I must have a thing for punishment. In the last few days, egged on by a harebrained idea that refuses to die, I’ve been pulling out one drama after another (old and also recent ones) and revisiting selected scenes that make me bawl my eyes out. As I tweeted yesterday, I will go blind at this rate.
But oh, never has crying felt so good!
[I’m delighted to present to you a guest review of Giant by its biggest fan, supah. Some of you may know her from the Dramabeans Open Threads. I’m sure you will enjoy reading supah’s loving tribute to this epic drama as much as I did! -thundie]
Sorry it had to be me, folks. I’m just as gutted that we couldn’t have Ockoala coming back after her amazing, amazing mid-point review. But since no one else was up for it, I was not going to let Giant go without a wrap-up review. Guess this is far from being an epic review but what I will do, in this review, is try and pay justice to what was an absolute epic, ha!
Giant is one example of how a show of colossal magnitude can remain firmly grounded. There was a glowing warmth and tastefully instilled wit in the midst of the devastating human tragedies that shaped this tale of rags to riches, revenge and one man’s rise to power.
Let’s start this review off with a bold proclamation. After watching the first 24 episodes, I am unequivocally in love with Giant. With that said, I shall attempt to justify my sentiment with a semblance of reason and logic (but if you look at that kiss above, I think it says enough by itself).
With just a few days left in July 2010, I thought it would be fun for us to take stock of the dramas that have aired so far.
The first thought that sprung to mind as I watched Giant (SBS, 2010) was that I had seen the drama before. It felt familiar, but not the kind of familiarity that envelops you like an old friend or a childhood haunt. No, it felt like a dreamscape where scenes from a dozen disparate places assail you all at once.
I tried to shake off the thought, but it grew stronger. An opening scene felt like an eerie blend of two long-forgotten scenes from Oldboy (the confrontation) and… Batman (that grotesque make-up). A nondescript office looked just like the tabloid office in What’s Up, Fox; any moment I expected Go Hyun-jung to fling the door open. A group of boys shine shoes on the street and immediately I recalled Count of Myeongdong and… Oliver Twist. Most disconcerting of all, Giant had East of Eden stamped on it, even though I really had no reason to make that association, having watched just two episodes of the latter. That same East of Eden-esque feeling of gloom.
