K-Drama Thoughts: Thank You

So I finally finished watching "Thank You." I did enjoy the series though there are some things that warrant commentary.

This drama is Jang Hyuk's come-back drama. He did ok given that I have never seen any of his previous work so I can only comment on this drama. He plays brooding jerk really well. I think it must be his perma-front-toothy expressions that really brings it home. He's not to die for but I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating crackers ya know? He's aww-rite.

Gong Hyo Jin was also ok. She tends to have basic acting abilities but did convince me that she was a single mother raising an eight year-old child. The real star of the show in my opinion was Seo Shin Ae, the eight year-old with HIV. She was very sweet and charming. I wanted to be her mommy. LOL.

I did find some annoying flaws in the pacing of the series. We are supposed to see a progression of Jang Hyuk's uncaring, stubborn, jerk-assy doctor develop/grow feeling for Gong Hyo Jin's poor, single mother but the actual execution of that was not so. Instead, I saw it as a sudden, overnight change rather than a gradual one. There were some key scenes either cut out at editing or the scenes were not detailed enough during filming to show this progression, or maybe Jang Hyuk's acting is just not sophisticated enough to reveal these emotions. Whatever the reason, I was a mite disappointed in this and therefore the series felt choppy in the middle.

It was nice to see a drama set on a small, boonie island with local towns-people and their simple way of life. It was a nice change of scenery from the usual rich people/large city settings. The storyline of a single mother raising a child with HIV, having two decent men chase after her, and being uninterested in them is also a nice change. I would recommend this drama for those looking for a simple, decent title to watch.