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bokminthe

Europe

bokminthe

Europe
Summer Strike korean drama review
Completed
Summer Strike
8 people found this review helpful
by bokminthe
Mar 3, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 3.5
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 2.5
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Melodrama only, can't catch a break, no romance here

I feel like I was totally lied by the description of this drama. First of all it shouldn't be labelled as romance because there is bare minimum of it, but more than that, the way the plot is described it's very misleading. If you're expecting some sort of introspection, self-discovery and warmness this it not for you. This is most of all a MELODRAMA, and not much else (Netflix labels this as intimate and romantic, WHAT? NO). I wasted too much time watching this and being disappointed because even as a melodrama the execution and plot were very annoying and a big miss. It wants to be way too many things at the same time and manages to do none right, romance? nope, crime? nope, mystery? nope.
To answer "What will happen when these two lost souls meet – and will a spell of “doing nothing” in this small town really cure their ills?" Nothing will happen when they meet, and their ills will just magically disappear by the end just because the drama ran out of time.

Girl goes to the countryside to try and heal from her life in Seoul and somehow manages to move to the most toxic town she could find and ends up living in an unlivable place that also has history. What are the chances...
I really got lost in the cost of things in this drama. I get she didn't have many savings but, she was most likely paying a small fortune for her apartment in Seoul and you're telling me she couldn't find a decently priced apartment or even room in a small town? I know it was because of the plot, but it had my eyes rolling.
I'm still mad at how many situations were solved in the worst way possible and how mostly none of the characters had much growth at all. The main character is considered weak and manipulated and used in various ways and there is not much indication she has changed anything in that regard towards the end. Dae Beom did change some maybe, but all I could think was how it feels like Yim Si Wan is now typecasted as the shy guy that runs or something... (and I say this as someone that loved Run On).
It's very unrealistic how by the end she stays and somehow they try to tell me she moved to a good place and will have a pleasant life, the girl didn't catch a break since she put foot on that place, I'm sure there are amazing towns all around Korea, I wouldn't have stayed in that one...

If the drama had focused on her moving to that town, the connections with other residents and more of introspection it would have been so much nicer for me. Had I known it was classified as a melodrama I wouldn't have bothered. There are some nice moments here and there between the characters but for me it was not enough to justify the watch. The toxicity of many of the side characters and the situations that arised continuously made this hard to watch.
"Making time for the important in life", what I guess means dealing with violence, abuse, toxicity and having your place destroyed... hmmmm... ok.

Special mention to Dae Beom's friend Jo Ji Young, what a piece of manipulative work. Somehow they're trying to tell me she's lovesick and "oh poor her". She was selfish, manipulative and plain awful as a friend and as a person.
Also, what was the point of Jae Hoon going back to the US for two minutes and coming back? What was that waste of screen time for?

I'm quite puzzled by the high ratings of this drama. Unless you like melodrama I can't recommend, there are many other dramas a lot nicer than this one so I wouldn't waste the time.
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