First impressions: The Legend of the Blue Sea

The first time I watched this was a few years ago. I dropped and forgot about it until recently. I powered through a few episodes, and thus this post is born.

The story focuses on the historical and modern-day love story of Shim Cheong (Jun Ji-hyun), a mermaid, and Heo Joon-jae (Lee Minho), a witty con artist. It focuses on rebirth, fate, and unrequited love. The modern-day tale parallels the story of their Joseon-era incarnations.

So far, there is nothing different than what you would find in a classic Korean rom-com. The male lead is intelligent, handsome, and influential. The female lead is… ditzy, kind, and pretty.

I’m just doing to dive into what irked me about this.

Shim Cheong is a mermaid who meets Joon-jae in Spain. After they part ways and Shim Cheong erases Joon-jae’s memory, they reunite in Seoul.

Shim Cheong, I guess, is a fish out of water; she has difficulty navigating throughout the city, and her actions are just fishy to everyone. Thanks to a bit of luck, she finds Joon-jae. He keeps her around because he believes Shim Cheong is the reason or knows something behind why he couldn’t remember anything when he was in Spain.

I understand that Shim Cheong is supposed to be confused. But I felt like it was exaggerated at times, which makes her just seem… dumb. She literally bites another girl who is interested in Joon-jae.

Shim Cheong is just a comedic character. Sometimes she’s funny; sometimes her actions are a little too cringe for me.

So, I can let Shim Cheong’s character slide. What boggled my mind was how the men around her, who have no idea about her circumstances, are somehow entranced by her.

Tae-oh, a genius hacker who hangs around Joon-jae, develops a crush on her because she’s cute? I mean, she is pretty, but I don’t know about falling for someone who asks everyone in the room if she’s married to them.

Also, how is Joon-jae so rich? Yes, he’s a con man but… how has he not been arrested already…?

That being said, I think I’ll continue sticking around. The pacing is pretty good; Joon-jae has already developed feelings for Shim Cheong. So, hopefully it won’t start to drag. But I guess we’ll see. I’m also interested to see where the story’s going to go.