antpower: (Ohmiya - dorks in love)
[personal profile] antpower
The thing about "Mary" is that is just so completely freaking adorable.

You know when you watch the first ten minutes of a show and you fall completely in love? You love it so much you can even overlook glaring plotholes and cliches and things that don't make sense (like Domyouji having amnesia, for example), all those things don't matter, because you're in love, and the only thing that pops your love-bubble is when you run out of episodes. You know that feeling? Well, I feel a bit like that about Mary Stayed Out All Night (sometimes called "Marry Me, Mary", if you're looking for the files or anything, though I don't understand how they translate to be the same thing, really).

My binge on K-dramas came to an abrupt end after the travesty that was "Coffee House". I decided they were all the same, cute beginning, dull middle, nonsensical ending. I was a broken person, and I swore off them forever. But the lure of Jang Geun Suk as an indie rocker was too much, and thus, I was completely sucked in.



Meet Mae Ri (Mary). All of her stuff got repossessed because of her no-good dad's debts. He's not a bad guy, he just really sucks at business deals and stuff. And he's kind of annoying.




Our plucky heroine is as cute as a button, and she always sees the bright side in bad situations. She's supposed to be 24 but most of the time she looks about 12. Because she's cute as a button.




She hid all her important things from the repossessor guys, because she's a bit wily. And she can't risk missing her dramas. Mary loves dramas a lot. (Except Coffee House, because even cute-as-a-button Mary thinks that sucked balls.)




Meanwhile, in subplot land (also known as Shibuya), strange things are afoot. There is evil in this land, evil that does not sleep!!




And also Waffles Guy from Coffee Prince, who is looking mighty fine with dapper hair and a nice suit. But what does this have to do with Mary??




Waffles doesn't actually make waffles anymore, he makes dramas now, and he's asking his dad for money for this awesome new drama he's going to make. Waffles Dad is a broken man from watching Coffee House, so he's a bit reluctant, but he agrees, with one condition. He tells Waffles that to be a man (ie. to loan money from his rich daddy), he has to get married. He has morally ambiguous business dealings, so we can feel safe in assuming there is more to this than meets the eye.




Back in Korea, Mary is distracting the Korean Yakuza so that her dad can sneak off. She does a pretty good job, but then leaves the front door open while chatting to her dad, so they're not really convinced.




Her dad gets away more or less safely though, and Mary gets a call from her friends. She hasn't been going out much lately, on account of she's saving up to go back to uni and finish her degree in Korean literature, so her friends agree to pay Mary to be their taxi. They go to Hongdae, because that's where all the cool kids hang out these days.




That's all well and good, I hear you say, but you promised me incredibly hot JGS as an indie rocker and I see none of that. Well, hold your horses, you'll get plenty to be going on with!




Mary and her friends are trying to find a cool club or somewhere to go, but they're not familiar with the area and can't see anywhere. If it were me, I'd just find somewhere to park the car and then look around on foot, but that's probably why my life isn't anything like a k-drama.




Ooops.




By the headlights of the car that just ran him down, their eyes meet. Surely this is the beginning of an epic sort of love! (Or a trip to the hospital. Either way.)




Mary's annoying friends are worried that JGS is one of those swindlers who make you run them over and then sue you for loads of money (because they're rampant these days), and Mary has no money to pay damages, so she follows JGS. It's not because she's a stalker or anything. JGS is still listening to himself on his headphones and doesn't hear her calling out to him.




She follows him into a hidden club and looks around for him, she notes that the guy on stage is smoking hot, but doesn't realise it's him at first. Because, you know, so many guys look like that.




He looks really good on stage.




I've been listening to the bus song on repeat for the past two days. It's awesome. I uploaded it here, if anybody wants it




I don't think I took an excessive amount of screencaps of him onstage or anything.




Mary spots someone in the crowd that looks familiar. Her name is Annoying Actress with Really Good Hair. She apparently doesn't do dramas anymore, but Mary doesn't know why.




Mary takes a photo of JGS to show that he was fit enough to go onstage after the accident, should the matter ever go to court. And also because he's hot and she wants to set him as her screensaver.




Still, she's worried that won't be enough, so she waits backstage for him to get him to sign a waiver. They have a lot of dedicated fans for an unsigned band, but this doesn't seem weird to anyone. Probably because JGS prettiness explains away almost anything. Anyway, he doesn't remember her running him over (OMG AMNESIA!), and thinks she's a fan, so he hugs her.




