This review may contain spoilers
"Twinkling Watermelon" radiates warmth and knows how to touch. Cheers to life. (And to magic, too.)
What a nice surprise in 2023!Full of heart and love for music, too. Though neither major, nor minor, but plenty of both. Fresh, cheeky, cheerfully playful and yet with complex substance. RomCom inclusive. “Twinkling Watermelon” follows the trend of 2023 productions: time travel. A journey into the past, into the parents' late youth - as a gift that offers the chance to understand a little more about them and thus at best make peace with life here and there. Charming magic is also involved, as life is full of surprises if you just open and follow your heart... that's the wonderful motto that offers balm for troubled souls. Viva la Vida!
In fact, the story's ostensibly cheerful melody is supported by an emotionally serious basso continuo. This gives this KDrama a warm, complex, lasting depth, despite all its youthful playfulness. The protagonist is a hearing child of deaf parents (CODA). He is an extremely talented, eager, responsible, loving son and brother, but he is inevitably somewhat overwhelmed by his responsibilities (as a child), out of guilt loading even more responsibility on his shoulders. He feels lonely at times with his experiences of the acoustic world that he cannot share with his parents. And he also suffers from the social marginalization that he and his family experience.
Eun-gyeol (for all his positive approach to the challenges of his life) embodies the psychological conflicts of any CODA, that he, too, has to deal with by living between the worlds (with and without acoustics). He does it quite well, yet deep down he understandably suffers from the great responsibility he has to bear as a child already. Sooner or later he has to come to terms with this conflict in a self-loving and self-confident manner, so that he may allow himself to go his own way in life, too, despite the challenge. Basically, it is precisely this inner psychological dynamic that is the dramaturgical driving force of the story.
It is not uncommon for CODAs to seek professional support or ask for help, if the emotional burden feels too heavy. (Just like anybody else would as long as they acknowledge.) Here the support comes unexpectedly in the form of a magical journey through time, and there is help, too. But significantly, Eun-gyeol got so caught up in his trained behavior pattern that he (almost obsessively) only sees the time travel as another challenge to prove himself and being in charge - no matter what the cost. It is almost verging on megalomania to believe that he might now be responsible for the fate of his parents in their past, too. (However, throughout the series this aspect opens up room for fun and comedy.) On the other hand, the immense inner psychological pressure that he puts on himself also subtly reflects the sad dilemma that keeps him trapped. (Which in turn latently contributes to the emotional depth of the KDrama.)
In fact, “Twinkling Watermelon” opens up space for even more serious topics in different storylines. Aside from the social stumbling blocks in the lives of deaf people, there are child abuse and suicidal tendency, too. Thus, overall, there are pretty profound themes that the KDrama tackles bravely and plays through with a lot of feeling, yet still in a digestible manner - despite all the seriousness, embedded in colorful joy of life. "Twinkling Watermelon" radiates warmth and knows how to touch. Cheers to life. (And to magic, too, that can re-shuffle the cards of time and space... who knows?)
PS:
Would have, could have... if only the sign language hadn't been processed acoustically... but authentic silence was probably too daring... and would probably have neutralized the lively esprit of the music band's approach towards life... hmm... everything altogether probably doesn't work...
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This review may contain spoilers
Comforting and fun, but has pacing issues
So I still enjoyed this quite a bit but definitely not as much as everyone else.To start with the good things, it's definitely a really heart-warming and inspiring show about following your dreams, connecting with loved ones, and finding what sparks your happiness in life. Every single character ends up in a better place than where they started and for that reason alone I think this drama is worth the watch.
To nobody's surprise, my favorite plot in this story was the story of Cheong-ah and Yi-chan. It's so much more than a romance; it was also about the importance of communication and how people with hearing disabilities can stay connected to the rest of the world, and about how Yi-chan would learn to face the world again after losing his hearing, this time with more people who cared about him in his life. Or rather, it should've been more about the latter.
It seems like most criticism of the plot surrounds the last episode being rushed (which I do agree with) — we get the big accident, some hugging and deep talks, and then jump back to the present day, all without any interaction between Yi-chan and Cheong-ah, who should've been the most important person in his life and the one who would've most understood what he was going through.
Which brings me to the biggest issue I had with this: pacing. Eun-gyeol's main goal to prevent his father's accident and stop him from losing his hearing goes all the way up to ~episode 15, while he also tries to get his parents together and Yi-chan still chases after Se-kyung until about episode 11. I was definitely getting really tired of the same plot points by this point and could start to see the ending coming.
