dramasoliloquy | You're Beautiful vs. Secret Garden Throwdown Round 1: The Ladies

You're Beautiful (YAB) vs. Secret Garden (SG) Round 1

While reading the recaps of episodes 13 and 14 of Secret Garden, I first thought of writing a comparison/contrast sort of thing between Secret Garden and You're Beautiful. Why? Good question. After all, they're pretty different. One's a comedy romance with a fantasy twist, SG, the other's a pop culture play with a cross-dressing female. Pretty different, right? So, I won't attempt to pretend I'm doing this for any other reason then I want to. I just know that I loved the romance in YAB and I hate the fact the leads are IN a romance in SG.

Falling Pipes, Start~

Episode by episode, I will peel back the layers behind the women and reveal their true colors. Who's the real helpless female here? Who behaves without a shred of intelligence? Since SG is still playing and has more episodes, I will take that into consideration. Somehow.

GO MI-NYEO (played by Park Shin-hye) is the main character of YAB. She's a nun in training or something. Probably in her early twenties.

GIL RA-IM (played by Ha Ji-won) is older, 28 years old and a stuntwoman.

Episode 1 Secret Garden (SG) – In which our heroine is an uninvited guest in a VIP lounge, offers to leave when she is caught out as an uninvited guest, goes after a thief on her bike, gives snotty lady a tissue and a talkdown, and goes to a concert to see her favorite star.

The lovely Ra Im is hurt in a practice session with the movie star she's a stuntwoman for, and apologizes profusely although it really isn't her fault.

She meets a fellow, Joo-Won, who thinks she's someone else, while in YAB, a similar misunderstanding, only this time its deliberate, occurs.

Ra-Im is later taken to the hospital by Joo-Won because she neglected her wound, and carried from it by Jong-Soo, her boss. Ra-Im shows off her rad skills in driving, fighting and bike riding all in just one episode. Go Mi-Nyeo? Beat that!!!

Episode 1 YAB – In which our heroine, Go Mi-Nyeo puts the smack on a little kid and her mini tv player, wipes a** and a pervert who's following her.

Like Ra-Im at Oska, Mi-Nyeo is in awe at the sight of A.N. Jell and Go Mi-Nyeo is pretending to be her dear sick brother Mi-nam.

Mi-Nyeo bursts into song to save her bro's ~~life~~ career, and later eludes capture at an airport. Spurred by the thought of her Mom recognizing her, Mi-Nyeo agrees to continue to pretend to be her twin brother.

Later, Mi-Nyeo gets drunk at welcome party and standing on a bench, starts to sway.

RULING: Actually, Ra-Im's character is dumb and off in episode 1, right from the get go. She gets hurt and doesn't take care of it? That just doesn't make sense since with her profession, keeping her body in shape and avoiding injuries must be one of her no. 1 priorities. Stupid writing. But I like it that she gives way when she knows she's in the wrong about being in the lounge.

On the other hand, less stupid on Go Mi-Nyeo's side. Whatever she does fit the character, haha. . . Okay, well maybe the drunk scene is a little stupid. Yeah, I get it she's a nun, (like they don't drink wine?) but surely she hasn't been so cloistered that she hasn't some ideas of the affects of drinking alcohol. Also, she's pretending to be someone she's not, in which case it would be wise to be on guard at all times. Still, less stupid then SG. But I'm ruling in favor of Ninjas.