Hwayugi / A Korean Odyssey (20 Episodes)

((summary taken from Viki))

When a human woman can give great powers to any demon who devours her, how can she stay safe? 

Jin Sun Mi (Oh Yeon Seo) is a successful real estate CEO who has the ability to exorcise demons from bad-luck properties. But to the demons living on Earth, she is known as Sam Jang, who carries the irresistible scent of a lotus flower and can give great powers to anyone who eats her. 

When Sun Mi was a young girl, Son Oh Gong (Lee Seung Gi), a trouble-making deity, tricked her into releasing him from a castle where he was imprisoned and made a contract with her to always appear and protect her whenever she called out his name. But he tricked her again by removing her memory of his name. In modern times, Son Oh Gong freeloads off of Woo Hwi (Cha Seung Won), another deity known as Woo Ma Wang who works as the CEO of an entertainment company and enjoys more fame and adoration than some of the celebrities in his company. 

Son Oh Gong is intent on finding Sam Jang so that he can eat her and become the most powerful god. His friend, top idol star P.K (Lee Hong Ki), wants just a nibble for himself. When Song Oh Gong realizes that Sam Jang is Sun Mi, he at first protects her from attacks from other demons to save her for himself. But with the help of Woo Ma Wang, will Sun Mi find a way to force Son Oh Gong to serve as her protector?

This is based (loosely) on the famous Chinese novel, Journey to the West.

Watch Online: Netflix 

My Rating:

Lee Seung-gi was one of my first k-drama crushes. I first discovered him in season one of the variety show One Night, Two Days, and then proceeded to binge every one of his dramas after that (and fell even more in love with him). After he entered the military to complete his mandatory service, I waited TWO YEARS for his return to drama-land. 

And THIS was his comeback project!! 

As a huge fan of the Hong Sisters, I could not have been happier, especially since his turn in My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox was absolutely terrific and boasted one of my favorite OTPs ever.

So needless to say, I went into this series expecting to love it, and despite a couple of bumps, I'd say it succeeded. Of course, I'm well aware that my bias colored the experience somewhat, so if you're not a huge fan of any of these actors, or of the Hong Sisters in general, you might not appreciate this show as much as I did.

If that's the case, I'd suggest you watch something else because you may end up disappointed. 

However, if you're a fan of either of these things, then you're in for a treat! In true Hong Sisters fashion, the characters and the humor are top-notch. As usual, they manage to blend a perfect combination of humor, romance, action, and comedy into a pretty dark and intriguing plot. I mean, how often do you get a zombie in a fridge? Or a quirky bull-god who also happens to be a judge on a reality show? A slipper that smells like lotus flowers? Two petty, warring gods that continuously mess with each others statues? And all of this, around a doomsday/prophesy conflict which has you invested right from the start.

This show may have its flaws, but humor is certainly not one of them.

And neither is romance.

If you're looking for something swoon-worthy and complex, you can't go wrong when it comes to Sun Mi and Oh Gong's love story. It's not typical at all - in fact, it begins with Oh Gong trying to eat her haha. However, once he does fall in love, he falls hard, and watching him try to prove his sincerity despite the complications his bracelet brings, is one of the sweetest things about this series that puts it above the rest. I absolutely ADORED these two, and they were my favorite OTP the year this aired. Hands down.

(But again, maybe that was my bias showing lol).

It's clear the romance works so well because the characters are all so interesting and diverse. Obviously, I can't gush about Son Oh Gong enough: That character was made for Lee Seung-gi. He's dangerous, clever, romantic, protective, handsome etc, etc. To be honest, I wasn't blown away by Oh Yeon Seo's portrayal of Sun-mi, even though I absolutely loved and enjoyed her character. I found her very easy to sympathize with and enjoyed how feisty and brave she could be. Her backstory was especially touching, and she had a vulnerability I really connected with. I've enjoyed her acting in other series, so I'm not quite sure what was off about her portrayal here (maybe it was how restrained she came across?) either way, I couldn't help but wonder how the series would have been with another actress in that part. She wasn't bad, per se, but I admit I expected better.

However, one thing the Hong Sisters nailed were the side-characters. They were all so funny and ridiculous that you can't help but cheer for their zany little family of misfits. Cha Seung Won, in particular, was PHENOMENAL as Woo Hwi. If you're not a fan of Lee Seung-gi, you can easily watch it for him and not be disappointed. He had SO MUCH FUN portraying that character that it really comes across on-screen. And the zombie girl was PERFECTION.

If colorful characters are something you look for in dramas, then Hwayugi has you covered. 

Now, for it's flaws.

Honestly, I loved everything about it. The side-stories with the "ghost of the week" were fun and quite touching, and I enjoyed the doomsday-plot and felt like there were always high stakes. However, I can't talk about Hwayugi without touching upon its ending. 

For me, I was okay with it, but I know a lot of others took issue and were disappointed... if you want a little more explanation, please see the spoilers below. Otherwise, feel free to skip and read my review's conclusion.

SPOILERS

I know a lot of fans were upset by the ending, but I didn't really have a problem with it. I understand the disappointment (who doesn't like a straight-forward happily-ever-after?) but considering this was based loosely on an ancient Chinese novel, with pre-existing characters that have a history all their own, I could understand and appreciate how it was left open-ended. There is something charming about knowing these characters live on, and still have quite a few adventures awaiting them. 

Because let's be real... we all know Son Oh Gong is going to go and turn the underworld upside down to get her back.

It would have been nice to see it, of course, and to have a better closing scene than him "driving into the sunset" but it is what it is. 

Goblin's ending I despised with a passion, but at least Hwayugi left us with a kick-ass hero hell-bent on rescuing his lady-love from hell. And that's something I can get behind! 

END OF SPOILERS

The only reason this series didn't get a higher score was because of the lackluster ending. I didn't hate it, but I felt like they could have taken it just a small step further. Heck, they could have reused their promo-clips, and it would have been PERFECT. Plus, it wouldn't have cost anything extra, and they had the time. 

In the end, I would sum up the ending as lazy. I didn't think it was particularly bad. Just lacking.

But if perfect endings are your thing, and it's what makes-or-breaks a show for you, then I would potentially look elsewhere. However, if you're more interested in characters and a kick-ass love story, then well, in my humble opinion you can't go wrong with Hwayugi. There's a reason I've watched this entire show twice... and I very rarely ever re-watch dramas. :)

I also made quite a few MVs to this series, so if you want a glimpse into its world, enjoy! ❤️

After you've finished, you can enjoy this reimagining of the ending ^_^