Letter #19: A Business Proposal

 Good afternoon, Erin. 
 
When I graduated from college, my friend and I drove down to Florida and, as we went, kept a detailed travelogue of the whole trip. Y’know, how long it took to get from one state to the next, which CDs we listened to (and whose turn it was to pick), where we stopped for meals, the price of gas, all the different license plates—that sort of thing. Straightforward stuff, like taking minutes at a meeting.
 
The thing is...amidst the standard fare of mileage and time stamps, I ran a little narrative thread my friend didn't know about: after spotting some trees cordoned off behind a fence along a certain stretch of highway, I started weaving in my plans to raise an army of trees to march back and liberate them on the trip home. And I kept referencing this throughout the whole of the rest of the travelogue: “Leaving Georgia. Palm trees lining the road past the ‘Welcome to Florida’ sign. Do not look like warrior trees—will not recruit. Also, out of Slim Jims.”
 
“All right, Daryl, you persistent purveyor of the long-way-around,” I hear you say, “am I to take from this that you’re trying to say sometimes a little surrealism is all you need to make the otherwise mundane seem unexpectedly—perhaps even somewhat undeservedly—fascinating?”
 
Why, yes I am! Oh, Erin, look at us, riding the same wavelength! Definitely not a case of me becoming despairingly predictable! At all!
 
So, with that in mind...let’s step into A Business Proposal, shall we?
 
1. Gosh, I liked this show. Was it particularly great? No. But it was very, very entertaining. Charming, actually. I think that’s how I’d describe it, overall: charming. Its strengths greatly outweighed its weaknesses, and I don’t think there was ever a moment when an episode ended and I wasn’t immediately ready for more. In fact, the only real downside I can think of is that I caught up so quickly that I actually had to wait a few days to see Episodes 11 and 12. 
 
2. I really, really liked Ha-ri. She wasn’t my pick for #BestGirl, but she undoubtedly was the best: she was immediately likeable, very charming—and so very, very normal. Like, there’s nothing about her that screams PROTAGONIST GIRL, and that’s what made her so easy to warm to. She’s disarmingly mundane, and I thought she was great.
 
2A. Her only downside, I guess, was that the show relied on her panicked “but what if he sees me!” antics a few too many times. Like, there were a couple of times when I had to roll my eyes because, to make the gag work, she would suddenly become several steps stupider than she had been a moment prior. Which, when it happens repeatedly, wears thin the suspension of disbelief I’d have been happy to allow if it were to happen only once or twice. 
 
3. On the other hand, I was not a fan of Tae-moo. His character was…fine, I guess, in that I think he served the story well enough, but I was not fond of the actor’s performance. I found him far less engaging than I should have, most of the time. (I kinda liked him when he was alone with his brother, though.)
 
4. I loved the secondary romance plot, though, between...um...Rich Friend and Secretary Brother. (Look, I remembered both of the leads’ names. Let’s not get greedy.) I thought they were hilarious, especially when he was constantly trying to avoid interacting with her, early on. 
 
4A. Can we just...the cockroach scene. The cockroach scene. 
 
5. ...so, Secretary Brother was the fan favorite, though, right? Right?
 
6. The show relies heavily on the use of unusual cinematography and surreal/theatrical elements, in the first couple of episodes, and combines them with constantly moving from one scene to the next to make what is otherwise a fairly standard plot seem extremely dynamic. It was a great choice. (I knew right away that the show was going to have to tone down that stuff, as the episodes went on, because it would quickly turn from whimsical to irritating, if it kept things going at that pace. I was a little surprised to see that it pretty much disappeared, though, by the end. I thought they’d keep a little bit of it, at least, but no, not really.)
 
7. Have I talked to you about Pushing Daisies, before? Because the whimsical/surreal stuff at the start of the series put me in mind of that show. 
 
8. You know who else I liked? The chairman grandpa—or Chairpa, as I have him down in my notes. He had a fantastic old man voice. And a fantastic wig.
 
9. They managed both a fake relationship cliché AND a doubling-down-on-fake-relationship-'cus-one-of-them-really-really-likes-the-other cliché, and I loved every minute of both. 
 
9A. To wit: I love that Tae-moo is so angry at Har-ri not because he feels lied to but because he likes her and is upset that she doesn’t immediately like him back. 
 
10. Daryl, circa Episode 3: “Gasp! Yoo-ra, you skank! Probably! Or, like, I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not. But you know what I mean!”
 
11. Daryl, circa Episode 7: “GASP! I was right—Yoo-ra you skank! Though...in fairness, I totally get why you’re upset. But you should have the confidence to talk to him about this directly, girl!”
 
