Lee Ji-ah and Han Hye-jin, immersion-breaking characters

《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
Reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will properly cover all aspects of the drama based on what she heard and saw on the spot. We will be the eyes and ears of readers in an era where dramas are flooding in on numerous channels.

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There was no glory to succeed the previous work. Unlike JTBC's 'Agency' and tvN's 'Ilta Scandal', which exceeded the 10% viewership rating, the follow-ups JTBC's 'Sacred, Divorce' and 'Pandora: A Fabricated Paradise' all failed in terms of box office or topicality. The bigger problem is the actress who plays the female protagonist. The acting skills of Han Hye-jin, who feels like she is playing alone with her awkward vocalizations, and Lee Ji-ah, who creates awkwardness with her consistent facial expressions, break the immersion of the play.

Currently, the weekend mini-series viewership ratings are dominated by ‘Model Taxi 2’. MBC's 'Season of the Kokdu' is facing a humiliating exit with viewership ratings in the 1% range, while 'Sacred, Divorced' and 'Pandora' are also recording below-expected results at 7% and 4%, respectively.

'Pandora' received a lot of attention because it is a new work by writer Kim Soon-ok, who wrote the SBS drama 'Penthouse' series, which had a viewership rating of close to 30%. In addition, following 'Penthouse', Lee Ji-ah once again took on the role of the incarnation of revenge, raising expectations for the killer action she will show.

Lee Ji-ah lost 6 kg for her character. However, the problem was not the body but the face. Hong Tae-ra, played by Lee Ji-ah, was a person who lived a happy life with a perfect family in the eyes of others, but when his memories returned after 15 years, he learned that he was a killer who had been raised to be a murder weapon.

However, even in situations where she had to act out turbulent emotions such as confusion, anger, and sadness, Lee Ji-ah created an awkward expression with an expressionless expression that made it impossible to understand her emotions throughout. As Lee Ji-ah is the sole title role in 'Pandora', her role is also very large, and Lee Ji-ah's awkward acting shook the entire play.

This also applies to Han Hye-jin from ‘Sacred, Divorced’. Han Hye-jin's problem is her vocalization. Lee Seo-jin, played by Han Hye-jin in the play, is a weather caster and radio DJ. Unable to endure her husband's emotional abuse, she commits an affair and is sued for divorce. However, with the help of Cho Seung-woo (Shin Shin-han), she succeeds in securing custody, and then gets a job as a consulting manager at Cho Seung-woo's law office to defend her custody.

Despite being a character with strong maternal love and wanting to instill support, Han Hye-jin's stiff acting made it impossible for viewers to fully focus on the character. I don't know if she wanted to portray the way a radio DJ speaks, but unlike other actors, Han Hye-jin was unable to permeate the play with her theatrical tone of dialogue. All the actors, including Cho Seung-woo, Kim Seong-gyun, and Jeong Moon-seong, are acting in their daily lives, but it feels like they are acting alone on stage.

As a result, it is difficult to find chemistry with Cho Seung-woo. If it was intentional, it feels like a failure in character analysis, and if it was unintentional, it feels like a lack of acting skills.

The poor performance of the work is not just the problem of one actor. But you can't avoid responsibility. Because that is the fate of the leading actor. It is even more disappointing that both Lee Ji-ah and Han Hye-jin are not new actors, but actors with more than 15 and 20 years of acting experience, respectively.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr