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This review may contain spoilers
A family drama about love.
A love other than yours, is a family drama. If you come into this with a prejudice about adulterers and infidelity (cheaters and cheating), then you are likely to miss the incredible stories that unfold in this drama. Do youself a favour and open your heart to all they are portraying here.
I have my limit with KDramas, and often drop before a season plays out. The most popular type, seems to me to be over-stylised, melodramatic and histrionic. Exagerrated acting, overly bright colours of both actors and sets, over-played and predictable tropes, and challenge free, low stakes storylines. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some dramas like this. They can be amazing for low calorie entertainment value. But sometimes I crave something denser.
Realist style dramas are relatively rare from South Korea, when you count how many shows are released each season. But when they do appear they usually become my favourites of the season. A Love Other Than Yours, has become that for me, this year.
Each and every one of the characters we meet in this, have a life fully lived, shown to us alongside the central drama. This may have been overly ambitious for a 14 ep show but, I could happily watch each of their stories played out in full, right down to an Office Drama featuring Eom Ho Sik.
The acting is absolutely immersive, in the realist sense. For me, Lee Joo Ahn was a standout. His micro expressions. His barely contained grievance? Injustice? Outrage? So many viewed him simply as 'bad', and I agree he is the red flag man of this drama. But his portrayal of the character Han Tae Seung, is captivating. He is the juxtaposition of Namgoong Ho: Both abused and abandoned boys. Both successful adults - career wise at least. Both prone to violence and petty grievances. One, everyone utterly forgives and grants the benefit of the doubt, the other everyone immediately judges and finds less than. His character, for me, embodies the need for compassion from the viewers. A compassion Mi Do clearly has, (her mother giving us this clue with her statement that Mi Do is the kindest of her children) and that I would argue, is the very reason she is attracted to Tae Seung.
I would also argue that Compassion is one of the central themes and is the primary cause of Mi Do and Ho's breakup. There are so many themes alongside compassion, none of which are infidelity/cheating:
•Blood ties vs family ties, and carrying the burden of your parentage e.g. Namgung erasing his art from his life due to the connection to his father.
•Meeting your family's expectations vs being supported to be yourself e.g. Mi Do quitting directing. Wan Do continuing to dive.
•Feeling like you need to earn love or be deserving of love vs expecting to be loved just for being you (e.g.) Ep 10 Only a child who is loved - Mi Do - can complain about their mum not remembering their favourite things, compared with Ep 9 -Namgung Ho, who can't actually complain about his mother forgetting his (and his brother's) birth-date, size, school, best friend...he only states it as a fact - they're not really questions.
•And...What is it that makes a healthy relationship!? Iin all the different types presented here, between married couples, parents and children, siblings both blood and acquired. Are they transactional, or are they unconditional? And what assumptions are they working from?
Ahead be SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!
My rating goes down for a couple of things...
•Cosmetic procedures can make some facial expressions limited here and there...this is no judgement of any particular actor, (make your own assumptions about who I mean, it's not that important) but it is something I truly, honestly hope is becoming passe for actors around the world. When your whole job is to emote, but your face doesn't move...it makes no sense to me! It did however, somewhat help to showcase the delicacy and subtlety of the majority of the performances.
•The character of Park Su Ah is not fully realised. I'm not sure if she was written purely as a protaganist for the ML and the writer attempted to fill out her character later, or that the role was just not considered significant enough to expand, or the actor was just unable to create the depth I was seeking. Whichever is true, I found it mildly disappointing and unsatisfying., especially when compared with the portrayal of Tae Seung
•The final pairings, I can't say I am satisfied with. Namgung and Su Ah...is fundamentally unequal. He speaks with a condescending tone, EVERY time he addresses her. I know this is a fairly typical KDrama portrayal of a 'Happy' M:F relationship. The type of relationship that speaks heavily of cultural norms in SK. But I personally, find it deeply unsettling and believe it bodes poorly for their future.
•Mi Do and Han Tae Seung is another fundamentally unequal relationship. They may have FIRE sexual chrmistry, but she doesn't actually like him as a person. And expecting someone to change COMPLETELY for you, also bodes very poorly for their future.
The drama does wrap up in a somewhat satisfying way, bringing the couple back to where they began, and answering the question of their end: Mido's resentment and guilt and Namgung Ho's devotion/dedication and survivor complex. All fundamentally dating back to Mido's father's drowning. Their end was an inevitability because the beginning was built upon a fundamental misunderstanding; both wanting the other to be happy, whilst believing their love had been built out of pity.
