Peridot83
A beautiful but fast-paced exploration of trauma and the struggle towards everyday joy . . .
*My thoughts on the portrayals of trauma/abuse and 'red-flags' in a postnote at the end of this review*
The plot builds in layers. There is something for everyone:
1) murder mystery with serial killer/sociopathic type elements
2) romantic suspense, ‘ill-fated’ love, childhood love, lots of protectiveness and rescuing from both genders
3) gothic fairytale/stylistic elements each ‘chapter’ or ‘episode’ features a fairytale moral or theme
4) Patient of the week storylines
A minor complaint is that there were some 'excess' storylines with little impact/point, but I did not feel for one minute that there was any true wasted time.
What keeps you on the edge of your seat, is the excellent fast, pacing. This is not a ‘quiet’ drama with lots of pauses, and long lingering glances. For those who find character development and inner self progression boring, the second half of the drama may feel less exciting – but for me it was actually the opposite. I got more excited/addicted as the episodes went on.
Many of the actors appear regularly in other popular dramas, but I was able to 'buy in' to their roles instantly from the three main leads to the patients in the hospital. I will also add the main couple had amazing romantic chemistry, naturalistic acting and physical ease with each other. I think this drama had some of the best romantic scenes I’ve seen.
The music sets a great tone, though half point off for the opening credits being a bit bland. I've already re-watched certain scenes numerous times.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes - 10
Finally! A drama that acknowledges nightmarish side of human nature and that the road to a good life does not necessarily lie with reconciliation but recognising you deserve and are capable of joy. Expressing emotions, especially vulnerable ones from traumatic life experiences, is the key to finding joy and meaning to live in a world that can be cruel.
Character Growth - 10
While all three main leads are very different on the outside, they all start the drama lost on the inside. Watching the journey, and struggle for something different was meaningful. These are not at all the same characters at the beginning as the end.
Complex roles for women and relationships - 8
Ko Moon-Young is a beautifully complex character: brash and loud and vulnerable all at once, and I liked the very complex feelings she had for her mother. Beyond that complicated relationship, however, the women do not have much overlapping plots or interactions, The rest of the women are caricatures from the loving, always cooking mother figure, to the quiet/shy but jealous friend.
Production design/cinematography - 10
The show deserves a 10 just for the creative way it portrays mental states and trauma. But on top of that, the cinematography is beautiful and the sets have high production values. You can hit pause at almost any point and each frame looks like a painting. Ko Moon-Young has a wonderful makeup/clothing/style concept as well which is just an added bonus.
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Some thoughts on trauma and abuse portrayed in the show:
One big warning label with this show is that it normalises a lot of 'red flags' for romantic relationships. The truth is that if you were starting to date someone who displays the behaviours of any of the three main leads (aggressive anger, not taking no for an answer, inability to express emotion, inability to cope with day to day reality etc.) it would be best to just walk away. In real life, most people do not come to the realizations the 3 main leads do so late in life. It's what makes a good drama, but it's important to not live your own life by this.
In terms of realism, this drama uses a more stage play/stylized format to get to a deeper truth than many more 'gritty' realistic tv and movies. While the pace is not ‘realistic’, the pacing allows for many traumatic stories and many ways to overcome trauma in a way that sitting working through trauma quietly for hours of screen-time just can’t capture.
Many fictional portrayals of trauma and abuse function as exploitative, trauma porn - just endless hours of suffering and grief and no way out. Often those who inflict trauma/abuse are portrayed as either sociopathic serial killers or abusers who are actually good at heart and that you should forgive/reconcile.
This show does an excellent job of showing a huge spectrum of abuse and trauma situations from unintentional inflicted trauma to deliberate, vindictive harm. It does an excellent job of explaining that many of the worst traits in humans stem from the refusal to feel 'warmth' or simple, everyday joys. It shows how life experiences can lead a person to believe that they are undeserving of joy, incapable of feeling joy, or perhaps worst of all that you are too superior, too special to care about such silly things as joy.
