EMERGENCY COUPLE: EPISODE 1

The new tvN romantic comedy Emergency Couple debuted on Friday, January 24, and plays Fridays and Saturdays on tvN (The Variety Network). DramaFever has the exclusive license in the U.S.for the first month, so don't expect to see it on any other site for awhile. You can watch the trailer below: [I took the liberty of finding the trailers that has been subbed for you!]

****WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD****

RECAP:

The show opens with a scene of the bride and groom running through the street in slow motion, with a sweet song playing. They arrive at a church and announce their wedding, and the priest officiates an impromptu ceremony. A wedding picture is shown, and their happy expressions turn to those of disgust.

They start arguing about little things. About how he cannot develop a positive mindset, as she becomes more and more ill and listless. He resents having to clear the dog bowl. She develops a widening bald spot. We learn that everyone in his family is a doctor, and his family does not approve of her. These scenes are explained in front of a therapist.

He goes out and sells pharmaceuticals to make ends meet. She sits at home and looks over divorce papers, but resolves to try and save their marriage one last time. After work, he goes to the bar and drinks with his friends, dances with another woman, and karaokes to Psy's�"Champion". She is left at the house to ruminate whether or not he is trying to poison her with the pills he advised her to take. He drunkenly stumbles home in the rain.

When he gets home, he finds his fish dead, and blasts her verbally for not feeding them. In revenge he destroys something of hers, and it snowballs from there into an orgy of destruction. When a cellphone is hurled against their wedding photo and the frame falls to the floor and shatters, an ominous moment overtakes them when they realize it's over.

Six years later, he is to sing at a friend's wedding. Unbeknownst to him, his ex-wife is on piano. When he finds this out, he tries to leave, but he can't, because she is parked in front of him. They argue about that as well, which explodes into another yelling match.

He leaves to attend a family dinner, where he and his mother are the black sheep of the family and are insulted by the aunt and uncle. She drinks with her friends and is rushed to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. Ironically, it is the same hospital where they both are interning, and they have to somehow learn to work side by side.

****End Spoilers****

Two cast members are fresh off the set of The Heirs -- Choi Jin Hyuk, who played the older brother in that drama, and Park Joon Geum, who again plays his mother. A great surprise was Yoon Joo Sang, from Iris and School 2013, who played the priest. While I recognized a handful of actors, I was disappointed in their performances. I found the characters to be overwrought -- much more like they were hamming it up than genuinely trying to convey emotions. I don't expect emotional depth in a comedy per se, but I expect it to be semi-believable.

However, I will say that the cinematography was quite well done. Transitions between scenes were handled nicely, with interesting shots and some non-standard angles. I never got bored waiting for one scene to end. ��

I didn't see this as much of a romantic comedy. It seemed much more like a black comedy, with sickness, despair and vice being laughed at. Their constant bickering was played for laughs, but I found very few laughs in it.

There were a couple points where I laughed out loud, but overall it felt very dark. There aren't really any characters to like in here, and if the characters aren't likeable, what is the draw? While fans of Choi Jin Hyuk might watch, I'm not sure that's enough.

The Jury's still out. Did I enjoy it enough to watch it again? Yes. Despite my misgivings, I'm curious how this turns out. I hope they find enough freshness to pour into each episode, so that as a whole it stands out against the rest. The actors are too good for their talents to be wasted. This comedy is in serious need of CPR.

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