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Enigmatic. Perplexing. Healing.
This series begins with loss…with people finding support in one another through the trauma of losing someone they love. Like a train ride, it starts very slowly, gradually gaining speed and momentum until…it hits a wall.
The writers beautifully incorporate so many metaphors throughout the story that, as a viewer, I constantly found myself looking for answers. Why can’t you just tell me what is happening? Because that would dumb me down.
This is what I admire about Japanese writers. They have a creative way of challenging our intellect without resorting to cheap tricks. Here we simply watch people dealing with loss, grief, marriage, love and the things we keep hidden. And just when you think you understand where the story is going, something happens that changes everything.
Because you’ve already become emotionally invested in these characters, your reaction is exactly what the writers wanted…anger, confusion, disbelief, frustration. Call it whatever you like.
But like hanging a T-shirt out to dry, understanding takes time, patience and acceptance.
That’s when the train starts gaining momentum.
Then, just as you’ve surrendered to the idea that perhaps this journey is becoming boring and monotonous…the train hits the wall.
Suddenly your emotions are pulled right back in.
What just happened?
Was that real?
Was that a dream?
And once again, you’re questioning everything you thought you understood.
The acting is superb and remarkably natural. During the last few episodes, I purposely turned off the closed captions. I wanted to listen to their voices, watch their eyes and study their body language. Sometimes those things tell a story all by themselves. By watching this way, every revelation became even more shocking because I wasn’t being told what to think…I had to interpret what I was seeing.
And perhaps that is what this entire series has been asking us to do.
How well do we really know someone we’ve loved for years?
You can sleep beside someone every night, build a home together and create what appears to be a loving and peaceful marriage…yet never share your deepest thoughts, fears and secrets. We sometimes reveal only the parts of ourselves that we believe will preserve that happiness, while keeping our real selves safely hidden underneath.
Is that still love?
Perhaps the title itself provides the answer.
A T-shirt doesn’t dry simply because the washing machine has stopped spinning. Pull it out too soon and it may still be wet. You have to hang it up, expose it to the air…and give it time.
Maybe people aren’t so different.
And perhaps love isn’t about keeping everything clean and perfectly folded. Maybe it’s about finally exposing everything we’ve kept hidden and discovering whether, after all of it has been washed and hung out to dry, we still choose the person standing beside us.
I’m on episode 9, however the series ends it would make me feel good. Because finding love and even losing it after is still better that never to have loved at all.
The writers beautifully incorporate so many metaphors throughout the story that, as a viewer, I constantly found myself looking for answers. Why can’t you just tell me what is happening? Because that would dumb me down.
This is what I admire about Japanese writers. They have a creative way of challenging our intellect without resorting to cheap tricks. Here we simply watch people dealing with loss, grief, marriage, love and the things we keep hidden. And just when you think you understand where the story is going, something happens that changes everything.
Because you’ve already become emotionally invested in these characters, your reaction is exactly what the writers wanted…anger, confusion, disbelief, frustration. Call it whatever you like.
But like hanging a T-shirt out to dry, understanding takes time, patience and acceptance.
That’s when the train starts gaining momentum.
Then, just as you’ve surrendered to the idea that perhaps this journey is becoming boring and monotonous…the train hits the wall.
Suddenly your emotions are pulled right back in.
What just happened?
Was that real?
Was that a dream?
And once again, you’re questioning everything you thought you understood.
The acting is superb and remarkably natural. During the last few episodes, I purposely turned off the closed captions. I wanted to listen to their voices, watch their eyes and study their body language. Sometimes those things tell a story all by themselves. By watching this way, every revelation became even more shocking because I wasn’t being told what to think…I had to interpret what I was seeing.
And perhaps that is what this entire series has been asking us to do.
How well do we really know someone we’ve loved for years?
You can sleep beside someone every night, build a home together and create what appears to be a loving and peaceful marriage…yet never share your deepest thoughts, fears and secrets. We sometimes reveal only the parts of ourselves that we believe will preserve that happiness, while keeping our real selves safely hidden underneath.
Is that still love?
Perhaps the title itself provides the answer.
A T-shirt doesn’t dry simply because the washing machine has stopped spinning. Pull it out too soon and it may still be wet. You have to hang it up, expose it to the air…and give it time.
Maybe people aren’t so different.
And perhaps love isn’t about keeping everything clean and perfectly folded. Maybe it’s about finally exposing everything we’ve kept hidden and discovering whether, after all of it has been washed and hung out to dry, we still choose the person standing beside us.
I’m on episode 9, however the series ends it would make me feel good. Because finding love and even losing it after is still better that never to have loved at all.
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