Okay, it is the fall season once again, and that means leaves turning colors, cooler temperatures, trick-or-treating and the seemingly endless stream of homework that comes with every school year.

It also means that luck has come back to me, as it does every fall, in the form of a new drama infatuation. What drama has found its way into my sights this season?

Heirs.

Yup. Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye, kdramaland’s newest power couple (at least in my opinion).

When you pair the two of them with rising stars like Kang Minhyuk (CNBlue’s drummer), Kim Woo Bin, Krystal Jung (of girl group f(x)), and various other greats, the expectations for this drama skyrocketed with each new casting announcement.

I have only seen two episodes so far, but I’m already delighted. When the announcement of Lee Min Ho and Park Shin Hye in the two main roles was made, I was surprised. I’d never even thought about the two of them in a drama together before. They’re two of my favorite actors to begin with, so naturally my interest was snared.

I’m thrilled! I’m thrilled, thrilled, thrilled!!!

Now that I’ve spazzed momentarily…

NOTE: I may offend with the opinions I share on occasion. Everyone is entitled to theirs, yes, and I’m entitled to disagree if I so choose. While I may get quite upset when voicing said disagreements, I do understand that I cannot make anyone change their opinions. Sorry if anything I say offends you.

First impressions:

~ Kim Woo Bin is a bully. I have a problem with bullies. The last role I remember watching him in, he was a sweet guy, an awesome friend. My shock to see him bullying another student and behaving like a general jerk to pretty much everyone around him left me not only speechless, but took my breath out of me like a punch to the gut. I actually had to press pause and take a couple of minutes. Unfortunately it paused on his evil bully expression, so when I was finally able to speak let alone form a comprehensible thought process, all I could say was “What an ass!”
However, by the end of episode 2, I was having trouble remembering that he’s a bully. His sense of humor when with his friends had me chuckling before I could stop myself. I can see this character is going to give me a lot of trouble as the drama progresses…

~Kim Ji Won… Hm. I’ve seen her in To the Beautiful You as Seol Ha Na, and thought the character was a total.. Well, I won’t go there. She did pretty well with that character though, I’ll admit that. Now, as Rachel Yoo in Heirs? Oh my soul, what a b*%$h. You have to admit, she plays brats and evil snooty girls very well. When she bullied Eun Sang, I wanted to leap into the screen and yank her hair out. So far, I’ve seen nothing pleasant about this character, and suspect that my opinion of her is not likely to change.

~ Krystal Jung, what a surprise you are. Who knew you could talk so quickly or with such a whiny, high-pitched, grates-on-the-ears voice? Talk about a spoiled brat… Lee Bo Na struck me as an annoyance at first sight. She’s entirely too clingy and possessive of her boyfriend, and treats Eun Sang like less than dirt. Me no likey! Grrrr.. However, I do love Krystal’s portrayal of her so far. I was pretty skeptical about her. She seems to be pulling it off pretty well. I know it’s only the first couple of episodes, though, so I’ll try not to make up my mind on her completely until a little later. I didn’t see much of her other than whining, so…

~ Kim Mi Kyung as Eun Sang’s mommy… Oh, the feels! I love her. She doesn’t speak a single word, uses sign language, writing or texting to communicate, and yet… Damn, I love that woman! If I were her oldest daughter, I’d be damned ashamed of myself for lying to a mother who works as hard and suffers as much as Eun Sang’s mom does. Kim Mi Kyung is a fantastic actress and I’ve seen her before in dramas. She never disappoints me, whether it’s a main role or supporting one.

~ Park Shin Hye hasn’t disappointed as always. I must say this is proving to be my favorite out of all her roles, and as I’ve said before in this post, I’ve only seen the first two episodes. The chemistry between her and Lee Min Ho is enough to send sparks out at you, or at least it is in my opinion. And let’s not forget how quickly this woman can churn out some tears. She’s got to be one of the best criers in kdramaland.
Now… I seem to recall seeing complaints that she has “no sex appeal” for the drama. Seriously? Are you kidding me? SHE’S NOT SUPPOSED TO! Her character is poor and more concerned with making a better life for herself than with dressing sexily or seducing some poor unsuspecting rich guy (pssh… unsuspecting.. Right). If you want sex appeal from a character who by definition shouldn’t exude it at this point in time (possibly not ever depending on how the story in the drama develops), then there is something very wrong with you. That’s a very shallow complaint. Besides, she’s gorgeous.

~ Kang Min Hyuk… hehe.. He was adorable in Heartstrings (also with Park Shin Hye), and in Heirs he’s a sweet heartthrob. Let’s forget my total bias toward him for a minute here…. Nah, never mind. The guy could sit and read a phonebook all day and I’d still be interested. When not acting, he’s the drummer for band CNblue and has a surprisingly sweet voice when it comes to singing (see “Star“ from the music for drama Heartstrings). I can’t wait to see what he’ll bring to the rest of the drama.

~ Lee Min Ho is… well… Lee Min Ho. The guy has been in how many dramas now? His fans go nuts every time he’s cast, and I must say I’ve loved pretty much everything I’ve seen him in. Boys Over Flowers started my fan bias for LMH. Personal Taste and City Hunter served to improve my impressions of his acting. Let’s not even get started on Faith. I love the guy. His portrayal of Kim Tan so far is pretty good. I’ve seen a lot of people complain about his English level in forums, though…. This does not please me. Do people seriously keep forgetting about the tons of people who live in an English-speaking country (or otherwise) for years, sometimes their entire lives, and still suck at the language or have an accent so strong it makes them hard to understand? Maybe I should drop you in another country where English is definitely not the first language, and see how you fare with it. Good grief… Granted, by this point his character has been living in the U.S. for quite some time, but you should also remember that Lee Min Ho worked very hard to learn the English needed for this drama. Cut him some slack. He’s not a miracle worker.

The rest of the cast I have not made up my mind on yet. I feel I haven’t seen enough of their characters. So… Kang Ha Neul, Choi Jin Hyuk, and Park Hyung Sik… You three will have to wait just a little while longer.

One quick mention: Choi Won Young as Chan Young’s father. For some reason, I like him already.