This is the first thing that came into my mind when I was thinking about the title. It’s the best for the time being, since it’s only the first week for all dramas in the Wed-Thu slot. The characters are introduced and presented to us and I know, it’s hard to get to know about the character names and such, especially when the actors and actresses are playing two or more separate characters. So..this week is actually the introduction week for all the characters in Rooftop Prince.

With that reason, it’s a normal thing to have people reacting over the first episode: too draggy, too slow, or not meeting their expectations. I realized, at least myself, finds the first episode almost familiar to me. Not because Rooftop Prince is recycling other dramas or anything; it’s because I’ve known too much details about the drama, and most of them are presented in the first episode.

I believe each and every single person who has been anticipating Rooftop Prince has done the background reading about the synopsis, the characters and even seen the previews. So it’s not that pilot episode fails to meet the expectations, the details and even the scenes are already known and there’s no big surprise to it. I would like to say,  there’s nothing wrong with it and I find it a beautiful first episode.

Phew! I am glad I can let it out of my system. Now onto the first episode.

  

Omo~ how can a girl be so cute like this?! Little Bu Yong/Park Ha (Jeon Min-Seo) is too cute. I keep gushing over her every time she appears on my screen. No wonder her family, both in the past and in the present days dotes on her so much. But poor girl, she gets to have such a cruel sister in both lives. Coincidence much?

  

Hwa Yong and Hong Se-Na (Kim So-Hyun): two different girls, two different eras..but still, both of them are tied to little sisters that become their object of envy. Both of them seems to be one-dimensional, filled with jealousy and rage that drive them to do anything for the sake of their own well-being. I’m looking forward on how both of them are going to cope with the guilt that will kick them in the gut soon. If both of them are too evil to even feel any remorse, then it’s too bad for both of them. I really don’t want to hate her character, but..we’ll see.

Baek Eun-Jo Little Lee Gak (Choi Won-Hong).. I find myself laughing when I replay this scene after watching the whole episode. He states that his future bride must be pretty so that he won’t get tired of her. And several years later…

He does get himself a pretty wife/Crown Princess but she’s not on par with him. Poor Lee Gak, and poor Hwa Yong (Jung Yu-Mi), who has to witness her little sister getting the limelight all the time.

Is Lee Gak (Park Yoochun) flirting with his sister-in-law, Bu Yong (Han Ji-Min)? Probably yes, probably not. Or he’s just amazed with her talent, answering his riddles easily. She’s indeed the perfect match for the intelligent Crown Prince, but she’s denied the chance to even try her luck, thanks to her jealous sister. Imagine if Lee Gak gets to know the truth about the pretty embroidery..then he must be even amazed with her! They even have a pond in the palace that has similar name as hers: Lotus Pond (lotus is Bu Yong/부용 in Korean).

Moving on to the big question: who’s the culprit behind the Crown Princess’ death?

But this scene…it disturbs me so much when I think about it. The embroidery is Bu Yong’s work, so it’s so strange to have the butterfly suddenly coming alive after the Crown Princess’ death and it later becomes the link between Tae-Yong and Park Ha. Though it might seem impossible right now, I do think it’s Bu Yong who was found in the pond. It’s too early to make any assumption, but we shall see how the story is going to be developed for the Joseon era. Maybe Hwa Yong is the culprit??

Here comes the three vassals/minions of the Crown Prince, using their special appointment into government positions to cover the investigation regarding the Crown Princess.

  

Do Chi-San (Choi Woo-Shik) the eunuch makes the best first appearance ever. I thought the director will just ignore the description about him that says “…dressed as a woman to get information…” but they make him do it! Thanks director, and also Kdrama gods, for answering my prayer.

Minho-ya, I’ve never thought that you have this kind of habit…Song Man-Bo (Lee Min-Ho), the genius who can’t do anything because of his status as a concubine’s son and ends up fooling and flirting around before he’s recruited by Lee Gak to join the secret investigation team. I’m curious how he’ll react if he’s to be thrown into a club full of ladies. He must be as happy as a lark then.

The luckiest among the three: Woo Young-Sul (Jung Suk-Won). The bad hair day for him (literally and also the reality) turns to be a lucky day for him as he’s recruited on his supposed-to-be day of death. Not much details about him, except that he can kill multiple men in one blow. Amazing. But is that going to be useful in the present days like now?

Talking about the present days..

  

Lee Gak and Bu Yong’s doppelgangers, Yong Tae-Yong and Park Ha. Amazing how a butterfly from Joseon is flying to the US just like that! Jokes aside, the butterfly must hold a very significant place, whether in the past or in the present. This time, it’s not the red thread that ties the couple: it’s the yellow butterfly. Remember Lee Gak’s riddle for Bu Yong?

What dies when it’s alive and stays alive even when it dies?

I think the answer is a butterfly. On a side note, Park Ha’s English is cute. She makes me believe that she’s been living in the US for quite some time, unlike the characters from other dramas that are supposed to be studying there but knows zero English. haha.

  

 Apart from the sisters rivalry, we also got some cousins rivalry. Tae-Yong’s half-cousin, Yong Tae-Moo (Lee Tae-Sung) who ends up killing him because of greed. To think that he’s now in a relationship with the grown up Se-Na is a funny coincidence. They are adorable, but both of them have too much jealousy and greed in their genes.  It’s not healthy to possess too much of those things, no?

