When the Weather Is Fine (2020)

Warm, Cozy, Heartwrenching

This drama is really nice and wonderful. It brings out many emotions from the viewers and you may find yourself empathizing with the characters. The pacing is just right and is great for binge watching. Recommended watching while drinking tea or coffee for those chilly nights. Overall it's a really good drama and I highly recommend it. I found myself empathizing with Eunseop. The cinematography is nice and it sets the mood and the music really suits the drama. The side characters are also really lovely especially the book club members. The short blog posts at the end of the episodes are really cute.

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healing but it will tear you apart first

a melodramatic slow-burn romance, in which two broken people find solace in one another and try to heal.

i'm writing this two months after watching it and, to be honest, the romance didn't resonate with me as much as the theme of sisterhood did. strangely, i think the most memorable scene for me is a flashback in which hae won is braiding her grandmother's hair, along with her mother, and aunt, laughing. it's a very simple scene, but i think it spoke the most to me.

'hey, don't die. if you die, i'll die. your mom will die too. our mom will die too. that's how it is. even if we seem not to care, that's what will happen.' though their sisterhood isn't shown through affection, it is very much shown through their sacrifice. hae won's mother did not hesitate in taking the fall for her younger sister, so long as hae won could still be cared for by someone. of course, this had a huge impact on hae won and how she was perceived.

this doesn't mean to say that i disliked the romance aspect, though i would have felt the same had they decided to make hae won and eun sub have a platonic relationship. for me, i saw love, but i don't think i would say that it's the typical passionate romance shown. it was a nice change but i could have done without. i also could have certainly done without the love triangle- seeing eun sub never had reciprocal feelings for bo young, it felt like an unnecessary element, beyond maybe demonstrating another reason as for why bo young and hae won may not be able to reignite a friendship, at least to how it was before.

it felt like as the story progressed, the leads were becoming as vital as the secondary characters. at times, i felt overwhelmed at times by certain revelations and kim bo young's persistence. maybe that was the point, feeling overwhelmed made us feel just a fraction of what hae won must have felt, but in terms of being an enjoyable experience, i wouldn't say it was as cosy as you'd anticipate.

one thing that particularly irked me was the portrayal of hae won's abusive father. yes... people are multi-faceted. humans are complex and unreliable, but rare kind actions do not cancel out the formidable actions. one can act kind without being kind. in fact, his ability to be kind only makes it worse that he chose not to. i honestly cannot say that i think either the aunt did anything wrong. had he had access to them, i firmly believe that he would have killed them. i understand that self-defence laws differ, but it felt frustrating that it couldn't be just ruled as manslaughter. i don't think forgiveness is necessary, nor always possible, especially in cases of domestic violence so severe, and i didn't like that it felt as if they were being forced to forgive, when there was more than one victim.

i think i would say that i preferred jang woo and eun shil's romance plot. it was definitely a little more cliche, but that kind of familiarity felt nice in this format. jang woo was probably my favourite character.

i suppose a takeaway for me is to not leave things unsaid. hae won's mother thought that correspondence and honesty would have hurt hae won, and so she distanced herself, even after her release. perhaps, it's not our right to choose what someone knows and to choose to endure their pain for them, seeing as we don't know how much future damage we may be causing, even if our intentions are pure. 'if you're family, i believe you should all share the pain together.'

my other takeaway i suppose is don't trust men except from eun sub?

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I stopped watching!

I'm an Asian man who grew up in the West. At the end of the Episode 14, when Hae-won confronted her mother about who really killed her father, and got mad at her mother and her aunt for not telling her this piece of information, 2 thoughts came to mind. I think a man wrote this and WHO GIVES A FLYING F..K who killed you father. Your just read your aunt describe how "there's nothing different about how your father is beating up your mother" meaning he's a serial abuser and you're mad because it's really your aunt who did the deed. Is this an Asian thing that I forgot about?

