Final Thought on Eve’s Love (2014) – Still Happy Folks!

Eve’s Love (2014)

I know most of you that follow me are used to me watching daily dramas. Next to saguek and crime dramas, they are truly my first love! I admit, so many have disappointed me once I’ve gotten past the 60th episodes. It’s like the writer loses their mind and focus; changes the direction of the drama or simply forgets that they are writing to please their audience (are you listening, Hwang Sun Yeong, newly banned writer of Great First Wives). So, as I started this post around episode 60; continued to edit it into the 80s and then realized before we knew it that we’d finished the drama! We started this drama in December and before the 2nd week of January was complete, so were we! Amazing, huh? No, a testament to the fact that this was a really decent drama! Read on…

Stars
Kang Sung Yun as Yoo Ji Yun
Yoon Se Ah as Jin Song Ah
Lee Jae Hwang as Koo Kang Mo
Kim Min Kyung as Kang Se Na
Lee Dong Ha as Koo Kang Min
See rest of the cast here

First off the bat, I have to start this review with the following: If you don’t care for psychopathic and seriously crazy women, don’t bother watching this! We are talking about a character that exceeds Yeon Min Jung (Come Jang Bo Ri) crazy or Eun Hee Soo (The Women’s Room) psycho levels! I’m not kidding! This is coming from me, Bel. I’ve seen some crazy women in dramas. I used to shudder at the name Se Na because of Rooftop Prince; however, now in my psyche, the BYTCH from HELL in this drama will always overshadow and make Se Na from RTP look like a pussycat!! Meow!

Wait….did I tell you she screams a lot! A LOT!!

First of all, if everyone didn’t know, one of the cast, Yoon Jong Hwa (middle, playing Cha Geon Woo) was diagnosed early in the drama with spinal cancer. He went to the hospital due to pain in his lower back and legs. He received surgery on May 29th, 2015 and several rounds of radiation treatment. I wish him a speedy recovery because bone cancer, especially the spine is no joke. I kind of hate how his publicist is playing down this disease because it is serious and when he recovers, the miracle of it is truly a blessing! My sister has the same thing in both spine and legs. I remember the doctor telling us that he was really glad that it wasn’t as serious in the spine as the legs. So, I’m really hoping they caught it early and that he returns to dramas again. Get well soon, Jong Hwa!! We’re rooting for you!!

Eve’s Love was successful in keeping us entertained and sometimes not wanting to stop watching. This drama went beyond “entertaining”. It managed to have me rooting for the good guys and actually enjoying the “evilness” of the ones we hated. The writer, Ko Eun-Gyeong whose new to the drama world, did a fantastic job in keeping the flow of the story especially when she found herself missing one of her leads. She effectively re-wrote the story without a hitch and kept it entertaining and making sense. With Cha Geon Woo’s departure, the story continued to be interesting. Writer-Ko was successful in this. Again, I applaud her!!

It was great to see Yoon Se Ah once again. My first experience with her acting was from A Gentlemen’s Dignity which I absolutely loved. I even remember her from Gu Family Book which I will go on record as saying that the drama bored me silly once the parents of Gu died (sorry folks) and I’m the furthest from being a Suzy fan! So, I was really excited to see this drama with her. Unfortunately, it was awhile before it showed up with English subtitles but when it did, there was no question that it was on the top of my list. Admittedly, her character, Jin Song Ah was beyond annoying in the beginning! Me and my drama buddy couldn’t figure out what made her character change from the rough and tough little girl to a woman so in love with a man that she ignored all the obvious signs of infidelity! I also wonder how different the drama would have been in Cha Geon Woo hadn’t died. But once you get past her annoying character in the beginning, her drama persona truly morphs into the woman we all wanted her to be.

Lee Jae Hwang was a thrill and a total surprise. This is the first drama that I’ve watched of his and I can assure you it will not be my last. I loved his character thoroughly! As Goo Kang Mo, he was a man so totally in love with one woman that his willingness to protect and love her extended to the point that he was willing (and did) forsake his adopted father for her safety and well-being. This was actually refreshing in a drama. Maybe it was because Kang Moo wasn’t his real son but I would like to think that the writer just wanted to write the story that way. I applaud her for once showing a family NOT willing to go down the road of deceit and evilness simply because they were in the same family! Yes! Very refreshing indeed!

