[Drama Review] 'She Was Pretty' - Episode 1

Siwon, Hwang Jung Eum, Park Seo Joon, Go Jun Hee

The first episode of 'She Was Pretty' aired yesterday, and as expected, it didn't lack romance, comedy, or sentimentality; all of it was nicely packaged and provided in equal measures throughout.�

We are introduced to the scatter-brained, ditzy female lead Kim Hye Jin (henceforth referred to as Hye Jin), who is not quite as simple as others may think. She has a blundering, bumbling side that is both incredibly frustrating and endearing at the same time--though in many scenes, she is more former than the latter. She isn't a complete dunce, however, as she is more than capable with any given work and has intense drive and energy that most people wish that they possessed.

She went from this...

...to this. Hwang Jung Eum, you still pretty though!�

Hye Jin's first love, Ji Sung Joon (Sung Joon), is a cocksure, confident, slightly arrogant man who suffered from a turbulent childhood. That same turbulent childhood turned his heart of sponge into a heart of steel, and now his ego is the size of a football stadium.�

Sung Joon's first love was none other than Hye Jin, who was also his only friend during grade school.�It was a young love, it was an innocent love, and the two never forgot each other, even over a decade later. But what Hye Jin and Sung Joon remember of each other and the people they grew up to be are completely different. Hye Jin still remembers the Sung Joon as the chubby and socially awkward dork that all the classmates made fun of and Sung Joon remembers Hye Jin as the angelic, goddess-like beauty with incredible smarts.�

Did I...read that correctly? Are my eyes deceiving be right now? Nooooooo....wait, really???

The reality is starkly different from their imaginations: Hye Jin turned into a gawky, gauche woman with not even a speck of feminine charm and Sung Joon transformed into a hunk who carries himself with an air of elegance and arrogance.�

Wow, you sure look a lot different from what I remember.

*Giggles* I don't know what you're talking about.�

When the two childhood buddies plan to rendezvous at a park, after all those years, they are expecting to meet the same person they said goodbye to over a decade ago. Alas, Hye Jin discovers with great shock that Sung Joon is not a fat dork anymore. In fact, Hye Jin is so embarrassed at how pathetic she became that she can't even bare to face Sung Joon and begs her friend Ha Ri to meet him up instead. Girl, really? You would have your closest friend borrow your identity and devise an elaborate lie just so you can save face? The humiliation that she will feel once her lie is exposed will be greater than the humiliation she might have felt meeting with Sung Joon herself.�

Hey, it's the kid from 'Up'! What's he doing in a Korean drama?�

Things are even more complicated when Sung Joon turns up at the 'The Most' magazine headquarters (yes..they really did 'The Most' with that ridiculous name), where she was hired to work as a temp for three months. Blast! Sung Joon thinks that Hye Jin (aka Ha Ri) left for London so imagine his surprise when he finds out that Hye Jin is working right under his nose! Buuuut, let's be honest here....he's not likely to find out Hye Jin is the Hye Jin that he fell in love with in his childhood.

Hye Jin: I work for 'The Most.'

Imaginary person: ...?? The most what?

Hye Jin: 'The Most'! I work for 'The Most'!

Imaginary person: Lady, finish your sentence!�

Yeah...not a good idea for a magazine name.�

The whole episode was sort of a confusing whirlwind of events, with the viewers being dragged back and forth from the past to the present, then back to the past, and then present again. There wasn't much story progression in this episode; it was more an introduction of the story arc which will hit us full in the face in the later episodes. At least now, we know most of the back story behind the male and female leads and the special moments they shared as children.�

I almost forgot to mention...