✒ The Drive ☢️ The Lies ⛔️ The Tangle ⚠️ & The Crash °8.1° °Excellent°
“I always do anything I set my mind to.”
That is the opening. A is a 2022 release that is rated 87 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 6 60-minute episodes, though there's an 8-episode director's cut out there that everyone seems to think is better. Lee Joo-Young adapted Jung Han-A’s novel and directed A. Fairly new on the scene, he also has the movie, A Single Rider, on his resume that was well received. Bae Suzy (While You Were Sleeping-7.3, Start-up-8, Vagabond-8, Doona) is FL, Lee Yu-Mi. This is the most serious feature I've seen her in, and her skills are up to the challenge. She exudes the air of a person who is shut off from others. The viewer can feel the force field that isolates her. She also appears tiny and younger than her previous features - a good trick of the director's.
The tension builds through each episode. Even though Yu-Mi isn't necessarily likable, we feel for her. Her life is sad. They cleverly draw a parallel to Anna Anderson, an impostor who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of Russia's last Czar. I spent 3 or 4 episodes expecting the show to go downhill, but it didn't. Anna is very well done.
We meet Anna (Yu-Mi) in the mid 90's when she is very young. Her father is a tailor and her mother is mute. Yu-Mi is bright and adorable; so much so that the English captain's wife takes her on as a piano student. Their lessons quickly branch out into English along with various life skills. In HS Yu-Mi is a top student. She's also dating her music teacher. When they are found out, he's suspended. She, on the other hand, must flee town only 4 mos before graduation! She spends the end of her HS years alone in Seoul. She can't keep it going, or get it started, though. Her grades slip. She doesn't make it into college. {A weakness of the show is that she's clearly smart, so her inability to get into school is questionable. We are supposed to accept that she got depressed and was unable to focus. They do lay sufficient groundwork, but ultimately, it falls short of being thoroughly convincing.}
She takes the soft-option, but ultimately robs herself of who she is, who she could become, and most of all, her freedom. Anna is in a cage. She starts to chafe at her cage in the latter episodes. Back to Seoul: In a weak moment, she lies about college acceptance to her father. Her parents are so elated about her “college acceptance” that she cannot bring herself to correct the narrative. She ends up pretending to be a student. She makes lots of “school” friends who think she's in the same year as them, and almost gets engaged, until her bf's mother looks into her record - only to discover there is none. This leads to bleak years where she works menial jobs.
By the end of ep1 she is thoroughly beaten down and working for a wealthy family as the personal maid to the family's princess. Princess just graduated from school and is planning her arranged “royal” marriage. Lee Hyun-Joo (Ji-Hyun) is usually friendly and kind, but she's spoiled, most of all. “Happiness is always alittle vague, but misery is clear,” she laments. “Aren't I pittitful?” “I'm totally miserable these days.” Anna had just been lambasted by this Prada-rat's father for asking for a day off (to visit her sick mother). She’s less than invested in Hyun-Joo's “misery.“ Yu-Mi closes ep1 with another snap decision that will have lifetime implications. She can do anything she sets her mind to, afterall.
She was never going to get ahead by following the rules, especially after being taken advantage of by a teacher and then discarded like trash. So she cheats. Anna will take off with enough loot from Princess‘s room to seed a new identity and new life. She ends up as an instructor at an elite school, and she's good at it. She's too successful. She's garnering attention. She marries a wealthy man who wants to get into politics, while her 1 friend becomes a political correspondent. Now, there's too much sunlight on her. People with a phony identity should keep a low profile.
The theme is that lies are complicated. The truth is simple. “The thing about people is that they lie even in a diary that no one else reads.” Even more true is that lies separate us from those around us. A liar will not form close relationships or bond with others. That is because a liar is fundamentally about h/h SELF. People lie for a variety of reasons. The primary reasons are to bolster one's ego, to make one's life easier, and to allay fears. We lie first to ourselves. Not having the courage to face the truth leads to not having the courage to live in truth. Thus, lying leads to a half-life. Not only that, but lies weigh us down. They multiply our burdens and sap any strength we have to bear them. It's an uneven exchange of short term relief for long-term health, sort of like a diet of junk food. It will bring a person down eventually. This is exactly what happens to Anna.
Anna has made mistakes, but we meet a villain who is much worse than she. Kim Joon-Han plays self-made-man and politician wannabe Choi Ji-Hoon. I've seen him in One Spring Night-7.8 in which he plays another egotist. He is a natural in the role, but he's good at playing a decent human in Prison Playbook-8.4. Ji-Hoon is known to utter weasel words like: “Nothing can be as empty as the courage of the weak. If you want to change the world, become powerful first.”
“Remember: poker face.” “You may have won, but you missed one thing. Your expression changed when you received an ace. You can win only when your opponent doesn't know what your cards are. It's not just a poker thing. Make sure you keep others from reading your mind,” the Captain's wife's instructions were thorough. Anna aptly shows how living a phony life, Living-For-The-Moment without a long-term plan, taking shortcuts, and living in lies simply don't work. Any momentary lift we get from the temporary sugar high we pay for later with a crash that's exponentially bigger.
