Gu Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di (Jandi)
Lee Min Ho as Gu Jun Pyo (Junpyo)
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung (Yijung)
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin (Woobin)
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo (Jihoo)
Lee Min Ho as Gu Jun Pyo (Junpyo)
Kim Bum as So Yi Jung (Yijung)
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin (Woobin)
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo (Jihoo)
It was a good a start for Boys before Flowers. I’m not going to do a full episode summary or recaps because I believe they are quite a few good ones already out there so I’ll just go straight to my own ramblings.
Initially, I watched the episode without subtitles, and since it was quite heavy on information-sharing, not able to understand a word, for the most part, kind of took the fun out of it. But the second time, with a proper subtitle, I was able to appreciate it better. In fact, I think this is one drama that only gets better in my head the more I watch it. I rewatched episode 1 last night (just to kill some time, and to refresh my mind about it, of course, in order to rant and ramble about it in here. LOL) and I thought I enjoyed it more this time around than two months ago. Perhaps, the last time I was a bit more critical, since there were some expectations. But once those expectations are taken off the shelves, one can start seeing things for what they are.
Gu Hye Sun as Jandi is so much fun to watch. I totally don’t mind her exaggerated expressions. In truth I was or AM STILL a little jealous of her. She can make silly and funny faces and yet still look cute and adorable. If it were me, I would look soo effing ugly (this is not my low self confidence talking; someone actually said that to my face. Hahahaha. *sigh*).
Good scenes
I especially like the little montage of F4 when Jandi’s brother, Kang San was introducing the notorious group to his sister. To be exact, from the moment Jihoo putting on shirt, Yijung picking and putting on tie, Woobin his jacket, then Junpyo, attended by his servants, putting on his shoes (the servant did it) and ready to go. The way they showed these scenes in such sequence was brilliant in my opinion. Also, the fact that Junpyo was shown to be attended by others while the rest of F4 were pretty much on their own really signifies their gap; while they are all rich, Junpyo obviously has the biggest chunk of it.
The next favorite scene is the first Jandi-Junpyo encounter! Junpyo just smacked a cake to a girl’s face (how childish!) and as the F4 were leaving the crowd of worshippers (something is wrong with these kids. Either that, or they simply have so much free time), Jandi stood on their way, seemingly ready to give them (or rather Junpyo in particular) a piece of her mind. Unfortunately, the preach were all in her head only. She didn’t have the guts yet to stand out (she has confessed earlier to her best friend Ga-eul that she would lay low throughout high school). She’s hilarious in this scene. You could tell she’s fuming inside and mad at herself.
The turning point in Jandi-Junpyo relationship is when Jandi’s one and only friend in the elite high school, Min Ji got bullied by Junpyo. The poor girl fell and accidently dropped her ice-cream on Junpyo’s tailored made shoes. The dialogue was good. It shows just how arrogant Junpyo was;
Minji: I’ll buy the exact same shoes for you right away.
Junpyo: You, do you have more money than I do?
Minji: Excuse me?
Junpyo: Even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to. These shoes were made by craftsman in Firenze, so how would you buy me the same exact ones right away?
Minji: I apologize. Then I’ll do whatever I can.
Junpyo: Whatever you can?
Minji: Yes!
And this is when Jandi reached her breaking point and stepped in. By doing that, Junpyo finally took notice of her, and this was, albeit unintentionally, her declaration of war! I just loved it when she shoved her own ice-cream to Junpyo’s face and threw him money for the dry cleaning of his fur coat. And not to forget, the sticking of Jandi Dry Cleaning sticker on his forehead to complete his humiliation. Jandi, bravo!
Another good one is the scene when she got egged and floured by the school kids after receiving the Red Card (courtesy of Junpyo, of course). Her uniform got dirtied and they showed a flashback of his father (a dry cleaner who appreciates good clothes when he sees one) reminding Jandi to treat her uniform as an inheritance. It was funny when his father said that, but replaying that scene through a flashback at this particular moment was a little sad. Gu Hye Sun did really well throughout this scene overall. And after that, when she went to vent her frustration at the emergency staircase, the way she was mumbling about wasted food (the flour, the egg) was really what you expect from Jandi (she is someone who really appreciates/loves food you see, and can get creative with them – you’ll know what I mean when you see later episodes). In this scene, Jihoo also appeared (asking her about pancakes) and noticed her disheveled appearance. I would put this scene from this point forward under the could-have-been-better scene category, but since this is the first episode, I think I’ll let this one go. Besides, I just can’t decide whether Kim Hyun Joong is doing a mediocre job, or a perfect job. You either see it as a perfect portrayal of a nonchalant, reserved, stiff character or you see it as bad acting. For this particular scene, I’ll go first the former.