Mary follows him into a back alley, because maybe he's not a bit of an airhead, just an incredibly good swindler, and witnesses him getting yelled at by some girl.




Mary gets the impression that this shiny-haired indie rocker may, in fact, be a bit of a player.




Especially when she follows him further and finds him having drinks with another woman.




She thinks he's definitely the type to swindle someone after being hit by a car.




Mary can't hear the conversation, or she'd realise that he's trying to get out of his contract with his evil manager, because she wants him to dump his bandmates and do choreographed dances and stuff. Lady, he didn't even do that crap when he was in A.N.Jell, and they were an idol group, you've got no chance!! He pays her back the advance money and she agrees to let him out of the contract, because he's a troublesome little guy anyway. He rips up the contract instead of getting something in writing about the contract being nullified. You can't expect him to have brains with that much pretty.




Evil manager leaves and Mary approaches him, saying she's a fan and could he sign this piece of paper. She has a wily plan to use his autograph as a waiver of responsibility should the worst happen. He signs it too big, so she turns it over and makes him write it at a more respectable size. LOL, Mary.




Once outside, Mary fills in the details of the waiver and stuff. She's not very subtle about it.




JGS is fed up with contracts and being scammed and whatnot, so he takes the waiver thingie away from Mary and rips it up.




She follows him and they go to have soup and beers. Because that's what you do with people who are potentially trying to swindle you for all you're worth.




She decides that if she gets him drunk, it will be easier to get him to sign the thingie. He says she has to drink too or else he won't sign it. Mary isn't good with drinking, she says she always blacks out, so she tries to be tricksy.




Mary isn't very good at being tricksy. He says, "what's with you, have you been fooled all your life?!" and she says yes she has, she doesn't trust anyone who isn't family. He says you shouldn't even trust your family.




He thinks Mary is cute as a button, but he's had it with contracts and things and won't sign it. She asks if he's been fooled all his life too. It's all kind of very cute.




Why isn't my drinking buddy this adorable? My drinking buddy is whiny and has cystic acne.




They leave the bar a little tipsy. Mary still wants him to sign the thing and he still refuses and doesn't see what the big deal is.




He says Mary is stubborn but cute and pinches her cheeks, then vanishes. She says he's free spirit, but I don't think she means in a good way. She yells a little bit.




Then he reappears like a shining prince, holding something like a bunch of flowers. (It's actually a cabbage.) It is the most adorable thing ever.




He notices that Mary has a scar on her forehead.




He thinks it must have made her quite self-conscious and she says it didn't at all and that's definitely not why she grew her hair over it or anything.




He likes scars. Because he's a badass rocker and all that.




I bet he says that to all the girls. Also, the way he says "Harry Potter" is the most adorable thing ever. It's worth watching this drama just for that.




He seems quite sincere in his love of scars. Mary's resilience in the face of prettiness begins to waver a little.




Then he wanders off again. Mary finds him in an alleyway, fast asleep. She tries to wake him up, but she's tired too. I wonder how her friends got home, or if they're still waiting in the street for Mary to come back.




The next morning, Mary wakes up and can't really remember what happened. At least, her memory of the cabbage of love is gone.




She sees JGS's guitar and wonders why she brought it home with her. Then she proceeds to go through his stuff, I assume to find some way of contacting him to return his guitar, though that's never actually confirmed. She sees that he has a picture of a girl in there and reacts a little jealously.




She spares a moment to think about how shiny his shiny hair was, and then remembers "oh bugger, I'm late for work". She dashes off out of the house without showering or changing her clothes.




OMG, HE WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME!!!




Mary gets sacked from her job, so she comes home early. There is no sign of JGS and she seems to have completely forgotten him. She's upset for a bit but then looks on the bright side again.




Surprise! Hot guy in your bathroom!




Mary tries to make him leave, but he is suddenly very injured from the accident and in too much pain. He shows her a big bruise on his side, but really it's just an excuse to show us all some JGS flesh. Mary lets him stay and rubs stuff on his bruise.




He asks her name and she says Mae Ri, and he says like Merry Christmas, and she says she hates that because the kids at school used to tease her by calling her Merry Christmas.




Mary has enough crap to deal with without a really hot freeloader in her house, so she has a minor spazz out. She tries to think of ways to make him leave, but nothing comes to mind. She calls her annoying friends, who tell her it's Mary's problem and she should deal with it. It's quite mean of them, but maybe they're a bit pissed off on account of they're still waiting on the street in Hongdae for Mary to take them home.




