TanyalovMusic
Mumbai
This review may contain spoilers
A Re-watch Analysis
Production Quality:
What stood out to me the most was the OST for the drama, 3 years later, they are still a recurrent play on my playlist. Anyone who understands the lyrics will appreciate that they were not just random love songs but accurately portrayed the thoughts of the characters under the situation when it is played as bgm. Also, as a feel-good but slice of life drama, the choices made in selecting the wardrobe, house set, pet etc were well-done, being reasonable for the characters and not there just to be pretty, for example, Se Hee's house was pretty and big, but made sense given his cleanliness and bank financed debt, while Wonseok's rooftop house showed their financial condition and personality. The monologue narrations by Jiho were also a nice touch and many a time while I find them a little too in the face or bland in other dramas, here it was done well with it being used to extend the plot and introduce new details rather than just being a summary.
Emotional Investment into the Characters:
A rewatch binge helps in finding points that were missed while waiting for an on-air drama to finish. I was emotionally invested in the girl's friendship and the relation between Jiho and her mom the most. This is for me the decisive charm of the show and has been executed brilliantly. Jiho's thoughts in particular were always explained in detail and I felt for her and related to her, until the finale arc happened. On the first watch, I thought the breakup to be unnecessary, but on rewatch was more digestible and made more sense given that maybe Jiho felt too tired to sort out the misunderstanding and Se-hee sensed it. However, the drama did not do a good job explaining their thoughts and the reunion arc was handled even worse with both of them behaving out of character. It was so good before that though. Another caveat was Ma Sang Goo and Se Hee's friendship which though was really funny could have been explore more and I actually liked Won Seok's relation with both of them more, finding it more natural. Ho Rang though could get whiny at times but was realistic and I liked the actress' portrayal of her. Soo Ji and San Goo's relationship was done well and in general I related to Soo Ji's character the most. Also, thank god for Se-hee's ex not being a bitch (thank you drama gods, finally!)
Ability of Actors to Emote:
The entire cast did a fantastic job with the roles they were given. Each of them felt real, believable and yet had quirks of their own. Lee Min Ki's micro-expressions were amazing to observe and Jung So Min was so believable as a smart but downtrodden writer. Park Byung Eun, Kim Ga Eun and Kim Min Seok are comedy gold-mines. Special shout outs to Esom and Kim Sung Young as Soo Ji and Jiho's mom (both of them stole the show for me). Also, a special mention to Lee Chung Ah's guest appearance as Se Hee's ex, I felt what Jiho felt when she saw her, she exuded charisma and demanded my attention.
Memorability:
Given the fact that I actually rewatched all 16 episodes again and not just bits and scenes, it is a highly memorable drama for me. Maybe because it hit the right notes such as rethinking about career, marriage, family - I'm at that age lol. I love this drama despite its flaws, and absolutely addicted to the OST.
What stood out to me the most was the OST for the drama, 3 years later, they are still a recurrent play on my playlist. Anyone who understands the lyrics will appreciate that they were not just random love songs but accurately portrayed the thoughts of the characters under the situation when it is played as bgm. Also, as a feel-good but slice of life drama, the choices made in selecting the wardrobe, house set, pet etc were well-done, being reasonable for the characters and not there just to be pretty, for example, Se Hee's house was pretty and big, but made sense given his cleanliness and bank financed debt, while Wonseok's rooftop house showed their financial condition and personality. The monologue narrations by Jiho were also a nice touch and many a time while I find them a little too in the face or bland in other dramas, here it was done well with it being used to extend the plot and introduce new details rather than just being a summary.
Emotional Investment into the Characters:
A rewatch binge helps in finding points that were missed while waiting for an on-air drama to finish. I was emotionally invested in the girl's friendship and the relation between Jiho and her mom the most. This is for me the decisive charm of the show and has been executed brilliantly. Jiho's thoughts in particular were always explained in detail and I felt for her and related to her, until the finale arc happened. On the first watch, I thought the breakup to be unnecessary, but on rewatch was more digestible and made more sense given that maybe Jiho felt too tired to sort out the misunderstanding and Se-hee sensed it. However, the drama did not do a good job explaining their thoughts and the reunion arc was handled even worse with both of them behaving out of character. It was so good before that though. Another caveat was Ma Sang Goo and Se Hee's friendship which though was really funny could have been explore more and I actually liked Won Seok's relation with both of them more, finding it more natural. Ho Rang though could get whiny at times but was realistic and I liked the actress' portrayal of her. Soo Ji and San Goo's relationship was done well and in general I related to Soo Ji's character the most. Also, thank god for Se-hee's ex not being a bitch (thank you drama gods, finally!)
Ability of Actors to Emote:
The entire cast did a fantastic job with the roles they were given. Each of them felt real, believable and yet had quirks of their own. Lee Min Ki's micro-expressions were amazing to observe and Jung So Min was so believable as a smart but downtrodden writer. Park Byung Eun, Kim Ga Eun and Kim Min Seok are comedy gold-mines. Special shout outs to Esom and Kim Sung Young as Soo Ji and Jiho's mom (both of them stole the show for me). Also, a special mention to Lee Chung Ah's guest appearance as Se Hee's ex, I felt what Jiho felt when she saw her, she exuded charisma and demanded my attention.
Memorability:
Given the fact that I actually rewatched all 16 episodes again and not just bits and scenes, it is a highly memorable drama for me. Maybe because it hit the right notes such as rethinking about career, marriage, family - I'm at that age lol. I love this drama despite its flaws, and absolutely addicted to the OST.
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