“Bakit ganito yung ending ng Bridal Mask?” – a post of a friend I read on my news feed. One single post that fires up my curiosity about this drama.
I’ve been planning to watch this series long time ago. It’s on my queue but was not my priority until I read that post. I was so damn curious how did it end up the way she doesn’t want it to be that after a few hours, I met Gaksital.
I follow a Tumblr account that was screencapping this series before. I know it is some sort of an action series but never really grasp even a slight from its plot. Didn’t even know that it is a period drama.
Bridal Mask is set during the Japanese colonial era in Korea. It follows the story of Lee Kang To (played by Joo Won), a Korean police officer who works for the Japanese government. Indeed, a traitor of his own land, he even adapted the Japanese name Sato Hiroshi to pledge his loyalty to Japan. This and that happens and the former traitor comes to wear the bridal mask to avenge his family and fight against the Japanese brutality.
The plot is too amazing for me to write. Even a non-Korean national like me will have a greater sense of patriotism after watching this series (but maybe the fact that we, Filipinos also suffered under the hands of the Japanese rule contributed as well).
I didn’t know that the Japanese colonization in Korea was that long (thirty years). Filipinos experienced only a tenth of their sufferings. No wonder there are series like Bridal Mask. Sigh. A complicated Asian history, indeed.
Bridal Mask, I can say, is a masterpiece. The story, the acting, the OST, everything is just so amazing. Watching this 28-episode drama is definitely not a waste of time. Joo Won’s performance in this series is daebak. I immediately became a fan. This drama also made me view Park Ki Woong, whom I first saw act in Full House Take 2, on a different side. I didn’t know that he can act that well.
It’s also quite refreshing to watch a series set on a different time frame. I watched a lot of historical and modern Korean dramas but Bridal Mask is my first period Kdrama set on 1930s.
Tears will fall, I assure you that (if you’re not the stone-hearted type of person, of course). There’s even a scene where Ki Woong’s character (Lee Kang To’s bestfriend), Kimura Shunji wasn’t supposed to shed even just a single tear but Ki Woong couldn’t help it and tears spilled down his face from a burst of emotion. They needed to have a break before resuming the shooting. I can’t blame Ki Woong. That scene was indeed a tearjerker.
If there’s one thing that I found lacking, I think it’s the romance part. I don’t know. Maybe I just don’t like the actress that much. I’m not saying she’s not good. She actually did a pretty good job. The love team just failed to appeal to me that much.
About the ending (the thing that I was very curious about), I don’t agree with my friend. There is no better way to end this drama. It’s definitely not that perfect happily ever after but it’s the kind of ending that leaves a mark and will definitely move you and will make you feel great that you have just finished watching a great drama series.
All in all, I highly recommend this series. Watch Bridal Mask and get ready to BINGO!
