This review may contain spoilers
It takes time to learn how to translate love
I binged this drama over two days because I saw the hype and I refused to get spoiled, and I'm glad I did so. Interestingly, I would say this show can't really be spoiled, after all. There's a story being told, and though I do think it works best if you go in without expectations, it doesn't really matter because there are no stakes. There are things that this drama did really well, but others that it dropped the ball on. Overall, I would say it was underwhelming but enjoyable.
THE GOOD
- Let's start by naming the stand-out of this whole show--the acting. Every actor on screen delivered, and none more than our leads, especially our Cha Mun Hee. I've marked this review for spoilers but I'll be vague regardless. If you've seen the show, you know why whoever played this character would need to have range--and boy did Go Youn-Jung deliver! She really brought the FL to life (over and over again....like a zombie...haha). I was blown away by her performance, and really appreciated seeing the quality reflected back by everyone whom she shared a screen with.
- Next--the characters. Every single character was fleshed out and characterised thoughtfully, even for throwaway moments in the background. It truly added so much to the world that we were being invited into. I would've happily gone down any number of side roads to learn more about the side characters, which I can safely say is a first.
- Speaking of the characters and how they were directed on the screen--the cinematography and direction of this show was phenomenal. It was beautiful and scoping, and artistic in a way I really appreciated. Small touches, like FL's flashbacks and the dollhouse, changes in lighting, parallels and symbolism in the visuals--they really added a lot of depth to the narrative. One of my favourite examples is when FL is crying and Do Ra Mi is dancing in a thunderstorm. The contrast!
- The story and genre were refreshingly original. I've already talked about the characters, so I'm going to skip them here, but the story itself and the way several plot points unfolded were so deeply satisfying. The drama starts with classic set-ups--a first love ML can't forget, unrequited FL pining, childhood trauma, secrets--and ends after resolving each one without falling into the pitfalls of kdramaland--love triangles, ignored yearning, amnesia, emotional reunions. It was such a pleasant surprise to constantly underestimate how characters would react and the story would unfold. Every attempt at manipulation failed because the main leads kept no secrets from each other, for example. Or the delightful one-sided love line with Hiro, who is in reality a complete opposite to his Prince Charming persona. Oh, and my favourite call-out: "I heard all that. What is wrong with you?"
- This is a continuation of the last point, with a focus on genre. I wouldn't call this show a rom-com. I know that's what it's tagged as, and it has both romance and comedy aplenty. But there's more to it than that. It's not slice-of-life. It's not thriller. It's not a melo. But somehow, it's all of those at once regardless. There is something very comforting about this show. It plods on at a steady pace, making progress without you realising it and suddenly you're on episode 6 and you wonder, what could possibly take 12 episodes??? And yet you keep watching, and it keeps you hanging on. Romance is definitely the main story, but it's not the only story, and I think that made it stand out even more.
- I really need to shout-out the character of 'Do Ra Mi' on its own. First, the zombie dancing killer from the movie FL shoots--oof! I wish that were a real movie! The scenes we got were fantastic and FL killed it! And then the Do Ra Mi that emerges later....she was such a contrast to Cha Mul Hee and it was so much fun watching her on screen. Definitely a highlight of this show.
THE IFFY
Most of my gripes with this show stem from the writing: it wasn't super neat, and although the characters and their relationships were refreshing, certain plot points and situations weren't developed cleanly enough. It's one of the biggest reasons this drama isn't rated higher.
- The pacing was a little choppy at times, especially with the time skips and flashbacks. They were positioned oddly sometimes, making the timeline a little difficult to follow. And certain situations could have been resolved easily with a translation app (aka, all of the scenes with Hiro and FL), but because it wasn't convenient for the plot, the characters never used it. That was a little frustrating in terms of the writing.
- Similarly, some of the dialogues were clearly set up to have an impact, but I couldn't tell what the build up was so the scene fell flat. I don't know if this was a translation issue or a writing issue, to be honest. The translations on Netflix currently suck, which is horribly ironic.
- The biggest issue for me was the back-and-forth that happened between the ML and FL. I couldn't follow their reasons for staying away from each other. It felt a little contrived, especially when Do Ra Mi was introduced. That also contributed to the confusion because she would speak FOR the FL at times to progress the plot, and we wouldn't really see how FL felt about it all. For example, at one point she says FL is too embarrassed to speak to ML...okay...but what exactly happened? There was so much stuff happening between event X and Y that it was difficult to follow. It also felt like ML and FL had several emotional 'breakups' only to get back together. That normally would have rage-baited me, but it was tolerable here because there was still progress, you know? But it definitely made the overall writing weaker. I think the writers could have developed it better (as we do see Do Ra Mi make excuses for that behaviour at times).
- One thing I would have loved would have been increased anchoring of the story with quotes and references, like in 'Because This is My First Life'. The set-up was there, with ML being widely read and living in a house full of books, as well as his professor friend. Not to mention the many languages featured on screen! It would've added some great emotional depth to the story, as well as backbone for the ML and FL's arc.
- One last point: Do Ra Mi drugged ML. No one speaks of it again, even after they learn the actual circumstances of how FL's parents 'died' and how her aunt and uncle were afraid she was just like her mum. That should've been resolved because drugging...that's crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I really enjoyed this show for what it was. If you're in the mood for a binge-worthy romance that is satisfyingly sweet, that has great side characters, and beautiful cinematography and costuming, definitely give this one a go. Give it a miss if you're looking for a story that has realistic depictions of mental health and emotional arcs of love and reconciliation. While I liked that they were a part of the story, neither of those things were anything more than a plot device. The introduction of the dissociative identity was interesting and made sense for the story, but it would have been less gimmicky had it been rooted in FL's trauma in a more realistic way. REGARDLESS.