Funny scenes
The Geum Family was hilarious. Any scene with them on was such comic relief. I especially dig the father and son’s antics, like their gigs when they were celebrating Jandi’s admission to Shinhwa High, or their devastated expressions afterwards when Jandi said she wasn’t going (but of course she did attend the Shinhwa High). Their behaviors are what you call ‘like father, like son’.
The actor who played the father is my favorite Korean comedy actor of all time. Just by simply being on screen can crack me up, let alone when he utters his lines. He’s such a natural at this. I’ve enjoyed his performances in some other dramas like Hong Gil Dong and Sassy Girl Chun Hyang. The son (Jandi’ little brother) was cute to boot! I’m not sure I’ve seen his other drama before, but I heard he was a pretty good young actor.
Worth-to-mention scenes
The very first ‘Shouting at emergency staircases’. Hehe. It was a cute scene to me. Granted, the shouting-out-of-frustration thing came a little too early, in my opinion, when F4 haven’t done anything to her or anyone close to her yet. I suppose Jandi is someone who thinks about others and feel or share their pain, thus the seemingly came-out-too-early scene because she was mad at how F4 is and feel strongly for the victims of their immature acts. This is also the time when she personally met Jihoo again, after their first encounter at the woods when she got lost while looking for the swimming pool. Jihoo was sleeping at the staircase landing and got annoyed by the loud noise. Jandi was cute as she got flustered being reprimanded by Jihoo, and by the fact that Jihoo heard all her ‘curses’ and her brags about what she would do to F4 if they ever cross paths. Hoho.
Embarrassing scenes
Yijung and the French(?) chef. Thank God I didn’t vomit. He’s cute alright, but the lines he has to utter and the gestures he has to make were so cheesy and corny they are nauseating. Gah! I suppose that scene was to establish him as a real player/womanizer, which may be a crucial fact in later episodes.
Lame scenes
Going to school by helicopter, Gu Jun Pyo? That was a little over the top. And the fact that the helicopter looked so much like a toy just made it even more of a laughingstock. Ahaha. It’s funny, alright. But still… I guess they want to make this as comical as possible.
Now, I don’t even want to talk about the ‘Jihoo plays violin in the woods’ scene. While it’s acceptable if this were in a comic book, it just seems ridiculous on tv. But I understand that this scene is important to introduce that particular spot in the woods because a few important scenes will take place there (as we soon learn in the subsequent episodes). And I must admit, the woods make quite a beautiful setting.
And the scene where F4 enters the building and the sunlight (or whatever light) was shining upon them. Hahah. Alrighty, let’s not go there.
These lame scenes are… well, lame, but at least they are funny. I guess that’s the charm of Episode 1. ;)
Quotable Quotes
"Flower Four? Yeah, right. More like Fly Four. They herd around poops." - Geum Jandi, in response to Gaeul's inquiry about F4. lol.
Favorite Character of the Episode
Papa Geum! He's sooooo funny~
Gu Hye Sun as Jandi is so much fun to watch. I totally don’t mind her exaggerated expressions. In truth I was or AM STILL a little jealous of her. She can make silly and funny faces and yet still look cute and adorable. If it were me, I would look soo effing ugly (this is not my low self confidence talking; someone actually said that to my face. Hahahaha. *sigh*).
Good scenes
I especially like the little montage of F4 when Jandi’s brother, Kang San was introducing the notorious group to his sister. To be exact, from the moment Jihoo putting on shirt, Yijung picking and putting on tie, Woobin his jacket, then Junpyo, attended by his servants, putting on his shoes (the servant did it) and ready to go. The way they showed these scenes in such sequence was brilliant in my opinion. Also, the fact that Junpyo was shown to be attended by others while the rest of F4 were pretty much on their own really signifies their gap; while they are all rich, Junpyo obviously has the biggest chunk of it.
The next favorite scene is the first Jandi-Junpyo encounter! Junpyo just smacked a cake to a girl’s face (how childish!) and as the F4 were leaving the crowd of worshippers (something is wrong with these kids. Either that, or they simply have so much free time), Jandi stood on their way, seemingly ready to give them (or rather Junpyo in particular) a piece of her mind. Unfortunately, the preach were all in her head only. She didn’t have the guts yet to stand out (she has confessed earlier to her best friend Ga-eul that she would lay low throughout high school). She’s hilarious in this scene. You could tell she’s fuming inside and mad at herself.
The turning point in Jandi-Junpyo relationship is when Jandi’s one and only friend in the elite high school, Min Ji got bullied by Junpyo. The poor girl fell and accidently dropped her ice-cream on Junpyo’s tailored made shoes. The dialogue was good. It shows just how arrogant Junpyo was;
Minji: I’ll buy the exact same shoes for you right away.
Junpyo: You, do you have more money than I do?
Minji: Excuse me?
