Bride of the Century (2014)

an adorable and heartwarming series

one of the things that I love about any series, specially in kdramas---are those with historical touch like BOTC. it gives off a mysterious and nostalgic vibe, making it a nice piece to watch.

I have not much to say, for the story and the plot isn't unique at all. stories like this where the typical arch of pretending to be someone else for money is so used in any series, it's becoming redundant. but, despite that---bride of the century has its own charm that'll make you stay to watch from the first to the last episode. it maybe cliché, but the way the actors and actresses bring their characters to life is what made this series good.


what I also love about this series is the moral lesson that it gives to its audience, specially the concept of karma. that for every wrong deed, there's always a great consequences one must pay, no matter how long it takes---even a hundred years may pass. and lastly, this series proves that it isn't true at all times to all people that the heart can never be taught whom it will love---for everything in this world can be taught if one is really willing to learn.

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Despite having negative reviews on this Drama I thought to give it a try and the final thought is it's pretty good .I had a great expectation after watching first 2 or 3 episodes but after that the story was not that good .it still has some twists and funny parts but the ending was very good .I'm kinda person who loves happy ending type of thing and this drama has that kind of material and that's the reason it made me happy.acting of lead actors were good .it is very simple type of drama .Overall it's okay.So my opinion on this drama is ,yeah please give it a try .you might don't like the middle phase(5-12 ep)but the other ones are really good so watch it. it's not that bad.

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A fun watch

This was overall a really good and enjoyable drama, and everything wrapped up nicely!

I love a strong, outspoken female lead, and for the most part, she stayed that way. There were some moments where the dialogue and actions for her devolved completely into nonsense and the drama went into overdrive on the angst. I also thought the acting for Yikyung started out really great, but after Doorim was introduced I couldn't unsee Yikyung as Doorim.

We also got really good plot development where misunderstandings and secrets weren’t dragged out, and people were brought into the loop quickly.

While I wish the sageuk part was distributed more evenly throughout the drama, I honestly loved the intensity of that part, even as its own story.

I would have rated this a 7.5 but honestly, the last few episodes took me out. I can’t help but feel like a lot of the last three episodes were unnecessary. I thought we’d already gone through the noble idiocy but they really doubled down on it and added a time skip for it, and I kind of hate that. The way it played out — sort of resolved with just rainbows and butterflies — just did not make logical sense and it felt written that way because they had to wrap up the drama. Some of the resolution with the antagonists felt that way as well.

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This was a re-watch of a drama that I've seen before.  It's one of those dramas that starts out kind of rom-com and then veers abruptly into melodrama, so story feels a bit uneven as a result of this.  But it's Lee Hong Ki as the main male lead and I can forgive a lot for Lee Hong Ki.  He plays Choi Kang Ju, the heir to Taeyang Group, who is engaged to Jang Yi Kyung, played by Yang Jin Sung, who just happens to look exactly like Na Doo Rim, also played by Yang Jin Sung.  Rumor has it that Kang Ju's family has a curse where the first bride of the first born son of each generation will die after the wedding. Yi Kyung and her conniving mother have a plan to thwart that fate when they discover the existence of Doo Rim. One of the things I love about this drama is the chemistry Yang Jin Sung has with Lee Hong Ki when she's playing Doo Rim and yet there's a complete lack of chemistry when she's playing Yi Kyung.  Sung Hyuk has a wonderful (though at the end somewhat dogged) turn as the Second Lead Who Will Not Get the Girl.  As usual, the second lead is a bit too passive and sad-sack and thus stands no chance.

One of my frustrations with this drama, however, is that they spend a not insignificant amount of time in the first two episodes establishing that Doo Rim is not only plucky - as any poor girl must be if she's to meet and win an arrogant chaebol - but also that she's competent at fighting and taking care of herself and anyone else.  Therefore, it's especially disappointing when, later in the series, there are multiple instances of her life being in danger and all she does is flail uselessly and gasp and scream and otherwise act ineffectually in her own defense. Another frustration is how comically deplorable the bad guys end up being. They hit a point where they are so bad that it borders on tedious.

All that said, I still very much enjoy the show. The pacing is good and keeps you moving, even through the frustrating bits. And really, I could listen to Lee Honk Ki speak forever.

