The idea was great, but the execution..
More often than not, I find myself starting a new drama with an intriguing concept that initially draws attention and builds anticipation about how the plot will unfold. The pilot and just about two episodes after that delievered questions and wonders, leaving room for the story to grow. However, things took a downturn as it soon devolved into a predictable, simple, typical K-romance.It’s disappointing that the drama’s description doesn’t quite align with what actually unfolds on screen. Many important questions are left unanswered, and this leads to several unrealistic scenes that ultimately detract from the experience. It bored the hell out of me, but I watched it till end.
It is shame, because it could have been a drama with less romance, more curiosity and true life-lesson driven twists.
Kudos to the actors though, especially to Park Bo Young and the mother Jang Young Nam (who continues to impress me, by far underrated).
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The plot wears off quickly. Lack of deeper storyline and character connection.
"I've seen it thousand times"..The beginning is promising, I thought "This might be the best one this year actually"..
Around 8th or 9th episode you notice how they lack ideas and innovation, as if they took 100 other dramas and took parts of it and tried to adapt it to this series. It doesn't go well together, 99% of characters are over 30, they all act if they have an teenage alter ego. It doesn't fit when it comes to serious scenes because you can't take them seriously. They threw scenes one after another, but gradually deepen the plot and having a rich ending was not an option. As if they didn't have ideas or material for continuing the original idea (the first few episodes). The drama is alright, but it reminded me a lot of many (seriously, many) things that I've seen already. I'm used to typical k-drama acting and some repetitive scenes, but this was too much.
The acting was fairly good in general.
Since it's a series I can't really comment on how realistic some situations and facts are, they could have been made more accurate, but it was okay without getting too much into facts.
For me personally, I've seen better.
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The road of life seasons and lessons
When Life Gives You Tangerines is truly special and will be very hard to surpass. It carries the same warmth as Reply 1988, but tells its story in a completely different way. Depending on your age, it reminds you what you lived through as a kid, makes you concious about where you are now and how your life might develop in the future. True hardships of life over SEVEN decades shown here are not only telling a story - it makes you reflect not only on yourself, but people around you and how people and the culture have grown through the years.This show doesn’t simply entertain; it teaches, provokes, comforts, and challenges. It will make you smile, laugh, cry, and above all, feel. Each episode unfolds with the care and depth of a short film, with not a minute wasted. Each decade detail is very authentic, the acting is breathtaking, and together they create a piece of art.
I cannot recommend it highly enough.
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