Sugar
A journey to self-acceptance
In the Korean queer drama sphere, this is unlike anything I've watched. This is a series holding the weight of emotions, love, trauma. There's so much packed in 8 episodes that you can miss out on the little details, but regardless it holds a message: self-acceptance.
The pacing isn't perfect. Time doesn't always work nicely when you have a large story to pack into eight 45-50 minute episodes. Nevertheless, with what they had, they made it mostly work.
Nam Yoonsu isn't just an actor, he's also an advocate. His performance in the drama and his persistence afterwards is something I admire. It's not often you see an actor being proud of their work, let alone in Korean queer media. Sadly, conservatism prevails in a rapidly developing society, I can only hope Yoonsu's advocacy is recognized under a mostly positive light. He committed to his role as a young adult maneuvering in between different realities and brought life to Goyoung. Additionally, the entire cast in this were fantastic.
The humour comes in great bursts. I was genuinely laughing during some scenes. To the scriptwriter, thank you for bringing in humorous jabs during tense scenes.
Flawed characters. Goyoung isn't perfect, Mi Ae isn't perfect, Gyuho isn't perfect, etc. But they make it work navigating as outcasts in society. I love how the writers weren't shy in expressing imperfection. It leaves you feeling discomforted, but in a way, it reflected in a lot of my life stories.
Themes of being an outcast. Goyoung is a gay man with something holding him back from love, navigating under a religious guise ironclad to Korean society. I loved the subtle ways in which the story shows the effects of being an outcast from character to character. There's so much I would discuss with this, but it would end up being a boring novel. In the many layers of Goyoung, he finds his eventual acceptance as a difference to the "norm". I appreciate his development as a character.
Cinematography is incredible. It's as if the words taken from the novel have been firm-pressed into animate scenes. The movement, the subtle tune of music, the careful blur to focus on a character. I could go on, it's just spectacular.
Watching Love in the Big City made me reflect on my own life, and the last time a show had that effect on me was I Told Sunset About You. This is going to be something that I will likely go back to, as it's unlike anything I've seen in a long time. It felt like a cinematic reflection on a young queer man going through a portion of his life to self-acceptance. I hope this review sparks a tick on your watchlist; you don't want to miss watching this.
The pacing isn't perfect. Time doesn't always work nicely when you have a large story to pack into eight 45-50 minute episodes. Nevertheless, with what they had, they made it mostly work.
Nam Yoonsu isn't just an actor, he's also an advocate. His performance in the drama and his persistence afterwards is something I admire. It's not often you see an actor being proud of their work, let alone in Korean queer media. Sadly, conservatism prevails in a rapidly developing society, I can only hope Yoonsu's advocacy is recognized under a mostly positive light. He committed to his role as a young adult maneuvering in between different realities and brought life to Goyoung. Additionally, the entire cast in this were fantastic.
The humour comes in great bursts. I was genuinely laughing during some scenes. To the scriptwriter, thank you for bringing in humorous jabs during tense scenes.
Flawed characters. Goyoung isn't perfect, Mi Ae isn't perfect, Gyuho isn't perfect, etc. But they make it work navigating as outcasts in society. I love how the writers weren't shy in expressing imperfection. It leaves you feeling discomforted, but in a way, it reflected in a lot of my life stories.
Themes of being an outcast. Goyoung is a gay man with something holding him back from love, navigating under a religious guise ironclad to Korean society. I loved the subtle ways in which the story shows the effects of being an outcast from character to character. There's so much I would discuss with this, but it would end up being a boring novel. In the many layers of Goyoung, he finds his eventual acceptance as a difference to the "norm". I appreciate his development as a character.
Cinematography is incredible. It's as if the words taken from the novel have been firm-pressed into animate scenes. The movement, the subtle tune of music, the careful blur to focus on a character. I could go on, it's just spectacular.
Watching Love in the Big City made me reflect on my own life, and the last time a show had that effect on me was I Told Sunset About You. This is going to be something that I will likely go back to, as it's unlike anything I've seen in a long time. It felt like a cinematic reflection on a young queer man going through a portion of his life to self-acceptance. I hope this review sparks a tick on your watchlist; you don't want to miss watching this.
Was this review helpful to you?
