The Best TV show of the Decade! ?
Netflix's K-Drama "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a masterful TV drama that depicts the realistic struggles of a family and serves as a reminder that although life is difficult, happiness can be found even on the worst of days when you have the perfect life partner! 🫶🏻🍊I haven't watched a lot of K-Dramas, but I recently got hooked on them when a friend of mine recommended a few shows to me. "When Life Gives You Tangerines" was one of the shows recommended to me by my friend and two of my older sisters, who were completely blown away by this show. I didn't know much about it before watching and I didn't know what to expect. However, after finishing this show, I must say that this is probably the best TV show I have ever watched in my entire life! 💕
This show is one of those shows that you must watch at least once in your life, or else you will be missing out on something big. It is one of the most heartfelt, beautifully written, and emotionally powerful dramas I have watched in a very long time. The show follows the journey of a young couple, Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, in 1950s Korea as they navigate through life's many challenges and sacrifices while creating a family of their own and raising their children, trying to give them a better life than what they themselves experienced, all while staying by each other's side. The show starts when they are around 10 years old, and by the end of the show they are around 70. Which is why, by the time I finished it, I felt like I had lived alongside these characters for years! ✨
The storytelling of this show is done in a nonlinear manner, often switching from one timeline to another. There are episodes where we see Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik's younger years alongside their older years, as well as many events happening in the life of their oldest daughter, Geum-myeong. It does get a little hard to keep track of the events, so in order to properly grasp and enjoy the show, you have to keep an eye on the changing dates and time stamps given in the left corner of the screen while watching. The story itself is very much grounded in reality, and the writers understood that the best way to emotionally connect with viewers is by showing realistic slice of life moments and how this couple thrives in those situations instead of using flashy romance, overly dramatic scenes, or shocking plot twists. From the very first episode, this show creates a warm atmosphere that feels deeply human and incredibly sincere. It tells a meaningful story about love, sacrifice, family, marriage, and the quiet strength people show in everyday life. The writing is layered with so much heart and wisdom that even the simplest scenes carry emotional weight. Even though the story is about family struggles and sacrifices, there are plenty of lighthearted moments where you will be able to laugh alongside the characters. The pacing is also wonderfully handled. It allows us to live the moments with the characters, understand their decisions, and truly feel the passing of time in their lives. There were episodes that made me smile warmly, episodes that made me tear up, and episodes that completely shattered me emotionally. This is why every joyful moment feels rewarding and every painful moment hits so deeply!
For me, the highlight of this K-Drama is the way it chose to portray the beautiful companionship between Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik. Watching them do "marriage" will make you believe that with the right life partner, it is possible to conquer anything that life throws at you. Even when financial situations and family life were both going dangerously bad, they were each other's rock and were able to find tiny bits of happiness during every difficult situation. Younger Gwan-Sik reminded me a lot of my own husband, while older Gwan-Sik was an exact copy of my father, which is why I loved this character so much! This man is truly the poster boy for green flag husbands and fathers! 💚 While Gwan-Sik tried his very best to be the best husband and father, I absolutely cannot deny the contribution Ae-Sun had in his life as a genuinely supportive wife. Ae-Sun also deserves praise because she sacrificed a lot to be by Gwan-Sik's side even when they were financially struggling. But above all, when the time came to give up even the little source of finance that was supporting them, she did not back out because she saw how badly her husband was being treated by his employer. The portrayal of how a healthy and loving marriage works is shown so excellently in this show that I was heavily invested in their relationship from beginning to end. 🫶🏻
Love was shown in two different ways in this show. On one hand, we get Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik's love story, where they were together from age 10 and ultimately got married, had children, and went through life together. On the other hand, we see their daughter Geum-myeong experiencing love in a different way. This contrast in both love stories helped me realize that not all love stories get a fairytale ending and not all first loves reach their ultimate destination. Sometimes, two people can be good people at heart and share pure love, but still cannot fulfil it by getting married and settling down together due to various sad yet real circumstances.
The parental relationships in this drama were another major strength. The love between parents and children is portrayed with so much warmth and honesty that many scenes brought me to tears. Parents are shown sacrificing endlessly while still carrying their own pain. Children are shown misunderstanding their parents at times, then gradually realizing how much love was always there. I specifically loved the mother-daughter dynamics shown through Ae-Sun's relationship with her mother and later through Ae-Sun's relationship with her own daughter, Geum-myeong. I really loved Ae-Sun's mother's character. She was a very strong woman who did everything she could for Ae-Sun. We also saw Gwan-Sik as a doting father to Geum-myeong, and I was very emotionally connected to their relationship as well. Their sweet father-daughter relationship had some of the best moments in the show.