I have my limit with KDramas, and often drop before a season plays out. The most popular type, seems to me to be over-stylised, melodramatic and histrionic. Exagerrated acting, overly bright colours of both actors and sets, over-played and predictable tropes, and challenge free, low stakes storylines. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy some dramas like this. They can be amazing for low calorie entertainment value. But sometimes I crave something denser.
Realist style dramas are relatively rare from South Korea, when you count how many shows are released each season. But when they do appear they usually become my favourites of the season. A Love Other Than Yours, has become that for me, this year.
Each and every one of the characters we meet in this, have a life fully lived, shown to us alongside the central drama. This may have been overly ambitious for a 14 ep show but, I could happily watch each of their stories played out in full, right down to an Office Drama featuring Eom Ho Sik.
The acting is absolutely immersive, in the realist sense. For me, Lee Joo Ahn was a standout. His micro expressions. His barely contained grievance? Injustice? Outrage? So many viewed him simply as 'bad', and I agree he is the red flag man of this drama. But his portrayal of the character Han Tae Seung, is captivating. He is the juxtaposition of Namgoong Ho: Both abused and abandoned boys. Both successful adults - career wise at least. Both prone to violence and petty grievances. One, everyone utterly forgives and grants the benefit of the doubt, the other everyone immediately judges and finds less than. His character, for me, embodies the need for compassion from the viewers. A compassion Mi Do clearly has, (her mother giving us this clue with her statement that Mi Do is the kindest of her children) and that I would argue, is the very reason she is attracted to Tae Seung.
I would also argue that Compassion is one of the central themes and is the primary cause of Mi Do and Ho's breakup. There are so many themes alongside compassion, none of which are infidelity/cheating:
•Blood ties vs family ties, and carrying the burden of your parentage e.g. Namgung erasing his art from his life due to the connection to his father.
•Meeting your family's expectations vs being supported to be yourself e.g. Mi Do quitting directing. Wan Do continuing to dive.
•Feeling like you need to earn love or be deserving of love vs expecting to be loved just for being you (e.g.) Ep 10 Only a child who is loved - Mi Do - can complain about their mum not remembering their favourite things, compared with Ep 9 -Namgung Ho, who can't actually complain about his mother forgetting his (and his brother's) birth-date, size, school, best friend...he only states it as a fact - they're not really questions.
•And...What is it that makes a healthy relationship!? Iin all the different types presented here, between married couples, parents and children, siblings both blood and acquired. Are they transactional, or are they unconditional? And what assumptions are they working from?
Ahead be SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!
My rating goes down for a couple of things...
•Cosmetic procedures can make some facial expressions limited here and there...this is no judgement of any particular actor, (make your own assumptions about who I mean, it's not that important) but it is something I truly, honestly hope is becoming passe for actors around the world. When your whole job is to emote, but your face doesn't move...it makes no sense to me! It did however, somewhat help to showcase the delicacy and subtlety of the majority of the performances.
•The character of Park Su Ah is not fully realised. I'm not sure if she was written purely as a protaganist for the ML and the writer attempted to fill out her character later, or that the role was just not considered significant enough to expand, or the actor was just unable to create the depth I was seeking. Whichever is true, I found it mildly disappointing and unsatisfying., especially when compared with the portrayal of Tae Seung
•The final pairings, I can't say I am satisfied with. Namgung and Su Ah...is fundamentally unequal. He speaks with a condescending tone, EVERY time he addresses her. I know this is a fairly typical KDrama portrayal of a 'Happy' M:F relationship. The type of relationship that speaks heavily of cultural norms in SK. But I personally, find it deeply unsettling and believe it bodes poorly for their future.
•Mi Do and Han Tae Seung is another fundamentally unequal relationship. They may have FIRE sexual chrmistry, but she doesn't actually like him as a person. And expecting someone to change COMPLETELY for you, also bodes very poorly for their future.
The drama does wrap up in a somewhat satisfying way, bringing the couple back to where they began, and answering the question of their end: Mido's resentment and guilt and Namgung Ho's devotion/dedication and survivor complex. All fundamentally dating back to Mido's father's drowning. Their end was an inevitability because the beginning was built upon a fundamental misunderstanding; both wanting the other to be happy, whilst believing their love had been built out of pity.
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