A Very Well Crafted Drama

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this series. I have huge respect for series that are written well with a clear vision for its characters, its story and what it’s trying to say. Even more so when these aspects are executed to a high degree.

At the start of this series, it had a really ominous ‘Stepford Wives’ feel to it. I thought there might be a supernatural or Twilight Zone element to it. Every character was suspicious to me and I couldn’t shake the feeling that all was not as it seemed. The series does really well at sustaining this feeling of mistrust and second guessing. It adds to the mystery and intrigue of the school and it’s characters.

The actress who plays Ha Rin has the most incredible micro-expressions. Figuring out what her deal was kept me on my toes as a viewer.

I come away after completing this series thinking of that famous speech by Charlie Chaplin about oppressive regimes. He talks about how the power that is taken from the people can be returned to the people through revolution. These lines come to mind,

“dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people…don’t give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you - enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think….don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts……don’t fight for slavery…fight for liberty….you the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful….let us use that power - let us all unite!”

Leia Mais

It’s Got It All & It Achieves It All. Highly Recommend!

This was akin to the old epics. Magnificent and beautifully told in every possible way. I sobbed. Man, I sobbed. Not every drama conveys the depths of emotions so that you can feel it in a scene even when the characters themselves are not being emotional. Even more so, not every drama can convey the depths of sadness in someone’s soul, even as they are smiling. It’s a skill when a drama can get you to feel and not just feel, but REALLY feel. Feel it like it was your own. That they are you and you are them. It’s that sobering of emotion that you get in a once in a lifetime drama. It leaves something with you that you never ever forget. A profound feeling that will stay with you forever.

The first time I watched this drama, I binged it in two days. All 50 episodes. And that surprised no one more than me. It’s like a good book you can’t put down. Can you imagine that? It’s such a long series and yet it never feels long. Although 40 minutes long, each episode is over in the blink of an eye. They are that gripping and entrancing. The story is told in such a way that all the right storytelling devices come at all the right times. Nothing overstays it’s welcome and everything is utilised in the most effective ways. Scenes flow expertly, one into the other and even the non-cliffhanger endings are as enticing as the cliffhanger ones. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next each time. So much so, I started at 11am on the first day and was surprised to see that it was 4am by the time I looked up again. After getting some rest, I resumed watching and again, did not stop until I completed the entire series at 1am that night.

My words can never do enough justice to convey just how good this truly is. They are not enough to paint the merits of the incredible feat of this drama. Some dramas are to be experienced and this is one of them. Some dramas are just special and you feel it as soon as you start watching. I will forever recommend this drama. Far and wide. I will shout it from the rooftops and never stop singing its praises.

Leia Mais

As Close As You’ll Get To A Chinese BL

Let’s address the elephant in the room. There are no overt love confessions or overt intimate contact due to Chinese censorship rules for the entertainment industry. Therefore, all Chinese bls produced in China have to be packaged as ‘bromances’. Saying that, this is the closest I’ve seen a Chinese bl come to being ‘overtly bl’ since the implementation of the censorship rules. This drama walks the tight rope between adhering to the censorship rules and portraying a couple in love onscreen. You’re able to see them be more intimate in the latter episodes and we are promised an uncut version once season 2 is out.

What this show does well is that it’s able to do so much with sub-text and emotional undertones. The emotions are strong and the performances are compelling. Like its predecessor, it has relatable down to earth characters and plenty of heart. It does manage to set itself apart from Addicted/Heroin and find its own voice and story along the way. I thoroughly enjoyed it and think future Chinese bls should follow its blueprint.

Leia Mais

It’s A Heartfelt And Emotional Series In All The Best Ways.

This was a really strong series. The acting was some of the best I’ve seen in a k-drama. The blend of emotional, comedic and dramatic scenes were balanced really well. This balanced tone is often difficult to achieve or sustain in a drama but it’s done to a high quality here. The presentation of mental health, therapy and recovery were explored in a heartfelt and accessible way. I also liked the dark fantasy/supernatural fairytale element to it. The illustrations and narrative metaphors were woven quite expertly throughout. I don’t often comment on cinematography but not only was this shot beautifully (lighting, camera angles etc), but the artistic vision of the director shone through. I noticed whenever a character was in a solitary shot, it’s juxtaposed with the wider background/atmosphere which not only helps to create the feeling of loneliness but it also allows the story to breathe. In the close up shots, the use of the wider lens allows it to feel intimate without feeling claustrophobic.

