Snowdrop (2021)

Delivered for the most part

Let me start with full disclosure that I am a blink and watched snowdrop primarily because jisoo was in it.

Having said that, rest assured that my review is fair.

I’ll start with the good points of this drama.

I think that the era they chose for this drama was interesting. Historicals are usually in the joseon era, so this take from 80s Korea was refreshing for the historical genre.

Secondly, I really felt that there was a lot of thought put into a more sophisticated portrayal of this drama. The shots had more variety and weren’t always zoomed in. Costumes and hairstyles were faithful to the era, and even the set design, too.

Thirdly, acting was great! I wanna commend Yoo In na’s acting. She was really great in this drama. Jisoo’s was good too for an acting debut, and I’ll dig more into that later.

Fourthly, I really liked that every episode ended with a cliffhanger that left you wanting more. And there were unexpected plot twists as well.

Fifthly, OST was great! Everything except for wishes lol.

Having said all that, let me now get into what this drama could have improved on:

It was a melodramatic romance, so an ending with either of the leads dying was never not on the table. I just think that there should have been more closure. A huge chunk of finales is usually dedicated to epilogues that tie the loose ends for the relevant characters, and I think Snowdrop lacked in this aspect. I wanna know what happened to room 207. What happened to Dr. Kang? Did Bun Ok and Miss Pi really reconcile? What happened to the spies’ families? Did Sooho really die?

I also think that while quality trumps quantity, it can also go the opposite direction. Less is not always more especially when you still have stories to tell. I wanna know more about the backstories of the other main characters: Eung Cheol, Comrade Joo, Dr. Kang. Side characters whose backstories also mattered: Mr. Kim Man Dong, the kitchen lady, and the other 207 girls.

Because some back stories were not told enough, I didn’t feel like the characters were worth rooting for and that the ending felt rushed.

Lastly, Jisoo’s acting. Her expressions were on point but the hiccup sounds she made whenever she was startled, surprised, or afraid really annoyed me. She can improve on those. But she started really strong for an acting debut and stayed consistent. Love that for her.

Overall, Snowdrop is not a bad show. I’d even go as far as to say that this was one of the best I’ve seen as of late, so give it a watch. As for rewatch value, well, no one likes a sad ending. That was fun while it lasted but I think I have had enough Haesoo trauma to last me a lifetime. I’d love to see them do a rom-com just as a palate cleanser for the trauma this on-screen couple caused me.

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