Aurora
This review may contain spoilers
Glorious women indeed
Admittedly, I started watching this show for three reasons: strong female leads, Kim Seo Hyung, and a lesbian main character. I was not let down on any of those fronts.
The women in this show are just *chef’s kiss*. Not only Kim Seo Hyung, but Lee Bo Young and Ok Ja Yeon did an excellent job as well. Their characters aren’t perfect, they have flaws, and that’s okay. They felt very real. Besides, women supporting women? We love to see it, truly. A lot of the interactions between them, especially in the later episodes, just made me so happy.
As for the lesbian character, well, I think Kim Seo Hyung portrait her wonderfully. I don’t want to speculate about whether she’s part of the LGBTQIA+ community in the slightest, regardless of whether she is or not, she did a good job. And honestly, at this point, I’ll take all the sapphic representation I can get. Especially when its a main character, and especially with an “older” character. I also liked that it wasn’t the main plot point of the show, and I especially liked that it wasn’t her sole defining character trait. It gives me hope we will see more LGBTQIA+ representation in the future, in a more “casual” way and not only in stories where it is the main plot (though of course I wouldn’t mind seeing more stories where LGBTQIA+ characters and their struggles are the main plot point either, we don’t have enough of those yet either). Honestly, this hit me real hard. I cried multiple times whenever her character was going through it. I cannot speak for the entire community, but personally, I approve of the way this storyline was handled and portait in the show. It was done respectfully, it felt real, it hit home, and it showed that Seo Hyun and Suzy’s love was real and valid.
As for the plot, well, I was prepared for nothing. I was genuinely prepared to sit through 16 hours worth of this kdrama just for Kim Seo Hyung and for the representation. But honestly, the plot wasn’t that bad? The whole subplot with the grand-son and the maid was quite... meh (I have no clue how they even fell in love to begin with, but whatever, their story was only a small part of the show anyway), but in general I didn’t mind the plot. I was actually very invested at times. No, it wasn’t mind blowing, but oh well, I’m just watching this for entertainment anyway, I didn’t really mind. This show definitely wasn’t plot-driven, and I’m not sure if it was going for that or not, but regardless I didn’t feel like i was watching 16 hours of nothingness either. It didn’t even feel all that dragged out, but maybe my mind is just clouded because I loved the characters so much. Or maybe it’s because I don’t watch makjang often, so I don’t have much to compare it with. I will say though, the final four or so episodes were edited in a very confusing way. I guess it was to make the whole mystery last longer and to keep people watching, but still.
Anyway, if you are a fan of any of the three female leads, I definitely recommend this. They did an outstanding job. The other actors did as well. If you just want to see some strong female leads, and with women supporting women, this show is worth a shot as well. And if you are like me and are looking for representation, or you want to support a show with a canon lesbian main character, please give this show a try. But do keep in mind, this kdrama is not only about that, its rather a subplot. Some episodes it isn’t mentioned at all, and sometimes it’s used against her. Still, it’s definitely there, and it doesn’t stop her. There is plenty of acceptance, both from others and herself. It’s not just queerbaiting, and it was, in my opinion, done respectfully. I can only applaud that. This review was a bit difficult to write for me, it was difficult to put into words exactly how I felt about Jung Seo Hyun as a character. This show impacted me a lot more than I was expecting. I think while writing this I realized just how glad I was to see this in a kdrama. I didn’t expect to be this overwhelmed to be honest. Idk, it’s late and I’m tired. I guess all I can say is thank you to the entire team for how they handled the storyline especially in regards to Jung Seo Hyun as a character, And thank you to Kim Seo Hyung for portraiting it so well too.
The women in this show are just *chef’s kiss*. Not only Kim Seo Hyung, but Lee Bo Young and Ok Ja Yeon did an excellent job as well. Their characters aren’t perfect, they have flaws, and that’s okay. They felt very real. Besides, women supporting women? We love to see it, truly. A lot of the interactions between them, especially in the later episodes, just made me so happy.
As for the lesbian character, well, I think Kim Seo Hyung portrait her wonderfully. I don’t want to speculate about whether she’s part of the LGBTQIA+ community in the slightest, regardless of whether she is or not, she did a good job. And honestly, at this point, I’ll take all the sapphic representation I can get. Especially when its a main character, and especially with an “older” character. I also liked that it wasn’t the main plot point of the show, and I especially liked that it wasn’t her sole defining character trait. It gives me hope we will see more LGBTQIA+ representation in the future, in a more “casual” way and not only in stories where it is the main plot (though of course I wouldn’t mind seeing more stories where LGBTQIA+ characters and their struggles are the main plot point either, we don’t have enough of those yet either). Honestly, this hit me real hard. I cried multiple times whenever her character was going through it. I cannot speak for the entire community, but personally, I approve of the way this storyline was handled and portait in the show. It was done respectfully, it felt real, it hit home, and it showed that Seo Hyun and Suzy’s love was real and valid.
As for the plot, well, I was prepared for nothing. I was genuinely prepared to sit through 16 hours worth of this kdrama just for Kim Seo Hyung and for the representation. But honestly, the plot wasn’t that bad? The whole subplot with the grand-son and the maid was quite... meh (I have no clue how they even fell in love to begin with, but whatever, their story was only a small part of the show anyway), but in general I didn’t mind the plot. I was actually very invested at times. No, it wasn’t mind blowing, but oh well, I’m just watching this for entertainment anyway, I didn’t really mind. This show definitely wasn’t plot-driven, and I’m not sure if it was going for that or not, but regardless I didn’t feel like i was watching 16 hours of nothingness either. It didn’t even feel all that dragged out, but maybe my mind is just clouded because I loved the characters so much. Or maybe it’s because I don’t watch makjang often, so I don’t have much to compare it with. I will say though, the final four or so episodes were edited in a very confusing way. I guess it was to make the whole mystery last longer and to keep people watching, but still.
Anyway, if you are a fan of any of the three female leads, I definitely recommend this. They did an outstanding job. The other actors did as well. If you just want to see some strong female leads, and with women supporting women, this show is worth a shot as well. And if you are like me and are looking for representation, or you want to support a show with a canon lesbian main character, please give this show a try. But do keep in mind, this kdrama is not only about that, its rather a subplot. Some episodes it isn’t mentioned at all, and sometimes it’s used against her. Still, it’s definitely there, and it doesn’t stop her. There is plenty of acceptance, both from others and herself. It’s not just queerbaiting, and it was, in my opinion, done respectfully. I can only applaud that. This review was a bit difficult to write for me, it was difficult to put into words exactly how I felt about Jung Seo Hyun as a character. This show impacted me a lot more than I was expecting. I think while writing this I realized just how glad I was to see this in a kdrama. I didn’t expect to be this overwhelmed to be honest. Idk, it’s late and I’m tired. I guess all I can say is thank you to the entire team for how they handled the storyline especially in regards to Jung Seo Hyun as a character, And thank you to Kim Seo Hyung for portraiting it so well too.
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