The twist…because it was somewhat revealed in episode 4, I didn’t realise they were trying to hide it from the audience or have it be a twist until episode 13. I spent the majority of the series knowing who it was. This affected how I followed the story (in a good way) as I interpreted the actions in real time how they were meant to be interpreted later on after the reveal.

Leia Mais

Didn’t Fulfil It’s Own Potential But It’s Still A Decent Series

The first four or five episodes were well paced, intriguing and had strong storytelling. The plot and the explanations were believable and exciting. I really thought it was going to be a 9 or a 9.5 drama. Unfortunately, after episode 5, what I can only describe as plot-holes everywhere, brought the story and execution down to an 8.5 and at times an 8. The intrigue was still there but if you have to dumb down your smartest character just for the plot; then you are doing something wrong. This pretty much remains the issue for the rest of the series. Although the intrigue remains and the premise continues to be smart-ish with a few twists and turns; it gets harder and harder to overlook the things that don’t make sense or that are allowed to be sloppy for the sake of moving the plot forward.

Though I will still rate this an 8.5, I’m disappointed that the creators fumbled this one when it could have been a 9.5 or even a 10/10 show.

Leia Mais

IT HAS SOMETHING SPECIAL THAT RESONATED WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

I want to start by saying that I rated this drama an 8.5. I did so because, for me, this rating indicates that the drama is above average (average is 8 for me). The reason it’s not higher is that, although I think this series excelled in some aspects, the quality of the second half was not as strong as the first half. When deciding on a rating, I consider various factors, but I’m not too fixated on any one of them, nor am I a strict critic. My view is that all the technical and emotional aspects of a drama should serve the sole purpose of making you feel (I think QOT excels at this) and buy into the story the creators are trying to convey. Therefore, as long as this is achieved to a high enough degree, I don’t get too caught up in the individual technical aspects themselves. In other words, I personally don’t care about how they go about doing this, whether it’s done messily or more polished as long as I can feel it and buy into it.

Think about those films where you have one character who is well-trained but lacks that extra spark, and then you have another character who is not technically gifted but has raw talent and passion despite being rough around the edges. Simply put: they captivate you. "QOT" falls into the 'rough around the edges but has something special' category for me. The series managed to resonate with so many people from so many different demographics, which is no easy feat. Its ability to make you deeply empathise with the characters and the story made it such a huge success. Even if you are someone like me who doesn't follow actors and went into this series blind and without bias, you could sense that there was something special about "QOT" that had the ability to draw you in. This doesn't mean the series was perfect—it's not perfect—but you can recognise that there is something about the way in which it conveys emotion that captured a large audience, whilst also acknowledging that it was not as consistently strong in other aspects.

I watched this series week by week while it was airing and I was impressed with how well the narrative was structured in the first half of the series. Everything from the dialogue, scene setting, framing, editing, and story flow was well executed. I noticed how skilfully the story was developed from episode to episode and scene to scene. The narrative flowed smoothly and had a clear direction. It didn't surprise me that it had mass appeal, given its structuring.

I noticed that as with many k-dramas in recent years, the quality of the story presentation tends to decline in the second half of the series. This ultimately affects the overall quality. Until the second half, I was ready to rate this series 9.5 out of 10. I usually base my rating on how well I feel the creators have a handle on the story. While I initially felt that they had a secure handle on things in the first half, it became less so in the second half.

I cared about not only the leads, but also their family and friends. I even enjoyed the characterisations of the bad guys, though I didn't like them as people. Usually, I only care about the main characters in dramas and certain side characters. The rest I'm pretty neutral about as long as it doesn't impact the main leads too much. But with this series, I found the supporting characters equally compelling. I can't say for certain why it's these specific characters in this specific series, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's the show's ability to convey honest emotion in a relatable way that makes it stand out. The emotional resonance of this series brings together heartbreak, hope, and love (both romantic and filial), in a way that keeps it uplifting and prevents it from becoming too despairing.

