enjoyed it loads
The summary here sums it up, so that's what the show is about.
themes: autonomy, loss, grief, adultery/betrayal, abandonment, parental bonds, motherhood, marriage, reinventing yourself, found families
It's engaging, but not because of the logistics. I didn't care about the plot of trying to switch these two back, and it becomes pretty secondary. It's about how everyone deals with the changes, how they affect them, and how to get things back on track.
This show is hilarious, and I barely skipped it, even if some of it was filler or not as interesting. The foreign actors did well (minus the older euro-aussie man). And there's a bit of English in the show spoken by Koreans who are obviously not fluent but do their best and sound good. The foreigners only attempt a little Korean though I assume they know more of the foreign language than the cast does English, just for necessity's sake. Honestly, it's surprising because most foreign actors on these shows are so abysmal, but since they were an integral part of the cast.
The cast is stellar, and god Lee Yoo Ri and Uhm Ji Won (who I'm obsessed with since little women, which I need to finish) are so beautiful/hot. that doesn't and shouldn't matter. Still, being in their 40s at the time or just getting out of it, they are seen as "older," but your 40s are also your prime, in a different way than previous years, and unique. Because she looks younger for her age, LYR's character in her original body is 32, but they swap, and IRL are only 2y apart, so it was very genius casting in that regard. But they're both phenomenal. I didn't realize LYR was the hot infuriating reporter daughter from father is strange, and I ended up loving her there. She's fantastic at physical comedy but is also a brilliant character actress.
UJW is AMAZING, and she stole the show for me. They are both so adept at changing who they are, and god is LYR funny as Lee Bom, but UJW as Bom and Bo Mi was a sight to behold for me. The way her body moves, how tall her frame is, and her hair which is all purposefully opposite, are a challenge for her to embody bo mi, but she pulls it off, and we get to see her as Lee Bom, growing more. She was an immense joy for me here, and I didn't expect to see her. This woman is FUNNY. Also I can tell she speaks at least some English because she has the typical Korean-laced English accent that shows she's practiced.
Everyone else was honestly terrific and so funny. You could feel the relationships are genuine; the husband actually kisses the woman he's having an affair with, they actually cry, they actually get to let themselves look ugly and be weird, have no inhibitions when acting. Very good-looking cast btw, even the ones that aren't typically attractive.
Mostly I loved how funny it was and the themes they inserted. Bo Mi is a bitch, and she's adopted, and she has two friends from the orphanage they grew up in and essentially abandoned them. So they all experienced abandonment, and even though this show is almost wholly a farce, it has moments of genuine emotion sprinkled in, where you get frustrated, and there are times I did cry.
lee bom has everything and bo mi has nothing but lee bom loses everything. her story was the toughest because she was naive at times, mostly because she was privileged, but that privilege didn't make her a horror; she was a lovely woman, and people consistently underestimated her as if that showed a lack of life experience. Except she was a fantastic actress and had her strengths, just like Bo Mi was intelligent with her street savvy. She didn't need to protect her money; it was always protecting her family and doing what was best for them. You can tell that though she wanted things perfect, it was from a good place. Her daughter's love for her was so admirable, and their relationship was great. Si Won adored her mom.
Bo Mi was a harder character to like and get into—she changes quite a bit but her regular personality often comes out and trumps that change making it very difficult to care for her sometimes. But Lee Bom makes watching Bo Mi worth it. Her love for Bo Mi doesn't falter. She realizes really late how alienating she has been and though I wish they did more to change that it wasn't strictly about changing her in a way we could tell immediately. It indicated that these things take time, and the show is really about how they live their day to day and the people around them.
Obviously what i liked he most was the bond between the two women. they even say that female bonds and the strength of such in the face of adversity, of men in between them, is easier to betray than to remain steadfast with the love you're supposed to protect. To me it has queer themes and I appreciate how female and found family centric this was. It was never about romance (there is little to none) and Lee Bom learns she needs her daughter, her friends from her life and her agency and even the news studio, and bo mi to be happy because they all actively want each other to be happy and be in each other's lives. BTW the news studio cast? Ace. I fucking loved them and Bo Mi's weird love for them and how they also didn't take her shit. Particularly the wonderful, gorgeous Chun Soo Hyun (Mi Ram)
To bom, bo mi is "my love" and to bo mi, bom is "my dear bom, my other half"; "i am her, she is me, don't insult her to me" and they know each other.
The show displays the strength female friendships, family, and friendships. And these all amount to found family and finding your place in the world. Love and others help you do the right thing, and you receive true love when you do. To be in service to others isn't a detriment but a benefit to our lives. Additionally, the main villains are men (purposefully); as bo mi said, "if you're born a woman you at least have to succeed" but we don't have to play their game.Bo Mi and Lee Bom were each other, and in love with each other, and will always have each other and by extension, by building a good life and living the way they want and while helping others, they regained their bodily autonomy that was lost not due to the incident that got them in the swap but the actual circumstances of real life. The show has ALL THIS while being so hilarious for the most part and not serious and just very sweet. It's subtle and engaging and beyond entertaining. There are some flaws but mostly I have glowing things to say so recommend
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