Details

  • Last Online: Jun 12, 2022
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: USA
  • Contribution Points: 0 LV0
  • Birthday: February 23
  • Roles:
  • Join Date: September 7, 2021

Friends

Be Melodramatic korean drama review
Completed
Be Melodramatic
0 people found this review helpful
by pinkflsh
Oct 1, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 10
Story 10.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Beautiful Story About Love, Loss and Friendship

I have been struggling to find the words to accurately describe how much I loved and appreciated this drama. The writing made me laugh, cry and think about the ways I could relate to the lessons being shared in each episode. All the characters were beautifully written, especially our three leading ladies, and I found myself being instantly attached to them since the first episode. I was blown away by how well the writers were able to flesh out almost all the characters(especially considering how large the cast was)without it becoming too overwhelming, and the plot was never convoluted, messy, or predictable. The lack of predictability was something that really shocked me since this tends to be a huge issue in kdramas, specifically melodramas. Towards the end of the episode, I had no idea what was going to happen next and the realization soon hit that going with the flow and letting the story do its thing was the best way to enjoy this drama.

The friendship between Jin Joo, Eun Jung, and Han Joo felt so incredibly realistic and it made me yearn for a friendship as beautiful and lovely as theirs. Eun Jung's brother, Hyo Bong, was also a part of this tight-knit group of friends, and his presence was natural and never felt out of place. These 4 individuals had so much love and respect for one another and you can see that in the way they spoke to one another and supported one another. There was a deep sense of trust amongst the group, and apart from little spats, we never actually see them fight. It felt warm and cozy watching the scenes where they all sat on the sofa at the end of the day watching TV, eating snacks, and just talking about their day or how they're feeling. It felt so natural and I would always get a warm fuzzy feeling. What sealed the deal for me is the way they handled Eun Jung's grief, which was a major theme in the show. The 3 of them never pressured her, never forced her to speak about how she was feeling, and graciously accepted her with open arms once she was ready.

On that note, the way Be Melodramatic handled the topic of grief and mental health was so well done. Oftentimes, kdrama's tend to fail horribly when it comes to addressing those themes, but BM was certainly not one of them. Despite the fact that 2 years have passed, Eun Jung has yet to address the pain from losing her boyfriend, Joon Woo. Because of that, she's found a way of coping by tricking her brain into thinking that he is there with her and even carrying full-on conversations with him. She pretends that she is fine but once she realizes what she has been doing, she is hit with the harsh reality that Joon Woo is gone and that he isn't coming back. It's a poignant scene that reminds the viewers that Eun Jung is still in a great deal of pain but hasn't learned to deal with it. What was great is seeing how Eun Jung willingly sought therapy after her brother urged her to and how these scenes were taken seriously. The therapist genuinely cared about her wellbeing and what it is she had to say, and Eun Jung genuinely made an effort to answer the therapist's questions to the best of her abilities. It was nice to see her go back to the same therapist a few episodes later to show that she was still actively receiving help. Mental health and grief are usually not taken seriously in dramas and tend to be solved easily, but BM handles these topics with care and presents Eun Jung's journey of healing as realistically as possible. By the last episode, she still sees and speaks to him, but it is clear that she's in a much better place and is beginning to learn how to live her life without him. There is no clean-cut conclusion because grief and healing are not easy and it was such a beautiful open ending to her story.

God, I have so much more to say about this show. The way the comedy fit so well with the quirky atmosphere, the way both romantic and platonic relationships were written so nicely, the way the plot was clever and nicely paced, the way every single character, pairing, and group had immense chemistry, and especially the way the actors did an incredible job portraying their characters. My one and only complaint is the way the plot twist is thrown in the last episode where it is revealed that Han Joo was actually dating someone the entire time. We were never given any indication that she was in a relationship and it felt like a cheap way to let the viewers know that Han Joo and Jae Hoon were strictly platonic. It was genuinely frustrating considering the fact that the show had led us to believe that there were romantic feelings present, but since they wanted to show that they were just friends, I wish they had done a better job at revealing this fact. Because it is such a small issue within a sea of perfection, that one flaw isn't enough to bump down my 10-star rating and I highly, highly, HIGHLY, recommend this to anyone looking for a cozy and heartwarming drama to binge.

Was this review helpful to you?