Trabalhar Depois, Beber Agora (2021)

This was a really good show.

I think this is one of those shows where you have to watch a few episodes to really get into it. When I first started watching, I just remember thinking, "Wow all that drinking can't be healthy" and the blind date scene where all three of them went on a date with the same guy make it seem like their characters were a bit over the top. But then as I watched on, I got engrossed and invested in the lives of the three main characters and their behaviours just seemed to fit them naturally.

Sure, drinking is a big part of the show, but beyond that it's a show about really strong, enduring friendships and unpacking the lives of these three very different woman who happen to be best friends. It's funny, touching, absorbing and just overall fun to watch while also talking about some really tough life situations.

I think the show also has a nice message about acceptance. The three best friends are so different in personality and lifestyle choices, but they all love each other and accept one another for who they are.

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Initially, I didn't really think I liked this drama. Not for the reason most people would suspect (the over-drinking), but because of the main characters. They are...not very likable in the beginning. They came across to me as rather selfish and self-involved and self-destructive (not to mention just weird). But once I got through the first few episodes, the more I came to realize that my first impression was very wrong. I slowly came to understand them and empathize with them and like them until I found myself watching the next episode then the next episode then the next until I'd finish the entire series, and now I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

Work Later is somewhat reminiscent of Be Melodramatic, which came out in 2019, and truthfully, I think Melodramatic paved the way for dramas like Work Later to exist. Melo was not a ratings hit when it aired and was a risky drama to make to begin with because of its tone and storytelling style, but I think it definitely made an impact on the Kdrama landscape. Both dramas share some common features. Atypical Kdrama female leads, addressing some heavier topics, don't rely so heavily on tropes (Work Later does use more tropes than Melo), and a story about 30-something/late 20's women that isn't strictly romance but a more rounded look at their whole lives. But Work Later is much more comedic in tone overall, even if coupled with some very emotional plot points. I also think the characters in Work Later are more likable than the leads in Melo. I would be more likely to be friends with the Work Later girls.

As Choi Siwon's character, I saw some comments on MDL describe him as creepy, and for the majority of the drama, I didn't get those comments at all. His character is a slob, most definitely (although that changes in the latter half of the series), but he's not exactly a creep. More so just...weird. His sense of humor is strange, and his mannerisms/approach to things equally so, but his behavior never made me uncomfortable. Of course, he makes a mistake in the final episode that would definitely make him look like a perv, but that's later explained in a small moment at the end so that you realize he wasn't intending to come across the way he did. He's just...an odd sort, as they would day.

There are going to be potential viewers who are concerned with the amount of drinking in this drama, which is a legitimate concern. Most of the heavy drinking happens in the first 4 eps, ep 1 and 2 especially, but it does tone down significantly for most of the rest of the drama. They do definitely drink way too often and often too much, but I read an article on Soompi where Eun Ji (who plays Ji Gu) says she saw comments of minors saying they wanted to start drinking after watching the show, and her thoughts in response to that were 'No, don't do that. That's not what the show is trying to tell you.' So I think it's fair to say that this show isn't necessarily attempting to glorify drinking culture, just trying to show the lives of these three women and Why they drink so much. But it's understandable if some won't be comfortable watching people drink themselves under a table, which does happen a few times.

What is unexpected about this drama, is its overall tone. I expected this to be mainly a comedy with maybe some heartfelt moments sprinkled in, but there's a pleasantly surprising amount of heavy drama. What's so surprising about this is the way the story incorporates these two genres. It has a unique way of shifting between comedy and drama, and by unique, I mean we'll be in a comedic scene and suddenly, we've jumped into a very dramatic moment (realistic dramatic, not melo). That sounds bad, but it's very well-done, and I never felt pulled out of the story or like the two genres didn't mesh with one another. It actually made me like the drama more.

If you're concerned by the drinking, I say get through the first 4 eps and if the drinking is still too much, then you should probably drop it. But if you like drama's that are both full-on comedic and full-on hit you in the feels, then this is a good drama to watch.

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