You and Everything Else

The Messiest Friendship in Kdrama History - And I'm here for it!

A Surprisingly Beautiful Drama

You and Everything Else was such a pleasant surprise and definitely one of the most underrated dramas of the year. It felt so well thought-out, and every scene had intention and weight behind it (with the exception of the random smoking scenes). Each character was beautifully developed to the point where there were moments I felt deep love and deep hatred for certain characters, especially Sangoen.

Female Friendships Done Right

I don’t think we get enough portrayals of the complexity of female friendships in media: the unspoken boundaries women have with each other, the envy, the bare vulnerability, and the subtle pretentiousness that sometimes shows up. This drama captured all of that. We got to see a friendship stand the test of time, but not in a conventional way. They argued, they fought, they hurt each other, and they even hated each other at certain points, yet they still cared so deeply. Their lives changed so drastically, and honestly, so many things went wrong between them that I wouldn’t have expected them to even be in the same room. But somehow, they were always drawn back to each other.

Forgiveness, Faith, and the Messiness of Love

My faith teaches me to love my enemies and forgive those who hurt me, but this show really put that idea to the test. Eunjong suffered a lot because of Sangoen’s pride and fear of connection, and she had every reason to hate her. But I don’t think she ever truly did. Sangoen basically ruined her love life and part of her career, yet Eunjong still found a way to forgive her and empathize with all the awful things Sangoen endured.

A Drama That Stayed With Me

Overall, I loved this drama. It’s the first time I’ve cried to a K-drama this year, and that alone says a lot.

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The Ambiguity of Affection

A beautiful drama that it’s impossible to remain indifferent to. It explores friendship from a fresh and original perspective. It doesn’t shy away from making the viewer uncomfortable, because that is precisely the intention of its narrative: to make the audience question and reconsider their own opinions about the characters’ actions. The ambiguity between affection and resentment expressed by both protagonists in every gesture is something that accompanies us throughout the entire series, just as our perception evolves with each new revelation about the reasons behind their behavior.

In my case, this series was the confirmation of Kim Go Eun’s enormous talent, and a very pleasant surprise in discovering such a great actress as Park Ji Hyun. I was also impressed by Kim Jae Won’s outstanding performance, since in the other dramas I’ve seen him in, he hadn’t stood out as much.

This series features a beautiful OST that will go straight into my playlists. In case you’re interested, the songs I’d most recommend are: Hope by Kwon Jin Ah, Blue Temperature and Note and Pencil by Seori.

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A Friendship that should never exist in real life

I just finished this drama, and while it truly was a beautiful story, I can’t help but see things differently from most people. Many are praising the friendship between Sang Yeon and Eun Jung, but to me… it felt toxic.

No matter how hard I try, I just can’t forgive Sang Yeon for everything Eun Jung had to go through because of her — from the breakup, to Sang Hak trying again, to even stealing her project. In this friendship, Eun Jung kept losing — whether it was people, work, or trust.

Meanwhile, Sang Yeon was always admired — in college, at work — everywhere. Yet, in the end, the only person truly looking down on her was herself.

And that’s where it hit me: yes, her illness made everything tragic and heartbreaking… but what if she hadn’t been ill? Would she still have looked for Eun Jung? Would she have ever asked for her forgiveness? Or would things have continued the same way?

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A Moving Tale of Envy and Pride Collapsing Love & Friendship (enough to cause motion sickness)

this one frustrated me to no end bc of how realistic and raw it is. i don't think it's a show for everyone, it's incredibly heavy and there's little to no payback. the screenwriting, acting, directing and music are all extremely impeccable. the intensity of Sang Yeon's envy parallelled by Eun Jung's good well is moving enough to cause motion sickness. my only issue with this one is that rewatchability, i think this is one of the masterpiece that my heart can only take one watch of it.

i'm at a point where little to nothing suprises me in kdramas but this one hit me like a tsunami at some points, regarding the "brother". despite having very visible signs of the events of episode three, i was very taken aback. the revelation also surprised as i thought the twist would regarding sexuality, not gender identity. I wished they had referred to her as Mooni or Unni, this would've been honoring to her memory.

this is a show where despite being frustrated, i was invested from start to finish.
ESPECIALLY THE LAST EPISODE.
the writing was on the wall and still somehow very refreshing, it has to be my favorite episode of the show and i rarely like finales in kdramas.

