Tomorrow (2022)

Press on, for you are worth it.

This is my highest rating for a drama yet. This show explores the complexity of human life. Everyone yearns to take their life because life’s stresses can be just so taxing. This show, demonstrated through 16 episodes, the reason why life is valued so heavily: and that is because the future is uncertain. As once suicidal, this show has piqued my interest in the afterlife; but more importantly, taught me the ways and means of life. Life is fragile, life can be fluid, life’s path is based on the decisions you make. The decisions you make today will affect the outcomes of tomorrow. Every move you make has an impact, no matter how big or small the move is. What an impactful movie that illustrated all these facts; irrefutable truth to me.

Plot: Extremely well-developed, and intricate. There is a climax, and a resolution. Interesting links of the Grim Reaper’s past and how they affect their emotions and personalities. Through 16 episodes, they ran through the so important cases that are hardly mentioned in society today. What are we living for? How can we better ourselves? How can we find help? Why not let tomorrow be a dream instead? This show explains that dying in such a fashion (suicide) will not make anything better; and the “benefits” like escaping one’s misery is extremely short-lived. Life is precious. Life is worthy. And you are worthy of this gift. This show explicitly showcases all possible instances of when, why, how, and what kind of people can have suicidal thoughts (of course, not limited to them only), but it has the impact of empowering other people to be more alert; to be more aware of the people around them—and how to provide aid. Impressions on the audience is highly vivid: particularly the veteran, eating disorder case, as well as the animal case.

Scriptwriting: Well-written. Meaningful dialogues were used in exploring characterisation of individuals in the drama. Everything had a logical flow to it. My only slight issue with scriptwriting was when some plot digression did seem slightly abrupt; but not abrupt enough to undermine message and impact of the drama, hence only penalised slightly. Some sequential flow seemed hazardous too, but they were explained all the end—perhaps a case of wanting to induce suspense but unsuccessful, in my opinion. Though, overall, ideas still flowed smoothly. One thing I would do if i were the producer would be to add that element of what happens to the star and Jun Woong, making the script advanced to a greater depth. That would, in my opinion, explore the day-to-day lives of everyone and how Jun Woong as a character stands out, and how more people should strive to model him in today’s society.

Music/SFX: Highly appropriate, apt selection. Extremely well-catered to the sequential flow of the story, as well as the tension/intensity/drama it wishes to amplify. Suitable for the show, very well chosen. Job well done, editing team.

Believability & Acting: I have to applaud their acting. Acting felt genuine, characterisation in personalities of different individuals, especially the main characters, were very true to their role played and the message they wish to portray to the viewers. Nothing felt exaggerated, and it was a joy to watch them take their role so seriously to the extent I would forget it was a drama at times. Impact on audience is also amazing, as the drama attempts to convey the message of living on consistently throughout all 16 episodes.

*Side note: This is also the first drama that every episode has a rating above 8.5 from me. I always will have a few episodes that slip and hence, fall under 7/10. But what amazed me was how consistent the drama was, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and this drama has definitely surprised me with how good the scriptwriting is. Every idea portrayed has a link to the other, if not, it is a complex analysis of how one can suicide. Many cases arise, and this drama successfully addresses them. For more information, you may see my scores for the respective episodes at the bottom. They are rated using the following rubric;
Plot, Scriptwriting (Meaningful dialogues, especially), Chemistry (if any), Acting, Believability, Music & SFX, Editing/Props/Atmosphere/Mood, Impact on audience/society (e.g. whether any of these will have a long-lasting change to be embraced), Rewatch value, and loopholes in plot (if any, as a deduction of the overall score).

Abbreviations:
*E = Episode
Rating:
E1 - 9/10
E2 - 10/10
E3 - 9/10
E4 - 8.5/10
E5 - 10/10
E6 - 10.5/10, still my favourite episode. Heart-wrecking & touching. You may see my review on this episode for a more in-depth reasoning for why I felt it deserves above 10/10.
E7 - 9.5/10
E8 - 9.5/10
E9 - 9.5/10
E10 - 8.5/10, pales in comparison to Episodes aforementioned.
E11 - 9.25/10
E12 - 10/10
E13 - 8.75/10
E14 - 10.25/10, an amazing episode that explores even Grim Reaper’s have their past. My review is also up for this episode.
E15 - 9.75/10
E16 - 9.5/10, interesting ending to the whole drama. Sweet. In my opinion, could’ve been explored further with Jun Woong, hence slight deduction.

