18 Again (2020)

Noticed issues further I watched

First incling there was something wrong was when I started looking at recaps to see what would heppen. Thats when I knew it has lost my interest.
As others have mentioned, this drama goes on for too long. There are too many side plots happening when the concentration should be on Dae-young and Da-jungs relationship and their relationship with their children.
As for my main issues, reason for marking so low, has to do with Dae-young and all the trials the writers put him through. I have a feeling because the show kept going, they had to keep including stuff. All this built up to a very damaged person that is not really investigated in the show. Also, the circumstances he is put in, there was an opportunity to investigate/critque the society he is in. I think this was unintentional, I'll try to explain myself better.
There will be heavy spoilers.
Lets start chronologically, with the first big even being the death of his mother. He is unaware she is sick/going in for surgery and dies while he is away, playing basketball. I'm sure there is a big heaping of guilt here and obvious anger towards his father for not saying anything. Also, he appeared to have a healthy relationship with here, he has learned sign language as well. In one moment, she is gone, with no opportunity to say goodbye. This effectively orphans him as his father becomes distant/abusive. An important support structure in his life, his parents, is gone.
Then there is what precipitates this, his girlfriend becoming pregnant and him having to give up basketball.
Basketball was the one thing he was good at and was his escape for him from his life and one fell swoop, it is gone and he now has heaped on responsibilities, being a father and a husband and only just finishing high school. There was the scene where he meets his father again with his son, where his father mentions basketball is all he was good at, otherwise he was a failure. Sure it's not the first time he hears that. And from what people said, he was pretty much guaranteed to make it the big leagues. He had no other plans.
The big themes of this show seem to be go for your dreams at all cost, regret/guilt and communication. All of these are allowed for everyone else, except for Dae-Young.
His dream is shattered, his father has disowned him so he can't ask for help. I know his father helps on the sly but thats not the same as being there for him.
Lets contrast Dae-Young with Ye Ji Hoon and his brothers. Again, I don't know if this is deliberate by the writers but they are pretty much the mirror of Dae-Young. His brother is able to attend college and look after his sibling. And then when he dies, Ye Ji Hoon is able to have both his sporting career and raised his niece. All the while being told by Da-jung not to give up his dream, he can be both a parent and a successful athlete. Opportunities Dae-Young was denied.
Da-jung was able to become a successful reporter, supported by Dae-Young. He had the chance to restart his career but his childs illness stopped that. He had to sacrifice everything for his child, which as a parent is to be applauded but all he gets from people around him is didain/ridicule for where he ended up.
He is supporting his children with their dreams, helping his son get confidence to play basketball and accepting his daughters decision to go to beauty school.
This marriage appeared doomed from the start. If after 10 years, the husband can't confide in his wife that he has to again give up his dreams, there are bigger troubles. Also, Da-jung sensed there was something wrong, when he started drinking but either dissmissed it or forgot abount, understandably because of their sick child but something that isn't explored.
No one seems to acknowledge the sacrifices he has made/makes for his family. There are some scenes where Da-jung becomes awares of them but seems to be too late, and she comes to regret her divorce but also, she misses all the ridicule/scorn heaped upon him. The reunions in paricular are eye opening. When you have the opportunity/time as his class mates were able, you can make something of yourself but both these seem missing from his life.
This may be due to English translation, but there were two contrasting/interesting scenes. As he is leaving, his father calls him pathetic. Da-jung then also calls him pathetic, presumably just before the divorce. I wonder how hurtful that would have felt.
As mentioned above, a big support for Dae-young would have been his parents but they are gone. Da-jung appears to have a good relationship with her mother and has a friend to confide in. Aside from his immature friend who is an issue in himself, with not taking no for an answer from the teacher, Dae-young appears to have no one. He can't confide in his wife, appears to have a pretty hostile work environment and self-medicates by becoming an alcoholic. Would not be surprised if he was suffering depression by the end
After all that, I can understand how he ended up the way he did. However, I can not condone it. He is still responsible for his own actions but sometimes when your travelling a dark road, can't see where to stop.
But, this goes into some wider issues the writers touch upon. While a Korean show, it's issues that affect a lot of the world.
Does he not reach out because he is the head of the household, a man? Are there no places he can turn to for help? Looking back, I was not surprised at his outburst at the reunion. It was a deep pain that had been festering. As before, this does not make it right but can understand it.
The amount of work he had to put in on his job. It looked to be very manual labour intensive, leaving him exhausted at the end of the day. It may have long hours, meaning he can't see his children. They all agree he is not there for them but was it by choice? That does not excuse him not helping around when he can but can understand it. This is contrasted when he is young again. He now has time to listen, to be available because he has none of the above responsibilities. Perhaps if he had some more support, an opportunity to continue playing, he would not have ended up where did.
So, to summarise all this, this drama had it's funny moments. But, I think the writers unintentionally wrote Dae-young into a corner, making him the sole reason for the divorce. They touch upon Da-jung not communicating well but that seems to be her only flaw. Divorce/realtionships are tricky and there is never one reason why but they tried to make him the villain. If the writers had have just concentrated on the family and their circumstances, I think there was a good opportunity to explore their marriage breakdown further, see what they both did/didn't do and explore more of the issues that led to where Dae-young ended up.

Lees verder