This review may contain spoilers
Too Much, Too Soon, and Probably Too Little, Too Late
Summary: At first, I loved this underdog dramedy featuring an unlucky guy and his misfit crew. It was so heartwarming and some of the loss hit home for me. The acting was great and it made me appreciate Lee Jun-ho more as he showed his character versatility vs. in King the Land in which he played a boring and predictable chaebol. I also love that the female lead was a normal size compared to the often unrealistic obsession with stick thin as the standard body type, represented in many other modern Asian dramas, which made her more relatable and believable (at least to me 😅).
Later, I started to hate the show when I realized that NEARLY EVERY EPISODE involves some sort of MISFORTUNE to the main characters, to the utter point of exhaustion. I lost attachment to the storyline after the inventory destruction scene in Thailand and was just numbed out by Episode 12. Also, it was a bit strange how Kang Tae-poong outsmarted his way out of every difficulty he encountered (were his handsome looks his superpower?). It was too much heartbreak, too soon, but also lacked hooking me at the same time, especially by this late in the series. I never thought I would say this but the Netflix episode scheduling wall gave me a much needed emotional break from all that tragedy.
Eventually, that emotional break turned into a hiatus, and still wasn't enough. When I finally came back to the show at Episode 15 and saw another tragedy strike, I just couldn't... On top of that, the filmmakers had the nerve put a bunch of previous scenes into a sappy montage. Jinjihage??? I'm kind of afraid to finish the show now. Lol.
Other than those critiques, I found Typhoon Family a lovable comeback story. Would I rewatch this? Probably not. I like the uniqueness of the story, with a cinematic twist on the tragic South Korean economic downturn in history. But it's kind of depressing seeing how much hardship all the characters suffer over and over again, topping that WITH a bullying competitor breathing down their necks at every turn.
At least the soundtrack was good (love Gukkasten/Ha Hyun-woo) with period appropriate (late 90s/early 2000s) jams alongside modern ones. The advertisements weren't too blatant, with the modest plugs for Solarique juice, CepoLAB skincare, and Pepero chocolate sticks. 😂
Details: eh, too exhausted to write them...
Side Notes:
- Why were there subtitles for when they spoke Korean and Thai but not English?? I had such a hard time understanding those lines. Lol
- Pyo Hyeon-jun teasing Oh Mi-seon with "freckles" nickname was totally getting on my nerves but I really appreciated that they showed a FL with normal complexion that many women possess. Not all folks can have perfect porcelain skin like most Asian dramas like to portray. Hoping there's a trend in featuring all types of skin rather than the Hollywooded ones.
- Why would someone run with an open envelope? Why didn't Oh Mi-seon put the envelope in her bag like she did with all the other documents before? Also, the negatives proved nothing since it's harder to identify them then with actual photos...🤦🏻♀️
- Why would the construction worker in Thailand keep maneuvering his excavator crane into the taxi after he sees it blocking his path? AND why would they freak out when just some of the product was destroyed and there's like PILES of boxes right behind them?
- How does Pyo Hyeon-jun keep coming around at just the wrong (but also just the right) time to ruin Kang Tae-poong's company plans? Ugh...😮💨 Also, how did his dad survive being bashed in the head and locked up in the shed like that without any apparent sustenance provided nor a way to relieve himself? 😮
Later, I started to hate the show when I realized that NEARLY EVERY EPISODE involves some sort of MISFORTUNE to the main characters, to the utter point of exhaustion. I lost attachment to the storyline after the inventory destruction scene in Thailand and was just numbed out by Episode 12. Also, it was a bit strange how Kang Tae-poong outsmarted his way out of every difficulty he encountered (were his handsome looks his superpower?). It was too much heartbreak, too soon, but also lacked hooking me at the same time, especially by this late in the series. I never thought I would say this but the Netflix episode scheduling wall gave me a much needed emotional break from all that tragedy.
Eventually, that emotional break turned into a hiatus, and still wasn't enough. When I finally came back to the show at Episode 15 and saw another tragedy strike, I just couldn't... On top of that, the filmmakers had the nerve put a bunch of previous scenes into a sappy montage. Jinjihage??? I'm kind of afraid to finish the show now. Lol.
Other than those critiques, I found Typhoon Family a lovable comeback story. Would I rewatch this? Probably not. I like the uniqueness of the story, with a cinematic twist on the tragic South Korean economic downturn in history. But it's kind of depressing seeing how much hardship all the characters suffer over and over again, topping that WITH a bullying competitor breathing down their necks at every turn.
At least the soundtrack was good (love Gukkasten/Ha Hyun-woo) with period appropriate (late 90s/early 2000s) jams alongside modern ones. The advertisements weren't too blatant, with the modest plugs for Solarique juice, CepoLAB skincare, and Pepero chocolate sticks. 😂
Details: eh, too exhausted to write them...
Side Notes:
- Why were there subtitles for when they spoke Korean and Thai but not English?? I had such a hard time understanding those lines. Lol
- Pyo Hyeon-jun teasing Oh Mi-seon with "freckles" nickname was totally getting on my nerves but I really appreciated that they showed a FL with normal complexion that many women possess. Not all folks can have perfect porcelain skin like most Asian dramas like to portray. Hoping there's a trend in featuring all types of skin rather than the Hollywooded ones.
- Why would someone run with an open envelope? Why didn't Oh Mi-seon put the envelope in her bag like she did with all the other documents before? Also, the negatives proved nothing since it's harder to identify them then with actual photos...🤦🏻♀️
- Why would the construction worker in Thailand keep maneuvering his excavator crane into the taxi after he sees it blocking his path? AND why would they freak out when just some of the product was destroyed and there's like PILES of boxes right behind them?
- How does Pyo Hyeon-jun keep coming around at just the wrong (but also just the right) time to ruin Kang Tae-poong's company plans? Ugh...😮💨 Also, how did his dad survive being bashed in the head and locked up in the shed like that without any apparent sustenance provided nor a way to relieve himself? 😮
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