REVIEW: Spark
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Re-watch value: 3 out of 5 stars
Synopsis
*partially taken from MyDramaList*
Spark is a mini music drama like a night concert in the summertime, centering on a man who leaks a great deal of electricity after a sudden accident and a woman he can't get away from no matter how hard he tries.
Yoon Ga Ohn (Na Jong Chan) is the leader of successful K-pop group DEXTER. He lost his grandmother one year before his debut. Ga-ohn is desperately trying to get out from underneath a domineering CEO who won't let him write the songs he really wants.
Son Ha Neul (Nam Bo Ra) is a part-time worker just trying to make ends meet in the big city. Her mother died when she was a child, and her father died shortly after a car crash while she alone survived.
Ji Seung (Yeo One) is another member of DEXTER, living in Ga-ohn's shadow and in love with Jae-kyung.
Won Jae Kyung (Joo Da Young) is a solo idol singer who grew up as a trainee alongside Ga-ohn and Ji-seung. She desperately wants Ga-ohn to reciprocate her romantic feelings for him.
Rambling
*beware of spoilers*
I was pleasantly surprised to find out (upon watching the first epi) that this was a mini series, or web drama, so each episode was like at most 10 minutes long, with a total of 12 episodes. I binged right through this thing easy.
I actually quite liked it for what it was; it hit all the sweet spots of a cheeky, bright K-drama. You're not supposed to take it seriously by any means; you're just supposed to sit back and enjoy the cute romance, simple characters, and improbable coincidences.
In point of fact, the parts that dragged the most were the machinations of the CEO and Ji-seung's insecurities. Eh, unimpressive, but then again, it took up all of 5 minutes, too.
Although I'm not sure this was meant to be funny, DEXTER's one featured song and accompanying music video choreography were pretty cringeworthy. It was possibly meant to be a parody of a K-pop group? Unlikely, but then again, it's hard to fake good music without good music.
Na Jong-chan did not do half-bad in his role as Ga-ohn. He was easy on the eyes (being hella tall was also a plus), but his vulnerability during certain scenes was notable. I thought he had great chemistry with Nam bo-ra as Ha-neul. We had an unusual amount of skinship between our leads, a product of having a plot device that made them need to constantly touch (random meteor strikes will do that to you), but no kissing. I didn't really mind that last part.
I'm low-key looking forward to seeing what else Na Jong-chan does. He could become a decent K-drama ~star~
We had a couple supreme "coincidental" encounters that we definitely could have done without, however. The night his grandmother gets hospitalized and dies, Ga-ohn makes his way over to another room, mystically drawn to an unforgettable melody that has him mesmerized and comforted. He hears it again when he visits his grandmother's ashes but just can't find the source, which is Bo-ra singing this second time. He spends the next few years trying to remember the melody. It turns out Bo-ra's dad was singing the melody to her as she was lying unconscious after their car accident, and she always thought she heard the melody in a dream.
AWWWW. That means Ga-ohn saw and heard Bo-ra's dad sing that melody he wrote just for her before he died. It was meant to be! They were meant to be! ::eye roll::
All in all, there are not enough reasons not to watch this baby K-drama. It's just too quick and painless to be a bother. Can't say I'd watch it again...maybe if I need something to watch to drift off to sleep?
Did you see Spark? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!
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