Dream High 2 - Episode 1 Recap & Review

Hey guys! So I recently started watching this drama called "Dream High 2". If you've seen some of my previous posts, you can see that I was a big fan of the original Dream High XD, so I decided that for Dream High 2, I would post recaps/reviews for every episode. I know, I know, this is really late, but hey...I'm not fluent in Korean so I have to wait for subs...and life as a student is really busy and stressful. So yeah, if you want speed, go read the Dramabeans reviews :) They come out really fast and they're pretty good. Anyway, please enjoy! ^^

Here are the parts in case you want to watch it again! (a big THANK YOU for all you subbers out there who sub these episodes for us non-fluent korean speakers! ^^)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xELEoEnW5hs&feature=related

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeNv6JLjWX4&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzgYAO4dq5g&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAjAa3wO8ZU&feature=related

Episode 1 Recap:

So the episode starts off with Sam Dong (Kim Soo Hyun) making a "life movie"with Ri-an (T-ara's Jiyeon) as "Hye Mi". However, she isn't a very good actor, so the frustrated director calls a NG. Poor Sam Dong pulls an "Aughh...again?!?" face. (I think he's just trying to show that he can't do it if it's not Hye Mi...or Suzy for that matter ;D) Already behind on schedule, Ri-an and her manager rush off to go to the music festival. As Ri-an turns on the TV in her van, we see that the government has put a law into effect. The law states that no minors are allowed to perform after 10 PM and that all idols are required to attend at least 20 hours of school per week.

Hahaha Kim Soo Hyun's face XD



Meanwhile Kirin School of the Arts has become a dump, and now the sign for Kirin reads Kurin, meaning stinky, foul-smelling, and unappealing. In their universe, at least three years have passed since we’ve last seen Kirin High. They don't explain it very clearly, but the school added a dormitory where some students live full time.

Then we are the music festival and the 2nd main character, JB (JB is his stage name his 'real name' in the drama is Jang Ho Jae) makes the appearance! Okay before I go on, let's take some time to talk about his name. First of all...JB...really now? You guys really couldn't think of any other combination of two letters...AJ...RY...RJ...JG...KY...BJ...alright, maybe not that last one. Whew, now that would've been a real disaster. Anyway, moving on. JB and and his group, Eden, can't perform yet because they're missing one person, Si-woo. Because of the curfew rule, Eden can't perform onstage with out getting into serious trouble. So instead, three-member girl group called HershE (haha clever name), with Ri-an (Jiyeon), NANA (Hyorin), and AILEE (Ailee), perform instead. They perform a Dream High OST...haha nice. So Si-Woo finally comes, and then another main character Hye Sung (Kang Sora) makes her appearance creepily following Si-Woo around brushing things out of his hair. So Shi-Woo finally see's JB and with all smiles, asks him if he's mad. Dude...what do you think? Of course he's mad. I mean, just look at his face.

death glare...

Then Hye Sung sees her sunbae Kim Pil Suk (IU cameo!) and asks for her autograph. As JB and Si Woo walk into the hall together, JB accidentally knocks over Hye Sung. Hye Sung nervously blurts out, "I-I love you." and JB just gives her an awkward laugh and an "Ah...yes." as he walks away. He immediately receives a call from his president and so Si-Woo asks him if maybe the president saw the incident. Scared, JB goes back, says, "I love you too." and gives Hye Sung an autograph. He also asks her for a favor, which isn't revealed until later.

Then as the music festival is ending, Eden suddenly makes an appearance and performs onstage, breaking the curfew law.

aww it looks like Jr has bunny ears XD

Then we find out what crafty JB's favor was. Hye Sung distracts the president and locks him inside a room so he can't stop Eden from performing. As the PDs see Eden onstage, they sigh with despair, knowing that the idols are going to be punished. Also from backstage, we see HerShe watching Eden perform. Then, Ri-an angrily spits out her gum, and throws it at JB's face on the TV, maybe indicating that there is probably some emotional strains between her and JB...or maybe just because Eden is much more dynamic than HershE. We shall see...

As they perform, we go back and forth between Yoo-jin (Jung Jinwoon playing the same song in the street, while Eden performs the pop version onstage. Gee, I wonder where Eden got the song. (I thought this was really clever. Props to the guys who wrote this part!) Also, I don't know about you guys, but I really really like the song :). When it finally shifts to Yoo-Jin, we see him belting out the song and having the time of his life when the police step in and stop their mini street side concert, demanding to see his ID. Yoo-Jin, obviously a minor, laughs nervously and says that he's going to get his wallet....but then runs away. Nice. As Yoo-Jin tries to get into the dorm, we see Hye-Sung trying to sneak in after curfew as well. They both sneak in and I guess Hye-Sung was caught and Yoo-Jin was not. Apparently Yoo-Jin thinks he's tight with Yang Jin Man, because he spends the night in his room. Take a moment away from the drama's storyline and think about how weird this must have been for Jinwoon to film...sleeping half-naked next to your boss...hahah lol.

ohdayum.