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Something out of this world

TW// !! Even though it's a REALLY good drama I wouldn't recommend it to someone who gets triggered by topics related to self-harm, suicide!!

I'm not good at writing reviews so I will make it quick.
This drama has never disappointed me. I loved how stories change in each episode but yet the main story is smooth and interesting. The main cast fits the roles perfectly and I fell in love with the actors in the first minutes.
Each story is presented with such accuracy and caution and that's the thing that made me cry my eyes out so many times. Directors remember how sensitive the suicide topic is and brings awareness to mental illnesses while showing it from different perspectives. 'Tomorrow' will definitely leave you reflecting about the meaning of life.
For those who like to laugh while watching a good drama you won't be disappointed too. There's a lot of interactions between the team that are full of inside jokes. The ending is really cute and satisfied me.
It's not common for me but I'm giving it 10/10. I wish we could see the actors in one more season! :)

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The Main characters story came bit too late.

I am no expert on mental health or depression so my review is based on my opinion as a viewer . I’ll divide the review in two parts; one on the main characters and the other on the suicide cases in the show.

So let’s start with the theme of the show, suicide. Based on my experience and knowledge , the urge to end one’s life comes and goes in waves for those who are suffering from it. This condition is more common in people who suffer from depression and anxiety. Hence it’s like a disease that needs treatment and can’t be cured and fixed in days, weeks or even months. It takes people years to get better. So ,if someone is feeling better today it doesn’t mean that the urge has completely gone away. It can always return back. Yes, words do have an impact but the disease necessarily don’t always happen because of the dramatic and drastic things as shown in the drama. It’s the little, mundane things in life that sometimes cause it. Some people endure it while others find it difficult to. The drama bases people’s urge to die on a single tragic event or chain of events. And that isn’t accurate. Neither it can be cured that quickly as shown in the drama. The stories were drastic and over dramatic in my opinion. Only few stood reasonable to me. The fried chicken episode was the one that is relatable as many people suffer from unemployment and failure. It leads them to think nothing better will come in the future. The girl who was victim of sexual assault portrayed the victims of the rape accurately and story was also meticulous.

And about the main characters, The story of grim reapers didn’t exist in the present time as we only see past of the characters. but I was more interested in the grim reaper world and their story in the present time. The drama was all about the victims not the main characters. Hence I feel bit disconnected with the characters. I am very dissatisfied with the way park jong gil and ms.koo’s story ended. They made such a big deal out of their past connection and when he finally knew, nothing really changed for them. They didn’t even had a proper conversation about it. It was not satisfying at all. If this was gonna happen, they should’ve revealed their past in the middle of the show. Why drag it all the way to the end. The last episode also had me wanting to see the thread of fate between choi joon wong and Ryu cho hui. They would’ve made a cute pair, but tht part was left to our imagination sadly.

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An amazing and complex story of grim reapers

Let me start off by saying, for the people who don't read reviews fully, that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Tomorrow, even though it is definitely a heavy watch. It is also worth mentioning that there is only a slight romance, so if that is something that's important for you, here's your heads up. At first I wasn't really sure, if I should start this drama, or if it's something for me personally, but I ended up very pleasantly surprised. The structure of the drama contains a sort of "suicide case of the week" formula, which i first thought was going to be tedious, but alas it was not, I actually appreciated the diverse topics that the show explored, things like bullying, SA, survivor's guilt, comfort women, Joseon during the Qing invasion, just to name a few. It is worth mentioning that this drama is very heavy to watch, and deals with specific issues that you might find triggering, so I think before you start watching it, definitely check out the themes the drama explores before diving in. I personally really enjoyed the story, it had it's highs and lows for me, but overall it was an enjoyable experience. What really stole my heart however, was the characters. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the team, they learned and grew together, and they really felt like a family by the end, the way the characters developed throughout the show was amazing, and I wish more dramas would take notes. What really was lacking for me was the OST, and some parts of the story seemed either not very well explained, or just didn't make sense, especially the rules when it came to the afterlife and reapers, it wasn't always consistent but I guess I already got used to this, because kdramas can't really write in verse systems that well. I also think Koo ryeon's storyline didn't felt complete, I felt like Mr.Park should've had more screentime, or he should've become involved with the story more. Overall I really enjoyed my time with Tomorrow, despite some faults with the writing, and the OST. It really felt like an adventure that was heavy with the feels. I definitely would only recommend this drama with caution, because of the amount of triggering themes that the drama deals with, but looking past that, it is a great watch.

