I will be missing the characters

I didn’t believe it when i read people saying that this drama was ”up there with the top bl’s” and the best they’ve seen in a while, and so on. I should have, this is easily the best korean bl i’ve seen and it also made up on my top favorites ever i think. The only real complaint i would have is the length of this series, such shame it is to be so short.

However, where short dramas go, this one was paced perfectly. Never did i feel like stuff was rushed or would come out of nowhere and there was such well written character development happening in relatably short time too. Tbh, after finishing the series it felt like i just watched considerably longer series than this one.

To sum it up, i laughed, cried and watched what it felt like an enthralling movie about real feelings of life and love. I will miss these characters, as they really got to me during the couple of hours i spent with them.

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This drama had it all

I’ll be honest that it’s been a long while that a drama completely got a hold of me this much. After years and years of watching kdramas many have turned so repetitive that even the actors themselves seem to have hard time not treating them like products from convoyer belts. Not to mention the dramas that take episodes after episodes before you get attached to any of the characters - which was completely not an issue with this one. I think I felt hooked within the first 10 minutes.

I’m not saying this drama was completely perfect what comes to its storyline but for me personally it came close. Of course it’s a huge bonus having changwook and hyesun in the cast, with wonderful chemistry, portraying every possible emotion and line perfectly and thus producing a very believable relationship between the characters. I found myself laughing, crying and squealing with them - something i don’t do very often.

But most importantly what comes to welcome to samdalri, that got my attention from the very first episode (in addition to cho yong pil’s ”short hair”), was the perfectly casted villagers and families in beautiful jeju setting, creating a wondeful sense of family, friends and home. I loved the complicated feelings and backstories we were provided combined with the island’s way of life. Not one character felt out of depth or boring and i’d have liked a deep dive into any of their backstories even more. (Why not have ten episodes more?). I would like to say much more but don’t want to hand out any spoilers. What could be an important lesson we learn is that life happens and we cope with it in very different ways.

The drama as a whole left a big spot in my heart, and i don’t think i’ll find another i’ll like this much very soon. That’s how much of a hold the story had in me.

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Crying 15 different emotions

Usually i wait a little before posting a review to let the story settle but this time i just couldn’t. I’m no writer so i have trouble with portraying just how much this drama meant to me.

I originally wasn’t too into the title or the storyline, i mean how interesting could it be to watch someone meet their parents when they were young. Also took a few episodes to really hook me in. I’m usually also not too fond of unrealistic plotlines. How wrong have i been.

When i say this got me deeply, i mean it took an arrow and it went straight in. As someone that has had to deal with loss and many family related emotions, the drama hit me hard and made me wonder. And not necessarily in a negative way either. Watching Eun Gyeol follow the footsteps of his parents, figuring them out and trying to understand - isn’t it something many of us often fail (or forget) to do. There were countless of good lines, thankfully i found a past review listing some of them.

I love the lessons learned. Having read some reviews i saw many mentioning how they didn’t like the ending but i disagree (other than the ones saying it would have benefited with a couple of more episodes). Life is filled with both happy and sad moments, both carry great importance in making people the way they are. It’s important to note that even if you could change somethings from happening, in life, everything doesn’t always go the way you planned. Accidents do happen. And however affected it leaves you, you need to face it and find your own solutions - it’s better to learn to live than wonder what could’ve been. Which is exactly why i found the way they left things so important.

Now what comes to the characters.. I usually love romance in dramas. So this is a first where that part really didn’t interest me at all. The bond between Yi Chan and Eun Gyeol - why was it so dear and wonderful? It made me the happiest as well as broke my heart, then fixed it again. It’s been a while since i loved a character as much as i did Yi Chan. Who are you Choi Hyon Wook? I really need to watch everything with him in it.

Skipping now to the ending.. I do understand the reviews stating the end felt adrupt. I was mainly satisfied with the way they tied things up. But then again.. No one remembered Eun Gyeol? Yi Chan really was so taken by him, then never realizes it’s really his son? And the friend group as well.

I get Yi Chan didn’t really believe it but as his son grows up and resembes the past Eun Gyeol more and more? Didn’t they take many pictures as well, he never noticed? He even named him Eun Gyeol? This left me a bit uncertain ngl. At least Yi Chan did understand it in the end, maybe i just wanted them to tie loose ends just a bit more securely.

