Something in the Rain (2018)

Something In The Rain will make you fall in love and at the same time will wake you up from the complication of love and the reality of it.

From the beginning of the show, you will crazily be bombarded of spontaneous sweetness, hugs and kisses and heartfelt dialogues, but then, I have wished it was just a two hours movie to avoid the dragging, the slow pace, and the repetitive plot scenarios.

Something In the Rain emphasized the conflict of relationship where the woman is older than her partner. Aside from that, their relationship bound to be judged by their families respective cultures and opinions. While trying to break the “taboo” raging by the society and the people around them, their affair shows how it struggled the most.

I was a little bit annoyed by those unnecessary scenes that show how tiring the relationship could be if is not in accordance with your family and society’s stupid belief. Because of the long agony, I haven’t enjoyed to the fullest and never felt any satisfaction in the finale, it was fast and kinda lame.

However, thank you for the few episodes of cuteness.

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Beautiful and Complicated

Such a beautiful story of two people falling deeply in love. A complicated story for many reasons, but ultimately the female lead had to grow on an emotional level. Particularly to free herself on her own terms and not be saved, because that would've been too easy. I enjoyed the other plotline involving sexual harassment, an important topic for women worldwide.

I will look for more dramas with Son Ye-jin, Jung Hae-in, and Jang So Yeon. They were amazing in this drama, especially Son Ye-jin.

I enjoy quite a few genres, but particularly enjoy a story that is a slice of life.

This drama was extraordinary.

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It's a downpour & there is no rainbow at the end

After finishing the Chinese version of this, it's inevitable for me not to think about how unsatisfying this version is. (I won't compare the dramas here as I already did that in my review for the Chinese version.) But, even without watching any other versions, it's been about half a year since I watched this drama & my thoughts about it hasn't changed - it was a waste of my time & I shouldn't have forced myself to watch it just because I'm a fan of Haein's. (Son Ye Jin & the rest of the cast are great actors too, & the only good thing about this drama, but he's the only one who I keep an eye out for his projects & have watched all his drama where he has a main role.) I remember before I watched it seeing praises for it & some even calling it beautiful & that still leaves me puzzled - though I guess viewers like the chemistry & passion of the leads so much they're able to overlook the unpleasantness that occurs in the drama.

The drama was fine up until episode 6 or so when it started to go down a hole it couldn't be saved from. But, to be honest, I was never really able to buy into their relationship for a couple of reasons. For starters, FL would lie about almost everything & keep things from ML, even things that weren't important. She'd get caught in her lie, he'd be upset, & you would think she would learn to be honest but nope, she'd keep lying. Aside from being a liar, she was kind of passive with the way she really didn't stand up for herself (until she did & her actions weren't thought out thoroughly) nor did she give off the feeling that she was on the same page as ML about their relationship. By that, I mean that although she was with him there seemed to be a limit to what she would do to be with him, which is apparent leading up to their breakup & afterwards. (I will say it's ironic that the line, from the song annoyingly used throughout the drama, was "stand by your man" when FL couldn't do that.) As for ML, he was a bit naïve when it came to the nature of their relationship & his possessive & controlling behavior weren't endearing to watch. Aside from the way FL & ML were, the strong & suffocating objections about their relationship coming from FL's horrible mother (who still makes my blood boil, is one of the reasons why I didn't like this drama, & one of the worst characters) were enough reasons to feel as if their relationship wasn't worth the trouble. At the end of the drama, the leads are reunited but nothing about their situation has changed much, especially her mother's views about FL's romantic life, so it's a bad feeling knowing they're about to enter a toxic cycle again. I would've been fine with the leads staying away from each other in the end.