Lee Jae Kwang did a great job as Kang Mo. We felt his love for Song Ah from the beginning to the end. He weathered the storms as they brewed between himself and his father as well as staying true to Song Ah through the bitter end. I admit their chemistry was pretty decent too. Regrettably, there isn’t a lot of kissing between the two but what lacks in kissing is made up with many. many other scenes that easily make you feel the love and affection that the two characters have for each other. Oh yes, Lee Jae Hwang can expect me to watch his dramas in the future as well as being responsible for me finally tackling Temptation of Wife (2008) in the near future.

Wait, did I mention that the stylist LOVED Lee Jae Hwang? My drama buddy and I couldn’t help but noticed the impeccably dressed actor in his tailored shirts and suits! We also couldn’t help notice that color combination choices that probably wouldn’t have worked well on other actors, were definitely wonderfully combined for our Kang Mo! Yes, he rocks suits very, very, very well!!

Another actor that is now on my drama radar is Lee Dong Ha. As the younger brother, Kang Min, he will go down in daily drama history as a man who truly, truly loved one woman. Regardless, through his horrible marriage with Kang Se Na (more on her later) and dealing with a father that put business and his livelihood before the happiness of his children (okay child by his standards), he was definitely a character that you sympathized with for a very long time. Lee Dong Ha did a great job as the tortured and unhappy Kang Min. Saddled to a woman he hated; doubtful whether a child was really his, the man suffered for over 2 years in a marriage not of convenience but pure HELL!! I loved his interactions with Kang Se Na because he made it quite clear that he would never love her, care for her or damn near respect her!! Yes! A man after my own heart! Sadly, the one who suffered the most in their relationship was Woo Joo, their supposed son together. It never became more apparent that Kang Min cared very little for the boy and sadly it showed. But being railroaded into marriage has this affect and you can’t help but understand but not necessarily condone. I look forward to more from this actor in the future.

One thing that I liked what the writer did was give these two brothers a sense of close family. Several times in the drama, not only was it apparent that Kang Min and Kang Mo respected and loved each other dearly; but, Kang Min was always saddened by the nasty treatment that their father gave to Kang Mo as he wasn’t his real son and always said that to Kang Min, Kang Mo, and anyone else that was listening. But these two brother’s closeness couldn’t have been better displayed without their constantly saying “You are my one and only brother”. Beautiful. Thank you, writer-Ko! So often in these daily dramas where we have 2 leads as brothers, they are usually depicted as adversarial and not close. This was a departure from that norm and I hope to see more of this style of writing in the future.


This drama actually has some great depiction of mothers! Song Ah’s mother, Hong Jeong Ok (played by Yang Geum Suk) did a great job as the amnesiac mother for most of the drama. Whether she was the tough and ready business woman or the meek and fearful woman who couldn’t remember what happened to her, Yang Geum Suk’s portrayal of both characters were spot on! Now contrast that with Mo Hwa Kyeong (played by Geum Bo Ra), she played the usual mother in law from HELL; however, because she was driving Kang Se Na crazy, we actually liked her for that! I remember cringing on the same happenings in other dramas when our lead would have to deal with such harpies but in the case of Kang Se Na, we applauded every single thing she did to make Se Na’s life miserable! This really balanced out the craziness. Because it gave us many opportunities to laugh and really did well in breaking up the drama, making it easier to watch! We loved every minute of it and loved the actress playing the role! But one thing for sure, both mothers truly loved their children! I also liked that the writer made these women friends. Though neither wanted their children to marry, when all was said and done, I think they allowed their sons and daughters to marry who they wanted when the time came and Hwa Kyeong made Se Na suffer every single day!

When evil, crazy bytch is defined in the dictionary, there really should be a picture of Kang Se Na. Se Na (played Kim Min Kyung) was a seriously twisted character! Se Na represented a person who didn’t have a moral compass at all. Everything she did, she truly believed that she was justified in it. You drive my mother out of her job, you deserve to die and lose everything you own! This was a woman that took revenge to the ultimate level and just didn’t know how to stop! I enjoyed this over the top character of Se Na a lot. She was able to raise my BP (blood pressure) to new heights! Many times, the cat toys went flying at the television and the number of curse words that flew out of my mouth were unprecedented! I have to say, Kim Min Kyung played the heck out of this character. The amount of screaming and hollering that this actress did should have afforded her double pay!! I also liked that even though she antagonized poor, simple Song Ah for so long that there were many, many people around her that helped balance out the crazy to the point that by mid-way of the drama, you’d find yourself chuckling at Se Na’s continuous antics! We believed later in the drama that the actress really did hurt herself in this drama because for several episodes she was using a cane and knee brace. Maybe she toppled one time too many in those damn high heels she was wearing! But regardless, I enjoyed her character and felt the writer wrote her ending perfect! Thanks for not going ‘all is forgiven’ with her!

