Who cares about the original?

It's natural for adaptations to differ significantly from the original (because why else would anyone want to adapt?!) and it's equally natural for those who have seen the first iteration to compare the following ones. What matters is judging each on its own terms and contexts. I haven't seen the original but I also don't care about a single review that finds this kdrama pale in comparison. In fact, I would say that I've been distracted by such reviews, and this is the danger of reading reviews while one is still watching the drama, because it prevents me from judging it on my own terms.

This easily is one of the loveliest, heartfelt dramas with emotions running the entire gamut of laughter and tears and empathy.

I have two main sticking points in the storyline:
1. The villainisation of all the mothers (regardless of how it concludes and may recuperate them [still on episode 13]). While I very much appreciate the unusual portrayal of maternal and understanding fathers, it grates on me that it's the mothers who get caught between extremes of good or evil, and then you are left with comparing the good mother vs the bad mother. For ex: why does Sanha's mother have to be so obsessive and 'hysterical', we're never told.
2. Kim Sanha being too perfect in all respects compared to the clutzy, simpleminded Hae Jun--nothing in his character development particularly showed why this would be the case. He was sensitive, but how come so perfect? And why doesn't Hae Jun become emotionally intelligent until so much later? Was a bit frustrating.

Apart from this, I do love everything about the show--the cast, the pace, the atmosphere--it is pure comfort, slice of life, family, genre kdrama at its best. I look forward to the concluding episodes!

Lees verder