[SPOILER ALERT!: if you have not finished watching the drama, you may choose not to continue reading this long review]
 |
| Posters for "The Heirs" |
"The Heirs" depicts the friendships, rivalries and love lives of young, rich heirs led by Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho) and a girl named Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye). The series follows a group of privileged, rich, elite high school students as they are groomed to take over their families' business empires. These wealthy students seem to have everything under control, except their love lives. Kim Tan is a handsome and wealthy Korean heir to a large conglomeration who is sent to study abroad in the U.S. In reality, it's a form of exile, as his elder half-brother back home, Kim Won (Choi Jin-hyuk) schemes to take over the family business. While in the States, Kim Tan bumps into Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye), who has arrived from Korea in search of her older sister. Slowly, he feels himself falling for her, never realizing that she's the daughter of his family's housekeeper. When Kim Tan's fiancée, Rachel Yoo (Kim Ji Won), arrives to bring him back to Korea, his heart is torn between love and duty. Meanwhile, Rachel's future stepbrother and Kim Tan's former best friend, Choi Young Do (Kim Woo-bin) goes to the same school as Kim Tan and Eun Sang. The troubles arise as the heirs realize the differences between money and the real world. - Source: Wikipedia
Let me just say at the outset that the writer for this Korean drama, The Heirs, did not fully explore the plot and sub-plots. The conflict was revealed only after about 10 episodes or so, and the pace was awfully slow, wrapping things up only in the final two episodes.
To digress a little, actually there were heirs and heiresses, so "The Heirs" is not really an appropriate name for the drama (not to mention sexist). "The Inheritors" would be a better option, but since most of my friends refer to it as "The Heirs", I'll use it for easy reference.
The writer could've (and should've) written it better, as I can see that she incorporated original, marvelous dialogues and monologues into the otherwise clichéd Cinderella story. The writer also managed to bring in creative touches to the story, i.e. putting something innocuous earlier, then "BAM!", slam the reality in your face later. I think the relationships other than the romantic one between the main leads were painted with excellent breadth and depth, like the sibling conflict/relationship between Kim Won and Kim Tan, the employer/employee relationship between Han Ki Ae and Park Hee Nam as well as the unrequited love that Choi Young Do had for Cha Eun Sang. With such a talented cast (and let's not forget their good looks :P), it is quite saddening to see that the full potential of the story was untapped.
The writer could've (and should've) written it better, as I can see that she incorporated original, marvelous dialogues and monologues into the otherwise clichéd Cinderella story. The writer also managed to bring in creative touches to the story, i.e. putting something innocuous earlier, then "BAM!", slam the reality in your face later. I think the relationships other than the romantic one between the main leads were painted with excellent breadth and depth, like the sibling conflict/relationship between Kim Won and Kim Tan, the employer/employee relationship between Han Ki Ae and Park Hee Nam as well as the unrequited love that Choi Young Do had for Cha Eun Sang. With such a talented cast (and let's not forget their good looks :P), it is quite saddening to see that the full potential of the story was untapped.
 |
| I enjoyed watching this couple, besides Chan Young & Bo Na |
What I hated about the drama was when there were important scenes and the atmosphere was successfully built up, suddenly "LOVE IS THE MOMENT!~~". They played Chang Min's (from the band, 2AM) song at the really wrong times. When it was supposed to be played, it was either perfect silence, or some other song took over. When it was not an opportune moment for the song, it was played!
Unanswered questions/need further elaboration (in no particular order of importance):
- How did Lee Hyo Shin and Kim Tan meet? It was mentioned that Hyo Shin went to the U.S.. Tan even knew of Hyo Shin's medical condition and suicide attempt, but how did their relationship develop? More importantly, what was Hyo Shin's story?
- Jo Myung Soo provided comic relief for the drama, but nothing much was explained about his character, except that he was a lawyer's son, partied hard and liked photography. What was he like, apart from his happy-go-lucky side?
- Esther Lee and Yoon Jae Ho were in love years ago, but apparently Esther chose career over Jae Ho. What was their backstory?
- Jeon Hyun Joo received a lot of help and support from Jeguk Group, which facilitated her academic success. She was also Kim Won's (Jeguk Group's CEO) secret lover. Again, how did Hyun Joo and Won met and fell in love with each other?
- Oh, the cunning Jeong Ji Suk! How did she enter into a marriage with Kim Nam Yoon, father of Kim Won and Kim Tan?
- Missing parents: Who was Chan Young's mother? Who was Eun Sang's father? What were they like?
- Cha Eun Sang and Yoon Chan Young were best friends, but throughout the unnecessarily complicated love between Eun Sang and Tan, Eun Sang rarely looked for Chan Young's help/support, or disclosed anything to him. Oh writer, why didn't you explore the friendship further?
- Who won the paintball game? Who was the last one standing?
What I think were brilliant attempts by the writer (smart, SMART moves!):
Drawing parallels between Kim Tan's mother's urgent search for his son and Choi Young Do's mother's desperate search for his son. In the past, Tan helped Young Do's mum to locate Young Do, but Young Do, being immature and angry at his best friend for something they both witnessed, shrugged Tan's hands away. Young Do did not see his mum for the last time. Three years later, Tan's mother tried to severe her relationship with her evil husband, but her husband refused to "break up" with her, forcing her to "take a vacation" in the U.S.. While trying to get away from her husband's bodyguards, Ki Ae went to Tan's school and looked for him. Incidentally, Young Do saw her and, knowing that not much time was left, he ran and looked for Tan. Despite their differences, Young Do didn't want Tan to have regrets like he did. This really brought tears to my eyes.
