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Yes, Well . . .

I actually tried watching the k-drama Guardian: The Great and Lonely God a couple of years ago, but certain aspects of the story aggravated me, so I stopped around episode four. Since it has been touted as such a great series I decided to go back and give it another try, and at last saw the whole thing.

This is a Korean style paranormal romance, with a somewhat abrasive literary overtone that I really didn't care for much. The fact that a beyond wealthy, pretty omnipotent immortal falls for a poor, abused high school girl while knowing her situation sucks, and really doesn't do much to help her (and even subtly torments her now and then), likewise did not set well with me. I admit, I dislike Cinderella stories; a woman in a bad situation doesn't need a fairy godmother or even a prince to save her -- she just needs to get away from her family and work for herself.

The bromance between the lead male character and his nemesis was cute at times, but got too much focus, and distracted from the main romance. The plotting was unoriginal and misogynistic to a degree I found rather breathtaking, considering the drama's writer is female, and rather tiresome. Finally, the pacing. Goodness. Glaciers move faster.

If you're willing to put up with all that, then Guardian isn't an unwatchable series. Gong Yoo does a fine job of portraying Kim Shin, a general betrayed and basically murdered by the king he served, who is sentenced to immortality for all of the lives he took on the battlefield. That I thought was plausible. That he walks around for nine hundred years with his own sword sticking out of his chest (literally and metaphorically) is a less believable pricetag, but I went along with that, too. He still manages to be convincing, although at times I got the feeling he was rolling his eyes between takes.

The echoes of the past return to haunt him as he meets Ji Eun Tak (very artfully portrayed by Kim Go-eun) the abused high school girl, who becomes his first love. Cinderella isn't helpless, and up to this point does a fine job of dealing with her sucky life, but as soon as Kim Shin steps on stage suddenly she becomes helpless and clingy. That I also found a little offensive to women. This is also the point when the whole series slants to the petty and mean, so I'll stop here. I don't even know if I should recommend this series, but it may be worth a watch for the Cinderella lovers. Available on Viki.com.

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