By these episodes I felt like it was pretty obvious that the accident was not going to be prevented because one, it would've gone against the ethos of the show — Yichan does not have to hear for his life to be good, and to let his son follow his dream of playing music — and two, there was just not enough time to explore a brand new timeline by that point.
I really think they should've had the accident happen earlier and shown just a little bit more of the aftermath and interaction between Yi-chan and Cheong-ah and everyone else; I understand the counterpoint of not needing to show it because we've already seen Yi-chan's development and can infer how the future would change, but for me it would have been preferable to see this over a faux love triangle plot that started to get really repetitive, and then wait for Eun-gyeol's perspective shift to happen as late as the 15th episode.
The side characters were fine — I liked them as a whole but only a few of them had interesting subplots. And antagonistic side characters like Cheong-ah's brother seem to come in and out of the show when it was convenient. Eun-ho was a side character I expected to be a main character and I still wish he had gotten more screentime, whether it was with Eun-gyeol or with the parents.
Overall, none of this is a deal breaker by any means, and I still really enjoyed this drama throughout and would say it's worth watching. It's light-hearted and cozy, but I would be lying if I didn't say it stopped being plot-driven and started fizzling out for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
THINKING ABOUT THEM CONSTANTLY ⯎
I struggle to find the words to describe this feeling, but Twinkling Watermelon is undoubtedly one of the finest things I have watched this year. Both this and Moving have pulled me out of a dreadful drama slump, the sort where you long to watch something so much but you still can't manage to focus on anything.I recommend Twinkling Watermelon to everyone, it is such a perfect and comforting drama. The cast is simply amazing, Hyun Wook is, at this point, the king of high school roles in 90's youth dramas, it's like this boy was created to play soft but cool high school boys, it suits him so well. But it is beautiful to see how all of these roles are different and how he can give layers and emotions to different characters. He still shows so much variety. Ryeoun is so talented and is such a pleasure to watch always, I love his acting so much. They were so perfect in their roles that I cried and laughed with Yi Chan and Eun Gyeol.
I loved every single character from the Watermelon Sugar members and Ma Joo to Yi Chan's grandma. Cheong Ha made me cry so much but I am so happy for her growth and empowerment. Although the father cannot be forgiven for neglecting her throughout her childhood, I am still so grateful that they managed to fix their relationship thanks to Eun Gyeol and that Cheong Ha now has an additional member of her loving family. No one could have portrayed Cheong Ha the way Shin Eun Soo did and I am so amazed by how strong of an actress she is. I found Eun Yu annoying at the start as I couldn't understand her motives and there were so many parts when she was almost on the verge of ruining everything but after a while, I started to enjoy her and Eun Gyeol's banter and goofiness. It was beautiful how she and Eun Gyeol finally understood that they were not there to change anyone's fate but to help their parents fix some of their regrets and enjoy their youth and life's little moments. Everyone in this drama has become my comfort character and I loved all the songs so much. I believe that OSTs really complete a drama and I only truly enjoy a drama if the OST is just as good. The music, the friendship, the nostalgia and the youth of the 90s created pure magic altogether and I will be thinking of this drama for a long time. Usually, with time travel dramas they end up giving a rather unsatisfactory ending but I felt the happiest watching the final half hour of the last episode. I feel like nothing could have been done better. Yes, I hoped that Yi Chan's accident wouldn't have happened, but I had a feeling that the accident was always meant to occur one way or another and that Yi Chan was bound to lose his hearing. However the ending makes up for all of it: Eun Gyeol is finally back with his family, their love and support for each other is just as strong and their life is still what it was always supposed to be: shining and bright, no matter their situation. It was so beautiful to watch Yi Chan and Cheong Ha be so successful and happy, using something they considered their 'weakness' to shine ever more brightly.
And this is not even everything I wanted to say, but as I said above, words are not enough for me to describe how good this drama was, and how wonderfully the actors portrayed the beautiful characters in this drama.