I particularly enjoyed the family dynamics of both the FL and the ML's families, both separately and together.

We find out a lot about who the two main leads are as people through their love and resentment for each other, which is shown first amidst their broken marriage. The FL is a strong and formidable character, much like the other women in her family. She appears intimidating and cold on the surface, but this is her defence mechanism against her harsh upbringing, particularly with her mother. She is headstrong and a force to be reckoned with, far from the typical naive female lead. The ML is introduced at a point in their marriage where he desires to leave. Initially, he is portrayed as a man traumatised by his wife, seeking to escape her by any means possible (similar to Beom Ja's previous husbands), to the extent that he sees her impending death as his salvation and celebrates his chance at freedom. As the series progresses, my compassion grows for both the ML and the FL. It becomes evident that they still love each other, and something has greatly strained their marriage. Furthermore, the audience gains insight into the strengths and capabilities of the ML. He too is smart, skilled and can hold his own (unlike Beom Ja’s previous husbands). You realise that he matches the FL quite well despite initial perceptions. After a few episodes, you come to view them as a unit/a pair in the way they are characterised. Their interactions and love for each other comes across as genuine and refreshing. The audience becomes invested in their relationship and what they go through.

Above all, I was deeply moved by the relationships the characters had with each other. Their emotions felt nuanced and was palpable throughout. It felt really genuine as if they were those people going through those things. The main credit of course goes to the talented actors who portrayed the roles. Although I usually hesitate to watch emotionally heavy dramas, this series balanced the difficult emotions with an underlying sense of hope. It made me feel optimistic for the characters and their futures, amidst all the heartbreak, pain, and grief portrayed in the series.

There were also weaknesses in some of the characterisations too. Specifically, I felt that the backstories of SML and his mother (the mistress) were leading towards a more significant connection to the main family in the past, but this aspect seemed sidelined in the story. The story functions ok without it, but I can't help feeling that their characters were incomplete by the end. The mistress's motivation being solely about her greed didn't align with the direction I thought the story was taking, and it made her extreme actions to steal the family's fortune less convincing. If there had been a backstory about her scamming other people or if the main family had wronged her in some way, then her character would have felt more complete to me. The same goes for the SML and the grandfather, since their plot-line in the past was interconnected.

What stood out to me about the ML and the FL’s relationship's was that their love for each other was always evident, even when they were not physically together or going through a rough patch in their marriage. The series effectively depicted the complexities of their emotions - they could be upset, distant, or hurtful to each other, yet their love and care for each other remained strong. The main couple felt very real, showcasing the genuine impact of the struggles within their marriage. Despite the typical drama and clichés found in most k-drama romances, their relationship felt authentic and believable.

The one-sided, obsessive love that the SML had for the FL was interesting. Usually, I get annoyed by the second leads chasing after one of the main leads, but this time, I was fascinated by the layers to this. I believe the toxic nature of the 'love' he felt for the FL was well-explored, as well as how it was tied to the abandonment he experienced when his mother left him for the FL's family. There were multiple levels to his character, such as his desire to possess the person he felt was more deserving of his mother's attention, as if by possessing her, he would become worthy and gain access to the family from which he was excluded as a child. His hatred and contempt for the FL transformed into 'love' as a means to rationalise the intense emotions he felt for her. It's evident that he had never experienced love before, nor learned how to express it in a healthy way. It's unclear whether he truly feels love for the FL or simply believes he does. There's a great deal to analyse here, including the psychotic aspects of his character and how they shape his 'love' for the FL.

Overall, I am satisfied with the ending of the series, though a criticism I often hear is that it ended on too much of a bitter note because it revealed the death of the main character, although she died some years later. Some viewers wished it had ended before we found out she died, which I think is a valid point. Personally, I liked the bittersweet ending because we know she lived for a substantial amount of time afterwards. I found the final scene to be a powerful release of both emotion and conclusion, culminating in the main character joining his wife in the afterlife. The shot of him walking away as he turns into a spirit was very beautiful and emotional. I think the writers could have had their cake and eat it too just by showing a few minutes of a montage depicting their life together after everything transpired, instead of just showing us photos. For example, they could have shown them with their child, with the rest of their family thriving, growing old together, etc. This would have made it feel like less of a loss when we came to the final scene. It would have felt more like a life well lived and less bitter.

