Trinta e Nove (2022)

Thirty-nine is a slow paced, “eventless” drama that focuses on the characters and their relationships, when faced with a tragedy that cannot be stopped, while trying to keep their lives moving.

Honestly speaking, half way through the show I was not sure what exactly happened. Each episode was rather repetitive with just a few details changed here and there. I felt like the drama lacks focus, the core plot that would drive the characters forward. Rather, we had different stories for different characters that seemed separate in their tone.

While the drama does a really good job at presenting the friendship between the three female leads, I can’t do anything about being disappointed with the romance. Son Ye Jin and Yeon Woo Jin have little on screen chemistry, and their characters do not present an interesting dynamic to watch. Chan Young and Jin Seok’s situation is too over the top and makjang like for this type of a story. Joo Hee and Hyun Joon were the only pairing that worked well on screen, had great chemistry and a well built romance that was entertaining to follow, but with each episode, it got less and less screen time.

The disappointing love lines could be forgiven if they were not such an integral and important part of the plot, taking quite a portion of the screen time. Not to mention, realistically speaking, not every character needs a love line of their own.

Since the show tackles so many different issues, most of them are not explored enough. Some of the topics introduced are adoption (relationship between the child, biological parents and adoptive parents, views of the society on the adoptees, identity issues revolving around it), terminal illness (pain it causes the person who has it and their family/friends, accepting the inevitable, different choices concerning treatment or lack of it), emotional cheating and complicated romantic relationships, starting over with new passions and dreams at 39, and honestly speaking, probably more.

Even though the drama has three female leads, it’s a fact that Son Ye Jin stole all the spotlight. Jeon Mi Do’s portrayal of Jeong Chan Young did not leave any room for improvement, especially taking into consideration the complex situation the character was in.
While I enjoyed Kim Ji Hyun a lot, the character was written in a way that required less work. She did amazing with what was given for her, sadly she was often kept on the sidelines. Jang Joo Hee was there to fill the space as a 3rd friend. Which is a bummer, since the history of that character would perfectly fit into the story if utilized correctly.

The production was great, though the story telling itself could have been improved. Some essential information about the characters and their relationships could have been explored a little bit earlier - keeping me in the dark didn’t make me more curious about the plot, but rather frustrated me, since I did not understand the context of the events happening on screen. Another thing that kind of bothered me closer to the end of the show - they did not care about realism. Made sure everyone looks stunning and has full make up, not matter the circumstances the characters were going through.

The original songs, while truly good, were exactly what one would expect from a drama like that. None caught my attention, but they did fit the scenes they were played for.

Overall, it’s a really slow drama with a great beginning that loses the spark around the middle point. It had some great heartwarming moments, but a few gems cannot make this drama amazing. If only the middle part was as good as the last episode, which was truly a masterpiece.

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Don't be fooled by the cast or ratings

I'm going to start off by saying that I think the rating for this drama is higher than it deserves & is high because of the great acting, which was the saving grace of the drama & part of the reason why I didn't drop it (the other reason being that I had nothing else to watch while it was airing.)

I think most of us thought that this was going to be a nice drama full of fun moments between the three friends & that wasn't what we got (though that isn't the reason why I feel the way I do about this drama). I didn't have a problem with this story being Mijo centric, though I did find her character bland, as she dealt with the sad news about her friend. However, it was off-putting that Joo Hee, who I personally thought was the most interesting character of the three, was pushed aside & that screen time was for Seon Woo & his sister. (I didn't care for that arc at all nor thought that it added anything to the story.)

I would say my biggest issue with this drama was that I wasn't able to feel a connection to the characters, like they were telling me that I should feel sad (or a certain emotion) about what was happening & I didn't feel much (& I'm a sensitive person.) The acting was great but not enough to make me feel for the characters or story. In particular, it was difficult to really feel bad for Chanyoung when they used her illness as a way to justify her actions, including the emotional cheating. (Also, just because Jin Seok's wife was terrible it doesn't make his unfaithfulness okay.) I know some said this drama was showing realistic actions yet sometimes it was over-the-top that it didn't feel realistic. For example, the scene when they broke the window to the bakery & the bakery owner was pretty calm about it once hearing the reason behind it.

This had potential to be good yet the writing & direction fell flat. The start was okay & the ending was decent, but it's not a must watch or something I'd recommend. I don't remember any of the songs used & I had no choice but to give it a 1 for the rewatch value.

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It's 20 stories mashed into one...

The drama was a one big tournament of who had it the worst. Whose misery is worse than the next person? Who should be the saddest? Who is the least fortunate? It was a constant competition where everyone was competing for these misery points. This is the drama's biggest downfall, having a handful of "sad" stories competing against the main story of the trio. It misses up with the emotional direction the characters were meant to carry and shifts the focus outside the scoop of the drama. It was nothing but laughable and disingenuous when a certain character had to react to 2 sad events at once. The problem also extends to the casual relationships of everyone around them. There was simply just too much interference with the main story to make the drama work. Outside of the misery, there were a few romantic plot-lines that didn't have a place but was forced anyway. Mi Jo & Seon Woo had a full romance story along side all of the sadness going around. It wouldn't be much of a problem if it was good but their story and romance was tasteless, uncomfortable, tacky and most importantly, lacking the chemistry, easily the worst part of the drama. The drama was also leaning a bit too much onto throwing in a handful of plot conveniences when it really didn't need to. These instances could've been written naturally and it wouldn't stick out as much. The most obvious example was Seon Woo's introduction and his initial connection to other characters. The drama sure does look pretty and attractive but lacks a defining identity. The main trio were good while the rest of the support cast were okay.

