A Drama That Hit Too Close To Home

Before I begin my review (something that I rarely ever do), I would like to start off by saying this. I was one of the few people who never had SLS while watching this show. Another thing to keep in mind while reading this is that I am a relatively new K-Drama watcher (started around quarantine if not a bit earlier) and am a high schooler myself (hence the title). All of the comments being made here will reflect the above sentiment. With that out of the way, let's begin the analysis of this beautiful show, but first some background on how and why I decided to watch this show.

I think I first discovered this show around when Start-Up was airing as I was looking for dramas that the main leads had acted in before. I initially put it off for later as I did not have much time to binge-watch a show but I knew from the get-go it would be a show near and dear to my heart as it seemed to be a slice-of-life high school drama. And I was right. It wasn't until I felt the need to binge watch some Kim So-Hyun dramas (due to my broken heart from Love Alarm) that I decided to pick it up.

While watching this show and binging it in the span of a week, there were so many things that caught my eye and made the show one of my favorite high school dramas and just K-Dramas in general. First, let's start off with the most fundamental part of every good drama in my opinion: the characters.
- Eun Bi: When we were first introduced to Eun Bi in the very first episode and what she was going through I could feel my heart just break into a million different pieces. Those scenes were so painful to watch that I didn't even know if it was worth continuing if my heart was just going to be broken every episode. It was even more painful to see her hide her suffering behind her happy exterior and beautiful smile. Her story is what dragged me in and kept me going.
- Yi An: There's really not much to talk about him. He's just your typical friendly male lead. I really did enjoy (heartbreaking as it was) to see his internal struggle with not only his injury but the identity of Eun Bi.
- Taegwang: Taegwang is almost the complete opposite of Yi An, but deep down he, like Yi An is a super caring and friendly character. His story, like Eun Bi's, was rather heartbreaking but it was the way that he coped with the situation that made him so lovable. His character arc and story may have been one of the best in the entire show.
- Kang So Young: Where do I even begin with her? My blood boiled every single time she was on screen and I just wanted her to go away and not hurt poor Eun Bi anymore. Ugh. One of the least likable characters to ever exist. The way her character arc ended was kind of unsatisfying and she didn't really get what she deserved, but at least she got punished.
- Eun Byul: Girl crush material right here. I loved her sass and confidence. But as with most of the characters, that was just a facade to hide her internal pain and suffering. Once her backstory was revealed and it was explained as to why she did what she did, my heart broke. It hit way too close to home for me. No one should have to ever go through that. It honestly brought tears to my eyes.
- Teacher Kim: Such a wholesome character. I loved the banter that he had with the students and the eventual close friendship that grew between him and Taegwang.
- Class 2-3: What a fun little group of students. How I would kill to be in a classroom setting like that. Shi-Jin and Song-Joo are the kinds of friends that I would love to have in all of my classes. Min Jun's character resembles me way too much. All in all, a great group of supporting characters.

But with such amazingly written characters, there is a price. A somewhat lacking plot. It started off really strong by cutting straight to the chase and getting Eun Bi into Eun Byul's shoes by episode 2 and then finding out who she really was just an episode later. We got some interesting subplot introductions with Soo Jin and Min Jun. The struggles through which our leads went through were extremely well written. The continuing antagonism of So Young. But all of that went downhill after Episode 12. Why? The completely unnecessary continuation and drag of the love triangle. By this point in the show, it was already super clear who our endgame was going to be.

Let's talk about the love triangle and why I was not on board with TaeBi. Let me start this off by saying I didn't really care who she ended up with as they both deserved her. But Yi An just was the better candidate for me. He was always there for and even when he was hurting from her lie you could tell that he still cared for Eun Bi. Taegwang was even more so, but it sometimes felt in a way a reaction to other people's actions. It didn't feel voluntary at times. It was more "He needed to do this" and not "He wanted to do this". At least that's how I saw it. And that's not what I'm really looking for in a relationship. I also feel like, he as a character didn't really need a romance line as he already had a much more pressing issue to deal with in his own life. You could say the same thing for Eun Bi, but at least in her case, it makes more sense as it was a side-effect of spending time here friends.

As for the chemistry between the leads and why Yi An even fell for Eun Bi and when he did, it felt rather clear as to when and why. He fell for her was because of her personality and attitude. Yes, the only reason why he was even interested in her was that he thought she was Eun Byul but in the end, as we saw in Episode 7 during their date, he not only bought a furry doll for her (something he would never do if he knew without a doubt that she was Eun Byul as Eun Byul said herself) and he explicitly says he likes the new Eun Byul more. I think this was what pushed her to finally tell him the truth. The chemistry, on the other hand, was most definitely lacking but I didn't really care all that much but it was there although very subtle.
Why they decided to drag out the triangle at the expense of closing off all of the other storylines properly is a question for the ages. The Soo Jin plot was already pretty emotional (and hit way too close to home) but it just wasn't nearly as impactful as it could've been. Same thing with the wrap-up of So Young's character. There really just wasn't nearly as much build-up and it was just resolved way too quickly by the end of the show. But overall, the show made a seemingly simple plot and made it something much more meaningful and memorable.

The cast of this show was spectacular. Kim So Hyun did such an amazing job pulling off two completely different characters. Nam Joo Hyuk did well enough I guess considering how new he was at that time. Yook Sung Jae was probably the most stand-out actor in the entirety of this cast. His portrayal of Taegwang was absolutely perfect and it's what made the character so damn lovable. Cho Soo Hyang. I don't think anyone could've portrayed Kang So Young better than her. She made my blood boil. It was scary how real the acting felt. Absolutely blown away. Props to her for pulling off such an unlikable character so perfectly.

And last but not least, the cinematography and OST. Overall I really loved the way the show was shot. The lighting and the color schemes fit really well in most of the scenes. The production was pretty good as well. Lots of desktop backgrounds can be made from this show. It was just that perfect and beautiful. The OST was one of my favorite dramas OSTs. Reset was a perfect song for this drama and really did highlight the message of this drama. They all fit the show really well and will definitely be on my playlists.

And as a parting message about this show, I would like to take some time to make this review a bit more personal. As a high school student, these stories are all things that I have experienced, seen, or heard of in my day-to-day life. It was truly heartwarming to see characters going through the struggle of high school and preserving through it all. It's a very inspirational drama for me to say the least. I could relate to all of the characters and I could feel their pain and suffering. But in the end, it reminded me that no matter what happens, we are all young and the things we go through during this time are all there to help us grow. There truly is nothing more special than our time in school and I hope I keep that in mind as I finish out my journey as a high school student in the coming year. I think the ending monologue really captured this message really well and is one I will never forget for years to come.

"We’re eighteen, so we live every day as if it’s our last—loving and hating fiercely. It’s an age where we falter and get hurt easily, and are hurting more than anyone. Despite that, the reason we can look back on that time and say we were happy is one person’s warm outstretched hand. Not more, not less, but just one person—if we each approach one friend who’s crying and stretch out a hand like this, there’s nothing that I—we—can’t endure. It’s okay. You can hurt. Because you’re eighteen." - Go Eun Bi

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