All of the characters in this show are written so well that they feel like real people I am watching in front of my eyes. None of them are perfectly good or bad, which is why you can't hate any of them. A lot of times, characters say and do things that are wrong, and that contributes to making us as the audience feel like they are real people. As a result, everyone is lovable and memorable in their own way. The arguments feel real, the sadness feels real, and even the moments where the characters are overwhelmed with joy also feel so real that I was forced to rejoice with them!
I absolutely have to praise the phenomenal acting performances from the cast. Everyone in this drama delivers performances that feel raw and honest. No one feels like they are acting for the camera. Instead, they completely become their characters. We see IU and Park Bo-gum as the younger versions of Ae-Sun and Gwan-Sik, while the older versions were played by Moon So-ri and Park Hae-joon. Both pairs had brilliant chemistry, which is why this story worked so well on screen. IU is a phenomenal actress, and here she also plays the role of Ae-Sun's daughter Geum-myeong. She was able to portray both characters perfectly, capturing their unique personality traits and setting them apart from each other. But the one who shines even more than IU in this show is definitely Park Bo-gum. This man is something else! The supporting cast was also excellent, and I especially loved Kim Seon-ho as Park Chung-seop, the struggling artist who makes a fateful connection with Geum-myeong.
The excellent cinematography and visuals of this show make you feel like you are in 1950's Jeju Island, and as the story progresses, the changes in visual effects and color grading help you realize the passing of time. The cinematography captures both the warmth of home life and the loneliness of difficult moments so well. There are also scenes that leave an impact because of the cinematography and camera work, especially when Gwan-Sik swims across the ocean and hugs Ae-Sun, or the very last scene of the show where we see Gwan-Sik and Ae-Sun walking in a field of yellow flowers and sharing their dreams about the future.
In the end, "When Life Gives You Tangerines" is a TV show that will forever stay in my heart as one of the best things I have ever watched in my entire life! 🫶🏻 If you are looking for a drama with excellent writing, unforgettable characters, and meaningful life lessons that stay with you long after the final episode, this is absolutely the one to watch. By the end of the show, I was left in tears because of how heart touching my experience was with this. This drama won't only entertain you, instead it will touch your soul! 🍊✨
📌Personal Rating: 10
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The Most Emotionally Unforgettable Historical Romance Drama to ever exist!
2016's "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" is one of the most emotionally unforgettable historical romance dramas I have ever watched. It is an exceptional blend of romance, heartbreak and political tension, that stays with you long after the final episode ends. This drama is not just a love story, it is a powerful journey through fate with a message that love can transform even the most wounded hearts. 💔This show was recommended to me by two of my friends who both said I need to keep my tissues ready because by the end of the show, my heart is sure to break! And they were definitely right because by the end of the show, I was crying so hard due to the heart breaking ending and the events that lead up to it.😭 I felt really empty after finishing the last episode but this show gave me everything I could ask for! It had a beautiful storytelling, unforgettable characters, intense romance, tragic moments, stunning visuals, excellent OST's and acting performances that completely pulled me into the ancient world of Goryeo.
The story itself is really interesting. It follows a modern Korean woman who is transported back in time to the Goryeo Dynasty as Lady Hae Soo where she becomes entangled in the lives of princes fighting for power and survival. This drama explores royal politics, conspiracy's, conflicts, betrayal, brotherly love and romance while making us realize that sometimes love alone is not enough to change cruel circumstances. The story is well written and engaging which is why it leaves an impact on your heart even after ending and stays with you. Honestly, this reminded me of anime shows like The Apothecary Diaries, Colorcloud Palace and other Historical Drama's. The storytelling is very simple with a few impactful plot twists that help build this simple story into something stronger. The pacing was well maintained and nothing felt rushed. The first 10 episodes also had many light hearted moments in between all the political conflicts and blooming romance but the last 10 episodes of this show literally kept me on the edge of my seat and pulled at my heartstrings!
