It's fun, it's silly, and it's surprisingly potent with its themes.
Whale Store xoxo follows Wan as she struggles to keep her recently deceased father's store afloat. As if losing her father wasn't enough, she was also recently let go from her job at a firm. This leaves her in quite a predicament: does she try to sell the shop, right as a huge conglomerate chain opens a rival store next door, or does she keep it and fight the ever-growing capitalist system that wants her small shop closed?Helping her is Maewnam, a regular of her father's who wants to keep the business afloat but also harbors a secret regarding the competitor opening next door. Somewhere along the line, Wan and Mae develop a romance and become a couple. But secrets don't wait to be revealed, and they must find a way to juggle both their personal and professional relationships.
Wan's predicament was incredibly intriguing to me, as it forces her, a person so deeply involved in a capitalist society, to decenter that mindset from her life and trust her peers more. At first, everyone is hostile to her because she brings a corporate viewpoint to a previously close-knit neighborhood. Her father had an established system that, at first glance, wasn't highly profitable but kept the store afloat. When Wan comes in and disrupts that system, she is seen as "the other" in a community she perceives as peculiar.
And that's what really charmed me about this show. We see Wan try to understand her father and start building relationships with her customers. Even when people naturally start buying from the competition because they offer cheaper prices for the same products Wan sells, Mae is always by her side.
Mae herself has a complicated relationship with her mother, who wants her to take over the family business and disapproves of her relationship. Both of them have to fight the expectations set on them by themselves and their families. Their relationship is a breath of fresh air compared to other WLW shows.
Now, don't get me wrong; there are some issues with the show, such as unnecessary misunderstandings, a few weak performances from side characters, and some shots that can appear amateur. However, those flaws didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the series, especially with the really strong performances from both Milk and Love.
All in all, this is a show I highly recommend to anyone who wants to watch a lighthearted romance with surprisingly smart and current themes.
(original review from my letterbox)
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