-The Ending-
SPOILER HERE!
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Eun Jung's last words to Sang Yeon being "you did well" made me bawl my soul out. It reminded me Kim Jonghyun and his lyrics in Breath. I often lullaby myself with these words when i'm having a hard time, so to hear EJ say those words to SY, felt like she truly saw her, or in Sang Yeon's words, "you accepted me at last, you."

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Extremely heartbreaking journey

Pretty engaging storyline, the tension buildup is brilliant and valid enough, the multilayered emotions worked out really well on screen as it spanned across four decades of timeline setting, though some of it was built directly upon coincidence linkage, the distinctive character design is still highly effective nonetheless, and the striking acting performances definitely gave this drama a huge boost. The mellow cinematography and sombre soundtrack also blended deeply into the meticulously written dialogues, the result is a melancholic artistic drama that is extremely heartbreaking as their journey of bittersweet life unfolds.

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The more you love someone, the more you may hate them.

You and Everything Else is the telling of the story about the relationship between two women who have known each other since adolescence. The show is told in eras from the perspective of Kim Goeun's character, Ryu Eunjung, from the time her and Park Jihyun's character, Cheon Sangyeon met in Elementary, to the time they reunite in the early 40s. This doesn't serve as a spoiler, but Cheon Sangyeon is terminally ill and requests Ryu Eunjung to accompany her on her final trip before his death.

What makes this drama a standout to me is fantastic cinematography and acting from the case ensemble. I felt that the set locations, perspective viewing, and backgrounds in every scene were purposeful, and lovely. There is a subtle blur effect for nostalgia throughout the past eras, and I feel this serves to highlight that the stories are a recollection of the two, and the color palette would change accordingly to highlight the intended mood of a scene very well. Kim Goeun and Park Jihyun are two of my favorite actresses in general, and I feel that their range of acting were really tested here, with the latter personally stealing a bit of the show for me. The raw emotion and full body acting the two were able to display was fantastic, and what I loved a lot was how many one-shots there would be, further magnifying their acting prowess and professionalism.

I loved that this drama was not afraid to tackle complex characters, and intertwine them in the story continuum, with Sangyeon being the personification of toxicity and self-loathing throughout, and Eunjung being grounded and true to her sense of self, with no room for ifs and buts, while also being very sensitive and honest at her most vulnerable. Sangyeon comes from an opulent background, with her family being the ideal Nuclear Family via the eye test, but they're very dysfunctional at heart. Eunjung for most of her adolescence grew up without her father, and her mother struggled to keep them afloat from a socioeconomic perspective. In this presentation of the two, the two girls from completely different backgrounds are able to find comfort and solace within each other, while the threads the jealousy and insecurity continued to grow ever so slightly until explored more in the later eras.

Kim Goeun once again brings about masterful acting in the heavy emotional scenes, really allowing viewers to experience what the characters are feeling. She made me cry during Goblin, and did so once again throughout this wonderful series. I have not been able to watch Park Jihyun in much other than Flex x Cop, and random cameos, but this drama cemented her in my mind as a force to be reckoned with. If the two were in a scene together with their characters being the highlight of the scene at hand, it was a guaranteed hit. Emotions are evoked, thoughts are provoked, and tissues are soaked is where I found myself a multitude of times watching this, and it is an experience I am glad to have been able to have.

The characterization of everyone, the intertwining fates and progression of the story at hand was done very well. While it can feel slow at times, and if you hate a love-triangle this may not be for you, it was a story I could not stop watching once the ball started rolling. Themes of friendship, pity, forgiveness, betrayal were all at play and I feel that everything was fleshed out very well. I laughed, cried, cheered, yelled, at the triumphs and shortcomings that were shown, for this story felt so palpable and real.

