ATHENA

I was a big fan of IRIS -- actually I'm a big fan of spy series. I was excited when the news came out that there would be an IRIS spin off. I had high expectations about Athena but I was left disappointed after watching the series. The first episode brought lots of guns and action and I loved it especially the scene of Son Hyuk and that martial artist but after episode 1 I kind of felt like Athena wasn't living up to the people's my expectations that it would be much much better than IRIS.

There were a lot of almost useless scenes like the 15 minute dream sequence of Jung Woo and Hae In. I was like "oh yeah this scene is great" but I was like WTF? when it brought us back to Jung Woo......who had fallen asleep at NTS ---- so yeah it was a dream and it took out almost a quarter of the episode. It would have been okay if they shortened it. Next one was the kidnapping of the president's daughter. Yeah it was all about the SNC that is vital to the completion of the nuclear technology the president was developing  but we didn't even see the president's daughter in the later episodes or shall I say the plot in Italy really didn't make a huge impact in the later episodes. I respect BoA as an artist but her cameo was sooo MEH. It would have been better if one of her staffs were part of Athena but no ---- the whole point about BoA's cameo was her speakers were used as a transport channel by the terrorists. That's it and it took us almost 2 episodes to figure that out. BoA and Jung Woo also had this some sort of "date" in Japan which I thought was soo out of the picture. The last one was Son Hyuk and Jae Hee's love scene. IT HAS NO SIGNIFICANCE. Well it would have been better if Son Hyuk fell in love with Jae Hee (I was rooting for them after it was repeatedly shown that Jung Woo was head over heals with Hae In) in the later episodes but he too was lovesick with Hae In.

But I have to agree that Cha Seung Won is H-O-T.

One thing I also dislike about Athena was their OH SOOOO ANTI-CLIMACTIC SCENES at the end of almost each episode. They really had the knack of extracting those excitement and thrill out of you at the end of each episode. At some point, you feel the thrill and the next one you don't and vice versa.

Athena's cast was good and I think the cast was better than IRIS but maybe it was just the poor creative writing that made them --- their characters looked bad. Jung Woo (Jung Woo Sung)  is like a bipolar agent. He's sometimes idiotic with his rash behavior (remember when Hae In was 'kidnapped" and he stole the SNC to give to Athena in exchange for Hae In) as an agent but sometimes he can also be the "super" agent type or sometimes he's a clueless git. I really don't believe he's a super spy. He was more like an excellent police officer I mean the vibe he gave off in the series it was nothing like a great spy. I gotta commend Su A in this drama. She really did great in her role as a bad ass spy but there was something lacking in her character. Now let's cut to the chase. The only reason why I watched this series till the end it's because of:

KIM MIN JONG: Dammit. *daydreams* ♥

Quite a long introduction as to the reason why I watched the series eh? =D Yeah, it's because of KIM MIN JONG! He plays a funny and formerly "skilled" North Korean elite spy who defected to the South. I loved his role in Athena though it's somewhat like on the verge of non existent. Eventually, I became his overnight fan! ♥ Just wished he had more scenes. The North Korean agents storyline of Athena was far more interesting than it's main storyline.

I'm a Super Junior fan so how could I forgot Choi Siwon's awesome perf in this drama. Though same as Kim Min Jong, he also had minimal scenes but he saved the day in Episode 8 and I love it~! And oh, he's "noona" moment was AWESOME! 

His unrequited love for Jae Hee.

Such a cutie.

I commend Athena for being a greater "evil" than IRIS. They had grander terrorist methods than IRIS.

If you want to watch Athena, you might want to watch the episode in Italy, episode 8, episode 14 and I think the last few episodes or else maybe you'll just find yourself asleep at the end of the other episodes.

Soo disappointed.