Aside from the romance, the other subplots weren't very enjoyable to watch. In particular, the way the workplace harassment was handled left me bitter. I understand that stuff like that happens all the time but it was glossed over here & almost seemed to give off the message to warn viewers to not even attempt to speak out. Her relationship with her ex was a good example of a toxic & abusive relationship, yet the choices she made relating to him were so frustrating to watch. (&, no, we can't say that it's because she's a powerless victim when it really was just her track record to make bad decisions.) & I guess it was kind of sad to see her friendship with ML's sister fall apart when FL began dating ML, but, with the treatment from FL's mother & FL not standing up for him/them like she should've, it makes sense. Basically, it's as if the writer wanted to make sure all endings weren't satisfactory. I will say that FL's horrible mother makes such an impression that she kind of overshadows everything else & makes you vividly remember her when the drama is mentioned. (Obviously, that's not a good thing.)

Finally, the cinematography & direction was something that I didn't care for. I don't mind the focus on tiny details, especially for symbolic purposes, but that wasn't the case here. You had pointless scenes of things, like the sidewalk, being filmed for seconds or minutes, I'm not sure which it was because it felt long & made me ask when was it going to end. There also would be scenes of the leads together staring at each other in silence that had me thinking okay? It wasn't the lingering type of looks that add angst to the plot too. I think I would've been able to tolerate them if they weren't stretched out for too long losing whatever they were trying to accomplish with that scene. The music didn't help set the mood, if anything it made things worse. I only gave the music a rating of one because I had to, likewise for the rewatch value because I regret making myself watch this & I would never recommend this to anyone. My rating may seem low to some but I can't think of anything positive about this drama, aside from the acting, that made me not regret watching.

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Story

The story is actually very simple and realistic, and I think that is the charm of the whole series. I won't go into detail with the story, but I think "Something in the Rain" is a good example of how an adult relationship works. I think I have watched this at a right time in my life because if I watched this as a teenager, I will just keep questioning the motives and actions of each character and not understand the perspectives of the characters.

Basically, episode 1-3 is the build up of the relationship of Jin-A and Jun Hui. Episode 4-9 are the sweetest moments of their relationship and then it goes downhill from episode 10 and it surely is an emotional roller coaster. If you are only here for the love story, just watch until episode 9, but if you are here for the growth of Jin-A and her journey as a woman then watch until episode 16.

Something in the Rain is not just a love story, it is also about a woman who follows the culture and norms of the society of South Korea then breaking away from those. The story also has some office drama which gives a slight focus on feminsim. What I like about the theme of feminsim here is that its subtle and not the shove it in your face type of feminism. Its more of how men in their office should face the proper consequences of their actions whenever they are not respectful of their female colleagues.

Their love story may have started the plot, but Jun Hui was actually the catalyst for Jin-A's character to evolve to the point that Jin-A was willing to let him go so that she could stand her ground with what she was fighting for. A lot of people may say that Jin-A was spineless for letting their relationship get ruined by her mother, but it was not the only problem that the character was facing. She was dealing with a lot of problems to the the point it was overwhelming for her. Jun-Hui's solution by running away to the states was very ideal for their relationship to be saved. However, this was actually selfish of Jun Hui because he did not think of what Jin-a is going to leave behind. For Jin-a, she wanted to keep fighting because she was into deep with her sexual harrasment case that she would sacrifice her pride if she ran away. At this point of the story, Jin-a already grew a spine and Jun Hui may have missed that part about her. Even Jin-a stated that if it was the old her, she would have agreed to elope with Jun Hui. However, she did not want to depend on Jun Hui as a solution to all her problems.

There was also a time skip which fast forwarded to three years. I think during this time, the dust has already settled for Jin-A's predicaments. I think it only made sense for me that the character was ready to leave everything behind becuase there was a resolution to each problem that she faced before. She won the case against the sexual harassment in the workplace even though it was not shown in detail. Even though she had a new boyfriend, she fully accepted that she can't love someone that does not treat the way Jun Hui does. She also accepted that her mother will never change and confronted her mom about the way she felt during the past few years which also served closure for their problem in her relationship with her mom. She was able to confront Jun Hui with how she felt about him for the past three years. She really became indepent and headstrong after these events in her life and thats what I appreciate about this show to the point that I was willing to accept that she will not end up with Jun-Hui.