The best thing about this show is how well each of the characters are written. Since this show has a big main cast so it was necessary to portray each of the characters differently through the writting and this show does that perfectly. Each of the princes have significantly different personalities and traits that makes it easier for us as audiences to understand each of them properly. We mainly see the Journey's of the Crowned Prince Wang Moo, 3rd Prince Wang Yo, 4th Prince Wang So (Main Male Lead), 8th Prince Wang Wook, 9th Prince Wang Won, 10th Prince Wang Eun, 13th Prince Wang Baek-ah and 14th Prince Wang Jung alongside our Female Lead Character Lady Hae-Soo and Princess Yeon-hwa. No one exists just to fill space. Every supporting character has depth, purpose, and emotional weight in the story. Each of them take decisions that have direct consequences shown in the story which is why the royal politics aspect of the show feels so personal from their perspectives. I loved each of the characters and they all did things and made choices that are appropriate for their characters. Even characters that were in negative roles did an amazing job bringing out their characters motivations on screen. Yes, I did despise many of the negative characters but I did also understand that from their perspectives they are just trying to survive in between the royal political conflicts and achieve their ambitions of becoming powerful. But of course my favorite characters from this show were 4th Prince Wang So, 13th Prince Wang Baek-ah, Lady Hae-soo and 8th Prince Wang Wook. Although, 8th Prince Wang Wook and Lady Hae-Soo made some questionable choices near the end of the show, I cannot deny how well they were written and how great their contribution was in shaping the entire story.
For me, the absolute highlight of the drama was 4th Prince Wang So, one of the most compelling male leads I have ever seen in any show! He is portrayed on screen by actor Lee Joon-gi and absolutely nailed this role! 🖤 I honestly became his fan after watching his portrayal of this complex character. His character journey was extraordinary to say the least. I went from not liking him to feeling pity for him to loving him to ultimately being completely crazy about him as the story progressed. By the end of the show I was heartbroken and bawling my eyes out because of the cruel lonely fate he had to endure. 💔😢 He starts off as someone who is feared by all and seems very ruthless because he grew up without love or affection from his mother that he craved a lot. But as he starts getting closer to Lady Hae-Soo and builds a beautiful connection with her, he becomes a gentle yet strong human. He values and cherishes her love because it is the only affection he has felt in all his life and that's something I could feel while watching this show. Seeing a man who never knew love become someone willing to sacrifice everything for the woman he loves so deeply was both beautiful and heartbreaking. His transformation was powerful and I was completely invested in him from beginning to end.🫶🏻
The second highlight for me of this show was the romance! ❤️ Hae-Soo portrayed by IU and Wang So portrayed by Lee Joon-gi had such great chemistry that I was deeply rooting for their love. The way Wang So literally calls Hae-Soo his "person" is so dreamy and sweet that it made my heart flutter! 🫶🏻 Their iconic rain scene when Wang So protects Hae-Soo using his cloak made me completely speechless and that was the moment I fell in love with Wang So as well. There are so many moments of sweetness, longing, jealousy, tenderness, and heartbreak between them that hit so deeply because the connection between them feels genuine. Their love story is not simple and it develops gradually but it is full of obstacles, misunderstandings, sacrifices, and tragic timing. That is exactly what makes it so memorable. It shows how deeply two people can love each other even when the world seems determined to tear them apart.
However, because of how much I felt their bond the conclusion of the show broke me down emotionally! 💔 I truly was not prepared for how devastating it would be. It left me heartbroken and emotional long after the final scene. I cried so much because by that point I had become deeply attached to these characters and everything they had endured. The tragedy of the ending does not feel cheap or forced rather it feels like the painful conclusion of lives shaped by cruelty of fate. It was very hard for me to accept the ending because of how heartbroken and empty I felt upon watching it! But this ending was necessary because this tragic ending also made the story more meaningful and memorable in the hearts of the fans including me.
The technical making of the show is also perfect. The screenplay was tight and there were no unnecessary scenes. The visuals were beautiful and it brought the ancient world of Goryeo to life beautifully. Every frame feels elegant and cinematic. The colors, lighting, and attention to detail make it easy to believe you are witnessing another era. The cinematography of the scene when Prince Wang So does the rain ritual and it really does start to rain was one of the most noteworthy moment from this show. Apart from this the royal palace and every moment taking place surrounding those areas felt grand. The production left no lackings in designing the sets of the scenes. The costume and hair department also deserves praise! All of the Princes looked manly and princely because of their outfits and hairstyles.
But I must praise the music and sound department separately because of how amazing the BGM's and OST's are in this show! ❤️ Seriously, the songs are to die for they are that good! The music is absolutely beautiful and enhances every emotional moment perfectly. Whether it is a tender romantic scene, a painful farewell, or a dramatic confrontation, the soundtrack always knows how to elevate the emotions. Many songs stayed in my mind long after I finished the show. My favorites are "For You", "I Love You, I Remember You", "Wind", "My Love" and "Can You Hear My Heart"🎶
In the end, "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo" is a mix of beautiful emotional storytelling and tragedy that will forever remain one of the most memorable K-Dramas I have ever watched. It reminds us that even the strongest people can be broken by pain, and even the coldest hearts can learn to love deeply!🌙
📌Personal Rating: 9.5
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