12. Daryl, circa Episode 11: “YOO-RA YOU SKANK!!!”
 
13. I love that the show—for the most part—unabashedly leans into contrivances. They highlight this by having characters react to the trope-y unrealism of the drama series everyone is watching, and I love it. BUT...there’s also a problem with this, because the show doesn’t always hit the right tone for some of the more exaggerated things that happen. For example, the show is too grounded, even despite the highly whimsical stuff, for the scene where Tae-moo is chasing Ha-ri through the building because she accidentally hit him with her slipper. It’s an absurd sequence—because it's not exaggerated enough to be seen as a satirical or surreal moment. (Same goes for the movie theater mishap, when Ha-ri’s coworkers just take it upon themselves to change their plans because they see she’s in a theater alone.) It’s not that the moment can't work, but it needs to be pushed juuuust enough into the hyperreal for it to move from totally unbelievable to acceptably ridiculous. (And, for my money, it would help if these moments were marked by the characters themselves acknowledging the absurd contrivances as such. A good “Are you kidding me?!” goes a long way.)
 
13A. THAT SAID...I think the show makes up for this imbalance of tone with its sincerity and focus. It’s amazing what a lack of filler can fix. 
 
13B. And, actually, the chase itself is technically set up—at least a little bit—ahead of time, because they mention explicitly beforehand that Tae-moo was a track-and-field star.
 
13C. While we’re here, though...do you remember my advice on the best practices for chasing after someone? If not, see the Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha letter (#31)!
 
14. Wait, Har-ri is, like, 25?! I...that can’t be right. I’d swear she was at least in her early thirties.
 
15. You can’t fool me, show: that taxi is a Hyundai—and she is beautiful! #UnmaskMyHyundais
 
16. So, like, where does Ha-ri get all these in-character outfits at a moment’s notice, when she’s pretending to be not-herself? 
 
16A. ...and, like, why do they all look like leftover stock from Clueless?
 
16B. Also, while we’re on it: in the scene where Tae-moo has her try on a series of dresses to see which one she should wear to dinner, I thought the black dress (the first one she tries on) was the best one. Though, the white dress, which was the ultimate winner, was a solid runner-up. Just...y’know, if you wanted to know my thoughts on that.
 
17. HO-LY CRAP...okay, this has nothing to do with this show, but EVERYTHING to do with, I dunno, fate or God or the universe—which is that I was writing down all the K-dramas/Korean movies I’ve been watching so I can A) keep track of them and B) rank them (because I love doing that), and I suddenly remembered that the very first thing I watched when I got my Netflix subscription, years ago, was a Korean movie. But I couldn’t remember the name of it. So, as I’m writing this letter, just now, I jumped over to the google machine and typed in some terms to see what would come up. And I found the movie...and the lead actress is EUN-TAK. Can you believe it? This is as connected by the red string of fate as I need. You can look for a wedding invitation to come in the mail within the month, I suspect.
 
17A. ...no, seriously, you have no idea how frequently I think back to this movie—specifically for one of her lines: “Thank you for making me so pretty, in the story. I didn’t know I was so pretty." (It’s…an odd movie, at times, but when it’s working...oof, it’s a gut-punch.)
 
17B. Actually, wait, this also means I’ve not only seen Eun-tak naked but in a fairly graphic (and fairly lengthy) sex scene. Aww, now I feel a little gross.
 
18. I mentioned before that, as much as I don’t like Tae-moo(‘s performance, at least), I like him a fair amount when he’s with Secretary Brother. Well, one of the first instances of this is when we see him at Secretary Brother’s apartment for the first time, and the two of them are like an ersatz couple, in the most benign and adorable way. And Love how, much later on, the show totally plays this up when Secretary Brother is trying to help Tae-moo get into his sweater at the hospital. Hilarious. (Fun fact: Secretary Brother and I both said—at the same time—“Why’d you make me do that?”)
 
19. When Ha-ri first calls Tae-moo an archaeopteryx, I both raised an eyebrow and laughed out loud, because it's such a bizarre reference to pull—but hilarious if you know what an archaeopteryx is. 
 
19A. I love that the show is like, “We paid a lot for this dino-bird animation, and we're gonna use it, dammit!”
 
19B. Some of those incidental archaeopteryx screech sound effects are really well-timed.
 
20. Boy, this show was not afraid to pull the ol’ “oh no I suddenly have to poop!” trope out of its pocket. (I’ve noticed K-dramas reeeeeeally like this one. I don’t...know why, though. It’s always so awkward. Is this some kind of wink-wink self-aware joke that everyone does? Or...I mean, does a standard Korean diet often trigger an upset stomach? I’m just wondering why it keeps happening.) 
 
