First Impressions: 최고의 사랑/The Greatest Love

MBC's new Hong Sisters' drama, 최고의 사랑/The Greatest Love?
I really really want to like this drama.

Gong Hyo Jin?
I love Gong Hyo Jin.

Cha Seung Won?
I love Cha Seung Won.

I want to like it, but we're just not hitting it off.

Now, I've only seen the first episode, but, gawd, there's just no pull. I got to the end of the first episode and I felt really no compulsion to move onto the next even while it was at my disposal. I instead chose to play Mario Kart on my DS.

That isn't to say that the episode was totally void of entertainment. There were plenty of parts that were fun and funny. It was light and comedic in classic Hong Sisters style, but I think that's the problem. I'm just not a big fan of the Hong Sisters' work.

I've only watched and enjoyed two Hong Sisters' dramas, 쾌걸 춘양 and My Girl, and that was back in 2005. One during the last part of my senior year in high school, and the other during the first part of my freshman year in college. So those two dramas do hold a prominent place in my mind and memories, and that might in part be the problem. That mood so indicative of a Hong Sisters' drama is so tightly associated with my youth that it's hard to enjoy it now, given that I feel like I've "grown up" and moved passed it. It's like thinking back on your high school self and cringing at all those things you thought and felt were cool, knowing that they just don't work for you in your present grown-up situation. That's how I feel about the Hong Sisters' dramas.

I mean, I couldn't even watch Gumiho for Shin Min Ah, and I love Shin Min Ah

Hong Sisters aside, I'm just not feeling the premise of the show. A fake marriage reality show? A spoof of 우결. I really really don't like that show. I find it almost unbearable. To go meta with that... I just don't think I can handle that kind of shit. I can't. I can't. I can't. Even thinking about it makes me want to scream.

So, I know this drama will do great with the audiences as it is a Hong Sisters work, but I'm not sure I'll be watching it. I'll try the next episode sometime this weekend and we'll see what happens, but I have serious doubts about being willing or able to keep with this one.