Anyway, both of them are late the next morning (as a result of Yoo-Jin resetting the alarm for 9:30). He then eats one of the teacher's bananas and throws the peel at his face. XD

Unfortunately Hye-Sung was caught breaking curfew, so she was punished with shining Jin-Man's shoes while wearing a humiliating sign.

The students are given a homework assignment to compose their own song, but they all end up buying them from Yoo-Jin, who sells them for $20 or $30 each. (wow...how does me make so many songs?)

Eden's rebellious act results in the network banning all acts from OZ (Eden's company) for three months. The boys give interviews saying that it was their way of keeping their promise with the fans who came to see them. Well done, well done. They arrive at the agency and we can see Ri-An practicing with a light up sword. When JB walks into the room, she beats him up. LOL.

When they're not on air, JB confesses to President Lee that he did it because their new single is plagiarized. If they hadn't pulled their little stunt, the public would've blown up about their plagarized music. Apparently their last album also had plagarized songs, so he didn't want to risk it again. It also appears that Sh-Woo also has quite a charming side with the ladies and also seems to have sticky fingers for stealing songs. JB also brings up the issue that he wants to go solo and complains about Si-Woo's lack of talent. Ouch, that's harsh.


This next part displays fangirl-ism at its finest.
Hye-Sung builds a shrine with everything she has that has to do with JB. Convinced that the autograph she got has magical powers, she gets ready to do some sort of ritual in her dorm room with the help of her quirky friend, Park Soon-Dong (Yoo So-young). She lights the autograph on fire and prays that she'll make the cut at the next OZ auditions, so that she'll be able to be a trainee alongside JB.

As Yoo-Jin passes, he smells the smoke (haha nice animated effects with the smoke and Jinwoon's nostrils LOL) He thinks the room is on fire and tries to save Hye-Sung by picking the lock. Meanwhile, Jin-man is outside and totally freaked out. The other students force him to go in and save Hye-sung, so he finally does. Unable to finish the ritual before Jin-man came him "saving" her, Hye-sung is distraught, disappointed, and depressed.

Her friends, Park Soon-Dong, dancer Jung Ui-Bong (Jr.) (is it just me, or does anyone else think he's really cute?) who lost his backup dancer gig because of Eden’s curfew stunt, and nerdy Park Hong-Joo (Kim Ji-soo) cheer her up with a rendition of "Genie". Hm, JYP really seems to like that song, huh. And dude...that nerdy guy can really sing.




Hye-Sung goes to the open OZ auditions the next day, only to be rejected and told that they're not accepting minors anymore, due to the new curfew rule. She goes on her knees and begs the audition judge, Ji-Soo (After School's Kahi), who remembers her from every audition because apparently Hye-Sung wasn't all that great. Hye-Sung stubbornly gives a speech on how Ji-Soo is wrong and that she will reject her harsh words in the future before storming out of the audition room. On her way out, she spies a composition contest advertisement and decides to enter.

At OZ, Kang-chul and Ji-soo are torn over what to do about their minors. Ji-soo suggests sending them to Kirin, where they can fulfill their minimum school hours while focusing on music practice at the same time, but Kang-chul worries about the current state of Kirin Art School because the former principal is overseas and left the school to the current principal, which turned it to shambles.

Hye-Sung goes from her audition to meet her pastor father, who is also concerned about the current state of Kirin. He tells her to pray and she quickly blurts out that she converted and is praying at a temple (LOL some temple you got there). Her father goes into a state of shock and Hye-Sung takes this opportunity to run away. As her father chases her outside, it begins to rain and her father takes it as an angry sign from God. (LOL oh Hye-Sung...I'm beginning to really like this girl)

As she's walking home, we finally get to hear her "beautiful" voice and it is confirmed that it is not in the least....beautiful. It is really....really...really bad.

Kang-chul arrives at Kirin with JB and tells him to look around the school. Meanwhile, Kang-chul goes to see Principal Joo and tells him that their company is taking over Kirin. Ohdang...Joo is not happy.

