After finishing my 127th series last April, When Life Gives You Tangerines, I really couldn’t really find a K-Drama that could hold my interest. Tried watching a few episodes of Go Min-si and Kang Ha-neul’s romcom but I found it kind of slow. Bon Appetit, Your Majesty seems to be the rage these days but I haven’t picked it up.
My daughter saw a trailer of Genie Make A Wish starring Bae Suzy and Kim Woo Bin and suggested we try watching it. We did. We got hooked right from the first episode. I’ve always had a penchant for dramas with fantasy elements and this fit the bill. Though I disliked their last drama together, Uncontrollably Fond (Suzy’s character was hella annoying), I know that both actors definitely have the chops for whatever material is thrown their way so I had expectations. Add one of my favorite supporting actresses Kim Mi-kyung (best mom / grandma ever!) to the mix and Genie Make A Wish had just about everything needed to be a great drama. And so we watched my 128th series.
Genie Make A Wish is about a psychopathic young woman, Ki Ka-young (Bae Suzy), who was born without emotions. She also has serial killer tendencies. Because of this, her mom abandons her. She leaves Ka-young in a far-flung province with her grandmother (Kim Mi-kyung). Grandma refuses to give up on Ka-young and lovingly does her best to raise her. In fact, she enlists the help of the entire village in raising Ka-young. Thus, Ka-young grows up with boundaries, never giving in to the murderous tendencies she seems to have been born with. Ka-young is extremely smart so she eventually becomes a successful young woman with a college degree, an auto repair shop, and a ton of money from investments and placements she makes.
During a vacation trip to the Middle East, Ka-young finds an old lamp. She unwittingly sets free a genie named Iblis (Kim Woo-bin). Iblis tells her he will grant her 3 wishes. Ka-young amps up the stakes by turning it into a bet — best of 5. Iblis will grant 3 wishes to the next 5 people they meet. If Iblis succeeds in proving that all humans are corrupt, he wins the bet and he can kill Ka-young. Iblis wants to exact revenge because according to him Ka-young is the reason why he was imprisoned in the lamp for 1,000 years. If 3 of 5 wish for unselfish things, then Ka-young wins and Iblis will be punished and imprisoned once again.
As the drama progresses, you realize there is more to all this than meets the eye. Iblis and Ka-young have a long history, but somehow both can’t remember exactly what transpired. Flashes of random memories just come back to both of them from time to time. The pacing is excellent — everything happens quickly, there aren’t any filler episodes. Both Bae Suzy and Kim Woo-bin prove their mettle by giving life to their characters perfectly. Unlike most romances, this series is very very generous with kissing scenes. They are not the lame kind either — they are quite passionate and drawn out.
The final episode does take the edge off the series by suddenly becoming… goofy. This is the only flaw I can point out. It’s such a weird ending. Happy, yes, but quite oddly executed. It doesn’t quite match the intensity of the episodes that led to it.
All in all, Genie Make A Wish is an entertaining ride. Short, sweet, and fun. Got to love the iconic Song Hye-kyo cameo too.
Exclusively available on Netflix.
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