Is there a point of no return? When is it too late to reverse course? NEVER. People who think like that are excessively self-indulgent and destructive - and perhaps just too lazy to adjust.
“When one becomes unhappy they become more interested in others. I used to be unhappy because of other people, too. Now I just wait for my chance. I don't believe in luck anymore. Don't mind other people. Think only about yourself,” Anna is told. That may be half true, but it isn't the best advice. The crux is what and how we think of others. Social media causes depression when people look at others and feel like they don't measure up. It isn't thinking about others that causes us to be unhappy, it's comparing ourselves to others. When we compare ourselves favorably, we're usually just creating a fabrication in our own heads because we never have all the facts. When we compare ourselves unfavorably, the same is true and we cause ourselves to be depressed. Either way, comparing ourselves to others creates emotions based assumptions, not truth. Anna goes the other way. She starts to think about other people as important, or even /more important/ than herself. She regrets disappointing her parents the most. She realizes she has never been loyal to anyone. She falls on the sword.
It's never too late for redemption.
QUOTES📢
You only realize after you get what you want… whether you really wanted it or not.
You become independent when you stop feeling guilty about disappointing your parents.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8 📝7.5 🎭8.3 🌞3 🎨7 ⚡4 🎵/🔊6 😅1 😭5 😱3 😯5 😖3 🤔7 💤0 🔚8
Age 12+ with the following cautions: violence, murder, mistresses and children out of wedlock, divorce, scary and tense moments - while all present, the show is kept relatively tame.
Re-📺? Not opposed
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Modern Day:
Mad For Each Other 7.8 ~silly fun;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks);
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love to Hate You 8.9;
Her Private Life 8;
Touch your heart 8.2;
Romance is a bonus book 7.9;
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
Love Struck in the City 7.3;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
More Than Friends 8;
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9;
Something in the Rain 9
Historical/Period:
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy;
Live Up To Your Name 7.6;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo 8.5;
Saimdang 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
Try a Chinese historical fantasy romcom: The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8
Action/Sci-fi/fantasy:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4
That is the opening. A is a 2022 release that is rated 87 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 6 60-minute episodes, though there's an 8-episode director's cut out there that everyone seems to think is better. Lee Joo-Young adapted Jung Han-A’s novel and directed A. Fairly new on the scene, he also has the movie, A Single Rider, on his resume that was well received. Bae Suzy (While You Were Sleeping-7.3, Start-up-8, Vagabond-8, Doona) is FL, Lee Yu-Mi. This is the most serious feature I've seen her in, and her skills are up to the challenge. She exudes the air of a person who is shut off from others. The viewer can feel the force field that isolates her. She also appears tiny and younger than her previous features - a good trick of the director's.
The tension builds through each episode. Even though Yu-Mi isn't necessarily likable, we feel for her. Her life is sad. They cleverly draw a parallel to Anna Anderson, an impostor who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of Russia's last Czar. I spent 3 or 4 episodes expecting the show to go downhill, but it didn't. Anna is very well done.
We meet Anna (Yu-Mi) in the mid 90's when she is very young. Her father is a tailor and her mother is mute. Yu-Mi is bright and adorable; so much so that the English captain's wife takes her on as a piano student. Their lessons quickly branch out into English along with various life skills. In HS Yu-Mi is a top student. She's also dating her music teacher. When they are found out, he's suspended. She, on the other hand, must flee town only 4 mos before graduation! She spends the end of her HS years alone in Seoul. She can't keep it going, or get it started, though. Her grades slip. She doesn't make it into college. {A weakness of the show is that she's clearly smart, so her inability to get into school is questionable. We are supposed to accept that she got depressed and was unable to focus. They do lay sufficient groundwork, but ultimately, it falls short of being thoroughly convincing.}
She takes the soft-option, but ultimately robs herself of who she is, who she could become, and most of all, her freedom. Anna is in a cage. She starts to chafe at her cage in the latter episodes. Back to Seoul: In a weak moment, she lies about college acceptance to her father. Her parents are so elated about her “college acceptance” that she cannot bring herself to correct the narrative. She ends up pretending to be a student. She makes lots of “school” friends who think she's in the same year as them, and almost gets engaged, until her bf's mother looks into her record - only to discover there is none. This leads to bleak years where she works menial jobs.
By the end of ep1 she is thoroughly beaten down and working for a wealthy family as the personal maid to the family's princess. Princess just graduated from school and is planning her arranged “royal” marriage. Lee Hyun-Joo (Ji-Hyun) is usually friendly and kind, but she's spoiled, most of all. “Happiness is always alittle vague, but misery is clear,” she laments. “Aren't I pittitful?” “I'm totally miserable these days.” Anna had just been lambasted by this Prada-rat's father for asking for a day off (to visit her sick mother). She’s less than invested in Hyun-Joo's “misery.“ Yu-Mi closes ep1 with another snap decision that will have lifetime implications. She can do anything she sets her mind to, afterall.