Thank you to all the writers, directors and producers for bringing this gem to us. Thanks to the amazing staff and the brilliant actors, main leads and all the support cast, I had the most beautiful time watching this the past couple of months. Thank you for making my autumn 2023 so memorable, I will be thinking about Twinkling Watermelon with affection for a long time ♡
"From time to time, let yourself enjoy the moment. You can never get back your youth. Let yourself twinkle while you can. Do things that make your heart flutter. It won't make your world come crashing down." (Ha Eun Ho)
"Life didn't have to be perfect for it to shine. It's the little moments that make your life twinkle, and happiness is what you experience when those moments come together." (Ha Eun Gyeol)
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This review may contain spoilers
I don't have any words left to describe how beautiful this drama is. Apart from the storyline the production crew also made sure that the songs included in this drama are all amazing and meaningfully beautiful. Hats off to the story writer and the amazing production crew. Also a big round of applause to the actors who portrayed their roles perfectly. While watching the drama you can see and feel that the actors really became one with their respective characters
I personally think that this was by far the best drama released in 2023!
I'm just amazed by this perfect drama? I'll be waiting for season 2 desperately!
Spoiler Alert:-
When Ha Eun-gyeol returns from 1995 in 2023 and meets his father (Ha Yi-Chan), his father finds a cassette of an old song of his that he recorded in 1995 (A Song for you). His father (Ha Yi-Chan) suspects that Ha Eun-gyeol was his old friend from 1995 and he (Ha Yi-Chan) suspects Ha Eun-gyeol, when he was performing in stage too. I was waiting When Ha Yi-Chan finds out that his son goes into the past and meets him there and I'm waiting for Ha Yi-Chan and Ha Eun-Gyeol conversation after Ha Yi-Chan finds about his son's time traveling. But it didn't happen. (˙◠˙)(˙◠˙)???
Definitely go and watch this drama it's truly a work of art and perfection ❤ I'll never forget this drama and will desperately wait for season 2!!??
VIVA LA VIDA!
(Long live life)?
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Brain says "Flaws!" but heart says "I don't care!"
When I started this drama I expected a light and funny story with a time travel twist. The synopsis looked interesting- a boy going back in time and meeting his own parents when they were the same age as him. But as I got on with the drama, I came to know that this might not be as light as I expected it to be. This drama has made me laugh, be on the verge of tears, and was even was kind of thought provoking.The story mainly revolves around Ha Eun Gyeol, a model student with a passion for music. He is a CODA (i.e. Child Of Deaf Adults) and is the only peron in his family that can hear, so he acts as the bridge between the silent world of the family and the outside world. (Actually, I went into this drama not knowing this crucial piece of information, and in the first scene when Eun Gyeol and Eun Ho, his brother, were at a coffee shop and were interacting in sign language, I was all confused, and was like are they trying to act cool or did they not want the waitresses to hear their conversation? lol. Everything only became clear to me after the narrative explained it.)When his father, Ha Yi Chan, learns that Eun Gyeol is in a band after school hours, he orders him to quit. Ha Yi Chan is proud of his son's academic achievements and considers Eun Gyeol the family's "trophy." Eun Gyeol rages at his father and runs away. Torn between familial obligations and his passion, he chooses to abandon his passion and destroy his guitar. But then the quiet night turns into a night with two moons, and the strange, mysterious music instrument shop Viva La Vida lights up. As Eun Gyeol walks into this mysterious shop, his adventure begins.
The 1st ep of this drama was the best ep for me, it pulled me in right away. This ep focused on Eun Gyeol's backstory and on Eun Gyeol's family and their bond, which, imo, is the best part of the story. To me, this story is not about romance, but the development of each characters as the story progresses and the people that they come across in the journey.
Among the main characters, I like Yi Chan's and Eun Gyeol's interactions the most. Despite the fact that Yi Chan is Eun Gyeol's father, the bromance between them during the time travel is what I'm all for. I also really liked how Yi Chan and Cheong Ah's romance developed. Cheong Ah had a crush on Yi Chan before he knew she existed, back when he was all smitten with Se Kyeong. Their conversations, how Yi Chan learnt sign language for her, and everything were so heartwarming. Amoung the suporting characters, I liked Ha Eun Ho and Viva the best.
The cast did an amazing job is portraying their characters. I had seen Ryeoun in 18 Again only, where he had a minor role. But I liked him there. I liked him even more here, he has the potential. I had set my eyes on Choi Hyun Wook since 25-21 and Weak Hero Class 1 and I loved him here too. But my only comlpain, which is unrelated to the drama, is that he does only the same kind of roles. His roles in all the dramas that I've seen him in, including this, is very much similar. Seol In Ah also did a good job but.. I was kinda annoyed at her though out the series, idk if it's her fault or the character's. I loved Shin Eun Soo in this. This is the first drama I've seen of hers. When her character was introduced at first, I thought she had stiff expressions. But as we began to explore her character more, I liked her more and more. I also liked the actors playing Eun Gyeol's parents as adults.
