This review may contain spoilers
Drama of the Decade - an Evergreen Masterpiece
I have never been a fan of practical dramas, ones that portray raw emotions, real life hardships and just reality at its harshest. I was always of the opinion that entertainment was an escape so seeing characters suffer didn't help. But this drama changed my outlook on life completely. I know a drama cannot mature a person but this did. When life gives you tangerines, God, will there be another as beautifully heartwrenching as this?
A drama where no one is a villain, just life itself. The iron heart Yang Gwansik and the resilient Oh Aesun, navigating the sea of life, keeping on swimming. They shall forever live in my heart till the end. Each character had their own story. And everything woven together into this masterpiece, it was nothing less than perfect. The plot is so crisp and one can never get the feeling of the drama being dragged for long. Not even once. The way they divided the drama into 4 sections, man that was genius.
The casting is on another level. IU literally deserves an Oscar for this. The variety of roles - teenage Oh Aesun, Oh Aesun in her twenties into thirties, teen Yang Geummyeong and adult Geummyeong...that is a lot of to be and do. But the difference between her as Aesun and Geummyeong is so obvious, we don't feel it's the same person, just a daughter with her mother's face. When she cries, we cry, when she smiles, we smile. A truly outstanding actress! And then there is Park Bogum. Do we even need another example of eyes that speak? Park Bogum has that skill to make you wonder if he is actually alright because he becomes the character to an extent where it blurs reality and fiction. Every emotion is portrayed soooo well, one cannot deny the fact that he's a maestro at what he does. The character of Yang Gwansik itself is so well written, Park Bogum does not let him down. Then there are the other favourites of mine - Choi Daehoon as Bu Sanggil, Moon Sori as old Aesun, Park Haejoon as old Yang Gwansik, Yeom Hyeran as Aesun's mother, Kang Youseok as Yang Eunmyeong - they are literally people I know, that's how close I feel to all of them. Really really amazing.
The music is just beautiful. Starting from the intro to the instrument in the last scene of the last episode, nothing beats this layout.
Everything is just so good, yet I cannot express them in better words 😭 It's more like something the heart understands beyond human language. This drama taught me two main things I'd say. One - your parents would literally break their back just to give you the best they can and two - time as a human is very short. So living your best life and not waiting for the perfect moment is the best we can do. Also two lines really stuck with me. 1) "One day life might get so tough that you feel like you can't go on. Don't lie still. Struggle with all your might...Tell yourself you won't die and must survive, no matter what. Paddle your arms and legs like crazy. You'll get through the dark waters and see the sky." Oh Aesun's mother to her- 2) "There might have been nights I went to sleep hungry. But there was never a night that I was alone."- Oh Aesun about Yang Gwansik.
How can a drama be this good yet this heartbreaking; I just cannot make sense. Yet I feel if our stories were a series, won't we see the rawness of pain and sweetness of happiness in it too? Also, Alec Benjamin's 'If we have each other' is a song I will forever associate this drama, the lines about the lovers (iykyk). Rewatch if you want to rip your heart out again and again 😭 Evrything is just Uhhh!!! Crazy in the best way. This drama truly deserves the hype and it is a MUST WATCH, no matter what your preferred genre is. Thank you Baek Sangchoon for writing this great story and thank you Kim Wonseok and all the cast and crew members for breathing in life to it! 🌊🌼❤️
A drama where no one is a villain, just life itself. The iron heart Yang Gwansik and the resilient Oh Aesun, navigating the sea of life, keeping on swimming. They shall forever live in my heart till the end. Each character had their own story. And everything woven together into this masterpiece, it was nothing less than perfect. The plot is so crisp and one can never get the feeling of the drama being dragged for long. Not even once. The way they divided the drama into 4 sections, man that was genius.
The casting is on another level. IU literally deserves an Oscar for this. The variety of roles - teenage Oh Aesun, Oh Aesun in her twenties into thirties, teen Yang Geummyeong and adult Geummyeong...that is a lot of to be and do. But the difference between her as Aesun and Geummyeong is so obvious, we don't feel it's the same person, just a daughter with her mother's face. When she cries, we cry, when she smiles, we smile. A truly outstanding actress! And then there is Park Bogum. Do we even need another example of eyes that speak? Park Bogum has that skill to make you wonder if he is actually alright because he becomes the character to an extent where it blurs reality and fiction. Every emotion is portrayed soooo well, one cannot deny the fact that he's a maestro at what he does. The character of Yang Gwansik itself is so well written, Park Bogum does not let him down. Then there are the other favourites of mine - Choi Daehoon as Bu Sanggil, Moon Sori as old Aesun, Park Haejoon as old Yang Gwansik, Yeom Hyeran as Aesun's mother, Kang Youseok as Yang Eunmyeong - they are literally people I know, that's how close I feel to all of them. Really really amazing.
The music is just beautiful. Starting from the intro to the instrument in the last scene of the last episode, nothing beats this layout.
Everything is just so good, yet I cannot express them in better words 😭 It's more like something the heart understands beyond human language. This drama taught me two main things I'd say. One - your parents would literally break their back just to give you the best they can and two - time as a human is very short. So living your best life and not waiting for the perfect moment is the best we can do. Also two lines really stuck with me. 1) "One day life might get so tough that you feel like you can't go on. Don't lie still. Struggle with all your might...Tell yourself you won't die and must survive, no matter what. Paddle your arms and legs like crazy. You'll get through the dark waters and see the sky." Oh Aesun's mother to her- 2) "There might have been nights I went to sleep hungry. But there was never a night that I was alone."- Oh Aesun about Yang Gwansik.
How can a drama be this good yet this heartbreaking; I just cannot make sense. Yet I feel if our stories were a series, won't we see the rawness of pain and sweetness of happiness in it too? Also, Alec Benjamin's 'If we have each other' is a song I will forever associate this drama, the lines about the lovers (iykyk). Rewatch if you want to rip your heart out again and again 😭 Evrything is just Uhhh!!! Crazy in the best way. This drama truly deserves the hype and it is a MUST WATCH, no matter what your preferred genre is. Thank you Baek Sangchoon for writing this great story and thank you Kim Wonseok and all the cast and crew members for breathing in life to it! 🌊🌼❤️
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