Still Shining

Nice but not mind-blowing

Still Shining is a peaceful and nice k-drama. I don’t really have a lot to say but I enjoyed it most of the time. The main couple was very cute and the drama balanced light romance with deep thoughts, serious incidents and mature conversations.

Could have been better: The last few episodes were a bit confusing, I would have wanted to know more about Bae Seong Chan’s relationship with Mo Eun A. I didn’t really like Im A Sol and would have preferred for her to have less screentime.

Isn’t it weird that the leads keep coming back to each other without ending things properly (at least that is what they seem to think)?

Also I would have wanted to know more about the gap in the storyline, between episode two and three, where it differed ten years. What happened to the characters and formed who they became? I found it a bit odd to dedicate that much time to the past, but those episodes were probably the best so I’m not complaining.

Best episode: Episode 1
Favorite character: Mo Eun A

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Actress always depressed, very annoying

I never write reviews but I think this time is necessary. I really liked the beginning, acting was solid, storyline as well. Looking back now I can fully confirm that the feeling I had about the female character being emotionally unstable was true. The actress doesn’t help, always with the sad and depressing face, nothing new to add to the series, always the same miserable look, like she has in all of the dramas I’ve seen her in. Giving it this score of 10 because he is an amazing actor and he saved part of the series, otherwise, because of her, it would’ve been a 2 out of 10 for me. About the story: because the female character is mentally unstable (ranging from depressing to miserable) she is dragging him with her. He, besides of the hardships he’s facing, he’s trying to get his life in order and have a bit positive attitude when he doesn’t even have a reason to be positive. After breaking him, she follows him like a stalker until he talks to her and lets his guard down again, only for her to break him all over again. This is what we call these narcissistic selfish people, that will drag everyone with them and profit from love they can’t even give themselves. If the actress was different, I think it could’ve been a nice story

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Suffocates under the weight of a hyperfocus on the leads

There's some real interesting characters here.

[Long dramatic pause - Narrator takes a long drag on a cigarette. Slowly exhales. Flicks cigarette toward the dumpster in the dimly lit alley. Watches as the cigarette smolders and the smoke dissipates. The narrator finally turns and ambles towards the main street. As he approaches the street light, he looks to his left. Then to his right. The seconds tick by waiting for him to speak. The sound of idling taxi engines hum in the background. And finally, the narrator raises his gaze to the camera}

None of the real interesting characters are named Tae Seo or Eun A.

Someone in the pre-production meetings should have asked "Do people really want to see a borderline depressive subway driver that can't move on from his ex?" Or maybe they did and some dummy said "Hell yes. Sounds great." If that actually happened, the dummy should be tracked down and summarily fired from ever having input in a drama production ever again.

Or perhaps someone could have asked "Does this female lead character make a lick of sense?" Because Pablo Picasso being asked to illustrate a medical anatomy textbook would be a smarter move than putting this sack of "Wtf is she doing now? What did she just say?" on screen.

It's not just that there are some occasional bright spots from supporting characters that outshine the leads. It's every moment from every supporting character in every episode. Not all of them are likable. Seong Chan is grating and toxic but at least it's a watchable grating-ness and toxicity.

In this made up "Still Shining" world, if there was any justice, A Sol would land a hot doctor boy and every time she looked at that table or a picture frame that Tae Seo made for her, she'd think "That idiot could have had me but he'd rather never STFU about oil drying on wood. What a hopeless bore."

[sigh]

Not recommended. Except for those that might be inspired to write some dope A Sol fanfic.

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Writers and their artistic egos

Some may say that this drama reflects the reality of many relationships. True. But people are already slapped daily with reality, with the harshness of life and relationships. Entertainment, and especially K-dramas, should supposedly offer an escape, an alternative reality to the harsh everyday life, something that makes us believe that tomorrow can be more colorful, happier. But writers always want to do something different, artistic, that makes us think and blah blah blah. Make the journey, the story as difficult as possible, but in the end give us a happy ending. Reality is already harsh enough.
Anyway, the premise is good and the acting as well, but the ending, well, more of the same. Writers who prioritize their artistic ego's, and not the satisfaction of the viewers.

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Truly Tiring!

The series doesn't have anything that stands out if I am being really honest. There is nothing in the whole of the 10 episodes that shows any proper direction to where it is heading to. I think what I can say is that the series just shows one thing really clearly: co-dependence. I see that there is affection between the main cast, but I wouldn't really that it fits into love, at best if you were to give the benefit of the doubt, would be one-sided thing. Both of them wanted to live the way that they felt was best for them and especially for Mo-Eun A, would forego being together for personal growth. The relationship at the end was only something that helped them not to lose what they felt and to just keep it alive just for the sake of it. 10 years is also enough time to really take into consideration what means to oneself for the future rather than being frozen to the extent that they were portrayed.

The second leads of the show actually do show more depth and connection to their own stories. I mean, they basically ended up doing what you expect when things in a relationship don't go your way; letting it go eventually. There was more to offer from them than the whole of anything that was shown otherwise. Moments like the name tags and the arrangements of internships and other opportunities showed how much that they cared for their respective admirers.

