SAD!!

I'm so devastated I can't even write a coherent review. But it was so beautiful and so well done I have to say something, so here I go:

Brilliant soundtrack. I'm still listening to it on repeat. And it wasn't just that the music was amazing (though it was amazing all on its own) but there also seemed to have been a lot of effort put into making it work with the show, and the whole show sounded good altogether... that doesn't make any sense, but I swear the whole show just sounded good. I guess that's part of the production value? Anyway, it was brilliant.

The story... Well. I hate sad stories. I don't like crying, I don't like feeling miserable, I just don't like sad stories. But this story is just so good, so beautiful, so wonderfully told... it won me over and I kinda hate it for that, but I am in awe of this drama. Even if I have a headache from all the crying. It's a love story that is just so big, so beyond this world, I can't not adore it.

The characters were believable and really felt like real people. The acting was amazing. The casting was perfect. I believed what I was watching.

There's probably more to say but I just can't think. It melted my brain.

I hate to put the re-watch value so low, because I feel like that misrepresents how brilliant the show is. It's like a fairytale. But I definitely can't go through this often. It cuts too deep. But it's a brilliant show.

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Mixed feelings

This is an absolutely brilliant 10/10 story! But the one thing that bothered me about the show, bothered me a lot. I'm glad I stuck with it though, because the story is profound. In addition to the right-person/wrong-time element, which was deep in and of itself, it got me thinking about the extra layers. Like: if you knew you could have something unbelievably wonderful for a while, but it would end in devastating heartbreak and terrible pain, would you still pursue it or give it up entirely? In reality, this question is often minimized, but the drama takes it seriously and explores how painful and terrifying such a choice would actually be. It also explores how your final decision might change as you get older.

As well as the profound story, there's plenty more to love. The music is great. The production is great. The setting is awesome. The entire cast is super talented. And the actual age and age-gap of the characters is reasonable.

So... why the mixed feelings?

Because Old-Soon looks way too old, and Young-Ongsa's age is not clarified early enough. Why is this a problem? Well, visually, we have a middle-aged man flirting with a high-schooler.

BUT WAIT!! Didn't I just say I had no problem with the characters' actual ages and age-gap? Yes, that's true. The characters are actually 18 and 28, so they are both adults and only ten years apart. I have no complaints about that. HOWEVER! No amount of telling myself Old-Soon is only 28 could make me believe him younger than 40. And Young-Ongsa looks 15, and we don't learn otherwise until ep10. As I've said, the actors are amazingly talented! I really can't stress that enough. But dramas are a visual media, and when pairing a high-schooler and older man, it's nice to be considerate of the audience and not make it look like a 40-year-old is sharing a bed with a 15-year-old. Personally, I think they needed to state Young-Ongsa age earlier, and recast Old-Soon to look the character's actual age.

Again, I stuck with the drama because there is so much to love, and I'm glad I did. And even the bits that bothered me may not both others, so I recommend anyone interested in the premise give it a go and decide for yourself.

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