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I'm not crying, my eyes are just teary :")

Even though I cried when watching the story, too bad, this drama isn't written well and it has more cons than pros.

Pros:
1. Okay. The last episode is the best episode. It really makes me cry.
2. This drama really knows how to make the watchers keep watching till the end of the drama.
3. Jeon Mido.

Cons:
1. I don't know it's me who fell asleep when watching it or there's a really big titanic plot hole. One of the examples: The death of someone isn't explained well. Is it death because of an accident or a disease?
2. Unnecessary romance. If only the writer removed the romance aspect and went with a story full of friendship, I believe this drama would be super interesting and touching.
3. Loose plot. I believe this drama can only have 6 episodes with a solid plot instead of 12 loose-plot episodes.
4. Incompleted anti-climax. Bruh, there are a ton of conflicts that don't get solved well, unless this drama has its 2nd season.
5. Because of its loose plot, the drama can be boring in the middle.
6. Glamorous life of its characters doesn't match the theme of this drama. I believe "friendship" + "struggling in life, escaping from poverty" would make a better combination.

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More than just a drama about friendship

This will be a relatively short review because I don’t want to write spoilers and I think reviewers have written most of what is to expect.

Like most reviewers, the friendship shared by the 3 women (main leads) was amazing. I don’t think I’ll be able to find friends like that in my entire life. Their love lives were toned down a lot, as in everything about their love lives was almost smooth-sailing, because this drama was supposed to focus more on their friendship.

For me, such dramas on friendships of a group of main leads would usually just be about their lives plus incidents here and there throughout and it will make up the entire show, so I actually did not expect the loss the main leads had to experience in this drama. Neither the title nor the synopsis gave this idea, but the preparations towards, the sheer overwhelming loss itself, the very believable acting of the main leads and the OST called That’s All sung by Choi Yuri – all of which made my tears literally flowed from episode 2 to the end of the show. I especially liked the ample amount of time given to the preparations of the loss. I think they were portrayed realistically albeit sadly and a reminder to us again that life is short and unpredictable.

The entire vibe of the drama was sad yet very heartwarming because of the heartfelt dialogues and actions between the main leads. I didn’t find this drama slow-paced except one or at most two episodes when nothing new was happening. You would still keep going, nevertheless, because you would want to see the ending despite knowing what would happen - this drama has this charm.

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Emocionante!

"Foi mais do que suficiente para mim. Eu fui amada pelos meus pais, eu fui cuidada pelo homem que eu amo, e minhas amigas... Eu recebi tanto amor das minhas amigas... Mais do que suficiente. Graças a vocês, minha vida não poderia ter sido melhor."

Tudo tão lindo!
Eu amei esse drama, a história, a amizade das meninas, o romance e o final.
Chanyoung, Mijo e Joohee nos ensinou o sentido da vida e é isso que importa!
Joohee foi minha personagem favorita! Tão pura, um amor de pessoa!
Chorei horrores mas valeu a pena ♥

Vi que teve muita gente que se decepcionou, pois imaginavam antes de assistir que o drama seguiria um rumo diferente. Mas eu sinceramente gosto de ser surpreendida, se tudo vai como eu imagino é legal, mas não trás tantas emoções, essa é a minha opinião.

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I loved the friendship between the women.

I don’t know why I kept avoiding this drama because I was immediately hooked because of the three strong female leads. I loved how their friendship stayed at the forefront throughout the drama. Even the moms were strong and they had strong family support.

I also liked how the men in their lives let them be who they were and respected their friendship.

I’m not sure how to say this but even though one of their friends dies, it was still a feel good story.

I was glad that the bad parents didn’t get in the way of their relationships.

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A+

Je ne mattendais pas du tout à ca ! Je cherchais un drama léger avec des personnages matures. C'est à l'opposé d'une comédie romantique mais c'est tellement bien scénarisé, réalisé et joué que je lai regardé en 3 jours! Malgré le synopsis dramatique ( une des 3 amies va apprendre quelle souffre d'un grave cancer) , on se sent surtout réconforté en visionnant cette série. C'est écrit de manière à ce que l'on vive de la tristesse ( préparer vos mouchoirs) mais pas de l'abattement . Cela me semble réaliste au niveau des réactions du clan et certaines scènes qui seraient difficiles a regarder nous sont épargnées donc n'ayez pas peur. C'est une ode à l'amour !!!! Peu importe la forme qu'elle prend. Si vous chercher de la mièvrerie, des bisous et de la sensualité, passer votre tour. Mais si vous avez le goût d'un drama qui vous donnera le goût de fermer votre tv et d'aller Vivre !! Vous aller adorer.
En bref, ce kdrama m'a fait une forte impression. On dirait qu'une équipe de thérapeutes et scénaristes on fait équipe pour que cette série soit parfaite dans son genre et puisse même aider ceux qui traverserait une épreuve similaire.

