Late Blossom (2012)

Get this. I came to this drama after finishing with City Hunter which for some obscure reason I did not finish watching back when it was airing in 2011. And I have rated City Hunter 7.5 stars. So what makes me me rate a big budget blockbuster hit drama like City Hunter which has spawned remakes in other countries lower than a measly slice of life fare starring almost no young faces or A-listers?

Simple. The Story. If that title makes you think of a frothy rom com in which all conflicts will be easily resolved by the end to offer up only kisses and laughter, you are sorely mistaken. This is not a rom com. At all. It features 6 main characters, four of whom are already in the sunset of life, trying to find ways to make the remainder of their lives meaningful when they are mostly invisible and unimportant in the eyes of the people around them. So what is this show about then? It is about the capacity for love, it is about the courage to stay true to that love even when situations turn hostile. It is also about reclaiming one's dignity in an age when the world around you has mostly written you off as an unproductive member of society. It is about the heart-wrenching sacrifices parents make for their children to be able to lead peaceful and happy lives. Honestly, I have watched very few slice of life K dramas to make a comparative judgment, but this is easily one of the best ones I have watched in the genre since the last few episodes had me reaching for the tissue box more than once.

The halbaes and the halmaes steal the show here and Lee Soon Jae as the curmudgeonly, ill-tempered Gim Man Seok is at his best (when is he not?). I came to this drama for very shallow reasons...mainly to watch the SS501 maknae Kim Hyung Jun romance a lady again and hopefully get the girl this time (he does!!) but I stayed for the drama's real merits and its wonderful life-affirming message of the importance of the rights of the elderly. The drama exposes how cruelly complicit a society is in mistreating its older citizens and establishes how their trials and tribulations are every bit as worthy of being the core thematic essence in a drama as the romantic affairs and existential crises of the young.

Of course, the acting is not always at par. And much of the editing seem a little rough around the edges. For instance, the actress who plays an Alzheimer's patient often overacts while some of Gim Yeon Ah and Jeong Min Chae's co-workers are a bit OTT. But overall, the cast is more or less bearable.

It is sad that dramas like this go under the radar and candyflossy, high-budgeted dramas with little to no thematic merit, get rave reviews everywhere.

If your hunt for subs has been unsuccessful so far, go check the darksmurfsub page for this one. They have the auto-translated subs, translated from Chinese. They are nothing like fan-edited subs but they give you a gist of every conversation.

All in all, this is a drama I would recommend to those who do not mind a slow-paced tv show with its heart in the right place.

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