A Drama that Warms Up Quite Nice

Our Beloved Summer is a wonderful drama that does a fantastic job in telling the story of a cast of characters that have such a deep history that they share with actors that do a perfect job in selling that dynamic. I have to say I was initially put off with the first few episodes with how the main leads, Ung and Yeon Su were when interacting especially the main female lead, Yeon Su regarding how cold and distant she was as a female lead. But the drama didn't linger around that personality for far too long and explained her disposition and why she acts the way she does. The main male lead Ung was an extremely relatable and down to earth lead that was instantly connectable for me within the very first episode.

The secondary love interests were good however I found Ji-Ung to be a sort of detestable character that had no real redeemable qualities. Most if not all of his actions towards his best friend were completely reprehensible. He has to be one of the worst secondary love interests I have ever seen. But the secondary female love interest, NJ, was such a breath of fresh air when it came to the secondary love interest category. Her bright and charming personality made me look forward to her scenes every episode and while Ji-Ung's detestable loathsome actions, NJ made up for it with her admirable pleasant actions. The rest of the supporting cast was enjoyable and did a great job in carrying along the story both inside and outside the main plotline.

The one thing this drama did absolutely perfect was allowing for the relationship of Ung and Yeon Su to have screen time. Dramas tend to only have the final episode or two be the time period where the main characters relationships to have screen time which unfortunately causes a lot of crunch time, however this drama started, well, re-started the relationship many episodes before the end which allowed the two main characters to interact in such a refreshing and lovely way.

The OST was perfect with great songs from 10cm, Ha Sung Woon, Kim Yung Hee, and especially The Giving Tree by Lee Seung Yoon. I'll definitely be listening to this drama's OST for months to come. The cinematography and quality of the drama was perfect as well, I like the way the drama presented the past, present, and recent memories with the different filming styles from the full screen to widescreen formats.

One final thing, also the drama definitely delivered on one thing, Ung's final drawing and who his first ever person he would draw. That made this drama an instant classic for me. I would 100% recommend this to everyone and definitely would be revisiting this to rewatch in the near future.

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A convoluted drama that fails to establish itself

It is honestly quite a shame, I had high hopes for this drama from both the trailers and some of the casting. But did it disappoint so much early on that it made me drop the drama completely. Normally I would hold on for hope that it would get better but the drama failed to even give the slightest bit of hope. The concept itself is very convoluted and disorients quickly, having had the entire show spoiled on the decision to drop it all but confirmed my decision to drop the drama. The lackadaisical and nonsensical concept which could work if it was outlined better.

The only saving grace with the casting was Jeon Yeo-been, her ability to play both roles of Jun Hee and Min Ju with both of their different personality types was fantastic. But it's a shame the world built around them and the story they are in completely is the opposite. Ahn Hyo-seop unfortunately bores me as a main male lead, his presentation of both roles of Yeon Jun and Si Heon are completely unremarkable and stale. The drama itself doesn't even bother to build up initially the emotional attachment to Yeon Jun, only living small flashbacks here and there which are only a minute or two long.

The only thing truly outstanding about the drama was the production quality, the cinematography and the accompanying music was great. I wished this drama did a better job in drawing the viewer in within the first few episodes and had a better flushed out timeline and concept. Will I return to it? Probably not especially knowing the entire story already from reading the entire story.

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An All Time Classic with the perfect mix of Action, Fun, and Drama!

Where do I even start with this amazing K-Drama? I may be slightly biased with this K-Drama because of the obviously heavy focus on Catholicism but this k-drama instantly hooked me in the very first minutes of it. The character introduction of Father Kim was instantly iconic, the presentation of how he moves and his fiery personality made him larger than life. Kim Nam Gil does a perfect and flawless job in his portrayal of Father Kim, nobody else in Korea could have done what he did with the role. Right from the start The Fiery Priest does a wonderful job in establishing the tone of the entire K-Drama showing both a comedic side and a more serious side while adding in some actually pretty amazing action scenes with some fantastic choreography which is always a crucial thing for me when it comes to watching a K-Drama. It never strays away from the set tone once throughout the entire series. It expertly mixes it all together allowing for the viewer to laugh and enjoy the really fun and happy moments while feeling the emotion of the serious scenes.

One of the biggest motifs of the Fiery Priest is redemption focusing around Father Kim redeeming his two main partners in taking on the corrupt council that runs Gudam. It handles redemption in a perfect pace allowing for a proper pay off of Father Kim's two main partners. His first partner, Goo Dae Young, starts off as a foolish unlikeable corrupt goofball and turns into a brave passionate police officer who wants to protect the innocence at all costs while still being a goofball. Kim Sung Kyun does a great job in showing the duality of both forms of his character and acts as a great counterpart to Father Kim. Father Kim's second partner, Prosecutor Park Kyung Sun starts off as a crazy dirty backstabber who wants to get promoted at all costs and becomes a cunning brave, smart, and bold upholder of the law even if it makes her lose her job. Lee Ha Nee does such a perfect job with the role, really owning the craziness of the character. All of this is done through Father Kim's influence over them. Another person Father Kim influences in a good direction is Goo Dae Young's rookie partner, Seo Seung Ah, while she starts off already good and wanting to take on the corrupt Gudam gang, Father Kim makes he really brave and even stronger in her pursuit of doing good, I loved how Geum Sae Rok made her such a loveable character right from the start.

One of my favorite things the Fiery Priest did was it gave every main character a proper backstory on why they do the things they do which allows for a more in-depth look into the psyche of the character giving even more life and a feeling of natural connection to the characters. It's truly amazing how many character's got a proper backstory. The Fiery Priest held consistent to this all throughout the series which showed the screenwriter and director really knew their characters.

The supporting cast was fantastic with Father Kim's fellow clergy to his friends around Gudam especially Ssongsak, his growth as a character was amazing throughout the series, becoming a character I couldn't wait for the next scene he was in. Hwang Cheol Bum and his gang especially Jang Ryong were great fodder to Father Kim's fiery path of justice. Everything about this cast from the top to the very bottom was pure perfection, I wouldn't even change a single casting nor remove or add any single character.

The pacing of the Fiery Priest was perfect, it never once dragged on for even a single second. Every single scene had quality and entertainment which kept my eyes glued to my tv at all times watching this perfect K-Drama. The one slight disappointment I had was the quality of the filming which isn't the fault of anyone really, it's what SBS had given to the director but he did a wonderful job as is with it. The soundtrack from the OST to the background music is amazing, especially Hero by Norazo, it's such an energetic track that matches the fire and passion that Father Kim has.

This is my second K-Drama I have watched that was directed by Lee Myung Woo, the first I watched of his was Backstreet Rookie which was my first ever perfectly scored K-Drama, this man really knows how to put together a perfect cohesive and consistent K-Drama. Seeing Eum Moon Suk and Ahn Chang Hwan who both appeared and interacted with each other in Backstreet Rookie again in the Fiery Priest made me so happy, especially how they both developed a friendship toward the very end.

One final thing, I really loved how The Fiery Priest respected and treated Catholicism with honor and due diligence. Never once did I find anything disrespectful or offensive to my faith. Father Kim has become one of my all time favorite Catholic non-fiction heroes, he might even be in my Top 3 now next to Daredevil and Robocop!

I really really really love The Fiery Priest, I can't wait for the rumored second season! I'd recommend this K-Drama to absolutely everyone!

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