Yet another highly praised show that failed to resonate with me.

As a piece of entertainment, it is more than decent. But it is unsatisfactory in the messages it is trying to get across. It raised very important problems, such as being driven into a corner by a competitive society and being stuck in a poverty cycle, and feeling oppressed and helpless as a youth. These are extremely prevalent and sensitive issues in SK and other countries. The show offers a message that comes from good intentions, but it is over simplified and maybe even insensitive towards depression and mental illness. Throughout the show, there is no empathy offered to the main character's suffering, but rather a lingering feeling of "your pain is bearable compared to many others who have suffered so much more than you". Which is obviously distasteful and wrong in many ways. It's classic victim blaming, coming from an outsider's POV.

Furthermore, it ultimately does not provide any tangible solutions to any of the main character's problems and he will realistically end up in the exact same place. In the end, he's just back to square one with the wounds of living multiple lives and with the guilt of hurting others with his decision. There is no accountability for the further damage to his mental state. I can't help but feel that if that was the route the show was going to take, it shouldn't have presented such severe societal issues through the main character's story in the first place.

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Genuine relationships are ultimately what make life worth living

This show is certainly one of a kind. The story is relatively simple, with some underlying philosophical messages. It is simply about a woman who doesn't want to let go of her relationships and her inner struggles with identity, as well as healing the emotional trauma her death set upon her loved ones. Everything else barely matters tbh. Several scenes had high artistic value and were shot with tender care, making sure the emotions would seep through the screen into the viewer's heart (with the exception of way, WAY too many pool scenes). It's quite evident that the directors intentionally chose warm color palettes with the goal of visually pleasing shots.

The biggest flaw of the show is that the show makers do not seem confident enough in the storyline (probably thinking it won't attract enough viewers), so they added sideplots that they thought would increase the tension but will only fall flat. They even tried to lead viewers into thinking the show was some kind of makjang at one point. Fortunately by the last episode we realise it is not the case, with the FL remaining a sensible character. Which makes you wonder what even was the point of the those flashbacks taking up the screentime. Nonetheless, since the core of the show really speaks to me, those elements did not drive me away from but dragged it down from a solid 9/10.

On the other hand, the ending is possibly one of my favourites in recent years. The slight but significant change in the FL's demeanour, more youthful clothes and behaviour, shows the burden lifted off her shoulders. It successfully relayed the message that letting everything go and starting anew is not as scary as it seems; rather, dwelling on the past would prove to ultimately mean nothing and only bring everlasting pain. And that when someone willingly carries your burden and makes the effort to start a relationship anew, without you ever knowing of it, that is love. Sisterly love and romantic love. The last scene was both quirky and heartwarming, making the FL have a taste of her own strangeness at the start of the show.

This show had an amazing ensemble of talented child actors, whom I've seen in other great works. Shin Hye Sun's "eyes speaking louder than words" has won me over, changing my view of her from "an actress to look out for" to "an actress to watch no matter what". From restrained but subtle emotions to explosively dramatic scenes, she pulls them all off. Ha Yoon Kyung is coming off very likable with "contagious" acting. While both male leads held their own, they didn't get as much to work with.

As many have mentioned, some musical choices were odd at some points but I didn't notice much of it apart from a handful of scenes. The majority of the soundtrack has been great and enhance the scenes.

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Disturbing, yet satisfying.

I had high expectations and this movie met them. I liked it from the acting to the cinematography, the storytelling, the settings and visuals (Gorgeous!!). But I'm also going ahead to talk about what I didn't like, since it was already praised so much.

This is one of the few movies that caught my interest within the first 10 minutes, not wasting any time and jumping right into the story. I can easily see how other movies will take their time portraying the maid as an innocent and go "But NO! She was actually a cheat!" after like 20 minutes. Glad that they didn't do that. The first part was visually gorgeous. Take a screenshot and it would be a painting. It also seemed like a regular drama plot-wise. You're just waiting for something to go wrong and in my case, the first plot twist did not work too well as I could see it coming. Things were simply going too well for the careless and overly confident maid. Still did not stop me from enjoying their relationship and since I found the maid absolutely adorable and entertaining.

The second part though was truly unexpected. Easily the best part of the film. I was completely invested in the backstory of our main lead. It quickly went into fucked up territory and had me feeling disturbed to thinking "that's absolutely disgusting". I understand the significance of the auction scenes, but I would probably skip them on a rewatch. Absolute best scene was when Miss broke down and attempted to hang herself; the turning point. I must say it was incredibly satisfying to watch and realise where things were going later on.

For the last part, I'm going to be a little picky. Since its purpose is to wrap up the show, things were starting to go way too well. The tone shifted to that more of a kdrama, which was fine, but some scenes also felt slightly unnecessary. Still, the cellar scene was satisfyingly disturbing and you will thank the Count for killing the creepy uncle along with himself.

About the characters. The two leads had amazing chemistry and completed each other perfectly. The "Count" was probably the standout character though. He's despicable and he deserved his outcome, but was actually not all that unlikeable since he ironically gave the Miss her freedom and punished her uncle for her. What I really liked was that all of them had immoral intentions, which made the protagonists much more charming imo.

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