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The Beauty Inside korean drama review
Completed
The Beauty Inside
0 people found this review helpful
by echubbi
May 18, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

"I won't be able to forget because you are the one who recognized me first."

Before going too deep into this review, I honestly think that this is one of the best rom-coms out there in Dramaland. Sure, it's got some of its flaws, and some storyline aspects were left unmentioned, but those are overlooked by what TBI has to offer.

Casting // Acting // Story
There honestly couldn't have been such a better cast- with Seo Hyun Jin brining Han Se Gye's character to life, whether it be happily in love with Seo Do Jae or facing angst because of past events long ago. Throughout the drama, Seo Hyun Jin demonstrated her capabilities as a top actress- there were some challenging emotional scenes that she needed to pull off, and I'm wondering how her tear ducts were able to handle all of it. Thankfully, the angst doesn't last long. Lee Min Ki on the other hand delivered his lines with a mostly deadpan expression, but through his eyes he conveyed all the emotions needed for someone who struggles with prosopagnosia. He could be cold in the beginning, but he shifts to someone who deeply cares for those he loves. To be honest, Kang Sara and Ryu Eun Ho felt like side character rather than main, and I wish that they too got some more screen time, but it was ok for what it was. Lee Tae Ri and Moon Ji in brought so much life to the scenes that they were in, whether it be Secretary Jeong's bromance with Seo Do Jae or Woo Mi being the best suportive friend for Han Se Gye.

I've seen a lot of people wondering about why Han Se Gye transforms, or what happens to the dads. Unfortunately, TBI never touches on these topics- in reality, although it would have been nice to understand contextually why these events happened, show used them as a placeholder to reflect on other themes. In the end, Han Se Gye realizes her transformations were an opportunity to help other people. She reflects on all the times she's helped others come to terms with their problems, with each transformation setting the stage for something else. We don't know if Han Se Gye would become a young child or an old man in the next, which makes each transformation a surprise. The cameo of Kim Min Seok was a really nice one, and it set the stage for all the future transformations to come. I also really liked how Seo Do Jae portrayed acceptance and love to what's truly on the inside, and not based off of the exterior alone. In one particular scene, it really touched me how Seo Do Jae promised Han Se Gye that he'd be with her, even with her current state as an old grandpa. TBI also portrays the difficulties between what happens behind the scenes in a Hallyu star's life, and I thought that it was done very well, with Han Se Gye running whenever she transforms and how she deals with the media afterwards. My only quip with the story was why did Ryu Eun Ho want to be a priest? It was never explained his origin (like the earlier two I mentioned), but unlike those, this serves no real purpose at all, except to create tensions between him and Sa Ra. Now TBI never has any true antagonists, except in Han Se Gye's rival hoobae actress Chae Yoo Ri. Such a trivial character, but I love the way Han Se Gye stood her ground and dealt with all of Chae Yoo Ri's shenanigans (the orange juice scene...damn girl!)

OSTS //
As for the OSTs, I really loved the tracks Falling in Love (Davichi), Beautiful Moment (K.Will), and Goodbye (Wendy). Maybe I'm just a sucker for ballad-y songs, but these songs hit differently whenever our characters felt poignant and angsty. It really set the mood for the scenes, and I loved how they didn't just overuse one song repeatedly for "sad scenes."

Overall //
As a rom-com, TBI feels familiar in all its aspects. There's no true antagonist constantly pining after our OTP's lives, but it didn't need it. It didn't need any major plot movers because the love between our leads was enough. As a viewer, I never thought it was slowpaced and boring- seeing the character developments between our OTP coming to terms with themselves and finding peace in each other was enough for me. One final thing, I also really liked how the show used the time to fully flush out the relationship of our OTP. Unlike other dramas that end immediately upon reunion (or shortly afterwards), TBI focuses on our characters' lives and gives good fanservice to what we can expect should the story continue on years into the future. The ending scene with all of Han Se Gye's transformations walking behind Han Se Gye herself towards Seo Do Jae's open arms in the end really set it for me: this is one of the best rom-coms in Dramaland.
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