The comedic timings in this drama were perfect. After all Choi Hyun Wwook is there in this drama. I loved Ha Yi Chan blurting out random english words in the middle of the sentences. lol
Overall, this was a very good drama. I really loved it. A solid 9/10 from me. But there were many plotholes and things that were not explained and didn't have a proper closure. Though the ending wasn't rushed, I think that a few more minutes or an addictional episode would have been good.
***SPOILERS***
I actually have many questions about the ending.
First of all, how did Cheong Ah convince her father to let her marry Yi Chan if he was going to sent her abroad to study and never let her return? They should have never shown that scene where her father said this if they weren't going to answer this.
And did Yi Chan recognise Eun Gyeol? I kinda understand that they left this for the audiences' interpretation and why.. but I would have liked an answer to it.
I also think that they should have added scenes with what happened with Yi Chan and Cheong Ah after the accident and Eun Gyeol left.
Another question is does Eun Gyeol remember his life after the time travel like the 18 years of his life when he grew up wealthy?
And how and why did Viva become a time traveller? This is another question left open. But it would have been better to leave him as a mysterious man who helped them.
OMG there are so many questions! But this is a rare kind of drama that makes me forget it's flaws. If I were to take all the flaws into account, the rating would have been much lower.
I kinda knew that it was going to have a 'fate can never be changed' kind of ending. If everything was going to change nothing would have remained the same and there wouldn't have been any guarantee that Yi Chan and Cheong Ah would have ended up togther just because they were dating during high school.
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Good but something was missing
I know ... I know... It's loved by many and has a 9.2 rating on MDL. I'll give it a 6.5, which is not bad at all. It's good in my rating system. I can totally see why so many loved this show and why it has a high rating. But my expectations were really high and left me disappointed. This is because I was looking for something different. Here are a few point I want to say:- The first two episodes could not grab my attention. I was not invested and because I was desperately looking forward for the romance between Yi Chan and Cheong Ah... but it took too long to get there
- Yi Chan and Cheong Ah: I was super invested in their romance but it fell a bit short. I wanted to see Yi Chans feelings develop but they did not have that many scenes. That being said, the scenes they had are the ones I loved.
- Honestly, I was just not interested in the main couple and I did not feel the chemistry
- The ending felt a bit short
- I loved that it covered the topic of being hearing impaired
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When the official teaser came out, it caught my attention. It's fun, youthful and has a unique plot. Of course, you would watch a kdrama if you like the casts. I always trust Choi Hyunwook when he picks a project and Ryeon?!!?! Why did I only see him this year????Where was he all these years?! I first saw him in a Tiktok edit from his previous project "Adult Trainee". I watched it and obviously loved it. I'm obsessed. When I saw he stars here I had no choice but to watch it. Shin Eunsoo!!! I'm surprised to see her Its been months since I watched Summer Strike lol. Looking at the teaser alone I know she'll be famous. I love her character development in Summer Strike. Seol In-ah!!!!! I cannot believe she is '96. I love her!!!!
Onto the review, the team behind this *chef kiss.* Creating a set in 1995 and matching its vibes is not easy. The amount of research and gathering of resources were real thought of. The same energy goes to the the casts as well. Their dedication to learning musical instruments and sign language! Making this drama with all their pure hard work and love for their passion and it resulting to a masterpiece.
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Just want to air out my frustrations
(as the headline suggests this is subjective)I initially liked the concepts of the show enough to overlook some problems with the execution but I can't pretend that I didn't feel a huge disconnect when it switched to the present in the last episode. The questionable aspects clouded my thoughts and took me out of the experience. Maybe I should've been more prepared for how much Eun-Gyeol's interference in the past would naturally affect the present, but I still feel like they could've done way better to make it less jarring and evidently divisive.
It's just so bizarre to think about how alone Eun-Gyeol is with his memories of what his whole life was like before he went back in time, and he's basically just now starting the life he's responsible for creating. Also the fact that everyone who knew him in 1995 has the worst memory ever and can't tell that he looks exactly like the guy they befriended and have pictures of and also has the same name. Idk I'm just disappointed and the emotional moments that really landed don't even feel like much anymore.
Eun-Yu as a character was very solid though I love her.
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CODA: Get ready to wrap it up beautifully
CODA, a word that is linked to two major topics.While it has a place in music, where it means to conclude the song nicely, it also has a meaning in society, where it means child of a deaf.