At the end, highly recommend not to watch this expecting that this is a usual slow burn thoughtful series. It has a lot of holes which it never supports to be patched up and hence, is a very lackluster show in general. Yeet!

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I really loved the beginning of this drama, but as it went on it got worse and worse. The ML is FULL of problems, but the drama focus mostly on how sad he has become after the FL left him, like: he can get over having his parents dying, his brother barely walking, his grandparents getting ultra sick, but his ex girlfriend leaving him? that's too much, my guy won't be coming back to normal after that, like ??? wth this is not how life works! I hate the fact that the FL basically only thinks about herself and she wants for the future and still keeps coming around to go after him, to get in his way and that she became his biggest reason for everything. I didn't like the acting of the FL in general, but I also didn't get why the character was written like "I never got over you, ML, but I've been dating this other person and I'll keep maintaining this person in my life even tho I lied about this person's existence for you" what's this about ??? who's acting like that in real life? please come to your senses, make it make sense!!! They keep making it seem super r
imposible for them to be together when they haven't even really tried anything, she just kept on leaving and he kept on giving up on his on desires. It is like they're two sides of a very ENORMOUSLY sad coin and both of them are living in extreme contexts, never having balance or real life human conversation to make things work, what's that ????? I swear to God that if they had ended up together this drama could be considered a crime.

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Yeon Tae Seo and his family are the only shining characters in this series

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

I am just going to come out and say this – I am a bit disappointed with this series. I can safely say that the saving grace for this series was how Park Jinyoung was able to portray the character of Yeon Tae Seo. When he was in scenes with the other actors who portrayed his grandparents and his brother, they were beautifully done. He is an actor that is able to portray emotions so well, and he did that with this character. A good example of this was when they broke up the first time – he portrayed his emotions so well there.

I liked this series in the beginning when they now met and up to when he entered college. Then, we got them ten years later. And I just lost interest in them as the episodes progressed (which is a first for me in watching anything that Park Jinyoung has starred in). Clearly communication was an issue with them, as we, the audience, saw throughout the series. I am shockingly okay with the ending, as they didn't end up together or with the SML/SFL (who I also felt nothing for or was even rooting for them to end up with the main characters).

In the end, it was nice watching another series that starred Park Jinyoung as he did an excellent job (along with the actors who portrayed his family) with his character, even with the few flaws that he had. However, I don't see myself recommending this series to others, unless you are a fan of the actors, because of how it didn't hold my interest for the whole series.

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A bit disappointing

Before I go negative on this, I gotta say Jin Young was great as always. This role of Tae Seo was made for him and he did an outstanding job playing it.
It seemed like this drama started out strong, giving us a good story that was going to take off ... but it really had trouble getting off the ground. I really couldn't tolerate the two characters of Eun A & Seong Chan for so many reasons. She had a good thing waiting for her in Tae Seo, but for some reason she really had no idea what she wanted in a relationship. I never saw a character keep showing up and then leaving ... and showing up again and leaving. It became so frustrating and exhausting to follow. Why Tae Seo kept trying to make this work without any success, it was just a complete mystery to me.
The character I had so much empathy for was A Sol. She when out of her way so many times for the chance of a relationship with Tae Seo, but he just couldn't give it a try. Instead he kept ending up in front of Eun A saying "goodbye" ... and goodbye, and goodbye. They said goodbye to each other so many times you lose count.
Again, thumbs up to Jin Young. He made a bad script work well enough to keep me watching till the end ... but there was only so much he could do.

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A Quiet Storm of Responsibility, Love and the Weight We Carry

A deeply emotional slice of life story about a young man shaped by trauma and responsibility. After witnessing his parents’ death, he carries the weight of caring for his injured brother and grandparents, choosing to love them from a distance, but this does not ease his burden.

The story feels real and grounded. It shows how career, family and love rarely align, and how sacrifice often comes first. Jin Young delivers a quiet but powerful performance, holding his pain within and expressing a level of emotional maturity that feels very real.

What stands out is how it reflects adulthood. The silent struggles, the sacrifices, and the emotions we keep hidden just to keep going. His life is not a failure, but a difficult one. Even in love, what he gains is not perfection, but a lasting connection that still feels meaningful.

The female lead feels weaker in comparison, with a less developed storyline that makes the relationship feel less impactful.

Overall, it is a heavy and honest story that captures the deep emotions many of us go through but rarely express.

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a química ta salvando o dorama

isso aqui ta acabando com a minha sanidade mental, eles ficam 2 eps felizes e 2 brigados, nunca se resolvem direito e são sempre brigas bobas. os dois primeiros eps foi tudo, tão fofo, mas era óbvio que iam estragar tudo ne, beleza o plot ser eles se encontarem dps de 10 anos, mas o drama p eles ficarem juntos e terminarem dps mds
pelo menos o jinyoung é gostoso e sabe atuar, alem da química entre eles dois serem incrivel, pq mds que desgraça de dorama e história

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