Episode 1 Gif-Cap

by fishy♥tales

In brief:  2 accidents, 2 attempted murders, almost proposal, a forced kiss, gangsters, cops, prosecutors, reporters, sinister doctor, a funeral, secretary without conscience, shady characters aplenty – what wasn't there in the first episode of Big Man? Only a wedding was missing!

What happened? The gist:

Ji Hyuk is a rough talking ex-gangster, who has strong ties with his friend and a restaurant ajummah who is sort of his foster mom.

While working as a substitute driver, he meets Ji Ah, a spoilt brat from a major chaebol family, who is suffering from a major case of ennui.

Her brother Dong Suk is heir apparent and is a secret relationship with an office lady, Mi Ra. He has already had one heart replacement and gets into an accident where it is revealed his current heart is failing. The chaebol parents are sharks who would stop at nothing to save their son, including getting a total stranger included in their family registry so that they can use the stranger's heart for their son.

Ji Hyuk gets attacked by his ex-gang and is admitted in the hospital where he is pronounced brain dead. However, before he can be sliced and his heart plucked out, a junior doctor notices some activity in his eyes and forces a conscience into the senior doctor. A prosecutor with a grudge against daddy Kang gives a tip to some reporters a 'new son' has been added to the registry. Mi Ra meanwhile listens in secret to Mama Kang's rants and finds out Dong Suk needs a heart and is tempted to pull the plug herself on Ji Hyuk when he abruptly and suddenly wakes up.

What worked: the pacing; there was a lot of info but the characters and themes were set up and established quickly in a way that works. The characters are all well drawn out, including the smaller leads -- like the shady secretary who seems to do whatever his boss orders including ordering a hit on a total stranger just so his boss' son can get a new heart. With just a few scenes, we also get a sense of Ji Hyuk and his relationships with the two people in his life – his friend and the restaurant ajummah.

Highlight: the scene in the police station with Ji Hyuk interrogating the other gangster like a cop was hysterical. Would we see the cop again? Their banter was fun to watch. 

What didn't work: the music. It was so odd and quirky -- more in tune to a comedy but instead, it is playing to a dark and melodramatic drama which has dashes of humour. Mi Ra comes across this as a rather bland character, like a dish that looks pretty but has no taste and worse, is long cold. It would be better if Ji Ah is Ji Hyuk's romantic lead rather than Mi Ra; Ji Ah's short scene with Ji Hyuk had more spark than the rather limpid romance between Dong Suk and Mi Ra.

Random observations: what is with the hair? Mama Kang seems to sport the same hairstyle in every single drama she is in – why? Dong Suk's glasses look really fake – if you are going to give a character glasses, shouldn't they at least somewhat real? 

Stuff to ponder about: the drama raises some pretty interesting questions – how far would a parent go for a loved one and is that morally right? The only reason that Ji Hyuk is still alive is thanks to a junior doctor who had the guts to point out the obvious – sometimes, heirachy needs to be challenged.

Up ahead: will Dong Suk wake up or be stuck in the coma for many long episodes? Why was Ji Ah looking for Jang Hyuk – is fauxcest on the horizon?

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