beedeexklmk
This review may contain spoilers
A quality drama with a controversial ending, but ultimately worth the watch.
WARNING: this review is going to contain some spoilers.
At first, I agreed with the outraged reviews around the ending. But now that the initial emotion has worn off, I'm a little more at peace with this finale. I don't have an issue with the outcome of the pairing itself, but I do still think they should've executed it differently (there are countless other ways I can think of that would've given me more closure!!), and that might have alleviated a whole lot of anger and betrayal that everyone's been feeling.
But ultimately, this story is a tribute to youth. When we're 18 with the world in the palm of our hands. When we're 18 and we feel like time is ours for the taking. When we're 18 and we think our today will be our forever. It's a frozen snapshot in time; a first love that endures long after it's ended, immortalised in old worn photos and creased diary pages. That was what this drama sought to capture, and they did that to perfection. This was sophisticated storytelling - an elevation of the coming-of-age genre to a level that I haven't seen another youth show before 2521 achieve. I felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with this drama, and to that, I have to credit the quality of the storytelling - the writing, the directing, and the acting, all somehow coming together to create a magical synergy that made this drama glow and pulse with life.
Episodes 1-13 and 15 were more perfect than any drama has ever been for me, and I've been watching dramas for over 13 years now. Episodes 14 and 16 were the hardest to get through, and reviews might tell you that it's no longer worth watching because of the ending, but I do believe that if you go into this show knowing what to expect, this will still be a magical watch, and the heartbreak will still be worth it. It's been a privilege watching Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin grow together and love each other these past 16 episodes. My heart still hurts for them, but as Adult Na Hee-do once said: "Nothing lasts forever. Everything flows away. And that's not always a bad thing."
At first, I agreed with the outraged reviews around the ending. But now that the initial emotion has worn off, I'm a little more at peace with this finale. I don't have an issue with the outcome of the pairing itself, but I do still think they should've executed it differently (there are countless other ways I can think of that would've given me more closure!!), and that might have alleviated a whole lot of anger and betrayal that everyone's been feeling.
But ultimately, this story is a tribute to youth. When we're 18 with the world in the palm of our hands. When we're 18 and we feel like time is ours for the taking. When we're 18 and we think our today will be our forever. It's a frozen snapshot in time; a first love that endures long after it's ended, immortalised in old worn photos and creased diary pages. That was what this drama sought to capture, and they did that to perfection. This was sophisticated storytelling - an elevation of the coming-of-age genre to a level that I haven't seen another youth show before 2521 achieve. I felt the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with this drama, and to that, I have to credit the quality of the storytelling - the writing, the directing, and the acting, all somehow coming together to create a magical synergy that made this drama glow and pulse with life.
Episodes 1-13 and 15 were more perfect than any drama has ever been for me, and I've been watching dramas for over 13 years now. Episodes 14 and 16 were the hardest to get through, and reviews might tell you that it's no longer worth watching because of the ending, but I do believe that if you go into this show knowing what to expect, this will still be a magical watch, and the heartbreak will still be worth it. It's been a privilege watching Na Hee-do and Baek Yi-jin grow together and love each other these past 16 episodes. My heart still hurts for them, but as Adult Na Hee-do once said: "Nothing lasts forever. Everything flows away. And that's not always a bad thing."
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