nori
This review may contain spoilers
Jack of all trades, master of none.
While it occasionally deals a lot of fun with a large and stellar cast, Strong Girl Nam Soon suffers from trying a bit too hard to be many things: romantic-comedy, thriller/action, social commentary, and superhero fiction. It’s all of these things but also not really.
The thing is, one can see the story the show wants to tell: Strong Girl Nam Soon is about three generations of powerful women, each with an arc of their own. The grandmother, Gil Joong-gan (played by legend Kim Hae-sook) finds love, K-Drama-esque style, subverting the idea that cutesy rom-coms are only for the young. The mother, Hwang Geum-ju (played by the beautiful Kim Jung-eun) is a self-made woman who climbed to the top without getting her hands dirty, and now uses her wealth and power to save the country from drugs. The daughter, the titular Gang Nam-soon (played by the effervescent Lee Yoo-mi) is a combination of both: the hero and the lover, who wants to be the light in the dark for the people, and also to marry a Korean man. The premise is interesting! And it could have been powerful had it been executed well: a message that women, of all types and ages, can do anything.
The main storyline seems to drive towards Geum-ju and Nam-soon reuniting, and then taking down a mafia-backed company responsible for selling deadly drugs across South Korea. Helping them in this quest is the handsome cop Kang Hee-sik (played by the versatile Ong Seong-woo), who develops a bond with Nam-soon.
And it’s fine at first. But then the show kept adding subplots and elements: the homecoming of Joon-gil’s estranged husband to break her engagement bliss, the conflict between Nam-soon’s formerly homeless friends, and everything about the chronically fatigued uncle, to name some. And the way these subplots are placed in the episodes, it feels like they hinder the main story more than help it, so there are times when there’s a lot happening but nothing seems to be moving forward. You just have to deal with the shifts from action to fluffy romance to comedy. To use a line from an episode, Strong Girl Nam Soon, much like Nam-soon’s family’s conversations, ‘tend[s] to bounce around topics without warning’. This abrupt bouncing around actually lessens the impact of moments that are supposedly emotional or romantic, because before the audience can sit with the feelings and immerse in the mood projected by a particular scene, it cuts to a completely different scene with a different mood.
One redeeming quality of this drama is its villain, Doogo CEO and mobster Ryu Si-o. But when the villain is stealing the show, you know there’s something being done wrong. And it’s not just because Ryu Si-o is played by the ridiculously handsome Byeon Woo-seok, who has the acting chops AND carries himself so well any scene where he walks looks like a fashion runway. It’s because the writers made Ryu Si-o a complex character, instead of a straightforward villain who is evil for evil's sake. He was given a backstory: an orphan who grew up literally fighting for his life. His motives are revealed: he wants to be his own man, to be Ryu Si-o and not Pavel’s Anton. And he’s not just a cold, dangerous guy either. He’s open to love, and easily trusts people he likes. Some of the best, most emotional beats in the show actually come from him: a personal favorite is his confrontation with his childhood friend Binbin, telling him “I was abandoned three times. Once by my birth parents. Once by the woman I had trusted. And once more by the only friend I’ve missed. I wish to go out only having been betrayed twice.” This particular moment shows Si-o at his most vulnerable, the human behind the villain, and there is so much potential for his character that the writers are apparently aware of (judging from Nam-soon and Hee-sik’s commentary in the final episode) and chose to ignore because well, the story needs its villain.
And it’s true for this drama. Ryu Si-o is also a compelling character because he’s quite literally the only one dangerous enough for Hwang Geum-ju to see him as a real threat and challenge. Geum-ju, who can basically accomplish anything with her insane wealth and power. But even with Si-o’s best attempts, the whole investigation seems to fall almost perfectly into place for Geum-ju’s team, because they’re the epitome of good, and good always wins. Which is nice, except it seemed too easy and predictable. After Si-o’s death (which was 20 minutes into the final episode), everything was wrapped up pretty quickly, which left me wondering what other interesting things does the story have left to offer?
The romance between Nam-soon and Hee-sik is cute, but it’s really not anything to talk about because it wasn’t the center of the story (I’m not even going to talk about the chemistry between Nam-soon and Si-o, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop. But yes, I saw the vision but it was also a delusion).
As for the Strong Woman/Strong Girl lore, I think they shouldn’t have tried to expand on it only to force a romance at Nam-soon’s age or for a character to be overpowered. There are things that are much more interesting when they remain mysterious.
The women get their happy endings, which they deserve, but it doesn’t feel as satisfactory as I would have liked because again, it was expected and not really that hard-won.
Since Strong Girl Nam-soon is a spin-off, one cannot help but make a quick comparison to the show's predecessor, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a quirky rom-com. It has its subplots and twists, but essentially, it's clear that it's a love story. In the series, Do Bong-soon and Ahn Min-hyuk develop a strong connection to each other, and along the way, they also grow individually as characters. It's memorable because of them.
For Strong Girl Nam Soon, it’s just a lot at once, and there’s no balance to the plotlines and emotions it offers. It does send home its message that women are awesome and can accomplish anything, but it loses impact because of messy writing choices and poor execution.
Also, they’re already losing me in the teaser for Season 3, because what do you mean a man now has the super-strength ability that should have been passed down the matrilineal line? Strong Woman/Strong Girl worked because they shattered the stereotype that women are weaker than men, so what will Season 3 try to prove?
