Something in the Rain (2018)

Slow-burn drama that shirks trope-y plotting for beautiful mood-building

This series traverses the emotional overtones of falling in love in a way that I think is completely distinct from any other k- or c-drama I've seen. Even without such a comparison, I think it's remarkably personal and true to itself.

(Spoilers only in paragraphs marked as such).

SitR is beautiful, quiet, deliberate, and grounded in character realism- the storytelling doesn't overextend with cheesy, forced sound effects, throwaway comic relief characters, or distracting child actor flashbacks. Son Ye Jin and Jung Hae-in are absolutely incredible; their performances dovetail artfully with the musical and visual atmospherics. The conflict is organic, for the most part, with no pointless love triangles, sensationalist turns, or completely irrational character choices. The characters have flaws and well expanded personalities, and the aesthetics complement the story very well. The artistic direction is incredibly focused while being subtle and understated. In short, then, I absolutely fell in love with this show because of its emotional poignancy, smart writing, and mature direction.

Perhaps the most divisive thing about SitR is the music. In my first viewing, I absolutely hated the English language songs that make up much of the soundtrack, especially the songs "Stand by Your Man" and "Save the Last Dance for Me." The latter is a very antiquated, kitschy, and ridiculous 80s ballad, while the former sounds like the theme song for traditional gender roles. Even so, when I let the reasoning behind choosing these songs sink in, I felt like they were strong tonal moves overall, especially given that their English language meaning should be considered tangential to the Korean of the series, not as direct thematic cheat sheets. In any case, these eye-rolling songs won me over on rewatch and the rest of the soundtrack is actually excellent- the use of the Flea Waltz is so smart and memorable for punctuating the romantic drama with a lightness that makes it all feel genuine. The repetitions in the soundtrack have become comfortable to me on each watch; despite them being awkward in isolation, looking back now, they leave a powerful memory trace of the show's tones. I would still definitely remove "Save the Last Dance for Me" from the soundtrack, though, if I could.

(Minor spoilers) An underrated choice this show makes is to not reduce the characters to their jobs. I've seen dramas where being a lawyer, doctor, etc. becomes a core aspect of how we understand their personality, but that's not the case here. The FL manages franchise coffee shops, while the ML works in video game design. Rather than the drama focusing on the specifics of these positions, they're used in a mundane way to organically deepen the romance through spontaneity. For instance, the ML uses his art skills to draw a caricature of the FL, while the FL tries to impress him with her coffee brewing ability (here, she leaves a mess for someone else to clean but pretends like it was quick, easy, and routine); such choices ground the characters extremely well, since their romantic moves and choices are in reach of anyone and don't rely on cheesy, over-the-top gestures that work as escapism, as we see in so many dramas. Their jobs complement and enrich their personalities, serve the romance, and don't overwhelm the love story with specialized mumbo jumbo or external conflict that has nothing to do with them. Instead, the conflict comes from within their relationship, from the FL's parents, and from sexual harassment at work. For the last of these, the fact it's at a coffee company isn't as important as the social issue itself. SitR deftly interweaves external conflicts that make sense given the characters' contexts. Such external obstacles sharpen the internal conflicts that are there from the start. I really like how this show threads the romance through this kind of conflict architecture.

I think the weakest part of this show is the conclusion, though I think this is due to the nature of the central conflict. To me, the ending is more symbolic than thorough and complete in resolving things. Still, I think it could've been more cathartic if they had even 5 more minutes to work with for the conclusion and epilogue.

(Major spoilers of ending) Even with the conclusion we get, though, I like how it pushes against an easy, predictable resolution. The FL's last conversation with her mother moves in the direction of working things out, but it stops short. Not every conflict gets resolved in real life, and since this show is largely naturalistic in approach, it makes sense that not everything resolves perfectly and cleanly for the leads. Jeju Island works as borderline if not outright escapism at the end, though, which I've had some reservations about when reflecting on this show since I first watched it. I think it's interest to contrast the symbolic victory (of how they reunite) and this potential interpretation of escapism, since I think the show's ending is a success with the former and a failure with the latter. This is the difference between problem overcome through symbolic reminders and caving into the pressures of the world by leaving it, thereby making the successful romance a fantasy/impossibility of the conflict itself. In the latter case, the resolution is a pretty cynical message about social pressure and its power to corrode love and chase it to the fringes of Korea-- basically, their love can thrive only on Jeju Island, but not on mainland Korea. By contrast, I like to interpret the end through the lens of the symbolic resolution. This involves viewing the ending as an echo back to the early theme of throwing out the past with the umbrella motif. Jeju Island would then symbolize the future reunited with the past now made even more free by the fact that the FL has achieved full independence from her parents' opinions and their impact on her choices. She goes through stages of separating herself from them towards the end of the story, so this decision to return to her real love afterwards perhaps becomes more compelling when viewed as the outcome of such necessary, personal reorientation. What's essential, though, and left unresolved is if their romance can work in the public eye where it faltered earlier; I wish there had been a reference to them taking a leap of faith with their relationship, affirming it beyond the private world they existed and succeeded in early in the show. In short, I wanted a projection of their relationship into the uncertain future, rather than merely a success in the nebulous present.

Something in the Rain is my favorite drama series because of its genuine and understated glimpse at the full modal context of falling in love. I've watched it three times so far and each time I've been deeply moved and impressed by what it's able to do. I absolutely love the two leads as well, and would watch anything either of them is in. They're both the best actors possible for the roles they play here, as well as phenomenal in their own right. I would recommend this to those who want to lose themselves in an experience of falling in love rather than someone looking for dramatic plot twists and turns. This show has had tremendous value and depth to me, beyond a shallow entertainment factor, so I hope others enjoy it as much as I do.

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