THE HEIRS - Review

Started out like something poignant, moving, and realistic. It was wrapped in this double sheen that you can't wait to peel off in order to behold the surprise within. Unfortunately, it simply got boring down the line, especially on the last 4eps. :3

Heirs was hyped up as having one of the best casts (especially for eye candy), great writer, yada yada yada.*insert troll face* The ratings seemed to support that, however many fans of dramas watched and were disenchanted with the first few episodes; some fans throughout the whole drama. I am not one of those fans. XD While I would not call Heirs a rousing success, it was a good drama.

Why was it good? Many things contributed to both the good and the bad of this drama. The writer and director were not at the top of their game the first 4-6 episodes, but by episode 7/8 things began to get good… and once they started the ball rolling, it ended on a great note.

The actors…. it’s hard to pull a cast together like they did and NOT have some of the best actors in the business, and they did. There were quite a few standouts with acting, but I’d have to say Kim Woo Bin (Choi Young Do) was probably the best of them all. :D Don’t get me wrong, Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye are excellent, but because they were the leads and in the spotlight, it’s much easier to say their acting wasn’t up to par for many episodes. I do not blame the actors, however. I blame a lot of this on the writer and director. XD

Once everyone was one the same page, their love story became more believable, Kim Tan and Eun Sang’s pain was evident for all to see, and the emotions hit you in the gut.

Kim Woo Bin was on the ball from minute one, though. I don’t know if it’s because he’s played nearly nothing but these types of roles, or if it is because he saw the best way to play it without direction, but he was on fire in this drama. I could list all of the other actors that were amazing, and there were plenty (not just the pretty ones either!), but I don’t need to. :) There honestly wasn’t a bad actor in the bunch, not even a mediocre one. The parents, the kids, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th love story partners… they were all great.

On a special note, why the writer couldn’t have put more of the Bo Na and Chan Young relationship feel into Kim Tan and Eun Sang’s relationship, I’ll never know. These two were the highlight of the show for many episodes for me.

It had a message, a very clear message, and the final episode brought it home in Technicolor.

In many dramas you always see the rich guy/girl who can’t love the poor guy/girl because of class differences. You see the wealthy marry off their children as if it’s a high stakes poker game and the winner laughs the loudest. You find nearly nothing but dysfunctional families because of these same reasons… no one is allowed to love who they want without some miracle taking place.

Heirs took on the challenge of showing you a much clearer and realistic picture of this practice. Being a second son, Kim Tan should have had the freedom to love whom he wanted, but daddy dearest didn’t agree. In the end, what they give you for the finale is not an unrealistic ending. They showed the reality of this practice with Won. They showed the effects on Rachel and her mother Esther. It was a very good look at an often “overcome” issue in dramas. It was nice to see a story that ended with a bit of realism. :)

The OST was amazing, even if you did get sick of hearing “Love is the moment” every other scene. They had many songs they could have used in the OST for some of these times, but chose to pretty much go with that song alone. The other song I loved dearly was “Love Is”. Lee Min Ho also sang a song for the OST which only got used in episode 17, which kind of sucked. I really liked it and think it could have been used more too.

Cinematography… the drama was beautiful. The filming locations were chosen with major care and were gorgeous. The way shots were filmed, the direction in action during filming, all of it was remarkable. Though it’s fair to say the writer and director had their collective heads in the sand for the plot and acting, they were on full charge when it came to visual effectiveness of each scene and location. Even the fashion (though I heard LMH bought and used his own things) was amazing for the most part… some of the fuzzy sweaters could have been left at home, but good lord I want some of those trench coats BAD! Oh, and the white suit LMH wore. HAHAHAHA.

The feels… yes, there were feels. It didn’t happen, except for Young Do’s character, until at least episode 7 or 8, but they were finally there. KWB was able to cause feels with his character from the beginning. And though it took a while for things to develop and get the emotion to you, once it did, you felt it a lot. Kim Won, Young Do, Kim Tan, Eun Sang, Tan’s mom, and ES’s mom… these are the ones that made me feel the most, not necessarily in that order. Again, Kim Woo Bin as Young Do stole most of the feels in my opinion.

In summary, I think overall this was a 7.5 or 8 out of 10. I was hoping that it would be a 9 or 10, for many reasons, but it didn’t happen that way. I sincerely hope this drama doesn’t hurt or hinder LMH because he’s so much more than this.

Faith and City Hunter showed the skills he really has and I hope he can find a movie or drama that give him the freedom to be as good as he can be next time. Park Shin Hye is always a great actress, but I’d really like her to take some lessons in being affectionate! Kim Woo Bin… dude, just go do what you do, you need no instruction.

Choi Jin Hyuk, I love him and I’m so glad you’re in another drama right away so I don’t have to go months without him! I thought he was amazing in Gu Family Book, but he ruled in Heirs. :D :D