This review may contain spoilers
It's great, but could have been perfect
Massive spoilers. Coming from someone who enjoys spoilers, don't read further. I regret spoiling the ending for myself.Seriously.
I mean it.
Really really really good. The relationship between Hee Do and Yi Jin is probably the most natural one I've ever seen in a drama. Even the inevitable separation--as heartbreaking as it was. The last fight might actually be my favourite part of the drama despite the way it made me feel. The way they started calm and spiraled into being hurtful was so real, as was their regret afterwards. Overall one of the best dramas I've ever watched, but it would have been better had it not been told from the perspective of a daughter learning about her mother for three reasons.
Firstly, the present Hee Do is so different from the past Hee Do to an extent that I can't just classify her as simply being more mature, so the switch between past and present may feel a bit jarring.
Secondly, we know nothing about her husband. We know so much about Yi Jin but we don't know the husband's name, his age, his personality, anything. We go through so much to understand her relationship with Yi Jin, we see them grow closer and more in love, and we see them fall apart, but how did she move on to her husband? How did they meet and grow closer? What's special about him that allowed her to love him when she's already experienced the kind of love she had with Yi Jin? What's so different about him that he and Hee Do stayed together and had a child?
Lastly, her daughter is completely immaterial to the plot. The only thing she did was say she didn't want to do ballet and then say she wants to do ballet. This could have--and should have--just been a straight forward coming of age story about Hee Do, fencing, and her first love.
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THE BEAUTY OF YOUTH
This drama honestly took me off guard.I had just finished highschool and I was home for a while watching Kdramas, I remember all the rave of how good this was so I decided to watch it.
In the beginning it looked like a normal slice of life and it was but it became so much more than that, this drama shows the beauty of youth.
How it felt to have dreams, have friends, have enemies, have those enemies eventually become friends, have a crush, go on trips with friends, doing stuff for the first time, crying and laughing together, getting in trouble at school, studying for exams, having passion for the things you love, falling in love for the first time, breaking up with your first love and writing all of that in a diary and so on.
Not having these things during my time in school really made me emotional seeing the beauty of these things, every emotion was bright across the screen and the impact it had on me was amazing.
I want to give a great shout out to the cast of this drama because I truly believe non of these emotions could have been impactful without them, Kim Tae Ri especially because her portrayal of Na Hee Do, it was truly some of the best acting I've seen in my whole life, she was able to convey so much youthful energy into her character so much that you will never believe she was in her 30s during this drama, the way she laughed, cried and even her demeanor was enough to make you feel young again.
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A really beautiful message
This drama speaks about youth and trying to treasure the memory of it. It overall tries to send the message of living it at the fullest, because is something that won't last forever.The story was really interesting and the evolution of the characters and the relationships between them were nice to watch. The characters are fun and fascinating, I loved them a lot. I also have to add that the supporting characters were amazing too, they weren't there because they had to do something with the main characters, but because they had their own stories too, which is something that in a lot of cases doesn't happen, so it was nice knowing about their personalities and ambitions. They also showed some short scenes that made us see how they were advancing in life, short enough to not get tired of it and long enough to receive all the information they wanted to give us.
There are a lot of little romantic details, such as a hug, touching one's head with the other one's and so on. It was so cute. Can I mention the other couple? I'm not gonna say which it is but I love them.
As I said they try to teach us a lot of things regarding to life and youth, and they have really inspiring and strong quotes such as this: "They tried to break us without knowing how to fold".
The OST's were really good, specially the "Starlight" and "Your Existence".
Lastly, the ending... was really realistic, but I didn't like it. I mean that it was meant to happen like that and that it made sense, but even though I know that, I would have prefered it to finish in another way. However, it was okay.
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An important phase of life portrayed beautifully
So, I kept away seeing this series thinking it might be overhyped and because reviews kind of told this drama is traumatic. But I am glad, I decided to watch the trailer and give it a chance. And all it took was the trailer to convince me watch 2125.And if you are reading this review with a dilemma to watch this series or not, trust me, and watch the series right away. (And come back later to this review so that you feel connected.)
I felt a lot of emotions while watching this series, be it inspiration, the will to work hard, motivation, happiness, pain and love.
There's nothing I can point out as a flaw in this drama. The story, the way it is told through this series, the actors and the acting, the ost, the emotions it conveyed, I couldn't ask anything better than this.
So what I liked about this series :
~ Both the main characters, Na Hee Do and Back Yi Jin
Tbh, Hee Do inspired me to live life and work hard no matter what, the sparkle in her eyes conveyed hw she dared to hope (the way she tells in the last episode .
I could relate to both the characters personally and feel every emotion the went through.
