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Try, try again - A Miracle in Us
I think I spent half an hour trying to come up with a catchy hook that could perfectly describe The Winning Try in one sentence - and based off of this preamble you can see I failed. That's because this drama invoked so many different feelings and emotions in me, joy, nostalgia, sadness, anger, frustration, ecstatic overload, hope, several of them together, and sometimes all at once.
I always say it's the miracle of sport, to feel these many emotions in a short span of time.. I've never seen anything else do it quite like sport does.
The Winning Try follows Ju Ga Ram and the rugby team from his alma mater, Hanyang High, as they begin a new year with a new coach in the form of Ga Ram, and all the chaos he brings with him. They are shaken up, first, because no one expected Ga Ram to return to rugby after a doping scandal three years prior, when he was a player - but most of the shake ups come when the rugby team realizes that their coach is smart, passionate, determined, and maybe just a bit of a dork.
Suddenly, the man who was once treated as an outsider even by his own team, is an integral part of the proceedings, he is their heart and soul.
He's bringing in new players, techniques, pulling all his cards to ensure his boys get the best possible chances of being miracles (something they say, I did not make this up), miracles that are going to win the national championship.
The lives of the rugby team aren't the only ones shaken up by Ga Ram's arrival - the entire school, including his ex, his former coach, former principal and former friend, all feel the impact.
I love this series. I love it. But there were so many things I didn't love about it. As a collective, I've rated it high, but honestly, the high rating is only because of the rugby team.
I love those guys. Along with Ga Ram, they are the heart and soul of this series. Again, so much emotion, so much at stake for each of them, but they learn how to put everything aside - just to come together as a team for their dreams. By the end of the twelve episodes, I was in awe of how much each of them had grown. And we did get to see all of them, this wasn't a situation where one of them is the star player, no one else matters - no, no. They were a team. They fought, argued, threw punches, felt jealous, but all that was just one percent of everyone they went through together.
This is why I seek out sports dramas - the human connection formed through teamwork and bonding is something else. I loved every single minute the rugby team was on screen.
However, the further we went into the story, the less focus they got? My rating just for the rugby storyline is high, maybe even a 10, but if I factor in all the other filler scenes we got that actually took away from the team's screentime? My rating would be much lower, lower than my current rating.
These scenes added no real depth or value for me. The entire shooting storyline for example. Half of the characters were not required for the plot at all. We had Bae I Ji, shooting coach, player and Ga Ram's ex. It should've stopped there. Instead we had another shooting coach, two players, a corrupt vice principal and a corrupt education minister (?). And their roles were relevant to the plot when they were hindrances to the rugby team, but soon it branched off into its own, unnecessary storyline.
So many scenes that could have been devoted to the rugby team - instead I would say around one-third of the story focused on all the wrong details. My rating nevertheless remains high.. but oh.. so much I wish they'd done instead of what we actually got.
The acting on all fronts, nevertheless, was brilliant. I sound like a broken record, but, especially Ga Ram and the team. Haven't even mentioned their names yet for all the times I've referenced them, and here they are - Yoon Seong Jun, Oh Yeong Gwang, So Myeong U, Do Hyeong Sik, Kim Ju Yang, Pyo Seon Ho and the maknae, Mun Ung. All seven of them were played by actors who gave performances of a lifetime, so much passion and heart, so good. And Yoon Kye Sang.. my god. No one else could've portrayed the bold and enigmatic Ga Ram better. All the actors were simply brilliant.
The production value was obviously high, and the music! So good! Felt very refreshing and pleasant to the ears.
I love this drama - and highly recommend it. Absolutely do. I was moved to tears almost every episode if that says something. Because sport really does move you, doesn't it?
I always say it's the miracle of sport, to feel these many emotions in a short span of time.. I've never seen anything else do it quite like sport does.
The Winning Try follows Ju Ga Ram and the rugby team from his alma mater, Hanyang High, as they begin a new year with a new coach in the form of Ga Ram, and all the chaos he brings with him. They are shaken up, first, because no one expected Ga Ram to return to rugby after a doping scandal three years prior, when he was a player - but most of the shake ups come when the rugby team realizes that their coach is smart, passionate, determined, and maybe just a bit of a dork.
Suddenly, the man who was once treated as an outsider even by his own team, is an integral part of the proceedings, he is their heart and soul.
He's bringing in new players, techniques, pulling all his cards to ensure his boys get the best possible chances of being miracles (something they say, I did not make this up), miracles that are going to win the national championship.
The lives of the rugby team aren't the only ones shaken up by Ga Ram's arrival - the entire school, including his ex, his former coach, former principal and former friend, all feel the impact.
I love this series. I love it. But there were so many things I didn't love about it. As a collective, I've rated it high, but honestly, the high rating is only because of the rugby team.
I love those guys. Along with Ga Ram, they are the heart and soul of this series. Again, so much emotion, so much at stake for each of them, but they learn how to put everything aside - just to come together as a team for their dreams. By the end of the twelve episodes, I was in awe of how much each of them had grown. And we did get to see all of them, this wasn't a situation where one of them is the star player, no one else matters - no, no. They were a team. They fought, argued, threw punches, felt jealous, but all that was just one percent of everyone they went through together.
This is why I seek out sports dramas - the human connection formed through teamwork and bonding is something else. I loved every single minute the rugby team was on screen.
However, the further we went into the story, the less focus they got? My rating just for the rugby storyline is high, maybe even a 10, but if I factor in all the other filler scenes we got that actually took away from the team's screentime? My rating would be much lower, lower than my current rating.
These scenes added no real depth or value for me. The entire shooting storyline for example. Half of the characters were not required for the plot at all. We had Bae I Ji, shooting coach, player and Ga Ram's ex. It should've stopped there. Instead we had another shooting coach, two players, a corrupt vice principal and a corrupt education minister (?). And their roles were relevant to the plot when they were hindrances to the rugby team, but soon it branched off into its own, unnecessary storyline.
So many scenes that could have been devoted to the rugby team - instead I would say around one-third of the story focused on all the wrong details. My rating nevertheless remains high.. but oh.. so much I wish they'd done instead of what we actually got.
The acting on all fronts, nevertheless, was brilliant. I sound like a broken record, but, especially Ga Ram and the team. Haven't even mentioned their names yet for all the times I've referenced them, and here they are - Yoon Seong Jun, Oh Yeong Gwang, So Myeong U, Do Hyeong Sik, Kim Ju Yang, Pyo Seon Ho and the maknae, Mun Ung. All seven of them were played by actors who gave performances of a lifetime, so much passion and heart, so good. And Yoon Kye Sang.. my god. No one else could've portrayed the bold and enigmatic Ga Ram better. All the actors were simply brilliant.
The production value was obviously high, and the music! So good! Felt very refreshing and pleasant to the ears.
I love this drama - and highly recommend it. Absolutely do. I was moved to tears almost every episode if that says something. Because sport really does move you, doesn't it?
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