As I was writing the title to this review (this is my first time reviewing so I was rather lost) I was reminded of one of the repeating lines “even the deceased can speak” and generally that was what this drama showed.
Every episode showed a different story and brought light to the stories that normally would have disappeared. They touched upon disability, elderly people in society, the lgbtq community, overseas adoption, domestic abuse, suicide, industrial mismanagement and exploitation, prison, and more, I probably have forgotten some of the societal issues shown as there were so many. In showing the stories of these characters they showed the humans behind these issues, their individual stories, the consequences, and those left behind. In every episode, they not only told the untold stories of those dead but the stories of those who would not be heard even alive.
It was sad but happy at the same time. Some were more tragic than others cause you couldn’t help but think how different things could be so easily, but all of them felt heard and that was a kind of bittersweet happiness through the series.
The cast really brought to life every character within this, even outside of the main cast the level of acting was consistent which really gave depth to each story told. While I do not feel informed enough to give an assessment of how accurate the representation of autism is in this (and am aware that many people would prefer an autistic character to be played by an autistic actor), as someone likely on the autistic spectrum (undiagnosed) I thought it was reasonably well done.
Finally, the ending felt cathartic and right. It was neither happy nor sad and that really fit. It felt like the entire series had been leading to that final move to heaven which gave the entire drama a nice direction and wrapped up point to stop. We ended where we started and heard the story we started with end. Though there was a hint at a season 2 which I fully can see working and would support (with the girl at the end, and the fighting ring owner escaping arrest).
Overall, while I don’t believe this is one I would rewatch because the impact was truly in the piecing together of the story, and the finding what the dead wanted to say (I do not tend to rewatch things in any case as I remember the story enough after the first watch that I get bored). This is a must watch because this drama shows the stories of the dead (fictional of course but easily applicable with how grounded in reality the series is), but also what the alive unheard by society say.