*My thoughts on the portrayals of trauma/abuse and 'red-flags' in a postnote at the end of this review*
The plot builds in layers. There is something for everyone:
1) murder mystery with serial killer/sociopathic type elements
2) romantic suspense, ‘ill-fated’ love, childhood love, lots of protectiveness and rescuing from both genders
3) gothic fairytale/stylistic elements each ‘chapter’ or ‘episode’ features a fairytale moral or theme
4) Patient of the week storylines
A minor complaint is that there were some 'excess' storylines with little impact/point, but I did not feel for one minute that there was any true wasted time.
What keeps you on the edge of your seat, is the excellent fast, pacing. This is not a ‘quiet’ drama with lots of pauses, and long lingering glances. For those who find character development and inner self progression boring, the second half of the drama may feel less exciting – but for me it was actually the opposite. I got more excited/addicted as the episodes went on.
Many of the actors appear regularly in other popular dramas, but I was able to 'buy in' to their roles instantly from the three main leads to the patients in the hospital. I will also add the main couple had amazing romantic chemistry, naturalistic acting and physical ease with each other. I think this drama had some of the best romantic scenes I’ve seen.
The music sets a great tone, though half point off for the opening credits being a bit bland. I've already re-watched certain scenes numerous times.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes - 10
Finally! A drama that acknowledges nightmarish side of human nature and that the road to a good life does not necessarily lie with reconciliation but recognising you deserve and are capable of joy. Expressing emotions, especially vulnerable ones from traumatic life experiences, is the key to finding joy and meaning to live in a world that can be cruel.
Character Growth - 10
While all three main leads are very different on the outside, they all start the drama lost on the inside. Watching the journey, and struggle for something different was meaningful. These are not at all the same characters at the beginning as the end.
Complex roles for women and relationships - 8
Ko Moon-Young is a beautifully complex character: brash and loud and vulnerable all at once, and I liked the very complex feelings she had for her mother. Beyond that complicated relationship, however, the women do not have much overlapping plots or interactions, The rest of the women are caricatures from the loving, always cooking mother figure, to the quiet/shy but jealous friend.
Production design/cinematography - 10
The show deserves a 10 just for the creative way it portrays mental states and trauma. But on top of that, the cinematography is beautiful and the sets have high production values. You can hit pause at almost any point and each frame looks like a painting. Ko Moon-Young has a wonderful makeup/clothing/style concept as well which is just an added bonus.
----
Some thoughts on trauma and abuse portrayed in the show:
One big warning label with this show is that it normalises a lot of 'red flags' for romantic relationships. The truth is that if you were starting to date someone who displays the behaviours of any of the three main leads (aggressive anger, not taking no for an answer, inability to express emotion, inability to cope with day to day reality etc.) it would be best to just walk away. In real life, most people do not come to the realizations the 3 main leads do so late in life. It's what makes a good drama, but it's important to not live your own life by this.
In terms of realism, this drama uses a more stage play/stylized format to get to a deeper truth than many more 'gritty' realistic tv and movies. While the pace is not ‘realistic’, the pacing allows for many traumatic stories and many ways to overcome trauma in a way that sitting working through trauma quietly for hours of screen-time just can’t capture.
Many fictional portrayals of trauma and abuse function as exploitative, trauma porn - just endless hours of suffering and grief and no way out. Often those who inflict trauma/abuse are portrayed as either sociopathic serial killers or abusers who are actually good at heart and that you should forgive/reconcile.
This show does an excellent job of showing a huge spectrum of abuse and trauma situations from unintentional inflicted trauma to deliberate, vindictive harm. It does an excellent job of explaining that many of the worst traits in humans stem from the refusal to feel 'warmth' or simple, everyday joys. It shows how life experiences can lead a person to believe that they are undeserving of joy, incapable of feeling joy, or perhaps worst of all that you are too superior, too special to care about such silly things as joy.
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