The thing is, one can see the story the show wants to tell: Strong Girl Nam Soon is about three generations of powerful women, each with an arc of their own. The grandmother, Gil Joong-gan (played by legend Kim Hae-sook) finds love, K-Drama-esque style, subverting the idea that cutesy rom-coms are only for the young. The mother, Hwang Geum-ju (played by the beautiful Kim Jung-eun) is a self-made woman who climbed to the top without getting her hands dirty, and now uses her wealth and power to save the country from drugs. The daughter, the titular Gang Nam-soon (played by the effervescent Lee Yoo-mi) is a combination of both: the hero and the lover, who wants to be the light in the dark for the people, and also to marry a Korean man. The premise is interesting! And it could have been powerful had it been executed well: a message that women, of all types and ages, can do anything.
The main storyline seems to drive towards Geum-ju and Nam-soon reuniting, and then taking down a mafia-backed company responsible for selling deadly drugs across South Korea. Helping them in this quest is the handsome cop Kang Hee-sik (played by the versatile Ong Seong-woo), who develops a bond with Nam-soon.
And it’s fine at first. But then the show kept adding subplots and elements: the homecoming of Joon-gil’s estranged husband to break her engagement bliss, the conflict between Nam-soon’s formerly homeless friends, and everything about the chronically fatigued uncle, to name some. And the way these subplots are placed in the episodes, it feels like they hinder the main story more than help it, so there are times when there’s a lot happening but nothing seems to be moving forward. You just have to deal with the shifts from action to fluffy romance to comedy. To use a line from an episode, Strong Girl Nam Soon, much like Nam-soon’s family’s conversations, ‘tend[s] to bounce around topics without warning’. This abrupt bouncing around actually lessens the impact of moments that are supposedly emotional or romantic, because before the audience can sit with the feelings and immerse in the mood projected by a particular scene, it cuts to a completely different scene with a different mood.
One redeeming quality of this drama is its villain, Doogo CEO and mobster Ryu Si-o. But when the villain is stealing the show, you know there’s something being done wrong. And it’s not just because Ryu Si-o is played by the ridiculously handsome Byeon Woo-seok, who has the acting chops AND carries himself so well any scene where he walks looks like a fashion runway. It’s because the writers made Ryu Si-o a complex character, instead of a straightforward villain who is evil for evil's sake. He was given a backstory: an orphan who grew up literally fighting for his life. His motives are revealed: he wants to be his own man, to be Ryu Si-o and not Pavel’s Anton. And he’s not just a cold, dangerous guy either. He’s open to love, and easily trusts people he likes. Some of the best, most emotional beats in the show actually come from him: a personal favorite is his confrontation with his childhood friend Binbin, telling him “I was abandoned three times. Once by my birth parents. Once by the woman I had trusted. And once more by the only friend I’ve missed. I wish to go out only having been betrayed twice.” This particular moment shows Si-o at his most vulnerable, the human behind the villain, and there is so much potential for his character that the writers are apparently aware of (judging from Nam-soon and Hee-sik’s commentary in the final episode) and chose to ignore because well, the story needs its villain.
And it’s true for this drama. Ryu Si-o is also a compelling character because he’s quite literally the only one dangerous enough for Hwang Geum-ju to see him as a real threat and challenge. Geum-ju, who can basically accomplish anything with her insane wealth and power. But even with Si-o’s best attempts, the whole investigation seems to fall almost perfectly into place for Geum-ju’s team, because they’re the epitome of good, and good always wins. Which is nice, except it seemed too easy and predictable. After Si-o’s death (which was 20 minutes into the final episode), everything was wrapped up pretty quickly, which left me wondering what other interesting things does the story have left to offer?
The romance between Nam-soon and Hee-sik is cute, but it’s really not anything to talk about because it wasn’t the center of the story (I’m not even going to talk about the chemistry between Nam-soon and Si-o, because I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop. But yes, I saw the vision but it was also a delusion).
As for the Strong Woman/Strong Girl lore, I think they shouldn’t have tried to expand on it only to force a romance at Nam-soon’s age or for a character to be overpowered. There are things that are much more interesting when they remain mysterious.
The women get their happy endings, which they deserve, but it doesn’t feel as satisfactory as I would have liked because again, it was expected and not really that hard-won.
Since Strong Girl Nam-soon is a spin-off, one cannot help but make a quick comparison to the show's predecessor, Strong Woman Do Bong Soon. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon is a quirky rom-com. It has its subplots and twists, but essentially, it's clear that it's a love story. In the series, Do Bong-soon and Ahn Min-hyuk develop a strong connection to each other, and along the way, they also grow individually as characters. It's memorable because of them.
For Strong Girl Nam Soon, it’s just a lot at once, and there’s no balance to the plotlines and emotions it offers. It does send home its message that women are awesome and can accomplish anything, but it loses impact because of messy writing choices and poor execution.
Also, they’re already losing me in the teaser for Season 3, because what do you mean a man now has the super-strength ability that should have been passed down the matrilineal line? Strong Woman/Strong Girl worked because they shattered the stereotype that women are weaker than men, so what will Season 3 try to prove?
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