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8.5/10 for me; could have rated it higher if Jung Gil had more exposure, instead of having screentime only on the last few minutes of every episode. lol.

Now kidding aside, this may be the first KDrama in a long while that I genuinely enjoyed and didn't make me feel like dropping it or that I didn't skip a lot just to get it over with. There was no character who's too arrogant or too dumb that it annoyed the hell out of me and ruined the show for me, thank god. While I did cry at some point, the drama wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be. Maybe because Joon Woong was spontaneous funny that he became the perfect comic relief, which I personally found nice.

As for the ending, I thought I was going to be underwhelmed because it felt like the last episode went fast. The closure could have been better specially for Ryeon and Jung Gil. Was I really disappointed though? Well, I guess when I saw the last scene, I just thought, 'fuck making sense out of everything'. I was just happy to see them all happy. Or more like, all it took was to see Jung Gil talking to them good naturedly for me to forget getting disappointed. It was nice seeing him loosen up in the end even if it just for a few seconds.

Overall, I'm satisfied. It really has been a while. I'm glad I gave this one a try.

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may we call them "suicide squad" even when their goal is different?

You can enjoy this drama to the fullest because there are great actors and the story never get boring. In every episode there a "case" that the protagonists must solve meanwhile their own personal stories unfold and with every episode you can't wait to know more and more. The female lead is strong, gorgeous and vengeful and you can't help but fall in love with the seriousness she does her work. Also you will watch every episode drooling to know about her past. But beware! You will need a lot of tissues for every single episode. Prepare to cry because the main theme this drama talk about is suicide and how to prevent them. Also Rowoon and Lee Soo Hyuk are a pleasure for the eyes.

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GIVING MORAL VALUES REALLY NICELY!!!!!!!!(10000000% RECCOMENDED)

-RM team will be one of my best squads forever❤️🥺When else would we get to see life saving reapers🥺❤️The journey of watching people with different back stories & personalities coming together to be a family🥺❤️
My people gonna miss them soo much 😭 my joonwwong, goo ryeon, joong gil, ryung gu...
LEE SOO HYUK, KIM HEESUN, ROWOON AND YOON JION thank you so much, I will never forget this show..
THE BEST CAST EVER 👏❤
-This drama taught us so many lessons..from failure to bullying and many more...😭 My fav story was so far was the kong's one (DOG'S STORY) It made me cryy!💖😭
-ONE OF THE BEST ENDING..ALTHOUGH I WANTED TO SEE MORE OF KOO RYEON AND JOONG GIL AND JOON WOONG TO REMEMBER THEM...BUT IT'S STILL OKAYY!!!😆☺️
📌💭 I WAAANTT A SEASONNN 2!!!!!!!!!!!

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Tomorrow (2022) - it has its ups and downs. The start off of the drama is really strong and I really like it a lot but I think my momentum was lost. I drop this about 6 episodes, I don’t know the reason behind the drop but I think I just lost interest with the drama. Eventually picked it up again and I literally bawled my eyes out by the start of episode 14 up until the end. It’s heartwarming but heart wrenching at the same time. It’s a good drama but I think I was not fully engaged with the totality since I stopped watching this. It’s still worth the watch and worth my time.

