This is one of the most flawless works showcasing the constant choreography of marriage and in particular marriage involving one spouse or the other becoming a caregiver for the other who is chronically or terminally ill. The dance of this program is intricate, delicately moved through, and nuanced in the case of the couple here (courtesy of two of my favorite talents who both have voices and facial expressions that soften me but also deliver quite a bit of aching as we see them endure and suffer)... every tiny position of hands and arms, every gaze, be it a steely smile to hide the pain or the writhing that is almost impossible to be unaffected by, is really powerful.

In particular, beyond their body language and expression, much of the dance here is one shown largely through the incredible effort to detail put in buying ingredients with earnest attention to quality, in preparing them with a reverence for the ingredients knowing they may be among the last ever eaten by the person they love most dearly... even filtering fiber-laden juices three or four times, eventually with doubled up conical coffee filters after muslin that gets washed and reused and I believe paper towels just before the filter... just the level of love to juice fresh produce then spend an easy hour filtering over and over cautiously for just a few sips, sips that are "bland but everything needed is there" as she likens these reduced/less weighty and rich, heavily filtered clear liquids to her husband.

The process of saying goodbye, of seeing the body fall apart bit by bit, is so powerfully depicted yet with so little fanfare. The sincerest kind of grace is delivered quietly, after all. There's also a truly special support character played by versatile actor Yang Kyung Won-I've seen him be everything from the vilest trashiest criminal with money to... well, this has to be the single most wholesome character in the background I've seen in a kdrama. I really can't think of a better "support" both for them as cast and moreso as the family enduring illness that has no cure, only potential comfort and shared time.

This isn't exactly a spoiler (especially as it could be any moment of the food-centered show), but if there is a "climax" to this in terms of intense emotions, it's after the husband decides to make a dish that he doesn't realize requires the batter to rest for a whole day... and the following day, the wife is not able to eat at all and gets rushed to the ER, the batter ruined ultimately, his quest for perfection being futile-that is when he really has to come to terms with how everything is "now or never" and he truly can't do it all-his helpless feeling is crushing to watch, and yet... in that same hospital, some "innocent" pork belly slices become a way to throw that anguish aside and celebrate a happy moment through a little bit of scheming.

Likewise, one of the single most touching moments came from the grocery store "Oasis" worker, a true oasis to not-so-knowledgable men of the house trying to navigate a store so foreign to them, really about as desperate as people stuck in a desert needing water... he lead them quite perfectly (and had awesome uncle energy with the 20-year-old son), but when another "batter needs a day" situation happened with an out-of-season dried item that requires 4 days to rehydrate... the ML leaves despondent and empty-handed only to have magic happen in the form of that compassionate community member, the kind anyone caring for chronically ill family needs in droves.

If Yang Kyung Won's character doesn't inspire at least a few viewers to look at all the healthy-LOOKING people around them and consider the illnesses harbored by so many as they put on those steely "content" faces and smile their way out of any discomfort they'd cause another (or the unwelcome poor you sort of pity they may receive in turn from those who enjoy broadcasting others' issues)... and be more kind in general, I don't know what kind of drama/film really could without being preachy. His compassion is as layered and complex as the illness he's helping the family members manage-he guides them gently and with little questioning or drama but with the biggest pompoms attached to his giant heart, clearly. He's my MVP of the series.

Bravo to the entire cast and crew. That tiny bit of whistling quietly taking us out of every episode also felt genuinely thought-through and perfect for what this aims to be. They did it magnificently, even if my chest feels heavier for the viewing.