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Main leads of the drama it was my first time watching them. Story was good, with a touch of supernatural element to it. Main leads didn't disappoint. It started out strong and intrigued me but then towards the end it became very draggy and unnecessary at the same time it has some fluff to it. Storyline if you leave out the supernatural element to it, it will become a cliche. From these dramas of upper class it feels like they like it when they see a real person who is not hiding behind the mask of coldness.This story could have ended in 14 or 15 episodes there was no need for it drag till 20.

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I Liked It

Why - It kept my interest despite what I was currently watching - just finished in 4 days “Time Flies and You Are Here”, rewatching “Ni Chang” and “The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion”, dropped “ I Am the Years You Are the Stars” after 24 episodes, closing in on the last four episodes of Boss & Me”, finished “Dating in the Kitchen”, started “Eternal Love” and “A Business Proposal”. I was sick so the TV held me captive without bail. I kept coming back to take chunks out of the series.

The Plot - a bit convoluted because you were getting glimpses of what happened 2 to 3 generations in the past that led to the current situation, the vengeful spirit, a curse that may not be real curse, the mystery of why the FL characters look alike, murder, almost murder, run away bride, stand in fiancée, and the plain bad luck of the first born sons. The key, for me
, was paying attention to see that the plot holes were by-products of the less than seamless connecting of past and present.

The Romance - more drama than romance but still love stories abound.

The Actors - liked them, found the portrayals believable. I thought that Yang Jin Sung did a great job in separating her characters so they was never any mix up of who she was playing even when you had the amoral “twin” pretending to the nice twin who was pretending to be the other “twin”. My favorite character was Kang Joo’s aunt played by Kim Young Ok. I laughed and was touched at the same time.

Recommendation - definitely for those that like suspenseful romances that tease out the what is happening, when are we talking about, and the big WHY.

A note - I don’t normally write reviews because I really suck at it and I ramble. As I write this I am still under the weather, so forgive the poor quality of my writing. I just wanted to share that I enjoyed watching this series.

Question - why does MDL only have the episode count at 16 when there are 20 episodes when watching on Viki?

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Interesting

A lot of this was about greed and obsessive love which led to many years of heartache and grief for quite a few of the main characters.

Our ML's family has grappled with rumors of a hundred yr old curse that afflicts the bride of the firstborn son and with him about to enter an arranged marriage, the bride's family decides on a hare-brained scheme to circumvent said curse.


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A really cute rom-com with predictable villains.

This is a classic case of rich boy falls in love with poor girl (but think she's a rich girl).

If they tightened the storyline and made it 12 episodes instead of 16, the story would be even better. Last few episodes could be scrapped altogether as they didn't add much to the storyline. Otherwise, the plot moved forward at a reasonable pace.

Acting between the leads was serviceable. Yang Jin Sung's acting as the doppelganger is decent. A lot of times what happens with an actor playing two roles is that one role often is more fleshed out than the other, while the other one is often more serious and emotionless. The same thing happens here so I wasn't blown away by her acting. I don't know what the ages for the actors were supposed to depict in the drama but both leads acted as if they were in their early 20s. Made me believe there is a romance, albeit more of an innocent first love kind of love rather than one that is worth risking your all for.

Use of the music was effective for this drama.

Overall, not bad for a rewatch, as it was one for me!

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I really like this drama. The plot is unusual, and that makes the story interesting. The female, Yang Jin Sung lead does and amazing job carrying two very different roles. Lee Hong Ki does a great job too in the male lead role. It's quite a different type of character from some of the other roles he has played in other shows (Modern Farmer, You're Beautiful), so to me, that shows his acting ability as well. The romance is fun to watch as it unfolds and it's nice to see this female lead character showing some moxie from time to time. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good, though a bit unusual, love story.