Even though the plot was simple, it was very honest and truthful about the realities of having an adult relationship and the external forces that hinder us to enjoy those relationships. For me, it was handled very well.

Acting/Cast

I actually have no problems with the cast and I think everyone gave their best in playing their own roles. There is no denying that Jung Hae In and Son Ye Jin has a great chemistry to the point that you'll even wonder if they have a relationship offscreen. Both actors knew how to act in love without it being exaggerated. It will really make you believe in love. (Lol cheesy) I also love the long somber moments when they are just alone and thinking. That is actually where they really shine and make them more realistic as characters.

Music

The music may actually come off annoying as first since it is repetitive, but once you get used to it. It actually adds charm to the overall experience of the series. Surely, the viewers will remember " Stand By Your Man," since it keeps on repeating over and over again. The song actually serves as a central theme to the series. The lyrics to the song starts with "Sometimes its hard to be a woman." For Jin-a's situation, it was hard for her to be a woman. The other jazz/soul songs by Rachel Yamagata made the show relaxing to watch and really gave the right mood to the show which makes you actually want to watch in on a cold rainy night. The music may not have been perfect, but it was fitting for the show.

Rewatch Value.

To be honest, I may only rewatch it from episode 1-9 because that was the best moments of their relationship. I'm not sure if I want to experience episode 10 onwards all over again since it was emotional torture, but maybe it depends.on my mood.

Overall

In my opinion, its a great story about a woman who learned to stand on her own and what pushed her to do that was because of love that was pure.

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I’m a little mad right now. At myself, because the negative reviews on this made me wait sooo long to watch it- til a couple of delightfully rainy days in fact.
1. The acting is amazing. If you have a pretty face, I’m biased against you until you prove your acting chops, and Jung Hae In continues to pleasantly surprise me. Watch his eyes, they’re amazingly expressive. I actually liked Son Ye Jin in this even more than Crash Landing, which I had seen first, and I liked her in that as well. The antagonists get under your skin too- good job done there.
2. The story was not exceedingly melo. Not purely “slice of life”, but with an overall feeling that almost any of this could happen any given day. It had realistic problems woven together into a believable story.
3. The cinematography was beautifully done. The OST was brilliant, and added to the overall feel of the production- with one tiny nitpick that the Stand by Your Man song was occasionally ill-timed. Unless they were being wry, and it didn’t really feel like it. I would have saved it til later. Otherwise the music gave the show the sort of mellow, poignant feel it deserved.
4. I never once lost interest in any part of the show. It didn’t lag in the middle or anywhere else. On the contrary this one did bring tears to my eyes, and giggles, and made me shamelessly sigh. Which was what I was looking for at the time. And, well, most of the time. If your heart’s not in it, what’s the point, right?
5. I like how the secondary plot gives the show a dose of seriousness. Workplace harassment and bias is prevalent in real life and they portray the aspects of it well- from the subtle undermining of self esteem, to the way women occasionally turn on each other in doubt and selfishness.
A definite must see in my book. I’ll be watching it again, for the feel good moments... and to see if I can definitively ascertain any significance behind the red, green and yellow umbrellas. I have my ideas, but I’m just not sure. :)

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From good to bad

This drama started of so good and I loved it. And the half way stage it just went downhill and it became so hard to watch it. It started of sweet and romantic and ended so bad.
The FL character was so bad at the beginning I felt bad for everything she went through but I could not believe how badly she treated the ML. She told lie after lie and he still forgave her. And it always seemed that he cared more for her and he always put her first, but she could not do the same. Around episode 9 I just wanted the drama to finish and I didn't enjoy it at the end. It was so bad that I wanted them not to be together. Even at the end it made me angry that he ran after her, when she always did something wrong. The song stand by your man was totally wrong and ironic to the story. It was more like stand by your woman. She was the one that did most of the things wrong. This is definitely not a re-watch drama it will only make you angry and frustrated.
If you do watch it
It will be a let down

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I'm only here for Jung Hae In.