CUTE ROMANCE, EXCELLENT ACTING, BEAUTIFUL SHOTS.
(I will admit, some part of me watched this show because I was searching for Park Chung-Seob from When Life Gives you Tangerines...)
THE GOOD
- Let's start by naming the stand-out of this whole show--the acting. Every actor on screen delivered, and none more than our leads, especially our Cha Mun Hee. I've marked this review for spoilers but I'll be vague regardless. If you've seen the show, you know why whoever played this character would need to have range--and boy did Go Youn-Jung deliver! She really brought the FL to life (over and over again....like a zombie...haha). I was blown away by her performance, and really appreciated seeing the quality reflected back by everyone whom she shared a screen with.
- Next--the characters. Every single character was fleshed out and characterised thoughtfully, even for throwaway moments in the background. It truly added so much to the world that we were being invited into. I would've happily gone down any number of side roads to learn more about the side characters, which I can safely say is a first.
- Speaking of the characters and how they were directed on the screen--the cinematography and direction of this show was phenomenal. It was beautiful and scoping, and artistic in a way I really appreciated. Small touches, like FL's flashbacks and the dollhouse, changes in lighting, parallels and symbolism in the visuals--they really added a lot of depth to the narrative. One of my favourite examples is when FL is crying and Do Ra Mi is dancing in a thunderstorm. The contrast!
- The story and genre were refreshingly original. I've already talked about the characters, so I'm going to skip them here, but the story itself and the way several plot points unfolded were so deeply satisfying. The drama starts with classic set-ups--a first love ML can't forget, unrequited FL pining, childhood trauma, secrets--and ends after resolving each one without falling into the pitfalls of kdramaland--love triangles, ignored yearning, amnesia, emotional reunions. It was such a pleasant surprise to constantly underestimate how characters would react and the story would unfold. Every attempt at manipulation failed because the main leads kept no secrets from each other, for example. Or the delightful one-sided love line with Hiro, who is in reality a complete opposite to his Prince Charming persona. Oh, and my favourite call-out: "I heard all that. What is wrong with you?"
- This is a continuation of the last point, with a focus on genre. I wouldn't call this show a rom-com. I know that's what it's tagged as, and it has both romance and comedy aplenty. But there's more to it than that. It's not slice-of-life. It's not thriller. It's not a melo. But somehow, it's all of those at once regardless. There is something very comforting about this show. It plods on at a steady pace, making progress without you realising it and suddenly you're on episode 6 and you wonder, what could possibly take 12 episodes??? And yet you keep watching, and it keeps you hanging on. Romance is definitely the main story, but it's not the only story, and I think that made it stand out even more.
- I really need to shout-out the character of 'Do Ra Mi' on its own. First, the zombie dancing killer from the movie FL shoots--oof! I wish that were a real movie! The scenes we got were fantastic and FL killed it! And then the Do Ra Mi that emerges later....she was such a contrast to Cha Mul Hee and it was so much fun watching her on screen. Definitely a highlight of this show.
THE IFFY
Most of my gripes with this show stem from the writing: it wasn't super neat, and although the characters and their relationships were refreshing, certain plot points and situations weren't developed cleanly enough. It's one of the biggest reasons this drama isn't rated higher.
- The pacing was a little choppy at times, especially with the time skips and flashbacks. They were positioned oddly sometimes, making the timeline a little difficult to follow. And certain situations could have been resolved easily with a translation app (aka, all of the scenes with Hiro and FL), but because it wasn't convenient for the plot, the characters never used it. That was a little frustrating in terms of the writing.
- Similarly, some of the dialogues were clearly set up to have an impact, but I couldn't tell what the build up was so the scene fell flat. I don't know if this was a translation issue or a writing issue, to be honest. The translations on Netflix currently suck, which is horribly ironic.
- The biggest issue for me was the back-and-forth that happened between the ML and FL. I couldn't follow their reasons for staying away from each other. It felt a little contrived, especially when Do Ra Mi was introduced. That also contributed to the confusion because she would speak FOR the FL at times to progress the plot, and we wouldn't really see how FL felt about it all. For example, at one point she says FL is too embarrassed to speak to ML...okay...but what exactly happened? There was so much stuff happening between event X and Y that it was difficult to follow. It also felt like ML and FL had several emotional 'breakups' only to get back together. That normally would have rage-baited me, but it was tolerable here because there was still progress, you know? But it definitely made the overall writing weaker. I think the writers could have developed it better (as we do see Do Ra Mi make excuses for that behaviour at times).
- One thing I would have loved would have been increased anchoring of the story with quotes and references, like in 'Because This is My First Life'. The set-up was there, with ML being widely read and living in a house full of books, as well as his professor friend. Not to mention the many languages featured on screen! It would've added some great emotional depth to the story, as well as backbone for the ML and FL's arc.
- One last point: Do Ra Mi drugged ML. No one speaks of it again, even after they learn the actual circumstances of how FL's parents 'died' and how her aunt and uncle were afraid she was just like her mum. That should've been resolved because drugging...that's crazy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I really enjoyed this show for what it was. If you're in the mood for a binge-worthy romance that is satisfyingly sweet, that has great side characters, and beautiful cinematography and costuming, definitely give this one a go. Give it a miss if you're looking for a story that has realistic depictions of mental health and emotional arcs of love and reconciliation. While I liked that they were a part of the story, neither of those things were anything more than a plot device. The introduction of the dissociative identity was interesting and made sense for the story, but it would have been less gimmicky had it been rooted in FL's trauma in a more realistic way. REGARDLESS.
CUTE ROMANCE, EXCELLENT ACTING, BEAUTIFUL SHOTS.
(I will admit, some part of me watched this show because I was searching for Park Chung-Seob from When Life Gives you Tangerines...)
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