Becca
The story is heavily focused on the influence of political corruption on familial relationships and high school life. Hardly surprising from a show called 'Angry Mom' because the drama is very much about anger and the intense emotions and conflicts of being a mother. The drama is by no means 'realistic' - you have to watch with this in mind, things are of course going to be exaggerated for dramatic value but nonetheless, there are little hints of truth in everything.
But be not afeared, it's not all doom and gloom, the writer is absolutely brilliant at weaving in comic relief. I lived for those hilarious moments among the darkness that seemed to envelope every character. The thing that struck me the most when watching the drama was the character progressions. Each main and significant secondary character had their moment to shine and develop. This is simply not a one-woman show about a mock-heroic attempt to enact justice on behalf of the weak and unrepresented. It is a drama about developing awareness and tackling the problems head on with others. Problems simply do not go away if you do nothing about them, and it is up to you to make a difference - but also, the fight is not a lonely one. It is all about creating honest relationships, maintaining them, and working together to achieve the ultimate goal. This drama is filled with poetic and moral messages that make you realise that this was very much a writers piece. The directing was also great, but for me, the writing was just the star of the show.
The cast were also perfect for this drama. I have never seen Kim Hee Sun act before but my god, she can act. Her portrayal of this loving mother with a troubled past trying to protect her daughter was just so brilliant to watch - and you just can't help but love a strong female lead. She has shown so much versatility with her emotions that I cannot help but admire her and look forward to her next project. All the other cast members - villains and all - were all very well acted and I have nothing but praise. When an actor makes me hate a villain with great intensity, it means that they're doing a pretty darn good job at acting convincingly. I cannot write this without mentioning our breakout star Ji Soo, I don't think I know anyone who dislikes Go Bok Dong. He was a bad guy with a soft heart and I think everyone will have a soft spot for him. This was a wonderful breakout project for Ji Soo and it clearly displayed his potential. There are so many others who I want to mention and praise, but I think the one who left the strongest impression on me was Kim Hee Won - Ahn Dong Chil. I could never get myself to hate his character, and boy, Hee Won was perfect for Ahn Dong Chil. He begun as such a complex character and it was a real treat to see him unravel and in some ways, peel off the hardened layer bit by bit to see what he was truly like. I cannot go on without spoiling so I will leave it at that.
As much as I want to give this a perfect 10 just for sheer enjoyment and roller coaster ride over the past 8 weeks or so, I felt like it just missed the mark. I set the rewatch value slightly lower because I don't think I can handle watching this again because some aspects of the drama just make you angry. It's not about the execution of the drama itself, but the cruelness of reality really kicks in at times. But saying that, I will always be happy to skim over to the fun, adorable, and out-right hilarious moments for sure :)
Overall, I am very happy with how this drama went. I definitely recommend it because it provides a lot of food for thought for how we should view life and our experiences that will definitely be worth considering!
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In terms of the story, I think the first 3/4 of the plot was solid. Everything involving Eun Byul's disappearance to the mysterious messages from a dead classmate were very well thought out in my opinion. It kept me interested and speculating all the time, thinking of all the possibilities, which was why I really enjoyed this series. If you like playing the guessing game and trying to pick up on all the clues then this'll be an enjoyable series for you because the writers did well at dropping hints and keeping the audiences guessing. But I hate to say it, the resolution of the mystery left little to be desired. I honestly thought that the writers could've done more with it since they put so much effort into building it up only to let it fall flat. The mystery went into the back burner in the last 4 episodes or so, and this is where you start to see what the priorities of the writers are - playing with the love-lines and romance. Not that I don't love a good romance, but the writers kept playing with the audiences expectations - forcing many to come down with that dreaded second-lead syndrome.
This is where the acting comes into play. Yook Sung Jae completely won me over with Tae Kwang so it was no wonder that he won so many people's hearts. He played the troubled but playful character so well that you couldn't hate him. I could totally understood Tae Kwang's actions too, but Han Yi Ahn was just conflicting. Nam Joo Hyuk did well at the beginning but as the series went on, it slowly became apparent that he was lagging behind slightly in the emotional acting department. But I think that he had little to work with considering the way that the character was written. Tae Kwang had more character development than Yi Ahn - thus Joo Hyuk never really got to shine as brightly as Sung Jae.
However, it was Kim So Hyun who really carried the show. Who would've thought that a 16 year old could carry herself so well in two roles? You could seriously tell how well she acted Eun Bi and Eun Byul by the tones and styles of each character, which were distinctly different from one another. Of course, the stylist and makeup artist had a great role in aiding visual distinctions between the two, but Kim So Hyun held the two characters very well on her own.
I also have to mention Jo Soo Hyang who played Kang So Young. She impressed me with her acting. Playing a bully isn't as easy as it looks, but she fell into the role so naturally... not sure if that is a good or bad thing but nonetheless, also praiseworthy. Yet once again, her characterisation was flawed as no one really understood what the hell was going through her mind - hateful for hateful sake, maybe? But that wasn't Soo Hyang's fault.
So all in all, I enjoyed this series, but the writing and the story became flawed in the final stretch. I loved the idea of the mystery and the switching of twins, but I couldn't help but crave more depth. For instance, how was Min Joon's homelife now? Is Shi Jin still struggling under the educational tyranny of her mother? How did Soo Jung's modelling career pan out - we saw snippets that suggests that something happened but no details. Things just felt slightly empty as questions/characters weren't as neatly tied up as I wanted. However, I still think that this is a good watch and it made me look forward to Mondays and Tuesdays!
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