A Masterpiece

Originally, I had put this on my watch list because of IU. I had no idea what it would really be about as the description I read didn't sell it as something great. The poster for the drama is also quite deceiving as well. I also had really no expectations of the acting as generally most people who are singers are not great actors. I can see why people say this was IU's best performance. Though her character doesn't speak a ton of lines, but when she does, it's blunt, cold, and of few words, but you can feel every emotion portrayed by her words and actions. I never cry when I watch dramas, in fact, the last time I cried in real life was at a funeral, but there were so many scenes towards the end that made me well up in tears.

I finished it over the course of two days and I can say it's by far the greatest drama I've seen ever. It'll be very hard for anything to top this for me. The plot is not cliche like many other dramas out there and while it might not be for everyone's tastes, I'd say it's a shame if you didn't watch this if you're a fan of dramas as a whole. The music is also great and really enhances the emotions behind some of the scenes.

This is a drama that depicts two people at rock bottom in their lives who find comfort and healing after meeting each other. A story of everyone on the verge of having nothing to redemption in their own way. It shows you what empathy means.

Rather than focusing on the relationships between the leads as most people normally like to do, we should look at the overarching message this drama is trying to send...to find happiness. We have Park Dong Hoon on one side where he seemingly has a pretty decent life with a stable job, money, and family and in contrast we have Lee Ji An who has no stable job, no money, and no immediate family other than her grandmother. When you have money, it's not a problem you worry about, but when you have no money, it's all of your problems. There are many people in this world who can relate to both these characters, if not maybe some of the supporting characters, and their situations they portray in the drama.

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Life Lessons

When I first saw this trailer for OBS, I saw it had both Kim Da Mi and Choi Woo Shik and I immediately thought of The Witch: Subversion. While the trailer depicts this as a romcom, this is more on the slice of life side than it is romcom. It has romcom moments, but the overall message it sends can really resonate with anyone, which to me was in order to find happiness, you must be willing to forgive and let go. This is a very relatable drama as there's a bit of each character in all of us.

I have talked to some people I know that have watched it entirely and some of them only look at the surface level plot of the story, which is the relationship woes between Choi Ung and Kook Yeon Su and then critique them on what they should and shouldn't do. The core of their issues was communication, but as a viewer objectively, it's very easy to say "Oh, just tell them, it's so easy!" If you place yourself in their shoes and experience the kind of struggles/trauma they have, no, it's absolutely not as easy as just telling them straight up.

While the story is mainly about the ML/FL's relationship, but what this drama does very well is through the use of flashbacks, it places you, the viewer, in the character's shoes. You then understand WHY they did the things they did and HOW they became the person they are today. Near the end, when everything is revealed, you get the complete picture of the characters. When you connect all of the dots, you get why Yeon Su has so many walls built around her, you get why Choi Ung acts like he doesn't care when confronted with an issue, you get why Ji Ung has a one sided love for Yeon Su. It's a story of growth and development for them and really just about being an adult and going through life.

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