Missflameo

A Strong Message With a Very Messy Execution

For some reason, this show does an amazing job at building suspense in the first few episodes. There’s this constant feeling that you’re just waiting for the worst possible thing to happen, and I was genuinely invested in seeing how everything would unravel. Unfortunately, I think the writing becomes increasingly shaky as the story progresses.

On a random note, So-baek is a retired crash-out 😭 I could tell he was genuinely trying to become a better person and I actually appreciated that aspect of his character. At the same time, there were so many moments where I found myself questioning why these characters were making certain decisions.

So-baek not taking the phone from Jang Kang made absolutely no sense to me. And Eun-su abandoning the phone (one of the most damning pieces of evidence) in a random plant at the airport of all places was an especially major writing flaw. I really don't think that's something Eun-su would realistically do given everything we've seen of her character.

Jin Yeong was another source of frustration. Her leaving Jang Kang in her car in her mother's garage was INSANE. And she continues making bizarrely stupid decisions throughout the story despite being a high-ranking police officer. I had to stop and wonder how someone with that position could repeatedly overlook such obvious things.

I did appreciate the twist involving Jang Kang being, for lack of a better word, completely unhinged. However, I don't think the show did enough to properly build toward it. The reveal itself was interesting, but it felt more like the writers suddenly decided, "okay, he's crazy now", rather than something that had been carefully established throughout the story.

Where the drama really succeeds is in its social commentary. The way it portrays domestic violence being overlooked, minimized, or hidden and how abuse can become intertwined with the pressure to maintain a successful career and public image was handled quite well. I also appreciated that the violence wasn't excessively graphic. Some scenes were difficult to watch, but I think the series showed just enough.

The relationship between Eun-su and Hui-su was cute though. Their willingness to go to extreme lengths for one another makes sense given their history, and I liked that the story was ultimately about two women trying to save each other when the people and systems around them had failed them. And the ending was very cute. 🥹 It gave me the sense of closure I wanted and left me feeling good about where the characters ended up.

But the journey to get there was messy. For a drama dealing with such a serious subject, I was surprised by how little it actually moved me emotionally. I've watched dramas with considerably less serious premises that affected me much more deeply. There were definitely moments where I understood what the show wanted me to feel, but I didn't always feel it myself.

Overall, I'd say this is a good, entertaining short drama with a strong premise, solid suspense, and decent social commentary, but the writing has too many moments where the characters make decisions that feel completely irrational just to keep the plot moving. Honestly, the fact that it's only eight episodes works in its favor. It's an easy watch if you want something dark and suspenseful without committing to a 16-episode drama. Just don't think about the characters' decisions too hard. 😂

Read More

Came for the Romance, Stayed for the Comrades

Se-ri’s personality really steals the show for me. She’s so effortlessly likeable and cute that I was rarely ever bored whenever she was on screen. She’s funny, dramatic, selfish in an entertaining way, and just genuinely fun to watch. I do think her personality becomes noticeably less prominent once she returns to South Korea, though, which was a little disappointing. It felt like a lot of what made her so entertaining in North Korea got toned down.

Captain Ri’s jealousy, however, is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. This man gets so sulky.

Dan’s mother was too funny sometimes: “The cells she had yesterday are gone now. What she has now will be gone tomorrow.” Like??? 😭 Some of the things that woman says are completely absurd, but she manages to be so funny while saying them.

Then there’s the North Korean setting, which I think is probably the biggest gamble the drama takes. Making a show set in North Korea simultaneously comedy-focused while also trying to deal with serious subjects is difficult to balance. Sometimes it works really well. The story of “the rat,” for example, was genuinely compelling and heartbreaking. But other times, the tonal shifts were so drastic that I found myself struggling to take the more serious aspects seriously. I also don't feel completely comfortable judging the show's portrayal of North Korea too harshly because, obviously, I've never lived there. At the same time, people who have actually escaped North Korea have described a reality that is considerably more grim than what this drama attempts to portray. So there were moments where the lighter, almost cozy depiction of village life felt strange given the setting.

Speaking of North Korea, I have to say… I find it incredibly difficult to believe that no one considered the possibility that Se-ri could have landed there. North Korea is literally their next-door neighbor! I understand that the circumstances were bizarre, but you'd think someone would have at least thrown that possibility out there.

Another issue for me was the repetition. There are so many repeated lines, conversations, and scenes throughout the drama. A lot of this could have been solved simply by making the episodes shorter. These episodes are too long, and the story does not always have enough material to justify that runtime.

Which brings me to something I found especially strange: Se-ri’s relationship with her father. With how much runtime this drama had, I genuinely don't understand why they didn't showcase that relationship more. Her father is such an important figure in her backstory, yet they don't even meet when she first returns to South Korea. I think they only directly interact one to three times across the entire show. That's so odd to me. There was so much potential there for a meaningful emotional storyline, especially considering everything Se-ri had just experienced.

On the other hand, Ri's comrades are some of the best-written friendship dynamics I've seen in a drama. I absolutely loved them. Their individual personalities are distinct, their interactions feel natural, and they bring so much humor and warmth to the show. They were especially enjoyable during the South Korea portion of the story. Honestly, I could have watched an entire sitcom about these four dorks trying to navigate Seoul.

Overall, Crash Landing on You has some flaws, but I understand why it's so beloved. It can be ridiculous, overly sentimental, repetitive, and tonally inconsistent, but it also has genuinely lovable characters and relationship dynamics that make it easy to keep watching.

Read More