Sban
All that is left unsaid
If you enjoy watching well developed characters show as much through what they don't do and say as what they do, you will enjoy this show. Here, writer Park Yeon Sun allows silence and subtext to do the heavy lifting, and challenges us to understand what's beneath the surface. It asks us to consider whether our assumptions about people's motivations are correct when we base them only on what we have seen when we don't know someone's inner thoughts or history.
Half way through this drama, I realized that the writer made many intentional decisions that paid off well. Despite a few inconsistencies, the strategy and planning was evident as you continue watching. This was far more dramatic than the posters indicate, with lots of depth of acting talent. I appreciate the focus on females as well as the very important challenges they bring forward, such as sex, personal trauma, workplace abuse, and relationship abuse. I also liked the way the writer handled the relationships between the ensemble. Like real life, housemates don't have to be close friends or share all their deepest secrets with one another. The five women actually share far more dialogue with people outside the house than they do with each other. This allows us to get to know them as individuals with their own storylines, even if, at times, it is frustrating that they share so little with each other. I will note that there is a change of pace in season 2 that allows us to see more dialogue between the characters now that we know them, which was another great intentional choice.
The actors were fantastic. There are a number of stand-outs for me. Han Ye Ri as the eldest woman, Jin Myung was one of them. She portrayed her anguish and depression about her family and workplace challenges in a melodramatic way without overdoing it or manipulating our heartstrings. I also liked Ryu Hwa Young as the sassy, sexy and strong Yi Na dealing with her personal childhood demons and her various relationships with men. Her portrayal was mature and thoughtful. Finally, I rarely enjoy crazy, silly characters, but Park Eun Bin as our feisty journalism student Ji Won was spot on. She played her part with such depth, which allowed her character to bring the entire ensemble's stories together and connect them all. Even though her own story took a back seat until season 2, the time she spent on screen was genius and delightful. She has so much talent!
There were a couple holes in the story, and the pace in season 1 seemed like it was racing toward a finish line. This kept things very exciting and surprisingly, it never lost depth, but some of the dramatics never gave us the chance to breathe. However I did enjoy how the actors broke the fourth wall in the fun little epilogues that play after the final credits of various episodes.
To sum up, this was a surprisingly strategic show with a lot of pre-planning that pays off later. The characters and actors brought tons of depth to the story, and it was entertaining as well as heartfelt. It would be a fantastic re-watch if you enjoy looking for hints and figuring out all the little details the writers included across both seasons.
Half way through this drama, I realized that the writer made many intentional decisions that paid off well. Despite a few inconsistencies, the strategy and planning was evident as you continue watching. This was far more dramatic than the posters indicate, with lots of depth of acting talent. I appreciate the focus on females as well as the very important challenges they bring forward, such as sex, personal trauma, workplace abuse, and relationship abuse. I also liked the way the writer handled the relationships between the ensemble. Like real life, housemates don't have to be close friends or share all their deepest secrets with one another. The five women actually share far more dialogue with people outside the house than they do with each other. This allows us to get to know them as individuals with their own storylines, even if, at times, it is frustrating that they share so little with each other. I will note that there is a change of pace in season 2 that allows us to see more dialogue between the characters now that we know them, which was another great intentional choice.
The actors were fantastic. There are a number of stand-outs for me. Han Ye Ri as the eldest woman, Jin Myung was one of them. She portrayed her anguish and depression about her family and workplace challenges in a melodramatic way without overdoing it or manipulating our heartstrings. I also liked Ryu Hwa Young as the sassy, sexy and strong Yi Na dealing with her personal childhood demons and her various relationships with men. Her portrayal was mature and thoughtful. Finally, I rarely enjoy crazy, silly characters, but Park Eun Bin as our feisty journalism student Ji Won was spot on. She played her part with such depth, which allowed her character to bring the entire ensemble's stories together and connect them all. Even though her own story took a back seat until season 2, the time she spent on screen was genius and delightful. She has so much talent!
There were a couple holes in the story, and the pace in season 1 seemed like it was racing toward a finish line. This kept things very exciting and surprisingly, it never lost depth, but some of the dramatics never gave us the chance to breathe. However I did enjoy how the actors broke the fourth wall in the fun little epilogues that play after the final credits of various episodes.
To sum up, this was a surprisingly strategic show with a lot of pre-planning that pays off later. The characters and actors brought tons of depth to the story, and it was entertaining as well as heartfelt. It would be a fantastic re-watch if you enjoy looking for hints and figuring out all the little details the writers included across both seasons.
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