This will definitely go down as one of the top releases of 2025 for me, and I hope to revisit this at some time. I had already planned to, but will now most definitely prioritize the future works of the two for my 'to watch' list as able. If you are hesitating to watch this drama, do not, because you will not be disappointed by this wonderful story of life and friendship.

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Powerful and Captivating

The script flowed well. Excellent character development. Both female leads delivered great performances. At times the characters leap out of the screen and into my living room. The portrayal of the production company was very realistic.

I admire Park Ji Hyun for portraying such a damaged Cheon Sang Yeon so well. She deserves a best actress nomination. Kim Go Eun is a perfect complement to her. Kudos to the casting choices.

The script takes some of life's most stressful events in our lives . The cast delivered the depth of emotion to create an awesome journey towards healing ones soul.

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Best friends finding their way back to each other

I cried so many times during this show. They covered so many topics in here that its hard to pick one to resonate with and i think that’s what made it so special.

I love stories that depict two best friends who go through rough time then find their way back to each other, reminded me a lot of the Kmovie called ‘Soulmates’.

Girl friendships are so complex, and falling out with a best friend is more painful than a breakup.

This show was extremely well done. I genuinely have no complaints, the pacing, the plot, the development and the relationships among the characters was so good.
I can’t find anything to complain about. The things that annoyed me aren’t constructive criticism, it’s just small realistic things that happen in everyday life so i can’t even complain about that lol

everyone is so real in here, it felt like i was watching real people go through real things.

even the OST was beautiful. everytime i hear that one song i’m immediately brought to tears. wonderful show. amazing acting.

it got a bit boring somewhere in the middle but it picked its pace up pretty fast so finishing it wasn’t hard. really solid show besides that.

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Raw, challenging and courageous

The writer, Song Hye Jin’s previous drama “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” stayed with me for the intensity of the emotions and its stark bleakness, and this one is no different. That was not without fault and neither is this. But it will be another unforgettable drama that haunts rather than lingers. Unlike “The Smile…”, this appears to be an original story, so is doubly impressive. I am not surprised that she only produces work every few years. This level of emotional intensity takes a toll. The effort and depth of understanding needed to create an emotional arc this complex and compelling, and live with it whilst writing is truly astounding and I stand in awe.

My current take on this story having just finished it (and it’s the sort of thing that changes with reflection over time) is that it outlines a co-dependent relationship where however cruel it is, the individuals go back for more to justify to themselves that their self image is true to who they think they are. They both need to fight to keep it intact, whatever the cost.

Although there is a tendency to see Sang Yeon as the villain of the piece, whilst Eun Jung is the victim, this is to ignore the fact that Eun Jung could not walk away from her necessity to think of herself as a good person and accept her limits. As the story progresses Eun Jung is forced to confront the shallowness and fragility of her understanding of what that actually means. She accepts Sang Yeon back every time because she needs to feel that she is big enough and strong enough to cope. That her self respect will not let her down. She accepts the test each time. But the irony is that with each encounter the hate grows bigger inside her, and eats away at the unlimited, balanced personality and open generosity she needs to think she has.

For Sang Yeon, there is an ever present existential threat created by the suicide of her brother and her perceived rejection by her mother, who also ultimately abandons her in death. What is so bad that you would prefer to die rather than live? That you would consider the love and trust of the people around you not enough reason to live. She is constantly testing Eun Jung, trying to push her towards the edge, testing whether her limit will result in an ending and another abandonment. Sang Yeon cannot abandon Eun Jung and returns to her for the connection that will never give up on her. She finally realises that death is a necessary and unavoidable abandonment, but that it does not necessarily imply rejection.

The responsibility for this fractured relationship is in fact equally balanced and it is not until they both realise that fact that they could finally come together.

