My Unfamiliar Family (2020)

It's hard to explain why this drama has a special place in my heart without giving any spoilers, but I will try my best to convey all my thoughts without giving any unnecessary details.

The first few episodes bombarded me with many plot twists and "shocking revelations" to the point, I started to call the show "soft makjang". So many things happened, I was left in a state of confusion, but it made the show that much better, since the main focus of the drama is the aftermath and the process of healing and re-connecting with the family. We were getting to know the facts with the characters, learning bits and pieces, which helped me empathize with them more. I could understand why they struggled with the new situation, since I myself was confused about what was truly happening.

It touches on subjects such as LGBT, rape (did not happen during the show, but one of the characters was a victim of it, and it played a part in their story), ending a relationship when both sides do not agree on when and how to part ways, misunderstanding based on differences of characters and how you show you care for people.

Through the 3 siblings, we can observe different struggles people face in life. The oldest, Eun Joo and how she always tried to be strong, level headed and control her emotions. The middle sibling Eun Hee, trying to keep the family together and pacify all the sides in times of conflicts, acting as if she is carefree. The youngest Ji Woo, who tries to find himself, learn how to be independent, as he watches his family fight with each other.

I just truly cared for these characters, so when the drama ended, I already missed them. Did I cry? Yes. Not to mention, it has some of the best, natural and well paced romance I watched this year and the best "not a confession" confession scene (you'll know when you see it).

Did anything bother me? Not really. I was not that interested in the Sang Shik and Jin Sook story, and it was the weakest part for me personally, as I was annoyed with some choices both of them were making.

Overall, I have a feeling I might rewatch the show, or at least a few scenes this year. The good set of characters was for sure the core value of it.

Ps. Kim Ji Suk... damn, he fine.

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Funny & Somewhat Relatable Family MeloDrama

The first episode hooked me on this drama right away with its nice setup of the characters' personalities and relationships. There was a mix of funny, sad, and interesting moments in that one episode to keep me watching each week. However, around the halfway point of the drama, I started getting bored so I would skip through some moments in the episodes. Soon I even started watching at 2x speed because the characters would speak slowly and the scenes dragged on. Despite this, I would still say that I enjoyed watching this drama and that it was written pretty well. There were some very relatable things said about being a family that made me realize that other families are similar to mine. Though the family's situation is a bit dramatized, it was nice to watch how they unraveled their complicated problems in each episode.

Good things I liked:
1. Amazing acting by the entire cast! (they seem like a legit family from the chemistry and interactions they have on-screen)
2. The ending was wrapped up well - I was pleased with how they ended this family's story :)
3. Interesting plot with unique characters and story set up (Eun Joo, Eun Hee, and Ji Woo had personalities different than other siblings I have seen in other dramas)
4. GREAT ost!
5. Relatable things said about being a family (how family don't tell each other everything, but only things they want)

Some things I didn't like:
1. Some moments in the drama passed by so slowly/were boring, hence the 2x speed, but this could just be my own impatience at how the story was going
2. How sometimes I really didn't understand the actions of some characters (Eun Hee dating Geon Joo when he didn't break up with his current gf yet)
3. How it got draggy about Eun Hee and Chan Hyuk's relationship although I can understand why Eun Hee was hesitant (like just date already!)

Overall, this drama was a good watch and although I would not rewatch this, I would recommend if you're looking for an interesting melodrama about an unfamiliar family. I do suggest at least 1.5x speed if you get impatient at the story's pacing because it really gets through the episode faster ;)

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