The new drama cycle is revving up, and we’ve got one early bird premiering ahead of the pack. Fantasy manhwa adaptation Bride of the Water God 2017 is on its way, heralding a brand new crop of shows that’ll hopefully be as good as the last. Or wait, should I be hoping that there will be fewer shows to capture my fancy and suck up all of my time? Nah, why on earth would I wish for that?
Bride of the Water God 2017
Time slot: Monday & Tuesday
Broadcaster: tvN
Genre: Fantasy, manhwa adaptation
Episode count: 16
Reasons to watch: Bride of the Water God 2017 is taking an interesting approach by making its drama adaptation a spinoff set in 2017 rather than staying faithful to the historical setting of the original work, and the thing I’m most curious about is how this modern-day version will put its own spin on the beloved historical fantasy manhwa. Frankly there’s no better writer for the job than Jung Yoon-jung, who adapted Misaeng for television and also penned the fantasy historical drama Arang and the Magistrate, full of otherworldly realms and capricious gods. Combined with a stylish directorial flair from PD Kim Byung-soo (Bubblegum, Three Musketeers, Nine, Queen In-hyun’s Man), I expect the mythology and world-building to be done well.
Nam Joo-hyuk stars as a water god named Habaek who finds his bride in 2017, and more than the romance, I’m looking forward to the fish-out-of-water antics from the mighty water god who can’t seem to navigate his way around newfangled gadgets and busy city life. Despite the fact that he refers to his bride, Shin Se-kyung, as his “servant,” she assumes he has mental issues and seems to pity him. It’s reminiscent of the relationship in Rooftop Prince, where the hero is an imperious Joseon prince who becomes a useless baby when he time-travels to the present day, so that’s a reversal I will enjoy immensely. I guess I just like my gods brought down to earth and made human, warts and all.