Mama Fairy and the Woodcutter/Tale of Fairy (2018)
Grade:
B-
16 Episodes, 1 Hr each
Viewing
Platform: Viki
Professor Jung Yi-hyun escorts his
undergrad TA Kim Geum home for a special festival night in the
mountains. They stumble across a coffee shop in the middle of the
forest to find a “barista grandma.” The kind, older lady is
actually a 699-year-old fairy named Sun Ok-nam, who looks like an old
grandma at times, and at other times a youthful beauty. She is
looking for her reincarnated husband as well as her winged robe so
she can return to the Celestial Realm. What happens when the fairy
decides to follow the professor back to Seoul, accompanied by her
half-celestial daughter (part human, part tiger, part cat) and her
son (currently in a large egg, going through his first
reincarnation)? Will Jung Yi-hyun and Kim Geum believe Sun Ok-nam?
What happens when Yi-hyun's longtime friend, a fellow professor,
reveals her feelings for Yi-hyun? Will Sun Ok-nam be able to find her
husband before she loses all her powers and fades away from being in
the earthly realm too long? And how are these three connected to
Yi-hyun's haunting nightmares?
*This
kdrama definitely has the feel of a manga, with lots of strange
elements and rules for each new creature that is introduced. It's a
mystery finding out the true identities of the characters, but in an
odd, fantasy-fiction way, and I don't quite feel like I'm on the
right page because of the cultural differences. The drama is based on
a web comic, which is based on an old Korean legend, but only loosely
since the drama does not end tragically. It ends up being a story of
redemption, forgiveness, and love, but it takes quite a while to get
there. So while it does end well, there are lots of slow parts (and
cheesy animation), and an odd flavor to it that is definitely
foreign. Not sure I'd watch this again.*