She was never going to get ahead by following the rules, especially after being taken advantage of by a teacher and then discarded like trash. So she cheats. Anna will take off with enough loot from Princess‘s room to seed a new identity and new life. She ends up as an instructor at an elite school, and she's good at it. She's too successful. She's garnering attention. She marries a wealthy man who wants to get into politics, while her 1 friend becomes a political correspondent. Now, there's too much sunlight on her. People with a phony identity should keep a low profile.
The theme is that lies are complicated. The truth is simple. “The thing about people is that they lie even in a diary that no one else reads.” Even more true is that lies separate us from those around us. A liar will not form close relationships or bond with others. That is because a liar is fundamentally about h/h SELF. People lie for a variety of reasons. The primary reasons are to bolster one's ego, to make one's life easier, and to allay fears. We lie first to ourselves. Not having the courage to face the truth leads to not having the courage to live in truth. Thus, lying leads to a half-life. Not only that, but lies weigh us down. They multiply our burdens and sap any strength we have to bear them. It's an uneven exchange of short term relief for long-term health, sort of like a diet of junk food. It will bring a person down eventually. This is exactly what happens to Anna.
Anna has made mistakes, but we meet a villain who is much worse than she. Kim Joon-Han plays self-made-man and politician wannabe Choi Ji-Hoon. I've seen him in One Spring Night-7.8 in which he plays another egotist. He is a natural in the role, but he's good at playing a decent human in Prison Playbook-8.4. Ji-Hoon is known to utter weasel words like: “Nothing can be as empty as the courage of the weak. If you want to change the world, become powerful first.”
“Remember: poker face.” “You may have won, but you missed one thing. Your expression changed when you received an ace. You can win only when your opponent doesn't know what your cards are. It's not just a poker thing. Make sure you keep others from reading your mind,” the Captain's wife's instructions were thorough. Anna aptly shows how living a phony life, Living-For-The-Moment without a long-term plan, taking shortcuts, and living in lies simply don't work. Any momentary lift we get from the temporary sugar high we pay for later with a crash that's exponentially bigger.
Is there a point of no return? When is it too late to reverse course? NEVER. People who think like that are excessively self-indulgent and destructive - and perhaps just too lazy to adjust.
“When one becomes unhappy they become more interested in others. I used to be unhappy because of other people, too. Now I just wait for my chance. I don't believe in luck anymore. Don't mind other people. Think only about yourself,” Anna is told. That may be half true, but it isn't the best advice. The crux is what and how we think of others. Social media causes depression when people look at others and feel like they don't measure up. It isn't thinking about others that causes us to be unhappy, it's comparing ourselves to others. When we compare ourselves favorably, we're usually just creating a fabrication in our own heads because we never have all the facts. When we compare ourselves unfavorably, the same is true and we cause ourselves to be depressed. Either way, comparing ourselves to others creates emotions based assumptions, not truth. Anna goes the other way. She starts to think about other people as important, or even /more important/ than herself. She regrets disappointing her parents the most. She realizes she has never been loyal to anyone. She falls on the sword.
It's never too late for redemption.
QUOTES📢
You only realize after you get what you want… whether you really wanted it or not.
You become independent when you stop feeling guilty about disappointing your parents.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣8 📝7.5 🎭8.3 🌞3 🎨7 ⚡4 🎵/🔊6 😅1 😭5 😱3 😯5 😖3 🤔7 💤0 🔚8
Age 12+ with the following cautions: violence, murder, mistresses and children out of wedlock, divorce, scary and tense moments - while all present, the show is kept relatively tame.
Re-📺? Not opposed
In order of ~lite&trite~ to ~heavy&serious~ you may also like:
Modern Day:
Mad For Each Other 7.8 ~silly fun;
My Secret Romance 7 (if you ff thru overdone flashbacks);
A Witch's Love 7.8;
Love to Hate You 8.9;
Her Private Life 8;
Touch your heart 8.2;
Romance is a bonus book 7.9;
Boys Over Flowers 8 ~ melodrama to the max;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not To Be Okay 9;
Love Struck in the City 7.3;
Hospital Playlist 9;
My Mister 9.5;
More Than Friends 8;
I'll See You When the Weather is Fine 9;
Something in the Rain 9
Historical/Period:
My Only Love Song 8.7 ~ excellent comedy;
Live Up To Your Name 7.6;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo 8.5;
Saimdang 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
Try a Chinese historical fantasy romcom: The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8
Action/Sci-fi/fantasy:
K2 8;
Private Lives 8.1;
Sisyphus 8;
Tunnel 8.1;
Signal 8.6;
Black 9;
Squid Game 8.4;
Kingdom 8.3;
Sweet Home 8.4
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