MY FOREVER LOVE

The love portrayed  between a mother and her daughter was one of the most beautiful human bonds I've ever witnessed in a kdrama.  I couldn't help but grow attached to them in each episode and after every interaction, and I ended up rewatching the drama 3 times in different years.

Yoon bok's wide smile whenever she looked at her mother, got to my heart every time and stole something from it. Su jin's trembling voice and teary worried eyes whenever she looked at Yoon bok and felt the threat of losing her was so heartbreaking yet cathartic.
If I say that I love this kdrama to the bones, it's because it implanted its place deeply in my heart.  

I am a worshipper when it comes to powerful female protagonists, especially if their development arc goes from MISERY to resilience& brilliance. I am ADDICTED to revenge kdramas for this exact reason! But THIS specific kdrama stole my heart with its female protagonist growth arc in a males world. Her determined character that doesn't seem to break no matter the difficulties was such a sublimation! Not forgetting the charming other characters that helped unfold the story. The writing is insanely good!

Despite the unecessary romance trope that was depicted towards the end, I still love every
little bit of the story and the kdrama's OSTs are on my spotify favorite playlist. 

This is the first kdrama in which I've seen a realistic portrayal of what love looks like in a relationship. LOVE as in the feeling we develop AFTER being with a person, not only by liking them, but after living with them, being aware of their qualities and flaws alike and finding ways to accept and embrace those imperfections.

 Unlike most kdramas, this one wasn't hang on the "BEFORE" phase, in which the two main leads idolize one another and the story gets dragged as they feel more eager to be in a relationship but can't make it, neither it is about the chaos we feel when we are head over heels for someone.

 Through the funny interactions of the quirky cells, the story helps us understand how love can be built, with a mixture of cherishment, admiration, desire, attachment, trust and care. It shows how love between a couple grows like a grain, with enough time and nurture. And how relationships can be a journey in which we don't only seek to "feel loved" but make enough effort to show the other person how much "we love them".

"We don't just love someone, we learn how to love them"  and Yumi cells season 1 excelled in delivering this message.

A Bittersweet ending that seemed just perfect in my eyes. Unlike the first season where the story was all about "the love cell", and Yumi's quest for love. This season was about Yumi's quest for "self-love" and her journey in discovering how to become someone she, herself, loves and respects.

I especially loved how we were able to notice the change in Yumi's self-esteem and view of the world, through the change of her surroundings and appearance. Specifically in the relationship she had with her own house. I've always felt like objects can serve as powerful items to connect us to our past and remind us of the journey we've been through, to become "US" in the present.

 In this case, the object was Yumi's house and the change it has gone through to become
 a reflection of who she became, shows us that her journey has been a success.

I have a soft spot for writers, since they somehow manage to paint life using a magical stick that is "words". And only when given the opportunity to glance at it from their lense, do we actually realize how poetic and charming everything seems to be.

This kdrama is about this magic.. It includes the beauty of food, family and the sweet moments life decide to offer us when we least expect it.

It's about the life of everyday, but through the eyes of a writer. 

I didn't watch this kdrama for the sweet moments of romance, in fact I found most of the romantic scenes cliche, sometimes even more cheesy than entertaining. But if there is something I've learned after watching it, it's to "Never give up on yourself, even when others decide to give up on you".

To me, the two main leads' relationship had a deeper purpose than simply "falling in love". It was more about friendship, companionship, trust, and encouragement. When they had nothing to lean on but their big dreams, and broken souls, they both leaned on each other's encouragement to help them believe in themselves. They both ended up achieving what they strived for from the beginning, and they both stayed loyal to their values till the end.

The female lead journey was an inspiration, truly a great example of resilience and hardwork.

Just like Itaewon class, this drama has left me in an awe with its charming almost flawless growth arc of the ML. I love it the most when the protagonist is a legendary phoenix that manages to rise from his ashes and becomes not only stronger, but SMARTER, and guess what else? UNEXPECTED. It's like watching a step by step execution guide of "THE ART OF WAR" by Sun Tzu. Which is the main reason I die for revenge kdramas!

What I like the most in this kdrama is that the main character stays determined, and focused on his goal. Even when he seems to grow feelings for people in the process it doesn't seem to intervene with his plans or lower his IQ. The end was a bit disappointing howeever, but I won't dig deeper analyzing the flaws. I'll let it slide, for the simple fact that I am so in love with the 15 episodes. 

A masterpiece when it comes to depicting a perfect "revenge" squad. 'The best chess pieces!'
I like how instead of ruining his relentless vendetta strategy, or making him lose track of his goals because she caught feelings, Jo Yi Seo has rather served as a  powerful piece of chess that facilitated the road for the team to declare their "CHECKMATE".
Her love for Sae Roy was more of an act, than a simple confession or desire to" be with him".
She was brilliant, and it was a new thing to witness in a kdrama!

"Before You Embark On A Journey Of Revenge, Dig Two Graves, one for yourself"
The thing that stole my heart the most in this series, was the long-term plotted revenge that certainly took a lot of patience to excute, but didn't require digging two graves as it is the case for most revenge plans.  Because the revenge took its time, and was more of a smart play instead of a violent, emotion-driven vengeance. At the end, it almost looked like karma playing itself.

Romance was a slow burn, and the love triangle did annoy me a bit, especially with the second male lead whose character seemed to be shallow, superficial, and too obessed with the FL.

But overall,  Park Sae Roy's journey and vision of things has taught me a lot, and this is the main reason this kdrama has found its way to my heart.