ZeeWoods
This does something most kdramas can't—pull off a well thought out ending.
To all those who have been waiting for series finale to decide whether or not this series is worth a watch, I'm telling you it is.Mini-rant(please skip this part if other people's opinions offend you): This isn't a wattpad story; this isn't a show that you watch to put yourself in the FL's shoes and live through her decisions. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a little self insert every now and then, I do it too (cue every scene Elena has with Damon Salvatore on TVD) but it is not the only reason we like watching romance. Most times we just want to see people's lives play out in front of us and leave us feeling... inspired. This is one of those times. For anyone out there who's using this to say this is some kind of justification for toxic relationships, you've missed the point. This is not a how-to guide, it a story. Take it as a story and not an example to live by.
~Review starts here~
1. Plot: Had the ending panned out any other way I would not have rated it as high as I did. That's because the series has some very obvious flaws that will be hard to overlook by the most ardent fans of the leads.
Here are my CONS:
+Pacing: This is some of the worst pacing I've seen recently. The only other drama I would say that beats it is DOOM and I didn't even finish that so you can see where this sits on my list. Just how Nabi kept losing her interest in her piece, I kept losing interest in the show. Irony, thy name is Nevertheless. Those of you joining us post series finale will at least have the benefit of running through the boring parts to reach the more interesting parts (salute to my fellow comrades who saw this in real time and tore their hair out every time we were left teased and frustrated only to come back to it after a few weeks to find out how much more dysfunctional things were getting). There is a lot of aEsThEtIc shots of trees rustling and light flaring through window sills. So much so that you'd often feel like you're stuck in a moody 2010s music video. I love aesthetics, I'm the kind of person who'd watch something just to see pretty people put on pretty clothes and go to pretty places but NOT at the Cost. Of. The. Plot. Every time we cut to a blank scene with nothing happening and sceneries changing I got pulled out of the story. It was meant to make us marinate in the feelings of what transpired on the screen but all it did was make me marinate on the fact that I was bored to death or impatient as hell.
+Character development: This story has always been about Na-bi. Park Jae Eon is more a plot device than a real character and that is the second biggest flaw of this series. We understand something about where Na-bi is coming from but that happens literally in the eleventh hour but for PJE we are left in the dark. I would have been inclined to say it's because the series is short, at only 10 episodes had it not been for the fact that they decided to shoot the sidewalk rather than give any insight into PJE's mind.
Right about now you're looking at my rating and wondering if I made a mistake, I haven't. Just stick with me.
Moving on to the PROS:
+Side characters: Where PJE suffered, every side character flourished. Other than Ahn Kyung Jun and Min Young, I was invested in all their stories. The only reason I couldn't get into Kyung Jun and Min Young's story was because it was not interesting to me.
+Realness: This is a story grounded in reality (if it was filled with very good looking people in every nook and corner; jk; T_T). What I mean to say is that it doesn't require a lot suspension of disbelief, which allows us to be fully immersed in the story (when it's moving along; sorry, I find it hard to get over the pacing issues)
+Ending: I don't want to spoil anything in this portion but you can read further down about my full breakdown if you don't mind spoilers. TL:DR read the title and then check my rating. Yup; it's that good.
2. Acting: Most have done a good job. Yang Hye Ji who plays Bit-na did as especially good job. She perfected her character's physical cues which made it very easy to understand what Bit-na was thinking even when she didn't have any dialogues. I also really liked the chemistry between Kim Min Gwi and Yang Hye Ji. They really played well off of each other. Han So Hee was serviceable in the role. I think it might have just been a directorial choice to make her character Na-bi extremely closed off. So much so that we were often left wondering like PJE what was really going on with her. Song Kang plays the brooding bad boy well but he too felt limited by the choices made my the directing and writing team about how much of himself he's showing us on screen. Lee Ho Jung and Yoon Seo Wan have also done very well in their roles. Chae Jong Hyeop is charming on screen.
3. Cinematography: It has a youthful feel to it. Makes me feel nostalgic for a period in life when our biggest problems stemmed from our (nonexistent; T_T) love lives. The framing is well done such that the camera would often move onto objects that were on the minds of our on-screen characters, giving us a visual clue about their thoughts.
4. Music: Every single song is a bop. You bet this is going on my OST rotation.
~~~~~~!!!SPOILERS!!!~~~~~~
Please stop reading if you don't want any spoilers!
