#cp ep 12

[gillianthecat]

Also I actually really like this ragtag bunch of coffee princes? I usually get annoyed with the "interfering friend group" but these guys work for me. probably because they do very little actual interfering. Mostly standing and watching as the train wreck happens, but with love and worry. And because what actions they do take seem to stem from their individual characters, rather than the plot need for "interfering friends." This bit with them telling her to text Han Gyul "I love you" crystallized this for me. It's so sweet and supportive and not actually pushy since they let her do it.

I also appreciate how the coffee shop itself feels like a really working coffee shop, and they all seem to be actually working. Another detail that grounds this show. Even their "concert" was something I could totally see the hip young staff of a hip new coffee shop putting on. Just skilled enough to make it fun, but not too much to overly strain credulity.

(I personally preferred the cozy floral look of the original coffee shop, but I agree the rats and cockroaches were de trop. Plus in 2007 the concrete minimalist style was not yet overdone.)

[gillianthecat]

Another unexpected thing I really like is how film-like a lot of the cinematography and pacing is, especially compared to other kdramas I've seen which tend more to feel faster and more tv-like, or even soap-opera-ish. Like this whole conversation between the cousins in Han Sung's studio. It actually made me think of Japanese cinematography. The wide shots, the space for the actors go just be in the scene together. I don't know enough about South Korean film and drama history to draw any conclusions from that though. Was this more the prevailing style in 2007? Was Coffee Prince relatively unique in this? Was it intentionally drawing on Japanese styles?

[gillianthecat]

They are so perfectly matched in childishness and general ridiculousness. Adorable.

[gillianthecat]

also i am so so relieved that eun chan doesn't have a "feminine" makeover so that she's allowed to be with her coffee prince (well, i have five episodes left but i'm assuming if it hasn't happened yet it's not going to). she dresses and looks exactly the same as she always did, he was attracted to her then and he's attracted to her now, the only difference is he knows.

honestly i went into the show assuming it would be inevitable. but they are approaching gender roles so differently than i feared. yes, there was a big transformation/reveal with heels, dress and makeup. But crucially, it was for the wrong guy.

and she never tried to change herself. she just dressed and acted as she wanted to, and other people made assumptions. I have no objections to She's the Man and its ilk (though somehow I've never actually seen it), where someone has to disguise herself as a boy for Plot Reasons, and work at getting it right, but the way Coffee Prince does it is so much more intriguing to me and has much more interesting things to say about gender.