This series had its fair share of problems. I believe it had the potential to be a perfect series, but I think it's still a great series with that extra something. I found it to be heartfelt and emotionally beautiful.

Leia Mais

It's Very Depressing But That's Not Necessarily A Bad Thing

It’s very depressing and it never lets up. Even the small moments of fun/bonding between the two main characters does not lift the tone. This is ok if you are not put off by heavy, sad and depressing topics that don’t sugar-coat things. Me saying that it’s depressing isn't necessarily a bad thing. A lot of satisfaction can be gotten from watching a character go through hardship after hardship and come out on the other side. For me, I don’t regret watching it. I did find some satisfaction, narratively. It was an interesting enough story and the acting was decent. It also had a good message and it didn’t feel like suicide propaganda. In fact, it felt sincere in its message. The last 30 or so minutes at the end of the film are it’s best. You’ll see why.

And for once, they referenced a country with darker skinned people without being derogatory. I particularly liked that the Yun character didn’t look to go there to satisfy some sort of saviour complex or to ‘civilise’ the population. Instead, he went there to be with them. To be with the people who reminded him of himself. He also had lovely things to say about the community there. He didn’t patronise their sense of care and community towards raising the orphan children. Rather, it sounded like he was talking about people he held in high esteem. Listen up Asian film makers…this is how it’s done. This is how you include other non-western countries without being a-holes about it.

Leia Mais

The Drama Is Actually A Heartfelt Slice-of-Life Coming of Age Story

This is an unexpected one. Despite the timeline being confusing at times and choppy in places, some plot holes/continuity issues and slight sound issues; the story is quite heartfelt. I fell in love with the character portrayals and the homely (I don’t know if that is the right word - maybe nostalgic) feel of the cinematography.

The acting capabilities were a bit of everything but each character portrayal felt genuine. So much so that the less polished acting was never an issue. It even had a slight charm to it.

I especially liked the sister character, Name’s mother, Em’s mother and Champ’s grandfather. Additionally, each of the main leads had moments throughout the series where they shone. I was taken with Gun’s character especially when he started interacting with Golf at university. His acting seemed to step up in those scenes. The actor who played Name did some powerful acting with just his face and nothing else in the first half of the series but they under-utilised him in the second half imo. I’m surprised I haven’t seen him around much in other BLs.

All the child actors did well but I particularly liked Nan’s child version. The turmoil his older self had when he found out the girl he liked was in a wheelchair, was his character’s shining moment for me. He showed a lot of sensitivity, and seeing him grapple with that stigma vs his genuine feelings for her was portrayed quite well.

I’m not sure if I liked or disliked that they only revealed what Champ’s issue was towards the end of the series, in regards to why he always pressured himself to succeed when no one else was pressuring him. I did have a few guesses as to why he was that way but since it could have been any one of those reasons, I was waiting for them to shed some light on it.

The way they portrayed the two queer relationships was also one of the series' strengths. When Golf asked Gun to marry him as he was getting the last of his stuff post break-up and Gun immediately said yes, I was getting ready to curse at how quickly they glossed over the reason they broke up but thankfully; they had the much needed conversation straight after and it made my heart so happy. I also found Em and Name’s romantic dynamic so refreshing. As we neared the last couple of episodes, I was getting worried they wouldn’t give us a satisfying enough conclusion for their love story but I was worried for nothing. The conclusion suited their dynamic and the kiss was very satisfying for me.

This is one of those odd dramas where even though it had as much things that needed improvement as things that were good; the good still carried it ahead as opposed to the bad dragging it down. Any other drama and this would be squarely a 6/10 or a 7/10 drama, but with such a good story with a slice of life/coming of age feel; it’s easily an 8/10 drama. It’s got heart (you’ll tear up at the emotional and heartwarming bits), you’ll fall hook line and sinker for the characters' lives and you’ll actually be taken in by the charming cinematography - even with the low budget feel and the slight sound and editing issues. It has the makings of a Thai classic and if not for the mentioned issues, this would be a 9/10 or a 10/10 drama.