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Healing drama with cute supporting romances

I started this drama on a whim, and I'm mostly glad I did. It's a slow ride, but it does have its moments. The supporting characters' love stories were cute. The "will-they-won't-they" nature of the two stories was engaging enough to avoid being overshadowed by the rest of the drama.
The main romance got kind of bland, to be honest, and I wasn't really invested in it towards the end. Don't get me wrong. The relationship was cute, but maybe it's because the subplots in the last few episodes completely eclipsed their romance. It's hard to focus on the fluffy romance scenes when you get sucked into a captivating domestic abuse/murder/cover-up/family secret plot. I just lost interest in the mains' romance.
Probably wouldn't watch again, but it's a nice break from other outlandish dramas out there. I might consider rewatching if I ever want a break from ludicrous plot twists and unrealistic love polygons.

P.S. I do have to write a small appreciation to Lee Jae Wook for subverting my expectations in yet another drama. After the ML revealed his crush, I kept waiting for the "I secretly love the FL too" fake best friend reveal (like in so many other dramas), but he remained genuine to the end. Favorite character by far.

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Honestly while seeing the drama I felt like I was nibbling on a chocolate or was drinking a cup of tea on a cold cold day... It somehow made my heart feel warm and made normal things seem so pleasant that it makes you realise that one really doesn't need to seek anything else... And that sometimes just the most normal things like eating and sleeping well are just so important for everyone that it almost seems criminal to not pay attention to those... Though each charecter was suffering from some pain they all just wanted to lessen it for someone they really cared about and were often misunderstood... Quite peaceful a drama and a peaceful watch

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Not therapeutic but not stressful either.

Let me explain, So I fall into the other half of the crowd who didn't like the honestly drastic change in story that starts happening as you approach the middle of the drama. Now while the difference in the story told is great this drama does a great job of managing to maintain the chill relaxing atmosphere that is present in almost every episode. However the warm loving atmosphere that is setup in the beginning is not maintained or grown. Honestly from the middle third of the show it felt like they were not going to let the leads be together. And once they were together the focus of the entire drama completely shifted away from them. Not to mention the ending seems kind of shoehorned in .

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The synopsis doesn't really do the story justice.

It's the things taken for granted, the life changing moments that can't be rewritten, feelings uncovered that can't be hidden away again and taking the time and having the patience to allow something special to blossom. That's at the heart of this gently paced, moving and warming drama.
There were times the malice and harsh words of some characters seemed unforgivable, but heat of the moment anger, or pent up frustrations lead to such things.
The underlying charm, throughout the angst, kept this story from being depressing... it's anything but.
It may not be exciting, fast moving or hilarious, but it is a strangely uplifting story.
The moments of simple pleasures shared by a rural community where news travels fast, bring light hearted smiles. The warmth of people that may argue and bicker one moment, but be there in times of need, the next.
Letting go of anger, resentment and hate is a key message I got from this. Being understanding of those who don't or can't so easily voice their feelings, instead trusting in their actions, is another. Being kind to and easier on, oneself, is yet another.
Family can wound as well as heal.
I loved it, although do wonder what happened with Eun-sub's Uncle, the conclusion to their issues was never revealed, although I guess answered in the rest of the story.

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I have heard a lot of people this drama was boring, but i think it was a sweet and different take opposed to cliche dramas. This was a work of individuality, i have not seen anything like this a I loved it.
The beginning of the show throws you right and the middle of the characters lives and by doing so i think it makes us viewers think more and pay attention more to the show. Although you may spend the first few episodes feeling confused, i thought this was a way to make the audience more engaged with the show.
I think was a lot to the plot that was explained and developed clearly. There werent many loose leaving you wondered what would happen to so and so.
Every actor in this drama played there parts well. It wasnt like they were just acting it was like i was watching people live their lives. Park min young and seo kang joon had amazing chemistry and the characters they played had a relationship that was pure and simple. I haven't seen a more understanding and warm man like im eun seob. The characters really go through a lot to be happy and the writers really made that a point of the show, which was all the more meaningful.
And eun seob's journals at the end of each episode were so cute making the show itself worth the watch. And the theme of having a secret crush is a enjoying thing to watch.
I havent rewatched it, but i feel like if you do the show would seem more fast paced because you have more of a background of each character.

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