but i'm near-sighted so i couldn't see!), and now he's absolutely gorgeous.

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Your summaries are way more entertaining than the actual episodes of WA. Thanks so much!

P.S. I wondered the same thing about the pregnant friend in Full House!!

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i love the flying potatos comment, i havn't been watching this drama because i feel like i lost interest in it way back in episode 3 but i still read your blog because i still wanted to know what was happening. Thanks for everything and i hope that you would do hello miss too. That drama is so good but i believe that ripgrl is not doing it justice on soompi so i ask you to do recaps of that series.

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