Anyhow, i will 100% be watching this again. I will propably cry just as hard the second time around but hopefully laugh just as hard as well. Now i’m left feeling really complicated and wonder how i’ll get over this drama and the made up family.

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Full stars

This show i believe deserves everything good. The way the team behind did their research properly and built such amazing and complex characters that anyone watching would buy completely. What i love most of all is how you want to hate and love certain characters but end up understanding the most, as they are simply just human. There was not a single character or moment of this show that i didn’t like and some scenes were artistically very beautiful. I’ve been recommending this show to anyone left and right, even people that usually stick to their usual american soapies.

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Surprisingly endearing with hits and misses

I found myself unable to not comment.

I started watching the drama with no expectations because the synopsis really didn’t reel me in. Only the actress choice of shin hyeson made me start the drama since i’ve so far loved everything with her. And i have to say watching. the drama greatly surprised me with all the feels and somewhat adorable back stories of the character, without necessarily feeling too heavy at the same time. I think hyesun’s acting made it all very bealievable and they nicely tied together the storylines.

But that’s where my critic also comes in, with the storylines that is. I can’t help but feel disappointed over the fact that the drama had this great potential of painting the picture of the importance of chances in this unpredictable life, something it originally i think tried to portray.

But rather of where there is black and white thinking of this person is completely at fault and the other isn’t i would have valued a more important lesson of sometimes accidents happen, some people end up getting hurt and the blame can’t always simply be placed in one single person. Even in as disastrous accident as the one in the drama. Maybe the driver with the tires had sloppily attached them to the vehicle, but also maybe the bus driver was momentarily blinded by the sun. Seori could have stepped out of the bus earlier but didn’t because of woojin, or maybe the friend had something to discuss and that’s how she ended up staying. It’s all about the chains of events in the end isn’t it, where maybe one person is more to blame than the other, but we have accept to go on and live with it in the end. This is just my rambling and you don’t need to agree in any way, just a thought i kept having with woojin and seori coming to face the past, then with the driver applogizing and lastly the truth behind the aunt and uncle.

An enjoyable watch even with the sort of lacking in depth (what was the uncle and aunt’s storyline honestly? Was accepting hyungtae back in seori’s life truly that difficult?). What I will mostly be missing is the lovely made family of woojin, seori, chan, jennifer and friends.

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What am i even watching, a repetative endless story

I commented it before but this drama was similar to eating a huge cotton candy with no end at sight (first bites enjoyable but got extremely dull soon). The only thing that kept me interested was how Rosa’s situation would be handled but even that made me more and more annoyed as the time went on.

Why would no one communicate? Not a single character. Maybe Mok Jin & Bo Young were the exception and i really wished we had more of them and less from the others especially the main pairing if they even should be called that.

Joo Ah, as sweet as she was, she resembled a pre schooler and i’m not talking about relationship history. Very uninteresting and plain character. I don’t think the writers meant it that way, but with her I feel like she lacks the understanding that anyone is able to get chances in life with hard work and necessary skills - and that said, not only her but others as well. Too often we see this character wallowing in self pity of ”why not me”. When facing a disappointment she at some point mentions ”but i prepared so hard” - did you really? As a viewer I really didn’t catch that, making her a bit shallow even.

Like with many of the other characters, she’s also not able to communicate at all. I found myself skipping at times watching her and Minho’s parts. I think I’d rather had Minho find someone else, it’s almost as if he had to coax Joo Ah to like him.

The Jimin & Haneul thing, i knew they’d be breaking up but hoped for something more extreme than due to not talking. In the last episodes where they were finally talking I didn’t even get what they were on about (Haneul everytime left dramatically alone apologizing - for what?)

Moon Joon part was interesting as was much of the other stuff happening that had nothing to do with the relationships.

Aren’t they supposed to be uni students? Maybe i’m not in the target audience in the end and this is for even younger people.

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Tackled some good themes

Really liked it! Strong female leads are it for me, fun that they tackled some social gendered issues and have to give it to the cast which rly was an excellent choice for the drama.

Storywise lighter, nothing spectacular but then again a thicker plot would have defeated the purpose of the show, which tried to keep things light-hearted even during the more dramatic parts.

I love it when kdramas are taking on stronger female characters and not your typical damsel in distress approach to things, without the drama turning ridiculous that is.

Overall a fresh feel good drama. Would recommend.

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