Strangers Again (2023)

A wasted premise

[UPDATED] As a Jang Seung-jo fan, I was desperate for "Strangers Again" to work. I ignored all the misfires and the lapses in logic and stayed with it until the 12th episode. But when the ending rolled in, I realized that there was a basic flaw in the character development of the leads.

I don't mind flawed characters. I especially love flawed characters who grow stronger in the broken places. The male lead started out well enough as a divorced divorce lawyer whose life is a mess. His ex-wife is also a divorce lawyer who seems to have come out feistier and richer. All the ironies were in place.

But no, after laying a solid foundation for what could have been a smart commentary on life, love and career, "Strangers Again" proceeds to self-destruct.

Jang Seung-jo's Eun-beom is so badly drawn, I suspect he was written as a plot device for Ha-ra's journey. His characterization is utterly illogical: a formidable intellect in court, he doesn't make sense in everyday life. He loves Ha-ra but concocts a hare-brained scheme to break-up his marriage, sets up his ex with his best friend so he stops paying alimony, never told her about his childhood traumas while she was his wife, and turns out to be a serial relationship killer. His redemption is a short footnote in the last episode via a Google search and a trip to the therapist's office. The writer was not interested in his evolution – only the havoc he creates.

Kang So-ra's character Ha-ra is better fleshed-out and is obviously the real center of the series: she may be cut-throat in court but she's not unscrupulous, she genuinely wants to help her clients, and in turn learns life's valuable lessons from them. She not only gets the best lines in terms of self-discovery, she also gets the best meltdowns.

The second leads' story trajectory is hands down the better romance in this series. From irritating characters, the liberated noona and the political conservative blossom into relatable characters as they learn to own up to their mistakes, communicate, and compromise.

Hyperrealism is no excuse for bad storytelling. I want characters with depth whose motivations are well-established. I want a plot that makes sense, even if it is imitating life.

Law practice, love, and divorce are potent ingredients that could've given us an unforgettable series – that's the wasted premise. I was expecting a Matryoshka doll with layers of meanings. Instead I got Barbie and Ken in power suits who are trapped in their own drama.

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Takeaway? None.

There were plot holes right from the beginning, but I was stubborn on setting aside my prejudices and waiting it out until the final episode to reach a conclusion on my perspective of the drama. There were moments in between when I was ready to drop it, but since I was almost there I decided to tell myself to not give up and stick through for the final couple of episodes. Don't get me wrong, this is not a crappy drama or anything, but is it a great drama? Is it a must watch? Will I recommend it? Nope.

I don't really feel like there was a takeaway from this drama at all. I don't think every drama needs to have one, but when they don't I would expect that they compensate in some other aspect. The absence of a message could have been overlooked then, but here the lacking was too evident that it left the viewer unsettled. At the end of the drama I found myself questioning whether I wasted 12hrs of my life on nothing. Personally I hope they never get back together because they don't open up to each other. It was ridiculous how they had been in a relationship for so long, even got married AND divorced and yet she didn't know about the sister. Eunbeom is a character who loves to keep things in (even the part where he overheard Hara's and her mom's phonecall and misunderstood it the way he wanted) and would never try to resolve it. This would only create more miscommunication between them and lead to more fights. I am a person who loves open endings. But with this drama the opening ending felt so unsatisfying. I would rather have preferred for them to give us a proper closing with some clarity. Overall, I am disappointed.

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