Yi Jin, I couldn't take my eyes off his eyes, his eyes conveyed a million emotions. The way he gracefully accepted his hardship and navigated through adulthood, the way he tried to manage both his personal and professional life, the way he could see the happier things of life (through Hee Do), as a teenager I hope I will be a little of him in this aspect.
~ the friendship and fencing
The other main characters, Ko Yu Rim, Moon Ji Woong, Ji Sweung Wan, the way rivalry turned into friendship and and how a girl and a boy can be just friends and how strong and supporting love can be (in case of Yu Rim and Ji Woong )
~The realistic portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship
~ the mature take on love ( You Jin and Hee Do)
I learnt so much watching this series and got to see a different dimension of youth and 2125 taught me to see my life in a brighter shade. I looked forward to see each episode, 2125 made me reflect on my own self. And about the ending, I personally believe that all love stories don't get a happy ending. So I believe the ending was realised ad just perfect.
My favourite dialogues were :
" I don't regret meeting you or loving you. Wanting to falter and letting myself falter is my mistake. A mistake that is clearly not minor."
"Life is long and fireworks are short."
" I don't think not living your dream means you have failed at life. And I don't think living your dream means you have succeeded either."
"It isn't a rainbow, it's love."
"My result was amazing and the process was beautiful."
My favourite ost is Very slowly and Go! (I am hooked on them).
I will definitely re-watch 2125 because I went through a lot of emotions while watching and I will definitely love to go through these emotions again.
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The one that got away...
Not every lovestory make it to the end, but that doesn't mean what you had in between was not good enough.This series is a rollercoaster of emotions. You will love it , you will crave for it and you will be disappointed with it too at places . Unlike the happy endings in kdrama world , this series truly shows how sometimes just life doesn't work out the way you had hoped and it's alright!
The execution of the story is super fun. Actors have done there job perfectly. Yes, I wish I could rewrite the ending , but that's the truth in life.. not everything is meant to be..
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Amazing Writing and Amazing Cast
As soon as I finished episode 1, I knew this drama was going to be amazing. The writing is touching and mature and the cinematography is stunning. I know Kim Taeri is talented and yet she still surprised me. Nam Joohyuk did too and I could tell how he has grown as an actor. This role was perfect for him and the chemistry with Taeri was amazing. This whole drama captured the softness and hardness of coming of age. One of my favorite things is that neither romantic love or friendship got privatized and they were equally important; This idea resonates a lot with who am I as a person. For the bad things, the only thing I have to point out is the last 3 to 4 episodes. This is subjective because I am a big fan of slow burn stories and usually when the characters get together I get less invested. However, I am of angst and I love how they wrote the fall out of Heedo and Yijin. Even thought I'm not the biggest fan of the ending, this still was an amazing and beautiful drama/Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Fun adventure
This is a great coming of age story about a female fencing student who aims for Olympic glory while navigating peer pressure amidst the backdrop of a society dealing with financial and political upheaval. This well written and acted TV show was cruising for gold, but blew the dismount in spectacular fashion. Still, for Kdrama fans, this is must-see TV. To paraphrase TS Eliot, sometimes it's the journey, not the destination, that matters most.Spoiler alert
Problems. The main characters, fencer Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin (rich boy/poor boy/ then rich boy again) have great chemistry and their characters are well-developed. But both turned dull and listless when the story line moved to the 9/11 terrorist attack and beyond. Further, the concluding story arcs of the delightful secondary characters were trite to the point of embarrassment. For instance, in the last few minutes of the show we learn that Yin jin's brother becomes his chauffeur. Really? What's worse, it's implied that assertive female class president Ji Seung-wan might hit on him? What's that about? The show just rushed the ending, diminishing its characters.
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Imperfect Romances; Single Pringles Beware
So many people are disappointed with the ending... I can't say that I'm not either but it was meant to happen from the beginning.TLDR: Very well written plot. The ending was justified. The characters were fleshed out and the acting was amazing. If you're looking for romance, it depends on what flavor you're looking for. This one is sweet, then sour, then sweet, then bittersweet. It's refreshing but probably will hurt those looking to live vicariously through the MCs. Probably NOT FOR SINGLE PRINGLES looking for a fairytale romance.
Formula: Reply series + sports anime feel + the tears of everyone who watched this
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Twenty-five twenty-one is written in a similar manner to the Reply series with someone from present day, looking back at the past but darker and heavier because it talks about the effects of the IMF crisis. It is nostalgic, comical, and very real.
It is a coming of age story aimed at a certain demographic because it doesn't just talk about the shallower aspects of growing up but also brings in larger crises that ended up affecting people's choices. Especially in these times, many people will relate to the MCs: young adults struggling to get their foot in society but keep getting bogged down by circumstances that are out of their control. Twenty-five twenty-one draws parallels between the IMF crisis and the pandemic in a way that is very poignant.
