tropes: #secondchance #sharedtrauma #softmalelead #angst (short-lived) #firstlove #norandombreakup #healing #trauma #codependence #violence #goodandevil

ah, what a journey. this show was really good and emotional with a solid story. i thought the show represented the side of the victims, as well as the mentality of the abuser(s) very well. the show itself, while showcasing both of these perspectives, didn't shy away from endorsing the victims' side, as well as making a point out of the offenders' logical fallacies.

Namu and Nakwon had such a great love. the kind where they could never even look at anyone else. it's so interesting because, in this story where the FL's parents are murdered by the ML's father, the FL never once blames the ML. Nakwon didn't even blame him on the day that it happened. she had just watched her parents die and went through the most traumatic event anyone can experience, yet she worried about letting Namu know that it wasn't his fault. i just felt like they loved each other so deeply. i think it might've been the innocence that falling in love as children brings to a relationship or the fact that they could never heal all those years that they were apart that made their love so great.

if i had to pinpoint the main focus of this drama, i would say that this is a story about healing. more than any of the scenes, i found the last scene where Namu and Nakwon saw their 16 yo selves and hugged them the most emotionally devastating. it was an amazing portrayal of 'healing your inner child.'

now, this is definitely a heavy show that puts the viewer through a lot of different emotions. some scenes can be quite triggering. there are depictions of murder, more specifically femicides committed by a man who targeted women who were weaker than him to enact violence. there are themes of trauma and depictions of the impact trauma can have on people, such as nightmares, or different tendencies. there's death and blood shown, of course. so beware of those themes.

all of these actors gave the performances of a lifetime on this show, by the way. the leads. the reporters, the brother, the mom, the dad. everyone acted their ass off and brought this story to reality. in the beginning, i saw so much of a resemblance between the young Namu and Nakwon and their older versions that I truly believed in their story. i felt like i could see their young selves every time i looked at them. the continuity was amazing. i also loved how Namu just became that little 16 yo kid every time he was with Nakwon and looking into her eyes. i felt like that was such a great representation of a traumatized kid who never got to grow up and heal. a lot of that was Jang Ki Yong i think.