Yidenia Jang
Very rich story with many different storylines woven together to form a solid arc
This drama is actually full of well-written mini-arcs. The main character has three coinciding: one is her career, one is her romance, and one is her relationship with her mother. All three mix together in a reasonable way that does not feel cluttered, because each obstacle within any arc is affected by the circumstances of the others. Following this, there are two side arcs involving the supporting cast that also contribute to the main story in a way that enriches the world the drama takes place in. Though there aren't very many characters, it feels like you're getting to know way more people with diverse backgrounds and motivations than truly depicted, which I think is masterful, because each point is delivered in an effective way.
The character of FL is very clever and full of integrity. It's hard to say what her flaws are, but that's not really the purpose of her character. She represents all women who aspire to be strong and capable while living in a world where their parameters are set at a disadvantage to men, whether it is from blatant sexism, traditional expectations, or flat out biology. However, this is not to say that this show derides men; there are honest, well-intentioned men such as ML. ML is equally clever and full of integrity. He is resourceful and persevering without being dominating, and watching the couple feels like they are truly a team, and they genuinely understand and care about each other.
Watching the show has been very thought-provoking, because the side characters bring their own perspectives to how a viewer might look at the main couple. FL starts off the drama as a single female professional in her 30s, who is stressed about her unmarried status and lack of prospects. She is reasonably concerned that her own standards were unrealistic, or there was something about her that repels men she would otherwise have liked. In contrast, her best friend starts off as a married homemaker who had given up her job to stay at home full-time, and it's evident in this show that this can come with its own challenges. Similar contrasts are made between older and younger people; older people may have more experience and wisdom, but younger people tend to have more unrealized potential which can make them more attractive to others in both personal and professional ways. No one has it easy, and this show does a great job of laying this out very painlessly for the viewer. It is a very comfortable show to watch, with one exception.
Every time FL's mother shows up, I really want to skip. She's supposed to be a teacher, and I'm sure there are teachers like her in the real world, but I've never seen one. For some reason, this actress decided to make her character a very solemn, kind of lethargic character who can't even make proper eye-contact with people and speaks in a voice that trails off toward the end like she doesn't have enough breath to finish a simple sentence. Even when she speaks to students or former students, she is like that. There is absolutely no authority in her posture or mannerisms and she's supposed to have taught middle school. It's actually really hard to watch her because this is a very classic representation of someone with major depressive disorder, but for some reason this show didn't acknowledge that, so I don't think the showrunners knew. If you met this person in real life, she would suck out all of your energy with her mere presence and make a birthday party as grave as a funeral. This mother also has a tendency to be incredibly shameless, doing the sort of embarrassingly passive-aggressive things that not only make her daughter lose face, but make herself lose face, in front of other people. Then she turns around and says something profoundly insightful, but the effect is ruined for me because it's always prefaced by something spiteful, all with her eyes lowered like she's too tired to lift her eyelids. She's actually more annoying than the antagonists of the show, because her character is inconsistent, and there's a manipulative aspect to her personality that the show never seems to acknowledge. I don't mind these character flaws on their own, but it seems like they were put there without knowing what they should entail, and she ends up with more screen-time than might be appropriate for her, and in a role within the story that I don't think is a good fit. She's kind of an oval peg trying to squeeze into a round hole, and she can kind of make it, but compared to other characters who are better written, it's always a letdown to see this depressed lady who looks too tired to go to work show up in a scene to do something frustratingly strange and have no one around her point out that this woman needs more than just counseling, she needs some Prozac and maybe a blepharoplasty so she can actually look at something higher than her lap. Unfortunately this lady does show up a lot and she drives some of the plot, so it's not really possible to skip her scenes, but man did I really hate how they utilized this character, which is why I can't give this show a 10/10. Still, you can sort of fast forward like I did so you get the gist of what she was supposed to do for the plot and then get to all the normal, interesting stuff, so, still 9/10!
The character of FL is very clever and full of integrity. It's hard to say what her flaws are, but that's not really the purpose of her character. She represents all women who aspire to be strong and capable while living in a world where their parameters are set at a disadvantage to men, whether it is from blatant sexism, traditional expectations, or flat out biology. However, this is not to say that this show derides men; there are honest, well-intentioned men such as ML. ML is equally clever and full of integrity. He is resourceful and persevering without being dominating, and watching the couple feels like they are truly a team, and they genuinely understand and care about each other.
Watching the show has been very thought-provoking, because the side characters bring their own perspectives to how a viewer might look at the main couple. FL starts off the drama as a single female professional in her 30s, who is stressed about her unmarried status and lack of prospects. She is reasonably concerned that her own standards were unrealistic, or there was something about her that repels men she would otherwise have liked. In contrast, her best friend starts off as a married homemaker who had given up her job to stay at home full-time, and it's evident in this show that this can come with its own challenges. Similar contrasts are made between older and younger people; older people may have more experience and wisdom, but younger people tend to have more unrealized potential which can make them more attractive to others in both personal and professional ways. No one has it easy, and this show does a great job of laying this out very painlessly for the viewer. It is a very comfortable show to watch, with one exception.
Every time FL's mother shows up, I really want to skip. She's supposed to be a teacher, and I'm sure there are teachers like her in the real world, but I've never seen one. For some reason, this actress decided to make her character a very solemn, kind of lethargic character who can't even make proper eye-contact with people and speaks in a voice that trails off toward the end like she doesn't have enough breath to finish a simple sentence. Even when she speaks to students or former students, she is like that. There is absolutely no authority in her posture or mannerisms and she's supposed to have taught middle school. It's actually really hard to watch her because this is a very classic representation of someone with major depressive disorder, but for some reason this show didn't acknowledge that, so I don't think the showrunners knew. If you met this person in real life, she would suck out all of your energy with her mere presence and make a birthday party as grave as a funeral. This mother also has a tendency to be incredibly shameless, doing the sort of embarrassingly passive-aggressive things that not only make her daughter lose face, but make herself lose face, in front of other people. Then she turns around and says something profoundly insightful, but the effect is ruined for me because it's always prefaced by something spiteful, all with her eyes lowered like she's too tired to lift her eyelids. She's actually more annoying than the antagonists of the show, because her character is inconsistent, and there's a manipulative aspect to her personality that the show never seems to acknowledge. I don't mind these character flaws on their own, but it seems like they were put there without knowing what they should entail, and she ends up with more screen-time than might be appropriate for her, and in a role within the story that I don't think is a good fit. She's kind of an oval peg trying to squeeze into a round hole, and she can kind of make it, but compared to other characters who are better written, it's always a letdown to see this depressed lady who looks too tired to go to work show up in a scene to do something frustratingly strange and have no one around her point out that this woman needs more than just counseling, she needs some Prozac and maybe a blepharoplasty so she can actually look at something higher than her lap. Unfortunately this lady does show up a lot and she drives some of the plot, so it's not really possible to skip her scenes, but man did I really hate how they utilized this character, which is why I can't give this show a 10/10. Still, you can sort of fast forward like I did so you get the gist of what she was supposed to do for the plot and then get to all the normal, interesting stuff, so, still 9/10!
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