Kim Tan gives his mum a necklace. Before Ki Ae decided to leave her husband (that heartless Nam Yoon), Nam Yoon compared her to cheap, shiny jewellery, blaming her for everything that happened in the family (when in fact he was the real troublemaker). It broke Ki Ae's heart. On Tan's 18th birthday, Ki Ae wasn't allowed to attend her son's birthday party due to her status as Nam Yoon's mistress - she could only watch from her hotel room window what was going on below. Tan brought Eun Sang together to his mother's room, celebrating his birthday with his mum. He took out an expensive-looking necklace and helped his mum wear it. Cheap, shiny jewellery, huh? Take that, Nam Yoon!
 |
| Young Do, forever alone? |
Young Do's story arc. In the beginning he was cast as an evil bully, getting what he wanted his way. As the story unfolds, however, we could see what made him behave this way. His father physically abused him when he did something wrong, his mother left him and his father, his best friend wasn't what he appeared to be. When Eun Sang's mum prepared food for Young Do to eat, he experienced maternal love and care. That made him miss his mother more. Eun Sang called him the same way his mother did, affectionately - "Young Do-ah": that hurt him very much. Those little things that Young Do did for his first love, Eun Sang, went unnoticed and unappreciated. The help that Young Do gave Eun Sang, in spite of her not loving him back. Him "breaking up" with her, and the little speech he gave. Oh, his heart-rending lines, like: "I just came here because I was lonely" and "because it doesn't seem weird eating alone here" and "I don't even know what to do about my wounds, how could I do something about yours?" Him apologising to the guy he bullied. His search for his mother ended with the two reuniting with one another. I can't praise the writer enough, for sketching out this character so thoroughly, making us alternately love, hate, curse and pity the poor boy.
 |
| Kim Won (left) and Kim Tan |
Kim Won's change of attitude towards his half-brother, Kim Tan. Won lost his mother when he was young, and his father brought home a half-brother. Imagine the pain he had gone through. Although Tan loved his brother very much and was incessantly polite as well as nice to him, Won still regarded Tan as a nuisance, a mistake his father committed and a threat to his position. Tan's genuine concern for his brother finally broke the icy barrier between them. I liked how Won helped Tan get up, after the breakup with Eun Sang and how Won helped Eun Sang get back to her "former life". Although it could be argued that Won did those to honour the deal he had with Tan, it was quite good to see the brothers unite against their enemies. And also Won's smile after he saw Tan and Eun Sang arguing like the lovers they were.
Throughout the story, many contrasts were presented (another strength of the writer's). Father-son relationship: contrast Kim Nam Yoon/Kim Tan pair and Yoon Jae Ho/Yoon Chan Young pair. Mother-daughter relationship: contrast Park Hee Nam/Cha Eun Sang pair and Esther Lee/Rachel Yoo pair. Employer/employee relationship: contrast Han Ki Ae/Park Hee Nam pair and Kim Won/Yoon Jae Ho pair. Romantic relationship: contrast Yoon Chan Young/Lee Bo Na pair and Kim Tan/Cha Eun Sang pair. You get the idea.
Throughout the story, many contrasts were presented (another strength of the writer's). Father-son relationship: contrast Kim Nam Yoon/Kim Tan pair and Yoon Jae Ho/Yoon Chan Young pair. Mother-daughter relationship: contrast Park Hee Nam/Cha Eun Sang pair and Esther Lee/Rachel Yoo pair. Employer/employee relationship: contrast Han Ki Ae/Park Hee Nam pair and Kim Won/Yoon Jae Ho pair. Romantic relationship: contrast Yoon Chan Young/Lee Bo Na pair and Kim Tan/Cha Eun Sang pair. You get the idea.
I liked how the ending was written: somewhere between an open-ended/ambiguous conclusion and a "happily ever after" ending. Bittersweet, poignant and touching. On the one hand, I liked the reunion between Choi Young Do and his mother (that was like the best ever scene, after he was repeatedly spurned by Cha Eun Sang). Kim Nam Yoon woke up from his coma and had a successful operation. Although I'd rather see him die, his new civil attitude towards Cha Eun Sang was not too bad.
 |
| The underutilised titular phrase |
On the other hand, I liked how Kim Won finally felt the price of his "crown", or the full weight of his responsibilities. Not everybody got what they wanted, like Kim Tan did. Speaking of which, the words "one who wants to wear the crown, bears the crown" were mentioned at the beginning and the end of the drama, but were never fully utilised throughout the story. So many lovey-dovey scenes, but little sibling rivalry or familial conflict - what crown was there? Esther Lee and Yoon Jae Ho remained unattached - I think after experiencing so many conflicts, Esther would prefer to be alone. Lee Hyo Shin decided to get into the army and Kim Tan arrived at the station in the nick of time to send his senior off (Rachel Yoo finally did something good). Ah, the relationship between Hyo Shin and Rachel didn't develop, much to their fans' disappointment. Maybe we can get a sequel?
All in all, the drama was rather empty, if you take away the beautiful actors and actresses or the decent soundtrack. There were some precious moments though (yes, pun intended) - the writer's brilliance of mind peeped through here and there. I'm not going to go so far as to degrade the drama like how the Kim Nam Yoon character scolded his mistress; instead, I'll describe how I felt while I was watching this drama, using a quote from it:
“I’m just in a dream. A dream that is going to end when I wake up. Just a midsummer night’s dream.”
 | |||||
| Cast and crew of "The Heirs". Shot at the final episode. Allow me to post the lyrics for "Moment" (it's quite cheesy, but I love it):
|