After watching "One Spring Night" I almost felt obligated to watch "Something in The Rain" too. The main reason I wanted to watch was to see more of Jung Hae-in who I have a newfound appreciation for, even if these dramas aren't actually new. I loved him so much in "One Spring Night", and I knew this was similar, so I wanted to see him in this too. In that respect, I definitely wasn't disappointed. Unlike "A Piece of Your Mind", where I thought his talent was wasted, I think he really shines in this one. I'm definitely glad I watched and got hooked pretty quickly, but he is literally the only thing that made me want to keep watching... and I know that's ironic considering who's in my profile pic!

I will just start with this drama's biggest flaw for me, and that's Son Ye Jin as Yoon Jin Ah. It's hard to get into a romantic story when the main character irritates you as much as Jin Ah irritated me. Not only was she written to be selfish, immature, and annoying, but Son Ye Jin kept trying to play her as cute and silly and quirky which just made her even more annoying. She just seemed way too mature in age to be acing so childishly, which was a huge contrast to baby faced Hae In acting more mature in comparison. Maybe that's intentional but it was definitely hard to root for, even if their chemistry was amazing. It also could be cultural since I can't relate to how controlled by her parents she was as a grown-up, or how classism was so normalized. I usually like flawed characters too but It was hard to find redeeming qualities in Jin Ah. Joon Hee is a flawed character too, but I just kept wanting him to dump her and date someone better.

The supporting cast is generally good, but because the story is so weak I wasn't too impressed. My favorite member of the supporting cast was Jang So Yeon, she was great as sister and BFF, I just wish she had more of her own storyline. Jin Ah's family had some good performances, especially Kil Hae Yeon playing such a different mom from "One Spring Night", but the writing made her so repetitive that her performance just became an overdone trope, all she needed was a money envelope and to throw water in someone face. The writing definitely made me underwhelmed by certain performances. Oh Ryoong as her boyfriend at the beginning of the drama was pretty bad, but that also could be blamed on bad writing. There was also a lot of the story and many characters that I didn't care about at all, especially at her job.

To be honest, this whole story could have been a movie, but instead, it's drawn out into 16 episodes. The good thing is that watching their relationship build is entertaining. There are lots of cute, sexy, and romantic scenes to fill the time. There is also a random plot about sexual harassment that drags and feels like filler. No part of that story was interesting to me, and the whole coffee company subplot felt like product placement, not the empowering story it was meant to be, but that could be my cultural bias too. I know this is the exact same writer and director as "One Spring Night", but I definitely feel like the story and direction are not as good in this drama, and I don't think that would have changed if I saw this first. The direction is still great, with some beautiful shots, but not as moving.

Would I watch this again? No. I would watch a few scenes again, but I definitely couldn't sit through all 16 episodes without skipping most of it. The most annoying thing would be hearing "Save the Last Dance" and "Stand by Your Man" over and over again ad nauseam! It didn't help that in my head I kept changing the lyrics to "Stand By Your Man" to "Please Date her friend" (meaning Bo Ra), but the obnoxiously played English soundtrack is another thing this drama has in common with "One Spring Night". Some of the songs were good, but too often were misused in a distracting way.

