Chunkypuggy

You and Everything Else is the telling of the story about the relationship between two women who have known each other since adolescence. The show is told in eras from the perspective of Kim Goeun's character, Ryu Eunjung, from the time her and Park Jihyun's character, Cheon Sangyeon met in Elementary, to the time they reunite in the early 40s. This doesn't serve as a spoiler, but Cheon Sangyeon is terminally ill and requests Ryu Eunjung to accompany her on her final trip before his death.

What makes this drama a standout to me is fantastic cinematography and acting from the case ensemble. I felt that the set locations, perspective viewing, and backgrounds in every scene were purposeful, and lovely. There is a subtle blur effect for nostalgia throughout the past eras, and I feel this serves to highlight that the stories are a recollection of the two, and the color palette would change accordingly to highlight the intended mood of a scene very well. Kim Goeun and Park Jihyun are two of my favorite actresses in general, and I feel that their range of acting were really tested here, with the latter personally stealing a bit of the show for me. The raw emotion and full body acting the two were able to display was fantastic, and what I loved a lot was how many one-shots there would be, further magnifying their acting prowess and professionalism.

I loved that this drama was not afraid to tackle complex characters, and intertwine them in the story continuum, with Sangyeon being the personification of toxicity and self-loathing throughout, and Eunjung being grounded and true to her sense of self, with no room for ifs and buts, while also being very sensitive and honest at her most vulnerable. Sangyeon comes from an opulent background, with her family being the ideal Nuclear Family via the eye test, but they're very dysfunctional at heart. Eunjung for most of her adolescence grew up without her father, and her mother struggled to keep them afloat from a socioeconomic perspective. In this presentation of the two, the two girls from completely different backgrounds are able to find comfort and solace within each other, while the threads the jealousy and insecurity continued to grow ever so slightly until explored more in the later eras.

Kim Goeun once again brings about masterful acting in the heavy emotional scenes, really allowing viewers to experience what the characters are feeling. She made me cry during Goblin, and did so once again throughout this wonderful series. I have not been able to watch Park Jihyun in much other than Flex x Cop, and random cameos, but this drama cemented her in my mind as a force to be reckoned with. If the two were in a scene together with their characters being the highlight of the scene at hand, it was a guaranteed hit. Emotions are evoked, thoughts are provoked, and tissues are soaked is where I found myself a multitude of times watching this, and it is an experience I am glad to have been able to have.

The characterization of everyone, the intertwining fates and progression of the story at hand was done very well. While it can feel slow at times, and if you hate a love-triangle this may not be for you, it was a story I could not stop watching once the ball started rolling. Themes of friendship, pity, forgiveness, betrayal were all at play and I feel that everything was fleshed out very well. I laughed, cried, cheered, yelled, at the triumphs and shortcomings that were shown, for this story felt so palpable and real.

This will definitely go down as one of the top releases of 2025 for me, and I hope to revisit this at some time. I had already planned to, but will now most definitely prioritize the future works of the two for my 'to watch' list as able. If you are hesitating to watch this drama, do not, because you will not be disappointed by this wonderful story of life and friendship.