The performances by Kim Go Eun and Park Ji Hyun were exceptional. To be offered a script of this quality must have seemed like a dream come true. Both of them excelled and created compelling characters although personally I was more convinced by Park Ji Hyun than Kim Go Eun. However, I was not immediately drawn to them and it took about 5 or 6 episodes for me to work my way into their characters. (More about that when I come to talk about the cinematography and editing.) But over the course of the drama as a whole, they both convinced, especially in the emotional impacts at the end of each of the four “acts”.

This is essentially a story about two women, the male lead has a fairly inconsequential character arc and is really there to act as a foil between the them. To be honest, I found his character bland and lacking depth and it felt as though Kim Gun Woo accepted that lack in his playing of the part. I was not convinced of the pivotal role he had in the lives of the women, whose characters were strong and fully realised. This is perhaps a necessary compromise in the writing. To have made the character of Sang Hak richer and stronger would have added competition on a field already filled to bursting with it and taken away from the interaction between the women.

I was so glad that at the end of the drama they did not resort to euphemism but had the courage to follow through on the emotional impact. The drama was unafraid to be raw and direct. Not just in the storyline, but in the behaviour of the characters who spoke their truth brutally and used it as a weapon to both intimidate and manipulate.

The faults that I mentioned earlier (and FFS perfection is a ridiculous imposition to put on such a good drama) are mainly to do with the cinematography and editing, although there is a small niggle with the story arc.

Let’s address that first. By the time we reached the 2013 section of the drama I was a little tired of adjusting to new situations and characters and found that much of it felt like a repeat of 2003 in a different setting with slightly different stakes. Although I admit if I rewatch this drama I may see that differently. The other niggle is about how the early part of the story is partly narrated in voice overs by Eun Jung as part of her autobiographical writing of their relationship. This led to awkward storytelling, where scenes Eun Jung was not present in were necessary for the narrative flow. I think that was unnecessary and the story could simply have been told straight.

Now for my main peeve - the cinematography and the editing. Ironic in a story where one of the characters is a cinematographer. I thought a lot about why I was not engaging with the characters for the first third of the drama and came to the conclusion that it was a lot to do with how the story was visually presented. The editing style was to chop and change constantly, with mainly close-ups being used in significant emotional scenes. It was like being at a tennis match. When facing one person you can’t tell what’s happening to the other one so you turn back and bounce between them. What you want to see is the combined picture where they are both in frame so that you can watch the subtle changes in body language and sink into the tension between them. Then, make an impact by showing close ups. They were so busy with capturing the details that they forgot to open up the big picture. The result was that I had to put a lot of work into reading the room. I recently finished “Sounds of Winter” where the superb cinematography was a major part of the emotional impact and this production could well have learned something from it.

There was another choice which drew my attention away from the characters at critical moments, and that was the decision to use hand held camerawork in the climactic scenes in episodes 7 and 13 when everything fell apart. The unavoidable camera shake pulled me away from the intensity unfolding in front of me. It was so noticeable because it had not been used in any other context and was obviously a deliberate decision. Perhaps with the intention of illustrating how their world was shaking. As far as I was concerned it was Um Song Tak’s (the cinematographer) “look at me” moment.

Having said all that, this drama deserves its 9 rating. It didn’t capture my heart, but rather confronted and challenged me and had the courage to deliver on its promises.

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A sweet and sour friendship journey.

The character that i see mostly getting gate is cheon sang hyeon but i feel like shes the most well sritten character. Imagine going through so much in life and still having the will to live, i dont think itseasy at all and not everyone can do that. Cheon sanghyeon never gave up on life. No matter how hard she had it she always kept going somehow even if its in a good-or bad way. I wouldn't say getting your way through fraud and stealing is good but can you really blame her. The only kind of people who gets successful are people who are selfish with no emotions whatsoever and the ones that take advantage of the situation and use it wisely. Personally no one could have lived cheon sanghyeon’s life except for herself. I loved her character the most in this series.overall its a very well made drama and a good one that makes you feel emotions. Give it a try!

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