Leia Mais

A High Quality Drama But The Emotional Weight Is Not As Consistently Strong As You Would Hope.

I’ll start by saying I put off watching this one. I purposely did not watch it while it was airing. There are certain dramas that I know I won’t get the most out of them if I don’t watch them at a time I am most receptive to them.

Disclaimer * I don’t think this was the most receptive time either, even though I enjoyed watching it. I plan to watch it again in the future to see if I can get more out of it.

That said, for now I think it is a 9/10 drama and not a 9.5 or a 10/10 drama. The positives for me are what makes it a 9/10 and not the usual 8.5/10 that I give to solid k-dramas is that it is a heartfelt story, the plot is pretty solid and the acting is pretty good. The reason I won’t elaborate on the positives is because I’ll be honest; apart from recognising it as a solid production, this story did not get me as deep as it ought to have. I’ll go into why I think this was.

Starting from episode 2, although I was aware that time travelling was involved, the abrupt introduction of the time traveling element at the end of ep 2 felt like a sharp turn transition wise. It was not smooth at all. It was like being in a race car and suddenly making an extreme turn with little to no preparation, except this was done with the theme. Usually in dramas that include fantasy, they sprinkle a little bit of the fantasy elements in the lead up to the full blown reveal of the fantastical part of the drama. With this one, it was almost two full hours of a slice of life family drama that seemed rudely interrupted by the fantasy element suddenly being dropped in. And this was my reaction as someone who WAS waiting and expecting the fantasy element.

Another thing was, I couldn’t help but feel like this drama was an amalgamation of several movies, music and popular culture storylines and references, all pieced together. It made a huge chunk of the drama feel like a knock-off, ensuring that I could never really get into it as all I could think was, “they’re copying so and so”. I don’t mind things serving as an inspiration for others but you really have to make it your own and create something new with it, but with this drama, a lot of the concepts and scenes seemed borrowed. Whenever I was drawn into the drama, I’d notice that a scene or concept resembled something else and it would immediately take me out of the scene.

I have a minor point to make about the way the scenes were cut/edited together. It didn’t affect the majority of the drama much, as it fit that youth-indie style type of visual aesthetic but when it came to the emotional scenes, it felt somewhat choppy aka not-so-smooth transitions. It meant that the emotions didn’t hit fully 100% because the viewers weren’t able to sit with those scenes and absorb the depths of emotions before it suddenly changed to another scene. Typically for emotional scenes to work best, there needs to be a build up of emotional tension that is finally released and the cameras should not cut away in the middle of that emotion being expressed. For example, the cameras should not cut away in the middle of someone’s heartbreaking crying scene as it’s like cutting off the climax of emotion right at the top, which results in an immediate plateauing of the emotional weight built up when our focus is shifted to another scene. Instead it should be like a hill with a slow rise to the climatic top and a smooth decent to the other side of that intense emotion. This must be done in order to properly build and sustain the emotional weight of what the characters are experiencing and their plight, to help forge the bond between the viewer and the character and to allow the viewer to really connect to what the character is feeling.

This fourth reason was the most jarring for me. I have to preface this by saying I’m not trying to assume what’s best for the hearing impaired community, I’m coming at this solely from the perspective of someone who knows what storytelling mechanisms resonate with an audience. That being said, the thing about this drama that made it the hardest for me to get into it was the fact that they dubbed the deaf characters. I can understand from a practical pov why this was done but surely someone in the creative chair should have known how much of the connection and the power of the performances of the actors playing the deaf characters would have been lost by doing this. If you don’t understand what I mean, go watch CODA and tell me that by having the focus of communication solely on the deaf characters’ facial expressions, the movements of their hands and only the silence to convey their ‘lines’; you didn’t feel everything they signed just a little more deeply. That you didn’t feel the frantic and the hard hitting angry signing or the soft signing in tender moments that much more. That you couldn’t feel the frustration of the characters through their hands more than with a dubbed voice overlayed on top to explain what they are saying. I’m sure it was useful for Korean viewers to not have to read subtitles but I’d argue they lost some of the power of the performance by doing this. Of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have dubbing. I understand that having dubbed dramas makes it more accessible for different types of audiences such as vision impaired viewers. I’m not saying dubbing should not be available. Just like I’m not saying subtitles should not be available. I know these are both very useful features for making dramas more accessible to others. What I’m saying is that these should have been optional and the drama should have been released un-dubbed with the option to select dubbing as needed, as you do with subtitles.

