chachacha_04

what did i just watch?

The drama eventually did circle back to a sexist approach indeed. Namgoong got to make the decisions while Mido and her family were mere passive recipients.

I initially tried to "see this (the drama) through till the end" like both the leads, and even defend the plot but as I anticipated previously, there was no proper ending. In fact, the ending was even more toxic than what all of this began as.

I think the biggest flaw of this entire story was exploring every (literally EVERY single) character's traumas. A even bigger flaw was making a trauma plot out of everything. Namgoong, Mido, Taeseung, Sua, Mido's mother, Wando, Yeongdo, even his ex-wife, Song Haena (the actress), Sua's friend, Namgoong's boss. That's all the characters in this drama by the way, and they all were just constantly suffering?

It is actually very frustrating how the actress randomly just disappeared after giving us so much unnecessary information about her. Then Sua's friend also leaked the information and disappeared with again the whole father cheating with her father plot. Namgoong's boss got such an unrealistic ending where he suddenly rose to success out of nowhere and everything was rainbows and sunshine for him? And Yeongdo's ex-wife saying I hope you never find out how pathetic I was on her wedding day?? What?

A very, very prominent theme in the entire drama was male heroism. It is all the male characters, not kidding, quite literally almost every male character is shown as a superior individual or had their problems resolved by the end while all the female characters are shown as either crazy, overly emotional, hurting, or being wronged. The male characters are predominantly characterised by what they do. The female characters, meanwhile, are predominantly characterised by how they feel.

It starts with Mido's father being the hero saving Namgoong, goes on to show Namgoong as filling in their father's shoes and taking care of the entire family despite his hardships, accompanied by Yeongdo fulfilling his promise of being a good father and loving his ex wife, Wando still hurting for his late girlfriend and showing great dedication. Taeseung, though a bit crazy, desperately loving Mido with all he has and letting her use him because that's how much he loves her. Hell, even Juhyeok or whatever his name was initially a hero who saved Taeseung and later a somewhat a victim of his father in law's politics against him or whatever. Oh yeah and the boss trying to make money for his daughter. Sums up all the males in this drama.

Now let's talk females. Mido's mother hating Namgoong thinking he is responsible for her husband's death. And so goes to visit him and finds him to be a nice kid so brings him home??? (forgive him, give him words of wisdom, actually, ask for his forgiveness, sponsor him, do anything, the hell are you doing bringing a fourth child home out of guilt?) Mido filling in her mother's shoes and carrying an even bigger guilt of asking her father to save Namgoong and hence, acting childish and irrational but going out of her way to protect him, give him happiness and love him because she "pitied" him. Yeongdo's ex wife being another irrational and emotional character who thought her husband didn't need her or love her enough and so suggested divorce. Bora having cancer and accusing Wando of being exhausted and not loving her healthy self and hence she hated the entire situation. Sua having a lot going on with a famous father who was gay and dating her friend's father who was a married man, and so she decides to get away from him finds Namgoong and falls in love with him. And stays "fallen in love" to extreme, self destructive levels until whenever she can. Even the boss's daughter was lowkey shown as someone who is causing her father trouble by pursuing the piano.

I find this absolutely pathetic. Knowing each other your whole life, dating for 10 years and still being unable to talk, just talk to each other. Mido actually suggested breaking up, but Namgoong decided to respond to that by proposing. Like wow, okay. Fine, she accepts that, agrees to get married. Then she goes on and cheats?? And Namgoong was already swayed, he was already drawn to Sua. Mido cheated physically while he cheated emotionally. He discovered her first, her version was more intense, so the writer gives him a free pass to go on and do whatever. Which was asking her to date Taeseung, and then of course she was like you date Sua too. Wow, it's almost as if that's what Namgoong wanted, a valid reason to pursue Sua. And Mido wanted god knows what.

Namgoong, what a disappointment this character was, till the end. Still asking her if she pitied him, saying he regretted meeting her and her family, entirely cutting off the people who loved and raised him, in the end he got to do whatever. I honestly feel bad for Sua, because Namgoong likes not her, but the idea of him that she has. If this drama had a sequel (which they should NOT make), he would eventually break up with her also for thinking too highly of him or whatever, I'm sure he'll come up with a wonderful reason. Unfortunately, Namgoong had a severe victim complex that intensified since his childhood, had it been addressed earlier he wouldn't have turned out like this.

Mido was written off as a character that one can easily call out but I actually found her to be more sincere, though she blamed herself for her father's death she never victimised herself. All she wanted from Namgoong was sincerity as well, what she got was insecurity. Which eventually drove her to be someone who did crazy things to allow him space to grow. She was someone with a spine who didn't want to be protected but supported. But since the story had to be about Namgoong growing out of her shadow, she also had to be a "crazy woman" who caused all the trouble in the world.

I hate how Mido's depression was not addressed, nor was Namgoong's complex. They are the same people. Away from each other, with other people, who simply won't have any profound impact because they need help themselves. Can't believe they did all that sweet potato drama but couldn't send these idiots to therapy.

The caste was beautiful, the music was wonderful, the drama was shot very well too. It could have been much, much better had it been written realistically, and not in an attempt to be realistic.

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