Overall, if you're a fan of Jung Hae In this is still worth watching. I think this is his first starring role, and his babyfaced charm is perfect for a Noona-romance lead! Maybe bigger fans of Son Ye Jin will like her in this role as well, but I just couldn't empathize with her at all, nor understand what he even liked about her. If you are looking for chemistry, that is this dramas main appeal! If you're looking for an original story, you won't find much originality here. This writer also seems to want to tackle serious issues like abuse and sexism, but the evil male caricatures make these plots hard to take seriously. "Something In The Rain" has passion but no plot. The ending also didn't feel very satisfying after so many frustrating episodes. It has attractive leads in a story that goes nowhere slowly, which may be enough for some viewers. I think this was supposed to be Jin Ah's journey to independence but in reality, I didn't see much growth with her character, it was more about me waiting for more scenes with Joon Hee and rooting for him to finally move on. Every scene with him was worth watching, and I now officially consider him an actor favorite. Without him, this drama is easily dropable. Maybe constantly playing "Stand by your Man" was subliminally keeping me watching after all. However, "La la la... laaa ..." how I wished it would've ended 6 episodes sooner. I really wanted to like this drama much more based on how it started but I was definitely ready to leave it all behind by the end and await whatever is next for Jung Hae In.

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Tbh I felt obligated to write one , coz this drama gave me really beautiful feelings like really I felt everything like it was me who’s living it , the acting is just so amazing the main couple woah especially the male lead and ofc I fell in love with him xD , the feelings in the drama is just real so beautiful makes you smile without knowing and act with all , I hated some roles like really I wanted to just jump in the screen and kill them you’ll know when you watch it who I mean , and , don’t continue reading coz it may be a spoiler , I’m the type who likes to get to affected in dramas and last parts gave TOTALY to me I was disappointed at the decisions at first but it went so well and made me cry for over an hour so I was so really happy, I don’t think I’ll forget this piece of art soon and I’m so grateful for that , I’m the end I love Jon he really so much ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

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so realistic.

the drama is really good i expected it to be more too much love or too much kissing like the other romance dramas but this is so much different and i like it. the couple aren’t toxic at all the relationship is not toxic at all but there are still problems in their life affecting their relationship and that’s the reality.

the only things which annoyed me.. is jina’s mother. she really really was too much. she thinks everything has to go on her way. everyone has to live how she wants to. jina is over 30 years old i don’t really understand why her mother yet treat her as a 10 year old girl who has no idea of the world.

otherwise i liked this drama really much. didn’t disappoint me. the end is to me okay.

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It's all too real

You know how they say a film is different to a movie, well this is an perfect example. This was truly a film drama. There was no real solid storyline, the focus was on how two people different in age deal with the taboos of being in a relationship in society. The authenticity and realness in the story will surprise you, they do not sugarcoat the struggles of family pressure, sibling relationship, expectations of being married at a certain age and to a well off person. The director has done a great job in portraying all the perspectives of the characters, the ones in love but also the families and people around them. There was no bias I saw as a viewer.

The beginning consisted of their love developing and then the second half with the challenges they face, their relationship and struggles were shown with such honesty and rawness that it kept me hooked till the end. The screenplay can get slow at times, but there isn't a episode where it felt like a waste of time, every scene and episode contributed to the journey of all the characters and their emotions. Hats off to the intimate scenes in this drama, you really felt the main leads chemistry, intensity, maturity and understanding they have for each other. The cast all did an brilliant job. Although the one that make an impact for me was Jung hae-in. If you enjoy a nice lead with an protective nature. You'll enjoy this love story. That being said all the characters in this drama are shown to be flawed, from the lovers to the parents. The drama doesn't hide away from this. They all make mistakes, like manipulating others, being selfish, suppressing others feelings and emotions. Although what was troubling is that the writer never addressed these flaws or let the characters take proper accountability. Maybe, the aim was to show we are all flawed and troubled but of course that doesn't mean it's condoned in my opinion.

However, as a viewer when you follow two people's journey and the struggles they face, the end becomes important. As disappointed as many people were, the arch towards the ending never developed. After a few weeks reflecting on it I can understand why. I don't want to spoil it so i want to say the ending or towards the ending, it was realistic. Although it definitely could've been more extended and flushed out than rushed. But it's still worth the watch. I have to say i haven't seen a drama where they tackle a taboo with such honesty.

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