tremoloandwine

I'm not going to pretend that I didn't take three or four attempts to actually finish the first episode, simply because I wasn't really too grabbed by the premise or the characters despite the usual praise the series gets, but I'm glad I stuck through. All I can really say is I'm glad the last episode was mostly a low energy epilogue, for once.

I think arguing about whether characters are "good" or "bad" in this drama is especially pointless as the show does a great deal of showing why the characters think and do what they do. Except Su-im, who was total tonal whiplash from Taeran's character in Delightfully Deceitful where she basically is Coach Kim, total case of writer's favourite syndrome. Honestly, I 90% watchlisted this because I wanted to see her be evil again. I thought they would all be evil. I mean, she's also a pretty shitty person at times, but more Jinhee tier shitty than anything. Honestly I'm a total Jinhee fangirl. She maintains the only healthy family dynamic (with some hiccups here and there, as is normal for any family), genuinely loves her husband who also loves her, and stands up for her friends. She's just a bit of a gossip and a ditz. Leave my girl be. I guess I'm straying from my point of "all these women love their families in their own way, they're just bound by misogyny and hierarchical social pressure". Notice I said women because while Prof. Cha shows improvement, I still hate him. Amazing performance, but I hate him.

Really just proof that chemistry isn't just a thing we should be referring to when it comes to romantic relationships. Yum Jungah and Kim Hyeyoon truly feel like mother and daughter to a scary extent. Hyeyoon is a clear standout in this cast, one of those roles that makes you want to see everything else she's done.

And speaking of standouts, holy shit Kim Seohyung. Goes from standard coldhearted villain to one of the most heartbreaking television characters I've really seen. You feel every little bit of her pain while the show also rightfully does nothing to excuse her actions, she's the ultimate product of the system she enforces and she's a completely hollowed out mess because of it. God I feel so utterly devastated for her character and her daughter most of all.

I will say, the writing is... iffy at times. Performances here are good enough that you quickly forget but knowing the fact the series length was extended when the show was ongoing makes some plot decisions and loose threads stand out more. I don't like how Ga-eul was quickly resolved at the end, I feel like she's far more of a villain than the narrative really has us paying attention to. Why does she get a happy ending of all people? Weird decision that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I guess Su-im is supposed to express some sort of disappointment/confusion given what she knows but it's quickly glossed over.

Also, Hyena. Can't figure out her. Like most characters she's both deeply flawed and sympathetic, so some scenes have her acting more like a jealous stepdaughter villain hellbent on destruction, and then some she just wants to be included in her birth family's lives. This would be fine if there was any sort of consistency between the two sides of her but the show ultimately decides she's more of a plot device than a character, hence her mattering so much more after her death that her fate is spoiled by the fucking episode title. This show is good enough at blending the two sides of it's characters that when it isn't done well it sticks out even harder

Worse, and enhancing my feelings on Hyena being more of a plot device than a character, I think Joonsang's decision was unnecessary. I get that the modus operandi of this show is to do the most dramatic thing possible at every corner, it's makjang after all, and it usually works. But that just felt emotionally exploitative to the degree where it turned around and became hard to take seriously. I just felt gross after watching that scene.

But venting about little things here and there aside, I'm really glad this lives up to the reputation. I love mess, I love high stakes and high drama. I love when women take lead of stories and romance is kept in the background, so there was no way this drama was going to disappoint me. The social commentary I felt wouldn't be relatable, because I'm obviously not at this level, going to a university at all was never really in the cards for me, but the pressure to succeed at the awkward turning point of adulthood is suffocating no matter what. Part cathartic having this agree with me, part infuriating seeing characters end up okay when the rest of us drown in debt and backbreaking labour if we don't achieve our goals while the rich can take gap years in Europe and "figure themselves out".


But there's the flipside, these people have the ability to do everything, and yet their greed is so much that they decide their children need to do better than them at any cost. When does it end? When is wealth enough? I think talking about the social commentary solely when it comes to education, while understandable, does sort of hide the main point about how addictive money and status can really be. A millionaire wants to be a billionaire, a billionaire wants to be a trillionaire. There will always be a part of you feeling insecure. Maybe being rich really is hell, but also, I just got 50 dollars today from a bread price fixing class action settlement and it genuinely felt like winning the lottery when the notification showed up. So maybe a little bit of financial stability would solve some of my problems.