21. I like that they didn't drag out the fake identity stuff. I mean, it’s there for a while, but not so long that it overstays its welcome as a story beat. 
 
22. Oh! I could not believe Rich Friend and Secretary Brother actually slept together, that first time. I assumed she was misremembering things because she was so drunk, and it was going to turn out that she mistook him innocently laying her on the bed for having a passionate embrace. But, no, they totally hooked up. Color me fooled. 
 
23. ...which is as good a time as any to mention that the smooching gets top marks, on this show.
 
24. Speaking of both of the above points: it’s a fun mirror-parallel, at that point in the story, between Har-ri and Rich Friend—because Rich Friend can’t remember the smooch she gave Secretary Brother but desperately wants to...and Ha-ri can’t forget the smooch she gave Tae-moo though she desperately wants to. Textbook, but subtle. 
 
25. ...which is as good a time as any to mention that I would not have ended Episode 11 with steamy sexytime, even though it makes perfect sense for the two of them to, y’know, do so. I felt it would have been more thematically on point to have them cuddle. (And maybe then have some suggestive nuzzling riiiiight at the end.)
 
26. In Episode 11, Rich Friend is driving Ha-ri home from visiting Tae-moo in the hospital, and it starts to rain. Because she’s concerned this will upset Tae-moo, she wants to go back to the hospital...so she asks Rich Friend to drop her off on the side of the road. Not take her back to the hospital in the car—drop her off on the side of the road. So she can walk. In the rain. In her expensive heels. In the rain. (I mean, I assume she watched Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and learned how to properly dry out shoes, but...still.)
 
27. Dude—that Coyote Ugly-style scene where Only-Man-On-Team Guy made those cocktails for everyone was FANTASTIC. I’m 90% sure the actor was making the whole thing up on the fly, and it was one of the best things in the show. Absolutely perfect.
 
28. Speaking of that scene…Researcher Girl (the younger woman on Ha-ri’s team) being drunk was hilarious. I absolutely loved the THUNK of her head hitting the table over and over again.
 
29. Speaking of Researcher Girl, she was my early pick for #BestGirl…but she got tossed aside immediately, once Rich Friend’s Cousin showed up. Because…hokey smokes, she was amazing. Loved how absurd she was, her excessive use of English, and that it turns out she was one of bully Chae-ran’s sidekicks in True Beauty. She was an absolute delight, every time she walked on screen.
 
29A. I also really liked how well set up her crush on Secretary Brother was, because of the running gag about how she and Rich Friend have the same taste in clothes.
 
29B. And I loved how that older woman suddenly throwing in English for no reason when she was talking to Tae-moo was all I needed to sit up in my chair and shout: “SHE’S RICH FRIEND’S COUSIN’S MOM ISN’T SHE THIS IS HILARIOUS.” Because it was.
 
30. Two Ha-ri lines from the last couple of episodes that I found more amusing than they probably are:
·         “If love is a crime, then I’m a criminal!”
·         “Y’know, I’m usually pretty popular with people over 60.”
 
31. Fun detail: I don’t know if you noticed, but Ha-ri uses a wired mouse with her laptop, at home. Adorable.
 
32. Daryl, circa Episode 11: “I love that this show actively brings up the ‘and then a time jump!’ trope only to reject it out of hand. Great job, show!”
 
32A. Daryl, circa Episode 12: “…DAMMIT!”
 
And that’s all I got. Other than a sneaking suspicion that my biggest romantic hurdle is not being fabulously wealthy. I just need to get past that. And all the being dull, pedantic, snooty, and aloof. But after that...unstoppable. 
 
Oh, wait—I forgot: red string of Eun-tak. Never mind. I'm perfect as is! Woo!
 
[cough]
 
ANYWAY.
 
This was a really fun time, especially after the, um, ups and downs of the other shows I was watching week-to-week. 
 
But what’d you think? Were you as pleased with it, in the end, as you were at the start? Did you suddenly realize your heart was long-ago tied to someone you’re more recently smitten with? Have you started raising an army of rebel trees?
 
In the meantime, I’ve got a tuxedo to rent. 
 
Looking forward to what's next—as ever.
 
--Daryl
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PS - Netflix really, really wants me to check out this new show: Tomorrow. But, not only do I know not to trust The Algorithm, I sussed out an additional warning sign: Haru from Extraordinary You is the main guy. And my first thought was, “Oh, Erin's not gonna like that.”
 
 

 

PPS - ...you're about to recommend it to me, aren't you.