The only reason I didn't finish my sad love affair with this series on a 5.0 or even a generous 6.0 rating is because it was able to do something that I did not think was possible. It got the ending right.
I'm about to break down the entire ENDING and how I feel about it. This is last line of warning folks, turn around if you don't want HEAVY SPOILERS.
The finale episode starts where Ep 9 leaves off and we are left feeling every single emotion Na-bi was avoiding for the past few weeks. Her heartbreak when she finally closed the door on a what-if was raw and cathartic. The whole time she was with PJE she never 'chose' him. She was a nectar-less flower swaying in the wind, letting the pretty butterfly land on it's petals but never attracting it. So choosing to let him go was her first choice about their relationship. That was when I was hooked to the story. Finally we see Na-bi wake up from her zombie fugue and choose a direction.
Next day Na-bi faces him again and in cold harsh light of reality chooses to walk away again. This was her second choice about them. This time she did it without the emotional screaming match and the heavy rain so we know she has conviction in her decision.
We see both of them trying to understand their feelings. PJE feels like he never really gave her his all and Na-bi seems more and more determined to stick with her decision.
When Na-bi's sculpture breaks we are left thinking if this was PJE, if he decided to sabotage her one last time because she didn't choose him, because she rejected him and he felt too vulnerable, too immature to deal with it in a healthy way. Despite visual evidence of an accident the thought wouldn't leave our minds. For Na-bi this was a moment of reckoning. She has not been inspired by her own art for a while. She's been floundering and has been going with the flow, trying to just finish her work for the exhibition. Now that it's been destroyed she has to choose. Her teachers and colleagues do not want to push her into a certain direction, whether that be to give up or to keep going.
So Na-bi had to make a choice. For the first time she had to choose to start her work anew, only a little different from the direction she was going but that little deviation turned her run of the mill work into something to be inspired by.
Only because she chose.
This is what the whole series came down to. To the simple fact that not making a decision, not choosing our own paths and fighting for what we want will leave us in this ditch of inertia that is very hard to get moving from. If we don't start living our lives we'll be stuck swaying in the wind, going where the well trodden path throws us.
Na-bi starts understanding that her feelings for PJE have not disappeared nor are they likely to because she never fully 'chose' them. She never fully explored them so she's left with a lot of what-ifs, living her life last-page-first, writing the endings to events she did not experience.
PJE meanwhile tries to put her first. Instead of focusing on how she makes him happy, he tries to make sure she feels supported and happy. I really liked the way he helps her rebuild and then stays away like he promised. It shows that at the end of the day he does have enough regard for her to honor her wishes, even if that's not something he wanted to do.
Do-hyuk sums it up best when Na-bi rejects him and then apologizes for rejecting him: "I'm glad I was able to feel these emotions thanks to you. I'm grateful, so don't feel sorry" (Do-hyuk is literally the best dude). Do-hyuk is already doing what Na-bi is trying to do throughout the series—live life to the fullest. He understands that its the journey that matters, not the destination.
Na-bi does choose to go out with PJE, she no longer wants to live under the shadow of the fate she's preassigned them. Maybe they'll work out, maybe they won't. The endgame is not important. It is more important to be happy with every choice we make.
Her lingering glance at Do-Hyuk and hesitation to hold PJE's hand when she sees him at a restaurant shows us that she has not completely grown out of her fear of the unknown, that maybe she's thinking about what-if she chose him. Maybe someday she will choose him, maybe she won't.
The journey is always more important than the destination.
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A tale about the best villians and the worst heroes.
Humanity is a luxury afforded to only those who have every other comfort in the world. It's not easy to be human when you have to hold onto life itself till your fingers bleed.Story: Set in a dystopian land, it feels too close to home. The people in the story talk like you, walk like you and some even think like you. It's amazing how they have been able to inject such a heavy dose of realism into a tale that's entirely fictional. The pacing is good, and those who are about to watch this after all the episodes are out won't be able to resist bingeing. Each episode is left at a cliffhanger that alters the alliances we get used to throughout the episode. The dense plot is broken up by some light hearted comedic moments, satire and a short love story. It allows the more serious parts to breathe better and ruminate in the mind of the audience.
Characters: We get good insight into all the characters who inhabit the screen. They have their own struggles which gives credence to the reasons why they are putting everything on the line, including their lives to achieve their goals.
Music: Good background score, helps amplify the emotional notes of the scene. I especially appreciate how it isn't overwhelming. Scenes where we are left guessing if the characters are good or bad have muted notes, making sure the confusion isn't cleared up by pointed background music.
