This review may contain spoilers
"The past belongs to the past"
I stumbled upon this story on YouTube, but it was hard to follow the episode order. So, I found the complete series on Rakuten.
Like a drug, I watched the entire 41-episode series in just six days. In short: a compelling plot, a great cast, and a wonderful soundtrack.
She is a journalist and he is a doctor; they fall in love, but she leaves him because of her "mother-in-law-to-be." Overcome with sadness, he agrees to move away to work as a doctor elsewhere and dies in an accident. His friend—who is also his cousin—is furious with her for having left him; he gives her a hard time but having promised him to protect her—he ends up saving her on several occasions. That is how they grow closer, and he begins to fall in love with her (he smiles just thinking about her).
This plot surprise me a lot. You think the ultimate couple is the one formed by the journalist and the doctor, but things change.
In any case, I expected the reason for her breakup with the doctor to be more serious—for instance, that the "mother-in-law" had gotten pregnant by her father, making them half-siblings, rather than it just being because she had been abandoned and harbored resentment toward her father (?!)—that way, the sudden and painful split from this poor, lovestruck doctor would have been more plausible.
Episodes 14 and 15 really got on my nerves because of the journalist friend—what an idiot, always just wanting money from her boyfriend, and he’s a fool for not dumping her and finding someone better! (That’s why the rating dropped from a 9 to an 8.)
It’s absolutely insane, the pressure parents put on their kids to get married! And that obligation to toast and drink until you puke is just appalling.
In Episode 19, that couple—her friends—are infuriating. She’s obsessed with the house and is materialistic to the core, while he bends over backwards and gets himself buried in debt for her... what fools! An insufferable couple.
The main pair, on the other hand, are wonderful: she’s now an independent architect, and he’s her serving knight. He’s sharp in business, kind and warm-hearted with family and acquaintances (the islanders), and attentive to her without making a show of it (visiting the island to celebrate her birthday, drumming up clients for her, dropping off a snack without making his presence known, picking her up from the police station with a lawyer in tow, keeping watch at the hospital, paying the restaurant bill...). He has eyes only for her and, after a while, subtly hints at his feelings—never pressuring her, but looking for signs of reciprocation, like when he asks her to come to the airport as he leaves for a business trip; it’s almost a test to see if she cares about him, too.
But it turns out that being too efficient and righteous doesn't spare him from the malice of social climbers and opportunists who get him arrested. It’s all the fault of the assistant (the male half of the couple of friends), who let a secret slip. What an idiot!
Episode 20 features romantic moments between the two. Now it’s her turn to investigate and clear his name. Unfortunately, he ends up sentenced to eight months in prison.
Episode 25: I couldn't wait for him to get out after those eight months and for them to reunite. The truth is, the experience has deeply changed him; he’s also been hurt by his father, who no longer recognizes him due to illness. He feels abandoned. Not to mention that he feels unworthy of her, believing he’s a nobody without his job.
Ep. 27: He acts like a jerk toward her, treating her badly to push her away while he investigates who framed him.
Ep. 28: It’s so sad; this poor guy first lost his best friend, then went to jail; after getting out, his father died; then he discovered from a diary that his estranged mother had passed away; he’s unemployed and has pushed away the woman he loves... *sigh*.
Note: He sets off in an orange car to visit his mother's grave but arrives in a black Lincoln (?!).
His cellmate is a good guy; he helps him figure out who sent him to prison. His relationship with her, however, isn't going well (she doesn't like his circle of friends and feels like a fish out of water).
Poor "Uncle's" daughter. She lost her son because of her husband; she’s unhappy and ignored by everyone—she’s lost weight, is depressed, and even attempted suicide. Thinking back to how bold she was at the start of the series, she’s really in a bad way now.
Just a small point: is there nothing else besides whisky?
Ep. 34: If he keeps trying to protect her by pushing her away, he’s only making her suffer for nothing—and he’ll lose her. She’s already a saint for having waited eight months and never stopped believing in him. Fingers crossed that things work out and they end up together. They are such a BEAUTIFUL couple.
Ep. 39: A joint wedding for these two couples? No thanks.
Her turning him down and making him wait makes perfect sense.
Ep. 40: He resigns and goes to work as her assistant and contrary to what I would have thought, she still doesn't accept him.
Ep. 41: Finally together, after so much heartache.
Perseverance has paid off. The island was a blessing, a sanctuary, and a crucial place for their reflection.