Moon Hyun Soo (played by Kim Young Hoon) was brought in as a replacement for the actor, Yoon Jong Hwa. Hyun Soo was actually Cha Geon Woo’s cousin who came to revenge Geon Woo against Se Na and also the Goo family for the wrongs that she and the Chairman (more to come) did against him that lead to his subsequent death. I liked how the writer first had Hyun Soo working with Song Ah secretly to thwart everything that Se Na and the Chairman did; however, once the true parentage of Woo Joo came out, Hyun Soo quickly turned the tide and began working against Song Ah and Kang Mo. Friends to adversaries. Good job, writer. Again, a refreshing story line that wasn’t the usual and we didn’t expect the turncoat change. I wonder if this actor will get tired of these roles? The last time I saw him, he also ended up with a final scene in the ‘Big House’, jail if you will. Still, it was fun watching his character mess with the unsuspecting Se Na! Thank you, writer!

Just when you thought that there couldn’t be a human being more despised than Se Na, you truly get to meet and understand the depraved levels of the Chairman Goo, played wonderfully by Lee Jung Gil. I mean seriously! Normally we only have one truly evil character but Eve’s Love brought us two! Se Na and the Chairman was so alike, we swore up and down that she would be found to be his lost daughter. Okay, had she NOT married poor Goo Kang Min, I believe the writer would have gone in that direction. These two were so despicable that redemption really should have been left to the Heavens! Chairman Goo constantly claimed about his love for his wife and son (yes, I said son) but to foster a woman that lied about what happened with his son as well as a grandson/child onto that same son that you claimed to love, only to protect your own interests? No words. Chairman Goo doesn’t stop there. His fear of discovery takes him down the road of attempted murder, tampering with people’s memories, and stealing. Sadly, his ending is probably the one I liked the least. Sure, he goes to jail, comes out all repentant but it wasn’t enough for me. However, I must say his last jail house scene where he is talking to Kang Mo and apologizing for all he did and Kang Mo being the wonderful human being that he was telling his father that regardless, he still loved him, was not only a well put together scene but admittedly softens your heart just a smidgen; for Kang Mo’s sake that is.

Not much to say on the side characters. The interactions between Song Ah’s mother and the family of Se Na (aunt and cousin) was enough to break up and fill scenes. I admit, we didn’t have a lot of interest in them. Jin Do Joon (played by Yeo Hoi Hyeon) and Han Ra bong’s (played by Im Do Yoon) romance was really expected. I won’t call it interesting but it filled the time here and there. I have to admit that former detective Kim Sang Chul (played by Choi Sung Min) was the strangest turn around of a character we’d ever seen. From Se Na’s henchman to Se Na’s aunt boy friend, I’m not sure if we have an opinion on this character but at least we can say, it was very, very different.

One last thing. I have to admit that I wished we had more scenes with Goo Kang Min and the returning Jin Hyeon Ah. I really liked their scenes together as Kang Min once again fell in love with Hyeon Ah! As she didn’t return until episode 70, I can safely say that in those episodes, we got just as much romance between them two as our leads. I actually liked the chemistry between these two a lot and looked forward to their scenes. Surprisingly, the writer went with two brothers marrying sisters. I’m trying to think back to other dramas where this happened…it escapes me. But I am glad she did because like I said before, this was one man who truly, truly, truly loved one woman.

Most of the ending episode was showing you what happened to the characters. I was also surprised by the realistic time jump at the end to make the ending more reasonable. One thing for sure, Writer Ko has guaranteed that I will; we will be watching her next drama! So, here’s crossing our fingers that she returns to the drama world again. Good Job, Writer Ko! Great job, cast! And again, best wishes and speedy recovery to Yoon Jong Hwa!!

Advertisement