i like how in the korean version of leverage, they give us time to get to know seon kyu before he dies. when he did that little gesture to tae joon, i was SOBBING! it honestly made his death more painful. i also like how the korean leverage doesn't harp too much around the idea that "nate" (tae joon) is supposed to be the good guy. that's one thing i don't like about the pilot episode of american leverage--everyone was saying "nate you're a good guy", but we never got shown how he was a good guy. we only got shown that he followed the law, which does not a good guy make.
anyway, i also like that although the characters are very much based off of american leverage, they each have their distinct personalities that differ from american leverage.
for example, korean parker (na byeol) is much more aggressive and assertive. there's no (so far) moments where you think "man she's got some screws loose", but you can tell life shaped her. there's a line where she says "you're either duping or getting duped" and that is the center of her outward personality. she also reminds me of haneul from kiss of life (kpop group). they have the same aura and they look very similar. she's also a ninja. if you thought american parker's gymnastics were impressive, wait til you see na byeol!
korean eliot (roy ryu) is very, very quiet. he also is not afraid to use guns. he's more of an observer than a talker, which is very different from american eliot. he also hasn't had any banter with na byeol and eui sung, which is probably because he joined the group last.
korean hardison (eui sung) is very much so annoying. he reminds me more of chaos than hardison. na byeol and eui sung have a much more sibling relationship than parker and hardison, which is a major difference.
korean nate (tae joon) is SOOO much nicer than american nate. i actually believed that he was a good guy off of first impressions, which again, is something that i struggled with when i first watched american leverage.
korean sophie (soo kyung) i find is the most similar to american sophie. they both have that expensive aura to them, though i think sophie's was a more "rags to riches" aura, whereas soo kyung feels like a true expensive aura. but they're both able to capture that "i want to be an actress but i can't act unless i'm breaking the law" essence.
anyway, it's turning out to be a great show, and i can't wait to watch more. my only issue is that the pacing is too fast where it matters, and too slow where it doesn't, but otherwise, it's good.