Combining those two topics was a great idea and holds a special meaning storytelling wise.
Story:
The story itself is great and somewhat new.
The usual time travel dramas are dealing with a main lead, that is traveling back in the past to investigate, or even change their future outcome.
While this is partially true for Twinkling Watermelon too, it has more depth to it.
Ha Eun Gyeol was unintentionally sent back in time and Choi Se Kyeong got there to just have a wholesome last time.
One is trying to prevent the dad from a great misfortune, while the other is trying not to get born at all.
While both don't know why they are exactly there, their futures are more intertwined than they assume at first.
Linking light events like first love, family matters, but also deals with more in depth topics such as abuse, abandonment and many more together.
Casting:
The cast in Twinkling Watermelon is so phenomenal.
I can't think of better main roles.
Ryeoun and Choi Hyun Wook were absolutely astonishing in how they portrayed Ha Eun Gyeol and Ha Yi Chan.
Their bromance, the laughter and their relationship of friends/ father son is one of a kind.
It makes you wish to have this kind of relationship too.
Both did amazing in how they brought the complicated characters of them to life.
Seol In Ah did a fantastic job portraying Choi Se Kyeong.
Her character brought a cheerfulness and easiness into the drama.
But my highest respect goes to Shin Eun Soo who is portraying Yoon Cheong Ah.
Acting itself is hard as it is, but portraying a character, with no lines and purely throughout facial expressions and actions is top tier acting.
You could literally see the character development of Cheong Ah through the screen.
Hands down, my highest respect.
Music:
The OSTs as well as the songs played in the drama itself were nice.
"Higher" perfectly describes a spirit that is free.
Nothing can stop you, while you are trying to reach your dreams.
"Shining" is more of a motivational song.
It describes a feeling of Not giving up.
Forget about the past and start again. There are always opportunities for it.
Overall, Twinkling Watermelon is a must watch.
If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out.
You'll feel all kinds of emotions while watching.
I caught myself cheering and even shedding tears several times.
The director did really great in directing the drama and the actors did fantastic in portraying the emotions.
Well done.
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Too Many Flaws To Overlook
Before started watching I have the feeling that this drama is overrated, but I wanted to give it a chance because of the premise. Unfortunately, Twinkling Watermelon was not up to the expectation thanks to several issues that I will explain later.Overall, this drama was a mix of "good visual, make-believe, cute moments" with "draggy, non important, filler moments".
With the long duration of each episode (to me 1 hour is long LOL), people tend to remember the former more than the latter, creating a wrong perception that it was a decent drama while it's actually not. Perhaps this drama could only be considered good after we remove all the unnecessary? Or maybe it will be good if the following issues can be handled better by the production team, and then only we can overlook the filler moments;
1. Failed to focus on small details
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This is the major issue in this drama. The writer was lazy to take care of the small details resulting in many afterthoughts writing "cover up". There were also some questionable illogical actions from the characters that felt unnatural throughout the drama. The representation of deaf people was more on the superficially dramatic side instead of the believable one.
2. Non consistency in main character
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The main character, Eun Gyeol sometimes was portrayed as smart, responsible, and genius. But at other times he was portrayed as plain stupid. Because of that we had to deal with unnecessarily TIRING misunderstanding between him and his teenage father, Yi Chan for like half of the duration of the drama in each episode. I understand the writer wanted to create the so called cute moments and pseudo bromance but it felt repetitive and too forceful (and tiring). His slow ability to read the clues left by Eun Yu was another example of his character stupidity, where the writer used this to drag out the plot to the max.
3. Disappointing music/band element
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The other major disappointment in Twinkling Watermelon is its music direction. Some may say this is not the main focus of the drama. But please remember that the whole thing start and end because of music. From the young Eun Gyeol learning the guitar until he joined SPINE9.
Firstly, they superficially made Eun Gyeol as the genius guitarist. However it wasn't clear what was his style of playing and what kind of music genre he was into. Showing some random guitar techniques and Canon Rock did not help.
Secondly, the whole band-forming arc in the 90's was a JOKE! They confused making a band with making a sport team, where you need to find the most powerful player...LOL. It would have been great if they could show what kind of music Yi Chan listened to, rather than randomly picked Nirvana but didn't show anything close to that genre/sound in the end.