Mary's dad is sick of being chased by the Korean Yakuza, so he throws himself into the traffic. This dude stops and tells him if he wants to top himself, don't do it by inconveniencing other people. Nice one, random car dude! Mary's dad then tries to throw himself off the bridge, but he chickens out.




Mary is job hunting, but it's hard with a useless hot freeloader making lots of noise and being distracting with his shiny hair and stuff. He's been there at least a few days by this stage, from what I can deduce.




They share the last ramen and argue over who is eating more. It's entirely too cute.




He asks if Mary just moved in because she has no furniture and guesses that it got repossessed. He also guesses that she deferred from uni to save money and stuff, he says he did the same thing. Mary can't keep kimchi because she doesn't have a fridge. She tells him he should go and shows him that she took a photo of him onstage, so she has proof he's okay.




I don't think this screencap means what I think it means.




Anyway, he tells her he's going, because he has a gig that night, and also Mary doesn't have any kimchi and wtf is up with that anyway. He agrees to sign the waiver before he goes, because he was never going to swindle her really, and he just needed somewhere to stay for a bit.




JGS meets with his band, whose gig has been cancelled on account of how he broke the contract with the evil manager and all that. The band discuss all the reasons why JGS can't freeload off them while he's temporarily homeless. (It's implied he used the money for his living arrangements to get out of the contract, but I don't think they ever say that outright.)




The band guys are joking around and then a bunch of fangirls show up. Don't worry, JGS, the fangirls will take care of you!!!




Waffles returns! He asks his dad if there's any particular place he wants to go, and his dad says there is. Waffles is going to the office, because he's a workaholic. Also, Waffles Dad is dying, I forgot to mention that before.




Waffles has been in Japan for 20 years, this is emphasised strongly, so don't forget it! He flips through a catalogue of actresses for his new drama and stops on Annoying Actress with Good Hair.




It's 20 years since Mary's mother died, so her dad goes to the cemetery to pay respects and stuff, when the Korean Yakuza guys catch up with him. Have they no respect???




Waffles dad's henchmen save Mary's dad and beat up the Yakuza guys, which is a bit unfair, as they were only doing their job, and Mary's dad should've paid them back if he didn't want them breaking his kneecaps and stuff. It's not like you go making deals with underworld figures without knowing what will happen. Also, Mary's dad is annoying and deserves beating up.




Anyway, so Waffles dad and Mary's dad are old buddies from way back (like, maybe 20 years ago???), and Waffles dad is there for Mary's mum's death anniversary. How fortuitous!!




Mary's life sucks so much that she has lost the power to always look on the bright side.




Don't worry, Mary! JGS will cheer you up!




He brings her a box of ramen!! Honestly, how can she not be smitten? She must have a heart of stone.




JGS says he wants to move in, just for a bit, and Mary has a spare room. She has to be careful though, because after a week, girls always want to marry him. Mary says "there is no way in hell, you damn hippie. Get out of my house!", but she keeps the ramen.




While in the process of kicking him out, Mary's dad knocks at the door. I don't know why he knocks, as he lives there too, maybe he lost his keys in the Great Korean Yakuza Chase of 2010 or something. JGS is not happy about this.




JGS can't believe Mary lives with her dad, but he still wants to stay there and refuses to jump out the window. He is very cute and drunkenly sulky about the whole thing.




Mary hides him in the bathroom, forgetting that her dad lives there and may need to use it at some stage. It's understandable, as Mary's dad also forgot he lives there.




Mary's dad is overjoyed, on account of how this old buddy he met at Mary's mother's grave was creepily obsessed with her, and now wants Mary to marry his son. In exchange he'll pay off all Mary's father's debts!!




He doesn't seem to understand that there's nothing actually in this for Mary. Except to get rid of her annoying dad, which is a pretty big plus, really. He should probably also mention the waffles.




Suddenly a toilet flushes, and Mary's dad is temporarily distracted from selling his daughter for money.




He forces his way into the bathroom only to find this:




And the cliffhangerish ending to the episode.


episode 2

Date: 2010-12-10 02:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ant-power.livejournal.com
There is nothing worse than a bad ending, honestly!! You invest all this time and emotion into something and it's all for nothing!! Bad endings are rampant in k-drama, the only thing that has bugged me as much with jdrama is Last Friends, I think. Yukan Club is awesome though - Junno's shiny blonde hair!!!

Matsujun is an example for us all!! XP

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