Our Blooming Youth is a strange title for a clunky drama. The purpose of this drama, despite ghostly flourishes and dramatic Dum Dum DUM music, seems to be to throw two people together and make it look like an epic love story. So we have the crown prince meeting the FL, a suspected murderer, who appears to have shot an arrow at him. He ends up dragging her to his tent for questioning. By the wrist, naturally. That’s after she performs the usual fall off a cliff into water trope and sneaking into town disguised as one of a group-of-(VERY unobservant) soldiers thing. Sigh. When the Female Lead later pulls out a big dagger, cuts herself free of her bonds, and attacks a guard I think we’re supposed to be impressed by how badass she is. But all I could think of was that the guard must have flunked Introduction to Bodyguarding where they teach you to search somebody for weapons BEFORE you tie them up. It all feels contrived and formulaic and Park Hyung Sik seems to be sleepwalking through his role looking as bored as I feel. There are the usual scheming old ministers, including Jung Woon-In playing the baddie as always. Nothing new to see here.

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I struggled with this one because I really can’t stand the lead female character. I think she’s supposed to seem daring and confident but she’s actually pretty stupid, arrogant, and smug. When she charges straight towards trouble we’re supposed to swoon (like the male lead) over how straightforward and brave she is but it’s actually more like overconfidence and conceit. She does not stop to think about how much she endangers others and her confidence is sadly misplaced, given how often the male lead needs to rescue her.
p.s. It’s frustrating when a drama ostensibly about a strong woman actually undercuts the strong woman argument by having the male lead save her over and over again. Are we supposed to find that romantic? Adorable? ugh.

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