Then we see Hye-Sung chasing Yoo-jin up and down the halls begging him to help her fix her "composition" which is really just a few notes she tried to throw together. He refuses because she’s going to submit it to OZ, for the singer-songwriter auditions and he doesn't want anything to do with that idol factory that cranks out hook-songs (songs that are captivating, but nothing more).

While all this is happening, JB is around the corner watching.

Hye-Sung continues to beg and finally Yoo-Jin says that he'll listen to it, but if he doesn't like it, he won't help. So he listens and rips out the earphones in disgust, saying that he could've done better in his sleep. Stunned at his reaction, Hye-Sung stammers that she spent an entire month on it.

Yoo-jin: Idol? Why do you want to be one? If you can’t sing, you can lip-sync, and if you can’t dance, you can wear flashy clothes. Just do that. Isn’t that what you think anyway? That’s how it seems to me. You have no interest or passion for music, but you just want to be famous, so you do what everyone tells you to do – you laugh the same, you dance the same, you sing with that same voice. Don’t you think that’s gross? People aren’t dolls.

While all this is happening, JB is around the corner watching and the conversation stings him. Then we move to a flashback to Kirin auditions, where Yoo-jin and JB are coincidentally auditioning at the same time, side by side, guitars in hand. We can see an apparent difference from Yoo-Jin and JB. Yoo-Jin is confident, happy, and ready to audition. JB on the other hand, is nervous and can't even really play the guitar. Before he auditions, Yoo-Jin gives a whole speech on how he wants to play his own music, and be an idol where they just sing and dance like dolls. When JB is asked the same interview question, he nervously stammers, "I-I want to be a dancing singer." which is exactly what an idol is. This is probably why he debuted first and Yoo-Jin was stuck performing on the streets with his talent hidden from the world.

JB's "...dammit I'm screwed." face XD



Back in the studio, Hye-sung tells Yoo-jin that he’s nothing but a song seller anyway, and at ten bucks per song. Getting angry, Yoo-jin tells her that her beloved idol JB plagiarizes his songs.
He sneers at her and says that she should know what kind of music her favorite singer sings.

And at that, JB walks right in on their conversation, saying, "Who says it’s plagiarized?" even thought he knows very well that it is indeed plagiarized.JB tells her that he’ll listen to her song and help her. Hye-sung’s jaw literally detaches from her skull. She's under the misconception that JB is here to repay her for helping him the other night and so she happily hands her composition to him.

JB adds a few basic chords to her melody and turns it into a rather nice sounding song. Amazed, Hye-Sung calles him a music genius and then Yoo-Jin retorts that he could've done better with his feet. JB then lashes out at him asking if he hates anything that's popular because he himself is a transparent nobody.

Sigh. Oh JYP, they do seem to like irony. Idols arguing about idols.
Anyway, Yoo-Jin and JB get really heated over their argument. Hye-Sung tries to stop them and accidentally broadcasts their conversation to the entire school. Hearing JB's name, the entire female population of Kirin High rushes over. JB scoffs at Yoo-Jin and says that if he thinks he can do better than him, to give it a try. Instead of fixing it, Yoo-Jin trashes the composition that JB fixed. JB is furious and grabs Yoo-Jin by the collar. Then, the genius Yoo-Jin decides to mock his public statement about how his fans were more important than following the law. He then asks JB if being liked by these foolish girls made him think that he was actually good. Ouch...double whammy.

JB is just about to blow it when he sees a group of girls appear with cameras in hand. He backs of and verbally slaps Yoo-Jin by saying, "If you're really so good, then how come the world hasn't recognized it?" Knowing that a bunch of people have here cameras ready, he jeers at Yoo-Jin and says that if he dares hit him, at least he'll be famous for something. This comment sends Yoo-Jin over the top and sends his fist flying towards JB's face...

....but Hye-Sung sees it happening and oh so casually sticks out her foot to trip him. Poor Yoo-Jin slams into the glass door and his smushed face slides slowwwwwwwwly down. Hye-Sung and JB exchange smiles. Ha that's adorable.

Commentary:
I was extremely satisfied by this first episode. I know that my friends and I (and also many of you) have been groaning and griping about the complete cast change ever since we found out that our beloved Hye-Mi, Sam-Dong, Jin-Guk, Pil-Suk, and Jason weren't coming back, but actually, I'm rather pleased with this new cast. I definitely wish that Dream High 1 had given us a more satisfying and complete ending, but honestly guys...there's just not enough left in that story to go through another season. I know...I know...there's no hothothot ab scenes from Taecyeon...or Kim Soo Hyun's irresistable eyes...but after watching this first episode, you probably won't hear any complaints from me.

