Kim So-yeon returns to IRIS franchise with another cameo
by javabeans
Kim So-yeon was one of the original cast members of IRIS and returned to the franchise for a cameo in Athena, so it’s no surprise to hear she’s coming back again for IRIS 2. She’ll have played the same character across all three series — Kim Sun-hwa, the North Korean spy who (Athena spoiler?) then left that life behind after the first series ended, only to have it follow her and end up killing her new husband and child.
She’s connected to IRIS 2 via Im Soo-hyang’s character, named Kim Yeon-ah, who is Sun-hwa’s younger sister. Her upcoming appearance was teased in a recent episode by a comment made by Chul-young (Sun-hwa’s former spy boss, played by Kim Seung-woo), “I believe Sun-hwa’s alive somewhere.”
It’s one way to boost interest in IRIS 2 for its finale week, that’s for sure, especially since Sun-hwa had one of the best character storylines in the original IRIS. I didn’t watch enough Athena to get to her appearance there, but the cameo was reportedly the best thing about that show. It does seem like a last-ditch effort on the show’s part, though, since ratings have been flagging in the single digits; the last episode drew an 8.2%. Perhaps worse than the numbers is the drama’s relative lack of profile or buzz; those are things you can’t really quantify, but it does seem like the show is flying under the radar.
I’d point to the show’s curious lack of plot energy as the culprit; things look very good and there’s a lot of stuff going on visually (explosions and action, as the genre requires), but by all accounts it’s very hard to care about what’s actually happening. Lots of flash but no point. (Note: I couldn’t sit through IRIS 2 at all, so these are limited impressions. Still, by contrast I found the first IRIS totally flawed and yet pretty watchable.)
IRIS 2 ends its run this week, after Episodes 19 and 20 air on Wednesday and Thursday. Next week, Lee Dong-wook’s sageuk thriller Mandate of Heaven takes over the timeslot.
Via Joy News
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Tags: IRIS 2, Kim So-yeon
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26 sotongpok
April 19, 2013 at 5:55 AM
hey javabeans, just a note: im soo-hyang's character's name is yeon-hwa, not yeon-ah (:
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27 Shadow
April 20, 2013 at 1:27 AM
@Dark Justice
You can find "weecaps" at kaedejun website. kaedejun is one of the writers here.
Her cameo at the end was somewhat puzzling.
*spoiler*
She and Yeon-Hwa get attacked by a bunch of people and Baek-San's bunker with his nuke is shown opening and it starts counting down. Could this be a lead in to IRIS 3?
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28 joak
April 26, 2013 at 3:14 PM
the only reason i watched Iris 2 was because of KSY's cameo appearance. unfortunately, she appeared in the VERY LAST episode. damn them. had to sit through 20 episodes of complete boredom for just 3 minutes of her. but hey, at least i enjoyed those 3 minutes of butt kicking. i started smiling like a big idiot when she finally appeared hahaha. pretty sure they're planning an Iris 3, and i really do not want to watch it if it will be Iris 2 2.0.. but.. i might not have a choice if they tease me with KSY :(
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29 Julio
July 21, 2013 at 4:01 PM
Love you crazy korean girl!!! LOVE Kim Sun-hwa. Its the most interesting character since the beginning. Kicked main female role ass in Iris 1 (sorry Kim Tae Hee)
We want more Kim Sun Hwa!!!!
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