Junpyo: Even if you did, you wouldn’t be able to. These shoes were made by craftsman in Firenze, so how would you buy me the same exact ones right away?
Minji: I apologize. Then I’ll do whatever I can.
Junpyo: Whatever you can?
Minji: Yes!
And this is when Jandi reached her breaking point and stepped in. By doing that, Junpyo finally took notice of her, and this was, albeit unintentionally, her declaration of war! I just loved it when she shoved her own ice-cream to Junpyo’s face and threw him money for the dry cleaning of his fur coat. And not to forget, the sticking of Jandi Dry Cleaning sticker on his forehead to complete his humiliation. Jandi, bravo!
Another good one is the scene when she got egged and floured by the school kids after receiving the Red Card (courtesy of Junpyo, of course). Her uniform got dirtied and they showed a flashback of his father (a dry cleaner who appreciates good clothes when he sees one) reminding Jandi to treat her uniform as an inheritance. It was funny when his father said that, but replaying that scene through a flashback at this particular moment was a little sad. Gu Hye Sun did really well throughout this scene overall. And after that, when she went to vent her frustration at the emergency staircase, the way she was mumbling about wasted food (the flour, the egg) was really what you expect from Jandi (she is someone who really appreciates/loves food you see, and can get creative with them – you’ll know what I mean when you see later episodes). In this scene, Jihoo also appeared (asking her about pancakes) and noticed her disheveled appearance. I would put this scene from this point forward under the could-have-been-better scene category, but since this is the first episode, I think I’ll let this one go. Besides, I just can’t decide whether Kim Hyun Joong is doing a mediocre job, or a perfect job. You either see it as a perfect portrayal of a nonchalant, reserved, stiff character or you see it as bad acting. For this particular scene, I’ll go first the former.
Funny scenes
The Geum Family was hilarious. Any scene with them on was such comic relief. I especially dig the father and son’s antics, like their gigs when they were celebrating Jandi’s admission to Shinhwa High, or their devastated expressions afterwards when Jandi said she wasn’t going (but of course she did attend the Shinhwa High). Their behaviors are what you call ‘like father, like son’.
The actor who played the father is my favorite Korean comedy actor of all time. Just by simply being on screen can crack me up, let alone when he utters his lines. He’s such a natural at this. I’ve enjoyed his performances in some other dramas like Hong Gil Dong and Sassy Girl Chun Hyang. The son (Jandi’ little brother) was cute to boot! I’m not sure I’ve seen his other drama before, but I heard he was a pretty good young actor.
Worth-to-mention scenes
The very first ‘Shouting at emergency staircases’. Hehe. It was a cute scene to me. Granted, the shouting-out-of-frustration thing came a little too early, in my opinion, when F4 haven’t done anything to her or anyone close to her yet. I suppose Jandi is someone who thinks about others and feel or share their pain, thus the seemingly came-out-too-early scene because she was mad at how F4 is and feel strongly for the victims of their immature acts. This is also the time when she personally met Jihoo again, after their first encounter at the woods when she got lost while looking for the swimming pool. Jihoo was sleeping at the staircase landing and got annoyed by the loud noise. Jandi was cute as she got flustered being reprimanded by Jihoo, and by the fact that Jihoo heard all her ‘curses’ and her brags about what she would do to F4 if they ever cross paths. Hoho.
Embarrassing scenes
Yijung and the French(?) chef. Thank God I didn’t vomit. He’s cute alright, but the lines he has to utter and the gestures he has to make were so cheesy and corny they are nauseating. Gah! I suppose that scene was to establish him as a real player/womanizer, which may be a crucial fact in later episodes.
Lame scenes
Going to school by helicopter, Gu Jun Pyo? That was a little over the top. And the fact that the helicopter looked so much like a toy just made it even more of a laughingstock. Ahaha. It’s funny, alright. But still… I guess they want to make this as comical as possible.
Now, I don’t even want to talk about the ‘Jihoo plays violin in the woods’ scene. While it’s acceptable if this were in a comic book, it just seems ridiculous on tv. But I understand that this scene is important to introduce that particular spot in the woods because a few important scenes will take place there (as we soon learn in the subsequent episodes). And I must admit, the woods make quite a beautiful setting.
And the scene where F4 enters the building and the sunlight (or whatever light) was shining upon them. Hahah. Alrighty, let’s not go there.
These lame scenes are… well, lame, but at least they are funny. I guess that’s the charm of Episode 1. ;)Quotable Quotes
"Flower Four? Yeah, right. More like Fly Four. They herd around poops." - Geum Jandi, in response to Gaeul's inquiry about F4. lol.
Favorite Character of the Episode
Papa Geum! He's sooooo funny~
What was the dance song playing during the cafeteria scene where the girls sprayed perfume on her food?
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