The main message was one of hope; that at the end of the tunnel, there is light. Both MCs (as well as the rest of the cast) were faced with obstacles that kept them from living how they want and from being happy. None of these obstacles were their fault and out of their control which makes them feel helpless. Regardless, our characters are able to find solace and comfort in one another and hope in their darkest time.
Caution, contents contain:
- crack-head energy
- friendship
- sport anime arc for FL and 2nd FL
- two people who fell in love, and grew apart despite still loving each other
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Interesting story but bad ending
The drama is very enjoyable, but when in episode 16 everything is very messy, the consistency of the character that was built from episodes 1 to 15 is broken. I suggest if you want to watch this drama, stop at episode 15.I personally still don't like the character of Na Hee Do's mother, even though that have been told the reason for her mother's behavior like that. But I never saw her mother regret all the things she did to Hee Do. All that her mother asks is always Hee Do to understand her position. Very selfish in my opinion.
Actually i really love Hee Do character when she was eighteen. Very bright and optimist. I know became adult is hard, but actually it doesn't change people so much like Hee Do, maybe it does change, but it doesn't show the change as clearly as Hee Do. Adult Hee Do it's really dark and like have no soul in her body. I don't know, I'm just like, after she got adult, she never been happy again in her life.
People always say this drama is very realistic, but actually I didn't find that in this drama. The adults I know, they can act like they forgot the past and move on with their lives. while Hee Do is like an adult who is still stuck at the age of twenty-one. And it feels like the younger Hee Do is dead from it.
I just hope that Na Hee Do grows up to be brighter than that, because that's what life is for. People come and go. That way we can take lessons in life that not everything we want will go according to plan. And we know that we must always be ready to overcome it all.
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really nice storyline, except for the ending
I actually loved it, the storyline was so friendly and everything was so soft and funny too, though it made me cry a lot when they had to be separated because of Yijin's work ? and I think that moment was kinda disappointing cause I thought they were going to make it work, especially when they both went throught a lot while figuring out their feelings for each other. I feel like it was my least favorite part of the drama, not because I wanted them to end as a couple, but because they really deserved better than that after all. ?On the other hand, I really loved the friendship they all had, my favorite one was Heedo's and Yurim's, it was soooo unexpected the way they became friends, and it was super genuine, you can see that when Heedo is one of the first people and almost the only one who supports Yurim unconditionally when she has to leave the country, I guess is there when you realize that even after all the fights they had at the beggining, they forgived each other and became the bestest friends. ?
Anyway, I guess it was one of my favorites k-dramas, except for the ending ? I didn't like the way it was developed, it could have been better, but skipping that part, it was a really beautiful and emotional storyline.
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The most perfect kdrama you'll get to watch
I'm a picky person but i definitely loved this show.Except the ML whom i didn't like much other actors were made for these roles. Comedy was great as much as romance was.
The writer(s) knew what to do and the director helped them a lot. Locations were hella nice!
The only problem was that some scenes were not essential and ot made the mid of drama a bit boring. But it couldn't make drop it or sth.
Osts were beautiful too
I recommend you to give it a try!
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EVERYTHING WAS GREAT UNTIL THE FINALE HAPPENED
I was really ready to give this series a rating of perfect 10 because it gave me that fuzzy REPLY 1988 feels, but then the finale happened. I know not all real-life stories have happy endings, and I wasn’t expecting one, tbh. I am disappointed with the execution. And the fact that many loose ends were left dangling. The biggest one of which is the identity of the father of HEEDO’s daughter. The viewers were expecting a twist or a big reveal in the finale – but that didn’t happen. You get the feeling of having been taken for a ride – because ALL the previous episodes were really, really good and were like teasing us to guess who the father is. It’s like they’ve made you invest in the characters and their stories, but shortchanged you in the end.
The cause of the breakup of the main couple was also not well established. So, male lead went to the US to cover victims of the Twin Towers attack. What was not made clear was why he decided to accept the job as a correspondent – and therefore live in the USA – without consulting or at least telling the female lead about it (she had to learn this from other people). And in their breakup scene, HE accused HER of thinking on her own! Really doesn’t make sense at all. Made me want to bonk him on the head. Big minus points for his character.
We were given updates on the other major characters – but up to 2009 only. What happened to them in the present – during the pandemic where the series took off? Would’ve been nice to know.
OVERALL
Despite that disappointing finale though, this is still an impressive series – great mixture of drama and comedy, one that we can easily relate to. The lines are good, very well written. It’s still a delightful experience, all in all. It leaves a special warmth in your heart; the way RELY 1988 did.
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