Now onto the main characters.


Kang Sora as Hye-Sung: I think I am really going to like her in this drama. Kang Sora doesn't seem to care about maintaining a lady-like image and so she goes all out. I think that's really awesome because then we can truly see Hye-Sung's personality shine through. I'm not an avid follower of Kang Sora because honestly, I haven't seen any of her dramas (but I promise that I will go watch some! But probably during the summer....sigh D:) and my first impression was, "Hey isn't that Leeteuk's wifey on WGM?" When I first heard that she was going to be on Dream High 2, I was kind of iffy because I thought she was too old to pass as a high school student (whereas Suzy was actually in high school). Boy, was I wrong. Kang Sora's youthful face can fool anyone. Anyone and everyone. If I didn't know better, I would think she was a high school student! Kang Sora, you must share your secrets to looking so young! Anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing how Kang Sora will portray innocent Hye-Sung as she progresses in the drama.

Yoo-Jin (2AM's Jinwoon): I'll say....he's doing quite well for his first drama! I feel that the role of Yoo-Jin is very appropriate for him because he is part of 2AM which is not the same as being in...let's say their labelmates 2PM. 2PM is a beast idol group, where maybe their looks are a factor in addition to their dancing and their voices. Now please don't beat me up. I'm a hardcore fan of 2PM and I'm not saying bad about them. Trust me...we've all drooled over those abs and beautifully chiseled faces...listened to their songs on replay over and over again...tried to dance along with their intense moves....and sang along, occasionally taking a stab at Taecyeon's impossibly fast raps. I'm just saying that being a part of 2AM, they sing sad ballad songs and don't necessarily dance, so they need to really feel it in their hearts in order to sing the songs with the right emotions. As cheesy and cliche as that sounds...it's true. Yoo-Jin is a character that wants to pursure his own passion in music and sing his own songs, so I think Jinwoon is perfect for the part.

JB: First of all...he's gorgeous. <3 Enough said.

lol I'm just kidding...of course there's more. My first impression of him was cold-hearted, stubborn, and all in all a jerk. But as it got deeper into the episode, I saw that there were underlying reasons for his coldness...like not being able to really sing their single know that it was plagiarized. I think he's a really good guy, but there just some situations along the way that changed him.
Hey, is it just me or does he kind of resemble SHINee's Key? :) I dunno, I just thought that their faces looked similar. My friend thinks he looks like Super Junior M's Henry though. I say that if Henry and Key got married and had a baby boy, he would look like JB ;D <3

Also, did anyone else notice that he seems to really like leopard print? lol flashbacks to the Secret Garden tracksuits, anybody? XD

Ri-an (T-ara's Jiyeon): First of all, wow...Jiyeon's outfit in the rendition of the bus stop scene with with Sam-Dong was spot on. The hair, the clothes, evereything. Second, dayumm Ri-an is feisty...beating up JB with a plastic sword...throwing a wad of gum at JB's face on the screen...I'd be scared of her in real life. But I think her character is going to become quite interesting...can't wait!

Others:

Jr (Jung Wi Bong): The backup dancer for JB. Is it just me, or do any of you think he's really really cute?

Hyun Ji Soo (Kahi): Wow...such a great authoritative figure! I like how she's only a few years in age difference with Kang Sora, but she acts like she's so much older. Haha that's the power of acting! :)

Si-Woo (Park Seo Joon): Haha he's a really happy guy who's always smiling. You can't help but smile with him...even when JB's face is deadpan serious. He seems like the kind of guy who can always lift up spirits no matter what situation. :)

Park Soon-Dong (Yoo So-young): Duuude...how awesome would it be to actually have a friend like this? Someone who always knew what to do or had some sort of spell for you when you were stuck in a tough situation. I would definitely want a friend like that. I like this twist in variety of characters. :)

Park Hong-Joo (Kim Ji-soo): I'm sure when people first saw him, they were just like, "meh...he's not that attractive." Who cares about that??? Boy, can this guy sing. His voice is amazing <3
I haven't seen much of Sistar's Hyorin or Ailee, and I can't wait for their appearances in later episodes!

 

Also, I really like how real life issues in the entertainment industry are brought up in the story line. Like education for idols who are still minors, running the idols thin with all the schedules, and the ever-so-popular subject that nowadays, looks are more important than talent. Even though it is exaggerated a lot and sometimes I'm just sitting here absorbing all the irony, it's still a great message and should be shared. Overall, I am super excited about Dream High 2 and how each of the characters' stories will unfold. Until then, Dream High 2 fighting~!

Thanks for reading!

Claire