Even a few days after finishing the series, I find myself thinking about it.
Like a drug, I watched the entire 41-episode series in just six days. In short: a compelling plot, a great cast, and a wonderful soundtrack.
She is a journalist and he is a doctor; they fall in love, but she leaves him because of her "mother-in-law-to-be." Overcome with sadness, he agrees to move away to work as a doctor elsewhere and dies in an accident. His friend—who is also his cousin—is furious with her for having left him; he gives her a hard time but having promised him to protect her—he ends up saving her on several occasions. That is how they grow closer, and he begins to fall in love with her (he smiles just thinking about her).
This plot surprise me a lot. You think the ultimate couple is the one formed by the journalist and the doctor, but things change.
In any case, I expected the reason for her breakup with the doctor to be more serious—for instance, that the "mother-in-law" had gotten pregnant by her father, making them half-siblings, rather than it just being because she had been abandoned and harbored resentment toward her father (?!)—that way, the sudden and painful split from this poor, lovestruck doctor would have been more plausible.
Episodes 14 and 15 really got on my nerves because of the journalist friend—what an idiot, always just wanting money from her boyfriend, and he’s a fool for not dumping her and finding someone better! (That’s why the rating dropped from a 9 to an 8.)
It’s absolutely insane, the pressure parents put on their kids to get married! And that obligation to toast and drink until you puke is just appalling.
In Episode 19, that couple—her friends—are infuriating. She’s obsessed with the house and is materialistic to the core, while he bends over backwards and gets himself buried in debt for her... what fools! An insufferable couple.
The main pair, on the other hand, are wonderful: she’s now an independent architect, and he’s her serving knight. He’s sharp in business, kind and warm-hearted with family and acquaintances (the islanders), and attentive to her without making a show of it (visiting the island to celebrate her birthday, drumming up clients for her, dropping off a snack without making his presence known, picking her up from the police station with a lawyer in tow, keeping watch at the hospital, paying the restaurant bill...). He has eyes only for her and, after a while, subtly hints at his feelings—never pressuring her, but looking for signs of reciprocation, like when he asks her to come to the airport as he leaves for a business trip; it’s almost a test to see if she cares about him, too.
But it turns out that being too efficient and righteous doesn't spare him from the malice of social climbers and opportunists who get him arrested. It’s all the fault of the assistant (the male half of the couple of friends), who let a secret slip. What an idiot!
Episode 20 features romantic moments between the two. Now it’s her turn to investigate and clear his name. Unfortunately, he ends up sentenced to eight months in prison.
Episode 25: I couldn't wait for him to get out after those eight months and for them to reunite. The truth is, the experience has deeply changed him; he’s also been hurt by his father, who no longer recognizes him due to illness. He feels abandoned. Not to mention that he feels unworthy of her, believing he’s a nobody without his job.
Ep. 27: He acts like a jerk toward her, treating her badly to push her away while he investigates who framed him.
Ep. 28: It’s so sad; this poor guy first lost his best friend, then went to jail; after getting out, his father died; then he discovered from a diary that his estranged mother had passed away; he’s unemployed and has pushed away the woman he loves... *sigh*.
Note: He sets off in an orange car to visit his mother's grave but arrives in a black Lincoln (?!).
His cellmate is a good guy; he helps him figure out who sent him to prison. His relationship with her, however, isn't going well (she doesn't like his circle of friends and feels like a fish out of water).
Poor "Uncle's" daughter. She lost her son because of her husband; she’s unhappy and ignored by everyone—she’s lost weight, is depressed, and even attempted suicide. Thinking back to how bold she was at the start of the series, she’s really in a bad way now.
Just a small point: is there nothing else besides whisky?
Ep. 34: If he keeps trying to protect her by pushing her away, he’s only making her suffer for nothing—and he’ll lose her. She’s already a saint for having waited eight months and never stopped believing in him. Fingers crossed that things work out and they end up together. They are such a BEAUTIFUL couple.
Ep. 39: A joint wedding for these two couples? No thanks.
Her turning him down and making him wait makes perfect sense.
Ep. 40: He resigns and goes to work as her assistant and contrary to what I would have thought, she still doesn't accept him.
Ep. 41: Finally together, after so much heartache.
Perseverance has paid off. The island was a blessing, a sanctuary, and a crucial place for their reflection.
Even a few days after finishing the series, I find myself thinking about it.
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