"Temptation" Lures More Viewers

Melodramas sometimes simmer for a while until they get to a slow boil. And that's what seems to have happened with the ratings for "Temptation," starring Kwon Sang Woo, Choi Ji Woo, Lee Jung Jin and Park Ha Sun. The drama hit the double digits this week with 10.0 in the ratings as the four principle characters become fixed in their unfortunate dance of revenge.

The initial couple at the drama's beginning, composed of Kwon Sang Woo and Park Ha Sun, split up and found other partners. Kwon Sang Woo is prepared to let his ex-wife find her own happiness, but she feels betrayed and asks her new husband to destroy not only her ex's life but also that of his new love.

Despite the fact that it was Kwon Sang Woo's actions that set this desire for revenge in motion, the chemistry he displays with actress Choi Ji Woo does make viewers want to root for them.

However, even though "Temptation" proved very tempting, the frontrunner in this week's drama ratings was still "The Night Watchmen." It slipped slightly from 12.2 percent to 12.1 percent from the previous night but has held first place for a while. The poor prince, played by Jung Il Woo, cannot get a break despite his ghost-seeing abilities or his ghostly buddies. Despite his downtrodden state he can't seem to get along with his shaman sidekick Do Ha, played by Go Sung Hee. The two never seem on the same page but there is a lot going on to distract viewers. There's a king who is possessed by a dark spirit, a priest who wants  to resurrect a dragon god, and finally there's a noblewoman who has long adored the prince.

In third place was "Discovery of Love," which described itself as a different kind of romance. It is different but viewers are slow to warm up to it. One way it is different is that the heroine, played by Jung Yu Mi is no innocent. Her character had a five-year relationship and now she's in another. Viewers are not completely sure whether she slept with her ex, played by Eric Moon, around the same time she was intimate with her almost fiancée, played by Sung Joon. The story has a love triangle but it's hard to tell who is the second lead and who will get the girl. Her current man is perfect. Her past man is occasionally arrogant and annoying. Also there are a lot of flashbacks that provide a he-said-she-said view of her past relationship. It's intriguing and entertaining but maybe not everyone's cup of tea.

"Discovery of Love" did rise in the ratings from 5.6 to 6.2 percent. The highest it ever hit was 6.3 percent.