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Slow & Boring

This was a disappointment for me. It was slow and boring.

The acting is stellar. Especially from Lee Moo Saeng. He played SML Jin Seok and I felt him in all of his scenes. He emotes very well. I was more interested in his and 2FL Chan Young's story than the main relationship.

At any rate, I wanted to watch this drama b/c I thought it was an ensemble piece about older, female friendship but it's just a sob story about FL Mi-Jo and her anxiety. The writers put more weight on that than a woman dying of pancreatric cancer. And yes I get that Son Ye Jin was the star and the series was made for her but this had so much wasted potential in the friendship arena. Plus they almost competely left out the 3rd FL Kim Ji Hyun who played Joo Hee in most instances where friendship matters.

I wanted something more adult honestly, sometimes the Mi-Jo character behaved like she was still in her 20s and it was annoying.

7/30/23

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Trente-neuf... : Le moment de revoir ses choix, le moment où la vie vous y oblige...

C’est à nouveau un drama de femmes, les 3 amies, les mères, les sœurs… On dirait bien que les Coréens privilégient de plus en plus ses héroïnes, avec des caractères variés et des âges aussi ! Pour cela, je l’ai beaucoup aimé, mais avec des bémols quand même !
Je m’explique !

C’est le drama typique « mit maladie incurable » et ça faisait longtemps que ce ressort dramatique me paraissait abandonné ! Ce qui sauve le sujet, c'est la façon très réaliste dont la maladie est gérée. Réalisme au niveau de la vie quotidienne, des amis, de la famille, comment vivre avec une pareille situation, depuis le choc brutal de l’annonce jusqu’à la fin en passant par toutes les étapes d’accommodations diverses avec la vie de tous les jours, le tout sans tomber dans l’excès, et en restant sur le fil de l’émotion. Il n’y a pas de scènes tire-larmes, en tous cas moi je n’ai eu les larmes aux yeux qu’au dernier épisode, le fameux brunch ! Mais je n’en dis pas plus.
j’ai aussi beaucoup apprécié la façon dont la problématique de l’adoption et de l’acceptation d’entrée dans une famille d’un enfant adopté a été traitée. N’oublions pas que beaucoup d’enfants coréens ont été et sont encore adoptés ! Là, nous avons la réaction archaïque du refus absolu, et aussi la paisible sagesse du « aucune importance » ! Mais l’originalité réside aussi dans les adoptées elles-même, comment elles ont vécu dans leurs différentes familles avec là aussi des positions fort divergentes. Les trois femmes, bien qu’arrivant à la quarantaine, sont toujours célibataires, et même si il y a quelques remarques parentales, elle se font surtout dans l’humour et on sent que là aussi le harcèlement traditionnel est en retrait. Il y a aussi des histoires d’amour, et des couples qui vont se créer à travers les liens indéfectibles des amies et le tragique de la situation. Et là aussi, par des dialogues très « vrais », très bien écrits, on garde un abord juste sans sentimentalité mollassonne. Les couples sont différents, avec des histoires diverses, très équilibrées, et je dois dire que les personnages masculins sont à peu près tous adorables, comme on aimerait en avoir un à la maison!
Les échanges entre les trois femmes sont parfois acerbes, la vérité est toujours dite, même au risque de déplaire, on sent la sincérité profonde qui les unit. J’ai eu très peur de voir arriver « je-t’aime-mais-je-te-quitte » mais pas du tout !!! Enfin on a « je t’aime mais je ne te quitte pas quoi qu’il arrive » !!
Alors le bémol ? Eh bien, malgré les 12 épisodes seulement je l’ai trouvé un peu long, en ce sens que ça s’étire une peu trop…La même histoire plus resserrée, (10 épisodes) aurait été géniale !!
Et puis aussi, le personnage en phase terminale a vraiment trop bonne mine… mais ça c’est parce que je pinaille !
En fait c’est un très bon drama, bien écrit, parfaitement interprété. Les trois actrices sont excellentes, leurs « cavaliers » aussi, mais on sent bien qu’ils sont en retrait et que ce sont elles les personnages centraux !

Bande son très bien faite, discrète, élégante et vraiment peu envahissante, ce qui est souvent le cas dans ce genre d’histoire !

Ne vous laissez pas effrayer par le sujet, ce n’est ni tragique, ni mélodramatique, c’est juste la vie… Donnez sa chance à ce beau drama !

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Need Season 2.

OMG this beautiful drama of three friends ❤ journey as friends fro. Childhood and school days to adulthood had it all for me I embraced each episode of their lives unfolded with what was to be and the unexpected and sadness ? I laughed and cried with them all the way through to the very end ? with the passing of a precious friend . Will watch this show again fro. Start to finish with wine and tissue ? box . I would love to see a season 2 with the remainder cast friendship and lives continuing there's a piano concert to come wedding ? adoption . How it all unravels ..please please give us a SEASON 2.

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