This review may contain spoilers
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST DRAMAS THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN
General opinionWhen watching something out of curiosity/boredom... what do you seek? a drama with a well made plot? something to give you a energy boost for the day? an emotional show that connects with you in a deeper level or something that make you laugh?
My journey with this drama was like that... i was searching for something to fill my void and make me feel something. At first it was just good and i felt the same as most fans but then in the later half something hit me. How is this show making me so invested and curious without making me realize it myself... it's like, yes the chemistry is good with the characters and plot is interesting but for the first time with a drama i felt such a strong connection without actually trying to analyze it... it felt automatic. I felt exactly the same as Jaeyi felt when she was at the bottom of the water with her armor.
I had some small doubts while watching it but it was like best whiplash i had experience in my life.
Plot points? most are covered making this feel a complete drama but possibly has still room for a future next season.
Character development? Covered (of the main cast).
Beautiful usage of parallels and foreshadowing? The director knew perfectly how to use them.
Actors looking stiff? not even once.
Cinematography/Production
The production value is both outstanding both by just first glance and also when analyzing it. The sets were really well thought, for exemple with the school feeling so big by the big introduction of the first ep. the houses of each respective character and the places they explore... i strangely felt a sense of belonging (i don't know how to explain it better than this).
The level of detail of each room and number of props used is crazy... most times when i see a character walking to a place or entering in a building, i would usually think in my brain of "Ok, so this character was in point A and then walked to point B" with a not thinking about it but more of the overall plot... this drama made every single location important both for the story and characters and they added as much detail as they could to make even the most typical locations incredible if analyzed (ex. Jaeyi's room, their classroom, the park near Seulgi's house, the hospital.) i can yap for hours while talking about the production value but i will now focus to another really important aspect of this drama.
For the cinematography... is everything in this drama. the change of shot of behind a character to a zoom with a change of angle. Most scenes would feel boring/dull if not showing all the different ways you can portray them with a camera. One thing i noticed a lot is the close ups to the characters faces to convey all the changes in their expressions (ex. roof scenes, the school festival, last minutes of the ending.) and the way the use lightning is simply gorgeous (full ep 13 is exemple of that, please watch it again and you will notice it. ep 5 towards the end it used natural light a lot, giving it more meaning to the scene.)
How can you make a whole lit room feel threatening? how can you make a simple park look so interesting? Is it possible to convey a plot point with just a shot from a different angle? Isn't putting this much effort a waste since most people watch tv shows in a superficial level? .
All these question can be answered by watching this show as it was designed... full of micro details studied with upmost love and care from all the cast. they all poured everything they had since they love their craft and us... the viewers, we decide if we want to fully fans and hyper analyze it.
Acting
Lee Hyeri: The acting was superb with every single small change of her expressions or micro change with her body language, she could clearly show the different emotion of Jaeyi even when she was black faced or had to portray heavy emotional moments without crying.
As an actress i can only applaud to her skills for making me dumbfounded every single scene. The role was a big challenge and she took it without fear and i admire her for giving display of such quality.
I hope the best for her next projects.
Chung Subin was incredible and felt almost crude with the amazing acting skills for the role of Seulgi. I never heard of her before but with this work she gave a long lasting strong impression of what she is capable. The first episode she showed just a small bit of her skills but the later half... she was clearly born to be an actress and way she made me feel teary in the last episode is exemple of that (only a few things can arrive at that level for me). The trembling of her voice to her eyes showing anger to having a blank face is a skill no many have and she showed that without making any scene look cringe or too forced.
Oh Woori is one of a kind as an actress. One scene she expresses the character in a comical and the next second she shows us how much experience she has with acting. I would suggest to check closely her scenes in the final episodes.
Kang Hyewon is one the who i had regrettably not much expectations for her as i heard many people called her acting skills a bit lacking but watching this drama i think she played the role of Yeri perfectly with fully giving light how Yeri would really look/act like and also expressions/behavior were marvelous. If i must say she did beyond what i expected and is a really promising actress who will grow even more with more acting roles.
Kim Tae Hoon nailed the role as Tae Jun by making all the watchers hate him and let me tell you it is not as easy as it seems to act such role. There are times were actors look clearly in a tough spot in acting with behaving and showing emotions for a bad guy role but he showed incredible skills in doing that and i didn't find it awkward .
Choi Young Jae was impressive in the role of a scumbag who name was Byeong Jin. It might seem i'm too much vowing the actors with compliments but i really mean it when i say that they make the characters feel alive and he is a living exemple of that. One would say that to act such expressionless characters it needs an actors of high caliber to make it seem authentic and he actually did that while making it seem so natural, really incredible.
The other actors i didn't mention who had not as much major role or where i don't know the name also played a big role in the drama. Yes... the first thing you would usually notice is of a main lead if his acting skills were lackluster but the world/plot would be dead if the other actors weren't there always doing their role in the background. Many actors we love have started with a guest role for even sometimes one episode, so show appreciation to them too.
Story
The story was really good in the beginning with a steady pacing, in the half of the drama with start to really seen how much the story deepens and small elements of foreshadowing but the best in my option is the later half. more specifically the last episode.
You would believe that the story was quite rushed and many scenes cut for them to be fully explained but the last episode raised the score for the drama for me... to a 9,5 to 10.
Foreshadowing with what would happen with the starting episodes of the drama to connecting the missing plot points with well explained quick scenes to an ending that many people would be lacking since the short time the episode lasts and many unanswered questions. i clap for the genius mind of the director in achieving that without making the story lower of quality.
Music/Audio
I think this is one of the most important points in the drama. the sound of rain, sound of breathing, sound of crying, the cut of sounds to make the voice of the characters clearer in the right moments.
Adding that is the OSTs, you watch a sad scene? here a singer with an angelic voice who sings deep hard hitting lyrics. Conflict? here a singer with a raspy voice who conveys all the anger and frustrations of the characters. More calm? here a group of singers who covey the overall theme of the drama with a more hip hop track.
I have never skipped a song or sound effect for how good they are.
Special message
I thank all the people who worked behind the scenes, actors/actresses, the original creator of the series, the director&screenwriter, the dog, and all the people who watched the drama while it was airing and who are still showing love to it. If it wasn't thanks to social media... i would never have found this drama. I really mean it from the heart when i say this is the best show i have ever seen until now.
i hope the best for the people who worked behind it. GOOD LUCK!
VOTE 10/10
Ps: Ep 16 is my favorite.
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