Thirdly, the choices of music, sound, and styling for the band was not ROCK enough for a band that's formed in the 90's. Similarly the background music selection did not vibe the 90's. Considering good budget the Korean have for their drama it won't hurt paying royalty to appropriate western songs if needed.
Finally, the band members were shown as doing all sort of things except playing music. It was not until Ep10 that we see them play and practice together. Even so it was like magic that everyone could blend in so quickly and able to play like professional backup musician at one try.
4. Pseudo 90's portrayal
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I guess 90's era is one of the selling point of the drama but the writer and production failed to utilize it. I didn't get the nostalgic feeling even though I was there (not in Korea though LOL). Nothing portrayed in the drama was really a fair representation of the era except for maybe some posters and vinyl album covers at random places. The technology limitation did not play an important role to the plot at all. Instead, the writer chose to overuse PAGER as one size fits all solution for the writing, which is a bummer since it was not a must have device unlike smartphone of today.
5. Pacing
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Most people found this drama boring during the beginning right up to Ep4 before it turned into better. For me, Ep1 was okay but it started become draggy and overstretch right after that. Only the last 6 episodes were showing some progress, with the following breakdown:
Ep11 - Ep12: They show more of the band and its members in action
Ep13 - Ep14: They show more of the romance
Ep15 - Ep16: They show MC solve the mission and conclusion
Even though many found the ending rushed, I personally liked it because they didn't explain everything and left it for interpretation. It was an ideal ending for this kind of drama IMO, albeit typical and predictable. Or maybe I just wanted to finish the drama quickly IDK...LOL
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Sadly not for me
Everybody seems to love this show (as shown by the very high rating on here) and based on the premise it had EVERYTHING I love and thus it should've been perfect for me.Sadly I didn't love this show.
Firstly, let's talk about some of the things that I personally loved:
● The deaf representation I thought was wonderfully done imo and they also didn't fall into some clichés that I personally despise.
● I loved Yi-chan, his relationship with his grandma and the band.
● Cheong-ah storyline was my favourite and I loved her character.
● I think they handled the themes of depression and suicide quite well and I was impressed by some of the conversations that were being had.
● Also I thought they way generational trauma was hanndles in the show was really nice.
● Tge parents relations in the present and in the past was the cutest and I love it, I genuinely would've loved a mini series just on their original timeline story.
Now let's mention some of the things I didn't enjoy:
● For almost the whole show I just couldn't stand Se-kyung, I was constantly annoyed by her and just couldn't find her likeable at all. As I said I did enjoy some of the themes that were explored through her character but because I was just so annoyed by her for more than half of the show, it became hard to enjoy the show itself when she's one of the main characters.
● After a while I just stopped being interest in the story and the characters, it just didn't manage to keep my attention. The plot itself to me just felt a bit too predictable and like many other time travel stories we've seen a thousand times so it was the characters job to keep me engaged, however, past a certain point, the characters and their relationships and stories just weren't strong enough for me to care.
● I personally hate the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything but yeah, just didn't like the rout they decided to go with.
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The title is both clue and metaphor
Rarely have I been so impatient for each successive episode to be released as I was for this series, such was its high level of enjoyment and anticipation and production.Fathers and sons; mothers and daughters; and the notion what would we do differently if we had the chance to live our lives again - these factors underpin “Twinkling Watermelon”, whose title provides at the start no clue to the entertainment riches that will gradually unfold.
When so much of this production is good, two stars stand out for me: firstly, the character of Choi Se Kyeong is as unique and multi-layered a person as if she had leaped out of the pages of a 19th C. English novel. She is played by Seol In Ah with enormous spirit and exasperating ambiguity that is perfect for the part. She dominates almost every scene she is in. She is shaded only by the second star: Choi Hyun Wook as the younger Ha Yi Chan, in a performance that shines throughout the series, full of vigour and energy and the optimism of youth undisturbed by life’s curveballs, equally full of filial devotion and undiluted anger at parental neglect, impatient with life but still excited at its gifts and surprises, confused at first but then eagerly succumbing when falling in love for the first time. It is a remarkable performance by a 21 year old; for me it is the standout acting of this year.
There is so much to admire and the quality is high throughout. It sees churlish to find fault but a mention should be made of the Kdrama penchant for an evil character, the whipping post for deflected disappointments and difficult struggles. In this case, it is the step-mother Lim Ji Mi, played by Kim Too Ryoung with appropriately steely dark eyes and pursed lips. Jin Soo Wan’s script contains so much nuance that it is a shame the “bad guy” in this case gets no such layering.
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