The story goes on…and we get the Joseon lads transported right into Park Ha’s rooftop place. Nice job, fate. If not, I don’t know what would happen to them.

The second episode is the real surprise as little details are known about it. More laughter until I don’t know whether to pity them or just laugh at their reactions.

The most pitiful of the four is indeed the Crown Prince. He turns from a powerful into a powerless man. His underlings also deserve the pity, especially when they have to endure the journey in a truck and keep tumbling inside it. Poor fellows, but they are accustomed to the hardships of living, unlike our Crown Prince. He’s been fed and clothed for his entire life, now he has to work? Ha! Work is a noun that never existed in his life vocabulary before this!

To think that he has to experience hunger and cold..wait, he never imagined this, right? Although if I were the students, I’d give my cup of ramen to him. He looks so pitiful!

Wow, you even studied history. Owww~

Cheer up Lee Gak, you’ve got a compliment over there from Park Ha! Heeee~Though your luck is almost zero in this era..

  

The best line comes from the police officer:

Is this hidden camera?

He looks so scared of them! I bet he’s so relieved to have someone taking responsibility for these four lunatics who keep hovering around him and the police station.

Another thing that cracks me up: Man-Bo’s way of holding the marker pen. Pfffttt. It’s like holding a brush! And they apparently don’t know much about Hangul as it was banned during their time in Joseon..

Congratulations for being so cute and adorable, Man-Bo. And for making Park Ha feed all of you. You too, Chi-San.

  

This is why I said earlier that they’re fortunate to come through Park Ha’s place: because she’s a kind girl. Too kind, but that’s a plus point for her and the lads. They should be thankful to her for making delicious o-mu-ra-i-su for them, after licking the plates and such..but that’s not the case for them.

The disaster begins with the humble subjects trying to open the bottle for the dearly prince, and they freak out over the TV, the talking rice cooker and the talking bear before Young-Sul decides to ‘kill’ the innocent bear. Pretty impressive for them to tear down the place in a short time. Park Ha, you should reconsider explaining about ‘the quiet and safe from the fire’ house to your new neighbors. Plus, with these four in the vicinity..

These people’s lives will never be the same like before.

The birth of the Yellow, Blue, and Green Uncles, plus Mr. Crown Prince. Oh. Genius Park Ha for taking their precious robes as captives and dresses them in the tracksuits. She even makes them work to pay for the damages! Of course, minus Mr. Crown Prince. Funny how they are still freaking out because of her ringtone.

  

I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry during this scene. It’s supposed to be a touching scene, with the Crown Prince finding someone who looks like his Crown Princess (Se-Na), but then he bumps himself on the glass door. Pretty hilarious, but that looks so painful. And then he regains consciousness and goes running out, searching for her. His search is meaningless and he’s left talking about his sadness with his vassals. They look like lunatics, kneeling like that in the public, and Park Ha isn’t going to keep up with their drama anymore. Then, she twists his nose! Hahaha! Poor prince!

  

Lee Gak, since when you’re so cute like this?!

Park Ha’s flaming red cheeks. LOL.

  

NO. Don’t make me ship both of you so early. Just…don’t. But…ahhh…so cute!!!

Another great but little disgusting moment of realization..

..when Man-Bo thinks back about what he did during the fire. He drank from the toilet bowl and even gave it to Young-Sul to put out the fire. Ewww. I’m sure Young-Sul will run after him with his sword if he is to know about the truth. Heee~

The second episode are mostly filled with the Joseon lads and their adventures around the city with Park Ha, and I’m sure more details about the second leads are coming our way in the next episodes. I’m still hoping Tae-Moo is a kind man at heart, but..

..he’s going down the stereotype path of an evil second lead, I guess. I am afraid he’ll do something to Park Ha after he remembers her from his meeting with Tae-Yong, but luckily this is no Joseon, where people can kill and get killed so easily. It’s weird how Tae-Moo isn’t someone reincarnated from the past. Or..is he?

  

His lover is also the evil step sister, but Se-Na is brave enough to display and say aloud what she feels to some people. Like her case with Park Ha. She sees her as a possible threat to her status in front of Tae-Moo’s family, so she shoos her away. Pretty evil, but that’s straightforward and probably better than having to see her harboring deep hatred towards her.

Se-Na does look younger than Park Ha, and the logic is there: because the little sister works harder than her older sister. Like what the mother said: Park Ha takes the loans for her business, while Se-Na takes them for her handbags and shoes. That just shows how different their lives are.

Remember them from their past appearances in dramas? Tae-Yong’s grandma (Ban Hyo-Jung) = Hwan’s grandma in Shining Inheritance. Se-Na’s mother (Song Ok-Sook) = Do Dam-Daek in Tree with Deep Roots. Tae-Moo’s father (Ahn Suk-Hwan) = Lee Shin Jeok in Tree with Deep Roots. And the biggest surprise..Joo-Won’s mom in Secret Garden (Park Joon-Geum) is also here! Is she going to be Tae-Yong’s mother? I’m truly glad to see the familiar faces in this drama!

Another one…

Ha! Lady Mimi (Kang Byul) is the one who became Joowon’s wife/lover here! I’m looking forward how this manhwa artist is going to cope with Young-Sul’s interest in her 🙂

So..is Lee Gak going to live as Tae-Yong? Or is he going to continue picking strawberries for Park Ha? Too many questions, but we can only wait now..just don’t leave your shoes when you’re riding the bus, kids!