Crack of the Century!

Have you ever encountered a show so utterly perfect, it is like it's been tailor-made for you? That's how I feel when I watch this show, where the story unfolds like a well-worn romance novel, the one that looks like origami from all the handling. And by perfect, of course I don't mean in a flaw-less way (a ne plus ultra it is not), but a show with a compendium of tropes and stock characters I luuuurrve, played out *just* the way I like it. Predictable, but in a good way.

In case you missed the subtext: THIS SHOW IS FRIGGIN' AWESOME AND OMG EVERYONE SHOULD WATCH IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!! Crack, thy name is Bride of the Century, and your existence has me lying in bed, ruminating on the possibility of time travel, because dammit, I need my episodes NOW.

Sketchy summary: Mr. Darcy meets Spunky Girl, thus resulting in The Thawing of the Ice Man, and hijinks ensue! 

Chlo-Meter:  STOKED

THE STORY

Meet Doo Rim. She has a thousand jobs (okay, just three), loves counting money, and dreams of a better life for grandma and herself. She's quite like all the other 365784574385 Spunky Girls before her in dramaland, but it's okay, I love her because she is one FIERCE NINJA.

MOFOS WHO THINK THEY CAN GET AWAY RIPPING OFF URI DOO RIM????

He then touches her cheek and tells her how cute she is. Ugh, the slimeball.

After five minutes of personal, "one-on-one" time...

The very same mofos, now thanking her for taking their money. LOL.

But those guys? Pah, they're nothing. Real trouble comes in the form of her dead ringer - Yi Kyung - and she is everything Doo Rim is not: Rich, entitled, and superrr haughty. And now, after being severely underwhelmed by her marriage partner, she's gone missing!

Don't look for me, mom. I need some time to think this over," she says in her letter.

Shit, says mom. This can't happen, the family business is at stake! THE ARRANGED MARRIAGE MUST GO ON. Conveniently, Yi Kyung's oppa remembers seeing someone that looks EXACTLY like her sister, and after a lightbulb moment, he sets out to find her. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Fast-forward to Doo Rim taking Yi Kyung's place, because, er, what else are doppelgangers good for? As Doo Rim sits through a crash course on the intricacies of being in Korea's high society, she comes face-to-face with a sobering question: "Which fork?"

After intense training sessions from oppa and a makeover, it's D-day, time to meet Yi Kyung's fiance and his family. Like Yi Kyung, Doo Rim is wholly unimpressed upon meeting her intended.

Meet Kang Joo, a workaholic with a tin for a heart. He basically runs in two modes:

1) Dr. Jekyll - the epitome of good breeding. Filial son, gracious lover, courteous host, etc.

Sigh, isn't he the sweetest?

Now, FORGET EVERYTHING YOU'VE SEEN. BECAUSE MODE TWO:

2) Mr. Hyde - or as I call it, Jeremy channeling his favorite hyung. Fierce!

Him staring daggers, with a sizeable entourage following behind...

NOW TELL ME IF THIS DOESN'T GIVE YOU YAB FLASHBACKS.

He pretty much treats Yi Kyung like dirt, since he thinks that she's waaaaaaay beneath him in terms of status, her family a mere upstart compared to his illustrious three-generations enterprise. His condescending behavior pissed Yi Kyung to no end, and now that Doo Rim's taken over the role, things are looking no different.

It's just that this imposter, well, she has the balls (or is it the lunacy?) to take his patronizing shit and SHOVES IT IN HIS FACE. Look at her, all gangstah, threatening him with a fist.

Then she remembers that she's Yi Kyung, elegant, subservient, and poised. Oops.

Her setting the "boundaries" of their relationship:

So let's not do anything of the hanky-panky sort, she says, the very image of a chaste and demure lady from Cheongdam-dong.

She then hastily leaves his room.

... leaving him all bewildered and confused. He's like, did she just not want to kiss me? But I'm ME!
It's the cutest thing ever.

Dating Doo Rim has been an eye-opener for Kang Joo, wherein he learns something new everyday. Things like... peeling onions.... and digging up dirt.

And every time she orders him around, he'd give her a look of utter disbelief as he mutters something along the lines of, But I'm the friggin' heir to Taeyang Group!! 

But then he does whatever he's told anyway ^___^

Through a series of said shenanigans, Kang Joo finds himself awake at night, experiencing something uncomfortable, something called feelings. It's a steep learning curve.                                                          
The dynamics of their relationship, summed up in one GIF:

THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE SHOW.