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Ghostly melodrama with some romance thrown in

There was so much to like about this show:
1) Yang Jin Sung playing dual roles of Jang Yi Kyung and Na Noo Rim. She was wonderful, especially since the characters were TOTALLY different. Her coldness as Yi Kyung could actually give a person frostbite! Then she was so bubbly as Noo Rim.
2) Lee Hong Ki as Choi Kang Joo. I don't think this role was a serious stretch to his acting chops, but he did well going from the uptight, cold chaebol to the sweet man he was with Noo Rim.
3) The romance between the leads was fun to watch. I liked their initial aversion to each other and how it slowly changed.
4) I love Park Kin Joo in everything I've seen her in. Here, she played Noo Rim's friend Jin Joo and she's just got that precious, elfin look about her that draws you to her.
5) Overall, I thought the actors did a great job.
6) The storyline, with the added ghost story twist, was well thought out, with lots of twists and turns to keep you interested.
7) The music was lovely. I was also impressed that Lee Hong Ki did one of the songs. It was a heartfelt song that really grabs you emotionally.
What I didn't care for:
1) Noo Rim changed from someone that believes in herself and stands up for what she believes in to a scared, runaway woman.
2) Too many bad guys! Each person was more evil than the last. Plus, though there were natural consequences for their actions, none of those consequences helped the couple at all, that's for sure! Also, they had information on things that these bad people had done and didn't go to the police?
3) Not enough time of seeing the couple together. They were actually together for just a brief period of time, which made their breakup doubly irritating. First, do you love each other or not? Are you not willing to fight for your relationship? Plus, I didn't think their breakup was realistic because breaking up just so no one else will be unhappy is a cop out.
4) The ghost story aspect was woven through the episodes and then resolved in a very rushed fashion. It felt like the writers realized they were getting to the end of the show and had to squeeze it in.
5) The ending was so unsatisfying for me. I loved how he continued to look for her. I felt that her keeping herself from him was unfair to him (not going to say more due to spoiler). But, after them being apart for so much of the entire show, when we got to the end and they are walking in a garden and talking about a tree? I wanted/expected more romance.
So, I'd say it's a good show to watch for the acting/writing/music as long as you are okay with a lot of angst and not very much romance.

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Ok, so I went into this drama with quite low expectations, why? you might ask; because even though it has an overall rating of 8, I had read some reviews and comments beforehand and they kind of put me off. Moral of the story: try not to read reviews before watching a show because it will definitely colour your experience.

I'm so glad I went ahead and watched this anyway. This drama's plot has the potential to be a complete disaster, what with the fantasy and supernatural elements, the arranged marriage, a family curse, a ghost, reincarnation, people literally losing their mind, attempted murder, attempted suicide, secrets, you name the trope, it is probably there.
This drama does something unique with this mixed bag of themes, it weaves them into this wonderful story about finding love, fated love, good overcoming evil, good being rewarded and evil being punished, past mistakes and sins being addressed in the present day, and true, genuine love being the overriding key to peace and real happiness.
The story also has a strong female perspective as all the plot drivers good or evil are female.

I have a small criticism about the ending of the drama, I don't like the way they handled the baby issue; while Doo Rim is away, it is implied that she and Kang Ju are still 'together' spiritually and emotionally if not physically, so why then would she not tell him that she's having his baby? ( this is a game and life changing event for goodness sake!!!) and then for him to have no visible reaction to the discovery that he has a baby? this was weird and unrealistic.

The cast is very good and well placed, special mention must go to Yang Jin Sung who plays the roles of Na Doo Rim and Jang Yi Kyung to perfection, she is super believable as both characters.
Lee Hong Ki also does a most credible job, at first I thought his baby face wouldn't work with the character but he managed to pull it off very well. The two of them make a cute and very grounded OTP, I was very impressed.
The supporting cast is excellent, the two scheming mothers were initially teeth grindingly annoying, but later on there is sufficient character evolution characterised by remorse and mental anguish.
The second male lead is a bit meh, but is necessary to the plot.
Ghost lady is very entertaining and serves a narrative and guiding purpose in the whole story.
I must also mention that this is the first time I've seen such a good relationship between a chaebol prince and his father, Kang Ju's dad is simply adorable.

The music is good, there are some catchy songs, which do a great job of setting the right mood.

I'm not one for rewatching dramas like this one simply because it was rather suspenseful, so once I know the answers to the mystery I don't really need to watch again.

Overall score is 8.5
It is a good, solid and unique drama which is skilfully directed.

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