If at the end of this you are wondering why I rated it so highly if I had so many critiques. It’s because of three things. One, this drama had excellent characterisation. Like truly excellent (especially the father and son). Two, I did enjoy watching it. It won’t make it on my favourites list but I really did enjoy it. And three, I like to give dramas and movies their dues. Even if I don’t fall in love with a drama, I still rate them objectively by what they have to offer and what they do well. This drama was a solid, above average and at times, truly above average, drama.

If you ask me what could have made it a 10/10, I’d say, not rushing past the emotional scenes too quickly, not dubbing the deaf characters and finally; trusting the foundation of the story more - which was a story about a boy’s love for his father and vice versa, while grappling with the difficulties of being a CODA. If they did this without trying to borrow from other films, dramas, music or American popular culture; it could have been a 10/10 drama that stayed with me.

Leia Mais

A Mixed Bag

This series should rightly be acknowledged for tackling the subject of autism at a time when it was still pretty much a ‘hidden’ neurodivergence. Another plus is that the story is heartwarming, there is a decent character journey and the autistic ML is more than a two-dimensional portrayal.

However, that’s where the positives end. The patients’ stories are often tone deaf in their attempt to portray sentimentality. At times it seemed like they were doing their best approximation of ‘feel good’ stories that inevitably came across as clunky and clumsy. On their portrayal of autism, I can only speak as a non-autistic person and my perspective of this show is through the lens of a neurotypical person. So I am sure there are things that I cannot say subjectively whether they are portrayed well or not.

Still, I think it’s safe to say that the views of autism in this show both sociologically and medically were questionable to say the least. The science just wasn’t science-ing and even the ‘progressive’ views that were supposed to serve as the righteous ‘voice of the show’ made me cringe to know that there was a time that this was the ‘academic’ view of autism in Korea (I’m assuming the creators of this series researched Korean academia regarding autism, but I might be giving them too much credit).

What stuck out to me the most, was the notion that autism could be cured. The excessive use of the words ‘normal’, ‘stupid’, ‘crazy’, ‘mentally weak’ etc, coming from a show representing the medical profession was quite jarring. Surely, even ten years ago Korean doctors weren’t this inept in their understanding of autism, the behaviours associated with autism and whether it was something that could just go away. I expected this from the general public as they are less knowledgeable. If these misinformation were mainly being voiced by the characters that were not doctors, I could understand but the prejudice and pseudoscience was coming mostly from the ‘doctors’. I can just imagine well meaning Korean viewers, with very little knowledge of autism, watching this show in 2013 thinking they were actually learning something and gaining an understanding of autism.

Whether that was more damaging than the positives of having autism representation at the time of this release, is something I cannot say either way. But it’s a good question to ask. Of course, portrayals of people with autism have come leaps and bounds since this series was aired. Extraordinary Attorney Woo and Move To Heaven are two such examples.

Leia Mais

Another Nostalgic Blast From The Past

When I say I have searched high and low for this movie for YEARS, I’m not exaggerating. I watched this in either 2013 or 2014 and I’m not good at remembering movie names so all I could remember were parts of the plot. This movie, after The Suspicious Housekeeper, set me on my k-drama journey. This drama has stuck in my mind because of the (explicit for it’s time) r*pe scene. It wasn’t implied like the scenes I’d seen in k-drama rom-coms up to that point, it was brutal. There’s also this one scene with the umbrella after the child versions had been kidnapped and that scene will stay forever in my memory. It’s what lead me to finally find this series again after all these years.

It is a product of its time. I remember the picture quality being smoother/crisper (which is to be expected), this makes it harder to watch and gain the full quality this many years later but the heart of the story is still very compelling.

Leia Mais

Finally Found It Again After All These Years!

Watched this years ago and finally remembered the name of it only recently. I still remember how many emotions this series stirred up inside of me. I felt so deeply for this woman who lost her child, even though at the time I had never experienced that level of loss before. But I could identify with the loneliness and becoming a shell of a person.

