When Heroes become humans
I just rewatched this gem of a series. When I get bored with other shows, I tend to return to the ones that are worth rewatching, and Moving is definitely one of them. In some ways, it reminds me of Heroes, but with a much stronger human component.
At its core, it’s the story of three teenagers who discover that they have superpowers. But despite their extraordinary abilities, they’re still teenagers dealing with hormones, first love, insecurity, friendship, family expectations and all the awkwardness that comes with growing up. That’s what makes them so relatable. Their powers are extraordinary; their problems are completely ordinary.
Behind that coming-of-age story, however, is a much darker and more sinister plot involving the conflict between North and South Korea. And surrounding the young protagonists is an ensemble of seasoned adult actors, many of whom possess their own extraordinary abilities, from flight and super strength to seemingly miraculous healing.
What I think Moving does better than many superhero stories is make the powers secondary to the people who possess them. This is what I sometimes feel Marvel’s X-Men stories lack: the emphasis on the familial relationship and the consequences that come with it. In Moving, superheroes make mistakes, parents make sacrifices, and those mistakes can have devastating consequences, not just for the heroes themselves, but for the people they love.
And perhaps that’s why this series is so rewatchable. Beneath all the superpowers, government conspiracies and action sequences, Moving is really a story about parents trying to protect their children from the world they themselves once survived, and children discovering that their parents are far more extraordinary than they ever realized.
The superpowers may make them special, but it’s their humanity that makes Moving extraordinary.
At its core, it’s the story of three teenagers who discover that they have superpowers. But despite their extraordinary abilities, they’re still teenagers dealing with hormones, first love, insecurity, friendship, family expectations and all the awkwardness that comes with growing up. That’s what makes them so relatable. Their powers are extraordinary; their problems are completely ordinary.
Behind that coming-of-age story, however, is a much darker and more sinister plot involving the conflict between North and South Korea. And surrounding the young protagonists is an ensemble of seasoned adult actors, many of whom possess their own extraordinary abilities, from flight and super strength to seemingly miraculous healing.
What I think Moving does better than many superhero stories is make the powers secondary to the people who possess them. This is what I sometimes feel Marvel’s X-Men stories lack: the emphasis on the familial relationship and the consequences that come with it. In Moving, superheroes make mistakes, parents make sacrifices, and those mistakes can have devastating consequences, not just for the heroes themselves, but for the people they love.
And perhaps that’s why this series is so rewatchable. Beneath all the superpowers, government conspiracies and action sequences, Moving is really a story about parents trying to protect their children from the world they themselves once survived, and children discovering that their parents are far more extraordinary than they ever realized.
The superpowers may make them special, but it’s their humanity that makes Moving extraordinary.
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