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just watch it .. you won't regret

this is one of the dramas that I am giving 10 on 10 rating because I never expected to give a drama like this the rating that I am giving it but this drama has made me cry uncontrollably it has made me smile laugh out loud think about some things

your life is not about tomorrow it's about living in the present is also one of the greatest thing you understand after watching this drama

this drama makes you want to live life and make you enjoy every moments and not regret anything in your life
there might be some things to make this drama not the best but for me it's very great drama and I will rewatch this drama whenever I am feeling low
I don't know this drama made me feel so much... there are lot of people saying that you know this drama is very boring after 6 episode it's very hard to like get through it I didn't feel like it
I am someone who always put the dramas that I am watching at 2x and watch it but this is one those drama that I have never had to watch with higher speed
I loved the past shown and how the depicted the world and how the characters change the clothing according to the time that we are in and all the digital things because the world is now more digital and stuff like that I loved everything about this drama I definitely didn't expect to cry but It did
it was a Happy ending they were a lot of moments swhere I was like why do why is happen to them like they are dealing with a lot of serious topics and they depicted it good enough
I love how the show that even animals can want to take their own life because they don't want the owners to feel sad


This is a perfect example of Korean drama
because this drama talks about a lot of things that happened in Korea even though they are unfortunate things
but this things really did happen and we can't really hide the truth we have to remember them and honour the people that did a lot of things for us
in the end I would tell everyone to watch the drama
cause I loved it
a lot of people were commonly on the age gap and how the actors don't have any chemistry I don't think we watch the same drama I won't lie
they were the whole chemistry lab guys what the hell
they didn't even kiss but the tension between them uff
I loved them ....
the friendship,the regrets,the teamwork,the love,the kindness,the purity,the boss everyone

I love how they depicted that even if someone is bad they will get what they deserve like how a criminal was saved by the RM team but he got what he deserved in the end
I know that most of the time we say like a lot of females get for the deserve they needed to get more but maybe they lived their life haven't to makeup for it in some way or maybe after life we don't know what happens after but maybe they get what they deserve
and there is one concept that I didn't love this that is the people who commits suicide don't go to heaven they go to hell which definitely was not something that I would really expect but it's a cool concept to think about...

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Not sure how I feel about this one?

Using my personal rating system of "loved," "liked," "meh," & "nah," this was mostly a “liked”.

Things I liked:
I started watching this for Lee Soo Hyuk and this is one of the few that he’s been in I could actually finish (see my review on ‘Scholar Who Walks the Night’; I’m not criticizing LSH, just rarely finish a drama he’s in). I enjoyed LSH in this. He does stoic bad@$$ very well—but his character also had range and we got to see him happy and sad as well. I liked all the characters, I liked their complexity, I liked their back stories. I like that they took on mental health and suicide—though it is also what made it hard to watch at times. Like most probably, I like the idea of an afterlife where we are rewarded for good and punished for evil.

Things I did not like so much:
Mental health and suicide are not a ‘one and done’ thing. For example, an eating disorder is a lifelong struggle and that episode made it seem like something that got fixed almost instantly. Sometimes I fast forwarded just because the content was triggering.

Honestly, I found myself more interested in the back stories than the stories of the people they were trying to save and often fast-forwarded until we got to back story again. I did not quite get why suicide was treated by that version of the afterlife as something worthy of hell—that seems more consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition (please correct me if I am wrong if you know more about Buddhism or Confucianism). Especially during the era/country when/where Goo Ryun died, suicide was encouraged and expected of widows and women who had been assaulted (at least that is the impression I get, so please correct me if you understand that history/cultural era better).

Minor point of dislike: The actor they chose to play an adolescent PJG could not have been farther apart in looks and build that his 'supposed' adult self. At that age, LSH could not have weighed more than 100 pounds and that kid looks like he has more muscle than the adult PJG he's supposed to be the younger version of. I get that it is hard to get that right and I'm on the fence about whether I prefer the older actors trying to play their own younger selves or just getting younger actors to do it instead (especially when its adolescents who look so much more like their adult selves than kids do).

I kind of wish there would have been more of a resolution between Park Joong Gil and Goo Ryun. Their ending was a bit ambiguous. You can tell that Choi Joon Woong will eventually get together with his girl since it showed their strings connected, but I wish we could have known what would happen between PJG and GR.

Conclusion:
I don’t know how to think about this one. There were times I sincerely cried, there were things I simply could not watch, there were things I thought were misrepresented and could have been done better. There were also things I enjoyed. If you’re a major LSH fan, I’d recommended it. He does well and looks well in this.

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