I think this might have been the first drama themed k-drama I ever watched. Prior to this I had only viewed the teen and YA Korean rom-coms. I went to watch it again after finding it on MDL and I think the production value still holds up. The acting is really strong and the story is still impactful.

I remember the year I watched this was the year after my youngest sister was born and I was obsessed with saying, “Bok Nyeo-nim shiro” and “Krom”. My younger sister would follow me around the house saying, “NimNim”. She’s ten years old now and whenever I turn to her and say “Krom”, to excuse myself; she puts her hands together like a robot and says, “Krom” back to me like she’s saying, “permission granted”. I love it because it’s one of the things that we bonded over. This and using other tv/movie references in our daily lives.

Leia Mais

You Need To See This

This is one of those dramas that will stay with me. It’s very emotionally heavy (lots of emotions bubbling underneath the surface) and it’s these volatile emotions that lead to quite graphic scenes of violence that may make viewers uncomfortable but I think it’s dramas like this one that needs to be viewed so that those emotions can sit with you. It’s important to feel these emotions vicariously (which you do - very much so) and recognise where they are coming from. They should resonate with you, as it’s a hard look at how people become this way.

This drama was very illustrative, with the three main leads representing how someone can end up so far down a certain path. Each character is at different stages of that path. Soo Ho could have easily used his skills to become a school bully and give in to baser instincts but he doesn’t. Even when he has issues with Boem Seok he makes sure not to cross the line. He is someone who knows when to stop. Shi Eun is someone who was headed down the wrong path and about to give in to all his (understandable) anger and pent up frustration. I could feel him holding back in the earlier episodes. The tension was so thick and heavy, at times it felt suffocating so I can only imagine how much Shi Eun was being stifled by it. You can drown in those kinds of emotions and life circumstances where you feel like the boot is constantly on your neck. All that anger and resentment just to be greeted with more of the same each day. No wonder people in these circumstances flip out and rain down hell in a violent outburst when it finally breaks them and the anger comes spilling out.

Thankfully, Shi Eun was brought back from the brink before he went too far. He had someone like Soo Ho to pull him away from the edge and most importantly, Shi Eun was receptive to his help/intervention. This is where Boem Seok differs. The writers, director and most importantly; the actor, did a great job of showing the similarities and parallels between Shi Eun and Boem Seok’s characters and then showed how unlike Shi Eun, Boem Seok allowed himself to go to the brink. Unlike Shi Eun, he did not heed the warnings to stop before he was too far gone. And while he was justified in his anger and needing remedy for his pain; he crossed the line and became a victim who victimises.

What’s even more resonant is seeing how Boem Seok’s actions also drags Shi Eun past the brink as he loses it at the end and gives in to his pent up anger, frustration and resentment. Watching him in the second half of the finale, I felt so exhausted and emotionally drained. He looked tired, empty and like he had just returned from war, a shell of a person. This is the outcome when people are pushed too far. This is how someone loses the light behind their eyes.

The actors portray the complex states of emotions expertly. If you want to see characters who are real shades of grey; this is a drama that is a great illustration of that in the most harrowing way. You will not be disappointed.

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Highly Recommend To All

The really good parts of this series, I loved wholeheartedly. I found it funny and devastating and supernatural and uplifting. Even though most of the supporting characters show up for a short time, their performances are no less compelling and touching as the main characters’ performances. I really liked that the anthology style of each ‘case’ works on their own individually but also ties in together with the main story.

The reason why it’s an 8.5 and not a 9 for me is because from one minute to the next I was either extremely riveted or slightly bored (there was no in between). The riveting bits were really riveting and engaging. If I could suggest one thing to make it better, it would be for them to tighten up the narrative a bit.

There were also plot points that kinda went nowhere but these were small plot points. I don’t know if this was a translation issue or an issue with the series itself. For example, they drew attention to something the boss’ male employee said that was ‘off’ in that school girl with the clips case but they never expounded on that or did anything with it. So, that part felt unfinished and like they dropped that part of the story.

I can’t stress enough though, that this is a really good watch and I’d highly recommend it. It gets you in the feels in all the best and most devastating ways. Like everyone else, I’m praying for a series 2.

Leia Mais