Acting: All performances are great. New to the scene Jeon Chae Eun did well in her role, very believable performance of an emotionally isolated teen who just wants to connect to the people around her. Baek Hyun Jin did an especially amazing job as the vile President. Every time he started one of his rants I was glued to the screen. Also so glad to see the mini It's Okay To Not Be Okay reunion with Jang Young Nam, Park Gyu Young and Moon Woo Jin sharing the same screen again.
Set Design: I want to specifically mention how truly amazing the set design for this series was. Very dictator chic. The different sets were enough to put us into the world that looks and feels like ours but isn't the same.
Anyone would enjoy this series, whether you're new to kdramas or a veteran.
~~~~~~SPOILERS!!!~~~~~~
Please don't read ahead if you want to avoid spoilers!
I wanted to discuss a little bit about the motivations of the different characters and also the overarching theme of the series. This part contains HEAVY SPOILERS so please do not read ahead if you want to avoid them.
Kang Yo Han: He is the personification of despair. This man has nothing in his life that gives him joy. Nothing in his life that gives him hope. He kept his niece safe with the dedication of a soldier on a battlefield. He is the best of the villains. He's cold and calculating, predicting the moves of his opponents even before they figure it out and then cornering them to play like he wants. I think Kang Yo Han finding a way out of the explosion is true to his character. He is not kind. He is not a martyr. He only wants to keep his niece safe like his brother kept him safe. In that sense the true hero of the story would be Isaac. Had his brother never cared for him, Kang Yo Han probably wouldn't have loved his niece.
Kim Ga On: He is KYH's foil. Where KYH is determination and cruelty, Kim Ga On is hesitation and decency. He is not the worst of the heroes, that distinction is someone else's down the line ~cough'gyosunim'cough~ but he was his worst when he was trying to be a hero. And that's only because abstract ideals like honesty and justice are only possible when people, who you want to fight for these morals, are well fed and have a roof over their heads. In this dystopian land, everything may seem okay on the surface but cross a single street and you'd see homeless mothers with young daughters. In this land, at this time, Kim Ga On was his best when he had the devil on his side. He was efficient when his humanity was leached from him. That's because the ones who have nothing lost their humanity first. And to truly walk in their shoes you'd have to lock yours up so tight it could suffocate and die. When Cha Kyung Hee (Minister of Justice) died and Kim Ga On went to check for the file without skipping a beat, that is when his humanity died. He became someone unrecognizable to himself. However as the series was coming to a close it was evident that these monsters that we posses can be put to rest, tucked away in their cellars when their objectives have been completed, just how Kim Ga On was regaining his humanity.
Kim Min Jung: All she wanted was money and affection. Perhaps in a better world she would have managed to hold onto to both but the fact that she was attached to Kang Yo Han and any woman who had a childhood like hers was her downfall. Unlike Kang Yo Han, it seems no one really showed her kindness or love when she was young. Which is probably why her monster never went back to sleep.
Ahn Nae Sang: Gyosunim is the goddamn worst. There's nothing more nauseous than a self righteous hero fighting for justice and peace over the mangled corpses of the oppressed masses. Of course we should not turn a court hearing into a direct democracy akin to America's Got Talent but jeez read the room dude, there are bigger scarier monsters out there tearing through the streets. The guy who himself quoted Nietzsche when he said if you stare at the abyss long enough, the abyss stares back decided to stick with the one who killed Soo Hyun? Just wow. He's the worst hero. All talk of revolution while maintaining status quo.
Heo Jung Se (President): With wave after wave of populism sweeping across all levels of politics it's unsurprising how chilling and effective his presence is in the show is. He comes across as the most harmless of the bunch, the jester, the puppet. But he's the most evil of the lot. High on his own influence, his priorities shift from greed to fame, even if it comes with bloodshed. He was all bark and no bite, till they showed he was the one behind the forced human trials. No evil is more dangerous than the insidious.
Final thoughts:
When we go to war we put our humanity aside, leaving it with our spouses, our families, our friends. But what happens when the war enters our homes, our schools, our streets? Can we keep humanity safe? What are we fighting for if not peace and happiness? Who are we fighting? The corrupt officials at the top or their special brand of thinking that prizes hunger for money, power and fame above all else? How can we be happy if we aren't even human?
The series left me with a lot to think about. That's what makes it great. It can spark a conversation. Did you watch it? What impression did it leave on you?
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