Dream High 2: Too Much of This, Too Little of That

To give up or not to give up?

They say you should never compare a  second season of a show from it predecessor–especially when the previous one has an entirely different cast and story. BUT… sometimes you just can’t avoid it particularly if the first one came without so much hype but ended up leaving a very huge mark that the second season just fails miserably.This, my friends, is what is happening with me on Dream High season 2.

Dream High 2 finally premiered last January 30, 2012 and while first episode left me wanting more, the second one left me cringing. Episode 1 did a decent job of introducing the characters and while majority of the acting is forgettable (ehem Kahi, ehem JB), it reminded me one of the aspects of the first season that I loved so much: performances. Sadly, by the second episode and I think it would be recurring in the whole season,  performances also became the downside of the show.

It’s becoming evident that the second season would be capitalizing on performances especially that this season’s idol cast are more vocally talented (Ailee, Hyorin, Jin Woon). In fact, the whole show is starting to look like a very long music video. The hoolalas and the sound effects are so calculated that it makes the whole show look so scripted (well it’s scripted). And man, I do not even know how and why there is such a need for those musical segments. *cue Trouble Maker*

Where or where is the HEART that made the first season so endearing? Yes. Heart is what is missing so far from this show. Maybe the 2nd season has a heart but the way of delivery is so different that it doesn’t transcend to me. In my opinion, the directors became too focused on making the leads look  good and convincing themselves that they are making a musical show that they forgot even musicals need a good story and heart for it to make sense.

Really? This? (credits to dramabeans.com)

Decision time: to give up or not to give up? Ugh. Even Shut Up Flower Boy Band is doing better than this show! But since I love the franchise, I’ll try tho hold on and pray that there will be a turn of events. If Episode 3 turns out to be another extended version of every Kpop song I know, I am afraid I might drop watching it altogether.